If you
have ever heard “I didn’t know you sold that” from a customer,
your company may be missing out on valuable marketing
opportunities. Somebody else is getting sales you should get.
Are all of your customers buying all of the products they could be
buying from your company? They may be limited in what they can
purchase from you because they are not aware of the range of
products and services you offer.
You don’t need to spend a fortune in advertising to make sure
customers know about all the products you sell. There are
effective and inexpensive ways to keep consumers informed.
Four Ways to Get the Word Out
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Attach an easily readable,
colorful label (sticker) to every product that leaves your
company. These labels should show your company name, Website
address and telephone number in large enough print to be seen and
read from a distance of five feet.
Reason: If someone in your customer’s office wants to re-order,
and doesn’t realize who the products were ordered from – and if
your name and phone number are not clearly visible on your
products – you may lose sales. The person ordering may look on the
Internet, through the Yellow Pages, or call one of your
competitors to buy products that you sell.
(Exception: If you are a wholesaler - selling products to
resellers who will be shipping to end users - this would not apply
to you.)
Your Silent Sales Tool
Reason: If shipments are sent out with only your products inside,
a marketing opportunity is being missed. Every box of products
should contain an announcement with: “this month’s special” or
“new product launch.” The only cost to your company is the cost of
the paper, toner or ink, development time and the time it takes to
make copies. Make sure the person doing the packing has a large
supply of colorful flyers to put into each shipment.
Put Your Invoices to Work for You
Reason: Unless your customers pay cash up front or with a credit
card, every consumer eventually receives a bill from your company.
So if you are looking for a way to encourage additional sales, you
will benefit by putting your bills to work for you. There is
probably space on your invoices to list add-on products and
services you provide. You can also include a colorful flyer with
your invoice.
Marketing with Signature Lines
Reason: Adding a compelling signature line to your email messages
allows you to say whatever you want, provide a link to your web
page and do it without any pressure or obligation. Think about it:
how many emails do you send out every day?
Why not put your emails to work for you by adding a link or two to your signature file? That’s all it takes! You can start as simple or as fancy as you’d like. One of my e-class students includes a compelling signature line in her emails to initiate referrals from her current customers: “Ask me how you can earn $50.00 off your next purchase.”
Your Customers May Have Put You in a Niche
If your company started out by selling only one type of product and later decided to add additional products and services, your customers have put you in a niche. If your business was known in the past as XYZ Copiers, but now you offer printer and fax supplies, it takes consistent reminders to let customers know you can provide items other than what they purchased in the past from you. Marketing research has found that it takes seven contacts within 18 months to make a new sale. Selling a new or different product to an existing customer counts as a new sale.
Every reminder
helps to keep your name in front of customers and low-cost
marketing tools can provide valuable opportunities for you.
Ann Barr is a consultant and sales coach who has written eight
books on sales and marketing. You can sign up for Ann's free
Weekly Sales Tips e-mailed newsletter at her web site
www.annbarrblog.com