ARTICLE TEXT:
A
MARKETER'S DREAM
-
PRE QUALIFIED PROSPECTS
Pre-qualified prospects
A business ideal
has arrived.
The new reality in
marketing and business today is that when business owners,
managers and sales people first talk to new and prospective
clients, many are pre-qualified. Indeed, self qualified.
These often first
time prospective purchasers are well informed, confident,
discerning, often articulate and assertive. Moreover,
they are ready to buy and have the capacity to conclude
a deal, typically, now.
Significantly, in
the current communications and relationship era the power
base has shifted to consumers, clients and customers.
The key leverage is the readily inexpensive access to multiple
channels and sources of information.
In many respects,
business leaders, marketers, public relations consultants
and advertising agents, in particular, have witnessed an
ebbing of their previous seemingly impregnable power structures.
Images, status, market
positions and bases for market competitiveness and appeal
are now determined to some considerable degree by spheres
of influence, over which businesses have little or no influence
or control.
A weakening in market
presence, market share and market positioning can be and
often is a consequence of a lack of control over or consideration
by many businesses of the media channels which are readily
accessible to and by prospective clients.
Insufficient attention
and resources are being allocated to the aspects of website
profiles, interactivity, currency and relevance.
Similarly the customer, purchaser or client ordering experiences
begin from the initial contact with an email address, website,
telephone system and the ingress points of a parking area.
Unkempt and poorly
maintained parking areas of premises are physically conspicuous
to all. What is not truly appreciated by some is the poor
house keeping which is evident on websites, message bank
messages, on mobile and landline telephone systems and the
remarkably unfriendly, obstructionist automated telephone
systems.
Technophile consultants
who strive to increase the efficiency of clients communication
processes too often overlook the effectiveness of encouraging
and facilitating easy and prompt access to individual branches,
departments and people by prospective, existing and past
clients. Remedial action is often required to ensure
the channels of communication are open and welcoming.
DAUNTIING REALISATION
It is a daunting
realisation to some that prospective clients and customers
have formed reasoned opinions, images and perceptions about
an entity, it's products and services, long before actually
speaking to a team member.
Beware the words,
“I've heard about you, your business and the products.”
That raises the question:-
“Who said what about whom and when?”
In some instances,
the entity and its people are on the back foot before the
relationship is established, the negotiating begins and
the sale approaches closing.
There are five phases
through which the consumers, customers and clients
progress towards the successful completion of a sale, being:-
• Apathy
and ignorance
• Interest
• Information
• Sale
• Service
Sales driven and
oriented organisations typically skip or give tertiary consideration
to the initial three phases. That is one major contributing
reason for wide fluctuations in demand, varying response
rates to advertising initiatives and a decided lack of customer
loyalty.
Contemporary and
astute marketers now recognise that a passive approach to
overcoming consumers apathy and ignorance, stimulating interest
and providing current relevant and easily accessible information
is dangerous and exposes the entity to heightened risk and
possibly uncompetitive standings.
Total control over
all channels of communications about aspects of the entity,
its policies, people, products and services is not possible.
However, engagement is.
More than ever before
in the annals of business and corporate history it is imperative
that pre-emptive initiatives be taken to set the agenda
and to formulate the purchase criteria which will or should
be applied by prospective clients and customers to conclude
a favourable, mutually rewarding decision.
Let me share with
you a recent experience that is a very apt case study.
A legal practitioner,
a partner of an aggressive second tier firm of solicitors
and lawyers, expressed disappointment and, to some degree,
bewilderment, that his group was not enjoying more briefs,
revenue, profits, market share and dominance.
A strong schedule
of television advertising had developed an acceptable, if
not desirable, presence in the marketplace.
Unaided awareness,
recognition and prompted recall are simply not enough.
This experienced and qualified lawyer did not appreciate
that.
Many corporate and
individual clients are sensitive to the professional fee
charge rates of legal practitioners. The typical
6 minute metre countdown is scorned at by many.
In this particular
practice, the professional fee rate is charge at intervals
of 100 units per hour. That's right, the metre ticks
over every 36 seconds.
Little wonder then,
the pathway to the door of this practice is not well worn.
Upon receipt of information
about the charge rating system, the interest of prospective
clients quickly wanes and regression towards a state of
apparent apathy and indifference (if not ignorance) is achieved.
DIY HOME BUYERS
An increasing number
of new home builders are now sensitive to and are capturing
the imaginations and custom of a new evolving market segment,
the Do-It-Yourself Home Designer.
These people enjoy
the challenge and satisfaction of completing their own initial
and rudimentary house designs.
To match that demand
a select few new home builders have updated their interactive
websites to enable people to modify online standard house
designs or to develop their own plan from certain modules
of a home layout.
It's creative, responsive
and above all, it is providing a competitive advantage.
By the time the homebuilding
company sales representative speaks to the prospective buyer
for the first time, he, she or they are pre-qualified, have
determined a cost estimate and a budget and, in many instances,
have received approval for finance. Welcome to Marketing
2009
ONLINE
Goodwill and good
relations can and should be established with initial telephone
contact made by a prospective client and customer.
Inefficient, outdated
telephone systems are nominated by consumers to be the single
most annoying, recurring and frustrating experience they
encounter.
Obsolete messages
and outdated tape and disk, on-hold telephone answering
services reflect poorly on the relevance and imagination
of the company.
International operator
Online Onhold is able to customise messages and change
them daily, if required, to provide weather patterns, stock
market reports, local news and industry specified briefings.
That alone can positively pre-qualify a prospective
client or customer.
So, get to it.
Start developing strategies and tactics which enable prospective
customers to become pre-qualified.
Contact:
Mark Horwood
Online Onhold
Tel:
1 300 854 022
Email:
mark.horwood@olmediacom.com
Web:
www.olmediacom.com
