The Bamboo Group .... filling in the gaps in your business

Wouldn't it be great if you could improve the enquiry rate of every press advert by 50%, double it or even more?

 ...... Well you can! 

One of the simplest & most cost effective ways of improving your response to both press & direct marketing is the use a 'Free to phone' number.  The prospect no longer considers whether to call or what the cost might be .. so long as they are near a 'land line' then the enquiry will be absolutely free.  Moreover the impression made by providing a freephone number is that you really do consider the prospect important .. you're even prepared to pay for his or her call to you.  Research shows that having an 0800 number can improve response rates from 50% upto 200% and beyond. 

There are a few considerations, firstly the effect is lower when the prospect does not pay for the call anyway such as an exclusively B2B or Public Sector focused business. Also most mobile companies no longer offer free calls so businesses targeting the youth market outside their homes would gain less benefit.  It is also worth choosing your provider carefully. Some provide 0500, 0808 or 0321 numbers which although free to call have very much less awareness in the public domain so if your client is unaware it is free then most of the benefits of the service are lost.

Why doesn't everyone use them? Generally because the perception is that it is difficult to set up, costly to run & little control over the bills.  In fact, these days none of that holds true ...

• Set Up Costs can be as little as £5-£10 ..
• Numbers can be set up the same day
• They can route to the same phone line you use already
• Newer technology means you can use the internet to change & redirect at will
• Monthly Rental costs have dropped considerably .. our recommended supplier doesn't charge any rental
• Call costs .. again have dropped .. to as little as 2.5p per minute, little more than if you called them

Considering the cost of a campaign .. say a single small advert in the local newspaper might cost £120 and result in 10 calls, cost per lead £12 with an 0800 number that might be 15 calls .. say each a 5 minute call so the cost becomes £121.88, cost per lead actually drops to just £8.13!

Given the number is yours for as long as you'd like, it's ideal for businesses that may be growing fast or planning to re-locate.  Whereas it might be necessary to change numbers or at least re-direct calls at a cost .. the 0800 number can be re-routed an calls delivered to a new number without any disruption, change of stationery, marketing materials etc.

Any direct marketing should be both effective & accountable but for some reason certain disciplines are always considered above others.  Direct Mail, email marketing, telemarketing etc are staple areas yet all require some form of pre-existing knowledge of the customer or the costly purchase of data prior to beginning the campaign. 

Leafet distribution, on the other hand requires very little preparation, cost or development.  Decide on an offer, design a leaflet print & drop through doors of likely customers .. Job Done!   Costs vary but could be as little as £10-£15 per '000 to print and from £25+ per '000 to deliver .. if you don't do it yourself for free.  Even better, the initial response is almost immediate, much more of the material is retained for future use than, for instance, press advertising and once the ratios are established, leaflet or flyer distribution results are logically scaleable ie 5,000 produces 8 deals then 10,000 will produce about 16 deals, 25,000 will give 40 deals and so on ...

• Low cost to start
• simple campaign set up
• widely available supplier
• Good return on investment

Over the coming weeks, I'll develop the theme exploring in more detail various elements of the campaign and why it can be such an effective medium in its own right but also used to support broadcast media such as radio or TV and even as the foundation for other marketing activity.