Hardware Store Mentality

Men love hardware stores and work at home dads get that. When we take on a project we generally know whether we’ve got the tools necessary to do the job. If we don’t have them we ask a neighbor, if they don’t have what we need we’re off to the hardware store.

Somewhere between our home and the store the mental shift between what we need and what we want kicks in.

Going to the hardware store can be an educational experience for marketing professionals. We know they’ve got what we need there, but they also have what we want.

New and Improved Fish Oil

Every single product we ever consider marketing has a specific appeal to a very well defined niche. Even products that are beneficial to everyone fall into this category. Not everyone wants, nor will they typically buy something they actually need.

Looking back over the years I can identify people who never developed a desire for things that our family would be hard pressed to live without. Want has always been a more powerful motivation in marketing. This is why selling went out of style long ago.

If you try to interest someone in what they need a trigger goes off in their mind telling them you’re trying to sell something. On the other hand if you have what someone wants they generally just need to know the price.

Inherent Value

Work at home dads have access to multiple income streams for two very important reasons:
1.    There are many small niches and products for every one of them.
2.    Affiliations generate more income than individual business owners.

We understand that our work in marketing demands that we prepare and present specific answers to specific wants. Niche marketing implies that although people may have an interest in several areas, they don’t want the whole store.

Nothing has value unless it’s desired. In fact the desire for a product or service precedes design and invention. Demand is the horse before the cart of supply.

One Big Happy Community

Many home business owners share common cross over areas with other entrepreneurs. The practice of affiliate marketing has essentially tied together a wide network of moms and dads that work at home.

When my network is exposed to a new business opportunity not everyone takes advantage of the affiliate offer. Even though everyone wants more money, they know there is no shortage of opportunities online, and another income stream is likely to show up any minute.

Free 3 minute video will show you how to start an internet business with unlimited earning potential. Visit me today at http://NetworkFisher.com if you want to learn more. David Beairsto supports the efforts of work at home dads as well as all entrepreneurs. Visit our blog at http://DavidBeairsto.com
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“We generate quite a few leads from the free trial of our software, but not enough leads convert into paying customers. What can we do?”

It’s a question I’ve been asked by clients, seen on LinkedIn and other online forums, and a problem I had to help solve while working in the marketing/PR department of multiple software companies. Since free trial offers are a main source of lead generation for many B2B software companies, it’s imperitive that these leads are converted if sales revenue goals are to be met.

Free Trials Alone Won’t Sell Software

I believe the root of this problem comes from the mentality of many software marketers that once a prospective customer uses their software they’ll love it, and once they love it they’ll eagerly pay money to have it. The prospect will convert from lead (free trial user) to paying customer without much influence from marketing or sales because the software will basically sell itself.

Unfortunately this way of thinking doesn’t take into account:

• Prospects are probably not only using your free trial, they are also using other vendor’s trials for comparison

• Prospects are busy and may only spend a few minutes with your software then not use it again

• Prospects may not understand how to use your software correctly and therefore not experience its full value

• Most B2B software sales involve several people making the purchase decision, so unless all of them are using your free trial, you’re not influencing everyone you need to in order to close the sale

Focus on Lead Nurturing

Having a lead nurturing program specifically for free trial users is the most effective method I’ve found for converting them into sales. It’s important to note that free trial users are usually further along in the sales cycle than most leads, meaning they’re usually past the ‘information gathering’ stage and into the ‘evaluation’ stage. Follow-up contact with free trial users needs to focus on providing information that makes it clear:

• How your software is different from and better than competitors
• How using your software is better than trying to solve their problem themselves

Lead Nurturing Tactics

There are many ways to nurture leads, but here are a few that I’ve found to be successful. If at all possible, invest in marketing automation software (such as Genoo) and a solid CRM system (like Salesforce.com) to ensure timely follow-up and the ability to track the success of your lead nurturing program and optimize it for even better results as time goes on.

Email

When prospects submit their personal information to register for your free trial, offer a simple way to opt-in to receiving emails from your company. To encourage prospects to opt-in, offer a valuable ‘how to’ guide or other marketing asset that they immediately receive.

