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

I was recently reminded of Seth Godin’s book with the same title when I was looking at new cars the other day (the original title was: “All Marketers Are Liars”).  The salesman was very polite and talkative, which isn’t bad.  He started telling all kinds of stories, and when I asked him for further information and where I can find it, based on his story, he couldn’t give me the information.  

Seth says in his book, “When you find a story that works, live that story, make sure it is a true story, authentic, and subject to scrutiny”. 

This particular salesman had stories, but they were not authentic.  They were designed to get a sale only.  They weren’t the result of a story the company was committed to wholeheartedly and as a reason for being.

If a story can’t stand up to scrutiny, as in my experience, you lose a customer and a sale. Eventually it catches up to you. 
Seth gives an example in his book about a glass maker.

According to Georg Riedel’s message on the glass maker web site, “The delivery of a wine’s message, its bouquet and taste, depends on the form of the glass…”

Robert Parker, Jr, the king of wine reviewers, said, “The finest glasses for both technical and hedonistic purposes are those made by Riedel.  The effect of these glasses on fine wine is profound.  I cannot emphasize enough what a difference they make.”

Perhaps thousands of others are now believers.  “Millions of wine drinkers around the world have been persuaded that a $200 bottle of wine (or a cheap bottle of Two-Buck Chuck) tastes better when served in the proper Rieidel glass.”

But when the proper scientific tests were done that eliminated “any chance that the subject would know the shape of the glass, there is absolutely zero detectible difference between glasses.  A $1 glass and a $20 glass deliver exactly the same impact on the wine: none.”

The idea that the form of a glass makes a difference is the story.  They sell millions of dollars’ worth of glasses every year.  The resulting perception is that the glasses help you to enjoy your wine more than you did before drinking it in a Reidel Glass.

“Marketing apparently makes wine taste better.”  It seems that “an expensive glass and the story that goes with it, has more of an impact on the taste of wine than the oak casks it’s brewed in.  Georg Riedel makes your wine taste better by telling you a story.”

Very interesting lesson!

What story can you tell about your product or service?

But before you answer and rush off to create a story, you may want to get a copy of Seth’s book and read it.  There is much more to the story of creating a story…the most important being that it must be authentic.  But when you get this right, it is one of the most powerful things you can do for your business.

Technorati Tags: all marketers are liars, all marketers tell stories, business story, Georg Riedel, robert parker jr, Seth Godin

I often talk about the Law of Reciprocity as an example of how you can build rapport with a prospect or customer.
 
Reciprocity works because most of us don’t like to feel obligated to someone else.   When someone gives us a gift, we want to reciprocate.  So when you give a gift to a prospect or customer, they will generally want to reciprocate by at least giving you their attention. And their attention is the first thing you need before you can build rapport that can eventually lead to a sale.

So what does this have to do with network group meetings?

A couple weeks ago, I spoke at a network group meeting.  One of the things I noticed is that the Law of Reciprocity is one of the most challenging aspects in a networking environment.  Why?  Probably because we learn quickly that participation in a networking group creates a sense of obligation to do business with, and to refer business to, fellow members. But it’s just another method of conducting business, so let’s do it the right way.

Here are some suggestions on being proactive when at a networking event.  I have found that if you ask the questions you want someone to ask you, you will be building trust and relationships.

So if you want someone to ask you a specific question, you ask it first.

Here are some examples of questions you could massage to fit your business and use.

1. Who is your target market?

2. What is your biggest challenge?

3. How do you generate most of your business?

4. What sets you apart from your competition?

5. How can I know if someone I’m talking to would be a great prospect for you?

This last question I feel is the best one to ask, as it is telling them that you are interested in referring business to them.

By doing this, they are likely to ask you the same question.
 
The next time you are at a networking event, use these questions and see what happens.

And if you have other questions that have worked well for you (as I’m sure you do), tell us about them in the Comment section below.

By the way, since we are talking about gifts, I have a standing gift for you…

If your business is B2B, you can take my 10 Marketing Mistakes book, add your personal message and logo to it (following some guidelines) and give it away as a gift to companies you do business with.  To see 3 ways you can use it to start building reciprocity, go to this link: www.kenvarga.com/report.php   Call my office if you have any questions.

Technorati Tags: law of reciprocity, network meetings, Networking, reciprocity

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

I’ve been posting many ideas and secrets that have helped to create more than 6 million customers over my career, and I’ve been encouraging you to make comments.  Some of you have commented and shared your experiences; many others haven’t.

Can you imagine if just 10% of the members share an idea or strategy that could help other members…just one idea?

Today’s economy is one that we haven’t seen before in our lifetimes, and if we group together to help one another, we can all survive this economic downturn.
 
Let’s do it together.  Let’s help one another.  What would happen if we gave one another just one idea in answer to any question we may have regarding growing our businesses or creating customers?  I’m sure that we have a wide range of expertise within this group that would make a difference in the growth of our companies.

I want to help everyone in this group grow their business and create more customers.  If you had the opportunity to ask just one question about finding a solution to one problem you are having in growing your business, or in creating customers, what would it be?

I am hoping that when you ask the question, you will receive dozens of possible solutions to your question from the group.   Post your question in the comment section below.

