Posts filed under 'direct marketing'
If you have a website (of course you do) then you may have already experienced the power of digital coupons to drive business to your site and even to your brick and mortar locale.
Even if you don’t have a website, chances are good that you have downloaded a digital coupon once or twice, or dozens of times if you are my daughters. In fact, when my girls have to go shopping for anything that costs more than $10 they first go online to see what coupons are available. When they eat out, they look to their favorite restaurants for coupons offers. They check out the shoe store, the technology stores, department stores, specialty stores and more. They never leave home without at least a handful of coupons to use on their shopping “sprees.”
According to a marketing research study conducted by ICOM Research, coupon redemption rates rise when prices and unemployment go up. Knowing that and the fact that 67 percent of US shoppers say they are more likely to use coupons during a recession, it may just make sense to have a coupon program in place on your website.
The study goes on to say that digital coupons tend to have a much higher usage rate than traditional paper coupons. It sited that 58% of consumers responding said their coupon use would increse if they could download it from the internet to an electronically swiped frequent shopper card.
My newly designed retail website ~ Eden Florist ~ has a mechanism in place when anyone becomes a new customer they get a coupon as a thank you. They can use the coupon on their current purchase online or at a later date.
And lets not forget mobile coupons that you can download to you mobile device. Hundreds of merchants around the globe are already offering these to their clients and customers. Mobile coupons are a great way to gain new customers, offer specials to current customers, and grow your existing database. Mobile coupons are also a great way to reach prospects because they have instant access to them and don’t have to download or cut out coupons. They just carry them around on their cell phone or PDA to use when they need them.
Coupons also make a good incentive to purchase early and avoid the rush. What kind of coupon could you offer your customers to encourage them to buy now instead of later? Digital coupons can make sense to small business especially with the high costs of being in business, doing business and living today.
Here’s a couple of sites with digital coupons offered by hundreds/thousands of merchants around the country: DealWorker.com and RetailMeNot. Check them out for ideas and of course to save money!
November 17th, 2008
Monday on HER Mastermind Network, Leah Jackman-Wheitner, Ph.D. Moderator of Monday Morning Marketing posted the following:
Stop - do not post anything here yet.
GO. Go do one small thing to market your business.
Email someone.
Call someone.
Write one more paragraph on that article you’re going to submit.
Write your press release.
DO SOMETHING.
Then - come back and tell us how it went
Leah
So I posted the following:
Hi, Leah and everyone!
Okay, I did what you said and I sent a proposal to the manager of a new rental community. I read that they were going to have a grand opening next week and offered my services.
They said yes and that they would love a proposal. So I sent it at 5pm yesterday. At 9:45 AM they asked me where to send the check! Whoohooo…
So my advice is to look at your local community papers, chambers of commerce and other places where these types of announcements would show up. If you provide a product or service the new business owner, rental community, etc. can use, call them and introduce yourself! You never know where it will lead. Sometimes its the small things we do consistently that add up to BIG results.
Happy marketing,
Heidi
October 29th, 2008
Staying in touch with your clients and customers should be an integral part of your marketing plan. In fact, it should be one most important activities that you do. In fact, there are several ways you can touch your customers from phone calls, to emails to snail mail campaigns.
Here are the ways we stay in touch with our retail floral customers:
1. We use postcards for those we have not heard from in 6 months or more.
2. We call those we have not heard from in a year.
3. We send bi weekly emails with specials.
4. We have a quarterly newsletter - Ramblin’ Rose which we send with specials, tips, flowers trivia and more.
5. And we send flowers to those customers who are the most frequent purchasers.
6. We also have a “weekly drawing” of our customer database and send them flowers to say HI.
7. Once a year we send a holiday CD filled with our specials (late November).
8. And I randomly go through our list and send thank you notes for our customers’ business once a month.
Here’s what we do to stay in touch with the members of the Women’s eCommerce Association:
1. We host monthly events which are both educational, informational events that our members attend. At the same time, have the opportunity to stick around after the sessions and chat among themselves and very often with the guests we invite to share their success stories.
2. We publish and distribute a bi-weekly ezine called eMonday News.
3. We also publish a digital magazine ~ WE Magazine for Women - for the Total Woman - filled with excellent articles about wealth, travel, business, women, balance and relationships… and much more.
