Tyler
Traditional forms of marketing
Even the most beautiful eCommerce website wouldn't get far without taking into account the more traditional forms of marketing. Here at Evance, we believe that with a strong message, any business can gain success. Through marketing, there are many ways you can communicate to customers what you're all about. It all ties into your overall branding, and as long as the message is unified and consistent, the way it's distributed should always be successful. Below we have a few ideas of how you can show customers you mean business, and encourage more to give your services a try.
Promote loyalty
Running a loyalty program is a great way to sustain engagement and encourage new customers to keep coming back. A simple way of doing this through Evance is to create a discount code and associate it with the customer of your choice.
Ideas
As discounts can be applied on a case by case basis, you can award high-paying customers with individual codes to encourage future purchases, or offer them to newly registered customers. If ever a problem arises, like a customer receives a faulty product, you could regain customer loyalty through offering a discount on their next purchase.
Personal touch
I would like you to think about how many times you have bought something in a store because of the great service
of a particular sales assistant. I bet it is quite a few times, unfortunately online it is hard to get that
personal touch but that doesn't mean you should forget it. Adding a personal touch once they have purchased
can have the same effect.
Ideas
If a customer has made a first time purchase from your website, a nice, personal touch would be to leave them a 'thank you' card or a kind message.
Pick up the phone
If you are a new business with a product or service don’t be afraid to pick up the phone. Weather you selling directly to businesses or to consumers, there are different techniques to use when making a sales call. If you are selling to businesses, the hardest part will be getting past the "gatekeeper". For some more tips on making sales calls try this article.
Ideas
If you are trying to sell to consumers, you could try to find other businesses that could stock your product. Reaching out and giving them a call is always the first step, but try to research who the best person to deal with would be.
Print is not dead
Print will always be a staple in marketing; a well-designed flyer will always leave a good impression on its recipient. Like any type of marketing, you will need to carefully consider your audience first and how best to reach them. For instance, if your choice is to advertise through posters, where will they be placed and what kind of people frequent that location? You'll find that you'll have a better chance of leaving an impact on people when you produce something relevant to them. If you're advertising a new exercise class, then you'll likely find the most receptive audience at local sport clubs or public sporting events.
Ideas
Flyer marketing is the most popular choice. Result, most people would send 10,000 flyers out to 10,000 people, however you would have more luck if you send 1,000 flyers out to 1,000 households 10 times.
Word of mouth
Word of mouth is always going to be the most successful form of marketing, and with the global reach of social media, consumer opinion has become all the more powerful. Encourage customers to speak up and share their experiences with your services or products by leaving reviews on your website, or reach out to fans over social media. A positive reception will help to grow and validate your business. Negative feedback, if not addressed, will tarnish your reputation and may make potential customers wary to use your business. Always strive to provide a quality service and stick to prior agreements to foster trust between your business and customers, but the best way to be a pro at word of mouth marketing is to build a referral engine. See the final point of this post.
Tradeshows/Markets/Expos
Going to a trade show or expo is a great way to suss out your competitors and physically grow your network of contacts. Take advantage of these opportunities to meet suppliers and potential partners. There are plenty local shows across the UK which are affordable and often specific to industry. It's a good way to build your confidence and gain experience. If you don't have the budget to exhibit yourself, just go along as a visitor; it's still a great way to meet people, share your brilliant business idea, and observe how the other pros do it.
Referral engine
A few years ago I read a book called The Referral Engine: Teaching Your Business to Market Itself by John Jantsch that changed the way I approach marketing. It has a very simple message; why sell your business if you can get your customers to sell it for you? It has some deceptively simple strategies: Talk with your customers, not at them. Educate your existing customers. Your sales and marketing strategies must always work together. There are plenty more lessons in the book, but these are some great points to consider when approaching marketing. All of my ideas in this blog post have contained elements of building a referral engine, and it involves every aspect of marketing that we've examined. I will leave you with this final excerpt from the Referral Engine website "The secret to generating referrals lies in understanding the “Customer Referral Cycle”—the way customers refer others to your company who, in turn, generate even more referrals. Businesses can ensure a healthy referral cycle by moving customers and prospects along the path of Know, Like, Trust, Try, Buy, Repeat, and Refer."
Dedicated Account Handling
If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact your dedicated account manager. Each dedicated account manager has a wealth of experience and skills to help market your business. We are here to help.
Contact our Support TeamGet the knowledge and inspiration
Get the knowledge and inspiration you need to build a profitable business — straight to your inbox.
Unsubscribe any time! / Privacy Policy
