When it comes to small business, the owners are often a vital part of the sales and marketing team. If not “the team.” And, many hit the streets on a regular basis to engage in hand-to-hand combat; presentations, seminars and local business events. This is especially true for service professionals such as attorneys, accountants, architects, business advisers, life coaches and consultants.

So, you just returned from an exhausting, long day of face-to-face marketing. It is by far the most time consuming and costly sales tactic but also one that can produce high closing rates. And, most importantly, you now have an excellent opportunity to follow-up with not only the people you met but also your target prospects that couldn’t make it that day. How so?

It is easy to follow-up with the prospects you met as well as reach your online social network while doing so. Here are a few tips to consider:

1. Trash that “thanks for attending, let me know if there is anything I can do..” email. Engage your prospect with a keynote summary of your presentation that includes an added “bonus” and I don’t mean a coupon here. Write-up your notes and add the questions asked as well as the answers provided during the presentation. However, don’t email the notes or the presentation. First publish the information online; preferably your blog. Send a link to your online content in the email.
   • Now your offline activities are being integrated with your online marketing tools.
   • A limited number of prospects will see your email. Potentially dozens if not hundreds or thousands can access your useful information online.
   • Your making an effort to engage your prospects.
2. Talk about the questions asked during the presentation on:
   • Social networks and forums
   • Your blog, your customer’s blogs and others read by your clients and target prospects
3. Let everyone know you have additional and important information to add; Part 2 of the story for example. Normally there isn’t enough time in a presentation to adequately cover all of the material. For your top prospects, invite them to subscribe to your blog and/or email newsletter; better yet, subscribe them yourself and ask them to confirm the subscription. Inform them you’ll be adding Part 2 to your newsletter or blog – give them a reason to want to subscribe.
4. Collect feedback and publish the comments online with your presentation. If a prospect emails the feedback to you, go to your blog and publish the comments for them. But don’t forget to reply to the comment online and directly to your prospect.

In fact, all of the recommendations above include one very, very important aspect of sales and marketing – engaging your prospects. Without engagement, building a meaningful relationship is impossible given there is a lack of emotional attachment. We’ve all seen it before. “Information” is presented to the target audience. Considerable time is spent “marketing” the material but the content fails to hit an emotional cord with the target due to lack of engagement.

What else is important? The steps covered above are typical processes in a marketing campaign. Unless you gave that presentation for sport, your in business to do business. An integrated marketing campaign is an absolute necessity if you want more business.

Here’s an excerpt from an article on follow-up marketing I published previously on our company blog:

“Instantly, I felt I was getting special treatment and all I really received was a simple document. I shared my experience with several friends. Engagement in action – it works when you know how to set up communication strategies for every new prospect or client.

Several much shorter and concise follow-up communications were sent to me by the concierge. The messages included service features that were easy to digest, remember, and most importantly repeat to others. Following up with a new client or prospect with the right message, at the right time, is a key element of your marketing strategy.”

Many marketers fall short here. They often fail to incorporate the “process” into their marketing plans, or lack the resolve and resources to promote their campaign beyond the early development stages. [Source: Word of Mouth Marketing: People are Talking by Greg Magnus, AIM Custom Media, Glen Allen, VA - December 2005.]

Far too many business owners absolutely take the wrong approach. They hunker down, cut marketing budgets and pull back.  The end result is “unattended customers” and less competition for you. Businesses that cut marketing budgets also demotivate their best salespeople, which start spending more time thinking about getting a new job than a new customer.

Economic downturns are an excellent time to strengthen your relationships with both your existing customers and your competitors’ customers. Odds are, they are not as busy. Are they more willing to spend a little more time with you? Definitely possible – use the time wisely:

• Collect testimonials: Asking for a testimonial is a contact with your customer that’s not a sales call. Tell them you would like to promote the testimonial and link it to their website, which will promote them as well. Use the opportunity to show your customers you value their opinion, your business relationship, and their business (i.e., dynamic websites, blogs, Scribd, PR news, etc.);
• Survey your customers: Create an opportunity to collect feedback and discuss services and/or products you offer that they may not be fully aware of or completely understand (i.e., email marketing, custom website landing pages, etc.);
• Network: Introduce your customers to people in your network that they consider prospects and ask to meet their business colleagues and associates – an excellent source of referrals (i.e., LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, etc.), and
• Use your “consulting” skills: Help your customers and prospects save time and money by providing pertinent industry news and educational materials that will help them compete during these difficult times (i.e., email newsletters, white papers and custom publications all have high ROIs).

