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Five to THRIVE Top Five Marketing Essentials for Successful Businesses Today Packed with best practices and actionable steps, our educational guide is for any business looking to grow now. Specialists in Direct & Digital Marketing Five to THRIVE Five to Thrive: Top Five Marketing Essentials for Successful Businesses Today If you access enough “how-to” websites, blogs and conferences, you’ll realize there’s no shortage of great ideas in marketing. But even the most deep-pocketed automaker, breakfast cereal manufacturer or fast food restaurant chain is hard pressed to do them all. So where does that leave you, who is responsible for marketing but with a much more modest budget? As a marketing services provider focused on businesses and organizations like yours, CORE Communications spells out what should be at the top of your list of “must-haves” in marketing. Packed with best practices and actionable steps, Five to Thrive is a great place to start if you’re looking to establish or expand your business, organization or nonprofit now. 2 Essentials for Successful Marketing Today #1 Essential: Professional Identity & Printed Sales Materials Useful to businesses, organizations and nonprofits of all types, professional identity and printed sales materials identify you and distinguish you from competitors. They also carry important messages to key audiences. Because they’re often among the initial communications that a target will receive from your operation, it’s important these items make a good first impression. In light of this, you’ll want to ensure your identity and sales materials convey a professional image and carry the same appearance and feel of your website, direct mailers, advertising and other communications. Display and distribute these tools to your best advantage. Use your professional identity and printed sales materials to: • Display in your lobby or waiting room, or on your sales or service counter • Hand out at trade shows, conferences or other events • Include in sales presentation leave-behind packages • Feature in direct mail kits or insert with invoices • Fulfill consumer requests for more information Take stock of what you have, to determine what you need. Are you well supplied with the following items? • Business cards • Stationery, including letterhead and envelopes • Corporate capabilities brochures • Case studies • Product or service flyers (i.e., sell sheets) •P ocket folders (to organize and present case studies, flyers and more) •B usiness forms, including purchase orders, invoices and receipts • Note pads • Annual reports Tip: Check to see if the designs are current and consistent with your other items. It’s rare that an organization produces all materials all at once. Many are postponed at time of start-up for more pressing needs, while supplies of others are depleted unevenly. As a result, it’s not uncommon to find different materials with contrasting looks or out-of-date information. Tip: Audit the efforts of your key competitors. If the garden center down the road is drawing away your customers with seasonal newsletters, you may wish to create a series of your own. Tip: Look beyond the obvious. It’s not too much of a stretch to include promotional items, displays, signage, vehicle graphics and even uniforms among your professional identity efforts. If so, the same standards for design and quality should apply to them. 1 Five to THRIVE #2 Essential: A Web Presence Without exception every company, organization and nonprofit today needs to “be where customers go.” And overwhelmingly, your audience is going to the Internet to shop for goods and services, locate brick-and-mortar sites, make donations and communicate with other Web users. How important is a new or updated website to your marketing effort? In the U.S., 97% of Internet users research shopping information on the Web, according to Google. Begin with the basics: A website. • Good: After obtaining a URL (uniform resource locator, or Web address), post a home page and a contact us page. Tip: If creating a new URL, keep it short and make it memorable. • Better: Replicate your sales or capabilities brochure online, with multiple pages or screens establishing who you are and what you do. • Better Yet: Add a lead generation tool such as a registration form linked to the home page and other pages on the site. Make it short and easy to use. Also, give visitors an incentive for signing up such as a discount, e-newsletter, white paper or free trial. Get “social” on Facebook and elsewhere. Listings on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and/ or LinkedIn are a must for marketers today, according to digital campaign specialists Balihoo: • 91% of local searchers use Facebook to find nearby businesses online, making it a valuable source for referrals. • 59% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. • Best: Enhance your website with useful content that entices visitors to stay awhile and return often. Post blogs, white papers, research, reviews, case studies, videos, endorsements, maps, upcoming events, industry links, technical specifications and more. Also, optimize it for mobile use with simplified navigation and content that’s rendered in narrower columns for easier viewing on smartphones and tablets. Drive website traffic with these best practices. • Claim your free local listings: Local maps found at bingplaces.com and listings.local.yahoo.com, among others, allow you to post your data at no charge. By “claiming” your listing, you help local searchers find you when, for example, they enter search terms such as “swimming pool supplies, Daytona Beach.” 