Archive for September, 2010
(International) Marketing = Magic Formula?
One of the most attractive regions of the world surely is Europe – with its 480+ million inhabitants, especially also Germany with its 80+ million thereof.
Insofar it is the ‘world market’ pure and simple (due to market sizes, buying volume, number of inhabitants, etc.). And it becomes for very many entrepreneurs more and more essential (= their survival) to get into/stay in foreign markets – but, of course, very thoughtful.
Concentrating on the home markets only will ´restrict – especially SMEs – to their ‘limited’ market places back home. Even if these are huge markets like e. G: USA.
Nowadays the sharp price competition needs companies/owners who strive to be ahead of their respective markets segments – not necessarily with regard to pricing but surely with regard to competitive advantages/customer ´benefits. (The marketing guru Prof. Kotler even argues a bit tougher: ,,We should get out of markets where we can’t be the first …”.)
If we do not concentrate on the clients’ needs and sell ‘our fingerprint’ (plus whatever such clients ask for !) which is always different even from the toughest competition, as well companies from Europe as from other parts of the world (especially SMEs – who still stand for the majority of a countries’ GDP) would only have a shadowy existence, which – due to their number of inventions and technical solutions – would not be justified.
On the contrary they should open themselves for new foreign markets and/or find foreign collaborators in order to broaden their market existence/shares.
Hereafter I touch therefore only four aspects – which in no case, however, cover the whole field of marketing of a specific company – which can give the entrepreneurs some idea though how to ‘better place the enterprise’ in the markets and by this initiate a better present and long-lasting ’starting position’.
We are on a ‘buyers’ market’, where it is important to have a detailed view and perspective for the own enterprise and the products produced – especially as the recession seems to be over soon and the economical development is seen ‘quite bright’ by the various institutions.
So, what can be done by an individual company – now ?
o I. Analysis
In my eyes that is the necessary starting position in general.
It has to be found out how the enterprise – with its present products – is accepted in the market place, where it is less successful than the competition, where the positive points are to be found (price, delivery – logistics timing -, quality, service, etc.) or simply:
“How the company for the time being is represented to its clientele and how it is valued”
Parameters for this situation are the own selling results, the profit-situation for all products, the total production/import/export statistics of such products in the area looked at, the buying structure, the advertisements/sales promotion done, etc.
Such an analysis should – normally – be executed by somebody not belonging to the company as then procedures followed so far are questioned, which may be existing without real reasons and/or new selling ideas can be elaborated/ added which are available due to the experience from other industrial fields – and being a consultant even from other companies where similar proposals reached good results.
o II. Targeting
The analysis has to be followed by a segmentation of the markets which are supplied by the company.
This segmentation has to lead to the question whether the company already supplies its clients on the best possible ways in order to really reach all segments in a way as accepted by the respective clientele and in the best possible manner, avoiding any unnecessary frictions.
o Possible catchwords are
o – core abilities -
Due to the multitude of different suppliers who all deal with various technological solutions but with just one problem (e. g. the IT-market, the automotive industrys, etc.) it is extremely important that a company finds/defines its ‘core abilities’ (the ‘fingerprint’ as said above) which are available – in this combination – only with them and that it concentrates on it and ‘markets’/cares for them. Only in this case a kind of ’sole selling position’ can be developed which in-turn leads to a sharper profile in the ‘market places’.
Now, many people may say that this is not relevant/true for them, but my experience says that it is – in many cases – just a matter of creative justification and formulation to reach such a target of ’sole position’.
o – research -
of the total quantity of prospective clients per segment/market locally and/or foreign, in order to define implement the strategic/ operational targets and control mechanisms in order to verify the results compared to the targets
o – sales routes multiplication -
i. e. that we have to find out if and when it may be advisable to sell our products (perhaps slightly changed in form/colour/packing and/or execution) to the different market segments following different sales routes
o III. Definition/implementation
- of procedures for the various market segments with a view to the various foreign markets/representatives/distributors, etc.
The results of these examinations has to be part of the overall ‘company planning procedure’ like the financial aspects, the sales organisation (> marketing plan) and all relevant costing procedures.
