One-Two-Three Punch Marketing
Printed material is just as important today as it was before the Internet. With sp*a*m getting out of hand, it's a wise choice to rev up, update or create printed material, ads, catalogs, direct mail, press releases, letters, templates and the like.
You will notice that I didn't add brochures to this list. Brochures are not a good investment for a first piece. When someone asks for a brochure and you don't have one, this doesn't mean you ignore their request. Worse scenario, you may run wildly around using up a large portion of your year's marketing budget completing one.
If you move or update your materials frequently, it isn't wise to spend thousands of dollars on new material. Here are a few alternatives. You can use a professionally created folding business card as a main document. Another option to expensive letterhead is to print your own in a two-pass process. Use a color printer in the first pass for your logo and use a black and white pass through for the content. Use Kinko's if you don't have a color printer (http://www.kinkos.com). At Kinko's you can send them a file via Internet, have them print the color portion on high quality paper.
Mailing out a marketing piece weeks after your first contact is too late. When opportunity knocks, be ready. Timing is everything. If you don't, the extra time allows them to solve the issue on their own, or change its priority.
It is always preferable to have a serious phone discussion even before an in-person meeting. If they don't show up for the call, it is easier to recoup your time, and it indicates they aren't ready to buy. All you need to do is follow-up lightly to remind them to contact you when the time is right. Send them a newsletter, template letter, or flyer and not expensive material. People generally toss items they receive on the first punch. Save the best for a time when the punch is more effective. Multi-follow-ups show them that you aren't a fly-by-night going-to-fad-in-the- next-few-months provider.
Giving too much information early in the marketing process overwhelms customers and jeopardizes the sale. It makes them nervous about you. This is, of course, if you are selling services or products worth more than whatever your market considers discretionary.
Instead, create a call to action to get them to visit your web site periodically, send them an "I'm still here for you when you are ready" note, or a printed copy of your latest newsletter or ezine.
Selling a product? Send an oversized post card or direct mail piece. The direct mail piece needs to use an "I'm- following-up" language and not a "you-never-met-us-yet" dialogue.
Have template letters, Word or Act, ready to go with a few clicks. Design them so the first or second paragraphs are easy to add a personalized follow-up dialogue.
When you drive along the same route and one day you spot something that seems new, only later discover it's been there all along you are pleasantly surprised. For even when we seem fully awake, many things pass our radar. .
In marketing, it is the same experience. We don't see something that's been there until something happens and wakes us up. The seven-times rule, a proven marketing principle, is the "you have demonstrated credibility" and "I now see you" model. The seven-time rule applies whether the main marketing draw is a web site, networking, direct mail, or a combination. People who don't like to sell stop after the first or second punch.
Printed materials do indicate credibility and quality counts in most cases. If you post your brochures at your State's visitor's center, you will see that they stand next to many similar ones. What stands out are the one-half page black and white flyers or the like. In this situation, the plain black and whites get the attention of many. It is important to know how, when, and where your materials are going to be viewed and be represented.
For mailings, this doesn't mean send the best stuff first and let it do the sale for you. No, no, no. Printed material seldom makes the sale. It's just another contact point. First punches are either tossed or buried in some stack.
If your price is under $100, send them to your web site. Over, send them material for added credibility. This also depends on the target market value of your price. If your market considers $500 a drop in the bucket then credibility perception changes.
Interview past purchasers. Find out when did they first take notice and how many before they took action. Was it when they received a certain number of contacts? Always. When did the need make it a priority. Create a list of the triggers and look for those signs in future contacts. Model your follow-up program accordingly.
In several studies, 92% of the purchase makers cited that letterhead, envelopes and business cards where the major factors in how they rated creditability.
Credibility can be lost if your material includes careless mistakes or omits vital information. In the buyer's perspective, all the answers need to lead on how they can feel confident about your service or product and how it solves their need.
One of my services is printed material and web site analysis. After reviewing 294 brochures, I found 81.5% of the information dancing around solutions instead of commitment to direct and clear solutions. Non-commitment is the biggest sales destroyers. Don't send them material about X when they inquired about Y. If it doesn't answer Y, it's tossed. And you have 30 seconds to 3 minutes to complete their question. Long sales letters demonstrate commitment in receiver's minds because of the thought and care it took to create and address their challenge.
Also, don't send Y, with the "I think we need to offer this because we've received a few inquires lately even if it's off our path" feeling. If you are unable to fit in the time to write a letter explaining how and why you can provide Y, then pass it up. This may be a "good" opportunity but not be the "great" opportunity you truly want to attract.
If, on the other hand, their issue isn't clearly understood or known, then you're asking the horse to jump the fence without knowing how height. It's a wasted effort and you can lame the horse. Don't mail it with an "if it works, okay, if it doesn't oh well" energy. This gives the impression that you weren't listening. A big strike against you. Usually one too big to overcome.
