Helpful Articles
Why Brochures are Effective
By Eric Young
Human perception is a fascinating phenomenon and fortunately
for small business owners marketing experts have tapped into
this phenomenon for our benefit. This article will
illustrate the chain of logic that a prospective customer
follows when reacting to your advertising efforts and why
brochures are one of the most effective methods of
promotion.
Several things happen when a prospective client views a
piece of your advertising literature. On the surface there
is a conscious and literal analysis of what is before them.
Simply put, the prospect examines the details of your
offer/statement. They examine the benefits of your product
or service. On another, more sub-conscious level they
examine the less apparent details of the presentation. These
details include color, phrasing, layout, and the actual
method of promotion. (i.e. flyer, brochure, postcard,
newspaper ad, etc.,)
If the offer is appealing enough to spark interest the
reader than uses the secondary, sub-conscious data they have
collected to help form a decision. If this data helps to
form a positive image about the business making the offer
the next likely step is to make the purchase or investment.
What is a positive image and how can it be demonstrated? The
basic elements of a positive image include the perception of
competence, trustworthiness, and the command of authority.
In other words, prospects want to know that you are an
expert in your field and that you have the confidence to
express it. These elements can be effectively demonstrated
in a well written piece of copy that is integrated into your
advertising medium.
A brochure is terrifically suited as an instrument to help
convey this image for a host of reasons. First of all, a
brochure, to the average reader, helps to instill a sense of
confidence and professionalism just by virtue of the fact
that you spent the time, effort and money to have it
produced. This may seem a bit simplistic, but it holds true
because it is a perception and perception does not
necessarily mirror reality! Secondly, a brochure allows you
to provide a great deal of information which you can’t
always do with a magnet, postcard, or even a flyer. This
ability to provide well written information and copy is your
opportunity to instill the perception of a command of
authority and confidence in your business that the customer
seeks. Remember, if your offer is good, the prospective
customer wants to believe that you are competent and
trustworthy and brochures give you the best chance to prove
it. Finally and most obviously, a brochure can be really
sharp and impressive if put together by a skilled designer.
When contemplating a new addition to your advertising
arsenal seriously consider having brochures made up. A well
thought out brochure can be a self contained marketing
campaign that provides the bait, hook and the muscle to reel
in a new customer.
____________________________________________________________
Tangible
Marketing
By Eric Young
Stop being cheap and lazy- it’s costing you money!I
just called you cheap and lazy and right now, because you
might feel offended, you are considering whether or not you
should continue reading this article. The smart
businessperson will read on because they have capability of
digesting the hard facts without taking them personally, but
that’s for another article.
Now that I’ve made a bold statement and it’s time for
me to justify it. Computer technology has come a long way
over the years and has made a lot of our lives much easier.
Automated emails and online advertising can save you time
and money as a business owner, but only if used wisely and
in tandem with more traditional methods of marketing and
advertising.
The exponential expansion of web content aids in the
dilution of any ad or marketing piece that is floating
around in this virtual jungle. Because web ads and emails
seemingly cost very little in comparison to print media a
credibility problem can arise even without justification.
For example, Joe Schmoe, for lack of a better generic name,
decides he is going to cut costs by sending out all of his
direct marketing material electronically. He abandons his
postcard campaign and designs a fancy HTML newsletter. By
sheer virtue of the fact that his campaign costs almost
nothing it undermines his goal of establishing trust with
his potential customers. He made no perceivable investment
in conveying his message which will most likely be deleted
immediately.
That is not to say that Eflyers are not useful or effective,
quite the contrary, but without being used in conjunction
with a tangible marketing/advertising piece like a sales
letter or a postcard, their effectiveness is not optimal.
A large part of branding and sales is psychology. You
have to win the trust and confidence of your potential
client. Making an investment in reaching out to them with an
offer is one way to do this. The fact that you have spent
time and money on developing a direct mail postcard or a
sales flyer shows that you have confidence in what you are
trying to sell.
