Send Real Paper Greeting Cards To Build Business And More

Most home businesses spend a huge amount of time and money looking for NEW customers. We advertise, make phone calls, even travel cross country for meetings, all in the pursuit of the ever elusive stream of new customers.

What we're probably forgetting is that up to 80 percent of our sales growth can and should come from PAST customers. People who have bought from you before are pre-sold on you, your products, and services. It often just takes a simple reminder to get them
to buy again and again.

A while back I was talking to a group of realtors. When I asked how many followed up with old customers, only a couple of hands went up. Even though most customers will sell their home and buy another within just a few years, hardly any of the realtors
were considering how MUCH that repeat business could increase their sales.

I don't mean to single out realtors. Just about ALL of us could increase our business simply by getting in touch with our past customers.

I've found the most effective way to say, "I'm here and can help you," is to send a genuine paper greeting card by regular mail. It's FAR more effective than sending an email, mailing a sales letter, or even placing a phone call.

Paper greeting cards say "I appreciate you." Everyone loves them! Send cards to past customers to let them know you miss them, send them to employees for a job well done, send cards to prospects on birthdays. These are just a few tried and true ideas, and I'm sure you can think of many more.

Now I'll admit choosing, buying, and mailing a greeting card can take a lot of time and a fair amount of expense (figure $3 for the card, $4 for the gas to get to and from the store, and even more for postage).

The time and trouble involved is one reason why greeting cards are so effective. First of all, the recipient doesn't receive many cards, and secondly, they intuitively know just how much trouble you went to.

But let me share a little secret with you. There are new systems now that let you log onto a web site, choose your card, affix your digitized signature, then the service regular mails your card for you. The cost for the entire package can be as little as $1 per card, and it only takes a few seconds to do.

Can't remember important dates? These same services will let you enter all your dates for months, then send your cards out automatically.

If you've got lots of relatives to keep up with, your customers would appreciate this special gesture, or you know your employees would be motivated by a nice pat on the back -- then sending paper greeting cards is a communication tool you shouldn't be without. Especially when trying to make money online!

Selling in Today’s Tough Market

In today’s tough market with competition in every corner of the industry, it is important to improve your marketing strategy to keep your name and your business in the minds of the customers. But you also have to keep your costs down. Sure, internet marketing can allow you to reach a lot of people in just a few clicks of the mouse. But not all people visit the web 24/7. And this is a costly mistake that most business owners often make. They tend to overlook the marketing potential of offline advertising. But this is where you can take advantage of the situation. This oversight of other businessmen can be an opportunity for you to reach potential customers before your competitors does. For this reason, in order to get maximum return for your marketing dollar, you can consider including postcards in your marketing approach.

Postcards have several advantages over the other means of contacting customers. Whether you use them as announcements or reply cards, their size makes them more affordable, quick and easy to address and mail out. Likewise, they are more convenient to fill out and return. You don’t have to depend upon your prospect opening an envelope or having the time to read through a lengthy brochure. Your prospects are given instant visibility to what you have to offer. Hence, many recipients are likely to read a postcard than an unsolicited letter.

There are many ways that postcards can be used. They can spread about a handful of messages for just about any product, service or event. But before you get started with your postcard design and printing you’ll want to take a look at your options and decide what works best for your business. If you don’t have an in-house marketing department, you can find a postcard company to help you create your postcard. A postcard company can handle the design and printing process, assist with mailing and save you money.

But deciding how the postcard should look like can be a bit of a dilemma. But by and large, your budget will help you determine whether you should go for a full-color glossy postcard or a simple black and white card. Which ever style you use both can be designed to look chic with a classy design and a professional printing job. If you have a lot of different products, services and events to promote, you can order discounted bulk postcards with prints on one side only and still have the flexibility of changing your message on the other side.

So make your postcard fun, inviting and cordial. Your customers will think kindly of it and you’ll have the opportunity to make that all-important sale again. Remember that there are big marketing results from these small pieces of paper.

Selling Food in Your Catalog

Fabulous news: There are a lot of food choices in the market today.

Not so fab news: Not watching what you eat could cost you your perfect slim figure and your health.

