Archive for the ‘Sales’ Category

Business Postcard Marketing

Post cards are not a marketing tool of the past. However, postcard marketing must be understood and you need to understand options and how to make the right choices. You also need to understand what a postcard campaign is supposed to do for you.

Obviously, you would like for a postcard campaign to produce sales and this is a best case scenario. However, if sales is your measure for success you may be disappointed by the results you get. Keep in mind that every piece mailed can potentially create brand exposure and increased brand recognition. The role of the postcard is really three and in this order of priority: branding, lead generation and direct sales. As a direct sales tool the post card only works when you have a highly targeted list. The best targeted list also knows your brand well enough to make a decision to buy. Post cards work well to generate leads. You simply need to grab the recipients interest and direct them to share contact information for some value you can offer. However, postcards work best when you focus results on brand building. If your postcards aren’t clearly defining your brand you are losing the greatest value they have to offer.

For strong brand building through a postcard campaign remember three simple rules.

1. Make sure every postcard contains a graphic illustration of your brand. Hopefully your branding strategy includes an icon, logo or mascot.

2. Clearly define the value of doing business with your brand. There may be a thousand others out there offering what you offer; how does your brand do it better or bring more value to the customer.

3. Make exploring your brand easy and convenient. Include links to your web presence, contact information, diverse resources they can use and a special offer to increase  their interest in getting to know you. The best special offer for this is free.

 I recommend at least two calls to action on every piece:

The first is the offer. Make an offer that will grab attention. You might consider, Free Lifetime Coaching. Free Lifetime Coaching may seem too good to be true, so you may need to validate the offer. I will cover the amazing offer later in this post.

The second is the request. By the request I mean an invitation for the recipient to pass the postcard on to anyone who may find your offer interesting. Include a line that simply says, “Be a Hero, pass this postcard on to your business colleagues.” can get the job done. You may be surprised at the number of times a piece is passed along simply because you gave the idea.

One question you may ask is, what size postcard should I mail? This is a valid question. When considering postcard size you need to think about at least three questions:

How much do I need to say?

                If your offer is pretty amazing you may need more copy to make it believable. You may need to answer a few reader objections. Therefore you need more space.

What is the direct mail competition for your market?

                If the competition to grab your reader’s attention is high you need to stand out and a larger piece may be the right solution.

How much are you ready to spend?

                A four by six postcard will cost 28 cents standard postage while a six by eleven postcard will cost  44 cents. Getting creative may allow you to create outstanding copy and graphics that will get the smaller card read.

All that said here are some critical components of a well read postcard campaign.

Bold Headline

Make it bold so it pops off the page. Use light colors on dark backgrounds and darker colors on light backgrounds. But nothing is more important than the headline message.

Your headline must speak to the reader’s need. If the headline grabs them where it hurts they will read on. Once they start reading, action is a result of good copy. I have found that the best headline is an amazing offer headline. The amazing offer is of such wild value that it is nearly too good to be true. Therefore, it raises curiosity and the reader reads on. Now you must convince the reader in few words that you can deliver on the promise and call them to action.

The Offer

The offer is the most important part of your postcard design. The offer is the reason to take action or follow up with you. I can offer free coaching for a lifetime. We have the technology and resources in place to provide group interaction, live consulting sessions and email support at little cost to me or my staff. we bundle these services with one no cost personal phone call per month and have a Lifetime coaching package to offer. Disclosing how the coaching is provided is not important on the postcard.

It is important that the respondent understands that the offer is available on certain terms. Clearly define those terms to make the offer believable.

The point of Contact

Make it easy for the respondent to contact you. I would include a landing page website url. This is the best response option because you are actively engaging and dialoguing with the reader. Another might be the leave a message response. Invite the reader to simply call a number and leave a name and email address for more information. This approach is great for busy people on the go. Using both will increase your response. Remember, you want the reader to take action. Tell them what to do and make it easy for them to answer the call.

I am so sick of the excessive and misuse of the term spam. Most people define spam as any attempt at marketing. I expect soon we will here commuters complaining about all the spam messages they get on the drive to the office. I mean after all, there are bumper stickers, billboards, roadside signage and I can’t even turn on my radio without hearing an advertisement. Come on, get you head out of the sand and the negativity out of your life. Yes, marketing is going on all around us. It always has. With every technological advancement we’ve had to learn to cope and manage those messages.

Here are four guidelines that define spam. This is the official definition. This settles it. If anyone has a question about what exactly spam is–send them here.

1. Spam is an unsolicited message sent from another party assuming, with little supporting evidence,  you share an interest in them or their product or service.
2. Not all unsolicited messages are spam. If a marketer finds that you share membership in the same club or group, he or she may introduce themselves, service or product if the association by membership would merit a shared interest. Since, networking is the primary reason for many memberships it should be expected, by any sane intelligent person, that they may receive an introduction or two.
3. If a marketer incessantly sends or posts messages of a sales and marketing nature, without offering some no obligation value, he or she has crossed into the Spam Zone. This guideline is especially important in the world of networking whether actual or virtual. We network naturally and it is in our nature to become familiar with those we work or do business with. Such socialization makes it easy to build rapport, credibility and trust. These three elements are prerequisite to a healthy sales / business relationship.
4. A message with a link to a blog or other information website is not necasarily spam. In fact, as I will explain at the close, every message you send should contain contact information and a link or links that will help the recipient get to know you. Some have been using the term “spam” in reference to any message with a link; clearly a thoughtless conclusion.

