Let Your Customers Select You

Almost a complete opposite to direct marketing, welcome marketing (or opt-in as it is often called) is where people have actually asked to be part of your marketing campaign. This is a relatively new, but highly effective marketing method.

People actually come to you; they tell you that they want to receive information by newsletter, email or possibly through phone calls. Think about it, how much time and money do you waste by sending information to people who are simply not interested?

By narrowing down your target audience in this way, you can reduce the amount of wasted time and effort that goes into unsolicited marketing.

Another great benefit is that your customers can actually ask you for the information that they want to receive. A lot of marketing material is unnecessary or unwanted. By being directly linked to your customers you can make sure that you tell them exactly what they want to hear.

This direct link is a great way to make your customer feel wanted and important. There is nothing worse than receiving information that is totally irrelevant; this does nothing to build the reputation of your company. Target people and build the relationships you have if you want to see marketing success.

Opt-in marketing is particularly useful online. This way customers can receive information directly to their home.

Customers are becoming very standoffish when it comes to marketing. This is most likely due to the overwhelming amounts of marketing that bombard us from everywhere. Not only are their advertisements and commercial everywhere, we also have telemarketers calling us, spam emails, pop up ads on the internet and even advertisements via FAX. This is annoying and sometimes marketers seem outright predatory.

By allowing customers to choose whether or not they receive information you are much more likely to get a warmer reception. Be sure that you stay around to help your customer after they have bought your product. This way they will remain interested in your marketing and will become repeat customers.

By allowing people the choice, you are automatically gaining their trust as a non-pushy and pleasant company. It is also extremely important that you have people available to deal with after-sales issues. There is nothing more frustrating than getting an email advertising a product when you have been 'on hold' about the very same product for the best part of an hour! Remember your customers are your future.

Scott F. Geld is the Head Manager of Marketing Blaster Inc, a pay-per-click traffic source that continually beats the other major search engines in conversion ratio and ROI.