| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Direct Marketing - Brand Identity Guru Tips
If your company doesn't have a direct marketing program in place, a direct marketing agency can create one for you. A direct marketing company provides small to very large customizable ranges of business-to-business and business-to-consumer direct marketing options sure to fit your needs. From database creation and maintenance to data analysis and creative program execution, a direct marketing company can take any existing direct marketing program, or a lack of one, and develop a highly efficient direct sales machine for your company. A good direct marketing company employs experts in each aspect of direct marketing who have proven time and time again they have what it takes to create a successful direct mail campaign and turn your existing unorganized data into a powerful computer-readable customer database. The goal of any successful direct marketing program is ultimately a positive effect on your bottom line. Good direct marketing programs are proven performers that will give you an edge over your competition. The direct marketing expertise and capabilities that a good direct marketing company offers will turn your direct marketing expenditures into successful investments. Look for a company that has years of target market research experience ready to work for you. They will uncover who your best customers are and develop a direct marketing campaign that will get them to respond. They should know how to impact behavior, get results and form the basis for long-term relationships with your customers and prospects. Direct marketing abilities should include: - Direct response advertising - Customer relation's management - Data management services and data analysis - Media planning, media buying and complete direct marketing campaign management Seven HUGE Tips to Direct Marketing that gets results Successful direct marketing takes planning and strategic thought? 1. Know your goal: What do you want your direct marketing to accomplish? What kind of impression do you wish to leave? Do you wish to inform your prospects about your product or just make them aware? Recently, Brand Identity Guru was asked by a client to expand its direct marketing efforts, so we created a direct marketing piece to showcase our client's most attractive points. That direct marketing piece now accounts for 30 percent of the client's new business. 2. Research: Don't just have a list. Learn something about your customers so you can speak to them better. Discover their hot buttons, so you can push them. 3. Plan properly: The best direct marketing campaigns work along with PR, traditional advertising, brand strategy and efforts by your sales force. Ultimately, each piece is part of a larger total company campaign and should work together. 4. Be relevant: Direct marketing efforts should offer something your clients might want to buy. 5. Be conscious of details: Find the name of your primary contacts, and make sure you spell them right in the items you send to them. Even the best direct marketing piece is useless in the trash. 6. Be consistent: Use a series of pieces that speak to your customer's needs. Don't know what they are? Ask. Usually, December is not a good time because mailboxes are already overcrowded. Brand Identity Guru suggests waiting until February or another month. 7. Follow up: If you don't follow up, the results of your direct marketing efforts could crash to a halt. Initiate a conversation with people on your list. A phone call a week or two after your mailing is a great idea. Direct marketing is a powerful tool to capture your prospects' attention and orders. If your direct marketing includes an attractive offer, imagine what the results will be. Throw in a brand-centric foundation and you have a direct marketing effort even more powerful than the sum of its parts. To measure how strong your brand is copy and paste: (http://brandidentityguru.com/bightml/brandmasterpiece.html). Then click "Take the brand strength test". This is a short survey that measures the strength of any company's brand. It's a great tool to see where you are today. Scott White is President of Brand Identity Guru (http://www.brandidentityguru.com), a leading brand consulting and market research firm located in Easton, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Brand Identity Guru specializes in creating corporate and product brands that increase sales, market share, customer loyalty, and brand valuation. Over the course of his 15-year branding career, Scott White has worked in a wide variety of industries: high-tech, manufacturing, computer hardware and software, telecommunications, banking, restaurants, fashion, healthcare, Internet, retail, and service businesses, as well as numerous non-profit organizations. Brand Identity Guru clients include: Sun Life Financial, Coca Cola, HP, Sun, Nordstrom, American Federal Mortgage, Simon (America's largest shopping mall manager) and many others, including numerous emerging growth companies. Scott White is a very enthusiastic speaker and has the gift of being able to explain the principles of branding in a compelling and entertaining manner so that people at all levels can understand.