Marketing By The Numbers


In school, we strive to get the highest grade possible on our tests.

And if we're successful our teachers write a big red "A" across our test paper and we beam with pride.

But in the real world, getting the highest score isn't all that important.

All that really matters is getting the highest score possible to assure your success.

For example, let's examine the careers of the two most popular and celebrated athletes in the history of sports...Tiger Woods and Michael Jordan.

Arguably, they are the greatest players ever to play their respective sports.

But do you realize, as great as they are, they have both failed many more times than they've succeeded.

Not only do the record books bear this out - but the athletes themselves even admit it as much.

Here's a quote from Tiger Woods:

"I have a 25% winning percentage, which is the higest of all time for our sport... But that means I fail 75% of the time. In our sport we fail more times than we succeed. Failure is a part of our sport; that's just the way it is. You pick yourself up off the ground and get ready to play next week."

And here's a profound quote from Michael Jordan:

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

In marketing, a 1 or 2 percent conversion ratio for your ads or sales letters is considered pretty good on average...and 10 percent is considered phenomenal.

Think about that for a second. If you crafted an ad or a sales letter that converted at 10 percent, you'd be considered a phenomenal success - even though you'd have a failure ratio of 90 percent.

If you're an astute marketer, you'll quickly realize that marketing is nothing more than a numbers game. Here's how to make the numbers work for you:

* Make a commitment to test a marketing program. Testing is the key.

* Test the campaign with at least a thousand people — to make sure you are able to achieve the desired conversion rate.

* Consistently increase your volume to produce the desired ROI (Return On Investment).

Obviously, you can't keep increasing your volume forever. So here are a few tips to maximize your conversion rates and keep your marketing effective:

1. Integrate multiple forms of media - A mix of offline direct marketing and sales follow-up is very effective (in my own tests, I've received 2 to 5 times greater response by integrating sales follow-up with marketing, as opposed to doing marketing alone).

2. Once you have succeeded in acquiring prospects and customers, it's imperative that you lower the cost of staying in touch. A well designed marketing program may start with high impact direct mail or advertising, but remember, this is the era of the Internet. So, switch the bulk of your communication to e-mail (sent with the recipient's permission of course), with occasional direct mail and sales follow-up as support mechanisms only.

3. Give people reasons to respond - Make frequent offers. Time-tested offers include:

* Free hours
* Free information - on topics that are intersting to your customers
* Premiums - coffee mugs, pens, calendars, vacation planners, hats, t-shirts, etc.
* Surveys - with the promise of sharing results can be very useful.

Remember, out of sight, out of mind. The squeaky wheel gets the oil!

4. Be consistent - One-shot marketing is a recipe for disaster. Plan a curriculum of communication that educates, adds value, and differentiates you from the competition. Consistently position yourself as a problem solver and expert in your industry. Writing articles is an excellent way to achieve this.

5. It's not about "YOU" - No one really cares about the products or services you sell. People only care about their problems and how you can solve them better, faster and cheaper than the competition.

Remember, people are inherently selfish individuals. All most of us we really care about is "What's in it for me?"

Don't ever forget that!

Source: Haley Marketing Group


Dale King is the owner of the new Internet marketing website, Guruknowledge.org