Marketing

A quick 80-20 rule technique for your business.

Published April 11, 2011

Unless you’ve been under a rock you’ve heard about The Pareto Principle aka the 80-20 rule. It states for many events roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. (Not just in life but in business as well.) If you ever wanted to know what advertising and marketing endeavors are bringing in the cash (and which ones to eliminate) then here’s a simple way to apply this rule to find out.

Make a list of everything, even advertising specialties (pens, calculators, etc.) and brochures and business cards along with how much you money you spend on them. Then work out the numbers over a period of time to see which of those efforts brought in the most money. Make sure you do this carefully or you could end up eliminating something that’s working. Review your list and determine the top 20% that made the cash register ring 80% of the time? Now comes the hard part. STOP DOING THE THINGS THAT ARE NOT WORKING UNTIL YOU FIND OUT WHY. (Don’t make me write the definition of insanity.)

Don’t go blowing the extra money.

Since that money was already part of your advertising budget you should put it to use by tweaking a few of the money wasters or with a new type of marketing. If you need to go over some unique advertising and marketing techniques just give us a call.

Let me know how you did.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged advertising, business promotion, client retention, finding customers, keeping clients, marketing, target marketing | Leave a comment

Are you sure you’re social?

Published December 3, 2010

Many businesses have embrace the idea of creating a social media marketing strategy…..Sorry, I mean they are starting to use Facebook, LinkedIn and maybe Twitter. There are big differences between the two ways of doing it.

Are you Just a participant?

Signing up for the big three is great and I certainly encourage you to do so however it would be best if you signed up and then looked around a bit to see what it’s all about before contributing any content. But remember that the big three might not be the best solution for you. There are many other social networks that might serve you and your company better. The best way to find them is to search the web and see where others are talking about your particular product and service and then participate there. For example Google groups, Yahoo answers, YouTube, etc. But just posting sayings of the day or what you had for lunch is not a social marketing strategy. It’s a lazy habit you should avoid. Once in a while is ok. Being a participant on the networks is one thing but creating valuable content and participating in all things social is paramount.

Get a strategy today!

Having a social medial marketing strategy is much different. This is when you actually write down a plan of attack to ensure you are doing the right things on a daily basis. It also has return on engagement figures that you want to achieve.

Some things to consider when creating your social media marketing strategy.

Do you have the time to do the work?

Yes, the networks are free but it does take a daily commitment to get this right and if you just don’t have the hour it takes to do so then you must train or hire a person to do the daily postings, video creations, etc. You can also outsource this for a fraction of what it would cost to hire someone. (Yes I know, obvious plug.)

Don’t just post garbage.

When you post on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter give content that will help your customers. Posting is best done when you give something that people can actually use with or without you. Become a Maven and turn people on to new ideas. Re-Tweet and suggest interesting articles to your followers. Stay away from foul language, sex, jokes and politics.

Create interesting videos describing your products and services.

Have you ever viewed a video describing a product or service that you intend to purchase? Did you find it interesting? Did it help you make the decision to buy or not? If it worked for you then it will work for your prospects. It does not have to be a production just buy a flip cam and start today.

Dust off that blog.

Many have blogs that they started on their websites but then they let them get dusty. Make a commitment right now to post to your blog once per week. You can do it!

Use video testimonials.

Written testimonials are great but a video testimonial is better. It puts the human back into the equation. People relate to people.

Give a special of the day.

Here is one that works for my clients that have a following. Post a message that if they call in the next 24 hours and mention the keyword Blue Giraffe they will get $10 off their purchase (or better if you can). Not a percentage. A dollar amount. Then track the sales.

Tweet three times a day.

If your market is using twitter it is a good rule of thumb to tweet three times a day. Tweet information 90 percent of the time and offers only 10 percent of the time.

How will you calculate your return on Engagement?

How will you determine if your efforts are making the cash register ring? Are you implementing a system to track your return on your time investment? This is a big one that many companies overlook.

This is not a full list of the many things to consider but it will give you a good start. If you need help just give us a call.

