May 09, 2012
All businesses depend on sending the right messages to
their customers. Whether it is a brick and mortar office,
retail store, online enterprise, a direct sales business or
some type of consulting firm, you have one chance to make a
first impression, and your business message must be clear.
Customers will focus on what they see, what you say, and
how you say it.
Look at what your customer sees
Your advertising collateral says a lot about your
business. Do you have a color sign out front with the
business phone number? Do you have
color
flyers and quality direct mail pieces? Do you have
color packaging that implies quality? Are you effectively
using your display space to attract customers to walk-in
and buy once they are inside? Do you have a helpful
business website with great photos and customer
testimonials?
Just as most customers would have reservations about eating
in a dirty restaurant, buying upscale goods from a
poorly-organized, junky store, purchasing from a
customer-unfriendly website, or obtaining consulting
services from a person with poor communications skills -
your printed and digital materials have to help convince a
prospective customer that what you are selling will
definitely solve their problem. As a
small-
or medium-sized business person, your sales window is
usually very small. Fundamentally, on that first
impression, they need to believe that you can deliver the
goods or services they want. Every customer wants to feel
good about a purchase decision. Your job is to use your
marketing collateral to reinforce the point that your
company will meet their requirements without a problem.
Show it and say it
If you are a retail store, it should be clean and well
organized, with all of your merchandise clearly priced.
Advertised and featured items should be readily visible and
there should be some real "wow" factor when customers come
through the doors. Do you have POPs or point of purchase
displays in your store? Whether you are selling goods, have
a cleaning service, a restaurant, a hair salon or a karate
studio, your premise presentation should make a potential
customer smile. You want them to want to do business with
you. Even if you are opening a real estate or insurance
agency or other type of office, make sure it is brightly
lit, looks professional and exudes professionalism.
Customers like to feel that they have come to the right
place, your premise presentation should reinforce that
perception.
If you provide services that take you on the road, like
consulting, sales, or public speaking, you will need some
additional materials for your customers to see that will
tell them what you are selling and why they should buy it
from you. We are now in the arena of
sales collateral, which can include everything from
glossy
brochures to full-fledge media kits. The short version
of your
presentation is your
business card and a brochure about your product or
service and the reasons you should be on your customer's
list as a potential vendor. You want to have plenty of
cards and brochures because these are initial customer
contact items. Hire a professional to design them, and get
them printed at the best possible quality.
Have a Clear Message
Most of all have a clear message as to why the customer
should do business with you. If you get more interest from
the customer, follow-up with a full-fledged media kit with
customer testimonials, media clips, product samples,
corporate bios, certifications, etc. As a general rule, the
higher the cost of the product or service the longer the
sales cycle, excellent marketing materials will reinforce
that you are the right choice. Customers only want to make
good decisions. Your sales materials need to support your
brand promise.
Now you've said it, how do you get the prospect to respond?
A few tips:
-
Use color printing to increase response. A recent
study shows that 69% of of people understand new
ideas better when presented in color.
-
Offer an incentive to drive a response, something that
ties to your business will be more memorable.
-
Provide multiple response methods such as phone number,
website address, social media site.
-
Set a deadline for the special offer your providing.
Do you have more great ways to have the best presentation
to your customer? Share them with Melinda
here.
-XXX-
Note: Melinda Emerson filed this content as a paid
contributor to Xerox. The content is the author's opinion
and does not necessarily reflect the views of Xerox.
Melinda F. Emerson, known to many as
SmallBizLady is
one of America's leading small business experts. As a
seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small
business coach, she develops audio, video and written
content to fulfill her mission to end small business
failure. As CEO of Quintessence Multimedia, Melinda
educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on
subjects including small business start-up, business
development and social media marketing. Forbes Magazine
named her #1 woman for entrepreneurs to follow on Twitter.
She hosts # Wednesdays on Twitter 8-9pm ET for emerging
entrepreneurs. She also publishes a resource blog
http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com
Melinda is also bestseller author of
Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide
to a Business That Works.
Recommend:
