Building Relationships

“My business depends on building relationships.” Have you ever heard someone describe their business that way? I hear it nearly every day.

What’s most interesting, to me anyway, is that most of those who say it, don’t really believe it. It’s true. Virtually no one would argue the fact that it’s important to build a rapport and a relationship with their customers or clients. After all, people do business with people that they like, right?

But the reason I argue that most people don’t really believe it is because of the way they approach marketing. Typically, a prospective client will come to us and say, “I want to run a telephone campaign (or direct mail or email, etc.) so I can get appointments with prospective customers in my area.”

When asked what sort of follow-up plan they have in place for those they don’t actually meet with or for those that they don’t actually sell at the appointment there is usually dead air and a blank stare. These clients of ours have no intention of “building a relationship” at all. They think, wrongly, that building a relationship means collecting a check at the end of the sales presentation.

But it is much more than that. If you are in a “relationship building” business, then you need a marketing plan that focuses on building a relationship. Does that mean you can’t use different media to sell to prospects right out of the gate with? Of course not, but that shouldn’t be the only, or even primary, goal of your plan.

Your marketing plan should consist of a way to systematically and consistently communicate relevant, timely, and useful (i.e. valuable) information to your prospects and your customers. That is the way you build relationships. Not by selling them every time you see them…not by wasting their time with useless information…and certainly not by contacting them one time and then dropping them from your database.

So, how do you go about building a relationship with your prospects? We’ll get into some specific examples of how to do just that in our next post…so stay tuned!

New Article: 7 Good Reasons you should be Outsourcing Your Telemarketing

In recent years, outsourcing has proven to be an effective strategy for businesses. If you're involved in any type of telemarketing, then you should consider reaping the benefits of outsourcing for yourself. Let's look at some of the best reasons you should consider such a move:

#7. Expand Your Business Hours

Unless you want to pay your staff overtime or hire multiple shifts to do the telemarketing, your business hours are probably fairly limited to 9 to 5... By outsourcing, you can actually expand your business hours to 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

read more from this article here: http://www.intelesure.com/articles/7_ReasonsYouShouldBeOutsourcing.html

New Article: Winning Tips and Strategies for Top Performance Advertising

This article reveals writing techniques and strategies that help you promote your business better, for less, when you advertise. It covers print media 'space ad' composition concerns in some detail and provides key guidance that improves advertising response.

The term 'space ad' is marketing jargon for advertisements placed in media page space sold by any publisher. This category includes everything from newspaper classifieds to multi-page spreads in national magazines.

read more from this article here: http://www.intelesure.com/articles/WinningTipsandStrategiesforTopPerformanceAdvertising.html

Marketing in a down economy...

Everywhere you turn the talk is on how poor the economy is doing. Unemployment is up, oil is ridiculous, the housing market is in the tank, yada, yada, yada...

So, what does this mean for business owners? Is it time to cut back on expenses? If so, where to cut and how much? These are valid questions. The answers may surprise you.

One of our Account Executives brought this article in that makes a very nice point. It's from Business Week and you can read the full article here:

http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jul2008/sb20080711_023930.htm

Following is a summary of how to not only survive in a down economy, but actually thrive...

1) Be frugal, but don't panic. If you are cost cutting, make sure you are trimming fat, not muscle.

2) Marketing is muscle, not fat. Just like buying low and selling high is a smart investment strategy a down economy is the perfect time to capture market share by maintaining, or even increasing, your marketing budget.

3) Don't lose focus. Resist the urge to take on any and all customers just because times are slower than normal. There's a reason you have a target market...stick to your guns.

4) Don't discount your prices. Although it's tempting you are only setting yourself up for failure down the road. Price cuts trains your customers to never pay full price for your goods or services.

5) Don't neglect the elephant in the room. The fact that we are living in a troubled economy is no secret to anyone...least of all your employees. Make sure they know that you are ready for the upcoming times and that you have a plan for dealing with them.

So, in summary, take these five tips into account and make sure you are taking the necessary steps to ensure your business's success...regardless of the economic situation.

3 Concepts to Consider Before Starting a Marketing Campaign...

Most people's marketing plan begins with a simple enough thought..."I need more customers." They then begin to sift through the different media or channels they could use to get more customers. The conversation in their head goes something like this:

"I need more customers/clients/patients. Maybe I'll run a radio ad during rush hour in the morning. Or maybe I'll try telemarketing for appointments. Maybe I'll just send a postcard out...it's probably the cheapest." And on and on.

The fundamental flaw with this type of thinking is that they are approaching a problem with only one small piece of the overall solution. But not only are they analyzing a small piece of the solution, they are analyzing first what should be analyzed last!

Let me explain...

For every marketing plan there are two main components: Strategy and Implementation. Strategy is what you are going to do and how you are going to do it and Implementation is actually doing it.

