Smart Marketing Tip #1
Test with small mailings. Many variables can affect the
response to a mailing - the list, the offer, the price, and so
forth. Try mailing only a few hundred or thousand pieces to
refine these variables before rolling out a big mailing. This will
help you prevent major, costly mistakes.
Smart Marketing Tip #2
Be an expert. Offering your customers tips and ideas
reinforces your expertise and inspires trust. The more value
you offer your customers, the more often they'll buy from you.
Smart Marketing Tip #3
Get your customers to talk about you. Ask your favorite clients
to write testimonials about their experiences with your
company. Here's a reachable goal - get five new testimonials
and post them on your website.
Smart Marketing Tip #4
Send out an eNewsletter. Emailed monthly, an eNewsletter is a
cost-effective way to build relationships with your customers.
Give them what they want - tips and industry trends, insights
and advice. Skip what they don't need - hype about your
business.
Smart Marketing Tip #5
Ask for feedback. By getting ongoing information from your
customers, you will have your finger on the pulse of their needs
and be able to quickly turn your unique skills into customer
benefits.
Smart Marketing Tip #6
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.
Smart Marketing Tip #7
Invest in a postcard campaign. Postcards are a highly affordable
and effective way to reach your prospects and customers. A
postcard campaign is flexible, easy to measure and can be
launched in a very short time. Plus, unlike a letter, a postcard is
already "opened" when it hits the mailbox.
Smart Marketing Tip #8
Freshen up your website. Having a lot of content is great, but
if it's two year old, it doesn't look like your website is much of
a priority.
Smart Marketing Tip #9
Create buzz for your business. Submit your business in
contests or host an event to generate news about your
company. Write up press releases about the awards, events
and sales goals that your company has been a part of and
submit them to trade publications.
Smart Marketing Tip #10
Put a time limit on your call to action. An expiration date can
often move the procrastinator from prospect to customer. You
have to give them a reason to buy your product, and a time
constraint could be the extra motivation they need.
Smart Marketing Tip #11
Get permission first. Before starting an email marketing
program, build an opt-in list of names. Why? When you market
to people who have expressly told you that they want to
hear from you, you will get better response rates, better
deliverability and increased trust.
Smart Marketing Tip #12
Use a P.S. on your direct mail letters. People will often read
the P.S before the rest of your letter. Use that important space
to repeat your call to action, restate a key benefit, or stress the
urgency of response.
Smart Marketing Tip #13
Make your website easy to navigate. Don't make your
visitors click on 5 links or scroll down each page to find what
they're looking for. If your customers can't find their way
around your website, they will go elsewhere.
Smart Marketing Tip #14
Follow up with a second offer. Customers are usually
receptive to more offers immediately after they buy from you.
Follow up every sale with another offer.
Smart Marketing Tip #15
Make it easy to opt out. Nobody likes unsolicited or irrelevant
email offers. Follow industry-defined best practices and offer a
painless way to opt out.
Smart Marketing Tip #16
Know your customer. The best way to sell someone a product
or service is to understand their needs. The more familiar you
are with their business, the easier it is to provide solutions.
solve their problem and you'll win a repeat customer.
Smart Marketing Tip #17
Reasearch the competition. You can't effectively market your
services untill you understand the competition. By researching
what offers, guarantees or prices you are selling against, you
can make your offering the most attractive to prospects.