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So the market is in a panic, the end of the world as we know it is coming, and there’s no relief in sight.  Happy New Year!  Naturally, your business will be doing nothing to win new business or retain customers in the coming year—it’s too expensive, right?

 

Of course not.  But you probably are trimming your costs.  This doesn’t mean your marketing efforts need to be shut down.  Chances are pretty good that you can keep your message in front of prospects and customers with the tools you already have.

 

This is a long blog, folks.  But I think you’ll find it’s worth it if you don’t just want to sit idle in the marketing arena during the Mother of All Downcycles.

 

You’ll want to start by hiring a cost-effective consultant taking a quick marketing inventory.  To market anything, you need a target (whether existing customers or prospects), a vehicle to get the message to that target (an e-mail, a brochure, a flyer) and a message that will make the target want to react in a positive way (such as buying your product).  I’m already assuming you have a product or service to take to the market. 

 

You probably know your target.  It’s major lenders, or Realtors, or perhaps title agencies looking for new technology.  But do you know how to reach them?  List building is one of the most fundamental elements of marketing communications.  I’m willing to bet that more than a few of you have salespeople who track prospects.  Whether it’s in Excel or your favorite CRM, now’s the time to gather that list together.  No need for expensive list rentals or purchases when you’re watching costs.  And if you don’t track e-mails, it’s really time to start.

 

Vehicles?  Simple—e-mail.  No, it’s not perfect.  No, you shouldn’t plan on becoming a spam cannon.  But it’s cheap.  Most CRMs allow you to send group messages.  Even good-old fashioned Outlook will work in a pinch.  And don’t worry too much about your numbers.  Unless your list is under 25, it’s worth using (25, of course, being an arbitrary number of my choosing.)   Oh, and DON’T include all the names of your list in the “To” or the “CC” line.  Send the e-mail to yourself and blind copy your prospects.  They have the right to a little privacy, too.

 

The look?  Nothing fancy.  You can use a simple text message.  You don’t need fancy HTML images of fire-breathing, interest rate-slashing dragons to get someone to read your note.  Just keep it short, concise and well-written.  I repeat—well-written.  No spelling mistakes, no grammatical mistakes.  Have a few folks proofread it repeatedly before you send it.

 

The most important part of your homemade e-mail campaign?  As with any marketing, it’s your execution.  That means a few things must be sewn into your efforts:

 

1.         Your message needs to provide some value to your audience.  We all get way too many e-mails every day.  We delete the badly-written ones first.  Put yourself in the shoes of your prospect as you write your message.  If you have trouble being objective about your message, ask your attorney or staff counsel to help.  As many flaws as attorneys have (I can say this as one myself), they’re very good at seeing flaws and blemishes.  Keep your message simple and short.  Make it a little more novel than list of specifications for your product.  Just as you would with a good sales call, tie your product to the needs of your prospect.  If you have an offer (discount, etc.), that’s not bad, either.

 

2.         Give your prospect an easy road to action.  Links, links, links.  Ever get an e-mail that actually interested you, only to find out there was no link to get to a Web site, or worse, no Web site?  A phone number is not good enough (although you should certainly include one)—give them a real easy way to do what you want with the e-mail (click to buy).  And make sure your Web site is current and useful (see previous blog entries).

 

3.         Give your prospect an easy way to get off of your e-mail list, and pay close attention to those that “unsubscribe.”  It’s not just good marketing—it’s federal law.  A simple message at the bottom of your e-mail with the physical address of your company (again, it’s the law) and something too the effect of “If you don’t wish to receive similar e-mails from us in the future, please click here”—linking of course to your Web person’s e-mail.  Again, pay close attention.  If someone “unsubscribes,” track it, and get them off the list before you send another e-mail. 

 

4.       Beware of your frequency.  More is NOT better, but one is not enough.  Make sure your messages vary (don’t look too much alike) and give the prospect some time to breathe after you send one.  Once a week would be an aggressive start.  You can even go once every couple of weeks.  But if you do start a campaign, finish it.  It often takes several “impressions” (times a prospect sees your message) to cause someone to act.  So if you’re going to send one e-mail, be sure you send at least 3 or 4.  Just don’t do it all the same week.

 

Above all, as with any marketing—LISTEN CAREFULLY.  You may get a few responses making suggestions.  You may not.  You may get a few angry responses.  Look for the bigger trends.  Did sales or phone calls to your office spike the day after each e-mail?  Did half of your recipients “unsubscribe?”  You can get some feedback even when nobody actually writes back to you.   Remember also that, in this day and age, many of the e-mails you send may not even reach the in-box of your intended recipient.  Spam filters, changing e-mail addresses and vigilant ISPs can all see to this.  If you’re using a large list (over 1,000), it may even be safe to assume that 50% or less of your audience will even get the e-mail.  But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth doing.

 

I’m going to leave metrics systems for another blog.  Yes, they’re quite important.  And, easy to track with fairly simple systems.  But for now, get cracking on your message and get to work.  The New Year is upon us!