When I analyze the marketing for a company one of my primary objectives is to locate areas where profits can be impacted quickly.  There are two ways the bottom line can be improved.

The first is to locate unnecessary expenses or expenditures that can be reduced or re-directed to more effective marketing initiatives.  Such strategies can include shifting job responsibilities to better match skill sets and company needs, reducing production costs by finding new suppliers or contractors, or eliminating ineffective marketing tools.

The second way to increase profits is to identify sales opportunities that require minimal investment to exploit.  It is easier and quicker to pick the low hanging fruit from a tree.  The same holds true for potential sales.  Companies can find sales that are easy to harvest in a number of areas.

Customer Grosses

Existing customers often hold the most potential for increased revenues.  Failure to maximize sales to current accounts can occur following changes of representatives, when customers open new branches or locations, if employees representing different lines have not effectively collaborated, and all potential buyers have not been properly solicited.  In each case sales opportunities can be leveraged by examining these potential shortfalls and developing action plans to address them.

Referrals

Customers can be the most effective sellers of a company’s products and services.  Their positive experiences with customer service, representation and results can provide a great sales advantage when approaching prospects that they refer.  The easiest way to obtain such referrals is to ask for them.  However, requesting referrals from customers won’t be effective if it is just a one-time effort.

In order to have a continuing impact on sales referrals need to be sought frequently and through a variety of techniques.  Do your invoices include a phone number or email address where customers can send referrals?  Do sales and customer service representatives consistently remind customers that they appreciate their suggested leads?  Does your company provide incentives for customers to submit referrals?

We will explore additional referral strategies and techniques in a future issue where we will also describe the best ways to make requests and help customers be more effective referrers.

Profiling

Identifying the most profitable or numerous customer types currently being served can supply valuable information for pursuing prospects that may close with minimal investment of time and resources.  In theory, companies or consumers that already buy should be representative of those that are likely to become customers and quickly realize the benefits of a particular product or service.  At the least, it is possible to pitch those prospects based on the fact that their neighbors or fellows already use the lines in question.  For more information on how this applies in B2B situations see the issue titled “Right Under Your Nose”.

Incentives and Premiums

Both existing customers and prospects may be induced to purchase when special offers are available.  Initial purchases can be discounted to encourage new accounts.  Current customers may be motivated to increase their buys if given limited-time discount offers.  Offering free or discounted gifts (preferably related to the main product or service) can also add incentive to buy now.  Premium items that are used in conjunction with a product or service can also induce purchases.

Modifications

Sometimes it is possible to make minor modifications to a line that makes it more attractive to existing customers or potential market segments not currently being served.  To explore this strategy it is necessary to communicate with customers to determine their wants and needs.  Simple market research can uncover features and benefits being sold by competitors.

Modifications can be as simple as changing what features and benefits in existing products or services are stressed in marketing pieces and sales presentations.  In-other-words, know what people want and sell that to them.

Low hanging fruit can be found in any marketing and sales situation.  All it takes to create quick and low-cost sales is to look at elements of marketing operations for the different opportunities they may present.

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