|
Your EnterQuest Bulletin
- 4 August 2004
| Thought for the week: "Whether you think that
you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." Henry Ford |
In this week's issue:
- getting
direct mail to the right people
- corporate
TPS - some solutions
- using
e-mail filters to beat spam
Marketing
tip
Getting
direct mail to the right people
Direct mail is tried and tested, and there's nothing
like it for delivering your message precisely and at a low cost.
Put simply, businesses that know how to use it tend to get more
in their own mailboxes than businesses that don't.
Direct marketers have a saying that goes 'The money
is in the list' - the list being the list of people you're going
to send your mail to. The most important factors for direct mail
success are:
- the list
- the offer, and
- the letter
But you need to get all three right. Send a great
offer with dynamic copy to a bunch of people who aren't interested,
and your campaign will bomb. In fact this is the number one reason
why direct mail campaigns fail.
With this in mind, here are six types of people
you can target and dramatically improve your chances of success:
- People who have purchased something related to
what you are selling
- People who RECENTLY purchased something related
to what you are selling
- People who have money to spend
- People who have shown a propensity to buy or
respond via direct mail
- People in your local area
- People in affinity groups who have a strong desire
for your particular product
Affinity groups are groups of people with something
in common - interests, hobbies, plans or associations. For instance,
laptop users are an affinity group and are more likely to buy laptop
carry-cases or software. Rugby players are an affinity group who
are more likely to need the services of a physio.
The perfect mailing list would represent a group
of people who meet all 6 of these criteria. If you sell a product
or service and can find a list of people like that, grab it with
both hands!
The UK
Small Business Marketing Bible contains hundreds more tips
and tactics for boosting your sales using proven marketing strategies
that work no matter what product or service you sell.
Legal
tip
Corporate
TPS - some solutions
Since 25 June, it's been illegal to make an unsolicited
('cold') call to any business that has registered with the Telephone
Preference Service (TPS), a database administered by the Direct
Marketing Association to enable consumers and businesses which don't
want to receive marketing calls to protect their numbers. This has
thrown many small businesses into turmoil, as they are often dependent
on a list that they've used for years and paid good money for, and
aren't sure how to go about complying with the new law (which is
the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003, for
those of you taking notes).
Here's a couple of ways to go about cleaning up
your list:
The free way ...
If this sounds like it applies to you, we've found
a fantastic free service that enables you to check a limited amount
of numbers on your list, one at a time, against both the corporate
and consumer TPS, as well as against the Fax Preference Service
(FPS) which, as you might imagine, is the database for people
who don't want to receive mailshots via fax.
Check the service out at:
http://www.numbercheck.co.uk
...
and the slightly more pricey option
You can also apply to have your list 'cleansed'
by exporting it to a database bureau. This has certain advantages,
such as the ability to cleanse the list not just of people and
businesses who've registered with TPS, but also those that have
moved away, died, or registered with other preference services,
such as the FPS and the Mailing Preference Service (MPS). However,
sending your list can be complicated if you're not familiar with
exporting large volumes of data, and the whole process can take
time. Costs-per-number tend to be low for very large lists, which
makes this a good option for bigger businesses; smaller firms
can get stung by the 'minimum order fee' that you usually have
to pay when sending smaller lists.
Visit the official TPS directory of database cleansing
bureaux at:
http://corporate.mpsonline.org.uk/CTPSC/html/ListCleansers.asp
And finally, you can visit our own site at http://www.ukredtapebuster.com. It has hundreds of guides
to the laws affecting small businesses, alerts that tell you when
the law's about to change, frequently asked questions and practical
scenarios that you can relate to your own everyday business experience.
IT
tip
Getting
rid of spam with Outlook and Outlook Express filters
Most Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now seem
to be cutting out a lot of the spam that comes our way. But some
of it still gets through, and a filter can help you zap it without
losing any important e-mails. For example, at the moment there's
a flurry of e-mails around instructing people to holiday like
the rich and famous. Naturally, you already do holiday like the
rich and famous and don't need this spam. Here's how to get rid
of it:
- Set up a new folder in your Outlook folder
list, and call it something like 'Spam'.
- Go to Tools, then Rules Wizard, and click New.
In this case, your Rule should be 'move messages based on content'.
If you're using Outlook Express, the correct sequence is: Tools,
Message Rules, then Mail and 'where the subject line contains
specific words'.
- Click on the underlined text 'specific words'
and type in 'rich and famous', or some other phrase that keeps
cropping up in your spam. Tell it to move these messages to
your new Spam folder.
- Outlook will then ask if you want to add any
more conditions; for the time being just click away until the
wizard's finished. You can refine your rules later.
