Manufacturing is increasing, employment is stabilizing, the dollar is gaining strength and orders are starting to appear. Now is the time to reinvigorate your sales and marketing to take advantage of the economic recovery. Don’t make the mistake of following traditional paths to growth. The world has changed and so has your customer’s behavior. Anyone running a successful business must leverage their customer’s use of the Internet in their buying process. Integrating simple keyword research into all your sales and marketing programs is a good start (as I have integrated keyword research into this post), but the opportunities to grow your business using today’s state-of-the-art marketing tactics is often overlooked. If you want to attract the first and best customers that are venturing into your business after a long hiatus, we offer this list of the top 5 sales and marketing strategies to help you maximize the current business climate:
1. Unique, differentiating positioning
You must own a unique and persuasive point-of-difference that is the centerpiece of all sales and marketing (including SEO). Even if you lack a tangible difference, you are still able to create a personality or unique identity that will attract new customers to your brand. Think of all the categories where there is very little product difference and yet brand personalities abound: chewing gum, water, news, professional services, paper, etc.
2. A content syndication program
One of the biggest, most cost-efficient sales and marketing programs that any company can employ is a content syndication program. Seeding links to your business throughout highly relevant online destinations is one of the best ways to grow awareness and drive traffic. If you’re investing in other marketing programs and don’t have a content syndication program in place, you’re not maximizing your effectiveness.
3. Customer solutions/sales program
A well thought out customer interaction plan that leverages keywords used most often by both current and new customers will increase your customer satisfaction and make you more visible in search results. Identify the top reason customers contact you, especially for conflict resolution, and turn those complaints into increased sales. Customers often search for solutions online before contacting customer service and this is a way to be the first to solve their problems.
4. A sales and marketing integration program
Smaller companies do a much better job bridging the gap between sales and marketing. The sales team knows a lot about customer preference, pricing and buying behavior. The marketing team knows a lot about buyer values, positioning and measurement. All of this knowledge needs to be fully integrated into sales and marketing plans. While these disciplines have grown somewhat independent of each other, don’t forget the adage “sales is marketing and marketing is sales”.
5. A social media strategy
Social media is simply an excellent new sales channel. We have not found an industry or business that does not have an opportunity to grow through social media. It is not necessarily the most important sales or PR channel, but it is almost always an excellent source of awareness and product trial. We have clients transacting business everyday through Twitter and Facebook. The question isn’t whether you should be in it, but rather how you should be using it. Balance investment and resources with the potential profit, just like you would any other marketing channel to ensure a healthy ROI.
Use this checklist for all of your sales and marketing (not just your internet marketing) and you will grab the first customers venturing into your business. It will also help you gain visibility and attract new customers, especially as the economy continues to recover. In my next post, I’ll discuss five other important components that you need to adopt in order to succeed in today’s marketplace. Start with these five first and you’ll be the first to experience the recovery.