Turn prospects into customers and keep both in the loop--with a promotional newsletter. (Promotional Newsletters).Editor's note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : While the following article deals with companies maximizing their marketing efforts with a newsletter promoting their products or services, subscription newsletter publishers will find many tips to incorporate into their own promotional efforts, which are increasingly including e-mail newsletters. How long are the sales cycles for your company's products? Three months? A year? Eighteen months? In today's b-to-b marketplace, long lead times are the rule rather than the exception. And the higher the price point or the greater the complexity of your products, the longer their lead times will be. How do you keep a prospect interested over the course of 18 months? How do you head off a competitor's inroads inroads Noun, pl make inroads into to start affecting or reducing: my gambling has made great inroads into my savings inroads npl to make inroads into [+ into the prospect while your sales rep is working through the approval cycle or sales cycle? One answer being discovered by companies in every industry is the promotional newsletter--often used in conjunction with other promotional mailings. Maintains a favorable fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. impression of your company Part gentle reminder, part public relations public relations, activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment. By its nature, public relations is devoted to serving particular interests by presenting them to the public in the most tool, part sales device, the promotional newsletter gives you an entry into the prospective company when your salesperson can't be there. It helps keep the prospect informed on product features and benefits, company successes, and more, and it generally maintains a favorable impression of your company in the prospect's mind between sales calls. As for customers, a newsletter is the perfect follow-up to a sales call. It keeps customers in the loop on new products, informs them on effective product use through case studies, and provides opportunities for product research, aftermarket Aftermarket See: Secondary market. aftermarket See secondary market. sales of support and training, cross-selling of related products, and upgrades of the products they purchased. Include case studies One of the most effective features you can include in a promotional newsletter is the case history. These are real-world examples of how companies are successfully using your products--and innovative new ways to use them. Case studies provide powerful peer approval of your products and give your prospect permission to inquire further. Successful case studies also reaffirm re·af·firm tr.v. re·af·firmed, re·af·firm·ing, re·af·firms To affirm or assert again. re customers' purchase decisions and help keep them sold on your products and your company. Keep it "newsy news·y adj. news·i·er, news·i·est Informal Full of news; informative. news  i·ness n. "
New products and services are, of course, naturals for news stories in your newsletter. Be careful, however, not to write about them in a promotional or hard-sell context. Rather, "report" on them objectively, almost as though they were some other company's. You can use your newsletter to announce new white papers or special reports. But don't just announce that they are available. Write about them as news. Prominent new customers can be featured in news stories as well, together with profiles of key customer end-users (your customers' customers, if appropriate). Product performance test results can be reported as news, and you can include announcements of product reviews in the trade press. (You can also use your newsletter to correct or explain any unfavorable reviews that might have appeared in the trade press.) A research tool You can use your newsletter to publish questionnaires designed to acquire information about readers' business needs and interests ... trade publication reading habits ... even salary and product usage surveys. Industry digest It can be genuinely helpful to readers if you excerpt ex·cerpt n. A passage or segment taken from a longer work, such as a literary or musical composition, a document, or a film. tr.v. ex·cerpt·ed, ex·cerpt·ing, ex·cerpts 1. news briefs from your industry's trade publications. Be sure to observe "fair use" laws and obtain permission for any verbatim ver·ba·tim adj. Using exactly the same words; corresponding word for word: a verbatim report of the conversation. adv. or other reproductions you may use from other publications. In some cases, including a request form for readers to recommend peers and colleagues who might have an additional interest in your newsletter can increase circulation--and provide additional leads. Make it an e-letter If your promotional newsletter contains articles of genuine value to readers, you can also offer it on your company web site and use it to capture customers' e-mail addresses See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address . Or create a separate online newsletter for that purpose. With so many free e-letters available online today, you'll need to make it worth readers' while to download it "Download It" is Clea's debut single. It was released in the UK on September 22, 2003 and missed the top 20 charting at #21. The single had average promotion, being performed in shows like Top of the Pops. . Try for an adroit mix of hard industry news items and company information on your web site. Be sure to give prospects an "opt-in" and "opt-out" choice and provide an easy cancel option with every issue. Keep it professional Features to avoid include "Employee of the Month" and other "house" information, pictures of your building, pictures of the president. In short, keep it a newsletter and not thinly disguised flackery. Excerpted from Streetwise street·wise adj. Having the shrewd awareness, experience, and resourcefulness needed for survival in a difficult, often dangerous urban environment. Direct Marketing by George Duncan George Duncan may refer to:
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