Category Archives: PrimeNet

5 Health & Wellness Marketing Case Studies That Will Blow Your Mind

Over the past decade, people have become more aware of the importance of having good health, which has lead to a real boom in the health and wellness industry. If you are a marketer dealing with health and wellness products, here are five health and wellness case studies which were a massive success.

Samsung’s Backup Memory

People who have family members that have Alzheimer’s know that even the simple act of the person recognizing them when they visit can be a challenge. Samsung came up with Backup Memory, an application that identifies the person who is near. The marketing campaign was a massive success because of the video concept used. Samsung collected experiences from people from around the world. The videos show push notifications in real time, and the memories pop up, which evokes an emotional reaction in the person watching, hence the success of the campaign.

Xyngular’s Spectacular Video Marketing Campaign

Xyngular is a company which offers one of the top-rated diets of 2018. The products include shakes, fat burners, detoxifiers, appetite suppressing supplements and sleep regulators. Xyngular’s Youtube channel showcases a spectacular video marketing campaign that has been all over the internet, making their products some of the most sought after for the past few years. The video marketers feature reviews from customers, the pros and cons of the product and other information that earns the trust of their followers, hence the popularity.

Noemi Association’s the Eyes of a Child

In this video marketing campaign, a parent and their child have been put side by side and a screen set up where different people make faces for the parent and child to mimic. The last look, however, is a child with special needs and instead of the parent mimicking, they stop while the child makes the funny face made by the special needs child. The message is simple yet so loud and clear.

The Mayo Clinic Minute Series

These are 60-second videos from mayo clinic where a variety of topics ranging from choosing a petroleum jelly to complicated issues such as dementia, are discussed. The conciseness and brevity of the videos are the reason they are so wildly popular.

Healthy Recipes by St. Elizabeth Health Care

The short videos by St. Elizabeth feature healthy recipes that are simple to make and loaded with the right nutrients. They are very popular with people who want to change their lifestyle and embrace healthy eating.

These are a few video marketing campaigns which have dominated 2018. Adding video content to your marketing campaign will help you reach your marketing goals.

So maybe you’re wondering “You’re a direct mail company – what’s video marketing got to do with direct mail?” Well, let’s say you’ve got a great video message airing. What happens when the TV goes off? Your viewer goes to bed, gets up, spends the day working, etc… then checks the mail at the end of the day. There is your message again in their mailbox, it matches your video message, and now they have something to hold onto and remember. The combination of video imagery, a strong message and a tangible mail piece will now have an even greater impact.

7 Quick Tips to Boost Real Estate Leads

The real estate industry is one of the most lucrative investments that one can venture into. It is also highly competitive and demands full attention to succeed. Despite the competition, an investor can still penetrate the market to get more leads. Doing so demands radical changes from the conventionally known techniques of real estate marketing. Taking the right set of measures ensures that the investor generates an equal flow of sales during the high sales season as well as when the markets slump. Here are some essential tips on how to boost real estate operations.

Establish a Social Media Presence

The internet has become a major pivotal factor that drives businesses in the market. Social media, in particular, forges and mediates communication at an unprecedented level. For a real estate investor, investing your time in marketing initiatives on diverse platforms can give your business a big boost. In particular, social media gives the investor an opportunity to diversify his marketing initiatives. With platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube commanding a wide segment of the population, establishing a presence in these platforms would give you an opportunity to grow your market significantly and cost-effectively. The platforms would also give you a chance to converse with customers more often than you might otherwise have without these platforms.

Encourage and Show Reviews

Nothing builds trust more than past reviews and recommendations. Good reviews serve as testimonials to new clients that your services are some of the best in the market. They also affirm to your prospective new clients that you would serve them as well as you have served others. Most platforms such as Facebook and Google offer clients the chance to automatically leave reviews. Whenever you help a client, it is usually a good thing to encourage the client to leave you a review, as that builds your profile. Google and other platforms also use the reviews to rank search results when clients do an internet search for real estate companies and agents. If you have good reviews, it is very likely that you will be ranked higher in the list of search results.

