| ||
| ||
|
Marketing Information | |
|
|
Do You Know Where Your Marketing Dollars Are Going?
We all know the importance of marketing to increasesales and bring in new business. But, do you honestly know where your marketing dollarsare being spent most effectively. Knowing which campaigns are producing the results you want and which are not can make a huge difference in where and how you spend your marketing dollars. There is a diversity of means by which you can advertiseyour products or services. Classified ads, pay per click,flyers, letters, postcards....the list goes on and on. If you don't track your marketing dollars, you could easily bethrowing money away on ineffective advertisements. When you launch any marketing campaign, it is vital to seta time frame in which to monitor the results. Be realistic when doing this. Rome wasn't built in a day andneither will your marketing campaign results be. I have had people contact me for services six months after receiving amagnet I mailed out. So, be patient and give yourself time totruly evaluate your efforts. When ever a new customer calls your company, do you ask themwhat made them decide to contact your business? If not, youare loosing out on the simplest and most vital means by whichyou can track your marketing dollars. Anytime I receive an email or telephone call from a prospectiveclient, one of the first questions I ask is how they foundme. Then, I can track the effectiveness of a web site,postcard, email, etc. Different types of ads evoke different responses as well. Itis only smart business practice to track you hard earnedmarketing dollars to determine which ad campaigns are workingand which are not. I was surprised that one of the worst advertisements I wasinvesting in was pay per click. My traffic increasedtremendously but not my sales. The postcards I was mailing was bringing in more new businessand referrals while the pay per click was basically drainingmy marketing budget. Once I terminated my pay per click campaigns, I applied thosemarketing dollars toward mailings and other on line ventureswhich are proving much more profitable? Had I did not tracked my marketing efforts, I would still bethrowing away my hard earned money on tactics that simply were not producing for me. You could be doing the same. Realtors do a great deal of marketing. It is crucial in theirline of work to know where their marketing dollars are bestspent. From yard signs and magazine ads to postcards andletters, the smart, business savvy realtor will know each monthwhich method(s) have produced the best results. Something as simple as a daily call log can be used to helpyou track your marketing. When ever a new customer enters your business, ask them howthey came to select your company. Enter this data on to yourdaily call log. Do the same with every telephone call youget from new as well as your established customers. It isimportant to get feedback from your clientele. Knowing whatthey thought of your recent postcard or letter can help youimprove your marketing strategy. Some small business owners go a step further and host aninformal picnic each year for their top clients. At this event, they poll their customers and get feedbackregarding the quality of customer service they have received,new products or services they may be interested in, how theyfelt about the mailings/offers you sent, etc. It really helpscreate a good bond between the company and it's "Sphere ofInfluence". When your established customers rave about your services,your referral rate will soar. Try something like this withyour company. Perhaps an annual open house would work. No need to go overboard. Set a budget and stick to it. Serving coffee, tea and sodas along with hotdogs or snackitems would be sufficient. When your customers visit your open house, have a short form for them to fill out, critiquingyour products and services. By allowing them to anonymously express their wants and needsas well as how they feel about your services, you will gainvaluable information necessary to improve and grow your business. It is a good idea to have handouts available such as magnets,pens or even balloons. Of course, these will all have yourcompany name and contact information on them which is anothergood marketing tactic you should use. The bottom line is this; it's all about marketing and tracking your marketing results. An open house can produce a gold mine of new clients as well as re-establishing some of the old ones. Having a solid marketing plan and tracking your marketing results will make a major difference in your sales and how you spend your marketing dollars. So, the next time a new customer walks into your company or makes your business phone ring, remember to ask how she/he came to choose your company. You just may be surprised at what you will learn. Judith A. Wentzel - Image smarter marketing specialist providingimage smarter web site design, marketing & business services.Assisting realtors & small business owners with their businessand marketing needs since 1993. http://www.ImageSmarterMarketing.com http://www.Site-Build-Them-Ecommerce-Smart.com http://www.ImageSmarterWebSiteDesign.