By Rivers Corbett
Sales and marketing, two parts of business that are so different yet need to be connected to each other and some point or end. Sales people and marketing people are always in different worlds, it's like the jocks and the nerds (I wont say which is which, that's up to you). The school isn't going to be complete without either one missing and your business won't be either.
The job of the marketing people is seen as serious and analytical, they are the people always talking amongst each other, planning and playing with statistics and campaigns. Marketing is the path taken to get to the customers. There are many activities involved in marketing; cold canvassing, brand or corporate advertising, or more targeted types of marketing like direct response advertising and referrals. This is where the particular benefits of the product is explained to the customers. So all these different kinds of marketing are what get to the people, and these people are your leads. Leads are the connection between sales and marketing. Without leads, there is no connection, sales and marketing will never meet and business won't work out.
The sales people now are always on the run, going here and there, on the phone with customers or meeting them somewhere, always trying to grab some big deal that's going to bring the company to greater heights. What get's them moving is the leads they acquire from marketing. Now this doesn't mean sales is under marketing and is less important or is the department that needs a smaller budget. Marketing has no purpose with sales and sales can't occur without marketing. Both need to work together in order to reach maximum advantage.
This all looks so simple, but the bumps occur at the same place where sales and marketing meet. Leads are not all the same, you have good and bad leads. Depending on the leads, sometimes the marketing or the sales approach needs to be different. That's why sales and marketing departments or people always need to be in constant contact with each other. The more you understand the way the other team is working, the more you can use the knowledge to your advantage when getting to the lead.
Following up is an essential part of sales and marketing as well. It can be following up on a potential lead or following up on a previous customer, the communication should not stop after one transaction, it's a continuous process that requires sales and marketing to always be working hand in hand. Here's to your Success!
PS...Award Winning Global Entrepreneur, Rivers Corbett offers entrepreneurs an insight into what prevents most entrepreneurs from experiencing success. Rivers series 13 Fears of an Entrepreneur is must knowledge for any entrepreneur wanting to succeed at any level in business. Click on http://www.DiscoverTheKnowledge.com for more information and also receive his FREE gift of what started him on his global entrepreneurial journey.
Showing posts with label Sales. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sales. Show all posts
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Business Marketing - The Top 10 "Game-Changers" to Boost Sales in Any Economy
By Taylor Hunt
Need the inside scoop on "exactly" how to market your business? Tap into the professional resource for insider game-changers to market your business, product or service on ANY budget. Join the A-List and other smart marketers -- grab the edge over your competition >>> http://GoldCircleInsider.com
- Over deliver -- In a world filled with businesses who have a "whatever" attitude, if you deliver more than you promise you will stand out. Give a little unexpected bonus or gift with their purchase. You will attract loyal customers like teenagers to an iPod sale.
- Increase customer service -- After purchase follow-up with your customer. Think of your customer service department as a marketing center. How many businesses even send a follow-up email or note to their new customers or check in with them? Do it. Your customers will love you for it. How do customers show their love? The buy, stay and refer other customers.
- Move your marketing budget to measurable methods -- Online marketing can be laser targeted, trackable and provides more bang for your buck. The Direct Marketing Association reports email marketing returns $50.45 for every $1 spent. This means if you only have $100/month to market, you could see sales of $5,045 if you spend it on email marketing.
- Re-contact previous customers -- Failure to follow-up with contacts and customers is the number two reason businesses fail. The average business loses 50% of their customer base every year. It costs 5 times more to sell to a new customer than an existing one.
- Build relationships with your contacts and customers -- When someone contacts your business for information or makes a purchase -- be sure to keep in contact with them. Sign them up for your newsletter, collect their email address and continue to provide them with valuable information to position yourself as the one they talk about when they say "I got a great person for that".
- Ask current customers for referrals -- You do not have to rely on organic referrals. Ask for referrals. Make it easy. Put a "forward to a friend" link on your website. Put up a sign all your customers see that says: "Know someone else who needs a great _________? Let them know about it and you both get a $50 Best Buy card when they become a customer." This is just an example, you can tweak it. The key is to make it so great your customers start thinking hard about all the people they could refer to get a bunch of those great gifts.
- Joint venture with other businesses to create offers to customers no competitor can match -- What businesses could you team up with who offer products or services that complement yours? If you are a plumber or a home service business how great would your customer feel if you left a wrapped sample brownie from a local baker or a single flower and card from a local florist on the counter when you are done? You could arrange with one of these kind of local providers to get these free or at cost in exchange for leaving their card with the little gift. Might cost you $2 at most per customer. What might that generate in goodwill, future business and referrals?
