Sometimes the simplest data is the best. Marketing is not complex if you know the basics ? that's true with anything by the way. Here are some tools that are brilliantly simple and with them you really won't have to sweat the small stuff.
Hot Dope #1) The more that your potential customers see your name in front of them, the more likely they are to call your number (and not someone else's) when they need the services you offer.
Many marketing efforts go unrewarded, not because they were off target but simply because they weren't given 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 may not be enough to grab and keep the audience's attention.
Get your name out there, do it on a regular basis and people will remember you when they need someone in your line of business. Actually, this particular "Hot Dope" cannot be stressed enough ? and failure to adhere to it is the #1 reason new businesses fail.
You should also know that taking the time to really see which pieces will generate the response you want will pay off. Don't just totally give up when a response is low ? persistence is vital.
Hot dope # 2) Measure your Return On Investment (ROI) in terms of actual MONEY not response rate. An advertising vehicle is working when the MONEY that it brings in has more value than the MONEY and time that is spent on the marketing.
Don't fall into the trap of becoming discouraged by a small number of callers responding to a large number of pieces. If you spend several hundred dollars to be in the view of a few thousand possible leads, it may only take a few customers responding for you to make enough of a profit for this type of marketing to be valuable. The usefulness of any vehicle can only be determined after the amount of income generated by the promotion has been calculated. If you spend 1/5 of what you generate or generate 5 times what you spend, your campaign was successful.
Hot dope #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 them speak to a representative to get all the details ? and get "closed" by that representative.
Your design must be eye catching and informative, but don't try to 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 explain than the main concept of what is being sold. For example, if your company offers great prices depending on the quantity purchased, there is no need to list the prices for every quantity that you sell. Simply give examples of two or three different quantities and state somewhere in the advertisement that other discounts are available for other quantities. This will prompt them to call to get the rest of the details once you have gotten their interest.
Marketing can be as simple as 1-2-3 when you know the basics. By no means have I given you all the basics here, but by learning and implementing these 3 marketing fundamentals, you are already on your way to marketing success!
Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998; her only assets a computer and a phone. In 2004 the company did close to $9 million in sales and employs over 60 persons. She attributes her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff and her innate marketing savvy. Now she's sharing her marketing secrets to others. For more free marketing advice, visit her website at http://www.postcardmania.com