Retain Your Existing Clients And Increase Profitability

Nineteenth-century Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto invented the now-famous 80-20 marketing principle which states that “80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients”. Even if you check on your current list of clients, you will see that the few key clients you have let you earn as much as the rest of your clients put together.

It's a fact that finding new business leads and clients costs more (as much as 5-10 times more) than retaining your existing clients. This is the reason why a lot of marketers and marketing coaches tout the benefits of retaining your clients after the initial sale. While you can't possibly keep every single client you've sold to, you can identify a few key clients which could lead to long-term profitability. These customers and clients need not even be your biggest buyers, as long as they purchase a lot of your merchandise over a period of time, their value as a client greatly increases.

Retaining clients may not be an easy task, but doing so will not only ensure you of continuous profits, but also help you improve your company and business as a whole. To effectively keep your clients, you have to make sure that you always deliver on everything that you promise each of them, and the benefits from your products and services equal or exceed your prices. Otherwise they would end up with your competitors.
If you are doubtful about whether you can sell new or more products to your customers and clients, take note that you already have critical information about them. You know how much budget they have for a month or a year; you know who are the decision-makers in the corporation and how to contact them; you have information about their existing equipment and can easily figure out when they would need to purchase a new one; you might even have information about the direction of their company's future plans. You can use all these data about your clients and customers when you offer them a new product or service to get them to make a purchase. If you think you still need more information, you can always incentivize your approach and offer them something in return for the information that you need. Retaining clients also require that you continually add value to your business relationship, so new offerings are generally expected by your clients and customers. A company that doesn't have anything new to offer clients is a sure sign that it is not growing. Furthermore, your existing clients already trust your brand, so offering them a new product or service is all a matter of whether this new product or service is relevant to them.

However, there is a significant concern among marketers regarding this type of marketing principle. While the returns on client and customer retention is high, there is always the risk of losing such a valuable client. The more valuable a key client becomes, the higher the risk once that client is lost. There is also the issue of clients becoming unreasonably demanding over time, especially when they realize their own value to your company. This situation is easily avoidable, and if you build just the right relationship with each of your clients, you can safely expect a bright future for your company.

How To Find Investors According To Mark Cuban

Dan Schawbel’s Sharktank Roundtable interview series provides great tips for entrepreneurs and businessmen from the eight hosts of the hit show. From that latest and last interview, here are 3 helpful tips to find investors according to Mark Cuban, a serial entrepreneur and a “Shark” in ABC’s popular show. Starting entrepreneurship early in his life, Cuban’s first venture was Broadcast.com which he eventually sold to Yahoo. His other businesses include: HDNet, 2929 Entertainment, IceRocket, ownership of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, and a slew of other investments.

"Do everything you can to not have to seek outside money. Most companies don’t need more money, they need more brains." 

Asking other people for seed capital doesn't just mean that they will provide initial funding for your business that you will have to pay for in the future, they will also require other collaterals such a certain percentage of stocks, a position in the board of directors, or some other executive position. Before scouring the Silicon Valley for angel investors and venture capitalists to fund your business, try to fund your business by yourself first. This way, if the venture doesn't turn out to be as profitable as you initially perceived or your target business leads didn't see it as valuable enough to purchase, then you can stop the operations anytime without needing to worry about paying back any money you owe from someone else. Afterwards, you can easily start again with another idea that may bring in more business leads.

"If you do need money, know exactly how much you need, what you are going to do with it and how it will get you to profitability." 

If you really need outside financing, then you have to prepare a complete report of where you will be spending the seed capital that your investor will lend you. No one would lend you anything if you don't have any clear plans on where to spend them and how you will get the money back. Your report should include: how much you plan to spend on product R&D, your projected expenses for lead generation campaigns and marketing, the distribution expenses, employee salaries and office rent. There might be other things you need to consider as well, such as if you need to outsource certain operations to a BPO company or a call center. The point is that you have to make it as complete and accurate as possible so that you won't run out of money prematurely or borrow much more than you can afford to repay.

"Be ready to work your ass off. Raising money is not a destination, it’s a starting point. The minute you take money, you no longer are your own boss. You work for the people giving you money. Be prepared to work harder than you did before. Raising money doesn’t make things easier; it creates more pressure for success." 

Having an investor on board can be both a blessing and a burden. On one hand you can take more risks because you have someone backing your efforts, on the other, you have to choose the risks you take wisely because the same person backing you up is expecting a lot from you. You will have to work extra hard to make sure that you always have a steady flow of sales leads coming in.

