By Peter Lyle DeHaan
Marketing drives sales. You can’t hope to have the latter without the former. Over the years I’ve tapped many marketing channels. Some were successful and others not so much.
At the call center where we specialized in telephone answering service, I made extensive use of Yellow Pages ads. Remember them? It was a different time. Though the Yellow Pages books still exist in some markets, the internet rendered them obsolete. I also ran print media advertising in local business-oriented magazines. I even dabbled in radio and cable TV ads.
For my consulting business I relied on print media advertising and trade shows, but most of my work came through networking, with some word-of-mouth support.
My periodical sales also occurred through networking and trade shows. Yet the publications themselves became their own marketing tool and the best way to showcase their promotional impact. In recent years my marketing reach has been bolstered by SEO (search engine optimization) and the reputation of my long-standing websites with thousands of pages of valuable, industry-specific content.
Most recently I’ve focused my marketing attention on promoting books. My website is the center of that activity, strengthened by favorable SEO and content marketing posts—I started blogging in 2008. I connect with my fans through my weekly newsletter and enjoy good open rates and meaningful interaction. Social media plays a small but worthwhile role in pointing people to my website. This sets a great foundation for book sales, but I drive additional sales through internet marketing.
The channels you use will differ from mine, but most are worthy of consideration regardless of what business you’re in. We can learn useful lessons from all of them.
Consider some of the common marketing channel options:
- Retail
- Direct mail
- Direct mail followed by a phone call
- Print media
- Brochures and sales literature
- Telephone (inbound and outbound telemarketing)
- Broadcast media (television and radio)
- Trade shows
- Books
- Networking
- Referrals
- Cold calls
- Websites
- Content marketing
- Social media
- Social media advertising
- Advertising platforms and banner ads
- Email and newsletters
Each of these marketing channels has a proven record of producing sales. Unfortunately, these same methods have also been total failures. Campaigns that consistently generate high sales numbers for one company have been colossal flops at others.
The distinguishing factor is not the strategy, but what surrounds it. Remember my ultimate sales and marketing success formula that I covered in the beginning of the book?
Sales and Marketing Success = Personnel + Attitude + Execution + Management Keep this in mind as we move forward.
Read more in Peter Lyle DeHaan’s Sticky Series books, including Sticky Customer Service, Sticky Sales and Marketing, and Sticky Leadership and Management featuring his compelling story-driven insights and tips.
Peter Lyle DeHaan is an entrepreneur and businessman who has managed, owned, and started multiple businesses over his career. Common themes at every turn have included customer service, sales and marketing, and leadership and management.
He shares his lifetime of business experience and personal insights through his books to encourage, inspire, and occasionally entertain.