Act Outgoing

Social media-based marketing is incredibly useful in the modern-day. As a real estate agent, you can harness the power of being outgoing on social platforms to let people know and familiarize themselves with you. One of the opportunities you can harness to this effect is going to social events such as real estate conferences, restaurants, and wedding banquets, among others which offer you an opportunity to socialize and self-market.  In these kinds of events, you can harness the opportunity to hand out a few business cards to persons of high ranking levels in the society such as corporate associates.

List with Real Estate Databases

If you are selling real estate property, it pays to ensure that you are listed in the local and national companies that enlist other companies in your industry. In platforms such as the Zillow Group, for instance, you get a chance to have your property listed together with the various properties you deal with. Depending on the nature of the exposure you have in the market, Zillow will give you more exposure to potential customers.

Give Good Information

When enlisting your property in various platforms such as social media, Zillow, and your website, take the opportunity to include lots of different kinds of information and images on the listing that viewers will find interesting and useful. Provide lots of images of the property’s interior, exterior, and yard. In addition to the images of the property, it is essential to list the properties’ floor plans. Listings with floor plans achieve 30% more interest as compared to those that don’t. The floor plans give customers an opportunity to see the nature of the houses you are marketing, therefore influencing their decisions immensely. Additionally, you may want to include the option for buyers to take a virtual tour. This is a great way for buyers to get a feel for the house before scheduling an appointment to see it in person. 

Organize Your Own Events

In addition to riding on the events organized by other companies, it is essential to organize your own events where you can use a certain theme to influence customers. Events such as educational fairs give children an opportunity to learn a few things about the construction of houses. The open fair also gives you an opportunity to market yourself to families. Other events such as roadshows also give you a chance to market yourself further.

Evaluate Your Progress Often

Self-evaluation is the true key to success at the end of the day. With all the marketing and tips out there to consider and implement, it is advisable to evaluate your course by checking your financial performances regularly. Unless you do this, you have no way of knowing whether the initiatives you have taken are paying off. Self-evaluation also ensures you implement new measures that could set you off to the lead much quicker.

The real estate industry is demanding, but that doesn’t mean you are going to fail. To thrive, you must put forth a lot of consistent effort. Breaking out into the market will be much easier and faster if you take proactive measures and utilize, among others, the tips outlined above.

References:

www.podium.com | www.metropix.com | www.collegestationrealestate.com | www.fitsmallbusiness.com 

Turning Your Direct Mail Postcard Into Revenue

Your daily mail will almost always contain at least one postcard – for the simple fact that postcards are great performers for marketers. Direct mail is easy to track, so marketers can know what types of pieces are performing the best for certain campaigns. Well-designed postcards are a smart and economical choice for your next direct mail offer because of their high impact, lower cost, affordable postage and outstanding ROI.

Exploring the Impact of Postcards

With a constant influx of media messages of all types, we have to find creative ways to produce the ones that will really stand out. Consumers switch tv channels, close browser tabs, switch radio stations, and use ad-blockers to snuff out mundane advertising.  In today’s age, we have shorter attention spans than ever before – we skim through news stories and web content, often reading only the first paragraph of an article post before moving on to the next.  Print advertising has a high-impact, tactile, even interactive presence, and that is where direct mail fits. Direct mail almost “demands” that the recipient make a conscious choice to read it. Well-designed postcards are able to capture attention quickly. They don’t hinge on the decision whether or not to open something like an envelope or self-mailer, so the offer and the message are immediately visible with a postcard. Census has shown that 50.9%¹ of postcards received are read by at least one member of the household. That number is higher than other direct mail formats studied for comparison.

Why do postcards usually cost less?

Direct mail postcard printing typically costs less to produce than other direct mail formats. A creative designer is able to produce a postcard design in much less time than it would take to construct the components of an envelope mailing package (often consisting of the outer envelope, a letter, a buckslip or brochure and sometimes even a reply envelope). Fewer components to design and print equates to savings on the cost of paper and ink, production setup time and time on press. With a postcard, the only bindery finishing step is trimming the cards to final size, which is often done in-house. Postcard personalization is usually performed on high speed inkjet addressing systems, the least expensive method of addressing for postal acceptance. Postcards also save on postage because they can be sized as large as 6-1/8“ x 11-1/2“ and still qualify for letter postage rates.

