How to Attract More and Better Customers

What’s the Real Marketing Problem?

Business-to-business marketers and professional service providers are very good at what they do. They offer great products and services that they know their customers/clients want and need. Those who buy their products and services receive significant benefits.

These folks are bright people, yet many express major frustration with the fact they aren’t attracting enough of the right kinds of customers/clients. They’re spending too much money on marketing efforts and getting disappointing results. They’re struggling with strong competitors who undercut them on price. They worry about decreasing sales and skinnier profits. They have difficulty turning a good lead into a paying customer/client. Their marketing tends to be episodic instead of consistent and happens only when sales are down or they need a new project right now.

When marketing doesn’t work the way it should, the temptation is to throw more money at advertising and other promotional activities that aren’t working well in the first place. Doing more advertising, more networking, or hiring more salespeople usually means more money down the hole and the results don’t change.

What Keeps You From Getting the Kinds of Customers You Want?

The problem isn’t a lack of customers/clients out there – business and professional service buyers spend a lot of money. According to forecasters, domestic B2B purchases total several trillion dollars a year. AMR Research predicts $6 trillion U.S. business-to-business volume in 2004. That’s a lot of money. Compare that to the measly $269 billion worth of goods and services Jupiter Research predicts consumers will buy online as the Internet matures in 2005.

The problem really is that there are a lot of misconceptions about the nature of marketing. Unfortunately, in many minds marketing means the same thing as selling or advertising. Many business people think of marketing as gimmicks or manipulation. Others believe it is thinking up creative ways to dispose of what they make or sell. Most of us tend to think of marketing as trying to get something from our customers/clients instead of giving something. We’re thinking with the wrong marketing mindset.

Successful marketing starts with an understanding of what marketing really is. Marketing’s real purpose is to create genuine value for your customers/clients. When marketing is done right, you don’t have to “sell” the customer on your product/service or company. When marketing is done poorly or not at all, companies don’t attract and keep enough customers/clients.

Why Don’t You Have More of the Right kinds of Customers/clients?

It’s not because you’re not smart, or you don’t have the “sales gene,” or you don’t spend enough on advertising, or you need to network more. It is simply because you just have never had the opportunity to learn the principles and skills of marketing successfully to business buyers.

What You Need to Do – A Proven Approach to Successful Marketing

Marketing doesn’t have to be a frustrating, expensive and time-wasting process. Doing the right things means understanding how the marketing process actually works and then applying a proven system for attracting and keeping new clients.

The first step is developing a clear understanding of what attracts customers and clients to your specific type of business and why they want to buy from you. Then it’s a matter of working with the fundamental steps of the business- to-business or professional service marketing process and applying them to your particular business. All of them are about how to communicate the value of your offering in such a way that customers/clients can clearly see what’s in it for them. It’s not a quick fix and it doesn’t happen overnight, but clients who learn and apply sound marketing strategies will grow their businesses.

How Sanders Marketing Consulting Can Help

Marketing strategies, skills, and methods that work can be learned and applied very successfully by those with no marketing background or experience. Kathy Sanders Martin has been teaching and applying proven marketing principles to owners and managers through consulting, and training since 1996 and helping businesses attract new customers since 1988. Click here for a more detailed profile of Kathy’s qualifications.

SMC is a business-to-business/professional services marketer too, so Kathy uses the same tools, techniques and processes that you can apply to successfully market your business. She knows they work.

What’s the Next Step?

Click here for details on How SMC Works or give Kathy a call to learn how Sanders Martin Consulting may be able to help you attract the customers you want.  She’ll be happy to discuss your situation on the phone at no charge.  Call 208-463-9308. You can also contact Kathy by sending an inquiry via our Guest Book or e-mail kathy@sandersmartin.com.