Page 144 - Duct Tape Marketing

Get Your Entire Team Involved in Marketing

Most of the time, small business owners completely disregard
the idea of what might be called “marketing training.” But then they
wonder why no one in the organization gets pumped up about provid-
ing over-the-top service. Or why no one really has a clear picture of
who and what makes an ideal client. What if everyone in your com-
pany was made to understand that part of their job, no matter what
else they did, was marketing? Can you imagine an organization with
a culture like that?

Here’s the scary part. Everyone in your organization that comes
into contact with your clients or prospects is performing a marketing
function. The question is whether they are performing it with a mar-
keting intention or not.

Conference Calls Unlimited, a telecommunications firm in
Fairfield, Iowa, did something that set them apart from their competi-
tors, not only in the conferencing industry, but also in most retail
operations. They focused a great deal of their marketing education
efforts on inspiring their employees and contractors. By focusing on
employees, they ensured those employees would be inspired and enthu-
siastic with each interaction with a customer. They worked on making
the workday fun, productive, and inspiring.

They streamlined everyone’s responsibilities to focus on priori-
ties: (1) making the customers happy, (2) making the prospects happy,
and (3) making each other happy. The goal for the employees when
answering the phone was to give callers more than what they asked for
and to play nice with each other. Everyone focused on the objective,
not their personal convenience.

They found that this employee-based focus worked wonders! For
the customers, their calls or e-mails were answered promptly, which
translated to a consistently fun, productive, and inspiring experience
when they called.

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