Promotional Tools

In promoting your company and your products to potential customers in the international market place, there are different promotional instruments at your disposal. Sending introductory letters or promotional offers via Direct Mailings, participating in trade fairs or other country or theme exhibitions, advertising or making personal visits. Your supporting materials consist of printed media like brochures and leaflets, posters, banners, electronic media like CD-ROM and website, and gifts, gimmicks, caps, T-shirts etc. as hand-outs at events. The question of course arises as to which instrument and which supporting media to use, at which stage in the marketing process. Below, the pro´s and con´s of various instruments are described.

Introduction

Effective promotional campaigns are generally built around a promotional mix. A combination of different instruments, deployed at different stages. When using a combination of instruments, it is of utmost importance to make a consistent presentation, in line with the desired image. E ach and every opportunity to create an image of your company should be used in a consistent way. Do not change logos, use the same fonts and colours for all your communication, but also your business cards. Effective promotion is about repetition and recognition of the same image and message. Besides, one should always bear in mind that it is not only product promotion that is important. Increasingly corporate promotion is being used to make a difference.

Direct Mail

By many people criticized as an ineffective tool. Yet, it is the most widely used promotional instrument. And there is a reason for both. Those who criticize the instrument say that the response rate to Direct Mail is very low. That is correct. It differs per sector, but generally one can say that the response rate of Direct Mailings is around or even below 1 percent. That is not an encouraging figure, so why is it then that still so many companies use it?

One of the reasons is that it is a relatively cheap way of promoting a company and its products or services. Another reason is that companies accept the low response rate and send out such volumes of promotional letters that they will eventually end up with a relevant number of business leads. Yet another reason is that the response rate can be increased by applying some rules and tricks.

One of the rules is that the more targeted or customized your mailing, the higher the rate of success. So narrow down the number of recipients of your mailing, only select those which you have scrutinized. So don´t just collect names and addresses from business directories, but learn more from those companies by visiting their website or browsing through their brochures, so that you will be able to make a customized promotional offer. The key to success is in knowing your potential customers and in knowing their needs.

In Western Europe , retailers (but also airline companies, car rental companies etc.) are nowadays able to make customized promotional offers to their customers because they know their buying behaviour. That is because all the details of the purchases of the customer can be logged and labelled in a computer database through the use of customer loyalty cards. To marketers this is an enormous blessing. The customized offers are a great success. Imagine your liquor store making a personal offer because of your birthday and offering your favourite (most often purchased) wine at a discount of 50%….

Apart from customizing your mailings, you also have to be creative. Due to the enormous flow of direct mail that companies receive, a lot of mailings end up in the waste bin without the envelop actually opened. So there goes your customized offer…. The hurdle to be taken is to get beyond the waste bin stage. The envelop has to be opened. That means that the attention has to be triggered. Somehow, the secretary should be curious to open the envelop….. Small gifts (consistent with the desired image, and reflecting some creativity to get that smile on the recipient´s face…) inserted in the envelop could do the trick.

Some other important issues for running an effective DM campaign:

• The mailing should be impeccable, neat and consistent with the desired image
• The addresses should be checked
• The heading of the introductory letter should clearly spell out the benefit to the recipient: why should he/she become engaged in doing business with you, what is your added value, what is your unique selling proposition..?.
• Apply the KISS principle: That does not mean that you should end the letter with “.,.,.. hugs and kisses from ….”, but that you K eep I t S hort and S imple! Short sentences (max 15 words) and paragraphs (max 5 lines) and the whole message preferably on one A4 size page.
• Always follow-up on the mailing by telephone.

