Marketing

New Sales Strategy: Show Up

by David Sattler  ||   No Comments

Today we interviewed a new client who has devised a fiendishly simple, yet remarkably effective, sales strategy: he shows up. More specifically, he gives an underserved niche in his industry — a very large niche — the time of day.

In return, they give him large checks.

“Eighty percent of success,” as Woody Allen famously observed, “is showing up.” Here’s how it works for our new client:

His insurance agency exclusively offers insurance to owners of apartment buildings in New York with fewer than 100 apartments. (In New York this is considered a small building.) Most of these folks are ignored by insurance agents. Many complain that the only communication they ever receive from their agent is a bill.

He takes the time to educate them a little about the insurance they need, and in return approximately half become his clients. Twenty minutes of Commercial Building Insurance 101, and he lands a new client at least half the time.

Is your sales batting average over .500?

Here’s another example: I sometimes drop in, unannounced, on a client. Usually I’m in the neighborhood and just saying hello. Almost every time it turns into new paying work: “Hey, as long as you’re here, can we give you this project?” A 20-minute visit, when balanced against the dollar value of the projects it generates, is the most lucrative and successful form of marketing I can imagine.

In addition, clients are loyal to people who pay attention to them and treat them as important. This is true in industry after industry, and pays dividends beyond sales and revenue. (A recent study, for example, showed that people don’t file malpractice suits against doctors who listen to them and answer their questions, rather than brusquely rushing them out of the office, even when mistakes or bad outcomes occur.)

When was the last time you got out from behind your desk and actually visited your clients? When was the last time you called one of your clients and said, “Tell your employees not to eat breakfast tomorrow morning, because I’m coming in with a tray of bagels?” How often do you call your smaller clients, not to make a sales pitch, but just to see how they’re doing?

In other words:

  • Talk to your clients regularly, even if you have no business reason to do so.
  • Find underserved market niches within your industry, and give them some attention.

It works.

It’s not about you. (At least, it shouldn’t be.)

by Mistina Picciano  ||   No Comments

Have you ever noticed how boring most company websites are? In almost every case, most of the copy highlights selects facts about their organization—when they were founded, who’s running the company, their commitment to customer service, etc.—and then list their services or products.

Who cares?

If I’m visiting an insurance company’s website, I probably have a need in the immediate or near future. Telling me what year you were founded or how long you’ve had an office in Paducah, Kentucky, doesn’t help solve that need.

If you’re interested in using your website as a marketing tool that actually increases revenue, keep the following points in mind when creating content:

  • Who is my target audience? Back to English 101, you need to know whom you’re writing for if you want them to read—and connect with—your message. You may have more than one audience. Organize your website and write the copy accordingly.
  • Why are these audiences visiting my site? Are they shopping around for the best price? Are they looking for more information? The answers to these questions should shape your content.
  • How can I meet visitors’ needs? If you need inspiration, check out the competition. (Chances are, they’re too busy touting their own praises to address client needs.) Provide information that will help your audience achieve their goals, fulfill their desires, etc.

Whatever you do, don’t devote your website to talking about how wonderful your company and your services or products are. Once you’ve proven that you understand your audience and can make their lives better, they’ll reach the desired conclusion on their own.

Image for Direct Marketing Campaigns Post

7 Critical Elements in Direct Marketing Campaigns

by Travis Heermann  ||   No Comments

Direct marketing campaigns require seven proven elements to be successful. Omitting any of these can seriously reduce the effectiveness of your efforts.

(more…)

7 Marketing Questions to Survive a Down Economy

by Travis Heermann  ||   No Comments

With businesses everywhere scrambling to maintain their customer base, some basics can occasionally be forgotten amidst panic and uncertainty. So let’s get back to basics.

Some studies estimate that the typical American is subjected to more than 30,000 marketing hits a year, or more than 80 hits a day. Depending on where one lives, that estimate could be much higher. With that kind of clutter, how can businesses make their message heard? By asking yourself a few simple questions about your business.

1. Are we passionate about our product or service? Without the real belief and passion that your product is superior, how can you convince others that it is? Your passion and commitment—or the lack thereof—will come through, and your customers will notice.

2. Are we consistent with marketing and promotions? Successful marketing requires consistency. Fresh, memorable advertising; newsletters that run like clockwork; regular direct marketing and follow-up. Do these things haphazardly at your peril.

