Is making the customer "Believe" in your marketing proposition, a necessary and sufficient condition of a successful sales pitch?

Marketing and Sales are under the same umbrela or objective which is to sell and create value for customers, as consequence for the company and shareholders. There is a direct and strong link between marketing propositons and sales' success.

For example, if the lead/customer did not buy into your marketing proposition the sales approaches and argumentation will be very difficult to be accepted. The creation of these values can be developed through Word of Mouth (WOM), personal selling, direct mail, or any other communication channel, including online marketing.

Marketing must facilitate the sales process through creating better offers and recognition of products´value by the potential clientes.

Value proposition = Easier and soft sales approach = better chances of establish relationship and profitable customer lifetime...

Fabio

What are your top tips for small businesses to survive the recession?

In recession times, creativity and responsibility are the key areas to put efforts on. I completely agree that marketing and sales efforts are necessary and indispensable tools to be used during dificult periods.

However, it is necessary to adopt an intelligent approach to marketing and sales. To identify and recognize your most profitable and most potential profitable customers is the first step. The second one, would be to talk to those customers and to gather important information to be used as a basis for changing processes, communication and relationship that would increase customer loyalty, cross selling or upselling.

Retain those important customers is crucial to maintain your turnover and boost opportunities.

Fabio

How will companies change the way they do Market Research to cope with the economy downturn?

I consider companies will focus on their most important objectives:

1st - Increasing sales in their profitable market segments

2nd- Retaining their most profitable customers.

In this way, as the recession moves on, the budget for market research will focus on understanding those market segments and their current clientes much better.

The market research must help the contractor to maximise their efforts in the short term, I mean that the data and information provided in market research reports needs to represent an opportunity to act now aiming the future of the organisation. The report must help sell products now, retain clients now, create opportunities to referrals now and support innovative processes.

Fabio

What is the most effective way to advertise during a recession?

The fragmentation of media channels is a big challenge nowadays. In a recession it is important to maximise our relationship with our most important clients (i.e. most profitable) to motivate word of mouth and referrals.This can be achieved through Relationship Marketing campaigns aiming to reduce the gap left during the sales and after sales process. It is important to know extremelly well our potential clients´ needs and habits, as well as to analyse the results from previous advertising or marketing efforts. Based on all those data you can choose the most reasonable option. In recession times it is important to keep communicating with the market, improving relationships with our most important customers and finding creative ways to "advertise" our products and services.( blogs, social networking, seminars in Business Associations ,Chambers of commerce, etc???)