Archive for November, 2010
What Type of Marketing Organization Are You?
I recently ran across an excellent article in “strategy+business” (an online and hard copy magazine devoted to strategy issues) that shed some interesting light on a very important marketing issue.
The article, entitled “Six Types of Marketing Organizations: Where Do You Fit In”, is based on a study by Booz Allen Hamilton and the ANA (Association of National Advertisers) that identified six basic types of “marketing organizations” within companies. I found it to be a fascinating and insightful look at the importance of making sure the marketing function aligns with what the business really needs.
According to the article, the six types of marketing “organizations” (i.e. the marketing people, systems and processes inside a business and the activities they perform) are as follows:
1. Growth Champion. Marketing drives strategy at the senior level and plays a major role in generating revenue and leading new product and business development.
2. Senior Counselor. Although still functioning at the strategic level, marketing serves as more of an advisor to the CEO than a formulator of company-wide strategy.
3. Brand Foreman. Functioning in a more of tactical role, marketing focuses on providing various services to support the company’s brands. This can include developing communications strategies and creative initiatives, as well as campaign execution.
4. Growth Facilitator. Similar to the growth champion, except here marketing mainly supports other major functions rather than initiating and leading strategy on its own.
5. Best Practices Advisor. Marketing serves as more of a tactical weapon whose primary purpose is to help each business unit achieve maximum effectiveness in their marketing efforts.
6. Service Provider. Marketing acts much like an outside vendor, providing advertising, promotions, public relations and other marketing services to the company’s business units and product teams as needed.
The danger, warns the article, is that most marketing organizations believe they cover all these functions, when in fact they actually perform only one. As a result, there is often a major disconnect between what the business needs from the marketing function and what it actually gets.
The key to resolving this dilemma lies in answering three critical questions:
1. What type of marketing organization currently exists in your company?
2. What type of marketing organization needs to exist in your company (based on your strategic goals, value proposition and the future direction of your business)?
3. How do you properly align the marketing team so that #1 and #2 are the same?
A Simple Test
What I really liked about the article was that it included a link to the Booz Allen/ANA Marketing Profiler, a short questionnaire that identifies your marketing organization’s current profile and offers recommendations for your moving your marketing organization closer to where it needs to be. In addition, the profiler offers resources and readings (based upon your profile) to help formulate the proper strategy for this “migration path.”
I took the profiler for Townsend, Inc., and found it to be quite accurate (we came out as “Growth Champions”) in its assessment of our current marketing function. More important, the recommendations offered to improve our marketing organization were dead on. They helped focus my thinking in several important areas and reinforced a couple of initiatives we have recently begun. For example:
* Recommendation: Develop metrics and decision tools (such as marketing ROI) to measure the performance of individual products, channels and segments.
* Lesson learned: At Townsend, we need to do a better job of measuring our marketing ROI. We have already started down that road by shifting primarily to direct marketing and Internet marketing, which should make it easier for us to track and measure results.
* Recommendation: Don’t keep all decision-making authority at the CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) level. Instead, allocate these “decision rights” to appropriate levels of the organization to ensure accurate, rapid and continuous responses to service requests
* Lesson learned: This was a good reminder that we need to get our internal teams more involved in the marketing process so they can help select where we prospect and ensure that we generate the right kinds of clients for Townsend.
* Recommendation: Make sure your capabilities are properly aligned with both the marketing agenda and the CEO’s priorities. Understand exactly what skills are required in individual areas.
* Lesson learned: If we’re going to market through the Internet, we need to build internal Web-based marketing skills as quickly as possible.
* Recommendation: Involve other organizational areas (operations, product development, finance, sales) early in the process of making marketing investments
* Lesson learned: Again, a good reminder to get our internal teams more involved in how we market as an organization.
The Rise of Samsung
It might be easy to dismiss this kind of assessment as an interesting but not especially valuable exercise. Before doing so, however, consider what assessing their marketing organization did for Samsung.
