Which is the better way to reach your customer/s and get them to buy from you?
Here are the merits of both.

Using opt-in eMail can be a great way to generate leads and sales. But so can regular “snail” mail.

Here’s a quick guide to the pros and cons of Drect Mail and eMail to help you choose the right way to contact prospects and build your business.

eMAIL PROS

Email is cheap.
Which is why spammers love it.
They don’t care whether response rates are low because their costs are negligible. If you want to reach a large number of people and if you have access to a solid, opt-in list, go for it.

eMail is fast.
In two senses. First, your production time is minimal. As soon as you get an idea to test, you can write a motivating eMail, and hit the send button. Second, your prospect gets your eMail instantly so responses can start pouring in within minutes. Speed, from start to finish, means you can be a super-agile marketer.

eMail is a fabulous testing medium.
As a result of the speed mentioned above, you can get virtually instant answers to your marketing questions. Is a cross-sell offer going to be a winner? Send a group of prospects an eMail and you’ll have an answer. Have you written two great headlines but can’t decide which one to go with? Do some eMail testing and get your answer fast!

Downloadable fulfillment pieces are instantly accessible.
For example, if you’re offering prospects a White Paper filled with valuable information, they can click through to your landing page, fill in a little qualifying information, and download your White Paper in under two minutes. The fact that they don’t have to wait long to get their free fulfillment piece boosts response rates.

eMAIL CONS

The eMail “environment” is poor.
Thanks to the spam avalanche, sorting through email messages is a real drag. That means your prospects are looking for messages from colleagues, family, and friends, and everything else is out. And fast.

eMail messages have to be (relatively) short.
When prospects are going through their email, they want information quickly. So long copy is out. Complex offers are out. Supporting facts and arguments are out.

eMails can limit your creativity.
An all-text email is obviously visually quite boring. The message is the whole ball game.

Great eMail lists are hard to find.
List brokers promise you a high-quality “opt-in” list but you’re often playing with fire. The simple fact is that the direct mail list business is a lot more mature and you can find both ethical and helpful list brokers if you shop around.

DIRECT MAIL PROS

The Direct Mail environment is a good one.

Sure, people call Direct Mail “junk mail.” But they use the term with a lot less anger than they do when they speak of “spam.” When you read through your eMail, you’re sitting at a desk staring at a monitor and you’re busy. When you sort through your Postal/Direct Mail, you’re probably much more relaxed and feel less put upon. This difference in receptivity is incalculably important.

Direct Mail gives you the space you need to tell the whole story.
If you write a compelling letter, readers will stay with you. They will not stick with you in a lengthy eMail.

In Direct Mail, you can use emotion.
In your letter or collateral piece you can inspire, frighten, cajole, convince, make cogent arguments, and motivate. Readers just don’t want all of that in an eMail. They want you to tell them the facts and get out.

In Direct Mail you can include different pieces you can hold in your hand.
A colorful flyer, a testimonial sheet filled with raves, objective product reviews, you name it. You never know what’s going to capture a reader’s interest or attention. With an eMail you get pixels on the screen and nothing more.

DIRECT MAIL CONS
Direct Mail can be expensive.
Postage is high and heading higher. Printing often can be costly and there are list rental and direct mailhouse costs to consider as well as creative development.

The bottom line?
Direct Mail can be very cost effective but there’s no question that your front-end costs are going to be higher. That’s the only big “con” I think you have to worry about.

Final thoughts…
From the pros and cons listed above, eMail and Postal/DirectMail both have their advantages.

Lately, direct mail has been in a bit of a decline, partly because of the economy and partly because eMail marketing has made inroads.

Direct Mail will be making a huge comeback as spammers continue to destroy a legitimate marketing channel.

My advice?
Keep on testing eMail but don’t neglect the proven, money-making power of a letter package or Direct Mailer!

It Pays to Advertise
No matter how wonderful your company’s product or service is, if you don’t advertise, nobody will know about it. The goal of any advertising program should be to cost-effectively reach the largest audience possible and attract new customers. If done correctly, advertising can be a wonderful investment for your small business; if done poorly, advertising can become a huge money sink.

Despite what you see on “Mad Men,” advertising can be a tricky game. We present 10 important tips to help you plan, execute, and monitor your advertising program.

1. Go After Your Target Audience
An advertising campaign should be geared toward your niche market. It is a common mistake to create generic advertising that does not speak the language or grab the attention of your potential customers.

