2. Reach them (direct mail does this).

3. Attract their attention and get your message across (post cards do this perfectly—you don’t have to open them!).

4. Get them to contact you. (Your mailing piece, letter or, preferably, post card, will do that if it’s well designed and written.)

5. The rest is up to your ability to sell.

To get your existing customers to come back for more all you need to do is:

1. Keep accurate records of your customers (anyone who has ever bought anything from you) in a database and keep it current.

2. Send them frequent mailings. Postcards are excellent. You can send out a newsletter. You can send out personalized letters. But keep contacting them. Tell them about new products or services. Get them to respond.

3. Obviously you have to deliver excellent service or a great product. You will get results with these marketing techniques even if you don’t deliver good service or a great product, but it won’t last long and you won’t be able to maintain it.

4. Remember, size of your customer base and number of mailings to it determines how much income you make. Fact. So, do it correctly and you cannot fail.

Next, get it all down on paper. Even if you have no intention of passing that piece of document to graphic designer, at least, you have a clearer vision on what you want. THEN speak to your graphic designer to explore ideas and possible changes to your original idea.

Once graphic design process has begun, pick and choose people you consult with with care. Too many cooks DO spoil broth! Only people who can and SHOULD make or help make decision should be consulted at this very point in time.

However, as any client will tell you, graphic designer has a huge and major role in ensuring that they understand client’s instructions, takes initiative to research and explore other ideas. When client tells graphic designer what he/she wants from their new marketing stuff, it’s not set in stone. The graphic designer SHOULD present his/her own ideas as an alternative. If not, what’s use of graphic designer? Why not just get a clerical or secretary to just learn how to use appropriate programs/softwares and come up with something that client wants?

Being a graphic designer is a pain in butt….and working with a graphic designer is also a stab in rear end but at end of day…when you see that your effort and all those frustrations results in a smashing success, you can sit back and admire your (and your client’s handiwork) over a cup of cappuccino.

© Marsha Maung 2005 REPRINT RIGHTS. Print, publish, reprint this article freely in any form of print, press or Internet publications without removing bio and byline of author at end of this article.