Small businesses are very tightly squeezed for cash flow, but we know that we need to get our messages out there if we want to grow and find new customers. As each of our businesses grow, we know that most of our customers and clients will come as a result of word of mouth advertising. However, we also know that we need to implement a direct mail strategy to help us expand our reach.
Word of mouth advertising is a great way to grow our businesses, mainly because a happy customer will spread the word about your great product or service. They will likely tell a friend. That’s why we must keep on advertising. But how do you do it effectively when you have a limited budget and you have to worry about cash flow, payroll, inventory, rent, etc.?
I want to show you that you need to implement a direct mail strategy and I will share with you what I have learned in the process of developing one for my own companies.
We started out as a small company. We were operating in a few cities only and grew the company to the point where we were operating in 394 cities, 81 markets, 19 states, and 3 countries. All this took quite a long time to achieve, so in no way was it an overnight success. Sometimes we had some of our locations that were short on capital, and we had to help them find ways to advertise to get the most for their advertising dollar. The most effective method we found very helpful in reaching our goals was direct mail, we implemented a direct mail strategy.
I would like for you to start thinking about how you can develop a direct mail strategy for your business. You should think of the options you have to gain publicity, advertising, marketing, PR, and how your direct mail strategy can come together with all of that. You need to keep an open mind and consider all the options when using a direct mail strategy.
My point in writing this is not to get you to spend all your money following a direct mail strategy; rather it’s to get you to consider how it could benefit your company, business, or non-profit organization.
