2 Little Words That Work Marketing Magic
2 Step Marketing
3 High-Impact Fixes For Your Marketing Woes
3 Popular Niche Marketing Misconceptions
10 Marketing Tips For Entrepreneurs
10 Steps To Getting Paid For Your Marketing Materials
2 Little Words That Work Marketing Magic
In his classic best-seller, '
How to Win Friends and Influence People
Carnegie said there is only one way to get anybody to do anything -- by making the person want to do it. How can you encourage customers to say good things about you and give you referrals? By giving them what they and all human beings crave: Honest and sincere appreciation.
The Two Magic Words: The big secret of dealing with people (or customers) is often overlooked or forgotten. It's simply saying "thank you" consistently, personally and above all, sincerely. These two words work marketing magic because customers want to feel important. Saying "thank you" is an act of kindness, besides but don't say "thank you" for the sake of flattery. It must be sincere. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, "You can never say anything but what you are" .
"Thank You" Promotes Referrals. The uncertainty of referrals can be disconcerting. Can you control them? No. Can you influence them? Absolutely. First you must provide a valuable product or service for customers. (You're already doing this, right?) But perhaps you can make an even bigger difference in their minds by your continued interest after you've delivered the product or service. Each customer has a different level of satisfaction with your products and services.
However, all customers to whom you say "thank you" are satisfied that they're important to you. This can determine whether you'll continue a relationship with them and get referrals. "Thank You" as Direct Mail or E-mail - If you've never used direct mail and are considering it, start a thank-you correspondence programme. If you've used direct mail or e-mail but haven't sent thank-you letters or e-mails, start now.
The 'thank-you' letter or e-mail to your customers is targeted (you know them, they know you), personal and effective. It's guaranteed to receive a positive response. Furthermore, it's a pleasant surprise if it's snail mail. They see your envelope, they think, this must be something for me to review, to sign or worse a bill. Surprise! They're appreciated; they're important and you're the one telling them so. Write a thank-you letter or e-mail at every opportunity but don't send one with an invoice or other correspondence. Always send it separately.
Writing the Thank-You Letter or E-mail: The thought behind a thank-you letter or e-mail may seem simple but writing one can be tricky. Here are 9 tips for writing a winning thank-you letter or e-mail:
1. Keep it brief. A half dozen lines (or fewer) are sufficient.
2. Make it sincere. This is crucial. If you aren't careful, it can sound awkward, even when you're trying to be sincere.
3. Start with "thank you." Dear Ms. Johnson (or first name, if appropriate): Thank you for ...
4. Make the tone warm but professional. Be friendly but keep it businesslike.
5. Reinforce a positive. Jog their memory of a positive aspect of the relationship.
6. Offer your continued support. If I can help, please call ...
7. End with "thank you." Thanks again for ...
8. Use an appropriate closing. Sincerely, Best regards.
9. No ulterior motive. Make it a pure "thank you," otherwise sincerity is jeopardised. Remember: Saying "thank you" is part of building strong customer relationships over time. Use these two magic words consistently and watch your repeat business and referrals grow.
(c) Neil Sagebiel
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2 Step Marketing
Do it Right. I receive postcards all the time. The other day I received a postcard trying to sell me a copy machine. It had tiny, tiny lettering slathered all over the front and a large portion on the back of the card. It was extremely hard to read, so hard in fact that I threw it away.
Several days later I received a postcard with 32 words on it telling me that I could get complete information on unrestricted long distance telephone service for a small amount per minute, with no additional monthly fee by calling the number on the card. I did call. I received the information, had my questions answered and ordered my long distance service changed. The company who offered me the long distance service was using a time tested 2 step selling process:
Step 1. Generate a lead by generating interest - Get me to call their number.
Step 2. Provide the requested information - Provided to me on the phone by one of their sales representatives, who was able to answer my questions and make me feel confident that I could save quite a bit of money on my long distance calls and that the service would be as good or better than my existing one.
What's So Good About 2 Steps? It is much easier to create interest (a lead) than it is to get a person through an entire buying process (a sale). You aren't getting the prospect or existing customer to part with any money just yet. You can use postcards/flyers or ads to inexpensively promote your product or service and generate leads (inquiries about your products and services) which can then be followed up and converted to sales. This 2 step process also helps you to create a list of people who were interested enough in what you offered to contact you. You can then (at a later date), contact the one's who you didn't complete a sale with when they first inquired and hopefully they will buy from you in the future.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to capture the information you will need to contact the people who responded to your postcard offer (Read about mailing lists). Repetitive follow-ups with the people who contacted you will result in increased sales. Make it a company policy to follow up with those people who contacted you about your products and services. You can set up these follow ups to be sent automatically by using an autoresponder such as GetResponse. (Read about autoresponders here)
The Most Effective Use of Postcards: The purpose of your postcard's message is to generate a sufficient level of interest in the mind of your prospect to get him/her to contact you to ask you about your offer. You are generating interest, not collecting their money (not yet anyway). That is what the 2 step marketing process is about. Generating interested prospects and customers who contact you for more information.
