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Flawed Marketing Strategy Destroys Relationships Instead of Building Them
| Guest post by: Mandie Crawford |
Article Overview: My business is a marketing and B2B service company. The web site had referred me to a client who needed at 'pest control company' in San Francisco and recommended that I call the potential client immediately to offer my services and give a quote. The interesting thing is that I NEVER signed up for this site - but was added as a member (without my knowledge) by someone likely harvesting names from the internet or researching and locating small businesses.
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Free Download - Five things you can (right now) do to increase your sales and get you out of that rut! By Mandie Crawford |
Flawed Marketing Strategy Destroys Relationships Instead of Building Them
Recently I got an email from a self proclaimed 'connection' web site - notifying me of an opportunity that I might be interested in. After reading the email - immediately unsubscribed. Why?
My business is a marketing and B2B service company. The web site had referred me to a client who needed at 'pest control company' in San Francisco and recommended that I call the potential client immediately to offer my services and give a quote.
The interesting thing is that I NEVER signed up for this site - but was added as a member (without my knowledge) by someone likely harvesting names from the internet or researching and locating small businesses.
This is not an uncommon practice for companies trying to build their lists and market their businesses. I can only surmise that they were truly trying to connect me or hoped that I would visit the site and revise a profile that I had never posted myself - so that it was accurate. They may have even hoped that I would upgrade my membership because I realized that they were truly referring people - even though they had mistaken me for a pest control company.
In another instance this past week - I received a phone call from another company who were 'processing and approving' my application to be listed on their prestigious list of companies. This was not the first time I had received a call from this company who claimed to be the "who's who" of reputable North American companies - so I was wise to their marketing technique.
They began asking about numbers of employees, years in business and other questions. I interrupted the caller and asked where they had received my application. I was informed that she simply was calling to verify information and she was not sure where my application had come from. I then asked if there was a fee to be listed - and she replied that there was, but that the fee was not due until I was accepted.
What an interesting - and what I consider unethical - marketing technique. Find a company - tell them you are approving their application for listing in a so called prestigious directory - and then collect a fee for membership once all the information has been collected.
The inference was that a business owner had applied - when in fact they had not. And a busy entrepreneur or business owner could easily be fooled into believing they had applied - were accepted and pay the membership fee.
Both of these marketing techniques are commonly used to build large membership based organizations. Domain Registry of Canada does something similar - again fooling business owners into using their company. More info on that here.
Is list building important? You bet. A good list is the foundation of most successful businesses. But more important than a big list - is a list that reflects customers and clients with whom the business owner has built relationships.
How does a business owner build a good list?
* Begin by cleaning up your data base - including customers and clients you have sold t in the last 2 years
* Make sure that you have as much information as possible about them (email and physical addresses)
* On your web site, offer a some tips, a report or other valuable information and collect names of people who are interested.
* Communicate with them regularly by:
1. sending a newsletter
2. educating them on trends or new products
3. sending coupons
This is an ethical and honest way to use a list for marketing your business. "Fooling" a client into giving you information or 'the sale' leaves the customer feeling cheated - and their likelihood of returning is slim. And it certainly does not encourage repeat business.
Considering 80% of a businesses profit comes from 20% of their clients - many returning over and over again - it is also a flawed marketing strategy.
"One of the keys to effective communication and dispute resolution is understanding ourselves and how we think and also understanding how others are wired as well. Each of us has personality styles that are unique to ourselves - however there are also patterns as well. When you understand the differing personality styles and their blends - you begin to see people as they are with more understanding! For more information on understanding personality styles please contact Mandie at president@roaringwomen.com."
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About the Author: Mandie Crawford RSS for Mandie's articles - Visit Mandie's website Mandie also has skills and expertise in providing high quality guidance in time management and system implementation for small a medium sized businesses. Her passion as a business and professional development coach is to helps women recognize their value and self worth. She is the President of Roaring Women Ltd which is Canada's premier national business support group for women in business that focuses on connecting, promoting and educating women in business. In her goal to encourage and educate women in building business across the country, she launched and completed a 6 week coaching tour in partnership with Staple Business Depot in 2008 where she coached over 600 women in business. Mandie is mother to four children and 3 stepchildren and one highly energetic chocolate lab! Ms Crawford is also a former award winning police officer with Halton Regional Police. Click here to visit Mandie's website   How Playing the Numbers Game Can Turn Into Relationship Building Hits Visits Conversions and other Stuff Using hit and miss strategies in your business Why Bad things come in threes and what you can do about it Make more money have less stress and get more time off Really |
Related Forum Posts
Book: Secrets of Six Figure Women
- Secrets of Six Figure Women: Surprising Strategies to up your earning and change your life
Barbara Stanny, 2002
Jacket:
Maybe you've noticed - a subtle trend is gathering steam. Quietly and steadily, the number of women making six figures or more is increasing, and it continues to rise at a rate faster than for men. From entrepreneurs to corporate executives, from white collar executives to free lancers and part timers, women are forging careers with considerable financial success.
