I have emphatically stated and long taught the importance of FREQUENT and MEANINGFUL communication with your clients as well as key strategic partners and centers of influence (association directors, sponsors, referral partners, etc.). Practically every business I know fails to do this effectively, some more than others. The best way to communicate, I believe, is a well-written MONTHLY newsletter that is printed and MAILED, but I’m constantly fighting the quarterly or biannual newsletter, or the desire to simply e-mail it to everyone. I DON’T recommend either of these approaches because 1) in order for it to be a publication clients look forward to getting, it must have frequency, and 2) e-mail is a very unreliable way to get your marketing out, with as many as 80% of recipients never seeing it, much less opening it and reading it. You also cannot replicate the feel of getting and opening the printed newsletter – and that TANGIBLE communication matters a great deal.
Big rule of thumb: a list loses its value by roughly 10% every month it’s ignored (not communicated to). And by the way, sending an e-mail that never arrives, is never seen or opened, is the same as not sending anything. Of course, the cheapskates whine about the cost and the difficulty of getting this done, but they don’t consider the REAL cost of a lost customer, the missed referral or the opportunity costs.
NEED HELP? We offer a complete, turnkey, done-for-you newsletter service that is 100% concierge service. You don’t have to download it or write any part of it (unless you want to). WE do it all – writing it, designing it, proofreading, printing and mailing it for you. Call and talk to Barry Starr at my office: 615-790-5011 or [email protected].