Especially the last aspect is one of the most important, as the costing procedure (starting with the optimal purchasing (even world-wide depending on the use of raw-/ready materials), the logistics needed, the suitable way of production (not to mention ‘lean-procedures>, the quality aspects, stock-keeping with the distributors, customer service, advertisement/sales promotion, etc.) will still be the finally deciding point for the pricing and this – provided all the rest is the same for different suppliers – will be decisive for the buying decision of our clients.
o Advertising/public relation
has to include nowadays an INTERNET-presence. That means, however, not only to have a site in the NET but also to publish it with relevant associations, client groups, etc., i. e. to ‘market’ it as a conventional means also but, if we want to be really successful it has – first and foremost – to be made-up in a way to lead the ’searcher’ directly to HIS solution/the solution to HIS problem, i. e. following also strictly marketing procedures as necessary for the respective product/market segment.
o IV. Control and correction
This step belongs to the ones mentioned before like the baby to its mother as only if it is controlled if/how the targets have been reached a correction will be possible and only then we will ‘answer the markets’ to our best.
This refers to the sales routes as well as to the ‘market presentation’ via representatives, advertisements, fairs/exhibitions, pricing, customer service, etc.
And it is as well understandable as logic that these parameters differ from market segment to market segment, from country to country, and I can say form my practical experience that in most cases the results from a deviation of the targets in one market/market segment not only have a real influence on the internal decisions (referring to production, organisation, finance, etc. ) but also gives perfect hints in order to correct and define new marketing ways for the rest of the segments/ markets, which again leads to an increase of sales and a more positive view of the future.
As stated in the very beginning it is not the aim of this article to present final solutions for everybody.
This is absolutely impossible as one company differs from the other nearly totally (even when producing the same final product) and only the detailed individual study gives answers to this – which then again leads to a more positive development of the enterprise.
However, the steps mentioned before – perhaps partly adjusted by further steps, like out- sourcing of different internal procedures, targeted customer service like key-accounting, special service offers to a few good customers/ products, etc. – can be used in general by all companies and as such lead to an increase of turnover and/or profit.
More details are available here;
http://www.marketing-und-vertrieb-international.com/en/marketing-and-sales.htm
Michael Richter – International Marketing- and sales consultant – concentrates for more than 35 years on marketing and selling of investment goods and long-lasting consumer goods to/in all 5 continents – since 1991 he works as an independent marketing consultant, especially for SMEs worldwide.
Michael Richter
Drehergässle 5
88499 Daugendorf/Germany
http://www.marketing-und-vertrieb-international.com/en/
michael.richter@marketing-und-vertrieb-international.de
Phone: +49-7371-93210, Fax: +49-7371-93217
Real Estate Marketing: Dominating a Niche Market | RISMedia
RISMEDIA, November 6, 2009
Internet Marketing Seminars, Sales, and 9 Email Marketing.
Marketing Strategy – What It Is, And Why It Is So Important
Marketing strategy is the primary key to business success. The No. 1 reason businesses fail is that they don’t make enough money. And the No. 1 reason they don’t make enough money is that they don’t adequately understand and practice effective marketing strategy. Marketing strategy offers these powerful benefits:
- Concentrating your resources and efforts on your greatest opportunities for success
- Sharpening your competitive advantage so that your business is superior to your competitors’ in ways that matter to customers
- Increasing the income of the firm more effectively than any other way
- Uniting the leadership team to all pull in the same direction, maximizing positive results
- Giving your brand a clearer focus so that it will be better known in the marketplace
- Stimulating demand for your products and services
- Improving the effectiveness of messages you send to customers and prospects
- Strengthening your ability to understand and meet the needs of customers
- Ensuring that your business will survive and thrive far into the future
“Marketing strategy” is one of the top-10 search terms related to marketing, used by Internet searchers about a half-million times a month. Many people are obviously interested in learning more about marketing strategy. That’s why this article has been written, the first in a series that explain marketing strategy in detail. The author, Buck Lawrimore, has provided marketing strategy to hundreds of business, government and nonprofit organizations of all sizes for more than 27 years.
Definitions of Marketing
“Marketing” comes from the Latin word merx or mercis meaning merchandise. Originally a market was a large open space where merchandise was displayed for sale, like pictures we’ve seen of large open marketplaces in Third World countries, or today’s farmer’s market. Originally “marketing” involved selling products in a marketplace. And that’s still the core meaning. But professional marketing has evolved to such a high degree of sophistication, like computer science and medicine, that it involves much more than just selling in a marketplace.
The American Marketing Association, the largest professional organization of marketers in the U.S., defines marketing as follows:
“Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”
This definition makes no mention of generating sales and income, the primary aims of business marketing, perhaps in deference to the many nonprofit organizations which are members of the AMA and are more focused on “delivering value” and “managing customer relationships.”