4. We have a network on LinkedIn that we just started where our members can post questions, answer questions, share expertise, and get to know one another.
5. We also host bi-annual summits on a variety of topics which is a great way to reach out to our members – the most recent was “How to Grow a Million Dollar Business” Summit.
How do you stay in touch? Feel free to leave your comments and share your story.
October 14th, 2008
Not long ago on the Real Women, Real Success Forum on RYZE the question was posed: What has been your BEST promotion EVER?
Here’s what I wrote:
To date, GETING OUT OF THE DOGHOUSE has been our best promotion. It is a long story, however it all started when we did a survey of 1000+ men and women asking them who was in the doghouse more (as if we didn’t already know!)
Here’s the headline of the press release with the results of the survey:
“Men Say Buy Her Something…. Women Say Give Him Sex
Survey - reveals talking isn’t the only way to settle disagreements!”
To read it, visit:
http://www.edenflorist.com/doghousepressrelease.asp
Here are some of the things we did to promote it…
We hosted a contest for the best “get out of the doghouse story” http://www.edenflorist.com/doghousecontestweb.asp and http://www.edenflorist.com/doghousestories.asp
I wrote several articles and submitted them to the media (we got in all the local media, several magazines and even some national newspapers). Here’s an article: http://www.edenflorist.com/doghousearticle.asp
We hired a local student to dress up as Scooby Do and went to the local radio and tv stations with cookies in the shape of “dog buscuits” - getting us lots of coverage! A local supermarket made them for us (about 500).
And we created a National Holiday in honor of Getting out of the Doghouse - July is now known as “National Doghouse Repairs Month” and the 3rd Monday in July is “Get out of the Doghouse Day.” We received proclamations from city and county mayors to commemorate the day.
If you have any questions about the contest or what else we did, I am happy to share it with you.
The real trick is to “think big!” Interviewing 1000 people was no small task, but it was do-able. We asked people as they came into our shop, we called our customers and surveyed them on the phone, we emailed them, we even walked around trade shows with clipboards and surveyed folks to reach our numbers. When I was travelling, I would ask the airline personel of Southwest Airlines if they would make an annoucement that a passenger was looking to interview people about getting out of the Doghouse. They were more than happy to ablige (I love Southwest!) and I was the most popular person on most of the flights - it was great fun!
Hope this inspires you to come up with a few great promos of your own.
September 27th, 2008
This week on HER Mastermind Network http://hermastermind-network.ryze.com/ Leah posed the following questions to the group:
What if all your marketing efforts and intentions were returned to you tenfold this week? What if this week was the next great shift forward in your business?
What would you feel like?
And, what would YOU do next to take action for your business?
HERE IS MY RESPONSE:
If my marketing efforts returned tenfold this week then I would have 11,840 new customers! Whoohooo!
Last week we sent out letters to 37 local restaurants introducing them to my company. In the letter we offered the manager a gift certificate for one dozen roses, we also gave them six certificates for half-dozen roses and included 25 certificates for a free bouquet of flowers.
We invited them to keep the dozen roses for themselves, give the six half-dozens to their best customers and the rest to any customer they choose. We also told them to call us when they ran out of the free bouquets so we could send them more. So 37 restaurants X 32 coupons = 1184 x 10 = 11,840!
I don’t know what the outcome will be because they will just receive them today or tomorrow. Will let you know.
I can tell you we did a similar campaign years ago to less restaurants with excellent results.
Which is why we are doing it again. You see, one of the things I teach my clients is to review their marketing and look for those things that have worked in the past with fair to good results. If the CAMPAIGNS paid for themselves and added to their customer/client base, then look at the campaign to see if it is something they could modify and replicate.
So we took our own advice. Our next action will be to follow up with the managers and listen to their thoughts about the offer. We will undoubtedly pick up some new restaurants and hopefully tap into their customer base as well.
September 26th, 2008
Managing Leads
The most important leads are those that are Hot, Hot, Hot and I give them first priority. I schedule at least two hours a week to follow up on leads, and begin with the hot leads.
