Transcript Six Keys to Generating More Sales Leads

CHAPTER ONE
Who Are
You?
4 Steps to Focus
Your Sales Efforts
Our industry is full of awesome
marketing researchers, but when
it comes to marketing our own
companies and services, many of
us are very much in the dark.
How many market research firms
have you ever heard describe
themselves as “full-service”?
What does that mean, anyway?
We often forget one of the most fundamental truths about marketing:
it’s about the customer! If the customer wants a full-service marketing
research firm, that’s great. But I would bet that no marketing research
customer ever walked into his or her office saying, “By golly, I need a
full-service marketing research firm!” Further, I would bet that it would
be difficult to find a definition of “full-service” that our customers
would even agree on. So the first thing we have to do is figure out
what customers want from us.
Differentiation is a marketing fundamental that
“I get calls every
market researchers often overlook. Granted,
week asking me for
differentiation can be extremely difficult in the
a 30 minute
market research industry where many of the
introduction
products and services that we offer are
session; unless you
identical or very similar. Many companies offer
can tell me what
qualitative research, in all of its many
you have that
permutations. Most research firms offer several
differentiates you
varieties of quantitative research. We all
from everyone
analyze data, develop reports, and make
else, I will not
presentations and recommendations.
make the time to
Nonetheless, you have to find a way to stand
meet with you.”
out from the crowd. You have to give
- Bridgemark Solutions/Crux
Research 2013 Market Research
customers a reason to pick up the phone and
Industry Study
call you, rather than your competitor.
So even if we aren’t truly differentiated from our competitors, we still
have to carve out a distinction that we can talk about. It has to be broad
enough that there are sufficient target customers for us to pursue, but
not so broad that every other research firm can claim it. To get started,
here are some possible ways to differentiate your marketing research
firm:
• Make a list of all of the clients you’ve worked with in the past two
years. Highlight those that you’ve worked with multiple times.
• Next, add in some additional information about your clients. What is
their industry/micro-industry? Are they B2B or B2C? Is there a
particular technique or skill they come to you for? What is their
geography – local, regional, national, global? What kinds of business
problems are you helping them with (e.g., customer satisfaction,
innovation, brand positioning, new products)?
Then take a step back and see the patterns that emerge. What are most
of your clients getting from you? Or put another way, what benefit are
you delivering to them? Where do you have the most experience? What
are you really good at? This could be a successful distinction around
which you can build your brand – and then, your sales plan.
Another way to think about this that should not be overlooked is to
figure out what you love researching. What are you truly interested in,
personally and professionally? Are there certain product that you really
enjoy, or social causes that you feel strongly about? Anything that ignites
your passion can also become a distinction and a way to connect
effectively with new clients.
Anything that ignites your passion can
also become a distinction and a way to
connect effectively with new clients.
And remember – it’s a distinction. You should try
to pick one - and only one - for each audience
you are targeting and commit to it. If your
messaging communicates that you’re good at
everything, your target audience won’t know
what they should call you for. Having a
distinction isn’t limiting, it’s liberating.
Once you have your distinction, review your
marketing materials, digital assets, and even
your electronic signature to ensure that you are
committing to -- and optimized for -- that
distinction.
“
“While it’s nice to have a supplier who can ‘do it all’ and has lots
of experience in a variety of areas, what we’re really looking for
are experts…people that can do it better than we can. I find it
hard to believe anyone claims to be an expert in everything. So
when new suppliers approach me, I wish that they would just be
upfront about what it is they do best – and let’s get down to
solving problems.”
Bridgemark Solutions/Crux Research 2013 Market Research Industry Study