2 Is a website necessary? Just about everyone thinks so including, no doubt, your competitors. Consider that no fewer than 150,000 website addresses are registered every day, according to Verisign. Essentials for Successful Marketing Today • L ist your site on other local directories: There are many general online directories and review sites for local businesses, including hotfrog.com, insiderpages.com, kudzu.com, superpages.com and yellowpages.com. By listing your website on these directories, you’ll optimize it for local search. •S ee if you qualify for Angie’s List: Be sure to see if angieslist.com has a category for you. The site offers free listings for many product sellers and service providers. • Post your site on specialized directories: Research online directories devoted to your type of business. For example, sites like dentalreferral.com, dentistry.com, healthgrades.com and knowyourteeth.com help prospects find dentists. Similarly, consumers searching for a financial planner might find a suitable resource online at feeonlynetwork.com, financialadvisors.findthebest.com or fpanet.org. • Boost your rankings with organic SEO: If your website attains low rankings on Google, Yahoo and other search engines when common search terms are used, that means it’s difficult for prospects to find you. The solution is organic SEO (search engine optimization), wherein keyword placement and other techniques can boost your website’s rankings – and its traffic. • Increase visitors with PPC or paid search: With PPC (payper-click) advertising on Google and other search engines, you’ll bid on keywords (e.g., emergency plumber, Kalamazoo) which, when entered, will call to the screen your display ad (most often in the upper-right screen area). If a viewer clicks on your ad and is directed to your website, you’ll pay a small fee, but only up to an amount you’ve established ahead of time. • Build traffic with links: The more links your website has with others, the higher the rankings you’ll achieve on search engines. Increase your links by posting blogs regularly, submitting your site to directories, and connecting with similar, non-competing sites. For example, a veterinarian might link to websites for dog breeders, dog groomers and pet supply companies. “Social sharing” by establishing pages on Google+, Twitter and Facebook brings similar traffic-building benefits. What makes a good website? Five must-haves. Be sure your site features: 1. An attractive design that matches the look of your other communications. 2. Simple and intuitive navigation that helps users reach pages readily. 3. Text, photos and/or illustrations that communicate your messages clearly. 4. Content that provides value in order to draw viewers and induce repeat visits. 5. Information on how to contact you or, better yet, an incentive to register for ongoing communications. Is mobile optimization a must? Google believes it is. The search giant reports that 61% of users are unlikely to return to a mobile site they had trouble accessing. And, even worse, 40% of them go to a competitor’s site instead. 3 Five to THRIVE #3 Essential: A Prospecting Program As a complement to your “be where customers go” Web-based marketing effort, you will need a “go where prospects are” strategy. Why? Internet marketing is largely passive and dependent on consumers coming to you. To reach farther and succeed faster, you also need to drive customers or donors to action. That requires proactive marketing achieved through a sales prospecting or lead generation campaign. For prospecting programs, the most common and effective tactic is often direct mail. It offers many advantages for lead generation: • Precision targeting/list availability • Higher response rates • Personalization • Flexibility in formats • Appreciation; it‘s not “Snail mail?” Isn’t that old school? Not according to the latest data. Nearly 90% of consumers say they want to receive sales and promotional offers via direct mail (Nielsen). And, when evaluating products or services, 73% of buyers prefer mail. (Source: International Communications Research) perceived as a nuisance when personalized and targeted • Tangible and impactful • Long shelf life A word on email: The proliferation of spam, or unwanted communications, has largely negated the value of email as a tool for sales prospecting – at least among those who have not previously opted-in for your messages. That said, email remains important in customer communications as a tool for nurturing relationships and growing sales or donations, as well as a powerful follow-up technique. The three key elements for more effective direct mail. Among leading direct marketers, it’s believed that the quality of your list accounts for 50% of a campaign’s success; a compelling offer, 30%; and the creative approach (e.g., format and graphic design), just 20%. Here are some key considerations when crafting your direct mail campaign: 1. Begin with a great list. Mailing lists fall under three basic types, the first one of which you’ll build on your own, and the latter two which may be leased or purchased to supplement your own data: 4 Sometimes a list is not the answer. For restaurants, oil change shops, dry cleaners and many other establishments, proximity to a prospect is often a deciding factor in whether they choose one provider over another. Every Door Direct Mail™ (EDDM) from the U.S. Postal Service® lets you reach every home and business within a selected area at rock-bottom rates. Mailing costs are minimized because names and addresses are not printed on each piece, and the purchase or rental of a mailing list is not a concern. Essentials for Successful Marketing Today •H ouse file: Comprised of people with whom you have an existing relationship or names and addresses you’ve captured from your own lead generation efforts, the prospects and customers in your house file are