- Run a contest for customers and contacts -- You can run a contest to draw in customers. Use the joint venture idea above in #7 to get a bundle of prizes from other local merchants and create a win-win all the way around. Build the contest around your business. Own a small retail store or restaurant? Build the contest around your "solutions". Have your customers and contacts interact with what your products and services: a simple quiz about the products you offer, or a recipe contest to create a brand new desert you name after them.
- Write articles to establish you as a expert in the solution your contacts care about -- Use your articles to distribute them on your website, the Internet and in your print newsletters. Over time you build up a reputation, and a bank of quality content you can reuse to create booklets and helpful tip sheets your customers refer to again and again (don't forget to put your business information on them!)
- Give your marketing copy a makeover - Great copy increases sales, period. You cannot go wrong studying copywriting or hiring a professional copywriter.
Need the inside scoop on "exactly" how to market your business? Tap into the professional resource for insider game-changers to market your business, product or service on ANY budget. Join the A-List and other smart marketers -- grab the edge over your competition >>> http://GoldCircleInsider.com
Follow Up - Administrative, Provide Information & Sales
By Jody Gabourie
There are 6 main areas, or reasons, to employ follow-up tactics in your day-to-day business life: thank you; personal; gather information; administration; provide information; and product and service sales.
In a previous article I talked in detail about the first three and now I'm going to examine the remaining three areas of follow-up. I've listed the marketing strategies you can use under each key area and also examples of the type of content for each of these follow-up tactics.
1. Administrative
There will be many times that your follow up communications will deal with administrative information. Don't dismiss these opportunities - they provide you with a reason to touch base with your list and show your attention to details and support for their success.
Examples of follow-up regarding administration:
Provide Details about Upcoming Events --> when people have signed up for mastermind groups, membership groups, workshops, teleseminars, client meetings, etc. your follow-up will include details about phone-in lines, private email addresses, passwords, dates and times, and the like.
Confirm Sign Up --> use a follow-up email to confirm a person's sign-up (to teleclasses, groups, mastermind calls) and use the opportunity to insert a quick tip to reinforce that you are an expert and they've made the right decision to sign up.
Reminders of Deadlines --> a great follow-up marketing tactic is not only necessary (to remind busy people about important deadlines) but also a chance to re-iterate all the reasons why they should meet the deadline - for things such as: ending of special sales and promotions, registration is closing, send in their answers to a survey, last chance to participate in a fun contest, and so on
2. Provide information
In addition to providing administrative details to your list, you should also make a point of consistently following up to provide information that helps people solve their problem or issue. You want to ensure that all of your follow-up provides valuable and need-to-know stuff, but this is where you can really demonstrate your expertise and build respect and credibility with your prospects and clients.
You need to be constantly on the look-out for great things that you can share - whether it's from you or other reputable companies and people. Use your follow-up marketing to give your list no-charge, indispensable and relevant information such as:
3. Product and service sales
Of course talking about follow-up marketing strategies wouldn't be complete if we didn't talk about sales follow-up.
Many companies only follow up with their prospects and customers when they want to sell them something. I hope that after reading all the material prior to this section that you realize that follow-up needs to be so much more than that.
How often do you think people want to be contacted and asked to buy something? How about a big fat zero! But people do want to be kept informed of your offerings so that if they decide to purchase a product or service, they have all the details.
So when you're sending out sales follow-up communications forget the hard-sell and view it as just another opportunity to give people on your list valuable and important information.
Below are a few of the reasons you would follow up with prospects and customers regarding products and service sales:
Up-Sell --> Let them know about a great add-on to the product they just purchased - and offer a special price or bonus for them if they buy it.
Cross-Sell --> Tell them about a new service, product or VIP program that builds on the knowledge and expertise they've gained from the previous offerings they purchased.
Affiliate Products and Services --> Keep your list in-the-know about other people's products and services (your affiliates) that may be of assistance to them.
Contests --> Keep your list engaged and show them your fun side by holding cool contests that provide an opportunity to win something if they demonstrate what they've learned, provide the best testimonial, refer 3 friends, answer a quick survey and so on.
Check in with first-time customers --> Use follow-up to find out if they're happy with their purchase and to see if they have any questions or need anything else - of course, don't forget to tell them about another products they might like.
Bonuses --> Why not surprise your list with a follow-up that holds a surprise bonus for them - something like a digital goodie, bonus report, online coupon, resource list, consultation, and the like.
