How to Market to Clients

A customer recently asked my advice on how to market to her existing customer base.  I thought my answer might be helpful to those that reguarly read my blog. 

Clients are 10 times more likely to buy from you then from companies that are not yet your customers.  Besides being more likely to buy from you they are also referral sources so it really pays to market to your clients. 

The first question that I always ask…what are your goals for your current clients? More business, retention (keep them from defecting), referrals…all?  Don’t overlook what  you currently do with your clients utilize each contact as an opportunity to nurture the relationship and remind the client why they are doing business with you.  Assign each person that comes in contact with a client a specific task designed to improve the relationship or demonstrate the capabilities of your company.  Don’t leave these encounters up to your customer services reps, orchestrate these meetings with specific goals and scripts if necessary.  

You should also segment your current clients based on what is most important to your company…most probably  revenue, but don’t stop there….look to potential…the way to view potential is to research your clients and create a dossier of important information about each of your clients and add to this database as you learn about each of your clients (when is the last time you Googled your clients for example?)…have you asked your clients for referrals…if not you ought to ask them to refer someone they care about…if you have asked for referrals focus on those clients that have referred another client and treat them like diamonds…not every client is willing to refer but if you find some that have referred a client in the past segment them into a group deserving  your best treatment.   

I am a big believer in Triangulation with clients and prospect both…pick three ways to get your message in front of your clients.  Nurture is one, but add 2 other ways to strategically develop your clients.  Webinars, Public Relations, Speaking Opportunities, Tradeshows, networking, radio, TV, print advertising are some other marketing tactics to consider. 

Remember that clients are the reason you are in business, don’t overlook them as the best source for growing your business.  Thanks for reading.

Market Research – The Missing Link

People always ask me what is the most important part of marketing and my immediate answer is the same Market Research.  Lack of Market Research almost put me out of business.  Markets change and in my previous company, a business dedicated to Technical Support our target market changed almost overnight from the Technical Support Help Desk Manager to the CIO or IT VP.  We were wondering why our Nurture Direct Campaign wasn’t working anymore…well we forgot to take a recent look at our marketplace.  Market Research is not only something you do in the beginning but something you need to do all the time.    To aid in your market research you should have a specific and easily identifiable micro-segmented target marketplace, an understanding on how your products or services actually help your client succeed, specific knowledge on your current best customers, who are your competitors and how their products or services compare to what you are offering. 

• Declare a specific marketplace by NAICS or SIC Code, size of business and geographic location
• Understand your marketplace; create information databases about each of your clients
• Know your competition; review their websites, visit their trade show booths and read their blogs
• Appoint a person who is responsible for Market Research and reporting their findings to your team

 And don’t make the same mistake that I made,  engage a client a month in conversations that are focused on learning about how this client thinks and utilizes your company.

Direct Mail Success

In marketing, direct mail is one of the most basic, ‘direct,’ ways to communicate with potential and existing clients. Effective communication consequently nourishes company-client relationships, generating the long-term loyalties that set the chain reaction for successful business in motion: company sends mail, client receives mail, client is impressed, client establishes relationships with company, client spreads the word, client encourages family member/friend/colleague to join mailing list, process repeats. Notwithstanding, the whole thing is futile without that vital third step: impressing the client. The trick to mastering that much is presenting yourself with class and honesty, setting yourself apart from junk mail and pushy advertisements and keeping your mail out of the wastebasket. Appearance is key in direct mail, because it takes a good first impression to get your mail opened; in this case, a good first impression means not looking like a bill. For instance, window envelopes and bar codes signify aggressive demands for purchase and payment, so avoid using them in your mailings. Also, print addresses directly on standard envelope, because no label equals junk mail as well. To a potential customer, these seemingly small details translate to “we want your money,” a message that completely defies Nurture Institute principles. Rather than expending our energies on short-term sales, we aim to achieve that perfect fit between company and consumer, which provides the basis for long-term success. Aside from not being mistaken for a bill, direct mail must secure the client’s interest in its own right before the envelope is even opened. To ensure this, remember what gets opened – boxes, FedEx, lumpy mail and 8×10 envelopes are much more intriguing than your basic bill-sized letter. In our experience at Nurture, including small ‘presents’ along with our mail adds curiosity-arousing dimension and inclines the recipient to read what’s inside. What’s more, the presents are signature so they concurrently make us memorable and further support our image as a giving, good-natured institution. However, since our messages are mainly simple greetings and reminders, avoid delivery methods that denote urgency such as FedEx. This ploy to stand out contradicts our standards of honesty, which is unacceptable in any kind of trusting relationship, business or otherwise. To reinforce your mail’s appearance as both professional and personal, always use a first class commemorative stamp and quality paper for your letterhead and envelopes. Minor as these aspects may seem, these simple gestures demonstrate care and competence, just as personal appearance would in a job interview. In a way, a respectable appearance is even more important in mail than in person, because while a very good talker can explain their way out of the coffee stains on their blouse or their jacket’s wrinkles or even mismatched socks, a letter’s appearance must speak for itself. Once your letter is successfully read and your message conveyed you need something else memorable to associate with your company, ideally a logo. Utilize your logo within your mail as often as is appropriate and your advertising will fall into place without having to taint your company’s name with aggressive advertising. Logos, like the enclosures, are unique and assist in personalizing your company. Personalization makes a company accessible to the client whereas anonymity hinders any prospects for a compatible relationship. Hand-sign your letters to greater personalize your business; your client needs to know they are worth your time rather than a copy machine’s. Sign using blue ink rather than black to further differentiate yourself from a copier’s digital black. Everyone likes blue, and as I’m sure you’ve grasped by now, a simple splash of color goes a long way. To confirm that everything in your direct mailing goes as planned, include your name on your mailing list and you will view the customer’s perspective yourself. Good luck! 

Welcome to the Nurture Institute Blog

To nurture is to care, and that is exactly what we at the Nurture Institute stand for – caring for the customers so that our relationships can sustain and prosper. We believe the blog is an efficient and comprehensive method to target a wider audience; once we start adding more content, we can allow for more businesses to access the necessary tools and information so they too can nurture their customers in the way they deserve to be nurtured.

 

That being said, the major topics of this blog will concern marketing for small and mid-market companies – specifically: micro-segmentation of the marketplace, multi-channel marketing, marketing training, and marketing resources on the web.

 

Overall, we believe nurturing customer relationships is the key to success in the hectic process of business-to-business sales. This uniquely personal approach to marketing will increase sales team productivity and result in lifetime customer loyalties. Join us, and you can be a part of the Nurture community!