Another way to understand marketing is to view it as a mindset or orientation of the business or organization. The so-called marketing orientation means the organization as a whole is oriented to understanding and meeting the needs of customers. A company with this orientation is market-driven. It focuses its strategy and operations on understanding and meeting the needs of customers in a manner which is superior to competitors. Procter & Gamble is one of the largest and most successful companies in America, and it has a strong marketing orientation. SAS Airlines, FedEx and other leading companies around the world have a passion for understanding and meeting the needs of customers. That’s how they became so successful, and that’s how your organization can become more successful than ever before, whether you aim to be a world leader or just the best in your neighborhood at what you do.
Definitions of Strategy
“Strategy” comes from the Greek word strategos meaning general. Strategy defined by Webster’s as “1 The science of planning and conducting military campaigns on a broad scale.” More recently strategy has come to mean “skill in management” or “an ingenious plan or method.”
There are two aspects or connotations to this idea of strategy. The first is, it’s big picture. It involves consideration of all your available resources – people, money, time, physical resources etc. “on a broad scale.” The second is, strategy involves winning some form of competition. Your opponent may be an enemy who is trying to defeat you, or a business competitor who is trying to get your customers to buy from them instead of from you, or an opposing athletic team in a sports event. In all these situations as well as your own real world, there is one key to all effective strategy. This is one of the most important things for you to learn from this book:
The key to all effective strategy is
concentrating your resources on your greatest opportunities,
where your competition is weak.
Definition of Marketing Strategy
So then, effective marketing strategy could be summed up this way:
“Concentrating the organization’s resources on its greatest opportunities
to better meet customer needs, outperform competitors, increase income,
and achieve enduring success.”
Implied in this practical definition is the key idea that you have or will develop a niche or position in the marketplace which you can dominate or at least be a top player in, by building on strengths which distinguish you from your competition. Also implied is that you will be most successful if you concentrate on better meeting customer needs (via the marketing orientation) as a path to increasing sales, rather than just focusing on outbound communications or a sales force to persuade potential customers to buy.
Our next article will explain how to begin developing an effective marketing strategy for your business or organization. The entire series is available in a concise 30-page, 14,500-word ebook, “Marketing Strategy: The Key To Business Success From Your Community To The Worldwide Web,” at http://www.lciweb.com/marketing-strategy.htm
Buck Lawrimore is President of Lawrimore Inc., a full-service marketing firm in Charlotte NC, with more than 27 years experience serving business, government and nonprofit organizations of all sizes. Learn more about marketing and strategy at http://www.lciweb.com/marketing-strategy.htm
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Country Cottage on Acreage
How to Improve Your Real Estate Marketing Now
For the past few months now, the real estate market has been on the wrong side of growth. In fact many are saying that real estate market and real estate marketing is down and it would take time for the industry to get back on its feet and be on the prowl again. But there was a time when the real estate marketing was considered as one of the rare gems out there. It was a time when the market and real estate marketing was hot and anyone without a comprehensive background on the buyer’s market can hop in and still manages to take a bite out of the market. But those years seem to have faded the market suffered a slump that favored almost no one, and many stake holders languished under this circumstance.
Real estate marketing is about to improve
But the latest look is that the market is starting to do well once again and this should be good news to those who are into marketing. This should be the right time as well for those involved in marketing to not only continue their previous strategies and approaches in marketing, but to add a few more ammunitions in order to improve marketing so that it can be relevant to the times. If you are part of the affected market but starting to stand right now, here we list some suggestion tips on how you can improve your real estate marketing efforts and allow your endeavor to stand more durably on solid ground.
Setting of objectives and learning and other tips on real estate marketing
· Clarify the business’ objectives and the goals. These are important steps for you and those involved in marketing. The objective is necessary since all your marketing actions will be directed to this. Is the ultimate objective is to lead your group into one of the biggest in the region? Questions like this one should be asked. In terms of goal setting, it is important that there goals are achievable. It is important that you are realistic and specific. Instead of saying that you want to be the best, maybe you can say “I want to close 5 deals before the month ends”.
· Learn something new from technologies and learn from your interaction with clients. Technology changes so fast and you need to learn a thing or two from this. This is where your marketing efforts can be given a boost. Aside from this, it’s nice too if you can learn a new marketing tactic. Make sure too that you note your conversations with past clients as these can serve as good sources of ideas and inspiration.
· Get motivated and continue on learning by reading. In order to be successful in marketing, you need to consider that there is a need to continue the learning process. Do that by reading competent books about and related niches.
