In case you haven’t noticed more and more companies have been using ‘guarantees’ in their marketing.

The art and power of the guarantee is nothing new. Direct marketers and advertisers the world over have included guarantees in their offers for centuries.

While I surely wasn’t around back then…I’d wager that 200, 300, heck, probably even 500 years ago people tradesmen (yes, I’m sure there were tradeswomen as well, but allow me to keep this simple for now) were offering guarantees of satisfaction on the products and services they sold in one form or another.

No, I’m not implying they all did, likely there were only a few in each town that were brave enough to place a guarantee on that which they sold.

These days there are still only a few in each industry that incorporate a guarantee into their business models. But that is slowly changing.

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On two occasions now, the president’s of two large companies have attacked me.

No silly, not by physical force. But they were genuinely concerned.

Turn on the TV, check the front few pages of any newspaper, listen to the radio and no doubt you’ll be bombarded with a chess match of mentally developed and not-so-understandably respected folks yelling at each other “recession-this” and “no-recession-that’”.

“A financial crisis here” says one lady, while the other ‘just-as-wise’ smiles her best smile, looks you in the eye and tells you “there is no financial crisis, this is a time of opportunity.” And just then, ten other well-greased analysts, and a couple of bow-tie clad economists declare there is no opportunity. Everyone must cust back and cushioned their rear-ends in preparation for the big loss.

What’s happening really isn’t anything new in my view. Sure, parts of this dramatic play “have never been seen before”. But the economy, since the beginning of time, as had its ups and downs, its sidesteps, trips, hops, jumps and falls…

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As part of my book release for Profitable Relations, I’ve put together a 5-day free email course that shares a success story each day.
There’s no cost to sign up, and it only takes 20 seconds.

If you’re interested in learning how other businesses have used straightforward marketing techniques to increase their customer loyalty, you’ll enjoy this course.

Go to the Profitable Relations E-Course page, scroll to the bottom and sign up.

Let me know what you think?

To your success,

Michael

There is one area that marketers and companies alike often neglect. Yet this ‘final step’ in the majority of cases dictates your rate of success.
This is as relevant with trade show marketing as it is with direct mail, face-to-face salesmanship, advertisements, and even web promotions.

What am I talking about?

Possibly the single most important step of any marketing strategy…THE (you can hear the drum roll) Follow-Up.

That’s right. The follow-up.

You go to all the trouble of planning your tradeshow, putting together materials, coordinating with vendors and your staff — not to mention the expense of printing, booth rental, travel and hotel costs and all the rest….we’re talking anywhere from tens-of-thousands to millions of dollars being spent.

However, 80% of companies don’t follow up. Don’t quote me on that figure, it’s an educated guess. Here’s why I’m saying that though…the last trade show I attended, where many companies were spending bi big dollars on their tradeshow marketing efforts…80% or more of the companies I met with to talk about business and opportunities didn’t follow up.

A surprise contender…(you’ll never guess which companies seem to be delivering the best follow-up).

Almost every single one was from China. Now many of them were a bit aggressive…touting their products and services. They’re doing whatever they can to get me on board. But hey, that’s okay.

You see friend, if they wiggled themselves to jello-like state of laziness like all the rest of the companies and didn’t follow-up…99% chance I’m not going to do business with them. Heck, I doubt I’d even remember them.

By getting in touch with me…I thought about them again. I took the time out of my busy schedule to have another look at their offerings.

They re-ignited the communication torch…they’re pushing to keep the relationship going. And in business it’s all about the relationship. You can hawk goods and make a profit in the short term, but without a real relationship, your business will fade into the mist…you’ll lack the long term loyal customers a business requires to grow and be profitable into the future.

Your fortune would be as good as gone. Poof! Gone.

Follow-up can come in many forms. An email, a phone call, a fax, even a letter. It doesn’t really matter. The key is that you DO FOLLOW UP.

The best marketers know the value of follow-up. They understand that follow-up isn’t about a random and unplanned call to a prospect months after the event. But rather a highly strategic, well planned out part of your overall tradeshow marketing strategy.

And the best marketers make sure that strategy comes in many forms. It may start with an email, lead to a phone call, then a letter, then another phone call and eventually to a face to face meeting again to provide more information or give a demonstration.

When you’ve got them, don’t lose them.

 If you haven’t been using a structured follow up process in your marketing, start right now to work it into every aspect of your arsenal.

You will glow with glee and your bank account will bulge. Folks, follow-up works. Give it a shot.

To your success,
Michael

I received quite a bit of interest about my last two posts - Joe B. wants to know more about what “effective tradeshow marketing is?”

So Joe, here we go….

Last week I said I wouldn’t touch on the actions you should go through before the tradeshow. But let me digress and bridge that gap for a moment.

The worst thing you can do as a tradeshow or event exhibitor is to settle for a small listing on your website about your exhibition and booth number and leave it at that. Show up, set up, and hope all goes well is a dangerous set of ingredients. 9 times out of 10 that recipe is going to give you some terrible tasting results.

The major reason most companies attend tradeshows is to increase their sales. I mean, you can put a blanket on the ‘increase sales’ phrase with whatever language you want, like “demonstrate our new product” or “make contacts” or “create awareness” - fact is, you’re doing all of that to make a sale.

Now, if you’re going to make a sale, you need to know who you are going to sell to. And what you have that they so badly want or need that they’ll spend their time taking out their credits card to buy it from you. But you always identify who your prime targets are before going to a trade show, right? And the product or service you’ll offer them has been crafted with laser precision to give them what they want, right? 

Good, I’m glad to hear that.

So you have a list of prospects, maybe not the exact companies, but you know what kind of company you want to target. Great. The next step is to get a list of those ‘ideal clients’ and start the dialog with them.

Operator…connect me

How can you find these companies, you ask? You can go through the yellow pages and call them. You can buy a list from a list broker and send direct mail to them. There’s also placing an ad in a publication those prime buyers are most likely to read. And of course, their is the various ways to do all of this on the internet. 

Remember, these initial communications don’t need to say everything. You definitely don’t want to start this dialog trying to hard sell your offering. This is just to get things going….

Next, send out that initial communication months in advance. Why? Because some ideal clients may not even be planning to attend that trade show. But after you personally invite them to your booth…to see something amazing you have to offer…they may decide that attending the show is worthwhile.

Your next communication can be a month or two before the show, and then another week or two before the show. What you’re doing here is creating and keeping the anticipation, awareness and desire of your target market to meet with you. You’ll be on their ‘to-see’ list during the show.

Here they come baby, here they come

They will come. That’s what this is meant to do - and it works. If each communication is done properly and if what you’re offering fills a need or want of your target market…they will come. Not only will they show up at your booth, they’ll be primed with interest to talk with you, to see what you’ve got, and you’ll be ready.

I wanted to write more about this but I gotta run. Check back next week and we’ll be covering more about tradeshow marketing, like:

• What kinds of materials are best to bring to the trade show
• How to keep in contact with each person that visits your booth - it will increase your sales
• A recap on the do’s and don’ts of booth design
• One of the top 3 keys to a successful tradeshow, and more.

Come on by next week.

To your success,
Michael