로봇 마케팅 시대 (Robot marketing)

Mike Ratchford, CEO of Right Path Marketing, coined and trademarked this term (along with his robot). It's his way of describing what your marketing should be-automatic, done consistently without thinking-and aimed at the right audience who can use your company's products and services.
Robotic marketing occurs whether you are busy or slow. It is consistent throughout the year. Even when you are busy, you still need to keep a baseline of activities to ensure that you will have work for the slower times of the year. Don't get trapped into a "sell/produce" curve. This is the situation where you are selling until you find work to do. Then you are so busy doing the work the selling stops. Once the work is over, then you start selling again.
In addition, most of us are too busy to create and execute a marketing plan each month. We want and need to focus on our core business-keeping customers happy, executing well, and managing inventory, productivity, and finances.
Robotic marketing can help you avoid the sell/produce curve. Part of your robotic marketing plan will be aimed at your current clients. Keeping your company's name in front of them is important because they are familiar with your company, you've already solved a problem for them, and you want them to remember to recommend you to a friend or neighbor when that person has a similar problem, or to call you again if they have another problem.
Next decide whom you want to target. Which potential clients would you like as customers? Include them in your robotic marketing campaign. You might decide to target specific neighborhoods, specific ages of houses or swap customer lists with a non-competitive company that targets the same type of clients you do. Mailing lists are available to purchase names and addresses of your chosen target market.
One of the keys to robotic marketing is consistency of message. This means come up with a slogan or phrase that you use everywhere. Obviously it should be printed on everything a client or potential client sees including your letterhead, your invoices, your business cards, your traditional advertisements, and your trucks.
Key is to do SOMETHING every month. Monthly mailings can be inexpensive and consistent. However, traditional forms of marketing (print media, broadcast media, billboards, and yellow pages) can all be part of the plan. Relying totally on these methods of advertising can get very expensive if you use them exclusively every month.
Include personal forms of marketing along with traditional advertising. This way you know that your message at least reached your client base and potential client base. Part of the plan should be an e-mail marketing program. With my monthly automatic email program, sending money saving home ideas once per month is also robotic. You don't have to do anything except enter your clients' email addresses into the system. These quick monthly ideas tie your clients to your company in a non-intrusive way. ( E-mail me for more information).
Make sure that all of your clients have a magnet with your company's name and telephone number on it. You might even use a magnet as a mailing piece to potential clients one month. The magnet stays on the refrigerator (or office filing cabinet) and is subliminally seen each time the refrigerator door or filing cabinet is opened. When the client or potential client needs your services, all he has to do is go to the magnet to look up your telephone number. He avoids the yellow pages and seeing your competition.
Make sure there are stickers on all relevant equipment: furnaces, breaker panel boxes, sink garbage disposals, etc. These stickers let your clients know how to reach you in times of emergencies.
Newsletters are another robotic marketing idea. These take more planning. However, there are several newsletter companies who target our industry that will write them, print them, and mail them for you. Most let you write some of it (i.e. a letter from the president). However, if you are not comfortable writing anything they will take care of it all. Newsletters at most should be sent out quarterly. If you do other activities you might want to send them out only twice per year.
My favorite robotic marketing technique is postcards. They don't have to be fancy. Just use brightly colored paper with a message and a reason to call you printed on one side. If you consistently send out a postcard once per month with your slogan after the message, people will get used to seeing them and within a few months they will begin tying the message to your company and remember them.
Use robotic marketing to avoid the sell produce curve. It takes planning. However, you will see a consistent growth in your client base when you execute the plan.