Gone are the days when you would spend money and hope to get a return. Every dollar must be accountable. Learn how to spend less and get more. This sounds great but what's the gimmick?
Today's world is not the I wish world, but rather the calculated world. We calculate the odds before we make any decision, like who to date, what car to buy, which house to buy, what school to go to and what career to choose. The logical progression is to make marketing less of a risk. The customer will always be satisfied, but maybe not by you. So what do I do to make sure they buy from me. Traditionally some ad executive would say this is a great idea let's market and promote it. Here they try to convince the public that they need their product. This might work one time or for a while but most businesses want steady repeat loyal customers in order to grow a long term successful business. Know your customer, what they want, what they crave and what they need.
How do I find this out... Luckily we live in the most data filled environment ever. The last time you bought something at Costco, The Gap or Saks, did the person at the cash ask you your zip code or postal code? Did they ask you any personal questions? When you buy on line do they make you fill out a questionnaire before you begin buying? Have you ever asked yourself why they do this? Do they really need to know how much you make in order to sell you a sweater?
The truth is they are not really interested in that one sale. They are compiling a data base of your buying habits and profile. Once they have your profile and buying habits they will start marketing 1 to 1. The days of spending huge amounts on generic flyers or newspaper adds are numbered. The return rate on these is 1 to 2% and is not easily measureable. With technological changes in the printing field and the use of variable data we can direct a specific campaign for a specific client and get a return rate of over 40%. The idea is not to measure cost per piece but cost by campaign and return of the campaign. Instead of spending 10 cents per flyer spend $1.50 per flyer but make 10000 flyers instead of 150,000 flyers. The cost of the campaign will be the same $15,000.00. The return will be 20 to 40 fold.
On top of this if your existing loyal customers feel you are interested in them and their needs, the likelihood that they will be influenced by their competitors advertisements is greatly reduced. This is the direction that marketing has correctly taken, be smart and jump on now. The danger of letting your competitors get on first might make your marketing much more difficult if not impossible to correct.
If you need help with your next campaign feel free to give me a call at 514-337-2238 or visit my sight for ideas at http://www.solutionsink4u.com Good luck with your next campaign.
About the Author:
Steven Schneidman
steve@solutionsink4u.com
www.solutionsink4u.com
Steven Schneidman has an MBA in Finance and a B.A. in psychology. He has taught at a Canadian University and has worked at a major Canadian Bank. He currently runs a very successful printing and promotional product company servicing companies throughout North America.