You are here: Home / Archives for Small Business
Apr
07

How Much Will You Invest in Your Clients?

By | advertising, Entrepreneur, Marketing on the web, Neighborhood Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Success, Time management and productivity

Leave a Comment

The Evolution of a Successful Marketing Campaign

Despite what many may tell you… successful marketing does not happen overnight. It takes time, testing and a plan.

You may be extremely surprised to first learn that some marketing and advertising campaigns are considered a success if they break even.  If you spend $500 on the ad placement and you get back $500 in profit – it may be a great success for your business.

WHAT?  How can breaking even be considered a success?

Most business owners never put 3 seconds worth of thought into what the lifetime value of your clients may be.  Lifetime value of a client is calculated by adding up the initial purchase (averaged out) of a first time buyer in your business, times the amount of times in a year they buy from you, times how many years they stay a loyal client.

For example:

Hairdresser

First time client = $25

Average times / year = 10

Average years as client = 3

Multiplied out makes each and every client worth $750 to the hairdresser (25x10x3)

If you are a hairdresser and look at each new client as being worth $750 to you – what are you willing to do to get more clients?  Would you spend $50 to make $750? I would certainly hope so. If not, let me repeat – each and every new client is worth $750 to you.  Bring in 10 new clients a week and you are adding $7500 in new business a week.  While you earn the money over the next few years – it is money you NEVER would have had.

Do the math in your own business – the numbers don’t lie.

Now, here’s the real exciting part.  The key to lifetime value is to increase each number by small (or large) amounts.  For example:

Hairdresser – Doing it the old way

First time client = $25

Average times / year = 10

Average years as client = 3

Hairdresser – Doing it the new way

First time client = $35 (by adding up sells and products at till – and making sure everyone knows about them – most don’t sell hard at this – an extra $10 at minimum)

Average times / year = 10 = bump up to 12 times – once a month – through consistent reminders and bonuses

Average years as client = 3 = bump to 4 years = treat them better and they will not leave as quickly

Now look at the numbers = $1400 for every new client (35x10x4)!

By putting a little more effort into getting them back more often, buy more while there and staying a loyal client longer you have almost doubled what they are going to spend with you!

All by paying attention to them and making sure they get the best possible services and treatment possible.

Now, how much will you spend to get a $1400 client for the first time?

Do the math and your world will quickly expand as you see the big picture.

Get your pen and paper out – and start adding!

To your success,

Troy White

Mar
18

The Importance of Subheads in Your Marketing

By | advertising, Affluent buyers, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Main Content, Marketing on the web, Neighborhood Marketing, Success, Time management and productivity, Wacky marketing ideas

Leave a Comment

You need to seriously look at the layout of your marketing materials.  Look at your web pages, your brochures, your emails, your handouts, your sales letters – and all of your advertisements.

Are you using subheads?

You should be.

It’s easier on the eyes to have a scanning ability built in.  And subheads make it easy on the reader to quickly find the areas that are of interest.

Chances are… they will not read your sales piece from start to finish.  They will skim and scan – looking for things that catch your eye.

And the subheads job is to guide them (by scanning) to the order page without having read the entire thing.

Good subheads can tell the story and get them to order.

Good subheads are powerful headlines in themselves.

For example…

3 Things You Must Do Today To Improve Your Business

REVEALED! The secrets behind their success… and their fall to lose it all.

When you are crafting subheads – put them in bold and centered. Even a font size bigger and a different font can help guide the eyes down the right path.

The path that leads to a sale and another happy customer!

To your success,

Troy White

Mar
17

Tips to make your sales letters, web pages and promotions more successful

By | advertising, Affluent buyers, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Leads Generation, Main Content, Marketing on the web, Neighborhood Marketing, Real Estate Marketing, Social Networking, Success, Time management and productivity, Twitter, Wacky marketing ideas

Leave a Comment

How to structure your sales material is just as important as the content in it.  If it doesn’t look appealing to read – they won’t read it.

And the things that make it appealing can be disturbing to many who are unfamiliar with direct response marketing.

For example…

1) Use a headline on everything you use for marketing your business. And not the form of headline you see all over the web… “Welcome To Our Home Page”. One like that will get your prospect more turned off than turned on.  It says nothing about why they should keep reading.  And online – you have 5 seconds to state your case and get them reading before they click away to the next site.