Always find time to reward yourself after working hard on real estate marketing
And finally, it’s best that you ask for help and from time to time you need to reward yourself. Marketing is a tough business and you cannot carry all the work alone. If you do all the work in marketing, then that is a sure ticket to exhaustion. To implement better marketing efforts, the suggestion is to get help from other marketing-minded friends. And of course, after working so hard tweaking your marketing efforts it is also important that you reward yourself. Celebrate, you deserve it.
If you would like to learn more about real estate marketing visit http://www.cellsigns.com
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One of the things that I think most people in the marketing world take for granted is that everybody understands the fundamental role of marketing in business. Through my daily interactions with other business owners over the past several years, however, I have been amazed at the relative lack of understanding about the importance of marketing. More often than not, marketing is a back seat, tertiary thought that comes after their product/service and daily operations, if it’s even that high of a priority.
One of the phrases that my business partner, James Orr, has coined in the real estate investing realm is that “everything starts with motivated sellers.” Without motivated sellers, there are no properties to buy, rentals to put tenants in, fixer uppers to flip, or deals to wholesale. This is such an important aspect of real estate investing that it’s almost a mantra for the way that James and scores of other successful real estate investors run their businesses. The key to getting in touch with motivated sellers happens to be marketing.
I guess that a good place to start in this discussion is to define what marketing is. Google define tells us that marketing is “the process of planning and executing the conception, pricing, promotion and distribution of ideas, goods and services to satisfy customers.” Marketing really does consist of more than what most people think it does. Marketing is more than just the activities that drive sales. Rather, marketing encompasses all the activities that seek to identify what consumers want and how to promote and deliver those goods and services.
Before an individual or company ever even makes the decision to produce a particular product or service, they should first spend the time to determine if there’s even a market for that offering. If there is a demand, they then need to figure out how to get that offering to the consumers that want it, how to tell consumers that it’s available, and how to price it such that there is money left over for a profit. This is all part of the marketing process, and really should occur before the product itself is even produced.
In more common usage of the term, “marketing” is often seen as only the promotional aspect of a product or service that is already available. This part of marketing consists of making the consumer aware of what you’re offering, and convincing them to buy it. There is a tendency in corporate environments to separate the marketing and sales functions into disparate departments, which is often a mistake. The purpose of the promotional element of marketing is to drive sales, and therefore the two functions are intricately connected. A good example of the disconnect between these two departments is when companies that sell capital equipment have vastly more people in their marketing departments than they do in their field sales force. Another example is when marketing and product development folks ignore the input from the field sales personnel. This input is often derived from actual customer contact, which most employees of large organizations don’t experience.
The prime purpose of one of my blogs is to test marketing promotions using a vast array of messages, media, and markets, which are often referred to as the three M’s of marketing. Before we conduct a test, we first do some background research to determine if there is even a market for what we’re considering selling, and we analyze whether or not we can at least break even on the marketing test using certain realistic assumptions about sales ratios. Pricing strategy is also something we discuss a lot before launching a new test. The actual development of sales copy, writing and placing ads, setting up measurement systems, etc., comes later in the process. Making sales and tracking metrics, then tweaking the marketing, comes next.
Sadly, many business owners don’t understand the importance of marketing. Because of this, they fail to plan for rough spots in the business cycle, such as off seasons, economic downturns, and other events. As the cliche goes, “failing to plan is planning to fail.” Every business should have a marketing plan of some sort, and it should be in writing. Companies that don’t “do” marketing will invariably fail.
In short, without marketing there are no sales. And without sales, there is no revenue. And without revenue, any business will quickly succumb to the statistics that show that nearly 2/3 of all businesses fail within their first 4 years.
About The Author: Jassen Bowman is an Internet marketing consultant and helps run a blog dedicated to testing various marketing methods, media, and messages. Visit the Ruthless Accountability Marketing blog to learn more.
Copyright 2007 – Jassen Bowman. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
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First in a series of three articles
Regardless of your law firm’s focus – criminal, civil, corporate, family, business, etc. – the greatest challenge most small to mid-size firms face is the lack of a strategic and disciplined approach to business development. Relying on referrals does not a strategy make! And waiting to get serious about marketing until that major case is wrapped up is way too late.
Whether you’re frustrated with past marketing efforts that have been expensive, time-consuming, and haven’t paid off…or you think you can’t afford to take a sophisticated, results-driven approach to business development like the big firms do, guess again. While your firm may not have its own in-house marketing expert on staff or the generous marketing budgets that the larger firms enjoy, you can systematically and affordably attract more clients than you ever thought possible. It just takes a thoughtful strategy that leverages the laws of marketing, and an ordered approach to stay on track.
