25 reasons to start a business-to-business marketing program
1. Create awareness. It’s absolutely essential in today’s volatile market place. People need to know who you are, what you represent and where you can be found.
2. Build brand preference. You want customers to prefer dealing with your business instead of your competitors.
3. Keep customers sold. Guess who your competitor’s best prospect’ are? The more frequently you keep your name in front of customers the less likely they are to forget it.
4. Be number one on your prospect’s number two list. That way you’re the first one to be called when they change suppliers.
5. Be more visible than your competitors. If your competitors have to cut back advertising…opportunity knocks.
6. Intimidate the competition. The higher your business profile the less likely competitors will be to compete with you head-on. It also discourages new businesses from starting up with plans to “steal” your customers.
7. Announce changes. Or you could let the rumor mill do it for you.
8. Neutralize rumors. You should have made that announcement.
9. Persuade, It avoids pleading.
10. Support. Repeat the message that your salespeople are saying, whether it’s in print, radio or on the web.
11. Attract the better employees. Before you competitor does.
12. Attract new distributors. Nothing makes the old ones work harder.
13. Promote Services. Never assume that prospects and sometimes even customers really understand all of your products or services. How often has it happened that a customer says “I would have brought the job to you but I didn’t know you did that”.
14. Introduce a new company name. Never do this without advertising…a lot.
15. Introduce a new brand. See previous reason
16. Educate the user. Half of all product failures are customer mistakes.
17. Promote special events. Unadvertised usually means under attended.
18. Test market. Cut down on failures and job turnover, especially yours.
19. Challenge leadership. If you aren’t number one be number two.
20. Take advantage of competitive weakness. Nice guys finish last .
21. Stay visible. More than 70% of all sales are initiated by the buyer.
22. Promote secondary products. Don’t you hate it when, good customers aren’t aware of your other products?
23. Tell your sales story the way you want it told. You will be amazed how it gets changed with the telling.
24. Build a new reputation. This takes time effort and continuity. People may know your business for one type of product or service and not another. You need to plant those ideas in their minds lke seeds in a garden.
25. Obtain direct sales. The average sale is made on the fifth call, after most sales people have given up.