Customers Will Buzz if They Believe
Television and print media have long talked about marketing buzz agents, but the December 27th issue of The Wall Street Journal put the idea in perspective. The article explains how one company hired a marketing firm to recruit 2,000 people for a 12-week promotion.
Each volunteer received information about the selected food product and began spreading the word about the item through brunches, telling friends, requests at supermarkets, and other word-of-mouth tactics.
One thing about buzz marketing to keep in mind. If people love what you sell, it will be a winner. But if the size, taste, or color creates negative feedback, that word will spread faster than the buzz you intended.
Small and solo business owners have great potential to create their own buzz marketing campaign. It can start with a letter or Email introducing the campaign to the most-likely customers to spread the news. Let them know their role, campaign length of time, and compensation for any sales that come from their buzz. Cash is a prime motivator, but you can survey customers to offer a different incentive.
Research how other companies encourage clients to talk about them in glowing terms. Put your plan into action, and make adjustments as needed. If you’ve been looking for partners, this could be the answer.
Technorati Tags: buzz marketing, The Wall Street Journal, word-of-mouth, solo business, small business
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Sell Small Pieces of Large Reports
An article published in The Baltimore Sun reports that CD sales are “down almost 7 percent” from last year’s totals, while “paid download sales grew 175 percent the first half of 2005.” It seems obvious that music lovers are smitten with having access to one or two songs from a CD rather than buying the entire album.
The music industry seems to have come full circle, with one song, reminiscent of the vinyl 45s we used to buy, being a popular buying choice, this time in a downloaded format. But industry veterans believe that complete CDs will continue selling well.
What can solo and small business owners learn from the music industry? Large reports, collections, and other high-priced products and services should be reviewed to see what can be sold as a smaller, single product.
For example, my company sells a guide listing 450 wholesalers. The guide is also available in smaller, single state versions, which has outpaced sales of the complete guide. More revenue has been earned through selling the state versions, as customers want to know where they can buy locally rather than nationwide.
Some of you may have a gold mine of intellectual property to segment in this manner. If you can’t see the potential, get advice from allies at networking events or by surveying your customers. Make more money by separating already-collected data into smaller pieces. It’s a no brainer.
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Email Statistics Show What Gets Read
Bronto Software of Durham, North Carolina, released a report that tracked 20 million Emails sent between September 20-November 20 to determine Email open rates. The findings were documented in the December 5th issue of DM News. Here’s what they discovered for the below-mentioned industries.
E-commerce: 97.8 percent
Publishing/Media: 97.1 percent
Technology: 89.4 percent
Manufacturing and Distribution: 36.7 percent
Healthcare and Insurance: 36.1 percent
Online retailers: 17.2 percent
Average for all industries: 95.5 percent
Online retailers suffered the lowest results because, according to the report, the retail sector only contacts customers when transactions take place. Healthcare fares better because they provide relevant content and offer surveys which are reported back to subscribers.
Emails sent by the publishing sector include links to articles contained in their newsletters, which is said to make their open rates substantially higher.
The conclusion? Contact customers on a regular basis with information and ideas that go beyond making a sale.
Let these statistics guide you to crafting better Email messages that are opened and read by your target market.
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Reviews Reveal Strengths and Weaknesses
This raw data made me think about 1) how much or little we encourage customers to share opinions with us, 2) how that information should be used to influence prospects’ buying decisions, and 3) how feedback provides us with data to make adjustments to items we sell.
Create a feedback form for your Web site, send one by Email after the sale, or place one in mailed packages. This will show customers that you’re not just there during the transaction but also to listen to their opinions. Of course, there’s no reason for this form if you don’t plan to use the information to encourage new sales or make changes.
I’ve chosen a property that’s close to the ocean and full of amenities inside and out. Online reviews were a big help. Can customers say that about your products?
Technorati Tags: Los Angeles, travel Web sites, feedback form, small business marketing
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Shirley George Frazier - Solo Business Expert, Author, College Mentor
When you hire me to speak at your conference, college or special event, attendees will thank you for a great program. Media interviews also welcomed. Call or Email me. 973-279-2799 or shirley@shirleyspeaks.com.
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