YOUR CUSTOMERS WON'T ENCOUNTER A shortage of information whenever a new tax law hits the books. In fact, they may find themselves becoming dizzy in a whirlwind of new rules, regulations, facts and figures. The deluge of information about the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 began well before the legislation was passed and is still going strong, leaving many individuals confused in its wake.

In a sea of often confusing tax-related information, your newsletter may be the one place where your customers can find concise, easy-to-understand and pertinent information about new tax legislation and other events which may affect their finances. The newsletter also offers a unique opportunity to: (1) focus on the tax provisions that may be of the greatest interest to your target audience and (2) tell your customers about related products and services that might be particularly attractive to them in light of a new tax law.

A variety of approaches
With the passage of the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, clients faced quite a few challenges. After all, how could they spread the word on this sweeping but complex legislation, yet make sure they were getting their customers correct and relevant information as quickly as possible? That's where First Marketing came in.

We worked with our clients to develop a variety of communications pieces to inform their customers about the new law, so they could cross-sell applicable products and services. Some clients chose simply to include an article in their fall or winter issues summarizing the law. Others tied a summary in with one or more articles on the Roth IRA and/or the new capital gains tax rules. Many clients also focused on the estate planning provisions of the new law and discussed related strategies.

Probably the most effective strategy, however, was devoting an entire issue to a new-tax-law theme, or producing a "special issue" addressing the new law. First Marketing produced a number of special IRA issues that detailed the changes to "traditional" IRAs and highlighted the Roth and Education IRAs. We also worked with a few clients, including NationsBank, to develop special IRA NetLetters (online newsletters) to accompany the printed materials.