Laws of Marketing
First and foremost, marketing is NOT about brochures, websites, advertising or cold calls. These things may or may not be tools that make sense for your firm, once you’ve leveraged the laws of marketing.
There are two basic laws of marketing1 that must be mastered by professional service providers who want to stop wasting time and money on ineffective marketing efforts. They are:
1. Build your base (carefully craft your message)
2. Reach out to your market (build and nurture relationships)
Here’s a quick look at what each of these laws requires…
Build Your Base. This law means spending thoughtful time defining your firm’s niche, developing language that grabs your prospects’ attention, articulating what makes your firm stand out from other firms offering the same services, demonstrating your value, and illustrating your firm’s authority to deliver better than all other choices.
Unfortunately, 90% of professional service firms ignore the law of “build your base” and rush to communicate about their firm without a carefully articulated message. This leaves your target audience unconvinced or, at best, confused about how your firm can serve them better than all others vying for their attention. Invest a little time in building your firm’s base, and you’ll be ahead of most of your competitors.
Reach Out to Your Market. This law involves developing and implementing a system of strategies to build and sustain relationships with your target market and current clients. They are executed both offline and online. They are done systematically and repeatedly. They work in synergy to create an unstoppable buzz and attraction to your firm that takes on a desirable life of its own, once you’ve put them in place.
These strategies include things like networking, direct outreach (personal or mass mail), PR, articles and speaking, keep-in-touch systems, using technology to attract, develop, and retain relationships; tapping centers of influence, developing joint ventures, launching a client relationship strategy, using a customer creation system, pursuing a relationship selling strategy, introducing a win-win fee strategy, and developing next-level strategies for current clients.
Orderly Conduct
This is the hard part for most law firms…making marketing happen is a function of carving out the time from precious billable hours – not an easy task! However, you can do it, especially if you take a disciplined and orderly approach to staying on track. This means you have to…
Get focused. Schedule a meeting with key decision-makers in your firm to discuss making a commitment to marketing. You don’t have to make any major decisions at this first meeting, except determine how much time you can commit weekly to your firm’s marketing efforts. Start small (2 hours per person) and put it in your schedules. Then schedule your next marketing meeting to discuss the results of your homework, the attached Are You Ready for a TurningPointe? marketing assessment!
Get organized. Use the results of the marketing assessment to stimulate discussion about where to start. At this point, if you’ve not done market strategy and planning before, call in an expert. It’ll save you lots of time in the end, since you’ll START with a strategic marketing plan that makes sense for your firm and is realistic to implement.
Some basics to consider when developing your plan include:
o Keep it simple; don’t take on too much at once. Spread out your deadlines.
o Identify a mix of short-term, easily implemented goals and longer-term, harder-to-implement goals. Build in some quick “wins” for an immediate return on your investment.
o Prioritize but be flexible; be willing to change dates or put things on hold when other marketing priorities make sense (which means you don’t stop, you just shift).
o Identify the obstacles (people, time, money, lack of expertise, etc.) that could derail you and plan tasks for how to overcome them.
o Plan for how to make marketing a reward, not a punishment. Build in rewards for people who take time from billable hours to market.
Stay on track. At a minimum, guard one hour every week for a status check on your marketing plan – even if you’re a solo practitioner, that means making an appointment with yourself! The mere act of focused thinking or discussion about marketing every week will make an enormous difference in your ability to attract more clients.
Once you have a smart plan in place that’s realistic (see Get Organized, above), all you have to do is focus on taking one step at a time, then another, and another. Each small marketing task builds momentum and before you know it, you’ve implemented a major goal. The key is to keep moving…or if you stop, get restarted. It also helps to have “accountability” to an outside party, who keeps you on track through regular telephone and in-person coaching sessions.
The Defense Rests
So your practice has a stellar track record of client victories, you do good work that you care about, and you know your contribution makes a positive difference in the lives of your clients. What if you could reach more clients than you ever thought possible with all that you offer?
Apply the laws of marketing through an ordered plan of action that keeps you on track, and you will. Case closed.
References
1 Middleton, R. Laws of Marketing TeleClass. Action Plan Marketing, Inc. 2003.
(c) 2004 TurningPointe Marketing, Inc. All rights reserved.