Technorati Tags: Business ideas, creating customers, customer acquisition

The following aren’t necessarily in the order of importance, but if all are implemented you can’t help but succeed.  Next to each To-Do is a link for more information:

1. Create Data Base of your clients.  You need all pertinent data like name, address, email, spouse’s name, birthday for them and their spouse, and whatever data you need.  I would also get the data of every family member.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/a-method-to-collect-information-to-create-your-customer-database/

2. If possible, connect with your customer/clients weekly. 

3. Dominate your market by becoming the expert that everyone goes to when they need what you offer.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/dominate-your-market/

4. Do Special Events.  IE:    "Give A Little And Get A Lot— how this simple principle can cause a crowd of people to market your business to the world!  http://www.aweber.com/b/1Bvci

5. If possible, do a 30-minute radio talk show in your local area.  In it, address the pain the listeners are in and how you are able to help them.  http://www.aweber.com/b/1LBOq

6. Each time a customer buys from you, put the transaction in your data base and have an employee call to thank the purchaser for being your customer.  Ask the customer: “Why do you purchase from us and not our competition.” They will give you information that you can use to create more customers. 

7. Create a Referral System where you bring your customer/client from being a customer to becoming an advocate of your business.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/growing-through-referrals/

8. Make sure your advertising is responsive and measurable.  Create a free report.  http://www.aweber.com/b/1Q_wC

9. Upsell.  Create a package of your products and offer them to your customers as a package.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/promotions-you-can-take-to-the-bank/

10. Inspect what you expect.  I used to call my own office to make sure my people answered the way they were taught.  http://www.kenvarga.com/news/inspect-what-you-expect/

Technorati Tags: database creation, dominate market, free report, measure advertising, referral system, special events, upsell

I’m writing this week about this topic because I recently visited my local Chamber of Commerce’s Expo, where about 200 businesses had booths and/or offered food in the food court. What a terrible experience. Not one…not one of the exhibitors had any mechanism to gather the information from a visitor.

Why would they need to do that? Because how can you contact or build rapport with a prospect if you never got them to give you their contact information.

All that was needed was to have a drawing for a prize where the visitors would fill out a card with their name and email address.

Trade Shows and Consumer Shows are one of the most abused and misused marketing tools in the world. The majority of exhibitors go into a show without any strategic plan. And if they do happen to have a mechanism to gather the visitor’s information, they do a terrible job of follow-up. Every time I go to a show, I’m just amazed watching the reps standing around in the booths looking brain-dead.

Here are some keys you should consider if exhibiting:

1. Create a detailed plan of what you want to accomplish and who you want to talk to.

2. Do some pre-show marketing in the local media. Target this to those “groups” of prospects you want to visit your booth.

3. Create a method of collecting and qualifying the leads.

4. Create a strategy for making immediate sales. No one ever asked me to buy when I stopped at their booths.

5. Create a plan for following up on the leads IMMEDIATELY after the show.

If you do one thing and one thing only, create a form to have whoever stops at your booth fill in their contact information. This way, you can communicate with them over the next few months.

Refer to my blog article at http://www.kenvarga.com/news/how-to-get-a-95-closing-ratio and read about what you should do to get a 95% closing rate. In order to accomplish this you need to communicate with them over the next 13 months at least 15 times.

Technorati Tags: acquire customers, consumer shows, expand business, grow business, long-term profit, quick profit, trade shows

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

This is a news article heading in the San Jose Mercury Newspaper on June 19, 2010.

A group of privacy advocates, computer scientist, lawyers and others got together the day before to create a “Bill of Rights” for the “social Web” and for social-network users. 

Since Facebook and Twitter are becoming so huge, they could be thought of as representing a nation.  Facebook has somewhere around 400 million users…more than the population of the US.  Twitter has around 75 million.

Users are beginning to feel vulnerable and like they are losing control of their personal information.

And data mining by companies that specialize in people searches are making information readily available that creates risks for people’s safety, especially for people who have been victims of past violence and who are trying to hide from angry past spouses or stalkers.

And of course, a big concern of privacy advocates is the ease of advertisers accessing information and using it without the private citizen’s consent.

So the privacy group has come up with a list of 14 guiding principles.  You can check out the principles at www.facebook.com/CFPBillOfRights and you can vote to support or oppose it.  The list is short and will only take about a minute to read.  There is not much detail in it at this time, but it’s a start.

What you are seeing here is the beginning formation of policy for a system and technology that is having, and will continue to have, a huge influence on our lives into the future.  The time to start having input into how it is used should be sooner not later.

So take a look at the principles and cast your vote. If you approve of the principles, click on the “Like” button at the top of the page.  If you don’t, click on the special link Facebook has provided in the second paragraph on the page.

And, of course, let me know what you think of this whole issue.  Do you think it’s on the right track…does it say enough or does it ask for too much?  Do you think there should be a Bill of Rights for the social Web? Do you see this as having a negative impact on you as an advertiser?  If so, do the rights of the advertiser outweigh the rights of the individual?

Technorati Tags: Facebook, facebook users, privacy, social media bill of rights, social web, Twitter, twitter users

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