As recession begins to bite hard, ’spending’ is the watchword of the moment. While the government introduces financial initiatives designed to encourage higher spending, people and businesses are looking for ways to cut their budgets. Despite the recent reduction in VAT and government appeals to banks to increase lending, businesses can’t ignore the lower revenue figures as customers retreat in large numbers.
In times of financial uncertainty, a review of business operations will highlight those functions deemed non-essential or over-resourced. Historically marketing is usually among the first to be culled. It is not a well understood discipline and invariably its implementation is lacking. By and large, it is seen more as a cost centre than a revenue generator, working to bring new sales leads to the business. Properly conceived, planned and implemented marketing strategies can raise an organisation’s profile in the marketplace, in turn strengthening brand awareness and loyalty, all of which eventually leads to more customers and ultimately more revenue.
That said, here are a few words of warning. Cutting your marketing budget without thought to the business impact can be devastating. Experienced marketers know this but are under pressure to reduce spending nevertheless, and never more so than now. Conversely, there are those organisations that hold marketing up as one of the tenets of business success in all weather. These are the companies that believe if you throw enough money at marketing, eventually more customers will come and the coffers will start to fill. But without a plan behind the intent, this approach is simply a waste of money and potentially fatal to the business. There is another way.
It is accepted wisdom that marketing is essential to a prosperous business. But is it possible to maintain marketing effectiveness on an ever-decreasing budget? To answer this question, we first need to understand three things: what exactly is marketing these days, why is it so important anyway and how is it changing?
MARKETING’S EVER INCREASING IMPORTANCE
To the uninitiated, marketing is a synonym for a wide range of disciplines and activities that somehow fall into the same bucket: advertising, public relations, exhibitions, promotions. It’s true that marketing covers all of these and many others, but what actually is it?
Marketing is essentially project management in disguise and has already been functioning well through outsourcing for a significant period of time. The proliferation of marketing activity, widening supplier resources and the increasingly short term view of the role of the marketing director have all combined to create the right environment for outsourcing marketing from the strategic through the bottom line operational level.
As recently as ten years ago, certain businesses did not need to market themselves as we understand it today. Businesses such as estate agents, housing developers and banks simply opened their doors and customers would come to them, ready to buy. These businesses saw marketing as a way to rise above the competition, but there was still essentially plenty of business for all of them. However, as markets have fractured and changed, the competition has become ever more fierce and new business models are continuously being developed. On top of that, in the current economic climate it is these traditional pillars of the economy that are suffering the most.
In light of these circumstances, marketing has taken on a new importance. It has become paramount not just to business success but also to business survival. Brand presence in itself is no longer enough. It is continuous brand strengthening and communication through robust marketing strategies that forms the foundation.
Ultimately though, marketing is about understanding your customers and your market. What have you got to sell, who are you trying to sell it to, and what is the best way reach them? In addressing these issues, the successful marketing programme will cover market research, define the most appropriate channels to market and the most effective media to reach the right audience, and articulate why the market should buy from them. This last point is the cornerstone to success marketing, otherwise known as the ‘Unique Selling Proposition’
Having outlined what marketing is and why it’s so important, surely it would be simple enough to work out a plan and execute it. Unfortunately for marketers everywhere, this is easier said than done. Why? Because marketing is undergoing radical change.
THE CHANGING FACE OF MARKETING
Since the dawn of the Internet age, online marketing has unfolded at an alarming rate. At no time is this more true than today. With the advent of the so-called ‘Web 2.0′ over the last few years, social networking has seen a proliferation of new tools and online media have opened up new and diffuse channels to market. Marketing today is in many ways unrecognisable from the discipline it was, even ten short years ago.
This change has brought increasing complexity to strategic marketing and planning. Internal marketing departments are being spread more thinly, relying increasingly on a growing list of supporting agencies each dedicated to a particular marketing activity. It has also meant that marketing managers and executives have taken on more of project management role as they supervise and coordinate an abundance of outsourced activities. Similarly, the marketing director’s role has become fundamentally project-based. Marketing directors are often tasked with a series of strategic restructures as the business continually morphs to adapt to its market. This has imbued the role with a short-term outlook, such that today it is unusual for a marketing director to stay with an organisation for more than two years before moving on.
In finding a solution to the challenge of achieving effective marketing on a strict budget, it is worth noting that the prevalent marketing agency landscape developed out of necessity, not through careful planning. Outsourcing on a piecemeal basis is not a cost effective formula. It has been technology driven, not marketing driven. And there are a few fundamental issues with this approach. Firstly marketing executives do not ordinarily make good project managers. They lack the advanced skills required to integrate and synchronise a myriad online and offline activities into a single, mutually supportive workflow.
Outsourcing marketing functions is not a new concept. In fact it is a tried and tested way to quickly reduce costs by moving core functions outside of the organisation. It was first widely applied to customer service through call centres. However sales and marketing departments quickly discovered that if you outsource on a purely tactical basis, it can backfire on your business. It is important to build in strategic processes and controls to maintain service quality. The challenge for marketing is how to achieve quality control across such a diverse and disparate range of activities. One answer could be to combine outsource partners with a project management team. Another approach is to integrate these functions and elevate the outsourcing relationship to a more strategic level. To identify the best approach, we need to understand ‘marketing integration’ and how this can create cost efficiencies.
INTEGRATING OFFLINE AND ONLINE MARKETING
While today every business considers having an online presence as a necessity, tomorrow it will be blogs, giveaway content in the form of PDF reports and email newsletters, online communities and social networking that will become essential to every marketing strategy, programme and campaign and not just the domain of the forward-thinkers.
These new ways of communicating with the market are moving seemingly further and further away from the real world. Aside from keeping up with developments, marketers are faced with the challenge of integrating online and offline channels so that they support and reinforce, rather than contradict each other.
On top of this, technology has levelled the playing field. Now anyone can try their hand at marketing. Publishing a newspaper or magazine is possible with a software programme and a broadband connection. Achieving professional quality media is now accessible to the man on the street. Similarly online marketing is open to everyone. However, the ability to market does not guarantee marketing success. Despite ease of online communication, the availability of tools for fast analysis of market data and the speed of digital delivery, superior marketing implementation can only be ensured when it is backed by a consistent business strategy and coordinated marketing programme. More importantly, integrating traditional offline marketing with the many disparate forms of tactical online activities in a strategic way will be essential to success.
COST EFFECTIVENESS IS MARKETING GOLD
As marketing agencies continue to proliferate and shift towards more and more specialised niches, it begins to make sense to consolidate the mainstream functions within an integrated framework. Logically, however, this would suggest higher internalised costs. To avoid these costs, without compromising effectiveness, suggests moving the mainstream function outside the organisation.