Even when you spend money on online advertising the
results of that investment are fleeting unless you have
enough of a budget to consistently keep your offer in the
conscious of the customer. The big boys can afford this-
most of us can’t.
Tangible marketing pieces also have a longer shelf
life, especially if they serve a purpose beyond a mere sales
pitch. That is why you’ll see business cards with calendars
on the backside or bookmarks with a prominent special offer
or promotion.
____________________________________________________________
Getting the Most From Postcard Marketing
By Eric Young
One of the most popular forms of direct marketing is the use
of postcards to reach your target audience. Postcard postage
is much cheaper than standard first class postage and the
postcards themselves are relatively inexpensive to produce.
However, if your direct mail campaign is not properly
planned, and the postcards are not strategically designed
your response rate will suffer. This article will outline
how to effectively plan a direct mail campaign that will
yield favorable results.
First and foremost you have to ask yourself if direct
mailing is worth it for you. Marketing experts agree that
the standard response rate for a direct mail campaign is
1-2%. Let’s break this down a little bit: If you spend $350
on 5000 postcards, $1200 on postage and $200 on a mailing
list of 5000 prospects your expenses total $1750. If you
yield a 2% response rate that means you have 100 positive
responses or sales. How much you make per sale will be the
final determining factor in deciding whether or not direct
mail campaigns are a worthy investment.
Let’s say you sell novelty t-shirts and make a profit
of $10 per sale. At a 2% response rate that’s 100 sales
yielding $1000. This is $750 less than it cost to run the
campaign and it is a major loss. However, if you sell custom
furniture at $50 profit on each sale, the postcard campaign
will yield 100 positive responses totaling $5,000. This
particular scenario shows a major gain and would be quite
worth the investment.
Once you’ve crunched the numbers and figured that a
direct mail campaign might be worth your while, it is time
to plan your campaign. Setting up the right plan is the key
to making sure you achieve at least a 1-2% response rate.
The basic elements of the plan include selecting your
mailing list, writing effective marketing copy, including a
special offer, and making a strong call to action.
Selecting the right mailing list is the cornerstone to
overseeing a successful direct mail campaign. There are many
list brokers that sell leads that can be custom tailored to
your needs. For example, if you sell high end automobiles
you would most likely want to target those with a specific
income range. Most list brokers make it possible to narrow
down your mailing list according income range as well as
many other criteria.
Once you’ve selected your target market and purchased
your mailing list it is time to actually design your
promotional piece. This is where most campaigns go wrong.
Most people aren’t familiar with the proper marketing
techniques that ensure a better response rate. For example,
they tend to highlight the features of their product or
service rather than emphasizing the benefits the consumer
will reap by purchasing this product or service. Prospects
are not really interested in YOU, they are interested in
THEMSELVES. By highlighting how your product or service can
alleviate a burden they might have or save them some money
you are on your way to grasping their full attention. For
example, if you are a landscaping company you do not want
your headline to read “Over 20 Years Experience!” This
headline does not appeal to the needs of the prospect. Try
instead, “Spend your weekends relaxing, not weeding!” This
particular headline uses the alleviation of a burden as its
marketing approach and would be much more effective than the
former.Including a special offer in your message is crucial
to its success but you don’t have to give away the farm. A
simple discount for first time customers is enough to cut
through the competitor’s offers and give your prospect the
incentive to consider you first. Again, it is important to
first crunch the numbers and calculate how much you can
afford to discount and still come out ahead. Other special
offers might include the offering of small gifts, coupons or
gift certificates.
The “call to action” statement is a phrase in which
you urge your prospect to be proactive. CALL NOW,
ORDER NOW and SIGN UP TODAY
are just some of these phrases that we hear everyday. Often
times these statements will be tied in with the special
offer to give them some more teeth- ORDER NOW AND
SHIPPING IS FREE!Though these statements may seem
superfluous countless marketing experts agree that they
work. They motivate the prospect to take that extra step and
move beyond just considering your offer to acting on it.
Once you decide that postcard marketing is for you, adhering
to these guidelines will help to ensure greater response
rates which ultimately lead to more sales.
|
