Marketing in a Down Economy
Stocks are down. Financial markets are a mess. Unemployment rates are moving up. What is a marketer to do during a downward economic spiral? Simple. Keep on marketing.
There will always be a need for goods and services, even in a down economy. Sure, they might take a bit more effort and creativity to market, but there is a distinct advantage in a slow economic cycle. While your competition is scaling back on its marketing efforts based on a reactionary, fearful approach, you can be proactive and seize this opportunity.
When the competition zigs, you zag. Instead of scaling back, scale up on your marketing efforts. Your competition won’t know what hit them as you leave them in the dust.
Ready to Write
the Next Great Novel?
The self-publishing concept has really taken off in the past couple of years. With publish-on-demand services and the internet, it is now possible for anyone to write the next great novel. Make sure your book doesn't just sit on the shelves.
Having recently completed three book jacket projects, I am keenly aware of the process from the inside out. Most first-time publishers while adapt at writing the book, are lacking in resources and strategies to market it. Professional service providers, graphic designers, writers and marketers can help establish the correct mix of online, print, PR and media to give maximum salability to your book.
While it might be easy to publish a book, it is still a multi-layered process to get it sold. With the right marketing you'll find your book flying off the press and into the consumers' hands.
Marketing New Year's Resolutions
It’s a new year. Time to list out those New Year’s resolutions. Sure, you’ve thought about the personal goals you’d like to achieve, but how about the professional ones?
The first of the year is a great time to dust off those marketing projects that have been sitting idly on the shelf. Start by listing the top 5 goals you can realistically accomplish within the year. Then prioritize them based on importance and their potential to impact the bottom line. Finally, if your internal resources are overextended, seek external service providers to complete the tasks.
Before long you’ll find those marketing New Year’s resolutions over and done and you can move on to more important things, like making it to the gym.
Summarize the Facts for Sales
Have you summarized what your company offers? Is it written and in a printed format? Your company might need a professionally designed and written capabilities brochure. Here's why...
A capabilities brochure summarizes the benefits, features and uniqueness of a product or service and offers rationale for a potential buyer to make a purchase. One of the keys of marketing is to make it simple to buy your product. Give them the information they need. A printed capabilities brochure makes it easy to get this information into your prospects' hands.
Decision makers like facts and information. A capabilities brochure presents the facts of your business and makes the best case for a purchase.
Branding.
What is all the Buzz About?
Branding. The ongoing marketing buzzword. What is it? The way some marketers go on about it, they would have you believe that it's some new invention. Basically, branding is establishing a consistent identity in the consumers' minds for a product or service.
Actually, the origin of branding dates back to early product marketing. Tide Laundry Detergent for example. Attaching a "look" to a product to sell it. Marketers have sold branding services as the newest thing since sliced bread. Branding does have value, tremendous value, when applied correctly by a graphic design professional. Does it look timely and up to date? Is it in keeping with the subject of the product or service? Is it applied consistently through all marketing channels? Make sure your "brand" is being presented in its best light.
Maintaining a consistent marketing "brand" can serve you well. Just don't be caught up in all the branding hype. Branding is a useful marketing tool, but its no recent invention.
Workload Got You Seeing Double?
Is senior management adding additional projects to your already overloaded workload? Is your inbox piled higher than your outbox? What do you do? Project management can ease your burden.
There are several basic project management steps to make it easier and feel like you're making some headway. The first step is to prioritize the projects by importance. The next step would be to attack and complete tasks that can be done within a short timeframe. And finally, realistically look at the projects and see if you can handle them or if you need outside support to complete them.
By utilizing some simple project management techniques you’ll begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Marketing Pressures and Demands
Marketing managers are asked to do more than ever before. They have too much work to do with too little time to do it. Expectations are high for bottom-line results. The pressure is intense.
There are many complementary support service providers eager to assist you on your next project. Don’t wait until you feel overwhelmed and get caught in a crunch. Solicit your support and contact network early for referrals for consultants and task partners.
Pressures and demands in marketing are inevitable. Just make sure you’re ready when that next big project drops into your lap. Sit back, relax and call on your support network to give you a hand.
The K.I.S.S. Principle
With Valentine’s Day upon us I’m reminded of a marketing principle that I first heard from an advertising professor in college. K.I.S.S. Keep it simple stupid. It’s a bold statement as applicable today as it was back then.
We are all bombarded every day with marketing messages vying for our attention. Keeping the message and visuals direct and simple can cut through the clutter. Marketers often want to include too much information. This overloads the message and dilutes its impact. Concise, direct marketing better stirs a prospective client to action. Less is often more.
Make sure your next marketing message is not loaded with superfluous information or imagery. Keep it simple for maximum impact on your bottom-line.