However, this makes little sense if executed at the tactical level. What is needed is a restructuring of the traditional outsourcing model so that the lines of communication are at board level. Strategic public relations and public affairs consultancies have worked this way for many years. The timing and conditions are now right for marketing to adopt this approach: to move from a tactical project management style to a higher-level strategic partnership with their outsourcers.
Put simply, modern outsourced marketing takes the accepted concept of interim management and retained agencies to a higher level. In an outsourced arrangement, highly skilled marketing consultants and managers liaise with specialist agencies to an agreed strategy and budget, in a well-constructed operating process to deliver on planned objectives and targets. By taking an holistic view from a brand perspective, outsourced marketing has the potential to lift the bar on performance and programme integration in a way that traditional marketing management finds hard to achieve within modern cost structures. Key to achieving this is integration of the internal marketing function at the strategic level of the business.
Outsourcing marketing execution is the traditional view taken by organisations when attempting to strip out costs, but within today’s marketing landscape this can only come at the expense of marketing effectiveness. Modern outsourcing should aim for strategic consistency across internal marketing functions. This has the additional benefit of placing overall responsibility and planning at an organisational level rather than with ultimately one departmental representative, the marketing director.
As a contractual arrangement, strategic outsourcing establishes common operating practices and reportage, which work in accordance with KPI measurements and agreed ROI indices. From a marketing perspective the strategic outsource model has the organisational intelligence necessary to achieve a balance mix of online activity and offline in an integrated manner.
CHOOSING A STRATEGIC OUTSOURCED MARKETING PARTNER
As a means of replacing high cost, high turnover internal function with a strategy partnership that communicates at board level, the outsourced marketing model has much offer. It is equally suited to growing companies that have yet to develop a marketing department as those that are downsizing. For those marketers working under the conditions accompanying a merger or acquisition situation, or companies and brands stripped of resource through administration, outsourced marketing also presents an attractive option.
If you decide that outsourced marketing is for you, you’ll want to ensure that you engage an outsourcer that agrees to a planning process that involves clear ROI and KPI objectives. Ideally this will be presented in the form of a marketing dashboard to allow a continuous evaluation performance on the fly. You should also be careful to select an outsource partner that can offer a complementary mix of senior consultants with skills that span all media and marketing channels. Naturally it is also critical that this experience covers both online and offline environments. Finally, it is important to assess whether your outsourcing partner can offer flexibility in its fee structure. For example, can it package a tailored launch service for an all-on cost but also provide supplementary services on a ‘top-up’ basis as and when required?
Cost savings are readily achievable with a fully outsourced marketing function, provided consultation is observed at board level. Since services are rendered on a ‘time block’ basis, it is easy to adjust the marketing resources ‘tap’ to whatever level suits the budget. Provided the partnership is structured correctly, marketing results should not be adversely affected. In fact, the enhanced planning and creative development process that comes through an outsourced arrangement can lead to improved marketing effectiveness and sales performance that proves to be as valuable as lower marketing costs.
Marketing Outsources is the UK’s first specialist organisation, which offers both in company management with external creative and production services to provide full executive resources and a planned programme of activity. Implemented at a substantially lower cost yet with an improved performance, making the most of technology and better planning and faster working.
With Marketing Outsources you get a topflight director just when you need the strategy and creative direction with board level input to overall company growth, backed with experienced marketing managers.
Marketing Outsources can deliver and implement your marketing strategy through a group of expert and experienced suppliers, embracing the benefits of new technology, whilst balancing online and offline spending to optimum effect.
Tim Arnold is the principal partner of Marketing Outsources, the UK’s first specialist organisation, which offers both in company management with external creative and production services to provide full executive resources and a planned programme of activity, implemented at a substantially lower cost yet with an improved performance, making the most of technology and better planning and faster working.
Tim has over 35 year’s experience in marketing, advertising and sales promotion. He set up Marketing Outsources having worked as a Portfolio Marketing Director for 10 years. In this role he has been Marketing Director for Hagemeyer and Berkeley Homes and head of e-commerce for Farnell.
Previously, he was founder of Tim Arnold & Associates and chairman of the Arnold Worth Group, a leading UK independent marketing services group. Prior to that he was a Director of Wasey Campbell Ewald (Interpublic) and MD of their sales promotion company.
Tim started his career as a Unilever trainee before moving to become Brand Manager for Yardley of London. He is a fellow of the Institute of Sales Promotion and member of the Marketing Society and has recently published “The Marketing Director’s handbook” with Guy Tomlinson.
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
Marketing is the key to success with any business, online or traditional. You can have a website or business location. You can have a great product. However, if no one has heard about your business or your product, you have NOTHING!
Marketing is everything you do to promote yourself and your business. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your website is just one of EIGHT BILLION listed on Google. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your store better have a location next to Walmart and hope for their overflow. How do you stand out from the crowd?
There are seven (let’s call them) commandments for your marketing efforts. Keep these in mind and you are well on your way to creating an effective marketing machine. Remember, there is only one way to score the effectiveness of your marketing efforts – SALES!
Commandment #1. Use a Rifle NOT a Shotgun
Rifles leave a neat, clean hole where you point them. Shotguns scatter shot in the general direction you point them. Most failed marketing efforts are born in a scattered marketing message aimed at the world.
Let’s say you were trying to sell a snowboard. To effectively sell a snowboard to a fifteen year old requires an entirely different conversation than selling the same item to his mother. Therefore, commandment #1 directs us to segment our possible customers into different groups who share common concerns. If your product could be sold to a fifteen year old or a 40 year old, you’d better decide who you are going to focus your marketing efforts upon for the greatest success.
Commandment #2. KNOW Thy Customer Like Thyself
Following commandment #1, we selected a targeted group of people for our marketing message. Now, we MUST understand that targeted market as well as we know ourselves. We must crawl within their mindset. We must understand what they think about our product, what they want from our product, and the alternatives they have to our product.
Customers buy for their reasons, not yours. If you want to sell them your product, you MUST sell to their concerns, not your own. Every piece of marketing copy must FOCUS upon them. If you don’t speak their language, you don’t get their money.
Commandment #3. Be PASSIONATE About Your Company & Your Product
Attitude is infectious. If we are around upset people, we begin to take on that attitude ourselves. If we are with positive people, the same phenomenon occurs. Most people like to associate with enthusiastic people. And, most of us like passionate people. If you aren’t passionate about your company and your product, why should anyone else be?
Commandment #3 means to show passion for your product by speaking and writing about it with enthusiasm. Talk about what your product can help people accomplish in their lives. If you can’t work up enthusiasm for your own product or business, find another business or product.
Commandment #4. Accept the fact that “NO” won’t kill you
In the process of running a business and selling a product, you will hear “no” more frequently than you hear “yes” (if you’re doing it right). What? By “doing it right”, we mean you are TRYING things. Some work. Some don’t.
