All Season VA, LLC

You have probably heard this recently, “email Marketing is Dead,” Welll…..it’s a matter of opinion. And I don’t believe it is.

"Today's marketing success comes from self-publishing Web content that people want to share. It's not about gimmicks. It's not about paying an agency to interrupt others." David Meerman Scott

There are some valid reasons why everyone in business, should be including eMail Marketing strategies into their overall yearly marketing plans & initiatives:

 According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), email produces an ROI of $40.56 for each dollar invested.

 Email marketing is inexpensive because all you need is an autoresponder, some content and marketing savvy. While you will have to pay for an autoresponder, you can create your own content and add your marketing savvy.

 Traffic, social media and email marketing are all important assets to grow and nurture. However, email provides the most value because you can better command your subscribers attention and an email list is something you own.

 It’s easy and inexpensive to target your database for the best results. You can separate customers based on the products they buy and then email them offers for similar products. You can collect personal data like their geographic location, interests and more to create more personalized correspondence. Subscribers can also share their preferences with you, so that you deliver with the frequency and type of content they wish to receive.

 While not everyone opens every single email they receive, being in someone’s email inbox increases your chances of getting noticed dramatically.

As an online merchant, your customers cannot see your face. They cannot hear your voice when you are recommending your products, and they cannot see the emotions on your face when you are telling your customers what benefits they can derive out of your products.

The Internet is a level playing field for every Internet marketer and merchant out there. The sheer connectivity means that you can reach everyindividual in the world. You are not limited by geographic constraints andanyone can be your customer or client.

This is precisely why you should overdeliver. When every competitor ofyours has access to everyone in the market, your only way of winning the battleis to overdeliver, again and again. When you  overdeliver, you present yourself as a person with the customer’sinterest at heart. You become a trusted friend and not a greed-driven marketerout looking for their money. Overdelivering is simply your only way todifferentiate yourself from your competitors.

You can start overdelivering by providing superb support for you customers. How many times have you been turned away with rude answers when asking about a certain product you purchased? Compare that with the number oftimes you have been provided very good service, as if you're being helped by apersonal friend. The ratio is just off balance, proving how scarce good customer support is. By providing excellent support to your customers andanswering to their every needs patiently, you will gain customers that are fiercely loyal to you because they know you have their best interest at heart.

When you provide excellent customer support, you're already ahead of most of your competitors. Take it a step further and think: in what other wayscan you over deliver to your customers?

One very good way is to give your customers a pleasant surprise when they make a purchase from you. For example, if a customer buys your cooking utensils, you might throw in a bonus recipe book for them. However, do not usethe bonus as an incentive for the customer to buy your products. Your products must be good enough to make the customer buy it in the first place, and the bonus must serve as a surprise element; you must not announce it in the product catalogue.

The final way is to build a long-lasting relationship with your customers. If a customer buys regularly from you, you should send greeting cards during birthdays and on every holiday, be it Christmas, New Year, Easter,even Chinese New Year! Your customer will again remember you as a friend, not abusiness associate, and will favour you above other merchants because of the warm relationship.

 So, remember to start overdelivering today!

Do you and your business feel like the recession is subsiding?  Do you want a formula for success in 2010?

I recently attended a seminar dedicated to Smart Ways to Success in this troubled economy. Here’s what I learned, I wanted to share these ideas with you.

Business Success Strategies

1) Pay less for things. Take a serious look at your business top 10 expenses and reduce these services immediately. Things like Attorneys, Bookeepers/Accountants, Car Services, Cable/Internet, just to name a few. Take a look at payroll/staff. Determine if you can delegate duties and begin working with a Virtual Assistant. This simple change would definitely save you money. Also, approach your current vendors and renegotiate lower fees. If there is no room for renegotiation, consider finding new, lower priced service partners. Your bottom line will see immediate savings. It’s well worth the exercise.

2) Do you pay yourself first? Put the maximum allowed into an IRA, 401K or defined benefit plan. There will be money for you and not just your business, if you pay yourself first. Your money will continually grow and be there when you need it.

3) Do you have a real tax strategy? Have you put in place the right set up a tax perspective? Be it an LLC, Corporation etc. make sure the original business set up is current and consider changing this if it would benefit you and your business, tax wise.

4) Do you know how to deal with worry? It’s confidence.

Pick the 5 things you need to decide on before the end of 2010 and use this formula.

• Identify a problem

• Write it down

• Decide what you can do about it

• Make a decision

• Act on it NOW

5) Do you have a support network? It’s lonely in small business today. Small Business Owners are different. They are wired differently than everyone else. Join Business Networking Organizations and get involved, make friends and business partners. Share best practices and new innovative ideas for success.

December 2009. Written by All Season Virtual Assistant. www.allseasonva.com 888-556-5090 All rights reserved.