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Ideas for getting new customers

Dontforgetyourex-customers! .....................................11 Sellingviayournonsalespeople ....................................12 Read, read, read...! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Whatsthepriceofanewcustomer ..................................14 Haveothersdotheworkforyou! ....................................15 Whatsthebuzz? ................................................16 Solidevidence! ..................................................17 Thepowerofemotions ............................................18 Outlineyoursolution ..............................................19 Andthewinneris... ...............................................20

Ideas for canvassing by telephone

Do-it-yourselforuseacallcentre? ...................................23 Pre-heated selling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Coldprospects,warmcolleagues... ..................................25 Help,myprospectiscallingme! .....................................26 ...wellcallbackassoonaspossible... ...............................27

Ideas for promotion

WouldyoulikeaRolls-RoyceoraLada? .............................31 Temporaryspecialoffer! ...........................................32 Marked down! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Seducecustomerswithasample? ..................................34 Nextpurchasediscountvouchers ...................................35 Effectiveplacingofdiscountvouchers ................................36 Theuseoffreegifts ..............................................37 Whatadelicioussmell! ............................................38 Itsallinmybrochure,sir! ..........................................39

Ideas for trade shows

Dopayusavisit! ................................................43 Tradeshowfloorplan .............................................44 Theidealspot ...................................................45 Isitonlynoisethatattractsvisitorstoyourstand? ......................46 Thekeytosuccessliesinthefollowup ...............................47

Ideas for mailings

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Sellinganddirectmarketing:awin-winrelationship? .....................51 Howdoyouobtaincorrectaddresses? ...............................52 Straight for the target (group)! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 Openme,pleaseopenme... .......................................54 Yourmailingisnotreadbutseen! ...................................55 Youhavetwosecondstomakeithappen! .............................56 Showwhatyouretryingtosay! ....................................57 Colour your sales! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Replyingwithacard ..............................................59 Aletter,justforme! ...............................................60 Yourlettergetslostbetweenpilesofothermail! ........................61 Dontletthisopportunityslip! .......................................62

Ideas for advertising

Togetherwerestrong .............................................65 Advertisingyourcustomersneeds ...................................66 Lookatme,Imunique ............................................67 Wordofmouthpromotionwithamegaphone .........................68 ShowingyourtruecoloursinYellowPages ............................69 Newspapers:cutoutforthejob! .....................................70

Ideas for sales calls

WhyisheabettersalesrepresentativethanIam? .....................73 Ill make an exception for you... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Yourcustomerispartofascenario! ..................................75 Haggling...forhagglingssake ......................................76 Facetofacewithashark ..........................................77 Slatingyourcompetitors? ..........................................78 Goodguess=sold! ..............................................79 Isthisavailableinanothercolourtoo? ................................80 Youdontneedwordstoconvincecustomers ..........................81 Yourcustomermakesremarks... ....................................82 Icouldntcareless! ...............................................83 Illthinkaboutit .................................................84 Theneedbehindtheneed .........................................85 Keepasking ....................................................86 Severalminorconcessions=onebigconcession .......................87 Help,shecantchoose ............................................88 Whetheryoulikeitornot ..........................................89 Stimulatethesenses .............................................90 ThegoldmedalandtheGermanShepherddog? .......................91 Soitsadeal? ...................................................92

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Ideas for maximisation

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Extrasthatmakeadifference! .......................................95 Makethemostofyourcustomers! ...................................96 The customer as an individual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97 Successfulupselling .............................................98 Callonyourcustomer...butdontsell .................................99 Salescallreport .................................................100 Salescallreports:joyorburden? ...................................101 Existingcustomers:themorethebetter! ..............................102 Theannualsalesmeeting .........................................103 Dontlumpthemtogether! .........................................104

Ideas for innovation

Scoring,thankstoagoodcause! ...................................107 Customersatisfaction:everyonesconcern ............................108 Pleasedocomplain! .............................................109 Takecomplaintsbythehorns! ......................................110 Guarantees:acalculatedbet? ......................................111 Areyouintosponsoring? ..........................................112 1+1=morethan3! .............................................113 Enterintoamarriageofconvenience! ................................114 An absolute must . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .115 Byyourleave... .................................................116 cobblersshouldntjustmakeshoes! .................................117 Ontrial ........................................................118 A new distribution channel? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .119 Justintime! ....................................................120 The spy who loves me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .121 Sowheresthatholeinthemarket? ................................122 Isadvertisingreallynecessary? ....................................123 Smallcustomers,largemargins ....................................124 Create an expensive image . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125 WhoamI?WhatcanIdo? ........................................126 Leteverythinggohaywire... .......................................127 Speak your mind! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .128

Extraservicecomesatanextraprice! ...............................129 Wheredoestheproblemlie? ......................................130 Thegoodolddays ...............................................131 Newproductsshouldgeneratenewprofits ............................132 The right features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .133

MAILINGS

How do you obtain correct addresses?