Whenever you think of a new marketing approach, remember, the worst that can happen is they say “no”. So, try it! This is not a matter of life or death. This is a great experiment!
“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” – Charles Darwin
Commandment #5. Wear a CLOWN SUIT! It’s hard to ignore!
The cheapest and easiest marketing in the world is free advertising. How do you get free advertising? Wear a clown suit! Do something OUTRAGEOUS! Become news worthy. How?
When Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream first tried to expand to a nation-wide operation, it had trouble finding distributors. They determined the problem was that Pillsbury put out the word to all distributors not to work with Ben & Jerry’s. Pillsbury’s edict effectively blocked Ben & Jerry’s from the services of the national distributors. What to do? Put on a clown suit!
Ben & Jerry’s set up a one-man picket line outside Pillsbury headquarters. The picket sign read “Who’s the Doughboy afraid of?” The result? National-wide FREE publicity on television and newspapers. Publicity they couldn’t afford to buy.
In order to differentiate yourself from the crowd of competitors, you MUST be DIFFERENT! Design your own clown suit and wear it proudly!
Commandment #6. NEVER Give Up!
Albert Einstein said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up”.
In marketing, everything you do moves you forward. If one campaign fails, you are that much closer to the one destined to succeed. Watch others. Learn from others. Learn from your own mistakes. BUT KEEP GOING!
Commandment #7. Always Be Closing
“Always be closing” is often referred to as the “ABCs of sales”. However, it also applies to marketing. The objective of marketing is to increase sales. Not to “inform”, “educate”, or “entertain”. I repeat: The objective of marketing is to increase sales.
Therefore, this last commandment directs us to write all marketing copy with the sale in mind. Only information that moves a potential customer toward a sale is allowed in our marketing copy. How do we know what should stay and what should go in our marketing materials? Read through it asking yourself one question – “So what?”
Another way of stating “so what?” is asking “why should the customer care?” You’ve been in business since 1972. So what? Your product folds flat. So what? You’re a family owned business. So what? The alternative?
“We have been in business since 1972 so you’ll always know where to find us. Since we are a family-owned business, you’re always talking to an owner who can answer your questions and solve your problems. Our product folds flat to save you valuable office space when not in use.” See the difference? Now you’re talking about the customer’s issues, not yours.
There you have my seven commandments of marketing based upon 33 years of business experience. “Commandment” is defined as “A formal pronouncement or rule”. Keep in mind and put into practice these seven commandments of marketing. When you do, your marketing efforts will result in the only true value of marketing – increased sales!
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
One of my favorite quotes is often used to describe goal-setting — but it applies equally well to your marketing efforts. We start with Alice lost in the woods in Wonderland, where she comes upon the Cheshire-Cat…
“Cheshire-Puss,” she began rather timidly, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where…” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “…so long as I get somewhere,” Alice added as an explanation. “Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “If you only walk long enough.”
How does this story apply to marketing? Because there are so many different ways to promote your company — so many places where you can share information about your business. And you can pour a lot of time and energy (not to mention money!) into marketing without really getting anywhere. That is, unless you have a strategy and know where you want your efforts to take you. You can create an effective MARKETING PLAN by asking yourself the following questions:
WHO ARE YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTS?
Rule number one in the world of marketing is that you can’t be all things to all people! You must know exactly who your potential clients are in order to reach them effectively. Your client base is not “anyone who is disorganized” — but it might be “working moms” or “entrepreneurs” or “elderly people who have to downsize their living environments.” And the more specific you can be about your demographics (age, income level, gender, geographic location, etc.), the easier it will be to connect with these clients. Since my area of expertise is Professional Organizing, let me share an example of some demographic groups that I might market to:
- working moms who have kids in daycare or afterschool care
- entrepreneurs who have been in business (less than / at least) 1 year
- elderly homeowners who are moving to a retirement community
- homebuyers who are purchasing a house worth $200,000+
- busy executives who work an average of 12+hours a day
WHERE ARE YOUR POTENTIAL CLIENTS?
A large part of focusing your marketing efforts is knowing where to find your clients. Are they at home watching TV? Shopping at the grocery store? At the mall? On the internet? Do they attend business networking functions? Or work late at the office? Then that’s where you need to market. Choose your venue accordingly. In other words, “don’t put fliers on cars if your customers don’t drive!” If your clients are:
- working moms, market through daycare centers
- entrepreneurs, market through small business and “start-up” groups
- elderly, market through senior organizations and retirement communities
- new homeowners, market through realtors and mortgage lenders
- executives, market through professional associations
WHAT MARKETING STRATEGIES WILL BEST REACH MY CLIENT?
This is an off-shoot of the previous two questions. It should be fairly simple to determine which methods to use once you know who your prospects are and where to find them. But let’s add one additional wrinkle — how much can you afford to spend on marketing? You might be able reach your audience best by putting a full-page ad in a national magazine — but can you afford $27,000 per ad? Start off by testing your marketing message on more reasonably-priced options. Here are some examples of matching the right marketing strategy with your client demographics:
- working moms, put up fliers at daycare centers
- entrepreneurs, give workshops on organizing for small business groups
- elderly, network with the intake staff at retirement communities
- new homeowners, offer referral fees to realtors and mortgage lenders
- executives, write an article for a professional association newsletter
WHY WOULD PROSPECTS PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR MARKETING?
The next step in focusing your promotional efforts (once you know how you want to reach your intended audience) is to hone in on your message. People are bombarded each day by an excess of information — and we’ve learned how to selectively ignore about 90% of it. You have to make your message stand out, or it will get lost. Tell potential clients WHY they should be interested in what you have to say — capture their attention by explaining how they will BENEFIT from your services. In my case:
- working moms will free up more time to spend with their kids
- entrepreneurs will be able to focus again on the work they love
- elderly clients will face less stress when “paring down” their belongings
- new homeowners will be able to unpack and settle in sooner
- executives will be more productive and increase staff productivity
WHEN SHOULD YOU LAUNCH YOUR MARKETING ATTACK?
Timing is everything — you have to deliver your message at the moment when your prospect is most receptive. But how do you know when that is? Promoting a business is a little like investing in the stock market — you should commit for the long haul (did you realize that most business people give up on a marketing strategy just before it begins to pay off?) But you should also be prepared to take advantage of any special to really connect with your potential clients. Some examples of these strategic marketing efforts I might use include targeting:
- working moms around mother’s day or the start/end of summer break
- entrepreneurs during a start-up or expansion phase
- elderly clients when they start the process of “cleaning out”
- new homeowners when they are starting their house search
- executives on “Clean Off Your Desk Day” or “Organize Your Files Week”
HOW DO YOU EXPECT YOUR MARKETING EFFORTS TO TURN OUT?
