Clever marketing strategies

Regardless of the industry, marketing is essential. Employing good marketing strategies can be the fastest and best way of improving your businesses overall performance.

When reviewing your sales strategies ask yourself, or your marketing department, these questions:

Are your products/ services distinguishable from your competitor’s?
Are you following your marketing plan? Do you have one?
Are you getting a regular stream of new customers?
Are customer’s complaints being responded to?
Do you have a business website? Is it effective?
Do you know what customers really want from your business?
Are there any markets that are being missed?

You might also want to consider conducting a customer satisfaction survey to determine just how happy with your products your customers currently are. If you decide to do so it is best to offer an incentive and follow up on all feedback you receive.

Reviewing your customers can be just as reflective of your performance as reviewing your strategies. Look at whether:

You are receive a disproportionate amount of complaints
Payments from customers are late
Gross profit is lower than for most customers

These are all signs that your customer relations may need improvement.