Walking through what marketing and automation can do for your business.

Advancements in technology have made information easy to access, which has made us less dependent on the face-to-face sales process. This has led this generation to have less brand loyalty, and businesses therefore can no longer solely rely on relationships to sell products and services. Sales and marketing departments often work within their own silos, but they are actually part of a bigger sales and marketing process that must work together and serve each other. And in turn they must work in coordination to serve your entire business. You may increase leads through marketing but if you don’t have an efficient way to transform leads to satisfied customers, you’ll be leaving money on the table. Process-Focused Marketing looks at the sales and marketing process as a whole, in three simple steps.

The first step is to build a framework that can be used by the entire company, where each department has a say in their area of expertise. Write down what happens from the first marketing effort to project completion. Write down every action, every form filled out, every email sent, every document signed. When you have each department do this and go over it as a team you’ll be surprised at how much waste exists in the process and how much of this can be better organized, delegated and automated. The goal is to make your sales and marketing process as simple and repeatable as possible. You’ll need to know exactly what’s happening before you can fix anything.

The next part to building a framework is to assess your current software. Out of date software wastes time, costs money, and most modern integrators are not compatible with obsolete software. Many business owners don’t realize how affordable automation and integrations have become. The utilization of cookies – a tiny text file created by a website – is imperative to a successful modern company. Cookies provide a way for your website to recognize your leads & customers and keeps track of their preferences. They let companies know the products that leads have been looking at on their websites. Companies that use cookies can have their salespeople automatically notified when a potential customer appears interested in specific products. Now the salesperson doesn’t have to guess who needs attention!

Finish the framework by creating a written plan and setting clear goals. This doesn’t have to be complicated, just write down a point form set of goals on a sheet of paper even. Set out your goals and share them with your team.

The second step is to find your voice, and project it. Refine your message. What makes your company special, what sets you apart? Who is your ideal customer? Define your target audience and plan where to find that audience. Think of your customer as the hero in the story, not your product! Make your customer the focus of your marketing and sales efforts. Illustrate how the customer benefits from using your product.

When deciding where to promote your products, understand that these days you’ll need a multi-faceted approach, you’ll need to show up in many places and you’ll need to show up often. In the 1990’s it was said that a consumer needed to see your product 14 times before committing it to memory, today that number has gone up to over 90 times! This busy digital world is full of distraction and you’ll need to project your voice more often and in many different ways.

The third step is to measure the results. The framework you created from the first step will support the structure of HOW you measure the results. It’s important to discern what data is important for your company. Data like web traffic, closing ratio, ROI on marketing dollars, length of time from estimate to sale, length of time between sale and project completion are all important types of data to consider measuring. Without a way to measure what’s working, you’re just spinning your wheels.

You need to be agile and make decisions based on the data you’re collecting to move your company forward. There are many software options that can help, many of which can collect data and send reports automatically. A good quality CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software can be an excellent tool that not only provides an environment for your sales and marketing teams to be more effective, but they can also create automated journeys and collect and store data on your leads and customers that can be used to steer your company toward a more profitable future. The aim is to reduce workload and increase efficiency, so using automation and reliable tracking software is invaluable.

The overall goal is to systematize the sales and marketing process to make it scalable and repeatable. The more scalable and repeatable your process is the more profitable your company will become. Once completed you will have a reliable framework, a clear relevant message that is broadcast to your target audience, and the data necessary to adjust in real time. Once your sales and marketing process is fully implemented you can expect to gain the productivity of one to three employees, without adding a cent to your payroll. Leverage modern technology in your business - just as the modern producer leverages ag tech to produce more food with fewer resources. Embrace the future!