If you don’t know what you want out of your promotional strategies, how will you ever know if they have succeeded? It’s critical that you set marketing goals, just like you would with any other area of your business — but simply saying, “I want more clients,” is too vague. “I want this ad to bring in 20 new clients and double my mailing list,” is SPECIFIC and MEASURABLE. It’s easy to track of your marketing efforts if you will:
- create a marketing calendar indicating when each promotion will run
- assign each promotion a unique “code” or name
- record the number of responses and $ in sales each effort generates
- compare your expectations with your results
- ditch the ideas that didn’t work and double up on the ones that did!
Of course, you can always toss a lot of information about your business into the wind — and some of it will randomly end up in the hands of potential clients. Or, you can decide to focus your promotional efforts on those people and strategies that will give your the biggest return on your investment. If you treat your marketing like a game of darts and only aim for the bullseye — you will come a lot closer to hitting the mark (why do you think it’s called MARKeting?!)
Ramona now travels the country as a full-time RVer, sharing her story of simplicity with everyone she meets. She leads by example — having worked for more than 10 years as a Professional Organizer, and having radically downsized and simplified her own life as a full-time RVer. Ramona now considers herself a “Renaissance Woman” — bringing all of her passions together into one satisfying career.
As “The Traveling Organizer”, she can create a customized organizing plan for your home or office, or teach your group the “Ten Steps To Organizing Any Area Of Your Life” in a workshop. As a “Simplicity Coach”, Ramona provides a proven program for making every area of your life a little bit easier — perfect for those who want to make the time and space to focus on their true priorities. As a “Frugality Coach,” she can teach you how to quickly reduce your household expenses, in good economic times or bad.
As a Professional Photographer, Ramona captures powerful images of places and people as she travels. And as a freelance writer and blogger, she shares organizing techniques, social commentary, travel tips, and film reviews with others.
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
“Dig your well before you’re thirsty” is the title of a wonderful book by Harvey Mackay.
It is smart advice for investing your money, “Save your money before you need it”, or growing your business, “Market today for tomorrow”.
When times are tough some businesses stop marketing. They reason, ‘No one is buying so why should I advertise?’ The other time some businesses stop marketing is when they are selling like crazy. Again they figure – ‘I can’t handle any more business right now so why promote?’
Two key points here. Advertising is only one narrow form of marketing. Marketing is about sending messages. You send messages in a plethora of avenues; advertising, customer service, by association, quality, public relations, sponsorship, awards, etc… And the second point; marketing is a long-term investment.
Selling is immediate. When times are slow you need to crank-up the selling efforts. How do you escape from a sales crisis? Improve selling skills, search out new markets, offer more value and most importantly be systematic. When there is a fire, put out the fire.
That’s sales.
Preventing the fires of tomorrow is marketing. That is why marketing is so difficult to justify or measure. The good marketing you do today will pay off in a few weeks, months or even years. Is it worth it? Only if you want to be in business in a few years.
Invest wisely in your marketing. Many of the principles of investing money apply to marketing. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Your message must reach your prospect along several avenues. That conveys more credibility. For example; you might advertise in a magazine, sponsor a community event, send out news releases and offer extras on your website. Your investment portfolio should be diversified, so should your marketing. Warren Buffet’s long-term strategy to ‘make smart investments and hold’ can apply to your marketing. Make a long term marketing commitment to yourself. Stick to it. Be consistent and persistent. That is smart investing and smart marketing.
Consider the different forms of currency in your business. Cash is the most obvious. A signed order is another. Receivables are currency – you can even use them for collateral – or sell them. But some forms of currency look better than others. If cash is best then you might be tempted never to give credit to customers. But you might lose sales because of that. So you may decide to give credit to approved customers – knowing that you can likely convert the receivable to cash. Even signed orders are currency – you can factor them to obtain financing.
Marketing is another form of currency in your business. Good marketing creates customer awareness, goodwill, education, credibility, even desire. All of that can be converted into signed orders, receivables and hence cash.
All forms of currency are convertible. But the conversion rate is not 1 to 1 nor is it totally predictable. Some receivables become bad debt. Some signed orders get cancelled. Some marketing efforts just spin off into the universe like a lost asteroid. For that reason do not expect that every dollar spent on marketing pays off the same. For example if you do a mass mailing some of those envelopes go undelivered, some never get opened, a few get read – and even fewer acted upon. But you need to mail to the whole list to reach the ones that read it.
You might believe that cash is a better currency than marketing. Marketing can be better than cash because a creative marketing campaign can pay back many times over. If you realize that when you market you are creating currency – you can view your marketing in a more productive light. The more creative you are in your marketing – the greater leverage you get.
Marketing like currency is synergistic. When you have money the banks will loan you more – but when you have none and want some, what do they say? ‘You got none so we can’t give you any.’
Marketing works the same way. When you generate lots of exposure – you get more. When you are hot everyone wants you. When you are cold – you get the freezer. Keep sending your marketing messages regularly. Some businesses get busy with business and forget to market. And then the feast runs out and they start marketing again.
Because marketing is currency there are times when instead of cash you might accept payment in marketing currency. This might be a straight barter deal. I give you $1,000 of my product for $1,000 of your product. This is one way to get ‘free’ advertising. Trade your product for ad space or media time. This only works if the media company needs your product and don’t have budget, (cash), to buy.
My financial planner gave me some good advice when I left the corporate world to start my business. I showed him the corporate package I received and asked how I should invest this money – stocks, funds, or pay down my mortgage? He asked a few questions about my business. He then advised me to invest my money in the business because that is where I would obtain the best return over the next few years – then gradually as business growth levels or slows to invest in other long-term investments. It was smart advice because growing my business was another form of investment. I continue to make both short term and long investments in my business. You might examine your business in the same light.
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
The success of the financial sector is a key component for economic development
The financial markets sector is one important area of public concern in Africa. The need for adequate regulation and supervision of Financial Markets as an important mechanism for the promotion of economic development in African countries cannot be overemphasized. Financial markets regulation remains a very sensitive and complex activity when it comes to governmental policy development, with relation to defining strategic options pertaining to financial regulation. This article reviews the current status of financial farkets, the legal and regulatory frameworks in the Southern African region, with a special focus on selected countries.
The topic under investigation relates to the regulation of financial markets by governments within the Southern African countries both at national and international levels. It attempts to grasp its rationale, objectives, approaches and the practical ways of defining a regulatory framework for a modern African financial market and system. At a time many experts are calling for liberalization of financial services in Africa, it is important to analyze what are the rationale, advantages and implications of financial markets regulation for Southern African countries under the light of new international instruments and standards, such as the Basle II Framework and the WTO Agreement on Financial Services of 1994, whose operational modalities are is still under negotiations on various key aspects.