Your message needs 3 parts to be most effective:
1. A clear statement of the biggest benefit of your product or service (in the long distance example, it was cost savings).
2. A good reason for them to contact you NOW.
3. A simple, easy way for them to respond (an 0800 number, a web site address or email address for example). Your message should be short and to the point. Short messages on postcards produce more leads than long ones.
For example: Call 0800-555----Visit www....or send email to...... for Your Copy of Our Free Report: What 99% of Business Owners Don't Know and Will Never Find Out About Using Postcards to Explode Their Profits - Offer ends 5 June (Print a date 3 weeks from your mailing date to create some urgency) Lots of people will respond to find out what they might not know. Don't forget, they responded, which is at least some interest in the information you have created a curiosity about.
This method works and is sure to produce a large number of inquiries if sent to your proper market. This 2 Step Marketing Process Works. Use the tips you have read here to create your next postcard's message and see what happens. You will generate a bunch of leads from people who are truly interested in your products and services.
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3 High-Impact Fixes For Your Marketing Woes
How many times has your competitor got one over on you? The feeling of being left behind just eats away, until you do something about it. The problem is that we often feel that we've got to come up with some grand plan in order to get our business skyrocketing again. Don't be fooled! Getting back on top of the market isn't as tough as it seems with these high-impact, easy-to-use fixes.
1. The Magic Number: 1 Implement a "advertise 1 item at a time" motto for your advertising strategy. Does that mean you can't SELL more than one item at a time? No... but wait until AFTER the sale. When a customer sees more than one product offered at unbelievably low prices, he/she is confused. Which one is the better deal? Which one does he/she prefer? These questions encourage procrastination - one of marketing's greatest thieves. Instead, offer the consumer a product that compliments his/her purchase in a nearby display... or even at the checkout. You'll make extra profits instead of losing a sale.
2. Outsmart Your Competitors: Your competition is looking for you in all of the usual places. Don't go there. Quietly look for new methods of advertising and new markets to target. Niche markets provide the perfect sneak tactic for reaching new clients. Here's they key... sub-divide your current market into smaller, more specific niche markets. Familiarise yourself with the needs and concerns of the niche, then present yourself as the pro in their corner. Leave your competition in the dust with the intensity of new prospects that will come your way. Modernise an old marketing technique that still carries a wallop - postcards. Yes, these small, inexpensive marketing tools still carry a personal message that is quick and easy to read but with new high-impact colours and designs that capture the attention of readers. Your competition won't even know that you're using them!
3. Encourage Communication: Communication is crucial to understanding your consumers. Encourage questions before the sale, during the sale and after the sale. Make it easy and comfortable. Provide convenient contact information on all of your sales materials, including Web sites. If you find yourself overloaded with questions, create a FAQ (frequently asked questions) page where clients can get the answers they need, without claiming as much of your time. Confused customers, tough competitors and communication mishaps won't steal profits from your account when you fix things with these 3 quick tips.
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3 Popular Niche Marketing Misconceptions
Specialising in Niche Markets has never been as crucial as it is today. Long gone are the days when you can target general, broad markets and make money from them. To make money in today's Internet Marketing environment, one must specialise in well defined niche topics. Lets examine a few misconceptions when it comes to niche marketing.
Misconception 1: You Do Dot Have To Be An Expert In The Niche Field You Choose!
Everyone says you should only choose a Niche that you are an expert in...nonsense! The Internet is so impersonal that you can easily appear as an expert and not know anything about that particular niche topic. The key is to appear as an expert. How? You can outsource, build niche web sites with no interaction such as blogs or purchase resale rights to an ebook in a particular niche.
You see, you can choose to profit from any niche you like.
Misconception 2: Choose One Niche Market And Stick With It.
Not true! Once you establish yourself in one niche and develop a profitable system, choose another one and run with it. You can even choose a pen name if you like, it's common practice to do so.
Niche marketing is a numbers game. Once you find a profitable niche, put it on auto-pilot and choose another niche market to get into.
Misconception 3: The Best Way To Make Money In The Niche Game Is To Promote Niche Products As An Affiliate.
Wrong again! Sure, becoming an affiliate and promoting niche products can be very profitable but if you are doing this, you're not maximising your income. You need to promote your own landing or squeeze page where you collect the e-mail address of the visitor and then send him or her to the niche product you are promoting. You should also send out an e-mail course with informative information pertaining to that particular niche market to gain the visitors trust. Since your subscriber now trusts you, you can recommend products in that niche again and again, knowing your recommendation holds a lot of weight. Those are three popular misconceptions when it comes to niche marketing. Follow the tips above and you will be more likely to succeed. Remember, it is important to find a profitable niche, set it up so it is on auto-pilot, then move on to the next niche.
