Marketing is a double-edged sword. Do it the right way and your business will be swimming in new opportunities. Miss a few steps and you’ve potentially damaged your business for months or even years. It’s difficult to recover once you’ve been tagged as ‘mediocre’ by your target audiences.
Much of the effort around good marketing stems from setting expectations. How often do organizations get the interest from future clients, then perform horribly at following up on leads? It’s never a good idea to make a client wait while their interest wanes in your products/services.
With that, I’ve thought about three critical steps your business or organization should implement when launching any marketing campaigns. I’m sure many of you may already be doing this, so let this be a refresher for you. And those of you who aren’t doing this, better think about it before your marketing takes a nose-dive!
Create a game plan
After your campaign is officially launched, plan for increases in inquiries; whether the call to action is by phone, your web site, email responses, etc. Be prepared to handle the responses flooding in the door. Remember the old IBM commercial where the marketing department slapped ‘high-fives’ with each other when they saw how many new visits were coming into the web site? Then someone asked if anyone told the IT department about the expected wave of new traffic, and then their servers crashed.
Have a System in Place
Another key to remember is to have a system in place to handle the new inquiries. Hire a temp, if you have to, in order to respond. Don’t let anything fall through the cracks. Personally, I prefer most of my leads come back through my web site to email so that it is more easily managed. Track every inquiry that comes in so that you know what’s working and what is not.
Let Everyone Know About The Marketing Campaigns
It's very frustrating when consumers call to inquire about a promotion or offer, only to be told by the person answering the phone that s/he isn't aware of it. How shortsighted. It leaves a distinct impression that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. By the time a buyer explains what s/he is looking for, the buyer's motivation can wane quickly.
Those of you who have read my previous newsletters know how much I caution others to ‘protect their brand’. This is no different. Looking silly or uninformed in front of clients can have negative effects on your business.
Ensure that future clients are told the truth about wait times or follow-ups. Don't promise that someone will arrive for an in-home estimate on a Monday and then not call until Wednesday. If a product is involved, ensure there's plenty in stock to fulfill anticipated orders.
Be honest and advise customers that the campaign has been very successful and you can deliver the product or service on a specific date. If handled correctly and professionally, they may feel that the wait is worth it. If there are any delays, communicate with customers before they call to inquire why their expectations haven't been met. Under-promise and over-deliver.
Summary
Smaller businesses often find growth management a challenge. It's a balancing act to have the accurate number of staff and resources to handle increased sales while ensuring that customers have a positive brand experience at every touch point.
The marketing mix can have a variety of tactics to attract new customers. Yet, when a widespread advertising or marketing campaign is employed, it's wise to be as prepared as possible for the possible onslaught of activity.
It may come slowly and build over time, or it may come overnight. Either way, responding to customers in a timely fashion and ensuring your company is credible, professional, and caring are the keys to growing your business.
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