If you’ve been getting dizzy spinning around marketing strategies, cut back to the basics and do something you might not have done in the past – track your campaign (no matter how big or small it is).
Idea Number One: Write a hand card.
That’s right – you heard me. Write a card and snail mail it. With so much technology making it easy to say thanks via email, catch up on someone’s Facebook Wall or meet for coffee through a text message, receiving something hand written in the mail is a great surprise.
There are a variety of ways to get your hands on cards –hand make them, design them specifically for your business or utilize a service like Send Out Cards.
Consider your motive for sending the card. Are you building rapport, trying to secure a face to face meeting, or giving thanks for meeting?
Here’s some wording suggestions, listed by circumstance:
Building Rapport:
I just saw this great [article, blog post, recipe, website] that I thought would help you [insert information here]
I wanted to personally thank you for [insert: recommendation, introduction, advising, etc]
Trying to Secure a Face to Face Meeting:
I have heard [insert something complimentary and specific here] about you.
I would love an opportunity to learn more about [insert something specific here] from you. Perhaps I could buy you a coffee [insert specific time here] and we could chat.
After a meeting:
Thank you for meeting with me. If there is anything I can help you with please let me know
Here is that information we were discussing. I hope it comes in handy for you.
Personalize hand cards as much as possible and ensure you send your message in a timely manner. A good rule of thumb is within 48 hours.
Tracking Your Success:
Consider the cost and number of people you will be sending cards to. You can create an estimate based on the number of meetings, phone calls and networking events you attend in a month. Any one of the 3 options I described before for sending cards should cost just under $2 cad, including postage.
Base the success of your efforts in two categories: quality of relationship developed and number of sales derived.
Add a column to your existing database contact list for card giving. When you send a card, enter the date, the date of any response (or lack thereof) and if a result is generated from this action.
Check back later this week for another trackable marketing idea.
photo credit: gilesclement
Ever felt alone, scared, frustrated or at your wits end as you attempt to grow and succeed in your business or career? Do you go home complaining and whining when really all you need is someone objective who cares, to listen to you and provide some sound advice?
I’m a big fan of having a personal business coach. Without mine, there’d be times when I’m sure I’d be lost. There’s someone to celebrate with. There’s someone who understands the challenges I’m taking on week after week. My personal life is fuller because I’ve learned skills that help me balance. I follow through (well, sometimes I forget things) but my intention is out there.
Top five reasons to hire a coach:
5. Calls you on your “stuff”
4. Ensures you stick to your goals and holds you accountable
3. Provides that second opinion for: new business ideas, program implementation, even marketing, writing, etc
2. Is a great resource for other services, networking opportunities
1. Celebrates your successes, encourages you through setbacks and reinforces progress you’ve made
You know you’ve got some great clients + potential clients. And spoiling them with a party has likely crossed your mind. But what a daunting (and possibly costly) task.
Most people expect good food, drinks and company from a party. If there’s a theme and some entertainment – that’s bonus.
Photography by Ron Sombilon Gallery
So how do you create a remarkable event without extravagant pricing? Here are some tried and true suggestions:
1. Partner up. Think of businesses that could use some exposure and work together to create something memorable. Some examples may include:
Utilizing another business’s facility or speciality has many benefits. Most notably include promotion of the event through their network and the offsetting of costs as you “share” your customer base.
2. Choose your food and beverage quantities wisely. Of course, you won’t want to run out of either, but if you are footing the bill (meaning you haven’t coveted an alcohol or food sponsor/partner) you’ll want to be careful about how you make your purchases.
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Mix catered dishes with purchased snacks (ex. crackers, breads, chocolates)
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Work with a caterer who understands your budget and needs and can help create something spectacular.
3. Pick a theme tied to a cause. Support a charity and show your community spirit. You’ll have an easier time getting donations for your event. You may even have luck forming a theme via the charity. Supporting Dress for Success’s theme could be a dress up event where WaterCan’s could be “everything in blue.”
4. Choosing to work with an expert may seem expensive at first, until you breakdown how much money you’ll likely save as a result of the connections, discounts and money saving techniques an event planner has.
5. Music is part of the fun. Do you know of any local bands that your clientele would also like? If you can’t afford to hire a DJ, consider renting speakers and creating a great playlist. (If you don’t have a musical ear – ask a musical friend. You might be surprised that they are happy to put together a playlist that they can add to their IPod later.)
6. Make sure your event is remembered long after the party hats are put away. Send your guests home with a gift. Goodie bags that have a good surprise in them are always crowd pleasers. (Try not to crowd the bag with too much promotional material). I have used Ultimate Gift Cards for some of my most recent events and they have been quite powerful. Both cost effective and impactful.
You will also want to look into any permits you’ll need such as a special event liquor license.
