I’m often asked that if I had only one method of getting new customers, what would it be.

My answer is that it would be using endorsed mailings.

Endorsed mailings work for any business on a local level, global level, or via the internet.  It should be at the forefront of almost any set of marketing strategies.

The concept really is quite simple.  You want to look for a company that has the customers that you would also like as your customers.  Naturally, you won’t be going to a competitor for their list.  It will always be a non-competitor, even though I’ve worked out endorsements with competitors in rare situations.

That said, the endorsing company would send out a letter, on their letterhead, to their customers.  The letter would be addressed from the principal of the company, if possible.   Or an endorsement letter could be sent out as a cover letter with your sales letter or literature along with it.   You want the mailing to be done, using the endorser’s identity on the outside of the envelope.

Because the endorser is known by the customers being mailed, there’s almost a 100% chance that the mailing will be opened and read by the receiver.

Of course the one variable is the quality of the relationship the endorser has with his/her list of customers.

If your letter is done properly, approval of your business by another business, almost always builds an understanding in the prospect’s mind of honesty and believablility.

There are two requirements that must be met in order for an endorsement situation to work.

1. The customers of the endorser must need and want your product.

2. They must trust the endorser. 

You might look at your present vendors to find a good endorser.  Here are some examples:

1. A carpet retail store might look for a rug-shampoo and cleaning company.

2. A florist might consider wedding planners, caterers or bridal stores.

3. A bridal store could endorse a florist, a dry cleaner, decorator, or furniture store.

4. A CPA could endorse a lawyer.

5. A doctor could endorse a dentist, chiropractor or a veterinarian.

You get the idea, right?

Here are some phrasings I found effective when I sent out endorsements to my customers:

1. “I value you as a customer, and I want to share with you the benefits I’ve received from (whatever)”

2. Jimmy Smith of Smith and Company holds our relationship in very high esteem, and he felt you would want to know about our (whatever)”

3. “Because you are a very good customer of mine, I have arranged for you to get two free hours with this very talented financial planner.  I’m giving you this in appreciation for being my customer.”

I feel that # 3 here is one of the best ones to test.

Do you use endorsed mailings as part of your marketing strategy?  If so, have you been pleased with your results?  If not, what do you think has not worked?

Also, if you have not used endorsed mailings as part of your marketing strategy, why not?

Technorati Tags: endorsed mailings, get new customers, getting new customers, marketing strategy

In last week’s blog post, I received the questions below from a couple of our subscribers.

First question:

My question is with all of the information, marketing, and social media blasting our email or mailbox. All trying to get a min of our attention and gain a response. How do you get the attention of your target market?

Second question:

1. What is the most effective way to reach decision makers in mid size companies?

2. Is it better to reach an HR director or a CFO?

Background: I am looking to market an employee benefit program. This is a service that may already be provided by HR with limited success.

Here’s a way for everyone reading this article to hone your skill…

Take just a couple minutes and think about how you would answer these questions.

Then read my answers in the Comment section of the original blog post at http://www.kenvarga.com/news/can-you-imagine/ .

Compare your answers to my answers.  Are they different?  If so, make a comment and tell us how they are different.  If you agree with what I’ve said, you can say so too.

Share your inner genius with us.

Looking forward to your responses.

Technorati Tags: how to get attention of target market, how to reach decision makers

Most small businesses are confused about their marketing message.  Some think that a slogan will suffice, some think that an ad about how great their company is will do, or that saying how long they have been in business will work.

How about those companies that think it’s their mission statement and vision statement that is their marketing message.

It’s none of those.

Whenever I consult with a company, I ask them, “What is your marketing message,” and the above are most of the answers I receive.

However, your marketing message is what will grab your prospects’ attention.   It tells your prospects why they should trust you, why they should choose to do business with you rather than your competitors, and says how you can solve their problem.

That’s it in a nutshell.

It should “speak” to your prospect.  This is done by appealing to your prospect’s hot buttons and whatever will trigger an emotional reaction. You must research and find those hot buttons.

