Social networking has taken the web by storm. You have probably heard of the big name sites, even if you are not sure what they are or how they work. These massive social networking sites allow you to meet and greet thousands of potential customers without ever picking up the telephone. One of the most popular is Twitter. You may have heard of the 140-character messaging phenomenon, but might not yet know how Twitter can help your business.
Twitter is a micro-messaging system that works like an instant messenger, except it is not contained to your list of friends, but is instead exposed to the online world. These messages, or "tweets" as they are called, can send out upcoming sales, special offers, and fresh information -- anything you want to promote. Because the messages are short and simple, you can advertise without needing to create long sales copy or print hundreds of flyers.
While Twitter is one of the most cost-effective ways to market your business, it can be time consuming. The 140-character messages can take time to compose, as you want to make the best use of the limited space available. And if you are marketing several products or services, you don't want to be consumed with creating crafty SMS messages all day. This is where a direct response marketing agency can assist you.
Not all marketing agencies have gone this high-tech yet, but some are now offering SMS text data plans to their list of services. In other words, they can create and send your tweets for you based on your ideas. Coupons, one-day sales, 2-for-1 offers, even grand openings can be sent via Twitter to reach an audience that you could never reach through any other type of marketing.
Let's face it: everyone is mobile, so why not capture leads and create a list of followers who are already interested in what you are marketing? With the advancements in technology, cell phones have the capability to do everything your home computer can do and it is all right at your fingertips. Imagine a tweet coming across for a great sale you are promoting -- if a potential customer is out and about, they may be more inclined to pay you a visit.
Your promotion efforts do not have to stop there. Only a top-notch direct response marketing agency will keep the marketing efforts going with business cards, outdoor advertising, sign riders, and even GoCodes (the new way to shorten a long URL) so you can include it anywhere you advertise. Twitter can help your business and save you money if you know how to use it to your advantage.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
How Direct Mail Can Help Your Business
There is a lot of work involved in marketing a business and, while many business owners think online marketing is the only way to go, direct mail is a powerful and effective promotion tool. Understanding how direct mail can help your business is the first step to creating a no-fail business plan.
Direct mail marketing covers a wide range of options. If you lack the skills needed for direct marketing in Houston, consider hiring a sales and marketing company to assist you. Not only will it take the pressure off of you trying to promote your own, it will also free up time so you can work on other areas of your business. Take a look at some of the services that an experience marketing company can provide:
Website design-- Your website design is critical to your business success, so why not let the experts do what they do best? A marketing team can design and create your web pages based on your ideas. They can complete websites and fix imperfect web pages.
Mailing services-- Sending out mailings is a daunting task, which is why a top-notch marketing company can execute all of your mailing needs: bulk mailing, folding, perforation, personalized letters, mail merges, addressing postcards, newsletters, and self-mailers. They can even manage inventory and order fulfillment.
Database and list services-- They say the money is in the list. Do you have a list of customers? Do you know how to create one? Creating a list of potential customers who are really interested in what you are selling is crucial to direct marketing in Houston.
Print Services-- Stationary packages, postcards, and business cards all created on digital color presses can provide you with the best quality for black and white or color printing.
The next step in a direct mail campaign is contacting a company for a consultation. Be prepared to ask questions and provide them with your ideas and expectations.
It is possible to obtain professional sales and marketing services without breaking your budget. You will find that you are less stressed and able to take care of other aspects of your business if you let the professionals do the marketing for your business.
Direct mail marketing covers a wide range of options. If you lack the skills needed for direct marketing in Houston, consider hiring a sales and marketing company to assist you. Not only will it take the pressure off of you trying to promote your own, it will also free up time so you can work on other areas of your business. Take a look at some of the services that an experience marketing company can provide:
Website design-- Your website design is critical to your business success, so why not let the experts do what they do best? A marketing team can design and create your web pages based on your ideas. They can complete websites and fix imperfect web pages.
Mailing services-- Sending out mailings is a daunting task, which is why a top-notch marketing company can execute all of your mailing needs: bulk mailing, folding, perforation, personalized letters, mail merges, addressing postcards, newsletters, and self-mailers. They can even manage inventory and order fulfillment.
Database and list services-- They say the money is in the list. Do you have a list of customers? Do you know how to create one? Creating a list of potential customers who are really interested in what you are selling is crucial to direct marketing in Houston.