But don’t be fooled. There is also new competition for you – competition from new business start-ups and competitors that have invested in new technologies and lower-cost marketing tactics.

Hordes of new businesses are created during economic downturns. Layoffs create a lot of entrepreneurs that may soon be targeting your customers with fresh ideas, creative solutions and competitive rates. And, they are targeting your customers using high ROI marketing tactics such as online social networks, email marketing, industry newsletters, dynamic websites (blogs) and related marketing technologies. If you are not already taking advantage of these marketing tools, now is a good time to ask yourself, if not now, when?

Don’t forget, the marketing tools mentioned above are low-cost when compared to traditional marketing methods but there is a cost. And, implementation requires resources – consider the costs while developing your 2009 marketing budget. Next year will be a difficult time for many and many companies won’t survive. Yours will if you take advantage of the marketing tools available today.

Additional Info

We picked up the following info from a recent newsletter from the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce:

Market aggressively. While many customers are hunkering down, don’t make the mistake of doing it yourself. Because your competitors are lying low, use this as the right time to raise your visibility by being more assertive in your marketing.

When times get tough, most companies are far from ready to do battle. They have nowhere to turn because they failed at prospecting. Ask them if they stay in touch regularly with all their prospects and customers, and you’ll get a blank stare. Ask them if they actively help their customers reduce operating costs, and they don’t have a clue what you’re talking about. In other words, these salespeople and their companies are unprepared to meet the challenges of a difficult economy.

If you’re one of our clients, it is likely you already have a dynamic website that includes a blog. Now is a good time to plan. Consider how you can use it to your advantage the rest of this year and during 2009. Here’s another quote from the reference mentioned above:

This may be the perfect time to start a blog. People still buy during tough economic times. It’s just that every purchase or investment undergoes far more scrutiny. Fear of making the wrong decision is a primary motivator in purchase decisions. Thought leaders are perceived experts. Businesses want to hire experts. Experts get paid more, and they get recruited from further away. Why?

Because in going with an expert, the perceived risk is lower. One of the least costly ways to begin to establish thought leadership is through blogging. Done right, blogging can both greatly enhance your perceived expertise and increase your chances of being discovered on search engines.

There are many other reasons for using blog technology, which we frequently cover on this blog (subscribe if you haven’t already and you’ll receive the free marketing advice).

Subscribe to digital AIM – Business Newsletters by Email

• According to research conducted by the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing generated an ROI of $51.58 for every dollar spent on it in 2006. The expected figure for 2007 is $48.56, and the prediction for 2008 is $45.65. As such, it outperforms all the other direct marketing channels examined, such as print catalogs.
• In a December 2007 survey of over 2000 marketers by Datran Media (an email marketing service), 80% of respondents  “indicated email was the strongest performing media buy ahead of search and display.” 55% expected “ROI from email to be higher than any other channel.”
• Marketers responding to a July 2007 global survey by McKinsey put email second only to paid keywords in terms of online marketing efficiency.
• A July 2007 survey of over 3,000 marketers involved in search marketing by MarketingSherpa saw “email marketing to a house list”  garners the most votes as the strongest marketing tactic. And it gained more votes than any other tactic for “good ROI.”
• A 2007 survey of over 1,000 advertisers by Outsell Inc. put email as the second most effective online marketing tool after the company’s own website.
• A July 2007 survey by Newsweaver and B2B Marketing Magazine of 170 marketers revealed 87% considered email critical, important or very important to their B2B marketing strategy.
• In a March 2007 survey of hotel marketers by Hospitality eBusiness Strategies, 58.7% cited email marketing as one of the Internet marketing formats that generate the best results and highest ROI.

Achieving a high ROI from email marketing requires a well-designed marketing program and a website with high-quality and fresh content of value to your target market. Unless you are an experienced marketing professional, creating, editing, and promoting unique high-quality content can be difficult and time-consuming. Given the high ROI, consider outsourcing.

Do what you do best and outsource the rest.

• People inside and outside your business are building your reputation. You’ll learn who they are and why you should care.
• Business tactics proven to increase your ROI.
• Business management and growth strategies are changing. Our contributors are experienced business professionals focused on helping you increase profits during changing times.

Subscribers also receive access to premium content we provide exclusively to our clients – access is provided via the newsletter only.