Here are three things you should do and explore when putting together your Marketing Message:

1. Identify the problems that your target market is having.  You must ask yourself the following question: “What problems are the members of my target market having and how do those problems make them feel?” Each target market, individually, has its own frustrations and pains. The secret to putting together a message that will make members of your market sit up and listen is to identify the problem and the pain they feel as a result of that problem. They don’t care about your company, or how great you are, or how long you’ve been in business.  Identifying their pain and suffering tells them that you understand and empathize with them.  Let them know that you care.

2. Present them with your solution to their problem.  Ask yourself the question.  “What is the solution that I have to offer my prospect?”  Present your solution as a “cure” for all of the pain and suffering they are going through as a result of this problem.  Put yourself in the situation of your customer.  Would you make a decision on purchasing something unless you feel an excruciating pain?  Now is the time to identify all the benefits of your solution.  Identify how those benefits will improve their lives and how great they will feel when you take that pain and anguish away.

3. Explain what makes you different from your competitors.  To start, ask your present customers the following question, “Why do you deal with me rather than with (your competitor’s name).

Once you know how you are different from your competitors, you need to communicate your differences.  Those differences need to have a perceived value in the mind of your prospect, so help them along in your message.  It needs to be something they care about.

Remember what I always say to myself when I do any shopping.  What’s in it for me?

Again, all of this starts with knowing the wants, problems, needs, and fears of your target market.  It ends with you putting together a message that speaks to those problems in a very compelling and believable way. 

Do the above 3 things and you will create an irresistible message that makes your prospect want to know more.

Technorati Tags: market fears, market message, market needs, market wants, marketing message, marketing messaging, target market

As I travel, I have an opportunity to read many ads in many magazines and newspapers.  What disturbs me is that 99% of them are downright dull and I often yawn when reading them.

As the saying goes, “How you say something is just as important as what you say.” An ad should be similar to a face-to-face sales pitch.

A great ad will have, not only the offer itself, but the language, the tone, and the “voice” of the offer.

The problem is that most sales messages get so engrossed in describing the company, its products, and product features that they fail to appeal to the reader.

It’s understandable.  People in business are often so tied to their businesses or products that they get tunnel vision and fail to look at their copy from their reader’s perspective.

It’s understandable, but inexcusable.

My advice is to be more experiential in your ads, as if the reader is experiencing what you are telling them.  Let them feel or imagine how it feels.  Make it “benefit-rich”.  Most importantly, appeal to the reader’s ego when describing those benefits.

People always buy for, or are influenced by, personal desires, selfish reasons and self-interested motives.  And guess what?  It’s been that way for thousands of years, and nothing’s changed.

People are people.  They always buy on emotion and they always will.

Our job as entrepreneurs is to express our offers in terms that trigger the prospects emotions, press their hot buttons, tug at their heartstrings, and push them into taking action. 

To do otherwise with your offers is the biggest mistake you can make.

Technorati Tags: ad writing, magazine ads, newspaper ads, sales offer

Here’s an experience I just had this week. I was reading my local newspaper, and an ad jumped out at me. It was for a Hair Salon. It stated: “Bring this Ad with you and your first visit is FREE.”

I set up an appointment and complimented the owner on her ad.

Here’s the interesting part—

When I was leaving, the girl that did my haircut gave me a small bag with a gift of a sample shampoo they probably got from their supplier, but also a small sample of the conditioner she used when she washed my hair. And in the bag was a “Thank You" letter from her.

Here’s what the letter said.

Hi
I just want to say it was a privilege to have the opportunity to treat you to one of my personalized haircuts and styles.

As a thank you, I am giving you 50% off your next haircut and style when you book your next haircut.

Please call and reserve your time with me, Elaine at Salon by the Sea, 732-282-1600.

My hours are Thurs 10-8 Fri 9-5, Sat 7-4.

Sincerely
Her name, address and the website

The reason I’m mentioning this is that you could massage this process to fit your own enterprise.

The thing is that I still paid for the haircut, because I’d feel bad if I didn’t. Plus, the salon owner now also has a new client because she gave me a great haircut and created a great “experience”. Could you do something similar and get similar results?

Let me know in the comments section below how you might use this concept in your enterprise.