This paper attempts to examine the institutional and regulatory framework for the financial markets operations in order to understand the underlying principles of financial markets regulation development; to develop a concise outline of financial markets regulation framework within the South African countries; and provide as much as possible a clear understanding of policy development, key issues and challenges relating to the regulation of financial markets in the Southern African region.
The terminology used in the financial markets jargon is considered to be highly technical and can some times be confusing. While we attempt to keep a non technical language through out this paper, it is quite impossible to avoid the specific concepts used in the financial profession. For some key concepts, a concise glossary of most of the technical words is provided at request by the author.
The Southern African region: geographic coverage and scope
The broad Southern African Region considered under the present study is defined with reference to the SADC membership, currently comprising 14 countries, i.e. Angola, Botswana, Congo (the Democratic Republic of), Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. However, our scope is limited by the criteria of readily available data, and the level of financial markets development in the countries under investigation. Angola and the Democratic Republic of Congo are emerging from long wars and are still rebuilding their economies and financial systems. Both have no formal financial market. Accurate and reliable data is very limited on their systems. The study covers a period of 10 years (1994-2004).
Background overview on Financial Markets
The regulation of Financial Markets, taken as a broad concept, is the process that encompasses regulation, (i.e. the establishment of specific rules of behaviour), the monitoring (i.e. observing whether the rules are respected) , the supervision (a more general observation of the behaviour of financial institutions and operators), and the enforcement (ensuring that the rules are complied with) of the established laws.
The ultimate economic function of financial markets is to mobilize and allocate resources through financial intermediation in order to accelerate the process of economic growth. This function is performed through two distinct but interrelated components of the financial markets, i.e. the money market and the capital market. It provides channels for transferring the excess funds of surplus units to deficits ones. They constitute the mechanism that link surplus and deficit units, attracting funds from savers in the surplus sector and channeling these to borrowers for the purposes of profitable investment.
For the purpose of providing a clear understanding of this topic, it is profitable to present a wide overview of a typical financial system and the place of the financial markets holds within this framework. As a practical illustration, we provide in a table of Annex I, the Conceptual Framework of a typical financial market system (the Case of South Africa).
Financial Systems and Financial Markets development
The financial system in the Southern African region consists of providers and users of financial services. The typical financial system consists of a variety of institutions, instruments and markets that facilitate the flow of financial resources between borrowers and lenders. The financial institutions include moneylenders, banks, insurance companies, leasing companies, venture capital funds, mutual funds and pension funds, brokerage houses, investment trusts and stock exchanges.
Financial instruments involved range from currency notes and coins, cheques, mortgages, corporate bills, bonds and stocks to futures, swaps and other complex derivatives. The markets for these instruments may be organized or may be informal. The users of the markets may be households, businesses and the government. Compared to those of developed countries (Europe, Asia and America), the typical financial markets in the Southern African region are characterized by the absence or a limited number and quality of the financial services providers, the absence of many of the instruments and the lack of depth in the markets.
Financial Markets typology and structure
The financial markets play a very important part in the economy of a country and the well-being of every person. They interact with other markets and have an influence on issues such as wealth, inflation and economic stability in a country. The financial markets have their own characteristics and to be able to regulate them or operate in them, it is important to comprehend these characteristics.
Classification of Financial Markets
Financial Markets can be classified into different categories depending on the characteristic of the market or instrument used to create categories. There exist two ultimate distinctions of financial markets. The primary market, i.e. for the sale of new markets, and the secondary market for already existing securities. The capital market, which is the market for the issue and trade of long-term securities, on one hand and the money market, i.e. the one of short-term securities, on the other hand,
In general terms, the money market is the market where liquid and short-term borrowing and lending take place. The lending of funds in this market constitutes short-term investments. In a certain sense all bank notes, current accounts, cheque accounts, etc. belong to the money market.
In financial market terms, the money market exists for the purpose of issuing and trading of short-term instruments, that is, instruments where the term remaining from the date when trading takes place to the date of redemption of the loan represented by die instrument (commonly referred to as the “term to maturity”), is of a short-term nature. In theory, this term for classification as a money market instrument is given as one year. In practice, however (especially in South Africa), instruments with a term to maturity of three years or less are normally classified as money market instruments although this is not a hard and fast rule.
For the purpose of regulation, the classical typology of Financial Markets recognizes the following major distinctions :
the inter-bank and credit markets
the Money Market ;
the Equity Market ;
the Foreign Exchange Market ;
the Bond Market (for Government bonds, Corporate bonds, Eurobond market, structured bonds, etc.) ;
the Derivatives Market: ( for Futures, Swaps and Options)
Apart from the above mentioned categories, an other important distinction is established between the domestic financial markets and the international financial markets.
The institutional framework for the regulation of Financial Markets.
A financial system cannot be effective without an adequate regulatory framework. For a financial system to be effective and promote healthy economic development, it is important to put in place a sound legal and institutional framework. Various strategies and approaches are generally considered by experts for the development of financial systems. Two major strategies commonly considered are the “evolutionary” and the “proactive” approaches. Other experts have made a distinction between the “go slow” versus the “big bang” approach.
The pro-active strategy provides legal, regulatory and prudential framework which accelerates financial market development through mechanisms, institutions and financial instruments set up for this purpose. This strategy is considered as the appropriate approach for African and other developing countries for three main reasons:
Inadequate neutral incentive environment and market forces that are insufficiently strong for financial markets to develop by themselves.
Lack of institution-building capacity to determine the pace and strength of financial markets development.
Need for flexibility to allow for the use of the most efficient institutional set-up, required training infrastructure and choice of technology that is most suited to the local conditions and level of development.
The Rationale, Principles and Objectives of Financial Markets Regulation
1. The necessity for a Financial Market Regulation
Why regulate Financial markets? This question is central to the subject under investigation in this paper and before we attempt to grasp the rationale and objectives of financial markets regulation, it is important to understand why such regulation should exist in the first place. The necessity for a financial market regulation finds its basis in the same principles applied to the financial sector in general. Borrowing and lending of money create certain risks, namely :
That the borrower will not be able to repay the money ;
That the lender is receiving a fixed rate on his investment while market rates fluctuate in such a way that the yield on his initial investment is now below current market related rates ;
That the value of the capital invested could decrease due to movements in the market. In order to clearly define the rights and obligations of investors, borrowers, operators and intermediaries involved in a financial system and who operate under contractual relationship, it is of the highest importance to develop a cohesive and comprehensive legal and regulatory framework.
The stakes involved in the running of a country’s financial markets are very high and it would be deeply irresponsible to apply the rule of “laisser-faire” in this very sensitive sector. In case some thing would go wrong or the financial system could undergo a serious crisis, it would result into a total collapse of the entire economy.
