Promotional marketing is at its best when it empowers a client’s brand, meets his or her objectives and fits within a specified budget. It is at this point that the focus shifts from offering options to providing solutions, which goes hand in hand with solving a client’s problems—some of which they might not even know they have. As we enter the last quarter of the year, there is so much on our clients’ minds that they often are unaware of the problems promotional marketing can solve with clever solutions.
Where our clients are in Q4:
—Entering holiday gifting season for employees and customers
—Having budgets that need to be spent before the end of the year
—Looking back on the year, assessing progress and setting goals for 2014
Each of these points provides an opportunity to reach out to our clients with unique solutions, and while they all seem like different scenarios, there are really only four questions that need to be asked to identify or foresee problems. Here is the script:
“Hi, [client name],
I just wanted to circle back around with you as we approach the end of the year. First off, tell me what worked really well. It is always important to validate our successes since we often don’t get opportunities to do so. What didn’t go quite as you expected? How do you plan on making this better next year? What is your timeline for making this decision?”
Seeking to understand where your clients are can bring to light problems and obstacles that you can solve with promotional products. These questions will not only make your client feel heard, but will get them thinking about what is coming down the pipeline. While they are swamped with wrapping up the end of the year, you are taking the reins and making things happen.