Professional Presentations
Speak Volumes
Recently I attended a marketing seminar by a well-known Atlanta speaker. It was a great seminar except for one major drawback: all the speaker’s slides were bright yellow and barely readable. The speaker was knowledgeable about her subject matter, but her visual media presentation to support it was poorly executed.
This reminded me of how important the presentation is to the final impression the audience walks away with. You may have great information, but an unprofessional depiction of it lessens its value and impact. Expert implementation of the presentation is as important as the material contained within it.
Make sure your next visual media presentation is professionally created and shows you in the best light possible. Your reputation or that next big account might be riding on it.
Repeat Messaging
Gets Results in Marketing
Consistency pays off. We’ve all experienced this when it comes to dieting and exercise. Going to the gym one or two times isn’t going to do it. A long-term program is what achieves results. Same principle when it comes to marketing.
“I mailed out the postcards and I didn’t get any calls!” I’ve heard this repeatedly from marketers using direct mail. What they fail to realize is they have only completed part of the process. A successful direct mailing involves several mailings within a complete campaign. Results based marketing is a multi-layer process involving consistency and repeat messaging.
Take the postcard mailing as an example. A postcard mailing is but one piece of a repeat messaging outreach. Ask yourself these questions before you drop those postcards into the box: Does the messaging relate to the other marketing underway? Is it part of an integrated campaign? Will the mailing be followed up with a second mailing and a phone call?
Repeat messaging makes sure you’re in the right place at the right time to make that sale. Drive home your marketing with repeat messaging.
Trade Show Booths
that Pack a Punch
Fall is here. This signals the approach of the busy business-to-business trade show season. Now is the time to get ready for it. Is your trade show booth up to snuff?
The most important part of a trade show booth is the booth itself. Is yours up to date, dynamic, eye-catching and visual? A well-designed one engages the audience and brings them into the booth. Basically it's a visual medium. Leave the content to your marketing collateral pieces. Once the prospect has been drawn into your great looking booth, then hit them with content.
Having a visual exciting trade show booth creates interest in your brand. Make sure yours is showing your company in its best light. It will pay rewards to your business’s bottom line.
Remember the Basics in Marketing
Podcasts, blogs, and viral marketing: it can all seem overwhelming as new marketing channels emerge. Present-day marketers have more opportunities than ever to deliver information to prospects. Before you proceed with the “next best thing,” let’s review the basics of the marketing tool kit.
Basics in marketing are as relevant today as they were yesterday. The basics are time-tested, reliable forms of communication to your clients and prospects. Start with the foundation, and then build your marketing tool kit from the ground up. Stick with what’s worked for decades and then add on new emerging marketing vehicles.
Every marketer should have these essentials in his or her tool kit: brand mark (logo), correspondence package, capabilities brochure, pocket folder or media kit, print and online advertising, direct mail, presentation, trade show presence, and website, as well as a brand identity to pull it all together.
Keep up to date with emerging sale channels, but don’t forget the marketing basics. They are time tested and bottom-line approved.
What Makes A Great Brand Mark?
A brand mark, or logo, is a company’s central graphic identifier. It gives visual indication in the marketplace as to what product or service the buyer can receive from the supplier. What are some of the common denominators of a great mark?
Simplicity is paramount. A streamlined and concise graphic image gives the company immediate identification and recognition to the prospect. An overly complex design gives a muddled impression. Instant assimilation is vital.
Adaptability is another consideration in developing a mark. How adaptable is it to multiple marketing channels? Does it work as well on a cell phone as on a billboard? Most marks require numerous versions to accommodate the wide array of marketing mediums available today.
Keep up to date with a modern mark. Contrary to popular belief, a great mark does not last forever. Current trends and styles play an important part in keeping a mark fresh and relevant. Keep up to date with a modern mark.
A great brand mark serves its company well. Create instant recognition and branding value with a mark that is distinctive, current and adaptable.
Secrets to a Powerful
Persuasive Presentation
Zzzzzzz…. we’ve all heard that sound while sitting in on an audiovisual presentation. Let’s face it; most presentations are rather dull. Most of the time its not the information that is dull it’s the way its presented. There are ways to keep your audience from snoozing during a presentation.
Hire a Professional – Frequently administrative assistants are given the task to develop a presentation. A professional graphic designer is better skilled at developing a powerful presentation that engages your audience with appropriate design and visuals. Hire one.
Streamline Content – KISS — Keep It Simple Stupid. No one wants to sit through endless pie charts and sales figures. Cut the content to the bare bones. Handouts should contain any supplemental information. A persuasive presentation gives a brief overview of the topic
Never Use Clip art – Sure, Powerpoint comes with a thousand clip art images, but does that mean you should use any of them? Probably not. Part of a presentation is to gain the respect of your audience, not look unprofessional with amateur artwork or photos.
