Trend for IT companies to market to existing customers
March 30th, 2006 | Garrett MannI’m observing a trend with our clients. Lately you hear some of them mention that they may be switching their marketing focus to go after their “named accounts.”
Actually, a client in the webservices space recently announced that a major 2006 initiative would be to do just this. They are reallocating budget from other activities to support this strategy.
They mentioned that their national salespeople needed to penetrate their top accounts in a specific vertical market and needed help in doing so. They’re concerned that even if their most active customers at company x may know them, their goal is to get more prospects within that same company to also consider them and their solutions. To do this they need to conduct a campaign to introduce themselves to new customers and reintroduce themselves to existing customers who may have forgotton about them So they asked what TechTarget could do to help them accomplish this.
Any recommendations for how an IT marketer can do this using resources from a publisher?
April 20th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
Hi Garrett - […] we frequently run into this type of situation with our technology clients.
The first step is to make sure they have an established database of their existing customers, as well as prospects. If this already exists, either a direct marketing campaign or a Webinar strategy could work well. For either strategy they use, they would need a compelling call to action to encourage recipients to move to the next step. Following is an example.
Currently, BluePoint is using this strategy for a client who is looking to beef up their sales pipeline with new, highly qualified prospects. We are beginning with a direct mail piece, then following up a week later to the same audience with an email. If the company has enough resources to implement a multi-channel approach like this, the response will be much greater. The compelling call to action on the mailer and email might be “visit this link to view our 5 min demo” or “click here to qualify for a free 30 day trial”, etc. Once the customer receives the mailer and then the email as a follow-up support tool, he or she will visit the link for the demo/trial, and be prompted to enter only the most basic contact info (name, company, title, email, phone). Now the sales team has all the info they need to call and follow up on that lead, and determine how qualified it is, etc. If marketing to an existing customer base, this type of campaign will increase the company’s visibility and build brand awareness.
The same idea can be applied to a Webinar strategy. Pick a topic that will be especially appealing to the existing customer base – or better yet, hold 2 separate webinars (1 geared towards current customers, 1 geared towards prospects). The company can market the webinar and drive registrations through a number of vehicles – email blasts, banner ads, newsletter sponsorships, print ads, etc. Once the recipient visits the link and registers for the Webinar, the sales team will have all the info they need to follow up on that lead.
You can learn more about other lead generation strategies (and where marketing fits in) during our May 23rd Webinar: How to Tackle Your Sales Cycle and Win: Marketing, the Lead Generation Engine that Should. Register at: http://bluepointmktg.netspoke.com/attendee/conferenceDetails.asp?conferenceID=9
April 20th, 2006 at 1:36 pm
To penetrate top accounts in specific vertical markets, I think a site visit is called for 1-2 times a year to assess the clients upcoming needs and requirements and to keep your company top of mind in the client’s head if a need or requirement ever arises. It’a all about building rapport and a relationship with your existing customer base. I don’t feel the publisher should get involved here, the account manager himself/herself should contact these top clients so they feel like VIP people and know that you care.
To get more prospects within the same company to consider your company and solutions as well, speak with your coach (according to the Miller Heiman Sales Model). Your coach is the individual that can help you identify the key people inside the organization you need to get involved with to close any type of deal so you are not wasting your time talking to the wrong people. Your win is his/her win from the perspective that he/she feels you are consulting him/her as an expert. A “we missed you” type campaign is always nice. I don’t think a publisher needs to get involved here, I believe the personal touch aspect is needed here.
For a company to introduce themselves to new customers, I recommend utilizing the publishers services for content development that will grab readers attention. Did you know your company uses blah blah blah to do X? or something along the lines of a benefit statement saving them time or money to do something. Find out how… It’s gotta be catchy and to the point and an attention gather. Once again, depending on who you are targeting will determine the message.
I hope this makes sense and helps.