A quick 80-20 rule technique for your business.
Unless you’ve been under a rock you’ve heard about The Pareto Principle aka the 80-20 rule. It states for many events roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. (Not just in life but in business as well.) If you ever wanted to know what advertising and marketing endeavors are bringing in the cash (and which ones to eliminate) then here’s a simple way to apply this rule to find out.
Make a list of everything, even advertising specialties (pens, calculators, etc.) and brochures and business cards along with how much you money you spend on them. Then work out the numbers over a period of time to see which of those efforts brought in the most money. Make sure you do this carefully or you could end up eliminating something that’s working. Review your list and determine the top 20% that made the cash register ring 80% of the time? Now comes the hard part. STOP DOING THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT WORKING UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHY. (Don’t make me write the definition of insanity.)
Don’t go blowing the extra money.
Since that money was already part of your advertising budget you should put it to use by tweaking a few of the money wasters or with a new type of marketing. If you need to go over some unique advertising and marketing techniques just give us a call.
Let me know how you did.
The More You Touch the More You Convert
I know the title sounds strange but in marketing this is what we want to accomplish. The first time a prospect sees your ad or hears a your radio spot or views your website, etc. theses are all first touches in the sales and marketing process. Then as you continuously market to them they are touched more and more until finally they make the decision to do business with you.
The important thing to remember is when creating these touches you use your brand identity. If not then every time they see your message it will be like they are seeing it for the first time and this is bad. In marketing we want people to build feelings of knowing and trusting you when they see your marketing message. They also want to know you can give them what they want.
By using your brand identity it allows you to stand out and more importantly be remembered. Most times when we respond to an ad in print or on the web it’s because we have seen it many times before acting. Then over time it goes from our subconscious to our conscious. This is another reason why frequency is so important as well.
A one, two touch.
Make sure wherever you are advertising it directs people to your website. This is a one two touch. Your ad gets them curious and then your website gives them more information about your products and services. Since most of us use the web for research before doing business with a company your website should answers the questions that might arise from the ad and your other marketing.
Give people value when they get to your website. Give them articles from you and third party sources about your products and services. People want to know other peoples thoughts on your industry, product or service. (This is called market data.) Better to give it to them on your website first.
So remember the more touches the more they will remember you and the more will become your customers.
Your comments are always appreciated.
It’s not personal…. It’s strictly business.
Are you hearing this from your clients? If so then what is your response? Do you wimp out and just go away or do you fix the problem?
This well known phrase from the Godfather (It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.) can be a chilling thing to hear from a client. The good news is you can turn this negative into a positive and gather valuable information. It’s possible your other clients are having a similar issue but are not telling you. A client will usually not let you know when they are soured on the relationship they usually just go away, leaving you with no information you can use to ensure you never make the mistake you made with them again. (Marketing is also about the clients experience with your company.)
Just by asking these two simple questions you may be able to turn a bad situation around. Ask the questions and then stop talking and start listening. Also, it’s better to ask them in person if possible. The questions are simple but many will not take this important step.
I want to earn your business back and I want to fix this, can you tell me what happened and please be blunt?
You want to know what happened and you don’t want them to spare your feelings. Let them know you want it all. The good, the bad and the ugly.
Just by asking this question you’re showing the client that you really do care about the situation and that you’re going to take care of it personally and fast. Make sure it gets one hundred percent attention and do your best to resolve it in their favor. Yes, I said it in their favor. After all you know its always cost more to get a new client then to keep one.
When I fix the, (state the entire problem back to them to make sure it’s the right one.), would you consider still doing business with us?
Notice I did not say if I fix the problem? You have to do everything you can to fix the problem. If it’s a problem you or your employees created then most times it can be fixed. If you can keep the client in the loop while your fixing it then do so.
If you’re still speaking with them then it’s a good sign. There might have been a misunderstanding and they are willing to give you a second chance. Don’t count on that. Count on them leaving you so you don’t get lazy about solving the problem.
But for “the glass is half empty” people out there. What if they will not answer the questions? Most will answer but if not then all you can really do is trace your steps to try to find out what went wrong. Thank them for their business and wish them well. After a few weeks have gone by give them a call to see how they are doing and then try to ask the questions again. Keep in touch with the client and try to resurrect the relationship later down the road.
