The customer speaks tomes...

...if you're only willing to listen! When you're trying to revamp or create marketing collateral, don't forget to go back to your existing customers for assistance in developing key marketing messages for your product or service. (If you don't have existing customers, go to the outsiders who served as the sounding board for your business concept.)

Ask your sales force to help identify why each of your best customers decided to buy from your company. If the competition for the client was tough, ask the client why and what the deciding factor was. Perhaps the sales closure meeting isn't the time to ask these questions, but a follow-up call a few weeks or months later can solidify your company's relationship with the customer. Keep in mind the importance of actually going back to the customer to find your answers. While messages communicated in your existing approach may have been successful, they may not reflect other key advantages later realized by the customer.

If the responses that you receive from your customers vary significantly, a segmented approach to marketing and sales can help you quickly increase your customer base. The segments that you should use are not always obvious (e.g., by industry). But your investment in identifying appropriate segments can have a huge payback, including a reduction in your sales cycle. A team meeting with your sales team can not only help you identify the segments but also help the sales team understand why different messages need to be communicated to different types of customers.

A good salesperson listens to the client in order to close the sale and to maintain the relationship. A good marketer is responsible for hearing all that the customer says and more.

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