Too many people think that sales and marketing are two different words for the same process. Wrong!

Marketing is the process that brings your potential customers to your business with their money in their hands really wanting to buy your products and services.

The sales process begins after the marketing process has worked its magic. The sales process matches the customer´s needs with the appropriate product or service from your business and sends them away happy to repeat the process and refer their friends to you.

A lot of so-called marketing consultants are sales people. They are selling some kind of advertising product. Maybe it´s a magazine advertisement, perhaps a series of promotional flyers. It might be a coupon book or magnets with your business name printed on them. I guess I´m not a great big fan of most advertising. Don´t get me wrong. Advertising is important. It´s one of the ways that potential customers can hear about your product.

My biggest problem with most advertisements is that almost all of them say something along the lines of "I´m a great product. Buy me." This type of advertisement is the same in principle as you walking along a busy sidewalk, stopping the first attractive person that you see and asking them to marry you! Basically, most ads are asking you to commit (your money) as soon as you´ve read the ad. Think about this. What are the chances of that kind of ad working? The advertising people will tell you that people need to be exposed many times to the ad so that it makes an impression on their mind. So, do you keep on asking that attractive person to marry you? It might work. So might the multiple ads.

Marketing is really simple.  You just have to put yourself in your prospective customer's shoes and answer one little question.....

Why should I choose your business over every one of your competitors out there?

Cell phone companies spend over $300 to bring in one new customer. What do you spend? Do you even know?

How much is one new customer worth to you? Is it more money than you're spending to attract each new one?

How much do you think it would cost a cell company to retain each existing customer? Probably a whole lot less than the $300 they have to spend to replace each one they lose. What does it cost you to retain a customer?

The whole point of the three paragraphs above is that it´s usually a lot more cost effective to retain the customers you already have than to go out and get more customers.  You´ve already proved yourself to your existing  customers.  We can help you sell more to the customers you already have.

• You´re interested in marketing
• You´re running a business
• You´re still reading this column
• You´ve just proved that Marketing works
• .....and that I'm good at Marketing

So, call me at (604) 889-4199 and find out how I can help YOUR business make more money.