I've always preached continuity in your marketing and advertising. By that I mean that you establish a certain look and fee (and sound if applicable). You establish a color theme, general layout, borders, type faces, colors... and you stick with them accross all media. Your mobile site looks just like your web site. Your print ad looks like your direct mail piece. Your TV ad uses the same voice over and background music as your radio spots.
But there comes a time to change. When is that time? When the old stuff stops working. It's amazing to me to see businesses that are getting good resonse to their marketing suddenly change everything. They got bored with it, so they decided to move on to a new, fun challenge. Well your prospects didn't get bored with it. They don't see it every day like you do. If it's still bringing in money, stick with it.
On the other side of that coin is the business that just refuses to change. They're not getting the kind of response they'd like, but they're married to their idea and they're too stubborn to change. I recently talked with a landscaper who wanted to do a post card promotion. They had been mailing post cards regularly for several years, and felt pretty good about the response. When I asked what the "response" was, they told me that people recoginize their building now. The front side of the post card is a picture of their building.
I suggested some photos of their work, possibly some customers enjoying their beautiful patios. After all, the prospect is more interested in what you can do for them than where you live. And I recommended that we put in a dynamite offer... give people an irresistable reason to "respond." To me, "respond" means they pick up the phone and say "I want that." They are too stubborn to change. They love the picture of their building. They're afraid that making offers will make them look like hucksters. So they'll keep mailing the here's-what-our-building-looks-like - we're-really-good-at-what-we-do - hope-you-think-of-us-if-you-ever-decide-to-do-some-landscaping post cards. Stubborn.
Consistent is good. Stubborn is expensive. Adveritising, direct mail, broadcast, mobile, online... no matter where you place your marketing message, it's important to establish a look and feel and stick with it. It's not stale until it stops bringing in sales. Then it's time to change.
My book: How to create your own POWERFUL Ads and Promo Pieces shows you step by step how to create marketing communications that will make you money. Check it out at http://promopower.com/
Lots of people are talking about social networking. They're generally talking about the online version of what people have done for hundreds of years: interact with numerous people, realizing that some will become valuable relationships (personal or business) and some will not.
Online you simply log into a site as the personna you have assumed (maybe what you really are, maybe not so much), and make yourself available to multitudes of others who are there as the personnae they have assumed (maybe what they really are, maybe not). You may be reading this blog as part of your online networking activities. (I'm glad you found me if that's the case. Welcome.)
The version of networking that we older folks have practiced for centuries is face-to-face networking. We participate in the chamber of commerce, sales andmarketing organizations, service organizations, religious groups...whatever. We show up in hopes of meeting like-minded people and people whose relationships may be valuable to us in the future. That may mean personal relationships or business relationships. Either way, it's classic networking.
Online networking is easier for many of us than face to face networking. Face to face networking presents the possibility of rejection. "What if I get there and never talk to anyone?" "What if I talk to someone and they have no interest in me whatsoever?" Being a wallflower makes for difficult networking! Fear that people might spit in your face must make it even harder!
When you meet people face to face as opposed to online, you are seeing the whole person. How they present themselves, how they dress, speak, their table manners, grooming... you get a pretty good feel for what a person really is in pretty short order. Phonies are usually easy to spot. Sincere people are too.
I'm old school. I do some online networking, but I don't spend a lot of time or put a lot of hope into it. Give me the chamber of commerce meeting. Shaking hands with a total stranger tells you more about them in a couple of seconds than you'll learn in days about an online acquaintence.
Need more global reach? Whatever business you're in,there is a state, national, and probably an international association whose members are in the same industry. The suppliers you need and a network of supportive people who do the same thing you do are both there.
Want a global reach that includes potential customers? There are state/national/international associations of people who do what your targe customer does. Go there. Get on committees. Rent a boot at their trade show. Sponsor a meal or coffee break. Speak there yourself.
Face to face human contact is still the best way to meet and evaluate people. But you have to shut down the computer for a while to do it. Get online now and look for the groups of people who meet your criteria for good networking potential. Then make plans to go to their next meeting. You can probably go as a guest. When you get there, find out who the president is. Walk right up to him/her and say you're there for the first time. They'll be happy to see you, and if you ask...they'll even introduce you to enough people to get your started.
Go ahead. Do it. It will be a great, inexpensive investment in your business and personal futures.
OK, you HAVE to cut back on advertising and promotion. You have no choice, the money isn't there.
At least do it intelligently. There's a constant balancing act in marketing: Reach vs Repetition. Reach is how many people you want to put your message in front of. Repetition is how often you want to contact them.
A key to successful marketing is to keep holy the repetition. People have to see you regularly to keep you name close to the surface in their memory banks. If you cut back on repetition, you fall down the list of names they can recall from memory. You want to stay at the top of the list.
So the solution, if you just MUST cut back, is to contact fewer people.
* Mail to a smaller list.
* Stop advertising in publications that talk to a lot of non-prospects.
* Stop mailing to customers who aren't profitable.
Narrow your reach to just prime prospects, then maintain the frequency so you stay "top-of-mind" with that group.
When the market comes back...and it will...you'll be the first name your prime prospects think of when they're ready for that buying frenzy.
