R U Marketing is a member of BNI New Zealand, which is a referral based organisation. Being part of BNI is a great way for small to medium sized organisations to establish a strong referral network.
So what is a referral?
"A referral is the name and contact details of a prospective customer which have been passed on to you by an existing contact with the intention of the new contact becoming a customer."
Within BNI we take this further, we don't just pass a contact on, as we consider this a lead rather than a referral, we also "warm up the contact" by speaking to them about the upcoming contact and give some background on the existing relationship.
Many BNI members are reactive in their referrals. By this I mean they get to know all their BNI chapter members well, then when out in day to day business listen for potential opportunities to pass on the details of their BNI colleagues. This creates stronger referrals, and adds value to the referrers credibility within the chapter.
This is one of the biggest benefits of being part of a referral network were you are able to build long term trusting relationships with a like minded group of business people looking to develop their business through relationships.
SO when was the last warmed up referral you received?
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Spreets, GrabOne, DealaDay, DailyDo, Treatme... ETC ETC
With the advent of bulk purchase marekting websites, are businessess considering the impact of discounting on their brand???
Is discounting a sustainable form of marketing?
Here are a couple interesting blogs on the subject
blog1
blog2
From my perspective there are several reasons to use discounting within your company. The first being to drive additional sales when one is overstocked, or preparing for a new range of products. The second is to leverage the marketing reach of these websites customer lists to increase your brand awareness within a mass population.
The main reason in my opinion that companies should not discount is, unless you are the warehouse, or 1-2-3 dollar store where your business is discounting, and volume is the name of the game, how does discounting reflect on your brand? If you start discounting will it impact on your ability to ever sell a product at full margin again?
The idea behind this post is for those companies out there looking at using discounting as part of their strastegy consider the real impact on their bottom line, and their brand positioning. The recession has been difficult for many organisations, but there are other ways to make your business work without necesarily resorting to discounting. And as I have stated above there are also good reason why this sort of marketing can work!
Is discounting a sustainable form of marketing?
Here are a couple interesting blogs on the subject
blog1
blog2
From my perspective there are several reasons to use discounting within your company. The first being to drive additional sales when one is overstocked, or preparing for a new range of products. The second is to leverage the marketing reach of these websites customer lists to increase your brand awareness within a mass population.
The main reason in my opinion that companies should not discount is, unless you are the warehouse, or 1-2-3 dollar store where your business is discounting, and volume is the name of the game, how does discounting reflect on your brand? If you start discounting will it impact on your ability to ever sell a product at full margin again?
The idea behind this post is for those companies out there looking at using discounting as part of their strastegy consider the real impact on their bottom line, and their brand positioning. The recession has been difficult for many organisations, but there are other ways to make your business work without necesarily resorting to discounting. And as I have stated above there are also good reason why this sort of marketing can work!
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