Revenues and sales — the heart of every organization — grow from the ability to attract prospects. Combined with the right sales strategy, creative lead generation tactics engage audiences, allow your company to differentiate itself and keep the pipeline full of qualified buyers. Once you've got their attention, reel in the business with the right combination of action-grabbing tactics.

Developing a brand means different things to different organizations, but its premise is simple: Create a proposition that defines your company's core values. It means making a promise for your product or service that is engaging, easy to understand and relevant to the target audience; and then delivering on the promise. It means building an emotional bond with the audience through consistent actions. Ultimately, your brand is what your customers and employees have to say about your company and its products and services.

Getting into the minds of your audience and staying visible ensures that your product or service is recalled at critical stages in the buying cycle. It's not just about being creative, it's about engaging customers at various points through targeted media. Staying top of mind after the sale makes customers feel they made the right choice and encourages them to come back to buy again.

Because customers have so many choices in the marketplace, companies are constantly looking for ways to ensure that buyers keep coming back to them for repeat purchases. Loyalty and reward programs, special offers, after-sale support — there are many ways to influence your customers. It takes constant communication and relevant retention tactics.

Internal audiences — employees, vendors and other stakeholders — are the backbone of every organization. These "ambassadors" for the company have a more profound impact on sales than most firms realize. Materials created for mission/vision launches, compensation initiatives and employee development programs deserve the same planning and creative execution as that given to customer-facing tactics.