Through extensive research and hundreds of interviews, including dialogs with more than 150 high earners whose annual incomes range from $100,000 to 7 million, Stanny discovered that ...they all had certain traits in common:
1) a profit motive
2) Audacity
3) REslience
4) Encouragement
5) Self-awareness
6) Non-attachment
7) Financial knowhow
She amplifies on these in the book itself.
Table of Contents
Intro: Welcome to the era of the six-figure woman
1. The Queen in the Countinghouse
2. The Lowdown on low earners
3. Raising the bar
4. Strategy 1: The Declaration of Intention
5. Strategy 2: Letting go of the ledge
6. Strategy 3: Get in the Game
7. Strategy 4: Speak Up
8. Strategy 5: The Stretch
9. Strategy 6: Seek Support
10. Strategy 7: Obey the rules of money
11. Claiming our power
Appendces:
Resources and websites
Tips for getting out of dent
Investing Basics: Wealthbuilding 101
Type of business with building
- If you owned a building and Wal-Mart was opening its doors across the street in a previously unoccupied area (along with 12-14 small shops), what type of business would you start?
Here are the considerations:
1. Money is a non-factor
2. Building is fairly large (10,000) square feet
3. Building is on the corner of a busy intersection (about to get much busier)
Re: MLM Marketing, youtube, and buzzirk mobile.
- I have experience with MLM too. My initial reaction to the business was "snake-oil salesman" but once I got to understand the "overall business model" I am now an advocate to it.
MLM (Multi-Level Marketing) is also known as Network Marketing. I realized an MLM business is no different than any other business. One needs to focus on both words "Network" and "Marketing" and give both equal respect. Some people focus heavily on the Networking part but forget "Marketing".
I've started to use Building on a Budget and Magnetic Sponsoring concepts in my NM business and have found that people don't get involved so much because of the product but more because of what you bring to the table as far as marketing systems and support.
I have both products listed in my signature. you don't have to buy it as the link to the free videos itself provides you a good understanding of what is required to position yourself as my above paragraph.
If you do plan on purchasing it I can tell you that the measly $40 will open your eyes BUT your upline will not be too happy (atleast in the short term) beacuse the system is not duplicateable.
I wrote this post as a polar post to Bulmer's reply as I have exhausted the friends and family networking and realized i never really focused on marketing. My leads now are more qualified and open to hearing about my opportunity than the other way around.
my 2 cents if you plan on growing an MLM or Networking Marketing business.
Starting a New Business
- Congratulations on the first step of deciding to create your own business.
First, you have to ascertain if you are going to be selling your products or services to people or to businesses.
People purchase products and services for three basic reasons:
•To satisfy basic needs
•To solve problems
•To make themselves feel good.
You have to determine which of these three categories your product or service is the solution to. Businesses, unlike individuals, buy products and services for three reasons as well:
•To increase revenues
•To maintain the status quo
•To decrease expenses.
Knowing the reasons why people/businesses buy, you should have a picture emerging of who you think your "Target Market" (or ideal customer) is. Once you have zeroed in on your solution, you are ready to create your Marketing Strategy.
If you look at any company that has grown rapidly over the past few years, (i.e. WestJet and Starbucks), it should demonstrate to you the importance of Marketing. In simple terms these companies have:
•Clearly defined what makes them different;
•Who their ideal customer is;
•How to reach them;
•Why customers should buy from them;
•And most importantly why customers should come back again.
It is strong Marketing Awareness that singles out the best companies.
I can not stress enough how important it is to create a "living" Marketing Plan before you even start.
I hope this helps a little in the creation of your plan. All the very best of luck.
Remember: "A Goal without a Plan is just a Wish"
Miles of Smiles,
Marketing Maven
Hi Folks!!!
- This is to introduce myself as the Marketing Manager of iridium interactive ltd. I came across this forum while browsing and wanted to become a member of it. To give you a brief of the company, iridium interactive (ii) specializes in offering unique user centric e-business solutions varying from Strategy, Design, Technology & Marketing. ii with its presence in three continents, has been in the forefront in integrating strategy, design and technology to build unique, robust user centric e-business solutions.
ii is an idea commune manifested by a group of futurists, business strategists, creative minds, technowizs, cyber marketers & web brand builders that work in harmony to deliver innovative interactive solutions. Our team has worked on a variety of disciplines for a multitude of clients drawn from various industries.
Let us have a nice time together in this forum. I suppose we will all have a good time together.
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