Is Snail Mail Out of Commission?
Direct mail still remains an effective tool for generating leads and new business. Don’t get me wrong, email marketing is a fantastic way to stay in touch with clients and prospects and social networking is also a great tool. But amongst the lights and glamour of these new mediums that promise high impact for low dollar there still remains a marketing weapon that connects them all, the direct mail marketing piece.
Don’t take my word for it, check out this article by the Wall Street Journal. As an example in the article, several businesses decided to cut their direct mail marketing, mostly based on cost and realized that they were losing 25% in profits.
So here’s what you do. Use the email marketing and direct mailing combined to make your marketing more efficient.
Notice how I didn’t highlight increase results, although that may very well happen with combining various marketing tools. However, I am more excited at the increased effectiveness of your marketing endeavors. Consider this. Local business is looking to increase the number of quality contacts for their email marketing so that they can really connect with those people most interested in their offerings.
They can send out a blanket postcard and see how many people actually pick-up the phone. They can purchase an email list and then be sent on a SPAM alert for send too many unwanted emails. Or they can send out a postcard offering a special premium or offer for signing up for their email list. This combination of tools can be a powerful way to build your business marketing contacts and leads. Don’t eliminate direct mail, use it for effective promotion.
Marketing Animals
It's a Jungle Out There!
It’s a jungle out there! And everyday we we meet all kinds of marketers and sales people, each one bringing their own approaches to promoting their businesses. I wanted to find a creative way to explore some of the many marketing personalities out there and realized that salespeople have more to do with the animal kingdom than most are willing to admit. Some display the same beastly personalities throughout their whole career as others animorph and change as new marketing challenges approach them. Consider for moment what kind of marketing animal you are and which approaches are best to avoid.
Take a walk on the wild side.
Hot Product: Note Caddy
This product is perfect for anyone looking to promote to the office crowd. This memo desk caddy comes complete with calendar, sticky pads, rubber bands and paper clips. In a nice leatherette black material this product boasts a generous real estate for your logo or mark. Perfect for corporate gifts, thank you follow-up, order incentive, brand awareness or any other promotion targeted for clients and prospects that spend hours at the office. This useful item is sure to be well received and put you top-of-mind with your clients and prospects.
Click here to view more information about this promotional product.
Be a Guide Not a Boaster
Are you a business bragger or professional advisor? Do you seek every opportunity to “impress” your prospects with flashy advertising, big promises and loads of information about how great your company is over the competition? Or do you offer yourself as a leader in your field to help your clients benefit from your services or products? Next time you market your business consider these few tidbits to determine if you are an ego-marketer or truly building trust, by making customer service your main goal. Let’s face it, nobody wants to be told that you are best they want to be served in the best way. I know I am guilty of this trend. It is far easier to tell someone about my business benefits because it is the thing I understand the most, but I have to learn to invite people to trust me so that I can then live up to promise of quality service.
You may be a ego-maniac if . . .
Boost your Business for 2010
Which is more difficult? To run a business during a downer of an economy or being ready for when business begins to pick-up again? Are you ready? Here are four basic tips for preparing yourself for a new year of business.
Evaluate Sales Strategies. Research how your market and prospects are currently doing business and decide how you can meet them where they are at. Are they looking for in-person service, e-commerce or to collaborate on social media sites? Determine how you can strategically position yourself to connect on your client’s level. Don’t miss out on an opportunity by sticking to the “we’ve always done it that way” mentality. Innovation is the key to be prepared for how people will buy from you in the year 2010.
Scented Pens
Delight the senses and add scent to your next promotion with the scented pen. With nearly two dozen scents available plus the option to customize your own scent this one is sure to be the essence of your next marketing campaign.
Here are some interesting facts behind scent marketing:
- 75% of our emotions are generated by what we smell.
- 30% to 50% of all purchases are impulse buys.
- Scent is the only one of our 5 senses that goes directly to the limbic system which is directly connected to those parts of the brain that control heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, stress levels, hormone balance, and memory.
- In a German movie theater the audience was shown an advertisement and simultaneously a fragrance was emitted into the vent ducts. Later a survey was done and the audience recall of the ad was 500% higher
- Flavors and Fragrances are a $20 billion dollar a year industry.
Business Cards-Never Leave Home Without Them!
Here’s a blog post written by Carla Williams for the WinePress of Words blog. Thanks Ma! for posting this!
I’m learning just how important business cards can be in marketing. They are a portable and affordable tool for leaving an impression with everyone you meet. For example, this week I’m on a vacation trip—that’s right, a vacation—which will, of course, end as a business trip when I attend the Writer’s Digest: The Business of Publishing Conference in New York City (Sept. 18-20).
On the shuttle from the airport I gave three of my cards away—two to people attending another conference of potential authors. I find myself giving my cards away all the time. Why? Because I have them with me and can!
Here are some tips for using your business cards: Read the rest of this entry »
Integrated Marketing
While there is a large shifting going on from “image enhancing” ads to “direct response” ads, there is still plenty to be said for the former and for the combination of both approaches. Consider this: 1 + 1 = 3 Now that’s bang for the buck! This assumes that if you monitored results over time for image ads, and did a separate promotion with direct response ads, and then totaled them up, you would get a result of 1 + 1 = 2. But if you coordinate both ads at the same time, the result will be a lot more than 2.
Remember the principles: People remember 10% of what they see. People remember 20% of what they hear. People remember 60% of what they see and hear. Image enhancing ads try to generate the warm fuzzies about the results of using your product or service. It’s emotional responses that have the best retention value, and the highest impact. Direct response ads try to activate a response, now! A combination of both elements generates more responses.
Street Marketing
As a promotional business we are bombarded with loads of advertising mail and catalogs. Our mail volume has been so big we have developed an entire system to sort and organize the ad pieces worth keeping. A recent mail piece came across my desk that peaked my interest. It wasn’t the packaging-it was just a standard black and white printed catalog envelope.
The literature was for a company called New Pig, who sell company safety products. Not sure who they purchased their mailing list from as I have no interest or need for their products. However, what is interesting about this company is their clever link to their street address. Notice that New Pig is located on One Pork Avenue. Not certain if this was strategic move or if they specifically named the street but whatever the case is their address and name will always be remembered. Plus, they use the power of promotional products to increase the average size of their orders, another smart marketing move! For every catalog order of $49 or more you can receive a customized bright pig-shaped rubber football. Clever marketing, smart offers!
Tip: Can you intergrate even the most mundane aspects of your business like your address to be smart marketing?
Light up memo board
For anyone who markets to the home this is item is a sure way to get your name in front of a client in a creative and useful way. This wipe off magnetic memo board includes a dry erase marker and 3 AAA batteries for immediate promotional use. Your clients and prospects can use this to leave messages on the fridge or desk. Plus, wth the blue pulsing light activated their note will never go unnoticed. Read the rest of this entry »