Strange question? Not really. It’s one we ask potential clients many, many times.
During a market research survey last year, we asked hundreds of businesses how they buy products and services for their company. 93% said that anything over £5,000 they ask their network and then go direct to the referred company’s website. Of those, 54% said that they didn’t like what they saw so they never bothered getting in contact with the company.
So one out of two people who had a direct word of mouth from a trusted source “you should speak to this company” didn’t bother making contact because of what they saw! Amazing.
A couple of years ago we were confronted with this situation for a German telecommunications consultancy. They estimated that they received six business referrals a month and out of those only one got in contact! They lost all that business because their perception was that their website wasn’t something to be concerned about!
Needless to say we helped them realign their thinking, message and brand and they are now ridiculously busy. You see perception is everything. If you don’t look like you can deliver, that you don’t service the size company you are targeting, have messaging that doesn’t support your marketing initiatives or can’t communicate clearly ‘why you’ then why should they contact you?
Would you? If you had been told that you should speak to someone you don’t know what would you do? The same? Thought so.
So what’s my point? THINK! Don’t think about you, think about what your customers would want. Think about how THEY would react or behave. Maybe the next time you look at you, look at it from an external perspective and think ‘if I were my target what would I want to see and read?’ Too often marketing decisions are taken from an internal perspective when everything about marketing is for the viewer.
Equally understand that ‘everything’ you are, say and do speaks volumes about what kind of business you are and therefore everything must be taken into consideration when trying to win new business.
And finally…..sales, marketing and your business are one and the same thing. Not departments within your company. Sales and marketing IS your business regardless of what you sell.
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