It pays to do your research. Here’s how.

It pays to do your research. Here’s how.

by | Oct 15, 2021 | Copy content, Direct marketing, Direct marketing mail strategy, Headlines, Landing Page, Sales

When Did Market Research Disappear?

Was it snapped up by digital marketing and now hiden in a closet?

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A weekly newsletter on life as a solution provider in marketing and sales for your small to medium-sized company.

Never stop learning more about your marketplace

Market research companies did not come cheap for many businesses. Some small or medium-sized businesses knew how to start their research, but usually within months, the program was AWOL.

In our Direct Marketing Success newsletter, Vol 19, No. 38, our lead article is “How to do your own market research!” for a small or medium-sized business is how to learn more about your marketplace. Who is buying your products and services? What are some of their characteristics? Buying habits?

No matter what you think or know about your customers, there is always something you don’t know, but need to know.

But, before you leave this broadcast, possibly with the idea that market research is a waste of time and money, check out these easy how-to-do *four steps in the article, “How to do your own market research!” Even if you’re not interested about market research, you’ll find a lot of ideas in this article, such as how to collect more customer data and additional customer information.

 

There is another bonus

It is always helpful to remember. Direct 2 customers!

Is Business Growth Always on Top of Your Mind?

Our marketing copy is written for learning.

Building your marketing and advertising is like building a home. There are many pieces, some equal in use and some are unique.

The result is a very practical home meeting the needs of many people. Our newsletters, blog, papers, and so on, copywriting has the same criteria.

Only the best copywriting can capture more sales and customers.

Learning by reading and learning by doing, marketing, and selling ideas, are what you will find in your Direct2Customer Community.

We have the content to help you start a new journey for succcess.  Plus, we gladly answer your questions.

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Thanks again for reading. Questions?

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SUBSCRIBE NOW!

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

by | Jul 18, 2021 | Creative strategies, Direct marketing mail, Sales

I bet when you hear the word subscriptions; you may think about magazines, newspapers, and newsletters. But did you think of SaaS? Software as a service.

Netflix? Amazon? Microsoft Office 365?

Today, it means more. So, let us start by redefining what a subscription is.

A subscription is a sales growth tool in which customers and clients pay today for goods, services, programs, or benefits they will receive. If you are in the service business, it is a good customer service tool. Customer retention? You bet. Personalization? Right on.

In terms of your business, subscription marketing could help you create a valuable and predictable future revenue stream. Just think how nice it would be to know that you have money in the bank right now to cover your fixed overhead for six months or more.

The benefits of subscription marketing are that you accelerate your cash flow today at the same time you build customer loyalty and connect your customer to your company and services. In addition, you add value to the products and services you sell, and you develop good will. Both the customer and the business stand to gain from the venture.

Options to use in building your subscription base.

Interestingly, the best way to build a subscription base is using a communication channel you are comfortable with, as well as your target market. It can be social media. Direct mail. Email. A blog. A community you may belong to. Depending on the type of your company, anywhere your customers and prospects hang out.
But why? Historically, look at the previous twentieth century of magazine subscriptions, such as Time, Saturday Evening Post, Life and a variety of men, women, and child’s magazines. They were hot on your trail months — sometimes years — before your subscription was up for renewal.
Service maintenance contracts work extremely well in several industries — both consumer and business-to-business.
For example, an air conditioning or a heating service company would offer an inspection regimen that includes two inspections and free service throughout the year. This type of maintenance contract is really a subscription for services paid for now, to be performed at some future date.
When you use direct mail to sell a subscription of any kind, you are selling prepaid services. You are getting paid today for services you may not have to provide until some future date… if at all. If they never need you, it is money in your pocket.
Subscription marketing connects your customer and clients to you. After all, they have already paid for you. So why would they ever think about calling someone else for their air conditioning? Heating service?

Marketing and selling are a best friend when using a subscription.

There was a time when the world predicted that the postage stamp would follow in the dinosaur’s way, disappearing entirely from the face of the earth to be replaced by an electronic upstart called email.

