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It's time for Marketing to work from a system!

Written by: Joe Dager

Article Overview: I will tell you an idea that has “Stuck" for many years! Only half of your marketing really works, you just don't know which half? Would you allow manufacturing or service to be only 50% efficient? Change the way you view sales and marketing, and get a handle on sales/marketing process improvement.

It's time for Marketing to work from a system!

I will tell you an idea that has “Stuck" for many years! Only half of your marketing really works, you just don't know which half? Would you allow manufacturing or service to be only 50% efficient? Change the way you view sales and marketing, and get a handle on sales/marketing process improvement.

Sales/Marketing is the lifeblood of any company, but most organizations still approach this discipline as though it were totally an art - with success depending on “born salespeople” and “Creative” types that cannot work within a structure. Take the mystery out of the sales and marketing functions, and establish a structure that can be approached as a process with input and outputs, causes and effects.

Michael Webb's idea in his book Sales and Marketing the Six Sigma Way draws a parallel between manufacturing processes and selling that allows him to apply the process tools that have help companies improve their production efficiency. As Webb notes: Advertising produces `leads', which are the equivalent of raw materials in manufacturing Sales people qualify those leads, moving them through the selling funnel, like `work in process.' Finally, sales closes `deals', with new customers equating to finished goods.

Another idea is the concept of measuring marketing and selling effectiveness using the direct-response model. Direct marketing and telemarketing companies have been measuring effectiveness for decades - charting the response to each change in an ad or telescript with microscopic precision. By using this same model for general sales and marketing, companies can create tools and benchmarks to track their results at each step of the total sales process.

Sales/Marketing is measurable, if you know what measures to use. You must align them with a clear return on investment for their recommended plans which need to be closely aligned to the company’s overall strategic and financial goals.

The lack of a useful model for managing the integrated function of sales/marketing is at the root of many of our problems. As we proceed in the years to come, it is becoming clear that the much of the strength of a company’s processes will determine whether the company or for the matter an individual entity will be successful in the future. We use to talk about operations as competing on clarity, but what about the sales and marketing process?

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Article Tags: marketing



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Re: Social Networking and You - Thank you Mal The Fact is that these predictions are already being proven true so much so that my partners and i have developed a new system we call Social Impact Marketing , and using this system we have been able to get some amazing results dropping a sites Alexa from 3.8 million right down to 153,752 in just over 7 weeks and increasing it's page views from 52 per week to between 60,000 and 112,000+ per day and unique visitors up from 12 (mostly ourselves) per week to around 600 to 1000 unique visits per day, to prove it's not a fluke we then went on to do the same for 2 other sites. of course basic SEO was still used but the main effect could be traced to SIM, which is a simple system to implement but requires the use of a team comprising of at least 3 - 4 people working in unison. Just how far we are able to push a site using SIM is yet to be established as the sites used in our testing of the system continue to improve daily and until they peak we cannot establish a benchmark however they have already passed the achievable levels using the basic SEO applied to them..
Re: New Year Resolutions... - [quote="GT Bulmer":n443l59w]The difference between writing and Internet Marketing is that with writing, I have to write every article before I can get paid. It's like a J.O.B. - if you don't show up, you don't get paid. In contrast, with Internet Marketing, if you can get the system set up properly, you can reduce the need for physical interaction with your business and increase the amount of "free time" you have.[/quote:n443l59w] Hi GT, That's a good goal you've set for yourself and thanks for sharing! So how far away are you from making the transition from writer to full fledged internet marketer?
Re: How much time during the week do you devote to prospecting? - I like to think of this as a case of the 80/20 rule. For me the key to my business is generating leads for it, I have a system in place that will allows me to automate a lot of the work, I still need people flowing into the system, so in order to answer your question I would say i spend 80 % of my time marketing my business. I think for most businesses,networkers and sales people the problem of too many leads would be a real nice one!!!
Re: Franchising? Why pay franchise fees? - I have found that most true entrepreneurs will never buy a franchise because they don't see the value of the franchise system. Bill Gates would probably never buy a franchise right? He created the system, he doesn't want to follow a system. A Franchise is a system. Bottom line is the bottom line. If you can't see where the name, system, training, support, products, & services will make you more money than opening your own business then open your own. It is a known fact that 90% of all small businesses close within 2 years. It is also a known fact that over 90% of all franchises are still open after 2 years. So franchising may not be right for everyone, but someone must be doing something right to have one open every 8 minutes in the US.
Business Owners: Attention Please - Hi Guys I’m about to release what I call our Email Marketing System. This application will be progressively advanced in the coming months as we continually test the system. The application right now will allow companies to send mass (but personalized) emails to all their customers. You'll be able to send emails that say "Hi John…," "Hi Susan…,” etc. Once the email is sent, you will be able to track it (i.e. how many people open it, go to your website, forward it to a friend, subscribe to your send out, unsubscribe, etc). I am looking for a few business owners who are willing to test the system out, using it for their email marketing, and provide feedback from it. I want to test it first before opening it to the public. If you have never had an email campaign I can help you set it up. There will not be any charges while we are testing the system and I might keep it like that depending on usage vs. resources. If anyone is interested can you please PM me with your details. If you have any questions feel free to message me as well. And for those worried about privacy issues, I won’t have access nor be able to see the emails you have stored. Thanks guys!


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