How to Maintain Your Mailing List

If you connect with customers and prospects through an electronic newsletter, you know that clearing unsubscribes and undeliverable addresses from your mailing list is just as important.

I was reminded of this in a BtoB magazine article entitled, “List Retention a Tough Battle.” The magazine’s special edition on Email marketing arrived by mail this week.

“Recipients who really want to get off your list will unsubscribe, but more often, those who are uninterested will just quit reading your messages or put them in their spam folder,…”

Before sending one of my weekly newsletters, I remove Email addresses that have bounced or unsubscribed. It takes just 90 seconds to complete the task.

My guess is that some newsletter delivery systems make this maintenance easy with just one click while others aren’t so simple. That’s when you start considering other programs for newsletter delivery.

Take a minute to clean your mailing list, and occasionally look at the stats to see which subjects readers enjoy most often. Such information will tell you if a microsite featuring that topic is in your future.

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

If the information shared here benefits your success, please subscribe to my RSS feed!

September 28, 2007 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Marketing News, Solo Housekeeping | Leave a Comment 

Marketing Lessons from the Snack Industry

Cookie manufacturers have turned America’s obesity crisis into a cash cow.

Rather than decreasing sugar and fat in cookies, crackers, and snacks, they’re re-packaging these products in 100-calorie packs. I didn’t know these new packs existed until my daughter brought it home. She’s trim and still makes buying decisions that let her enjoy snacks while practicing portion control.

Today’s snack manufacturers believe that consumers will continue buying into this trend, according to “Candy Adapts to Health Issues” in The Wall Street Journal’s September 26th edition.

“Candy makers also were jumping on the bandwagon of ‘portion control,’ packaging candy and cookies in 100- to 150 calorie packs, a trend that is likely to stick around. ‘The problem with that, though, is that you end up with about three pieces of candy,’ said Necco Products Chief Executive Domenic Antonellis. ‘But people really like it.’ “

If you’ve yet to make small or extensive changes to meet consumers’ needs, your turn is just around the corner. For me, changes include checking links on downloadable products and making sure companies still exist before mailing informational CDs.

When it’s done, I update my marketing to say, “New and improved” or another phrase that tells customers why the product or service is uniquely tailored for them.

Your updates may occur because of internal changes or due to reports uncovered by the news media (the bottled water backlash, product recalls, etc.). Create a plan to handle the changes step by step, and move forward to keep customers happy and the cash register ringing.

Technorati Tags: , , , , ,

If the information shared here benefits your success, please subscribe to my RSS feed!

September 27, 2007 | Filed Under Customer Connections | Leave a Comment 

Marketing Maximizes Retail Store Sales

Each month, Country Business magazine features a retailer profile which tells you all about how the store began, what it sells, and how it continues to thrive through economic changes.

The profile usually revolves around a rural store, the type that you rarely read about in metropolitan magazines and newspapers. These stores are the backbone of most communities. They know how to profit because the owner and staff members know how to connect with customers.

A Rochester, New Hampshire gift shop is the subject in the September/October issue. How do they market?

“The shop holds four open houses to celebrate spring, Mother’s Day, fall, and Christmas,…”

“…during the three-day fall open house and shop birthday celebration, every customer that comes in wearing a birthday hat on Friday receives a gift.”

“Their tactics include creating a special birdhouse for display at a local restaurant in exchange for displaying a poster and brochures at their shop.”

A customer loyalty reward program, merchandise discounts on every first Thursday, and newsletter mailings are other ways they connect with buyers.

The owners also have a Web site and incorporate many of the techniques I explain on the Web Sites for Retailers site. But for the most part, they enlist tried-and-true marketing tactics to reach their goals.

Marketing isn’t always about using technology. More often, it’s rooted in giving customers a reason to come back and bring their friends, too.

Technorati Tags: , , , ,

If the information shared here benefits your success, please subscribe to my RSS feed!

September 26, 2007 | Filed Under Customer Connections, Offline Ideas | Leave a Comment 

One Quick Way to Increase Your Potential

The West Coast Franchise Expo is coming to Los Angeles on October 19-21. Will you be there?

What a fabulous event to attend to:

  • Learn about business opportunities that create a new add-on service to your established firm.

  • Meet like-minded people interested in short or long-term collaborations.

  • Take marketing materials for review to create new materials for your business.

    • I’m a fan of attending any type of event that maximizes my creativity and marketing options in minimum time, even if the event’s central theme is not my focus. How about you?

    Technorati Tags: , , ,

    If the information shared here benefits your success, please subscribe to my RSS feed!

    September 25, 2007 | Filed Under Conferences, Offline Ideas | Leave a Comment 

    Next Page →