Postcard Performance vs. Other Pieces

While direct mail postcard response rates might not be as high as uniquely shaped dimensional mail or oversized envelope mailers, the average response rate of 5%, house mailing lists and 3.6%, prospect lists, offset by the lower cost of production still equates to postcards scoring the lowest cost per response in comparison to other direct mail formats. Postcards provide a cost per response of approximately $17 for house mailing lists and $30 for prospect lists².

Even with all the available outlets, direct mail still remains the leader in multi-channel marketing efforts. Print does cost more than email and web based advertising, but higher response rates justify the expense in comparison to other marketing channels. Postcards are top performers because they boast a high impact, placing messages and offers in front of the recipient without requiring a decision to open an envelope or not. Postcards cost less to produce, which makes them attractive for marketers with limited budgets for direct mail printing. Favorable response rates plus low cost make postcards difficult to top for new customer acquisition and consumer retention.

Best Practices to Track Direct Mail Response

To be able to have the most effective direct mail campaigns, you have to be able to see exactly what is bringing in your customers. The only way to be able to tell this is to track the direct mail response each campaign receives. When you know your response rate, you can test and change different methods to see which methods achieve greater success. There are several different tools and methods you can use within your direct mail pieces that will not only help draw more business, but will allow you to track the response rate that these pieces garner. We’ll discuss these techniques below and how they can be useful in your direct mail.

Coupons

First of all, coupons are a just a good business tool. People love to get a good deal and seeing a coupon will entice a potential customer to want to make the purchase. Not only will coupons drive more business, but they are one of the most effective ways to track the response rate of your direct mail. There are essentially two different types of coupons: physical coupons or coupon/promo codes. Physical coupons can be printed on postcards, brochures, or other direct mail materials with tear-away perforated edges and are typically used in person. Coupon codes/Promo codes/ Discount codes are typically used for online purchases. These usually consist of a code that the customer can enter in their online shopping cart to receive a discount before they “check out.”

An important factor in tracking direct mail responses is to use exclusive coupons and codes for each direct mail campaign. This way you can differentiate between campaigns to see what worked, and what didn’t. It’s up to you to keep track of these coupons. Organization is the key! Figure out a system that works for you, and stick with it. Whether you have a program that will count the coupons automatically via a sequence number or bar code, or you simply keep a tally in a spreadsheet, make sure you track how many of each type of coupon has been used.

Variable URLs

Variable URLs are a creative way to drive business to your website. There are two common ways you can use variable URLs to track your response rate. The most popular variable URL is probably the promotional URL (ex. website.com/summersale) which enables advertisers to create a landing page to funnel traffic to. Generally, you want to have this unique promotional URL to have some sort of deal or access that your regular home page doesn’t have, to incentivize the customer to use it. The other common type of variable URL is a PURL. PURLs are personalized URLs that are created for specific customers (ex. website.com/johnsmith.) This type of personalization can entice a customer to respond. Using web analytics, you can track how many times these unique pages were visited and what else they did while they visited your website. This can lead to other target marketing opportunities in the future.

QR Codes

QR codes are an excellent way to track direct mail response. QR codes can also incorporate the variable URLs mentioned above, without the customer having to type in the entire web address. However, keep your audience in mind. Most people under 30 are familiar with QR codes and find them an easy, convenient way to reach a website. While on the other hand, the older generation may not even have a device capable of reading a QR code, nonetheless know how to use it.

Phone Calls

Not everyone is a fan of online shopping, or checking out websites. Some customers still prefer calling a business to learn more information. A great way to track direct mail response is to use a customer phone number on each direct mail piece. This way you can track how many calls each direct mail piece received. If you use the same phone number for everything, you can still ask customers how they heard about you or just pay attention to call volume overall in relation to when you’ve sent out direct mail.

Foot Traffic

Similarly, some customers prefer doing things face-to-face. If you pay attention to how many customers you have at a certain time compared to when you have sent out direct mail pieces, you can find the correlation and see what may have brought them in.

