Focused Marketing - How Your Benefits Help Your Customers!

You've heard it before...

Don't talk about what you got,
Tell me how it benefits ME.

That is one of the fundamentals of focused marketing. Figure out why your 'assets' are benefits to your customer!

Okay, a lot of you know this, and that's good.

But, have you considered just how much you can extend your customer service to your customers?

How about giving them access to your knowledge and skills? Your good name and reputation? Your webpage? Your 'leg up' in the marketing realm?

I have been looking at some email marketing sites that talk about how they can help you help your customer (whew, say that fast three times). They will offer you incentives to help your customers use their marketing service. Plus, as part of your marketing with them, you can collect customer surveys and review/testimonials to enhance and promote your business.

You in turn can help send out your customer's emails and increase their visiblity in social networks. Ah, a symbiotic relationship!

What do you think? Could it work for you and your customers? Take a look at RatePoint's webpage for one such marketing service. And, don't forget to Google for more to shop 'n compare!

Good luck,

Mary and Michael

Women About Biz Free Teleclass

Hey there, want to get more free information?



I just got an email from Women About Biz (www.womenaboutbiz.com), of which I am a free member, that advertised for a free 'teleclass' called Social Networking 101 (and how that can help your business).

First, you have to sign in for a free membership, and you can opt for a free newsletter ...remember what I said earlier about getting those freebees? Here's another opportunity for information via email and class.

I have participated in other free 'webinars' or 'teleclasses' and found them beneficial, so I thought I'd spread the word

.... See you there?

How to Use "Cause Marketing" + We Want to Help Haiti... Sale!

So, we are practicing what we preached, and have been reading some information provided by Vertical Response in their posting: "The 2010 New Year Checklist for Your Business".

Item 1 on their list says to use "cause marketing." Whoa, the first instinct is that this sounded crass and Machiavellian, but then a second thought occurred ...this can be beneficial for both us and the cause!

How can we help promote our business and our interest in a cause at the same time?

Obviously, as with many of you, we are concerned about the citizens of Haiti and their plight after this earthquake. So, we are combining this desire to help them with our marketing needs to make a special offer that is above our normally low listed prices on our alpacas on our Autumn Sun Alpacas Openherd site.

For rest of January 2010:
We will give you 10% off the price of any 'for sale' animal on our Autumn Sun Alpacas Openherd site... and, we will donate 10% to the Red Cross for the Haitian relieve efforts.

Interested in a group of animals in one of our packages or one of your design? No problem, lets talk. We offer reduced prices already on our packages, but can discuss details and donation options.

The great thing is that this offer works with full payment or a payment plan. Full cash payment now means a full 10% now.

But if you can only finance right now, this offer still works for you as long as we sign the contract this month. The rebate and donations will just be spread out -- a discount/donation now on the down payment and then a discount/donation off the top of each payment.

So, hop over to our alpaca listings on our Autumn Sun Alpacas Openherd site, and see what alpaca catches your eye. Have questions? Just drop us an email note (directly here, or through our Openherd site), and we will get right back with you with answers.

Easy, painless, informative shopping... with a big payoff!

Thanks for looking, and for your generosity!

Autumn Sun Alpacas
livingstons@autumnsunalpacas.com

*~*~*~*

Article as seen on Comcast.net News on 20-January-2010:
"New 6.1-quake hits Haiti, people flee into streets"

Why Didn't I Think Of That?

Do you ever think of or hear about something that makes you think, "Wow, that is so simple!" or "Why didn't I think of that before?" Well, I've got one for you....

I know that you see all kinds of email messages that are sent using an email service, like Vertical Response among others. Now, not necessarily advocating one service provider over the other, have you ever just perused through their free information / articles? It's like going to the public library, in a way -- helpful information just sitting there, waiting for you to look at it.

So, besides the email marketing campaign that you've been planning ;) -- pop into these providers' sites and take a look around. Maybe get on their free newsletters to get more information handed to you.

Don't know of any such providers?

Well below are some links to some information provided. There are others email marketing providers, like: Campaigner, Easy Contact, Constant Contact, Mad Mimi, icontact, ContactPro, and so many more. Now, granted, some of these sites have more free info than others, but take a look around to see.

Just Google or Yahoo on 'email marketing' to see what's out there.

Again, not promoting any particular email service, just grabbing some links I know of ....Here are just some of the links to some of these sites....

Explore, Read, Use!
Get out there, folks -- Be brave!

Easy Contact's Email Marketing Resource Guide

Vertical Response's 2010 Business checklist

Vertical Response's Top 10 Blog posts of 2009

Constant Contact's Learning Center
-- includes webinars, tutorials and guides!

Interspire's 62-page whitepaper about permission based email marketing
(you have ask for it)