For the past few years we have been in a flat growth cycle economically. Yes, manufacturing goods are growing at a rate of 3% on the average, however inflation takes most of that growth impact away. We are in a flat economic period.
During a period such as this, many manufacturers tend to redirect budget dollars to areas other than new customer development. Why? Understandably, they are cautious and risk averse. However, as entrepreneurs you know that sustainable growth is what keeps your businesses in business. Without growth, you become stale and eventually close the doors. Whether through new product introductions, developing new partnerships, or acquiring the right capital, it’s a necessity to continue getting the word out to your current and future customers that you are interested in and positioned to grow. Customers want to work with solid, growth capable companies. It is that growth message that attracts customers who believe that your solution will help them resolve their challenges.
Do not be afraid to grow
Growth comes by building off of momentum. That momentum may be seen through those new product introductions, advanced pricing strategies, increased distribution channel efficiencies, operational efficiencies and yes, even marketing and sales programs.
A large portion of growth starts with new customers. And yet, if you are selling to new customers whose business needs are not sustainable, you lose. If you do not have the right tactics in place to prospect the right clients, you will find it difficult, as well as expensive, to sustain growth.
To sustain growth, during any type of business cycle, you must have the mindset of embracing a momentum-building growth strategy. This is something you may already know. But simple? Not always.
If growth momentum is an important strategy to business survival, why do so many cut the one budget that is most important to sustaining this momentum – marketing. Marketing shouldn’t be considered an expense, but rather a revenue generator.
Look at how the buying landscape has changed. Growth momentum is a more difficult journey for you as today’s buyer is using their digital-strategy in order to find companies that help them solve their problems, eliminate their pain-points, help them reach their KPI goals and objectives. No matter what you call it, eliminating the customers’ challenges is why you are in business. And getting that message to them, at the time they are looking, at the place that they are looking requires your own digital-strategy
Strengthening your growth strategy
This is where your marketing strategy comes into play. In today’s internet-influenced world, companies need to rely on their digital campaign to get them in front of a prospective client. If you are not digitally-ready, you will not even know about the prospects out there that could use your products or services. You are not even invited to participate in the buyer’s journey.
It used to be that through your reputation, or selling skills, you were one of up to ten vendors invited to participate in an RFP process. After submitting your Request For Pricing, the customer would short-list you. Today, the savvy customer uses the internet to short-list prospective sellers, leaving 7 of the old-ten completely out of the process. Getting invited to the party is that much more difficult, and that much more important for sustainable growth.
But it’s not just about getting invited to the journey. You want to participate in only those journeys where the prospective buyer is a match for the solutions that you can provide. You don’t want to spin your wheels on low-probability sales opportunities. These efforts increase your cost-of-conversion as sales people spend time and resources on no-win opportunities.
Not only do you want to get invited to the party, you want to get invited to the right parties.
There is an answer to getting those invites while increasing your conversion rate and reducing your cost of conversion: by having prospects that are interested in your solution contact you. It has often been said that you cannot sit by the phone and wait for it to ring. Today, with an effective marketing program, you can actually do just that. That is why marketing, at any level, within any budget, is so important.
We call this answer Inbound Marketing – which, in its simplest form, is getting qualified customers to contact you through the use of a measurable, results-based digital strategy. Think of the efficiencies gained by having qualified customers, using their internet research time, to find you.
We invite you to learn more about the right amount of marketing that you need in order to maintain sustainable growth by contacting Revel. We know manufacturing. We know marketing. And we know how to help you grow.
