Bridging the divide can deliver a range of benefits, potentially leading to innovation in business practices. Greater access to customer insights and an engaged sales force are just a two reasons for marketing and sales to work closely together. Bringing each business function closer together requires us to consider the following aspects of sales promotion:(…)
It seems an obvious question – but do you know who your customers really are? Developing an accurate customer profile and picture of your customer is a fundamental basic for developing a successful direct marketing programme. The ability to describe your typical customer in a few short sentences is a valuable skill. Four key reasons for(…)
You have decided to become more active with your marketing and carry out some direct marketing of your business. That is great news, so what method are you going to use? Principally the choice for most small businesses is going to be between email and some form of direct mail. When making this choice it(…)
The digitalization process is continuing to drive the proliferation of media around the world. The result of this development is an ever increasing choice of marketing channels. Choosing the right marketing channels for your SME business is not an exact science, in many business cases it will be a matter of trial and error. However(…)
Creating an engaging direct mail campaign that delivers results should be a straight forward concept. Engagement many will argue is driven by great creative that is well executed. However others claim that quality customer data is the bedrock of a successful campaign. Logically you might conclude that both the creative and targeting data are equally(…)
Why is value creation critical to the success of your social media channel? Achieving regular engagement through your social media channel – whether it is via Facebook, Twitter or any one of the many social media options requires you to deliver some sort of perceived value to your fans or followers. This value is the(…)
Creating an engaging and relevant market proposition is a crucial step in the process of developing a direct marketing campaign. It is essential that you fully understand the uniqueness of your businesses offer and can express its value in a way that the customer understands. Ask yourself why should the customer choose you? Defining your(…)
Developing an effective sales brochure can help you to communicate your product or service benefits to your customers and as a result increase sales success rates. Producing a brochure or piece of sales collateral is a fairly common business task; however in my experience many businesses struggle with this aspect of marketing. There are a(…)
In part 1 of this article we look at the benefits of developing a competitive USP. How to develop a competitive USP Step 1) Review business processes and key product and service attributes This process is best done with the help of someone external to the business that can provide objective feedback. As a business(…)
Accurate customer data is the cornerstone of a successful direct marketing programme. The right data obtained from your current customer base or an external source can provide you with an important and insightful view of your existing or potential customers. The marketing insights provided by your data resource will help you generate a better picture(…)