Are We In for A Recession? Tighten Your Sales & Marketing Growth Activity.
A long time ago I worked in an organisation that was feeling pretty buoyant. There was only one main competitor, our sales revenue numbers were going up and the economy was booming. When we looked at the volume of customers, however, we realised that we were actually losing customers. The booming economy had masked an underlying issue. The customers we did have were buying more and that had therefore masked our numbers. This was not too much of an issue in terms of our overall revenue - until the economy retracted.
Lots of businesses I'm talking with seem to be relatively optimistic, but is the 'R' word causing some nerves?
There is talk of recessions at home and overseas, while at the same time we are still crying out for talent which is adding further pressure to costs, as well as the need to ensure we are as efficient as we possibly can be. This post is not about doom and gloom, nor is it a plea to keep on with your marketing efforts if a recession hits (which data suggests you should!)
The purpose of this post is to remind you to get your marketing and sales house in order. Much of this might seem very self-explanatory, but going back to basics and ensuring your growth machine is efficient and not leaving money on the floor is good practice anyway.
If a recession does occur, the following will mean you are in a good position. If we don't have a recession, then your business is going to be in a better state regardless!
Here are five ways to tighten up your sales and marketing growth engine so that you are ready for whatever happens.
1. Really understand your customers
Every business should have customers at its heart. Not product, not profit (controversial I know), but a real focus on customers.
Who are you targeting? What is important to them? What do they need?
How do they think you add value to their business in a way that no one else does?
How are you articulating these messages? Is your value speaking to target customers, through every channel and all of your team members?
When was the last time you really focused on the "voice of the customer" in your organisation?
Actions
Talk with the team and discuss what they are hearing from customer interaction.
Nominate a month where your entire purpose is to engage with customers and prospects and really listen to what is going on in their world, in their words
Review your messaging across all your channels to market to ensure you are tightly focused and clearly articulating value.
2. Review your customer journey
Map your customer journey - from the moment a target customer might contemplate a need for your product/service, through to their first contact with your organisation, how you onboard, nurture and grow them.
Did you know many customers are almost 90% through their buying decision before they even contact you?
Actions
Do an audit of the journey and ensure you have the right tools and information available to make the information and buying process easy. Things like case studies, white papers, calculators, product information, FAQs, pricing, videos etc.
Create a plan to address any gaps - don't feel overwhelmed, but break it down into quarters when you focus on building tools to drive your growth and support customers to easily choose you as their supplier
3. Ensure marketing and sales activities are strongly aligned
It is vital that marketing and sales work closely together. Your business needs sales to grow and having a well-aligned and fully functioning sales & marketing team will increase the efficiency of every dollar you spend on your people and activity.
This includes agreeing on the definition of a good lead; identifying target clients; working together to nurture and win clients; effective sales tools; customer feedback from sales into marketing; breaking down the big sales number into actual activity; advanced communication of what marketing activity is planned and how sales teams can leverage this; discussing changes in the market place, including shifts in demand or competitor activity.
Actions
Get your sales & marketing teams in one room (virtual or real). Do it now and create a new 'normal' of doing it as part of your way of working
Agree priorities together
Create a shared plan of action
Communicate as one 'team' to avoid silos - even simple things like creating a single team email address, slack channel, Christmas function or stand-up session
4. Make sure your systems and processes are really tight; know your metrics
This is all about keeping in control.
Don't want to wait until the end of the financial year, you want to ensure you have systems and processes in place to guarantee you are progressing towards your goal, iterating your approach appropriately and learning along the way.
Be clear about what you are trying to achieve. Plan your approach. Set objectives and metrics upfront. Establish disciplines to review and benefit from a feedback loop. I know life is busy and you are hurtling forward to the next task, but I am a true believer in pausing and reviewing in order to learn!
Actions
Every organisation has different systems & processes, but review the ones you have in place which drive your growth engine - are they still serving a purpose? Could they be done more effectively? It might help to break it down throughout the year and focus on one area at a time
Be clear as leaders what the key metrics you and your team need to achieve. Don't drown in numbers, but pick a few that are meaningful and can drive the right activity for the team
Establish good systems around activating your plan. A plan is no good if it sits on a shelf. Ensure you have regular eg monthly Growth Meetings to review progress, learn from actions you have already taken and plan ahead. Ensure activity is aligned with your business objectives
5. Don't just chase new leads, love your existing customers
This one is a bit of a no-brainer, but surprisingly often forgotten.
Your bucket of customers will never fill if you have a hole in the bottom, no matter how many you add in the top. (The nursery rhyme is playing in my head here!)
Focusing on growth is important, but growth does not need to come from new customers; much growth will come from your existing clients. They could buy more of what you sell; upgrade to a different level; buy other products or sign up for different periods.
Remember, not all customers provide the same value to your business, so treat them appropriately, ensuring your most valuable clients get the most love. It can be useful to 'tier' your customers and be clear about the value you give to them at different levels - this might be account management support, or the level of product features. Don't just think about the amount they have bought this year - think about the 'lifetime value' of your clients and treat them accordingly.
Make sure they are kept up to date with what you do. Your organisation might have added services or products since some of your clients came on board. Imagine your frustration to hear they have bought something you sell, but from another source? It happens.
Have strategic conversations about what's important to them and how can you help. This can provide lots of valuable insights which help your own business.
Actions
Establish metrics around your customers and their value so you aren't caught out like the example I gave at the start
Have a system in place to make sure that you keep regular contact with your existing clients. This includes in-person and in your mailbox touch-points. Use your CRM
Talk with customers based on adding value to them, not selling 'stuff - get your sales & marketing team together to develop a plan and highlight themes
I hope this is a useful reminder. Going back to basics is sometimes the best thing to do - in many organisations I have worked with, I have found them to be surprisingly effective and often overlooked.
