Archive for General Business
20 Marketing Mistakes-#2 Failure To Monitor Your Results
Posted by: | CommentsResults. That’s all that counts in business. Results.
Any promotion worth putting your time, money and effort behind, is worth measuring how well it performs. Only by knowing what kinds of results a certain marketing effort produces, can you determine whether or not to run it again, or what you may need to do to change or tweak it in order to make it more effective.
It’s absolutely amazing how many business owners don’t understand this simple concept. They’ll let the salesperson from Yellow Pages, radio, TV, Newspaper, etc. sell them an ad and have their department layout the ad, then let the ad run with no way of knowing whether or not a prospect called or a customer was obtained as a result of that ad. The majority of businesses forget to put the website on these ads. The power of tracking is available with web stats from your website.
These type of ads has no “accountability” or “measurability.” So, next year, the same ad gets run, the same results are had, and the business owner continues to complain about how poor business is.
And the same thing happens with his or her newspaper ads, magazine ads, direct mail campaigns, Val-Pak marketing and every other type of marketing they do.
As an astute business person, you should never even consider running an ad or executing a mailing campaign or promotion without having some type of response mechanism to measure the results.
You wouldn’t think of ordering and paying for a product… any kind of product, and then not checking to see if you received it.
Yet, many business owners will run ads in their local radio, local TV, newspaper, magazines, Money Mailer, or Val-Pak, or send out a mailing and never even bother to see what kind of results the ad produced.
I know it’s crazy. But it happens every day. And millions of dollars are wasted because of it.
Some people even go so far as to say, “Well, my advertising isn’t to bring in customers right away. Its purpose is to keep our name in front of our prospects and create ‘top-of-mind-awareness’ so when they’re ready, they’ll remember me.”
Well, top of mind awareness is important. There’s no question about that. But you can’t afford to operate your business on “deferred results.”
Each of your ads and mailings must have a definite, targeted purpose. And each ad must be measured to see that it, in fact, does accomplish that purpose. We’ll talk more about this in a later section.
But for now, here’s a simple 4-step system you can set up to measure the results of each and every advertising or promotion campaign you run:
1. Put together an “Advertising and Promotion Results Analysis” book. A simple 3-ring binder works well for this.
2. On the inside of the binder, insert a few clear plastic “page protectors.”
3. Print up some copies of the “Advertising and Promotion Results Analysis” forms found on the next page, and insert one in each of the page protectors facing the back of the binder.
Every time you run an ad or promotion, put a copy of that ad or promotion in one of the page protectors facing the opposite direction of the Analysis form.
If you do this every time you run an advertisement, a promotion or a direct mail campaign…and you carefully analyze the results, you’ll quickly see which promotions are working, which ones need a little tweaking to improve them, and which ones you should discontinue as soon as possible. As your binder grows, make two additional binders.
In one binder place all your “A” ads and sales letters. That is, the ads that pulled the best. In another binder, place the ads and letters that produced marginal results, or at least broke even.
And in the third binder, put all the “losers.” The ads and letters that absolutely bombed.
Then, when you get ready to do another promotion or mailing, you’ll know which ads or letters you can depend on, or at least which ones you can model your next promotion after.
Now, regarding the third binder… well, stay away from the ads in that binder. Those ads have already proven that you won’t want to run them again.
But, the second binder… the one with the marginal or break even ads and letters. That’s one that you may want to experiment with. Look over the ads and see what may have gone wrong.
see attached PDF
Advertising and promotion tracking sheet
Just because those ads didn’t make as big a profit or get as big a response as you would have liked, is not necessarily a reason to dump them. Sometimes a little tweaking or adjusting can turn a mediocre ad into a real results-producer.
BUT… do this secondarily to using the ads and letters in the first binder. They’re already proven winners.
Do you see the advantage of doing this? By having a copy of the ad or promotion and the results it produced in a central place, it makes developing your next promotion so much easier. No more guessing. No more wonder.
You’ll not only save time, but if you can take a proven winner and make it a little better… pull a three-percent response rather than say, a two-percent response, the difference will all be profits to you.
