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WINTER 2004 BOLD PRINT Articles:
What Santa Knows About Marketing
Charlie Cook, In Mind Communications
Postcards-They're not just for vacations!
Caryn Tolpa, Staples.com
Top Six Pricing Mistakes
OPEN: the Small Business Network from American Express
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What Santa Knows About Marketing
Charlie Cook, In Mind Communications
What's that ringing sound you hear at this time of year? It's the
sound of store registers ringing up the sales generated by Santa
Claus. Just because he's old, overweight, long haired, unshaven and
dresses funny, don't overlook his marketing success. Santa is a
marketing expert and you can become one, too, if you follow his
marketing methods.
What's that you say? You don't believe in Santa Claus or you don't
celebrate Christmas? It's true that Santa may be mostly mythical,
but ask almost anybody who Santa is and what he does, and they'll
tell you. And there are millions of children who are convinced he's
real. So put your doubts about Santa aside for a moment and take a
look at why he's so good at marketing.
Knows How to Be Unique
Whether it is his trademark red suit, his unconventional
transportation, his belly laugh or his occupation, Santa is
different. He's one of a kind, which makes him memorable.
Gets Free Publicity
He’s a master at getting free press. He’s mentioned in the media
constantly during the winter holidays. Many songs, movies and books
have been written about him.
Is Customer Focused
While everyone knows about Santa, his marketing isn't focused on his
credentials. He rarely talks about how long he's been in business
nor does he bore people with long discussions of his work processes.
Instead, he makes a huge effort to learn what people want.
It is estimated that each year over a million letters are sent to
Santa. Santa
supplements this effort by appearing in thousands of shopping malls
around the country, listening to an average of nine thousand
children per mall. He does all this just to learn what his customers
want.
Gives Something Away For Free
While most of the presents under the tree are from family,
including the annual fruitcake from Aunt Bernice, typically at least
one gift bears Santa's name. How can you not love someone who gives
so many presents away each year and whose only expectation is a
couple of cookies and a glass of milk?
Knows What He Is Selling
Santa knows what he is selling, and its not just games and toys.
Santa sells hope, whether it is for the latest video game, a warm
sweater or happiness.
How can you market your business more like Santa Claus does his?
1. Clarify how you and your firm are unique, and what it is that
separates you from the crowd. You don't need to put on a red
suit or slide down chimneys. Define yourself by the problems you
solve, the expertise you provide and what your customers say about
you.
2. Get media attention for your business, not just during
holidays but all year round. Sometimes imaginative stunts like
appearing in a sleigh help.
3. Ask your prospects what they want and then provide
services and products that give them what they've asked for. The
better you understand their concerns, the better services or
products you'll provide.
4. Give something away for free. It could be an article, a
report, a book or a workshop. Use your free offer to prompt people
to contact you and demonstrate your expertise. It works for Santa
and it can work for you.
5. Know what you are selling. Your products and services
bring in the money, but what do they stand for? What do they
represent to your clients? Sell your prospects on achieving their
objectives and dreams and deliver with tangible results they can
appreciate.
Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, market like Santa and you
too, can have many happy clients this and every season, without
having to squeeze down a single sooty chimney.
2004 © In Mind Communications, LLC. All rights
reserved. - The author, Charlie Cook, helps service professionals
and small business owners attract more clients and be more
successful. Sign up for the Free Marketing Plan eBook, '7 Steps to
get more clients and grow your business' at
http://www.marketingforsuccess.com
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Postcards: They're Not Just for Vacations
When you think of postcards, you may picture glossy images of exotic
travel locations with greetings from traveling friends and family
scrawled on the reverse. However, postcards aren't just a fun
tradition — they can also be a vital marketing tool for small
businesses.
They're an inexpensive yet effective way to promote products and
services, notify customers of a sale or discount, or generate
awareness and interest in a company. According to Bob Leduc, author
of How to Build Your Small Business Fast with Simple Postcards,
"...postcards provide the cheapest, fastest, simplest way to build
an inventory of hot prospects who are likely to buy from you today."
Easy and inexpensive to print
"There are numerous ways you can create your postcards without
spending a lot of money," writes Leduc. "Because postcards are
simple to prepare, you can easily do all or most of the work
yourself... However, it won't cost very much even if you have a
professional do everything."
Simple postcards should cost just a few cents each to print. If you
decide to go with full-color cards, expect to pay around 25 to 50
cents per card. Most printers offer volume discounts, so take that
into consideration when deciding on quantities. Also remember that
design services and extras, such as perforations and folding, will
be additional.
Save on postage
The cost of sending a first-class letter is 37 cents as of January
2004, but the postcard rate is 23. Those cents add up — you'll save
$140 in postage for every 1,000 postcards you mail in the place of
first-class letters.
Reach the maximum number of eyes
Postcards catch your recipients' attention without requiring them to
do anything but turn the card over. "More people will read the
message in a postcard than will read the message in any other format
since it only takes a flip of the wrist to get the message," writes
Leduc.
The attention-getting appeal of postcards is apparent to Bob
Schwartz, National Marketing Director for Cutting Edge Media, a
magazine publisher in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. "Whenever we do a
postcard promotion we can mail out about 5,000 cards for about
$2,000 and we could generate anywhere from $5,000 to $25,000 in
sales revenue," Schwartz says.
A wide variety of uses
Almost any business — from bakeries to banks and carpet cleaners to
chiropractors — can use postcards. Department stores and boutiques
can notify their client list of special sales, or the arrival of
specialty merchandise. Doctors can send postcards to remind patients
of appointments. Businesses that relocate can use postcards to alert
their clientele of a new address and phone number.
