If your business is presented with the challenge of selling amidst a sea of similar competitors, how do you market your business? How can you stand out as a commodity product or service? 1. Become known for one thing. For example, Steak n Shake is, what? Famous for Steakburgers. Wal-Mart is known for their low prices. What other examples can you think of? What about examples in your particular … [Read more...]
The Marketing Mix: Are you Limiting Yourself with your Current Marketing Strategy?
Does your marketing strategy consist of only one or two tactics? I can't count the number of times I have read a business profile online or in the newspaper where the business owner is asked, "how do you market your business?" The number one response is usually, "Well, we rely mostly on word of mouth or customer referrals." While I'm not discounting the value of word of mouth marketing (it can be … [Read more...]
Marketing Planning for the Year Ahead: Will you have a successful year?
For most businesses, the end of the year is the time to begin the planning process for the following year. And for many sales and marketing professionals, you have the luxury of starting fresh with a brand new (and hopefully larger) marketing budget. Take the time to analyze the past year's marketing performance. Was it all that you hoped it would be or do you drastically need to do better? How … [Read more...]
How to Keep Selling & Marketing During the Holidays
For most people, our business and personal lives get busier during the holiday season, from late October through the New Year. While some businesses, such as retail establishments, enjoy peak sales during this time of year, others, particularly in a business-to-business industry, struggle to prospect and sell effectively. More and more, we hear the #1 excuse that we hate to hear from prospects: … [Read more...]
Why Sales and Marketing Teams Should Collaborate for Greater Results
Sales and Marketing Teams Can't Operate in Silos Does your company have a separate marketing team and inside/outside sales team? If so, are they working together or is their lack of communication working against you? Warning: You may be putting your marketing dollars in the wrong place. Find out why it's important for your sales and marketing teams to collaborate, the minimum effort they must put … [Read more...]
Seven Marketing Ideas You can Use Now
For those business owners or managers who are strapped for time, and looking for ways to market your business with little cost or effort, look no further than these 7 great marketing ideas to get you started: 1. Capture customer testimonials. Call your clients on the phone and "interview" them for five minutes, and see if they'd be willing to be "featured" on your website, or in marketing … [Read more...]
Ready, Aim, Fire! The Impact of Target Marketing for your Business
In archery (or darts), how many bull's eyes will you hit if you shoot before you aim? Probably not very many! Similarly, is your business more likely to pursue a large group of prospective customers, and fire away blindly at them, or take the time to aim for a smaller set of well-defined prospects? Wouldn't you rather set your sights on a more specific target, and aim specifically at that … [Read more...]
Marketing Madness: Seasonal Marketing Strategies to Help your Business Stand Out
So I've got March Madness on the mind this month, even if my favorite team, the Fighting Illini, are no longer in the NCAA Men's College Basketball tourney, and my brackets aren't faring so well. What does March Madness have to do with marketing, you ask? Actually, marketing is everywhere this time of year. Here are a couple of examples of how companies have tied their marketing messages to … [Read more...]
Faithful Marketing: What Churches can Teach us about Marketing our Businesses
My friend Kirby Myers (a regular reader of my eNewsletter) is a pastor for the Bible Church of Brownsburg, and the inspiration for this article. He got me thinking of how businesses could learn a lot from churches when it comes to marketing and customer evangelism. Here are some "faith-full" marketing strategies that you might want to incorporate into your business: Relate your Message to your … [Read more...]
Keep your Prospects Close and Your Customers Closer
Marketing to Existing Customers Have you heard the phrase "80% of your sales come from 20% of your customers?" It is often easier - and cheaper - than you think to sell by utilizing your existing customers than it is to acquire a new customer. But how many of you have a strategy for acquiring business from your top customers? This should be a big priority and a vital component of your marketing … [Read more...]
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