Running the ad or promotion costs the same, whether it pulls two-percent or three-percent. But, that extra one-percent is a 50 percent increase in response rate. And that one-percent may mean the difference between a profit or a loss on that promotion.
20 Marketing Mistakes-#1 Failure To Let Your Prospects And Customers Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsPart 2 of the #1 Marketing Mistake -Failure To Let Your Prospects And Customers Know The Unique Benefits They Get From Doing Business With You And Not Your Competitors
Even if the advantage you offer has to do with quality, service, dependability, convenience, professionalism, etc., just to state those facts is not enough.
You must find ways to quantify, or identify specifically, how those items benefit, or provide advantage to the end user. When you use phrases or words like, “Top Quality,” “The Best, Most Reliable Service,” “Dependable Delivery,” or “We offer top-of-the-line products, the best service, and the lowest prices,” they ring hollow in the ears of your prospects and clients.
These are too vague and meaningless. Not only can most of your competitors say the same things, they do say them. Instead, you want to be very clear about how the advantages you offer will benefit your customers.
Tell them exactly what they can expect from you. It may be that you only offer your customers, clients and prospects the highest quality, “top-of-the-line” products. If so, that’s great. But tell them in very specific, definable and quantifiable terms so they understand exactly what “highest quality, top-of-the-line” means to them, and how they’ll benefit.
Maybe you have the lowest prices in the industry or your market area. If so, that’s good. But how much lower are you? How much can your prospects and customers save by buying from you?
Perhaps the support you offer in terms of education, service or marketing assistance is superior to that offered by your competitors.
Or it could be that you offer free shipping, extended hours or better trained salespeople or advisors.
Those are all good things to offer. But, in and of themselves, they don’t say much. To use these features for to their fullest advantage, you must quantify them.
Show your prospects and clients very clearly how much lower, how much better, how much superior, how much of an advantage they’ll get by doing business with you.
Spell out exactly, clearly and specifically what advantages and benefits your customers will gain. Whatever you choose to make your UCA, remember, it must be perceived as desirable to your prospects and customers. In other words, they have to consider it to be of value to them.
If you can, make your UCA that’s something exclusive to you and you’re business operation. The more exclusive or proprietary you can make it, the less competition you’ll have.
If you’re the only one who offers that something extra, whatever it may be, your clients or prospects can’t get it from anyone else at any price. It’s simply not available.
And, if that something extra is exclusive to you, no one can compete with you, and that gives you a great advantage in your marketplace.
That something then, whatever it is, becomes your Unique Competitive Advantage… your UCA. It’s the thing, the reason, the advantage, that will make it not only worthwhile, but beneficial and advantageous… even desirable for others to do business with you.
Now here’s what you can do:
1. Make a list. Take out a sheet of paper and write down every advantage you can think of why someone should do business with you. Get a big list. Don’t worry about whether or not your competitors can offer the same advantages or not at this time. Just get some points down on paper. Think in terms of how your business might fit in the following categories:
A. The name of your business. Does it say what you do, and position you in such a way that there can be no mistake? Can there be any doubt what kind of business “The Hair Club For Men” is in? As another example, if you didn’t know it was a men’s clothing store, what would you think “The Men’s Warehouse” sold… men? What about your business? Can you use the name as an advantage?
B. Exclusive niche. Are you trying to be all things to all people? Or do you occupy and dominate (or at least have the potential to dominate) a certain market? The tighter a group you can cater to, the more control you’ll have and the more opportunity you can have to dominate and control it.
C. Expertise. Do you have some type of specialized understanding of a particular market segment so you can become a recognized expert? If you do, when people look to you for help and expertise they can’t get anywhere else, you’ll have a tremendous advantage.
D. Guarantee. If you have an unusual guarantee, you can use that as a competitive advantage. We’ll discuss the concept of “risk reversal,” and guarantees later.
