Avoiding Pricey Marketing Mistakes

One of the hardest challenges of running a business comes in the promotional stage. Quite often, startup and small businesses get in trouble when in comes to carrying out their direct mail marketing campaign, which can include sales letters, catalogs. They may have started the whole campaign easily, but along the way they experience setbacks and failures. These failures can be fatal for your business which can cost you a lot of time, money, and effort.

There are ways though you can do to avoid these marketing’s costly mistake. Here are some of them:

• Create marketing pieces that don’t simply look cute and pretty, but is loaded with excellent functionality. They have to give you the results you desire.

• Producing a good copy. This is perhaps the most significant element of your marketing material. As a copywriter, you have to know when to be smart or witty and funny or serious in your material. To do this, you need identify and understand your target market.

• Targeting your market efficiently. Do you really know who your target audience is? Do you know what their desires are? When was the last time you actually took the time to learn what motivates your prospects?

• Getting the best postage. Keep in mind that just because direct mail is easy to create doesn’t mean that you sacrifice postage. Oftentimes, it makes more sense to spend a little more to get your materials arrive at your prospects on time and in pristine condition. After all, it is worthy to spend more if in the end you will make more.

• Make sure that your creativity hits the spot. In any direct mail campaign, whether it is catalog, creativity is mega important. Identify what stirs your creative juices and spend some time molding them to ensure you grab your prospects’ attention.

• Take advantage of other marketing materials. Just because you are already making use of business cards or billboards don’t mean that you miss out on the other marketing tools. It’s important that you tie your direct marketing efforts with marketing tools. For instance, you can tie up your brochure campaign with email marketing.

• Follow up on customers. Just because you have sent already your post cards or catalogs, you can simply wait for customers to come to your door. Keep in mind that if you don’t motivate your prospects to make an action, they will simply ignore your campaign. So, it’s important that you make follow up calls to entice people to contact you.

• Use direct mail to drive traffic to your web site. Take advantage of your direct mail materials to drive people to your web site, Facebook page, blog, and other online materials. People who see your online account in your cards will be encouraged to check it out.

• Create cards that look professional. Don’t simply create cards that look like your little brother made it. Keep in mind that your materials have to look as professional as possible in order for people to trust you. Remember that your name is in your materials, and if you want people to get a good perception of your business, then make sure your marketing materials look the part.

• Make sure your printer understand your business. This is important as your printer can offer you insight on issues that you don’t understand and have not enough experience.