But the fact remains that email ––and the internet ––are a relevant and powerful ally with direct mail for building customer and client relationships. Opportunities for greater frequency and contact with clients and prospects. Encourages consumers to interact with you, speeding transactions, better personalization with marketing and sales. Plus, everyone has a mailbox.

The key to build a better business is your marketing and selling campaigns should mirror everything:

  1. customer and prospects communication channels,
  2. copywriting,
  3. design,
  4. offers,
  5. content and
  6. your call to action.

The tone of your marketing message should reflect the same tone as your corporate marketing and selling tactics. The best way to accomplish this is to think about your writing and design as a continuation of your corporate message. It’s like a part of an ongoing conversation that you are having with a friend.

 

Second, give the subject lines and titles as much care as you do with direct mail headlines. As in the world of direct mail, the headline, or subject line, can make or break you.
Finally, use body copy that reiterates the benefits you describe in your direct marketing campaign. But keep in mind that website visitors and email readers are scanners. To get your message through, you want to keep copy short and concise. Keep paragraphs short with space between them. Include direct marketing most effective words such as free, guaranteed, and limited time offer.
Email is not going away. Direct mail is not going away. They are many communication channels used with a variety of marketing tactics to reach your customers. Ask them. They each play a vital role in you and your business marketing campaigns.
Reminder-
Subscription payments lower the barrier to entry for products and services and allow more potential customers to purchase your product. While they may pay a larger amount over the long term, they can get immediate access to the product.

I helped thousands of companies build successful marketing and sales. So, when I share my information with a company, I always base it on  experience. So, when you read my articles, I share as much information as possible. You don’t want to be like the direct mail companies of the past. Throwing money against the against the odds of failure is a no-win situation leading to failure.

Visit our “Build A Direct Path to Customers” today.

Email Mdoc@direct2customers.com.

800-251-3608.

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The Six Secrets of No-Surprise Printing

The Six Secrets of No-Surprise Printing

by | Jun 7, 2021 | Creative strategies, Direct marketing, Headlines, Sales

Even When Using Digital Printing… it pays to plan.

Methods

Successful print jobs are all about planning and communication. If you plan carefully and communicate exactly what you want, it is unlikely that you will need an expensive do over by a problem or disappointment later.

Number One.

The first step is to have a rational idea of the physical piece you want to create. That means determining the size, shape, folds, and other characteristics. For anything more complicated than a flat sheet, it is wise to create a dummy or mock-up to make sure that pages and folds are where you want them to be.

Number Two.

If you are printing for a mailing, a mock-up helps to ensure that the individual pieces will fit in the envelope properly. It can also help determine the type of printing equipment, such as die cutting or masking that will be a much-needed impact. Simple steps now could lead to savings to make the printing process more efficient. Changing the dimensions, for example, could allow a piece to be printed on a smaller press to save money. Check with the post office or your direct mailer. Non-Traditional size and shape mailers may require a special rate.

Number Three.

Proofing is also important. It is often tempting to rush when you are working under a deadline, but it is always better (and much cheaper) to correct a mistake before printing begins. Show your last design to several people, include those who have not worked on the project. Their input will be fresh and objective. Look for the usual spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Carefully check the headline and subheads. Most important, be sure that all vital information is correct, including phone number, return address, postal indicia, and bar codes. 

Number Four.

One common mistake is to include photos that look good on a computer screen, but which do not print well on a press. For most, you will need photos or graphics with 300 dpi resolution. Always use stock or vector images from a reputable company. If the budget permits, hire a photographer, designer, or direct marketing mail copyrighter. Make sure they sign off the rights of their property to your firm.

Number Five.

When submitting your design file for printing, you must include not only the file but all the attached files, including fonts, photos, graphics, and logos. Check early on with your printer what they need to get what you want to achieve. Just because it is digital, printers need to follow a protocol to get the best-looking printed material.

Number Six.

Finally, it is important to keep in mind that printing involves putting ink onto paper. The ink and paper you use will affect the last look. You cannot rely on how a design appears on a computer screen. Paper can come in various colors, thicknesses, and textures which affect the last appearance of printing. When in doubt, ask for samples before you begin the design and writing process.

Please share with others–except your competition!

Direct marketing copy is like a puzzle.

