At Stratimar, we believe in helping customers drive profits, not just sales. Here are a few ways we do that:

• Reduce Customizations
  The greater the number of product or service customizations, the greater the overhead and the greater the ongoing cost to maintain a client. One major overlooked benefit of effective marketing is that over time, it can help reduce the number of customizations.
  
  
  • Increase communication between sales & operations 
    After a sale, there is often a customer handoff between sales and operations, whereby operations works on keeping the promises made during the sales process. It is then that new features are often added to products. Without solid communication, these features can either fail to be marketed to other customers or not be generic enough for other customers to use, leading to additional, similar customizations. Salespersons A and B could have clients whose problems could be solved by the same process, but end up with two entirely different solutions. Additionally, Salesperson B may lose a sale unaware that a solution for their client has already been created.
    
    By working between sales and operations, marketing can stay apprised of these new developments and ensure that the market and employees alike are aware of new developments. Also, by putting information in print, it forces internal conversations that can create more versatile customizations.
    
    
  • Set clear expectations with the industry
    Many times customizations occur when potential clients prescribe their own solutions without fully divulging the source of the issue. This self-prescription often occurs before contacting you. Effective marketing ensures that your message helps shape their understanding of how they might best tackle their challenges. Regardless of the channel you use for marketing - website, social media, etc., by linking your existing products and services to solutions to their problems, they are more likely to use your existing solutions, rather than reinvent the wheel.
    
    
  • Communicate value
    Price only matters if the value is not understood. Many companies are concerned about losing sales if they bundle too many features together. While detailed customization may increase sales, it also reduces profitability. In every aspect of our lives, we are accustomed to buying more features than we need - vehicles, appliances, tech devices, etc. The value is in the overall package and the potential for future benefit. Effective marketing can help you create configurable products and explain their overall value so you sell more with less overhead.
    
    

• Save Time for Your Most Valuable Employees
  Your sales and executive teams are your most costly assets in both real dollars and opportunity costs. Effective marketing allows them to do what they do best. Don't overlook these potential savings.
  
  
  • Actual Cost: For salaried employees, it can be easy to forget not only the salary and commission but also the overall benefits package costs.
    How much are you spending tackling issues that could be resolved with more effective marketing?
  • Opportunity Cost: What could your salespeople and executives accomplish if they weren't dealing with issues that could be solved simply with better marketing?
  • Employee's Profit Margin: Employees are hired because they bring in more or save the company more than their wages.
    If an employee has an actual cost of $50 an hour, depending on their role, their profit margin could be 2x, 3x, or even 10x that amount.
  
  At Stratimar, we understand and respect your highest-producing employee assets. Our goal is to help save them time and make them more effective.
  
  
• Produce Materials that Don't Sell Once, but Keep Selling
  One benefit that marketing has over sales is longevity. Once produced, marketing initiatives can continue to drive sales without intervention. Occasionally marketing has a higher upfront cost, but it can continue to drive revenue for years, not just make a single impact. Marketing can reduce the strain on your sales force and broaden their impact, not just while your salespeople are interfacing with a potential client, but also when they're not.
  
  

How can Stratimar Help?

Marketing can offer a real ROI, not just in terms of sales, but also profitability. If your organization is being bogged down by customizations, repeating efforts, or spending time on things that aren't the best use of employees' time, contact Stratimar today to see how we might help.