According to the “strategy+business” article, Eric Kim took over as vice president of global marketing for Samsung in 1999, just as the company embarked on a new strategy to go from “a low-cost producer of electronics, sold primarily under the brand names of its OEM customers, to a manufacturer of high-end digital products.” This represented a huge and very difficult shift for the company, one that could lead to failure on a massive scale if all the proper elements were not in place.
Upon analyzing the skills, structure and core competencies of his marketing organization, Kim quickly realized they did not align with the new direction. He then spent five years reworking Samsung’s entire marketing organization so that it more closely matched the firm’s newly identified needs.
The result?
Last year, Samsung became the world’s 21st most valuable brand (according to the Business Week/Interbrand 2004 rankings), only one spot behind the vaunted Japanese electronics giant, Sony. While many factors contributed to this meteoric rise, developing the right kind of marketing organization clearly played a major role in elevating Samsung to its current position as one of the world’s elite brands.
So — what kind of marketing organization do you have? And more important, does it deliver what your organization needs?
To find out, take the Booz Allen/ANA Marketing Profiler. I also recommend reading the article to get a full understanding of the concepts involved. You may discover that you’re marketing organization is right on track with where it needs to be. Or you may find out that you’re trying to pound a round peg into a square hole.
Either way, my guess is you’ll find it time well spent.
Get your free whitepaper: The 10 Biggest Technology Marketing Mistakes… and How to Avoid Them
Rod Whitson serves Townsend as President and Chief Brand Strategist. Townsend is expert at helping organizations with innovative products and services develop differentiated, compelling value propositions. Townsend is the largest integrated marketing agency in Southern California. Rod has personally led recent branding engagements with Intel, BAE Systems, Merck, DowPharma, Marsh & McLennan, and the University of California system. He has also worked with a host of successful and not so successful early stage technology and life sciences companies. Since Townsend’s founding in 1993, it has helped clients create market valuation in excess of $80 billion.
Visit Rod’s blog, Branding the Complex
© 2006 Rod Whitson – All Rights Reserved Worldwide
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Develop a Marketing Plan That Works
Does your company have a marketing plan and do you know where it is? If your marketing plan is sitting on a shelf, if you aren’t getting the new business results you want, or if you have a plan and don’t know what to do with it – read on. A well-developed marketing plan can help the “good times roll” in these not-so-good times.
What a Marketing Plan Is
A well-defined marketing plan is your company’s road map to results. It will guide you from your current situation to your target destination. It should be a document that is used and revised as needed (no one says you have to live and die by what you decide to do today). You can develop an effective marketing plan by following a tried-and-true series of steps.
What a Marketing Plan Is Not
A marketing plan isn’t some fancy, intelligently written (although it should be clearly communicated) 100-page document that “wows” people. It isn’t a document that will take months to create, and isn’t going to take the latest and greatest desktop publishing software to create. A marketing plan that works isn’t something that only the marketing director or VP understands.
Where are you now?
- Define who you are as a company.
- What is your company’s business philosophy or approach to business?
- What are your company’s competitive strengths and weaknesses?
- What differentiates you from your competitors? Knowing your key differentiators is integral to developing your marketing message.
Use these guidelines to write several paragraphs that summarize where your business is now. Be sure to determine if this is how “outsiders” see your company. Ask a few vendors, customers or business referral sources to give objective feedback on your company’s reputation. It’s important to know if you think you are the “tiger” of your industry and your target market sees you as a “sheep.”
Where do you want to go?
- What do you want to accomplish? (Increase new lines of business? Expand existing business? Both?)
- Do you have name recognition in your market? If not, do you want to build that?
- Do you know to whom you want to market? Do you want to target a new market?
As Microsoft says, “Where do you want to go today?” A fun part of the marketing plan process is opening your mind to limitless possibilities. Working in your business instead of on your business works well for tunnel vision – not marketing. Thinking about the future will get you back in touch with what you “dreamed” your company could be many years ago. Or, it may open up new dreams. As you proceed through this phase of plan development, outline your goals and be very specific. To hit a target, you need to know exactly what you are aiming at. It’s nice to say you want to be the most well-known company in your city, but a more specific goal could be for you to be the most well-known company to your target market and increase sales by x percent in the coming year. And while you should dream big, it’s good to be realistic – the best marketing plan in the world won’t double new business in one year. Finally, once you have your goals on paper, it’s time to prioritize them. Put them in order starting with those with the greatest importance.