There is little margin for error and failure when investors are involved so you have to think very carefully before you find one for your business.

Why Is Singapore Is Good For Your Business

Silicon valley can very well be considered the mecca of startups, and most companies aspire to migrate their businesses or establish a branch there. This decision, however, will bring them straight into a world of high competition for capital, talent and above all, quality sales leads.

Business to business companies should try to consider other locations that would offer them highly profitable business opportunities. One such strategic location is the Republic of Singapore.
B2b companies will have great opportunities awaiting them in the tiger country. The country has recently been distinguished as the leading Asian country in terms of economic competitiveness according to a study commissioned by Citigroup.

Setting up your business in Singapore is relatively easy, what with government funded subsidy grants and quick business registration processes. Business sales leads generation can be easily accomplished by hiring a lead generation service provider from BPO hubs Philippines or India.

Singapore’s proximity to other developing asian countries makes it a valuable and strategic business location, particularly the mobile industry which is gaining a strong foothold in Singapore and neighboring countries Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

While most startups prefer to establish their business in the silicon valley, for Bubble Motion CEO Tom Clayton, Singapore was the ideal choice for his thriving startup. The country’s business industry is world-class. However, the most appealing aspect about Singapore was its proximity to Bubble Motion’s market - Indonesia, India and China. Bubble Motion is a Twitter-like mobile app that allows voice messages to be sent out to one’s followers. His decision has given his startup the chance to connect with the largest mobile service providers available in Asia, including: Airtel, Reliance, Vodafone, KDDI and Telkomsel and required only five months of marketing to get the Indian market to embrace his product.

Branding to Generate Sales Leads

The Golden Arches, a partly bitten apple, the dynamic ribbon design, the Nike swoosh. All of these brands have achieved worldwide distinction and easy recognition with the help of amazingly simple yet memorable brand logos. Proper brand marketing gives a brand distinction, one that makes it easily recognizable to potential sales leads once its logo, catchphrase, jingle or even token colors are presented. Every company aims to have their brand recognized, to the point where they no longer have to spend so much on lead generation marketing because the sales leads themselves come to them.

Generating Quality Sales Leads

Due to the popularity of globally recognized brands, it can be difficult for local brands to find quality sales leads no matter what lead generation techniques their company employs.

Malaysia

The Malaysian government is eager to help local brands earn recognition amidst hundreds of internationally popular brands and help local business industries. Through the Putra Brand Awards, local brands are exposed to about 6,000 consumers nationwide. Participating brands avail of free marketing, and aside from nationwide recognition, they are also able to generate sales leads.

One might argue that achieving brand recognition can be relatively easy these days with the help of various social media. Once a new brand has achieved virality status, the sales leads come flooding in and further lead generation marketing seems irrelevant. However, this type of popularity is often short-lived; once the hype has died down, the gush of sales leads becomes a trickle.

The challenge then is not only how well a brand marketing campaign can attract new and qualified sales leads, but also how reliable that branding is to sustain the company and continue to generate sales leads.

The Evolution of Social Media Marketing

Before the social media boom, marketers thought social media marketing was just another fad that would soon likely pass, something in the vein of pyramid and networking scams. But when Facebook started attracting attention from the year 2004, more and more social media marketing strategies were developed. Today, this marketing tool has allowed start-ups and established companies to gain attention without having to spend millions of dollars on advertisements.

A Brief History

Before there was social media, netizens in the 1970s and 1980s spent most of their time on social networks like dating sites and online forums. Six Degrees, Livejournal, and Friendster were the earliest form of social medias.
The dot-com bubble of 1995 - 2002 was a critical event that allowed the internet to become a viable marketing tool. It began with search marketing, prompting brands to create websites to establish an online presence. As Google, Yahoo and MSN’s search engines evolved, companies turned to SEO strategies to remain at the top of search results.


When web 2.0 sites - blogs in particular - increased in popularity, marketers began to recognize the potential of content marketing. Inbound marketing, where more value is added for the customer and business is earned, starts replacing age-old “buy, beg or bug” outbound marketing strategies.


In 2003 - 2004, the arrival social media sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and My Space initiates the shift of internet users from multiplayer online games into social networking sites. Eventually, businesses picked up on the positive effects of a social media site presence on e-commerce and started creating their own profiles on the popular networking sites.


In the years that followed, customer’s favorable attitude towards social media marketing slowly changed business marketing preference from the more aggressively-proactive outbound marketing to the more reactive inbound marketing.


