In this post, I want to share with you the number one thing that all successful direct marketing companies already know.
This is part of a list of “19 Things” put together by Lester Wunderman, known as the “Father of Direct Marketing”.
So let’s jump into it shall we?
Direct marketing is a strategy, not a tactic…
“It’s not an ad with a coupon; it’s not a commercial with a toll-free number; it’s not a mailing, a phone call, a promotion, a database, or a website. It is a commitment to getting and keeping valuable customers.”
Those words you just read are not mine but are a direct quote from Lester Wunderman’s great book Being Direct – Making Advertising Pay.
Let’s talk about that statement…
At the moment I am writing this, I am working with a client who is a $300+ million per year direct marketing powerhouse. Over the years, their delivery method for both their products and services have changed. What used to be mostly print ads and publications has now moved online and is delivered through email and websites.
The tactics have changed, the media has changed, but the point of the business is still the same…
Find a customer, make them an offer that benefits them, sell them and build the relationship with more and new information, products and services.
You see, when you continue to build the value you provide to the customer, you are at the same time building the value of the customer…
Wow! that’s a hell of a good statement… Let me say that again with emphasis:
When you continue to build the value you provide to the customer, you are, at the same time, building the value of the customer.
At the risk of tooting my own horn, I have to tell you, that statement is powerful. That is a strategy around which you can build any type of business you want.
Because, you must continue to build the value after the first sale. If you don’t, there won’t be a second sale.
Now, instead of “talking past the sale” as I was told back in my face-to-face selling days, let me ask you…
How can you apply that stement or strategy to your business?
Do you see the difference in strategy versus tactics?
The floor is yours, dear reader, the floor is yours…