Did you hear about Amazon & Kiva Systems?

I'm not sure if you've heard about Amazon but they are now in the Materials Handling Industry. Yes, that's right; Amazon who owns Zappos.com has recently purchased Kiva Systems, making them a big player in the warehouse automation business.  Amazon saw the value in automating their warehouse operations and it made me think... if a smart and savvy company went that far to implement automation... shouldn't we all do the same with our business?

What I'm talking about is automating the efforts to bringing in sales to your business. Why are so many of us trying to work with different sales and marketing programs when we should be able to have it done and automated for us?

Here is a short 2 minute video to explain more about our marketing automation program... just for the materials handling industry.

Thanks,

Nikki Ong

Business Growth Specialist

714-496-4499

www.khachusa.com

10 Questions to Ask to INCREASE WIN RATES

Regardless of how good you are, there are questions you need to ask to determine if the opportunity you are working on is real. These questions have been proven to move sales folks in a more favorable position to win the deal.

 

1. What is the problem that needs to be solved?

Instead of talking about the product or service, get the prospect to tell you what they are looking to do with their warehouse operations. Don't be too quick on putting together a quote. Try to understand the real situation and why the person believes your good/service can help them solve the problem.
2. How does your company make the decision to buy? When you understand how the operations makes purchasing decisions, you will learn many important things, including the complexity of the buying process, who may be involved and the dynamics between different departments. Most importantly, you may learn who has the final say on the purchase order.

3. Who are the other buying influencers involved in the decision? In addition to the person you are working with, you need to know others that will be involved. Sometimes job titles don't tell you everything. If you are working with a facility manager or Director of Operations, you are doing okay, however you may learn that the CFO makes final decisions. By asking about the folks involved, you may learn that you need "access to power" to close the deal. 4. What other alternative solutions are being considered? If your prospect wants to maximize warehouse space, it is important for you to have an idea of other solutions that they are considering. You don't want to be blindsided and have the prospect say... "Sorry, we purchased something completely different".

5. How will your current vendors react to the possibility of buying from us? Sometimes existing vendors have more power than you think. This question will help you see what you're really facing. If your contact tells you that the existing vendor has some say in the whole situation, it's a good idea to find their areas of strengths and weaknesses, so you can put together a better approach. 6. What are the various cost factors involved? Many times, you will have to put together an ROI analysis to detail the cost justification and payback. The ROI analysis and should involve all the key decision makers. If you cannot get them all involved, it is still better to have one or two insiders to help you prove your case to the rest of the decision making team.
7. Is there a budget? How did it originate? What is its relationship to the cost of the problem? I know that this is sometimes an annoying question to ask. While you don't want to look like you're trying to figure out how much of a margin you can make off of the prospect, you need to know if it is a real project and if the company is serious about solving their problem. When the prospect has an idea of cost of the problem, you can then put together an attractive package with the ROI analysis.
8. When is the decision to be made? Why at that time? If there is no time frame in place, then there may not be a real project. If there is a set deadline, you can then ensure that you can meet it and 2) get your marketing department to nurture the prospect so the prospect is reminded of your valuable services. Lead nurturing is key to keeping the prospect interested in your goods and services. 9. What would happen if the problem is not solved by the deadline? What remedial do you plan to have?
This is a tough question to ask, because the prospect may not know the answer or their answer would be "to continue what we are doing". When there is no remedial plan if the deadline is past, means that they probably will continue to lose money operating the way they are. You can work with them to build urgency to fix the problem. 10. Can we agree on the criteria used to measure the quotation of this project? When you work closely with the prospect on the criteria used to measure the success of the project, you have put yourself in a very good position. The prospect and the team may regard you as a "partner" trying to help them put together a true solution rather than as a vendor. Try to put yourself in their position and put together a program that would really improve their warehousing operations.

