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New Client Questionnaire: Getting Off to a Good Start
When we get a new marketing/communications client, we want to get off to a roaring start. So we set aside an entire day to spend at the client’s site. Most of that day is spent interviewing various administrators and employees using material from the following questionnaire which we have developed over the years. We keep adding and deleting things depending on relevancy. If you want a copy of the formatted questionnaire, just ask and we will send it to you: info@smartprcommunications.com
New Client Questionnaire
(Client)
Client Specific Questions
1. XX
2. XX
Publicity Purpose – We need to: (bold out affirmative responses)
Inform people about how to choose, buy and use our product/service
Persuade people to buy our product/service rather than competitors’
Overcome resistance and convince people that they need our product/service
Counteract misconceptions about our product/service
Get more prospects/clients to
Visit our stores/dealers
Buy our brand
Shop online
Contact a sales rep.
Other:
Counteract misconceptions about our
Organization
Industry
Product/service
Other:
Inform the public about issues concerning our
Organization
Industry
Product
Other:
Get people to vote for or against legislation related to our organization/industry
Attract shareholders and support our stock price
Attract highly qualified employees/volunteers
Promote an event or series of events
Increase attendance at or participation in our organization’s programs
Intro Questions
What product/service are you most proud of?
For which product/service do you rarely get pushback on price?
Which products/services would your core clients not miss if you stopped offering them tomorrow?
Which products/services are the most profitable?
Which of your current clients would be most upset if you disappeared tomorrow?
In which markets do you not have any head-to-head competition?
General
Who will be our primary contact? (name, title, phone, email)
Who should we send the invoice and account activity to at the end of the month?
Who is the back up person (name, title, phone, email)?
Who will be participating in weekly meetings?
What day and time should we set for the regular weekly meeting?
What are your general hours of availability?
What is your industry classification?
What do you sell?
Do you have someone on staff that can write well?
If so, who:
Who will be responsible for approving releases, website copy, etc.?
Who should we send the invoice and account activity to every month?-name/email
What are the major trade publications for your industry?
Who are your major current clients?
Who are your competitors?
Who are your indirect competitors (substitutes)?
Who is the leader?
How competitive is this industry?
Compared to your competitors, how is your business doing?
How are your products and services different from your competitors’?
When was the last time you introduced a major product or service?
What was the result?
How has your business evolved over the last 5 years?
After working with us for 6 months, what would you like to see happening?
Have you received any awards? If so what and when?
Marketing
Who is currently involved in marketing? (list names, titles, and responsibilities)
What are your marketing goals?
What marketing activities are you engaged in now?
Have you had a major PR/Marketing campaign in the recent past?
If so, what were the goals and were they accomplished. If not, why?
What are your major marketing activities?
Are you advertising?
Have you ever used pay-per-click ads, i.e. Google Adwords?
About how many events do you attend every year?
What are your top 5 most important events—in order?
What branding materials do you have now – message guide, style guide, marketing kit, a media list, etc.?
Who are your primary channel partners?
Have you explored co-marketing opportunities with channel partners?
How do you stay top of mind with prospective clients?
Anything else regarding marketing?
Existing Marketing Assets
Which of the following do you have in place now?
Industry expert available for media interviews
Experienced sales team
A strong, favorable industry reputation
A solid portfolio of satisfied customers
Customers willing to participate in a case study
Recent customer surveys
A strong website
A workplace that would photograph well
A good working relationship with local media
Strong community relations
Ties to legislators
Memberships in trade organizations
Positioning-Differentiation
Do you have expertise in a specific industry?
Does your industry expertise translate to other industries?
Do you have partner relationships that others don’t? What benefits do they provide?
Do you have legacy experience, patents, or credentials that set you apart and are relevant to your audience?
What is your greatest opportunity in the next 2 years? Why is that such a great opportunity?
Do most people have a clear understanding of exactly what you do?
What do you do better than anybody else?
Do you have a trial offer?
Do you have a guarantee?
Do you have an entry level product?
How does your customer functionally benefit from what you sell?
What are the top three reasons customers initially bought your products or services?
Why do your customers return?
What do customers value about their relationship with you?
Do you clients fully understand the return on investment of your services?
What are the perceived concerns a prospective might have about working with you?
Do you have any processes that are particularly impressive to customers?
What values, personality, and attitude do you want to project?
What is your corporate culture?
Sales
Regarding cold calls, have most people heard of your company?
Is there someone specifically in charge of business development?
Explain your sales process.
Where are most of your leads coming from?
Who is following up on leads?
Which sales channels are the most effective (how are you currently getting most of your clients)?
Which sales channels do you want to develop?
What marketing materials do your salespeople currently use?
What are the major barriers that keep people from buying?
Who are your primary channel partners?
Anything else regarding sales?
Website
Who is handling your website? Employee or consultant?
What is this person’s availability?
How is your website formatted, i.e. Wordpress, asp?
Do you have Google Analytics set up, if so are you using it?
When was the last time you had a major site redesign?
Are you key term optimizing your website?
About how often do you add new content?
Do you have a blog?
If so, is someone posting regularly? Who is that person?
If not, could you set one up?
Do you have a graphic designer on staff?
Do you have Live Chat on your website?
Do you have email lists?
If so, about how many total contacts are in the lists?
When was the last time you sent out an email?
How often do you send emails?
What are the subjects?
Who is your email service provider?
Are you open to Constant Contact?
Target Market
Have you created buyer personas?
Which industry/sectors are most of your clients coming from? Starting with the largest:
1. Sector:
A.Size (in terms of either employees or annual sales):
B. Geographic Area:
C. Job Titles:
D. Which social media tools do they regularly use:
E. Special interests/concerns:
2. Sector:
A. Size (in terms of either employees or annual sales):
B. Geographic Area:
C. Job Titles:
D. Which social media tools do they regularly use:
E. Special interests/concerns:
3. Sector:
A. Size (in terms of either employees or annual sales):
B. Geographic Area:
C. Job Titles:
D. Which social media tools do they regularly use:
E. Special interests/concerns:
4. Sector:
A. Size (in terms of either employees or annual sales):
B. Geographic Area:
C. Job Titles:
D. Which social media tools do they regularly use:
E. Special interests/concerns:
5. Sector:
A. Size (in terms of either employees or annual sales):
B. Geographic Area:
C. Job Titles:
D. Which social media tools do they regularly use:
E. Special interests/concerns:
6. Sector:
A. Size (in terms of either employees or annual sales):
B. Geographic Area:
C. Job Titles:
D. Which social media tools do they regularly use:
E. Special interests/concerns:
That’s it. By the end of the day we have a really good grasp on what we need to get done and we are eager to get started!
