The Parable of the Direct Marketer

Mark 4:3-8 relates the parable of the Sower:

"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times." NIV.

I think this parable can be applied to direct marketing. The farmer is scattering seed all over the place, without concern for where it will fall. That's a very basic mistake a lot of direct marketers make with their marketing campaigns: they don't pay attention to the quality of their lists. Lets review the parable with direct marketing in mind.

Some of the seed falls on the path, where it has no chance of taking root, and the birds come and eat it. That's like direct mail packages sent to the wrong audience. They aren't even in the market, so those seeds are totally wasted.

Some of the seed falls on rocky soil that has no depth. It springs up quickly, but it withers under the noon day sun. Think of this as prospects who have an interest in your product, but don't qualify financially. They want what you're selling, but they have no ability to buy. Again, that seed is largely wasted. I say largely wasted and not totally wasted because that rocky soil may be cultivated to one day produce a crop.

Some of the seed falls among the thorns and it is choked out before it can produce a crop. These are prospects that get your message, are in the market for your product, but your message never rises above the crowd. It gets choked out because of the competition in the marketplace. Notice, you are not only competing with other products or services similar to yours, but you're also competing against everything else the prospect has on their minds.

Finally, the good soil represents a properly cultivated prospect list that is receptive to your marketing message (your seeds). Good soil doesn't just happen. Good soil is cultivated. The farmer plows the land and breaks up the hard earth. Then, he broadcasts his seed over the soil, and the seed takes root. Once it takes root it produces a harvest. And what an ROI! Look at it, 30 to 100 times the investment. That's pretty cool.

So, what's needed to sow a crop?

1. Properly prepared soil
2. The right seed
3. Specific Action

The soil is your prospect list. Make sure it's targeted, clean and segmented. The seed is your direct marketing piece. Make sure it is well crafted and designed specifically for the reader. The specific action is what you do to get the marketing piece to people on your list at the right time.

Too often as small business owners we get caught up in the details of business, and we forget to take time to market ourselves and get more business. This is the root cause of boom and bust cycles in our businesses.

Here's an idea. If you are too busy with the business of your business, and you need help marketing your business, find someone to take the marketing load from you. Either hire a full time marketing person, or establish a relationship with a good freelance marketing consultant.

That's all for now.
Brett

The Power of Personal Testimony

"They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony;" Revelations 12:11 (NIV)

Your most powerful tool
Today I want to focus on the power of personal testimony as it relates to marketing your business. Not your testimony, but the testimony of your customers. What do your customers say about you? Is it what you want them to say?

We all know that word of mouth advertising is the best kind of advertising. Why? Because prospective clients don't know if they can trust you or not. So providing examples of real customer who have used your service or purchased your product gives new customers a way to gauge your business, and predict the way you will treat them.

Nothing is more powerful than a personal testimony from a satisfied customer, and nothing is quite so damaging as the caustic critique of a dissatisfied customer.

A Real World Example
I recently attended an online seminar series called The White Paper Success Summit. It was relatively expensive, so I thought hard about signing up.

One of the things that convinced me to take the plunge was the testimonies of satisfied attendees listed on their website. Of course they were all glowing, but more importantly, they included the names of the past participants and their cities.

A quick Google search turned up the website of one of those participants. I emailed her and asked for confirmation of her testimony. The next day she assured me that the summit she attended was well worth the money.

Next, I looked at my own experience with the people producing the seminars. I knew two of the authors, in fact I have their books sitting on my desk, Writing White Papers by Michael Stelzner and The White Paper Marketing Handbook by Robert W. Bly. I knew that I'd already found their advice helpful, so after a little more consideration I finally decided to sign up.

I've got to say, it was worth it. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I learned so much, that I've added white papers to my list of services.

How do you get testimonies?
Getting testimonies is pretty simple: Ask for them. Ask your customers for a letter of recommendation, or ask them to leave a message on your voice mail. If your customers are busy people, take the initiative to write a testimonial for them. When you ask for the recommendation, say you've put together a draft to help them get started. Many times, they will simply sign your letter and return it to you.

The main point is: When you need to build credibility a few good testimonies will go a long way.

Can marketing be ethical AND effective?

Most Marketing Stinks...
Let's face it. Marketing as a whole has a bad wrap. If you've ever read any of Scott Adams' Dilbert comic strips, you know marketers are seen as self absorbed dolts who would lie to their grandmothers to generate leads. Of couse, a lot of this bad PR is rightly deserved. The underhanded tactics used by some marketers are legendary and perverse.

Isn't There a Better Way?
There's got to be a better way to market your goods and services. Wouldn't it be nice if there was a "bible" on ethical marketing that explained all the things that really work, but don't damn your soul to hell for using them? Thankfully, there is. I'm going to tell you more about it in a moment.

A Real World Example
First, I'd like to introduce the person behind this book. Starting with just a handfull of sales people, none of which was actually in sales before joining his organization, this man built an organization that litterally turned his market upside down. And while he didn't actually write down any of his marketing principles, those closest to him did, and following those principles, they built an organization that today spans the globe.

What's more, they did it before the internet, before T.V., before magazines, before newspapers. How could they be so effective without modern modes of comunications? Everything was built around word of mouth testimonials, free samples and creating relationships.

I could go on and on with this post dancing around my point like some huckster copywriter trying to build up your curiosity, but I won't. I'll spill the beans: The "bible" of ethical marketing is: Drum roll please....

The Bible.

Yep. That's right. This blog is going to explore the principles found in the Bible that will help you effectively market your company, product or service.

That's all I've got time for now, but check back soon for more.

Brett