In the past 1.5 years, investments in organizations have come under pressure. Due to the reduced investments, marketing and sales budgets are also under pressure.
But it is important to continue to advertise and acquire!
Recent research also confirms this.
In this blog I will tell you all about it!
People are moving a bit more cautiously and they are looking more closely at the destination of expenditures. Completely logical of course. But these changes all have an impact on marketers and sales. It seems like a “shortage” of customers who now want to purchase something.
This cautious approach by companies may seem to be a thing of the past year, but it actually always plays out. This is apparent from a study by the Ehrenberg-Bass and B2B Institute. In this research “Advertising effectiveness and the 95-5 rule”, Professor John Dawes explains how up to 95% of business customers are not simultaneously in the market for many goods and services.
This is a fairly simple fact, but it does mean a lot for the action that marketing and sales managers need to take.
The blame for poor sales is often placed on sales, while marketing also plays a major role in this. When we see that a company is unwilling to invest, we tend to pay less attention to them in sales and marketing.
But if you don’t make any investments yourself, why should the customer invest in you?
Due to the circumstances of the past year, that 95/5 rule is now very much applicable. 95% of the market will not be directly interested. This could be because they already have a service that they are happy with, because they just aren’t ready yet, or because the financial situation doesn’t allow it.
And the 5% that remains are the in-market buyers.
They are currently looking for – or willing to make the switch.
That’s a fierce ratio, but don’t let that put you off! It actually has a lot of added value to call, and to look up that 95%. Often the most business / the most profit is in those out-of-market buyers! Even if they won’t act yet: start a conversation, keep asking them. Why don’t they? Are there any barriers or obstacles that you might be able to help them with, or do they already have plans? They may be ready for a change the following year. That information can help you further in the future!
Don’t just try to sell them something, but think along with them aswell! Show that you as a company are not only after the money but can also offer more. Through the conversations you have, you can leave a piece of yourself and your company on their desk.
You should not be too pushy. You want to be at the top of a list, but that shouldn’t be the spam or blocked list. You can’t force a company without a need to come up with a need.
As soon as they need something, they will move in-market themselves. And the moment someone of that 95% switches to the open market, you want them as a company to think of you first. That company that has always maintained friendly contact with them and thought along with them.
The brand that comes up first during a consultation is the brand that will also be bought faster!
So from now on look broadly at the 5% and the 95% instead of just the 5%.
In other words: target the entire category and reach all potential buyers. Make sure that you have a good picture of your entire market, because you may miss a piece, so you can never address that full 100%.
Don’t chase after competitors that only target today’s IT decision makers and target both current and future IT decision makers.
By keeping in touch with everyone, you not only take into account now, but also later. Even if you don’t get a direct lead or customer from your conversations, you do leave your printout. That imprint can make the difference between you and your competitor in a year.
So:
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Data Driven Marketing