Market With Meaning

How can your business transform itself into being remarkable? Below is a Hierarchy of Meaningful Marketing that consists of the following three levels (based on Bob Gilbreath's book,  The Next Evolution in Marketing:):

1. Solution marketing: Free offers, cash savings and loyalty rewards that offer customers real solutions to their problems. "A free sample is a no-cost way for customers to experience your product or service," Gilbreath says. "'Free' tends to make people feel compelled to like your product, and usually the cost is very low."
   
   
2. Connection marketing: Online videos, interactive games and social networking that connect customers with the brand. "Entrepreneurs already know their customers well and have a right to earn a place on their 'friend' lists," Gilbreath says. Examples: One deli announces the daily specials to office workers at 11 a.m. when they are beginning to think about where to go, while a pet boarding service uses Facebook to share updates and pictures with pet owners while they are away.
   
   
3. Achievement marketing: Online courses, free seminars and cause-related marketing that let customers actualize their potential as human beings. "When done in a way that clearly links to your business and is something your customers care about, cause marketing can significantly drive your sales," Gilbreath says. "For example, Amy Adam, a real estate agent in Cincinnati, donates a percentage of her house closing fees to the charity of her customers' choice." Much of her new business is attributable to her campaign. Besides strong post-sale satisfaction levels, "She's [gotten] specific comments from customers who like the idea and have never heard of something like it before," he says

Smarter Selling

The message for internal consultants (and others) is clear. Whatever brilliant initiative you are implementing, or support you are providing, you must communicate your messages appropriately to be successful.
Things start to go wrong when the internal consultant presents their ideas focusing on the features of the change and the benefits of the change from the consultant’s and possibly the organisation’s perspective, with little effort to articulate the impact on the listener and how the change will benefit them personally.

The approach - putting people and relationships first - seems obvious and conceptually easy. The implementation is another story.

Some ideas to help you:

The GROW coaching model, which stands for:

• Goals - what we want to achieve.
• Reality - where we are now.
• Options - what we can do.
• Will/When - what will we commit to and by when. 

SHAPE breaks down as:

• Surface - to uncover facts.
• Hunt - to understand challenges.
• Adjust - to check, ask permission or change direction.
• Paint - to understand desired outcomes.
• Engage - to agree what happens next.

In summary

The mindset of helping buyers make the best decision for them, as opposed to pushing a solution that is best for the seller, applies equally in an internal or external consulting/selling environment.

Everyone sells. Some people sell ideas, some sell services and some sell products. Some ‘sell’ internally within an organisation; some externally. In an incredibly competitive world, the best way to differentiate your product, service or idea is through focusing on the people side of the ‘sale’- on the quality of the relationship.
Whatever you sell and whoever you sell to, building a better relationship will help you do it better.

Marketing tips to remember!

1. Handling Phone Calls from the customers perspective:   
   
• Don’t interrupt – you may think you know what I want but let me tell you, your wrong more then ½ the time!
• Don’t use your industry slang when talking to a customer. They have no idea what a “HJHDS” is and they don’t care!
• Remember they are your paycheck!
  
  
2. How to retain your customers: CART
   A portion of this article was written by Carl Woodard, SCORE Orange County Vice Chairman
   

• First, look at your profitable customers and do all you can to keep them. It is far easier, and less costly, to keep a customer than to find a new one.
  
• Cultivate them. Do your good customers buy all that they can from you? How can you sell them more? Do you offer another product or service that they currently buy from a competitor? Convert them. They already know that you are reliable. 
• Ask for references. Ask them to recommend your company to others. Good customers usually know other businesses that you would like to have. Actively pursue them, especially if they will be profitable. 
• Return the favor. Can your company buy more of what your customer offers?
• Thank them. Write a personal note telling them how important they are to you. Wish them continued success, especially in hard times, and ask how you can make their business better.

Why Hire an event planner?

Here are some reasons why you should hire an event planner:

• Hiring an event planner saves time and energy                                                                            
  
• Event planners maker sure things are running smoothly
  
• A responsible event planner will also help you create an affordable budget, review all contracts, and make sure that your expectations are met.
  
• Frazzled is not fabulous
  
• Event planners have established relationships with different vendors, which on its own, saves you time and money from making arrangements (with food, lights, entertainment, etc.).
  
• If you are planning an event outside of state, the event planner can make it happen without you even being there.
  
• Makes you feel like a guest at your own party, without having to worry about how things are running.
  

 Hire an event planner and celebrate with out the stress!