This article is very basic in its content. Unfortunately, many businesses have let what I am about to discuss fall through the cracks. As a result, they never really know why they didn't get the desired results from some of their marketing programs.
Everyone today is probably familiar with the term “spam”. For those who are not, spam is the abuse of electronic messaging systems by sending unsolicited bulk emails indiscriminately. In simple terms, if I send you an email without your permission it will end up in your spam folder or depending upon your email settings, it might get deleted immediately without you ever knowing it was sent. Spam also applies to other forms of being contacted such as regular mail. How many pieces of "junk mail" do you throw in the trash every day?
Most businesses ask their customers to fill out forms that have a space to leave their email address as another method of being contacted. This is a very good business practice. Unfortunately, if you do not ask your customers to add you to their “safe sender” list on their email software settings you will most always get spammed and the email will never arrive. You might think you are doing a mailing to 1,000 customers when in reality it is possible that as little as 100 might receive it.
I keep talking about your customers being your best asset. If you are not cultivating great relationships with them, you are really throwing away lots of potential business. Every business without exception must ask all their customers to fill out a simple reply card. Give an incentive to get this done if you have to. Not only do you want to create a database that has all your customers email addresses, but with one click on an email distribution list you can reach hundreds and thousands of your customers.
Regardless of your business, the ability to reach your customers with information or incentives is critical to your growth. Also, it enables you to initiate one of the most effective forms of marketing, referrals. It is so easy to ask your customers, the people that I assume already are happy with your business or service to recommend you to a friend. And, for this you will give them an incentive. These referral programs can be very simple in concept, fun to execute and be tremendously successful.
Permission based marketing goes beyond just emails. Its core foundation is getting your customers to agree to want to receive future information from you. Information is a very powerful resource and many people, if given the choice, will agree to want to receive ongoing communications. Why would you spend money on postage mailing information to people who do not want to receive it?
I suggest that you revise your forms to include an area where you directly ask your customers for their permission for you to contact them. If you have a large category of products and services you can ask them to check the boxes that interest them. Also, ask for their preferred method of being contacted; mail or email. Perhaps phone or mobile might be appropriate.
This message is simple but very important. You need to get your customers permission for you to contact them in the future. If you fail to do this you could be wasting a lot of money and time sending information that never arrives or won't get read.
My next article will discuss “Differentiate To Win The Game”. Until next time.
September 24, 2009
September 18, 2009
Evaluate Your Ads With This Simple Test – Article 7
If you are a business owner or in some way involved with the advertising for your company, then this article is a must read. In all my years of marketing I would witness a very strange form of research. Whenever one of my clients would approve a new ad campaign they would always show it to their spouse, children, neighbor, hairdresser or golfing partner to get their approval? Why? That is the focus of this article.
When I would sit in on a creative session at my ad agency with my creative director and his team our goal was always to design a fresh creative concept for our clients that was based upon strong research and supportive demographics.. Many times our research would indicate that we needed to go out of the box to get the attention of our target market. In almost every situation where we would design something really different, our clients would reject the concept. When I would question them as to why, the answer was always the same. “Why can’t you just design an ad like (they would insert their competitor’s name). I realized then that most clients who are really not marketing people to begin with, just wanted a better ad than their competition. I call this “Me To Advertising”. Other industry people call it “Creating a Better Mousetrap”. As an example, if we were designing a produce ad and our competitors were all showing a Red Delicious Apple as their main visual. Our clients would never let us show an Orange. They would simply want a bigger or prettier Red Delicious Apple?
Let’s talk for a moment about designing ad campaigns that work. Simply put, you must have two factors working in your favor. First, your ad must be seen. And, second, it must be placed in the correct media. If you don’t have both then your advertising will fail. As an example, if I own a candy store and let’s assume for the moment that the ad campaign is excellent. To run your ads in a Weight Watchers magazine would be ridiculous. I know that is a silly example, but it makes the point.
In this blog, I only want to discuss how to get your ads seen. I will talk about media strategies in a later article. Regardless of where you advertise I can promise you that if no one sees your ad, there is no way it can work. Many advertisers forget that “less is more” when it comes to design. A cluttered ad will loose all its visibility. Especially, if it is a small ad running on a cluttered page.
Most clients love to put everything in their ads. Lot’s of products, photos, copy, coupons, mandatories, etc. Some of the most memorable and successful advertising has only a few words in the headline with a simple visual and lots of white space in their design.
It is impossible for me to generalize about any particular design concept, but I can talk about a simple test to make sure your ad is seen. Research has shown that when you look at an ad, brochure, direct mail piece or anything else visual, that your eye moves from the dark areas first and then to the light areas. So what I want you to do is take your ad, don’t look at it, turn it upside down and hold it arms length away. Now quickly look at it for just a moment and then turn away again. Now turn the ad right side up and look at the dark areas that you eye had gone to first. In most instances it is something not very important to your message. Many times it is a dark border, map, photo montage, etc.
