Business marketing that actually works
Many ‘experts’ promote expensive solutions for marketing your business and increasing sales. But after 31 years in business, having tried many of those ideas, I’ve learned to follow a much simpler process. You’re welcome to learn from my experience.
Back in the day
The first business my wife, Linda, and I started was in the late ‘80s. We sold advertising for the caricature community maps that were so popular at the time. Our marketing strategy involved delivering flyers to potential people within our demographic. We developed our list, defined our region, and mailed them out. But when we followed up with a phone call, almost 100% of people said they never received them. We experimented by doing things differently, using oversized envelopes and then coloured ones. Yet 90% still claimed they didn't get them. Putting the envelopes under the door of the businesses only increased our numbers slightly. One day, our printer wasn’t working so we handwrote the addresses – and the recall rate improved by 20%! Our clients remembered the communication due to one simple personal touch. At one time, we were stapling $2 scratch lottery tickets to our letters. When we followed up, many people told us they hadn’t received our flyer until we asked about the lottery ticket. This jogged their memory and was a great icebreaker to start a conversation with. People hadn’t remembered our earlier letters because there was nothing memorable about them. The key was differentiating ourselves in the minds of our prospective customers.
Not all leads are equal
When building my business, I tried traditional print, radio, and TV marketing strategies. I didn't get one lead. For one year, I invested heavily in magazine advertising, placing the largest possible ad on the page. It looked a lot like the ad before it and the one after. All of us promised the same thing. Over those 12 months, we received 70 leads, with 30 converting into meetings. Of those, 22 invited us to submit a proposal. In those days, every proposal took me a week to write. I lost every single one on price.
Getting qualified leads
‘Tire kickers’ shop around with minimal information, always looking for the cheapest option. The time required to manage tire kickers is never a good investment for serious business builders. It doesn't matter how people find you – unless it's a qualified lead, it shouldn’t be part of your marketing strategy. My current conversion rate is fairly high because of the filtering I incorporate in my marketing message. Ask yourself:
● What is the message I’m taking to market?
● Is my business or offer memorable for the right reasons?
● Is it specific enough to allow prospective customers to shortlist me even before they call?
Our most successful marketing
Over two decades ago, we printed our first newsletter. It was a 12-page work of art which took nine months to produce. I hand-wrote the labels (because I learnt that lesson well) and then mailed them to my database. Being pre-digital, I don't know what the open rate was but my phone rang and sales went up. We produced a few more printed newsletters, a lengthy and expensive process, before embracing email marketing. As soon as our newsletters were sent, our sales increased. Across decades of operation, we've been through three and a half recessions. During that time, many of our competitors went out of business. But everyone knew we were still around because we stayed in touch every month with our newsletter. We proved ourselves to be resilient and dependable.
Newsletters as a winning strategy
The newsletters we produce include technical information and showcase our team as subject matter experts. I always include a funny piece and know people who only open them for a laugh at the end. It’s about regular connection to give people peace of mind. They gain confidence in dealing with an organisation that understands business, is able to identify risk profiles, knows what's commercially sensitive and so forth. Ultimately, it’s a value-added way of staying top-of-mind every month.
Forward thinking
Someone recently asked me, “What are you doing in the next 12 months – is business tough out there?” My clients are those who can afford our expertise. They are forward-thinking enough to put processes in place to improve their business or attract government work. So they are, naturally, the enduring companies who accept hard economic times as part of the cycle and strategically plan for the future. I'm surrounded by clients who are making a difference. So, is it tough out there? I don't know. Geez, my clients are loving it, so I am too.