Dee’s marketing blog: Marketing on a shoestring – so what’s it all about?

By award winning Chartered Marketer and business author Dee Blick.

I was inspired to write this article after being contacted recently by the Vice-President of a global brand. After reading my interview in the Financial Times, he wanted me to spill the beans on marketing on a shoestring at his annual conference. Whilst his marketing managers preside over six-figure marketing budgets, he was keen that they also understand where and how they could derive greater value from their marketing activities by using a more considered and targeted approach.

I have always maintained that marketing on a shoestring is not about carrying out marketing activities in a hurry and on the cheap in the hope that the responses will flood in simply because you’ve turned up the volume button. Nor is it about trying to save money by doing things yourself to a mediocre standard, when really you would be better off bringing in a professional web developer, designer or copywriter. No, significant investment is still required even when marketing a shoestring, but this investment is in time, energy, persistence, creativity and marketing know-how.

When it comes to cost-effective marketing, the biggest investment a marketing manager or business owner can make is their time. Time spent on planning and research. Finely honed campaigns and punchy, targeted messages are at the heart of marketing success and neither can be achieved with a slipshod approach.

So, how does this work in practice? Let’s say you’re planning a campaign targeting cold prospects – that elusive group of people yet to do business with you. You’ve identified that you can reach them via a rented or bought mailing list. You may at this stage be tempted to steam ahead and mail the entire list with a glossy brochure, a catalogue or even just a bargain basement flyer and photocopied letter. You carry out one hit, get very little or no response, and conclude that marketing doesn’t work.

How about trying this more considered shoestring approach instead?

• You test your list first by mailing a small number. How small?  Let’s start with 10 to 50. At the same time you ask your local library for a list of the publications likely to be read by these cold prospects.

• You take the professional, low-cost, creative approach – you send an introductory letter, hand signed, and with your business card attached. The content should include testimonial from similar existing clients, two or three compelling benefits that you are confident will match their needs, and a realistic call to action. Aiming for a meeting in the first letter could be a step too far given the lack of a relationship. However, warming the prospect to the possibility of a phone call from you, or encouraging them to read the latest news on your website (which will be of genuine interest because you created it specifically for them!), should begin the relationship building process nicely.  And don’t forget the back of that letter.  How about posting three key questions and answers, or using the space for a couple of client case studies?

• You contact some of those publications with your latest press release which includes a genuine hook to grab the attention of editors and readers. When the coverage appears, you send out a second mailer to your list including the published piece.  A few days later you follow this up with a telephone call.

This process is known as the Power of Three. And it works.

The approach that I have outlined here is simple and I know from past and recent experience that it’s possible to get responses of between 5 per cent and 60 per cent from a minimal outlay.  My message?  Don’t be so focused on finding the one big marketing secret at the end of the rainbow that you overlook the solution that is right in front of you.

Read Dee’s previous blog on making business advertising pay: click here.

Posted by Dee Blick on Friday, March 26th, 2010 at 1:04 pm.

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