RSVP
While it may be easy to get your recipient to read your postcard
message, the key is getting a response. "Space on a postcard is
limited. With only a few words you have to persuade the reader to
take action NOW — with limited risk or discomfort to themselves,"
writes Leduc. Therefore, you'll need to find a way to make it easy —
and rewarding — for the recipient to call or write for more
information, or visit your Web site or store.
One way to encourage responses is to use a double postcard. One
card has your message and your recipient's address, the other is a
reply card the recipient detaches and mails. In general, double
postcards will not cost significantly more to print than single
postcards. However, since both parts of a double postcard must bear
postage, this option will cost an additional 23 cents if your
recipient mails it back — a small price to pay to gain a customer.
Offer a coupon or discount
Coupon postcards are particularly successful at getting your
recipients to respond because you're offering a discount on
something your audience may already want or need, or giving them an
incentive to visit your store or use your service. "If you can
combine a coupon offer on a postcard that's the magic ticket," says
Schwartz of Cutting Edge Media. "That's when we have postcard people
call us back up and say, 'holy cow, I generated $5,000 or $10,000 in
business."
Use a full-color picture
Pictures often draw more attention than words. Mark Scheetz, Art
Director for Cutting Edge Media, advises using a full-color picture
on one side of your postcard. "Use the front of the card as your
billboard," recommends Scheetz. "On the full-color side use a really
good illustration, a good image with a really catchy headline."
Choose a picture that's related to your product or service. "Some
people like to focus on their product on the front, some like to go
for more of a humorous thing. They may have a cool image on the
front with a catchy headline, [then you have to] flip the card over
and find out what the product is. They both work well," says Scheetz.
Choose your words carefully
Space on the postcard is limited. Make your wording clear,
simple, and memorable. "Less is more," reminds Scheetz. "Use... a
couple of bullet points about your company to get [your recipient's]
interest... I've seen too many people try to put their entire sales
pitch on a postcard. It looks like a newsletter...you can't read it
and no one is going to pull it out of their mail and want to look at
it."
Also, prevent eye strain by making your text a decent size.
"Remember, don't go below 10 point or 12 characters per inch for
your type style," writes Leduc. Also, use a legible font. Postcards
are not the place for fancy script or flowing calligraphy. "Your
purpose is to get the individuals who receive your postcard to
contact you for more information," writes Leduc. "A concise,
straightforward message presented on an attractive postcard will get
from 80% to as much as 95% or more readership."
Follow the rules
The U.S. Postal Service will not process your cards for the
postcard rate if they do not meet specific size and shape
requirements. Each card must be (1) rectangular; (2) not less than
3½ inches high and 5 inches long; and (3) not more than 4¼ inches
high and 6 inches long." This means that a 3 x 5 inch index card
cannot be used as a postcard, since it is too small. Ensuring that
your postcards meet regulations will save future headaches. After
all, if your recipients don't receive your postcard message, how
will they ever reach you?
For more information on "How to Build Your
Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards", email: BobLeduc@aol.com
with the subject: "Postcards", or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628,
Las Vegas, NV 89133.
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Top Six Pricing Mistakes
A sound pricing structure helps companies generate sales and build
customer loyalty. The wrong pricing structure can leave businesses
struggling to service customers and reach profitability. When you
need to determine what to charge for your products and services,
steer clear of these common pricing mistakes.
Underselling- To set realistic prices, you need to be aware
of all costs involved in producing your product or service. This
includes easy to track costs such as the price of parts and
supplies, as well as less tangible costs associated with the skills
and knowledge you bring to the table. Some entrepreneurs set prices
that do not account for all of these expenses. They may forget to
add in overhead such as utilities or rent, or have difficulty
putting a price tag on the value of their time. One approach
service-based businesses use to determine a fair rate for their
offerings is to set an hourly wage to charge for services. They then
multiply this figure by the total number of hours it takes to
complete a job to determine a project’s overall price.
Following the competition- Basing your pricing structure
on the competition’s can be dangerous because the costs competitors
use to calculate prices may have little relation to your own. They
may pay suppliers less or more than you do, buy different
technology, and have larger or smaller marketing budgets. That said,
it does pay to know how much competitors charge so you can confirm
that your prices are realistic for the market. If you notice your
figures are much lower than competitors’, check to be sure you
haven’t left something out of the pricing equation.
Competing on price- Setting prices solely to beat the
competition is a shaky proposition. You’re bound to attract buyers
this way, but they are unlikely to be loyal customers. If low cost
attracted them to your business, they may abandon your company when
a less expensive option comes along. A better approach is to
differentiate your business from competitors in other ways, such as
superior customer service, enhanced product features, or finer
quality.
Waiting too long to raise prices- Increased demand or the
rising cost of supplies may put you in the position of having to
decide whether or not to raise prices. Some business owners avoid
increases because they fear customers will react negatively. In many
cases it’s a better strategy to make regular, small price increases
than to hit customers with one large increase. In other words, a 10
percent price increase is likely to draw more negative attention
than two 5 percent increases.
Dropping prices without changing delivery- Some clients
may try to finagle a better deal from your company. This can put you
in a difficult position, especially if you run a service-based
business. Delivering an agreed-upon order for a lower price can
inadvertently send the message that your initial prices were too
high, and all future business is open to price negotiation. A better
approach is to agree to a lower price, but change the delivery terms
slightly. For example, if you’re negotiating the price for a
three-month long technical installation, you might agree to a lower
project cost if the number of weekly meetings is reduced or monthly
reports are streamlined. Another option that makes sense for large
orders is to position lower rates as volume discounts.
Setting random prices- Some customers may insist upon
having an understanding of how your pricing structure is designed,
so it is critical to be able to justify the prices you charge. In
addition, unless you have a clear sense of how costs relate to your
prices, it will be difficult for you to identify when the right time
is to adjust the amount you charge.
Provided by: OPEN: the Small Business Network from
American Express
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