Research, Research, Research
Research may not be your cup o’ tea, but it’s critical to the success of your marketing plan. Once you have your targets on paper, you can focus your research to find out if another company is already the market leader in that arena, or test your company differentiation against other local offerings. You may decide that you would rather tackle another area in which competitors don’t already have such a strong foothold.
You also need to understand your target. What do they want? What do they value? A good place to start is American Demographics Magazine (www.americandemographics.com). The magazine’s Web site offers articles on various consumer and business market segments. Associations and publications catering to your target market can be useful, too. Web sites for those sources also are readily available. It never hurts to enlist the assistance of a pro. Often, the investment more than pays for itself in time savings.
Profile your target market with the information you gather. Include the percentage of people in your town that would fall into your “target” market. What is your target’s need for the services you offer? Do they appreciate the services you offer? Where do they currently go to buy these services? How easy/difficult will it be to lure them over to your company? The more specific your profiles are, the more they will help you hit your target.
Hitting Your Target
This is the most important part of your marketing plan! For each goal, you need to develop a strategy that incorporates your key messages and outlines the tactics you need to accomplish to reach your goal.
There are many tools for you to use to convey your message, including:
- Newspaper
- TV
- Magazines
- Direct Marketing
- Campaigns
- Newsletters
- Public Relations – events, speaking engagements, sponsorships
- Business Alliances
For each goal, write your strategy with the key message and the tactics you will take to realize your goal. Here’s a sample: Strategy: Position Bob’s Widget Company as the unique provider of low-priced, high-quality widgets in Any City, USA.
Key Messages: Bob’s Widget Company offers low-priced, high-quality widgets and is committed to serving the citizens of Any City, USA.
Tactics: Propose a story to the local business journal that shows how Any City, USA’s citizens now have access to the most affordable widgets in America. Attend trade shows where you can meet retailers who serve your target market. If Bob wanted to take his widgets straight to his target market, he also might consider developing a direct mail campaign.
As you outline each goal, make sure you keep asking yourself, “Why should I do this?” Also, be realistic. If you don’t have a lot of money to pour into marketing, it doesn’t make sense to list tactics that require a large budget. Marketing doesn’t have to cost a lot of money if you are willing to invest time and creativity to achieve your objectives.
Once you have all your goals broken down into smaller sub-goals, set a deadline for each sub-goal and a timeline for the larger goal. You want your marketing plan to be a win for you – set practical time deadlines.
Let’s GO!
Guess what? That’s it! You now have your marketing “map,” a well-developed “to do” list that was researched and is highly focused to get the results you want. It is based on facts, not hunches, and it will take you from point A to point B. More than that, it will continue to move you closer to meeting your company goals.
As you complete each goal/sub-goal, be sure to document the results you realized. Use this analysis to tweak and improve your marketing process. We think you will be amazed at what you can do in just three months if you take your marketing effort one goal at a time.
The one80group, LTD
http://www.one80group.com
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Email Marketing List Building: Leverage 4x4
Email Marketing Lesson: RSS Feed Me
Every so often I take time out of my busy Email Marketing Consulting schedule and steal an afternoon just for myself. A few months ago I decided to take one of those days. With five glorious hours ahead of me I pondered how best to enjoy my break. I really wanted to do something memorable, something that would inspire me and something that would last long after my special day was over. So I did what everyone does on an afternoon off – I got a tattoo.
I had never gotten a tattoo before and did not know which shops were the best but I was on an e-newsletter list of a shop called Brave Tattoo. I had joined the list while they were running a contest to win a Harley. I didn’t win but stayed on the email list because I was impressed with how creative the tattoo shop was with their e-zine. There was always two or three professionally written articles about tattoos and a whole bunch of tattoo design suggestions. I really looked forward to their bi-weekly e-zine because their e-newsletter approach really communicated their passion for their product and store. I sort of felt like I already knew the shop because of their e-newsletter. This week’s email special was a little odd but it worked perfect for me and I took it as a sign. 21 characters for the price of 20.
