Proven ways to increase customers and take your small business to the next level

by marketingdoc | Feb 19, 2022 | Analytics, Communication channels, Copy content, Creative strategies, CRM, Customer-centric strategy, Data, Database, Direct 2 Customers landing page, direct mail, Direct marketing mail, Email tactical, Headlines, Landing Page, Personalize data marketing, Sales, Selling, Visuals

I created question-and-answered marketing modules that are closely connected to accomplish overall goals for your company and customers.

I ask many questions. Share examples. Ideas are shared. It is a conversation. We both learn and understand about each other.

What is in it for you? A FREE E-book? Better business? Organization? Leadership? Success?You need to answer as many questions as possible. Why? My goal is to help you.

As I see how your questions are answered, I can provide content to you which can lead to solving a problem or two...

that are beneficial for you, so we can get you the best free content and the advice you need to succeed.

Plus, when you JOIN our community today...The first 10 companies that join, receive a FREE copy of my 6th edition Custom-Made Marketing E-book. (Expires last day of spring.)

Ready for a challenge?

How about building a Grade A marketing and/or selling model?

In the following four panels below are eighteen brief questions and twelve questions that will need a paragraph or two of your answers from each question. The more company info you can add to any of the questions is entirely up to you, but highly recommended. When we meet and discuss the questions, we both will pass on other information back and forward. This has always been one of the major successes of helping companies like yours.

The questions are also on a landing page.

OK, start building your list

and don’t forget to

send it to me via email.

You are on the clock!

Define your product or service. Corporate marketing mission statement. Company goals.
Did you use marketing research and analysis of your marketplace?
What is the how and why customers buy?
Do you have customer segments based on their buying habits?
Your development of strategies, planning and advertising programs to profitability meets the needs of different segments.

What do you know and wish to

know about your marketplace?

Why do customers come to you and not competitors?
What common characteristics do they have?
List the benefits of importance to your customers.
Examine the marketplace’s wants and needs. What is a fit? Not a fit?
Examine your own strengths and compare these to your customer needs and wants.
Analyze the strengths of various competitors?
Do you try to be on the ground-breaking of industry trends consistently?

List advertising tools and tactics that you use.

If so, send samples. Such as;

Sales letters.
Sales visits.
Qualifying prospects.
Sales presentation.
Handling objections.
Closing the sale.
Follow up scripts to close a sale.
Customer databases or CRM.

What channels of distribution are you

using for marketing, advertising, and sales?

Email. 7. Brochures.
Post cards. 8.Newsletters.
Landing pages. 9. Blog
Website. 10.Digital.
Social media.
Posts.

Marketing and Sales Innovation

Small Businesses Served

Marketing and Sales Solution Providers Created

Years Of Experience

Custom-Made Marketing E-book

All the requested information above is from our Custom-Made Marketing E-book. It is a program I started building shortly after I started writing my small business and marketing plan in the Mid-eighties.

The book has a unique set of questions and facts for equipping your marketing tools to help you build a better business. I call it a custom company marketing and sales plan. All is based on your vision, teamwork, and your best customer experience. We’ll provide the fuel.

I created a tour of the E-book, so you can learn more about each module, and how Kristen, a small business marketing manager, got on board to help her boss get more business. Just follow the purple arrows on the left of the page, pointing downward after clicking on this page link.

The slide presentation reads like a walk-through on how to increase your efficiency of marketing, advertising, and selling using the first Module, A Situation Analysis, with thought-provoking questions, to get a better understanding of a company like yours in marketing, selling and other business operations. Check out the E-book table of contents on the second slide in the presentation.

JOIN US - WE SHARE

Here’s An

Exceptional Special

The slide presentation is a conversation between Kristen, an agitated marketer, and the MarketingDoc, the author of the E-book, who will help her get answers from the questions in the “Custom-Made Marketing and Sales” E-book, A Situation Analysis.

Kristen’s goal is trying to find the right combination of promotions and advertising tools to increase audience response and creating more sales. In this back and forward learning experience we both understand more about the company and management team and ideas generated and discussed. These are questions that make people think while using examples and thought-provoking ideas from both sides.

There are 18 modules, and 75 pages in our E-book. I invite you to read each slide in the presentation. Each slide is less than 30 seconds reading time.

Module number one, Your Situation Analysis, is available in a free download in the slide presentation. I will give a FREE question and answer session of the Situation Analysis module with recommendations to improve your marketing and sales. Plus, I’ll toss in a free copy of Custom-Made Marketing E-book, a $79.00 value, upon completion of the module.

EXPIRES ON THE LAST DAY OF SPRING!

Here’s how to enter our free e-book, Custom-Made Marketing drawing.

Send your name, email, with “Module One Drawing” to Mdoc@direct2customers.com. If you are in the top 10, we will send you an email if successful.

If you are successful, here’s what happens.

I’ll interview the 10 companies to complete Module One.

This is a FREE question-and-answered session of the Situation Analysis module.

Once the Situation Analysis are completed and you were in the requested top ten, we’ll send you a copy of my E-book, Custom-Made Marketing.

