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The Stepping Stones from
Prospect to Client.
By Stuart Ayling
Recently I was talking with a business colleague (let's call him Dave) about the need to focus his marketing message to attract more clients.
Dave wanted my help to review a list of potential marketing tactics he had created.
Although Dave had been proactive in creating the list of potential activities, there was a missing link.
Before I could review the potential tactics I asked Dave to give me in writing a definition of who his clients are. This should be easy for Dave to do as he has been successful
in his field as a business coach for many years.
The problem:
The missing link was...
Dave not being crystal clear on who he wanted to be marketing to.
I asked Dave to define his prospects by whichever criteria he thought most suitable. For example it could be by:
- Type of industry
- Turnover of the business (revenue)
- Number of employees
- Location or region
- Psychographics of the decision maker (what are their
values; what are they thinking; what are they feeling)
- The role of the decision maker (e.g.
CEO, Financial Controller, Sales Manager)
- Type of culture within the business
- The problems or challenges the company is facing
But that is just the start.
To be successful with your marketing you need to identify the stepping stones a prospect will use to move through the process of knowing, liking and trusting you - so they become comfortable with buying from you, or engaging your services.
These stepping stones are the points at which you target your marketing message and marketing activities.
Stepping stones for prospects could include:
- Reading industry journals
- Asking a business colleague for ideas
- Asking a professional advisor for a referral
- Responding to advertisements
- Searching for reports, articles or
white papers (to become better educated on the decision and related
issues)
- Meeting people at business events, seminars, or networking
- Attending trade shows or exhibitions (looking for ideas and suitable providers)
- Reading case studies (to learn how others have solved same/similar problems)
- Listening to audio recordings (including podcasts and interviews)
- Watching video on the topic or problem
- Attending a training seminar
- ... and the list goes on
How many of these stepping stones are you providing for your prospects?
If you don't create a path to your business, it is pie-in-the-sky to expect to attract and win new business. It just won't happen.
The solution:
Create your marketing materials to address the stepping stones you expect your prospects to take.
If you don't know what your prospects are likely to do when they are making a decision to buy your type of service or product, undertake some research and find out. Ignorance is no excuse!
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