Comments on: Making Marketing Manageable: Four Building Blocks

By: Abhi Vyas

Abhi Vyas — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:42:14 +0000

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.

By: Paul Williams

Paul Williams — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:35:20 +0000

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?

By: Joseph

Joseph — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 04:28:09 +0000

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.

By: Paul Williams

Paul Williams — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 06:32:12 +0000

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.

By: Mike Garland

Mike Garland — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:25:49 +0000

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.

By: Jodi Roth

Jodi Roth — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 20:05:34 +0000

Every Entrepreneur needs tools to set them apart. Those of us who have a business card, compete for business and have a need to set themselves apart from the rest (which includes every single one of us)must have a tool that tells their story; lists their attributes; their accomplishments; their special designations; their charitiy work and hobbies; awards and accolaides. A paper business card does none of that!
The Fully Customized Multimedia Business Card and Way To Wealth Marketing System does all of that for you and more!
We all know that clients buy differences, not similiarities.
The Lexan Cover with your picture embedded into it is an impressive presentation that’s all about you! The CD ROM inside is a 3 to 5 minute presentation that’s all about you!
The weight and thickness of the Multimedia Business Card gives it percieved value which buys it automatic shelf life, unlike a paper business card.
The Multimedia Business Card is a necessary tool in this challenging marketplace. Today’s consumer is educated and discerning. We all need an edge that we’ve never needed before.

By: Harry Hallman

Harry Hallman — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:37:50 +0000

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

By: Elaine Fogel

Elaine Fogel — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:37:09 +0000

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?

By: Paul Acosta

Paul Acosta — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:04:22 +0000

Hey Paul, as always a great post. I’m just wondering, how would you apply these blocks to a non-profit organization? Thanks!

By: Paul Barsch

Paul Barsch — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:07:23 +0000

Hi Paul, are you lumping customer retention under “drive sales”?