In order to build a competitive advantage today at the level of marketing and sales processes, it is necessary to master five new principles of sales and customer service. Do you know them? How many of them do you use?
Table of Contents
First: narrative
That is a collection of elements of the corporate identity that form the storyline of the history of a given organization and its products. Why should we show it to the world? In the flood of similar information, people are looking more than ever for authenticity, emotions, and transparency of the values represented by the company. In addition, there are also very practical, measurable premises – we remember history better than product specifications, emotions are more memorable than facts, it is easier for us to sell something when we are involved.
Second: the content
At the level of communication, we compete not only with the competition but also de facto with every other sender. Creating value at the stage of the message itself becomes an essential skill. People have gotten tired of intruder marketing – and it is often harder and harder to show the return on investment in such activities. At the same time, they are happy to share with others what will amaze or interest them. Hence the significant role of content marketing, in which, at the level of the message, we build content which is, on the one hand, a carrier of information, and on the other hand, a platform for history – above all, however, a filter of interest and the reason why someone raises their hand and wants to buy.
Third: big data
Much has been written about the big data phenomenon, and there is probably no business that could resist it. We have more and more analytical tools, we know more and more about clients, we can offer them more and more solutions tailored to their needs. You just need to listen, collect and analyze the data that is everywhere today. Effect? A better offer and, above all, knowing who to present it to.
Fourth: flexible selling
Customers have taken control of the sales process, and the salesperson is often the last source of knowledge they use. Agile selling is based on quick reactions and providing the customer with solutions when he is ready to buy them. He won’t be waiting, and it is up to the company to await him today, with a solution tailored to his needs.
Fifth: real-time contact
Not tomorrow, not in a week or a month, and now. Customers expect to be served through non-sleeping channels and want information when it’s convenient for them – whether it’s midnight or lunchtime. Companies need to break away from the two times they used to operate – the past and the future – and start operating here and now.
Customers will benefit, the company will benefit.
I had the opportunity to meet David when he was a guest of the Harvard Business Review. He brought the idea of real-time marketing to Poland – long before the example of Oreo propagated this concept. It was one of the best marketing events in the history of ICAN Institute, but also in our country, I think.
The book David Meerman Scott’s publication is an extremely practical guide to new standards in marketing and sales for virtually any organization. Therefore, it should appear on the shelves of marketers, sales directors, and CEOs. However, it is more important than the principles he writes about are put into practice, and each company will benefit from it – and above all, its customers.
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