Every day going through my mail I get amazed at how much money and resources are wasted on senseless and ineffective advertising. On the average, 30% to 40% of what’s in my mail box goes straight into the waste basket.
Several questions pop into my mind;
a) I can’t be the only one who gets annoyed by all the junk advertisement
b) In this age of sustainability, how can companies waste so much paper, ink, energy, etc?
c) Is this really an effective way to promote your company or service? Do these mass mailings really help companies achieve their business goals?
I have been in the field of B2B business development for over 25 years and, based on my experience and success record, I would have to say that whether you are a B2B or B2C company, trying to be all things to all people is a sure way to fail. Instead, you need to narrow down your marketing efforts to a group of people or companies that may be in the market or have a specific need for your particular product or service.
Here are 6 steps for a successful targeted marketing campaign:
- Decide on who you want to target – based on specialty, geographic area, size of the company, etc.
- Create database of companies that match your criteria – collect information such as address, phone number, and website.
- Find out who the decision makers are within those companies – in order to be effective and not waste your time with the middle men, you have to go right to the source a.k.a. decision maker.
- Make initial contact with that decision maker by means of mail or e-mail – that will put you and your company into their memory bank. Cold calling does not work.
- Make a secondary contact by phone– even though you may have to jump over many hurdles to get through, your persistence will pay off and you will get to have a conversation with the person or people that have the power and ability to buy your goods or services
- Schedule a meeting with them and make your presentation – this is your chance to create chemistry, build a relationship, and, ultimately, make a sale.
Remember, the relationships you create need to be strengthened and nurtured over time. Your business relationships work for you in several ways; “word of mouth” advertising and repeat business, just to name a few.