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.

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