The marketplace has undergone a rather radical change in the past thirty years. Today’s consumer has many more options than have previously existed. This has in turn changed the way the consumer behaves. I hasten to add that that we human beings have not fundamentally changed but our options have. Therefore, we have changed our [...]

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Your List is . . . Everything?

Your mailing list (or e-mail list) is everything! 
 I know this sounds like an overstatement, but consider this.
Your list is your customer database.  The names on this list are the record, so to speak, of your business.  They are certainly the most valuable asset of your business.  “But,” you may argue, [...]

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As a business owner you likely think of all the features your product/s or services offer.  Too often businesses will focus on the features of their product or service.  Perhaps they even extol them in great detail … only to have the listener’s eyes glaze over.  The business person may KNOW that the potential customer [...]

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Is marketing everything?
If we think of marketing as the sum of all efforts to inform our customers or potential customers of every aspect of our business–products and/or services–then it is “everything!”
Without adequate information about our products or services, how can we logically expect our customers to make a decision favorable to us.   Of course, all [...]

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Customer psychology continued –
The sooner and more effectively you answer these two questions, the
sooner your listener will “hear” anything else you have to say.  Of
course there is a reason for this.  When your customer has an
overriding question in his or her mind, that person is
subconsciously “filtering” everything you have to say looking to
see if you [...]

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Yes, words do have consequences.  When it comes to business, the most obvious consequences are that your reader, listener, viewer, or customer standing in front of you either believes and buys or doesn’t. However, the psychology of the words is more subtle and sophisticated than simply buying or not buying.
Words set the “psychological stage,” so [...]

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Often, we as marketers or business people with the responsibility of sales and marketing are very puzzled by the apparent irrational behavior of customers.  We are amazed by the way customers can ignore compelling logic, irrefutable facts and figures and take a completely illogical action.
Of course, it appears illogical to those of us driven by [...]

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Typography is the nature of the print on the page.  Though the term originated in the printing industry, its principles are adaptable to onscreen techniques, as well.
ty·pog·ra·phy (tī päg′rə fē) may be defined as follows:    
noun

the art or process of printing from type
the art or process of setting and arranging type for [...]

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For use in multiple ads or types of ads, develop “donuts.”  Donuts are templates containing your basic information including your address and other contact information.  You should always include your USP (Unique Selling Proposition).  Include all information needed for every application.  Be sure to include your logo and any additional graphics that will be part [...]

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Actually, a good headline is worth a thousand words–maybe more.

I have seen the change of a single word in a headline produce ten times more response than the one in the original piece of direct mail. 

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