Newsletter

Good morning, and welcome to the most recent edition of the periodic Stratamar newsletter. Just our way of passing on some market trends we've noticed recently, new promotional ideas we've encountered, or some "heads-up" situations we see brewing on the horizon.

Thanks for your ongoing interest. Please feel free to contact us at any time with questions, suggestions, etc.

Building a Better Mousetrap

I've been contacted more and more recently by companies that have created a web site, put it out there with no ongoing promotion, and have become disillusioned when little happens. With over 80 million sites sitting out there in cyberspace, and thousands more being added daily, why would any company risk its financial success on the luck of the surfing or search engine draw? Your promotions must be ongoing and multi-faceted, involving both online and offline media, to give your venture a fighting chance. For example, make sure you:

• update your site frequently, to give viewers a reason to return and to show that you are professional enough to demonstrate ongoing value
• provide valuable information, not just a rehash of basic company brochures. If online visitors want to spend the time digging out the minute details on your products, make sure the details are there to be found. Remember - unlike TV and radio (and print, to a lesser extent), there are no physical constraints to the length of your message on the net.
• Constantly search for and use every tool available to attract prospects:
1. Newsgroups
2. Free or low-cost postings on appropriate forums where your prospects might be seeking answers
3. Be sure your site URL is on every bit of communications your company sends out - emails, business cards, letterhead, press releases, promotional giveaways ... even as part of the return address on envelopes
4. Online trade shows
5. Ezine sponsorship and/or article submissions
6. Crosslinks to related, but non-competitive, sites

Marketing to Minors

The Federal Trade Commission has adopted new rules, effective April 1, regarding what types of information can be solicited from children on the web. Depending upon the age of the child and how the information obtained will be used (internally vs selling it to other companies), varying levels of parental permission are required before a site can obtain information. Details about the rules can be obtained from the FTC (www.ftc.gov), or the Direct Marketing Association (www.the-dma.org); or email us for a summary.

Stratamar Site Revised & Updated

Be sure you check out the revised Stratamar site when you have a few minutes. We've particularly enhanced and expanded the related links and information sources. Feel free to email us if you have a great new information link you think should be included, or to ask for the source of information you just can't seem to track down.

Low-cost URL & Direct Mail Combo

Over the past six months, I've seen at least four online companies announce their capability to reproduce a full-color image of your web site page on one side of a postcard, to use to send out to clients and prospects. This is a perfect, low-cost method to add another prong to your multi-channel marketing campaign. For that matter, you can use the same approach with product photos, announcements. etc. Postcard direct mail is becoming increasingly popular both because of postage ($.20 vs. $.33) and production savings, and because of the potential for multiple people in the distribution chain to see the message before it gets to the intended recipient.

Privacy

Privacy is becoming more and more of a concern for marketers. While surveys indicate that up to 71% of consumers don't mind their information being used or sold, the vast majority DO mind this when they aren't informed in advance. So, be honest with your customers. Tell them up front if their information will be sold to other companies, and give them the option of not having it sold (opt-out). Better yet, don't sell their information unless they have told you in advance that it's OK (opt-in).

Media Squeeze

Thinking of buying media, particularly TV or radio time, during the fall? You should consider booking it soon. With a Presidential election plus many more hotly contested elections in other venues, the available inventory will dry up rapidly. And, we all know what that does to prices.

We hope you have found this newsletter useful and informative. If you would like to receive a copy of our future newsletters via email, just fill in the form at the above left with your email address and we will add you to our newsletter mailing list.