Strong compelling headlines on why they should keep reading…

Discover 5 Easy Ways to Turn Your Website Visitors into Buyers

Learn How to Turn Your Words into Wealth

Warning: If You Are About To Hire a Website Designer – Read This First

Are You Using Illegal Means To Capture New Clients? The Answer Will Surprise You! Read This First Before You Hear From A Lawyer.

And so on.

Headlines will make or break your success online or off… make sure you use them

2) After the headline start with a short, snappy lead that feeds off the headline. The headline is designed to get them to read the lead line – the lead line designed to get them to read the next line – and so on – and so on.

E.g.

It’s true.  Your website visitors are being wasted and there is a simple way to make them stay and get them buying.

or…

Believe it or not… a single 3 word change on your web page can increase your sales by up to 470%.

or…

You web designer and copywriters have put your company in a very dangerous legal situation.

Make it intriguing and promising a solution and they will keep reading.

A few other tips keep them reading…

Indent the first line of each paragraph

Double space between paragraphs

Use short paragraphs (even one sentence paragraphs)

Use spaces or gaps in the paragraph.  When we talk – we pause.  And it should be the same while reading. So use pauses in your writing as well to flow like we speak.  You can use the – or … to indicate a pause.  Use them as you would while speaking.

Read it out loud – if you stumble over certain words or structure – redo it until it flows.

Try changing your sales and marketing pieces using these techniques and test to see the results for yourself. You’ll be pleasantly surprised.

To your success,

Troy White

Jan
28

The Rollout of an Advertising Campaign

By | advertising, Affluent buyers, Leads Generation, Main Content, Wacky marketing ideas

Leave a Comment

[Read more...]

Jun
22

Success keys you may not like

By | Entrepreneur, Success

4 Brutal Keys To Success In Your Business

I say brutal because some of theses keys may rub you the wrong way – but when you step back and take a non-ego-driven look – they are all very true.  Follow them and prosper – ignore them and perish.

Sorry to be harsh – but it’s true.

1) You have no idea what your customers want. You cannot guess this, read it in a magazine, nor base it on what your competitors are offering (unless they are wildly successful with it).  It is impossible to guess what will or will not work out in the real world.  You must test various approaches, offer anonymous surveys and questionnaires. Focus groups are a useful tool for  probing  reactions to advertisements, programs and exploring concepts but they are very subjective and not statistically valid.

2) People do not change. Despite the craziness of our “proudly-busy” world – the basic human appeals and desires remain the same today as they did 1,000 years ago.  Business has changed – new products and services are coming out at an astonishing rate – but people still buy based on fear, greed, love, sex, riches, health, happiness, beauty.  A fantastic book on this subject is The Psychology of Influence by Robert Cialdini.

3) People will not appreciate you or your products – unless you tell them why they should. They will buy based on what they want – and you can totally change the foundation on what it is that they want.  Let’s say you are a widget distributor in a highly competitive business.

Your main differentiation is that you seek out 150 manufacturers every year, you screen out their hiring procedures, their quality standards must be at a 99.95% acceptance level, their warranty is the best in the business, the service is above all others. The product lasts 3.7 times as long as the next largest competitors.

Your customers have no clue about this – unless you TELL them.

They will truly appreciate you, your offerings, and your honesty if you lay this out for them in a compelling story on your web page, in direct mail, on the back page of your brochures or catalog.  Tell them what you have done for them to make their purchase the best choice – and they will buy.

4) In your advertising and marketing you must tell a complete story. This is along the lines of point 3 but very worthy of a further description.  Once you get a prospective customer’s attention in your marketing or sales effort, you must tell them a compelling story about your main benefits.

Tell them about the process you go through, how you have helped 4,577 people lead fuller lives, how you traveled the world to find your newest offering, and how you spent $517 on long distance fees finding the perfect partner company that looks after the 10 year warranty program.  There is so much to tell – that they would have no idea of – unless you tell them.

Never worry about being too long in your copy or brochures.  Everyone fights this – “too long” or “too wordy” or “no one will read all of that text” – but the FACT is – they are all wrong (This fact is based on 100 solid years of documented proof!).