E. Market positioning. How are you viewed in your marketplace? How do you stack up against your competition? What is your market’s perception of you versus other competing businesses? Domino’s didn’t go head to head with other pizza shops trying to make a better pizza. Instead, they went after quick, in-home delivery, and nearly completely dominated a market in a very short time.
F. Price. How are your prices compared to those charged by your competitors? Do you have the lowest prices for your products, and operate as a “discount” operation? Or, do you take a higher price-point position and operate at a more “exclusive” level? Either position can be an advantage depending on how you position your business and the products and services you sell around it.
These are just a few of the areas that you may want to consider as competitive advantages. Of course, there are more, but at least this will get you thinking.
2. Segregate your list into three groups:
A. Those exclusive to you or your firm. (Your competition cannot offer these.)
B. Those that can be offered by both you and your competition.
C. Those currently offered by both you and your competition, but which they are not capitalizing on presently.
The best advantage you can gain will be from those in Group A… those areas in which your competitors cannot perform. These are things only you can do for whatever reason, and you will want to capitalize on them to your fullest advantage.
Group B lists things offered both by you and others. Don’t neglect these. While they’ll be the weakest of the three groups, with a little work and creativity, you may be to combine parts of these with those you have identified in the other groups.
The last group, Group C, can be used to a real advantage. But you must be careful. While your competitors aren’t currently using these, if they notice that you are beginning to use them, you may awaken a hornet’s nest. They may see what you’re doing, recognize that they too can offer the same advantages, and begin including them in their promotions.
2. Formulate your UCA. Begin with the strongest point you’ve come up with. Think of how it applies to your customers in terms of why they should do business with you rather than your competitors.
One way to do this is to pretend someone has just asked you what you do, or why they should do business with you instead of anyone else. Your reply should follow the following two-part formula:
A. “You know how (point out a common problem your customers face)…___
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________”
B. “Well, what I do is (provide a solution to that problem)… _________________
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________”
Developing an effective UCA doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. But it absolutely must be done if you expect to gain and maintain any kind of an advantage in today’s marketplace.
20 Marketing Mistakes-#1 Failure To Let Your Prospects And Customers Part 1
Posted by: | Comments#1 Marketing Mistake -
Failure To Let Your Prospects And Customers Know The Unique Benefits They Get From Doing Business With You And Not Your Competitors
“Why should I do business with you, instead of any and all other options I have?”
This is a question that goes through each of your prospect’s minds before they choose to do business with you, and through each of your customer’s minds before they return to buy from you again.
And, it’s a question you must take the time to formulate an answer to. Without such an answer, you become like every other business who sells the same products or services as you.
It doesn’t matter what product or service is being offered, your customers can go nearly anywhere and find the exact same (or very similar) products or services offered for the same price, or perhaps for even less money than what you charge.
Think about yourself, for a minute. Why do you do shop at the same stores or eat at the same restaurants over and over again? Most likely, it’s because they offer you something you can’t get from their competitors. Maybe they’re closer to where you live or work.
Or maybe you like the way a particular restaurant prepares a certain meal. Perhaps it’s the environment or the people who work there. Or maybe you just feel comfortable… almost like you’re at home while you’re in their place of business. It may not be one single thing that influences you, but rather a combination of several factors.
Nevertheless, the businesses you continue to frequent give you something special. Something unique. Something you just can’t get anywhere else. It’s that uniqueness that keeps you coming back over and over again. If you expect people to do business with you rather than your competition, it’s imperative that you have something to offer that your competition doesn’t have.
Preferably something your competition can’t offer. Something that sets you and the products or services you offer apart from everyone else in your type of business.
That’s what’s known as your Unique Competitive Advantage, or UCA.
You may have heard this concept referred to as a “USP” (Unique Selling Proposition), “USA” (Unique Selling Advantage), “PDF” (Personal Differentiating Factor), “SOB” (Statement of Benefit), “UPA” (Unique Purchase Appeal, PDF (Personal Differentiating Factor), or any number of others descriptive names.
In any case, the name or what you call it is not important. No matter what you choose to define your unique factor, it’s one of the most critical, yet most often overlooked marketing tools in business, today.