And Of Course, Purchases

If your marketing campaign is requesting that a customer purchase a specific item, you can compare different direct mail campaigns against the number of purchases to see which direct mail pieces were most effective. You can also just compare your average number of sales against those during the number of sales garnered during a direct mail campaign to see if the campaign has impacted your average number of purchases.

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All of these methods can track direct mail response, however, those with campaign-specific numbers are the most accurate. Take a look at the data you have compiled and see which direct mail campaigns seem to be the most effective. Now, figure out why. Were you running a better sale than usual sale? Did you try a different art style? Did you promote web traffic instead of foot traffic? Did send your direct mail to a different audience? It is important to keep in mind that there are always different factors in play. What season it is, if a holiday is nearby, or a million other reasons can impact how many people will respond to your direct mail, but you should be able to see overall trends that tend to be the most effective in your direct mail campaigns. Stick with these trends, and keep improving, and you will get the most out of your direct mail efforts!

Direct Mail Strategies: What NOT to Do

The world of direct mail can sometimes be tricky to navigate. While trying to remember all of the goals you have in mind, and everything you need to do to accomplish them, it can be hard to keep in mind what NOT to do. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled a list of 10 things NOT to do when using direct mail.

1. Don’t make your message hard to read.

Of course you want to have an eye-catching design to capture the interest of potential customers, but if they can’t read the information it becomes pointless. Many people make the mistake of choosing a “fun”, whimsical font. While this may be okay for one or two words, you certainly don’t want to use it for the entire text. It is important to choose a font that is easily legible. While we are on the subject of legibility, please proofread! A glaring typo or weird formatting issue will not only make your message harder to understand, but it will also look like you don’t know what you’re doing or simply don’t care. If you can’t make sure your own advertisement is 100% flawless, why would someone trust you to do something for them? You also don’t want to include too much copy. No one wants to read a wall of text on their mail. Try to keep it simple, using only the necessary information. If a potential customer has to spend an ounce of energy trying to decipher what the message is, they are just going to lose interest and throw it away. Let your overall design and imagery do the attention-grabbing.

2. Don’t lie.

You should never lie or “stretch the truth” in your direct mail. You want to make sure you can actually fulfill the promises you have offered. You may still make the sale on a technicality, but you won’t keep them as a repeat customer that way. Overselling yourself is also a great way to ruin your reputation in the long run. Another important thing to note is to verify that your disclaimers are correct and include as many details as possible. You don’t want to end up losing hundreds of thousands of dollars because you forgot to type the correct amount of asterisks.

3. Don’t use out-dated data.

Old data is no longer good data. People move, businesses transform, and circumstances change. You can either clean up the list you already have or purchase a new list, but either way you need to make sure the information you have is correct and up-to-date. Sending mail to people who no longer live at that address, or a business that no longer exists, is simply a waste of money. If your data is more than 3 years old without ever being refreshed, don’t use it. Advertising a product directed towards the mother of a newborn isn’t going to be effective if it’s now being sent to the mother of a 5 year old.

4. Don’t forget to include a Call-to-Action.

You are sending out direct mail because you want the people receiving it to do something. Be sure to let them know what exactly it is you’d like them to do. Be clear and concise, make it clear what they should do, how they should do it,  and when they should do it. For example, “Sign up for this free trial by calling within the next 5 days!” By the time a prospective client is finished reading your piece, they should have a clear idea of what exactly to do. They should also have a sense of urgency to do so. Be sure to have a deadline for them to get whatever you are offering, so they feel they have to “act now” before they lose their opportunity.

5. Don’t focus on just the features.

You may be excited to share all of the features of your newest product or service, but honestly no one cares. What they do care about is how these features can benefit them. Instead of listing all of the services that are included in your monthly lawn care treatment, list why someone would benefit from having this service. For example, “Let us rake, mow, and weed your yard so you can enjoy your weekends with your family!”

