| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Standing Above The Crowd
In today's highly competitive business environment it is critical to find ways to separate yourself from the other companies who sell the same - or similar - product and/or service. Here are several strategies that can help you accomplish this: Help your clients achieve their goals. Virtually every business person has specific goals they are striving to achieve. These can include everything from increasing their market share and sales, to reducing operating expenses, to streamlining the business, to incorporating new business practices. Invest time learning the key objectives of each of your customers. Then determine how your products and services can help them achieve their targets. In some cases, you may not be able to help them but recommending someone who can assist them will be recognized and remembered. The more you can help them achieve their goals the more valued you will become. Under-promise, over-deliver. As old as this expression is, it is still one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd. Far too many people make commitments to their customers and fail to follow through as promised. It's easy to fall into this trap, particularly for service-oriented individuals. We have every intention of delivering on a promise but often, unexpected circumstances crop up that prevent of from doing so. While this is acceptable by most people - once in a while - frequent occurrences will drive your customers to your competition. Be innovative. Most companies do business the same way until a crisis, emergency, or significant change in the marketplace forces them to adapt. The most successful organizations are creative and innovative. They constantly look for new ways to do business, gain more their market share, please their customers, and offer new products and services. The inherent challenge with this is that you will encounter resistance from many people both inside and outside of the company; I have experienced this first-hand in several companies I have worked for. However, if you try to be innovative ONLY when it's absolutely necessary, you will never get the head-start on your competition. Watch for trends in other industries as well as yours and think of how you can incorporate these into your business. Be a leader instead of a follower. Surprise them. Look for ways to surprise your customers and do something completely unexpected for them. Make a charitable donation in their name. Invite them to a special event. Give them a bonus gift or service. Find out what networking events your clients might like to attend and send them a complimentary invitation. If they enjoy reading send an occasional book in their area of interest. Gift certificates to a show or play may be appreciated by some of your customers. Two words of caution: i) Be careful that your "surprise" is not misinterpreted as a bribe to do business with you. There cannot be any strings or hidden conditions attached to this offering. ii) Make sure your client is allowed to accept a gift. Some organizations have a strict "no gift" policy and you must respect it. Keep in touch. Very few people keep in touch on a regular basis with their customers. Yet, this is the best way to keep your name in their mind. An effective strategy - without appearing like a pest - is to send them useful information on a regular basis. You can send a newspaper clipping or a magazine article. You can also send them helpful and practical tips to improve their business; this can be set up quite easily electronically. Send cards on special occasions but instead of the standard Christmas cards send some on lesser promoted days such as St. Patrick's Day and Halloween, etc. You can also send postcards from exotic locations - just be careful not to write a tacky message. This past winter I traveled to St. Maarten in the Caribbean and found a beautiful postcard of a beach along the Caribbean Ocean. I sent this card to about four dozen clients and prospects with the message, "When the winter starts getting you down, take a three minute vacation by picturing yourself on this beach." Have a VIP day. You can organize a golf tournament - assuming of course your customers play the game. If you're a retailer, you can invite your best customer to an invitation-only special sale. Every year, a friend of mine organizes an evening filled with networking opportunities, guest speakers, great food and beverages and invites his clients, prospects, and friends to attend. Another friend of mine takes several of his clients on excursions to a local winery. He ensures they get a tour, a private tasting of premium wines, and a five-star dinner. © 2005 Kelley Robertson, All rights reserved Kelley Robertson, President of the Robertson Training Group, works with businesses to help them increase their sales and motivate their employees. He is also the author of "Stop, Ask & Listen - Proven Sales Techniques to Turn Browsers into Buyers." Receive a FREE copy of "100 Ways to Increase Your Sales" by subscribing to his free sales and motivational newsletter available at http://www.kelleyrobertson.com. Contact him at 905-633-7750 or Kelley@RobertsonTrainingGroup.