A hot lead is anyone who has an immediate or near future need for my products and services. If someone says to me, we have an event coming up in the next 2-4 weeks, that is a HOT LEAD for my florist.
A hot lead could also be someone in the planning or budgeting stage and needs to know how much something will cost in order to plug it in to their budget for the year. If it is a sizzling hot lead, I follow up immediately (before I even go to sleep!).
A warm lead could be a referral from one of my champions or fans who knows someone who needs my products and services. A champion is one who would make the introduction for me and a fan is someone who would give me the lead to follow up.
A cool lead is perhaps someone I heard may need my product or service but has not been referred by anyone and I have to take the initiative to contact.
And of course a cold lead would be a sales call to someone whom you do not even know needs your product or service but perhaps you purchased a list of those most likely to buy (they fit the demographics you create about your ideal customer). I rarely, if ever do this.
There are plenty of the hot, warm and cool leads that I have not had time to do this. This would only be done if I found idle time on my hands – something that has not been the case in years.
I follow up by calling hot leads, sending a post card to the others and then calling and or emailing them. I keep the leads in an excel file on my desktop and enter when and how I make contact… and the outcomes.
This is a great exercise to see the effectiveness, or lack of follow-up.
September 14th, 2008
Looking for ideas to write about in articles, on your blog or in your EZINE?
Use the Calendar!
Here’s one that I use – http://www.brownielocks.com.
I search for news about the day, ask friends, find the flowers, people and uses for…. Or ways to celebrate and the result is an example of a post I did about Wear Purple Day:
Today is Wear Purple Day!
Why was purple worn by royalty? Mainly because purple dyes were so hard to make. Using lichen, the plant had to react with ammonia (this meant urine in ancient days) and sit out in the air for 2 weeks. Then it was mixed with pot ash to be used as a dye. This was much harder than just boiling berries or leaves for other colors, so purple dye was only for the wealthy. Today, all you have to do is spill some grape kool-aid and everything turns purple.
More about the color purple:
The earliest archaeological evidence for the origins of purple dyes points to the Minoan civilization in Crete, about 1900 B.C. The ancient land of Canaan (its corresponding Greek name was Phoenicia, which means “land of the purple”) was the center of the ancient purple dye industry. Tyrian Purple,” the purple dye of the ancients mentioned in texts dating back to about 1600 B.C., was produced from the mucus of the hypobranchial gland of various species of marine mollusks, notably Murex. It took some 12,000 shellfish to extract 1.5 grams of the pure dye. Legend credits its discovery to Herakles, or rather to his dog, whose mouth was stained purple from chewing on snails along the Levantine coast. King Phoenix received a purple-dyed robe from Herakles and decreed the rulers of Phoenicia should wear this color as a royal symbol.
According to one article in Paper, Film and Foil Converter Rome, Egypt, and Persia all used purple as the imperial standard. Purple dyes were rare and expensive; only the rich had access to them. The purple colorants used came from different sources, most from the dye extraction from fish or insects.
The imperial purple of Rome was based on mollusk from which purpura comes. Emperor Aurelian refused to let his wife buy a purpura-dyed silk garment, as it cost its weight in gold!
An interesting article on About.com says “Purple is often associated with Royalty and Spirituality: Purple is royalty. A mysterious color, purple is associated with both nobility and spirituality. The opposites of hot red and cool blue combine to create this intriguing color.” … giving purple both cool and warm properties.
Purple is also associated with creativity and imagination. However too much purple can lead to moodiness and disharmony.
Other Purple facts:
Purple has been long associated as the color of mourning for widows in Thailand.
The Purple Heart is given to U.S. Military soldiers wounded in battle.
Oprah Winfrey got an Oscar for her role in the movie “The Color Purple” which was based upon the book of the same title by Alice Walker.
The rock star Prince played the lead in the 1984 movie Purple Rain. The film was very successful earning nearly US$100 million at the box office. The movie won an Academy Award for Best Original Song Score.
There’s a book called Women in Purple: Rulers of Medieval Byzantium by Judith Herrin about, three Byzantine empresses–Irene, Euphrosyne, and Theodora and how they changed history (In the eighth and ninth centuries). Their combined efforts restored the veneration of icons, saving Byzantium from a purely symbolic and decorative art and ensuring its influence for centuries to come.
