Are You Tapping into this Powerful Revenue Stream?

The following article was recently contributed by Marketing Master Jody Madron to Nutritional Outlook magazine. For more than a decade, Nutritional Outlook magazine has helped manufacturers of dietary supplements and healthy foods and beverages stay informed about new ingredients, processing technologies, packages, quality-control systems, regulations, and product trends.

Are You Tapping into this Powerful Revenue Stream?
How direct marketing can help provide you with significant, measurable growth.

With more than 150 million people in the United States alone regularly taking nutritional supplements, there’s no question that the supplement industry is thriving.

But the market, as you’ve no doubt noticed, has become a bit crowded over the past few years.

Finding that next great breakthrough – or the next “superstar” product line – has become increasingly difficult for supplement marketers.

There is a way, however, to transform your supplement business – and experience significant, measurable growth – within the next 12 months.

You can accomplish this by harnessing the power of direct marketing.

Direct marketing is the unique marketing vehicle that allows you to reach your customer directly – with a specific call-to-action. Direct marketing has grown from just traditional direct mail to include direct response television, email marketing and many other cost-effective channels.

This simple, time-tested method of marketing is perfect for helping retail supplement marketers grow quickly into direct-to-consumer success stories, all by adding an additional revenue stream without sacrificing any of your existing retail marketing efforts.

Direct marketing is the most efficient way for you to grow your supplement business for one very simple reason: You can measure your success almost instantly.

When you take advantage of direct marketing, you’ll know exactly what return you’re getting for each marketing dollar spent. This detailed – and immediate – return-on-investment feedback allows you to build an efficient marketing “machine” that will help your business grow quickly…and predictably.

A well-run direct marketing program will give you several powerful advantages that you can use to help substantially grow your supplement business.

Direct marketing will help you…

* Reach a broader market – Your successful direct marketing campaign will allow you to expand your customer base far beyond your local retail store – perhaps even globally. Because direct marketing allows you to track your expenses and return-on-investment dollar-for-dollar, your rate of growth is entirely up to you.

* Build a valuable asset – Not only will your list of direct marketing consumers become exceptionally valuable to you for repeat orders…you’ll also find that other direct marketers are willing to pay a premium for the opportunity to market to your list. Of course, how much – or how little – you rent your customer list is entirely your decision.

* Enjoy the benefits of repeat business – An overwhelming number of nutritional supplement direct marketing buyers are repeat purchasers – and they are highly likely to purchase other products you introduce to them. Direct marketing gives you “direct access” to your best prospects – so you can profit from their repeat business and build loyalty with your best customers. Established direct marketers in the supplement industry can see as much as 80% of their revenue come from selling to their existing customer list.

* Become more cost-effective – With direct marketing, you control the amount you’re willing to spend per acquisition…which means you can keep costs low. Plus, the acquisition costs with direct marketing are typically lower than other marketing vehicles.

* Target your prospective customers – With direct marketing, you can identify and communicate with a well-defined target market…and you’ll be able to reach customers on your own schedule rather than relying on driving traffic to your retail site. You’ll also enjoy a much greater level of success – and higher conversions – than you would by broadcasting your message to the mass market. Plus…direct marketing costs far less than mass-market advertising.

Getting started with direct marketing is actually quite simple – it’s a matter of selecting a product to sell…crafting a strong sales message…and selecting the right customers to receive that message.

And while direct marketing used to mean a minimum high five-figure investment in order to get started…e-mail and internet marketing have now significantly lowered those up-front costs for supplement marketers.

By using the power of direct marketing to build solid relationships with a group of happy customers, you can truly grow your business by adding an entirely new revenue stream…all within a matter of just months.

Following this link to read the full July/August issue of Nutritional Outlook magazine:

http://www.nutritionaloutlook-digital.com/nutritionaloutlook/20100708#pg1