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In this issue:
Marketing Article: Online Branding in Today's Economy
Marketing Article: Tracking Prospects with Customer Codes

In today's current economy, it's more important than ever to effectively build your company's brand online. In economic recessions, making sure your brand is top of mind is critical. Connecting to clients through the Internet, as opposed to more traditional marketing techniques, can be more effective because of the:

o variety of approaches available
o high level of interactivity
o lower cost per campaign
o immediacy of results
o ability to better track results

According to a recent report entitled "Online Branding-The Internet's Impact on Branding" by the research firm Cyber Dialogue, more than a third of users (36%) undergo shifts in brand perceptions as a result of using the Internet. Assuring that your brand is correctly translated on the Internet increases your arsenal for targeting your market and improves the value of your brand-especially important in these tough times.

How does today's business climate affect your branding strategies? Here are a few points to consider: o Assure that your online brand is strong and clear. Your goals should be to get noticed and to increase your relevance. Focus on developing a usable and functional web presence and creating email communications that stand out in overcrowded "In" bins.

o Plan your online strategies for the next three months. In tough times, situations change quickly and budgets are tight. Make sure that your message is relevant and that you're getting the ROI anticipated.

o Provide an interactive experience for your clients to help build your relationship. In shaky times, your clients might need some hand holding, so stay in touch. Consider offering discounts or specials when possible.

o Review the imagery associated with your brand. Edit images that are inappropriate for today's climate. Be sensitive to your client's current state of mind and the current state of their business. Shy away from controversial imagery.

o Express how you are participating to help others. Are you offering discounted services/products to those affected directly by the incidents of 911? Have you created a fund to help or are you contributing to an established fund?

Remember that your brand is "alive." Stick to your core principles, but remain flexible in communicating your brand

Tracking prospects with customer codes for postcard marketing is easy—and there are many advantages to it (even with lists of a few hundred). The key is consistency, and using only what you need. Pieces of information you can track include:

1. Origin of the prospect and the date acquired

2. Types of products/services purchased

3. Frequency of purchases

4. Date of last purchase

How do you do it? Start with a unique identifier. For mailing lists under 1,000 number your list from "001" to "999." Want to track where you found the customer? Use a letter code (e.g. "A" for "Association" or "JD" for "Jane Doe").

Need to record your first contact with the customer (i.e. a purchase or when you put them on the mailing list—whichever is earlier)? Use "1001" for 10/01(inserting days gets you "101601" for October 16, 2001). A letter code, such as "NC" (for new customer) before the date is perfect to help identify what the date means.

Record what they buy from you with a letter or number code ("P" product). Do you have regular purchasers among your customers? Use "We" for weekly, "BiM" for bi-monthly, "BiA" for biannually, etc.

The last time they bought something from you is another easy date—stick it on the end to remember what it stands for (i.e. the last info you have on them is their last purchase).

Do you put the customer tracking code on the postcard? That depends on your offer/system. Will you ever see/use that card again (i.e. does it get "redeemed," will you ever ask a prospect for the number, or will you use it to sort postcards by offer/customer segment before the mailing)? If you answer "yes" then definitely put it on the card. Even if you are unlikely to see the postcard again, you still may want to put it on just in case you get a "return to sender" from the post office.

Finally, keep a list of your customer codes and information on a neatly typed word processing document or (preferably) a spreadsheet—more technologically advanced mailers can take advantage of database/contact management software (like Access, ACT!, FileMaker or GoldMine).

Here's what a mailing label might look like for a customer (#367) acquired May 1998 ("NC0598") from a trade show ("TS"), who makes monthly purchases ("Mo") and last purchased my services July 2002 ("0702").

___________________________

367NC0598TSMo0702
Spencer I. Profitt, Mngr.
Always-On Apparel
2 Grace Court
Lincoln, NE 68508
___________________________

*NOTE* You can put the customer tracking number elsewhere on the label, but make sure it is distinct from the address information and, especially, the ZIP code.

Tracking codes have numerous uses in accounting, including making invoicing easier—you can use the entire code with the date of purchase as your invoice number. However, for accounts, make sure that you use the "root" (i.e. non-changing) portion of the customer tracking code.

If you already have account numbers/codes set up, then use them for the base of your customer code on mailings. The example above has the root portion of the code "367NC0598TS." Notice I put the non-changing portion of the code first—something that is highly recommended.

For mailings, tracking codes help produce more purchases at a lower cost, increasing your profits. These benefits come from:

Better Mailing Lists Identify sources that produce the best prospects (the ones who buy)—and get more leads from them! Eliminate prospects who never buy from you.

Targeting Offers Avoid pointless offers—track what your customer responds to—and give them more of the same! (You can also split your mailing list and test offers to see what works.) Know who to reward for frequent business. Know who to send "We've missed you" cards.

Profiling Customers Find the most profitable customer-types you have (e.g. monthly purchasers of "X" service)—and try to attract more prospects like them. Identify prospects for up-sells—if they share characteristics with more profitable customers, try to turn them into that type of purchaser.

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Martha Retallick, "The Passionate Postcarder," hails from Tucson, Arizona, USA. She is the author of Postcard Marketing Secrets, a downloadable PDF manual will show you how to put postcards to work for your business—profitably. Learn more about it at: http://www.PostcardMarketingSecrets.com