| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Buzz Word
Offline, it's called word-of-mouth advertising. Online, it's known as viral marketing. Semantics aside, one fact is perfectly clear: make your customers happy and they'll do the advertising for you. Let's illustrate this principle by citing a real life example. Joey Vasquez is a loyal subscriber of a certain telecommunications company based in New York. He has been a solid supporter of the said service for seven years now. When asked why he's sticking with that particular company, Joey's reply was quite simple and pretty straightforward. No, he did not mention the quality of the service, and neither did he count the applicable rates as a factor. "It's because they offer me a yearly rebate," he casually said, "I get $20 back every January." In the past six years, Joey has convinced around thirty of his relatives and friends to switch to his network service provider of choice. The $20 rebate is the telecommunication company's way of rewarding faithful clients. Their fees are by no means the lowest in the eastern coast, but they have built for themselves a solid base of patrons, and the number of people who abandon their services is close to non-existent. What does this tell us? For starters, it is a testament to how powerful a tool word-of-mouth advertising is. Secondly, this example teaches us how to jumpstart a successful marketing plan that would make our customers spread the business message on our behalf. This kind of marketing, though not necessarily novel, is undoubtedly efficient, not to mention cost effective. Imagine a battalion of advertisers doing the advertising for you. Distribute your business message to five individuals, and those five individuals would spread it to five other people in their respective networks, and you would have exposed your product or service to thirty people, just like that. But the beauty of this system is that it doesn't stop there. The spread of your business message would only grow exponentially, and at a very rapid pace at that. The battery of this campaign is an incentive to encourage people to spread the word to persons they know. In marketing parlance, this is called a value proposition. In our example above, the telecommunications company provided Joey with a $20 rebate for a year's subscription. This is the value proposition. It proved to be very enticing for Joey that he spread the word to the people in his network. The end result is a customer with seven years of loyalty (and counting), and thirty new subscribers. Value propositions can take many forms. Take a look at the following examples: 1. A value proposition can be a free product or service that you could offer to warm people up before you present them with the goods you have for sale. 2. It can also be in the form of a trial version of your product. This would be the best way to make your prospective customers happy, and at the same time, invite them to purchase the full version of what you have to offer. 3. A value proposition can also be a monetary reward, as was the case with Joey and his network provider. Money is a very seductive prize, and you'll have people talking about your business in no time! The goal is to hook the potential consumer to your value proposition, and make him happy in the process. In most cases, this is enough to propel your word-of-mouth campaign into motion. You'll be able to get people talking and they will do the marketing for you. Prospective customers should not be your only target. Building goodwill with your existing clientele would also transform them into your advertising vehicles. Remember, gaining a customer is good, gaining a customer for life is better, but gaining a customer for life and having him invite more people to try your business is a marketer's dream come true! Ronny Berglund is a marketing professional, which owns and operate http://www.traffic-plus.com that can help you to instantly get website visitors, do popup advertising or any type of instant website traffic increase.He also owns and operates http://www.marketingpatch.com where you find strategic marketing tips. And you can learn the marketing tips and tricks that pro's use! MarketingPatch.com also have a great forum where you can talk about everything marketing related, he even let you post your in a Buy / Sell forum.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
The 3 Unknown Steps of Marketing Success To be your own marketing expert you first need to know where to begin. It's no good learning how to be a good copywriter, if you don't know what medium is best to promote your work through. How Can I Break Into Cliques? Have you ever gone to a networking function and seen THE person who you feel could help you most there, except that person is surrounded by people ALL the time? Have you ever tried to enter into a conversation with that circle of people, only to have gotten the feeling you were intruding? How do you get an audience with a person who is constantly surrounded by "gatekeepers"? This happens often at gatherings that do not have a structured agenda- in other words in places where open networking is promoted. Here's an effective approach to meeting the person you want to meet. Are Your Brochures Worth The Paper Theyre Printed On? Brochures are one of the oldest marketing weapons in the business arsenal. And for good reason. Developing the Unique Selling Proposition The "Unique Selling Proposition" advertising campaign was developed by Reeves in 1961. Reeves proposed that marketers offer products different from their competitor' offerings by developing products that have a special formula, design, or feature. 30-Minute Marketing Marketing your small business takes tons of time, years of experience, and lots of money, right? WRONG! Anyone can learn effective marketing techniques that are simple, inexpensive, and best of all, quick! This summer, get in the habit of regularly marketing your biz! The following are some marketing techniques that you can accomplish in 30 minutes or less. Pick a few that appeal to your style. Directional (Not Direct) Marketing Those who believe the web is not a direct response medium should think again. A recent study conducted by AdKnowledge and published in their recent "Online Advertising Report" suggests that 60 percent of total website conversions occurs in the first half-hour. Writing Sales Letters That Sell The most important part of any marketing you do is direct marketing. This includes letters, postcards, brochures, newspaper or magazine coupons, telemarketing, TV or radio direct response commercials, e-mails, and the copy on your web site. Looking for Sky In All The Wrong Places Ever sit with a single puzzle piece of clouds and wonder how you will ever put the entire sky together? Life as an entrepreneur is often just like that-- lots of the little pieces, creating products, taking care of clients, wrestling with computers, finances, taxes, etc.