Who You Market To is Different than Who You Sell To

It’s natural to look at sales data, call reports, closing ratios and other sales metrics on a regular basis. But it’s important to remember that who you market to is different than who you sell to.

One example is your employees.

You need to focus on your employees as a key target market. They impact your brand and your sales. You need to educate and motivate employees so the marketing oriented ones can help your cause and the average ones have a neutral rather than negative impact on your marketing, messaging and branding.

If you’re not developing clear employee marketing campaigns, you risk the dissemination of misinformation.

Employees are going to talk and tell stories about the company. You want to provide them as much information as possible so they can tell the real story rather than an inaccurate one. Remember that if you don’t provide a clear message, they’ll make one up.

Referral sources are another key group proving that who you market to is different than who you sell to.

I’m not talking just about healthcare where referral sources are a common thing. Every industry benefits from referrals by people who believe in the company, product or service.

Make referral sources a clear target market. Track them diligently. Ask current customers for referrals. Ask vendors and strategic partners if they refer to you…and why or why not.

Listen and adjust. Then market your message to your referral source target market.

Employees, Referral Sources are two key target markets that you might not even sell to but still need to reach and influence.

Remember who you market to is different than who you sell to.