Need Help Marketing? » direct mail

Small Businesses still prefer Vendor supplied Business Advice

Need Help Marketing — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:37:44 +0000

Small Businesses still prefer Vendor supplied Business Advice is a post from: Need Help Marketing?

Despite social media hype, SMBs still prefer resource centers and email newsletters as sources of business management advice

A recent study conducted by Bredin Business Information (BBI) concluded that small businesses are still responsive to their vendors’ business advice. So that got me thinking. How many email newsletters do I receive that contain good business advice? Versus a lot of marketing and promotional material. And what is a good balance of advice that should be in your company’s newsletter.

We are talking about How-To-Articles here that convey market knowledge to your newsletter audience and customers. It really made me think about how many How To Articles are sent in our company emails. And I came up a bit blank because newsletters usually include company announcements and case studies but nothing that are actionable in terms of a “How To” type article. Definitely something to consider for 2010 newsletter content submissions. I better get started writing now.

The other key takeaway was the mention of industry news and how Small Businesses prefer to receive this information from their vendors. After all that is the industry and business we are in. So something to think about for future newsworthy topics. In fact 86% of the responses indicated industry related content was of utmost important when hearing from your suppliers. After all your customers expect you to have the pulse on your industry and the new trends.

Read more about the key results in the press release.

Possibly Related Posts:

Billy Mays the Unapologizing Direct Marketer

Need Help Marketing — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:32:39 +0000

Billy Mays the Unapologizing Direct Marketer is a post from: Need Help Marketing?

If you have ever been in the Direct Marketing business or even watched TV you have seen Billy Mays. He was one of the most entertaining pitchmen in modern direct marketing television.

What you should learn from Billy Mays

The Secret Behind Great Salesmanship is simply put, behind every great salesman is a great product. And Billy Mays understood that better than most.

We came across this fantastic blog post over on CopyBlogger: The Billy Mays 5-Step Guide to Easy Selling

According to Billy Mays… Your product needs these key traits.

1. It Must Solve a Problem
2. It Must have Mass Appeal
3. It Must be Unique
4. It Must offer Instant Gratification
5. It Must be demonstrable

For details around these key points visit: CopyBlogger: The Billy Mays 5-Step Guide to Easy Selling

Possibly Related Posts:

Coupons can be used to accelerate sales in down economy

Need Help Marketing — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 02:14:24 +0000

Coupons can be used to accelerate sales in down economy is a post from: Need Help Marketing?

With less money to spend consumers are going to be looking for more value in tight times. Using coupons both offline and online can increase sales and provide just the right incentive to motivate a buyer to make a purchase. Therefore using coupons could just be the key to get your sales moving, by providing value through discounts that consumers will perceive as getting more for less.

By using coupons you will be able to measure the marketing program’s success by coupons mailed vs. redeemed. Or if using an e-coupon online you can directly track that back to online orders or in store redemption. Using coupons for promotion also helps to introduce your store or service offering to new people who did not previously know about your business.

Also remember to create a sense of urgency by indicating an expiry date, indicating a limited time offer. This tactic usually helps to motivate anyone who is sitting on the fence and is unsure if they should buy or not. You may even noticed a recent trend to offer reduced pricing from your vendors or suppliers citing recent economic conditions as their motivation to discount prices. Ask yourself if this led you to increase spending to take advantage of the opportunity or to at least maintain your current spend.

But how do you distribute your coupons?

A recent study from comScore Media Metrix indicated, coupon sites were the fastest-growing online category in November 2008, up 32% from October to 35.6 million visitors.

One such example of a coupon aggregator is Coupons.com a site that allows consumers to select and print coupons that can be redeemed at stores offline. Case in point the website had had 8.5 million visitors in November 2008. However Compete has since reported the site receives over 14 million unique monthly visitors which is a significant jump over last year.

Source: Coupon Sites Grow at a Fast Click, eMarketer Feb 19

Coupon Promotion Tips

Name the product being offered at and at a discounted price. Example: “On Sale now for 20% off. ($X value)”
Add a start date if the coupon is mailed before the promotion starts. And remember to add an expiry date at a minimum.
Indicate if the discount is before or after adding tax. This will save alot of explaining later.
Limit quantities. Example: 1 per person/family
Define who should be receiving the coupon (New Customers vs. Rewarding Existing Customers)
Remember not to give away too much so you still make a profit even if honoring the discount.

Possibly Related Posts:

Direct Mail Spending and Volume declined sharply during 2008.

Need Help Marketing — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 01:55:20 +0000

Direct Mail Spending and Volume declined sharply during 2008. is a post from: Need Help Marketing?

According to “A Channel in Transformation: Vertical Market Trends in Direct Mail 2009,” from the Winterberry Group, US direct mail spending fell nearly 3% last year.
Worse yet, Winterberry is predicting further declines in direct mail spending by another 8% to 9% this year.

The financial services industry has traditionally sent a lot of mail in previous years, but they have had to cut back drastically too. Postage costs rising, and production costs continue to rise as well. Therefore the habit of sending out a lot of direct mail pieces to an untargeted group of people is going to soon be passé. In favor of small batch sizes that are more customized to the recipient.

Are you still planning direct mail campaigns for this year, or are you cutting back? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Possibly Related Posts: