72 / 124
70 •
PPB
• DCEEMBER 2015
THINK
FAST FORWARD
Do You Read Me?
BRANDABLE
Send emails that catch readers’ eyes
without getting caught by spam filters.
When your marketing email is one of
thousands in a sea of RFPs, meeting
requests, hot deals and subscription pitches,
the subject line has to jump out at the read-
er. But how do you write a compelling line
that won’t be swept up in the spam filter?
Read on for some ways to catch the reader’s
attention, and hopefully set a course for a
profitable business relationship.
DO
tease the pitch.
“Hundreds of our customers keep coming
back for [specific product].”
Now your recipient is thinking,
“Hundreds? That’s a lot of customers. Does
this product fit my needs? Of course it
does! Are there any left for me?”
DO
read their minds.
“Win over your customers with a better-
quality [insert product here].”
You can anticipate a prospect’s needs
just by doing a little research. If you know
they were dissatisfied with a product
that didn’t come from you, introduce
them to the one that will erase those bad
memories.
DO
ask the question.
“Can we meet this week about promoting
your [specific event or program]?”
The call to action is up close and per-
sonal, and the reader likely now wants to
know the following: who you are, how you
know about the event or program, and
how you can help them successfully pro-
mote it.
message for pens that he needed for
a conference; I called him and dis-
cussed the order and his event. I
asked him what else he had planned
and he was happy to tell me that he
was going to order 200 books from
Amazon for client gifts. I explained
that we could provide him with those
books with his logo on the cover and
a full-color page insert with whatever
information he would like—and it
would cost him less money.
He ordered the custom books and
called me after his event to thank me
for calling him to learn more about his
needs; and, he has since reordered
the custom books three times. Having
a happy client and growing our busi-
ness is win-win situation.
PPB
What do you feel clients miss
out on by avoiding person-to-per-
son engagement (phone calls, in-
person visits)?
Anderson
Being able to have face-
to-face meetings with clients allows
us to better understand each other;
it allows me to better understand
the business, organization or event;
and it allows the client to see how I
can best help them with their needs.
There have been many times that I
been discussing a project with a
client and I find that there is some-
thing else that I can help them with.
This saves them time and frustration,
while at the same time the personal
communication strengthens my rela-
tionship with the client.
PPB
Are there any benefits to
communicating with clients via
technology?
Anderson
Emails help to keep a
record of the conversation and make
it easy to send art and proofs.
The ability to send mock-ups or
presentations via email is invaluable,
and it also allows us to show options
and ideas. I don’t ever want to
return to “the good old days”
before email, but I hope that we
don’t progress to the point that ver-
bal interaction becomes a thing of
the past.
PPB
How can our industry pre-
serve the importance of consulta-
tive selling without alienating
tech-happy buyers?
Anderson
We will need to find the
balance. As consultants we need to
prove ourselves and demonstrate
our value for the client. The
Millennial buyer is not going to
abandon the habit of communicat-
ing in 140 characters or fewer, so we
need to be able to communicate in
the manner in which they are com-
fortable.
As an industry we need to pro-
mote our consultative side. Buyers
can go online and buy mugs and t-
shirts, but if they experience the
benefits of working with a profes-
sional they will see that spending a
little time discussing their goals will
pay big benefits, both in the short
term and in finding the right fit for
future needs.
Continued From Previous Page
MARKET SHARE
The come-and-go premise of Snapchat has appealed to millions
of users since its launch in 2012, but how do brands stay memorable
on a platform that is built on impermanence? Startup company
Naritiv, launched last year, aims to help companies form a more last-
ing impression with the help of popular Snapchat users, called cre-
ators. Together they create brand-specific content with Snapchat’s
Stories feature.
Short Stories
STARTUP GIVES BRANDS A LONGER LIFESPAN ON SNAPCHAT