3. Do we have a clear benefit? Marketing 101, but sometimes this basic idea is forgotten. You have to sell something your customers want. Find out what they want through research. Should your company introduce a new product or service:

  • Because it’s easy to make?
  • To use up old inventory?
  • Because your customers want it?

The best answer should be clear.

4. Are we communicating our benefits? Getting excited about your product’s latest super-cool features often overshadows the most important thing: telling the customer why those features are so cool. Why do those features matter?

5. What is our position in the market? Unless you invent a unique new paradigm for products and services, your market is already crowded with competitors. How does your company compare? Don’t tug on Superman’s cape, and don’t face off against your biggest competitor on its own turf. Find your niche, and exploit it shamelessly. If your competitor is selling the same benefits for half the price, you’re still doomed.

6. How many more marketing techniques can we employ? Creative marketing strategies are limited only by the imagination. Basics such as the Yellow Pages, print, pay-per-click ads, direct mail, etc. are all designed to put you in front of your customer’s eyes and make a sale. Going beyond the basics, however, can be effective and lucrative. How many other strategies can you conceive? Social media, viral marketing, other new technologies bring new possible avenues to spread your message.

7. Do our marketing materials make the most powerful possible appeal? Cheap, cobbled-together marketing materials are the kiss of death. Everything you put in customers’ hands—brochure, direct mail package, web site—says volumes about your company. Strong visuals and clean, compelling copy are worth the cost.

10 Ways to Get Started with Social Media

by Mistina Picciano  ||   No Comments

Still trying to make sense of social media? You’re not alone. So Facebook has more than 175 200 million active users. And more than six million people are microblogging through X {Twitter). Many businesses and organizations are taking a “watch-and-see” approach to social media marketing.

For those who want to join the online conversation, two words of advice: strategy and patience.

The Healthcare Public Relations and Marketing Society (HPRMS) helped demystify social media at this morning’s networking event, held at the New York Times building. Attending via WebEx from Chicago, Scott Meis, senior project & social media director at Carolyn Grisko & Associates, offered a brief, but useful overview of social media. He not only shared several online resources specific to the healthcare sector, but he also gave attendees a 10-step checklist for getting started:

  1. Listen to the conversation. Meis recommends subscribing to news feeds like Google Alerts to keep up with blogs and news on topics relevant to you (or your organization).
  2. Assess your needs. What do you want to accomplish? Are you interested in generating leads? Engaging customers? Identify your goals and develop a social media strategy.
  3. Establish your target audience. We can’t be all things to all people. By speaking to a specific audience and meeting their needs, you increase your chances of making real connections.
  4. Join the conversation. Find three personal blogs and three professional blogs that interest you. Follow them and comment on them. Remember: Social media is about dialogue and interaction.
  5. Create a Facebook profile. In addition to your personal page, start a page for your organization, and update it regularly with interesting, engaging information.
  6. Enter the blogosphere. Blogs offer an easy way to publish information that’s relevant to your audience, and they invite engagement. The best blogs build community by sparking thoughtful conversation.
  7. Share with tools like Twitter and Flickr. Find an interesting resource? Share it with your Twitter followers. Retweet useful information. Post photos on Flickr, and bring your organization to life.
  8. Sign up for YouTube’s Nonprofit Program. Buy a shoot-and-share camcorder, and use video to share your message and build awareness for your cause. The website has excellent advice on customizing your channel and developing content.
  9. Protect your brand and username. Not ready to take the plunge? Reserve your brand’s URL and usernames to prevent brandjacking.
  10. Get going and stay active. Social media boils down to building relationships. Just as in the offline world, online connections take time to develop. Start out slowly, and be consistent. Follow the same social rules that you would in the “real” world, and you’ll see results.

Latest from the blog:

Website Traffic and SEO

In this post, I’ll take a closer look at SEO and the process of optimizing websites for better placement within organic search results to improve website traffic.

Read the Article »

What our clients have to say:

0
0
Market It Write

Barbara Centrella

“You made the experience fun, and you brought so much to the table—things that I would never have thought of on my own. You added a dimension that brings the work to life. I was very pleased with the first media kit and am blown away by the second.”

 

Barbara Centrella, children’s author
Industry: Publishing   |   Services: Media kit

Market It Write
2015-04-25T18:52:18-04:00

Barbara Centrella, children’s author
Industry: Publishing   |   Services: Media kit

“You made the experience fun, and you brought so much to the table—things that I would never have thought of on my own. You added a dimension that brings the work to life. I was very pleased with the first media kit and am blown away by the second.”  

Market It Write