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MAILCH7.DOC
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1992-01-11
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CHAPTER 7
THE IRRESISTIBLE FORCE - AGGRESSIVE MARKETING
It is at this point you can control your own destiny as
far as your Mail Order business is concerned. If you are
inclined to be conservative, you can be a laid back, unob-
trusive entrepreneur who buys the product, runs the adver-
tisement and then sits back waiting for the orders to roll
in.
If the product is good, and by that I mean if it has
public appeal, if the advertising is enticing, then the
orders will roll in.
If, as I hope, you are aiming for the really big bucks,
if you want to see your bank account grow with the speed and
determination of weeds in a bed of prize roses, you must now
start applying yourself to aggressive marketing.
First, the advertising.
When you place your first advertisement, keep the cost
as low as possible, ask for a short run and before you go to
the expense of a Display Ad., try a couple of simple classi-
fied advertisements. Go in person to the advertising de-
partment of your local newspaper and ask their advice.
Listen to them but reserve your judgment. Remember, they
want to sell you advertising space. They don't know much
else about you.
Many newspapers offer discounts for advertisements that
run three days or a week. Work out the cost. If you can
run four advertisements for the price of two, it may be
worth considering.
Display advertisements are undoubtedly more effective,
but as you may expect, much more expensive. When you have
your business up and running, try a few display advertise-
ments and measure their effectiveness against the less
expensive classifieds.
Test running is interesting, especially to those who
are computer minded. At the time of writing there is at
least half a dozen computer magazines lining the magazine
racks. Let's imagine you have a new type of head cleaner
you'd like to market. It's made in Mexico and you picked it
up with exclusive distribution at a trade show in Chicago.
In which magazine should you advertise?
Pick two which feature articles about new products and
which have advertisements for computer accessories. Use two
identical advertisements and place one in each magazine,
but for your address include a Department number or letter,
different for each magazine. This is known as "keying" an
advertisement.
The Smith Computer Accessory Company
Department A. P.O.Box 123. Somewhere, USA.
By this method you can see which advertisement in which
magazine is pulling the greatest response. Some magazines
will offer split runs, allowing you to place a different
advertisement in different parts of the country. Sometimes
an item that sells well on the East coast is a dead dog on
the West coast, and vice versa.
* Publicity
Here is where aggressive marketing begins to make
itself felt.
Your plans to make your Mail Order business widely
known go beyond newspaper and magazine advertising, in fact
they are merely the beginning of a carefully thought out
campaign of promotion and publicity.
Offer a sample of your product to magazines which are
slanted towards the section of the public which you consider
has the greatest potential for sales.
Enclose with your sample a Press Release providing full
information on the product. The Press Release should read
very much like an advertisement, detailing all relevant
virtues and advantages of your product. Don't be modest in
what you say. As far as you are concerned, this product is
the greatest thing to hit the market since Adam started
growing apple trees.
The editor whose job it is to select and review
products will use his own words and descriptions in writing
about your product, but it doesn't hurt to put a few ideas
into his head. I'm a great believer in psychological sell-
ing.
Not only will you put a few ideas into his head, but
the small amount of time most editors can devote to playing
with your product, could result in his overlooking one of its
greatest selling points. If you make a 1,2,3 type of list
pointing out all the bells and whistles, there's less chance
of him overlooking all the good stuff.