Sharing my time with you is not over at the end of a post. There are many ideas I experienced in owning a small business. My ideas about using and writing direct marketing and customer-centric copy are intertwined in the marketing, advertising, and selling content, articles, reports based on my philosophy of people learn by reading, then learn by doing.

Please join our Direct2Customers Marketing Community today!

Learning by reading and doing, marketing, and selling ideas, is what you will find in your Direct2Customer Community. Join us today by clicking on the button.

This is what I do and what I love to do.

Thanks again for reading. Questions?

Mdoc@direct2customers.com or 800-251-3608

JOIN US

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Seven Fundraiser Tips to Reach Supporters…

Seven Fundraiser Tips to Reach Supporters…

by | May 17, 2021 | Analytics, Communication channels, Copy content, Customer-centric strategy, direct mail, Direct marketing mail strategy, Email tactical, Landing Page, Sales

and learn how a few tactics will win over your customers.

 

Let me explain.

Let me explain.

Direct Marketing+Mail comprises many distinct elements to help your customers buy your products. When you add them up in your head, you can easily lose track because there are so many.

Never stop at one.

Let us talk about customers. The human mind is very baffling, and depending how their day is going, it can change in a heartbeat. For example, an automobile manufacturer does not just sell cars. They are selling economical transportation to get you to and from work every day. What else are they selling? It depends upon the person. 

A mom with children needing a new car wants lots of space. Safety features also come to mind. What about Kevlar seat covers to keep the interior looking half respectable?  

Dad will want either good mileage, performance, or both. But buying a sedan does not cope well hauling children to sporting events plus equipment. Once the last child is over eighteen, dad may finally get the sedan of his dreams.

As one can see, there are a lot of hot buttons to push to get someone to buy. Whatever product a company sells, there are many variables to consider. In these cases, a person should start thinking like enthusiasts. Focus on the payoff or reward more than on the product. Take a cue from fundraisers. That’s a good moon arising! 

 

There are a lot of hot buttons to push to get someone to buy.

Take a cue from fundraisers.
  • Whatever product a company sells, there are many variables to consider. In these cases, a person should start thinking like enthusiasts. Focus on the payoff or reward more than on the product. Take a cue from fundraisers.
  • How do professional nonprofit fundraisers raise millions of dollars for their non-profits every year? What are their secrets to fundraising? The answer is trust and establishing confidence in the direct communication copy.

As promised, here are seven enthusiastic ideas to make more money.

  1. Put yourself in an enthusiastic mind frame as you review your copy. Ask why. It is important to clarify “the why” you are asking for a donation or a sale.

A fundraiser does not want money but an agreement for their cause. The goal is to get people to support and invest in an organization. Or with a profit company, get the buyer to tell others about their product and experience.

  1. A fundraiser copywriter puts the facts about the organization in small type but emphasizes the benefits, payoff, and rewards. The idea behind this brings the reader onto a center stage in the copy using big, bold letters.

Any for profit company can send their customers to a website landing page with a similar look of the mailer and continue the reward and pay off in the copy. Once your customer reaches the web, accentuating your product with actual photography or a video is like the icing on a cake.

  1. Typically, an enthusiast for a cause wants to see more information in writing and on paper. Your customers probably do as well. 

There is no faster way to lose an enthusiast or a customer than to stop at one communication. Follow with another direct-mail piece that has continuity with the first communication. The piece should contain crafted stories, including pictures of other customers in action using your product. Do not forget email or other channels of communication they use.  

  1. A good idea is to reference the first mailing to build on the enthusiasm and the donors’ or customers’ emotions. That is another reason message frequency is so important.
  1. A single piece of direct mail can easily develop into many communications and using other channels of communication preferred by the readers.

Fund raisers take some time to learn more about their donors. This is a vital strategy in the non-profit industry and like a customer-centric marketing strategy for a company.

  1. Do not worry about redundancy. Remember, they bombarded people with thousands of messages per day. That is another good reason to keep continuity going from the first moment during the campaign to whenever the campaign ends.
  1. The image you project about your product or service or your charity and the value it brings to your customers or donors can be more important than the product or the service. To a charity donor, we consider it as an investment into the charitable organization.

