Marketing can seem overwhelming with an inventory of innumerable components. Changes constantly take place with consumers and in the marketplace. And, most of us work in at companies where changes regularly take place within the organization.
However, despite how complicated we can make it at times – the good news is – there are only four different blocks we use to build marketing programs. They are:
- (1) Drive Sales,
(2) Build Awareness,
(3) Drive Traffic, and
(4) Build Community
Drive Sales – The core of a business… The fuel that powers the engine. You drive sales by either (1) through new customers spending, or (2) getting existing customers to spend more (increase average ticket/check). A key strategy supporting sales driving is Trial and Sampling.
Build Awareness – Getting people to know about your business. We do this through advertising, publicity, word-of-mouth, etc.
Drive Traffic – Getting existing or potential customers to your business or service. Simply about getting bodies to your physical or virtual location.
Build Community – There are two sub-categories of building community:
- (1) Making yourself a meaningful part of your community and,
(2) Building community with and between your customers.
Great marketing strategy combines these blocks in meaningful ways.
For example, rarely are you simply going to “drive traffic” for the sake of simply getting more people to your store or website.
If you have a store you’ll want to follow-up with a “drive sales” strategy – such as sampling – to convert the flow of people into sales.
If you’re driving traffic to your website, you may want “build awareness” and convey the overt benefits of your company. Or, “build community” by inviting the web visitor to join your e-mailing list.
Next time you’re sitting in the meeting room, with fancy jargon and mood boards being tossed about, determine what you’re truly trying to accomplish and remember these basic four blocks.
Hi Paul, are you lumping customer retention under “drive sales”?
Hey Paul, as always a great post. I’m just wondering, how would you apply these blocks to a non-profit organization? Thanks!
Is this post just for Pauls?
Paul A., since nonprofit marketing is one of my specialties, I’d like to give this a crack.
1. Drive sales is equivalent to driving any type of revenue generation, whether from donors, members, patrons, clients, funders, etc.
2. Build awareness is the same. If people don’t know about your organization, then they can’t support it.
3. Drive traffic is equivalent to driving traffic to the organization’s Web site, social media sites, fundraising events, cultivation events, etc. Once you have their attention, you can market your message and mission.
4. Building community has always been a crucial part of the third sector. Connecting with stakeholders and the community in which your organization operates is part of the mix.
What do you think?
Paul, great post. While all 4 points are very important it is number 4 that most companies don’t do well. I believe someone asked about customer retention.
I think customer retention, customer acquisition and in fact all the other three items you talk about benefit from being a valued part of the community. I mean your customer/prospects community not your own.
I want to share with you a piece of a post I had in my most recent blog entry that is an example of how one company does the first three but fails miserably on becoming a value member of the customer’s community. It may not affect them now, but in the future it will.
“AT&T Destroying Valuable Relationships One iPhone at a Time
The new iPhone is a great product and I have waited until now to buy an iPhone with some features I wanted. Thankfully, I am not the type to stand in line for 5 hours to buy anything, so I didn’t. I did however try to order a phone (to be delivered whenever) but was told that my contract was not up until August 21st so if I wanted one I had to pay $399.00. That is $399 for a $199 phone!
Now, a new customer to AT&T gets the $199.00 price and de facto is treated better than a long-term customer. I have three phones and have been with Cingular (AT&T) for a number of years. One of two things could have happened that would have shown me AT&T cares about existing customers:
1- Corporate policy makers could have offered long-term customers the opportunity to upgrade by taking a new two-year contract, which would have shown some loyalty to current customers. I understand the churn and burn mentality of many mobile suppliers, but one would expect AT&T to be above that.
2- Corporate policy makers could have made it possible for an existing customer to place an order (pre-paid by the way) and take possession when their contract was up. Perhaps a 2 -3 month limit on that. In my case, it is one month. I was told however, that I could not even place an order. Again, something as simple as this gives new customers all the advantage.”
There is more at http://www.octanecorp.com/blog/tabid/249/EntryID/352/Default.aspx
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For companies with a sales force, marketing can also provide valuable tools to assist in the sales process. For example, these can be questionnaires that help guide the thought process, collateral that captures the imagination and allows the prospect to ’sell’ internally, and of course the independent validation of the product or solution that that salesperson can reference.
These tools are only useful if they are designed in collaboration with the sales force and well promoted so that their use is understood.
Paul Barsch – To my way of thinking CUSTOMER RETENTION would have tactics in each one of these four buckets…
A SALES strategy would include keeping the existing customers. An AWARENESS + TRAFFIC driving program would let them know why they should come back and get them back.
And… I could leverage my COMMUNITY tactics to help support the relationship/membership, more intimate part of retention.
Under “Drive Sales” you left out a third category which is “RE-engage previous customers”. Strictly speaking, these aren’t New or Existing customers and, so, need to be marketed to differently.
Joseph – That’s a great one. How can you win back customers you lost due to a short-coming that you’ve since corrected… Nice.
I wonder which is harder… obtaining new customers or winning back unhappy ones?
Joseph,
That’s a great questions. Statiscally, in order to get 1 new customer, one needs to reach 25 prospects. I have not seen any data in winning back an unhappy customer.