Insights

That specific point in any business structure is where marketing transfers into the sales process. The point at which that occurs is commonly known as the Sales Point. That point is the Rome of any business. High street brand’s Rome are their shops. An e-commerce business’s Rome is the product purchase web page. A Services business’s Rome is the point where a prospect calls or emails the sales office.

Everything that contributes towards persuading that prospect to make a decision to start the buying process, are in essence ‘roads’ and they should lead to that business’s ‘Rome’. Any effort a business makes in their marketing, must consciously drive towards its ‘Rome’ to maximise on that marketing.

From brand position and awareness at the top, to products and services marketing, through to lead generation, social media and emails, they all contribute towards the ultimate goal of doing business and making money.

Every sale will have derived from one journey or another to that sales point. That journey, the one a business sends its potential customer on, has to lead to that ultimate sales point eventually. It needs to be definitive and deliberate, no matter how slight that journey starts, or how long it will take.

The critical secret is to make that journey as friction free as possible. Each area of your marketing must have a specific objective, and that objective drives towards the ultimate goal which is to achieve the sale.

In order to properly examine each of these roads, the strategy behind the campaign has to be examined and understood. Questions have to be asked, to check that all points of the journey have been adequately defined, and that each journey is clearly set out. The focus must also be on the strategies that fit the appeal of the target customer too. That will be as individual as the business itself.

Let me give you an example from a customer of ours: A local heating supply company often posted on social media. They have a website and they occasionally send out a newsletter to a contact list. They have a social media following and quite often receive ‘likes’ and ‘comments’ on their posts. Their mail list consists of mainly previous clients, and anyone who has enquired before but not actually bought.

Their main source of leads come from referrals. However there was no strategy in place to cultivate anyone who interacted on their social media posts to join their mail list. Also, apart from the occasional newsletter, there was no strategy to warm up and convert any of the new contacts, ie those who enquired but didn’t actually buy. The journeys were broken through incomplete roads.

Connecting any social media interaction to the mail list should be an active strategy. Interaction shows interest and brand attachment. In addition, there needs to be a process to keep the conversation going with enquiring leads on the mail list, to convert them to buyers eventually.

Regard these strategies and the frameworks that facilitate them as bridges, supporting the roads that lead to Rome. The road for some, starts by interacting on social media then slowly being encouraged to opt into the mail list. Once on the mail list the road continues by gentle persuasion, to warm them to becoming a customer. Achieving the sale is the culmination of that journey.

The heating company’s ‘Rome’ is their sales office that handles telephone and email enquiries. However there was a disconnect between brand interaction on social media to their contact list, and then from their enquiry leads to convert to sales. Both journeys needed to be smoother and better connected. Once they were, enquiries increased and so did sales.

Brand awareness, brand positioning, lead generation emails, advertisements, social media, and the business’s websites, all play a role in persuading the prospect to decide to buy. The route to the sales has to be deliberate, and friction free. In other words a clear path that’s easy to follow so that 'All roads lead to Rome.’