Does Your Marketing Support Sales?

Most sales experts agree that it takes a minimum of 7 touches, "Rule of 7", to complete a sale. I would argue that in today's ADD generation, that even more touches are required. So if we accept the "Rule of 7" then we should also agree that it only makes sense that your marketing should follow suit.

How do your customers prefer to receive their messages? Notice I didn't ask "how do you like to deliver" your messages. That answer is irrelevant. Instead, if you answer the first question, you'll notice that you have a mix of phone, text, email, social media, and in-person responses. Therefore, it only makes sense for you to develop a marketing campaign to deliver the messages your clients prefer to receive.

Having said that, why do most marketing plans fail to provide the necessary touches to support sales?

1. Most companies don't have a marketing plan! Unfortunately, most small businesses spend more time deciding where to go to lunch rather than studying the best way to communicate with their potential clients. Your marketing plan should start with your Company's vision and mission statement. Everyone should understand your goals and you should develop a plan to accomplish them.

   
   

2. Beware of Advertising Sales People. There's nothing wrong with an advertising sales person promoting the benefits of their advertising, however, they all have an agenda. People selling Social Media will tell you that people are on their phones 6.5 hours per day, print advertisers will promote their distribution and longer shelf life of the publications, and the person selling billboards will discuss traffic. They're not wrong, however, one form of advertising is not necessarily better than another. Most companies require a good mix to reach their target market.

   
   

3. Too much emphasis on analytics. There is only one stat that truly matters. Did your sales increase as a result of your marketing efforts? If the answer is yes, then increase your spend, if no, make adjustments. As mentioned above, the "Rule of 7" means it takes a minimum of 7 touches to complete a sale. So do we really know which touch resulted in the sale? Was it the magazine ad? Your social media? The event you attended? Each advertising sales person will show you analytics which will justify your spend. Don't be fooled. No single Ad is responsible for your success or failure.

   
   

4. No Follow Up! Where are you driving traffic to? How are you collecting leads? Who is responsible for follow up? and how are you following up on those leads. Too often, I've witnessed business who just put the leads into a database with no further plan. That's right they spend thousands of dollars to advertise, but don't have a plan to follow up.

Imagine Marketing is a full service marketing firm who understands the sales process and the marketing efforts required to support your Company every step of the way. Contact us today for a FREE Consultation.