By Diana Scheddin
A roll of Lifesavers may be all that is needed to create an effective marketing campaign that elicits emotion and attracts new clients.
Cheryl Cappellano, owner and creator of Idea Factor in Burlington, a guest speaker at the Young Entrepreneurs Xchange, offered attendees at the event some creative marketing ideas. Her company specializes in telemarketing, direct mail, promotional items, list brokerage, trade shows, product launches and more.
Business owners gathered at the Sudbury Ramada Inn on March 26, 2002 to network and gather information at the event. Michelle Munro, small-business consultant at the Regional Business Centre, and the host of the event, says the event was organized to "bring together young entrepreneurs to network and learn from each other."
Cappellano's speech - How To Get The Best Bang For Your Marketing Dollar - focused on promotional tactics.
Follow a few simple rules when creating an advertisement, she advised. A good advertisement "must be eight lines of text or less, include a graphic, elicit emotion and follow the three second rule," she said.
An example of this was the marketing campaign Idea Factor launched for Castrol's product Super Clean. A short letter was sent along with Lifesavers to potential clients.
Using some creative thought, whether it is to incorporate Lifesavers into a marketing campaign or plastic dollar-store tools into a direct-mail package, is a great way to nab the attention of potential clients, she added.
Telemarketing is another way of gaining more clients. Some tips to consider include: making sure telemarketing is scripted, preparing questions, using a friendly voice, making call-backs in no more than seven days and asking for an appointment.
The exchange was made possible through a collaboration of the business centre, FedNor and the province of Ontario.
"The exchange is a pilot project, and we are considering having one on an annual basis (depending on the response)," says Munro.
About 85 people attended the luncheon.
