Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category
Filling The Sales Funnel
Tags: brand position, Branding, CRM, Marketing, sales funnel, volunteer
Posted in Branding, Business Development, Marketing, Strategic Marketing Plan on March 8th, 2009
A prospect that I was meeting with recently was lamenting that his sales funnel is suffering from serious constriction issues. “My team is sending out the direct mail, making calls and responding to RFPs, just like everyone else. We don’t seem to be able to differentiate ourselves,” he said.
Brand differentiation is exactly what gives people permission to buy your services or goods with confidence. Aristotle said we are what we do. It’s no different for business.
Southwest Airlines is selling freedom and Walt Disney imagination.
According to Roy Spencer Jr., author of the recently published book It’s Not What You Sell, It’s What You Stand For, the success of these businesses is rooted in their clearly articulated purpose.
Does your business have a unique purpose or service? Or as Spencer asks, “would your customers mind if you ceased to exist?” What ever that uniqueness is, it better be clearly articulated in your new business presentations.
In the short term what can we do to fill the sales funnel and create a personal point of differentiation? I offer this simple suggestion that helps you, your customers and gives something to those organizations that need you the most. Volunteer.
Volunteering with organizations puts you in touch with a new network of influencers. Volunteering is the original form of social media. It has been around long before LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or any other social networking activities.
What volunteering does for you and your business is it creates a unique point of differentiation. It positions you in a totally different light. It is marketing 101. People buy from people, people they know. How many employees are in your organization, 2? 200? 2000? Imagine the networking potential if you started a workplace volunteer program. An article in the Minneapolis Business Journal on how to get a volunteer program started in your business is a great first step. Then fold your newfound network of contacts into your CRM program.
Aristotle was right. We are what we do. If we actively work to make our community better, it makes us better. It enriches us, our employees, our brands and quite likely our bottom line.
Getting Focused in a Down Economy
Tags: Leadership, marketing budget, marketing focus, sales team, Vision
Posted in Business Development, Leadership, Marketing, Relationship Marketing, Strategic Marketing Plan on November 3rd, 2008
I’m tired of all the negative news about the economy. We can wallow in self-pity or point fingers. The bottom line is negative energy is detrimental to your health and that of your company.
If your business is off 50%, that means 50% of the market is still buying. Focus on that segment while staying top of mind with those that are in a holding pattern. That means marketing and the business development team have to retool themselves.
It Starts With You
When the waters are choppy, everyone is looking to see that you have a strategic vision. Let them know that you’ve navigated these waters before. Let everyone know the challenges ahead and then remind them that they are the very people that can get it done. Be encouraging, consistent and communicative.
Sales Team
Narrow your focus to broaden your opportunity. The marketing budget and team needs to focus on opportunities that you have at least a 50% chance of winning. Look at how presidential candidates allocate their budget. If they have no chance in a given state, they cut their losses and move on.
RFP
What’s better for the company, spending three days on an RFP for a prospect that you haven’t developed a relationship? Or spending three days networking at events, writing white papers and seeking referrals from clients?
Andrew Sobel, an author and leading authority on client relationships offer these 8 tips for avoiding premature proposals.
- You are certain this is the right client and issue for you and your firm.
- You have a thorough understanding of the issues you are being asked to address, and also a clear sense of the business goals or needs which are influencing them.
- You and the client have agreed on the specific objectives of the work and the outcomes that are sought.
- You understand the client’s buying process.
- You have spoken to or met with the economic buyer.
- You understand what is most important to the prospect/client, in other words, what particular value they are seeking.
- You have discussed the essential elements of your proposal with the prospect/client
- You have an agreement to discuss the proposal with the prospect/client after you submit it.
Marketing
Set aside those projects that aren’t going to deliver measurable results over the next 12 months. Flexible and nimble marketers will turn up a much better base of prospects.
Comb the trades, blogs, and books for relevant articles about your target industries.
Share your knowledge. There is a tremendous body of evidence that proves the value of being a thought leader.
Make a concerted effort to communicate with your current and past customers. When was the last time you communicated with a client who did business with you 3-5 years ago?
Messaging must be on target. Are you communicating what you can do for the prospect? It’s great that you have vertical experience. What the prospect wants to know is what pain did you solve and is it relevant to their issues?
These are challenging times. This is a time that leadership, mentoring and consistent internal communication can help keep you moving forward. Perhaps, most importantly, it is time to get focused. Apple’s Steve Jobs had this to say about focus. “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”
What’s Your Brand Promise?