five to 10 times more likely to respond to your offer than those on any other list. •R esponse lists: These are databases of people who have responded to some other marketer and may include magazine subscribers, event attendees, charitable donors or mail order buyers. Prospects on these lists will respond at three to five times the rate of those on compiled lists. •C ompiled lists: These are large lists which have been created from multiple sources such as government records and phone directories. Like response lists, they enable you to specify any number of “selects” to focus on those you’ve identified as your most promising prospects. These selects include consumer demographics such as marital status, household income and more, as well as business firmographics like market segment, annual sales, number of employees and other data. Compiled names respond at lower levels than the first two categories, but they can still be effective when used with an attractive offer. They also provide the advantage of wider market coverage. To gain a better idea of the micro-targeting capabilities of Response Lists and Compiled Lists, see the column at right. 2. Create a compelling offer. Having targeted your most promising prospects, you’ll need to entice a positive response to overcome the reader’s natural inclination toward inertia. How? With an incentive. Typical ones include: • Discount or coupon • Free trial or sample • Free consultation • Invitation to a seminar or performance • Free demonstration • Free installation • More information, often in the form of a brochure, newsletter or white paper • Free shipping • No or low-cost financing • Free estimate Micro-target with over 67,000 databases Today’s marketers can take advantage of an incredible array of mail and email databases with which to augment their house files and pinpoint their most promising prospects. Among your options: Consumer databases, including: • 1,620 investor lists • 606 home service buyer lists • 2,401 donor lists • 797 magazine circulation lists • 284 insurance buyer lists Other consumer lists featuring: • Households by income • People by occupation • Households with children by age • New homeowners Business databases, inclusive of: • 497 advertising/marketing lists • 989 banking/financial lists • 446 building trades lists • 3,314 business executive lists • 941 educational market lists • 416 engineer lists • 567 government lists • 700 healthcare industry lists • 313 small office/home office lists 5 Five to THRIVE #3 Essential: Prospecting Program (continued) 3. Get creative to get better results. Here are six tried-and-true tips on developing a mailer that cuts through the clutter, captures leads and drives responses: Best practice #1: Write headlines that not only promise a benefit, but also add an element of urgency. Examples: “Save This Weekend Only” or “Respond Today for your Free Trial; Offer Ends Friday.” Best practice #2: Talk to your audience, not at them. How? Craft your copy in the first person, as if you’re addressing the reader one-on-one. Best practice #3: Answer the reader’s question of “Why should I care?” with benefit-oriented text. Best practice #4: Include a postscript. Why? After the headline and opening sentence, the P.S. is the most-read part of a direct mail letter. Number of Media Types Used in Direct Marketing Campaigns Unsure 8.3% Five or more 2.7% One 8.1% Four 12.4% Two 30.5% Mean = 3 Three 38.0% Source: InfoTrends, Capturing the Cross-Media Direct Marketing Opportunity, 2010 Best practice #5: Feature a strong call-to-action. Example: “Respond today to reserve your space. But hurry, seating is limited.” Best practice #6: Take advantage of the medium’s many formats, including enveloped mail (often considered best for business communications) or lower-cost self-mailers. Other options include postcards, dimensional mail (with a gift, video) or catalogs. More tips to drive responses! • Boost responses with a cross-channel approach: relevant as possible. Personalizing your direct mail can lift your response rates by 30-50%, Don’t limit your lead-generation efforts to a according to the Direct Marketing Association. single medium. Those employing two, three or more types in a cross-channel marketing effort • Improve mail response rates with QR Codes: can improve response rates by as much as 35%, On printed mailers, add a QR (Quick Response) reports InfoTrends. Code to your appeal so that recipients can immediately reply to an offer with a scan using •M ultiply your efforts … and results: 84% of their smartphone. marketers employ more than two types of media in their direct marketing campaigns, notes •T est, evaluate and test some more: Direct InfoTrends. (see chart above) response pros try different headlines and various offers to see which ones draw • Personalize your message: Address the the strongest responses. recipient by name (and title, if applicable) and individualize the message and image to be as 6 Essentials for Successful Marketing Today #4 Essential: Ongoing Customer Communications Having worked hard to grow your business, organization or nonprofit via your “be where customers go” approach and “go where prospects are” strategy, it’s important to stay in touch. Why? You never know when someone is ready to place an order or make a donation. Of course, the best way to ensure you’re top-of-mind at the opportune moment is to develop a contact marketing strategy. For ongoing customer communications, one key tactic is email. Effective and efficient: Email’s role in customer communications. • 91 percent of all U.S. consumers use email daily. (Source: ExactTarget) Among its potential benefits are: • Immediacy – email messages can be created with great speed, giving you the ability to send real-time messages • Low cost, in