I arrived early for my appointment and got all setup with an artist named BeeBee. She was painted from head to toe and had earrings, nose rings and studs everywhere imaginable (she told me about the ones that were not visible and I took her word for it). We got started right away with the cleaning and stenciling. All those needles looked a little unnerving so I turned away and tried to clear my mind of work and everything else I was thinking about.
Just as my first character was about to be stenciled, a rowdy group moved into the booth next to me. Six people. Three of women and two of the men looked like they had just stepped out of a cloning machine. Same clothes, similar hair and similar gestures. The sixth guy was obviously the leader. Dressed in a William Fioravanti suit, this guy looked like a million-and-a-half bucks. His teeth were bleached white and gleaming. His face looked like he had shaven so close he was glowing. He almost looked too perfect or something. “Probably due to a fake tan,” I thought. I knew I had seen the guy before; he looked really familiar. Oh well, it was my afternoon off and I decided to not waste my time paying attention to Mr. Nice Suit and Super White Teeth. I closed my eyes and let BeeBee go to work.
I must have dozed off because when I came to I already had ‘EMAIL MARKETING FOREVER’ stenciled on my shoulder. It looked pretty good so far. The little flying envelope was really cute too. BeeBee mentioned that the next step was the point of no return. I eagerly nodded and told her to get going with the permanent ink. We started chatting about my tattoo choice and I told her the history of Email Marketing and how I had chosen to have my tattoo done at their store because of their creative e-newsletter. She told me that a fellow name Buzz took care of all the marketing but he was out on an errand right now.
Throughout our conversation BeeBee and I had to talk louder and louder because of the group in the next booth. It sounded like they were having a party. The five clones must have been the guy’s groupies because they weren’t calling him by a name, just his initials. I asked BeeBee who the guy was. Maybe he was a rock star or something and that’s why I recognized him.
“He is the new cat’s meow,” BeeBee said. I thought ‘cats meow’ was code for ‘new lead singer in a rock group’ so I tried to act smart and answered casually, “Oh? What club are they playing at?” I got really excited at the prospect of getting a tattoo AND meeting a rock star all in the same day. What a great way to celebrate my Email Marketing Forever tattoo! Who knows, this guy might be a great performer. The glowing skin was a little too perfect and I’d pass on the groupie thing but who knows where this guy might be in a few years. I got giddy at the thought of meeting Mr. Nice Suit and Super White Teeth and hearing his group.
BeeBee didn’t seem to hear my question about the club and started humming Bob Dylan’s hit “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. I always liked that song. I hummed along too and decided to go introduce myself to the suit and teeth after my tattoo was done. I would find out the address for the club first hand.
I could hear the clones squealing at the suit and teeth’s every word. “He must be something special to get so much attention,” I thought. I closed my eyes and was only half listening but I think they were calling him RSS. I lay there with my eyes closed wondering what RSS stood for.
Ricardo the Super Stud?
Maybe RSS was the short form of his heavy metal band. What could the band be called? All those bands had such weird names. Could it be Rotten Salmon Sushi? Or maybe it was a country band called The Raunchy Smoking Smiths. Who knows. I was only half paying attention because the tattoo needles where starting to sting. I tried to clear my mind and focused on going out clubbing when all this was over.
Suddenly BeeBee stopped humming and looked up from her needles and ink. “Buzz, is back from his errand,” she reported. “You can meet him after he’s done getting the catering set up.” Catering? What kind of a tattoo parlor was this? BeeBee noticed my query and motioned to the group next door. “I think it’s to keep the groupies quiet so RSS can get his tattoo done in peace,” she giggled, earrings swaying to and fro as she laughed.
My mind wandered to thoughts of dancing at the club with my new Email Marketing Forever tattoo permanently sitting on my shoulder. I could hear the clones expressing awe over the tiny sandwiches and little cakes. Then I heard it. There was a lot of sandwich squealing going on but I knew what I heard.
