As a financial professional, you have probably accepted the fact that marketing is a vital part of your business. After all, it allows you to reach out to prospective clients and spread the word about your product or service.
But, as we all know, effectively marketing to your target audience, let alone pinpointing your target audience, is easier said than done. It doesn’t help that there are myriad “how-to” marketing books available that are chock full of complex strategies and obscure industry jargon, further baffling business owners.
Fortunately, Jeffrey Dobkin is here to save the day with his book “Direct Marketing Strategies” (The Danielle Adams Publishing Company, 2008), a collection of published articles about the art of marketing.
“With this book, I have tried to make it possible for people to understand what marketing is and does, then be able to accomplish this marketing function without additional help,” Dobkin writes. “Throughout, I encourage [business owners] to find their markets efficiently and with speed, then reach them at the lowest cost.”
Get a whiff of your marketing plan
“If your customers don’t come back, or you don’t get good referrals, your product — or your marketing — stinks,” Dobkin writes. If you’re absolutely certain that your product is top notch, it’s probably your marketing strategy that’s rotten, he says.
If that’s the case, it’s time to create an effective marketing campaign. But what exactly makes a marketing plan successful? Dobkin says it all comes down to knowing your audience.
“The better you are at defining your target group, the more effective you will be at reaching them,” he writes. “Consequently, you’ll waste less money on the expense of advertising — and trying to sell to people who aren’t interested in purchasing your goods and services.”
Go postal
Dobkin says that one particularly effective tool should be included in every business owner’s marketing arsenal: post cards. These tiny stamped treasures may seem trivial, but they can pack a big punch with your target audience.
“By mailing post cards to each prospect or customer every three to eight weeks, your customers and prospects think of you when they need something and pick up the phone and call you when they’re ready to buy,” he writes.
Post cards are cheap to produce and easy to mail, and they allow you to quickly deliver your message. Plus, because there’s no envelope to tear open or piece of paper to unfold, your audience is much more likely to read a post card than a letter. “Almost everyone reads post cards, even the good folks who throw out all your bulk direct mail!” Dobkin writes. “Heck, all the wording is … right there! By the time your customers have it in their hand, they’re reading it.”
You make the call
“Telemarketing, like spam, sucks — but it can be effective,” Dobkin writes. In order for telemarketing to be truly successful, Dobkin says you have to do it “nicely.” For one, you should be the one to call your customers.
“When you make the call yourself, the telephone is great for keeping up with that personal relationship with your customers and clients,” he explains. “It’s a one-on-one open dialogue that can increase consumer retention and increase the lifetime value of a customer.”
Dobkin also points out that you should follow up every client phone call with a letter. “Long after the phone call is forgotten, if you’ve confirmed it in a letter, you’ve created a document in someone’s file to remind him of you, your firm, and how great it is doing business with you,” he writes.
No one ever claimed that marketing is simple, but Dobkin strives to make it a lot easier. In “Direct Marketing Strategies,” he serves up a wealth of marketing tips and strategies that even the greenest marketing novice should be able to grasp.
Amy Bell is a freelance writer and frequent contributor to the Agent’s Sales Journal. Visit her Web site at www.writepunch.com or email her
at amy@writepunch.com. “Direct Marketing Strategies” is available at www.dobkin.com.