Archive for the ‘Strategic Marketing Plan’ 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.
Planes, Trains and Strategic Plans
Tags: B2B, Benchmarking, Digital Marketing, Marketing Profs, Measurement, Peter Drucker, strategic plan
Posted in Strategic Marketing Plan on November 17th, 2008
Who can forget Steve Martin as the tightly wound Neal Page, a bundle-of-nerves advertising executive and John Candy as the innocent, bumbling, well intentioned Del Griffith, a shower curtain ring salesman in the movie, Planes, Trains and Automobiles.
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
This seasonal classic serves up a reminder that at this time of year we traditionally, finish/start/review our strategic marketing plans. For many, the planning process is just as frustrating as the three day adventure that Neal and Del went on trying to get home for the holidays.
Before you start developing or modifying your plan, I have a couple thoughts for you.
MEASUREMENT
Re-read your plan. Are the measurement metrics spelled out sufficiently for you to determine the value of each campaign or tactic? Peter Drucker, the seminal thinker on business practices and the Medal of Freedom winner said, “What can be measured, can be managed.”
FLEXIBILITY
The marketing plan just got turned on its head. Now is the time to look at the allocation of marketing resources. Strategy and online activities are likely to see the largest increase in expenditures for 2009. The Marketing in the Economic Crisis Survey of Marketers, conducted in October 2008 by Marketing Profs, indicates that most marketers (62%) expect to increase their budgets for online marketing while widely expecting to make spending cuts to traditional vehicles (83%).
Other trends highlighted in the Marketing Profs survey include:
- B2B marketers are more likely to maintain their planned course of action for product or line extensions than are B2C marketers (59% vs. 44%).
- About a fourth (24%) of marketers say they will probably make reductions in their 2009 marketing budgets; approximately one-third of respondents anticipate holding budgets steady for 2009 but will reallocate their resources. 29% expect to maintain their current course of action.
- Plans for product/line extensions are currently forecasted to remain unchanged by 56%, with an additional 21% being undecided; only 8% said they plan to delay new product development.
- Digital marketing vehicles may provide an opportunity to stretch a marketing budget. Marketers who can best position themselves vis-à-vis the competition and can capitalize on creative and innovative use of online marketing tactics may be able to reap the greatest return on the shift in allocation to this new media.
- On average, respondents say they spend 35.7% of their online budget on email marketing, with 44% spending less than 25% but more than 0.
- Some organizations view marketing as an expense, the more savvy companies understand that it is an investment. History has shown that during economic downturns, reductions in marketing spending may have the effect of prolonging or creating permanent loss in market share or profitability for a company after the economy improves.
I frequently see the marketing department playing the role of John Candy. Constantly being blamed for an organizations misfortune. As leaders, we must proactively engage more of the organization, not less. We must be flexible to the changing forms of communication. And we must commit to measurement – ensuring that 2009 will become the benchmark year for gauging success, now and in the future.
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.”
