The Value of a Business to Business Leaflet Campaign

Marketing

Whilst contributing to a couple of discussions and answering a few questions on my usual forum favourites over the last few days I came across a small business owner who wanted some help with a business to business leaflet campaign. I thought the feedback was interesting and decided to spin it into an article on the RM Blog. 

Is a Leaflet Campaign Effective

The initial query was, I am thinking of doing a b2b leaflet campaign in areas such as business parks and local shops etc. Has any one tried this and is it effective 

I think it was the word ‘effective’ that drew me to the initial post. When we are working on website projects and online marketing this is our yardstick. We consider, ‘Is it effective?’ Not just the look and feel but will it work, will it bring new business.

The responses on the forum are below:

Response 1

If all you intend to do is shove leaflets through letter boxes then your hit rate is probably going to be very low, because the average business gets plenty of them every single week.

Response 2

Create an outstanding leaflet to begin with. Whatever it is that you do, ALWAYS treat it as your “portable showroom” and make it as welcoming, friendly and informative as a good showroom should be. It must also be a “silent salesman” that will be working for you even despite the absence of a real salesperson being present. 

Response 3

It has to be a document that begs to be responded to. It must contain BENEFITS to your prospect, otherwise it will fail right from the start. 

Response 4

Rather than just shoving it through the letter box and walking away, enter the premises and speak to someone and get a commitment from them that it will be at least read. This may well be the receptionist, but even so you can ask her name and also VERY NICELY for the name of the MD or whoever you might think it falls within their job remit and also ask for the best time to call this person for a follow up call for their views. Because of that one-to-one contact and your charm, it is very rare that person will let you down deliberately. 

The business owner in question was enthused and replied, Good Advice! I am not really used to door to door style b2b sales so this will be an experience at least.

The best advice I though was from a poster called Kernow-man. His advice was,

The key to success is going out there to enjoy yourself rather than getting all apprehensive about what you are going to be doing. It is that mindset you start off with which puts a happy smile on your face and people always respond well if you have that glow about you. Treat it as drudgery and you are almost wasting your time.

So Do You Ditch your Website?

I feel that a leaflet campaign can be really effective but I am a big believer that no piece of marketing works well in isolation. If you think a leaflet campaign will be effective on its own you are likely to be disappointed. I think that its clear that any single piece of marketing in isolation is going to have a really limited effect overall but when your marketing activities all gel together then each activity adds more than it would on its own and (although it sounds a bit ponsey) the whole of your marketing becomes more than the sum of its parts.

So a big thanks to Kernow-man and the other posters for their insights. I think the young business owner in question will have a heap of great advice to give a platform for success.

One final thought from this, Kernow-man signs off with the following piece of advice, ‘Youth and vigour is no match for experience and cunning’.

You have been warned.

Word Count – 661

New Website Design for Stafford’s Crafters

Rake Mark and Andrea Crafts are really pleased to announce that the new Andrea Crafts Website is now live and serving all of Stafford’s ‘Crafty Folk’.

The website has undergone a major overhaul with a great new website design and a blog and news and events section to keep all Staffordshire Craft Enthusiasts informed of Vicky’s new club dates, workshops and events.

Rake Mark used WordPress to develop the site and Ms Andrea said, “The administrator bit keeps things really easy, so when I need to add a new craft class or meeting to the site it’s a snip. I’m no computer wizz but I can use that. “

About Rake Mark Solutions

Rake Mark is a Website Design and Online Marketing Company based in Stafford and serves the whole of the West Midlands. Rake Mark has been commissioned for projects involving a diverse range of clients from smaller local businesses to Premier League Football Clubs.

To see how Rake Mark can help you with your website design go to www.RakeMark.com or call 01785 256 222

Last Chance to Take Part in Website Design Survey

Rake Mark Website Design in Stafford launched their two minute web survey a little over two weeks ago and the response has been phenomenal. Each and every respondent who answered the 10 quick questions has been rewarded with a half price blog setup, hosting and skinning voucher worth £100.

Although the survey has been a huge success there is still a chance for anyone who wishes to take part to join in. The survey is hosted at Survey Monkey so take part now. Everyone who completes the survey will be offered a free voucher worth £100. But you will have to act quickly as the survey will close at midnight on this coming Friday (8th October 2010)

Sarah Brassington, the managing director at Rake Mark Website Design said, ‘We talk to our customers throughout the year about what we get right and how we can improve, but a couple of times per year we find it massively helpful to get feedback from businesses that are not our customers on how they use their website and the level of service that they receive.

The two minute web survey can be found on Survey Monkey and closes on Friday 8th October 2010

Status Updates Act as a Constant Reminder

Social Media Marketing

A report from the National IT User Centre has predicted that all the “meaningless ramblings” and status updates of social media is potentially helping up and coming entrepreneurs of the future.
While some have a facebook friend list of maybe a couple of hundred people, we wouldn’t consider all of them friends (in the real sense of the word) in everyday life. Our Facebook friend list is often made up of old class mates, friends of friends, people and characters that we may have come across or been introduced to either by Social Media or via a third party but either way the network in vast and almost always self perpetuating.
Your tweets, status updates and comments act as a constant reminder of your existence and while the actual friends within your lists will comment back and interact with your comments (because they know you personally), the business/networking friends part of your list will be reminded firstly of whom you are and possibly where they met you or how they know you more importantly they will be reminded what you do for a living.
Networking in this way is thought to be opening the business arena wide open for entrepreneurs as they are now able to reach, connect and do business with potentially anyone in the world with fewer practical and geographical problems.

Website Design Considerations for New Business Start Ups

Website Design

I see the four pillars of online marketing as Email Marketing, Google Adwords, Search Engine Marketing and Social Media Marketing but the foundation these pillars sit is your website. Others make the argument that in the digital age your website is the foundation to your whole business.

