Lamar Morgan 954-603-7901
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Wendy,
You are most welcome.
It is not enough to idenitfy the "market" you want to be in, but the "right folks" in that market. When it comes to customers, we are not all "equal" in importance. It is important to identify those individuals who are "most important" to the success of your business. In other words, if you are going to appeal to a customer, wouldn't you prefer that customer be in a unique position to refer MORE customers to you? If you have never bothered to make a list of the public companies and organizations best-suited to use your services, do it. Then, order an annual report and contact the members of the board of directors via direct mail and do a follow-up. You might be surprised at what that will do for your business.
So many people make the mistake of running an ad in a newspaper that has a high circulation thinking that for no other reason than because the circulation is high they they will get a lot of feedback. Well, it usually does not work out that way. People do not read the newspaper for the ads any more than they listen to the radio or TV for the commercials. But, for some strange reason most people buy into the process even if it does not work for them. The only way a person can get a good return from mass media exposure is by spending a lot of money. That means repeat exposure - over-and-over again. Most small businesses cannot afford to do that. Talk about throwing good money away on a bad idea. It happens every day.
My former employer never advertised in the mass media - even though it had the "big bucks" to do it. Why? Because the company did not want to waste time responding to people who could not afford its services. In other words, they did not want to the mass media determining their audience. They wanted to go after the wealthiest of the wealthy and sell them securities. For the company, the solution was to establish its target market with the use of a proprietary database provided by Dunn and Bradstreet. Then, they would pursue prospects relentlessly - daily and directly. This meant doing a lot of "cold calling" and direct mail. Yes, feed the pipeline - because it is the pipeline that feeds you.
Lamar Morgan
CDMM
Creating a buzz for business
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