Turn a lackluster presentation into one that will get your audience wanting to learn more about your subject. Use these tips for maximum impact that will help make a powerful and persuasive presentation.
3 Steps for Successful
Direct Mail Marketing
Does your company do direct mail marketing? What results have you received? Have you tried direct mail without success? Three simple but important steps can assure your next direct mail campaign achieves results.
1. Hire a graphic designer – Most direct mail campaigns fail because of an unfocused visual or written message. A professional graphic designer can assist you with developing a dynamic mail piece that engages your audience and leads them to action with your company.
2. Have a great mail list – Many companies sell mail lists. Few keep the lists up-to-date. Consult industry peers for a referral to a good one. Better yet, build one of your own over time to develop a targeted and lean prospect database.
3. Follow-up – The most vital step in a direct mail campaign is the follow up. Without a follow up mail piece or a phone call the marketing cycle is incomplete. Follow up to close the sale.
Direct mail is a time tested approach in the marketer’s tool kit. Using it wisely and frequently can lead to big results. Use these three steps for maximum impact.
Integrate for
Maximum Marketing Impact
Are your marketing materials integrated? Does the advertising work with the website? Do the business cards work with the brochure? Consistency is key in marketing.
Many companies’ initial marketing endeavors were not engaged at the same time thus, causing a hodgepodge result that sends mixed messages. Consistent messaging and branding is vital for maximum marketing impact. All pieces of the marketing mix should be integrated to work with each other.
Using a professional graphic designer and copywriter can help integrate your current marketing materials for maximum branding value. Integrate for a memorable impression to prospective clients.
Pull it All Together
with a Capabilities Brochure
What are your company's capabilities? Are they spelled out in a single marketing piece? Every company needs a printed capabilities brochure to promote its product or service offerings to potential clients.
Sure, you know what your company's benefits and features are, but prospects might be a little fuzzy on them. Give them all the information they need to engage your company. With a capabilities brochure your company's information is at your prospects’ fingertips and on the top of their minds when they are ready to buy.
A professionally designed capabilities brochure is just one more tool in your marketing arsenal. Use time tested print marketing vehicles to deliver maximum impact to your company's bottom line.
3 Proven Tips for a
Powerful Trade Show Event
Going to a trade show? Need to prepare a booth or upgrade your current one? Thinking about a promotion during the show? There are three ways you can increase your chances of getting maximum results.
1. Get a better booth at a lower cost - Atlanta is the worst market for buying a trade show booth. Two trade show booth suppliers have a stranglehold on the local market. Buying a booth out of state can get you a better product for less. Ask us how.
2. Less is more with booth graphics - Trade show graphics grab viewers' attention and pull them into the booth. Save the detailed product or service information for printed marketing collateral.
3. Have a contest or giveaway - People love free stuff. Grab attention and traffic with a giveaway. Whether it's a promotional item or a raffle, promotions always work. Just make sure it's related to your product or service for maximum effectiveness.
Following a couple of proven marketing techniques can assure success at a trade show. Generate inquires and sales with a great booth and a dynamic promotion.
Is Your Company Getting
the Attention it Deserves?
Have a new product introduction? Gained new and important clients? Added a new service to your business offerings? Press releases are one of the most effective ways to generate interest in your company. Sing your own praises!
We've all heard the saying "Toot your own horn". In today's fast paced society no one is going to do it for you; get some exposure by sending out a press release. Media sources are always looking for fresh and topical news items to publish. Make yours relevant, concise and timely.
Press releases are about exposure. Media placements help your bottom line in the long run. Get your company some media buzz in the New Year.
Need To Put Your Marketing
On An Exercise Program?
January brings about the yearly reflection on body image we'd like to change or improve. Whether it's a flabby waist or bulging belly we all have something we want to work on. What about your company's marketing? Is it a little soft around the edges too?
Marketing needs change from time to time to garner renewed interest and response. Have your marketing materials lost their punch? Has your message lost its luster? There is a lot to be said for repeat messaging in marketing; however, it needs to be reevaluated at least on a yearly basis for its effectiveness. Now is the time.
A new year is about change and revitalization. Make sure your marketing initiatives haven't become stale or dated. Step back and reevaluate to get the best bang from your marketing buck in 2006.
The Business Card:
Your Most Important
Marketing Tool
Wow! I attend a lot of networking events and this is the reaction that I often get when I hand out one of my business cards. We have all heard the saying “First impressions are everything.” When it comes to marketing your business this expression is right on target.
