Question

Topic: Strategy

Promoting Multiple Products Without Confusing Target Audience

Posted by Anonymous on 1/25/2004 at 5:45 PM ET 125 Points
Our firm provides a number of marketing support products to our clients, who are primarily small business owners within a specific industry.

Our products include direct marketing campaigns (these are integrated marketing progams that combine direct mail, e-mail marketing and sales follow-up tools which we tweak to fit each of our clients), e-mail newsletters, web sites, postcard marketing campaigns, and custom marketing strategies and creative services.

My dilemma is: do we promote individual products to our target market, and if so how do we promote each without confusing people about what we do, or do we promote our company as a whole and then introduce the product line through our web site or in our sales process?

All the companies we would be marketing to are in the same industry, and we do not know in advance which companies may have interest in which products.

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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Blaine Wilkerson on 1/25/2004 at 6:57 PM Accepted
    I have a very similar marketing company. Almost identical.

    I too, market multiple products to people in the same industry. Regarding, knowing who will be interested...you never know until you present it.

    My company promotes in a kind of fusion of your suggestions. We promote/present ALL of our products to our retailers etc. via live, CG animated, and/or mailed proposals along with emails, phone calls, and ultimately lead EVERYONE back to our website where we have everything you would want to know about the products.

    Basically, We reach out to all our contacts, tell them what we have, send them demos, and direct them to our site for more specific information, pricing, picutures, etc.

    It works real well. This way, EVERYONE sees what you have to market and can refer to your site for info. Saves you TONS of time trying to target a demographic...not to mention the potential loss of sales by not letting everyone know what you have. Like you said, you have no idea who is interested in what. So show them everything!

    It works. It''s also good for web stats and site promotion!
  • Posted by ReadCopy on 1/26/2004 at 7:03 AM Accepted
    I would definately sugggest segmenting your services and presenting as such rather than a full list of services you offer, which you are right, can be confusing, confusion leads to NO sales!

    example:

    1. marketing strategies
    2. creative services
    3. direct marketing
    4. online

    One segmented, promote as such.

    Consider a "do it yourself" segment, that allows a pick and mix type approach, you just deliver the solution (leaves your client thinking that they have done something for themselves ... gives them some respect!)

    Sell these, either as bundles or individual solutions, you can even brand the segments (SmB marketing strategies, SmB creative services etc)

    In your web site, ensure you have a "I am a ...." or "I am looking for ... " type link so people can more easily navigate to the relevant section to them.

  • Posted by Blaine Wilkerson on 1/26/2004 at 12:14 PM Member
    Perhaps I should elaborate on my answer....

    My company primarily provides services of promotion and distribution for "impulse buy", retail products. Therefore, when I say "hit everyone with everything", I am referring to fact that most of my contacts/retailers either sell multiple products or are interested in what products I am introducing this time around.

    Of course this doesn't always apply to every retailer so there is some segmentation involved. I find that I do not have to go around saying "Hello everyone, I am a marketing company and here is a list of what I do...PICK ME, PICK ME!!!" other than my initial contact with potential clients...call it my "sales pitch". Once I acquire a client, I develop a strategy and decide which one of my retailers would be interested (Obviously I wouldn't send Toys R Us a demo of a new car accessory)....that's where the segmentation comes in. But 90% of my products fit 90% of my retailers so I have it a bit easier than others.

    I do want to make one thing clear: I do not send a big box full of "goodies" and a list of products. Each product is professional proposed with a demo unit and sent INDIVIDUALLY. This is much more professional, and it help the retailer keep track of things.

    As far as promoting my company, it is a perpetual thing. I am sure to include my logo on everything and let it be know we are the people to contact. I believe in building a reputation by example. In other words, actions speak louder than words. Therefore, I spent the majority of my time marketing my clients, which in turn, through my performance, promotes my company.

    You are all right! I just wanted to clarify! Sbalch, that book sounds interesting, I may pick it up!

    Regards.....
  • Posted on 1/27/2004 at 8:21 AM Accepted
    One of your challenges is lead qualification.

    Look to segment your customer and/or prospect groups in ways that help you learn more about their needs. For instance, if you offer a free report on your website or to your email lists entitled "How to Pump Up your Marketing Results with an Email Newsletter", the people who download the report have qualified themselves as targets for that service.

    You can use an autoresponder system to track and segement groups this way kind of like a poor man''s CRM solution

    Doug Hudiburg
    https://www.dailymarketingace.com
  • Posted by Markitek on 1/28/2004 at 4:36 PM Accepted
    If you have a common thread through them all (sounds like you do), then it sounds like you have a suite of products that can form either individual offerings or multiple offerings to the same customer. One product, broken out to provide discrete solutions to discrete customer issues. This is, in essence, for lack of a better term, a fragmented whole product--pieces of which can be sold individually, in groups or as a whole. Good way to encourage cross sell and so on. In a case like this, I'd lean toward promoting the whole solution suite, under a common name and with a corporate position and if applicable corporate brand. Then under that general umbrella provide some kind of distinction between each--common suite name followed by unqiue product name (Acme Support Suite--email manager; Acme Support Suite--postal manager and so on). Give each suite element its own color and other similar touches.

    This also gives you a framework for new product development that makes you look more robust and "whole" as each new member of the suite launches.

    Common position, common brand, unique product identities.
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