Marketing educator, Kelly O’Brien, is creator of the “Create a
TurningPointe!” Marketing Bootcamp. To learn more about this step-by-step
program, and to sign up for FREE how-to articles and 20-page marketing
guide, visit http://www.turningpointemarketing.com
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How To Get The Most Out Of Your Backlinking Efforts
Everyone concedes that back linking to your website or blog is an essential part of SEO and gaining page rank and the resultant traffic. So understandably you put in a lot of backbreaking and basically boring work setting up back links all over. Posting comments, profile back links in forums, article marketing, rss feeds and on and on goes the list.
Then you wait for the traffic to roll in. And wait – and wait and…..
The assumption is that because there is a back link – the SERPs – and immediately we think of Google – will find it, index it
And reward us with the resultant recognition. But that’s not the case.
There is no real difference between a back link on a forum and a link on your wordpress blog. To be relevant they have to be found and although the bots are out there crawling, there are a lot of links to be indexed. So if your back link is sitting on a well traveled forum then the bots may take weeks or months even to find the link and index it. This means your back linking efforts are largely unfruitful.
This brought about the concepts of link wheels and automated back linking products which generally cost fairly high monthly premiums for their usage. But the thought behind them was that they would back link the back links and thus bring them to the attention of the SERPs much more quickly.
Back link Indexing is a great way to improve the effectiveness of your back link building efforts. Whether you use Articles, profiles, blogging, guest blogging or other back link building strategies. Taking steps to get Google to find your
links will greatly increase your link efforts value.
It’s one thing to go out and build or hire an outsourcer to build 100’s, even 1,000’s of back links to your money sites and important traffic pages. Nowadays that’s a rather trivial exercise – time or money solves the issue and there’s a
lot of quality resources.
It’s quite another issue altogether to get maximum value from those back links. Take for instance, profile back links [which are all the rage right now] – how many of those, if left alone after being created, will ever find their way into Google’s index? If Google never crawls them and indexes them, how are we to get credit for them? One case study I saw recently – illustrated a 250% increase in links indexed by Google by taking matters in your own hands vs. waiting for Google bot to get around to finding them – naturally.
So to find out how to maximaise your backlinking efforts visit http://nqoba.com/how-to-get-the-most-from-your-backlinking/
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Email Marketing List Building: Leverage 4x4
Email Marketing List Building: Leverage 4x4
Every business person and every buyer needs to know that traditional
marketing is dead. Its replacement: 21st Century Marketing.
Customers no longer respond as they did in the 20th Century. They
don’t salivate on demand, stimulated by your glitzy marketing, as
Ivan Pavlov’s dog salivated over 100 years ago at the sound of a bell.
Pavlov was a Russian who documented the “conditioned reflex.” Pavlov
trained his dog so that whenever he rang the bell, the dog would get
food. When the bell rang, the dog would salivate instantly–even before
seeing or smelling food, a conditioned reflex.
Pavlov was a Nobel Laureate in 1904 in Physiology & Medicine.
His experiment with this dog’s conditioned reflex was part of his
research into the digestive system.
Since traditional marketing is dead, how to you market in the 21st
Century? Since cats can’t bark and customers don’t salivate
any more as a conditioned reflex to your marketing tactics, how do
your market and sell now?
Many answers are found in “Waiting For The Cat To Bark: Persuading
Customers When They Don’t Respond To Traditional Marketing,” a
book by Bryan and Jeffrey Eisenberg with Lisa T. Davis.
No surprise: the Internet and generational differences have hastened
the death of traditional marketing.
Since my 24 year employment career was in corporate marketing,
advertising and public relations, I have mixed emotions about the
death of traditional marketing.
But I’m having too much fun professionally in the 21st Century to lament
the demise of traditional marketing. Here’s why.
There are 700 million regular Internet users worldwide. As China and India
continue to enter the modern age and create a huge middle class, the number
of Internet users globally will increase sharply.
China’s economy is growing at over 11% annually, far faster than that of
the United States. One commentator said that’s because people in China and
India work very, very hard because they want to experience the American
Dream more than most Americans do.
73% of Americans use the Internet regularly. That’s about 219 million folks,
based on a population of roughly 300 million. That’s the mainstream. Non-users,
of the Internet, 27% of the American population, are out of the mainstream.
The authors say “The Internet is the world’s global brain.” And, “the web is the
glue that binds all marketing information.” Why is that? It’s because you find
just about anything you want to know online speedily. Google searches average
¼ of one second.
We can no longer view the Internet as totally separate from store and non-store
retailing. Consumer behaviour has changed. The truth is: in the new 21st Century
marketing, online and offline marketing methods have become interwoven by
crafty consumer usage.