Without a clearly defined factor that differentiates you are sets you apart from everyone else who offers the same (or similar) products or services as you, your business will be no different than any other business your clients or prospects will encounter, and there will be no reason for others to do business with you rather than your competitors.
On the other hand, a well thought-out, carefully identified UCA can differentiate you and your business and make you stand out from your competition as unique, different, and special, and the business enterprise that’s most desirable to do business with.
Coming up with your own UCA doesn’t have to be difficult. It’s simply a matter of identifying what you have to offer your clients, customers or prospects beyond what the product or service you offer can provide.
Let’s say you’re involved with a product or service that is so similar to others in the marketplace, that there is no significant difference between them. In that case, your UCA must be something you or your firm or business can offer, exclusive of the features or benefits of the product or service you sell.
Four Hot Marketing Strategies That Can Flood Your Business-Marketing Strategy #2
Posted by: | CommentsMarketing Strategy #2
Use the testimonials of other satisfied customers to help pre-sell your prospects.
Testimonials are one of the most powerful tools any business owner can use, but also one of the most under-utilized.
Testimonials are not limited to any one type of advertising or promotional media. Websites, Television ads, radio announcements, newspaper layouts and infomercials all make use of testimonials.
Your own clients are some of the best sources of endorsement you could possibly want. Especially if they are known to those you are marketing to, or if they have something else in common… perhaps they live in the same town, have similar businesses, belong to the same organization or association, etc.
There are really only three reasons people don’t buy from you.
1. They have no use for your product or service.
2. They can’t afford your product or service.
3. You haven’t developed the level of trust, credibility, and believability they need in you to do business with you.
There’s not much you can do if a prospect can’t use or pay for your services. But there is a lot you can do to help wipe away the underlying layers of skepticism they bring to the relationship and establish the trust level they need to say “Okay” to your offer.
People don’t like to be the first to do anything… especially if it involves parting with their hard-earned money. And, they don’t like to be manipulated. The sales world is full of hype and promotion, and oftentimes, false and misleading promotion.
If your customer or prospect can see that others have done what they are being asked to do, or that others are currently doing it, they tend to feel more safe, and will be more likely to participate. But you first have to relieve any nervousness they may have of being “taken.”
Testimonials are not difficult to get. One of the most effective ways is to send users of your products or services a questionnaire or evaluation form that asks for their feedback on how they’ve benefited from using the product or service.
The questions should be in “open-ended” form, and ask for them to write their feelings about their experience with your product or the service they received from you, and not just for “yes” or “no” answers.
Another effective method is to call your clients on the telephone and record the conversation (with their permission, of course).
Then you can transcribe the parts you want to use, and send a copy to them for their approval and authorization.
Often, after a brief warm up conversation, people will forget the tape is running, open up and give you all kinds of good, useable information that can be edited for use as a testimonial.
Using testimonials is one of the most effective ways you can eliminate fear, increase the believability and credibility of your offer, and add to the number of sales or inquiries to your advertisements or promotions. Whatever you do, don’t overlook this important and valuable tool!
Four Hot Marketing Strategies That Can Flood Your Business Part 1
Posted by: | CommentsFour Hot Marketing Strategies, No Matter What Condition The Economy Is In
The bottom line of all businesses is to make a profit. That’s why a business exists in the first place. It sounds nice for someone to say that the reason they’re in business is to help other people, or to provide some needed service, but in the end the real bottom line is that the business owner wants and needs to realize a profit on his or her investment.
Profits are what drive businesses and allow them to provide more goods and services, create more jobs and expand the economy. Profits are what allow the philanthropist to continue giving and providing relief and humanitarian service to others.
There are many factors that affect profits, not the least of which is customers purchasing goods and services provided by the business. Without customers making purchases, there simply would not be a business.
If a business expects to remain in business for any length of time, or to grow, the business owner must master the skill of getting customers to do business with them.
That includes new customers… those with whom they have never done business before; current or existing customers… those who patronize the business regularly; and past customers…those who have done business before, but may have taken their business elsewhere.
