In today’s complex world of B2B marketing, social media, ad-words and analytics, it’s easy to get caught up in the details of
marketing and forget the BASICS.
I’m sure you have your hands full every week: keeping up with social media trends, measuring response rates, testing and tweaking new marketing campaigns, tracking Google analytics, identifying new markets, honing your message, and meeting your sales team’s constant requests for MORE, high-quality leads!
But — are you SURE you have the BASICS covered? If you fail to keep several marketing basics in mind…success may elude you.
Let’s review the top 10 marketing tips to lay a foundation for success when marketing to the world of corporate training and HR!
- Keep the message simple – LESS is MORE. (Some marketing folks tend to forget this rule.) Be sure to grab your prospect’s attention quickly and then use a simple, powerful message to clearly state your product/service and the associated BENEFITS. (Note: Don’t confuse product features with client benefits!)
- Offer value at every touch – Bring value to your outreach to every prospect. Make each communication an instructional, educational experience for the prospect. Provide insights, helpful tips, or industry trends. Offering value builds trust, a critical element necessary to develop leads and close sales.
- Provide a clear call-to-action – Clearly and simply describe what you want your prospect to do within each email outreach or campaign… What is the call to action? Do you want them to email you, call you, visit your website, or attend a webinar? Don’t miss this opportunity to prompt them to take ACTION as a result of your email.
- Identify your customers – Analyze your current customers to build a customer profile. Develop targeted prospecting lists based on those attributes, and be sure to update your prospecting lists regularly. (Need more quality leads? MTG can help!)
- Repeat your message, again and again – This is KEY. Marketing is all about repetition. Use an integrated marketing approach with a combination of phone calls, emails, and direct mail pieces to achieve the best results. Reach out multiple times in various ways to improve response rates.
- Test marketing campaigns with a small mailing – Be sure to test any large marketing campaign with a small batch of leads first. Mail out a few hundred before mailing thousands, to determine if the marketing piece, the offer, and the call-to-action are likely to be effective.
- Deliver a strong subject line in your email – This is one of the most critical elements when sending out an email marketing campaign. A mediocre or weak subject line will yield poor results, so take the time to develop an effective subject line that will prompt your prospects to OPEN your emails! Research ways to construct an effective subject line… (Try using www.subjectline.com to help “score” your subject line effectiveness – it also provides pointers to improve any subject line.)
- Follow all CAN-SPAM laws when using email marketing – Research and follow all US and international SPAM laws when sending email marketing campaigns. Remember: CAN-SPAM laws in the US also require that you provide a simple and easy way for prospects to unsubscribe from email campaigns. Once someone has unsubscribed, be sure to remove them from your list!
- Test, analyze, tweak and test again – Marketing is all about trial and error. So test, analyze results, and test again. Be sure to track variables and outcomes to see which emails are being opened and which generate the most revenue. Modify and test different graphics, colors, subject lines, offers, and content. Track the opens, click-throughs, unsubscribes, conversions, and bounces. Use this information to continuously improve your marketing campaigns!
- Use a high-quality prospecting list! – While this may sound like a no-brainer, there are many companies still using archaic ways to find leads in an effort to “save money.” The truth is, we often speak with company leaders who have been asking their sales reps to dig up leads on their own, but they’re not getting the results they need. Or, they have purchased an “inexpensive” (i.e. cheap) list, only to learn that the information on the list is junk. This is just a huge waste of time and money.
- Junk in = junk out.
- Both methods (digging for leads, or using a “cheap” list”) involve forcing reps to make labor-intensive efforts to try to find the right people to talk to! Instead of increasing a rep’s “selling” time, these methods only serve to increase their reps “digging” and “sorting” time – NOT exactly productive. SEE the kind of money you are likely wasting if using an “inexpensive,” poor-quality list.
- The lesson? Be sure to invest in marketing data which will give you the QUALITY prospects you need. That step should be FIRST and FOREMOST in any planned marketing campaign. (See MTG Client Case Studies.)
A little more about #4 and #10 above:
- Do you need a high-quality source of Training and HR decision-maker leads? MTG provides the highest quality marketing intelligence data in the industry.
- How can you keep up with the constant changes in your prospect data? MTG provides updates every four months for FREE. We keep up with the changes, so you don’t have to!
Free* 4-month list updates are included! You won’t get this with just ANY marketing list company – you ONLY get this with Mentor Tech Group.
Contact Mentor Tech Group today to learn more. We’re here to help you find the decision makers you seek – whenever you’re ready!
* Free list updates provided with the purchase of 1000 or more contact names.
Call us today at (651) 457-8600, Ext. 1
