2 Step Marketing
Joy Gendusa
Do it Right.
I receive postcards all the time. The other day I received a
postcard trying to sell me a copy machine. It had tiny, tiny
lettering slathered all over the front and a large portion of
the back of the card.
It was extremely hard to read, so hard in fact that I threw it
away.
Several days later I received a postcard with 32 words on it
telling me that I could get complete information on
unrestricted long distance telephone service for 5.5 cents a
minute with no additional monthly fee by calling the 800 number
on the card.
I did call. I got the information, had my questions answered
and ordered my long distance service changed.
The company who offered me the long distance service was using
a time tested 2 step selling process:
Step 1. Generate a lead - Get me to call their 800 number.
Step 2. Provide the requested information - Provided to me on
the phone by one of their sales representatives, who was able
to answer my questions and make me feel confident that I could
save quite a bit of money on my long distance bill and that the
service would be as good or better.
What's So Good About 2 Steps?
It is much easier to create interest (a lead) than it is to get
a person through an entire buying process (a sale).
You aren't getting the prospect or existing customer to part
with any money just yet.
You can use postcards to inexpensively promote to your target
prospects and customers and generate leads (inquiries about
your products and services) to then be followed up on and
converted to sales.
This 2 step process also helps you to create a list of people
who were interested enough in what you offered to contact you.
You can then recontact the one's who you didn't complete a sale
with when they first inquired, preferably until they do buy from
you.
IMPORTANT: Be sure to get the information you will need to
recontact the people who responded to your postcard offering.
Repetitive follow-ups with the people who contacted you will
result in increased sales. Make it a company policy to follow
up with those people who contacted you about your products and
services.
The Most Effective Use of Postcards:
The purpose of your postcard's message is to generate a
sufficient level of interest in the mind of your prospect to
get him/her to contact you to ask you about your offer. You are
generating interest, not collecting their money (not yet
anyway). That is what the 2 step marketing process is about.
Generating interested prospects and customers who contact you
for more information.
Your message needs 3 parts to be most effective:
1. A clear statement of the biggest benefit of your product or
service (in the long distance example, it was cost savings).
2. A good reason for them to contact you NOW.
3. A simple, easy way for them to respond (an 800 number for
example).
Your message should be short and to the point. Short messages
on postcards produce more leads than long ones.
For example:
Call 800-555-1212 for Your Copy of Our Free Report:
What 99% of Business Owners Don't Know and Will Never Find Out
About Using Postcards to Explode Their Profits
Offer ends 5-5-01 (Print a date 3 weeks from your mailing date
to create some urgency)
Lots of people will respond to find out what they might not
know. Don't forget, they responded, which is proof they have at
least some interest in the information you have created a
curiosity about.
This method works and is sure to produce a large number of
inquiries if sent to your proper market.
This 2 Step Marketing Process Works.
Use the tips you have read here to create your next postcard's
message and see what happens.
You will generate a bunch of leads from people who are truly
interested in your products and services.
About The Author: Joy Gendusa founded PostcardMania in 1998,
her only assets a computer and a phone. By 2004 the company did
$9 million in sales and employed over 60 people. She attributes
her explosive growth to her ability to choose incredible staff
and her innate marketing savvy. For more free marketing advice,
visit her website at
http://www.postcardmania.com
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