8 Marketing Ideas You Can Use Today!

1. Financial stability is critical today! You work for one of the most financially sound promotional marketing companies in the industry. Competition for both your existing customers and new prospects is fierce This is a significant way to differentiate yourself. Do your customers and prospects know it?

• I’d do two things. First, I’d send a reassurance message to all my existing clients, could be in an email could be a letter. Chris Vernon’s letter on our website is a great place to start. Remind them of the expertise you bring to the table.
• Second, I’d reach out to my list of prospects I want to do business with. I’d give them the same basic message in an abbreviated format and I would invite them to view the company intro presentation on our website, http://www.vernoncompany.com/vernon_intro.html I would follow up with a phone call asking if I could stop by with some specific information on how I could help them in this economy.

2. Whether talking to current customers or new prospects, what’s your message right now? You need to create marketing messages that are relevant to today’s situation. Dropping into a prospect’s business and asking them if they buy promotional products won’t cut it. Instead come up with relevant messages that are more likely to get you an appointment.

Examples (I know you’ll have other ideas, too!)

Do you need more traffic in your business? Can I show you some low or no-cost ideas that will bring in more potential customers?

• Talk to them about a magnet on postcard mailing sent to prospective customers that offers both a substantial discount and a free gift for new business. Do they have a supplier or two that will coop the postcard with them? Is so they might be able to do the card at no cost to them.

Do you need a low-cost way to boost morale and thank your employees for their extra efforts?

• Present a series of inexpensive common desk-top products they can give employees as small thank you gifts. Suggest they call the entire campaign, “It’s the Little Things” meaning it’s the little things their employees do for their customers that make the difference. One month give employees a ceramic coffee mug and have Starbuck’s coffee brought in for everyone. Have a company coffee break to say thanks.
• The next month show a movie in a conference room at lunch time. Give out small bags of chips or pretzels with a chip clip attached to it.

And so on. You get the idea. Spending as little as $10 per employee and giving them some lasting reminders of managements appreciation for their sacrifices will make a significant improvement in morale.
The important thing here is to craft your message so it’s relevant and compelling to buyers trying to make the best with limited resources.

3. Review your client and prospect list for people that might be interested in an online store program. You’re looking for prospects with multiple locations, branch offices, a dealer network, licensed agents or other structure with multiple purchasing locations. Reach out to them and ask if you can spend 15 minutes to show them how they can regain control of their brand, control branches spending and make the distribution of their promotional marketing materials more efficient. Use the presentation on our website to introduce them to online stores and programs http://www.vernoncompany.com/cosp/custom_online_stores.html

4. Get the email addresses of your best prospects. You probably have these already but if not, use the web to track down as many as you can. In many cases a phone call to the company will give you the information you need.

Email them the link to the digital version of the new Vernon sale catalog. Explain to them some of the services we offer and give them a 10-15% discount on their first order. The margins in the that catalog are good enough that in most cases a 10% discount will still create a 50/50 margin split with Vernon. If you want to be more aggressive, offer a 15% discount knowing that you will not be able to get a 50/50 split on some sales but you will have acquired a new customer.

5. Do you have list of prospects that you think would be good candidates for environmentally friendly products? Have you told them about our Eco tips micro site and the eco-friendly product collection on our website?

Use environmentally friendly email to send them the links to these areas of our website and to let them know The Vernon Company understands their concerns and is working to be part of the solution. You can tell them about our move towards a paperless office that was detailed in the October 28, 2008 copy of the Mirror.

6. Have you talked to all your clients and prospects about our custom headwear OEM program? It’s priced competitively, the quality is unbelievable and we can create virtual or actual spec samples to help you sell it. We now split-ship/split-bill 288 piece orders meaning any business or organization that can use about 140 caps or so a year is a perfect candidate.

If I were marketing this program I’d start by mailing or dropping off one of the free marketing brochures we have for this program. I’d follow up with a call and ask if I could meet with them and talk to them about their business and our custom headwear program. In exchange for the meeting, I’d give them either a free virtual spec of a cap designed specifically for them or one of the Vernon OEM sample caps so they can see for themselves how well these are made.

7. Another technique I would employee right now is asking my best current customers for quality referrals. Not just names and numbers but introductions to their friends, family members and business associates that they feel would benefit from the same type of service I’ve given them. If you have a customer or buyer that knows you personally and is happy with your service, why wouldn’t they want to share that service with other people they care about?

8. In the Nuts & Bolts section of the company store you’ll find introductory brochures targeted at these industry segments; contracting, education, financial, health care, government and manufacturing. The goal of the brochure is to introduce The Vernon Company and position you as someone that’s knowledgeable about that market.

I would pick a segment to target and while I was watching TV in the evening I’d use our free brochure to create a mailer with the brochure, a letter from me talking about ways I can help them and a small PSA. I’d follow up with a phone call requesting an appointment to discuss their business needs in more detail.