Customer timeline

Customer timeline

By Nigel TempleNo Comments
Marketing is a journey. To begin with, members of your target market haven't heard of you. Your job is to create awareness amongst this group of people. The answer is to create a customer timeline. You receive sales enquiries. Some people don't buy. Those that do become customers (transaction based). Some of your customers buy regularly from you. A business relationship develops and these people become clients. Some of your customers and clients (and some of their friends) become advocates. Cherish your advocates, as they are selling for you, without thought of reward. Some of your customers and clients 'fall asleep' (metaphorically speaking) and stop buying from you. Your job is to wake them up. Ask for referrals from people who have bought from you. Use the promotional mix to attract new customers to your business.   1. Awareness. 2. Enquiries. 3. Customers. 4. Clients. 5. Advocates.     Source: The Marketing Compass Manual If you have any questions about the customer timeline, just ask! Join us COMPASS membership is FREE! * Create a profile & promote...
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How to get more referrals

How to get more referrals

By Nigel Temple2 Comments
In this blog we'll discuss how to get more referrals... When I ask my seminar audiences whether they like referrals, the room becomes a forest of raised hands. I then ask the audience to describe the systems they use to create more referrals. Interestingly, few, if any, hands are raised. Here are some practical tips and ideas on how to get more referrals – based on the power of advocacy. A few of your customers, a larger percentage of your clients and some of your (non-client) friends will become advocates. These are the people who recommend you. They are worth their weight in gold. Some 5% of people are natural advocates (i.e. 1 in 20). They simply enjoy the act of recommendation. The challenge is that you may never know who all your advocates are – unless you start asking the following question (in response to a sales enquiry): “I wonder how you found us?” The rule is: always try to find out...
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Effective online and offline networking

Effective online and offline networking

By Ben Temple2 Comments
By Navigator member Dave Clarke, Managing Director, NRG-Networks You could be forgiven for thinking there was a battle being fought between offline & online networks with some of the messages from organisations in both camps. The reality is that the online networks give us a really effective tool for supporting our offline business networking activities. They only do that, however, if we go about both activities strategically. "I have been an active member of online networks since I discovered them in 2003. Here are my top 10 tips for building business with the effective use of offline & online networks" 1. Get comfortable with how networking works "All things being equal, people will do business with, and refer business to those people they know, like and trust." (Bob Burg). Business Networking is about finding other business people who operate in similar markets to you. Then helping them and building relationships to earn that trust so don’t expect instant results. Like anything worthwhile, networking takes time and application....
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