The Inbound Growth Blog

The Inbound Growth Blog covers all topics relating to an integrated marketing strategy. We write about inbound marketing, social media, integrated marketing strategies and the sales process.

Small Business Growth Strategies: 3 Questions to Optimize Your Strategy

New Call-to-action

Posted by John Beveridge on May 15, 2012 1:47:00 PM

Small Business Growth StrategiesI recently spoke with Shawn Cook (@RPMSalesCoach), the North American Director of SMB Sales at marketing automation software provider, Eloqua.  Shawn shared with me the three questions he has his sales team ask all of their customers and prospects when they conduct needs analyses.  Using these three questions as a starting point to formalize a small business growth strategy is an excellent way to plot a course to success.   

Here are the three questions:

How Are You Obtaining New Customers?

I’ve stated in previous blog posts the increasing importance of revenue generation in the fallout of the Great Recession – as businesses have cut expenses to the bone, the only way to grow the bottom line is to increase revenue.  The goal of this exercise is not to simply answer the question posed; more to the point, it is to look at the different ways of generating revenue and making sure that you are using the most effective techniques. 

 Many business owners answer the question by saying, “We buy marketing lists and our sales reps make at least 50 cold calls per day.”  This is not an effective way to sell today – your sales process should mirror how buyers buy.  Small business owners should consider the following sales techniques which we believe are far more effective:

  1. Inbound Marketing – according to a study by the DAC group in late 2011, 71 percent of enterprise purchase decisions in the United States begin with research conducted on a search engine.  Your revenue generation process should include a robust inbound marketing program that gets you found on the internet by buyers, converts website visitors to customers and analyzes the process for constant improvement.

  2. Networking – get out to industry events and develop relationships with potential buyers and their vendors to potential buyers (attorneys, accountants, etc.).  Developing these relationships will help you reach potential buyers with their permissions – as opposed to interrupting their busy schedules with cold calling.

  3. Referrals – ask all of your vendors, suppliers, subcontractors and consultants for referrals.

Download Closing the Loop: The Ultimate Guide to Integrating Inbound Marketing Into Your Sales Process

 

How Are You Keeping Existing Customers?

As competition for business increases, the importance of keeping your customer base intact increases proportionately.    According to a report by Frederick Reichheld of Bain & Company, acquiring a new customer can cost as much as 7 times more than the cost of keeping an existing customer.  Here are two tactics to increase revenue from existing customers:

  1. Have a formal customer survey process and use it often.  It is extremely important to learn of customer dissatisfaction before it reaches the point where the customer looks for a new provider.  The most effective customer survey processes use a third-party; customers are open with their responses when a third-party is posing the questions.

  2. Ask satisfied customers for referrals and testimonials.  Assuming all goes well in the customer survey process; consider closing the process with the following question:  “Do you know any other businesses that could benefit from working with us?”

How Do You Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

What makes you different from your competition?  Why do your customers choose you over the competition?  Ask these questions to customers, vendors and suppliers.  This exercise will not only help you determine how you’re different, it will also identify gaps between your beliefs and public perceptions.  The right marketing message will help bridge that gap.  It’s important to know why you’re different and to communicate how you are different to your prospects and customers.

In summary, any strategic development process should include an examination of these three questions.  By implementing tactics to optimize new business acquisition, customer retention and brand differentiation, your chances for success in your business will increase dramatically.

 

 Get a free inbound marketing assessment with Rapidan Strategies

Topics: Business Management, Sales Process

Get the Ultimate Lead Generation Handbook


Learn 30 tips and tricks to supercharge your lead generation.

Ultimate Lead Generation Handbook