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Free and low cost...that’s what he said he needed. Watching his cashflow and holding cash, he was reticent to lay out “big dollars” (as he put it) for marketing help. Still, based on our conversation, I knew there were a number of things he could be doing to help the situation at his company. Things that I started to pick up on from our short conversation. Things like:
- Unpacking his marketing and sales process to understand why his conversion rates were so low...
- Exploring ways to mine his current database of prospects and customers to determine cross-sell/upsell or new product opportunities...
- Creating a stronger, more specific call to action to deliver more qualified leads to the salesforce...
Yet he didn’t want to spend “big dollars” on consulting. Knowing how it is for small business right now, we’ve created some different offerings to deal with this issue. First off, our Distance Coaching program (fancy way of saying using web meetings and the phone) means reduced expense because there is no travel time or other expenses. This is a dynamite way to get control of your marketing, by walking through process, brand, message, call to action and more. It is designed to be as little or as much support as you need, customized because every organization has strengths and weaker areas. We focus on the things that will have the greatest impact on marketing and sales success. Get more information here.
As the mid-year point approaches of one of the rockiest business years for a decade or so, it is also a good time to reconnect with the strategic and tactical plans for the year. You might think, “What plan, we’ve been scrambling all year!” True enough, and have you been doing the right things? Our Genius Marketing Assessment for small business will answer that question and give you a new perspective on your tactics and plan for 2009. This service is currently priced at $199 (for small businesses - email me for details). Think it’d be worth that to get a fresh start on making an impact in sales in the second half of ’09? Get more information here.
Our Premium Subscription Service is also an option for the “DIY” marketing team or business owner. Each month receive a premium newsletter and webinar on a marketing subject, such as small business branding, call to action, or maximizing the marketing/sales process. You can try a trial month for only $19.99.
We’ve also added to our free resources. Besides this blog and our free eNews, be sure to check out enhanced Samples page. It includes articles and samples from Genius Marketing and the Geek Ambassador (social media marketing). Pick up some new ideas here.
Good stuff, Free and Low Cost for small business owners feeling the crunch.
Let me know what you think... Email me at genius@geniusmarketing.com. Or ask a question about marketing and I’ll reply in this space...
SLE
A friend of mine needs to update his cell phone. You see time has slipped by since he bought his phone and as you probably know, everything has changed. It’s gone from getting email to 3G networks, apps and tweeting and fanning right there on your handheld. Whew!
He’s looking to make a job change and he’s watching his dollars. So he went to his supplier in that no man’s land...not a new customer and not with a plan that is in the free upgrade period. Uh-oh...he’s just a regular customer. So after viewing new phones he realizes that it would be a whole lot easier to pay the buyout fee and walk across the street to another supplier than to pay for a new phone. Even with an extended contract, no discount on the phones, $500 for the fruit and $400 for i.
Now if this guy was historically a bad customer, meaning not paying bills and/or sucking up lots of customer service and tech help time, then I could understand the choice to not make a deal. However, this customer has been with the same supplier for 18 years! (Did they have cell phones 18 years ago? Wow!)
Imagine this scenario: you have a long time customer who wants to stay with your service. To keep the customer you have to discount your product upfront, but the customer is willing to pay more in monthly subscription fees. How is that not a good deal for your company?
This is the problem with getting too focused on customer acquisition and not having the proper processes (and probably not the right training). It sometimes seems companies act like “Crash” Davis talking to the young pitcher in the movie Bull Durham. “Don’t think, it can only hurt the ballclub.”
Too bad the company wasn’t more proactive in their strategy. It is a time of recession...imagine if the cell phone company trained its people to interview the customers a bit more. Why they are coming in when their contract isn’t up? Why the interest in new technology?
If the customer fits the criteria (pays on time, hasn’t switched carriers, using the phone job-related, etc.) then they extend different offers to soften the cost of the purchase - maybe you pay for the new phone in installments...and the first installment equals your contract cancellation fee. That sort of offer would make people think twice about paying the fee outright and going across the street.
Ironically, I heard a eerily similar story about the same provider at my son’s baseball practice from a dad of one of the other players.
