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Getting noticed on the Internet - Digital Marketing for Small Business
The Internet has grown from a small network of academics needing a way to trade research into a world-spanning, ubiquitous marketplace and repository for nearly every possible kind of information and knowledge. How does a small business avoid being...
Internet Marketing Success the Easy Way
Are you tired of site after site that promises the moon and delivers ... well, let's just say they under-deliver. If so, I've got very good news for you today. It's not a secret formula. It's not something I discovered and keep locked in a vault in...
Marketing Miracles - Do they just happen?
A simple answer to that is: Yes, Marketing Miracles happen! But, these marketing miracles do not just happen. The process is not instant. It is sequential. It takes planning and the planning requires decision and focus. The decisions must be...
Offline Network Marketing Recruiting; Vital For An Online Business.
I have become involved with many network marketing companies the last year. All are based on the internet and this is the big difference than when I last had a go at it about 10 years ago. Back then it was all phone calls, letters, group...
The Marketing Recipe: Money, Marketing and Me – 3 Keys For Success
You have a great product or service… Now, how should you market it?
You have to make others know about what you have to offer. There is no good in having a great idea if you don’t know how to sell it, right?
Your motivation is financial...
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A virtual ‘no-cost' marketing program to help grow your business
A virtual ‘no-cost' marketing program to help grow your business
Not all marketing programs require extensive analysis or an R&D investment to aid in the growth of the business. Some are simple, easy and cost as little as the time it takes to make a phone call.
One practice I wish that every CEO and senior executive within any company would learn is the importance and power of routinely communicating with the customer. I didn't learn this lesson until late in my career, but I can tell you it became a valuable business habit.
Weekly I would call between 3-10 customers. Even when I was traveling, I would carve out the time to make my customer calls. My targets were accounts that recently received products from us. I found it to be a golden opportunity for me to take the customer's pulse on how we performed. At the same time I would have senior people that reported directly to me do the same. Our company had about 5000 total accounts. Between my staff and me we were able to make about 30-40 calls per week. This meant we could essentially contact about 50% of our accounts per year. I can assure you we learned a tremendous amount about our customers and our customer service level. And did so at a negligible cost - basically the price of a phone call.
When was the last time your CEO really talked with a customer? Think of the possibilities that could generate from a CEO-customer conversation. Why stop at the CEO? What about any senior executive at the director or VP level? Wouldn't it be nice if the VP of operations picked up the phone and talked to a few customers per week? Or what about the Quality Assurance manager speaking directly to the customer. Not because he has a problem, but to find out if he was satisfied with everything. A pro-active approach to customer service. These contacts always turn out to be a win-win situation. If you find that something is wrong, then it can be corrected quickly. After all, who better to solve a customer problem, then a senior executive in charge? If nothing is wrong, then the VP can smoothly end the call by asking if the customer has the latest literature or knows about the newest product released. The VP could take one more impressive step and offer the customer his telephone number to his office in the unlikely event that
the normal company support system fails. Think about the ‘walk-away' message the customer has about your company.
Over the years, studies consistently suggest that customers' vote with their feet when confronted with poor service. I call this the silent vote because you don't know the customer is gone until it's too late. Most likely after he begins purchasing from your competitor. These same studies state that a direct correlation exists between business shift and the depth of your business relationship. In other words, the less you know about your customer, the higher the probability and the faster he will turn to your competitor when he has problems. And most business people know it takes more money and effort to get a new customer then to retain an old one. Therefore, finding ways to strengthen the bond you have with each existing customer will pay dividends time and again.
Customers tend to remember conversations from non-selling people. Sales people still have a slight stigma attached to them. However, when customers know more people within a company it gives them a ‘cozy' feeling and provides added flexibility to communicate problems before turning into lost business. An on-going customer calling program is an easy and effective way to add more glue to the customer-company relationship.
Down in New Orleans, they have a wonderful word: "lagniappe" (LAN-yap). It means getting a valuable extra at no extra charge, sort of like 14 donuts for the price of a dozen. You should find ways to give your customer more value. Talking with him on a regular basis will make your company standout. In today's fiercely competitive world giving a customer more than they expect is a sure way of retaining him for future business.
Start your executives calling customers today. The value proposition is immense!
About the Author
Frank Williams is a marketer and astute businessman. With many post graduate courses in management, leadership, marketing and technology to his credit, Williams is a widely respected speaker, author and technologist. He is the founder and CEO of Global Marketing, Inc. - a leader in business, marketing and sales consulting
Other valuable articles can be found at: http://members.cox.net/glmarketing/glmarketing/index.htm
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KnowThis: For Marketing, Market Research, Internet Marketing ... |
KnowThis.com offers a wealth of information, forums, and resources for professionals, academics and students in traditional and internet marketing, ... |
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Marketing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, ... The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that ... |
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Learn about marketing careers, the stages of developing a marketing plan, how to begin marketing research, create a marketing strategy, and how to market ... |
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Welcome - American Marketing Association - www.marketingpower.com |
Dedicated to serving the educational and professional needs of marketing executives. |
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Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR News - Brand Republic |
Find the latest Advertising, Marketing, Media and PR news from Brand Republic, the online resource for up to the minute advertising and marketing news and ... |
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Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic |
Marketing Magazine - Marketing News - Brand Republic. |
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Marketing (Canada) |
Offers a Canadian source of news and articles on marketing, advertising and media. |
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BidVertiser - Pay Per Click Advertising On Sites Of Your Choice. |
Pay per click advertising - online advertising directly on sites of your choice, internet marketing solution for online advertisers. |
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Online Behavioral Contextual Advertising and Marketing. |
Promote your business with today's most effective online advertising technology, contextual advertising at a cost effective metric of CPC, PPC, CPM or CPV. |
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Sales Jobs / Marketing Jobs / Advertising Jobs - MarketingJobs.com |
Employment site for marketing and sales professionals. |
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The Chartered Institute of Marketing |
The Chartered Institute of Marketing is the world's largest international marketing professional body and helps with career support and information ... |
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Marketing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
See all blog posts tagged with marketing on Technorati. |
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Marketing Profs - Marketing Concepts and Strategies: Expert ... |
Marketing knowhow from professionals. Newsletter, articles and how-to's. |
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Guerrilla Marketing Online - The Official Site |
Guerrilla Marketing Online is anonline magazine for small business, entrepreneurs, sales people and marketers of all kinds. |
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Business Marketing - Small Business Marketing |
Business marketing - Read everything your need to know about small business marketing. |
www.entrepreneur.com |
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All About Marketing |
Adapted from Field Guide to Nonprofit Program Design, Marketing and Evaluation ... Inbound Marketing Includes Market Research to Find Out: ... |
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Pages tagged with "marketing" on del.icio.us |
USA Network Announces a NASHVILLE STAR Marketing Partnership With ... - Yahoo! ... Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing ... |
del.icio.us |
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ClickZ Internet Marketing Solutions for Marketers |
Includes columns with commentary and analysis on a wide variety of internet marketing subjects ranging from B2B marketing to search engine marketing. |
www.clickz.com |
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Direct Marketing Association: Telephone, Mail & Internet Marketing |
Trade association for users and suppliers in the direct, database and interactive marketing fields, offering seminars and resources, and lobbying for ... |
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