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In this issue:
Marketing Article: How To Increase The Response You Get From Your Lead Generating Ads
Marketing Article: Creative Customer Service Strategies

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I received two postcards in the mail yesterday. One was cluttered with so much small text I had difficulty trying to read it. I gave up and trashed it.

The second postcard had a total of 48 words on it including a website address listed on the bottom of the card. The card announced a new book on one of my favorite business topics. Part of one chapter was available to read free at the website listed on the card. I did... then ordered the book.

The person who sent that second postcard was using the classic 2 step selling process:

Step 1. Generate leads - in this case traffic to her website.

Step 2. Provide the requested information - in this case provided online at the website.

This two step process is proving to be just as effective online (Internet marketing) as it has been for many years in traditional marketing.

WHY USE 2 STEPS?

It's easier to generate leads than to sell products or services. You don't have to persuade anybody to spend money. Therefore you can use simple and inexpensive methods of advertising to generate leads. You can also build a list of prospects who don't buy now and use it for future follow up.

TIP: Always try to get the contact information from your prospects so you can communicate with them again in the future. Implement an automatic follow up procedure to periodically contact previous prospects who didn't buy. (This one procedure alone can increase your number of new customers by 50% or more.)

KEEP IT SIMPLE

The purpose of a lead generating ad or message is to generate a large number of inquiries. You're not selling your product or service (yet). You're selling the reader on the action of replying to your ad. The most effective message I've found for generating the maximum number of replies includes only 3 things.

1. State the biggest benefit offered by your product or service.
2. Include a compelling reason for readers to request more information NOW.
3. Provide a quick and easy way to respond.

Keep your message brief. Most short ads I develop produce more replies than longer versions of the same ad. For example, one of the most responsive ads I ever developed has only 14 words. The version used on the Internet read:

Discover How To Build ANY Small Business FAST! Offer ends soon. Free information. mailto:address@domain.com

The off-line version of this ad also included a phone number and postal address so prospects had 3 ways to request more information. I used it for classified ads in magazines and printed it on postcards and mailed them to targeted lists. Every version of the ad produced a large number of replies.

Many prospects responded out of curiosity. That was OK. I knew they were part of my targeted market and had a compelling need for what I was offering. I controlled that by circulating the ad where it would be seen only by prospects in my targeted market.

Follow this model the next time you develop a lead generating ad or message. Place your ad where lots of prospects in your targeted market will see it. The number of leads it generates from seriously interested prospects will surprise you.

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Bob Leduc retired from a 30 year career of recruiting sales personnel and developing sales leads. He is now a Sales Consultant. Bob recently wrote a manual for small business owners titled "How to Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards" and several other publications to help small businesses grow and prosper. For more information... Email: BobLeduc@aol.com Subject: "Postcards". Phone: (702) 658-1707 (After 10 AM Pacific time) Or write: Bob Leduc, PO Box 33628, Las Vegas, NV 89133

Customers are kind of funny. They will rarely tell you how you messed up, they will simply leave. Poof...gone!

No matter what the size of your firm there are ways to get to the bottom of this problem.

Call them. Talk to them. Mail them. Do your maintenance.

Don't just take the order and run. Remember, it is a lot easier and a whole lot more profitable to do more business with your existing clients than it is to find new ones. So, do whatever it takes to make sure those existing clients are happy campers.

Here are a few simple practices that you might consider adding to your customer service routine.

1. A week after a client buys a product or service, follow-up. Ask them what worked, what didn't.

It’s an interesting fact of business but, sometimes, as long as people get the chance to tell you what's wrong and you do what it takes to fix it, they may become some of your most loyal customers.

2. Send postcards, letters, article reprints, notes, whatever, as often as you can. By staying in touch you create a bond that will serve you well when you launch new ventures and new product lines.

3. The most powerful yet cheapest research you can get. Talking to your customers about what works and what doesn't work is the greatest way to find hidden gold mines in your industry. Understanding very specifically why people choose to buy from you over others is the secret to marketing.

Be on particular lookout for phrases like...that's how we've always done it or we don't like it but we've just come to live with it.

4. Schedule routine maintenance appointments or calls with your clients.

Often after your clients have been enjoying your product or service they forget how much value it is bringing them. Find a way to build regular meetings with your clients into your service. Use the time to educate them on just how much you have done for them. (How much weight have they lost, how much money have they saved, how much more efficient are they, how much more business they now have, how much of what ever it is that you do)

They will appreciate the time and it is a great way to introduce new products and ask for testimonials and referrals.

5. Find out everything you can about your clients.

Don’t stop at name, rank and serial number. Devise a method for collecting personal information about your clients. Information about a client’s spouse, children, hobbies, schools, community involvement can be a tremendous way to further your relationship and offer clues for networking and referrals.

You don’t have to be intrusive or nosey to make this strategy work, sometimes you just have to be observant. Most people wear their allegiances on their sleeve. Any sales trainer worth a darn will tell you to look for ways to strike a common bond with a prospect as a selling tool, I find that as a customer service tool you are simply looking for ways to get a deeper understanding of the needs of your client as a way to uncover more ways to help them get what they want.

Now go do your customer maintenance... Every 3000 miles or so ought to do it!

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John Jantsch is a marketing coach and creator of the Duct Tape Marketing System. You can get more information about the Duct Tape System and download your free copy of “How To Create the Ultimate Small Business Marketing System in 7 Simple Steps” by visiting http://www.DuctTapeMarketing.com