Such a framework should encourage discipline and timely enforcement of contracts, fostering responsibilities and prudent behaviour on both sides of the financial transaction. For a country’s market to develop and operate efficiently, the legislative and regulatory framework should incorporate rules on trading, intermediation, information disclosure as well as strict sanctions against defaulters and cheaters.
2. The Rationale of Financial Markets Regulation
The rationale underlying the financial market regulation is the general philosophy and ideological background pertaining to a specific country’s economic orientation, and the type of economic system adopted by the country’s leadership. At present, most of the countries covered by the study are characterized by a “market oriented ” economy. However, some of these countries have been under a centrally planned economy until the 1990s when they dramatically changed their economic orientation. It is the case of Tanzania, Mozambique and Angola. The changes were particularly due to persistent deficits in public budget and their inability to support the considerable burden of state owned companies unable to achieve the target economic performance. This new orientation facilitated the development of more diversified and active financial systems, leading to the creation of Financial markets in Tanzania and Mozambique. Financial Markets have their own unique characteristics and financial operators differ from one country to an other. The financial market framework should facilitate rather than impede the efficient operation of the financial system.
The Principles of Regulation
In theory, there is a distinction between general and specific principles. The following general principles are widely recognized for the formulation of an effective regulatory process:
Every regulatory arrangement should be related explicitly to one or more objectives identified;
All regulatory arrangements should be justified with respect to their cost-efficiency;
The cost of regulatory arrangements should be distributed equitably ;
All regulatory arrangements should be sufficiently flexible, in the sense of being amenable to changes in markets, competition and the evolution of the financial system ;
Regulatory arrangements should be practitioners- based.
Specific principles are identified as follows:
a. Principles related to the regulatory structure:
What is the adequate structure for financial markets regulation. One major issue in Financial markets regulation relates to the number of regulatory and supervisory agencies involved. The issue of the choice between a single regulatory authority or multiple specialized agencies is generally resolved according to the following principles:
there is a need to adopt a “functional” as well as an “institutional” approach ;
the coordination of regulation by different authorities and agencies will help to achieve consistency ;
there should be a presumption in favour of a limited number of regulatory agencies /authorities.
In practice, the institutional and functional approaches need to be employed in parallel because regulatory authorities are concerned with the soundness of institutions, as well as the way in which services are provided.
b. Principles related to the market efficiency :
These are principles designed to contribute to the promotion of a high level of efficiency in the provision of financial services. They are :
(a) the promotion of a maximum level of competition among market participants in the financial system, and (b) the securing of competitive neutrality between actual or potential suppliers of financial services. Competitiveness is likely to enhance market efficiency, which in turn causes the removal of restrictive practices that could impair trading in financial assets and the rationalization of market activity.
c. Principles related to market stability :
These principles are expected to contribute to the promotion of a high measure of stability in the financial system and an appropriate degree of safety and soundness in the financial institutions. There should be incentives for proper assessment and management of risk. It is necessary to impose acceptable minimum prudential standards to be observed in respect of risk management by all financial market participants.
d. Principles related to conflict conciliation :
Conflict conciliatory principles are designed to resolve potential conflicts arising between regulatory principles themselves. They would involve an integrated approach, aiming at the simultaneous achievement of regulatory objectives, and a target-instrument procedure for the selection of key regulatory instruments in order to facilitate the implementation of an integrated approach.
The Objectives of Financial Markets Regulation
For a Financial Markets system to perform to its highest capacity and level, regulation need to be both effective (i.e. to achieve its objectives) and efficient (i.e. to be cost effective in the use of its resources).
The economic dimension of a financial markets system requires that regulation should not impose unwarranted costs on the economy and consumers, nor impair the efficiency of financial markets. It is therefore necessary to consider a cost-benefits analysis exercise to assess the regulatory requirements.
The more complex a financial market is and more business operators increase, the regulatory process becomes more demanding and requires more specific objectives. Efficient financial regulation requires a multi-dimensional approach and a more optimizing process.
1. The overall objective of financial markets regulation:
The ultimate objective of financial markets regulation is to achieve the highest degree of economic efficiency and the best consumer protection in the economy.
2. Specific objectives:
The following Specific objectives can also be highlighted:
to secure the stability of the financial system.
It is important for a country’s economy to run smoothly and the financial sector must be protected against internal or external shocks which might be caused for instance by ineffective or inefficient trading clearing and settlement systems or a major lack of market liquidity ;
to ensure institutional safety and soundness.
The regulatory framework should be extremely cautious and avoid to impose obstacles or barriers that would impair the safety and soundness of financial institutions, which need to be profitable and have sufficient capital to cover their risk exposure and face global competition ;
to promote consumers’ protection:
It is crucial for a financial market to impose integrity, transparency and disclosure practices in the supply of financial services.
Concluding Remarks
In all Southern African countries, as it is in all countries of the world, the financial system is more regulated than any other industry. On the consumer protection grounds and others highlighted in this study, it is universally accepted that this should be so. Existing empirical evidence suggests that regulatory arrangements have a powerful impact on the size, structure and efficiency of financial systems, the business operations of financial institutions and markets, and on competitive conditions in the systems.
The success of a financial markets regulation depends basically on the capacity of the regulators to define the objectives of the regulation and also on the way the regulatory arrangements are related to their objectives.
Some of the countries in the Southern African Region which were able to promote a dynamic and effective regulatory framework, such as Botswana, Namibia, Mauritius, Zambia, Zimbabwe and in particular South Africa, are benefiting from the positive development of financial markets, with an unprecedented flow of capital from foreign investors.
However the financial systems in the region are still limited, in terms of the number of operators, quantity and quality of instruments and the depth of the systems. And there is still need to develop regulatory institutions, structures and mechanisms that can maximize the explicit objectives of regulation while minimizing the costs of services.
The author, is an International Consultant on Trade and Investment, Director of InterConsult Mozambique and is the Representative of Emerging Market Focus (Pty) in Mozambique. This insight paper is aimed at advising investors and business people involved in international trade by providing them with accurate legal data on the institutional and legal framework of Mozambique and the Southern African region.
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
Network marketing is hard. Don’t kid yourself and truthfully don’t even attempt a network marketing venture unless you either have or plan to put into place a highly potent and highly duplicatable network marketing system
geared for 2005 and beyond.
Before I tell you what a perfect network
marketing system
should look like let’s talk about what doesn’t
work for most
network marketers. As I’m sure you probably
know, network
marketing is notorious for having a 95% failure
rate. Let’s
talk about why.
Have you ever heard of Occam’s razor?