Tags: american marketing association, Brand Promise, corporate culture, customers, execution, expectation, greatness, Internal Communication, promise, vendor communication
Posted in Branding, Communication, Copy/Content, Creative, Customer Service, Employer Branding, Internal Communication, Marketing, Recruitment on October 20th, 2008
The American Marketing Association describes a brand as a ”name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competition.”
I like to simplify that by saying that a brand is a promise. And since it is a promise, then it must also be an expectation.
It is critical that your brand promise is clearly defined and articulated to internal and external stakeholders. Stanford professor and author Jim Collins, speaking on how to develop the brand said, “First figure out your partners, then figure out what ideas to pursue. The most important thing isn’t the market you target, the product you develop or the financing, but the founding team.”
In a down economy, buyers of products and services can’t afford to take a risk. They will stick to the brands that have kept their promise. Although noted here previously, it is worthy of repeating. A well-executed branding campaign delivers a myriad of dividends including:
Giving people permission to buy
Reinforcing preconceived notions
Establishing your promise deep in the subconscious of your audience
Helping you recruit and keep the best and brightest talent
Enabling you to charge premium pricing
Thriving during economic downturns
Easily extending into new markets
Branding is too important to leave solely to the marketing department. Branding is the delivery of your promise. It is why you worked those long hours in a garage before bringing your product to the market place. It is your vision. It is your passion. It is what gets you out of bed every morning. Whether you are the founder, partner or captain of the ship, it is critical that the team understand your vision of the brand promise.
Getting your organization to embrace, proselytize and consistently deliver your brand promise, starts at the top.
Define Your Brand Promise – According to Derrick Daye, managing partner at Brand Strategy, “the brand promise must meet three criteria in order to be effective. The promise must be unique, compelling and believable.”
Identity Must Support the Promise – Your logo, colors, tag lines, sell sheets, press releases, all must reinforce your promise.
Do Your Customers Connect - Assuming that you are targeting the correct customers and prospects, how does your promise affect them? Market research and your employees can help determine the relevance of the promise.
Internal Communication – Can your employees fully articulate the brand promise and the value to your customers? Have your new hires been fully educated on the brand promise?
Partner Communication – Do your channels understand your brand promise? And better yet, have you chosen channel partners that are aligned with your promise?
Corporate Culture - Does your corporate culture support the promise? Critical to success is that all members of an organization live the promise in thought, actions and deeds.
Measure Your Efforts - Peter Drucker said, “You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Internal surveys, customer benchmarking metrics and peer review, will tell you if you are moving the needle in the right direction
Top Down Execution - It’s your promise. Be sure that you align your communication and activities around your brand promise. Champion your promise with unbridled enthusiasm. You’ll find that it is a highly contagious way to ensure adoption and execution by your team
According to Collins, “focusing solely on what you can potentially do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness.” If you stay true to your brand promise, which is uniquely you, then you are not guaranteed success but you will be on the right path to earning success.
Cold Calls Create Warm Relationships
Tags: cold calling, relationships, sales, thought leader
Posted in Business Development, Communication, Customer Service, Marketing on October 6th, 2008
On those occasions when I can roust myself out of bed early enough, I enjoy a pedal through the park. A recent ride was a bit cooler than expected. I suppose that’s what started me thinking about cold calling.
It occurred to me that everyday we cold call. Whether it is a brief conversation with a stranger on the elevator, waiting for the bus, or at a conference breakout session. In each case we reach out and create a relationship.
So why is it so difficult for us to do it when charged with developing new business opportunities? Perhaps it is because we have been inundated with so many poorly executed sales calls that we feel like we’ll be viewed as just one more.
Breaking out of the pack requires an approach that is WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) focused. When you reach your prospect try keeping the following in mind.
- Before you call, have research or best practices relevant to their industry or business.
- Introduce yourself in one sentence.
- Tell them you want to schedule a 10 to 20 minute presentation regarding your research. Ask them to have their colleagues participate in the conversation. You’ll be viewed as the Thought Leader, the expert resource.
- Close the conversation by asking what date on their calendar works best for them. This approach gets you a “when” answer instead of a “no”.
- When you present, be sure you actually deliver the best practices promised in the cold call conversation. Sharing your knowledge is the first step in the relationship process and the only way you can move a prospect from cold to warm.
Erica Stritch, a business development consultant, offers these cold calling scripts in her blog. I’m passing them along to you. Thanks Erica.
