Launching a New Nontraditional Offering

KLA is often introduced to companies that want to launch a new offering outside their traditional suite of products and services. These companies have developed a valuable service, but aren't sure how to generate awareness and drive leads with their customers and prospects. This challenge is especially difficult when approaching customers and prospects with something new that they would never expect the company to provide.

Use these techniques to engage your whole company to create awareness for a new, non-traditional offering.

Marketing
While it might sound obvious, executing a traditional marketing campaign for a new offering is sometimes overlooked. Even the most basic marketing functions can be immeasurably valuable to the success of a new offering. For example:

Announce the new service via direct mail or email communication

Issue a news release and send it to key industry publications and reporters, and publications in your local markets

Provide the news release to reps to use in their selling activities

Highlight the new offering in your company's regular publications to customers, such as newsletters or monthly communications

Advertise in the most likely target markets

Update your website to include the new offering

Educate the sales force positioning the new offering, new value proposition, and the first 1-3 questions to ask to id opportunities

Create concise sales materials reps can use to describe the new offerings and position them with your current solutions. These can be as simple as PowerPoint presentations that are printed or emailed for use in sales meetings. Use the materials to train the sales force, too.

Telemarket to set appointments for reps to discuss the new offering and qualify if there is an opportunity to pursue the account. Begin with your top target markets.
Sales
With an awareness marketing campaign in place, your sales force will have the support it needs to generate leads and drive sales. The key to success here is for reps to have a few messages and questions they can use during the sales process to create awareness for your new offering and uncover leads.

Some steps to take in the sales process include:

Mention the company's movement into the new area in customer discussions and sales meetings. Work this into Building Rapport discussions at the front end of a sales call.

When uncovering needs with a customer, ask questions that will help id leads for the new offering. If it's uncomfortable to integrate new questions into the current line of needs questioning, wait until it has been completed to change the questioning focus.

If possible, include the new offering in proposals in a way that complements the solution that's being proposed. If it doesn't complement the solution, use another method to bring it to the customer's attention.

Take time to update customers and prospects on what's new within your company, including the new offering. This shows the growth and evolution of your company while also getting the message out.
Internal Support Teams
Engage your internal support teams and solution providers, educating them on your new offering.

Give them a solid, yet simple, message they can use in customer conversations to discuss the new offering

Encourage both to tell customers and prospects about the new offering, and to ask a few questions that will id a possible need

Have reps stay in frequent contact with partners and internal teams while building awareness
Get everyone engaged as you launch your new offering. The only way you'll build awareness and drive leads is by having as many people as possible get the message out. This is especially true if the offering is one customers are not expecting you to provide.

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John Alexander John has taught keyword research and SEO skills to small groups of business owners and Webmasters from over 80 different countries world wide since 2002. John is also the Director of Search Engine Academy ; Co-director of Training at Search Engine Workshops offering live, SEO Workshops with his partner SEO educator Robin Nobles, author of the very first comprehensive online search engine marketing courses at SEO Training Online and the SEO Workshop Resource Center. I look forward to hearing from you! - Visit John Alexander's Website

Kalena Jordan Kalena Jordan is the search industry’s first agony aunt, here to answer your tricky questions about search engines. Kalena is Co-Founder and Director of Studies at Search Engine College, an online training institution offering instructor-led short courses and downloadable self-study courses in Search Engine Optimization and other Search Engine Marketing subjects. She’s been marketing websites online since 1996 and blogging about search since 2002. For her full bio, view Kalena’s Linked In Profile. When not working, Kalena likes to go geocaching, hiking or fishing. She also plays a mean darabuka. - Visit Kalena Jordan's Website

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