The business card is frequently the first point of contact that a prospect has with you and your business. With its small 2 x 3.5-inch area, the business card is your most important marketing tool. Use it to your best advantage.
Invest in your business card as you would any other key asset. There is simply no investment that provides a better return. Having a well designed, professional printed business card can show dramatic return to your business bottom line—and provide that all-important “wow” factor.
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It's All About Consistency
We've all heard it before, to get results from any type of exercise program consistency is key. The same applies to marketing. Consistency with your marketing program affects the results. To have a successful marketing initiative it needs to be frequent and over an extended period of time.
I've had clients ask me "If I mail out this postcard will I get business from it?". Chances are no, you won't. Direct mail response rates are around 2%, if that much. A series of postcards would be better. Get your message into the hands of your prospects frequently and consistently. Repeated exposure reminds the prospect of your goods or services when a need occurs.
Successful marketing is about consistency. When you plan and implement your marketing program long term and consistently, you get outstanding results.
Keeping It Together
and Getting Results
Got a lot of marketing materials of interest to prospects? One of the best ways to present them to potential clients is with a pocket folder. They help organize informational materials and are a ready source of referral when the prospect is ready to buy.
I've attended a lot of trade shows and the first things that attendees take are the trinkets, bags and pocket folders. I'm often amazed at how some exhibitors provide lots of marketing materials and nothing to carry them in and don't have them organized in any way. That's where a pocket folder comes in. It shows the creditability of your business, reflects upon your organizational skills and provides a convenient method of referral.
Sure, it's an added expense. But the payoff is worth it. I've got pocket folders I've kept for years. I pull them out from time to time to find information or to make a call to the business. Pocket folders. Your key to keeping it together marketing-wise.
Need to Trade Up
Your Trade Show Booth?
Having recently completed a trade show booth design for a current client, I am reminded of the importance of a professionally designed display. Like a business card, oftentimes it's the first point of contact that a potential client has with your goods or services.
This year I attended the SuperCom trade show and viewed some great examples of trade show design. One trade show display that I still remember to this day was from the Welsh Development Agency. It was eye-catching, clean, dynamic, and professionally executed. I watched as it also "caught the eye" of many other trade show attendees as they gravitated toward the booth.
Trade shows are all about putting your best face forward. A professionally designed trade show booth speaks volumes about your company and affects your bottom-line. Is yours up to task?
Change is in the Air
for the New Year
The New Year brings the chance for reevaluation and improvement both personally and professionally. Now is the time also to take stock and realign your businesses marketing materials. Are they up to task? Fresh and energetic? Up to date? Do they portray a professional look and feel for your company?
Currently, I am involved with an industrial client who is updating their marketing materials: everything from business cards to website and everything in between. Wise client. Their investment will pay off handsomely in increased business and added value for the company. This will help propel them to be the best of their industry.
Review and evaluate your marketing materials. Impressions are everything. Presenting a fresh, vital, current face through your sales materials will pay off handsomely in the New Year.
Get it Right
with a Copywriter
Remember classes in writing, grammar and spelling in school? Sure, its been awhile and the memory's gotten a little fuzzy. Most of us do fine with our writing skills in day-to-day activities, but with creating marketing materials, a copywriter is a wise investment.
Grammar and spelling are important. Sending an email to a friend is one thing, sending a marketing piece to hundreds, perhaps thousands, of potential clients is another. A good copywriter can assist with grammar, tone and structure. They also help uncover key benefits of your product or service. Sure, it's an added expense, but the benefits easily outweigh the costs.
Marketing is all about communication. Correct communication. Get it right with a copywriter.
Make Your Product Sheet Shine
Marketing a product brings different challenges than a service. A product is tangible and the prospective buyer is interested in learning detailed information about benefits and features. A product sheet is often a reliable marketing method to present this information.
Often, less is more. A well-designed product sheet addresses the buyers' questions without being overly technical or too wordy. Copy should be brief and to the point. Professional photography can elevate a dull product and show it at its best. Additionally, consistency with the graphic design of the product sheet to other company marketing materials builds on brand value.
Take time and access professional experience in the design and execution of a product sheet. Use a professional graphic designer, copywriter and photographer and your product will shine along with its sales.
Search Engines Seek
New Information
A web site is a critical marketing tool for any business. The creation and implementation of a website is the first step. Don't stop there however, achieve maximum marketing impact.
The internet is a fluid medium and is constantly changing. So should your website. Search engines seek new and updated information on websites. Dormant websites are seen as inactive and are thus ranked lower in search results. Have some new information to add to your website? Company news? Updated product line? Updated contact info?
Make it easier for the search engines to find your website. Maximize the marketing potential with new and updated information.