Examining the Rosewood Marketing TreeTM
In the previous article, we considered the roots and trunk of the Rosewood Marketing Tree. Let’s do a quick review.
The roots of vision, mission, and core values comprise your company soul. These are the why, what, and how of your business.
At the base of the trunk is research and data. This provides important information from outside and inside the company upon which effective strategy can be developed.
Strategy forms the main trunk. It is comprised of four essential elements: brand, messaging, marketing plan, and budget. When developed properly these elements direct a synergistic path to action driving toward successful outcomes.
Let’s move on now to consider how you take the hard work you have done in developing the roots and trunk and apply it to the branches. The branches represent the tactical areas of marketing: the projects to be done, the processes to be developed or improved, and the actions to take.
The branches represent what most people think of when they hear the word “marketing.” Customers engage with your business through the branches. There are three main branches: lead generation, lead conversion, and post-purchase. In these branches, you use the intelligence from the roots and trunk to create a customer journey. The journey is one of education, trust-building, and decision-making.
Lead Generation
Lead generation is about getting someone who is not currently on your contact list to wave you in by saying, “Hey, I’m interested in your product. Can we talk?” Then, a sales conversation begins because they have given you permission to engage. That permission came from them calling your phone, providing their email, or opting in via some advertising venue. In a brick-and-mortar retail setting, the permission comes from them entering your store.
Lead generation activities include things like advertising in magazines, billboards, online advertising, direct mail, and job site signs. Decisions about where to advertise, what the advertisements contain, and when to advertise should be informed by your strategy from the Marketing Tree trunk.
For example, a residential general contractor we’ll call Kingstead had a strategic objective to acquire remodel projects in luxury homes along a lakefront. How should they answer the where, what, and when questions for generating leads?
Where?
Since the geographic target was very specific they could use direct mail postcards to advertise directly to the homeowners.
What?
Kitchens, bathrooms, and sunrooms are popular focal points of remodel projects. The content of each postcard would focus on just one of these three rooms. The photos would show finished rooms in the local luxury styling popular in the area. The headlines and body copy of the postcard would touch the hopes and fears of luxury homeowners considering a remodel project.
When?
All year long. Postcard advertising is most effective with multiple mailings. Major home renovations are considered for months or even years before homeowners contact a builder. Hence, any time or all the time was the right time.
Effective lead generation includes collecting a customer’s contact information with their permission, so that the conversation, having been started, can be continued. Permission from the lead to continue the dialogue is critical. Otherwise, if you initiate further contact it breaches an unspoken social contract. This annoys people and destroys trust. Sometimes permission is given explicitly. Other times the social contract to continue the conversation happens gradually through dialogue. The important part is that it’s clear to both of you whether or not the person is expecting and welcoming further communication.
In the Kingstead example, when someone contacted the Kingstead salesman, he needed to lead the conversation to a clear next step. It might be scheduling an on-site visit or committing to get back to them with more information. On the other hand, if it wasn’t a good fit or the caller was cool towards him, he could welcome them to make the next move if they wanted to continue the relationship.
Your best leads are your past customers. They already purchased from you and demonstrated trust. Many times businesses fail to remarket to their past customers. This is a huge lost opportunity because the cost of influencing a repeat purchase is much less than converting a new customer.
If you sell something customers only buy once or a few times in their lifetime, you should still communicate with them in ways that will inspire them to talk positively about you to others. Satisfied customers can generate more leads for you by referring others.
Lead Conversion
Now for the middle branch of the tree: lead conversion. This continues the communication begun in lead generation. This communication can happen in two different ways. It can be through a live salesperson or an automated system.
When a salesperson is responsible for keeping the conversation going, they should be equipped with marketing tools to make their job easier. Tools like a website, a brochure, product samples, or a demo can make salespeople exponentially more efficient and effective. These tools should also make the decision-making process easy for the customer. Lead conversation is all about building trust with a potential customer and educating them on how to make a buying decision that is good for them.
The owners of Kingstead are members of a church that abstains from using websites. Instead of viewing this as a negative, it can be seen as an opportunity. Rather than the potential customer looking at past project photos online, the Kingstead salesman can guide the prospect through the photos in person in their own home. This sales process offers the opportunity for bonding and trust-building, giving Kingstead a big advantage in serving the customer well and creating successful contracts.
Post-Purchase
The third branch is post-purchase. This is what happens after the customer has chosen to buy. This includes things like processing payment, shipping, checking them out at a retail location, setting up the equipment, or building their order. This is where we deliver on the promises made in branches one and two: lead generation and lead conversion.
For Kingstead, post-purchase is a monumental task. After a remodel contract is signed an infinite number of things can go wrong. The salesman needs to stay in constant communication with the customer to ensure they are relaxed and confident about the project. Post-purchase processes are also important for the crews doing the work. Professionalism in dress and grooming, courteous communication, and caring for the customers’ property are paramount. Simple things like cleaning up at the end of the day, making sure not to block the customer’s vehicles, and keeping dust out of the living space can make the difference between a happy day or a frustrating day for the customer.
Immediately after you’ve completed the project, installed the equipment, or delivered the product, you should check in with the customer. Ask, “How do you feel? Is it working? Did we meet your expectations?”
If all is well, this is an opportunity to congratulate customers on their choice. If not, it is an opportunity to make it right for the customer.
Marketing doesn’t end when you’ve received the customer’s payment. Successful business people ensure that the post-purchase experience leaves customers delighted. A poor customer experience will turn folks away from doing business with you in the future. A follow-up call in most situations is an important part of making sure the client is sufficiently delighted.
For Kingstead, this means a scheduled in-home visit from the salesman. Enough time is planned for the salesman to do a thorough walk-through of the entire project to make sure the homeowners are truly delighted with the outcome.
In summary, this article has pointed out the functional components of marketing. These functional components need to be created using the foundational components of marketing.
The foundational components of marketing are rooted in your company’s soul: your vision, mission, and core values. Research, including both internal and external measuring and discernment, produces a valid base for decision-making. This leads to a strategy for superior value and sustainable advantage in the marketplace. The components of strategy–a plan, brand position, and messaging–all support the functional components of the customer journey.
The customer journey is healthy when leads are effectively generated, converted to active customers, and delighted with the post-purchase activity. When the functional components of marketing are properly built on the foundational components the entire experience can be sustainable and repeatable.
With this marketing tree, you can evaluate your own business for weak or missing components. If you sense that your marketing efforts are low-functioning or weak, overlay what you’ve seen here on your own business.
Finding the missing or low-functioning elements is the first step toward fixing them.