Phone/Mail Synergy

Direct mail (e-mail or postal) and telephone work far better together than either one separately. Find out how.

(Shel Horowitz's Frugal Marketing Tip, January, 1999)

Sometimes the whole is *greater* than the sum of its parts. Telephone and mail (whether postal or electronic) are powerful marketing tools by themselves—but when combined, the result can be far more powerful.

Here's how this can work: Call a list of prospects, following the rules of successful telemarketing that I outline in Marketing Without Megabucks. Use the phone call to politely determine if they are, in fact, real prospects for this offer (hint: find out first if this is a good time—an if not, when you should call back.). Once they're interested, verify their address and send your information; don't waste energy with a long conversation, trying to gain an immediate sale. Then, perhaps two weeks later, call again. This time, your approach is more subtle: "Hi, my name is _______________ from ________________. When we spoke two weeks ago, you'd asked me to send you some material. I'm just calling to make sure you received it, and answer any questions you may have."

At this point, you're an ally, not a salesperson. You're trying to be helpful, trying to help them meet their stated needs. You'll also double or triple the chances that a prospect will actually look at your packet. And, of course, if they claim they didn't receive it, re-verify the address and send another one out.

This works very well with media, also. If you're sending out press releases, you can boost your return tremendously with good follow-up.

Thank you reading this back issue of Shel Horowitz's Monthly Frugal Marketing Tips, published every month since May, 1997; please click here to view the complete archives, grouped by subject. Shel is an internationally known copywriter and marketing consultant, author of Grassroots Marketing Getting Noticed in a Noisy World and several other books, and creator of the Frugal Marketing web site. Please click here to contact Shel.


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