All that said, if you are in business, you had better be marketing, and in today’s competitive culture, you had better be marketing aggressively. Here are some steps that will help you get ahead and generate leads with your social marketing efforts.

1. Introduce yourself and be very visible and transparent about you, your products and services, as well as who your customers are. Let people get to know you. In fact, you should not actually post any direct sales copy to your contacts until you have given, with no obligation, some value.
2. Include links in emails, direct messages, blogs and instant messages, so people can find you easily and get to know you. You may consider stating in posts with a link that this link is a bit of valuable information requiring no obligation. This may help satisfy the less than sharp paranoid type who apparently close their eyes when passing billboards.
3. Use direct contact media like email, tweets, direct messages and wall or profile posts to direct contacts to a blog or other website containing information with sales copy. Avoid posting sales copy in direct contact media.
4. Finally, try offering free gifts, content and samples. The more value you give the more your contacts learn to trust you. Samples are great incentives. Make sure the sample itself is perceived as valuable.

I strongly recommend that you read Jay Conrad Levinson’s book Guerrilla Marketing. I have the proud pleasure of sharing Guerrilla Marketing Explained, an interview with Jay Conrad Levinson exploring 7 Steps to Effective Marketing. You can’t go to a book store and get this Audio Ebook. It is available only through a few select distributors. You may listen to a sample track and access thousands of dollars in free training in audio, video and downloadable ebook format by subscribing at www.charlesspeaks.com.

Simply enter your name and email on the right side of any of my site pages, and you will be asked to confirm your subscription. You will then receive a key to unlock the vault. You may access the vault by hovering over the Momentum Resources tab at the top of the page and select the Free Resources menu option. Enter your password and enjoy.

Reduce Your Marketing Budget While Increasing Sales

In this economy every business, big and small, is looking for ways to reduce cost and increase profits. One of the questions I’ve been hearing is, “Should we cut our marketing budget?” The short answer is no. That is unless you are retooling your marketing efforts with proven tools and techniques that cost less. In this article I am suggesting a timeless marketing technique that doesn’t have to cost a dime.

Networking is something all living organisms do naturally. The strongest have just learned how to do it better. In business networking means connections and visibility. The more you network the better you are known.

Think of networking as team building. Your team will work for you at all times. To network well, you need to first decide who you need on your team.

The most obvious question that will help you build your team is to ask, “Who are my customers?”

Think about your most faithful customers. You might want to find out about their interests. Where do they spend their time? What are their hobbies? What are their causes? If you discover they have a favorite charity you might ask, “How can I help with that?” If you find out they are attending an upcoming event you might plan on attending yourself. By getting involved with their causes and attending the events they attend, you create opportunities for them to introduce you to their network. These can be rich opportunities. Do your customers have children? Are they involved with youth teams or activities? Wherever people congregate, is a good place to network.

Another customer related question might be, “Who do your customers do business with?” If you have a customer doing business with the sign shop down the street, you might simply send an email that states, “One of my customers highly recommends your services. His name is Mark. I was hoping we might talk about how you can help me with a unique project we’re working on.” The fact that Mark is a shared customer creates incentive for the sign company to work with you in any way possible.

A third question you should be asking is, “What services do I pay for?” How well do you really know your service providers? Could they serve you better if they knew you better? If they knew you might generate referrals, would that incent them to give you a better deal?

 A question you might be overlooking is, “Who does business with the people I do business with?” For example, as a speaker I do business with event planners. Hotel and conference center sales managers do business with event planners. So, I should be networking with the hotel sales team. I might give them a CD of me speaking or offer to provide a free training day for their staff. In return I might ask that they keep my brochure on hand to give to event planners they meet.

One last question to consider is, “Who can I give value to?” Obviously, these may be potential customers. However, they may just be people who will speak highly of you if you help them solve their problems. And you can’t have too many people singing your praises.

There are three things you need to know to start network marketing right now.

Networking works best when everyone finds value in the network. Value is the greatest reason anyone connects on an emotional level with another person.(listen to Relationships & Business Audio http://www.charlesspeaks.com/momentum-resources ) In other words, if I feel you have helped me, encouraged me or informed me, I find value in that. If I think of you as an asset I am comfortable with investing in our relationship. The most important thing you can do to be successful as a networker is to share ideas, solutions, tips, referrals and support.

Trust is oxygen to relationships. When trust is broken it is like a fist to the diaphragm knocking the wind from our chest. When that blow is dealt, it is unlikely that I will trust again. Safeguard your integrity as if it were your most valued possession- because it is. If you make a mistake, admit it readily. If you drop the ball, inform everyone affected promptly. Even if you think the dropped ball is insignificant, follow-up. You don’t want others hearing comments like, “She took three weeks to get back to me about my premiums.”

Experts at networking understand the value of being outstanding. Make sure you are memorable from exemplary service to your business card. Avoid the ordinary. Make people laugh. Give others something to talk about, you. Of course, you don’t want to be obnoxious, off color, rude or excessively loud. You want to strike a delicate balance between credible and entertaining.

A great networking resource is www.meetup.com. You can join us for a networking event by registering online at www.meetup.com/columbussbn

You can follow Bill the Builder at www.twitter.com/billthebuilder

There are videos at www.charlesspeaks.com and you can email at Charles@charlesspeaks.com

Bill Carpenter is available for keynotes, seminars, personal coaching and webinars.