Perhaps there is a grand strategy behind how these guys were treated. Perhaps they aren’t good customers based on the models of profitability the provider uses. Yeah, maybe.... More likely the company has telescoped itself into practices that leaves money on the table and unwittingly are trading a small exit fee for years of customer value.
Let me know what you think... Email me. Or ask a question about marketing and I’ll reply in this space...
SLE
“Creating a Brand” was the subject of the talk (I didn’t attend). It reminded me how much I hate that terminology. I know, I am petty and need to work on that (I’ve been known to carry a grudge like a bucket...probably why I didn’t attend). This phrase does come up in conversation (at least the types I have) and shows up online and in the business press. And depending on usage, it can be just that, a terminology problem.
When I see this turn of phrase, it makes me think of the the internet boom era. In that heady time the perception was that if you had enough venture capital and a hot ad agency that you could make anything internet into a profitable brand. Crazy commercials ran during the Super Bowl, wild creative and logos, artsy landing pages. It was fun! Yet at its core it seemed contrived.
You can’t “create” a brand using ads and logos and spokesmodels. That is part of the equation, especially for larger companies. But it isn’t all of it. Coke has a great brand that is brought to market by the shape of its bottle, its color red, its fun commercials and its logo. Yet Coke’s brand has so many more ingredients that matter to the successful capturing and retaining of its customers. It’s history, it’s people, it’s business philosophy, it’s culture.
Now since the logo is fun, the colors are fun, the commercials are fun, we need to be aware not to focus all our attention on those, and make sure we consider all the attributes and elements of the brand. The identity or logo is not the brand. The identity and the graphics and message must reflect the brand and communicate it to prospects and customers who aren’t familiar (yet) with the company and its offerings.
Once we understand this we can properly develop the blocks that build the brand into a seamless, powerful motivator for customers, prospects, employees and investors.
That and a whole lot more on brands is what we’re talking about this month in the “Be a Genius” newsletter and webinar which are part of our subscription service. The Geek Ambassador pitched in with some insight about the internet and brand, as well.
If you have brand questions you’d like to discuss, please email me. We can do an analysis to help unpack your brand attributes and start to build the blocks to a powerful brand.
SLE
“I’m just not sure what to do!” I was talking with a business owner about the best marketing strategies for dealing with the recession. We agreed that gaining business was important, but retaining business was tantamount to survival.
We laid out a number of tactics for selling more to current customers and some ideas for promotions and special packages that might entice hesitant prospects by overwhelming them with value. Good stuff (which I’d love to discuss with you, too!).
I asked when the last time was that he spoke with his customers. He had built the business based on relationships and although there were reps and project managers and others involved in delivery, most of his best clients were brought in by him. You might guess the answer.
We get busy. We have a team. We start to manage rather than engage the customer. Those are all good and right things as a company grows, but in this recession, it is important that customers can count on what they bought. If what they bought is the owner’s ideas or confidence or inventions, then it might be time to get the owner involved in customer service.
It might be as simple and informal as a direct contact email or call asking how the customer is doing. Or it could be as formal as an open letter that reinforces the stability of the organization and its commitment to the customer, signed by the owner or top management. No sales pitch, no promotion.
This is also the time to be sure that the customer service process is tight. Some things to consider:
Are employees trained in not only resolution of an issue, but questioning techniques to uncover ways to exceed expectations?
The level of service that the brand, unique selling proposition and marketing message convey...does the actual level of service meet the perception?
Does the owner review customer service issues and insert him/herself based on the issue, its severity, or the customer involved?
And there are more...That third one; back to the owner’s role. There may be no better way to show the value of the customer to that customer than for the owner or top management to get involved in a customer service issue. It brings loads of value and usually only costs a bit of time. Usually time well spent.
This is the kind of strategy you’ll see in Marketing in a Downturn as well as our monthly subscription service. We’re trying to provide you with the best information available for you to deal with the recession in a positive, pro-active way. A way that can continue no matter what the economy is doing.
If you have a question about how to link your service, brand, selling proposition and message (aka integrating the customer experience), let’s talk. Email me and we’ll set up a time.
SLE
