As mentioned last week, I recently started fostering a dog, ideally I’ll be able to adopt him. He has some heart issues and we’ll discover the extent of those next week.
Until then, however, he’s with me and LOVES to play his version of fetch. I throw a ball, he chases it, grabs it and then tries to keep me from getting it and whimpers if I don’t try. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.
My goal is simple. Toss the ball and let it roll so he can chase and get.
Earlier today, toss 1 ended up in his water bowl (sigh, clean that mess up). Toss 2 ended up in an open reusable grocery bag, toss 3 ended up in the trash can (thankfully just changed the bag). WTH?!?! This shouldn’t be difficult. Toss 4 was a success and rolled the length of the living room, kitchen and dining room. BudBud got it and raced passed me to his chair in the office. Success!
It got me thinking about where many businesses are missing the goal despite it being right in front of them, crystal clear as can be.
The issue in a lot of cases? The marketing is disjointed.
- There’s no Escalator™/funnel/customer flow and customers are left to figure things out for themselves (meaning they go elsewhere).
- The Escalator/funnel was set up and left to wither without any updating, nurturing or follow-up in place.
- All prospects are treated the same without regard for who’s a qualified lead versus someone just checking things out.
- There’s an emphasis on bringing clients in the door without a focus on retention.
Fixing the issue(s):
- Map out an Escalator/funnel (email us with your mailing address if you’d like a free Escalator Dry-Erase Wall Poster), even if you currently have gaps, and then implement it filling in the gaps as you go.
- Order one of your programs/products and go through the process. Are there nurturing emails? Do they nurture or annoy? I recently signed up for someone’s newsletter only to receive 3 emails a day (seriously!) thanking me for watching a webinar (never did, didn’t even visit that page) and asking would I like to buy her $4995 product. #nurturingfail
- Define who is a qualified lead for your business and adjust your nurturing sequence to speak to that persona.
- What Extreme Client Care™ and retention strategies do you need to put in place?
If your business doesn’t have the marketing/sales/retention step handled, it’s as if you’re a three-legged stool with two legs. There’s no stability. Every hiccup in your sales has the potential to destroy your business.
We’re seeing a lot of businesses with these issues as a result of the pandemic.
Warren Buffett once commented that “You only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out.” His point? Every business looks good during a strong economy; it’s only during a downturn or recession that you see what’s really under the surface.