To start any marketing activity it is well to understand the aim of the
organization and how this marketing activity will help to achieve that
organizational aim. Taking a step down, it is then important to understand the
aim of the total marketing effort and how this activity helps to achieve that
marketing aim.
There are three basic elements of marketing of goods and services,
prospecting, nurturing, and closing, and not necessarily in that order. In fact they are not serial activities,
but parallel.
Prospecting is finding people who might be interested in the offerings
of your organization. No organization can be all things to all people because
of limitations of time, finances, and/or talent. Therefore it is important to
identify the market niche where you can dominate. Studies have shown that
usually there is room in any niche for two organizations to succeed and one to
barely get by. Others eventually fall by the wayside.
Then determine whether you need many customers and you need to “shotgun”
your efforts towards a multitude of prospects or “rifle shoot” to a select few
who are needed to ensure success of your organization.
Shotgun marketing usually involves the media, newspapers, radio,
television, magazines, and broadcast emails. This can take the form of
advertisements, press releases, and announcements. A careful accounting of
return versus investment is important in these activities. Start with small
projects and learn what works for you and your organization.
Rifle shot marketing involves carefully identifying targets and using a
personal approach to reach them such as personal emails, direct mail, sales
calls, telephone calls, and working through your network.
SCORE, a national organization dedicated to providing free mentoring to
small business, provides a booklet titled, 10
Simple Steps to Finding Customers…and Delivering the Goods. It can be
obtained by going to score.org on the web or by stopping by your the local office. They stress knowing the
characteristics of your prospects, their needs and wants, what they have in
common, and how they can be reached.
Nurturing prospects and customers means continuing contact and
development of a loyal cadre of people to your products/services, to your
organization, and to the people in it. Marketing Sherpa conducted a survey on
what worked in nurturing the prospect list and they found out three top
activities that worked best; email newsletters, sales calls, and informational
papers and articles. Steady personal contact of some sort is necessary to build
relationships.
Closing the sale is not a final event but a continuous effort throughout
the marketing activity. Every effort should be designed to make it easier for
the customer to say yes. First and foremost, listen. The prospect will tell you what he/she wants to hear in order to
buy if you give them a chance and listen to what they are telling you. When you
do talk, speak in terms of benefits, not features of your products/services.
Think of your prospects as selfish individuals; they care not for the history
or features of your product/service, they only care what it will do for them.
And always, always follow up after the sale because you want to add each
customer to your network of loyal customers. Satisfied customers are like money
in the bank and you want to protect and grow that network because they will
become your best source of leads and recommendations.
Remember, the biggest asset of your organization is your network of
loyal customers
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