If you market your services via the internet, television, radio, in print or face to face . . . even if you volunteer to man a booth for your community expo . . . you are engaging in direct marketing.
Ken McArthur has just posted new guidelines for direct marketing in the United States.
Tempted to put your head in the sand and ignore the guidelines? Really??
“Apple Planet” by Jorge Elias
Here are some snippets from Ken’s post:
- Terms like “Free,” “Free Trial,” and “Risk Free” are to be avoided.
- So are potentially misleading offers.
- Don’t offer ‘false sense of urgency’ i.e. “Last Week to Purchase at This Price!” if the offer will continue.
- Endorsements must be honest and accurate depictions of likely use of your services / products.
- Affiliate marketing programs must make concerted effort to track participating marketers and minimize fraud.
- Opt-out procedures need to be written in 12 point font or larger.
- Pre-checked boxes are no longer allowed.
- Billing cycles are regulated.
Other issues addressed include Refund Policies, Up-Selling, Actual Descriptor of Merchants, Fulfillment of Transactions, and Requirements for Customer Service.
Check out Ken’s full article, New Credit Card Merchant Account Guidelines for Direct Marketing.
With so much sleaze involved in marketing and online sales, I see this as a giant step in the right direction. What’s you opinion?
Hi Tamara, some excellent guidelines, thanks for posting the information.
We recently set up a booth at a family focused event. In addition to the obvious benefits of being able to speak directly to families, we were able to promote our services to other agencies. A number of these organizations had not yet heard about our specialized programs. It was gratifying to see the immediate interest in our services; many individuals offered to distribute information about our programs to their networks. Lastly, we also made important contacts that we anticipate would result developing strategic alliances and partnerships.
As a small agency with big dreams, strategic alliances are an important means of building a safety net.
Dianne
Hi, Dianne! Welcome back! You are so right when you talk about the importance of building and nurturing strategic alliances. So often I see health care professionals network in a scattered fashion . . . collecting stacks of business cards without any intention or strategy and then not taking the time to build the relationships that they initiated.
You’ve got the right idea . . . stay focused and follow through!