Dan Galante

Seth Godin’s new book This is Marketing sums up the lessons of his previous books.

In the past Marketing was Advertising. Many Brands and businesses used to buy ads to interrupt prospects in the hope that people would buy. However, with so many media channels, the advertising of yesterday has lost its effect.

What this means for Marketers is that they need to build trust, engagement, community and earn permission to contact prospects and customers. With the ever-increasing privacy legislation such as GDPR, Marketers will pay a high price for SPAM.

Also, today there are many micro-markets of products and services as opposed to one mass-market. Frequency has surpassed reach in terms of effectiveness. Marketers need to tell a compelling story that resonates with the people they seek to serve.

Marketers need to improve their knowledge of customers to enhance the customer experience and engagement. Brands need to have conversations with customers as opposed to talking at them.

Ideas that jumped out at me while reading and listening to the book

Seth dissects Marketing, showing the reader that today’s successful marketer is generous and gives value to the customer as opposed to stealing their attention.

Chapter 19, the chapter on funnels is very interesting because it shows how to look at the funnel in a new way.

Seth explains how to shorten the sales cycle by making it easier for prospects to engage and purchase a product.

He demonstrates how to do funnel math to see if and when marketers should advertise using paid ads along with how to know if ads will pay for themselves.

In this chapter, Seth shows how marketers should focus on serving micro-markets as opposed to the mass market.

This idea is illustrated in Jeff Moore’s book Crossing the Chasm. Seth takes this concept, and explains how to move a product from micro-markets to the mass market but surprises the reader by demonstrating that marketers can be successful by catering to a micro-market.

Seth illustrates this in the long tail concept where he shows that hits are exceptions to the rule. Instead he shows that selling a lot of different products to different people is the way that most marketers will find success today and in the future.

What is next in Marketing? Comment and share.

Bonus Content

I have had the pleasure of meeting Seth on two occasions. Here are videos and pictures of the talks.

https://dangalante.me/2018/10/06/8-takeaways-from-advertising-week-2018/

https://dangalante.me/2018/11/20/key-insights-from-the-world-business-forum/

The New York Auto Show is back after a two-year pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic. I had the privilege of covering the event over the past two press and industry days at New York’s Jacob Javits Center. It was great to be back. One of the events was hosted in the new Pavilion built at the Javits Center. Mark Schienberg, President of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association  opens the Auto Show at the awards breakfast.

 

I want to congratulate Audi, Hyundai and Mercedes for winning world car awards.

The Hyundai Ioniq 5 wins a World Car award at #NYIAS 2022!

There was a shift in the type of cars, trucks, and SUVs at the auto show. This year the show was made up mostly of electronic vehicles and hybrid vehicles. This change is because of changes in the industry and US government policy to improve the environment. They pledge to sell only electric vehicles or EV’s by 2035. This is a global trend. This is information that came out of the World Traffic Symposium, which was held yesterday.

The show was based on two levels and there were three EV test tracks where drivers could drive Electronic Vehicles. This is a fun exhibit that I recommend that you experience. Ford had one and Hyundai had one. There was an additional track on the lower level where you could see more hybrid cars, trucks, and SUVs. You can also see EV Charging stations on the lower level. For kids not old enough to drive, they also had arcade-style racing games. There is something for everyone at the show. Here is a new Corvette!

 You can find additional pictures posted on Instagram.

There were also some new vehicle role-outs and major press announcements from KIA, Hyundai, Chrysler, and Jeep. You can see them below.

Kia   

Hyundai

Chrysler

Jeep 

The show is open to the public starting today at the Jacob Javits Center located at 429 11th Avenue New York, New York 10001. How to get to Auto Show.  The Auto Show runs from Friday, April 15th, through April 24th, 2022.  The hours are as follows Monday - Saturday from 10 am to 7 pm and Sundays from 10 am to 7 pm.  General admission tickets are $17 for adults and $ 7 for children. If you want early access for this Friday or Saturday tickets are $45 for adults and $7 for children.  Tickets can be purchased here.

What are you hoping to see at the auto show? If you have attended the auto show, what was the most exciting thing that you have experienced?

Building relationships with customers and closing deals is critical for sales success. In business, customer acquisition and customer retention are crucial to generating revenue. It is cheaper to keep existing customers than to acquire new ones.

Once a sale is made, it is tempting for sales reps to move on to the next customer.

However, the sale is not complete when the customer signs the contract. Customers should pay their invoices on time to ensure the business has enough cash to operate and potentially turn a profit.

What on time means is dependent on a company payment policy. Customers can have payment terms raining from C.O.D, net 30, net 60, net 90, net 120, or longer. Some cycles can run for a year or longer. Certain companies offer financing options. Payment structures are structured based on the length of the sales cycle.

How can we make sure customers pay their invoices on time?

Here are six ways to keep customers and get them to pay their invoices on time.

1. Build and nurture customer relationships.
2. When the sale is complete, put all details in writing.
3. Follow through with the implementation product or service post-sale.
4. Check-in with your customer to make sure they are happy with their purchase. This can present an opportunity for upselling, cross-selling, repeat business, referrals, and testimonials.
5. If the customer voices concerns or has an issue with a product or service, address it immediately.
6. Make sure to honor any promises and warranties extended during the sales cycle.

If you follow these steps, you will get most customers to pay their invoices on time.

What do I do if a customer will not pay their invoice?

In large organizations, the accounts receivable manager will handle the customer by sending past-due notices and charging penalties. However, if Sales Reps work for a small company as I did, this will be the Sales Rep’s responsibility. Ideally, the Sales Rep should be able to handle customer issues because they have a relationship with the customer.

Sales Reps should call and  visit the customer. During the visit, Sales Reps need to try to solve the issue. Be polite. Never raise your voice or swear at a customer. The goal is to get paid while keeping the customer whenever.

As a result of implementing the strategies above, my receivables (open invoices) were the lowest in the company! This allowed me to earn more commissions, make more sales and develop great relationships with my customers.

It is important to note that Sales and Service across acquisition and retention are subdivided in larger organizations.

How have you improved customer retention and gotten your customers to pay on time?

Please share your thoughts with me.

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About Me

I’m a Strategic Marketer with Field Sales, Sales Enablement, Content Creation, and, Classroom Teacher/Trainer skill sets using Marketing to drive Sales/Growth.

As a Marketer, I’ve worked with Start-Ups, a Political Campaign, and a Digital Marketing Conference.

I’m certified in Inbound Marketing with classes in Marketing, Product Management, Product Marketing, SEO, and SEM.

Before teaching, I was an Outside Sales and Marketing Rep. selling and marketing dental products to Dentists using consultative selling, trade show marketing, field marketing, and market research.

I publish Sales, Marketing & Social Media Today; a blog that covers industry events and trends.

I’m seeking a full-time role in

Inbound Marketing, Digital Marketing, Content Marketing, Product Marketing, Competitive Intelligence, Demand Generation, Social Media Marketing,

Sales Enablement, Enablement, Sales, Account Management, Customer Success, Sales Strategy, Marketing Strategy, Employer Branding, and Recruitment Marketing.

Open on the title, industry, company, location, and level. Reach out on LinkedIn or at dan@dangalante.com to start a conversation.