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Proud to be supporting local East Midlands childerens charity Rainbows
Win Marketing has, on and off – supported local childeren’s hospice charity, Rainbows “As the East Midlands’ only hospice for children and young people, Rainbows is a place where life-limited children and their families can find care and support.”
This week saw the team at Win Marketing sign up to become a member of the Rainbow Business Club, donating both regular cash contibutions and our services where we can help.
We are planning on delivering several workshops to local businesses with Rainbows and hope to see you at one of them in the future!
This is a really important cause to Win Marketing, as we are keen to support local charities and local business.
Win Marketing develops the social media SHARE model into a detailed infographic
Social media is a tool of marketing which many people we have come across in business don’t quite know how to use. It is more than the odd tweet or Facebook update. Have a look below at the expanded SHARE model we have developed (as a handy infographic to share)
Sales training – Listen, don’t just talk!
To be successful in selling one of the techniques you need to adopt is to:
Ask questions and SHUT UP!
This week we have delivered a sales training course to a Romanian sales team. Delivering a training course always acts as a reminder of good practice and good habits that we should all adopt.
Some interesting points came out of the sales training including: “How often we use our own perspective and prejudices in sales sand marketing instead of always asking questions to consider what is the customer’s perspective?”
Asking open questions – who, what, where, when, how, and then listening will provide us with the information we need to help satisfy a client’s enquiry.
However, too often a sales person will “push” a product or service onto a client without gaining a true understanding of what is required and how their product or service actually satisfies the specific needs of the client.
As mentioned in the training course, use your mouth and ears in the levels you were born with – two to one! Ask questions and listen – summarise and clarify what it is you have been told and then present your solution in terms of relevant benefits to your client.
Win Marketing have helped the Romanian sales team focus on the key stages of the sales process that includes:
- Preparation and planning
- A strong introduction
- Questioning
- A relevant presentation with features and benefits specific to the target audience
- Overcoming objections by asking good open questions
- Closing a sale
- Following up after a sale with good levels of customer service
Other areas we talked about in our training session this week is ‘what does it take to be successful in selling?’
The formula below is a good equation to adopt to be successful in selling:
Success = activity x skill x attitude
Know your activity levels, keep improving your skills and above all – maintain a positive mental attitude.
The delegates found our training course very practical and useful. They are now looking forward to implementing the new sales skills when back in their office next week. If you would like to improve your sales training performance have a sales training need please call us to discuss and see how we may be able to help you.
Ann
Top 10 Practical Tools to help you market your company more cost effectively
Our MD – Ann, wrote an article recently for NBV Enterprise Solutions, all about marketing your business cost effectively andher Top 10 Tools to do this. Have a read below and see if you are making the most of your business.
If you would like to discuss how you can market your business more effectively using any of these tools below (or other tools) please do give us a call on 01509 265 890 to see how we can help you acheive your business goals.
Top 10 Practical Tools to help you market your company more cost effectively
One question I regularly get asked is “what is the best way to market my company?”
The answer is – there isn’t one!
Marketing is a dynamic, ongoing process and involves various activities – not just one activity or promotion campaign.
The Chartered Institute of Marketing says: “Marketing is a management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably”.
But, what people want to know is how they can apply this to their business cost-effectively – or how can they get “more bang for my buck”?
Read our top 10 practical tools to help market a company more cost-effectively:
Tool 1 – Marketing Strategy
Like all aspects of business you need to know what you are trying to achieve. Write down your objectives. Clarify these are SMART objectives – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely. If they are not, they may be aspirations of what you would like to achieve. Smart objectives allow you to clarify where you want to be and allow you to monitor and confirm if you are getting there.
To learn more about marketing strategy and how Win Marketing can support your strategic marketing direction to acheive your corporate and marketing objectives, give one of the team a call on 0150 9265 890
Tool 2 – Marketing planning
Failing to plan is planning to fail.
By writing down your objectives you will start to focus and consider what you need to do to meet these objectives. Marketing planning is the process of confirming what you will do, and when to achieve these objectives.
Some of the activities will involve an investment of cash and/or time and you will need to prioritise what is the best use of resources to help achieve your objectives.
A marketing plan does not need to be a big management report, but it does need to be a dynamic document, with timescales and costs – a simple spreadsheet action plan outlining activities to be completed, by whom, when and any relevant budget can work just as well.
To learn more about marketing planning and how Win Marketing can support your marketing planning activity, give one of the team a call on 0150 9265 890
Tool 3 – Differentiate yourself
Why me?
Understand what the competition offers your customers and then identify what you can offer that is different. Talk to you customers, seek to understand “why my customers buy from me?”
Tool 4 – F.A.B.
Your business is FAB – you know that, but do others? I don’t mean your business is great (although it could well be) – what I mean is to develop a clear understanding of why your business is FAB in the eyes of your customers.
