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By Paul Bridson THE QUESTION we're most often asked is how to increase visibility and sales on a small budget. We think the answer is our email platform. It's a tool that helps you meet ethical standards and federal regulations so you can send out letters, promotions, surveys, newsletters, fliers or special offers via email to large groups of addresses. Sending 1000 pieces by mail would run from $290 to $440 just for postage. At a minimum, you can double that to include the cost of printing — so now you're at $580 to $880 — and that's not even factoring in the time it takes to label, address, meter or stamp what you're mailing. If you send the same information or offer by email, you pay a one-time html set-up fee of $295 and thereafter just $30 a month for 1000 emails. That's like paying $295 for a postal permit that lets you mail 1000 pieces every month for three cents apiece — forever. Prices are even lower at higher quantities. If you're sending mass emails now without the required opt-out feature or other federal requirements, you risk getting blacklisted or having your message automatically junked. The alternative of sending large numbers of emails one by one is too time-consuming to even consider. We know of no other medium that offers such a favorable cost- benefit ratio. While itʼs difficult to accurately compare every feature and capability across the email marketing spectrum, we can tell you a few reasons why our service stands out from the crowd. Here are five: The interface Our intuitive interface makes even the most sophisticated email-marketing features easy for anyone to use, saving you time and effort and allowing you to let non-technical staff members help you manage your lists, content and account. The relationship Whether youʼre just getting started or you have a question about a campaign or its results along the way, we stay involved to make sure youʼre getting the most out of your email marketing account. The custom designs Whether youʼre utilizing our professional design services or creating your own campaigns in house, weʼll help you create and send great-looking campaigns every time. No pre-fabricated templates here, just professional designs created just for you. The flexibility of it all From signup screens and database fields to campaign templates and content, thereʼs little about our service that canʼt be customized to suit your particular projects and process. All you have to do is ask and thereʼs a good chance weʼll say yes. The price Our startup and activity prices tend to be lower than that of comparable services, particularly when you factor in our custom designs, extensive features and customer support. You can also schedule emails in advance to go out automatically on dates you've pre-selected, allowing you to work ahead, and you can make as many separate lists as you want. For example, if you have seven unique business audiences, you can have seven different lists and customize the message for each. Unless you're trying to communicate with the afterlife, you ought to have this easy, inexpensive platform!
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By Paul Bridson GIFT GIVING builds goodwill, can be an incentive, communicates a message and creates awareness. When thinking about giveaways for your next trade show, consider the following ten questions. 1. What do you want to achieve by giving away a premium item? Give-away items should be designed to communicate, motivate, promote or increase recognition and memorability. The premium and the message should make an impact. 2. How will you select your premium item? With so many items available, your challenge is to find one which will best suit your purpose and meet your objective. Do you want it to enhance a theme, convey a specific message or educate your target audience? Remember that your company’s image is reflected in the choice you make. 3. Whom do you want to receive your premium? Having a clear objective for your premium item will also help determine who should receive it. Consider having different gifts for different types of visitors – quality gifts for key customers and prospects and a lesser valued item for general customers. 4. How does your marketing giveaway tie into your marketing theme? Look for an item that naturally complements your marketing message. Have the message clearly imprinted on the item along with your company name, logo and phone number. Remembering who the gift was from, long after the fact, is key. 5. What is your budget? Premium items vary considerably in price. Quality, quantity and special orders affect pricing. Consider using the same item for several different shows to save on quantity discounts. 6. What must visitors do to qualify for a gift item? You can use your premium effectively in several ways. For example, as a reward for visitors participating in demonstration, presentation or contest, as a token of appreciation when visitors give you qualifying information about their specific needs, as a thank you for stopping at the display. Avoid leaving items out for anyone to take as this diminishes value and has little or no memorability factor. 7. Will your giveaways directly help your future sales? Hand out a discount coupon or a gift certificate that requires future contact with your company for redemption. Consider premiums that will help generate frequent visits to customers and prospects, such as calling you for free refills. Make your premium work for you and it will be money well invested. 8. How does your premium item complement your exhibiting goals? Premiums can be used to pre-qualify your prospects. One company uses playing cards. Prior to the show, they send "kings" to key customers, "queens" to suppliers and "jacks" to new or hot prospects. They request that the cards are brought to the display in exchange for aspecial gift. When the prospect visits the trade show display and cards are presented, the display staff already know certain visitor information. They then act on previous knowledge and use their time more productively. 9. How to inform your target audience about your giveaway items? Novel or useful giveaways can actively draw prospects to your display. Send a "tickler" invitation with details of the giveaway or create a two-piece premium, sending one partout to key prospects prior to the show telling them to collect the other half at your display. 10. How will you measure the effectiveness of your premium? Establish a tracking mechanism to measure the success of your giveaway. Code redemption items so you know they resulted from the show. Post-show follow-up could include a question about the premium, such as "did visitors remember receiving it and how useful was it?" After the show, critique the giveaway with your team. Did it draw specific prospects to the display? Was it eye-catching enough to persuade passers-by to stop? Did your customers find it useful? Did it project the right corporate image? |
800-760-7706Paul Bridson and Kelly SargentWe've been helping companies achieve lofty goals for over twenty years now. Here's the benefit of our experience! Archives
July 2018
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