Who's Mueller?
 Phyllis
Mueller, President and Chief Executive Officer, is the founder of
Mueller International. Phyllis has over 20 years' experience as a
senior marketing consultant and advisor to Fortune companies and
is the developer of the Integrated
Sales and Marketing System. |
Why
market research?
|
Mueller International's consistent track record of success is a
result of well-researched marketing communications platforms and
marketing strategies that are pre-proven to be workable. Why
guess? Instead of building a marketing campaign in a vacuum, why
not base all important marketing campaigns, positioning
strategies, branding efforts, etc., squarely on the results of a
statistically valid set of in-depth interviews with decision-
makers in your target market? These efforts can be completed
quickly and relatively inexpensively--especially when compared
against the costs of "missing the market" with your
product or marketing strategies.
Review our Market Research
Services in greater detail. |
|
For
what companies in my industry has Mueller International performed
successful campaigns? |
| The
Mueller International Web site contains a section on Case Studies
– sorted so you can find those that are most relevant to your
particular industry and marketing challenges. Review our Case
Studies section for more data on how you can access this vast
body of relevant information for your business. |
What
does the term "Integrated" mean in the context of the
"Integrated Sales and Marketing System"?
| Mueller
International chose the term "integrated" for two
different reasons, both of which are totally critical to your
success in marketing your products or services:
 Meaning
#1: All forms of marketing communications to your
market--including customers, prospects, channels partners,
etc.--should be integrated or blended to ensure a high-impact,
consistent message that forwards the overall positioning that you
have developed for your company and its products or services. When
properly implemented, each marketing communication channel
(advertisements, trade shows, direct mail, etc.) provides synergy
to the others; each communication reinforces the others, building
a compelling message of strength in the minds of your target
market. No communications should confuse or otherwise detract from
the position you are trying to establish with the market. (On the Integrated
Sales and Marketing System Flowchart, this means integrating
the marketing process from top to bottom.)
Meaning
#2: All marketing and sales processes exist on a continuum, all
culminating in sold accounts, i.e., in closed revenue for your
organization. All actions--from database development, to market
research, to the development and implementation of programs, to
the handling of responses and fine-tuning of your sales
approach--all fit together in a tightly woven web, forming a
closely knit marketing strategy. (On the Integrated
Sales and Marketing System Flowchart, this means integrating
the marketing process from left to right.) |
How
do I create mind-share among my channels partners and truly get them
active in selling my product?
| Simple.
Generate demand on their behalf. Implement pull-through marketing
campaigns. Recognize that in general, dealers, VARs, distributors,
etc., are essentially order-takers; they are not proactive sales
and marketing people. There are exceptions. But in general, the
route to success in channels marketing means making your channels
partners successful.
For help with expanding new sales and markets through your
distribution channels partners and programs, review our Channels
Development Services or respond to either Special
Offer #8 or Special Offer #9. |
|
What's
the best way to ensure the products we're developing will meet
with an enthusiastic response from our target market? |
| Integrated
Product Development. Sadly, few companies have the know-how or
bandwidth to conduct proper marketing and product development
studies before they commit to designing a new product. Often the
result is tragic: lost opportunities, products with no real
opportunity for success, lost revenues and market share, and
customers who quietly migrate to your competitors' solutions. By
using the Integrated Product
Development System, every decision you make--from establishing
your company's true core competencies, to product design and test,
all the way through to end-of-life management--is driven by input
from the market itself.
For the hottest and most effective help with this vital area,
review our Integrated Product Development Services for more
information, or respond to our Special
Offer #7. |
Do
you work on a Shared Risk / Shared Reward basis? If so, how does that
work?
| Yes.
For clients that are interested in developing long-standing
business relationships (usually two- or three-year programs at the
outset), we work on a Shared Risk / Shared Reward basis. In these
cases, the investment requirements for programs are substantially
discounted in exchange for a negotiated percentage of the revenues
generated by the sales and marketing programs proposed and
implemented.
Take a look at our Special
Offers. |
How much does the Integrated Sales and
Marketing System cost?
| The
investment for programs is directly related to the scope of the
program. For example, in how many countries will the program be
implemented (North America, Europe, worldwide)? What is the
program duration in months, quarters, years, etc.? What type of
program is it, i.e., PR only, a New Product Introduction Launch
only, or a fully Integrated Sales and Marketing System that
includes tactical and broad-based programs? Is it a lead
generation program; and, if so, how many leads are required (100,
500, 10,000)? What is the definition of a Class "A"
lead? Is it defined by 5 parameters, 50 parameters?
The investment requirements can be precisely planned and known
before you implement an Integrated Sales and Marketing System. You
may be looking for a fully outsourced marketing operation or only
for a small portion of the marketing services to be implemented by
a partner. Both options are totally in alignment with the services
provided by Mueller International. We will assist you with the
implementation of any portion of an Integrated Sales and Marketing
System or the entire process, whichever you prefer.
If you would like assistance with planning and understanding
the investment requirements of any portion of the Integrated Sales
and Marketing System for your business, check out our Special
Offer #6. In creating a proposal for your company, a Mueller
International senior marketing consulting team will work directly
with you and your sales and marketing team in the planning process
and provide a detailed proposal for your organization at no fee or
obligation to you. |
What is the difference between sales
and marketing?
| Sales
closes the deal, takes the order, and completes the actions
necessary so that a contract is closed and approved. At this
point, money is exchanged for products, services, and solutions
delivered. Salespeople handle the Request for Proposal process and
present the company's products, services, and solutions to the
customers and prospects in the market.
Marketing creates demand. Marketing makes people want to buy
from you so that a salesperson can engage and get the order.
Marketing will find the qualified buyers; marketing will create
market awareness and interest in the product, service, and
solution line offered by the company. Marketing will create
qualified buyers and hand them over to sales so that sales can
forward and continue the closing process.
Now, some orders are able to be secured without involving
direct contact. In this case, it's marketing's job to create
interest, attract attention from qualified buyers, and set the
stage so the sales closing process can occur. When the interest
has been created, the prospect can and will complete the
order-taking process so that a closed deal occurs.
In very traditional companies, the salespeople do both jobs.
They communicate all the company messages to the market; anything
that is known about a company is put in the minds of the market by
the salespeople. In today's marketing environment, with the
advancements made in database technologies and marketing
communications programs, this is asking the salespeople to do too
much; it creates a competitive disadvantage for an organization
and its sales team.
Salespeople who have to sell and do the job of marketing as
well do not get enough face-to-face time with qualified buyers
since they have to spend so much of their time trying to find the
buyers in the first place. When they find them, they then have to
spend too much time explaining everything about themselves and
their company, their products, services, and solutions. Why not
just usher in the sales force to a customer or prospect who is set
up to buy from you – so that by the time the salesperson
arrives, the prospect already fully knows the company's
background, its offerings, and wants that sales representative in
there more than any competitor organization? That's what an
Integrated Sales and Marketing System can and will deliver.
It is possible to identify 100%
of the qualified buyers that exist in any market for any
product, service, or solution you offer. It is possible to make
these qualified buyers want to engage in a sales process with your
sales closing team. Marketing provides these two deliverables.
Sales can then close more prospects and engage in more profitable
sales- closing scenarios than if left to handle the markets by
themselves.
A sales team, unaided by a marketing process that cultivates
the market (mining for gold), cannot penetrate 100% of a market.
So sales without marketing means there are many qualified buyers
out there that could be buying from you, but who are never reached
in time to know enough about you so that they can buy from you
rather than a competitor. |
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