MarketingDoc

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 from my experience as a small business owner and a marketing entrepreneur in 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!

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

If you are serious about marketing and sales, that will increase revenue…

by marketingdoc | Jan 21, 2022 | Creative strategies, Customer-centric strategy, Direct marketing, Direct marketing mail, Sales

If you are serious about marketing and sales, that will increase revenue…

then you build a custom direct marketing and selling strategy. Here's how.

For starters, you will need to appoint…

A marketing manager uses the best strategies to accomplish the goals through planning as created by the management team and consultants. There are many tactical tools to select with a variety of channels to meet the goals set forth by management as it pertains to selling product and services.

“There are many direct marketing strategies for consideration now days, but none are one for all. So, before you wrap your hands around a direct marketing strategy, first do your homework. Follow along in this typical scenario that will make your selected direct marketing strategies work for you as you expect.”

The first step is the hardest

Attracting attention is marketing and is extremely important. You first attract the attention of your target buyers with your company logo, corporate colors, and tagline. When you design your company “look,” define the type of business you are marketing. Is it friendly or austere? Do you offer bargains or firm practicing? Make your company colors and logo a reflection of your business personality.

Creative marketing strategies outline a broad plan of action that best uses the organization’s resources to achieve a marketing goal. Marketing strategies are the specific actions taken by the organization to communicate with the select primary target groups. Here are at least two major marketing strategies to consider in your direct marketing.

Market Penetration. Getting more customers for the present product/service. Tactic- communicate more effectively and frequently.
Market expansion. Getting more customers from new target groups and marketplaces. Tactic- Understand client needs and wants and offer solutions from product/service offering towards the target.

In conclusion, you and your team must carefully design a marketing strategy to meet a marketing goal and the demands from a client base to be effective. For example, in a growing business, market penetration can be very successful. Next, we will analyze several tactics available to achieve a strategic goal.

Onward to the next challenge.

For starters, use a name of action, such as money-making for the next marketing planning project. Analyze the captured marketing data from previous advertising campaigns, looking for the good, the bad and any mistakes you want to avoid. A small business needs as much information as possible to meet the company sales goal for the direct marketing program and advertising tactics. Don’t count this action short.

Marketing strategies defined are the specific actions taken by the organization to communicate with the selected primary target groups. The very nature of a direct marketing strategy is to get your marketing message to a prospect and customer, easy to read, and acted upon by the recipients. A sales goal for a direct marketing strategy could be x amount of dollars received, number of products sold in y amount of time, and on a what specific communication channel.

So, what is a marketing tactic? We’ll tell you one week from today via email and blog post.

Click Here FOR PART TWO

Please share with others–except your competition!

Direct marketing copy is like a puzzle.

Please join our Direct2Customers Marketing Community today!

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

The Six Secrets of No-Surprise Printing

by marketingdoc | 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

Seven Fundraiser Tips to Reach Supporters…

by marketingdoc | 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.

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.

High-five! Group of business colleagues giving each other high-f

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

If your call-to-action (CTA) does not inspire…

by marketingdoc | Mar 3, 2021 | Creative strategies, Customer-centric strategy, Direct marketing mail, Sales

There are other words that inspire action.

LEARN MORE Today

I love the word inspires

Once someone clicks on your CTA, they go to a page on your website or a landing page. If the marketing term of “call-to-action” sounds like a military term, I rather use “inspire.” Also, call-to-action always reminds me of the word “sale.” Just about everyone loves a sale.

LEARN BY READING

It's not a sale

But, depending on what you are selling, maybe the word sale is closed in. Simply, it’s not a sale. The mere thought of a sale may not be your brand. If you plan to sell your brand to a new segment in your database, the product or service you select must appear less price sensitive.

LEARN BY DOING

A bit of motivation

Does the word inspire better than call-to-action? Inspire leaves a positive feeling for a customer by telling them the secrets of how to use your product or service benefits. Just about anything but a sale. If your product works the way you hype it, people will buy it at a fair price.

LEARN MORE

At all times, I was learning…

You can to.

Inspiration

My first boss taught me how to make dough. Pizza dough, not money. Using fifty pounds of flour at one time. He inspired me to learn.

Upselling

So, I learned how to “work” a customer. After the order is complete, I was told to remind them to order product B or C, which goes nicely with a pizza.

Will Not Fail

I learned a lot from my first boss. He hired me when I was a sophomore in high school. I did not want to fail him.

Learn by Reading and Doing

It was another introduction for me to learn by reading, learn by doing. I attended a technical high school that used a similar vocation of learning by reading and doing. I thrived in that environment!

Know Your Customer Reach

As a marketer or salesperson, help your customers feel they want to do something. Maybe they need more information, a sample of the product or service or “buy this product and you can do this or that or whatever you want to do.” Inspire them.

Confidence and Motivation

The word confidence is another good marketing term to use. Does your product or service provide confidence by the way it works or how to use it. Maybe to fulfill an ego? That works well, it creates great loyalty. Maybe motivate yourself to find more words.