6 Basics To Ensure Your Marketing Plan Increases Sales
Sales and marketing go hand in hand, and if you are a small business or a startup, the importance of your marketing is even greater to drive more sales. The best products and and best sales staff still need to be supported by a robust well-researched and carefully executed marketing plan. Here are sic ways to drive more sales from your marketing plan:
1. Distinguish your products and services from those of your competitors
You must convey to your customers that your products and services are exactly what they are looking for and that they won't be able to find anything better elsewhere. Your marketing plan should emphasize the distinctive value offered by your company and how they differ from those of your competitors. Once your customers believe that your product is different than others and matches their need, your sales team have a much better chance of success. One key element in this process is to monitor your competition's marketing activities and respond in kind.
2. Benchmark your marketing and advertising budget
If your competitors are outspending you in marketing and advertising, your sales team are in a disadvantage position in relation to your competitors. You should use competitive intelligence and publicly available industry data to determine your competitors' (who are the same size with same specialty as yours) average marketing budget and adjust yours accordingly.
3. Educate your customers about all of your products and services
It should be a fundamental objective for your marketing plan to familiarize your customers with everything that you have to offer. Often time, customers get preoccupied with a few product and services, and to get the rest of their needs they might look elsewhere, which is an opportunity loss for your sales team, and in turn might cause you to lose your customer to your competition.
4. Track new leads generated through marketing
A good marketing plan not only keeps current customers engaged, but also keeps track of new customer. You should know how you landed on the new customers and use the data to focus on the areas that brings bets results. You should also know customer acquisition cost and run and analysis to see if your sales justify your marketing expenses or not.
5. Search for new markets
While your sales team is making the sales, your marketing team must look for new customers and new areas to introduce your product and services to. This research should be done carefully and methodically. And once you find a new market, you should come up with a new marketing plan tailored toward that market and train your sales team accordingly.
6. Update your marketing plan regularly
Marketing is like a war! A good general will adjust the war plan constantly according to the status of his soldiers and his enemy's position. remember that your customers' needs, your competitors' products, and the market psychology is constantly changing, and so should your marketing plan. What worked for your this year, might harm your business next year. So update your marketing plan regularly to meet the needs of the market.
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Understanding the customer acquisition cost and coming up with a right budget and marketing plan can be complicated. Let us help you with that, so you will have more time to do what you are best at: making sales and growing your business. Please contact us for a free consultation.