You may have a good picture of the ideal potential customer youre looking for, but this doesnt mean you have their addresses. What can you do about this? The example of Jaguar Belgium can provide inspiration.
It usually isnt very difficult to draw up the customer profile for the new product you intend to launch. However, a mailing requires addresses. And finding them could prove to be the hardest task... Jaguar Belgium was faced with this problem. It wanted to launch a mailing campaign for its new SType. Jaguar had developed this less expensive model because it hoped it would sell in larger numbers. In doing so, it responded to new trends: rich people no longer want to be conspicuous on the road and are less inclined to be seen driving around in very expensive cars. At the same time, however, they dont want to relinquish the comfort they are used to, and they certainly dont want an ordinary brand. As a niche brand, Jaguar therefore developed a mass produced car that would meet this new need for downgrading.

The correct customer profile

Jaguar devoted much time to determining the profile of its target customers. New customers would have to be sought amongst people buying cars in the price class just below their current range. People buying Mercedes E, BMW 5 and Audi A6, that is, not the regular Jaguar customers. This also meant that Jaguars existing address databases couldnt be used.

No mailing addresses available?

However, it turned out to be quite difficult to find the addresses of the target customers. Since 1992, the governments licence-plate database cant be consulted, and so its impossible to trace BMW, Audi or Mercedes owners. So Jaguar had a clear target group in mind but couldnt reach it... It started working together with an address supplier to find a solution, and eventually the idea arose of mailing all single houses with two garages in more affluent areas. The list of addresses the computer produced was checked before the mailing was launched, and it appeared that 80% of the house owners had the required profile. The mailing was a huge success: of the 70,000 addresses, 4,500 prospects returned the questionnaire. The marketing people focused on these addresses. They sent a second mailing with an original brochure and organised two dazzling road shows.

Right target group = 40% success

This mailing was successful because the right target group had been selected, and this was no coincidence. With professional assistance, Jaguar had succeeded in developing a good idea and tried it out before launching the mailing campaign. Studies suggest that a 40% response to mailings is assured by the choice of addresses. The offering itself, the packaging and the content of the text account for 30%, 20% and 10% respectively. Hence, no mailing should be organised if the behaviour patterns of the target group havent been analysed. This should constitute the basis for determining the selection criteria that are to be used for compiling the address database.

Selection criteria
The Jaguar story proves that a high degree of focusing is possible even within a very wide range of possible selection criteria. In this way, its easy to find addresses in need of your product. In addition, youre advised to seek the professional assistance of address suppliers. Tip. When choosing such an address agency, base your choice on their specialities.

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The success of a mailing is 40% determined by the right choice of addresses. Call in professional help for making a well-considered and targeted selection.

MAILINGS

Straight for the target (group)!

When mailing a specific target group, you should try to address it personally. This increases the odds of success, because you start by creating a good first impression. How do you tackle this?
Your sales letter wont be successful unless the reader feels that you know him. Only then will he grasp your message and respond to it. When sending a mailing, it is therefore of key importance to tailor it to your target group.

A mailing to the construction sector...

Suppose youre selling safety equipment and are planning to organise a mailing campaign to the construction industry. Your sales letter could begin as follows: Dear building contractor, the most serious industrial accidents occur in the construction sector and... However, if you take a more personal approach, you can greatly enhance the impact of your letter on your prospects. You can ask your address supplier to break down your addresses into specific categories. This will give you separate lists of suppliers of building materials, excavation work contractors, concrete producers, house builders etc. This enables a much more targeted approach.

... or specifically to excavators

By addressing separate letters to each of these sub-sectors, you can make your mailing more targeted. For example: Dear excavation contractor, youve probably heard about the spectacular accident caused by a toppled crane in Manchester. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured. Yet, this event will cause many contractors in your sector to reflect on the safety of excavation machinery. Our company is one of the market leaders with regard to the inspection of cranes and... Its obvious that the excavation contractor will feel directly addressed by such a letter.

Unravel your target group...

