Are you practicing Ostrich marketing?
If we're to survive and thrive, we must rethink what clients we want and rethink our business models. Frankly, most of us want the upscale, affluent clients who are thriving in this economy. How about you?
That means, we must not waste valuable resources courting those who can't afford our products and services. That's right. We no longer pursue them. If they come to us and can afford to pay, that's fine. But no more extending credit to marginal clients who are slow-payers or no-payers.
Understand? We want to grow the top 10% of our client base. Let the other 90% ruin someone else's business. That means we must use advertising and marketing strategies that will attract that top 10%. That means that we must:
1. Test every ad or marketing tactic that we use.
And that doesn't mean we run one ad or promote one sale and consider that an adequate test. It would be great if every campaign generated a 30% or better return. But let's not kid ourselves. Particularly in this economy, even the affluent are more careful about how and where they spend their money. That means a long term commitment to truly test an ad or marketing campaign. One postcard or direct mail piece will not generate the response that three, four or five will generate. One fire sale ad with your local newspaper or broadcaster will not do what a sustained 13 weeks will produce.
2. Monitor the return on investment from each campaign.
Here's where most entrepreneurs and business owners fail. They have good intentions but it's work to find out what's working and what isn't. A friend pays his floor sales people $1 a card for information on where prospects learned about his business. Certainly, some don't remember but the vast majority do. Some even come in holding his ad or sales letter.
3. Plan Stage 2 of your marketing campaign based on which media and tactic generated the most ROI.
By that, I don't mean the most phone calls or walk-ins. I mean the actual dollars generated in sales. If you're not gaining at least $2 for every $1 invested, abandon that tactic and try something else. Some ad and marketing campaigns generate hundreds of dollars in sales for every dollar invested.
4. Let your competitors become ostriches and stick their heads in the sand.
Those who cut their sales staffs and marketing investments in a recession always lose. Philosopher George Santayana said it best: "Those who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it."
Let's take a chapter from the last recession and see what it teaches us. In a study of U.S. recessions, McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 companies from 1980-1985. The results showed that business-to-business firms that maintained or increased advertising averaged significantly higher sales growth during the recession and for the following three years. Those that cut back or eliminated advertising lost market share to their competitors. By 1985, sales of companies that aggressively advertised rose 256% over those that didn't.
A series of six studies conducted by the research firm of Meldrum & Fewsmith showed conclusively that: advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but increases profits, too. This has held true for all post-World War II recessions studied by The American Business Press.
Marketing planner Andy Johnson advises that we make our advertising as personal as possible. Remember the last time you got a personal letter? How did you feel? We're not talking about a mass-produced letter but a handwritten letter. And not addressed as "Dear Joe Blow" or "Dear Mr. Blow" but "Dear Joe." There is incredible power in a physical object you can hold in your hand that connects with you. Personal letters are carefully-chosen ideas that take time to express. Each letter you write, either on your laptop or buy hand, is a limited edition of one. Your handwriting may be awful. So is mine. So use your computer but personalize each letter.
RECIPE FOR A WELL WRITTEN, PERSONAL MARKETING LETTER
List the 10 companies or people you want to do business with.
Write each one a short handwritten or computer-generated letter.
Make it personal and informal. Mention an interest you share.
If they are a client, thank them for their business, loyalty, support.
Mention specifically what they did that mattered the most to you.
If writing a prospect, make it to someone
who has been referred by a mutual friend.
No cold call letters. It must say something like
"our mutual friend Jim Smith suggested . . ."
Need referrals? Call your Jim Smiths and ask who you might help as you've helped them.
Be sincere and keep it short. One page with enough room for a postscript at the end.
Write a short, handwritten postscript with a benefit offer and a dated deadline for action.
Write this in blue ink so it doesn't look computer-generated and sign it in blue ink.
Mail your letter in an envelope with the address written by hand.
You might have your printer provide you with personalized folded 6" x 4" cards for this.
Mail them in 6.25" x 4.25" envelopes and write your name and address on the back flap.
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Now take the concept a step farther. What about your other advertising? If it's online, use the same approach. Each eLetter should be addressed to a specific individual. It should employ the same techniques you use in snail mail letters. If you're broadcasting, you must speak on the radio commercials and appear in the TV commercials.
You are the brand. Make your message highly personal and addressed specifically to the clients you want. Radio and TV advertising have one drawback to consider beside cost. They reach a wide audience. They may reach only a fraction of the 10% of the upscale market you want. Have them provide demographics and geographics of their audience at peak hours and the rest of the 24 hours.
The same holds true for local newspaper and magazine advertising. Know what you're buying. To be honest with you, as a local newspaper owner, I'm biased in favor of local newspapers. I'm convinced the loyalty their subscribers feel can be transferred to you and your business.
Whether on the air, online or in print or by mail, make your message personal. And make it from you. One of our clients has even used his wife and children in his print and broadcast ads. A member of our marketing mastermind group features his children in all of his newsletters. And since he sells investments, he's managed to get his compliance department to go along with it.
P.S. If you would like to send eLetters like this to your clients and prospects, let me know. We have a real deal to help you stay in contact with your clients and prospects 64 times a year.