That means you, as a business person, can no longer ignore the Internet because
you don’t like it, don’t approve of it, or believe your business is so unusual, the
Internet does not apply to you.
“New technology provides the lubrication to ease friction in a sale,” say the “Waiting
For The Cat To Bark” authors. Therefore, stonewalling Internet use is like throwing
sand in a gear box.
You cannot ignore the role of retailers in the whole equation. Now, retailing includes
all kinds of store and non-store retailing, traditional and non-traditional forms of retailing,
including millions of network marketing (MLM) distributors, too.
“Retail Bonanza Begins Online,” a study by Paul J. Bruemmer, published in the May 2006
edition of “Website Service Magazine,” included 83 million Americans who made 522 million
searches in 11 product categories in late 2005.
25% of searchers bought an item directly related to their search inquiry. Of those,
37% bought online–but 63% bought offline. People did not buy right away–they
shopped and compared. Many bought after several subsequent search sessions.
This study was conducted in the Christmas Holiday season of 2005. Over 60% of all
searchers started the search process before November 15, 2005–about a week before
the day after Thanksgiving.
In addition to the Internet changing how we buy, generational differences
impact consumer marketing, too. People in their 20’s and 30’s were brought
up on interactive technology.
As a result, they don’t have fixed media viewing habits as older people do–such
as reading the morning newspaper upon arising or watching 5:00 PM newscasts after
returning home after work.
That’s why newspapers are experiencing declining circulations and readerships
and why large national TV networks are taking a beating by video on demand,
video downloads, interactive game networks, and Internet TV–not to mention
the hundreds of alternatives on cable TV.
Marketing in the 21st Century must be reborn as “a consumer-centered craft,”
says Booz Allen Hamilton’s “Strategy & Business Magazine, 2006 summer Edition.
Before, the advertiser was in control, trying to persuade the customer. Now the
customer is in control, having much more information available.
To make marketing a “customer-centered craft,” you must accept that traditional
marketing is dead. You need to learn and practice 21st Century marketing, with
its weaving of the Internet and online and offline marketing into a cohesive while.
Moreover, to practice marketing as a “customer-center craft,” you need to answer
three questions: “Who are we persuading to take action?” “What is that action?”
“What does the person need to feel confident?”
Booz Allen Hamilton, a well-known management consulting firm, warns about
the “silo mentality” which exists in stodgy corporations. The company lives in a
silo and ignores everything going on outside of the silo.
If you have the “silo mentality,” tear the silo down and the barn, too, if necessary.
Start over. Breathe fresh air. Open you mind and feed it refreshing information
about 21st Century Marketing.
Learn from the colossal marketing mistakes of American automakers. In the early
2000’s, they ignored 21st Century Marketing, continuing to overspend on TV commercials and magazines and not spending enough promoting their Dealerships and marketing on the Internet.
Talk about burying your head in the sand and sleeping through a major trend!
Detroit has a bad case of the silo mentality. It’s putting them out of business.
Finally, do what I did–graduate from 20th Century marketing, and become a
21st Century marketing maven by educating yourself.
John J. Alquist is a professional speaker, business consultant and author/writer. He owns and operates Alquist Enterprises. Visit him online at john@tell-it-well.com or visit him online at http://www.tell-it-well.com
What Is The Contextual Advertising? : Internet Business Blog
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Multicultural marketing mirrors the changed face of America and is getting the attention of small-business and other organizations looking for an edge in diverse ethnic markets. “Gone are the days when businesses succeed with a ‘one size fits all’ approach to marketing. It’s a ‘mass market’ no longer,” insists Rhonda Albey, a diversity consultant with Allen Associates in Los Angeles, “The multicultural markets are where the opportunities are, and successful entrepreneurs are quickly learning how to get there.”
According to the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) the predominant ethnic market segments being targeted by multicultural marketers are Hispanic (70%), African-American (59%) and Asian American (27%). In many places, these and other multicultural markets exert such demographic and economic influence that they’re inevitable targets. (source: http://www.Emarketer.com, 11-6-02).
Wherever they are, however, businesses must monitor and adapt to changes in their marketplace. The view out there can change quickly, and it’s a mistake to take any significant market segment in your area for granted. Even with all the right products and services you’ll still need the right message, in the right place, at the right time to reach the ethnic markets you want to be doing business with.
Do-it-yourself online research and homegrown multicultural marketing initiatives can help you identify and develop local ethnic market segments. But for some, outsourcing may be the way to go. For example, Multicultural Marketing Resources, Inc., (www.multiculturalmarketingresources.com), a NYC-based public relations and marketing company, is helping businesses and entrepreneurs reach multicultural markets nationwide.
