After weeks of listening to a sales person and speaking with other people in the organization, I signed up for what I consider to be a relatively expensive business service.
During a very lengthy sales dance, the business service company was extremely attentive. They called. They sent materials. They invited me to sit in on WebEx demonstrations. They reeked of professionalism and efficiency. (You know where this is going, don’t you?)
So I made my payment by credit card. A few days later, I received (as promised) a first batch of materials with an instruction to call once they arrived and set a time to work with one of their staff members. [click to continue…]
Too many business owners and professionals think about email marketing as one-way communication. The problem is that when it’s one-way, you don’t know if anyone is listening or paying attention.
From my vantage point, email marketing – like all direct marketing – needs to be two-way. In other words, you need to get something back for what you’re giving away. That “something back” could be an email address, a telephone number, a request for additional information, a brief (two to three question) survey, a downloadable audio file, a link to a video, and so on.
When the recipient of one of your emails clicks through to a video, email marketing systems such as Constant Contact provide statistics that tell you that that specific recipient did, and when. With that information in hand, you can go back to that recipient with a phone call or additional email message that’s more tailored to the needs of the prospect or client. [click to continue…]
