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From the Remodeling Magazine Blog
There are two essential elements to focus on when you plan a business marketing strategy.
One is Educating your potential clients, and the second is to become creative by Reinventing your marketing. When you’re planning a marketing strategy, think of reinventing your company and being creative. Whoever said “if you keep doing the same thing expect the same results,” didn’t own a business. If you keep using the same marketing strategy and expecting the same results, the business world could pass you by. Methods that worked well in the past might not work now or in the future. To effectively market your business, you’ll need to re-invent your company.
When you educate your ideal customer and guide them through the buyer’s cycle of getting them to “know, like, and trust” you, you’ll make considerable progress towards earning the project. One of the purposes of your marketing process should be to provide clarity to your customers and clients–basically, walking a prospect through the process, which allows you to convert more prospects into clients. Creating a plan to lead clients through this process really forces you to create a marketing process and is the beginning stage of a true marketing system that helps your company convert leads to clients. It helps you take someone who shows an interest in your business and using that momentum to make them a client.
One step in the early stages of the buyer’s cycle is allowing the prospect a chance to get to know you and your team. Effective marketing is about getting in front of people with frequency, with their permission and providing great content and useful information. Ideally, this stage should be about education and building trust by sharing your expertise, and should involve the concept of permission marketing.
Permission marketing is the privilege of delivering a personal and relevant message to your ideal client. Your ideal client should expect and want this information.
Here is an example of permission marketing:
Develop a “white paper” of useful information your potential clients value. If you are a kitchen designer, would your customers be interested in an information packet called “The Best Modern Kitchen Designs?” If your ideal clients desire modern kitchens, take control of this niche by educating them on the topic. Create a form on your website that allows them to request this valuable information or “white paper” and receive it via e-mail, or by downloading a PDF from your website. This will make them feel as if they are receiving something of value. This is a great way to engage them and begin to lead them through the steps of the buyer’s cycle.
The information packet is just one idea to start potential clients on the path of the buyer’s cycle. Identify specific methods you use in your business to walk a prospect through the sales process and create a system that takes them from that “know, like, and trust” to buying, referrals and repeat business. Remodelers don’t have any difficulty thinking of systems for building a project, but they rarely develop one for marketing. Now, to reinvent your company, deliver this “white paper,” in a unique way or one that is different than your competition:
Not only have you provided excellent content, but you are positioning yourself as an expert in the subject in your potential clients eyes and networked with a tradesman, or a strategic partner in your field. Do you think if it’s valuable this potential customer will forward the link to friends? It’s easy to use a Flip Minot camera to take a video and upload it to YouTube or burn it to a DVD. Emotion and passion drive successful people in our business and it is that same emotion and passion that creates something that is unique and different. Find creative ways like this to deliver your message to prospects.
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From the Remodeling Magazine Blog
Many times in sales meetings, a salesperson will say to me, “Teach me how to close.” He’ll tell me, “I couldn’t overcome that objection and I keep hearing the same objection over and over again.” Going over a strategy that will help the salesperson handle that objection and working through a solution is always a good idea, but did you ever think about the possibility of overcoming it before it even arises? That is the true solution. How do you do that? Here are a few points to consider:
No one likes to be sold. Everyone likes to buy. In today’s remodeling and home improvement market, it is more important than ever to understand that the moment a customer says “you’re hired” and becomes a client is based on emotion. The prospect makes the decision to become a client based on knowing, liking, and trusting you.
An educational sales process. An educational process that answers questions before they arise is ultimately the best path to reach your customer on an emotional level. When you make an effort to educate the client, you reach them before the objections have time to dwell in their minds. That translates to less effort and time on your part to convince them you are right for the job. If you try to convince a prospect towards the end of the sales process, their uncertainty at your closing will erode any “like and trust” they had in you.
Effective marketing increases your sales conversion ratio. Today’s marketing requires lots of content, lots of education, and lots of trust-building via sharing your expertise. Too many marketing messages focus on the company rather than the customer. So as you craft your marketing strategy and materials, keep the customer top of mind.
How do you do that? Most homeowners view remodeling as a commodity and feel that one company can provide the same results as another. To compound the situation, most remodeling businesses do not have a marketing plan or marketing materials that counteract that perception.
Some marketing phrases I’ve heard include: “You should buy from us, because we have quality and service”; “Buy from us as we have been in business for 25 years and are reliable”; “We are built from trust.” None of these statements give you a green light or a sales advantage.
These are all expectations and not a point of differentiation. How do you communicate to your community and prospective buyers that your business is different and can solve their problems or fulfill their needs? You need to focus on your unique selling point by communicating the answers to these questions:
Once you identify your unique selling point, use it in all of your marketing materials, sales presentations, and community outreach. If you convince the prospect that your company’s work is not a commodity, you’ll educate him or her into being a client.
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Frustrated with the same old marketing approach and not getting results? No leads are coming in and you’re competing on price. Learn to separate yourself from your competitors! Differentiate and Dominate! Stop competing on Price! Learn new strategy that you can implement today!
• Differentiate your business from your competitors.
• Work with your Ideal Client and be more profitable.
• Establish a consistent lead generation system.
• Stop competing on price.
