The Three Prongs of Marketing

I have been a student of how manufacturers and integrators market since the 1990’s. I’ve watched my own companies, and a host of other manufacturers and integrators, rise and fall, and I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing the mix of culture, business dynamics and marketing that contributed to the rise of many companies in our field.

 

While the products, cultures and dynamics that led to strong growth is often dramatically different, one thing I have noticed: three prong marketing was a strong contributor to the success of many companies.

 

What we think marketing is...

 

Most of us think of marketing as something we put out there for customers, the end users who buy our products. We want to get their attention, lay out why we think our company has the best product or service, and thus make it easier for our sales force or channel to sell.

 

That is the first prong, and it’s important. It’s where most of us focus our time and budget.  And it should be. But there are two other prongs we often ignore, or do poorly, that can have a big impact for a realativly small investment.

 

But there is more.

 

The second prong is internal marketing. Most of us are simply not very good at letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing internally. It’s a standing joke in the industry that we are in the communication industry, yet we tend to communicate badly.  

 

The investment to do this is not huge: A bit of thought, some time, and someone to focus on how to let our people internally know about products, services, sales tools and success stories, and a strategy to get that information out to everyone in the company.

 

That’s right, everyone. Because nearly everyone in our companies has customer contact, and hears of opportunities for sales. Armed with good information, they are prepared to help you sell. Not armed with that information, they do their job and that’s it,  and the opportunity is lost.

 

I have one client that I talk to about every two weeks. I ask him what’s going on, get the core information of cool things going on, and from that, I generate an internal newsletter. It is NOT a big investment, but it gets the word out, every couple of weeks or so, and pays dividends in terms of sales, as well as growing a corporate culture that is positive and more and more, on the same page.

 

Sell to the Salesmen

 

The third prong, and this is more for manufacturers than integrators, is marketing for the sales channels.

 

Right now, as some of you are reading this, a few of you are saying “Wait a minute, we send out bulletings to our channel all the time!”  Yes, you do, and I get lots of them. For the most part, they are full of specials, new products, discontinued products, pricing – that sort of thing. Very useful, but not what your channel really needs to sell most effectively.

 

When I meet with a manufacturer’s rep, after they have done their presentation on a product, I almost always ask the same questions:

 

• What sets this product apart?
• Where have you found the most success with this?
• What’s the most effective way to sell it?
• What are the tools you have to help me sell it?
• Who has already bought it? (success stories)

 

In short, I want to know how to make this product pay off for me and my channel company.

 

The sales reps always have those answers at hand, but they are rarely part of the marketing bulletins that I get every day, most of which get filed away until I need them, instead of being read in the moment.

 

So my advice to manufacturers is to be proactive. A good marketing bulletin should always ask not just what information will the channel sales rep need, but what will INSPIRE the sales rep to choose you over someone else. Rethink your marketing bulletins. You can still have the pricing, etc go out, just put it at the bottom, after you’ve gotten the attention of the sales guys with information that helps them sell. (Sales guys after all, are the ultimate “what’s in it for me” types.).

 

It's not hard, or expensive.

 

None of the second and third prongs are hard. They are not terribly time consuming, particularly if they are part of a strategy, as opposed to separate functions. It may take some rethinking, but once in place, they can have a real impact on your sales.

 

Here at Quarry House, we help you market and sell. We can consult with you to help rethink your own strategy and we can do the practical work that goes along with it: set up processes that make three prong marketing easy, develop sales materials and tools, do copywriting for your own marketing, and more. Consider giving us a call if you need extra help. (or visit our web site to learn more.)