 

A talk with Geoffrey Moore high tech. consultant and author

Geoffrey Moore – s a Silicon Valley based high technology consultant, venture partner at Mohr Davidow Ventures and author of "Crossing the Chasm"

Hi, it’s Nikki sending a quick outline on what I just learned from Day 2 of the marketing conference I’m at right now.  Geoffrey Moore did a good job in summarizing the key points of a customer acquisition and customer retention program for your business.

Here are the notes:  Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information on each segment.

Key segments of Customer Lifecycle:

1.       Acquisition – attract and capture

2.       Engagement - nurture

3.       Enlistment – get referrals

4.       Monetization – convert sales, deliver & satisfy and up sell customers

How do you engage with your leads?

·         Multimodal marketing

o   Email

o   Phone call

o   Social: facebook, twitter, linkedin, google +

o   Direct mail

·         Provide content that matters (based on where the customer is at in the Customer lifecycle

·         Respond in a timely matter

o   Respond immediately

How do you enlist your customers for referrals?

·         Identify your super-fans

·         Make yourself super accessible

o   Talk to you personally and listen

·         Reward them in a way that really matters

o   Give them extra services or product discounts

o   Reach deep

·         Empower them to do cool things

o   Turn them into super-users

o   Allow them to enlist their friends

·         Arm them with cool give-a ways

o   Tethered back to your CRM

o   This is how they will enlist their friends

P.S. Please feel free to contact me if you would like more information on each segment.  www.khachusa.com or call at 714-496-4499

68% of customers leave because of indifference.

5 Ways to Stimulate Repeat Business 

 

Almost two thirds of all lost customers leave because of perceived indifference to them. Here's another way to look at it... over 5 years businesses are likely to lose over 50% of their customer base. Here are a few simple tips that you can implement right away to avoid this situation:

1. Know your customers. Take a few moments, look into your database, accounting books and see the 20% of your customers that bring in 80% of your revenue. Yeah, it may seem boring, but we challenge you to take the time to go through the list. It may surprise you! We've been in the Materials Handling Equipment business and when you add in the parts and services in addition to the equipment sales, you may see some folks that employees swear are not important customers! Take a look at this list and see who you may have not been paying attention to, it could change the way you perceive some of your customers.

2. Segment your customers. It's good to put your customers in various buckets based on their profile. For example, if they are a Grocery or Food Distributor, make sure that you have them marked as so, your products and services may change and you can provide a more all encompassing solution, rather than just selling them a few lift trucks here and there. They may want an overall picking/ slotting solution and as a supplier, when you can team up with other partners in the industry to truly provide them with a true storage solutions... you will be one of their favorite vendors. So again, segment your customer list based on who they are so you can provide them with more solutions that will have them coming back to you for more.

3. Keep your customer database up-to-date. Take the time to categorize make sure that the contact information is correct. I once read a story about a big Chief Marketing Executive that came into a large fortune 500 company that did an amazing marketing campaign. They sent out expensive scooters with a great message to their customers, but they didn't check on the integrity of the database... so what happened? About a million dollars worth of marketing expenses went down the tube. The costs of the scooters, shipment and marketing research and efforts all wasted simply because most of the list was BAD. Bad names and addresses. Take the time to put together a good list of customers and ideal customers for your materials handling business to maximize every marketing dollar.

4. Thank your customers. In writing. We all know we should take a few minutes to do it... but just as Monday just started, it's already Friday. Here's a tip, if you leave a stack of Thank you notes and stamps on your desk, just take 15 minutes a day to get a few written and sent off. If you don't have time to send a card here and there, your customers may forget that you're around and find another vendor.

5. Keep in front of your Customers. Instead of calling "just to see how things are", it's also great to put together some valuable information that your warehouse customers would like to see. If you have some customers that you have helped dramatically improve their operational productivity, have a story on it and share it with others. The more helpful the information you provide to your clients, the more likely they'll remember you when they on considering a new warehousing solution. A classic example is the forklift dealer that is seen as only the "Forklift Company", in addition to lift trucks you provide other services that they don't relate you to and you need to let them know. If your business has connections in WMS, let them know. Remember that warehouses and distribution centers are all crazy busy trying to serve their customers and sometimes the obvious solution isn't so obvious. Let them know by sending out quarterly newsletters.

