Four 2020 trends to benefit your sales organization
One of the most promising trends in the media industry may not sound exciting until you realize the full potential: automation. The elimination (or consolidation) of processes that used to take multiple steps and many man-hours are reduced to minutes. Additionally, many common errors in manual processes are eliminated by software that detects and corrects mistakes along the way.
The super-powers of automated technology fall into two categories: reducing paperwork and streamlining workflow. The result: more time for sellers to sell, and more time for sales operations to focus on the big picture. Local media companies are waking up to the advantageous power of technology, transforming their business models from within.
Here are some key benefits:
1. INTERNAL EFFICIENCY GAINS
Local media needs to be laser-focused on local news and revenue-producing initiatives. Any extra work that detracts from these two critical missions are distractions that not only use manpower but divert focus.
Fortunately, powerful, inexpensive technology exists that eliminates many key areas of drag: Salespeople and administrators filling out multiple forms, such as insertion and production orders that are routed to various departments to fulfill. iPublish Media Solution’s AdPortal SMB platform allows a sales rep to build and schedule creative for print and digital 24/7/365 from any connected device with a browser. Automation tools on the platform pull in the customer’s information and graphics to build the ads automatically; including business name, address, phone number, logo, primary messaging, and all photos/graphics right from the business’ web page. The sales rep can manipulate the auto-created ad content, receive customer approval instantly, and then schedule the ad, send it to pagination, DFP and Facebook, and process the payment using either a credit card or a bill-me-later transaction for contract customers.
Digital campaign performance reports can be automatically sent either to the customer directly or to the sales rep to review and pass along.
It’s a double win. Not only are there monetary savings, but the freed resources can be redeployed to further company goals: salespeople can spend more time in the field, and designers can spend more time being creative for high-spending customers and special projects. Why not redeploy a talented graphic designer to editorial, create a striking page on formats or data visualization for local stories?
Follow the order to discover areas where paperwork is causing drag and let iPublish help you explore alternatives.
2. GRAPHIC DESIGN
To save on resources, many media companies off-shored ad design years ago. AdPortal SMB can create compelling, professional advertising campaigns in minutes saving valuable time and off-shore costs.
Today, automated design tools like AdPortal SMB are less expensive than outsourced ad building and allow for customization more quickly. Deploy your talented graphics design resources to the most important projects and customers and let AdPortal SMB do the rest!
3. DIY OPTIONS + FRICTIONLESS ECOMMERCE
People like “Do It Yourself” – and it is popping up everywhere. Frictionless interaction is the name of the game. Taking care of business without interacting with another person. Think about your ATM or your last Amazon purchase. Have you been to McDonald’s lately? You can now order and pay for your food at a computerized kiosk. Small business owners build websites on GoDaddy and buy ads on Facebook without any human interaction.
Media companies need to offer self-service to keep pace with the basic expectations of today’s technology. It is no longer a “nice to have.” You still need inside and outside sales to support high-spending customers, to prospect new customers and to work with customers who prefer human-to-human interaction.
4. Other types of SALES ENABLEMENT
In addition to the streamlined sales activities described above, there are other automated marketing and research tools that benefit and encourage sales enablement.
CRM systems empower sellers with tools to “warm” the leads and find the best prospects. Platforms like HubSpot allow the seller to see who opened a sales emails and templated marketing drip marketing campaigns. Salesforce even includes related news by vertical, which sellers can forward to their clients in a click. Other platforms like BuzzBoard estimate the hottest leads for print or digital services. Companies like Winmo and ZoomInfo help sellers find the right people at the right companies with a few mouse clicks. Automated technology puts tools in the hands of frontline sellers at breath-taking speed.
Automation technology, like AdPortal SMB by iPublish Media, proves advantageous to media companies who want to reduce paperwork and streamline workflows allowing sales and operations to be redeployed to focus on furthering company goals of growing revenue. Self-service enables media companies to keep pace with today’s basic expectations for technology.
