Better Business Idea #47
Are You Directing 100% of Your Marketing Effort
at 15% of Your Audience?
© 2001 by Michael C. Gray
March 30, 2001
In an excellent interview of marketing guru Craig Forté by Joe Polish, Craig stated something profound.
For most businesses, half of the customers already know what they are going to buy and where they are going to buy it. Another 35% of their customers will come by referral from another customer.
That leaves only 15 out of a hundred customers coming from the "cold marketplace," yet most businesses direct almost all of their marketing efforts at the cold market.
In direct marketing, when you mail or direct your efforts to a list that you don't have a previous relationship with, you are fortunate to get a 2% response. The response to most direct mailings is less than one percent.
When you mail an offer that matches the desires of your "house list," with whom you have established a relationship, response rates of more than 20% aren't unusual.
When you think about how you make your decisions about buying products and services, I think this will make a lot of sense to you. To increase the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, focus on doing more business with your existing customers.
For new articles about how to improve your business, subscribe to our newsletter, Michael Gray, CPA's Tax & Business Insight!
Home
Business Building Blog
Introduction
Seven Habits
Business Improvement
Book Reviews
Need Help?
Links