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Marketing Information |
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Do You Know Where Your Marketing Dollars Are Going?
We all know the importance of marketing to increasesales and bring in new business. But, do you honestly know where your marketing dollarsare being spent most effectively. Knowing which campaigns are producing the results you want and which are not can make a huge difference in where and how you spend your marketing dollars. There is a diversity of means by which you can advertiseyour products or services. Classified ads, pay per click,flyers, letters, postcards....the list goes on and on. If you don't track your marketing dollars, you could easily bethrowing money away on ineffective advertisements. When you launch any marketing campaign, it is vital to seta time frame in which to monitor the results. Be realistic when doing this. Rome wasn't built in a day andneither will your marketing campaign results be. I have had people contact me for services six months after receiving amagnet I mailed out. So, be patient and give yourself time totruly evaluate your efforts. When ever a new customer calls your company, do you ask themwhat made them decide to contact your business? If not, youare loosing out on the simplest and most vital means by whichyou can track your marketing dollars. Anytime I receive an email or telephone call from a prospectiveclient, one of the first questions I ask is how they foundme. Then, I can track the effectiveness of a web site,postcard, email, etc. Different types of ads evoke different responses as well. Itis only smart business practice to track you hard earnedmarketing dollars to determine which ad campaigns are workingand which are not. I was surprised that one of the worst advertisements I wasinvesting in was pay per click. My traffic increasedtremendously but not my sales. The postcards I was mailing was bringing in more new businessand referrals while the pay per click was basically drainingmy marketing budget. Once I terminated my pay per click campaigns, I applied thosemarketing dollars toward mailings and other on line ventureswhich are proving much more profitable? Had I did not tracked my marketing efforts, I would still bethrowing away my hard earned money on tactics that simply were not producing for me. You could be doing the same. Realtors do a great deal of marketing. It is crucial in theirline of work to know where their marketing dollars are bestspent. From yard signs and magazine ads to postcards andletters, the smart, business savvy realtor will know each monthwhich method(s) have produced the best results. Something as simple as a daily call log can be used to helpyou track your marketing. When ever a new customer enters your business, ask them howthey came to select your company. Enter this data on to yourdaily call log. Do the same with every telephone call youget from new as well as your established customers. It isimportant to get feedback from your clientele. Knowing whatthey thought of your recent postcard or letter can help youimprove your marketing strategy. Some small business owners go a step further and host aninformal picnic each year for their top clients. At this event, they poll their customers and get feedbackregarding the quality of customer service they have received,new products or services they may be interested in, how theyfelt about the mailings/offers you sent, etc. It really helpscreate a good bond between the company and it's "Sphere ofInfluence". When your established customers rave about your services,your referral rate will soar. Try something like this withyour company. Perhaps an annual open house would work. No need to go overboard. Set a budget and stick to it. Serving coffee, tea and sodas along with hotdogs or snackitems would be sufficient. When your customers visit your open house, have a short form for them to fill out, critiquingyour products and services. By allowing them to anonymously express their wants and needsas well as how they feel about your services, you will gainvaluable information necessary to improve and grow your business. It is a good idea to have handouts available such as magnets,pens or even balloons. Of course, these will all have yourcompany name and contact information on them which is anothergood marketing tactic you should use. The bottom line is this; it's all about marketing and tracking your marketing results. An open house can produce a gold mine of new clients as well as re-establishing some of the old ones. Having a solid marketing plan and tracking your marketing results will make a major difference in your sales and how you spend your marketing dollars. So, the next time a new customer walks into your company or makes your business phone ring, remember to ask how she/he came to choose your company. You just may be surprised at what you will learn. Judith A. Wentzel - Image smarter marketing specialist providingimage smarter web site design, marketing & business services.Assisting realtors & small business owners with their businessand marketing needs since 1993. http://www.ImageSmarterMarketing.com http://www.Site-Build-Them-Ecommerce-Smart.com http://www.ImageSmarterWebSiteDesign.com
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