Following is a list of what I consider to be the most important elements of any small businesses marketing game plan. Missing any of these three elements is like leaving hoards of money laying out in the street for the garbage man to take away. Obviously you wouldn’t want to do that, would you?
There is no business that cannot dramatically improve their business using these powerful tools. Let’s break them down, one by one.
Direct Mail - I know this seems like a dirty word to a lot of business owners because they have tried it before and failed miserably. But that doesn’t meant that we should throw the baby out with the bath water here. Direct mail has become even more effective recently because of the decline in mail volumes. People are getting much less junk mail these days, so it is far easier for you to stand out in the mail box.
Here’s the bottom line, there is no better way to target specifically the clients you want to attract, than with direct mail. You can purchase a list of people who make over $250,000, are married, have children, and who like to eat pizza on Thursdays…okay, so I’m kidding about the pizza thing, but seriously, can you see how important this is?
You can get your business in front of exactly the type of prospective clients your business dreams about with ease. But I will tell you the key to success, you have to be consistent.
Monthly Client Newsletter - These little two or four page newsletters are the best thing available to build a strong bond with your current clients to get them coming back to you over and over again. The key with these is to make them personal. Yes, you read that right! People like to do business with people that they know like and trust and these newsletters help you accomplish just that. They can see that you are a person just like them, not just some money grubbing business owner. I started these with my clients two years ago and have receive tons of positive feed back. Not to mention, higher revenues per client and much better retention.
Lost Client Win-Back - The reality is, all businesses lose customers for one reason or another. For some of these people, they just forgot about your business and with a little reminder they would be happy to come back. If you keep good records you should already have a sizable list of these clients. Just send them out a letter that says “we want you back” and give them a coupon or other incitement to use your service again.