For service businesses, it is best to complete your first contact verbally and follow-up with printed material once or twice, then verbally, then twice, etc. Give prospects the 1-2-3 punches if you have the answer. Be honest if you don't provide what they are seeking. Don't adjust and accommodate because sales are down for the month. This is a disservice to your customer and your business. This will diminish assets later. Share the wealth; earn a life-long customer, and new collaborator with your referral. Catherine Franz is a Marketing & Writing Coach, niches, product development, Internet marketing, nonfiction writing and training. Additional Articles: http://www.abundancecenter.com blog: http://abundance.blogs.com
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Getting Ideas for Your Postcards
If you're going to do postcard marketing on an ongoing basis, it's a good idea to have a collection of cards to inspire you. In advertising and marketing circles, this is called a "swipe file."
Five Tips for Trade Show Success on a Small Budget
No matter how small your marketing budget, your business can afford to have a successful presence at trade shows without incurring big expenses. Here are five tips for exhibiting in trade shows inexpensively:
How Much Is Your Popcorn Worth? Powerful Lessons In Marketing & The Psychology Of Selling - Part 2
NB: You can read part one here: http://EzineArticles.com/?id=58690
My Marketing Budget Is Small - How Can I Make The Most Of It?
Regardless how small or large your budget is, there are a number of ways you can make it go farther. One way is to capitalize on the seasonality of your business.
Marketing Tips - Ten Quick Marketing Actions
It is often difficult to manage to do marketing tasks when you have a busy business or professional practice. Here are 10 ideas each of which take 5 or 10 minutes and can be done between appointments or when you take a break from working on a large project.
Marketing Strategies: What Choices Do You Have?
Most business people want to see improvements in sales and profits. But how do you get there? What choices do you have?
Database Marketing: Secrets To Skyrocket Your Online Profits Using Database Marketing
What is database marketing?
Marketing is More Than a Token Process
"Necessity is the mother of invention!" The first time I heard this was nearly twenty years ago when I was introduced to Tony Robbins' material. I was listening to, and applying, information from his thirty day series. I have to admit, the first time I heard this it didn't quite register.
How To Make More Money
The biggest crime in small businesses today goes unnoticed by most outsiders. It is not reported in the media. There are no police reports filed and companies do not even mention it on their websites. People don't talk about it on the street and employees often overlook it. Even though this crime is rampant among small businesses, it's presence is so subtle that many business owners fail to recognize when it is happening! Unfortunately, this crime is the same one that is most likely to kill a small business. It is not stealing by employees, burglaries, trivial lawsuits, or industrial espionage.
10 Tips to Grow Your Business Plain & Simple
"Try not to become a man of success but rather to become a man of value." Albert Einstein
Universal Principals That Guide Business Growth
Universal principals are those "self-evident" truths that have guided brilliant minds and withstood the test of time.
Writing To Overpower Your Competition
"We don't have any competition. We're a truly a one-of-a-kind company." I've heard that line from clients for years. I wish it were true, but it's simply not. In fact, it wouldn't matter if you held a monopoly on your particular product or service; you'd still have competition. How? Because your competition doesn't come from a singular source.
Consider Consumer Psychology
In your marketing efforts, be they on or offline, it's wise to consider the psychology of the consumer you are targeting. If you've done your homework you've developed a profile of your ideal customer and how your unique selling point speaks to them. Now, as you begin to develop a marketing strategy, writing ad copy, developing radio copy, and creating web copy, it is an understanding of consumer psychology that will help you speak to the consumer.
Color Part 2: Formats and Systems
There are several color formats and systems available for mixing and specifying colors. Here, we explain three of the most common systems: RGB, CMYK, and Pantone colors.
Business Promotional Items ? How to Stimulate Word of Mouth Advertising
If the promotional items you give out end up in the attic or shoved in the back of a desk drawer, they are probably not doing what they are supposed to be doing. However, if items you passed out to clients and customers are being seen again and again, chances are, word-of-mouth advertising is stimulating your business.
Helping Your Prospects Overcome ?Buying Fears? By Using Testimonials
You DO use direct marketing for your small business? right? If so, you're taking advantage of the most cost-effective means of advertising available. (Yes? I'm biased? I admit it!)
Have Something Good To Say
If you don't get this right, you can just forget about everything else...your advertising will fail miserably if you don't have something good to say. The great business philosopher Jim Rohn probably summed it up best in his lecture about communications. He was talking about personal communications, not about advertising, but I think the principle holds true. He says to be a master communicator, all you've got to do is follow this three-step process: First, have something good to say. Second, say it well. And third, say it often.
Basic Brand Building
A brand is the essence of who you are. The more powerful the brand the more memorable you will become. Think about brands that you can identify with. What impresses you about them and what attributes make you remember them? Brand icons didn't get that way over night and many of them have failed because they couldn't "connect" with their audience. Strong brands will stand the test of time.
Marketing with Special Reports. 5 Ways to Develop Content Your Prospects Cant Wait to Read
So you've decided to start publishing an e-newsletter, or you'd like to develop a Special Report as an added-value for your customers, or maybe you've even decided to teach a teleclass or a seminar as a way to bring prospects into your business.
Itchin For Some Nichin
The whole idea of Niche Marketing is exciting! The possibilities are endless, as there are literally millions of people surfing the web, the vast majorities of whom are here for two reasons . . .
|