According to Everything2.com “Contrary to popular opinion, the word “purple” does have rhymes in the English language. In fact, there are two rhyming words, abet words that aren’t used in today’s vernacular. Hirple is a British word, which means “to walk lamely or hobble”. Curple is a word out of Scotland, which refers to the hindquarters of a horse.”
Nature is abundant with purple flowers: In fact, purple flowers are among the most popular with both men and women. Some purple (and shades of purple) flowers include Iris, Roses, Carnations, Dianthus, Violets, Sweet William, Daisies, Allium, Status, Hibiscus, Orchids, Morning Glories, Tulips, Crocus, Hydrangea, Lilac, Peonies, Liatris, Pansies, Wisteria, Stock, Larkspur, Chrysanthemums, Eryngium and Alstromeria to name a few.
In fact, in the past 2.5 years I have designed more purple themed wedding and bridal decorations than at any other time in my 27+ years as a florist.
From this post you may guess that one of my favorite colors is PURPLE! I love the way it makes me feel inside and out. Looking at it makes me smile and wearing it makes me feel special. How about you? Will you be wearing purple today? And what is YOUR favorite color?
For more ideas, get your FREE Copy of the 2008 Edition of Your Marketing Calendar TODAY!
September 9th, 2008
September is National Coupon Month – Recently a customer called about a coupon he got in the mail. The coupon was for cut flowers and the value was $5. He called to ask if we honored other companies’ coupons. I immediately said yes! Why, you ask? The other company paid good money to advertise his product and the customer called my florist. I was closer geographically and he did not have an allegiance to any shop (up to that point).
By honoring the coupon, not only does my company gain a new customer, we probably gain one for life! And it only cost us $5… not bad. According to marketing experts it costs up to six times to get a new customer as it does to keep the ones you currently have. So when one “falls in your lap” with little effort on your part, it’s a GIFT. After all, if grocery stores, pharmacies and other retail establishments can honor other companies’ coupons, why couldn’t a smaller business do the same? And you don’t have to be retail, if you provide a service and you are looking for new business, what a great way to encourage people to give your service a try. So, if you have a coupon from another florist and you want to redeem it at my shop 
the answer is absolutely, “We’d be delighted to honor it!
Small Businesses can use big business marketing tactics to grow their business and add to their bottom line. What other BIG BUSINESS marketing ideas have you seen that you could adapt to your own small business?
I’d love to hear from you!
September 6th, 2008
or… How to Drum up Business by Knocking on Doors!
I love the idea of Door to Door Marketing and in fact years ago when I first started in business “hired” my kids to do this for me. I also hired teenagers in the summer to put door hangers out there in neighborhoods. It really was a great way for customers to find out about my products and
services.
According to the Associated Press “Others factors besides the do-not-call list have prompted companies to put sales staff back on the street. Unsolicited e-mail annoys most computer users, and improved spam-blockers make the tactic less effective. And it’s hard to persuade customers tovisit a company’s Web site.”
And a spokesperson for the Direct Selling Association said “I think companies are looking for new distribution channels for their products. Door-To-Door selling has traditionally been undervalued by Wall Street, but many realize its strength. It’s a niche market, but $28.7 billion in
sales last year make it nothing to scoff at.”
After a few years of doing the marketing ‘in-house’ I hired a company that sold the space in the form of a flyer insert to local businesses and then would go around and hang these on doors in specified neighborhoods. Prior to every major holiday I would do a door-to-door campaign to raise awareness and more customers. The main reason I stopped is that it got costly and didn’t really have the same return as when we hired “kids” to do the hangings. It may also have had to do with other companies sharing the space. People might look at that as junk mail and yet, when a company does it as a single ad, it looks like it is more effective.
So guess what? I am going to do it again! On my own… with no other companies in the hanger. and I might even knock on a few doors and introduce myself this time.
I am going to create a gift certificate that can be either used toward a purchase or can be redeemed for something of value on the certificate.
So, what kind of Door-to-Door Marketing campaign could you come up with?
Need help marketing your small business? Redhead Marketing Can Help! Contact heidi (at) redheadmarketingblog.com for a quote.
August 23rd, 2008