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n How do you decide on appropriate distribution channels?
(Supplementary: Do you have any intellectual property that could be
effectively distributed online? Do you understand the tax
implications of online distribution?)

n How effective are trade or retail sales promotions for you?

n Are you convinced that sales promotions led to a real growth in
sales and that the company did not pre-buy future business?

n Do you have a consistent company public relations activity?
(Supplementary: Do you do it yourself or use an agency?)

n How timely and effective is the marketing feedback, evaluation
and review process in your opinion? (Supplementary: Do you have
any examples of how a change in direction led to increased
revenues, profits or customer retention?)

n How effective are your sales people? (Supplementary: In an ideal
world where you could really pick and choose how many of them
would you keep?)

n Are individual closing rates of sales people known to their
management? (Supplementary: How is the information used?)

n What is being done to raise the performance of the less successful?
(Supplementary: What kind of training? In house or external? Who
does it? How do you measure the effect?)

n What is being done to get the more successful in front of more
customers or prospects?

n What evidence is there that the return on the marketing
investment is adequate? (Supplementary: As a rough percentage
figure how does marketing spend stack up against revenues? If you
put a complete bar on marketing spending today what would you
lose in terms of revenues and profits?)

n What is the level of customer retention year on year?
(Supplementary: Have you seen the research on the effect of loyal
customers on a business? Do you find it convincing? What is the
lifetime value of your average customer?)

n Are the customers who are retained those the company wishes to
retain?

n What percentage of your total customer base is new and profitable?
(Supplementary: What specific steps are in your marketing plan to
ensure that you retain the best customers?)

n Is the size of initial orders static, growing or falling?
(Supplementary: What are you doing to increase the value of initial
orders?)

n Is order frequency growing, static or falling? (Supplementary: How
do your sales and marketing efforts work to increase order
frequency and size?)

You can buck the market! 159