Do The Two-Step Marketing Dance

by J.T. Dunrite

A very big factor in any successful marketing campaign is follow up. We'll talk about follow up next week, but this week let's get started with the first step of your campaign.

First of all, lets remember that your marketing is an on-going process that includes many facets. Marketing helps you attract customers first, and marketing continues to play a factor after the sale by helping to retain customers. Good marketing gets customers involved in building your business through referrals and endorsements.

The first step in a two step marketing campaign can be a telemarketers call, a sales letter, a magazine ad, or a myriad of other devices. For this article, let's use the postcard as our first step.

Power Postcards
Postcards are powerful, cost effective weapons in your marketing arsenal. They can cut through the clutter on your target's desk and produce results for your company you may not get from other more expensive marketing methods. Here are some tips you can use for marketing with postcards.

GOALS: Know what you want. What should your postcard produce for you? Phone calls? Increase in foot traffic? Faxed orders? Plan for your success.

KISS: Yes, Keep it simple! Think like a billboard, make your message short and sweet.

BENEFITS: Your prospects don't care about you being # 1 or the largest or the fastest growing, etc. except as to how it relates to how it benefits them. In other words, answer the customer's question: "What's in it for me?" You do that by explaining the result, the outcome, the benefits, one can expect by using your product or service.

THE RIGHT TYPE: Use a maximum of 2-3 nice legible typefaces. Scripts and some serif fonts are hard to read.

MAKE AN OFFER: Create a compelling offer and ask for the business.

WHO ARE YOU? Are you a fast food hamburger joint or an elegant candlelit French restaurant? If you've created an identity for your business there is tremendous power in keeping consistency with it in your marketing pieces.

COLOR SELLS: If your product is colorful or the benefits of it lend itself to depictions of colorful photos of people, etc. go for it. The added expense may bring a disproportionate response.

CALL TO ACTION: It's in the Bible, ask and you shall receive. Make it easy for people to do what you want them to do. Use your 800#; free pickup and delivery; price incentives, etc. to get them to call, but don't forget to ask them!

HEADLINE: You've probably heard it a million times. Here goes a million and one. The headline is the most important part. The headline is the ad for the ad. It should be a powerful statement of benefit the prospect will receive by responding to your offer or using your product or service.

THE LIST: Make sure your mailing list is current and active. Most important make sure it contains qualified prospects or customers who can produce the most profitable results for you.

FREQUENCY: Repetition, repetition, repetition. The more you are exposed to your prospects, the more success you will have. Postcards are inexpensive so you can afford to market often.

J.T. Dunrite is a marketing campaign consultant who can help you design a strategy to increase sales quickly and cost effectively. For a free guide on how to create a successful marketing campaign send your e-mail address and the words free guide in the subject box to: jtdunrite@aol.com

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