Means to an end 

I was going my regular morning routine of trying to solve the Boston Globe crossword puzzle today.  4-Down asked for a six-letter word for “means to an end.” Take a stab.  Got it?  No?  Clue:  word begins with T and ends with C. 

Yes, T-A-C-T-I-C.  

When we partner with independent agents on marketing communications and MAP (Marketing Action Plan) programs, Tactics are a critical element, of course.  Here are all the elements in order of their position in the planning process. 

. Objective

. Strategy

. Tactics

.  Budget

.  Measurement 

Tactics are specific activities that the agency will use to achieve an end result (Objective).  Here’s a simple model for how each step is stated in a plan. 

Objective: To obtain minimum 100 referrals during the month of April. 

Strategy: Encourage our A customers to submit referrals. 

Tactics:  

.  Direct mail 500 A-type customers on March 1; package to include: a personal letter, our new agency brochure, business card, and postage-paid business reply card with fold-over so that submitted names are not revealed. 

. Do follow up telephone calls on selected basis to non-repliers the last week of March. 

Budget:  Allocate $1.50 per mailing ($750.00);  cost-per-referral (based on 100 minimum goal: $7.50. 

Measurement:   

.  Number of referrals

.  Cost per referral 

NEXT STEP:  Referral Contact Program for X-Dates, Quotes, Sales  

Words and music from friends 

As a writer of direct mail, ads, commercials, brochures, Web content and an occasional letter, I am always fascinated with words and word-play.  Business associates, friends and relatives know all that so they often send along non-sequiturs, rhymes, puns and other plays on words that tickle my fancy.  From time to time on TGIF Days, I will pass a few along.  Enjoy! 

The Way Children See Things 

---On the first day of school, a first-grader handed his teacher at note from his mother.  The note read, “The opinions expressed by this child are not necessarily those of his parents.” 

---A woman was trying hard to the ketchup to come out of the bottle.  During her struggle the phone rang.  She asked her four-year old daughter to answer. “It’s the minister, Mommy,” the child said; then she added, “Mommy can’t come to the phone right now…she’s hitting the bottle.” 

---I was driving with my three young children one warm summer evening when a woman in the convertible ahead of us stood up and waved. She was stark naked!  As I was reeling from the shock, I heard my fie-year old shout from the back seat, “Mom! That lady isn’t wearing a seat belt.”   

---Thanks, niece Nancy Durham-Glynn, Manchester, ME 

Punnies 

. Two peanuts walk into a bar. One was asalted. 

. A jumper cable walks into a bar.  The bartender says, “I’ll serve you, but don’t start anything.” . Two antennas meet on the roof, fall in love, get married.  The ceremony wasn’t much, but the reception was great. 

. Two cannibals are eating a clown.  One says to the other: “Does this taste funny to you?” 

Nine and a Half Rules of Thumb 

1. Think of every ad and every direct mailer as a NON—PERSONAL sales call. 

2. Advertising not only builds name recognition with prospects but REINFORCES your position with customers and affects retention. 

3. Make sure every major marketing communications campaign has a CENTRAL THEME and employs an INTEGRATED combination of advertising, direct mail and point of purchase elements. 

4. You can send suspects the SAME mailer with the SAME message SEVEN times before your reply rate deteriorates.

5. Your marketing materials must sell BENEFITS first, not features. 

6. Effective TELEMARKETING follow up to commercial lines mailings can boost your reply rate from .5% or 1% to 15% or higher. 

7. If you don’t have a print or online “sales brochure”, you are NOT in sales. 

8. If you have a limited budget, concentrate on CUSTOMER communications to ROUND OUT, UPGRADE accounts and GET MORE referrals. 

9. Make sure your associates are INVOLVED with your communications program, and know how to respond when prospects and/or customers call as the result of your promotion. 

9.5. Make sure you can MEASURE results of every strategy and every tactic, i.e. set specific, quantifiable goals!  

Know where your customers are 

The view from a treetop is significantly different from a ground level view.  There is a parallel with a view you can get with data mapping compared to looking at long streams of figures, names and statistics. 

Mapping provides a visual picture of where your customers are and where your best prospects may be.  Data mapping triggers ideas for direct mail and other marketing strategies.  It alters pre-conceived notions about where to target your communications firepower and dollars. 

What data mapping involves 

Basically, data mapping is the application of your client records and geo-coding so you can actually produce a visual of your customer profile---where they are, where they aren’t, which are most profitable, where the cross sell and upgrade opportunities exist…and more. 

It is not a new concept; it has been used for years by sophisticated marketers.  The advent of new computer systems and software programs, however, has expanded its use and effectiveness exponentially in recent years. 

Some applications 

. Locate your customers in relationship to your agency. 

. Analyze direct response to mailings based on geographic location and demographics. 

. Study demographic trends about income, home type, family units, presence of children, et cetera. 

. Clarify purchase info and account activity. 

. Determine where the best potential for target marketing is. 

Competitive advantage 

Effective use of your data mapping program can give you a major advantage over your local competitors.  Our experience indicates that few independent agents have programs in place.

“I know the price of success: dedication, hard work and unrelenting devotion to the things you want to see happen.”   

              ---Frank Lloyd Wright, Architect 

How to provide constructive criticism 

In 2000, Doris Wild Helmering wrote a book called The 7th Sense.  She presents criteria to distinguish constructive criticism (helpful and useful) from non-constructive criticism (petty, denigrating and useless). 

Constructive criticism is a valuable factor for any agency that practices what I call “improvement management.”  That is, continuous improvement of business processes essential to the success of the agency and job satisfaction for agency associates. 

According to Helmering, constructive criticism has three components.