Everybody loves eating. It is one of the basic necessities for survival. Our body needs energy to be able for us to perform our activities. But not eating the right kind of foods can be unhealthy to our body. Have you ever wondered why it is that today, in spite of advancements in technology, in spite of having more experienced and educated doctors, nutritionists, therapists and diet experts, people are more sick that ever? Were people always this sickly? Could it be what we are eating? Yes, perhaps it is because of the foods that people eat today. After all, you are what you eat.

Aside from health considerations, people are more and more concerned of what they eat because they want to be slim and sexy. People are much pickier these days. Before paying for something from the department store they would spend at least a few hours trying to read the nutritional contents on the box. That is why it has become more and more difficult for food companies to market their products. But food is one of the most enduring products to sell. Thus, if you are able to create an effective advertising material chances are you will not have a problem attracting your potential customers.

Catalogs are perhaps one of the ways to market your food business. When designed and printed effectively, catalogs can be a big investment for your business. So before choosing a printer to do the job for you make sure they can accommodate the number of pages you need to print in your catalog. Make sure to also check the layout and alignment of the text and graphics. Likewise, consider how and where your catalogs will be distributed when choosing the paper stock for the front and back cover as well as the inside pages.

However, creating the right food catalog can be very tricky. Photographing foods can be really difficult. You are shooting an unstyled, non-engineered product so if shot at the wrong angle the picture can look unappetizing instead of yummy. If you are unsure how to go about with your catalog it may be a good idea to hire a good food stylist. A good food stylist will know how to change those gloomy lumps of food into works of art. They may be expensive, but worth every penny in the form of higher sales and profit for your food business.

Sell Your Successes: 3 Techniques That Can Lower Your Marketing Costs & Energize Your Business

I attended a seminar the other day at a local trade show and one thing that they mentioned almost in passing that inspired me was the critical concept of “selling your successes”.

Hmmm… “Sell your successes” – What could that mean?

Simply put, when you walk the talk, talk the walk.  Adjust your marketing and sales conversations and materials to reflect how your product or services helped someone achieve what they wanted.

Now how do you do this?  Well here are 3 techniques that when applied effectively can lower your marketing costs & energize your business.

1.  Let ‘Testimonials’ Pave the Way
To best illustrate this technique, let me share with you a line that I use often that goes something like this: “If I tell you that I’m great at what I do, at best you’ll take it with a grain of salt, but if an unbiased third-party tells you that I’m great at what I do, you’ll tend to believe them.  In other words, people tend to give more credence to what someone else says about you rather than what you say about yourself.

So use every opportunity to gain testimonials about you, your team, your product, your service, or your business in general.  Collecting and effectively using testimonials should become a key marketing strategy for your business.

2.  Using ‘Stories’ to Get Your Point Across
Storytelling has been around since the beginning of mankind and when used properly can illustrate your point better than almost any other way.  Stories have the power to capture and engage the listener in a softened manner – not the hard selling approach that people typically run away from.  Stories also have the unique ability to take complex ideas and make them easy to understand – without a dissertation on the subject.

My best advice here is to model other great storytellers.  Take one of my favorites for instance, Mark Victor Hansen.  Just look at his Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books.  Essentially each chapter is a story effectively illustrating a point that touches, moves, and inspires its readers.

So you may be tempted to say, well that’s easy for him, but I’m no Mark Victor Hansen.  Now maybe you potentially are or aren’t, however my point is, that this is a very learnable skill, people aren’t born with it.  They develop it by continually practicing and honing it.

3.  Sharing ‘Case Studies’ to Illustrate what’s Possible
Case studies are a sure-fire way to give your prospect a mental picture of what’s possible for their business should they engage you help.  These are particularly great for those prospects who need to see it themselves in order to believe it.  Case studies illustrate tangible solutions – they tend to instill a deeper level of confidence in your prospect that you can get it done for them.  Essentially, you have a track record of success to draw upon.

Now when using any or all of the 3 techniques just discussed, remember that just like telling a joke, timing and delivery are critical to their success.  For example placing a testimonial in your sales letter in just the right spot where you are looking to establish credibility is key to getting your prospect to keep reading.

