So, did you do such a good job in 2003 attracting new customers to your company that you’re inundated with business, your company is big and growing, and all parts of your marketing system are in place and running smoothly? Congratulations, you are off to a great start to 2004!
If you can confidently answer “yes!” to the following metrics, then you’re ready to take your practice to the next level (and if your answer is “no,” go back to basics at http://www.turningpointemarketing.com )
* Is your company’s mission perfectly aligned with your market?
* Are your marketing efforts creating exactly the relationship your customers most want and need?
* Are your services well packaged, presented with a What’s in it for me? punch, and with prices in several levels?
* Do you know exactly where and how to promote your company’s services?
* Does your marketing system routinely and predictably create the kinds of new customers your business requires?
Even if these things are true for your company, what happens next in many successful companies, however, is not good news. Instead of sticking to what created success in the first place, the focus shifts away from the marketing mindset. Instead of being an essential lens through which the people in your company view your role, marketing as a day-to-day approach becomes less important. After all, why keep investing time and resources in marketing when you have more business than you can handle right now anyway? And shouldn’t you be spending time on what’s important now, like internal operations, serving current customers, and other more pressing priorities?
The answer is a definit no! Not only will it erode all the hard work you’ve put into getting to where you are, but it’ll make it much more difficult (and expensive!) to change your now larger and more complex ship once you lose that marketing mindset.
The truth is that once your company becomes more successful and by definition more complex, your energy and focus naturally turn more inward. As your business grows, it takes on a life of its own in the form of meetings, policies, training, policies, and reports. The bigger your company gets, the more energy is directed inward; it just takes more planning, management, and systems to keep everything running smoothly.
So how do you prevent your company from becoming consumed with internally focused activities? Developing and executing a strategy that takes your company to the next level.
For specific advice on what to consider to take your business to the next level, keep reading…
What are you and your management team doing to…
1) Keep the mission of your company in the market alive, real and relevant. Think of your company’s mission as “magnetic north” on your compass. In everything you do, constantly ask yourself, “What difference does this make in the lives of our customers?” If it doesn’t make any difference (or the wrong one), then why are you putting resources into it? Build this line of questioning into the decisions you make and the resources you allocate.
2) Create and maintain laser-like internal alignment with your external mission in the marketplace. Everyone’s job should have a direct connection to customer service. That means tying rewards and consequences to how everyone in your company contributes to building customer relationships. Even if someone doesn’t have direct customer contact, they’re supporting someone who does. Connect the dots between what they do and what it means to the customer.
3) Create new clients for old packages. Chances are, you haven’t saturated your current target market. Don’t let the basics that got you to your current level of success slip away. And what about the new target markets? What successful services do you have that you could offer to another segment?
4) Create new services for old clients. Do some research…ask the people on your “front line” what they think your customers need. Ask your customers directly or hire an outside company to ask for you. Find out why he won and lost business. You will be amazed, inspired and motivated by what you learn.
5) Create new packages for old services. Take what you know or do and put it into a new format or offer. You can create workshops, CDs, eBooks, minibooks, online content, workbooks, checklists, and more from almost any professional content you know or work with. Think beyond just charging an hourly rate for your services. Turn what you know into a product by giving people useful tools they can use.
6) Make sure you and your leadership team are role models for the rest of your company on how to build lasting relationships. What behaviors, words, standards, and approaches create lasting relationships with both customers and employees? Make sure your senior team does what you say, and if they don’t, fix the problem! If you can’t model how to create lasting relationships at the top, others will be less inclined to do it well.
7) Deliver on your company’s brand promise through strong practice management. The mark of a true professional is when the company itself acts together. It’s not enough to just be experts in your field, backed by the credentials and experience that matter to your target customers. You must also engage in continuous learning about your profession, the industries of your clients, and how to professionally run your business. Your company’s leadership should act as a role model for how you want to be perceived in the marketplace.
Are these high standards to set for your company? Absolutely. But then again, you’ve already shown that you get the basics right. Resting on your laurels will only go so far. Sooner than you think, losing your focus on marketing will put you back at square one, struggling to land customers and worried about cash flow.
Except this time, the stakes are higher, your profile in the market is higher, and you have a lot more to lose. So why go there? Take your business to the next level and rest assured you won’t have to look back!
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