Population Growth and Economic Clout Tell Powerful Stories
Overall, says Multicultural Marketing Resources’, Lisa Skriloff: “The African-American, Hispanic and Asian populations have a combined buying power of more than a trillion dollars and minority populations are fast becoming the majority population in major markets.” But shifts in thinking toward culturally based marketing–targeting ethnic segments based on their cultural framework–will expand, creating multicultural marketing opportunities in still new ethnic segments in places where they are numerically significant.
California diversity consultant, Rhonda Albey, cautions: “Appreciate the diversity within groups as well as among groups. Terms like ‘Hispanic’ and ‘Asian’ are frequently used without acknowledging the wide-variety of peoples such terms include. ‘Asian’ can refer to any one of hundreds of nationalities, language groups and cultures. Entrepreneurs need to be aware that what appeals to Chinese-Americans in California may have little appeal for Korean-Americans in New York, although they’re all Asian-Americans.”
Culture as much, if not more than age, income, occupation or sex, is the main difference between ethnic markets and the general marketplace. Differing cultural backgrounds may mean consumers will never see or hear marketing messages that are not relevant to their cultural behavior, language or media preferences. And many businesses have yet to realize that Hispanics, Asians and blacks, among other market segments–multicultural or otherwise–have buying preferences that can be a key ingredient in marketing and selling to them.
But what if you haven’t been making the most of multicultural marketing opportunities that could be all around you?
How to Work Multicultural Marketing Into Your Marketing Plans?
Assuming you have a marketing plan, an important first step in multicultural marketing is knowing your audience, followed by improving your existing market penetration (you may want to get busy developing attractive new target markets, but first understand the inherent risks and costs, and explore opportunities to grow from within). If you can’t meet your goals with existing marketing opportunities–or you want to aim even higher–you probably should be developing new market segments. That means checking your sales forecasts and expense budget, and seeking ways to increase the return on your marketing investment.
As does all market planning, multicultural marketing needs to include research to determine who is buying your products and services, and why. Any market segment’s unique make-up defines its needs, suggesting products to sell and methods to use, and if it’s right for you; solid information about the wants, needs and objectives of potential clients is essential in making sound marketing decisions. Surveys of prospects and clients and informal interviews are useful research tools for agents and advisors in areas where one or more ethnic groups predominate.
Multicultural market planning continues with customer profiles–word-pictures of the people you’re looking for summarizing what these groups mean to you, what you do for the group, and why. Example: “The person I do business with is a young black professional or executive who is married, politically conservative, and has the potential of earning $100,000 a year by age 40. This market has grown substantially from when I started in this business 10 years ago, and I’ve been able to develop a steady market presence. As a result, networking opportunities and qualified referrals are easy–but I have to keep my eye on the ball and know my stuff.”
Market positioning then allows you to focus your resources and expertise as they apply to your market segments and think through the messages you wish to communicate to create competitive advantages. Your positioning statement should be well thought out and lend itself to professional identity branding. Your “brand”–reputation, integrity, performance, credentials, distinctive competencies and other key factors–shows in everything you do and differentiates you from your competition. Establish your brand up front: in conversation, in writing and in what you make people think about.
A marketing strategy is your formal plan for entering and systematically developing multicultural market segments and achieving your goals. It coordinates your positioning statement, customer profiles and professional identity brand with tools and techniques for establishing yourself in these market segments while servicing and expanding your existing client base. Once you have a plan, you’ll need to implement, manage and sustain it. It’s also important to remain focussed on your long-term goals. And to stay motivated!
You can adopt these steps to any market segment; what’s most important is thinking strategically about how you will find, get, and keep customers. Because marketing in the U.S. is becoming more like global marketing, market planning must proceed from an understanding of cultural differences the better to evaluate the need for adjustments to strategies and tactics. Commenting on the potential growth of multicultural marketing, Lisa Skriloff predicts: “Businesses that have not invested in multicultural marketing will be forced to reevaluate or be left behind.”
Want More? Send questions and comments to w.willard3@knology.net.
Bill Willard has also been writing high-impact marketing and sales training primarily for the financial services industry for 30 years—but as Will Rogers put it: “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” Through interactive, Web-based “Do-While-Learning™” programs, enewsletters and straight-talking articles, Bill helps SBOs and independent professionals get the job done: profitably improving performance, helping grow your business, skipping expensive mistakes, making the journey to small-business success faster, smoother, easier. And fun!
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