And, for every event you do, make sure you use what you’ve learned and accumulated on your next event. Write to do and check lists before your event and revise afterward. Add it to the file of things you need to throw your own successful party.
photo credit: adria.richards
If you’re not using Twitter, you might be missing out on a great opportunity to expand and develop your business connections; promote your online promotions and blog posts, communicate in person events or sales; and speak with key players in your field without having to cold call or schedule a meeting.
Some strategies:
Development:
Follow influencers of your business community and learn from them; join conversations with the media, bloggers, potential customers; keep up to date with bloggers who you currently read.
Promote:
Start up a blog and promote your stories on Twitter; tweet about upcoming events and gain online exposure for them; develop contests and prizes and give them away online; broadcast your sales, daily specials or anything else you’d tell customers in person.
Communicate:
Even though you might want to just shout out what you’re selling, remember that conversations and trust will lead to sales. Talk to people you follow. Answer their questions, give free advice. Create a good mix of promotional dialogue and helpful information and you’ll cultivate more followers.
Remember, Twitter is only a part of your marketing strategy. It is your space to remind your audience about you in a non-intrusive way. Paired with other online marketing efforts like Google Ad Words, Blogging and Facebook, in person and in print marketing, you’ll have a well rounded marketing campaign with further reach and broader depth.
Feel free to follow me, I’ll likely follow back 
www.twitter.com/marketing_girl
photo credit: ArtemFinland
There is nothing worse than investing time and money in a marketing campaign without the ability to track its effectiveness. Here are 3 scenarios, and some suggestions on how to track them.
A newspaper ad or direct mailer
In the past, you may have put an ad in a local newspaper with your website’s home page and phone number. Or perhaps you went another step further and suggested your reader clip the ad as a coupon or used urged potential customers to “Call for more details.”
By automating your print advertising you’ll be able to see the effectiveness of your advertisement and potentially increase your email database. That means, if the offer is good, but not good enough for them to buy right away, you can retain their information for further offerings or useful information. You can use landing pages to achieve this.
A landing page is a “hidden” page on your website – meaning it’s not on your navigation bar. It has a specific URL, like http://www.vancouvermarketinggirl.com/[insert page here] that is linked to a specific campaign.
Ask for some key information on a landing page – like name and email address. Walk through this promotion if you’d like to see an example in action. Visit ZipLocal and find Salon Montage. Click on the URL on their profile. Fill in the information and within moments you’ll receive an email coupon. (PS, if you did this, you just received a $15 certificate to use on their services). You’ll also be added to their email database which is how you can track how many people participated in your campaign (Don’t worry you can unsubscribe right away if you don’t want to receive their monthly updates).
Ask your web designer or email me for more information on how to create your own landing page.
Many companies also use different phone numbers for each specific campaign. This works well as you can track received phone calls. This could be a good route to go if your company isn’t participating in email marketing.
A Facebook ad campaign
This method can be tracked through Facebook statistics and through your Google Analytics. You can easily see how many people viewed your ad and how many responded. This way you can adjust your message accordingly. Facebook does an excellent job of allowing you to target your campaign by selecting the demographics that fit your criteria.
Email Newsletters
Email campaigns are a brilliant way to keep in touch with current, past and potential customers. Email marketing should be permission based. It’s a good idea to utilize a third party newsletter provider. I use Icontact almost exclusively. I like their pricing, customer service and the ease of their website.
With IContact you can send as many emails and have as many lists of subscribers as you wish. Two good lists to start with would be Current Customers and Potential Customers. This way you can address various topics that are of interest to each group.
When you send your marketing message Icontact takes care of the tracking. You can see in detail how many people opened your email and clicked on links. You can also see who has unsubscribed. I use this as an indicator of the usefulness of the message. In this genre, a straight promotion will usually result in more unsubscribers than a message with useful information as well as promotional.
Feel free to utilize your landing pages through email marketing as well.
photo credit: Keyser_ Soze
Spend the time.
It’s the one thing we all complain we don’t have enough of. Time spent with a client can really strengthen your relationship.
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Make time for lunch or coffee; participate in an activity together – it doesn’t have to be golfing either: skiing, snowshoeing, a movie, a dance class, a cultural event.
Random Act of Kindness 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
If you’ve ever sat across from me over drinks or seen me tweeting on my iPhone, it’s because of Hootsuite. When questioned why I love this client, or even what’s better about it than others, I don’t have much of a response… do you justify when you’re in love?
Found a new way to spread the word!
by chenrickson on March 1, 2009
in fresh marketing
Wow, where have I been this last week? I have definitely been writing, just not blog writing and Yelp is why:
I recently discovered the “funness” of Yelp! and I’ve been having a great time writing reviews for local restaurants, shops and services, that I haven’t been blog writing. However, all of this review writing is definitely considered some random acts of kindness.
You can check out all of the businesses I’ve been Yelping about by clicking on my profile over on the sidebar. You can set up a business page with them if you’re a business or just write up reviews on places you like to shop, eat and play.
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