Marketing is not complex if youknow the basics. Here are some tools that are brilliantly simple, and if youuse them, you really won’t have to sweat the small stuff.
Tip #1: The more your potentialcustomers see your name in front of them, the more likely they are to call yournumber (and not someone else’s) when they need the services you offer.
Many marketing efforts gounrewarded, not because they were off target but simply because they weren’tgiven enough of an opportunity to work. Showing your TV commercial one time,running an ad in the newspaper once, or doing one mailing of postcards is notenough to grab and keep the audience’s attention.
Get your name out there, do it ona regular basis, and people will remember you when they need someone in yourline of business. Actually, this particular tip cannot be stressed enough – andfailure to adhere to it is the number-one reason new businesses fail.
Tip #2: Measure your return oninvestment (ROI) in terms of actual money, not response rate. An advertisingvehicle is working when the money it brings in has more value than the moneyand time that is spent on marketing.
Don’t fall into the trap ofbecoming discouraged by a small number of callers responding to a large numberof pieces. If you spend several hundred dollars to be in the view of a fewthousand possible leads, it may only take a few customers responding for you tomake enough of a profit for this type of marketing to be valuable. Theusefulness of any vehicle can only be determined after the amount of incomegenerated by the promotion has been calculated. If you spend 1/5 of what yougenerate, or generate five times what you spend, your campaign was successful.
Tip #3: It is much easier to‘sell’ a prospect once you get them to call or come in to your store. In‘2-Step Marketing,’ step 1 is to get them interested; step 2 is having themspeak to a representative to get all the details and get ‘closed’ by thatrepresentative. Your design must be eye catching and informative, but don’t tryto close the sale by explaining all of the details in one piece of advertising.The details of a business transaction often take many more words to explainthan the main concept of what is being sold. All you want to do is promptprospects or repeat customers to call to get the rest of the details once youhave gotten their interest.
Marketing can be as simple as1-2-3 when you know the basics. By no means have I given you all the basicshere, but by learning and implementing these three marketing fundamentals, youare already on your way to marketing success.
– By Joy Gendusa, founder and CEO,PostcardMania