You can only be too boring in your marketing – never too complete or long.  If you fought tooth and nail to get an appointment with a critically important client – would you walk in and do a song and dance show complete with juggling balls – then end at the 30-second mark abruptly?

Of course not.

You would do everything in your power to explain all the intricacies of your offering, the benefits, the proof, and the bonuses – no matter how long it took to close the sale.

More of these truisms to come!

“The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of setting
goals and achieving them. Even the most tedious chore will become
endurable as you parade through each day convinced that every task, no
matter how menial or boring, brings you closer to achieving your dreams.”

Og Mandino
1923-1996, Author

Jun
04

Marketing in a recession: fast results on a budget

By | advertising, Copywriting, Direct Mail, Entrepreneur, Neighborhood Marketing

Yes, times are tough.

The economy is in turmoil.

Historic giants like GM as ceasing to exist.

People are losing their jobs.

But life and business goes on… just in a different state.

This can be a challenge for you… or an opportunity.

Media is getting desperate for your advertising dollars… so now is the time to get serious about growing your business.

You’ve probably heard the McGraw-Hill Research results by now.

If not, here is a recap:

600 companies in 16 different industries were studied.  It lasted over a 5 year span, and included one recession during the study.

The conclusion?  Companies that maintained or increased their marketing budgets during the 5 year span grew by 256% more than those who didn’t. Those who cut back on their marketing and advertising during the same period of time only grew by 19%.

I know which growth number you and I would prefer… but how and what can we do to get those numbers?

Let’s talk about inexpensive ways to get to your buyers:

Are you leveraging community newspapers?

And yes, this does apply if you are in a business to business market. You just have to look at what papers and newsletters (print ones) are going out to your ideal target market.

But, if you are targeting consumers, have a look at these numbers:

Community newspapers reach:

77% of affluent Canadians

75% of women

76% of parents

75% of homeowners*

(Community Media Special Report 2008)

(This is from a study in Canada, but the numbers would be the same anywhere else who uses quality community newsletters).

Who reads them?

The most recent survey showed that 74 percent of Canadian adults read the last issue of their community paper. That figure was even higher in some provinces; in Saskatchewan it was a record 83 percent. The study also revealed that 76 percent of adults with household incomes over $75K are regular readers, as are most adults with a university education. 50 percent of the surveyed readers do not read any daily newspaper at all.

Think about this now.

If you target a higher income family that you cannot reach via email or newspapers, this is a potential goldmine. 74% of your ideal buyers read the community paper regularly. They earn more money, they are better educated, and they are looking for appropriate products and services (see the survey below for more details).

The best part?

The price of community newspapers! To get a quarter page ad – $50. Full page (with color) – $150. That gets you in front of thousands of targeted prospects (you can choose which community you advertise in by the average income in the community, choose communities that have a higher percentage of golfers, have more than average numbers of school aged children, or have a significant number of boomers and seniors.

All it takes is a little research on your part and you can tap into a very powerful source of potential buyers.

To add to that… community newspapers are filled with crappy advertising! Yours done right, using the information you pick up for free through the Total Package, and you can get some exceptional results.

Definitely worthy of some testing.

Right now, with the economy as it is, people are travelling less and spending more time at home, and in their yards. What better way to reach them than through a paper that 74% of them open every chance they get.

Try and get that through email!

One other inexpensive marketing tool at your disposal

The lowly flyer

What amazes me with these little unsung heroes of direct marketing is the sheer impact you can get with minimal dollars invested.

Here in Canada, we can send “unaddressed admail” to as many homes or businesses as we want for $0.11/per piece. So we can go to 1,000 businesses for $111.

Where else can you get that breadth of distribution? For that price?

Especially now that you can do geographic and demographic targeting of those businesses and individuals?

Thompson Rivers University received a 1.43% response rate to its latest flyer campaign! Higher than the industry average for addressed direct mail… at a fraction of the price.

“The sheer volume and ability to geo-target by postal code keeps my cost per inquiry low and, in general, helps to build brand awareness.” Thompson Rivers University

Something I am testing… and I highly recommend you do too!

Troy

Newer Posts »