I realized that my last post doesn’t provide any ideas for changing the rules in your favor and improving your business.
Here are some ideas that you can build off of. They’re broken up into categories and aim to look at every step in the sales process.
Phone Systems
- No more automated answering machine messages (think: please listen closely as our menu has changed).
- Put your number on your contact page, preferably one that is answered within three or less rings.
Testimonials and Case Studies
- Gather testimonials from your customers and use them in pre-sales collateral.
- Record testimonials from your customers and put them on your Web site.
- Create video testimonials with your customers.
- Create case studies of successful past customers in different
situations that your customers are often in when they’re considering.
Web Site
- Offer content online that you normally wouldn’t (prices, price ranges, videos, photo galleries, employee biographies, employee testimonials.
- Start planing an SEO overhaul of your Web site.
PR
- Apply for industry awards that can be leveraged.
- Have your best employees apply to write articles for trade magazines.
Sales Reps
- Have your sales team attach their vCard to every e-mail.
- Have your sales team add upcoming events to their e-mail signatures.
- Have sales reps add testimonials to their quotes.
- No more text-based, customer-facing PowerPoints.
Increase Customer Loyalty
- Put together a customer satisfaction event that people will have to talk about.
- Top of the line. Exclusive. One awesome prize instead of 50 giveaways.
- Reward great customers with exclusive benefits.
- Let customers take an item for free at the checkout if the purchase over a certain amount.
- Don’t advertise it. It will spoil it.
Product Development
- Customizable products.
Product Delivery
- Free, unexpected items in the shipping container that are useful.