As always your comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged advertising, business promotion, finding customers, goal setting, marketing, marketing goals, social marketing, social media | Leave a comment

How to spend less money on advertising?

Published November 13, 2010

An easy way to spend less on advertising is to make sure that you have a great informative website to compliment all of your advertising and marketing endeavors.

Think of your website as the center of all your advertising and marketing. Everything you do will point to the website. Once your website is up, it takes a small amount of time and effort to keep it fresh. This allows you to spend your advertising dollars on smaller more targeted ads in publications that before the price was out of your reach.

As always your comments are appreciated.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged advertising, advertising layout, business promotion, finding customers, marketing, marketing goals, target marketing, website design, website traffic | Leave a comment

Is Your Advertising Making The Cash Register Ring?

Published September 16, 2010

When you are advertising your business you need to make sure that you are placing it in the right place and with the right message. These two important items are usually missed simply because many businesses owners do not know exactly who their customers are.

You should know your customers Geographic, Demographic and Psychographic variables. If you don’t then I can guarantee you are losing money on your advertising. When this information is known you can make a educated decision when a sales representative from a magazine, radio station, newspaper, etc tries to sell you advertising. You will be able to weed out the poor choices by simply asking them who their readership or listeners are. Most of the professional media companies will know this information. If they are vague with the answer or if their data is old and out dated then they are not the right fit for you.

Here are some things you should know:

Geographic Variables (Helps determine where to advertise.)

Region
Size
Population Density
Climate

Demographic and Psychographic variables will help determine what media to place your advertising in and what copy and imagery you should use.

Demographic Variables

Age
Gender
Family Size
Income
Occupation
Ethnicity
Religion
Education
Marital Status

Psychographic Variables

Activities
Interests
Opinions
Attitudes
Values

Even if you only identify some of the variables listed above it will help you
make better decisions and save you money on your advertising.

After you have this information it is extremely important to tailor your advertising and message to attract the right customers. For example if you are looking to attract customers with families you do not place images of single persons in your ads. You also make sure that the copy is properly written to appeal to the segment you are trying to attract. Don’t be afraid to use a lot of copy. After all if a potential customer is reading your advertisement it is better to give everything they need to make a decision to call you then not enough information. Then when they do call they are a much warmer prospect.

Let me know how you are doing. As always your comments are appreciated.

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Did you lose your left sneaker?

Published March 21, 2010

The other day I was driving home from a client meeting and I noticed a left sneaker on the road just sitting there. I wondered to myself, who owns this sneaker and are they aware that the sneaker is missing? If you were walking along and all of a sudden your left foot got cold wouldn’t you look down and think “hey where did my sneaker go?” or would you just keep walking? Even if this person lost it out of a gym bag then went home and saw they were missing their sneaker wouldn’t they re-trace their steps to try to find their sneaker? (Sounds like something from Seinfeld.)

Many business owners are missing their left sneaker as well when it comes to business. Things were working fine; they are making sales and all of a sudden business starts to slow down. There was a change but they just didn’t notice it. Something just slipped. One of the reasons they don’t notice is simply because they are too busy working their business and really can’t take the time to research what happened or look for their lost sneaker so they keep walking without it since they just can’t handle one more thing to do.

When you keep working your business to the point when you can’t make a move without losing control of your senses then it is time to bring in the professionals and outsource. There are many highly qualified persons that can help you so you can run your business more efficiently and become more profitable.

Some easily outsourced services are marketing and advertising, bookkeeping, phone answering and message taking, lead cultivation, commissioned salespersons, etc. Most of the time these services are low cost. Just make sure you ask for at least 5 references.

For example, a big problem is when a company tries to do all of their marketing themselves. Even if they, by some miracle, do the creative correctly there is the matter of where they send their direct mail, how they advertise on the radio, what newspapers, magazines and websites to place their ads, etc.

