| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
No One Gives A Damn About Your Business. Unless You Give em A Reason To
The good news is that there are thousands of people looking for what you offer. The bad news is that those people are extremely tough to attract not to mention that your very livelihood depends on it. It's a scary thought when you think about it. And many don't. Some are simply ignorant to the marketing realities. For others the expense and complexity associated with any kind of formal marketing effort is simply too intimidating. They rely souly on word-of-mouth. The fact is, word-of-mouth is great, fabulous, wonderful and not enough if you're serious about growing your business. Do You Believe in Marketing? Do you see marketing as a necessary investment or a questionable expense? It's an important question because if you don't truly believe in the power of smart marketing you'll sabotage anything you try...like driving with the brake on. Marketing done well is an investment and there's no better investment than your business. Determine your Objective and Budget. Like any investment it involves planning and patience. You start by establishing a realistic objective and then determine what it takes to achieve it. That takes the analysis of several factors such as: o the industry you're in o the maturity of your business. o the specific product or service being offered. o the target audience. o the competitive environment. o timing. So, what does it all cost? Again, it depends on what your short and long term goals are. For some, 5% of annual sales may be plenty to invest. For others 10% may not be enough. Once you determine your goal it's easier to determine the budget you need to achieve it. Good vs. Great vs. Do-It-Yourself. "Good" marketing isn't good enough. "Good" marketing, which is most of what you see, does only half the job. It informs people but doesn't touch them emotionally. And if you don't touch them emotionally they won't buy your product. It doesn't matter if you have the best product or service in the world if you're not getting your prospects excited enough to act. Some business owners decide to take on the marketing challenge themselves. A few even treat it as child's play. One potential client actually asked me my opinion of something his 10-year old came up with. Needless to say we weren't a good fit. Most business owners realize they aren't marketing experts. The problem is they just aren't sure who is. A common mistake is the assumption that the people who do a logo or brochure can also create a great ad or effective marketing effort. I was once asked about a campaign created by a company's design firm. Not surprisingly the campaign was totally void of a selling idea. Yet the client was clearly sold on it. When I asked the client what exactly he liked about the campaign he enthusiastically replied, "The green -- it's a real attention grabber!" The design firm may not have done a very good advertising job, but clearly they did an exceptional sales job. It's just a shame the client invested $800,000 in it. Measuring Effectiveness. A direct response mechanism (ie. phone number, web address, etc) is one way to track response. Of course, sales increase is usually the ultimate barometer. And when you combine a great product with a great marketing effort the effect can be obvious. For our client Sorrell Ridge Fruit Spread sales jumped 90% a month after the campaign broke. Though that was exceptional most clients can tell after a few months if the marketing effort is working. Get a Buzz. Buzz is another way to measure effectiveness. Are people noticing you and talking about you? Our client Marble Church knows about that. The attention-getting campaign got the attention of both local New Yorkers and national press. And with a limited marketing budget church membership increased 31% while web site traffic quadrupled. The campaign, which started out as an experiment, is now in its sixth year. So, despite the perceived expense and complexity of marketing you must appreciate the need and value of it. Done right it's the best way to make a lot of people give a damn about your business. © 2005 John Follis. All rights reserved. For John's booklet: "How to Attract and Excite Your Prospects: A Guide for Getting the Best Marketing Results", visit: http://www.follisinc.com/booklet.htm John Follis is one of the 12 "Best Advertising Minds of New York" as voted by The New York Ad Club. His campaigns are in 3 college textbooks, he has written for ADWEEK, and he has taught at 3 New York universities. Currently, John works on select projects, consults, and speaks. John may be reached at: john@follisinc.com For consulting info, visit: Marketing Therapy: http://www.follisinc.com/therapy.htm For speaking info, visit: Follis Speaking: http://www.follisinc.com/speaking.htm