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Guide to a Profitable Marketing Mix You may have heard the term Marketing Mix used in connection with marketing planning.Marketing Mix means the combination of promotions, products, places (distribution channels), and prices you chose for your business. Uncover Your Hidden Markets Want a simple, low-cost way to boost your sales? Just uncover the narrowly defined sub-markets hidden in your main market. Then create special versions of your advertising to focus on the specific needs of prospects in these hidden market segments. What Does It REALLY Take to Be Making 6-Figures as a Service Professional? Over the past 30 years, I've read so much on how to makemoney that I know I can write a series of books on thetopic, books that would cut through the junk and you don'thave to buy 101 things for each area. Most of the information repeats itself -- same author,different title and packaging or different author repeatingsomeone else's list. Forward Thinkers Stay Ahead of the Curve What is it like from a marketing perspective to be yesterday's news? We rely on what is tried and true in marketing because it is usually safe, tried, and tested. It saves us time, as well, since we don't have to put on our creativity cap to craft an innovative strategy. How Prince Connects With His Target Market! While Internet legend (and young pup) Frank Kern would have you believe that I'm so old I should be confined to a wheelchair, I'm still on the good side of 100! And I can stil enjoy a good concert from time to time. My daughter - Rachel, my wife and I had the good fortune to score some last-minute tickets to the recent Prince concert here in Atlanta. Trade Show Videos Need to be Planned A few months ago, we attended the recent Austech 2005 Expo. It was a large trade show that showcased over 500 manufacturers selling machines, equipment and systems. How To Turn $100,000 Into $1,191,817 In Just One Year Part II Turning a modest $100,000 annual turnover into $1,191,817 may sound outrageous but if you really understand the fundamentals of marketing this becomes quite achievable.Once you realise that just improving every area of your marketing can create a multiplying effect on your turnover it's time to look in more detail at exactly which areas you should target. Direct Marketing: Overlooked, Underappreciated, and Unstoppable Every business needs customers, but more importantly every business needs to maintain those customers while constantly retaining new ones. The only successful way of doing this is by learning everything about your customers, including who they are? What do they have in common? Do they share a hobby, an age range, a life stage, or a geographic community? Can you break them down into groups? The answers to these questions hold a wealth of information for you. Is It Time To Kill Your Marketing Program? Ouch . . Hermey Wants To Be A Dentist December marked the 40th anniversary of the original broadcast of the classic "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"©, network television's longest-running, highest-rated holiday special. From my earliest childhood memories, watching Rudolph has been a tradition, one that continues today with my own family. Direct Mail Offers: Eight Steps to Making them Effective Every direct mail package you drop in the mail should contain an offer. The offer is the incentive or reward that motivates prospects to respond to your mailing, either with an order or with a request for more information. Feature Your Benefits Sales Copy? eventually every small business owner must consider what needs to be included in order to produce a successful advertisement or piece of marketing material.You begin with a fancy graphic, your company logo, a slogan, and perhaps a special offer. 10 Powerful Marketing Tips 1. Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. Limited Time Only (Shh! Its A Secret) Under normal circumstances, you'd shout it from the rooftops. After all, when you have something urgent to say, you want others to know about it, right? But when it comes to "limited time only" offers, lately I've noticed a disturbing trend. Discount Promotional Items - How to Save Money It takes money to make money is an adage we hear everyday in the business world. So, when it comes to getting promotional items, you've got to budget for it. What Does Your Logo Color Say About Your Business? And not only your logo, but also your website, your brochure, your business cards and any of your marketing materials for that matter.Yes, colors do matterThey communicate feelings and emotions. Do You Get Attention With Your 30-Second Introduction? I went to a networking event the other day where the meeting leader said, "We're going to skip doing the 30-second introductions today because mine's so bad and it doesn't work that it nauseates me." I thought to myself, WOW! I'd skip the next networking meeting until I'd worked out a new introduction. How to Use Direct Response Post Card Decks as a Valuable Market Research Tool Market research specialists have discovered a new tool which enables them to quickly identify target market cells, measure buyer acceptance, test new product or service concepts quickly and inexpensively and survey market characteristics.. Fundraising Renewal Letters: Four Goals to Strive For With Each One You Write In the fundraising profession, appeal letters that you mail to existing donors are called renewal letters. They are designed to solicit a gift, but, more important than that, they aim to persuade your current donors to renew their support of your organization. Moving a Business Relationship from Free to Fee: Power of Freebies - Part 2 In the last issue we looked at 5 reasons why giving stuff away is a great tactic for filling your pipeline.Now let's take a look at the kind of things you may want to give.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