Technorati Tags: free offer, grow business, growing a business, thank you letter

There is a very short window of time that you have when you initially contact a new prospect by telephone, in a face-to-face meeting, or networking. If you fail to make an impression quickly, you have tuned them out.

Here are some of the things I’ve experienced where the person lost my attention.

1. Opening the conversation by introducing themselves, their company and what they do.

2. If they are in my office, making small talk about the “stuff” they see.

3. Explain to me how your product or service will benefit me. (This is not a misprint. Read below to understand.)

4. Telling me what other companies they have worked with.

5. Showing me the awards they have received.

6. Giving me a brochure immediately.

7. Starting a telephone conversation with, “Hi, how are you?”

Again, these are just a few of the things that have turned me off and you have probably experienced the same.

The moment your prospect senses that you are trying to sell them something that they don’t need or want, they will tune you out and look for a way to disengage or disconnect from the call.

They really don’t care about you. They don’t want to know about your company, listen to you talk about your products or services, or making small talk.

What they do want is a solution to a problem. They want to know how you can help them improve their business. Here are some thoughts on how you can accomplish that.

You must direct all of your attention on their situation and resist the opportunity to talk about you or your company.

When you meet someone, say something like the following, “Mrs. Prospect, many of our clients are currently experiencing (insert the problem here). How does that compare to your company’s situation?”

This demonstrates that you are knowledgeable about their business and/or the industry, and it gives them the opportunity to tell you about their most important concerns.

Over my last 40 some odd years, I have found that most people will tell you anything you want to know providing you give them a reason to do so. The key is to develop and ask high-quality questions.

Here’s really the bottom line…

The more time you spend talking about your product, the less inclined a prospect will want to continue that conversation.

The more you focus your attention on their situation—their problems—and demonstrate how you can help them improve their business, the more you differentiate yourself from your competition.

And this goes for anything you do in life. Whenever you are in any situation, if you talk about yourself, you lose them.

You only have a few moments to connect with a prospect, so keep it brief. Keep it focused. Keep it about them and you will keep their attention.

You’ve all experienced this, so tell me one of your stories.

Technorati Tags: differentiate yourself, differentiate yourself from your competition, differentiation, network meeting, Networking, phone contact, phone conversation, prospect's attention, sales meeting

At one of my recent talks, I was asked about the new social media websites and whether attendees should sign up, and how can they use the media to enhance their business. 

There are lots of opinions in the press about whether the social media work, or whether they are just time wasters.  Different people report different results. 

Remember, these media are only tools, and the only determinant as to whether you use them or not is whether they increase your bottom line.

Ignore the hype and focus instead on how to make them work for you as the tools they are.  Don’t drop everything else you are doing to pursue them, expecting they are going to make you wealthy overnight, as some claim.  They are not.

Dedicate a portion of your time and budget to learning how to implement them.  But make sure you don’t neglect what’s already working for you.  Just add these tools at a pace that compliments, rather than disrupts, what’s already working.

When you see these new media for what they really are… tools…not miracle workers, it becomes not a matter of whether or not you should use them.  Instead the question becomes how do you best use them to get the results you are after.

Don’t let fear of these new media, or lack of knowledge, stop you.  Begin by focusing on creating systems and processes which are easy to implement, and can be repeated over and over.  This is a great basis for eventually outsourcing the work, so you can put it on automatic pilot.

With social media you now have the potential to spread your message farther and wider than you could before.  Like any tool, you just have to learn how to use it to your advantage.

Besides blogging, your social media efforts should start with Facebook and/or Twitter.  Your profile on these media is an important way by which media users can find you.  So make sure you create a profile pertinent to your purpose for the page.  Use keywords that can help them find you.

Probably, the best possible scenario when using Facebook is to build a Fan Page for your business.  A fan page has a similar feel to your regular Facebook page, but it allows you to create a public profile so that you can share your business and products with Facebook users. You can find out more by going here: http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages

Here is a good example of a fan page: http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=mari+smith&init=quick#/marismith?ref=search&sid=1386575769.1132394570..1

If you’d like to learn more about Facebook and Twitter marketing, here is a good inexpensive resource: http://www.kickstartcart.com/app/?af=1081671
 
What are your thoughts or experiences with social media marketing?  Let me know in the comment box below.

