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Four Low-Cost Marketing Tools
by Ann Barr
"I didn’t know you sold that!"
If you have ever heard this from a customer, your company may be
missing valuable marketing opportunities. Somebody else is getting
sales you should get.
Are all of your customers buying all of the products they could
be buying from your company? They may be limited in what they can
purchase from you because they are not aware of the range of
products and services you offer. Are you taking full advantage of
every opportunity to communicate new product offerings to customers?
You don’t need to spend a fortune advertising, in order to make
sure customers know about all the products you sell. There are
effective and inexpensive ways to keep consumers informed. Here are
four low-cost marketing tips to get the word out.
1. Attach an easily readable, colorful label (sticker) to
every product that leaves your company. These labels
should show your company name, telephone number and web site address
in large enough print to be seen and read from a distance of five
feet.
Reason: If someone in your customer’s office wants to
re-order, and doesn’t realize who the products were ordered from –
and if your name and phone number are not clearly visible on your
products – you may lose sales. The person ordering may look on the
Internet, through the Yellow Pages, or call one of your competitors
to buy products that you sell.
(Exception to
#1: If you are selling products to resellers who will be shipping to
end users, or if you are a wholesaler drop-shipping directly to your
customer's end users, this would not apply to you.)
2. Put a
colorful marketing flyer or monthly sale flyer inside every box of
supplies
shipped out.
Reason:
If shipments are sent out with only your products inside, a
marketing opportunity is being missed. Every box of products should
contain an announcement with: "this month’s special" or “new product
launch.” The only cost to your company is the cost of the paper,
toner or ink, development time and the time it takes to make
copies. Make sure the person doing the packing, has a large supply
of colorful flyers to put into each shipment.
3. With every invoice sent out, include a short message
about additional products or services you provide.
Reason: Unless your customers pay up front with cash
or a credit card, every consumer eventually receives a bill from
your company. So if you’re looking for a way to encourage
additional sales, you should put your bills to work for you.
There is probably room on your invoices to list add-on products and
services you provide. You can also include a colorful flyer with
your invoice.
Have Your
Customers Put You in a Niche?
If you started out by selling only printer supplies and you
later decided to add fax and copier supplies (or vice-versa) your
customers have put you in a niche. If you are a Panasonic copier
dealer, your customers who bought only a Panasonic copier from you
may never think about buying H.P. printer cartridges from you, even
though you sell the cartridges on a regular basis. It takes
consistent reminders to let them know you can provide other products
than what they purchased in the past from you. Marketing research
has found that it takes seven contacts within 18 months to make a
new sale. Selling a new or different product to an existing
customer counts as a new sale. Every reminder helps to keep your
name in front of customers.
Another Sales-Building Marketing Tool
“I don’t have time now to give you
all that information.” You may hear this answer after asking a
prospect: “What kind of printers, copiers and fax machines do you
use?” The Customer Survey Form (CSF) is the perfect tool
to use at this point. The CSF asks for very specific and vital
information – exactly the data you need to implement targeted
marketing strategies. Tell your customer you will fax or e-mail the
form and ask her/him to fill it out and send it back to you. Use a
“please return by” date on your fax or the form may end up
underneath a pile of paperwork for weeks. Create a sense of urgency
by offering a special discount to the customer for faxing back the
completed form by a specific date. You can get a free Customer
Survey Form at
www.telephonesales.com/CSF.htm
If you are unable to access the link, send an email to
annbarr3@cox.net
and I’ll email it to you.
All of these marketing tools – if used consistently – can
increase your visibility and your sales. And when you use these
tools - not only will you capture add-on sales - you are sending an
important message to your customers: “We want your business!”
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Ann Barr
is a consultant and sales trainer who has written eight books on
sales
and
marketing. You can sign up for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips e-mailed
newsletter at her web site
www.sellingsupplies.com
or
contact Ann, e-mail to:
annbarr3@cox.net
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