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... send out stuff that's destined to wind up in the wastebasket? It's just anoth...

... When a pile of mail arrives on Monday morning, go through it carefully. Think about what you keep and what you immediately throw away. With this in mind, why do so many firms think they can beat the odds and send out stuff that's destined to wind up in the wastebasket? It's just another way to waste more money. All this reveals a lack of respect for your product, your company-and your prospect. If you have a good story, dignify it with a high-quality presentation. 13. Refuse to work ... the prospective patient. And the $28,000 brochure was 100% self-serving. These are not isolated marketing mistakes. They happen every day and they waste valuable marketing dollars. To help evaluate your agency's marketing program, here are 14 proven techniques for wasting marketing energy and dollars: 1. Always shoot from the hip. This may be the most common marketing plan in business today. Many otherwise sophisticated companies believe that they're marketing their products or services effectively by doing a mailing now, a couple of ads in the fall ... 200 on a Web site that attracts only a handful of visitors. An insurance agency invests $80,000 in an advertising campaign and no one sees the ads. An alternative health clinic sends out 8,000 direct mail fliers and gets 26 responses. A manufacturer spends $28,000 on an attractive brochure that no one uses. Each of these is an example of wasted marketing dollars. The CPA firm's Web site was technically superior, but there was no plan to attract visitors. The insurance ads lacked a clear ...