6. Don’t ignore the benefits of tracking.

So you send out a few direct mail pieces and business is booming, great! But what piece of the puzzle was most instrumental at bringing in business? Was it one specific design that was more eye-catching, or was it that the list was better targeted for your desired audience? To be able to know the answers to these questions, you’ll want to employ some sort of tracking. An easy way to do this is by using a specific, different coupon code for each new direct mail piece. This way you can track which coupon codes brought in more business, and further analyze the data about what was different with this direct mail piece. If you notice that one of your coupon codes didn’t seem to bring in as much business, analyze the data. Did you try a different data list to send this piece to? Did you try a different discount? Was this design different than your standard? Figure out what works and what doesn’t work this way. Tracking your customers is also a way to keep up with new customers. Once you know who’s attention you’ve grabbed–you can keep it!

7. Don’t be impersonal.

Everyone likes feeling like they are special. Avoid using general statements, and try to make your piece appeal directly to your audience. A great way to do this is by using variable data within your piece. Using variable data, you can put in the customer’s name and other information you may know about them that way it feels like you designed this piece just for them! Being more personal and friendly establishes a relationship with the customer that makes them feel like you care about them, and will make them more likely to want to work with you.

8. Don’t forget to include a compelling offer.

You have to convince people why they should be interested in what you are selling, and why they should be interested now. The best way to do this is to give them some incentive with a special deal, coupon, discount, or bonus–with an expiration date of course. It’s great to give them the information about your product or service, but that is only half the battle. Giving them a reason to purchase your product/service by making them feel like they’ll be missing out on a great opportunity if they don’t, tends to be a great strategy.

9. Don’t focus solely on the design.

Of course you want to make your piece eye-catching to grab the attention of potential customers, but you have to make sure you’re getting your message to the correct people to begin with. The tried-and-true method of marketing known as the 40/40/20 rule says that 40% of your success will come from how effective your mailing list is, 40% will be decided by how compelling your offer is, and only 20% of your success will be determined from everything else–including your design, body copy, imagery, and delivery method. While having an amazing design is important, it doesn’t matter how eye-catching it is if it’s not getting to the people who would be interested in your product.

10. Don’t keep doing the same old thing.

Our last tip is to experiment! Change your offer, change your design, change your mailing list, and refer back to tip #6 to track which of these changes seems to work best for you. It is important to remember that you’re going to have to keep changing also. Just because your direct mail piece was a hit the first time you sent it out doesn’t mean it will have the same results the tenth time around. Times change, people change, competition changes. Try new formats, offer new specials, even something as simple as a headline change can attract a different customer. Do everything you can to keep changing and you will continue to grow as a business.

Key Marketing Factors to Consider Before Opening a New Restaurant

The restaurant industry in America is massive. According to statistics, 60 percent of Americans go out to a restaurant at least once or twice a week. This has led to an increase in profits and competition in this business sector. Because restaurants rise and fall all the time, you’ll need to be smart with the restaurant concept and business plan you bring to the table. To help you get started, here’s a look at some essential factors to consider before you open a restaurant.

Location

Location is the most fundamental aspect when it comes to setting up a new restaurant. In this case, visibility is key. The restaurant must be clearly visible and conveniently accessible to everyone.

To that end, it’s important to research your key demographics and assess the competition. As you develop your menu, you’ll want to find out what your direct competitors are offering and ensure that you’re providing something different or better.

Additionally, having a spacious and unique parking lot can eliminate a substantial amount of competition. In truth, customers are likely to drive off toward another restaurant if they spend too much time looking for a parking space. When you’re in the restaurant business, you’re dealing with hungry people, so easy access is key to success. In addition to available space, you should also work to maintain the look and function of the parking lot. These steps will invite customers to your restaurant and ensure guest safety. 

Trademark

This is often overlooked in the early stages of starting a restaurant, but it’s an important part of marketing your business and staying competitive.  When you don’t know how to apply for a trademark, the application process may feel overwhelming. In this case, seek outside expertise before filing your application. Come up with a unique and enticing trademark that represents your restaurant’s brand. Ultimately, a business trademark will protect you from dealing with messy legal issues in the future. 

