In this issue: we'll talk about using your eNewsletter to fill your customer's needs when the needs arise.

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As usual just click "reply" and send me your thoughts.


Marcos J. Menendez
President
LCG


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Win By Being There

I visited Tulsa, Oklahoma for the first time this past weekend. I went to Tulsa for my best friend's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and an even better reception party.

If you were to ask me what I remember from my first visit to Tulsa, besides the wedding, I would recall the stunning mid-western countryside filled with roaming cows and buffalos.

Don't get me wrong, Tulsa has a thriving business community and there are plenty of tourist attractions, but I just chose to focus on the cows and especially on the buffalos-- the reason being is that we don't get a lot of those here in Miami.

The next day after the wedding, I set myself the task of finding a good steakhouse. I think Socrates once said, "In a place where the heifers roam the land, the steaks must be good". But feel free to correct me if I'm misquoting the philosopher.

I remember sitting in the hotel lobby and hearing the hungry gurgling of my stomach. I asked the concierge if he knew of any good steakhouses and he said, to my surprise "No, sorry. I'm a vegetarian but there is some restaurant information in this brochure rack".

I looked at the brochures and found one featuring an all-steakhouse, no chicken, no fish, just meat. I told my wife about the discovery and asked the concierge to call us a cab. And, just like that, we were on our way to the restaurant in the brochure.

Here's the point of the story

Ok, what just happened? Let's recap. Cows ... got hungry for a steak ... next to me were restaurant brochures ... I picked up one looking for a steakhouse and now my dollars, my wife and I are on our way to that restaurant. Within a few minutes I identified my need and solved it with the first reasonable solution I saw.

Guess what, that's how most of us make our purchase decisions. We need it now. Do you have it? Is it within budget? Ok, we'll take it.

Why should you publish an eNewsletter month after month? Because you want to make sure that when your customers get hungry for your solution or product your "brochure" is the first one see in their inbox.

You want to make sure that, when your prospects have a need for your services, you are the first one they think of. That's one of the main advantages of publishing an eNewsletter. Frequency does wonders for your customer's ability to recall your service or product.

The best ideas are always the simple ones. Be there at the moment they need you. But being there is not just about having a functioning website or 800 number. It is about being there proactively. By proactively, I mean making a dedicated, planned effort, such as publishing an eNewsletter, to reach out to them just in case the need, desire, or opportunity arises for your services or products. After all, isn't that how a large portion of sales happen?

If you've been thinking about starting an eNewsletter program but don't know where to start, read our very first issue of Emi or contact us. We know the way to a successful eNewsletter marketing program.

If you are not ready for an eNewsletter program check out this article from Entrepreneur magazine "The Golden Rule of Networking: Stay in Touch With Your Clients"

Oh, one more thing... if you are ever in Tulsa, OK don't leave without trying the bone-in-rib-eye steak at Jamil's Steakhouse.

What do you do to stay in touch with your prospects? Just reply with your comments.

If you liked the article so will your friends.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving,

Marcos J. Menendez

Loop Consulting Group- making eNewsletters that keep our clients in touch with theirs.

P.S. Don't forget to rate this article using the box on the left hand margin.