Are you wondering why your increased marketing isn’t turning into more clients?
Do you weave? Let me explain. Everyone “knows” in their heart that marketing is supposed to lead to selling, to converting prospects, to the next step of signed agreements, purchase orders and new clients. However, many small business owners, while comfortable with marketing, are uncomfortable with the selling process. They just want to go directly from the marketing into new business.
The successful prosperous businesses seem to know that marketing, while crucial to starting the process, must go hand-in-hand with sales to complete the new customer acquisition process.
Dauwd Miracle explains his reasoning to why your marketing may not be the reason you’re not getting more clients. His remarks are in line with the differences between sales and marketing.
The bottom line is that marketing researches, builds awareness, peaks interest, communicates, informs, educates, increases desire, builds the conversation, and is the means to the end.
Sales is overcomes objections, converts, builds the relationship, and is the end to the means. It’s the transaction.
Both are processes and are intertwined, not linear. Marketing without sales is a cost, not an investment. So how do you improve your marketing to achieve better sales results, a higher close rate and increased revenue?
1) Ask for the sale. Ask early and often. Make sure your marketing has a call to action.
2) Make your marketing a two way conversation. Marketing isn’t just about telling. By listening carefully to your prospects, your marketing should be a problem solver. Marketing helps to troubleshoot the problems your potential clients have and communicate a solution that perfectly fits their need. It’s not about flaunting your products features, it’s about solving someone else’s problem.
3) Weave your sales into your marketing. Make it easy to close. Add incentives to close.
4) Weave marketing into your product and services. Cross sell your services when you deliver the product. How else can we help you? Customer service that ties strongly with marketing and sales strengthens the relationship and the value of the customer.
5) Adjust your marketing to match the needs of your current and potential customers. Speak to them where and when they want to engage. Listen to them when they talk. Does your website have a place for comments? Do you make your potential clients fill out a nasty lengthy form that asks all these questions without even offering a phone number, email or a person’s name to ask for if they’d prefer to talk about it?
Do you agree? What am I missing?
As a marketing professional who has attended more than her share of trade shows, I’ve seen a big trend at various industry trade shows and conventions: it’s the growing trend of retractable banners replacing those big booths at trade shows.