After returning from the recent Staffing Industry Analysts Executive Forum, I’d like to share several best practices from keynote presentations and roundtable discussions that are top-of-mind with many business leaders today. For your benefit, we added “marketing in action” tips and suggestions to each of the key takeaways.

Stay close to your customers.
Customer satisfaction surveys. These are a great way to make certain you’re meeting your customers’ needs. They allow you to learn firsthand what your clients are happy with and what needs to be improved—critical, strategic information no matter the economic climate. But it’s not enough to just distribute the surveys. Once you’ve gathered the results, share them! Let clients, prospects, everyone know that first-rate customer service is a top priority for you. And, if applying for awards or refreshing your message strategy, incorporate the metrics and insights you gather from surveys.

Keep-in-Touch Programs. The purpose of a Keep-in-Touch program (KIT) is to consistently, informatively and creatively distinguish your business by showcasing your internal knowledge and expertise to decision makers. KITs provide a vehicle for persistently reaching out to clients you already have, as well as those you’re trying to win. 

Status updates. Now more than ever, customers want and need to know exactly how you’re helping them. Frequent status updates are an effective way to ensure needs are being met—both on their end and on yours—and that the necessary progress is being made. 

Revisit your strategy and business model.
Get back to basics. Do you know your value proposition? If not, look at your clients’ pain points. How does your company address AND fix these pains? If you can’t sum this up in less than three minutes (1-2 sentences), you’re not focused enough. Once you know what your value proposition is, focus, focus, focus on it and consistently use that message in everything you do. If you communicate your value effectively and clearly emphasize what makes you different, you’ll find clients moving from competitors’ client rosters over to yours.

Create brand advocacy. Get referrals. Ask for client testimonials and create case studies to add to your marketing arsenal. When your arsenal is well stocked with a range of messages and proof points that tell a consistent, provocative story, you’ll be able to produce campaigns that reach the right audience, drive significant business leads and expand brand awareness. If your clients love your work, it doesn’t hurt to ask them to advocate your brand!

Aim for lead conversion, not just lead generation. Measure Target Account Program (TAP) results, and if lead conversion is low, see what you can do to increase it. Make sure your message is reaching the right audience within your target company, even if it means slightly different campaigns depending on the audience.

Be of service.
Examine your existing client accounts. Make sure you’re doing all you can to serve and add value to their business. Come up with innovative ideas to retain your client base as well as shift to growth markets. If you’re tapped out with existing clients, ask them for referrals into new companies. Get them to introduce you whenever possible.

Remember your ABCs. A great tip from one of the marketing roundtable panelists. Always Be Closing (ABC). Everyone on your team needs to be a salesperson, especially in this economy. Your whole team should be thinking about new ways to provide clients with valuable service in addition to ways to bring in new business. Just by answering the phone with the most positive tone possible and being of absolute service can help!

Communicate, communicate, communicate.
Communicate internally, as well as externally. Not only should your clients, prospects and other key stakeholders be informed on what’s happening with your company, but your internal team should be up-to-date as well. If your team understands your company’s bigger picture, they’ll better understand how they fit into it and the role they play in reaching company goals. There’s no such thing as over communicating with your team—during economic downturns and always!

Ensure your Web site is in tip top shape. Keep your content up-to-date and correct. Track where visitors are going, what pages they’re staying on, what they’re interested in—and focus on maintaining and updating those areas while looking for ways to improve the less popular areas. We live in a world where the first thing people do when they hear about a company is visit its Web site. This means there is no marketing tool more important than your site… so make the most of it!

Along with the strategies outlined above, it’s important to remember to network. It’s crucial to embrace social media networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as blogging. Learn what each can do for you, and then actively participate on them.

Leslie Vickrey
President & Founder
ClearEdge Marketing

This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 11:11 am and is filed under Business & Marketing Strategy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.