Seize Your Marketing Moments – With Strategic Follow Through

By Daron Powers

Has your heating or cooling system ever failed? Mine did and with it a valuable lesson in marketing your business.

I poke around the Internet and send out six emails for a quote. I ask for a follow up call.  The next day I get one email, and two calls from three separate businesses. What about the other three? Are they so swamped with business they don’t even bother to return an email or call? Economic times have changed. However, for some businesses it seems that old habits linger.

How to Leave the Wrong Impression
The company that fixed my furnace wasn’t the cheapest however they were in the ballpark. After writing the check I ask the technician, “Do you have any leave behind materials for your heating and cooling service?” He left the invoice and a typical business card. Really? Your business got into my home. You fixed my problem. You picked up a check and that’s the best your company can do?

Sadly, it’s a missed opportunity. This is a lesson for any type of business. The furnace company could have easily left a longer lasting impression. More ever, they could have achieved it with far less advertising waste. But how you ask?  It all comes down to how you seize your marketing moments.

The Most Powerful Marketing in the World
The best Super Bowl ad, the biggest highway billboard, the flashiest of websites or brochures could not command the level of attention my technician had while in my home solving a real problem. As a representative of his organization, he was directly in front of his target audience who just became a paying customer!

An Expert Follow Through Strategy
Let’s pretend the owner of this heating and cooling company brings in a competent marketer. He collaborates with a professional to develop an effective strategy that positions his company as experts or the “go-to” authorities. An “expert” strategy easily applies to most industries or businesses of any size. Next step is that his organization develops…

• Leave behind marketing materials that connect with clients, educate, and help them make an informed buying decision. Could be a brochure, checklist or a link to online video instructions.  
• Visualize this company trains all technicians, staff and reps how to use the marketing materials and communicate the message in a concise and compelling way.
 
Can you picture how an extra two to five minutes of follow through like this could easily yield another service call and more referral business? With a little imagination this exact strategy can be carried out in most any industry.

Develop a follow up strategy with well-crafted marketing tools that inform, set you apart and lead to more business after the initial sale. Then make sure everyone inside and out of your business are on the same page and trained to promote the good things your business does throughout the selling cycle.

Here’s my point. Today there is less wiggle room for substandard marketing. Value every opportunity to serve your customers and clients. Seize your marketing moments.

Daron Powers consults and speaks with professionals, small, midsized and fortune 500 companies and collaborates with businesses to develop and refine marketing strategy/plans, content for websites, article writing, online videos, web marketing, sales presentations, selling tools, etc. Visit his two websites: DaronPowers.com and OnlineVideoPower.com. Email: info@OnlineVideoPower.com. Phone: 248-470-8379

Copyright 2014 Daron Powers