One-Two-Three,Punch,Marketing, marketing One-Two-Three Punch Marketing

Automation technologies represent a fundamental aspect of any modern industry. The major types of industrial automation solutions, such as DCS, PLC, SCADA, and MES, are used on a large-scale in process and discrete industries.DCS technologie Awhile ago, I got an email from one of the "gurus" I follow and it shocked me. The gist of it was this person wanted to trade services for a household item.To say it floored me would be an understatement.What was worse was a few days later t

Printed material is just as important today as it was before the Internet. With sp*a*m getting out of hand, it’s a wise choice to rev up, update or create printed material, ads, catalogs, direct mail, press releases, letters, templatesand the like.You will notice that I didn't add brochures to this list.Brochures are not a good investment for a first piece. Whensomeone asks for a brochure and you don't have one, thisdoesn't mean you ignore their request. Worse scenario, youmay run wildly around using up a large portion of youryear’s marketing budget completing one.If you move or update your materials frequently, it isn'twise to spend thousands of dollars on new material. Hereare a few alternatives. You can use a professionallycreated folding business card as a main document. Anotheroption to expensive letterhead is to print your own in atwo-pass process. Use a color printer in the first pass foryour logo and use a black and white pass through for thecontent. Use Kinko's if you don't have a color printer(http://www.kinkos.com). At Kinko’s you can send them afile via Internet, have them print the color portion on highquality paper.Mailing out a marketing piece weeks after your first contactis too late. When opportunity knocks, be ready. Timing iseverything. If you don't, the extra time allows them tosolve the issue on their own, or change its priority.It is always preferable to have a serious phone discussioneven before an in-person meeting. If they don't show up forthe call, it is easier to recoup your time, and it indicatesthey aren't ready to buy. All you need to do is follow-uplightly to remind them to contact you when the time isright. Send them a newsletter, template letter, or flyerand not expensive material. People generally toss itemsthey receive on the first punch. Save the best for a timewhen the punch is more effective. Multi-follow-ups showthem that you aren't a fly-by-night going-to-fad-in-the-next-few-months provider.Giving too much information early in the marketing processoverwhelms customers and jeopardizes the sale. It makesthem nervous about you. This is, of course, if you areselling services or products worth more than whatever yourmarket considers discretionary.Instead, create a call to action to get them to visit yourweb site periodically, send them an "I'm still here for youwhen you are ready" note, or a printed copy of your latestnewsletter or ezine.Selling a product? Send an oversized post card or directmail piece. The direct mail piece needs to use an "I'm-following-up" language and not a "you-never-met-us-yet"dialogue.Have template letters, Word or Act, ready to go with a fewclicks. Design them so the first or second paragraphs areeasy to add a personalized follow-up dialogue.When you drive along the same route and one day you spotsomething that seems new, only later discover it’s beenthere all along you are pleasantly surprised. For even whenwe seem fully awake, many things pass our radar. .In marketing, it is the same experience. We don't seesomething that’s been there until something happens andwakes us up. The seven-times rule, a proven marketingprinciple, is the "you have demonstrated credibility" and "Inow see you" model. The seven-time rule applies whether themain marketing draw is a web site, networking, direct mail,or a combination. People who don't like to sell stop afterthe first or second punch.Printed materials do indicate credibility and quality countsin most cases. If you post your brochures at your State’svisitor’s center, you will see that they stand next to manysimilar ones. What stands out are the one-half page blackand white flyers or the like. In this situation, the plainblack and whites get the attention of many. It is importantto know how, when, and where your materials are going to beviewed and be represented.For mailings, this doesn't mean send the best stuff firstand let it do the sale for you. No, no, no. Printedmaterial seldom makes the sale. It’s just another contactpoint. First punches are either tossed or buried in somestack.If your price is under $100, send them to your web site.Over, send them material for added credibility. This alsodepends on the target market value of your price. If yourmarket considers $500 a drop in the bucket then credibilityperception changes.Interview past purchasers. Find out when did they firsttake notice and how many before they took action. Was itwhen they received a certain number of contacts? Always.When did the need make it a priority. Create a list of thetriggers and look for those signs in future contacts. Modelyour follow-up program accordingly.In several studies, 92% of the purchase makers cited thatletterhead, envelopes and business cards where the majorfactors in how they rated creditability.Credibility can be lost if your material includes carelessmistakes or omits vital information. In the buyer’sperspective, all the answers need to lead on how they canfeel confident about your service or product and how itsolves their need.One of my services is printed material and web siteanalysis. After reviewing 294 brochures, I found 81.5% ofthe information dancing around solutions instead ofcommitment to direct and clear solutions. Non-commitment isthe biggest sales destroyers. Don't send them materialabout X when they inquired about Y. If it doesn't answer Y,it’s tossed. And you have 30 seconds to 3 minutes tocomplete their question. Long sales letters demonstratecommitment in receiver’s minds because of the thought andcare it took to create and address their challenge.Also, don't send Y, with the "I think we need to offer thisbecause we've received a few inquires lately even if it’soff our path" feeling. If you are unable to fit in the timeto write a letter explaining how and why you can provide Y,then pass it up. This may be a "good" opportunity but notbe the "great" opportunity you truly want to attract.If, on the other hand, their issue isn't clearly understoodor known, then you're asking the horse to jump the fencewithout knowing how height. It’s a wasted effort and youcanlame the horse. Don't mail it with an "if it works, okay,if it doesn't oh well" energy. This gives the impressionthat you weren't listening. A big strike against you.Usually one too big to overcome.For service businesses, it is best to complete your firstcontact verbally and follow-up with printed material once ortwice, then verbally, then twice, etc. Give prospects the1-2-3 punches if you have the answer. Be honest if youdon't provide what they are seeking. Don't adjust andaccommodate because sales are down for the month. This is adisservice to your customer and your business. This willdiminish assets later. Share the wealth; earn a life-longcustomer, and new collaborator with your referral.Copyright 2004, Catherine Franz. All rights reserved.~*~*~ RESOURCE BOX ~*~*~*~*~*Word count: 1192 wordsCatherine Franz, 15 year business coach, specializes inmarketing and nonfiction writing, She is available for 1-on-1 and group support. She also instructs teleprograms andworkshops. Additional articles, ezines, and blog availableat: http://www.AbundanceCenter.com.~*~*~*~ PUBLISHING GUIDELINES ~*~*~*~*~*Publishing Guidelines: Permission is granted to publish thisarticle electronically in free-only publications, like a website or ezine (print requires individual permission) as longas the resource box is included without any modifications). You must make all links active within the article and bylines. A courtesy copy is required to the author immediately after publication.