You must design your ads the way your want the reader to read it. Whatever is most important in your message needs to be the most visual. I promise that if you start evaluating your ad designs based upon this very simple test, you will get much better results from your advertising
My next article is titled “Invest In Technology To Increase Your Market Share”. Until next time.
When I would sit in on a creative session at my ad agency with my creative director and his team our goal was always to design a fresh creative concept for our clients that was based upon strong research and supportive demographics.. Many times our research would indicate that we needed to go out of the box to get the attention of our target market. In almost every situation where we would design something really different, our clients would reject the concept. When I would question them as to why, the answer was always the same. “Why can’t you just design an ad like (they would insert their competitor’s name). I realized then that most clients who are really not marketing people to begin with, just wanted a better ad than their competition. I call this “Me To Advertising”. Other industry people call it “Creating a Better Mousetrap”. As an example, if we were designing a produce ad and our competitors were all showing a Red Delicious Apple as their main visual. Our clients would never let us show an Orange. They would simply want a bigger or prettier Red Delicious Apple?
Let’s talk for a moment about designing ad campaigns that work. Simply put, you must have two factors working in your favor. First, your ad must be seen. And, second, it must be placed in the correct media. If you don’t have both then your advertising will fail. As an example, if I own a candy store and let’s assume for the moment that the ad campaign is excellent. To run your ads in a Weight Watchers magazine would be ridiculous. I know that is a silly example, but it makes the point.
In this blog, I only want to discuss how to get your ads seen. I will talk about media strategies in a later article. Regardless of where you advertise I can promise you that if no one sees your ad, there is no way it can work. Many advertisers forget that “less is more” when it comes to design. A cluttered ad will loose all its visibility. Especially, if it is a small ad running on a cluttered page.
Most clients love to put everything in their ads. Lot’s of products, photos, copy, coupons, mandatories, etc. Some of the most memorable and successful advertising has only a few words in the headline with a simple visual and lots of white space in their design.
It is impossible for me to generalize about any particular design concept, but I can talk about a simple test to make sure your ad is seen. Research has shown that when you look at an ad, brochure, direct mail piece or anything else visual, that your eye moves from the dark areas first and then to the light areas. So what I want you to do is take your ad, don’t look at it, turn it upside down and hold it arms length away. Now quickly look at it for just a moment and then turn away again. Now turn the ad right side up and look at the dark areas that you eye had gone to first. In most instances it is something not very important to your message. Many times it is a dark border, map, photo montage, etc.
You must design your ads the way your want the reader to read it. Whatever is most important in your message needs to be the most visual. I promise that if you start evaluating your ad designs based upon this very simple test, you will get much better results from your advertising
My next article is titled “Invest In Technology To Increase Your Market Share”. Until next time.
September 15, 2009
Operate Your Business Like A Retail Store – Article 6
Many of the most effective strategies for growing your business go back to the basics of Marketing 101. This may be a boring article in that you might read this and tell yourself that you learned nothing new. I would hope you might consider a different point of view.
How many times have you gone into a store, restaurant or office and found the magazines were 3 years old? The store looked dirty? The bathrooms had trash on the floor? Or the waiter or waitress was rude? I know it happens all the time to me. I am sure you have heard the expression that a bad waitress can bankrupt a restaurant in 3 years time. I am not sure how true that is but the point is clearly made.
From the moment a person enters your business until at least thirty days after they leave you must be better than the rest of your competitors. A positive environment will keep your customers in a positive mood. After all, business growth comes from capturing more market share which means doing things better than the rest.
Some of the most basic and minor changes can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary! I suggest that you ask a friend who has not been to your business and his wife to do a little evaluating for you. It may be challenging to find a friend that has never been to your business. If that is the case, then ask a neighbor or parent from your children’s school for example to do this project for you. Give them an incentive if you need to. Perhaps take them to dinner, or give them something for free if your store provides a product that lends itself to that.
You need to have your business critiqued as your customers see you with fresh eyes and clear objectivity. You want to ask three different groups to visit your business. It would be best if you are not involved, so ask one of your managers to greet them and show them around. Remember this can be done for all businesses including; a dentist’s office, law firm, retail store, bank, etc. Don’t forget that your customers are your best asset and if not merchandised properly they can produce a negative return.
Prepare a checklist to give these people to evaluate and critique their visit. You want to know their first impression all the way through to their last impression. Take the information from the three visits and summarize their comments. You will most likely be shocked at what you learn. It’s not that your magazines might be outdated, or the trash cans were overflowing. Rather, the combination of all their comments can indicate your needing to do some modifications to your business. Remember, when you go to your office you are used to your environment and don’t see things as your customers do.