Basically it states that the simplest
explanation for a
phenomenon is usually the best. We’ll use this
theory to
explain why more than 95% of network marketers
fail.
Ready?
Most network marketers fail because the
marketing methods
that they are taught don’t work 95% of the time.
Pretty
simple right?
So we’re led to ask the logical next question,
what are most
fledgling network marketers taught?
Well, I can only speak from my experience, but
what I was
taught was to buy and cold call leads.
Now, I’m not going to say this doesn’t work, but
I will say
is that after six months of cold calling leads
for 3 hours a
day with very little success this tactic doesn’t
work for
me. Don’t get me wrong some people are very good
at cold
calling leads, but most people aren’t.
What happens to most people after they’ve spend
thousands of
dollars on leads with very little success after
months of
effort?
They give up.
Another factor contributing to why most network
marketers
fail is the type of leads they use. Why does the
type of
leads make a difference?
Business opportunity leads, the leads most new
network
marketers are told to use, are generic. These
leads answer
an ad that just asks them if they want to be
financially
free, or make money from home or something like
that.
Well . . . of course they do!
But that doesn’t mean they want anything to do
with YOUR
network marketing program. When the average
network marketer
calls these generic bizz opp leads the leads
don’t know
anything about the network marketer’s business
and for the
most part honestly don’t care. This leads to
the fledgling
network marketer hearing a lot of “NOs”.
Hearing NO all the time leads to quite a bit of
self doubt,
both about the network marketers own ability and
the
validity of their association with their network
marketing
company. Negative feelings begin to harbor and
as I said
before eventually the network marketer gives up,
usually
with 3-6 months.
The fledgling network marketer’s perception of
their
business goes from one of opportunity to one of
complete
doubt and negativity. Reality follows
perception, so because
the fledgling network marketer believes both
themselves and
their business as having little hope this
becomes TRUE.
That’s basically why 95% of network marketers
fail if you
asked me.
So how do we change this paradigm?
We build a Perfect Network Marketing System!
Now we get to the good stuff! What does a
perfect network
marketing system look like?
For the average home based network marketer to
be successful
certain thing MUST be in place. I will list them
here:
o Lead capture page designed specifically for
specific
Network Marketing Company:
This page must contain strong sales copy that
tells the
prospect why he wants to opt in for more
information. The
best way to do this is to offer a High Value
Free Report in
exchange for there contact information.
o Free Report specifically designed for Network
Marketing
Companies Opportunity:
The free report must be highly informative. It
must explain
all of the features and benefits of joining the
network
marketing organization as an independent
distributor and
must focus on the support and resources
available to the new
recruit should they choose to purchase a
distributorship.
The company’s products and compensation plan
must be clearly
explained here as well. If possible,
testimonials should be
used, as they are extremely powerful sales
conversion tools
in this portion of the sale process.
o Follow up Email System:
Attached to the Free Report there must also be a
follow up
system that continually markets through email
the program to
the lead. Most leads don’t act immediately and
must be
marketed to at least 7 times before they take
action. The
email follow up system must have strongly worded
sales copy
and must have a system for getting through spam
filters.
o A Continual Feed Back System that uses the
Fear of Loss:
Along the with email follow up system there must
be a
feedback system that will alert the prospect by
email when
new prospects opt into the system and invoke the
fear of
loss during this process by telling the prospect
that if the
next prospect in line upgrades to a paid
position before he
does then he will forever loose commission on
that prospect.
This is an extremely powerful psychological tool.
o Strong Support:
It’s one thing to get someone to buy a
distributorship, but
it’s a totally different thing get them to work
the business
effectively. There must be an email follow up
system once a
new distributor signs on to ensure that he
receive adequate
training on how to market successfully. There
must also be
human support at this point. So, there must be
strong
relationships built between upline and new
distributors.
o A Good Product or Service:
In order for this entire marketing process to
work, the
system must be back by a strong and ethical
network
marketing organization that sells a high demand
product that
people need and would purchase even if there
were no
compensation plans attached to it.
o You:
You must be an active part of your business. You
must be
willing and open to learn new ideas and tactics
at all
times. You must have a passion for your business
and truly
believe in the product that you plan to build your
organization around.
In Conclusion:
I’ve listed the basic component’s a of a perfect
network
marketing system. This system will involve NO
cold calling
because the prospect will opt in to request more
information
specifically about your business before you even
talk to
them.
Cold calling generic bizz opp leads and hearing
a lot of
NO’s is what causes most network marketers to
fail. We want
to avoid this at all cost. This is what this
system is
designed to do!
By having your prospects opt in specifically for
more
information about your product and business plan
and then by
giving them a detailed report explaining all of
the above
before you even speak to them your chances of a
successful
sales conversion will greatly be increased. The
email
follow-up and fear of loss systems will increase
your
chances successful sales conversion even
further. These
factors will cut down on the number of NO’s that
the you
must endure before success. This will increase
your home
business’s duplicability vastly.
Further, having uniform training and exceptional
support are
the basics and must be present.
So,
Before you spend another dollar on your network
marketing
efforts ask yourself if you’re using a perfect
network
marketing system. If your answer is no and you
aren’t having
any success then ask yourself what you can do to
change your
system to one that will work for you and your
future
distributors using the principles that I have
detailed
above.
I struggled with network marketing myself using
the old
fashion methods, but as soon as I studied
internet marketing
and how to apply it to network marketing things
got a lot
easier. I was able to spot network marketing
organizations
that were specifically positioned for internet
marketing and
earmark what I thought to be the best of the
bunch. After
that, it was simple a matter of choosing the one
that with
what I though had the “best product”.
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
Marketing successfully requires not only insight into how a product or service can be successfully marketed but also flexibility into the marketing of a product or service.
This is one of the marketing principles that doesn’t seem to be taught successfully. Too many times, the “marketing gurus” will promote a type of marketing that has worked for them to the exclusion of all other types of marketing.
Now the type of marketing they promote may very well have worked well for them, but it is folly to believe that one marketing method and one marketing method only will work for every product or service everywhere. This just is not the reality as marketing methods can be as unique as the products and services that are marketed.
Innovation, creativity and flexibility are needed in any type of marketing efforts. Trying several types of marketing is usually the best method of eliminating marketing methods that fail, and determining which marketing methods are successful.
Online business or any type of business for that matter demands perseverance and determination. Perseverance and determination are also promoted heavily by the marketing gurus. However, perseverance and determination does NOT mean sticking with a marketing method that is incorrect for the product or service or NOT producing any results. It does not mean continuing self-defeating marketing methods over and over at a loss each and every month.
To prove a point about the misconceptions sometimes promoted by the marketing gurus and the misconceptions others may have about perseverance in general, I’ve used two actual case studies below:
A. Case Study #1 is a young male who started an online business many years ago promoting marketing resources and marketing strategies. He had many fine offerings that were of great value, as he spent much time and energy researching and developing resources. He read many manuals from marketing gurus, who stressed a lot on list building and e- mail marketing.