These techniques can also play a critical role in humanizing your business and its offerings – placing real people behind your messages.  For example, instead of pounding a prospect with every possible service you offer and the features and benefits of each, try using a short story to simplify a complicated solution that you implemented for a similar customer.  Or how about using a relevant case study in a sales presentation illustrating how your service helped a client with similar needs to the prospect you’re presenting to.


Try integrating these techniques into your everyday marketing and realize the positive residual effects they can bring to make money online.

Secrets Revealed: Triple Your Business With List Building

There are several things that you can do to really boost profits within your business but the real secret is collecting emails.

Several companies have already realized huge profit gains by simply adding one simple step to their business...collect your clients name and email address.

Doesn't sound very profitable until you realize what you can do with that information.  No I am not talking about spamming, I am talking about sending emails to your client that they can't wait to receive.

One business that implemented this technique sells video games, hardware, ext.  After walking up to the counter to pay for their merchandise the cashier simply asks for their information and includes the email address of the buyer.  What better way to get someone back into your store than inviting them.  So how do you send your clients an email without their getting angry and yelling spam?

Send them legitimate offers that make sense.  If you just email your client to tell them to come back to your store then their is no real reason for that email.  In fact the person who received it might think it to be junk mail.  How about setting up your system to email a person 3 days after they purchase from you to let them know that when they come back, they have a 10% discount waiting for them.  You let them know that all they need to do in bring in a special code that you give them or just let them know to mention the email.

There are several ways to profit from you list, especially if you run an online business.  What you have read here is just the tip of the ice burg.  What is written here is the very basics.  The real aspects come with knowing how to multiply profits several times with other email techniques.  Beware that when you start an email list you are going to run into several "road blocks".

One such road block is managing your email list with the right server.  Certain domain names get email delivered to your prospects much better than others.  This is due to spam blocking my many of the major email companies.  Another road block is timing your emails to go out at the right time.  Send your email at the wrong time of day, or even the wrong day, and you may not get any responses.  Another big problem is managing spam complaints.  So what can you do to ensure that you do things right the first time?

There is a new website that is being released that does reveal many of these major marketing techniques.  Many of the secrets revealed have more than doubled profits for several businesses...online and offline.

Secrets of Market Segmentation in a Nutshell

Market segments consist of groups of people or organizations that are similar in terms of how they respond to a particular marketing mix or in other ways that are meaningful for marketing planning purposes.

The entire field of market segmentation is based on this idea, that consumers have differing needs. They will find value in different products. They will respond differently to marketing communications. They will gravitate toward different price points.

Because of this, businesses operate more efficiently if they can act on those differences.  A business that tries to offer a single undifferentiated product with generic marketing support will always lose out to more nimble competitors who have specific targets and know how to serve them.

We often work for health plans.  In the Medicare Part D world for instance, health plans are struggling to make sense out of new regulations while meeting very tight deadlines.  But today’s difficulties are going to give way to a market where segmentation will be of great benefit because mass marketing will not work.

Which Segment?

It is obvious that all competitors cannot target the same segment and succeed.  A common mistake is to assume that you must focus on the "heavy buyers" who, in reality, are often not the most profitable group.  For example, a consulting firm may decide to forego targeting Fortune 500™ firms that are fiercely contested by the Big Four accounting/consulting firms and instead pursue middle market firms.  "Sub prime" lenders and credit card companies know exactly who their prospects are, and do not bother advertising in Money magazine or funding public television shows.  Part D players may find market niches among seniors with, for example, private Medigap policies and specific interests or needs that the plan can address.

For health plans, market segmentation is not common.  Part of this is due to health plan cultures developed to serve large employer-based health plans and retirees.  But Medicare Part D is an unprecedented public-private effort to create a consumer market.  And Medicare's Part D program is just one element of a far reaching effort to use private health plans to control Medicare expenses.  We believe the market understanding developed through segmentation will serve in a variety of ways.

Identifying and targeting one or a few segments instead of the entire market allows the firm to use its resources more effectively.  Market segmentation means products and messages more aligned with the needs of selected consumers.