Here is a takeaway from fundraisers for your profit business:

Learning a buying reason for a group of customers on how they use your product can lead your company to better marketing results. You can write more relevant copy, which can induce people to respond more often. Excellent results will lead to more customers.

I trust that was what you were looking for!

Please share with others–except your competition!

Direct marketing copy is like a puzzle.

Sharing my time with you is not over at the end of a post. There are many ideas I experienced in owning a small business. My ideas about using and writing direct marketing and customer-centric copy are intertwined in the marketing, advertising, and selling content, articles, reports based on my philosophy of people learn by reading, then learn by doing.

Please join our Direct2Customers Marketing Community today!

Learning by reading and doing, marketing, and selling ideas, is what you will find in your Direct2Customer Community. Join us today by clicking on the button.

This is what I do and what I love to do.

Thanks again for reading. Questions?

Mdoc@direct2customers.com or 800-251-3608

JOIN US

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It pays to do your research. Here’s how.

How to Get Customer and Audience Feedback…

by | Apr 30, 2021 | Analytics, CRM, Customer-centric strategy, Database, Personalize data marketing, Sales

and three quick ways to use it today!

You need to create the right attention

For many, feedback is detrimental-a negative, unplanned disturbance. It’s that dreadful, high-pitched squeal from the public-address system that sometime occurs when the speaker at the podium first opens his or her mouth to say, “Good morning.” Good, no more.

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Make some good moves with the music

In business, there’s another form of feedback. This is the response you get from customers and prospects from a campaign, a press release, a post or how customers use your product or service. The answers tell you how well your company is doing or where improvements you can make.

  1. Naturally, the very best feedback you can get is a sale–cash in your bank account. Then ask yourself what precipitated a purchase.
  2. The next best feedback is to have a customer or prospect–really talk to you and tell you what they feel good or bad.
  3. In the world of the most preeminent companies, those that invite feedback–and use it to improve–continue to outperform those who do the same thing over and over.

 

So, get creative, get bold.

Not only do these companies seek honest evaluations about their performances, but they also present the data to the sales and marketing teams, customer service, and the product development team. The more a person knows then uses the information to make future campaigns successful.

Before you think of mailing a survey, there probably are many questionnaires and surveys floating around that responses can be slim. So, get creative, get bold. Start with the number one tool to get your customer information.

Pick up the phone, or get in your car, motorcycle, truck, or what gets you from point A to point B and lead your team, to talk to customers, one to one, and listen, listen, listen, and then you can react to the feedback! 

Canned questions are fine, but use them as thought starters. Let customers talk to you and tell you, in their own words, what they see, hear about your company and their impression.

Look at what other companies are doing.

To become a useful tool, you must transform data into information that can help drive strategic direct marketing and selling programs, financial decisions, and product development. To minimize manual data collection and conserve resources, a company should focus on metrics for readily available data.

In today’s direct and digital marketing, data will capture information needed to drive decisions. The idea of having a good marketing automation tool to capture more data at a reasonable price is a worthwhile investment. The Pareto Principal comes into play when you collect data. Twenty percent of your customers usually provide eighty percent of your revenue. Buy a CRM or database and build one today.

Adding value-oriented work habits.

When you summarize feedback as charts, graphs, or simple to understand language, you’ll always know the score. You know if you’re winning or losing–and to what degree. 

Go get’em slugger!

Let me know what you think.

mdoc@direct2customers.com

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Please share with others–except your competition!

Direct marketing copy is like a puzzle.

Sharing my time with you is not over at the end of a post. There are many ideas I experienced in owning a small business. My ideas about using and writing direct marketing and customer-centric copy are intertwined in the marketing, advertising, and selling content, articles, reports based on my philosophy of people learn by reading, then learn by doing.

Please join our Direct2Customers Marketing Community today!

Learning by reading and doing, marketing, and selling ideas, is what you will find in your Direct2Customer Community. Join us today by clicking on the button.

This is what I do and what I love to do.

Thanks again for reading. Questions?

Mdoc@direct2customers.com or 800-251-3608

JOIN US

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