In turbulent political and financial times, its a fact, we are often faced with a drop in demand, usually caused from the top down, with larger companies seeking to delay investment as they await political outcomes, filtering down the supply chain and potentially affecting many other business sectors.
For some businesses, this change in circumstances, where they now have to seek out new business, that would previously been there on a plate, means they are being forced to go on the offensive, by choosing more penetrative marketing approaches; as they see the competition ramping up their marketing efforts to capture the available business.
What can be done to increase sales?
When making the decision to increase outbound marketing, the first part of the equation is the audience and deciding which segment, (or segments) makes a substantial and 'attackable' group that will generate the easiest wins.
This information may come from a CRM, but equally a good initial hit list can come from individual members of a sales team, or directors, simply collaborating to decide on which customers to target.
This list or lists needs to be:-
- Easy to approach and contact
- Capable of the necessary spend
- Geographically servicable
- A good match for uptake of products or services
- Preferably have some knowledge of your brand
How do you start your offensive marketing campaign?
You will start the process of designing an offensive strategy by looking at what you have done in the past, when you may have been using a more outbound focused strategy. Often these techniques will still be relevant today with some modification.
Typically you should decide on one, or a combination of the following marketing tools:-
- Email marketing
- Outbound Telemarketing
- Printed and posted Direct Mail
- Personal visits
- Social Media lead generation
- Google Pay-Per-Click
- LinkedIn lead gen, (organic)
- Systemised referrals
The reason for the above selection of marketing tools, is that they are all measurable for leads generated and when/ where from and for conversion value and CPA, (Cost Per Acquisition).
What is priority? How to start taking action...
Rather than having a 'scattergun' approach and trying to do too much at once, going back to your audience selection mentioned earlier, consider each marketing tool in isolation, and decide which two are most likely to deliver the best chance of success.
Start with these by now creating the message and offer that you feel is both attractive and relevant to your audience(s)
An 'offer' doesn't necessarily mean a discount or giveaway, or free trial... it is simply what your proposition is to your audience, i.e. what's in it for me? How can you solve my problem?
Remember to build in a 'Call to Action', so that your target audience find it easy to respond to your marketing message.
Measuring Results
The good thing about an offensive marketing approach, is that statistical information comes in fast and is easy to evaluate. With direct marketing approaches you can measure lots of parameters to see how your marketing is performing.
This could look like:-
- Enquiries received
- Qualified sales leads
- Value of lead
- Leads converted
- Cost of generating lead/ vs. value
- Opens/ clicks/ shares (email & social)
- Personal appointments made
- Average order value
With this information, you can easily trial marketing approaches, before deciding on which combination of marketing tools represents your best mix.
A more offensive approach to your marketing can re-invigorate sales and fill up your leads pipeline to survive any drop in demand or market fluctuations.
Thanks for reading, and message me any questions or if you'd like to book a call about developing your own outbound marketing strategy.
Phil Ashforth DipM, 0791 3957160
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