Before you can implement a plan you have to develop a strategy to work from. So, here we are going to give a quick overview of the three main components of every good marketing strategy. In order they are:

1) WHO you are going to market to.
2) WHAT you are going to say to them.
3) WHERE you can find them.

Notice that most people start with the last step of WHERE to find customers by thinking about which media or channels (i.e. telemarketing, direct mail, etc.) they are going to use. This is backwards!

99 out of 100 times I ask a client WHO their target market is I get a very vague answer at best and a blank stare at worst. But, if you don't even know WHO you are targeting how in the world will you ever know WHERE to find them?

(The WHO can be further broken down into Geographics, Demographics, and most importantly, Psychographics. If you would like to read our free report on how to best determine who your target market is please download a copy of it here: www.intelesure.com/targetmarket)

Once you have determined WHO you are marketing to you will need to decide WHAT you are going to say to them. This is your messaging component. Again, a very common mistake is to simply create standard messaging that is blasted out to all of your prospects, regardless of WHO they are.

Let me give you an example of how choosing your target market carefully will influence your messaging. Let's say that you sell life insurance and you have chosen two different target markets. One is a group of 30-40 year old business owners and the other is 55+ blue collar workers nearing retirement.

If you were to try and communicate a boilerplate marketing message to these two groups your attempts will fall flat. These two groups are at a very different place in their lives and your messaging needs to speak to those differences. Otherwise you won't resonate with either group and will waste your marketing dollars on being too generic.

Once you have figured out WHO you are targeting and WHAT you are saying to them you are ready to figure out WHERE they can be reached. If you started your plan with the WHERE you may have later found out that the market you were going after couldn't be reached effectively through the channel you chose.

Additionally, you may need to use more than one channel to reach different segments of your market. In the insurance example above you may decide that the best way to reach the 30-something business owner is through professional organizations and the 55+ employees through direct mail to their home.

This initial planning is just the first step in developing a winning Strategy. In our next article we'll talk more about what needs to happen next so that you create a complete marketing strategy.

In the meantime, if you would like additional information about this process and how Intelesure can help your company create a winning strategy please contact an Account Executive at 1-866-808-7366.

Until next time...

McDonald's vs. Starbucks?

In March of 2007 Consumer Reports issued the results of a survey they completed with a team of their trained coffee tasters. The idea was to pinpoint who had the best tasting coffee around.

For the surveyed bunch (which included McDonald’s, Starbucks, Burger King, and Dunkin’ Donuts) the winner was…

McDonald’s...?

I swear I’m not making this up. McDonald’s actually beat Starbucks in a coffee taste test! After reading this report I gained a little bit of insight of what advertising agencies like to call “brand image.”

Now, I’m not a coffee drinker myself, but even I was under the impression that Starbucks was the coffee to buy when you needed something quick and flavorful. I mean, to go head to head against McDonald’s in a taste test should have been a slam dunk for Starbucks.

Notice the operative word in that last paragraph is “impression.” That’s right, I was simply under the impression that Starbucks had a better tasting coffee because they have done such a good job branding their product. So good in fact, that it actually shaped my perception of their coffee!

A couple of things here…One, brand image can be misleading, and two, Starbucks has deep enough pockets to manipulate that perception.

But what about small to medium-sized companies that can’t really afford to spend millions of dollars trying to brand their company? What options do they have?

This is where direct marketing comes in handy. You don’t have to be a known brand for everybody…just your target market. Reread that last sentence because it is a powerful concept. The more you know about who you sell to the more relevant and useful your marketing will be to those people.

An obvious example of this would be the following scenario: Suppose you sell lawn care services. You could have a variety of target markets but on the whole you are more than likely interested in homeowners as opposed to renters.

So does it really matter if all the renters in town know your name? It’s debatable, but I would argue that it is far more cost-effective to only target those who are your most likely customer. How do you do that? Through a variety of direct marketing channels such as mail, telephone, flyers, referrals, etc.

Just keep in mind that when you are investing in marketing it is vitally important to know who you are selling to so that you tailor a message specific to their needs and wants.

Branding can be an important part of your long-term success, but approach it with a more targeted plan and your marketing will more consistently hit its mark.

Good luck!

What Can Bill Parcells Teach Us About Business?

Bill Parcells, legendary NFL football coach, is a compelling figure. Most people I talk to that know anything about him either love him or hate him. There aren’t many fence sitters out there and I have a hunch that a man like Parcells couldn’t care less.

One thing that most everyone agrees on though is that he is a veritable genius as a head football coach. So what do his coaching abilities have to do with business? Well, last fall I was sitting down to watch a Monday Night Football game and Parcells was one of the studio commentators. The Dallas Cowboys were playing someone (I can’t remember who) and one of the commentators remarked that Parcells was going to reveal a list of success principles he has for quarterbacks.

My ears perked up instantly and I paused the program (you gotta love technology). Hurriedly I grabbed a pencil and paper to make ready to jot his list down. I figured that if the principles were good enough for a quarterback, they would be good enough for business owners everywhere.