I heard it again. “RSS feed me! RSS feed me!” Seems Mr. Nice Suit and Super White Teeth, or RSS as they called him, was making the rounds with the cloned groupies and aiding them in tasting all the culinary delights. RSS was tossing crackers and caviar into the open mouths of two of the women. I gagged and quickly realized that I did know this guy. He wasn’t a rock star like Bono; he was an Internet rock star! You can’t go anywhere without hearing about this guy. The suit and teeth was none other than RSS Marketing! How could I have not recognized him? I guess my MyYahoo! aggregator would have helped but the perfect good looks and groupies should have been a clue.
I took a deep breath, looked to see where BeeBee was at with the permanent ink and said, “I think you had better stop.”
‘Email Mark’ was as far as BeeBee had gotten.
Great, I was now the only person on the planet with a ‘to do list’ tattooed on my shoulder! Well at least it sort of made sense. My brother’s name is Mark so I thought I could make up some little story about how my brother and I had matching tattoos to remind us to keep in contact with each other.
A vision of Johnny Depp and his ‘Wino Forever’ tattoo raced across my mind. I said a quick prayer to Johnny and asked him if I could join his club of botched tattoos.
I got all bandaged up and went over to the RSS party and introduced myself. The clones looked a little worried but I assured them they could keep all the little sandwiches for themselves. RSS was quite personable and really nice, however I quickly realized the guy had a bit of an identity complex. We were all laughing and joking when RSS whispered in my ear, “They all have so many expectations…” Those bleached white teeth so close to my ear sort of startled me. RSS’s voice sounded like the kid who saw dead people in ‘The Sixth Sense.’
“Who?” I whispered back, surprised I was having a whispering conversation with a person I had just met.
“Everyone.” RSS whispered. He motioned to the clones: “They are all marketing executives eager to dump every other kind of digital marketing and ride my back into the RSS Feed golden sunset.
“First they blogged me and I thought I was stretched with that. Now they want to personalize me and individualize me. Some of them even want me to pretend I’m email and go right into a customer’s email inbox!” RSS sounded a little freaked. I started to think he might need a Valium. “What if I they take me all the way into the bedroom and I can’t perform?” RSS pleaded.
“Cute analogy,” I thought. Forget the Valium, this guy needed some marketing Viagra just to make sure he could go all the way, regardless of who decides to hop into his digital bed with him.
I finally left the tattoo parlor that day only after RSS Marketing made me promise to email him. We meet quite regularly for coffee and I think he is slowly getting more comfortable with his stardom. He realizes that he probably won’t make everyone happy but he is trying his best. Those marketing executives have him going day and night. He was right; some of their expectations are pretty high.
I wonder where RSS Marketing will be a year from now? Will he be washed up with caffeine-stained teeth and a fraying designer suit playing in some Internet bar? Not likely, but will he be around ten years from now with a greatest hits album? Who knows.
I think the bottom line is that personalized digital marketing will progress and RSS Marketing will be part of it just like Email Marketing, Podcasting, Blogging, Text Messaging and everything else savvy marketers are trying. I think most people are being realistic and realizing they have to stock their toolbox with a variety of tools built with their specific customer group in mind. You can’t build a marketing strategy with only one tool and RSS Marketing is not the key to everyone’s fiscal salvation. Should marketers use RSS Marketing? Of course they should. Should marketers dump Email Marketing in the north river with a concrete block around its neck? I guess they can if they want to. But they may find their decision is shortsighted. Just like my Email Mark tattoo, the use of Email is in our bloodstream and getting it out will take more than an RSS Feed transfusion. Why not get smarter and acknowledge the landscape has changed and change Email Marketing accordingly? We did it with TV, magazines and the radio.
“Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin
‘Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.”
-Bob Dylan
The last time RSS Marketing and I met he was kind of down as he had pulled another all-nighter. He asked me what he should do if his Internet gig didn’t work out. Where would he hide and spend his retirement without living in shame? I told him not to lose another ounce of sleep. If RSS Marketing doesn’t work out according to Internet Marketers’ expectations RSS could fade into the sunset without a care. RSS didn’t seem convinced. I assured RSS he had nothing to worry about. If RSS Marketing doesn’t meet the expectations of corporate marketers everywhere, everybody will be sending the blame up the Pacific Northwest coast into the misty air of Redmond to Bill Gates, to Microsoft and that new browser of theirs.
