This is an article discussion thread for discussing the SitePoint article, “Aspiring Towards Auto-Pilot: Automate Your Business Marketing”
Another excellent article from Andrew. Looking at the marketing process through the lense of this rating system makes my life much easier. In the short time I spent reading this article I have a totally different outlook on which marketing systems I will use and how I will go about implementing and developing them. The first strategy A Web presence that does more than show off your portfolio got me thinking about something I could add to my website to do more than my competitors. Thanks Andrew!
Awesome article. You mentioned following up many times, in many of the strategies. Lack of follow-through is the biggest source of lost sales in the service industry. Implementing tools like contact managers, newsletters, and auto-responders to assist with folow up will greatly improve your closing rate. The average sale will take at least 5 sales calls to close. I’ve heard stories about salesmen who make call after call and occasionally close a sale after 20+ calls on a client. Following up is key.
PS - our sales people work with ACT, and they rave about it.
If we could measure the results of marketing more accuratly, I think we would be more likely to carry it out and improve on it.
Recently found this resource that give some method to do this.
http://www.strategy-business.com/sbkwarticle/sbkw031217?pg=all
Karrunt,
Metrics and market research are not new things, they have existed for a long time. I look at “ROI Marketing” and read “LOL Marketing”. I could make up a word and call it something new, too. ROI = “Return on Investment”. It is a single measure of a marketing campaign’s effectiveness. Of course, in and of itself, ROI is meaningless, because there are other intentions behind marketing besides ROI, such as brand awareness, customer satisfaction, etc.
The article implies that people have been blind in advertising and marketing in the past. It’s flat-out wrong. Market research has existed for decades. We may be using new tools to do it, but it’s still market research. Graphic design isn’t a new field just because it’s done with computers now, is it?
Anyhow, that’s my take on it. Yes, it’s important to measure the effectiveness of your efforts, but the types of tools mentioned in that article are very costly to implement. There are much more cost-efficient ways of doing it. For instance, running double-blind advertisements, surveying existing clients and lost leads, and maintaining a good overview of your sales staff’s efforts. You’re not selling consumer goods, after all. Leave the “ROI Marketing” for P&G.
Steve
Fantastic article!
I couldn’t agree more with the points mentioned. I am a partner in a small fledgling web solutions firm and we have seen great results by simply calling our clients and staying in touch with them on a regular basis. A simple “hey, how’s it going” goes a long way with your existing clients. They really appreciate it.
I particularly like the “Silver Bullet” points and we almost spent a considerable amount of money into a traditional newspaper ad campaign but have since opted for a more cost-effective email marketing campaign as well as joining our local BNI group.
Anyhow I ramble but this article is bang on as far as I’m concerned.
Chris White
Great article !
I was wondering if you could write an article about prospecting by telephone.
Indeed I’m a freelance consultant and I’ve bought last year a database full with 1200 contacts who may be interested in my services.
No I’d like to subcontract the job of qualifying that database. So I need to create a simple questionary that the operators will ask to the contacts to find out if they are possible leads.
My problem is that although I know my job well, I don’t know what to put in that questionary to go directly to the point in 3 or 4 questions.
Could you help me?
Thanks!
David from Paris, France
Id just like to say that this article was a great help, a lot of what you said is kind of in my head the thing is i just want to design and develop websites, but im behind on the mortgage and need to reach my full potential and make proper money, most of the work i get is from one good job leading to amother and i totally understand that i need to market my skills to get better and more clients, I guess no job how much you like it comes without the need to be practical, Im sure david beckham gets up some days and wishes he did’nt have to go for a five mile jog but is glad he has when 80 grand turns up in his bank account.
roll on 2005…ketan
Yep, great article.
Nice article
It’s an excellent article. I’m trying to promote my Web business. Being a university business grad I can appreciate what he said. I agree that what is needed to promote a business is to find as many ways to do it as possible: business cards, referrals, cold calling, establishing a reputation as an expert, giving talks, networking, etc.
Wow, Great Work. I would say you always have to give some time every day to marketing your business. As the business owner, your number 1 job is the business development(biz Admin) not the Programming (Tech)
Promoting a business over the internet may sound easy but has many steps and those steps require knowledge coming from you over a diversity of fields: internet programming, business management, psychological approach etc.
And we all start out thinking its as easy as 1 2 3 - give us yer money
-
How can I be as efficient as possible in my marketing so that I don’t waste time or money?
-
How can I spend less time on activities that I don’t like (e.g. marketing and sales) and more time on activities that I love (e.g. Web design)?
-
Every time I get busy with clients, marketing falls behind, so I end up with a “feast or famine” cycle. How can I avoid the frustration of being swamped with work one month and famished the next?
-
How can I get clients to come to me instead of having to chase them?