This young man, following the marketing guru’s advice, spent much time and energy for years, e-mailing others relentlessly, swapping ads for further exposure, writing articles in other newsletters and e-zines, and trying every “trick” of e-mail marketing to no avail. He also persisted in this strategy as he had taken to heart the principle of “never quitting” quite literally, which the gurus had promoted so heartily to him.
He lost quite a great deal of time and money until he noticed that his Web site had been ranking quite well in the Search Engines (after all, he had great content). Most of the few sales he had been making were coming directly from his Web site, despite the fact that he did not believe in (and dreaded) Search Engine marketing! He rethought the whole process and his approach, and began focussing on marketing his resources strictly from his Web site, applying his perseverance and determination to that, with incredible success ever since!
B. Case Study #2 is a middle aged female who approached the marketing somewhat differently, as she had read a manual from a different marketing guru. She was promoting a customized service, rather than a product, and the guru, whose advice she followed, firmly believed in Search Engine marketing, and Search Engine marketing alone. She spent literally tons of money, and tons of time, getting her Web site to the top of the Search Engines.
Like Case Study #1, she felt that if she only gave it enough time, and persevered, sales would be made. As time went on, she discovered that most of her sales were being made through her e-mail marketing. Her articles, ad swapping, and other e-mail marketing efforts (she published routinely her own newsletters and e-zines), were leading to more clients than those which were attained off her Web site. In her case, e-mail marketing was the “key” to success, but she also was following the mandates of the wrong marketing guru.
The above two studies highlight the folly of blindly following the mandates of any marketing guru. While many do have good solid advice to give, the business owner must possess enough flexibility to test many methods. Creativity and an open mind help immensely when determining marketing methods.
Perseverance and dedication are important, of course. But they must be applied correctly, along with flexibility and innovation, for success to occur in a business. All avenues should be pursued with perseverance and dedication and then choices of marketing methods made based upon the results. After all, results are what make a marketing method successful! Without results, any marketing method is a dismal failure.
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
Set up multiple simultaneous marketing campaigns with database marketing automation email software that get results exploding your internet business marketing while growing multiple optin lists, prospects consistent follow, increasing Back End Sales, and bottom line profits.
When you don’t follow up your prospects or customers with additional information, you are allowing valuable customers and prospects to skip from your grasp, go to your competitors, and satisfied their needs, at the expense of what should have been you’re your profits.
Those are customers that may have been very interested in your products, but simply lost your information, or were too busy when your information was sent. Some customers will purposely wait to see if you find them important enough to follow-up their inquiries. When they don’t receive a follow up message, they take their business elsewhere.
I don’t know about you, but just about everyone doing business on the Net been in that position, because of failing to automate their follow up. Though it’s been found that customer follow up at preset times with pre-written messages, dramatically increases sales.
The exception, those who automated their marketing campaigns, their list and database management, and automated their follow up with personalized email marketing software; and, they dramatically increased their back end sales and bottom line profits.
But, just as important as the increase of sales and profits, is the time saving features of marketing automation, as is the case with email marketing, the single most important aspect of database marketing and back end sales.
Other benefits of doing internet business with email marketing automation is the ability to follow up with prospects, while following through collecting leads, prospects, and customers email addresses and personal data, from a target market; growing an opt-in list of subscribers, managing multiple lists as a list server, and setting up multiple marketing campaigns with unlimited autoresponders.
Regardless of the spam problems of these days, email still remains most effective medium for:
o Keeping customers posted on new products and specials
o Ongoing personalized dialogue with website visitors
o Proactively getting customer satisfaction and testimonials
o Prospects follow up and requesting more information
o Keeping track of all contacts and email communication
o Introducing new products to your contact database
o Motivating and training your employees and associates
o Educating your customers and prospects
And the list could go on and on with no other limitation than the marketer’s creativity and imagination, or the email marketing automation software he’s using to automate his customers follow up.
.
Automated prospect follow up is the solution to selling more on the Internet, and specifically, for more back end sales. There is a wide range of email marketing automation software on the market now a days, some more sophisticated, easier to use, and more expensive than others.
To make a good selection of the wide range of available choices, there’s a minimum of features you must consider.
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From the marketing stand point the minimum features would be: automated database management and list server for multiple list management; manage and track, import and export, contact data from-and-to its database; and multiple autoresponders for sequential follow-up.
As important, is the ability of data merge for personalized email to potential customers, prospects, newsletters subscribers, clients, colleagues, organization members, affiliate or associates, and network marketing downlines; and, automated add and remove contact data from its database.
Other than the above, the software should allow for the seamless input of prospects on the front end, and when they come out the other end, they have all the information they need to make an intelligent decision to buy, to join an affiliate program, or sign up to a Network Marketing downline.
From the technical point of view, the software should feature: the capacity to operate sending email through your regular ISP server, or through its own integrated mail server to by pass your ISP servers, and avoid using up its band width – this is a must feature if you have a list of more than 1000 contacts.
Other important technical features for the email marketing software of your choice would be, the capacity of sending email through multiple simultaneous threads (at least 10 threads), at a sending average rate of 15 emails per thread; and an email address verifier, to verify new contacts email addresses and keeping your list clean from those entering a fake email address only to download your bonus.
Finally, the email software must have the capacity to handle the entire user unknown, undeliverable, and bounce back messages. This feature is very important to keep a clean list, and avoid being filtered by the ISP’s servers as Spam, because of too many undeliverable taking up their band width.
With an email marketing and database management software with all the above features, a Marketer or internet business operator you can set up, operate, and manage multiple programs, multiple marketing campaigns; and, also running multiple special offers, simultaneously and effortlessly.
For Netprenuers with an affiliate program, or into network marketing, this kind of software can help training associates, affiliates, and downlines, via email, on subjects such as distributor handbooks, marketing materials, or instructions for a quick jump start.
Finally, if you’re an e-publisher, this software provide the capacity for multiple broadcasting of newsletter or ezines; as well as to automatically submit article to hundreds of ezines editors at once..
Automated email and database management automation could afford business owners and marketers the means to capitalize on the full power of the internet, by consistently following up on customers, prospects, affiliates, and downlines; and, launching multiple and simultaneous marketing campaigns, while dramatically increasing their back end sales and bottom line profits.
Email marketing automation generates interest, traffic, and sales for an online business; and, its just amazing the amount of work and time that it saves. I cannot imagine someone marketing or doing business on the internet without email marketing automation software like this.
Perry Belcher is known for it’s great product marketing, visit Perry Belcher site to know more about Perry Belcher
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