It’s usually not their fault, as many business owners don’t understand the role of a good marketing and advertising agency. They might understand the traditional role of a corporate “Marketing Department” but not the intense concentrated effort they receive from an outside agency. In addition to creating business identities, marketing campaigns, websites and collateral they could also find you leads, build relationships, public relations, trade show design, marketing surveys, competitive analysis and more to help the company make attract more customers and thus increase sales. Now having an in house Marketing Department is great but many companies large and small also use an advertising agency to help expose their brand. So why shouldn’t you? Especially if making the cash register ring more is your goal.

So the lesson of the lost sneaker is simple, don’t waste time looking for it, just buy a new pair.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged advertising, marketing, sales | Leave a comment

How to fix the marketing mistakes you are making right now.

Published March 6, 2010

Being in business is hard and many business owners know they need to be marketing and advertising but usually lack direction.

Here are some things to help you get back on track:

Create a business identity.
Do your business cards, stationery and web site all have fragmented themes? Do you have a professionally created logo? Are you embarrassed to hand out your brochure or other collateral? In this world of advertising clutter it is important to do everything you can to stand out in your customers mind. By creating a corporate identity for your business it will allow customers to easily remember you. The good news is you can start this right away. Even if you’ve been in business for a while you can pull all of it together and create one cohesive brand for your company. In addition to being professional it also says to your prospects and customers that you care about your company and are it for the long haul. Make sure you create your identity with your customer demographics and psychographics in mind.

Know your customers Demographics and Psychographics
I can’t tell you how many time I’ve heard “everyone is my customer” when asked who are your customers? Lets use the 80/20 rule. Eighty percent of your income in business comes from twenty percent of your customers. Who are the top 20 percent? Are they a stay at home mom with one child and a husband that is a white-collar professional? Blue-collar worker? Is the family income over one hundred thousand dollars a year? Do they own a home? Are they college educated? Do they have pets? Do they have a grandmother or grandfather living in the household? Are they married or single? Do they live in a certain zip code? Etc., etc. What if you’re a business-to-business company? Demographics could include; type of industry your targeting, yearly income, number of employees, business credit rating, square footage, how much do they spend on your particular services, location information, etc. So how do you gather all this information? Its simple. If you have existing customers you ask them. If you don’t almost every business has industry groups you can ask, there are also government websites to find this very important information. Psychographics are targeting by attitudes, lifestyles, beliefs, values, personality and purchasing motives.

Get some sales training.
There are many people that start a business thinking they are “natural” sales people. And I can tell you they are not. They might have charisma and that’s start but a far cry from having the ability to probe and close the sale. In fact I think many business owners would benefit from a sales class or audio training course. In business, nothing happens until a sale is made. NOTHING. Even if you have a product that requires very little selling, it still needs to be sold. No matter what the product or service, if your customers have questions about the product or service or are on the fence about the decision you are going to need sales skills to persuade them to buy from you and not the competition.

When you are in business you need the skills necessary to make sure that your prospect stays engaged long enough to be able to identify their needs and ensure you have a solution to their problem. Without sales skills your conversations will end too soon and questions will go unanswered. And you will not be able to identify the need or the time to close.

Don’t advertise with blindfolds on. Get some advertising direction
When you are advertising your company in media it’s important to have a well thought out campaign that is designed to attract people and turn them from suspect to prospects or immediate buyers. Your advertising campaign should not be created by the advertising representatives selling you the advertising placement. Many of them are looking for you to succeed so they can sell you more advertising but their ideas become stale with time or they tell you what your competitor is doing and you do something similar without seeing if it is actually working. The graphic departments of the publication usually create ads that all start to look the same from company to another. This is a bad thing. Your advertisement should carry a message and a look that makes you stand out for the sea of advertisements in a newspaper, magazine or web site. Your campaign should have a strong headline, a image that is of the same subject of the headline, a strong offer in the copy and a strong call to action. The more copy the better. If you need more copy to explain your offer then use it. Short and sweet will seldom work well. It might create calls but many will be unqualified.

