It is often said that 50% of marketing dollars are wasted on marketing activities that produce no results. Here at SalesQuest we have found that there are a handful of critical success factors to any sales and marketing program. Before launching a marketing program these 5 factors are considered:

 1) What’s in it for me (WIFM)? – This message must resonate personally within your target audience and draw them to take action in a situation where they wouldn’t have otherwise acted. Short of giving something away for free, you need to offer something to the customer or prospect that has a measurable value. Try to put yourself in the shoes of your prospects. Ask yourself if someone presented your marketing campaign to you, would you be interested? 

2) Brand Name Recognition -There must be some brand name recognition whether it is through your own brand, the brand of your customers, or the brand of your business partners. Today, more than ever, customers want to do business with trusted household names. Companies are risk adverse by nature and want to do business with companies they know and trust. Find out how to leverage your brand and use it to your advantage.

 3) Credibility – Our jobs here at SalesQuest are to be experts on our field of service. In B2B sales, the person reaching out to the executive better know their business, the corporate objectives, the competitive landscape, and their products and services. The caller needs to know how to speak with a chief executive and a technical manager and know that the topics of discussion are generally different. To make an impact and leave a positive impression, there must be a peer-to-peer discussion. These days peer-to-peer discussions can take place in a variety of forms thanks to E-mail, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc.

 4) Target Database – You can save a lot of wasted marketing dollars by segmenting your target markets properly. Our successful customers segment their target markets by vertical industry, geography, and annual revenue figures. Understand how they are going to approach each unique market and craft a message that addresses the specific needs and issues affecting them individually. Understand their solution and how it impacts each market segment.

 5) Follow up - We understand that our long-term success hinges upon what our clients do with our product after we complete the sale. It is critical that we show our clients how to use our intelligence reports to close deals faster and drive revenue. Our clients must realize the long-term benefits that our product has to offer for them to return as a customer. The follow up activity by sales and marketing determines how significant a return is realized on marketing dollars invested.

What do you think of our 5 keys to success? What factors do you depend on before launching your marketing and sales campaign?

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