On a good day, customers walk into your shop or click onto your website. That step inside or click doesn’t guarantee a sale, but it’s a place to start.
Depending on the product, it may be a sales rep who finalizes the process. Most likely, that sales rep will make more money that the marketer.
The reality of business is that the person closest to the sale makes the most money.
This article isn’t about changing the order of business. Sales representatives help make the business world go round. It’s just important to note that they don’t do it alone.
Remember the customer who walked into the shop? He didn’t come because the salesperson was in your shop. He came because something attracted him to your business or product.
That is marketing at its simplest: attracting customers.
Marketers are the people who develop leads. They create brand strategies. With research, they often determine ideal customers.
Anybody can market to everybody. Just put a flyer together. Take it to the copy shop. Go to the local mall. Pay a teenager to put one on every windshield in the parking lot. If you’re in B2B selling HVAC systems to industrial complexes, it’s doubtful you’ll gain a lot of leads.
Good marketing gets you in front of customers for your product, not just random people.
A skilled marketer would get you in front of architects and professionals in the building trades who create industrial complexes and need HVAC systems.
That same marketer could help you create a marketing calendar to keep your business front of mind for your potential clients. That calendar might include content placed online and in trade specific magazines. Attending networking events, and even paid ads when appropriate.
If you aren’t marketing to bring in customers, your sales staff may not be as busy as you’d like.
Research makes for better marketing.
Here are 4 Ways to Better Marketing:
1. Talk and Listen to the customers directly.
Surveys are not dead. Email one to your clients. Post one on social media. Make sure you know what answer you’re trying to get from your survey before you send it.
Have a content writer create a piece for you about a new product. Read the reviews. If there’s a problem with your product, can you fix it? What questions does your audience have? When possible, have your writer create a piece to answer those questions. Build trust with your audience.
Directly engage with your clients. B2B can be a tradeshow. B2C can be at a local store with a table and freebies or having secret shoppers ask questions when your product is picked up.
2. Research the customer’s journey.
How does a customer find out about your product? Organic traffic is great, but how did that first customer find your product?
Once you know how a customer finds you, what makes them buy? Why are you the solution to their problem?
What makes them buy your product again? Needing more sales reps is not a bad thing.
Know every customer touchpoint from learning about your product to buying it.
3. Talk to your Sales Team. They can offer valuable insights.
A sales rep is in direct contact with the customer. Asking a client, “What brings you here today?” and getting the answer is marketing gold.
“Where did you hear about us?” is another nugget.
Information from your sales staff can influence marketing, production, price, and more. They’ll be glad to talk especially if you help them earn more.
4. Customer Service can make or break a company. You want to know what they know.
Generally, when a customer calls customer service, something has gone wrong. Does the customer not know how to use the product correctly? Can it be fixed with a marketing video or infographic?
Maybe a customer expected a different result. Is it a common complaint? What can the company and marketer do to make the customer happy?
Customer Service also hears good things. Those are things marketers want to highlight. Talk to customer service to learn what’s going on.
All of these tips lead back to one person: the customer. If marketing, sales, and customer service work together, it’s good for the customer which is good for everybody’s bottom line.