Electronic Direct Mail

The same rules apply for running an electronic Direct Mailing. Again, one of the main problems here is: will the message be opened at all. Because sending e-mails is fast and cheap, the flow of e-mails is tremendous. Nowadays, the never ending number of e-mails dropping into the electronic mail box is ever more frustrating. It is much worse than it ever used to be with ordinary mail. One has to be aware of this situation: businessmen in Europe are not anxiously waiting to see an e-mail message coming in. When checking the mail, they frantically try to go through most of them, deleting many messages after having read just the subject line or the first line of the body text. Every day, it is the same struggle to finish all the e-mail messages ("e-mail stress" and "e-mail syndrome" are words that may soon be added to the dictionaries). Besides there is the fear of attracting viruses. These are the main reasons why a promotional campaign by sending e-mails may not generate the response you expect. In many cases, the message will not even be opened, but deleted from the “In-box” without having been read.

Therefore, don´t overestimate the effect of running an electronic direct mailing campaign. If you decide to do it, always follow-up by fax, ordinary mail and telephone.

The corporate brochure

The corporate profile is a must in every promotional kit. However, a good corporate brochure is not always easy to find. Below we present some hints for making a corporate brochure:

Format : The most common and accepted format for a brochure is a folded A3 (= 2 x A4), which gives 4 pages of information. A smaller format (folded A4), may easily trigger questions like: Doesn´t the company have enough information to provide that justifies a bigger format? Isn´t the company willing or able to spend for a standard size brochure? Whether these questions are justified is another matter. Unless the design, material and print used are of excellent quality, a folded A3 is to be preferred.

Material and print : If you present yourself as a cost leader, glossy paper and fancy art work is not the way to present yourself. However, if your message is ´quality´ the material and print should also radiate quality.

Colours: Consistently stick to the colours of your corporate style. When using the main colour of the corporate style or supporting colours remember that colours have associations: Green colours are associated with the environment and enhance an environmental image. Blue colours enhance the image of reliability and safety, dark colours in general are more suitable for quality imaging. Red, while being a colour of happiness in China , is associated with aggression in Europe . However, the colour red will do very well in the case of tomatoes…..

Illustrations: Should be appropriate and of top quality (sharp, good contrast) and directly visualize the product assortment, product application and production facility. Remember: In Europe it is not important to present a gallery of the Board of Directors. Save the precious space in the brochure.

Front page : Company name, logo, the main application of your product and your positioning message or Unique Selling Proposition. If appropriate the logo which refers to a quality management certificate or eco label should be printed here as well to create immediate recognition and build trust. Remember that a brochure is seldomly read from beginning to end. The front page is of crucial importance to establish an image, communicate added value an to trigger the receiver of the brochure to spend more time on the brochure and to turn the page.

The inside of the brochure is used for relevant company information. Not a history book about the company´s past, but actual data (mission, organisation, market positions, export experience, production process, quality control, relevant international recognized certificates etc.). Besides, information about the product assortment. Use loose leaflet inserts as product data sheets (which often change) in the brochure on the right side.

Back page: is used for testimonials (from clients or institutes) or references, and contact details. Try to organize the printed area for the contact details in such a way that a sticker can easily be put over the printed area without comprising the quality of the brochure, in case of changes in the address or numbers.

CD-ROM

In addition to or as a replacement, the corporate presentation is regularly put on CD-ROM. It can be an image booster, but remember that a major disadvantage of a CD-Rom presentation is that the receiver of the CD-ROM can not browse through it on the spot. While, a printed brochure can be browsed in a few seconds to get an impression of the company, a CD-ROM needs to be inserted in the CD-ROM drive of a computer first. Imagine the businessman that has been to a trade fair and received a CD-ROM with your company presentation. Having entered his office, he will be confronted with the mail on his desk, and having switched on his computer, he will be hit with a number of new e-mails in his mail box. Do you think he will prioritise your CD-ROM? Chances are that the CD-ROM will find a quite place in a drawer…..

As a multimedia presentation at an exhibition, it can be a very effective tool. As an interactive medium, user friendly, where the viewer is in control of the navigation panel, it definitely has advantages over a video presentation.

