e-Marketing

The fridge

Forget who moved the cheese.

Who the #^%* moved the fridge?

The reality is that consumers and business buyers are much more sophisticated now than they were just three years ago. If they need something, they research it themselves. Their time is at a premium, and they go online, they find what they’re looking for, and they buy it. During the same period, the number of vendors offering goods and servicesonline has increased to avalanche proportions.

So what do you do to stand out from the pack?

To sum up: (1) consumers and buyers are more sophisticated than ever (2) they’re tired of  “pesky” salesmen, and (3) they’re looking for advisors who’ll guide the selection process, and assure them they’re not making a mistake.

People buy when they have a need. Not because you have to push make your sales goals. But this creates a golden opportunity in the era of e-Marketing.

• Never been a greater time for consultative selling
• Requires a presence, different positioning, one of trusted advisor
• Display of thought leadership/personality

What is the biggest reason why most lead generation programs fail?

The #1 problem with most lead generation programs is follow-up, or rather the lack of follow-up.

Go to a trade show. Collect leads. No system of prioritization or follow through. Leads go in the drawer. Leads collect dust. Sound familiar?

There is no greater destroyer of trust than lack of follow-through.

So what do you do with all the leads that did not have an immediate need? The “B” and “C” leads? Do you have a plan in place to communicate with these leads, and to nurture them through the sales funnel?

If you generated 100 leads last month, and 10% of those converted to buyers, that means that there are another 35 leads that will not get the attention they deserve, the timing was probably wrong. Most sales people cream the “A” leads. Then dispose of the rest. Leaving a huge amount of opportunities on the table. If you don’t have a system to follow up on the “B” and “C” leads, then they die on the vine.

Those people go and find someone else to fill their need.

Here are somes ideas that will help you put your e-Marketing on autopilot so that you’ll be the one people think of when they have a need:

1. Put your website into overdrive
2. Invest in putting quality leads based on market research and business intelligence into your sales funnel
3. Implement a system to stay in front of ”B” and “C” leads, so when they have a need they call you
4. Do something really nice for your customers
5. Do something else really nice for your customers
6. Create an affliate program
7. Measure the results of your efforts and modify with an eye towards continuous improvement 
8. Test, test, test!

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