In our series of articles on the lifecycle for sales and marketing success, we have talked about how creating alignment, trust, and attraction with potential clients requires time and investment. However, first, you need to know where these potential clients are and then connect with them, either online or in person.
Marketing is an enormously resource-hungry beast, in terms of both energy and money. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure your efforts are reaching the right people. For example, we have seen countless cases of professional firms such as lawyers, architects, and accountants stating they have a good following on Twitter or LinkedIn.
However, when we analyse the organisation’s connections, it often turns out they comprise of mainly fellow professionals. It should come as no surprise, therefore, that such social media marketing efforts reap few leads, let alone converted sales – fellow lawyers, architects, and accountants are not potential prospects, they are colleagues and competitors.
Reaching potential clients – combining high-tech with human judgment
We live in an age of instant gratification. The internet and, in particular, social media have led us to expect everything to be done immediately and with little effort. The last 12 months, however, have seen a backlash to this ideology, with many of us waking up to the fact that we have been sold a lie.
The same logic applies to sales. While it may be tempting to rely on a set of search results to target prospective clients, business data analysis must be combined with human judgement, which, when done properly, takes time.
Simple ways to find prospects
There are several steps you can take to increase your reach and target the right decision-makers:
• Research your competitors – who is using your competition? Chances are they can be persuaded to switch to your offering. Undertaking in-depth competitor research also provides an opportunity to analyse their strengths and weaknesses and align your marketing strategy accordingly.
• Use your social media wisely – don’t neglect the ‘social’ in social media. Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram are not simply tools to promote your products and services. Link to interesting articles which you know (from previous research) will provide value to your audience. Answer questions and queries as soon as they are posted. Thank people for following. And above all, genuinely care about your audience and their needs and demonstrate this by making your social media an engaging, valuable resource for them.
• Invest in editorial content – There’s an old saying : “Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for.” A 2014 study by Nielsen commissioned by inPowered on the role of content in the consumer decision-making process, concluded that PR is almost 90% more effective than advertising. It is also far cheaper. The fastest way to gain editorial space is to strike up relationships with editors of publications your clients read. Then you need to send them something of value to their audience; for example – a new survey, trend, or change in the industry that you have advanced knowledge of. Make sure the write-up includes nothing about your company or how your product or service can solve a potential problem. This is advertising. Editorial content focuses exclusively on the reader.
• Use Hashtags – effective use of Hashtags on social media posts is a swift way to reach prospects who may be interested in what you offer. Tools such as Hootsuite and Tagboard can help you identify Hashtags which are relevant to your audience.
How Reach Revenue can help you identify clients.
Reach Revenue has, based on four decades of senior sales and marketing leadership, crafted a way of working with any small, medium, or large business, which reliably and consistently leads to the growth of a loyal and committed client base. They work on a Consultancy as a Service (CaaS) basis, allowing you to keep control of your budget while benefiting from their knowledge and expertise.
Reaching an audience from which you can later derive solid leads is a skill requiring analysis of data to identify engagement and buying insights. And once you truly understand your market, your sales and marketing teams can swoop in and begin engaging in a relevant manner which will swiftly lead to conversion. Let us show you how.
Reach Revenue works with business owners, leaders and investors to develop high performing sales and marketing teams aligned to the strategic objectives of their business. To find out how we can help you, please call 020 3858 8030 r email info@reachrevenue.net