Smart Marketing

When you are just starting your business, you have no choice in your marketing campaign. You have to generate your customer base by attracting new customers. That means generating leads and putting out money to market your product. There is the expensive way to do it then there is the smart way to do it. Follow these tips to build your customer base by attracting new customers with your marketing campaign.

Tip #1: The smart mailer.

You receive lots of ads in the mail. They are typically the postcard or newspaper variety that gets thrown away before they are looked at. Why waste your marketing budget on something that will be looked at by less than 1% of the people who receive it. Get smart and send your mailer the old-fashioned way.

The classic letter in an envelope has a much better chance of being read and followed up on than the postcard variety mailer. Allowing someone to open an envelope and unfold a letter engages them in your marketing efforts. You will get a higher response to letter-type mailers than to postcards or newspaper ads every time.

Tip #2: The smart personal touch.

To go along with the first tip, make sure your mailers have a personal touch. Receiving a letter is nice, but you'll find people will respond to a letter more often if you actually signed the letter, and did so in blue ink (or an ink color different than your mailer color). Potential customers are also more likely to open a letter that has a stamp on it rather than one that has been run through a machine or has "business reply mail" in the corner. The more unusual the stamp, the higher the response you'll get. If you are using images or video in your marketing campaign, use someone who actually works for you rather than a model. It is one more personal touch that people will respond to rather than dismiss.

Tip #3: The smart give-away.

A lot of companies have found that generating new leads is much simpler when you are giving something away. The smart marketer, however, will make sure there is a deadline imposed on the give-away to generate interest now rather than later. Both what you are giving away and the deadline should also fit what you are selling. If you are selling cars, giving away free hotdogs might get more people to come in, but it is less likely to generate real leads than, for example, giving $1000 off for the first 100 customers after customers have negotiated the best deal they can.

Tip #4: The smart emphasis.

Lots of people emphasize the features of their product. You can generate more interest in what you have to sell by not only emphasizing your product's features, but also its benefits. Focus on the problems your product will prevent because of its features. If you don't know what will sell your product, ask your target market. Find out what they value in the type of product you sell and target your marketing toward that. Put the smart emphasis on your product rather than shooting in the dark.

Tip #5: The smart list.

If you are using a list through a list broker to mail marketing products, make sure it is a smart list. Ask your list broker for a list with recent high response to offers and products similar to your own. To add to your smartness, use a list from a list broker who works with a reputable trade group.