Marketing Strategy: Five Ways to Lose Your Prospects

You are losing current customers; you are reaching out to prospects, but they seem uninterested in your product or service. You think something is wrong with your marketing strategy; or, maybe something is wrong with your sales process? Or maybe it is neither of the two? Or is it both?

Here are a few common ways Marketing and Sales teams drive their prospects away:

Are you spamming them? You have a drip campaign in place and your sales people are calling your prospects relentlessly. You’ve also diversified into text messaging and automated calls. What you’re forgetting is that no one wants to be stalked! Make sure to provide your prospects with valuable content they can find helpful. Share your thought leadership; don’t just send them junk.

Are you just trying to sell to them? Yes, your ultimate goal is to sell to them, but are you engaging with them enough? Some people need nurturing, while others might be quicker decision makers. You have to let your prospects date you before they agree to tie the knot! Offer free resources, one-month trials, ask them for their feedback through surveys and keep them engaged. Give them a taste of your product or service before jumping the gun.

Are you listening to your prospects? Besides a general idea about the demographics of your prospects, do you know what motivates them to choose a product over another? What marketing channels do they use to learn about a provider? What special times or events trigger them to buy? You need to do a quick customer survey to ask your consumers all these questions, which can greatly help you understand their buying process.

How good is your follow up process? Don’t let your prospect inquiries go in to the general inbox, getting lost in the pile of hundreds of other emails. Your prospects want good service from the very start, so make sure to have a process in place that lets you identify your prospect emails and take care of them instantaneously.

Are you misleading your prospects? Don’t try to over-market your product or service; be honest and pitch your product to your prospects by stating what it really offers. Remember that advertising is not the only way your prospects come into contact with your product. They talk among themselves; they ask their peers; they use social media to ask other thought leaders. So, keep it real!

Based on Cidnee Stephen’s “5 Ways to Lose a Prospect” in Up and Running, Starting Your Business With Growth in Mind