Try it. Test it. – another reason we have stayed profitable in our ever growing business for fifty y

My friend the wise man also said, “There are two answers to every problem. Answer’1’: Test everything. Answer ‘2’: Refer to answer ‘1’.”
Of course at UK Vending Ltd we test to find out whether one marketing message will work better than another. But there is another, even simpler reason to keep testing. It is to eliminate useless discussion. Why waste time? Let the prospects and customers decide for you! If your ideas work then you will grow them organically – both ideas and customers. If they don’t, you may ponder a while and try something else. But don’t think too much or too long. Procrastination may be death. Doing something, (in promotional terms), is always better than doing nothing. Communicate. Communicate. Communicate… (and if my message here is not clear enough) Communicate again.
There is one thing I can certainly predict and that is that I cannot predict with certainty which message will work, with whom and when. I have compiled all sorts of statistics over the years which give me clues because they tell me what worked, to what degree with whom. But wasn’t it Beaverbrook who said “half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted, I just don’t which half”. This dilemma did not deter him or his thousands of paying advertisers. I cannot guarantee that pound for pound I or you will get the best possible return on promotions but I do know if I don’t promote, sell and advertise then my business will diminish. So will yours. So sure, I try to ‘sell smart’ and target my messages wrapped in the best offers affordable, but volume is key as is repetition.

It was once said of newspapers (and newspapers still carry 41% of all marketing messages) that to make an advert work it needs to be inserted at least four times. The first time they ‘see’ it, the second time they ‘read’ it, the third time they ‘consider’ it and finally, on the fourth pass they action it. Not every reader sees the advert for the first time on the same day. My first time may be your fourth time. Therefore, there is no argument that says the advert should only be repeated four times. It should be repeated in my experience until the law of diminishing returns sets in. Then rest the successful advert with a mind to renew and refresh it in due course. Incidentally, for ‘newspaper advertising’ read any form of printed advertising in hard copy or electronically – the same rules apply.
I’ll wager that if you communicate more often than your competitors, you will outdo them. Keep at it till it doesn’t pay … then give it a rest and try again.

There is a direct relationship between profit and communication. The more you tell the more you sell.

If you spend 5 minutes a day thinking of reasons to talk to your prospects and customers – about things that might benefit or interest them (not you) – you will find it the best ROI you ever had.

Martin Button is the Managing Director of UK Vending Ltd, Britain’s longest serving vending company. UK Vending Ltd (UKV) is a national supplier of prestige vending products and a provider of unique financial packages supporting UKV sales. UKV is a family owned business started some fifty years ago by Martin’s father John. It was the first vending company anywhere in the world hosted on the internet when most had not yet heard of the World Wide Web. One of Google’s ‘naturals’, UKV had an online shop before Amazon and Ebay. UKV had a successful background in email marketing before most companies had begun to understand its power. Imaginative marketing coupled with excellent staff recruitment and management, planning and customer service may be key to UKV’s long-term success in this competitive market. However, sheer business savvy and insight is what makes it work.