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Getting Your Marketing Message Across with CD Business Cards CD Business cards allows any type of business that dynamic look. Hand out your business card on disc and see the expression on your clients faces. The 7 Areas of Marketing Waste - Are You Committing These Marketing Sins? If you want to reduce waste and grow your business it can be useful to know where to look. Marketing waste is usually most apparent in these 7 key areas:1. Finding Your Niche: What Do You Want To Be Known For? In my experience, there are two kinds of small business owners: one that knows whom their market niche is and utilize it, and another who tends to waiver or not want to "set in stone" their target market. With the latter group, I always probe for more information: Why don't you want to choose a specific target for your product/service? Time and time again, the response is the same "I don't want to limit my profits by only catering to a few. 4 Steps To Increase Your Job Sign Marketing It's no secret that using a job site sign can be an effective way to market your company's services to neighborhood homeowners. But most job sign marketing isn't done as effectively as it could be. One-Two-Three Punch Marketing Printed material is just as important today as it was before the Internet. With sp*a*m getting out of hand, it's a wise choice to rev up, update or create printed material, ads, catalogs, direct mail, press releases, letters, templates and the like. Reinventing The Wheel Revolutionary ideas have always been the mark of mankind. It's what made us superior to animals and prove that we are the dominant species of this planet. How To Conduct Effective Online Surveys Although they are inexpensive and product fast results, online surveys still need to be conducted properly to be really effective. The key steps for conducting effective online surveys are:Identify your objectiveDecide what information you needDevelop a questionnaireConduct the surveyAnalyze the responsesRecommend a course of action* Identify your objectiveOnline surveys are conducted to find out the characteristics, behaviors, opinions, and knowledge of a particular population. Beware of Magazine Style Yellow Pages Ad Design. I have been designing Yellow Page ads for the past 15 years. I have been fully submerged in the medium. Advertising Campaigns That Get Results "Advertising doesn't work." I hear it from my clients all the time. Whats In a Business Card? Over the years as I have attended trade shows, networking meetings, chamber events and more; I have noticed a few things about the successful and the not so successful. First of all, do you have a business card?If you belong to a large corporation, you were probably issued business cards as a matter of course, almost as if it was a company perk. Database Marketing: Secrets To Skyrocket Your Online Profits Using Database Marketing What is database marketing?Database Marketing is the gathering and storing of specific information about your prospects or customers.This information is usually stored in a database program on your computer. Put Your Marketing To The So What? Test Want to get Better at your Marketing today?For many service business owners, marketing can be a real mystery. We don't really know exactly how it works. Promotional Bags: Your Company Details on Parade The trick to a good promotion is to attach your company details to something useful. Now, there is "private useful" like the promotional toothbrush you use in the privacy of your own bathroom, and there is "public useful" that you use out there where everyone sees you inadvertently parading the promotion. How to Avoid the Line Extension Trap If you follow the prevailing logic of most modern companies, you will inevitably fall into this trap. Line extension is using an existing brand name or image and extending it to new products. The Mighty Marketing Brochure "Brochure" is French, and it comes from brocher, meaning to stitch. According to The American Heritage Dictionary, a brochure is "a small booklet or pamphlet, often containing promotional material or product information. Improving Lead Generating and Conversation Rates: Think Like a Farmer John's a freelance photographer in Ohio who called to tell me of his frustration with the advertising and promotional campaigns he has tried in the last couple of years. Each time he does a promotional mailing to his list of 10,000, he is lucky if he gets one or two inquiries. Lessons From a Six Year Old My 6 year old daughter Emily knows exactly what she wants to be when she grows up. Two weeks ago she knew that she wanted to be a teacher. Simple Marketing Idea - Big Marketing Results! Have you ever noticed how many times it's the simplest concepts that end up working the best?The same is so true when it comes to marketing. I'm constantly amazed at just how powerful some of the simplest concepts are. How to Successfully Promote your Business to an International Audience Breaking into the international marketplace can catapult a company into increased profitability and growth more rapidly than when selling to a domestic market.But how do you market your company successfully to overseas buyers? What can you do to provide the right information to prospective clients that is informative and engaging? How can you stand out from the crowd?The most common promotional approach is to provide brochures. Discover 7 Hidden Profit Producing Secrets Would you like to learn the lessons of the businesses that struggled last year without having to follow in their footsteps? I’d like to share with you seven of the mistakes that are among the most common that are made. This information is value critical if you intend to see marketing efforts drive sales increases.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
