NEW YORK –– Businesses and organizations spend a tremendous amount of time, money, and energy on the front-end of their marketing programs and communications campaigns. But too often back-end follow-through isn’t as well planned, disciplined, or timely as it should be.
According to Gil Effron, director of the Virtual Marketing Assistance program at Strategies for Growth, this focus on the front-end or “creative portion” of a marketing campaign or program –– while paying less attention to the back-end –– is typical of many organizations.
“The best marketing campaigns in the world are only as effective as their follow-through,”
Winton Churchill, author of E-Mail Marketing for Complex Sales Cycles and a prominent authority on lead generation, noted that over half of the businesses he comes in contact with do not adequately follow-up to their initial marketing efforts. “Having a process or team that is dedicated completely to that follow-through activity converts a greater number of inquiries into sales,” Churchill said.
The idea of a “virtual assistant” is not new, according to Effron. However, unlike virtual assistants that work as generalists and provide a range of business and personal services from scheduling limos and ordering wedding cakes to organizing personal papers, his Virtual Marketing Assistants focus entirely on providing support to an organization’
Effron explains that the relationship of the virtual marketing assistants to the client is that of a closely-knit team.
The client organization and its employees do what they do best. But because staff and employees are often distracted by other tasks and activities, the Virtual Marketing Assistants at Strategy for Growth provide outsourced assistance, concentrating on the implementation of the marketing program –– on fast, accurate, timely follow-up and on maintaining a steady stream of messages and contacts with clients and prospects.
According to Effron, the Virtual Marketing Assistants attend to non-creative activities such as database maintenance, email marketing campaigns, fulfillment, business meeting planning, the deployment of monthly campaigns via mail or email, highly personalized smaller-quantity mailings, inquiry follow-ups, non-selling outbound telephone calls, welcome-aboard campaigns, editing of all outbound marketing materials, proofreading, holiday cards, “thank you” notes, surveys, arranging for printing and other mailing services, print production coordination, and so on.
Services that are not included are those that deal with the creative side of things such as marketing strategy, marketing planning, written marketing plans, business plans, or creative marketing activities such as copywriting, speech writing, PowerPoint programs, design, or website design.
The Virtual Marketing Assistants at Strategies For Growth –– representing many years of marketing and business experience and a dedication to accuracy, attention to detail, and timeliness –– bring urgency, competency, and peace-of-mind to business’s marketing and communications program virtually, regardless of geography.
According to Effron, this efficiency and delineation of activities between client and the Virtual Marketing Assistants translates into increased efficiency and greater ROI for clients.
For additional information, call 800-226-2428 or visit http://www.StrategiesForGrowth.com.
