Stay in Touch with Clients (even if your AE's don't)
Greg Murray for Radio Ink Magazine 

Today there are dozens — if not hundreds of advertisers that have not heard from one of your reps in months. The sick feeling is ahead when you hear them on the air across the street, see them in print, or on cable one evening. Sure, AE’s tell you they see all the clients on their lists. But, you know they don’t. When is there time to reach everyone when they need to get the car washed, swing by the dry cleaners, meet their friend at the book store for coffee, or of course, just pick up a few things up at Target?

The good news has arrived through technology. There is a universe of eMarketing you probably are familiar with but don’t realize the game. Learn the game, and you will personally stay in touch with more clients, prospects, and decision makers than you ever dreamed possible. And that will make attrition slow, repeat business rise, and revenues soar.

In upcoming issues I will touch on these new tools for staying in constant client contact. They include (1) spam-free e-list building, (2) autoresponders, (3) audio postcards, (4) eNewsletters, and (5) TeleClasses. For now, let me tell you how the game works. In fact, if you have email, I bet you are part of some other company’s eMarketing efforts. The best ones you don’t notice because they spend more time providing helpful information and less time pitching you. This way you stay on their list longer and give them time to build top-of-mind-awareness on you.

eMarketing begins with building a database of email addresses. This is not about SPAM. This is about getting people to voluntarily offer you their email address. Why would they do that? Because of the valuable information you posses and they need. The information you quickly turn into a simple eNewsletter every month. Provide snippets of advice on marketing, business building, customer service, or anything else appealing to business owners and decision makers.  Now that they are receiving helpful tips…you can find some room on your eNewsletter to list upcoming specials or sales opportunities. Cha-ching! Let me say this, even if the eNewsletter is all you provide advertisers, it will do wonders for you. You will be in touch with as many prospects, clients, and local business people as you can get email addresses for. Then you will be in constant contact. A milestone that no one else in your market can claim (unless their reading this too).

Now, let’s take this eMarketing to the next level. Let your list of subscribers get to know you…the boss. How? Audio Postcards and Tele-classes! You have a studio nearby, right? Cut an audio message of what specials and promotional opportunities you have coming next month, then turn it into an audio file and email them out to your list. In fact, you can even do two, one for prospects and one for clients. The other option for getting yourself in front of clients and prospects are Tele-classes. A new way to share information with your invited guests to a central phone “bridge line.” Everyone calls in, and you conduct your class just like a big conference call, only with dozens of prospects who are interested in the valuable information you are about to share (perhaps, “How to build TOMA,” or “How to develop radio commercials that sell”). You can even do a TeleClass with your business manager to discuss billing procedures, or invite happy advertisers to share their stories and techniques for advertising success. These audio eMarketing concepts will build a bond between you and advertisers...a bond that could have never existed before the power of automation, email, and the internet.

Let technology put you in touch with up to 10, 20, or 30x more businesses. Use the technology so they get to know and trust you. Build a bond through eMarketing. Use eMarketing tools and you will always be in touch and share a unique, constant bond with your clients (even if your reps don’t).

Sales Imaging's, Greg Murray is a Radio Ink Columnist, RAB Speaker, CRMC Diamond, and Microsoft Certified Specialist.