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Bridging the Chasm from Lead to Loyal Customer Bridging the Chasm from Lead to Loyal Customer: A Step by Step Guide for Developing Awareness, Building Credibility and Acquiring CustomersHave you ever watched a documentary about climbing Mount Everest? If so, you will undoubtedly remember one specific segment of the journey where the climbers cross a chasm, one carefully placed step after another, using aluminum ladders strung end to end. For me, just the thought of it is enough to cause an anxiety attack!There is a similar chasm between your product or service and your potential customers, even if it is only in the potential customers' mind. Marketing Worksheet Even the world's best marketing strategy won't work for you if it's not well-planned, and the best way to do that is to develop a customized work sheet for each client. Here's how to start: First, list each company's top executives, products, and services. Budgeting for a Postcard Mailing If you've never done a postcard mailing, you're probably wondering, "What should I budget for?" Here are three items to account for: 1. If you're a designing woman (or man), then you'll need to get that great postcard design out of your computer and into the hands of the postcard printing company. 10 Surefire Ways to Add Sizzle to Your Brochures Businesses rely on brochures as their front line in communicating their products or services. Yet according to Shannon Cherry, APR, many find them not as successful because they underestimate the skills and resources necessary to publish attractive and effective materials. Marketing Secrets #101- Your Most Important Sale Which sale is the most important one you will ever get from a client?I'll bet you're thinking it's your first sale with a new client. Well, it's not. Maximize Your Lead Generation Efforts by Recycling Your Leads The basic lead generation process is pretty much the same from company to company. Inquiries come in?they're qualified?and then sent to the sales team. Has the Free Report Had Its Day? For years now we have been inundated with offers of Free Reports. Most promise to tell you how, in a few hours per week, you can make incredibly huge sums of money or achieve some other benefit. Why Smart People Dont Know How to Market As an educated professional, your success is based on what you know, your education, your intelligence, and your creativity. Even if you're just starting out, you've achieved success just to get your many degrees and pass those licensing exams! Your clients return and refer because you apply your expertise and insight to guide them to appropriate answers for their unique situations. How to Turn Your Promotional Products Expense Into a Profit Center If you use promotional products you probably already know the power of giving away freebies. You may use them to thank current customers, or to give incentives to potential customers. 6 Article Marketing Smarts: How To Get More Reprints And Exposure Article marketing is the latest buzzword for marketers looking to promote their sites and products online. But how do you measure the success of your article marketing campaign? It probably depends on what you expect your article to achieve for you - better branding, more sales, or more publicity. Dramatically Improve Your Marketing Results With These 6 Simple Steps What if there were things you could start doing now that could help you to market more successfully in the future? Even if you didn't have your marketing act together over the past year. Well, there are. Build Lifelong Networks With Your Own Barter Group I don't know if you have ever seriously considered bartering. If you haven't considered it, it's probably about time that you did. Have You Tried Cause Marketing? To help promote your small business or professional practice, consider tearing a page out of the corporate marketing playbook. For years big companies have partnered with nonprofits to co-promote their brands. What Does Your Business Card Say About You? - Making A Great First Impression! Interesting article in USA Today that I read this week that I've also read about on Scott Ginsberg's blog. Think about this: What does your business card say about you? If you work in a company that requires you to conform to the corporate standard, obviously you don't have much choice. Chill Out With A Summer Time Marketing Plan Is your business experiencing a summer time slump? Traditionally only industries related to travel enjoy a boost in business during the warmer months. The rest of us tend to take vacations, clean up our desk and while away the time playing computer games while we wait for business to pick up. Basic Marketing Dope Sometimes the simplest data is the best. Marketing is not complex if you know the basics - that's true with anything by the way. How To Recover Your Almost Customers You'll always need to find new prospects for your business. But don't overlook the prospects you already attracted. Joint Venture: 50 Power Secrets Of Joint Venture Marketing, Exposed What is a Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement in which two or more businesses work on a project for a set period of time.Joint ventures can be long-term, like promoting a product together, or some can be short-term, like bartering (trading) products and services. Identify The Ideal Target Audience With These 5 Tips Narrowing your focus to one primary group of people is often difficult for small business owners. They want to help everyone - and very often their product or service CAN help a variety of people. Direct Mail Sales Letter Mistakes to Avoid Some companies that use direct mail to sell their products and services are like the blind man in the dark room looking for the black cat that isn't there. They repeat the same mistakes, and enjoy the same poor results.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
