Hi Everyone ,
Time for a touch of the business side lol :-)
One of the great things about being older is having had the opportunity to work with some very intelligent and creative people over the past years. It is a thank you to them that I share this information with you.
1. Know who your customers are.
a. Describe the person most likely to want or need your product.
b. Why should they want to buy your product?
c. When you know the motivation, you can target the product to the correct customer base.
d. You can't sell a product until it is defined and positioned.
Note: A pharmaceutical company shelved a cold medicine because they couldn't correct the drowsiness it produced. Someone renamed it NyQuil and sold it as a bedtime cold medicine. It became the largest selling cold medicine on the market. Just because your product is good doesn't mean it will sell. It must be positioned correctly. That's what marketing does.
2. Promote with postcards.
a. First Class Postcard Postage is .20¢ (1¢ less than bulk mail - 20.8¢) This will be changing in January 1999
b. Postcards convey a sense of urgency to the customer. They may not read your letter but they will turn your postcard over. (You have 3 seconds to get your message across. The average time people look at an ad.)
c. Postcards will keep your mailing list clean (Address Correction Requested), First class returned and corrected free of charge by the Post Office. (Bulk Mail letter correction cost .32¢ each).
d. With a postcard, your message is out in the open. Other potential customers will see it too, not just the person it's addressed to.
3. Create A Survey
a. Mail a survey to customers to find what motivates them to buy.
b. Where do they work? What magazines do they read? Age Group?
c. This information will tell you where and how to reach your targets.
d. Offer a gift or discount for completing the survey.
4. Use A Two-Step Approach
a. Offer complimentary business related information to potential customers.
Step 1: Offer a free "fact sheet" to customers that shows your expertise.
Step 2: Add these customers to your mailing list and mail to them often.
5. Be Consistent and Committed
a. Research shows a message must be repeated to be remembered.
b. Send multiple mailers to the same people.
c. If you advertise, do it where you can afford to do it often.
6. Add Personality to Your Business
a. Use photos of you and/or your staff in your promotional materials.
b. A quote from the person pictured conveys friendliness and builds confidence in your company.
c. Responses to seminars and programs are dramatically higher when photos are used.
7. Examine Promotional Materials
a. Make sure business cards, letterheads, brochures and packaging materials are first class. This is not the area to spare expenses.
b. What types of materials is your competition using?
c. If you can't afford 4 color brochures use 2 or 3 color. Use of color increases response by 26%.
8. "Thank You" - Magic Words
a. Thank customers with a special offer.
b. Thank anyone who refers business to you with a personalized thank you card, phone call, discounts, flowers, dinner or even a commission.
c. Thank your reliable suppliers with a letter and increased orders.
d. People will remember your kindness.
9. Do What The Winners Do.
a. Is there a company you admire? Analyze its marketing strategies.
b. Adopt the ones you can use and improve on them.
c. Use what works. Collect advertising that attracts your attention and adapt it to your business.
Since the information wasn't mine to begin with, it only seems right to pass it along to you as they did with me. I hope the following tips will be helpful to you and your business. To Your Success my Friends :-) Lee