Not all niche markets will be a slam dunk, so don't get discouraged. Even if one out of ten become really profitable, sit down and smile, you've hit the jackpot.
(GetResponse - Squeeze page)
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10 Marketing Tips For Entrepreneurs
1. Partner with large email database list owners and offer to cross promote each other. The list owner will advertise your event, product or service to their email database and you’ll offer to do the same to your list.
2. Create your own blog which is an online journal with frequently updated posts to entertain and excite existing and potential customers. It’s more personal and immediate than a web site and keeps people engaged and hopefully coming back for more. You can even create one for free at http://www.blogger.com.
3. If you want to increase word-of-mouth fast, do something beyond normal industry expectations. For example, Mr. Fix offers a fast and affordable tune-up service to customers right on the spot, without having to leave the car, while offering coffee, cappuccino and a fresh newspaper.
4. Always ask happy clients for endorsements or testimonials and put them on your web site and other marketing material. They’re worth their weight in gold. Try to get some recognisable names in your community for additional cachet.
5. Put a special offer or product advertisement on every invoice and statement you send out. Likewise, you can also negotiate a deal with another company to advertise your product or service on all their invoices for a percentage of revenues from placed orders.
6. Make your business cards stand out and be natural keepers. Offer important information on the back such as emergency phone numbers, a map, or special dates to remember. Have a slogan that offers a powerful benefit statement to your prospective customer.
7. Offer special bonus packages with your product or service offering. Get corporate sponsors to give away products as part of the bonus package in exchange for free exposure.
8. Align your business with a cause or charity. Give back to your community. Customers appreciate doing business with companies that are bettering their communities and the environment and being good corporate citizens.
9. Find an angle that makes your work controversial. The banning of Mark Twain's "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, reviewed as "trashy and vicious," was a blessing in disguise. Twain made a poster advertising the ban, which significantly increased sales.
10. Post frequently in online message boards/forums relevant to your business or expertise. Include your signature and offer tips and valuable advice. Eventually you will begin gaining word-of-mouth exposure as a leader in your field. Posting messages with your company information also helps to increase your search engine rankings and drive traffic to your web site.
[Excerpted from Sharif Khan’s new ebooklet: "101 Ways to Market Your Business".
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10 Steps To Getting Paid For Your Marketing Materials
How many times have you heard the same sound bites come out of your mouth to your clients, prospects and audiences, almost boring yourself to tears in the process? Imagine generating money directly from those sound bites, from those pearls of wisdom that effortlessly trip off your tongue. Yes, it is completely possible and here’s how to do it.
1. Capture those tidbits of information as soon as they come to mind. Jot them down in a notebook or get them into a Word document. They can be in a raw format at first, with just enough information to jog your memory about what you were thinking. There will be time to refine them later.
2. Let a couple weeks go by, allowing most of the information to surface in your thoughts. It rarely happens by declaring two hours on a Thursday afternoon to sit at your computer to think everything you wish to say.
3. Refine and organise the tips. Divide them into categories and edit the text. You can use bullets to set out your tips.
4. Be sure to include your contact details in your document so that readers can easily reach you. Add a brief section about your background so people will know your qualifications for presenting the information.
5. Use a simple program such as (ebook pro) to convert your finished Word document into an eBook. Your completed product will be an ebook that can be offered as a FREE download for visitors to your web site or can be purchased for a small price.
6. Upload the finished eBook to your web site. You can also offer your ebook to other web site owners so they can also upload it to their own web sites and offer your eBook to their visitors as a FREE gift. This will get your business in front of a much wider audience.
7. Think about who can benefit from using your eBook to promote their own product, service or cause. Send them a sample of your eBook and a cover letter describing some of the ways they can increase their sales, mailing list or further their cause by using your eBook as a promotional tool.
8. Consider corporations, associations, publications and any other groups that seems appropriate for the topic of your eBook. Reach out to as many of them as you can, on whatever budget of time and money you have available to you.
9. Realise that every time one of these business owners sends out your eBook to promote their own product, service, or cause, they are also marketing your business. Your contact information in the eBook allows the reader to reach you directly, a great way to virally market your business for FREE!
10. Enjoy the expansion of your customer base and your bank account. You are now reaching a larger audience than you are likely to do single-handedly, thanks to the large-quantity of people downloading your eBook. Those sound bites you have been saying for years are now reaching far beyond your current clients, helping your buyers, their clients and your own business. It doesn’t get a lot better than getting paid for your marketing materials.