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HIGH PAYOFF MARKETING IN 1 MINUTE A DAY
By Linda Feinholz
Is this you, too? I'm standing by my recycling bin doing the ‘rip, glance and toss’ with a flood of holiday cards from companies whose names I don’t recognize.
Now not all of them are just churned through from Mail Box to Blue Bin. Some of them have an ink scrawl on them that looks like a name I might recognize. I’m not sure whose hand actually wrote it though. I do take a look at the ones with family photos. They make me smile to watch everyone grow up over the years. But the rest have my attention for approximately 1.7632 seconds.
In this age of technology I'm sure the senders think this is being 'personal' in their marketing.
It’s making the US Postal Service happy to have the business I’m certain. I’m equally sure that as a marketing exercise it’s a complete waste of natural resources. Those cards are heading right for the recycling bin and the landfill.
For 13 years I’ve networked in the Los Angeles business community, and I’m convinced there are staff in companies whose time is spent taking stacks of business cards and entering them into some contact management system. That information sits in a computer, with no connection created between me and that company, until someone at the firm decides, “Let's send a Holiday card to The List” and suddenly a flood of cheery cards go out.
As I stand there ripping, glancing and tossing, I’m certain that many of the senders wouldn’t be able to pick my face out of a crowd and put a name to it.
And that’s not marketing. It’s not being in touch. And it’s certainly not building a relationship with me that will keep the sender in my mind in any productive way.
So those “marketing communication” Holiday greetings cards go from my “In” basket straight into the recycling bin, and the corporate identity goes from my eyes to my… well, nowhere.
If you still had to pay a secretary to hand write addresses on all those cards, would you be doing it? I sure wouldn’t. Businesses are sending them out because ‘technology is making it easy.’ Put some category in the system, input cards, and forget about the people those cards represent. Then someone hits ‘send’, has a mail house mass produce and address them, and checks “Done” on a Marketing To Dos list.
If you want to make a marketing impact, make a memory. If you want to make a memory, take the time to match the message to your market. Then use technology to make it easier and appreciated by your market.
That means you need to be clear about whether each person is a referral relationship, a customer, or a prospective client. Then make your message relevant for each of them. Make each message important to THEM and worth their time to pay attention to it.
And instead of sending anonymous cards to your entire database, build a relationship with your current clients and referral sources. Here are three ways to use technology in marketing that will take less than 5 minutes a week:
1 – Send a relevant piece of information monthly
Whether you send an entire newsletter or a quick tip is up to you. The key is to watch for information that is useful to the person you are sending it to. What is an unusual challenge that you solved? Will the person who receives your marketing piece find that information relevant? If so, include it in an email with a quick “you might be interested in this” note. Otherwise, leave them off the distribution list.
2 – Send a timely Thank You when you receive a referral
If someone has kept you in mind and taken the time and effort to try to match someone in need with the solutions you provide, let them know it’s appreciated. Take the 90-seconds to pick up the phone, or write an email, and say "Thanks!" If the referral is not a fit, say "Thanks!" and tell them the reason why it was not a match so they’ll be more expert at making the next referral.
3 – Send a holiday marketing moment that makes people smile
Create an electronic holiday card that is personal, and email it to your contacts. Don’t put any links in it, just a fabulous image and a wish for their continued success. How to make it personal? Upload an image that makes you smile or laugh and share it with them so they have the same moment and associate it with you!
Let’s make this year the one in which we say “I’m Glad To Know You!” and leave wood still growing as a tree and the recycling bins and landfills empty!
© 2008 Linda Feinholz Management expert, consultant, and coach Linda Feinholz is "Your High Payoff Catalyst" If you're ready to focus on your High Payoff activities, boost your professional and personal results and have more fun, get her FREE audio mini-course "7 Quick & Simple Steps to Increase Your Focus, Ease Your Effort & Accelerate Your Results" and the free weekly newsletter The Spark! Visit http://www.YourHighPayoffCatalyst.com
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