Market leaders require better ideas, information and unique thinking over their competitors, who may simply be regurgitating the same B2B marketing campaigns and statistics over and over. One way of evolving marketing ideas and staying ahead of the competition is to think like an entrepreneur.
Entrepreneurs look beyond the present and, instead, focus on opportunities most would miss or may be too cautious to implement.
To evolve your marketing campaigns and boost marketing ROI, consider the following ways to think like an entrepreneur and evolve business opportunities:
- Listen for opportunities – Entrepreneurs always have their eyes and ears open for new business opportunities. Marketers would do well to follow this approach and find opportunities with prospects and existing customers. Just because a lead progressed into a sale doesn’t mean marketers should stop finding ways to connect with that customer. Follow-up is a basic rule to excellent customer service, but you may also find ways to create additional revenue streams. For example, when speaking to your customer, you may find they have additional needs for which you just might have a product/service for. In addition, when providing better-than-expected customer service you are more likely to improve referral rates. To effectively understand the additional needs current customers may have, be sure to have techniques in place to mine this data, such as a quarterly or annual customer survey.
- Operate outside the comfort zone – An entrepreneur does not favor what’s familiar and comfortable. If you do, it’s easy to miss out on prime opportunities. Today, the changing landscape of the B2B world requires marketers to embrace methods and opportunities outside of their comfort zones, such as new media channels which legal or other operating groups might still caution against.
- Improve existing products and services – A smart entrepreneur looks at their own, or a competitor’s product, and commits to continual improvement. Marketers can do the same with the products they market, the strategies they use in their B2B marketing that achieve positive marketing ROI and even how a more efficient lead nurturing process boosts conversion rates for their company. It’s important to maintain relevancy and compelling content in email communications; establish a threshold on the number of ‘touches’ to convert prospects into sales-ready leads and integrate triggers and actions into the nurturing process.
