Have you found yourself completely overwhelmed, knee deep in work with not enough time to complete...
Every single day you, and most other people, are being bombarded with more than 3,000 marketing messages. They’re everywhere – on TVs and radios, on every shop front and advertising board, the sides of buildings, buses and taxi cabs, the bus stop, your newspapers, the movie you dropped in to watch, your email, even your mobile phones. The list goes on and on. It’s more like information deluge than information overload. So, just as you have probably done, your customers and prospects have trained themselves to ignore those messages.
But if you put some effort into the steps that lead your customer to a sale, then you can easily overcome those marketing filters.
Step 1. Get to know them
Make it your business to know everything there is to know about your ideal customer or prospect. Where do they like to shop? What time of day? Are they usually rushed and needing quick service or do they prefer to browse? Is price most important to them, or follow-up support? Are they single or married? Male or female? Teens wanting to impress friends, or families needing solutions that accommodate adults and kids at the same time?
Once you’ve figured this out, your messages become much more relevant and targeted. Which gets your prospects attention and makes your prospects feel as though you are truly interested in them, not just a sale.
Step 2. Follow up consistently
Research shows that it takes around 7 repetitions before a person takes on board your message. There is also evidence that 80% of the time they don’t buy from you until after 10 encounters with your business. The interesting thing is that most businesses give up on marketing after 3 or 4 attempts, in other words, a long time before their prospects have even taken in the message, let alone are ready to buy.
So stick with it. When you consistently and effectively follow up with your prospects, your message will eventually sink in.
Step 3. Offer more value
Every marketing message out there is an attempt to get money. Like hawkers in the bazaar, we businesses are all trying to persuade our prospects to part with their cash. Naturally, buyers suspect our motives and are inclined to be cynical at the start.
Stand out from the crowd by making your message do more than ask for a sale. Aim for it to educate, engage, entertain or even help your prospect in some way.
Step 4. Nurture your customers
Once your prospect becomes your customer, don’t abandon them. It’s a common complaint that once a prospect becomes a customer, businesses fail to put the same effort into providing them with good service. They’ve signed up, paid the deposit, agreed to the terms, they’re hooked … well and good for the short-term maybe, but don’t expect them to remain loyal.
Customers need the same attention you offered them as a prospect. Offer that same personal attention and they will become loyal advocates, or possibly even a raving fan!
These are fail proof methods for turning your prospects to customers and your customers to raving fans. And that is worth a whole lot to your bottom line!
