April 20, 2004
Sales Promotion
Run Loud, Run Deep By Narrowcasting with Marketing & PR Programs
by Sales Acceleration Group
When designing sales promotion programs, often sales and marketing departments speak different languages – or don’t speak at all. And PR isn’t even considered a component of the sales promotion program. That can sink the best intentions of any marketing department.
Companies may want to consider narrowcasting their sales promotion effort to get all three groups - sales, marketing and PR - to run loud and run deep as they submerge themselves into a new market segment. Too often, marketing teams develop what they think are integrated marketing programs, but fail to coordinate with sales and PR teams. And nobody thinks to get a lead-generation team involved until the opportunity has passed. So while sales promotion and PR campaigns may win awards, they still fail to generate leads the sales team needs. That’s deadly in today’s economy, where wait-and-see purchasing attitudes persist.
WDI, a division of Brunswick Corporation, uses media coverage from its PR program to create a buzz that they then leverage through sales promotion efforts on their Web site and in brochures. WDI successfully penetrated the large-enterprise market for integration software in just 90 days through narrowcasting.
Here are four sales promotion best practices your company can use to run loud, run deep:
* Act in Concert– An Aberdeen study found that sales departments ignore up to 80 percent of lead generation and sales collateral developed by companies’ marketing departments. Marketing, PR and sales teams must work hand-in-hand in developing sales promotion tools that reinforce the same message.
* Understand Company’s Mission, Vision and Values– That same study found that sales people spend 40 to 60 hours each month re-creating customer-relevant materials. Eliminate this misdirected energy by designing every stage, tactic, and metric with the goal of closing sales faster.
* Create a Sales-Focused Culture – Sales promotion programs for target markets often lack direction from the sales team on the front end, or follow-through from the lead-generation team. However, by including the sales team early, and then having lead-generation specialists call on only the most profitable prospects identified through awareness campaigns, companies greatly increase the chances for success.
* Fill The Communications Gap – Prospects are hesitant to be the first to try something, so customer testimonials are crucial. Often the best reference is simply a sales promotion reprint of a news article on a customer using your product. PR clips give salespeople one more reason to talk to customers and prospects. This, in turn, creates an expanded PR cycle that pumps up the sales muscle and builds greater rewards through customer wins.
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