Do not advertising in too many places and make sure you have enough money for frequency.
Marketing your business is a slow methodical scientific process. Blowing your budget on 5 publications and 20 web ads per month without knowing what is working will hurt you and might put you out of business. In advertising, frequency is always more important then size. So if you can only afford one place to advertise but you can do it at least 26 times then that’s the vehicle you choose. (Providing it is targeted to the right demographic.)

Just say no to changing the look of your advertisements every week.
Keep the same look or theme to your advertisements each and every time you run an ad. This means if your ads are in a publication for 26 weeks the only reason to change anything is if it’s not working. If the ad is working but not to your expectations or not working at all you DO NOT change the overall appearance. The ad should be tweaked to pull more customers. But YOU CAN ONLY CHANGE ONE THING AT A TIME SO YOU KNOW WHAT WORKED. First you would change the headline. It can be a one word change. The message subject should remain the same. Then see how that works, keep changing untill you get a better response. If after a while you don’t see a difference then try changing the main picture of the ad. It still must relate to the ad copy and the headline. Then if all is not working then you try tweaking the offer. Then the call to action, etc., until it works. Then when it works you run the same ad in another publication that targets your demographic and the whole thing starts all over again. Keep in mind that all advertising should answer the question what is in it for me as the customer.

Don’t pull an ad just because you’re bored with it.
If you are running an ad the ad is working but you see the ad over and over and so does your family and you start to get bored with the look so you decide to change it. BIG MISTAKE. YOU NEVER, EVER, NEVER, CHANGE AN AD THAT IS WORKING, NEVER! You only change the ad when it stops being profitable. And even then you would re tweak it till you know its dead. Yes that might sound expensive but just pulling a working ad is much more expensive.

That’s all for now. Your comments are appreciated.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged ad creation, advertising, marketing, sales | Leave a comment

The More You Touch the More You Convert

Published February 10, 2010

I know the title sounds strange but in marketing this is what we want to accomplish. The first time a prospect sees your ad or hears a your radio spot or views your website, etc. theses are all first touches in the sales and marketing process. Then as you continuously market to them they are touched more and more until finally they make the decision to do business with you.

The important thing to remember is when creating these touches you use your brand identity. If not then every time they see your message it will be like they are seeing it for the first time and this is bad. In marketing we want people to build feelings of knowing and trusting you when they see your marketing message. They also want to know you can give them what they want.

By using your brand identity it allows you to stand out and more importantly be remembered. Most times when we respond to an ad in print or on the web it’s because we have seen it many times before acting. Then over time it goes from our subconscious to our conscious. This is another reason why frequency is so important as well.

A one, two touch.

Make sure wherever you are advertising it directs people to your website. This is a one two touch. Your ad gets them curious and then your website gives them more information about your products and services. Since most of us use the web for research before doing business with a company your website should answers the questions that might arise from the ad and your other marketing.

Give people value when they get to your website. Give them articles from you and third party sources about your products and services. People want to know other peoples thoughts on your industry, product or service. (This is called market data.) Better to give it to them on your website first.

So remember the more touches the more they will remember you and the more will become your customers.

Your comments are always appreciated.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged finding customers, keeping clients, making money, marketing, sales | 1 Comment

It’s not personal…. It’s strictly business.

Published December 22, 2009

Are you hearing this from your clients? If so then what is your response? Do you wimp out and just go away or do you fix the problem?

This well known phrase from the Godfather (It’s not personal, Sonny. It’s strictly business.) can be a chilling thing to hear from a client. The good news is you can turn this negative into a positive and gather valuable information. It’s possible your other clients are having a similar issue but are not telling you. A client will usually not let you know when they are soured on the relationship they usually just go away, leaving you with no information you can use to ensure you never make the mistake you made with them again. (Marketing is also about the clients experience with your company.)

Just by asking these two simple questions you may be able to turn a bad situation around. Ask the questions and then stop talking and start listening. Also, it’s better to ask them in person if possible. The questions are simple but many will not take this important step.

I want to earn your business back and I want to fix this, can you tell me what happened and please be blunt?
You want to know what happened and you don’t want them to spare your feelings. Let them know you want it all. The good, the bad and the ugly.

