Marketing Lessons from a Trade Show

Shirley Frazier speaking at the Denver Merchandise Mart
This past weekend, I traveled to the Denver (Colorado) Merchandise Mart to conduct seminars on sales, marketing, and public relations.

The Mart is a permanent showroom facility for wholesalers to show and sell the upcoming season’s merchandise to retailers.

The ideas I shared were specifically for retailers; however, every industry benefits from the program. Here are three points:

1. Organize an advisory board of loyal clients. Most regular customers are thrilled to receive an invitation to participate in your store’s success. In just 30-45 minutes, an advisory board of customers and staff has the potential to uncover great ideas to increase store and Internet traffic.

2. Commit to staying in touch with customers through at least one format: postcards, electronic newsletter, or monthly calendar. Your products and services are quickly forgotten unless a plan for periodic contact is part of your marketing campaign.

3. Determine the best methods to keep customers for life. Birthday cards, personalized gift wrapping, and loyalty programs not only recognize clients who spend time in and money with your business, but also encourage increased sales and referrals.

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February 27, 2007 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Offline Ideas, Recent Entries | 2 Comments 

How to Outsource Your Postcard Mailings

I openly admit my guilt. Regular customer contact has not been high on my project list. I know that no matter what size business you run, ignoring proven customers is not wise. That’s why, for me, this practice must change.

The U.S. Postal Service works with small and solo business owners to make customer connections simple and easy. At last week’s Small Business Summit in New York, postal service reps encouraged me to try their mailing service, which is called NetPost. It’s a service that creates postcards and mails them directly from their facility to your customers using your mailing list.

The postcards contain striking colors and include a high gloss coating, making them very sturdy. They’re quite impressive. There’s also a black-and-white color option.

Will using their service cost more than a 24 cent stamp for each postcard? Sure. But think about the benefits of having a mailing service create, label, stamp, and mail postcards to customers. The process is out of your hands, and it gets done within one day. That’s a huge benefit.

One of the postal reps personally took my business card and said she’d call me as a follow up to learn if I tried NetPost. In turn, she gave me her business card and asked me to call her if I had any questions, problems, or concerns while using the service. That’s similar to having my own consultant, free of charge.

I’ve talked about outsourcing in the past, wondering how small and solo business owners can easily pass their projects to virtual assistants and other professionals. I believe this is one job that’s worth the cost.

Here’s the page that tells you about the service.

I must update my customer list before moving forward. Too bad the Postal Service can’t send someone to my office to do this part.

I’ll update the project here as I go through the following steps:

1. Develop a message (what benefit-driven message will I provide to customers receiving the postcard?)
2. Update my mailing list.
3. Select a postcard graphic and submit my list to the post office.
4. Evaluate the ROI (return on investment).
5. Delete bad addresses from postcards returned to me, and continue updating my list on a regular basis.
6. Set a quarterly schedule for postcard mailings.

Have you tried NetPost or, like me, do you plan to use it?

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February 21, 2007 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Marketing News, Online Ideas, Problems & Solutions, Recent Entries | Leave a Comment 

Weekend Marketing Notes

Here are two citings to inspire solo business owners.

Springwise’s latest newsletter launched today. Look for the info on Hanger Network. It’s marketing on hangers; so simple and innovative.

I’m still high with ideas from this week’s Small Business Summit in New York. Justin Kitch of Homestead Technologies presented the keynote address, setting the tone for a rewarding experience.

Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends shares her thoughts and a link to another site to read more about the keynote. I asked Justin the first question after his presentation, providing me with an added dose of inspiration.

Check the calendar for a list of upcoming events.

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February 16, 2007 | Filed Under Marketing News, Online Ideas, Recent Entries | Leave a Comment 

Visa Sponsors Small Business Info and Contest

Have you visited Visa’s Business Breakthrough site? Upon entering, you are greeted by a virtual man who introduces you to the site, its benefits, and the ongoing contest sponsored by Visa.

You’re invited to review the business ventures featured on the site, grouped by five categories:

  • Finance
  • Technology
  • Marketing
  • Organization
  • Team building

    • A Visa card is in the pockets of most small and solo business owners. It’s good to see the company reciprocate our millions of dollars in credit card sales with this assistance and a $10,000 contest. It’s even better if you decide to research the site’s contents to find solutions for your business.

    Thanks to OMMA Magazine’s article entitled, “Dear Visa” in its February issue for information on this site.

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    February 14, 2007 | Filed Under Online Ideas, Problems & Solutions, Recent Entries | Leave a Comment 

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