Website

Internet offers an additional medium for promotional campaigns, both for companies and trade support organisations. Apart from the fact that "Net Presence" - or having a Website - is associated with being a modern organisation, the Internet offers display possibilities and advertisement space. The company profile, brochures, catalogues can be digitalised and put on the Web. By putting promotional materials on the Web, one saves on printing costs, while one is able to update the information at any point in time without substantial costs. In other words, it is an economic and flexible option.

Some important points for website development and management

• Build the Website in accordance with the desired corporate image
• Build a Website that looks professional, is attractive, and fast!
• Attract and keep the visitor: The website of the competitor is just one click away!
• Offer the most important information clearly and straightforward (What would a potential customer want to know? What is your added value? Your USP, testimonials etc.)
• Text blocs have to be short and to the point (webusers do not want to read extensive text). For background information, datasheets and manuals, offer a download option.
• Build a logical and simple navigation system
• Register the Website with all well known search engines
• Ensure that the Website is well-linked to other relevant Websites
• Check the links regularly
• Update and renew the Website regularly to offer up to date information and to encourage repeat visits
• Include a "What´s new page"
• Attract the target group to the site by communicating your Net presence and URL (www) on all the promotional materials and by placing Webvertisement on strategic sites at strategic times
• Try to get to know the visitors to your site: Track and profile the visitors by:
• Offering an e-mail update service (weekly or monthly newsletter)
• Asking for feedback
• Offer a helpdesk on-line (Frequently Asked Questions and the respective answers)

Don´t sit back and relax once you have a Website. It will not be effective as a promotional tool unless you actively attract your target group to visit your Website. One way to do so is through Webvertisement.

Webvertising

As a promotional effort, one has the possibility to put advertisement on the Web: so-called Webvertisement. By using buttons and banners, positioned on other Websites, one can catch the interest of Web surfers and direct them to your Website. Important in this respect is that you position the buttons and banners on strategic sites, those sites that are frequented by your target group. One such strategic site could be the Website of a trade fair organiser, or a Website offering news on the sector you operate in. Examples are the "flowerweb" for flower growers and flower traders (www.flowerweb.nl) or the virtual community for traders of fishery products (www.fis.com) or "leathernet" for the leather sector (www.leathernet.com).

Compared to placing advertisements in trade magazines, placing buttons and banners on strategic sites is generally a lot cheaper. However, Webvertisement rates vary per site, amongst other depending on the number of hits per day. Keep in mind, that also in this case, as with direct mailings, the response rate (or click thought rate) may not exceed 1 percent.

Advertising (in trade press)

In store promotion

In store promotions can be a very effective means of promotion, influencing the consumers decision making process at the actual moment that a decision is being made. In the case of fast moving consumer goods, gadgets and gift items, a lot of purchases are made by impulse buying. A silent salesman by way of attractive and appealing packaging but also by appealing displays positioned at strategic places in a store (at the entrance, next to or on the counter) can be very effective. At the same time, realize that exporters are considered to contribute to the costs for these in-store promotions (financially or in kind, by supplying the displays).

Trade fairs

Trade fairs are among the most effective promotional tools. However, it is also an expensive tool. CBI regards trade fairs as the main tool for export promotion and consequently spends much time and effort in informing exporters how to use this tool. Please refer to the dedicated CBI publication ´Your Showmaster´ for detailed information on the trade fair as a promotional tool.

Personal visits

If you seriously plan to enter into the export business a personal visit is a must. There is no better option than to have face-to-face contact. Like all other business, export is done by people and based on personal relations. Make sure you know the key persons in your export market, and you know the do´s and don´ts, the cultural peculiarities in the target market. Also make sure that you understand the business and needs of your prospect. Be well prepared!

Especially when you do not possess a unique product and you are facing many competitors, the purchaser may base his decision heavily on the personal relation he has with you. Remember that we all like to do favours to other people, but we do them to the people we like most.

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