Menu

There are many tricks to creating a professional, unique, and profitable restaurant menu. The menu should be uniquely designed, yet professional. Most importantly, it should incorporate various menu items that you know locals will like. While you can always introduce new and exciting dishes, it’s still important to give patrons a taste of the familiar.  

Marketing

Marketing is the backbone of every business. If you are observant enough, you’ll see that popular restaurants are successful because of their marketing strategies. Yes, people appreciate their food, but targeted marketing is what brought customers to their tables.  You have to come up with brilliant ways to make your business known to people. Invest heavily and consult with marketing companies if you’re not familiar with digital and traditional marketing strategies.

Digital marketing is the backbone of most marketing efforts, but that doesn’t mean you should invest in other methods. Direct-mail marketing can be particularly effective for new restaurants, especially when you send out information to people within your area of influence. Combine this with your grand opening, and you’ll see some great sales numbers.

Licensing and Permits

Before you open a restaurant, you have to apply for the necessary licenses and legal permits. Moreover, you have to pass several inspections before you are free to operate. To legally operate, all restaurant operators need to obtain an operating license and pass several health inspections. If your restaurant is part of a franchise, Franchise Gator explains it’s very important that you pay attention to the FDD to understand fully what’s required and expected of your business as a franchise.

The Best Customer Service

To begin with, you should hire employees who are presentable, calm, and engaging. You engage customers when your servers have active listening skills while on the job. Take time to be selective during the hiring process and choose outstanding employees who can serve your customers in the best way possible.

There’s a lot that goes into starting a new restaurant. Don’t let your marketing overwhelm you. Reach out to us today for more information on our direct marketing solutions.

Practical Marketing Advice for Lawyers Trying to Build a Practice

Image courtesy of Bradley Corbett DUI Defense Attorney

Over time, marketing for legal firms is getting increasingly more competitive. You need to fine-tune your marketing strategies to maximize your bottom line this year and into the future. The more clients you have, the higher your earnings are and the more well known you become in your community.

Attorneys need to take advantage of diverse marketing opportunities these days to get the best response from the community. The following are six things you should be doing to build your practice as quickly and as efficiently as possible:

Use free resources that are available to you

There are free resources available – especially online – that are great for your online presence. The most obvious and most prolific is social media. Which social media channels you choose to use will depend on your clientele and the types of services you offer, but in general you should be maintaining accounts on 1-2 different platforms and posting regularly.

Get referrals from satisfied clients

Every time you work with a client who is particularly satisfied with your service, you should take advantage of it by requesting referrals or letting that client know that you are available if friends or family are going through the same issue.

When it comes to relationships with clients, it’s best to work at building long-term relationships so that they come back to you again in the future. Make sure your clients know all the areas that you practice in so that they can come back to you for other legal needs in the future.

Be present in your community

Simply getting out there and meeting people in your community can be great for acquiring new customers. Going to community events will allow you to network and socialize. Make sure you bring your business card with you when you go out.

Don’t overlook traditional marketing techniques

While the Internet is important these days when it comes to marketing, don’t overlook traditional marketing like running print advertisements and engaging in direct mail marketing. A lot of people are still not using the Internet, and you can reach these clients through traditional marketing channels while your competition is overly focused on the Web.

Be present online and optimize your presence

Hopefully, you already have a website, and you’re already present online. However, this isn’t enough. You should engage in search engine optimization and also experiment with PPC advertising to optimize your Web presence and get as much as possible out of having a website. Link your website to all of your social media pages and any other mention of your firm online.

Pay attention to your online reviews

Online reviews are important for any business. In fact, 95 percent of customers read reviews before making a purchase, and many customers use reviews to inform their opinion on local businesses. As a law firm, you need to build a solid reputation among potential clients in your local area. Reviews will go a long way toward building community trust and gaining the business of clients. Do everything you can to avoid negative reviews and respond to them when you get them – to work with a dissatisfied customer and address the cause of their dissatisfaction.

Because marketing for legal firms is getting so competitive, you’ll need to keep on top of your marketing strategies to maximize your business. The more clients you have, the higher your earnings – the more well known you’ll become in your community, and the first attorney people think to call.