Ask yourself what kind of customers you want to attract, and make sure your advertising speaks to them on a personal level.

2. Highlight Your Competitive Advantage
One of the keys to all advertising is to accentuate the pros of your company — those factors that give you your competitive edge. Too many ads are clever but fail to sell the specific benefits of the featured product or service. Unless you highlight these benefits, your advertising delivers no value to potential customers.

3. Establish an Image
You can recognize the McDonald’s arches while whizzing by on the highway. Likewise, there are plenty of products that you recognize by their packaging or logo.

Image counts when it comes to advertising and promoting your business. Too many advertisers do not work to build a consistent image, and they’re missing the chance to make an impression on prospective customers.

4. You Have to Spend Money to Make Money
There are ways to save money, but advertising is typically not the place to cut corners. Doing so will affect sales, and that affects the bottom line. Successful advertising may cost some money, but that is because it works.

5. Advertise in the Right Places
Your favorite magazine, radio station, or even television program might not be a favorite of your audience. Do some research about your target market to understand who they are and determine what they read, watch, and listen to. Then advertise in the appropriate media to ensure that you reach your target market.

6. Don’t Allow Your Budget to Run Your Advertising Campaign
Whether your budget is $5,000 or $25,000 per month for advertising, you’ve made it very easy from a bookkeeping perspective. However, if like most businesses you have seasonal highs and lows, you are spending too much money advertising during down times and not enough when you want to attract customers. Too many entrepreneurs do not budget according to their seasonal advertising needs.

7. Diversify
It is all too common for business owners to choose the best place to advertise based on price and potential rate of returns, and then stop. As is the case with investing, you do not want to put all of your eggs in one basket. Spread your advertising dollars around by choosing a variety of suitable media for your audience and budget.

8. Don’t Try to Be Everything to Everyone
No product or service will appeal to everyone. Many business owners, including corporate executives, try to come up with ways to reach every market. Typically, this does not work. It can spell disaster for small businesses, who cannot afford to spread themselves too thin. Therefore, find your market and be everything you can be to that audience.

9. Test Your Advertising in Advance
If you have the time or money to invest in focus groups, you should test your ads on other people. Do they understand and accept the message you are trying to convey? If not, get insight into how you could more effectively communicate your message.

10. Monitor Your Advertising
It is very easy to ask new customers or clients where they heard about you. As simple as this is, many entrepreneurs do not bother to do so. It is advantageous to understand which elements of your ads are most effective and which media offer the most profitable advertising opportunities for your company

Let’s take a detailed look at the topic of communicating with clients.
Many of the tips that are mentioned can apply to communication in general, but this post comes specifically from the perspective of a designer/client relationship.

1. Start with a Solid Foundation
Communication is of critical importance during the early stages of the client process. At this time you will need to get to know the client’s business as well as possible. You’ll want to understand the products and services that they offer, their corporate culture, and what makes them unique to their customers. Additionally, you should get a solid understanding of their customers and what they will be looking for when they do business with your client. It’s also important to understand the client’s specific goals.
By taking the time up front to communicate with the client and to build this solid foundation for the project/campaign you can save time and avoid miscommunication later.
Some clients may be hesitant to dedicate much time before the project begins for this type of communication. When that is the case it can be helpful to explain that all of this is important in order for you to provide marketing recommendations that will truly work for their business and for their customers. Emphasize that taking this time up front can help to make the process smoother and quicker, and will avoid costly mistakes later.

2. Have a Method or a System
It is a good idea to have a standard process for client intake. In addition, it’s also helpful to have a method or system for client communication beyond this point. If you are just responding to emails or phone calls as they come in with no records or organization, chances are you could benefit from putting a system in place.

3. Do More Listening Than Talking
It is important to emphasize the need to listen and let the client provide you with the information that will help you to do the best job possible. Of course there will be plenty of times where the clients should be doing the listening, but especially during the initial stages when you are just getting to know about their business, be sure to place the most value in listening to what they have to say.

4. Don’t Be Afraid to Ask Questions
Misunderstandings will always lead to wasted time, so don’t be afraid to ask the client questions that will help you to get on the same page. Your clients are busy – so they may be in a hurry when you are talking to them, but don’t let that discourage you from getting the information that will help you to do your job for them.
Many clients won’t give a lot of information to you about their business or their customers unless you ask because they may not see the need for you to fully understand their business. So you may have to be proactive and ask a number of questions.

