Against the Grain: Marketing

Your dealers and distributors are one of the most valuable sales and marketing resources you have. They are on the front line of customer interaction and can absolutely make or break a new initiative or product line. Having a dealer/distributor network that is jazzed about your products and enthusiastically recommends them to customers is a huge competitive advantage.

But if left unchecked, it can get out of hand.

A dealer’s main motivation is closing the deal and moving product. And if that means sacrificing your brand and positioning to do it, it will happen. And that’s a recipe for long-term disaster. Keep your dealers on message and operating within appropriate boundaries not only by providing them with marketing and sales tools, but by incentivizing them to use them (and punishing them when they don’t.) Because if left to their own devices, they’re bound to come up with something that misses the mark.

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping manufacturers market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.

Most companies have had a website for 10 years or more. They’ve probably completely revamped it two or three times. And They’ve probably never really found the pot of gold at the end of the cyber rainbow.

That’s because they built an online brochure or a reference shelf, not a sales or lead generation tool.

But like all other marketing tools (and it is a marketing tool, regardless of what IT says), a site’s primary goal should be converting cold prospects into warm leads. Can it have other uses and be a deep resource of content about a company and its products? Certainly. But don’t let that get in the way of closing business.

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping manufacturers market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com. 

Ah, trade show season is upon us. Trade shows cost a lot of money – not only the time employees will be out of the office, but costs for a display booth, collateral materials, airfare, lodging, meals and miscellaneous expenses always come into play. That’s why the value your business gets from a trade show is more important than ever. But how do you measure that value? And how do you know if you’re at the right show?

Determine your show goals. Are you there to socialize and network? Are you there to sell?  Trade shows can be important for both reasons, but setting expectations before committing to a show is important. You might have a show that isn’t high on your priority list for sales opportunities, but your absence would be noticed.

Make use of the attendee list before the show! Yes, you have your customer list, and you’re probably going to set up appointments with those people while you’re out there. But that trade show you’re going to has a critical mass of potential buyers – connecting to them before the show via e-mail or direct mail can help set you apart from your competitors. Bonus points if you can find a creative way to drive them to your booth.

Work the floor! We’ve told you about this before – keep your booth and employees looking sharp and at attention for the next big customer.

Follow up on leads. Take time after the show to follow up with everyone you and your team met. Even if they said your product wasn’t the best fit for them, you never know if they might refer you to someone else. Plus, it’s important to develop lasting relationships to grow your business.

Measure and report. Let’s get back to those goals we mentioned earlier. If you set a measurable goal for sales, prospects, etc., take the time to actually report your results to the team. A lot of companies set a goal and never go back to see what was accomplished.

When your sales team has a marketing challenge or opportunity, who are they calling? If you’re like many of today’s companies, there’s likely no one to call on, so your sales people end up doing the work themselves. Unfortunately, this is all too commonplace in today’s environment.

Left with no clear marketing leader, it’s every (sales)man for himself.

When marketing responsibilities are distributed across your entire sales force — with dozens of individuals creating their own ads, presentations, literature and more — your brand, message, best practices and value proposition can become frayed and inconsistent. And without a consistent message and position, you may be better off doing no marketing at all.

If your company is like most manufacturing companies, you don’t sell directly to customers. There’s a dealership, distributor or retailer between you and the end customer. An intermediary you rely on to move product, drive profits and serve your brand.

You are treating them like royalty, right?

Your dealer or distributor network is your front line sales team. And failing to support, coddle and motivate them can drastically reduce your end-of-year sales. Does the dealer have the materials they need to close a sale? Have you given them reason to recommend you over a competitor? Do you regularly train their sales staff? Show the dealer some love and they’ll return it ten fold.