Regardless of the current economic situation, opportunities are always open to those willing to put in the effort to explore. Here are specific issues to focus on when developing your business growth strategy.
Your business – You need to be laser-focused on your target market and clearly define what you offer your customers – why they need to see you, and what they will miss out on if they don't.
• What key strengths does your company have?
• Who is your target market?
• What characteristics does your ideal customer have?
• What key challenges do you solve or solutions do you bring to your target market?
Your strategy – You need to combine passive “marketing” activities with active customer search activities. Marketing activities should reinforce customer acquisition activities… not the other way around. Once you develop your strategy, be determined to not only execute it but also follow through with it. That is the vital factor for your business.
• What is your strategy for reaching your target market?
• How many ways have you found to “spread your message”?
• Do you consider cost and time when considering options?
A new customer – Remember, people “buy” for their own reasons, not for the reasons you give. Don't create barriers that prevent them from buying.
If your product or service requires potential customers to invest a lot of time, money or effort, is there any way to make it "easy" for potential customers to become customers?
For example, can you offer a short-term study or pilot with a lower fee and shorter lead time?
Current customers – Keeping current customers and growing business with them is no less important than finding new customers. Be aware that your best customers are your competitors' top targets. Don't take it lightly.
• What can you offer existing customers to add value to the relationship?
• How have you planned to develop relationships to find new opportunities?
Support mechanisms – What new processes, resources, or infrastructure do you need to support your business development efforts?
• Do you need to establish new systems or consolidate existing systems to support your marketing, customer acquisition, or product distribution processes?
• Are there new technologies that help you maintain closer relationships with customers and keep them better informed?
• Do you need new hardware or software to support your efforts?
While you may not have all the answers to the above questions, you can use them as a starting point for devising your action plan. It's never too early to start building your future. Start planning and putting systems into operation now.
Planning and action are not two separate things
Why do some companies rise to industry leadership, while others always follow?
Why do some managers lead their sales teams to great success, while other managers continue to struggle with sales?
Why are some sales professionals (CVBH) regularly closing orders, gently, while others are still struggling to find opportunities?
Is the answer a matter of skill? Or is it due to training? Knowledge? Got insider information? Or maybe it's just luck?
Are not! The answer is actually very simple:
Some people make a plan of action – and then take action – while others are still thinking about how to plan.
Planning and action are not two separate things.
Once you implement your “action” plan, you can adjust – refine – based on the results you achieve. Adjusting and perfecting your plan before taking action is like loading and unloading your luggage, back and forth before a trip. It's a tedious and time-consuming task – finding the most efficient way to arrange your belongings to fit the limited space of your suitcase – but it doesn't get you any closer to where you want to go.
The new product design doesn't have to be perfect before you start making samples.
The market expansion strategy does not have to be perfect before the sales team begins to implement it.
The natural science approach does not have to be perfect before implementation.
No plan or design can be perfect from the beginning without going through testing and verification.
Success doesn't start with a perfect plan… it just starts with a plan, followed by action, evaluation, and adjustment as needed.
Doing without a plan is foolish. But planning without doing is failure.
Is your message relevant and trustworthy?
Will customers switch to using the services of a telecommunications company that provides widespread network coverage when they currently have no problems calling and contacting people? Will customers buy a photocopier with the superior function of 2-sided color printing while the 98%'s photocopying needs are only photocopying black text on one side? Would they sign up for an internet service with High-Speed Internet functionality when their most bandwidth-intensive activity is just email hosting? Impossible… impossible… and impossible!
New, Improved, Most Reliable, Most Durable, Industry Preferred…the list of features and functions keeps growing. So what?
You will not attract the attention of natural customers to those features and functions, no matter how Innovative, Proven, or Superior they are, unless your product or service You meet the first and most prerequisite condition, which is to solve a specific problem, concern or challenge that the customer is facing.
Your message, whether delivered orally or in writing, must focus on those issues, concerns, and challenges. Instead of offering “wide coverage,” ask questions that focus on the problem. For example, “Do you have any relatives who are out of coverage?” Instead of promoting, “High-speed connection,” ask; “Does it take longer for you to download an email than it takes to read that email?”
Only when customers answer "Yes" to questions that explore that problem/concern, will they be interested in the features and functions of your product or service. And interest will quickly fade if those features and functions are not reliable.
Natural customers are often skeptical of statements about features and benefits. They believe that the only thing that is New, Improved, or Superior in countless products and services is the words “New,” “Improved,” “Superior” so conspicuous in promotional materials. advertising and marketing.
To make your features and benefits believable, tell your customers HOW you deliver what you promise in terms of features and functionality. Do you offer widespread cell phone coverage because you have more cell phone towers than other companies? Do you guarantee the fastest delivery because any deliveries over 150 miles are airfreight for next day delivery? Is your software never out of date because you offer free lifetime updates? If so, include those in your message.
If you want to attract your customers' attention, focus your message on the problems, concerns, or challenges that your customers are facing. If you want to keep their attention, tell them how you deliver what you promised.
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