5. Be Patient with Your Explanations
The typical client does not have a great understanding of advertising/marketing, and that is why they are hiring you. As you are explaining things to them throughout the process, be patient and remember that this is probably not an aspect of their business that they are very comfortable with.

6. Explain Your Reasons and Thought Processes
As you give your opinions throughout the process it is important that you also explain to the client why you are giving that advice. Clients will often want you to do something that you don’t think is a good idea. When those situations arise, rather than just doing it the way they want or doing it your way with no explanation, take the time to demonstrate to them why you think it is important and what the potential impacts can be.
Clients will typically see things as they appear on the surface, but from your experience you may know that there is more to be considered in the situation. When this is the case you need to explain to the client the other factors that are involved and why you feel a certain way based on the research you have gathered on their business at this point.

7. Give Advice When Needed
Be a consultant to your client. Clients know that you have more expertise in this area than they do and they’ll trust that you are interested in doing what is best for them and their business.
Don’t be afraid to advise clients based on your professional experience.

8. Avoid Jargon
One of the biggest frustrations for clients is when you talk to them with terms and phrases that they don’t understand (at least explain what they mean).

9. Avoid Assumptions
Assuming that the client understands certain things or that they want something a particular way can lead to miscommunication. If you’re unsure about something, take a minute and ask the client rather than assuming and causing a lot of work that needs to be re-done later.
One thing that can help your communication, particularly when you are explaining things to clients or giving them choices, is to use real-world examples. Explaining options over the phone or through email can be challenging, and at times ineffective.

10. Make Your Communication Count
Because your clients are busy, most of them will not want to be constantly receiving emails or phone calls about the project/campaign. Try to put your questions together in one email rather than sending 4 different ones. Additionally, make an effort to be as clear as possible when you communicate so there is no need to go back and forth several times just to understand the issue at hand.

11. Put it in Writing
One of the reasons that email communication is effective is because it gives you and the client a record of what has been said. There may be times where it is necessary for customer service or for legal purposes to have a record of what was said, by whom, and when. Aside from email, other types of CRM tools can also help for record keeping.
For situations where you are talking to clients on the phone, it’s a good practice to type notes after you get off the phone to summarize what was discussed, and of course you will want to include the date and the names of the specific people that you spoke to.
Another option is to send a summary of the conversation to your clients by email. This may be overkill for short calls just to discuss one point, but it could be helpful with longer, more detailed calls.

12. Keep it Professional
While you are communicating with clients, whether it be face-to-face, telephone, or email, always stay professional. Clients are paying for your services and they will expect you to conduct your business in a professional manner, so avoid things that could cause them to see you differently. That’s not to say that you can’t get to know your clients on a more personal level, but remember that what you say and write can impact the client/agency relationship.

1) Paid Advertising:
If you’re willing to spend money on paid advertising, know the most effective ways to sell your brand management message. Cross over into different forms of media to find a new audience. Newspapers can advertise on television, radio stations can put their announcers’ faces in local magazines and all media can benefit from the Internet. Just make sure you choose the right form of advertising to get the most results.

2) Community Outreach
Building your media brand can be as simple as leaving your building to perform community outreach. Whether your team volunteers to help a charity, sponsors a half-marathon or just shows up for a reception for sales clients, this face-to-face contact can make much more impact than simply handing out bumper stickers featuring your logo. Know the best ways to devote your time so that it pays off for your brand.

3) Media Contest
Grab attention through a media contest that features a giveaway or competition. While this sounds like an easy brand management strategy, be aware that any contest takes a great deal of planning to be successful. Understand the attention to detail that’s needed so your investment pays off.

4) The Internet
No matter which form of media is your primary business, the Internet provides an unlimited resource to boost your brand. Offer something different than your competitors, but make sure you monitor the latest technology so that you’re not left behind when new tools become available.

5) Social Media
Successful brand management includes using social media resources like Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter. Instead of counting on people to take time to visit your website, you reach out to them where they’re already congregating with their friends. Make a personal connection that will win the hearts of your audience as well as their minds.

Banner ads can be a great way to boost your sales and brand awareness. According to a study by PwC for IAB France and the SRI, banner ads are still the most effective form of internet advertisements. Get it right and you can see an increase in sales. Get it wrong and you have just wasted your time and money.