Researching Segments

Some type of systematic research is required as a foundation for market segmentation.  Most often, this research entails a sample survey which should be done by research experts.

Segmentation research addresses a set of fundamental questions:
1. How many segments are there?
2. How large is each segment?
3. How do you define the segments?
4. How do you describe the segments?

Segments are typically defined by dimensions such as:

• Behavior—such as the frequency of purchasing, total spending, or the mixture of stores shopped (switching, investigating, comparing, delegating decisions), or

• Characteristics—such as geodemographics for consumers or SIC codes for businesses (health conditions, subsidy status, current coverage status), or

• Attitudes—such as financial sophistication, fashion orientation, or disposition to adopt new technologies (interest, optimism).

The variables that are used to define the segments are called the "basis."  The basis is chosen in light of how the segmentation will be applied. Direct marketers, for instance, carefully dissect their databases in terms of purchase behavior.  Other segments are based on consumers’ motivations and concerns.  Marketer choose this because motivations and concerns are what cause consumers to act on an offer.

We don’t think that there is only one "correct" way of doing segmentation research, nor that there is a single set of segments waiting to be "discovered." While the analysis needs to employ objective statistical methods, any number of judgments, preferences and practical considerations go into the design of the process and the final determination of the segment structure.  The same dataset can yield different segments.

Market segmentation spotlights opportunities for health plans to improve marketing and sales, staff training, customer service, new enrollee intake, business planning, and public relations.  It will be used by health plans that want to assure they emerge from this period of dramatic Medicare market change as a coverage provider of relevance and viability.  Part of this means achieving sales and marketing goals.  Part of this means establishing a market position where consumers think of you as you’d like them to think of you.

Compared to other forms of marketing research, the sample sizes for segmentation studies tend to be large. The simple reason is that you need to be able to profile multiple sub-samples (the segments) with a high degree of precision, rather than just the total sample. It is unusual to use fewer than 500 and not unusual to use 2,000-3,000.

Analysis

The most complex and opaque part of segmentation research is the derivation of the segments—that literally means dividing the sample into a small number of exclusive clusters. This is almost always done by applying some form of statistical cluster analysis. The analyst will typically try several different cluster "solutions." While there are objective statistical measures of the quality of a cluster solution, they are no more important than informed managerial judgment. Researchers oftenl offer two or three possibilities to discuss.

The "right" number of segments is subjective, but in practice companies tend to settle on four to eight segments. In a diverse, complex, and lucrative category more might be called for.

Agreeing on the number of segments, as well as the labels that will be attached to them, always requires careful study of their full profiles.  While the segments may be defined with one class of basis variables (e.g. attitudes about fashion and shopping), you always need to describe the segments in terms of other variables (e.g. demographics, spending, media preferences, preferred brands) that were not part of the definition of the segments.

Application

An important deliverable from most segmentation research is a tool for classifying other consumers into the segments. This could be a formula where by asking a small number of questions you can place a "new" consumer in one of the segments. It could be a set of logical rules ["if combined account balances >$10,000 + have at least three accounts + non-mortgage debt < $20,000: assign to segment G"].

Conclusion

Market segmentation is a far-reaching strategy that can benefit players.

The underlying rationale is to use your resources more efficiently by serving consumer needs better. The mechanism is to treat the market as consisting of multiple segments with different needs, rather than as a mass market where "average" really suits no one very well.

The research requires a sample survey.  It defines and describes segments from which the health plan can choose one or more targets.  We believe playser in the new Medicare market are especially ready to get more "bang for the buck" by more precisely meeting segments’ needs and by using marketing tools to which that segment will respond.

Secrets from David Copperfield

David Cooperfield - live at the MGM Grand Hotel Las Vegas! You might be fascinated to know what I discovered behind the curtain. I was lucky enough to assist him with one segment of his show. Of course I was sworn to secrecy and cannot reveal the magic behind that trick.

Watching a master at work inspired me to do more than just watch - to observe and learn. I can reveal to you the secrets of David Copperfield that you can apply to your business.