As they say "a little goes a long way", and with a little planning and effort you can keep your warehouse and distribution customers happy. Loyal customers not only mean more business from them, but perhaps referrals to others. Take the time to show your customers some love, because at the end of the day, they are your boss, they help pay for your salary and keep your business running.

 

Khach Customer’s niche marketing services

News Release
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Media Contact:
Khach Customers
Nikki Ong
714-496-4499
www.khachusa.com

Khach Customer’s Marketing Systems offers niche marketing services for the Materials Handling Industry targeting warehousing and distribution centers.

Murrieta, CA – Larry Couperthwaite & Nikki Ong, partners of Khach Customers is announcing the release of their latest marketing service, “Done For You Marketing.” Strictly for the Materials Handling Industry from warehouse equipment, warehouse rack, to specialized warehouse software, Khach’s marketing system works especially well, even during these economic times.

With their popular unique pay for performance marketing services, clients of Khach pay a low monthly marketing fee + a fixed commission rate.   This pricing structure covers marketing overhead costs, while tying most of Khach’s revenues to the results.  “It’s really a partnership we’re looking for and we’re really in business to help our clients increase sales and growth”, states Larry Couperthwaite.
“In working on our own materials handling business,” Nikki explains, “We were able to double our own sales and this is what we can offer our clients”.  This is why we have this low risk marketing system for Materials Handling businesses.  “After 9 months of using our own marketing system, we took our sales from $246,000 to $977,000.”

Knowing Materials Handling business owners are pressed for time and may not realize the marketing avenues available to them, Khach Customers will manage all the marketing and promotion. From implementing the right plan to maintaining and measuring the success of the plan, the Khach Customer’s team handle it all from start to finish. As an example, lead generation and nurturing programs will be started, customer databases developed, websites designed and developed, postcards mailed and email blasts sent to customers for the business.  Because materials handling owners wear many hats, Khach’s “Done for You Marketing,” is like having a seasoned marketing team at the company’s disposal.

Statistically, “It is 7 times more profitable to market to your existing customers.  The number one mistake 96% of materials handling businesses make is not marketing to their existing customer base. They are wasting thousands of dollars on high priced advertising.”  Khach Customers will help you “Khach and Keep Customers”.

For more information on selling more to warehouses and distribution centers, go to www.khachusa.com or call 714-496-4499.

A simple Materials Handling Holiday Marketing Tip

We at Khach Customers wanted to share a quick and easy holiday marketing tip for your Materials Handling business. You're probably thinking, "How can I apply holiday messages to my materials handling business"?

It can be simple and easy.  Since the holidays is very much on everyone's mind, there is no better time than now to simply say "thank you" to your customers, partners and even prospects.

 
This keeps you and your business relate-able and gives you a reason to reach out to them and say "oh yeah, is there anything that I can do to further improve your warehouse operations?"

A short, sweet and simple holiday message will do. Don't have time to send out cards? Try email instead. It's a nice, quick, and environmentally friendly way to get the message across. 

If you still don't have time, give us a call and we can help you put together a holiday message just for your business. We have special holiday packages for the entire year if you're interested.

In the meantime, we wish you a fantastic holiday season with your friends, family and loved ones. It's a great time to eat a little more, laugh a little more and love a little more.

Thank you for being part of the Materials Handling Industry. Together, we can continue to be the foundation of support to warehouses and distribution centers across North America.

We wish you continued success and hope for the opportunity to work with you and the rest of your team to help develop your business. 




We are Khach Customers, and are here to reduce the time, money and resources required to develop qualified leads to fill your sales pipeline. With our marketing services (either "a la cart" or pay for performance program), you will enjoy "sales ready" leads and increase your business sales revenue and growth.

Please go to www.khachusa.com or call us at 714-476-2887 to learn how we can help your Materials Handling business grow.