Use these 5 tips for the effective use of banner ads:

1. Your Logo
The first thing to work on is your company logo. This logo should be on every banner to create brand awareness. Take a look at your company logo. Does it stand out? Is it noticeable? Is it memorable? Does it represent your company? If you didn’t answer “yes” to all four of these questions, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. A good logo is clean, professional looking and stands out from the rest. Because your small business logo is so important, we highly recommend that you hire a professional graphic designer to create one for you.

2. Great Layout
Take a moment and think about ads that have caught your attention lately. What did these ads have in common? They had great layouts that caught your attention. An internet banner is just like any other ad. It needs to stand out. It doesn’t matter if your ad is full of graphics or large bold text — just as long as it looks eye popping great. An ad marketing specialist and graphic artist can be of great help in this department.

3. Clear Marketing Lingo
Great logos and layouts mean nothing if your customers don’t know what your ad is selling. Make sure your banner advertisement has clear wording that describes what you are offering. It’s also important to articulate this in a short-and-sweet fashion. Generally speaking, customers will shy away from a lengthy description of your company’s products and services.

4. Proper Banner Placement
Banner placement is just as important as banner design. You wouldn’t put an ad for power tools in a beauty magazine would you? The same theory applies for internet advertising. Make sure your banners go on sites where your customers visit.

5. Change
As a best practice, switch it up and make new banners at least once a month. Do you have a new service, new product, new promotion or new product on sale? You can market this with your new banner. Keep your brand design consistent and update info/content.

Communication involves both receiving and sending messages.

Most businesses have mastered the ability to send messages, yet struggle with receiving the information that will aid in providing the goods and services their target markets can benefit from.

All goods and services must meet a need, fulfill a desire, solve a problem, make a task easier, or in some way enhance their lives.

Communication is where it all begins.

Effective communication will be a key factor component to instilling confidence in a target market and persuading them to purchase any goods or services you offer.

Below are five tips to help in constructing effective communications for your target market, and ultimately develop relationships with residual benefits for both sides.

1. Learn Their Buying Habits & Study Their Needs:
Developing communications that meet the needs of your target market will require study and research. Teens do not make buying decisions for the same reasons as their parents, and vice versa. Knowing this will help you determine which avenues to use to speak to them, what to say, and more importantly, how to say it. The verbiage and even length of messages sent to your target market will vary based on what you learn in your research. Find out their needs, their wants, and where you fit in the picture.

2. Speak Directly to Them:
Never attempt to reach everyone. Once you have determined who your target market is, what they need and how they determine what to buy, create messages tailored specifically for them. The more specific you are in your messages, the more likely you are to reach the buyer who is looking for your product or services. Everyone hates generic messages that seem to leave out the details – so does your target market. You want every article, every ad, every tweet, every Facebook post, or newsletter message to be specifically designed for your target market.

3. Develop More Than One Way to Get Your Message To Them:
Realize that most people enjoy some type of variety, and that some things are more likely to catch someones attention while some things are not. For example, you may find that your twitter account has 54k followers, but you rarely receive any type of feedback or conversion for your business. It may be true that those followers are listening to you (though research is beginning to show that most are not), but have you considered a newsletter, a press release, a blog? Those same followers might be interested in your product or service and willing to follow your blog if you invited them. But they may also be afraid of using twitter, or not sure how to really interact. Giving that same market your message in the form of a Facebook post on your fan page, or a blog post might create more interest. Don’t discount YouTube and other platforms either; you might be surprised how many people will respond to a video vs a tweet.

4. Listen and Learn:
Be careful that you are not investing so much time in sending your message, that you forget to receive. Your market will respond if you give them an opportunity and solicit their feedback, but what will you do with it? All of the research in the world will not be more valuable than hearing directly from your target market. As a business owner, you will be far more productive and profitable if you spend more time listening than talking. In fact, if you make mistakes, your target market will be more willing to give you another chance if you show that you have heard them and have learned from what they have to say. Think of yourself as a consumer.

5. Be Flexible Yet Resilient:
Do not expect to hit the mark perfectly on the first time or even every time. You may have to adjust your tone, broaden your vocabulary, or get rid of certain mediums you use to communicate with your audience more effectively. You will want to keep track of the communication methods that are most successful. Be flexible and use what is learned for your benefit. Resiliency is just as important as flexibility. Business owners must be able to leave destructive criticism and negative feedback where it is, and move forward in their communication plans despite any perceived setbacks.

Effective communication will lead to a better reputation with your target market, a greater perceived value for the products and services you sell, and a long-lasting relationship that can bring more business.