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“If I make it they will buy it”

“If I put it on the shelf in a store they will buy it”

“Everyone will want/need one”

“Mine is better it is more unique, cheaper, has more features”

“People will willing pay more for my product/service”

Being in business means you need to believe in your company’s offering.  But what many forget is that no one else will believe it unless you tell it to them – again and again and again.

And that’s what marketing is – its getting people to believe what you believe.   It’s getting people to the point of “I’ll Buy That”.

But most businesses skip over that essential middle part (read Marketing) between producing a quality product service and getting someone to buy it.  Here are some of the questions any business needs to answer before it can be sure of selling the product.

What Am I Selling

• Can you explain what you sell in 15 words or less
• If you can’t then you don’t know what you are selling

Who Am I Selling It To

• 99.999% of all people you meet probably won’t want/need to buy your product/service.
• How do you know who that .001% is

Why Would They Buy It

• Give me three good reasons why they should buy your product/service

When Do They Buy It

• Do they buy it in their sleep, when they drive the car?
• Do they need to think about it first or can they make up their minds the instant they see it (and can they buy it the instant they see it)

Who Is Also Selling The Same Thing

• Chances are someone else provides your product/service.
• Know who they are and what they do well and not so well.

How Do I Reach My Audience

• Which of the over 1,000 newspapers, radio stations, TV stations, magazines, trade publications, and over 5,000 billboards in the GTA does your audience use.
• Do they respond to direct mail, coupons, trial usage

How do I convince them

• What’s it going to take them to try your product:
  • Price Reduction
  • Endorsement
  • Free Trial
  • Demonstration

Do They Need It or Want It

• If they need it – it’s food, shelter, or clothing.
• If they want it – it fills an emotional need
• Sometimes products/services do both

Finally someone wants your product

• Do they know where to buy it
• Do the people who have the product know how to sell it?
   

Case Study

Background

Our client was a mid-sized Canadian data information provider that was seeking to introduce a new web based application.  The application was designed to be more affordable for both the client and for the company.  This meant that there was a larger potential audience that went beyond that cream of corporate Canada that the company usually worked with.   Instead of having sales people having face-to-face meetings the sales would have to be done online and over the phone.

Our Deliverables

We provided an integrated approach that managed the entire marketing and sales process to ensure success.  After reviewing their target audience we developed a marketing program that would create a significant amount of exposure in a short period of time.  This ensured that the target audience would see something on the new service in several places and generate interest.  The plan included:

• Print Ads in selected newspapers
• Media Releases for trade publications
• Direct Mail piece to opinion makers in target companies 

We then trained their sales staff on selling the service including practice sessions.  The sales staff then made two calls

• The first call to set up a two-week trial offer
• Return call two weeks later to gather feedback and to sell the service. 

Results
10% of targeted companies signed on for trial and projected first year sales of over $1 million with a mere 3.5% marketing cost.