Thank you for the detailed follow up much appreciated! I haven’t heard of Target Marketing yet but just went over to their website and it looks pretty comprehensive. I’ll look into their services for sure.

Have a good one,

Sam

In response to your question Sam, my thought is that budget and staff size really drives how many channels you have the ability to focus on. According to a few studies we have come across, 2009 is the year for getting back to the basic direct marketing tactics. BtoB Magazine reported that 50% of marketers will increase spending on direct mail and email. I’ve personally seen a much higher response when using email and direct mail in conjunction — Sending a direct mail piece and an email follow-up directing prospects to a relevant landing page where I can collect further qualification information and lead them to something educational like a whitepaper.

If budget and time allow, the next success we’ve experienced is in writing relevant whitepapers that highlight statistics, not just opinion, and hosting a webinar to go into more detail on the topic. The key here that many marketers miss is to leave the sales speak out and focus on best practice. We’ve also shown GREAT success in email blasts through Target Marketing Magazine – takes more budget, but we received over 1,000 leads last year on a few blasts.

Tracking responses is the first step as it allows you to see which activities are not providing the response so you can use that budget on more responsive channels.

Best,
Jamie

I agree with you that these tips can and should be adjusted to fit any size business whether you’re doing solo freelance work or run your own small business with staff.

One of the points that make me think of where I can improve my business process is number 2. “Let the Data be your Light”. That couldn’t be truer. If you want a precise look at what your customers are doing it is so crucial to have proper data tracking and analysis set up and implemented as a system in your business no matter what it is.

So many companies spend their marketing budget blindly without using customer data or feedback to back those promotional decisions.

I also like your extra addition of “consistency”. My question to you is if you have to choose only what is working and try to only stick to that then when do you know when it’s a good time to venture out and try some new marketing activities?

Thanks again,

Sam Zipursky