Get help from Yelp.com
March 22, 2008 by OneIMS · Leave a Comment
In a recent article published by Entrepreneur.com titled “Get Them Talking”, Heather Clancy says “One good referral is worth dozens of unqualified prospects.” Yelp is the next Yellow pages, but completely online. It allows people to search for local business in communities across the U.S. The interesting aspect of Yelp.com is that it enables customers to review and rank particular business based on their quality of service. When a potential prospect searches for the business or industry, they have the ability to sort the listing based on ranking. Next time you interact with your customer or prospect, be mindful of how you treat them because you could be getting “yelped” at. Welcome to the next generation of referral based online directory!
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Five Tips for a Successful Direct Mail Marketing Campaign
March 18, 2008 by OneIMS · 5 Comments
Are you considering a direct mail campaign in the near future? Looking for some tips on how to be successful at it? Read on to discover a few proven direct marketing strategies to double or even triple the response rate.
1. Enhanced Data – First and foremost get the right list, and get it right! It is very critical that you set the criteria for the recipients of
your direct mail piece. What does that mean for your business? Let’s break it down. 60% of your mails success depends on the list itself. It is imperative that you obtain a mailing list with the correct target audience for your product or services. If you send your direct mail pieces to the wrong audiences, your message would irrelevant and your money is wasted. As important as it is to have the right audience in mind, equally important is to have a list that is current. Not only are you saving money on postage by using a clean and current data, you are actually increasing the success of your direct mail campaign.
2. Enticing offer – Make sure that you use an alluring offer to increase response rate. Giving something away or giving a discount will always get people’s attention. However, it is very important that the offer is relevant and in proportion with the service or product that you are trying to promote. You must balance the desired response with the right incentive. Before you craft an offer, ask yourself if you would respond to that particular offer. Your initial focus should be on motivating the customers to act, rather than calculating the cost of implementing the promotion. Always put a sense of urgency and deadline in your copy.
3. Engaging Message - Ensure the message matches the target audiences. Get to the point quickly. Make the offer very prominent in the copy. Be clear and concise. Make it personal and conversational. Always remember to have a call to action. Don’t just list and discuss the features, but focus on the end-user benefits. Avoid using technical jargons. Always include all of your contact information. It is highly recommended that you hire a professional to do the strategic messaging and copywriting.
4. Energetic Creative – Don’t compromise on the quality of the marketing piece. Hire a professional design team. Graphics should be relevant to your headline and message. Images should be eye-catching and appealing to the target audience. Not only is the graphic design aspect is important, the quality of your printed material is also equality important. Both of these aspects combined reflect the image of your company that you want to portray.
5. Ensure Easy Response methods – Always make sure your offer is easy to respond to. Don’t make it cumbersome. Provide multiple channels for responding, such as a postage paid response card, a toll free number, an email address or a landing page.
The Importance of a Cohesive Marketing Campaign
March 16, 2008 by OneIMS · 1 Comment
For this year you’ve already designed the goals to increase your business. As with any other new year’s resolution, some planning, determination and persistence goes a long way. Whether you’re introducing a new product this year, expanding your services or simply wanting to attract new clients, a cohesive marketing campaign will not only do the trick but will also increase your branding.
Just like you’d never want to step into a room full of people with mismatched clothes, you don’t want to present a marketing campaign that matches all your marketing media. If you’re doing a direct mail marketing campaign, make sure your website also reflects and features your direct mail piece’s products or services.
Having a cohesive marketing campaign will make sure that all your customers, whether old or new, know about the new changes in your company. In addition, the cohesiveness of your campaign will make it even stronger and believable. You don’t want a customer receiving your direct mail piece to go to your website only to find nothing that reflects your new campaign.
So start the New Year off on the right foot and make sure all your marketing media reflects your goals and ongoing campaigns. The OneIMS team can help you create a cohesive marketing campaign including website redesign or development, direct mail campaigns and much more! For more information visit OneIMS.com