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Utilizing Your Best Hidden Asset To Increase Sales You probably already have in your possession one of the most valuable and powerful assets you can possibly own. But if you're like most business people you probably aren't using it to its full potential. The Use of Bar Code SMS in Mobile Marketing, Advertising, CRM Anybody that frequents shopping malls are familiar with the bar coding systems used by retailers to ease the line at the pay points. No more long lines at the till as the operator just pulls the product past the scanner and voila - the buyer pays and are on their way. How To Bond With Customers So That They Stay With You Longer How many of your customers are loyal customers? More importantly do you know why they are loyal customers?Customer loyalty has been a buzz term in marketing for some time and with good reason. Estimates suggest it can cost 5 times as much to get a new customer as it does to keep an existing one. Customer Retention with a Personal Touch Personal contact with customers is a crucial element in the success of any new business - and it's one of the most common casualties of growth. As a company grows, the president tends to fade away into his or her office. Dont Advertise Your Business - Market It! Too many business owners believe that marketing their business means just paying for a few ads. What few understand is that Advertising is not the same as Marketing. The Power Of A Story If you want your marketing to be effective, you absolutely must connect emotionally with your prospects. And one of the best ways to do that is by telling a story. Growing Your Brand Assets Okay. Raise your hand if you think brand management is just for BIG companies (like Target, McDonalds or Ford. The Top Seven Marketing Mistakes In my view, nearly all government statistics about reasons for business failures are nonsense.Undercapitalization, inexperience, or poor management are usually blamed for all business disasters. Real Estate Investing - Writing Killer Postcards to Attract Motivated Sellers! So many of you have been telling us that you're ready to get started investing, but "you can't find any deals! and what are the steps and secrets to finding great deals?" Some of you have even written asking us if there still ARE any deals left? OF COURSE there are! We find them all the time. But you ain't gonna find them looking at for-sale ads in the paper, for-sale signs in the yard, or by concentrating solely on short sales, foreclosures, REOs and agent-listed properties. Marketing is More Than Advertising Marketing is a business process about which much is written, however is often not completely understood. Many think that "marketing" and "advertising" are interchange-able words. 7 Ways a Copywriter Can Help Your Business Succeed Think you can't afford to hire a copywriter? Think again. Here are seven ways a copywriter can contribute to the success of your business. A Complaint? It's a Compliment! - 7 Tips for Dealing with Complaints at Trade Shows A Complaint? It's a Compliment!What made you mad last week?In the past week, how many times were you upset by something? What action did you take? Complain to the neighbors, make a snide remark to a co-worker, post it on a list or email a group? Did you just gossip or did you try to make it into a positive experience? They say we complain to ten people for every one compliment about a product or service.Did you call the manager of the company, write the company president, email a suggestion for improvement? Probably not. Whats Your NICHE Market - III ? What effect are the baby boomers having on the economy I hear you ask. Folks, in 2005, the economy IS the boomers!Boomers represent the vast majority of the work force. How to Really Get Your Customers What Really Makes Your Postcard Mailing Successful? The biggest single factor in the success of your postcard mailings is who you send your postcards to.You need a list of people or businesses to send your postcard offer to. The Top 10 Ways to Market your Business or Professional Practice Without Networking While focused, strategic networking is usually the most efficient way to build your professional practice, there are many other ways to market your business. Personal networking may not be appropriate in some areas, or for certain types of services, and some people simply don't like to do it. Increase Your Sales By Following-Up The difference between a successful business and one that just gets by is that the business that is just getting by thinks that the marketing is over when the sale has been made.One of the main reasons customers leave, change suppliers, or stop buying is because of apathy on the part of the company. How to Brief a Marketing Agency A new client recently emailed us a brief here at Mano Design. It was very brief brief indeed. Writing A Marketing Strategy It is my belief that if anyone is to suceed in any type of business then the business needs to be marketed to it's target consumers in an effective manner. In order to do this effectively rather than in an ad hoc, probably expensive, manner I propose the construction of a marketing plan. Choosing Networking Functions Time is a concern for all of us. We only have so much of it to give to our work, and then some to our families, our churches and some to ourselves. Gaining Business Intelligence A white paper on how companies should analyse customer data to gain better business intelligence and how they can use that knowledge. In an increasingly competitive world, using your client database smartly, to gain a better understanding of your number one asset - your customers - can make or break the success of your company.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
