Duct Tape Marketing

Effective lead generation is more often than not one of the biggest challenges for a business. But the biggest problem is that up to 80% of marketing expenditures on lead generation and collateral go to waste because the sales department doesn’t know what to do with leads once they get them.
Leads are all about follow-up, follow-up, follow-up. Effective lead follow-up and nurturing processes are keys to making your investments count. You must have a nurture program in place, and make sure that all sales people know how to properly implement it. By demonstrating speedy follow-up within a set timeframe, you demonstrate that you are on top of things and that you take your business seriously.
So what do you do with those leads that might not be ready to buy right now?

Research shows that 30 - 45% of leads that were not considered viable opportunities by sales became sales-ready opportunities within 12 months.

Pick up a video camera, set up some lights, get a staging area and start taping.

 No, we’re not talking about the most recent YouTube clip of someone begging to ‘Save Britney!’ We are talking about giving your clients and potential clients and chance to see that you are a real live human! Giving access into your business on a personal level may seem intimidating and a bit scary. But, it will allow those who watch your clips to see that you are normal (or pretty close ;)) just like they are. Your client wants to work with someone that they trust, and most importantly, like. If someone is searching for a company to work with, more often than not they will choose to work with a company that they know, like and trust. By allowing people a glimpse into who you are and who your company is, it’s like saying ‘I already trust you, shouldn’t you trust me too?’.

Not only can you tape clips about your office and the people in it, but you can tape demo’s showing what you or a product does.

Have an amazing talent for taking a website from blah to brilliant in 10 quick steps? SHOW US THE FIRST 2 STEPS!!! It’s not giving away your secrets, it’s allowing people to see how amazing you are at what you do , and then they will need you to show them the next 8 steps.

If you’ve ever taken your car to get service done and seen one of these signs, you are reading their ‘marketing’. And, it is one of the strongest marketing tools a service department can have.
Why? Because they are providing a service FREE to you that has a high value. But is actually more beneficial for them. What they are really doing is getting your okay to look through your car. And find more things that are wrong and more things for you to purchase. Brilliant, huh?

Now, the point of this is not to reprimand the car service companies but to help you to create something similar.

Create something you can offer that IS OF VALUE to your customer but also gives you the opportunity to provide additional service. It is absolutely imperative the offer has valuable to them, or it won’t work.
So go out there, create a “21 point inspection” type offer and see what happens.

“Nothing feels as good as being regular” – Coffee bar in Washington

 “Your pane is our passion” - Window installers in Kansas

I’m sure that you have all heard slogans like these. They make you laugh or smile, you sometimes look twice to make sure you read right, and sometimes you don’t even like them! But, what they accomplish is getting your attention. That is the key in any core message.