Reaching customers as a small business requires innovative thinking, and new technologies can not only help do the grunt work for you, but also be the glue between you and your new clients.
How many newsletters are you signed up for? It’s likely in the tens or twenties isn’t it? And how many of them (be honest) do you do any more than scan through on a quiet Friday afternoon? Is it less than three? We thought so.
PDFs were a brilliant tool once upon a time but the problem with PDF newsletters today is that they’re inert; they don’t demand any interaction or response from the reader so the email gets opened, maybe they even open the PDF just to have a little look… but, hit with a wall of text and and endless downward scroll, they’re quite likely to simply close it again. Things have moved on.
Their other downfall (sorry, PDFs) is that they’re just a bit dull, aren’t they? Do you even remember what ‘PDF’ stands for? It’s Pretty Darned Forgettable (OK, OK, it’s Portable Document Format, but you believed us for a second there, didn’t you?).
But as luck would have, it there are now ways of getting your news and information to your customers that are both interactive and interesting.
At Amack, we’re using Turtls to help our clients reach their clients. If you’ve not heard of Turtls, here’s a brief introduction…
What is a Turtl?
Turtl itself describes its product as ‘a psychology-led, interactive alternative to the PDF’. They do the same job as a PDF and a lot more, too, designed to be highly readable, involve the reader actively and then deliver data back to you.
What does a Turtl look like?
Firstly, they are much more visual than a PDF. Studies show that text paired with images is more than five times as memorable as text alone, as well as being more easily understood and more persuasive. Rather than being static, like a PDF, a Turtl guides you through vertical and horizontal ‘page turns’ like a book and a flip chart, rolled into one. This takes the reader through your information bit by bit, inviting them to take an active role. There are a variety of layouts to choose from and you can include polls and charts, too.
What are the benefits of using Turtls?
They’re hosted online rather than sent as an attachment so shouldn’t be blocked by email systems.
They can be easily personalised for your potential client in a variety of ways, allowing salespeople to rapidly personalise pitches and proposals for new clients, leaving them more time to sell.
Data and behavioural insights can show you who is reading your Turtls and how, so you can customise your responses and future contact with prospective clients. Insights show you who is in the buying group and what their individual interests are so you can improve your follow-up.
You can create a regular contact campaign by using Turtls alongside software such as Mailchimp to build a relationship with your customers.
For SMEs, online tools such as Turtl and MailChimp, alongside customer relationship management tools, such as Zendesk Sell, offer an affordable way to deliver results and can be easily set up in house without huge overheads. Using them cleverly can allow you to have many of the benefits of a data analyst, marketing team and more, all at your fingertips… And you can get all the information you put into a PDF out there, but see the responses and rewards immediately.
