Press Release:

For Information Contact:                                       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Libby Norris

Tel. (502) 425-3660 EXT. 4590

Email: info@strategicmarketing.com

www.StrategicMarketing.com

                                                                                                                                                                                         

STRATEGIC MARKETING SERVICES, LLC 

NAMED ONE OF THE TOP 20

BEST PLACES TO WORK IN KENTUCKY

     Strategic Marketing Services, LLC, a multi-channel direct marketing company headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky was named one of the "Top 20 Best Places to Work in Kentucky" by The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce on April 16th. Serving clients in the automotive industry for almost 20 years, "we create strategic partnerships by providing results-oriented, innovative products delivered with excellence, superior quality, service and results. We accomplish our mission by dedicating ourselves to our energetic culture which promotes trust, teamwork, loyalty, advancement, as well as an environment that supports family and encourages fun," said Todd M. Strause, CEO.

     According to The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, "The selection process is based on a an assessment of the company's employee policies and procedures; and the results of an internal employee survey, administered by Best Companies Group." www.bestplacestoworkky.com

     In addition to this prestigious award, Strategic Marketing has been named the "Best Automotive Direct Marketing Company" by Auto Dealer Monthly, voted on by automotive dealers, for the past eight years. Established in 1995, the company provides franchise and independent automotive dealers across the United States, with results-oriented direct marketing and lead generation programs.

     "We are honored and humbled to be chosen as one of the 'Best Places to Work in Kentucky' based on surveys from our employees. We recognize that in order to give our clients the best possible products, services, and results, we must build and sustain a strong foundation within. Our employees are the foundation that serves as the catalyst for our success!" Todd M. Strause.

For more information on Strategic Marketing Services, LLC, visit us at www.strategicmarketing.com.

Company News: Best Places to Work in KY

Strategic Marketing Ranks 16th

 

After a year long process that included assessments, feedback reports and surveys, we here at Strategic Marketing are excited to announce that we have been ranked the 16th Best Place to Work in Kentucky in the Small/Medium Category!

 

We would like to congratulate all of the other 32 contenders in our category, as well as the contenders and top winners in the Large Company category. It was an honor to be able to celebrate with all the companies named Best Places to Work in Kentucky.

 

To see the full rankings and top winners of the 2013 Best Places to Work in Kentucky, follow either of these websites:

•  http://bestplacestoworkinky.com/UserFiles/File/2013%20BPWK%20Press%20release-winners_MEDIA_April.pdf

• http://www.kychamber.com/news/2013/01/28/73-companies-make-best-places-work-kentucky-list
 

 

 

 

Svoboda Capital Partners Announces Investment in Strategic Marketing, Inc.

Capital to Support Growth of Leading, Direct Marketing Firm

Chicago, IL – December 18, 2012 – A fund affiliated with Svoboda Capital Partners LLC (“SC”) has made an equity investment in Strategic Marketing, Inc. (“Strategic” or the “Company”). SC partnered with Strategic’s Founder & CEO, Todd Strause, who will continue to own a significant interest in the Company. BMO Harris Bank, N.A. provided senior debt and Merion Investment Partners provided subordinated debt to complete the transaction.

Founded in 1995 and located in Louisville, Kentucky, Strategic is a technology-driven, direct marketing lead generation firm that provides multi-channel marketing campaigns for automotive dealerships in the United States. Strategic’s innovative products and customer centric approach have resulted in significant growth over the past 17 years.

“Strategic is the market leader in a niche category and SC is excited to partner with Todd and his talented management team to leverage our collective direct marketing experience to expand the Company’s service offering and geographic footprint,” said Rick Harpster, Principal at Svoboda Capital Partners. Todd Strause stated, “We chose SC based on their experience in the space and enthusiasm for our business and we are excited to work together to achieve our growth objectives and take our company to the next level.”

For more information, please visit: www.strategicmarketing.com

About Svoboda Capital Partners LLC

Svoboda Capital Partners LLC is a Chicago-based private equity firm with over $300 million of capital under management. Founded in 1998, SC identifies, invests in and helps build excellent businesses in its targeted business niches: business services, value-added distribution, and consumer products.

