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Home > News > Marketing Q2 2006 Making a Living or Making Money?Q2 2006 Marketing News Making a Living or Making Money? What an odd question! Well, maybe not. Follow me through on this. So many of us are so focused on getting the daily operations done, we never have time to change the way we market our product or service. Remember the saying, "You can't see the forest for the trees?" Sometimes there's so much in the way of your clear vision that you're unable to see simple changes to the way you do things that could possibly increase profits while decreasing your costs.
Let me ask you a few questions. When you launched your
most recent product or service, how much preparation was given to your existing
customer base? Was there adequate representation from customers and
prospects during the product's inception and development process?
We all know it's important to be sure the staff is trained to
support your new product. It's obvious you want to be sure your assembly
lines are running fast enough to meet your goals, your salespeople have the
latest information and your service team is ready to meet any customer issues.
But what about your first point of contact? Are they prepared to answer
even the most basic questions about your product before they must transfer a
call? A golf course client of mine spent over $5 million in course
enhancements, only to place a $5.75/hour high school student in the pro shop.
Is your e-marketing strategy in planning, ready for deployment
or already running full-steam ahead? Is your website's look and feel
consistent with your company's branding?
What's your exact cost per lead for each promotion you've run? What promotion was the most successful, and why? Can you replicate it? Do you track every lead for each kind of sales opportunity? You can learn a lot about your customers and prospects by learning not just what they buy, but what (and why) they DON'T buy! I know your time is valuable, so let's do this instead. Contact us to learn more about what we can do to help your marketing efforts. We'll even throw in the first hour's meeting, a $125 value for no charge. Just fill in the form, and we'll call you! Regards, Bert
Bert Silverstein Director, Business Development YES! Sign me up for a meeting! - The first hour is on SOLUTIONS! |
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Want
to reduce your cost of sales? Increase repeat business! Your
opportunities lie in customer-centric development, training and marketing.
"Customer-centric" is geek-talk for ensuring your eyes are constantly focused on
your customers when creating, implementing and supporting your products and
services. The whole world revolves around your customer handing you the
mighty dollar (yen? peso? - you bet!!!), so why not be sure your products and
services live up to your customers' needs!
How
important is this product - based on your customers and competition?
The customer-centric process allows you to be more certain your product or
service will be not only accepted, but embraced by your target market.
They
were (should have been) responsible for everything from answering the phones to
greeting golfers upon check-in, to selling merchandise, to thanking the
customers when leaving. Great up-selling and relationship solidifying
opportunities abounded! I performed a mystery shop of the course. Neither
I, nor most other golfers were greeted within 30 seconds. We weren't
thanked when leaving the course, and we most certainly weren't attended to while
looking at the merchandise in the pro shop. The only reason I'd go there
again (if they weren't my client) would be for the quality of the course - not
for any service! With so much competition in the golf course market, my choice
was easy - find a course where management appreciated my business! Bottom line -
train your staff. All your staff.
Not
just on the product, but on salesmanship. Everyone in your company
is a salesperson, and each one has the power to make - or break your business.
Besides, providing everyone with some very basic sales training is the least
expensive way to increase your income.
Are
your email campaigns set up to launch in advance, to the exact targets based on
various demographics? Learn more about 1:1 e-marketing strategy instead of
blasting the same message to all your customers. It's easy, and the
rewards could be plentiful.