So its essential to narrow down your target groups as much as possible. As a car dealer, you can recommend vans separately to florists, bakers, grocers, plumbers... They all have their specific requirements and problems, so you can approach them even more personally. If you intend to collect addresses in this targeted way, you should call on specialised address agencies. There are many criteria for creating well- defined target groups. For the business market, these selection criteria include the companys activity, region, the number of employees, its legal type, the date of establishment, certain contact persons and the like. For private individuals, you can choose gender, age, profession, family structure, purchasing behaviour etc. Tip. Several CD-ROMs enable you to compose your own target group. You can do searches in order to chart your customer potential or figure out the number of items for your mailing.

... and demonstrate you know the sector

You want to make it clear in your mailing that youre familiar with the sector; so, its advisable to collect specific information about the target group beforehand. Ask friends and customers who are active in this sector to provide background information. Consider susceptibilities as well. For instance, if you think the crane accident is a sensitive issue in the sector, it might be best not to refer to it at all... In summary, examine your target groups carefully, narrow them down as much as possible and show that you know them. Describe as many advantages that are specific to the sector and give specific examples.

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Narrow down your target group as much as possible and, after collecting ample information, tailor your examples to this specific sub-sector.

MAILINGS

Open me, please open me...

If you send a mailing to customers or prospects, youll of course want the envelopes to be opened and your message to be read. Is a powerful commercial text on the envelope the solution?
Research by the consultancy Who Mails What? shows that envelopes of mailings to consumers come more and more often with a text that is supposed to arouse the recipients curiosity, or with other conspicuous eye-catchers. If theres some text on the envelope, the mailing will generally receive a greater response. The recipient may be promised a reward if he answers quickly, or a price discount when the product is ordered within 14 days. For example: Open immediately to discover the free gift youll receive if you reply within 10 days!

Business-like?
Is an envelope with printed text better than a plain one? Theres no clear-cut answer to this question. If you have a business target group, a text on the envelope isnt effective. Tests show that a glaring slogan is hardly ever successful. In addition, letters are generally opened beforehand (by the secretary) and the reader (the manager or director) will only see the content of the envelope. Research among managing directors (Vlerick Schoolfor Management) shows that 64% of mailings to managers are opened beforehand.

Private?
If you address private individuals, however, you can certainly have an eye-catching text printed on your envelopes, because it will encourage the recipient to open it. What you put on the envelope is of course of paramount importance. Your message should meet several criteria if it is to play its role opening the envelope and reading the letter - to the full. 1. Be concise and to the point. Your mailing will only be viewed superficially at first. 2. Your text is a teaser: it should arouse the readers curiosity. So dont reveal too much. If you disclose your offer right from the start, the recipient may not even bother to open the envelope. For example: Postman, deliver this with a smile. This envelope contains a free bottle of wine or: A party is on inside this envelope. Youre invited

too! 3. The teaser should be in line with the image of your product or company and with the target group you want to reach. 4. Offer the reader a definite advantage via the teaser. This can be one in various ways. You could for instance ask one or two questions in which the prospect recognises himself and which offer him an advantage. Or you could use testimonials from satisfied customers, or announce something new or free. Its a good idea to start the first paragraph of the letter on the envelope and encourage the reader to go on reading the text inside the envelope. These are examples where an obvious advantage is offered to the recipient: A gift worth 10 and three free magazines or: Give me one minute and Ill give you one month free... 5. Avoid making the text too general or too vague. If youre aiming at a specific target group, address it directly. For example: This is an exclusive offer for plumbers... 6. Use words that attract the readers attention. For example: This is your last chance! Two months... for 12 only.

Testing is knowing
Are you in doubt about the text on your envelope? Try it out first: in the same way as you can test other elements of your mailing (size, colour, offer, personalisation, premium...), you can also test the look of your envelope and the way it attracts the readers attention.

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If you send mailings to consumers regularly, try out whether text on your envelope boosts response. If you're working in a business market, text on the envelope is less important and may even annoy the recipient.

MAILINGS

Your mailing is not read but seen!

If you launch a mailing campaign, you obviously expect everyone to start reading your letter immediately. However, recipients glance at your message first and only then decide whether or not to read it. How does this process work?
We tend to assume that messages such as direct mail are always read immediately and completely. However, this is not the case. German research by the Direct Marketing Institute into viewing and reading behaviour has shown that our brain can only process a limited number of messages. Thats why we first register all the elements we may recognize by looking at it. Our eyes scan the text for points of reference. Our brain subconsciously looks for things like our name, images and so on. These are things we dont have to read completely to understand them. So we first look, and only when our brain sends out enough signals telling us that it might be interesting to read the entire text do we actually start reading it.