Now, every time the holiday spam arrives, it'll
be sent straight into your Spam folder. To make sure you're not
losing any important messages, you can check the folder periodically
and see if the 'From' line looks familiar or important enough
to read. To zap all the junk, just use Ctrl+A to select all messages
and press delete. It's a wonderful feeling.
New
business idea
Each
week we provide you with summaries of some popular or emerging
business ideas in the UK.
Here
is this week's idea:
Just one
word
Do
you know what the word 'entrée' means?
a. a dish served between the fish and meat courses
of a large meal
b. the main course of a meal
c. the right of entry
d. an introduction to a musical piece
Answer at the end of Bulletin.
Did
you know?
Bin-Laden,
MyDoom, plus McAfee's top ten
Security firm Sophos is warning of a new virus
that uses spectacular claims about terrorist leader Osama bin-Laden
to trick computer users into infecting their own machines. Several
Internet newsgroups have posted messages linking to photographs
of the al-Qaeda leader hanging himself; anyone clicking on the
link finds their machine infected by a Trojan horse virus which
enables hackers to access sensitive information. A very similar
virus uses Arnold Schwarzenegger as its bait, and again uses Trojan
horse technology as the weapon of attack.
The bin-Laden and Schwarzenegger viruses are summarised
by Sophos at:
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/binladen.html and
http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/arnie.html
Sophos has published a report charting virus activity
during 2004 which reveals that viruses have shown a huge increase,
while McAfee's Anti-Virus and Vulnerability Emergency Response
Team (AVERT) has named the worst virus attacks of the year so
far.
The Sophos findings are available at:
http://www.sophos.com/pressoffice/pressrel/uk/20040728topten.html
Check out McAfee's opinion at:
http://www.pcworld.com/news/article/0,aid,117056,00.asp
2004
Electoral Roll
The latest Electoral Roll for 2004 is now available
online, from the database at http://www.192.com. It increases the size of the database
to more than 130 million searchable records, and is a fantastic
resource for businesses doing market research or hunting vanished
debtors. Access costs £99, but many of the restrictions that apply
to searching the directory enquiries website don't apply to the
electoral roll, as you can carry out national searches on names
without having to know the address.
Access the database by clicking on:
http://www.192.com/search.cfm?icdaction=about
Worth
a visit
How
key are your keywords?
This is a fascinating resource. It enables you
to check how good your keywords, which are used to describe your
website and make it easier for search engines to 'find' it, are
in terms of how dense they are (the more the better) and how they
compare with your competitors' websites. It also has an 'Ontology
Finder' which is a cunning program that tells you which words
Google thinks are related to your keywords. Sound complicated?
Well yes, but trust us, playing around with this site can really
help you get your head around the mysteries of search engine optimisation.
Click on:
http://www.gorank.com/seotools
All
about cookies
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) has launched
a definitive guide covering the use of web cookies and other tracking
technology. This comprehensive resource is completely free and
aimed at website owners, marketers and consumers keen to know
more about the growing area of web traffic tracking and how it
is affected by data protection and privacy law. Businesses can
download a template for cookie policy and link to it from their
online terms and conditions.
Visit the site at:
http://www.allaboutcookies.org
The
eBusiness Clubs
This free site provides information, advice and
assistance to help businesses make better use of technology. Covering
topics like how to avoid spending too much on IT, how IT can help
with time management and how to manage customers and suppliers
online, the site also publishes details of relevant events around
the UK.
To check it out, go to:
http://www.ebusinessclubs.co.uk
Worth
a read
A
great resource for any entrepreneur thinking of setting up a business
website, this book explains the key dos and don'ts for writing
copy for the web. It's full of practical tips covering topics
like first impressions and good words to use online, as well as
advice on avoiding common pitfalls like producing too much content
or slipping up with spelling and grammar. Have a look at:
Just
one word answer
The answer is a, b, c and d. Depending on where you are in
the world, entrée can mean any one of these four things. In
UK restaurants it refers to definition a - but watch out if
you're entertaining US customers, as over there it means b,
the main course.
In official (particularly court) terminology, entrée is the
right or privilege of admission. And finally, if you're taking
a client to the opera, look out for the 'entrée' which will
be played before the performers appear on stage!
|
If
you have any feedback or suggestions for us to make this service
more relevant please e-mail your comments to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com
If
you wish to discontinue your subscription to EnterQuest please
send a blank e-mail to enterquest@cobwebinfo.com putting
UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject box.
Remember
that we guarantee never to sell or give your e-mail address to
anyone else.
Good
luck
The EnterQuest Team
This
information is meant as a starting point only. Whilst all reasonable
efforts have been made, the publisher makes no warranties that
the information is accurate and up-to-date and will not be responsible
for any errors or omissions in the information nor any consequences
of any errors or omissions. Professional advice should be sought
where appropriate.
|
