Twittering?

Larry Mersereau — Mon, 18 May 2009 14:25:08 -0400

I recentely started twittering ( follow me: promopower ) and it's an interesting challenge to create a message within the 140 character limitation.
It's a great test of copy writing skills, actually. It's a little bit like the old question: Can you fit it on a t-shert?

Marketing in Changing and Challenging Times

Larry Mersereau — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:53:23 -0500

Consumer confidence is at an all-time low. Businesses are cutting their expenses to the bone. So how are you supposed to sell anything to anyone in these challenging times?
The first thing I want you to do is get focused. It may sound counterintuitive to say that you should shrink your market at a time like this. People haven't stopped buying. They've stopped buying promiscuously. They're not taking big risks with their money.
That means they want to buy from specialists. Experts.

Time to Renegotiate

Larry Mersereau — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:01:05 -0500

If ever there was a time to be negotiating (and renegotiating) contracts with vendors for the coming year, now is it.

Before you read further, I want to state this: You should not look at this as an opportunity to take advantage of anyone. You should be looking to make deals that benefit both parties.

Let’s start with all of the places where you buy marketing support and/or advertising. The newspaper, your web site host, mailing house, radio and TV stations... anyone who has been receiving revenue from you on a regular basis is fair game.

Reach vs Repetition

Larry Mersereau — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 11:25:58 -0500

If you're marketing on a finite budget... and aren't we all these days... it's important to be aware of the constant balancing act between reach and repetition.

Reach is how many people you are trying to put your message in front of. Repetition is how many times they'll see it.

A lot of my clients use direct mail, so the illustration is pretty simple for them. We're talking about how many pieces they mail out, and how often they do it. They have a specific amount of money in the budget, and they have a specific cost per piece for mailing.

More Leads = More Business

Larry Mersereau — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:27:59 -0400

Leads are the fuel that makes your financial machine run. You must constantly add new names of prospective customers to your pipeline, then work on taking as many of them as you can to the next step in the dance: customer.

Don’t just sit back and wait for leads to show up. Institutional advertising gets your name out, maybe even makes you "well known" in your market. But it does nothing to generate real live leads.

A Better 2009

Larry Mersereau — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:53:44 -0400

There's no doubt in my mind that 2009 will be a better year for business.

The economy will turn around, if it has not already done so before the end of 2008. Many businesses will disappear in the mean time, some closing their doors, some just dropping out of sight. It's those "dropping out of sight" businesses I want to talk to you about...and I want to make sure that you're not one of them.

Branding the Presidential Candidates

Larry Mersereau — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 09:28:33 -0400

Wouldn’t you love to be able to describe your company’s brand in a few words? What if you could say it in just one word? I believe that our presidential candidates can.

I usually avoid political comment. But this election is too important. First, I want to say this: VOTE. If it’s not convenient for you to go stand in line on election day, get yourself an absentee ballot NOW. I’ve already voted. There’s no excuse for any U.S. Citizen to not vote. It’s really important this time, so please do it.

Personality

Larry Mersereau — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:17:39 -0400

I want you to give some serious thought to a specific part of your branding: your personality. Not your own, that of your business.

Yes, your business has a personality. If you don’t know what it is, ask your customers. What’s it like to do business with us? Is it fun? Boring? Do we come across as overly eager? Not eager enough? Are we grumpy? Slow? Fast? Easy to work with? I bet you’ve bought from someone in your lifetime who was very difficult to work with. Do you ever want to buy from them again?

Should you try Mobile Advertising?

Larry Mersereau — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:54:07 -0400

If you sell to anyone under about 30 years old (and that number gets bigger every year) you must start looking at mobile advertising.

Mobile advertising is placing your message on mobile phones. It can be as simple as sending text messages to a list of people who have asked you to keep them up to date on specials (How about a weekly special text message?), to as complicated as sending a widget that lets them play a game that features your brand.

Should you try Mobile Advertising?

Larry Mersereau — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 09:46:37 -0400

If you sell to anyone under about 30 years old (and that number gets bigger every year) you must start looking at mobile advertising.