Marketing Consultant Continued…

Many small businessmen work in their business and don't see the need to work on their business. That's where a Marketing Consultant comes in. By focusing only on sales and marketing, the business owner is free to do what he/she does best.

Strategies for Success

A Marketing Consultant is typically called in to revamp an existing sales program that isn't bringing in expected results. The consultant will look at the fundamentals of the company's sales strategy based on the three basic principals of effective marketing:

• Increase the number of customers

This is the first step towards growing a company's business. Sales personnel should focus on turning prospects into customers instead of steering an overall marketing strategy. Implementing reward programs that encourage customers to refer new prospects is another way to increase sales.

• Increase the average transaction amount

The sale doesn't end when the deal is closed. Repeat and regular customers should be carefully cultivated and encouraged to increase their purchases. As well, they may be interested in services that are tailored to the products they're already buying. Customers don't like to be taken for granted, and they will reward companies who care about their business instead of just taking "the usual" orders. Complacency can be the undoing of a business.

• Increase the frequency of repurchase

Volume incentives and time-limited special offers serve to encourage existing customers to buy more frequently. Communicating news and offers to past and present customers via telephone or mail generally increases their frequency of repurchase and is one more step owners can take to grow their business.

Services that drive sales

As part of a general sales strategy for your company, a marketing consultant will provide services that will organize your company's sales and marketing department in a way that will maximize sales and minimize costs. Some of these services are:

• Marketing Research -- Effective research to determine where a product is on a maturity curve. Is the product in its Introductory, Growth, or Maturity phase? Each phase of a product's life cycle demands a different style of marketing.
• Customer Retention -- Existing customers are often overlooked as sources of new sales. Neglected customers will eventually take their business elsewhere.
• Marketing Plan -- A consultant can tailor the most effective marketing plan to your company's product line and sales goals. Direct Marketing, Internet Marketing, and Target Marketing are just some of the strategies an effective consultant will employ.
• Company Marketing -- Is your company properly positioned in the market as a whole? Has the competition been analyzed and their methods studied?
• Information Technology -- A Marketing Consultant will analyze your company's strategy, profits and use of resources from the inside out in order to formulate an effective and efficient marketing plan.

Masterful Marketing

Even Microsoft started small, but from that tiny acorn grew a mighty oak tree. They had good products, but so did their many competitors. Bringing those products to market and positioning them to succeed in their market segments were the keys to Microsoft's success. A marketing consultant may not be able to make your company into the Microsoft of mousetraps, but it could be the difference between success and failure. That, would be the cat's meow!

By Steve Levenstein