Revving Up the Stalled
Business
By Lorie Loe President Lorie Loe
and Associates
July 2005 - BEK Best Practices Newsletter
Every once in awhile, business development goes into a stall. The
reason? Consider how overwhelmed the average product marketing or
product manager is:
- The typical product manager is also the product marketing manager
- Managing current customers and installations can be so time
consuming it's difficult to focus on new
- Preparing a new product or release is usually such a mad dash
to the launch date, it's tempting to race to the finish line and
then relax and coast for a while.
The result: leads dry up and business
stalls.
So how do you shake off the malaise and ensure a healthy stream
of leads into your business development pipeline? These tried and
true tips are guaranteed to rev up your engine and keep your business
humming along.
Focus on the specific benefits of
your product
It's been said before, but it's imperative for a number of reasons.
If you offer a product that is the be all and end all for every
need, there is no good way to differentiate to potential customers.
This typically makes you expend a lot of extra time to redevelop
your product to every sale, rather than energetically marketing
a product that provides a key benefit to a wider range of customers.
Continually fishing for the next sale may mean losing your identity
in the marketplace, or never establishing one.
Focus the prospects
you target
It's human nature to want to grab as much business as you can, but
if you scatter your energy, you can't be the best product to your
preferred market. Identify the size of the companies you want to
go after, the vertical they play in, the size of the deals they
represent. Staying focused and keeping your marketing efforts consistent
to these targets will help you win recognition as the leader in
your particular niche.
Once you've firmly,
established your niche, protect it as you grow
A reputation as the leader in a particular area needs to be protected
because it's the bread and butter that will help you move into new
products and markets. Never abandon the resources you're dedicating
to maintain your core product to chase after new business. Instead,
evaluate how to shift resources to the point where your core product
stays healthy and still allows you the time, budget, and resources
to develop new revenue opportunities.
Polish up your product
marketing
Developing a strong, focused product marketing gives you, your product,
and your business the gas you need to drive to the finish line,
every time. Here is a basic primer to quickly make the most of your
business development efforts.
- Go through the process to understand your core offering
and create a clear marketing message for your business.
Then put a stake in the ground: this is what my product does and
these are my target customers. Remember, you will be able to expand
your offerings and targets once your niche is established and
protected.
- Go through all your marketing communications materials
and ensure your message is clear and consistent. Don’t
let your web content say one thing and your product brochure another.
A consistent strong message in all your marketing materials can
help sustain you when you’ve run out of gas (or budget)
and need to take a breather. And watch out for new communications
or campaign materials that might slip out the door without adhering
to your core message.
- Start taking “Biz Dev” days. Set
aside one day a week when you will focus on your outbound marketing
efforts. Review materials, track campaign activity. Look at partner
marketing opportunities. Find ways to justify and protect your
budget. Come up with a reason to write a press release. And be
proactive about analyzing your pipeline to ensure leads are consistent—if
they’re off or up, find out why. Don’t be blind-sided
by a drop in leads or sales.
- Be tenacious. Execute your core product messaging
and targeting efforts with courage and confidence. Make caring
for your pipeline a habit and you won’t be scrambling for
a jump-start when business stalls.
Lorie Loe is president of Lorie Loe and Associates. Lorie Loe and
Associates provide Premier Copywriting Services for Print, Web &
Multimedia Content. She can be reached at www.loeassociates.com.
Next month's topic: Leadership, Business
and Politics: Three for the Money by Herb Rubenstein,
President and Founder Growth Strategies, In
For more information,
contact BEK Enterprises at:
Web: www.bekteam.com
E-mail:
Phone: 720-304-3300
Did you enjoy this article? Let us write one for you. Editing services
provided by Lorie Loe and Associates. Lorie Loe and Associates specializes
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