Do you profile your customers?

Profiling has had a pretty bad rap since 9/11 but that's not the kind of profiling I'm talking about. Or, maybe it is. Basically, profiling means grouping people together based on certain characteristics to predict behavior. When it comes to marketing – that's exactly what we need to do.

While marketing technology has made great strides in terms of one to one marketing, before we can even get to that point we need to know how to recognize people who are most likely to buy. This allows us to target our efforts and money to only those who fit certain characteristics – our profile.

This may seem obvious to you but do you have actual, documented profiles? On paper? Or is it only in your head? If it is the latter, I suggest that you get it down in writing. You will probably have several profiles depending on your business.

The characteristics in your profile might be: size of company (by employees or sales), location of company, title of decision maker, industry classification (SIC/NAIS), job function, age, gender, education level, income level, etc. A really good profile also includes psychographic information: needs, values, interests, pain, etc.

Keep in mind, these characteristics must be of those people who are most likely to buy. If you are selling $100K software products for electronics manufacturers you don't want to waste your marketing dollars on managers of fast food restaurants. Ok, that might be too obvious. What might not be as obvious is figuring out the right criteria for the right type of buyer.

I like to start with who is buying now. Your CFO should be able to print reports that tell you who is buying what and how much/often. Using this information you can then start grouping similar companies – A list, B list, C list, etc. You may have to do some reverse engineering to identify things like sales, industry classification, employee numbers or whatever might be missing.

Every time I go through this process with my clients we find interesting things that catch us off guard. For example a recent project found that the number of A list clients was dwindling and that a number of C and D list customers had taken their place – resulting in lower transactions, and lower profit margins.

I have a great worksheet for developing and refining customer profiles. Contact me to request a free copy. You'll be able to spot me. I'll be the short, overweight Italian guy dressed in black.

My Top Five Punch in the Face Marketing and Sales Tactics.

If you've been reading my clap trap for a while, you should be starting to get the idea that I'm not a big fan on fancy, expensive advertising and superficial marketing tactics. For most middle market companies, these are luxuries and I'd be hard pressed to connect a straight line from these tactics to revenue. I prefer tactics that punch prospects in the face – figuratively of course. Tactics that jump up and hit that part of the brain where buying happens – the buyingoblongata.

So if you have a limited budget (and who doesn't) here are my top five punch in the face tactics.

1.Cold Calling. I know, you hate it. I don't know anybody who actually likes it except my friend Amy, but the fact is – when done right - it works. How do you do it right? First, know who you are calling. Your list must be carefully targeted to only include those people most likely to buy. If you don't know how to determine this critical profile, contact me and I'll fill you in. Second, have a process so you know exactly what to say and what you want to achieve on the call. Finally, don't sound like a salesman. In fact, don't try to sell anything at all. Just have an intelligent conversation to find out if the recipient is even a match for you. Obviously there is more to this than I can cover here – contact me if you are interested in developing a painless, highly effective calling program.

2.Drip Marketing. These days it's easier and cheaper than ever to stay in front of prospects. From direct marketing and email to blogs and electronic newsletters the world is your oyster. (if anyone can tell me what that means, I'd appreciate it.) My point is this: it is impossible to know the exact moment when someone is considering buying your services or products. Our only choice is to stay in front of suspects who fit our profile (see #1 above) constantly. The challenge is how do do this in an efficient way. Drip marketing tactics are the answer. From opt in lists to good, old fashioned postcards and letters, your suspects should be hearing from you at least once a month. But don't just try to sell them something – give them good information they can use. Sort of like what you are reading right now! :)

3.Networking. You might think that “networking” consists of glad handing and back slapping down at the local chamber of commerce but that's not what I'm talking about. The most effective networking activities are highly targeted, personal affairs where the goal is to create a mutually valuable relationship and, dare I say, friendship with people who are like minded and might be able to help you grow your business. But first you have to help them. If you want to know more about effective networking check out my friend, Thom Singer's blog http://www.thomsinger.blogspot.com and while you are at it buy his books.

4.Webinars. Share your expertise via the web and people will finally understand what you can do for them. The leap from this basic understanding to paying customer is very small. Using a combination of the web and your phone, you can easily reach potential buyers in a non-threatening atmosphere. The purpose of a marketing Webinar is to build brand awareness of your company, position your company as a thought leader in your industry, and generate sales leads.

5.Sell, Sell, Sell. Spending all your time on marketing tactics while ignoring your sales process is a recipe for disaster. Marketing doesn't sell and selling isn't marketing. You need both processes firing on all cylinders to make the sales curve go up. Ask your sales people to draw their process on a white board. If they can't draw it, they don't have a good process and that's costing you money. A good sales process moves a suspect to prospect and then to customer in a logical, efficient manner. If you don't define this process, it's not going to be logical or efficient. If you think your sales process needs some work, call me at 512-868-8460 and I can introduce you to someone who can make it rock.

Of course, all of the above assumes you have a sound marketing plan and message. Without these foundational elements, nothing you do will help you move from average performance to superior growth. Marketing is a process, not a project. Get the process right and go to the bank. Get it wrong and....I'm not even going to think about that.

A Novel Idea: You Get What You Give

I wish I could remember who gave me this idea. If I could remember, I would give credit where credit is due because I didn't think of this little gem. (If it was you, let me know and I'll thank you in person!)

As marketing and sales people, we are sometimes obsessed with metrics. I know I am. If I can't measure it, I can't improve it. We like to measure things like qualified leads, conversion rates, visitors to our web sites, return on investment, number of cold calls made, etc. Those seem obvious.

But this year, I've added a metric to my own business development program – I'm tracking the number of referrals I GIVE. That's no typo. One of my primary missions is to understand the challenges my contacts are facing – even when it's not sales and marketing related. Then I make a conscious effort to connect them with people and resources that could potentially overcome these challenges.

I don't expect anything in return I just believe that the more people I can help, the more people will be willing to help me when the time comes. I give way more referrals than I receive but that's part of the process. I get a real kick out of helping someone and it feels great when they tell me how much they appreciated my help.

I'm not talking about simply giving somebody a name and number and wishing them good luck. That's not a referral. If it were, I could just hand them a phone book and say - “Here's some companies that can solve your problem – have fun.” I actively facilitate an introduction. Sometimes I do it in person over coffee with both parties, but more often than not I send an email to each person with a short description of why they might find it beneficial to meet. Sometimes I'll call them to make the introduction – it depends on my time availability and the contact's preference. I like email because it is easy to include everybody's contact information.

Already this year I've made eleven introductions. And that feels pretty good.