Marketing tips for sluggish times.
Holiday periods, long weekends, school holidays, off-season – depending on the sector you operate in there are times when sales activity is sluggish: decision-makers and insider allies are on leave, suppliers are on skeleton staff and some offices even close. It appears nobody is in the mood to make important business decisions. Except you.
Rather than resigning to the lazy holiday fever (and a low cashflow month most small business cannot afford) why not try some proven ways of building a sales pipeline when business is a little slow.
Ask for business.
Start with your customer database, or for some, the rolodex. Find out where most of your business comes from. The 80/20 rule says that eighty percent of your business usually derives from twenty percent of customers.
So find out who those twenty percent are. They are likely to be your best customers.
Ask your best customers for a referral
Who better to spout words of praise and spread the word than a happy client? Your best customers are the ones who come to you time and time again and give you lots of business. They are your champions and your best marketing vehicles. Simply ask for a referral and make sure you thank them with a small token.
Get in touch with “lapsed” customers
If there are clients whom you have not heard from for a while, pick up the phone and ask them how they are going. You will be surprised that some may have been meaning to call you about a problem they need solved and have been putting it off for lack of time. Communication is key to growing customer relationships. One of the most common reasons that customers leave is because they feel ignored.
Follow up lost business
In B2B, it is good sales practice to follow up after a month or so, depending on the product or service, to see how things are going with their chosen supplier. Ask if they are happy with the level of service but do tread lightly on this issue. The last thing you want is to be seen as a nuissance and imply that they have made the wrong decision – nobody wants to be told that. Keep it friendly, brief, telling them you will be improving your product, service or whatever it is to fit their needs better and would be happy to submit a proposal/bid when the contract is up for renewal. It shows initiative and willingness to do business.
Attend an event and work the room
Networking is a good way of generating new business. Check your local council and chamber of commerce for a list of networking events in and around your area. When attending an event, here are helpful tips for working the room.
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Always bring plenty of business cards.
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Set a goal to meet 1 person every 10-15 minutes. You are there to meet people so don’t just stick to one person or with a colleague the whole night.
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Try to make a connection with others by asking questions before you launch into a big spiel about you or your business. This is the best way to spot business opportunities and determine the other’s decision-making role.
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Whenever possible, give a potential contact something before you ask for something. It can be as simple as offering to send them an article you’ve read that may be of interest or putting them in touch with a contact. It is simply not okay to ask a complete stranger for business or a referral without offering anything first.
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Always follow up. Don’t let those business cards collect dust. Send them an email the next day saying it was nice to meet them and refer to something you discussed. If you promised some information, be sure to follow up with this promptly.
Networking is all about making new contacts – not about making an immediate sale. It is a long-term investment that requires some effort on both sides to build mutually beneficial relationships.
Get listed in Google within a week.
For more immediate results, you can always turn to search engines. Google and Yahoo gives many businesses the ability to set-up and launch a sales campaign within a week though paid search (otherwise known as “sponsored links” or pay-per-click ads). Search engine listings through paid search appear on the right hand side of the search results page.
Here are some ideas on the types of paid search campaigns you can run on Google:
- Targeted promotions including new product launches, limited time offers, special deals and geographic-based promotions. For example, run a campaign offering a special discount or exclusive offer to customers in specific regions like Brisbane, Gold Coast and Byron Bay.
- Event-related sales campaigns like end of financial year offers, Father’s Day, Melbourne Cup, etc. For example, your website that sells flowers may already be optimized for words relating to flowers however you may want to test keyphrases like Valentine’s Day gift or Mother’s Day gift in the weeks leading up to the event.
- Promote specific pages on your website where you might like to showcase a specific product or service.
Marketing Housekeeping.
This is also the perfect time to review the business, generate new ideas and start new marketing projects. Here are ideas to keep the house in order.
Survey your customers
This is a good way to gauge how customers are feeling about you, your product and the level of service you offer. You can gain some valuable insights which can be used to help improve the business. A survey is also an opportunity to get in touch with customers so make sure you include a general comment or feedback question in the survey. Keep an eye out for complaints and common issues or problems raised as they are another opportunity to delight the customer.
Clean your database
It is arguably one of your most valuable business assets so make sure your customer database is clean and up-to-date. Depending on your level of involvement with customers and the size of your database, it is a good idea to keep this activity in-house rather than outsourcing to a third party. Every customer contact is a business opportunity so turn your database cleansing exercise into a lead generation activity. You know your customers best so ask relevant questions that will help identify problems you can help solve.
Update your website
This may also be a good time to re-think how your website can work better for you. If it was developed more than 3 years ago with no further enhancements since, chances are, the website is not likely to be search-engine friendly and the look and feel is likely to need an update.
The recommended option is to go with a website package that offers content management allowing you full control and ability to edit web content (text and images) quickly and easily, straight from your desktop.
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April 30th, 2007 at 10:09 pm
Really enjoyed the document ! Whilst these initiatives are not new or rocket science you have condensed many of the most important initiatives in my opinion into a 3 page summary ! Well done BB
May 1st, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Excellent reading. Reaffirms what we know we should be doing and a great reminder to get in there and just do it! Thank you for the great advice and the nudge!
May 2nd, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Im a web designer that continues to appreciate these articles.
Keep up the good work!
Before http://www.inmode.com
After http://www.inmodeinteractive.net
Regards,
Jesse DeLeon
Creative Director
Inmode Design
December 18th, 2007 at 11:17 am
Another great article to help us brush up our business acumen.
Thanks again for the great articles.
Pete Garnish
Director