6 Ways To Get More From Your Promotions
by Paul Curran
1. Settle On The Right Way Forward
The purpose of your promotions is to get more sales, not to
soley enhance the image of you or your company. As a
salesperson you must understand this right at the beginning
or you will be wasting your's and every one else's time.
You must be enthusiastic about the product or service you
are promoting. If you're not why should the customer be?
Communicate with the customer on their level and talk about
what they want from your offering. Its a simple enough way
forward. But how often do you not hear this being done?
2. Start To Target Your Customers
Not all customers will buy your product or service. The
skill is in targetting those who are more likely to. The end
result is more sales and reduced costs for contacting them.
Amongst customers there are good ones and bad ones.
The good ones are repeat buyers; those who have bought
before and are happy to use their favorite supplier.
Unfortunately, this type of customer is least likely to be
swayed by advertisers lile yourselves and therefore hardest
to win over.
Conversely, the bad customers are far more likely to respond
to advertisers, including you, then move on to another
advertiser, leaving you behind...and they always complain
and want more and more for less and less.
You want more business...the right sort of business... the
profitable sort. To be as exact as possible is very
important.
Finding the best ones for you:
Apparently only the top 20% of potential customers are very
profitable and the bottom 20% will lose you money.
Therefore, depending on where your company stands in
relation to the above there are diferent strategies to use;
* If you are not currently selling to the top 20% then you
could increase your market share of customers and make good
profit. - concentrating on the top 20% means less customers
need to be obtained.
* If you are already selling to the top 20% then any
increase in customer numbers (market share) means less
overall profitabilty
Finding repeat customers:
Apart from new customers, the obvious source of more sales
is existing customers. This is often forgotten and the costs
are small in comparison to getting new customers. Customers
who have bought before are less likely to be wooed by
competitors, as long as they are happy. Or should I say,
kept happy.
Some budget should be set aside for existing customers and
establishing or reinforcing some 'Loyalty' strategies or
scheme. You know the sort..Discounts for existing customers
and repeat purchasers.
3. Supply Customer Satisfaction
If you can convince your customers that they will be more
satisfied than with your competitors then you will win. But
to do that you need to know;
a) what satisfaction they want
b) how you can provide it and
c) how to tell them.
Customers are satisfied when all their needs are fulfilled.
But it would be practically impossible to satisfy everyone's
needs in one communication...there will be so many. And mass
marketing rarely hits on the most profitable segment.
That it why it is important to target specific groups who
have similar needs with specific advertisement messages.
4. Identify Important Customer Groups
Large companies can afford to send out separate promotions
to lots of different customer groups, addressing their
specific needs exactly.
Smaller businesses can't do this but there may be common
needs amongst their customer groups, albeit not primary ones
for all of them, but enough commonality to be effective for
one promotional publication.
This one publication should wherever possible combine the
customer groups and their satisfied needs into its structure
(story). e.g. Combining the primary manufacturer customer
group and secondary retail customer group, the producer and
the seller.
5. Use People Who Can Make Things Happen
Identify those who can help you in your promotions.
* Directors of other companies who can recommend to
departments within their control.
* Press release about your product/service
* Product/service review by recognized authority.
* Establish referral system (you pay a commission or similar
for sales/work obtained)
Incentives for all your 'helpers' will vary and need to be
judged carefully. But remember, your competitors will be
doing the same and maybe to the same people you are dealing
with. Its promotion after all, so bear that in mind.
6. Find Out How Much Your Customers Know About You
You need to find out from your prospective or new customers
what they know about you. This can done through surveys and
questionnaires (with incentives to complete). After all they
might never have heard of you and are hardly likely to buy
from you.
They may be misinformed and have the totally wrong impresion
of what you do or supply. Sales promotions can't be planned
properly without this information.
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(c) Paul Curran, CEO of Cuzcom Internet Publishing Group and
webmaster at http://www.wealth-building-secrets.com, brings
you sales & marketing strategies, promotional marketing
products and advice for personal and business success.