8.2. Marketing - Marketing methods

Reaching out

Almost every business needs to promote itself in some way, reaching out to customers and potential customers.

For businesses with large numbers of target customers in well-defined market segments, advertising is often a cost-effective way of communicating with them.

This briefing covers:

• Setting your promotional objectives and deciding whether to advertise.
• Determining your promotional budget.
• Deciding where and when to advertise.
• Measuring the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.

Understanding what works

A well written advertisement can dramatically improve the effectiveness of your advertising campaign.

While writing a great advertisement is an art, the key principles are easy to understand - helping you either to prepare your own advertisement or evaluate the work of an agency or copywriter working for you.

This briefing covers:

• How to write an effective advertisement.
• How to prepare the advertisement for publication.
• How to check your advertisement.
• Who can help you to produce an advertisement.

Hitting the target

Direct mail can be an extremely cost-effective marketing method.

You can use it to get details of your company and its products directly into the hands of the people who are most likely to want them. But direct mail works best with proper preparation beforehand.

This briefing explains:

• Which businesses can benefit from direct mail.
• How to build up your mailing lists.
• What you should put into your mailing.

You can do it

Most businesses send out mailshots several times a year, whether they are large-scale mailings or batches of individualised letters to a dozen key customers at a time. If the targeting and the offer are right, you get a positive response. If you get them wrong, it is junk mail.

You need a good list, a proven product and a strong offer, embodied in a compelling mail pack. But writing a successful mailshot need not be difficult, if you set about it the right way. With the help of this briefing, most businesses can tackle the task of writing their own mailshot material.

This briefing covers:

• Knowing what you are trying to achieve.
• Getting the content right.
• Essential tips on form and style.
• The keys to maximum response.

I read about you

A good image is a valuable asset. Effective public relations (PR) creates good publicity, building your reputation with customers and others whose opinion matters to you.

While advertising can be purchased immediately, generating positive publicity can take time. On the other hand, good PR has greater credibility and can have more impact than advertising.

This briefing covers:

• Planning your PR activities.
• Making news and handling the media.
• Writing a press release.
• Choosing and using a PR agency.

Showing yourself

Exhibitions provide a unique opportunity to display your product and business to large numbers of potential customers. A clear idea of what you are trying to achieve and how to go about it helps you to maximise the impact.

This briefing looks at:

• Defining your aims.
• Choosing exhibitions to participate in.
• Designing and running your own stand.
• Generating sales from the exhibition.