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JULY 2012
Increase
Sales By
Understanding Your Customers Buying Process -
One way to increase sales is to take the time to
understand your customer's buying process, so that you can improve your
marketing to better position your company. As a business you have had success
because customers buy your products and services. Therefore in theory it should
be easy to repeat what you did in order to get new customers and new sales. So
why is it that some businesses struggle repeating what they did in order to get
new customers or why is it that method may not be enough for the business to
reach its sales goals? In order to answer those questions, we need to
understand where your customers are coming from. I break up today's most
popular marketing channels into two groups:
#1 Inbound Marketing Channels
· Referral · Yellow page ads · Website · Print Advertising
· Google Advertising · Google Search Results · Targeted Online
Advertising · Industry Association · Phone / 800#
#2 Outbound Marketing Channels
· Networking · Telemarketing · Direct Mail · Email
Marketing Campaigns · SEO (Search Engine Optimization) · Social Media
Marketing · PR · Radio · TV · Seminar · Word of mouth
· Other
Using this list, can you identify the sources for most of your customers? If
you're not sure which channel produces the most results for your business let's
take a step back and try to understand how your customer buys.
The Buying Process
· Need or Want · Search to fulfill the need · Evaluate and
compare your choices · Get more detailed information · Make a
decision
A Real World Example - (buying process
steps)
1. NEED: A Miami, FL company has the need for printing supplies.
2. SEARCH: A search for printing supplies begins.
How or where might they search ie., Yellow Pages, Google, other? When you have
a need or want, odds are you use your smart-phone and computer to research
anything and everything. In 2011, people used Google to make 4,717,000,000
searches per day to satisfy their needs or wants. (Source: Google Official
History, ComScore 3/14/12)
3. CHOICES ARE EVALUATED: Google Search Results reveal several companies to
choose from.
4. GET MORE INFORMATION: The next step may be to view your choices' websites
and make some phone calls.
5. MAKE A DECISION: Based on your research, you choose a solution provider.
If this is a way your customers satisfy their need for your services then how
can your business learn from this buying process scenario? Number one: You need
to be listed as a choice! If you are not a choice then you are not going to be
considered or evaluated and are not in the game. Only the companies that invest
in becoming a choice will win the business. · Every month the following
searches are made in the US: · printing supplies - 33,100 · binding
supplies - 8,100 anything you sell, people search for. . .
If you want to be considered a choice for these search results or any other, we
recommend investing in buying process-marketing strategies to increase sales.
John R Crowley Jr; 530-205-3377; 800-488-4852; www.salesforceconsultant.com;
Salesforce Consultant - Marketing System & Services - Free Salesforce Trial
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