Marketing Success

We all have them. Days where we feel like we are spinning our wheels and get nowhere. I spent 2 days last week at the Promotions East show in Atlantic City, NJ and lacked that sense of accomplishment that makes me tick. When I find myself searching for a little motivation, I always travel with my friend, Zig Ziglar (http://www.zigziglar.com/) I keep my collection of Zig cd’s with me at all times and brings me back quicker than listening to his motivation. So in goes the CD and out comes the line that will lead to this week’s post…”don’t confuse activity with accomplishment”. Many companies believe that marketing is simply blitzing the market with mailers, e-mails and fail to have a real plan that achieves results. In my opinion, marketing is all about achieving outlined goals. The goals must be met or you have to adjust your plan. If you send out a postcard and get substantially less response than anticipated, do not send another until you evaluate why the results were lacking. Sending the same card out again is not called marketing, but rather, a waste of money. When evaluating the results of a marketing piece always keep in mind the following:

1.) The Database. This is the number one reason for failure on a marketing piece. You must have a powerful database and try and segment your database into as many small pieces as possible. Databases can be segmented by vertical market, buying strength, company size, etc. and whenever possible your communications should speak directly to each market. People are much more likely to purchase from someone that understands their industry. Variable Data Printing can easily change in and out images to match the market you are communicating with.

2.) The Call to Action. Supermarkets regularly print coupons on the front page of their flyers to get a quick response. The success of coupons varies greatly based on the “perceived” value of the coupon. Some customers like the discount on the deli meats at x.xx per pound while others would rather buy anything that is Buy One, Get One Free. Sometimes the call to action is more emotional than it is reality, but you must understand your customer and prospects to find the call to action that works best. Interview your top customers and ask them what they look for in an offer.

3.) Follow Up. As the saying goes…”you only get one chance to make a first impression.” Live this, breathe this, and know you must bring your A game at all times. Follow up quickly, professionally and take advantage of the opportunity.

4.) Continue to Impress. Don’t just start off hot and go cold. So many times, I have seen a rep jump on an opportunity at the beginning, but then let the opportunity go cold by losing the momentum. The quality of your products and service must be evident from the beginning and never leave a bad impression that your company only provides great service to get you in the door.

Your marketing should be viewed as the voice of your company. Use pieces that speak loudly of your services with the end user in mind. Variable data printing is a great way to achieve pieces that communicate effectively.