FAB = Features, advantages and benefits
F = What are the features of your products or services?
A = What does the feature do? What is the advantage?
B = What will the feature do for me the customer? Where is the benefit
If we take face cream as an example
Features = It is ph balanced and has good levels of absorbency
Advantages = It will be gentle on my skin and easy to use
Benefits = It makes me look younger, cost effective as a little cream goes a long way, don’t have to waste time waiting to apply make up waiting for cream to absorb into the skin etc.
Remember features tell, benefits sell
You need to say what your feature can do for the different types of customers you use your product or services.
The FAB of your business will be the core messages to use in marketing materials and any selling activities.
Tool 5 – Selling
It is important to know, who you are planning to sell to? Build up or maintain a database of contacts. I recommend an online version which works on smart phones to provide you with access to your contacts wherever you may be.
Success in selling is achieved with a mixture of the following formula:
Success = Activity x Skill x Attitude
Review your past performance, be honest with yourself plan how you will improve.
Consider what sales material do you need to help you promote your company to help get an appointment and when you see a prospect for the first time? Use the FAB messages.
Tool 6 – Promote and communicate yourself
Advertising, PR, Direct marketing – great ways to get you noticed
Advertising generates awareness and creates desirable brands. Consider your target audience, the message and the call to action – how the reader can respond to your advert. Consider the use of online advertising including pay per click, banner adverts and relevant directories.
Public relations is a cost effective promotional tool. Writing articles helps to promote you as an expert. Developing press releases on charity work, competitions, anniversaries, contract awarded or unique case studies of projects will all help to raise the awareness of your company.
Case studies and client testimonials provide the third party credibility and demonstrates your capability.
Conference speaking, networking and a strong business card all help to raise the profile of your business and your FAB messages.
Tool 7 – Get noticed online
To ensure your website is being noticed by search engines you need relevant content. Understand the key words/phrases people will use in looking for your products/services and build the structure and content around what is relevant to them.
Your website is likely to be the first experience a prospect has of your organisation.
Is it the experience you would want them to have?
Does it have the content built around your FAB messages?
The material used in your PR activity should be posted as blogs onto your website to keep it live and interesting.
Use the tools of social media marketing to help drive traffic to your site.
Consider how e-commerce or an app could provide your customers with greater choice and improved options.
Tool 8 – Videos and photographs
Using good, relevant photographs will create greater interest in your product or service. They help to re-enforce a point and will help with the publishing of press releases.
YouTube is the second largest search engine – more people review answers in video format than the text format of a traditional website. We recommend content on a website is also produced as short videos. These can be uploaded onto a YouTube channel as well as your own website.
Videos work well for case studies, product demonstrations or to provide technical support and explanations.
Tool 9 – Be social and SHARE
Keep listening and engaging with people
Social media marketing provides a huge platform for you to listen and communicate directly with many influencers and prospects in your market. It is not the forum to leave to the young person in the office who knows how to use Facebook!
At Win Marketing we have adopted our own social media marketing model called SHARE*.
*SHARE model developed by Win Marketing (UK) Ltd
S = Strategy – see and understand the bigger picture gained from being social
H = Hear and be a good listener – understand what is being said about you and your market
A = Act, start using social media – respond as appropriate
R – Review, learn and improve – perhaps adapt your products or services based on your findings or improve your marketing communications messages.
E = Engage with others – build a network of people who you communicate with and who will communicate your messages to others.
Tool 10 – Monitor and evaluate
Marketing is a dynamic discipline, you need to monitor and assess levels of performance, understand if customers’ needs are changing and how competitors are reacting. You need to understand how effective you have been and consider what can be improved.
You need to regularly review, amend, develop and implement a new action plan to achieve ongoing success.
Good luck with your marketing!
Ann Goodwin
Recent client ‘delighted with the results’ of our service
A recent client of Win Marketing, Get Set For Success, have provided us with a testimonial as a result of our service, claiming they were ‘delighted with the results’
Dr Julie Bradshaw MBE, came to Win Marketing for several design services, including Web Design. We are really pleased we were able to deliver her expectations, and here’s what she said:
“Having had the Win Marketing Team design my business cards and other related items, it made perfect sense to have them do my website. I wanted my ‘old’ website revamped and I needed one that would be ‘me’ and advertise all that I am. I am pleased to say that I was delighted with the results. All through the process, and even when my website went live, I was kept updated and involved in the process. I have found the Win Marketing Team very helpful and I am really pleased with the outcome. I would recommend Win Marketing.”
Dr. Julie Bradshaw MBE
www.getset4success.co.uk
If you are interested in developing your corporate branding, for example a logo design or redesign, business card, advertsing or promotional leaflet design, or if you would like to discuss how Win Marketing can support with developing your existing website, or creating a new website design, please give one of the team a call on 01509 265 890