There is no magic
The first rule. Reality. You will not reach success - in any field because of magic. Copperfield does not claim magical powers. He proudly points out that it is illusion. Masterful illusion. The secret is in the mastery.

Illusion is more powerful than reality
You might wonder - "how does he do those amazing things?" And you might believe him to be embodied with special powers. Why? Because you see what he wants you to see - through the skills of direction, suggestion and having the right things hidden from view. How can you use these skills to create the right illusion for your customers?
You can create the right illusions when you understand and apply the power of communications.

People believe what they want
You can control what you want them to see but you cannot control what they believe. You can, however, influence what they believe and feel. If people want to believe in magic - they will. If your customers want to believe in you - they will. It is up to you to influence them to want to believe in you.

The audience is always right
Your customers are always right. Never argue with them. Demonstrate that you understand their position and respect their feelings. Then guide them in the direction you want to take them. Occasionally the audience did not react the way he expected or a volunteer was slow to follow instructions. Copperfield never pouted. Instead he acknowledged the misunderstanding and adapted.

Preparation is everything
Imagine the tremendous amount of rehearsal that goes into a David Copperfield production. Scripting, movement, positioning, lighting, team coordination, key words, timing, coaching. Now imagine the results if Copperfield stopped rehearsing. Have you and your people stopped rehearsing your marketing and sales messages? Imagine your improved results after you rehearse.

Pepare for the unexpected
Even with good preparation things happen. First - smile. Then continue to move the illusion in the direction you want. Don't show stress or any of the negative emotions (anger, indignation, disgust). Your customers will react to any negative emotions they perceive in you.

Believe in people
Copperfield's team moved about the stage and audience in harmony - always in the right place at the right time. They were personable, effective and efficient. The team member who volunteered me established rapport, qualified and instructed me. When it was my turn - it all happened the way he predicted.

Surround yourself with a good team. Then make them an excellent team with the right training, guidance and encouragement. Then trust their intentions and respect their abilities. Most of all - model the message and character you want them to follow.

Offer them Hope
Copperfield's illusions work - because the audience wants to believe in the possibility of magic. Your customers buy from you because of their hopes. Your staff works with you because of their hopes. You run your business out of hope. Understand how fundamental the power of hope is. Offer possibilities. Offer opportunities. Offer hope.

Make it fun
Copperfield showed that he enjoyed his work and his customers. At one point he even spoofed his own illusion by redoing it in slow motion - revealing all the goofy things that we might have missed in real time.

You are the model for your staff and your customers. Show that you are having fun. Sure you need to be serious when required. But occasionally let the child in you show through. Be impish. Flash that spark of passion. Laugh - at yourself, with your staff, with your customers. Never laugh at them. If your staff is having fun - your customers will enjoy doing business with you more. They will want to believe in your illusions - and they will tell others about you.

Be vulnerable
Copperfield's parents were in the audience. He acknowledged them. Then he told us how his father had wanted to be in show business - but did not pursue that dream because of his father's (David's grandfather) stubborn prejudice against a career in show business. David revealed an inner pain. Why? That shows that he is human like the rest of us.

Reveal a little of your inner secrets - a failure, an imperfection, an unfulfilled dream. Don't pretend to be perfect. If you do - we will hate you. Instead be real - so those around you can see and believe that you are like them - human.

Don't be seduced by the magic of technology
I was surprised to see, that before the show started, the stage was empty. No props or equipment to clutter up the message and distract our eyes from Copperfield. Yes, technology was used - as tools to support and enhance the illusion. The technology was never allowed to become the show. Clearly, Copperfield was the creator of the illusions.
Who or what is sending your messages to your customers? Do your customers mistake the technology as the center stage? Does the technology harm the relationship with your customers? Use the tools to support your message. And insure that you and your people are the center stage.

You don't need a cape
Remember Mandrake the Magician? David Copperfield looked nothing like him. In fact he was rather casually dressed. Curious, I thought. Then I realized that you don't need a cape, top hat or magic wand to create illusions. And maybe this was David's most important message to his audience. We all are capable of creating the illusions we want. If we learn the fundamentals, focus our efforts and invest in ourselves and our people.