-- and a whole lot of sky. Effective Tips For Telemarketers I had a telemarketer call me recently. Here's a rough transcript of the conversation. Consider Consumer Psychology In your marketing efforts, be they on or offline, it's wise to consider the psychology of the consumer you are targeting. If you've done your homework you've developed a profile of your ideal customer and how your unique selling point speaks to them. Why Instant Gratification Marketing Condemns Businesses To Losing 90% Of Their Potential Customers Most businesses target only people "ready-to-buy". These hot prospects are "Now Buyers" because they've been inching closer to a decision for some period of time. Marketing Tips 101 - Where Can I Get Clients From? The following tips have come from a wide variety of sources; some from other successful businesses we know, some from our Home-Based and Small Business Support Group meetings and some we've developed by trial and error. Some of the ways to get clients are: contact previous employers; mailing lists; cold call your target market; attend group meetings and seminars for your target market (conventions for doctors, lawyers; computer seminars); attend local Chamber of Commerce meetings; join groups related to your target market; if your target market uses a specific system, for example accountants use the SafeGuard system, contact them and tell them that you are available to teach them how to use the system or you can do it for them. Money-Makers Secrets to Renting Profitable Mailing Lists As an entrepreneur involved in selling and/or promotion ofsomething by Direct Mail, you should already know that mostimportant aspect of your mailing have to do with the sales letteror circular you send out, and the mailing list you use. Withthese thoughts in mind, and assuming you've got what should be anorder-pulling sales letter or circular, let's focus our attentionspecifically on the problem of finding mailing lists that produceprofitable orders. How to Save Thousands on Your Marketing Marketing can be expensive. It doesn't have to be, but sometimes you will spend more than you should. Is Your Company A Member Of The Community? One particularly hot south Texas day, I was making a routine sales call to a family Mexican restaurant. Angela, with whom I had an appointment, is a real "hands on" lady. Direct Mail Response Rates Low? Eliminate These Mistakes Are your direct mail response rates lower than you expect? Check your sales letter or direct mail package against this checklist to uncover the reasons for your poor response.LISTYou are mailing to people who are never likely to buyYou are not mailing to others in the same business who influence the buying decisionYour list is out of dateYour names and addresses are not formatted correctly for proper deliveryYour list has job titles only, not namesFORMATYou are using the wrong format for your audience (self-mailers to professionals, for example)Your letter and brochure are not complete sales pitches in themselvesYour liftnote or buckslip confuses your offer or main selling promiseENVELOPEYour envelope gives too much away, so your prospects throw it away unopenedYour mailing envelope looks like junk mailYour package is addressed to "Occupant" and not to a person by nameMESSAGEYour letter lacks a strong, customer-focussed headlineThe opening line in your letter is not compellingYou spell your prospective customer's name incorrectlyYour letter lacks specifics about product size, weight, color and other vital detailsYou discuss product features but not customer benefitsYou talk too much about your company and not enough about your readerYou do not create enough desireYour letter lacks urgencyYou do not offer a guaranteeOFFERYou are offering the same thing that your competitors are offeringYour offer is not specificYour offer is not exclusiveYour offer is not relevantYour offer is not valuableYour offer is not uniqueYour offer is not usefulCALL TO ACTIONYou do not ask for the orderYou ask for the order, but too late in your letterYou conclude by saying, "If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me"You give too many ways to respond-or not enoughREPLY DEVICEYour reply device is too clutteredYou do not tell prospects what to do to buy your product or serviceYour reply device is not postage-paidTIMINGYou are mailing at the wrong time of the yearYour letter is arriving on the wrong day of the weekYou are mailing too often, so prospects ignore youYou are not mailing often enough, so prospects do not remember youAbout the authorAlan Sharpe is a business-to-business direct mail copywriter who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using creative direct mail. Online Magazine Subscription Services Make Shopping Online Fun For Magazines If recreating the old experience of subscribing to magazines by filling out a subscription card is essential to the success as an Internet retailer, then MagMall.com takes top awards. Doing it with Class! Doctors do it, hair dressers do it, and salespeople can do it too.I have been working with a chiropractor for a few months and when it came time to give me a new appointment, she would use a quarter sheet of paper to check off the appointment time. 5 Tips on Establishing Yourself As An Expert In Your Community Wondering how to get new patients into your practice? Wondering how to distinguish yourself as unique from the other practitioners in your community? Here are 5 surefire ways to get visibility in your area.5 Tips on Establishing Yourself As An Expert In Your Community1. 2 Little Words That Work Marketing Magic In his classic best-seller, "How To Win Friends And Influence People," Dale Carnegie's second chapter is entitled The Big Secret of Dealing With People. The secret is summed up in this principle: Give honest and sincere appreciation.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