Nowadays, over 90% of marketing executives utilize social media as part of their marketing strategies, and successful businesses utilize social media marketing for branding, lead generation, customer retention, research and e-commerce. Not only does social media manage to significantly reduce marketing expenses and the time needed to market products and services, it also increased the effectiveness of marketing and overall customer satisfaction. 83% of customers who post complaints on a brand’s social site like Twitter and get a reply state that they are satisfied. This helped companies retain more of their customers, resulting to increased existing customer transactions.


Capitalizing on free Internet


There are over 2 billion people online at any given time. Around 23% of the total time spent on the internet is spent on browsing or interacting within social media sites. At least 53% of individuals who are active on social media sites such as Facebook are following a brand. With the help of global internet, more and more customers (if not all) are expecting their brands to have an online presence.
This year’s tablets, iPads, and Android-operated phones will only make internet browsing all the more accessible for consumers, and social media marketing will allow companies to reach out to more target markets. As long as the internet exists, social media will remain an important part of marketing strategies.

Hire A Telemarketer Like Warren Buffett

Warren Buffett, Forbes’ 3rd richest man of the world (2011) is the owner and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, which in turn owns at least 53 other companies in stocks and controlling interests. Because of the number of companies under his leadership, Buffett is not new to hiring employees in key company positions. According to his book Warren Buffett on Business: Principles from the Sage of Omaha, Buffett cites three important characteristics that an applicant must possess to be considered as a candidate for a key company position. Should even one of these characteristics be lacking in the candidate, he will immediately be disqualified. These three qualities are brains, passion and integrity.


Unlike Buffett, there is so much that needs to be done in managing a business but never enough existing revenue to implement necessary expansions, add to that the target markets that continue to become more and more competitive. These are the problems that frequently compound and bear down on small and medium company directors and business owners which makes it almost inevitable for them to seek outsourced help. This help is usually found in call centers who provide lead generation and appointment setting services, the two processes necessary for any business to succeed.


Hiring a telemarketing team from call centers is an investment, not just a one-time business transaction. The success or failure of your lead generation and appointment setting campaign will have significant impact on your ROI, and the future of your business. Like the frugal billionaire, one must be careful in all investments that one undertakes.


Let us see how hiring professional telemarketers with all of the characteristics of Warren Buffett’s ideal employee affect the result of your business (not just your ongoing lead generation campaign).


Brains

It is important that the telemarketer understands the products and services he is pitching. When he knows his products and not just memorizes his lines, the calls he makes will naturally flow like in a conversation. Not only that, his voice will exude confidence that will naturally be picked up by the sales leads, making them understand that they are talking to a knowledgeable marketer and not just a drone. With these kinds of telemarketers in your sales and marketing team, you can be assured of a better future for your company.


Passion

A telemarketer who lacks passion will easily let disappointments get him down, eventually affecting his overall performance. On the other hand, a telemarketer with the passion for his work will never back down when faced with extremely long calling lists and will make a conscious effort to reach his quota. Finding a passionate, professional telemarketers is almost the same as securing a qualified lead in itself.


Integrity

How would any business fare if all its employees lacked integrity? Like Buffett, you must ensure the integrity of your marketing team before you hire them. But if you’re outsourcing, it means you don’t have enough time to perform a comprehensive background check. Call centers understand this and already do this task for you.


Like Warren Buffett, one must value experience when hiring new employees, but it is the skills they possess that should inevitably be the deciding factor for their employment.

Qualities Of A Good Social Media Marketer

Social media marketing is the latest in marketing tools. Indeed, this is a method that plays a huge role for any business seeking to improve their market performance. This is particularly true if they are looking for good B2B leads. After all, what is the purpose of social media other than to generate qualified leads for the company? And with the world now connected more than ever through the social media, you can say that this creates fertile ground for you to market on. All that remains is for you to look for the right social media marketer. Now, what are the qualities of a good one?

1. The Thinker – this applies not just at the concept phase of the campaign. It also plays a role in the process itself. How can you expect a lead generation campaign to succeed without someone analyzing the latest trends?
2. The Researcher – a good social media marketer would be able to know what customers really want through the help of research tools available to them. Understanding what makes people buy or do business with a company can actually make all the difference between being in the know or having no clue as to what to offer.
3. The Writer – take note that social media is communication. You must have someone who has the skills in the communication as well as in writing. They must be able to convert their thoughts into concrete calls for action, which would often generate hot B2B leads.
4. The Empathizer – does the marketer have any idea what are the trends in the market? Has he been able to capitalize on that? Was he able to generate qualified leads through his understanding of the market? These are just some of the questions that can influence your choice of social media marketer.

Take note of these four key characteristics and you will find the right man for the job.