Killer Online Marketing Strategy Goes Offline
One of the greatest ways to generate new marketing strategies is to look for new ways to apply proven techniques.
Heck, some of the greatest business innovations of all time came about when someone took something that worked in one industry and found a way to apply it to a new industry.
One of the coolest things about online marketing is that it is so inexpensive to try new things, that, well, lots of new things get tried. Some flop, some stick, but many are tried and refined.
The point is that some of the most successful online marketing strategies offer clues to some great offline marketing twists.
Here's one of my favorites. The Autoresponder Series. You know, you sign-up for a newsletter or free mini-course and the next thing you know, you get an automated response of some sort 20 or 30 times over the next year in your inbox.
The effectiveness of this consistent contact is that it builds trust and, done properly, allows you the opportunity to gently promote new products and services very easily, almost automatically.
But now, think about applying it to the offline world. Imagine meeting someone at a networking event and then firing off a hand-written note the very next day that offers a nice tip and thanks them for their time. Now, imagine sending another well-timed note, offering more and more information, once a month for the next year. Without lifting a finger.
Or, what if a client made a small purchase and then received a thank you card in the mail and then another one 30 days later that introduced a premium upgrade service?
Or here's another one. What if you had a service like tax preparation and you knew that you needed to send out reminders to your clients? How great would it be if they got a handwritten note 30 days before something was due?
What if your dentist sent you a thank you card after an appointment and then a reminder note nudging you to come in after 6 months?
Financial Planners, Real Estate Agents, Accountants, Home Service Providers, Lawyers, Doctors, Consultants. . . can you see how powerful this could be for your business?
Okay, one more. Someone sends you a nice referral. Boom, out goes the thank you note.
The uses for this are endless.
Great strategy no doubt, but, what a pain in the marketing neck to get this done in the day-to-day reality of the small business right? I mean, many people have already come to realize that this is a great strategy and some even tried it for a while, but couldn't keep up with the amount of effort it take to complete this task by hand. Well, think back to our Autoresponder online series. The key to this strategy and system is automation and consistency. Put it together once and forget it.
Recent advancements in technology have come together to allow any independent professionals and small business owners the ability to send a highly personalized (your own handwriting) greeting cards, mailed on demand with little more than a few key strokes on your part. The entire process is completely automated. Once you set your greeting card Autoresponder system, it can also do things like automatically send birthday cards and holiday cards. I can't tell you how many email, Christmas greetings I received this year - now, that's about as impersonal as you can get.
The proper use of this strategy offline may indeed prove more effective than its online counterpart because people are starving for personal attention. A handwritten note is one of the most powerful marketing pieces you can create, mainly due to the fact that no one sends them anymore. Email is so easy to send that a handwritten note can actually make you stand out all by itself.
John Jantsch is a veteran marketing coach, award winning blogger and author of Duct Tape Marketing: The World's Most Practical Small Business Marketing Guide published by Thomas Nelson - due out in the fall of 2006.
He is the creator of the Duct Tape Marketing small business marketing system. You can find more information by visiting http://www.ducttapemarketing.com.