Script #1
My name is John Smith and I am with Smith & Smith, we’re a (insert type of firm). We’ve been scheduling brief phone calls to introduce ourselves and share best practice information. We’d like to tell you how other (industry) companies are…
- Protecting their global shipping operations and ensuring continuous cash flow
- Achieving the best possible efficiencies by connecting all (blank) disciplines
- Using (our client’s special expertise) to create competitive differentiation and capture market share
The information will give you a framework for assessing your situation at (company name). I’m wondering if you’d like to talk with me and one of the partners here at Smith & Smith on October 23.
Script #2
My name is Jane Smith and I am with Smith & Smith – we’re a (insert type of firm). As a part of that work, we have just completed a benchmark study where (industry) firms rate over 350 major suppliers in those areas critical in deciding who they will do business with.
What we’ve been doing as a way of introducing ourselves is to share with some select suppliers survey details specific to you:
- How (company name) rates on six critical success factors
- Where your competition stands in relation to you
- What areas you can focus on that will have the greatest impact on increasing your share of wallet
That’s it. Even if you decide not to pursue this any further than this first meeting, at least you’ll have valuable intelligence as a result. What does your calendar look like next Wednesday or Thursday?
Whether it’s a chat across the fence or across the boardroom, it’s all about relationship building. Becoming a valuable partner instead of a vendor in these very competitive times will ensure that your business will prosper and endure.
I have additional research on how Thought Leadership can help meet your 2009 sales forecast. Is next Monday open on your calendar?
Boomers – The Real Segment Of Choice
Tags: boomers, Marketing, millenials, vespa motor scooters, white papers
Posted in Branding, Communication, Generational Marketing, Marketing on September 29th, 2008
There are 77 million Baby Boomers ages 41 to 59 in the United States and they are leading a generational charge of demanding more information, accountability and environmental responsibility.
Whether you are marketing products or services to the Boomer market they, like Millennials, are accessible, have a strong social network and have a passion for social issues. Unlike Millennials, they generally hold senior positions and are in a financial position to support their personal and professional brands of choice.
When Vespa Motor Scooters came puttering back into the U.S., managers at the Italian company figured their biggest customers would be twenty-something’s looking for a cheap way to get around. But execs at parent company Piaggio noticed something odd as they scootered back and forth to their Manhattan offices: The most enthusiastic sidewalk gawkers were often Boomers who remembered the candy-colored bikes from their youth. It turns out that boomers have lost none of their affection for Vespa. Better yet, now they can afford to buy top-of-the-line models with all the trimmings.
LOOK THEM IN THE EYE
Companies have traditionally used twenty-something models with dewy skin to pitch products made for middle-aged women. The rise in Botox treatments and plastic surgery notwithstanding, many consumers experiencing their first liver spots and crow’s feet are actually comfortable in their skins and pleased to see people who look like them in ads. “As you become older, you’re clearer and more comfortable about who you are,” says Lori Bitter, partner at JWT Mature Market Group, part of J. Walter Thompson Worldwide. “It’s a reality of aging. We want the message at eye level. We may not want it sugar-coated.”
I’M NOT SET IN MY WAYS
Many marketers believe that consumers’ brand preferences are locked in by age 40. Today’s Boomer crowd is just as likely, and in some cases more likely, as everyone else to try different brands within a product category. According to Yankelovich Inc., 33% of consumers older than 50 agree that it’s “risky” to buy an unfamiliar brand. That’s less than the 36% of respondents aged 16 to 34 and only a little more than the 30% of people aged 35 to 49 who agree with that notion.
In some categories, older consumers are even more willing to brand-hop than younger ones. According to a survey by Leo J. Shapiro & Associates LLC for DSN Retailing Today, 48% of shopper’s aged 50 to 59 said they would probably switch brands of consumer electronics, compared with 40% of all respondents.
REACH BOOMERS WHERE THEY ARE
Smart businesses understand that the old media -print, radio, and television-won’t be enough to reach this market. To communicate with Boomers, your business will need to evaluate and choose among a wide variety of online and offline marketing methods.
Boomer media consumption parallels their younger brethren in that it is selective, interactive and highly targeted. Boomers account for one-quarter of US Internet users. Their numbers are growing at 7-8% each year, compared with 2-3% for overall Internet user growth, according to eMarketer.
Marketers will do well if they start with little things.
- The point size of the communication. Aging eyes will spend more time with communication if they can read it without squinting.
- Product claims need to be relevant, believable and verifiable. Offer links to your website to support your claim.
- Boomers have an insatiable appetite for information. White papers, news briefs and relevant articles on lifestyle and business build interest and loyalty for your brand.
Take a close look at your collateral materials message, design and the authenticity of your offer. Then position it where Boomers live, work and play. You’ll find the results to be profitable and a customer that is loyal.