Just by asking this question you’re showing the client that you really do care about the situation and that you’re going to take care of it personally and fast. Make sure it gets one hundred percent attention and do your best to resolve it in their favor. Yes, I said it in their favor. After all you know its always cost more to get a new client then to keep one.

When I fix the, (state the entire problem back to them to make sure it’s the right one.), would you consider still doing business with us?
Notice I did not say if I fix the problem? You have to do everything you can to fix the problem. If it’s a problem you or your employees created then most times it can be fixed. If you can keep the client in the loop while your fixing it then do so.

If you’re still speaking with them then it’s a good sign. There might have been a misunderstanding and they are willing to give you a second chance. Don’t count on that. Count on them leaving you so you don’t get lazy about solving the problem.

But for “the glass is half empty” people out there. What if they will not answer the questions? Most will answer but if not then all you can really do is trace your steps to try to find out what went wrong. Thank them for their business and wish them well. After a few weeks have gone by give them a call to see how they are doing and then try to ask the questions again. Keep in touch with the client and try to resurrect the relationship later down the road.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged client retention, customer service, keeping clients, marketing | Leave a comment

Are your print ads getting you customers? Find out what’s wrong and what to do about it.

Published December 5, 2009

Over the years I cannot tell you the amount of times we hear “well so and so publication will create an ad for me for free.” Well I think it’s time that many of the unseasoned business owners read what could be happening . (For those still using print.)

It’s true that many publications will throw in an ad design included in the price but you could be losing much more then money when you allow a publication to create an ad for you, it could be a loss of sales, brand recognition and more.

The problem is that usually a publication has a handful of graphic designers that are creating ads all day for numerous advertisers in numerous industries. Very few of the ads if any, they create are scrutinized by an experienced marketing person. If they look good to the designer then they are sent to the advertiser who does not know a thing about the proper format of an ad. Then, as long as their logo is the largest thing on the ad most times they are happy. The publication gets paid and the client waits for the sales to roll in, but that does not happen? Here is why.

Many of the graphic designers are so over worked and inexperienced and probably under paid that all the ads start to look the same. Big logo on top. No compelling copy. Two big coupons and a small call to action. Usually the colors are off and it all looks like two pounds of baloney in a one-pound bag. The ad might get a few calls but not even close to what it should be pulling. Since it gets a few calls the advertiser thinks the ad is working and the ad space salesperson talks them into running the same ad again. No return on investment (ROI) is calculated, just a rash reactive decision to “keep it in as is”.

Some easy fixes.

If you can’t run it at least 9 or more times then save your money.
Frequency is one of the most important factors in advertising. Just because you place an ad today does not mean that the customer is ready to buy today. You have to keep it in. Make singular tweaks and test, test, test.

Never put your (professionally designed) logo first.
All of your ads should have a strong benefit based headline that speaks to the reader’s emotions. The logo can go at the bottom to the right of the phone number. The main reason is that no one cares who you are; they only care what’s in it for them? (How many times have you heard that but still do nothing about it?)

Use the right images.
Create your ad with your customer demographic and psychographic (more on that later) in mind. Once you know your demographic then use an image to reflect that type of customer. If your demographic is women between the ages of 35 – 45 with kids then find an image with a woman 35 – 45 years of age with kids. Keep the pictures of your truck in your wallet. If you have an actual product picture then also use that in the ad with a caption of what it is. Many people just read the headline, caption and call to action.

Don’t be afraid to use a lot of benefit-based copy.
When you write the text for your ad it must contain benefit based copy. Most people do not purchase anything based on the features. The benefits that the features produce are what they are buying. So if you need an extra couple of words to get that across then do it. Less is not more in advertising.

Use a strong call to action.
Call today! Call now! Supplies are limited call today! Be the first 25 callers and get a free (put something here)! You get the idea.

