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Happy November!
This month we will be talking about how marketing can fail you and how to identify any internal and external gaps to avoid preventable mistakes.
Have you ever looked at your marketing mistakes and thought to yourself – how did I not notice that? I bet this is exactly what a marketing manager at one of the famous water delivery services would say to themselves if they read this article.
As you may know, we have just moved to a new office. We used to be conveniently located on Robson Street in Vancouver, just above London Drugs, so refilling our water cooler was an easy task – just go downstairs and grab water. Now, that we are in Gastown, we don’t have this luxury, so we are trying to figure out how to solve this conundrum.
One day, I walk down the hall and see a water delivery guy walking in front of me. I knew about their services, but haven’t had a chance to reach out to them, so this was convenient, to bump into the guy in the building. I thought, ok, great, I will find out all I need from him now.
I approach the guy and ask about the service and how it works. He said, yes they can help us – “just send your request,” he said, and carried on with his business.
As I was going down the elevator, a few minutes later, he caught up with me and said (as if having seconds thoughts) “do you want me to give you a contact number, who you can call?”
I said “ok”, as he dialled the number.
The voice on the other end of the line (on speakerphone) confirmed that the delivery guys can send leads to sales, as well as “for each lead you get a kickback”, the voice said.
I smiled at the delivery guy.
The whole conversation was getting awkward and (from my understanding) the salesperson, was explaining to the delivery guy, that he needs to take my contact information, and pass this information to the sales team, in order to get the “kickback.”
The delivery guy hung up and said, ok, give me your information I will write it down. And he proceeded to write down my number… on his hand.
It’s been a few days since this happened, and no one has contacted me about this service. My guess is the delivery guy washed his hands along with my information, leaving us exactly where we started in our search for water delivery services. We miss you, London Drugs.
So, how did marketing fail them here? Or rather, how marketing could have helped them grow?
Clarity in marketing
Ensure every member of your team – anyone who interacts with clients on any level – knows your customers’ needs and your company’s strengths.
Consistency in marketing
Ensure your marketing messaging is consistent from your top salespeople to people on the floor.
Connectedness in marketing
Empower your team internally to promote your products and services. From printed referral forms to simple email or online landing pages – there could have been a better way to empower this employee to gather a lead.
Does your brand strategy or your marketing plan cover these three Cs? Have you done a Brand Audit lately to identify gaps like this one? This is a very simple example of how companies miss marketing opportunities. One of the first steps a marketing agency would do in a situation like this is a Brand Audit, which reviews all customer touchpoints and adds clarity on the gaps and missed opportunities.
Did this article provide a fresh perspective?
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Did this article strike a chord with what’s going on in your organization? Do give us a shout 604-559-7509 and set up a discovery meeting, we would love to see if we can help.
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