Send a confirmation email to all prospects thanking them for registering for the free trial, and include a link to brief instructional materials or FAQ document that they can download to ensure they use your software trial correctly. If you offer customer support to free trial users, make sure to explain how to get help. Ask the prospect if there are other people in their organization who are evaluating your software who would like to participate in the free trial, and provide an easy, fast way for them to send the trial info to colleagues. If possible, send the email from the salesperson that is assigned to the lead, and provide that salesperson’s contact information.

If free trial users haven’t converted into buyers by a certain time period (whatever is appropriate for your particular software) and have opted-in to receiving emails, send them a link to a document, video, podcast, or other marketing asset directly comparing your software to competitors. You might also send a link to a case study describing the success of a customer that is similar to the prospect. One client I worked with had great success with a case study we did on a customer that had switched to their software from a competitor.

If it’s possible, send prospects a link to an ROI calculator or some method for prospects to calculate how much money or time they can expect to save or amount of revenue they can expect to generate, etc. by using your software.

Direct Mail

Use direct mail to send marketing materials discussed above to prospects who don’t opt-in to emails. You can send the materials themselves, or send postcards with links to get the materials online.

Phone

The salesperson assigned to the lead should call the free trial user 2-3 days after they register, simply introducing themselves and inquiring as to the user’s experience with the trial so far, if they have any questions, etc. Ask prospects what problem(s) they’re having that drove them to evaluate your software, which is a good way to break the ice and engage the prospect in a conversation about their needs and how your software can help solve them.

Kim Cornwall Malseed, principal at MarCom Ink, has over a decade of global marketing, public relations, analyst relations, and inside sales experience with Fortune 500 and startup high-tech companies. As the founder of B2B technology marketing and PR firm MarCom Ink, Kim has worked with clients on marketing strategy and implementation that significantly increased lead generation and sales conversions, leading to improved revenue. Check out the B2B Technology MarCom Blog for more practical advice on what works – and doesn’t – in B2B high-tech marketing.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/how-to-convert-b2b-software-free-trial-users-into-paying-customers-1484383.html

In a recession most business leaders will mentally accept that trading conditions are difficult and as a consequence lower expectations/goals. This mind set can then become self fulfilling as the mental state that creates this thinking will determine the actions of that individual. His reduced expectations are felt by employees and, guess what, standards slip, performance suffers and targets are not met but he accepts it all.

Many business owners will expect poor performance or even “freeze” become inert and incapable of making decisions.

If you think you’ll lose you will, if you believe you can win you very probably will.

If you are responsible for dictating budgets don’t cut the marketing budget, if you are responsible for marketing but don’t dictate the budget, fight to ensure it isn’t cut with reasoned argument and the proven factual arguments for maintaining spend

The key to success is to not cut your marketing budget and do nothing but to revise your marketing strategy. The following ideas are all crucial marketing activities in a recession and your strategy should be altered accordingly:

1. Hold back on any “test” marketing and concentrate on doing more of what you know already works.

2. Ensure you have an effective programme of keeping in touch with existing customers to ensure loyalty, using every means possible; e-mail, letter, newsletters, phone call, personal visit, make them feel wanted especially during a recession, if you have their confidence they’ll want to stay safe…with you.

3. Identify the element of your prospects and existing customer base least likely to be affected by a recession either through the nature of their business or their financial strength and concentrate your marketing strategy on them, seek successful vertical markets. Avoid marketing to sectors most affected they will prove to be less profitable and obviously more vulnerable.

Try to develop a “We are the experts” mentality in your marketing. In a recession customers want to stay safe with somebody who knows what they are doing….”the Authority” on a subject.

For over 17 years we’ve been designing and fulfilling creative solutions for hundreds of businesses, helping companies like yours to promote their business services with the creative talents of our expert team of graphic designers and print professionals.

www.rasgroup.co.uk

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/marketing-strategy-in-a-recession-1468678.html