Make sure your website address is clear.
Your website address should not be buried in the ad in a very small font. In addition, you should always try to have a dot com. Just the other day a client of ours was reading his own address to me and read it as dot com even though it is a dot net.

Create a strong brand campaign, not just an ad.
In my experience clients that have a consistent look and feel to their ad campaign almost always do better then those that do not. Colors and design matter.

Work with an advertising and marketing agency.
I know you think that advertising agencies are expensive and some are but many advertisers don’t realize that they control the budget. And if you use a non-commission advertising and marketing agency it can save you thousands since many of the same publications your advertising in gives a average if ten to fifteen percent commission to the agency. Our company (and I am sure others) does not take it. It is passed on to clients as a savings. The math is easy. You are advertising in a magazine that costs $3,000 per month gross. They give a 15 percent commission to the agency ($450.00), the campaign costs you about $1,000.00. You place your ad for at least nine times. You save $3,050.00! Then after testing this campaign and making sure it is bringing a (ROI) it can be used again. Saving even more money.

Posted in Advertising and Marketing Articles | Tagged ad creation, advertising layout, marketing | Leave a comment

6 Low Cost Things To Do Now To Promote Your Business

Published November 14, 2009

So many business owners are asking the question…now what? They are asking what do now to promote their businesses. Although this is not an extensive list it is a good start. It is also assumed that you already have a business identity, a great website, business cards, brochures and all the other collateral printed and ready to go. Most of the suggestions are low cost and should only take a few weeks to get started.

Start Networking

Yes, I said it, networking. There are many local groups where you can go eat breakfast or lunch and hand out your business card. I know it’s painful for some but I can tell you from experience that it works. Every time I join a group I make friends and then clients.

A good tip would be to make friends first. Then see if you want to do business with this person. Then politely ask them for referrals and you do the same for them. It’s simple and will benefit you greatly. Just make sure that you can server the members and that they can serve you as well. Remember 90 percent listening and 10 percent speaking.

Join Professional Organizations

Join the local chamber of commerce and other related groups. They also have networking events to better help you spread the word about your business. You can also ask them to host a seminar for you. (You’ll probably have to pay for this.)

Speak at Events

Offer to speak about your industry for FREE at local events. You could also have free seminars at most libraries. Make sure your speech is not a sales pitch. If they like what you have to say then they will introduce themselves. Have a fish bowl there to collect business cards. Maybe you can have a drawing.

Create Publicity

Create and send out newsletters every time your company does something special. It has to be special, as most editors don’t want to publish boring details of who was promoted to Vice President. But they might think it’s a good story if you had a special event and gave a portion of the profits to a local charity.

Join Social Networking Sites

Create a Fan page on Facebook, join Twitter and LinkedIn, etc. Create a GREAT profile. If it is a fan page then use your logo. If it is a LinkedIn profile use your picture. Please make sure it is a professional picture. We don’t want to see you looking into a web cam. I am sure your dog is beautiful but that would not be appropriate either. And use your real photo. Not some person from Google images.

Then invite all your friends and colleagues to join. Just remember that you will want to use these sites to promote yourself as an expert not to tell everyone what you had for breakfast. Although it is advised to be a bit personal and you could inject some humor (be careful with the humor). You can put a personal touch in easily by suggesting books you’ve read or seminars you’ve been to or information about your favorite restaurant.

Try not to be a salesperson on Social Networking sites, it’s best to speak about your industry and give people education based marketing instead of just rambling on about the sale you have on widgets. Now, I am not saying that is not acceptable. It is, but don’t do it all the time. Give more information about your industry, then sales promotions. The sales will come.

Then follow the groups or question areas of the sites you have joined. Answer questions for free. You could also create your own group on some of the sites.

Tell your friends and family what you do for a living.

You would be shocked if I told you how many times I have to explain to my friends and family what I do for a living. Either they are not listening or they can’t comprehend it. (I think they are just being nice when asking the question for the 100th time and then being polite and shocked when I actually answer them.)

The reason to keep telling them is they also meet people you do not know and might be in the position to referrer you. So keep them updated with emails and phone calls.

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