As with your house, if the foundations of your business are in poor condition then it is only a matter of time before the whole shooting match comes crumbling around your ears.

Planning

First and foremost (and the first question I pose to any new customer) what do you want your website to do. Think very carefully about this. It may be obvious (like with a recent new customer who wants to open an online second hand book shop called 10p books) but it might not be.

Your website can sell stuff, of course, but what if your business doesn’t have a product that sells itself and is easily shipped? What if you own a pub? What if you sell cleaning services? What if you’re a hairdresser?  The objectives you have in mind will be different for each one of those businesses.

A common goal for new online strategies is to use your website as the starting point for a conversation with your existing and potential customers. Even if they are not ready to buy from you today you can place your business in their minds for when they are ready to commit. You do this by offering something for nothing, usually information, and hopefully gain something in return, an email address for example. Once they are ready to buy, your website is the conduit through which they can make contact and book an appointment, a table or a meeting.

Cost

Regarding cost, you essentially have two choices with your website. Firstly, you can do it yourself or pay for a professional to do it.

Building your website yourself will save you money but be careful that by doing it yourself you aren’t starting the rot in your foundations that will cause your business to fail later. You will need a good deal of time and some knowledge of computers and the internet at the very least. If you are a novice, you could look at other websites and try to copy a successful design.

Paying a professional can cost less than £500 with annual costs for hosting and support being under £100 per year, but make sure you know how much the website is going to cost and how much the monthly or annual costs are going to be before signing any documents or parting with any money.

When making your decision consider how many hours setting up and designing your website might cost and factor in your time and how much you would pay yourself or the cost of taking time out of your business. Once you have paid yourself, the difference might only be £100 (or less).  

Design

There are no absolute rights and wrongs in website design but there are things that don’t make logical sense. Think of it like decorating. Your colour choice is neither right nor wrong, but you wouldn’t paint the windows or put wallpaper over the door, because that doesn’t make logical sense.

So you need to make your website your own, a reflection of you and what you and your business stand for but without making logical mistakes. If you’re using a web designer they’ll help you with this.  If the company you are using don’t seem to want to take the time to explain why something is logically wrong or why something else is important, switch to one that will, you’re not short of choice.

Content

Content means the information you are going to put into the pages. This will mostly be words (called copy) and appropriate images, but this can also be sound, animation and video. Sounds that are not invited (like background music) is really annoying and will drive traffic away in droves, but a podcast might be a great addition. Think carefully about headlines and then sub headers as these will give quick clues what the page is about and draw your visitor in.

Do you want to be able to add your own content later on? This might be in the form of a company blog or a news and events section. If you are adding products to a catalogue or e-commerce shop then updating existing products and adding new products will be essential. Don’t assume you will be able to. You won’t be the first to get caught out.

Marketing

Customers will not find your site without you making it easy for them. To help people find your website you need to publicise it in all of your offline marketing. Put the web address on your business cards, letter heads and other stationary. Put your web address in any offline advertising, be it a classified, a display ad or radio ad, make sure your new website gets a mention.

Online marketing can be deployed in small amounts to give your website a boost or it can be used in a more sustained way to drive high volumes of long term visitors. It really is a topic to itself.

A Considered Approach

No matter who designs your website you will need to have a big input from the very first moment the concept is conceived to months and years after the first version has gone live. The Rake Mark website is constantly evolving with new specialist micro sites that are created to support different aspects of the business. A comprehensive marketing strategy backs up and supports our online efforts.

Finally, please remember, no matter how well appointed and decorated your home is, it needs good foundations to stay up and you didn’t wallpaper up the kitchen door for good reason.

Facebook Users Join the Herd – Or are they Flocking?

According to the latest research from Oxford University Facebook users seem to follow a ‘herding instinct’ when it comes to app downloads. The research showed evidence of a definite ‘Bandwagon’ effect that saw the websites users downloading the same content as their friends, which sent certain app ‘skyrocketing in popularity.

Lead researcher Dr Onnela has been reported to have said that the download study has shown that ‘social influence is strongly present in online cultural consumption’. This essentially means that peers will follow each other’s lead online and especially on the Facebook social networking website.

The Mutual Trust of Social Media Marketing

The point that a user will try an app if they see a friend using it is not really that surprising. Essentially if your friend (who you share common interests and mutual trust with) is using and reporting they like an app on Facebook then, given the mutual trust and common interest, you are also likely to try the app. What is interesting is this is the first actual study that formalises this understanding.

This study is one in a raft of recent studies that explain the influence of social media marketing and how this can be applied to your business marketing. In this study millions of users seemed to download apps on impulse and not as a result of external influence or pressures. Indeed, advertising seemed to have little effect on the popularity of the applications.
In another separate study social networking users who like a brand’s Facebook page were found to be 33 per cent more likely to make a purchase, while 92 per cent are more likely to recommend a product to their friends based on the fan page. The evidence of the importance of a strong presence on social media sites keeps mounting up.

Rake Mark Website Solutions: Supporting Katherine House Hospice

Last night the Rake Mark team took a night off website design and enjoyed a night of great curry & traditional Indian dancing, all in the name of the Katherine House Hospice charity. The night was hosted by Abu Baker of Malabar Indian Restaurant in Water Street, Stafford, Staffordshire.

Malabar Restaurant are hosting three such events the first being last night’s event (12/10/2010) followed by the same tonight (12/10/2009) and an additional evening has been added at the last minute due to massive demand in bookings for the event.
The Charity evenings held in support of the Katherine House Hospice have so far been a great success.
At just £12.95 for any item off the new menu and 50% of the cost being donated to the charity Katherine House Hospice it is set to be an excellent fund raising event.

Thanks Malabar – Great Night !