Something as simple as adding a flat screen television or a couple computer work stations or music can totally change a persons experience in your business. Be creative and consider their age ranges and I am sure you can make lots of changes that don’t cost very much money that will really have impact. Something as simple as coloring books for children can really work.
Your job is not done when your customers leave your business. Actually the process of growth is just beginning. Within 24 hours of their visit you need to thank them. It can be as simple as a pre-printed post card with a hand written note thanking them. It could have an incentive for them to come visit you again. Regardless of what you send, the impact must be that you care about them. It is best if you develop a 3-part follow up program. The first piece goes out immediately, the second and third each about ten days apart. The content of your message does not matter as much as letting your customers know how important they are to you.
If you follow these very basic steps you will be surprised not only by the many new positive comments your customers will make to you, but also seeing the faces of new customers visiting your business for the first time.
My next article is titled “Evaluate Your Ads With This Simple Test” Until next time.
How many times have you gone into a store, restaurant or office and found the magazines were 3 years old? The store looked dirty? The bathrooms had trash on the floor? Or the waiter or waitress was rude? I know it happens all the time to me. I am sure you have heard the expression that a bad waitress can bankrupt a restaurant in 3 years time. I am not sure how true that is but the point is clearly made.
From the moment a person enters your business until at least thirty days after they leave you must be better than the rest of your competitors. A positive environment will keep your customers in a positive mood. After all, business growth comes from capturing more market share which means doing things better than the rest.
Some of the most basic and minor changes can transform the ordinary into the extraordinary! I suggest that you ask a friend who has not been to your business and his wife to do a little evaluating for you. It may be challenging to find a friend that has never been to your business. If that is the case, then ask a neighbor or parent from your children’s school for example to do this project for you. Give them an incentive if you need to. Perhaps take them to dinner, or give them something for free if your store provides a product that lends itself to that.
You need to have your business critiqued as your customers see you with fresh eyes and clear objectivity. You want to ask three different groups to visit your business. It would be best if you are not involved, so ask one of your managers to greet them and show them around. Remember this can be done for all businesses including; a dentist’s office, law firm, retail store, bank, etc. Don’t forget that your customers are your best asset and if not merchandised properly they can produce a negative return.
Prepare a checklist to give these people to evaluate and critique their visit. You want to know their first impression all the way through to their last impression. Take the information from the three visits and summarize their comments. You will most likely be shocked at what you learn. It’s not that your magazines might be outdated, or the trash cans were overflowing. Rather, the combination of all their comments can indicate your needing to do some modifications to your business. Remember, when you go to your office you are used to your environment and don’t see things as your customers do.
Something as simple as adding a flat screen television or a couple computer work stations or music can totally change a persons experience in your business. Be creative and consider their age ranges and I am sure you can make lots of changes that don’t cost very much money that will really have impact. Something as simple as coloring books for children can really work.
Your job is not done when your customers leave your business. Actually the process of growth is just beginning. Within 24 hours of their visit you need to thank them. It can be as simple as a pre-printed post card with a hand written note thanking them. It could have an incentive for them to come visit you again. Regardless of what you send, the impact must be that you care about them. It is best if you develop a 3-part follow up program. The first piece goes out immediately, the second and third each about ten days apart. The content of your message does not matter as much as letting your customers know how important they are to you.
If you follow these very basic steps you will be surprised not only by the many new positive comments your customers will make to you, but also seeing the faces of new customers visiting your business for the first time.
My next article is titled “Evaluate Your Ads With This Simple Test” Until next time.
September 5, 2009
Making Sales With NLP – Article 5
I consider myself to be a good communicator and always questioned why there aren’t any courses taught in high school on the importance and power of proper communication skills. I was in the office of my spiritual leader many years ago and we were talking about this very subject. He pulled out a book on NLP which stands for Neuro-linguistic programming. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as "a model of interpersonal communication chiefly concerned with the relationship between successful patterns of behavior and the subjective experiences underlying them". After reading the book I wanted to learn more, so I contacted one of the NLP trainers and asked if there was any possibility that she might train me in this powerful communications tool. She agreed, and I flew out of town for four, six-hour training sessions.
I was so excited about my new information that I spoke with my son’s 10th grade English teacher and asked if I could lecture on this subject in his class. Little did I know that he wanted me to teach all his classes for the day. My program started by my holding up a Sony Walkman and asking the class what this strange object in my hand was? They laughed and told me exactly what it was and how it worked. I asked lots of silly questions like what if it got it wet? or if I left it in the sun? They knew all the answers. I asked how they knew so much and was told that it came with an instruction manual. Ah Ha! They fed right into my hand. So I replied, since you are all so smart can someone please tell me where the on and off switch for your brain is located? They all looked at me as if I were crazy. I then said can you please tell me where I can find an instruction manual on how the brain works. Again, they looked at me as if I were nuts!