Have you cut back on advertising and promotion? Too many small business owners consider marketing to be an expense rather than an investment. When times get a little tough... and let's face it, they are now... they look for ways to cut expenses. And marketing, advertising, direct mail, web site promotion, anything that takes money is considered. Heck, most don't enjoy marketing anyway. And they're not really seeing concrete results from their advertising or direct mail, so it's a no-brainer to just stop doing them.
Consider this: Most of your small business competitors are cutting back on marketing right now. Even big companies are cutting back, which leaves you with a golden opportunity. If you feel like your ads have been buried in the past... If you feel like your direct mail promotions have been lost in a stack of competing mail... now is the time to be in a smaller stack. Now is the time to stand out in the publications you advertise in.
If you believe that the market will come back one day, you must understand that the brands that kept advertising through the down time will be the names that come to mind first when buyers are ready to come back. If you disappear during this time, you will start all over again on the project of building brand recognition and trust when the market comes back.
Wouldn't you prefer to be the first business buyers flock to when the economy turns up? It's especially important for a small business. Marketing consistently, continuously throughout the year is the key to long term growth and profitability. Don't make the mistake of stopping now. If you have to cut back, buy smaller ads, or mail post cards in stead of complete packages. But be in your prospects' face regularly, consisitently, and they'll think of your first when it's time to start buying again.
Should you offer lower prices to stimulate business in slow times...like we're in NOW?
I've always been against discounting. I always recommend doing "buy three get one free" or "$100 off your second purchase" or offers like that. I don't like offering a lower price, because that becomes the dollar figure people associate with your product.
But I'm here today to make a confession... This fall, my speaking calendar is exceptionally thin. October, which has typically been my best month, was practically empty. So here's what I did: I emailed all of the prospects who I know meet in the fall, and who have previously indicated that they couldn't afford me. I offered a one-time deal that amounts to about half of my normal fee. I sent the email out yesterday, and within 24 hours had four dates on hold. "On hold" doesn't mean definite yet, but it means "highly likely." Two of them are sure bets. The other two are very likely to come through.
Before you tell the whole world that you're ready to lower your price, first go back to all of the prospects who have ever indicated that they were interestd, but balked at price. This reinforces the value and importance of a good database, and in having your sales and service people complete ALL fields every time they talk to a prospect or customer.
Targeted offers can be made quickly and inexpensively if you have good information. And you don't need an IT department to do it. I'm a one man band, and have excellent records at my fingertips.
So if you're suffering from this slow period in the economy, don't just start whoring yourself out to the general public. Look for the people who couldn't afford you before, and make them a deal.
By the way. The contract for my reduced fee deals demands confidentiality. I can't have them telling other meeting planners what a deal they got.
I just spoke to a group of motorcycle dealers, and the number one question on their minds was "Where should I be investing my advertising dollars?"
The first question you have to answer is: "Who do I want to talk to?" Most small brick-and-mortar merchants like the group of dealers just kind of throw their advertising out to the whole public. They hope that the relative few real prospects out there will see it. When you do that, you pay for a lot of overflow advertising - dollars spent talking to people who will never buy from you.
Once you know who you're talking to, you can find media they read/listen to, places they go, events they participate in and web sites and blogs they're likely to be active in. The more clearly you can define your target customer, the more accurately you'll be able to find places to promote yourself.
Traditional media, like newspapers, radio and TV, can tell you exactly who their audience is. Radio stations have loyal listeners, and they can tell you how old they are, how much money they make, where they live and what their hobbies and interests are. TV is different. People are loyal to specific programs. Right now, there's a clear (and large!) demographic group that tunes in to American Idol. If the definition of their viewer closely matches your definition of a target customer, it may well be worth the exceptionally high price of their advertising spots.
You may have somewhat different target customers for different products you sell. You must go throught the same selection process for each one. You want to spend your money talking to prime prospects and not waste any more than necessary talking to people who aren't.
Whether you're writing an ad, a mailer, a web page, a flyer or a brochure, it's important to present your information in a sequence that will grab your prospect's attention, walk them by the hand through your communique, and demand response.
First, you have to have their ATTENTION. Appeal to a base emotion to slap them out of the fog of distractions you have to compete with. Emotions fall into two general categories: Fear and Greed. You've seen both used effectively. Which works for you depends on your product or service, your target customer, and how audacious you're willing to be.
Now that they're paying attention, you PROMISE a benefit. Something about their life is going to be better if they stay with you: They're going to feel better, be more attractive, wealthier, closer to their kids. Of course, the benefit you promise has to be something they really will get when they respond.
When you make a strong promise, you'd better PROVE you can deliver. This is where you tell them about your years of experience, credentials, peformance statisics, guarantee. This is the rational part of your arguement. (They make the buying decision based on emotion. They back it up with rational data.)
Now it's time to get them to make a move. It's time for a PROPOSITION, or offer. "Act right now and you'll get X in extra value." The more compelling your proposition is, the more response you'll get. Just make sure it makes sense with the product you'll eventually sell them.
It's time for ACTION. They have to be able to reach you quickly, easily, and at zero expense to themselves. And when they do respond, be ready. The person who answers the phone should know about the proposition and be able to fulfill the request immediately. If you are mailing something, get it out immediately. If it's a free download, make it happen fast and without the need for some exotic software to open it. This is their first experience with you. If it isn't wonderful, they won't be back.