 

For more information, please visit: www.svoco.com

About Merion Investment Partners

Merion Investment Partners is a lower middle-market mezzanine capital fund licensed as a Small Business Investment Company (“SBIC”). With over $200 million under management, Merion invests mezzanine debt and equity in companies to support organic growth, acquisitions, buyouts and generational transfers of ownership. Merion provides junior capital to private equity led buyouts as well as to entrepreneurs for growth capital and acquisitions. Preferred industries include healthcare, technology-enabled business services, information technology, and specialty manufacturing.

For more information, please visit: www.merionpartners.com

 

Media Contact:

Rick Harpster

Svoboda Capital Partners, LLC

(312) 267-8759

rjh@svoco.com

One North Franklin Street, Suite 1500, Chicago, IL 60606

Telephone: 312.267.8750 Fax: 312.267.6025

STRATEGIC MARKETING, INC. VOTED 2012 “BEST AUTOMOTIVE DIRECT MARKETING COMPANY” BY AUTO DEALERS

For Information Contact                                                          FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Todd M. Strause                                                                     

Tel. (502) 425-3660 EXT. 5323

Email: info@strategicmarketing.com

www.StrategicMarketing.com

STRATEGIC MARKETING, INC. VOTED 2012 “BEST AUTOMOTIVE DIRECT MARKETING COMPANY” BY AUTO DEALERS

Louisville, KY

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is excited to announce that Auto Dealer Monthly recently released the results of their annual Dealers’ Choice Awards and for the eighth straight year they have been voted Best Automotive Direct Marketing Company.

Overall, 48 awards were given out to 40 different companies, all chosen by dealers and dealership personnel in 21 unique categories of products and services. Ratings were gathered on the performance of the product and service, as well as the customer support and service provided, and the overall value compared to cost to the dealership.

Strategic Marketing, Inc. is based in Louisville, Ky and was formed in 1995 to provide innovative direct marketing and lead generation solutions to automotive dealers across the United States. For additional information about Strategic Marketing, Inc., please contact Libby Norris at (502) 410-4590, or write to: info@StrategicMarketing.com. You can also visit our website at: www.StrategicMarketing.com.

“We think creating strong relationships with our clients is a key to growing our business. Our goal is to treat each client as a business partner. Working side-by-side with the best dealer groups in the country is very rewarding,” said Todd M. Strause, President of Strategic Marketing. “We are very excited about the momentum we are seeing in the automotive industry because we know the next few years are going to provide great opportunities.”

Auto Dealer Monthly is the day-to-day resource for automotive dealerships of all sizes. It is known for offering business solutions to dealers by providing information necessary to make wise decisions regarding products, services or process changes in daily operations. Auto Dealer Monthly is also the publisher of Auto Dealer Monthly magazine and Special Finance Insider magazine and the creator of AutoDealerPeople.com.

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If you would like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview with Todd M. Strause, please call Libby Norris at (502) 410-4590 or e-mail Libby at LNorris@strategicmarketing.com

Biggest Mistake of Direct Mail Campaigns

What you may not know is that you must touch your customer at least 7 - 10 times before they will buy from you. So when you are sending out direct mail pieces you must acknowledge this and incorporate this repetition in your overall process.

The biggest mistake most mailers make is doing a "one and done" mailing. Meaning that they submit one mailing and then complain that direct mail does not work. But if you only send out one mailing, how can you accurately evaluate your results? You can't.

We typically recommend using a tight 45 - 60 day repetition cycle. This method can be used at any stage of your sales process. Some people use it before they even have a sales prospect. I personally used this after we had a prospect in our sales funnel. An example of this would be that you performed a painting estimate for a potential client. Your first letter could be a thank you for entrusting us with your detailed painting proposal. Then your second letter would be to follow up if you had any outstanding questions on your proposal, we would gladly be of assistance to you. Then your third letter could be, here's what other Customer's like yourself have to say about our business. Then a fourth letter would be, we are currently painting in your development at ** location. The main point to keep in mind is relevance of your letter and keeping your company in the fore front of their minds. You want to move your customer from general interest, through question and answer, to placing an actual contract or start of a job. You want to keep them motivated throughout the process and take them to the closing of your deal.

So remember in your next mailing, you need a purpose and follow up is critical to make any direct mail campaign successful.

Another consideration in making your direct mail a success is reminding Customers of services that you provide and what corresponding benefits these services offer your customer, the end user. For an example, the oldest most cliché comment that is used is, "We are family owned and operated". What does this mean to a Customer? You need to spell it out and provide the corresponding benefit or relevance of your customer / client. Family owned, does it mean that you are insured? Does it mean that you take pride in your work? Be specific on why a customer should choose you over 4 other companies down the street from you.