Watching behaviour
What do we watch first? Our eyes trace a diagonal on the page, from top left to bottom right. They stop at a maximum of ten fixation points (on an A4 page). So, we should actively guide the course of the readers eyes. We know that the eyes are drawn to images first. Try it out: when you see a letter or advertisement, you will automatically look at the images first. Theres no way we can influence this behaviour. Since we always start reading from the left, its best to place the photograph to the left as well. In addition, we always look at large images first, and only then at smaller ones. When images have the same size, colour becomes the dominant factor. Warm colours linger longer than harsh ones. Finally, images of people attract more attention than images of products. Tip. Do you have to use a photo of an unspectacular machine? Add an attractive person! Not only will your machine look much more attractive, the photo itself will draw more attention as well.

Rules of thumb
A group of people on an image attracts more attention than a single person. A face is more attractive than a full-length portrait. Close-ups of the eyes are the strongest elements for capturing the readers

attention. Finally, there are the sexual symbols. They of course constitute the strongest elements, but beware, they can also become too strong and undo the impact of your message completely.

Other eye-catchers
Research shows that other elements besides images can draw the readers attention. Circles or horizontal, vertical and diagonal objects, either in colour or in black and white, will be noticed more rapidly than text blocks. Smaller paragraphs are read more easily than large ones. Never make your paragraphs longer than ten lines. Use large characters rather than small ones, short sentences instead of long ones, and black letters against a white background rather than white against black. A combination of small letters and capitals is much more legible than capitals only.

Conclusion
This process applies to anything that has to be read quickly. So when composing your brochure, advertisement, reply voucher or promotional letter, remember that the reader will always scan the above mentioned elements with his or her eyes first. So, use these elements optimally and in a logical sequence to reinforce the advantages of your offer. In this way, the reader will sub- consciously retrieve the basic information whilst reading the text superficially.

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Our eyes pursue a "logic of their own" when it comes to processing printed messages. Place your eye-catchers in a logical sequence and use them to emphasise the advantages of your offer.

MAILINGS

You have two seconds to make it happen...!

The recipient of your mailing scans your sales letter for two to three seconds before deciding whether he will continue reading. So how do you give a positive signal?
The German professor Siegfried Vgele is an eminent scientist who has carried out extensive research into reading behaviour relating to sales letters. With an eye camera, he registers all the readers eye movements. In this article, we will combine his findings with recent ideas on how to make recipients open sales letters.

Captivate
In the two or three seconds at your disposal, you should succeed in captivating the customer. The best way to do so is by teasing him. This is often done by means of an intriguing question. Did you know that you may qualify for cheaper car insurance? This depends on where you live, your age...

More aggressive
Are you aware that youre bound to have serious car trouble again this year? But quickly give your letter a positive turn by adding But thanks to Car Assistance, theres no need to worry.

Conspicuous element
Suzanne Stokes of Probus Computing Services succeeded in making her mailings a tremendous success by adding a tea bag to the letter. The tea bag was stuck to the top of the letter, above the title What happens if your computer breaks down once more? The first paragraph ran: Stress will most likely cause indigestion again. Peppermint tea is a good remedy, so weve included a bag for safetys sake. But we offer an even better solution. Probus Computing Services offers the following maintenance options: ...

What are the advantages?

The reader should be attracted as quickly as possible by the prospect of one or more benefit. Your opener should therefore immediately refer to the good news. If you have several benefits to offer, start with the strongest one and mention the others later in the letter. Would you like to save 20 a month without any loss of quality? Do you want to get rid of cats and

dogs in your garden once and for all?

Make promises
To promise results, thats what its all about of course. Your aim is to offer a solution and guarantee that its the good one. So make sure you sound convincing. We guarantee that you wont have any moss in your lawn this year. Otherwise we will refund you in full.

Call for action

All this happens in two to three seconds. Youve now caught the customers attention, and he should sense a potential advantage. Tell him directly how to respond and urge him to act quickly (he shouldnt put the letter aside). Next Monday, our van can deliver your order at home. So fax us your order today, and youll receive a free pair of sturdy gardening gloves for free. In short, where sales letters are concerned, its all a matter of the speed of your readers eyes and brain. It takes him only two to three seconds to decide, and in this short timespan your opener should catch his attention and tell him which benefits he can expect. Try this out by presenting the letter to a small test group before sending it to your target group.

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Make sure that your sales letter draws the recipient's attention in no more than two seconds and presents the benefits you offer. Then urge for a quick response!