Throughout my travels, I’ve always marveled at companies that looked at marketing as a nice-to-have. “We can’t afford marketing now,” they say. “We have to invest in sales.”
That thinking is wrong. You can’t afford not to have marketing in place to help complement and guide your sales team, whether you’re a one-man show or a staff of 100 or more. By factoring marketing into your day-to-day decisions, your choices become clearer.
Depending on the size and goals of your company, your marketing objectives can look vastly different. To some people, it’s a full-color brochure; to others it is a strategy to generate more accounts. To still others, it’s the average house value in the key neighborhoods they’d like to target.
The fact is, marketing should include all of the above. The key is to develop a plan and make it clear to every individual in your company.
Write it down
Before you can implement a plan, the goals must be clear. What are you trying to accomplish? What do you want your customers and prospects to think and say about your company? What do you want to your company to look like in two years?
It all starts by writing it down. As you begin to put words to paper, the ideas and thoughts will take shape. You’ll inevitably adjust the plan over time — but if it’s just in your head, it will be forgotten and you’ve left your employees in the dark.
For example, if your goal is to increase leads, where do you start? What do you want your prospects to know about you? Is it your reliability? Your knowledge? Your attention to detail? What aspect of your company can you confidently deliver time after time? Find two or three specific attributes about your company and write it down.
As a lawn care business owner, my tagline was “Quality … Commitment … Results.” It was promoted on everything from our trucks and brochures to our office door and letterhead. In addition, it made us accountable to live up to higher standards every day. The aspects about your company that set you apart from the competition should be pointed out to your prospects and customers.
Know your competition
Be aware of who competes with you. Invariably, you will run into the same companies time after time. Understand how they market. Read their brochures, visit their Web sites and watch them work.
For your competition to make marketing a success, everything must be consistent. Are the brochures well written? Is the Web site professional? Do these match the quality of their work? Identifying how your competition operates and knowing what they tell their customers will be valuable when you develop your marketing tactics.
Deliver your message
Meet with your employees and have an open discussion about your marketing message. Everyone needs to understand it and buy into it. For best results, deliver a clear, consistent message time after time. Any inconsistencies can lead to confusion — both internally and among your customers and prospects.
For example, if you emphasize quality and commitment to your customers, is that reflected in the products and equipment you purchase and people you hire? Do you respond in a timely manner? Does your staff return every phone call? Are jobsites left only after cleaning the properties?
When you follow through and deliver, your marketing message is evident in everything you do. Your customers and employees will see it, and they’ll share the good news.
Take time, as a team, to really think about how you market your company. The time spent will be well worth it.
Mike Sisti has 16 years of sales, marketing and management experience in the green industry. He currently serves as marketing manager for LebanonTurf and can be reached at msisti@lebsea.com.