Print Services-- Stationary packages, postcards, and business cards all created on digital color presses can provide you with the best quality for black and white or color printing.
The next step in a direct mail campaign is contacting a company for a consultation. Be prepared to ask questions and provide them with your ideas and expectations.
It is possible to obtain professional sales and marketing services without breaking your budget. You will find that you are less stressed and able to take care of other aspects of your business if you let the professionals do the marketing for your business.
Monday, March 1, 2010
The Impact of Professional Stationary
One important, but often overlooked, factor of business is stationary. The impact of professional stationary, and what it says about your business, should be as important as the business itself.
If you have a local brick and mortar company in Houston, you may have already branded your business - customers know your location and you can be easily found, but what about customers that are not local or even potential customers? Plain drab stationary with your logo centered at the top may be easily lost in the swarm of mail that individuals receive each day, but a clean professional design and logo will always stand out.
Your letterhead and envelopes should be attractive and easy on the eye- something that your customers will remember. Besides the letterhead, you may want to consider your business cards, correspondence cards, self-sealed envelopes for returning correspondence, and even invoices and envelopes for billing purposes.
Professional stationary serves as more than paper for sending correspondences; this can also be used as a way to brand your business. When individuals see your logo, they will automatically associate it with your business-- exactly what you want.
If you are just starting a business and have not thought about stationary, don't forget to incorporate it into your business plan. If you have an existing business, but never thought twice about your stationary, think again; it could make the difference of having your correspondence opened or diverted to the recycling bin.
If you have a local brick and mortar company in Houston, you may have already branded your business - customers know your location and you can be easily found, but what about customers that are not local or even potential customers? Plain drab stationary with your logo centered at the top may be easily lost in the swarm of mail that individuals receive each day, but a clean professional design and logo will always stand out.
Your letterhead and envelopes should be attractive and easy on the eye- something that your customers will remember. Besides the letterhead, you may want to consider your business cards, correspondence cards, self-sealed envelopes for returning correspondence, and even invoices and envelopes for billing purposes.
Professional stationary serves as more than paper for sending correspondences; this can also be used as a way to brand your business. When individuals see your logo, they will automatically associate it with your business-- exactly what you want.
If you are just starting a business and have not thought about stationary, don't forget to incorporate it into your business plan. If you have an existing business, but never thought twice about your stationary, think again; it could make the difference of having your correspondence opened or diverted to the recycling bin.
Local internet marketing: the new yellow pages?
With everything imaginable at your fingertips through the internet, it is not surprising that many people turn to the web for resources. Even brick and mortar businesses are venturing out to promote their business online, which leads to an interesting question. Local internet marketing is the modern replacement for the yellow pages, and for good reason.
A typical storefront business gets all local traffic and, depending on the location and the popularity of the business, they could do quite well or not so good. Taking an existing business online means reaching more potential customers and the opportunity to make more money. This is where a local marketing agency can help.
So how can a local marketing agency help? For starters, they are familiar with the area. They can determine what type of people shop locally and draw in this same type of potential customer globally.
Utilizing web pages, online maps and directories, social networking groups and other promotional tools opens the door to a whole new set of potential customers who would not know a store existed in another geographical location.
Having a physical location and an online presence creates a win-win situation for the business owner, so forget about advertising in the Yellow Pages and start promoting your business online.
A typical storefront business gets all local traffic and, depending on the location and the popularity of the business, they could do quite well or not so good. Taking an existing business online means reaching more potential customers and the opportunity to make more money. This is where a local marketing agency can help.
So how can a local marketing agency help? For starters, they are familiar with the area. They can determine what type of people shop locally and draw in this same type of potential customer globally.
Utilizing web pages, online maps and directories, social networking groups and other promotional tools opens the door to a whole new set of potential customers who would not know a store existed in another geographical location.
Having a physical location and an online presence creates a win-win situation for the business owner, so forget about advertising in the Yellow Pages and start promoting your business online.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Welcome to Direct marketing Houston
Welcome to Direct Marketing Houston. Be sure and check back regularly and sign up for our RSS feed (by clicking the Follow button to your left) to receive regular updates on innovative ways to maximize your marketing and advertising dollars using direct response style marketing and advertising methods.
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