Thursday, February 5, 2009
Learn to demand more from your marketing dollars and be frugal.
Over the last 6 months, we at Elevator Marketing Store have noticed a common theme among a lot of businesses - the economy and the effect it is having on marketing budgets. Businesses are scrambling to figure out how to cut-back while staying effective at driving new leads into the business.
If you're reading this, we know you are likely going through the same thing or are at least worried about it. And so we have decided to share what we are doing for our customers in the hopes it might help you too. We are helping businesses actively engage in marketing designed to increase ROI on every precious dollar spent.
If your purpose is to drive sales now, your Number One Rule should be to avoid all activities meant solely to "increase brand awareness." This includes vague advertisements with catchy slogans, unnecessary logo redesigns, et cetera.
In a similar vein, avoid hosting seminars, webinars, and other events that sales people are responsible for driving attendance to. It may seem like a natural fit and a crutch for your sales person—but we ask this: Did you hire your sales people to sell webinars or to sell your product?
We find time and again that marketing's effectiveness relies on someone in the organization finding time to write the newsletter that rarely gets sent, on sales people selling webinars and seminars they are too busy to sell, and on advertising, websites, and internet marketing activities that don’t ask for the business.
No wonder you are cutting marketing "expenses"! When you view marketing as something to be done in spare time or to stroke an executive ego, then it is nothing more than an expense.
PLEASE don’t make this mistake for even one more day. You owe it to your company.
Your company needs a major call to action that will attract the right customers as well as it repels the wrong ones. Messaging that is well crafted will drive leads to your business when paired with a planned, tiered campaign that is tested, measured, tested and measured again before it is fully launched.
Don’t waste money launching campaigns and praying. Instead:
Craft messaging that is designed to get your prospect to take action. Ideally, you want the recipient to feel compelled to follow up however you are directing them to. Make the irresistible offer and follow through. By this we mean reach out at first with an appropriate range of touchpoints that all make the same compelling offer to request a report, get a free quote, etc. When the prospect makes the request, they will do so on your website, by phone, or other medium as directed by you. Now you have their contact information, but…
Be certain your offer is unique and of value. Once people take the action, you must follow through and provide whatever was promised- nothing more. Do NOT attempt to make the sale at this point or you risk breaking your initial contract with the prospect.
Test your campaign with a small batch of 200 prospects. Then measure and refine. (If any of your components are very expensive for your budget, wait to launch until the second test.)
Test it again. Measure and refine.
Release the full campaign.
Follow up with the prospect AFTER delivery. You are checking in on what they thought, and feeling out whether it makes sense to start a conversation. Prospects that are receptive at this point are warm leads—they’ve already seen part of what you offer and are still listening. (As a side note, the "Holy Grail" of what you are trying to get to is to position your company as an expert in its field and become highly sought after, making your prospects contact you FIRST.)
Measure final results, refine, and do it again.
We have found this well planned approach stops the wasting of money, and it brings leads. Plus for anyone hooked on brand awareness... guess what? You’re developing along the way!
Call us at 800.590.3064 or complete this simple form and we will contact you ASAP!
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