A Formula for Marketing Success
Source: Partner Insights
The following includes excerpts, reproduced with permission, from an article by August Aquila. Aquila explains how firms can improve their business development results by applying the equation V+P=R (variables plus processes equal marketing results) and identifies the most important variables, processes and results:
Variables
- Partners: Partners either make things happen or they don't.
- Lead follow-up: If a lead comes in, someone needs to make contact with the individual or company within 24 hours.
- Promotional focus: Many firms don't know who they want as core clients, where their potential clients are, or how to reach them.
- Promotional effectiveness: If you are not getting results from your marketing take a look at what your material is saying. Is it focused toward your target market?
- Client satisfaction: The majority of new business should come from word-of-mouth.
- Service innovation
- Marketing creativity
- Vision and leadership
Processes
- Contact management system: Effectively track prospects and other new business opportunities.
- Lead flow: Have an effective system in place so that when leads come in they get assigned in a timely fashion.
- Monthly reporting: When you keep score, you start changing attitudes and behavior.
- Goal setting
- New business/sales training: Train people in the necessary skills of sales and new business development.
- Service line and niche marketing programs: Prospects and clients want to work with professionals who truly understand their business.
- Written marketing plans
- Profit center reporting
Results
- Focus on specific key clients
- Measurement of sales effectiveness
- Penetration of new market segments
- More effective business development
- More profits
- More core clients
- Better new business results
- More focus on results
For the complete article, read “Understanding Business Development.”
From Partner Insights, Aquila Global Advisors, LLC, September 2014, http://www.aquilaadvisors.com.