December 2004 Issue:

-The Four P's of Marketing (Part 4)
-Sales a Bit Slow? Email to the Rescue!
-Advertising's Three Little Words

Archived Issues

The Four P's of Marketing
Part 4: Placement

Last month we published the third article in our four-part series called The Four “P’s” of Marketing -- Product, Pricing, Promotion, and Placement. The first three articles, Product, Pricing, and Promotion, can be found in our newsletter archive on our web site. So now it’s time to cover the fourth “P” of marketing, Placement.

You can think of Placement as the sales and distribution branch of your marketing plan. Where will your product be placed so customers have access to it? How do your customers come in contact with your product? What type of sales tactics do you use to get your product into a customer’s hands?

Before a customer becomes a customer, you must first convince them to purchase your product. Thorough training of sales staff, along with developing a common selling process and consistent forecasting method, can improve your sales process and increase overall sales. Taking the time to develop effective sales tactics will help you “place” your product where customers have access to it.

Many businesses also use distribution channels as part of their sales strategy. A distribution channel, however, is sort of a “middle man” between the product and the customer, so why do businesses give the job of selling their products to intermediaries? Because it can be an efficient means of placing products in front of a wider customer base. For instance, distributors typically have their own contacts, which allows them to find and communicate with prospective buyers that you may not have access to.

So how should a small business decide on the right Placement (sales and distribution) strategies? Be sure that your Placement strategies are in line with the other “Ps” of marketing - Product, Pricing, and Promotion. Look at your marketing mix in terms of your business goals and objectives, and strive for a balanced approach. By paying attention to all the components of your marketing plan, your message will be unmistakable and your sales will be stronger.

Sales a Bit Slow? Email to the Rescue!

Most small businesses experience slow sales from time to time, but when real adversity hits, what can you do to get things moving again? Try an email solution!

For instance, a friend of mine owns a boutique in a small downtown area. Last summer, the city began a major construction project on the roads, which meant detours, demolition mess, and major inconvenience for the customers trying to get to the store. All of this resulted in a drastic drop in sales for the shop, with no end in site.

Instead of waiting for the situation to get worse, the shop owner decided to get creative. She put together an email campaign for her customers announcing a Construction Courage Sale, offering discounts and incentives if customers braved the construction mess to come shopping at her store. Offers included everything from buy-one-get-one-free to a Morning Madness sale, when the discounts were greatest early in the morning one day each week.

Customers were persuaded, and thanks to the immediacy of email, sales began to improve within a few days. A potentially disastrous situation was turned into a realistic strategy for weathering the storm.

This type of email strategy can also work for service-related businesses as well. When times are a bit slow, use an email campaign to remind customers of their need for an annual checkup, seasonal needs such as furnace or air conditioning maintenance, or of an upcoming event such as tax time. Often, customers will respond and want to purchase additional services, turning your timely email reminder into additional new business.

An email campaign is a quick, low-cost tactic that is convenient for both you and your customers. Imagine the time you would spend making phone calls to your customers as opposed to sending an email! Customers can read your email message when it’s convenient for them, and you can arrange for your email campaign to be sent at specific dates and times to make it convenient for you.

This only works, however, if you have been committed to collecting your customers’ email addresses on a regular basis. Building an email database will enable you to implement an email campaign quickly. If your customers have already agreed to give you their email addresses (opt-in), then they will welcome your message and be interested in what you have to say.

Slow sales are often a reality of doing business, but they don’t have to turn into a crisis. Use the power of email to reach your customers. Get creative. Be proactive. By using email to quickly reach your customers, you can help get your business moving again when times are tough.

Advertising’s Three Little Words

Want to improve customer response to your advertising? Here are the three little words you’ve been longing to hear: Customers, Benefit, Urgency.

If you keep those three little words in mind when designing your next advertising campaign, you’re sure to see better results and customer response. To be successful in any advertising efforts, you should always:

1. Talk directly to your Customers
2. Let customers know the Benefits they will receive
3. Create Urgency to motivate them to respond

Talking Directly to Customers
Small businesses often make the mistake of thinking a customer is interested in knowing about their company. Well, customers typically care very little about your company. They care about their own situation and how your product or service will help them with their needs.

Demonstrating Benefits
The first thing you should explain to customers is the benefits they will receive from using your product. Instead of listing all of your product’s features, focus on how those features will fill your customers’ needs. Your product will be more attractive to prospective customers if they can clearly see how it will help them solve a problem or fill a specific need.

Creating Urgency
Now that your customers understand why they should select your product, you will need to motivate them to act quickly. Consider offering an incentive, such as a free gift to the first 50 customers, or a discount that expires soon. This helps customers take action, and gives them a reason to contact you sooner rather than later.

By putting customers and their needs first, you can improve the success of any advertising campaign. Just remember to use advertising’s three little words, Customers, Benefit, Urgency.

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Copyright 2004 Five Sparrows, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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