Marketers: Get your a$$ out of the office

You’re too comfortable.

You’ve got your coffee mug and your chair.

You’ve got your routine.

You’re reading occasional surveys and hearing second-hand info from the sales team.

But you’re removed.

Marketers, are you talking to ‘the big 4’ regularly?

1. Customers
2. Prospects
3. Customers you lost
4. Customers of competitors

If not, you’ve got work to do. Here’s why you need to talk to each of these regularly how to get access to them.

Customers

The one is easy. Hit up the Customer Success team for a list. Join in on their calls. Listen to their recordings.

I once worked with a new CMO who went on a 10 customer ‘listening tour’ his first few weeks on the job. He called customers, introduced himself and asked if they would share their experiences. No one declined. I’ve done the same at every new role since.

Find the customer who is nearest to you physically and visit. (I recommend bringing donuts and coffee. It’s rare for people to decline a food pop-in.) I did this on a recent road trip and we were welcomed with open arms in all cases.

Prospects

The one is pretty easy too. Get in front of prospects. Listen in on demos and sales calls. What questions do they ask? What features seem to give them the most perceived value? What competitors are they checking out and why?

It’s easy to send just sales team members to a trade show, but resist the temptation. The marketing team should always be represented. First, a marketer makes sure the show is delivering on what we ordered. Second, you can create the human funnel, with marketers luring in visitors with a booth prize or offer, and then passing them to sales team members for further qualification.

Customers you lost

Grab a list from the Success team and just call. Offer to meet someone for lunch. Make it clear that it’s not about a win-back. You’re a researcher and you’re trying to understand their experience to better craft a message. A customer who churns isn’t a win for anyone, so getting insight from these folks is vital.

My family recently quit the country club we belonged to for five years. A bar charge went through after our last dues payment, so the GM tracked me down for $11, had me on the phone, and never once asked why we had left the club. My inner voice was screaming “nooooooo!”

Customers of competitors

This is a bit more difficult, but probably the most valuable. It can be hard to get people to talk to you, but when you do…mind blowing.

Maybe they considered you and went another way. Maybe they’ve never even heard of you. It doesn’t matter. The dollar that you want is going somewhere else and you need to know why.

Regardless, find someone within driving distance, meet that person and ask him/her. Review sites are great for this. Look up a review site and find a big fan of your competitor who is close by.

I’ve resorted to stalking customers of competitors, bribing them to speak to me about why they choose a particular vendor, how they heard about that vendor, and what their level of happiness is.  

As a marketer, you will learn more on that phone call than you’ll learn on 10 sales calls.

So, this makes you a better marketer…but how?

The chasm between marketing and sales isn’t going away. And don’t believe that there is software or tools that will change it.

But what can put a dent in the size of the canyon is when sales and marketing speak the same language.

That happens when sales feels like marketing is doing more of what they are doing – talking to prospects and customers.

When I develop a campaign and position it with, “This came up when I was in the field talking to customers…” the sales team listens. The campaigns are more effective. We’re on the same page. We’re on the same team.