|
|
Most companies want to find lots of potential new customers as quickly as
possible, for
the least cost and to cherry pick those that offer the best potential sales volumes, are
easy to convert and inexpensive to service.
Every company will be in a unique position with regards its products, markets, sales team,
promotional materials and activities. For this reason there is not a universal procedure
that can be applied to every situation. Therefore, one has to consider the various well
proven promotional activities (and some new ones) that could be applied. The selection and
application of these promotional activities will be a matter of judgement based on
knowledge and experience.
ACTIVITIES THAT BRING THE CUSTOMER TO YOU
Advertising, PR, exhibitions, directory listings and web sites
ACTIVITIES WHERE YOU FIND THE CUSTOMER
Cold calls, direct mail (post & email) and telemarketing
BIA always recommends a combination of these activities. A useful analogy to these
promotional activities is ‘making music’. If you have a single instrument, a
competent musician can be very entertaining. If you have two musicians each with a
different instrument the music can be considerably enhanced. If you then have a whole
orchestra the music will be the best it can be.
So it is with promotional activities. For example, some companies exist with just a team
of sales people who service existing customers and try to find new customers by cold
calling. Like playing a single instrument, it works, but it doesn’t gets the optimum
results. (The saying comes to mind. ‘When you only have a hammer, all problems look
like nails’.)
BIA will analyse each situation and recommend the most appropriate promotional activities
to help find those elusive new customers.
|
|
|
|
|
