Thursday, April 29, 2010

Target .. Set .. Go

And looping back to Marketing 101: Marketing Review Tips
Keep your message simple
You have only a few seconds to get your prospects' attention -- do it with a simple, powerful message that clearly tells what you're selling and the benefits. Avoid too many details.
Test with small mailings
Many variable can affect the response to a mailing -- the list, the offer, the price and so forth. Try mailing only a hundred pieces or so, to refine these variables before rolling out the big mailing. This will help you prevent costly mistakes.
Mail (and email) more than once
Too many times, businesses "test" email and direct mail as a knee-jerk reaction to sales being slow. If they don't see a great response right away, they'll quit. Unfortunately, this doesn't give you a true picture of the mail's potential. Like other kinds of advertising, repetition is the key to success.
Analyze the response you get
Make sure you can track leads and purchases, so you can do the math and determine your true return-on-investment. Follow-up calls to recipients can often double response rates.
Offer multiple ways to reach you
Different recipients often prefer different methods of contact. Allow your customers to reach you in a way they are comfortable with - by email, telephone, response form, website, text, tweet
Include a clear call to action
Many times prospects don't know exactly what they need to do, why or how they need to respond. Don't make it hard to do business with you. Lay out exactly what you want the recipients to do -- do you want them to call you, visit your website, send you an email? Design the message to make that action clear and easy to follow.
Have a strong subject line
Working in tandem with the from line, the content of a subject line will drive prospects to either open an email, delete it, ignore it, file it, report it, or filter it as spam. Also, a poorly written subject line may not even reach your prospect's inbox in the first place.
Motivate with a clear and compelling offer
Offers come in all shapes and sizes - a discount, a free trial, free items with a purchase. Whatever you offer, make sure it's compelling, enticing and time sensitive.
Provide a way to unsubscribe
People must have a quick way to remove themselves from your email list. Provide your unsubscribe link where it's easily found. And don't forget to exclude from your list those recipients who opted-out.
Vary your size and envelopes
Studies have shown that the look and feel of your envelopes make a difference in their likelihood of being opened. Test different size envelope sizes, different teaser copy and different weights and textures to see what works best for your business. They will usually always open a "lumpy" envelope - include something small. Be sure to watch the size and weight of those envelopes to pass post office standards and not just rack up your costs.
Do it again and again and again
You want to be there when they need you.
And when that need arises, you want them to think of you, contact you and buy from you.
(taken from "finding new customers" from Infogroupusa and Sam's Home Marketing)

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