Special Promotions --> Let your prospective and current clients know about any special promotions or sales you are having - in honor of Christmas, 1st day of summer, your birthday and so on...be creative.
Take some time today to look at where you could fit some of these follow-up strategies in your business and marketing activities. Utilizing follow-up marketing can make a huge difference in your success.
Jody Gabourie, The Small Business Marketing Coach, teaches simple, innovative and powerful marketing strategies to help business owners find and keep their most profitable clients. To learn more about how she can help you take your business to the next level, and to sign up for her FREE special report, ezine and articles, visit her site at http://www.JodyGabourieMarketingCoach.com
There are 6 main areas, or reasons, to employ follow-up tactics in your day-to-day business life: thank you; personal; gather information; administration; provide information; and product and service sales.
In a previous article I talked in detail about the first three and now I'm going to examine the remaining three areas of follow-up. I've listed the marketing strategies you can use under each key area and also examples of the type of content for each of these follow-up tactics.
1. Administrative
There will be many times that your follow up communications will deal with administrative information. Don't dismiss these opportunities - they provide you with a reason to touch base with your list and show your attention to details and support for their success.
Examples of follow-up regarding administration:
Provide Details about Upcoming Events --> when people have signed up for mastermind groups, membership groups, workshops, teleseminars, client meetings, etc. your follow-up will include details about phone-in lines, private email addresses, passwords, dates and times, and the like.
Confirm Sign Up --> use a follow-up email to confirm a person's sign-up (to teleclasses, groups, mastermind calls) and use the opportunity to insert a quick tip to reinforce that you are an expert and they've made the right decision to sign up.
Reminders of Deadlines --> a great follow-up marketing tactic is not only necessary (to remind busy people about important deadlines) but also a chance to re-iterate all the reasons why they should meet the deadline - for things such as: ending of special sales and promotions, registration is closing, send in their answers to a survey, last chance to participate in a fun contest, and so on
2. Provide information
In addition to providing administrative details to your list, you should also make a point of consistently following up to provide information that helps people solve their problem or issue. You want to ensure that all of your follow-up provides valuable and need-to-know stuff, but this is where you can really demonstrate your expertise and build respect and credibility with your prospects and clients.
You need to be constantly on the look-out for great things that you can share - whether it's from you or other reputable companies and people. Use your follow-up marketing to give your list no-charge, indispensable and relevant information such as:
- Articles
- Ezines
- Links to other Sites
- Case Studies
- Link to Ebooks
- Success Stories
3. Product and service sales
Of course talking about follow-up marketing strategies wouldn't be complete if we didn't talk about sales follow-up.
Many companies only follow up with their prospects and customers when they want to sell them something. I hope that after reading all the material prior to this section that you realize that follow-up needs to be so much more than that.
How often do you think people want to be contacted and asked to buy something? How about a big fat zero! But people do want to be kept informed of your offerings so that if they decide to purchase a product or service, they have all the details.
So when you're sending out sales follow-up communications forget the hard-sell and view it as just another opportunity to give people on your list valuable and important information.
Below are a few of the reasons you would follow up with prospects and customers regarding products and service sales:
Up-Sell --> Let them know about a great add-on to the product they just purchased - and offer a special price or bonus for them if they buy it.
Cross-Sell --> Tell them about a new service, product or VIP program that builds on the knowledge and expertise they've gained from the previous offerings they purchased.
Affiliate Products and Services --> Keep your list in-the-know about other people's products and services (your affiliates) that may be of assistance to them.
Contests --> Keep your list engaged and show them your fun side by holding cool contests that provide an opportunity to win something if they demonstrate what they've learned, provide the best testimonial, refer 3 friends, answer a quick survey and so on.
Check in with first-time customers --> Use follow-up to find out if they're happy with their purchase and to see if they have any questions or need anything else - of course, don't forget to tell them about another products they might like.
Bonuses --> Why not surprise your list with a follow-up that holds a surprise bonus for them - something like a digital goodie, bonus report, online coupon, resource list, consultation, and the like.
Special Promotions --> Let your prospective and current clients know about any special promotions or sales you are having - in honor of Christmas, 1st day of summer, your birthday and so on...be creative.
Take some time today to look at where you could fit some of these follow-up strategies in your business and marketing activities. Utilizing follow-up marketing can make a huge difference in your success.
Jody Gabourie, The Small Business Marketing Coach, teaches simple, innovative and powerful marketing strategies to help business owners find and keep their most profitable clients. To learn more about how she can help you take your business to the next level, and to sign up for her FREE special report, ezine and articles, visit her site at http://www.JodyGabourieMarketingCoach.com
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