Technorati Tags: Facebook, Social Media, Twitter

Who’s right?  Who’s wrong?

Seth Godin, Chris Anderson, and Malcolm Gladwell are going at it about “FREE”, the book recently written by Chris.

Personally, I side with Chris and Seth, even though Malcolm makes a strong argument for his position. 

I think it’s clear that if you look at the trends of “free”, you can see how it has grown more and more pervasive over time, and people expect free samples or free trials of whatever they are considering buying. 

For instance, whether it says “Free Trials” or not, people expect 100% of their money back if they are not satisfied.  This amounts to a free trial.  “Free” has been woven into the fabric of American society so much that I believe most people see it as an economic birthright.

As such, I believe everything is trending towards free first-time usage. The “free line” (the amount of free things given) will move higher and higher as competition continues to grow and “free” embeds itself even deeper and deeper into the American psyche. 

As more and more companies build “free” into their business models (not just as a marketing cost), it’s going to force other companies to lower their prices or change their models.

Sure “free” has been with us for a while, but it has been slowly evolving and has been slowly changing the game.  Chris Anderson is giving us a status report.  Read it.  You definitely want to know where we are now so you have a better chance to get where you want to go.

If you want to follow the debate, check out Seth’s, Chris’ and Malcolm’s positions.  Chris’ and Malcolm’s debate center around paid versus free journalism; Seth’s expounds on ‘free”:

Seth: http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2009/06/malcolm-is-wrong.html
Chris: http://www.longtail.com/the_long_tail/2009/06/dear-malcolm-why-so-threatened.html
Malcolm: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_gladwell?currentPage=all

To get a FREE 25 PAGE EXCERPT from the book, go here:

http://books.google.com/books?id=lLZbXN2odVYC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_v2_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q=&f=false

To buy the book, go here:

Technorati Tags: business model, Chris Anderson, Free, Malcolm Gladwell, Seth Godin

Whenever I work with a consulting client, I talk more with the employees than I do with the top management. One of the questions I ask everyone is, “What are you really selling?”

What a question!   And what different answers!

Many individuals have a blank look on their faces.  And it’s understandable.  Many individuals who work for a company really don’t know what they are selling.

Let’s take a car dealer for example.  You can say he sells cars.  Or, I know all of you on this blog will say, “It’s the benefits they get from what they are purchasing.”  And you’d be correct.

A person doesn’t purchase just a car.  They purchase a car for what benefits they receive from it.  And the benefits will vary from car model to car model.  An example is a Corvette. 

Does a person really need a Corvette?  Is it economical?  Is it reliable?  I could go on and on.  The real reason someone purchases a Corvette, is because of the heads that will turn as he drives the car.  By the way, those heads will be mostly females. 

Another example is a fitness center.  Most of the individuals are members because they are overweight or want to keep fit.  One would think that what they are selling is weight loss and looking fit. 

What they are really selling is the feelings and benefits the customers get when they lose weight and look fit and trim.  The looks they get when they walk down the street. Or the whistles one gets.  The confident feelings that they get as they strut down the street. Or how about the special look in her husband’s eye, when……….

Just in these two examples, you can see the real things the two of them are really selling.

Spend some time thinking about your own company and what you are really selling.  The answer you get will lead to much success and just might explode your sales.

Let me know any other ideas you might have.  Give me your input on your own company and what you think you are really selling.   I’ll work with you on improving it, and as I said before, so that your sales will explode.

Technorati Tags: increase sales

I ran across this magazine ad a couple weeks ago.  It’s a good ad because it tells a story and is personal (Excuse the quality of the image; I had to copy and scan it.).  Take one of your ads and massage it to be like this…to tell a story and be personal.  Then test it out and tell me your results.

Too see a larger version of the ad below, click on this link: http://www.kenvarga.com/Oregon_Fishing_Person_Ad.jpg

Technorati Tags: ad copy, ad story, ad writing, story telling