comparison to other options • Precision targeting and segmentation • Ability to test various elements and determine what works best for your audience • Immediate feedback through open rates and click-through rates Contact marketing: Plan for success. When developing your annual strategy, you’ll want to consider: •B udget: What is your estimated cost of implementing your content strategy vs. your expected revenue per customer? AOV, or average order value, is often another key metric in planning. • More than 43% of email is now opened on a mobile device, making mobile-friendly versions of your emails a must – and underscoring your need to keep such messages short and simple as consumers are unlikely to read long emails on their mobile devices. (Source: Litmus) • The rate at which emails prompt purchases is estimated to be at least three times that of social media. What’s more, the average order value is 17% higher. (Source: eMarketer) • Over 75% of marketers are using more promotional emails to market their business than they were just three years prior. (Source: Direct Marketing Association) • Segmentation: Contact marketers typically allocate resources by target, with the highest priority given to your best customers (i.e., multiple buyers) and then first-time purchasers, inquirers and dormant customers in descending order. • Frequency: You might plan, for example, to contact multiple buyers 24 times per year and inquirers on only 12 occasions. A sales catalog you mail twice a year would count as two contacts. • Types of contacts: Don’t limit yourself to one technique. Smart marketers employ a number of different methods, including direct mail, email, phone calls, trade shows and sales visits. 7 Five to THRIVE #4 Essential: Ongoing Customer Communications (continued) • Promotions: Consider your strategy for special offers when planning your content marketing. For example, you wouldn’t necessarily want to offer free shipping to those who order regularly. • Personalization: Individualize your messages to the greatest extent possible. A general email blast (“Spring Fertilizer Sale This Weekend”) may be effective, but a personalized one based on a prior purchase (“Replenish Your Scott’s Fertilizer This Spring And Save”) even more so. One retailer reported a tenfold improvement in response rates by personalizing messages by shopping behavior. (Source: McKinsey) Make the most of the opportunity for ongoing communications. 3 Do this: Make your message relevant. If the content isn’t of interest to your audience, you’ll drive unsubscribes … instead of sales. 3 Do this: Carefully consider where to direct consumers once they clickthrough your emails. By linking prospects to a customized landing page that features the offer or item featured in the message, you can increase conversion rates by over 25%. (Source: Omniture) 3 Do this: Continue to solicit new email addresses via opt-ins on your website, social media pages and elsewhere. The average email marketing list expires at a rate of 25% per year, making list generation an ongoing strategy. (Source: HubSpot) 3D o this: Make your emails mobile friendly. Today, more than 40% of email is opened on mobile devices, according to Litmus. So when considering mobile marketing, keep your messages short and simple to increase readership. 3D o this: Track your results. Email providers often offer the option for you to track total number of opens and clicks per link, bounce rates, unsubscribe rates and more – allowing you to gauge the effectiveness of your efforts. 3 Do this: Offer those wishing to unsubscribe the option of receiving fewer emails instead. As many as 65% of readers unsubscribe because of too many emails. (Source: Chadwick Martin Bailey) Direct mail: Another effective tactic in contact marketing. In place of or as a complement to your email communications, direct mail is a useful tool for nurturing customer relationships. While less immediate and costeffective than emails, it offers the benefits of precision targeting, personalization and flexibility in formats. That said, you’ll want to refer back to pages 4, 5 and 6. The same key considerations, best practices and useful tips on direct mail as applied to prospecting programs will also pertain to your ongoing customer communications. 8 3 Essentials for Successful Marketing Today #5 Essential: A Marketing Partner You Can Count On. Having reviewed the essentials, marketing managers often ask “How do we get started?” or “Where do we go from here?” We’d suggest you focus on the CORE, where smaller marketing budgets generate bigger results. Lean, local and independent, CORE Communications is networked like no other. We’re backed by one of the largest and most successful companies in the field of graphic and marketing communications. But we aren’t burdened by their overhead, so neither are you. All services are executed on a pay-as-you-go basis by CORE Marketing Central – our award-winning team of planners, writers, designers, Web specialists and direct marketing experts. However, neither of us pays for this resource until we use it. And pricing is well below that of even small marketing agencies. The CORE result? Professional marketing services for those companies and organizations with modest resources that must make every dollar count in a direct and measurable way. Please contact us today to see how our unique, cost-efficient business model will benefit you. Dave Hofelich General Manager CORE Communications of Plymouth 1302 Anderson Road Clawson, MI 48017 Cell: 734 928 5437 Fax: 248 655 0440 Email: [email protected] Specialists in Direct & Digital Marketing www.corecommunications.net/clawson 9 CORE Communications - Clawson Specialists in Direct and Digital Marketing 734-928-5437 www.corecommunications.net/clawson/