Eggblogg

eTips - we've got the visitors, now where are the sales?

Today's eTips is about spending just a small amount on testing usability and customer experience in order to gain a big return.

Better the devil you know?

This article at Marketing Profs touched a nerve for me.

So many business owners admit that all the print advertising, direct mail, etc they do is a waste of money. So why not try something where the results really are measurable ... er, like email marketing?

Because it's easier to stick with what you know, even if it's rubbish?

Like putting up with an unhappy marriage for years, rather than risking something new?

What  a nice thought for Valentines Day!

How to achieve standout in direct mail?

Every now and then I get letters or emails from people who think I might need their services. Sometimes dreadful ('Dear Sir or Madam, blah blah blah'), usually bland, I sometimes put myself in the shoes of the sender - if I were managing this project, what could I do to make it more successful? Or, put another way, who responds to business-to-business direct mail and why?

Lately there seem to have been quite a few approaches from copy writers, sometimes quite creative in execution. Take today's mailbag, for example, in which I found a bright pink cardboard poster tube, with a hand written label (address almost spelt correctly!) containing a sheaf of A4 papers and a wax crayon.

This was a cry for attention if ever I saw one. I certainly looked at everything in the package. The letter ('My name is..', 'My previous experience...' 'If you'd like to see my work...') The four page CV (entitled 'This bit's all about me...' ahem!) The one page of Photoshop art which I didn't quite 'get'.

Did it make me think 'this person could do a great job for my clients'? Well, the only evidence I had to go on was the letter and the CV, and neither blew me away. Did it make me want to pick up the phone? Not really, as there was just a mobile number. Not even an address. 

I admit it, I'm extra harsh on copy writers, but I do wonder if a bit more emphasis on the steak rather than the sizzle would be more effective, especially when you're targeting fellow creatives and marketing agencies.

But maybe I'm wrong - I can't claim to have written the book on DM -  in fact, if you're reading this and recognise yourself in the story, do get in touch and tell me you if had a great response, and I'll put in an order for pink poster tubes right now!

First Friday Lewes is working!

This is nice, yesterday I got not one but three unsolicited testimonials for First Friday Lewes, the informal networking group I set up last May. Business coach Hugh Fenton told me "the first person I spoke to at my first meeting in November is now a client."

Garden designer Mary Stevenson has had one new client and done 2 proposals for people she met at First Friday Lewes and said "I think it's a combination of Lewes/ more creative people/ relaxed venue/ and good hosting.  You are the only networking host who takes the trouble to introduce people."

Our next meeting is this Friday 1st February, new members welcome and it's FREE. See the website for details.

On target?

I'm not keen on all that aggressive vocabulary you find in marketing textbooks - all about hitting, targeting, ambushing, guerilla tactics etc.

But this nice pic from Mrs Webby just has to prompt a post about targeting.

It reminds me that it's very easy to think you're targeting the right people when actually you're missing the mark by a mile. The moral of the story? Look at the issue from all angles, not just your own perspective!