It is imperative that you find a way to differentiate yourself from your competitors. In these tough economic times, every edge really can ensure your success or failure.

To Read more: Biggest Mistake of Direct Mail Campaigns http://www.sooperarticles.com/business-articles/marketing-articles/biggest-mistake-direct-mail-campaigns-771447.html#ixzz1ibLS9osb

Study: Fifty percent of consumers prefer direct mail to email

Fifty percent of U.S. consumers prefer direct mail to email, according to a study released by marketing services firm Epsilon on Dec. 1. The study also found that one-quarter of all U.S. consumers said they found direct mail to be “more trustworthy” than email.

Of the 2,226 U.S. consumers surveyed for the third Consumer Channel Preference Study, 60% said they enjoy checking their physical mailboxes, highlighting what the study refers to as an “emotional connection” to postal mail.

Over-reliance on email messaging may actually hurt marketers, according to the study, which found the perception that reading email is faster than reading postal mail declined among U.S. email account holders from 47% in 2010 to 45% this year.

Warren Storey, VP of product marketing and insight at ICOM, a division of Epsilon Targeting, said the findings are not all that unexpected when “you know the data and consumer trends.”
“It's just ‘surprising' because everything you hear in the media is basically counter to what the consumers are actually telling us, which is that direct mail is still the preferred channel,” Storey said.

While Groupon and LinkedIn, for example, are grabbing high-profile media attention by generating “giant” initial public offerings, “direct mail is one of those mediums that is always quietly there in the background doing a great job,” Storey said. The most ideal way to reach consumers, according to the report, is to use a combination of media to build consumer trust, including media that some marketers might consider to be “old school,” like direct mail, TV and newspapers, said Storey.

“There is definitely a growing trend that email inboxes are getting more and more full,” Storey said.

“Over the last three years, we've seen an increase of the percentage of consumers saying, yeah, they like getting email, but they get far too many. In the U.S., 75% of consumers say they get more email than they can read.”

Ultimately, the overarching theme of the study, according to Storey, is that marketers should think twice before they disregard direct mail.

“It's not sexy. It's not terribly innovative,” he said. “But it works.”

Article Found @ : http://www.dmnews.com/study-fifty-percent-of-consumers-prefer-direct-mail-to-email/article/217968/

Study’s Indirect Finding: Direct Mail Welcome

In an effort to build long-term, profitable customers relationships, companies often engage in multichannel as campaigns, complete with personalized messages set to existing customers through various channels as part of their marketing strategy. However, what if such a strategy drives customers away from future purchases, rather than closer to the company? Is there a level at which additional communication leads to diminishing, or even negative return?

A recent academic study examined the ideal volume, mix, and alignment of telephone, e-mail and direct mail communications between a large auto dealership with a high-volume
service department and its customers.

Select Findings:
The researchers found that there is an ideal level of communication volume that varies across channels and, after that level is exceeded, there is an adverse effect and customers are turned off. This negative response can be exacerbated by the use of multiple channels that are not in line with customer preferences. In addition to these key findings, the study had an indirect finding and a noted eye-opener for its authors.

The researchers were surprised to find that direct mail was such an effective communication method in the overall marketing mix for this auto dealership. The dealership’s customers were accepting of more than twice as much direct mail, compared to phone calls and e-mails, before their spending levels started to decrease.

The ideal levels of communication to spark customer interest in auto services, new products and locations, promotions and sales, were three telephone calls, three to four e-mails and nine to ten direct mailings. The researchers hypothesize that customers view the mail received in their homes as less intrusive than telephone calls or e-mail, for these messages can be viewed at the customers’ own convenience.

In addition to the study highlighted that multichannel communications must be carefully managed on multiple dimensions to avoid generating negative reactions and potentially driving customers away from, rather than closer to a company – a complementary finding shows, as have other studies, such as the USPS House Diary Study, that contrary to the image that direct mail is “junk mail” and is tossed without consideration, households pay attention to the advertising
they receive.

Source: Enough is Enough! The Fine Line in Executing Multichannel Relational Communication,
Andrea Godfrey, Kathleen Seiders & Glenn B. Voss, Journal of Marketing
Volume 75 (July 2011), 94 – 109.

*Please note that we are not representing these as our original toughts. The above article is one in which we wanted to share because of its valuable informaiton.