The essence of NLP is how the brain processes information based on belief systems and sorting patterns. I use it as a powerful method of communicating and for the purpose of this article, how you can use NLP to sell more successfully in your business if you learn and apply some of its techniques.
Let’s focus on one of the sorting patterns called “Positive Versus Negative,” I will use an example to define this. If I am a realtor showing a home and as I am going through my presentation I notice that the wife has a negative comment on everything I am presenting. I show here the beautiful entrance and she replies “the hallway is too narrow”, in the kitchen she comments “the cabinets are too small”, in the master bedroom “the closets are tiny”. All the while, the husband is saying, “honey look at the pretty view as we enter this home”, and “the kitchen is so large for cooking” and “we can see the beautiful golf course from our master bedroom window”.
We are clearly working with a positive husband and a negative wife. So knowing how NLP identifies sorting patterns, you can quickly change your presentation and change the negative wife’s thinking without her even knowing it. In the kid’s room, you say “the closets are a little small in this room, but there is a hallway closet right outside the door for extra toys, but this beautiful room is large enough to hold twin beds”. The wife now smiles in agreement. In the next bedroom which happens to be small, you say “even though this room is on the small side, it would make a perfect workout room”. Again you now have the negative wife agreeing with you. By changing a person’s behavior you change the outcome.
NLP teaches you to identify sorting patterns and use them for better communications. In the business world, this results in making more sales. We are all born with our own sorting patterns and they are very difficult to change. Remember, sorting patterns have nothing to do with being right or wrong, they just are the way a person processes information. Most people are not even aware of these patterns since they have lived their who life with them. I am sure you can apply this sorting pattern to every phase of your business. Teach your sales people how to identify “negative” people and reverse this pattern to a positive result. It truly works, just try it and see for yourself.
My next article is titled “Always Protect Your Brand”. Until next time.
I was so excited about my new information that I spoke with my son’s 10th grade English teacher and asked if I could lecture on this subject in his class. Little did I know that he wanted me to teach all his classes for the day. My program started by my holding up a Sony Walkman and asking the class what this strange object in my hand was? They laughed and told me exactly what it was and how it worked. I asked lots of silly questions like what if it got it wet? or if I left it in the sun? They knew all the answers. I asked how they knew so much and was told that it came with an instruction manual. Ah Ha! They fed right into my hand. So I replied, since you are all so smart can someone please tell me where the on and off switch for your brain is located? They all looked at me as if I were crazy. I then said can you please tell me where I can find an instruction manual on how the brain works. Again, they looked at me as if I were nuts!
The essence of NLP is how the brain processes information based on belief systems and sorting patterns. I use it as a powerful method of communicating and for the purpose of this article, how you can use NLP to sell more successfully in your business if you learn and apply some of its techniques.
Let’s focus on one of the sorting patterns called “Positive Versus Negative,” I will use an example to define this. If I am a realtor showing a home and as I am going through my presentation I notice that the wife has a negative comment on everything I am presenting. I show here the beautiful entrance and she replies “the hallway is too narrow”, in the kitchen she comments “the cabinets are too small”, in the master bedroom “the closets are tiny”. All the while, the husband is saying, “honey look at the pretty view as we enter this home”, and “the kitchen is so large for cooking” and “we can see the beautiful golf course from our master bedroom window”.
We are clearly working with a positive husband and a negative wife. So knowing how NLP identifies sorting patterns, you can quickly change your presentation and change the negative wife’s thinking without her even knowing it. In the kid’s room, you say “the closets are a little small in this room, but there is a hallway closet right outside the door for extra toys, but this beautiful room is large enough to hold twin beds”. The wife now smiles in agreement. In the next bedroom which happens to be small, you say “even though this room is on the small side, it would make a perfect workout room”. Again you now have the negative wife agreeing with you. By changing a person’s behavior you change the outcome.
NLP teaches you to identify sorting patterns and use them for better communications. In the business world, this results in making more sales. We are all born with our own sorting patterns and they are very difficult to change. Remember, sorting patterns have nothing to do with being right or wrong, they just are the way a person processes information. Most people are not even aware of these patterns since they have lived their who life with them. I am sure you can apply this sorting pattern to every phase of your business. Teach your sales people how to identify “negative” people and reverse this pattern to a positive result. It truly works, just try it and see for yourself.
My next article is titled “Always Protect Your Brand”. Until next time.
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