I wasn’t disappointed. The 11 keys he presented are not only very applicable to business in general, but could basically serve as a blueprint for life as well. Here is the list reprinted in its entirety…I have listed his principle in bold and then a brief explanation in italics:

1) Ignore others’ opinions. No one knows the intimate details of your business like you do. People’s opinion, although well intentioned, is based on incomplete data and limited perspective.

2) Clowns can’t run a huddle. Leaders have to be respected and the class clown never is…people may think he’s funny, but they won’t follow him.

3) Fat QBs can’t avoid the rush. Businesses that are slow or have too much debt cannot respond to change, or opportunity, as well as businesses that are lean and flexible.

4) Know your job cold. You have to know your job better than anyone else.

5) Know your players and opponents. You have to understand the strengths and weaknesses of your employees and your competitors. Leverage the strengths of your employees and attack the weaknesses of your competitors.

6) Be the same guy everyday. A leader that cannot make a decision or flip-flops on his decisions will not be followed for long.

7) Throwing the ball away is sometimes a good play. You’ve got to know when to cut the losers, abandon ideas that aren’t working, and understanding that taking a small loss is better than taking a big loss.

8) Learn to manage the game: clock, clock, clock. You must use the time allotted in a business day to your greatest advantage.

9) Get your team in the endzone. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter how you scored, but that you scored. Statistics are meaningless if you aren’t putting points on the board.

10) Don’t panic. As a leader, your mood determines the mood of those around you. If you panic, they will panic. If you are confident, they will be confident.

11) Don’t be a celebrity QB (we need battlefield commanders). If you’re going to talk the talk, you better be able to walk the walk. Avoid distractions and stay focused on getting things done.

As I go through the list I can see how each of these 11 principles applies in my own business and life. I hope you can too. Until next time…

“We are the Music Makers…the Dreamers of dreams…”

Do you remember the movie “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory?” I’m not talking about the newest one, the remake with Johnny Depp. No, I mean the real one that was made in the early 70’s with Gene Wilder playing Wonka.

That movie was a classic and remains one of my all time favorites. I think it may have to do with the fact that it plays to some very core human emotions of fantasy, hope, and dreams. As a kid, owning a chocolate factory is THE definition of the “American Dream!”

Anyway, a couple of years ago I was at home one Sunday afternoon and watching T.V. with my 3 year-old son. I happened to see on the TV Guide that HBO was replaying “Willy Wonka” that evening. So, after dinner, I sat with my boy and we watched that magical movie again.

But this time, one of the scenes made a tremendous impression on me. It really put an exclamation point on everything we have worked so hard to create here at Intelesure. I realized with a startling suddenness what our true purpose is.

The scene I’m talking about is when Wonka was leading the children through the factory on his tour and they were passing through a hallway that had the lickable wallpaper. Do you remember that part?

He stopped the group and told them that he had invented a wallpaper that had different fruits on it and that each fruit tasted like whatever it was…He said, “Strawberries taste like strawberries…blueberries taste like blueberries…snozzberries taste like snozzberries…”

To which one of the little girls retorted, “Snozzberries? There’s no such thing as snozzberries!” Mr. Wonka reached down, squeezed her face into a pucker and calmly said…

“We are the Music Makers, and we are the Dreamers of dreams…”

That was it. Nothing else, no explanation of any kind. Now, I have seen that movie at least 15 times and I never really paid much attention to what that meant and just wrote it off as more of Wonka’s weirdness. But this time it took on a whole new meaning!

See, that’s really who WE are here at Intelesure! It’s what we do with our clients’ marketing plans. We are helping them to create music…to create dreams! That’s really what marketing is all about and what our true mission is here.

Anyone who is involved in marketing has to understand that their real job is not to simply sell something. You have to make music…to make dreams come true! So, the next time you are putting together a marketing campaign, remember this ode from Willy Wonka to become a music maker and a dreamer of dreams.

Anyway, I am excited to create a resource for you to access and will include a variety of articles on the topic of Direct Marketing…so, stay tuned!

(If you want more information on where this statement comes from, see the “Ode by Arthur O'Shaughnessy (1874)” on Wikipedia.)

Welcome to Intelesure's Blog!

This is the inaugural posting of Intelesure's first blog and I have the privilege of being the one to write it! We are excited to offer this resource to clients and prospective clients alike as a place where you can find up-to-date information on all things Direct Marketing.

I will try to post at least 2-3 times per week with a variety of helpful tips, tricks, and articles that will help you maximize your marketing dollars and increase response rates. If you have any suggestions for article topics or would simply like more information about a certain area of direct marketing, please feel free to leave a comment below and I will try to address it in an upcoming posting.

We look forward to serving you and hope you will check back often!

Tobe Brockner - Chief Marketing Officer
Intelesure, LLC