Joan Pasay is a dynamic e-marketing coach & author.
RSS Marketing is something savvy Email Marketers will want to learn about and consider for their Marketing toolbox. Email Marketing Made Easy can help. You can learn all about our services, including incorporating RSS Marketing into your Email Marketing mix here: http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/pages/services.asp
Need help getting started with Email Marketing? Why not take our free Email Marketing JumpStart E-course? http://www.emailmarketingmadeeasy.com/jump_start/mini.asp
Want to just learn all about Email Marketing at 2am, while you eat left over chocolate cake and sit by the fire in your pajamas? Buy our Email Marketing Made Easy Ebook: http://www.EmailMarketingMadeEasy.com
Copyright — Joan Pasay 2005
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Marketing Management and the EU
Many of the marketing texts argue that marketing is a logical process with a natural structure which can be viewed primarily as a method of: understanding the marketing environment; using the marketing mix; developing a marketing plan based upon the use of the mix; implementing a plan through a strategy; and finally, using a control method to ensure the strategy is adhered to. This marketing process is reviewed and evaluated regularly and modifications made to the use of the mix to take account of market changes impacting upon competitiveness. This view of marketing seems to suggest that much of the marketing theory relate to multinational enterprises, which are internationally based and have global ambitions. The EU market constitutes a differentiated marketplace in terms of culture, competition, and organization strategies used to penetrate the target market. Although these differences have their implications interfere with a country’s business planning, EU is considered as an opportunity for companies worldwide to expand through internationalization strategies and compete with major players in terms of sales, profits, market shares and organizational momentum.
Another core issue in marketing is the growth and importance of theories in networking and interaction. This view looks at the way in which companies and organizations interact and consequently network with each other to gain commercial advantage in world markets. The network can be using similar subcontractors or components, sharing research and development costs or operating within the same governmental framework. Clearly, being within the EU, a trading block with no internal barriers creates its own networks. Collaborations in aerospace, vehicle manufactures and engineering have all sponsored the development of a European outlook based on its own internal market network. This network and interaction approach to marketing shows the substance of being able to influence decisions by knowledge of how the EU network works or interacts.
The EU is a rich, diverse market, with a vibrant and varied cultural heritage; this means that although there has been a harmonization process within the 15 states as a result of the formation of EU, there are still differences. Rather than business being simpler as a result of the union, it should be recognized that because of regulation and need to restructure in a global market it can be highly complex. It should be remembered that the Europeans have a high-income average and like to have their cultural differences recognized. Those firms that will or have recognized this have a good chance of developing a successful marketing strategy to meet their needs.
Furthermore the marketing operations of EU companies need to be adapted in order to respond to the multiple of changes which have taken place in Europe. However, it is not possible to identify clearly how companies should modify their marketing operations. Some companies face radical change to overall strategy as well as to marketing operations. Other companies are more likely to consider minor alterations to their existing strategies and marketing initiatives. The only “golden rule” as is so often the case is that there are no “golden rules.” EU companies need to assess their marketing response to the changes in the European environment, on the basis of careful studying the effects of these changes on their current and likely future activities.
Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles on many topics including Investing, Business, and Finance.
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What is a Marketing Plan?
Marketing is to do with matching the features and benefits that your products and services are able to provide with specific customers and then telling those customers why they should buy them from you. Your marketing plan details how to do this. A Marketing Plan is a document that supplements your business plan and brings together all your market research so that you can work out exactly where your business is going and how it is going to get there.
Your plan should include:
- Objectives.
- Details of the current market.
- A full analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. (SWOT Analysis.)
- Your plans for achieving your objectives.
The plan should be flexible and able to be adapted to meet the changing conditions in the market place.
Benefits of a Marketing Plan
Having a marketing plan will help you to focus on your target market and to find if there are any gaps in the market that will provide new opportunities for you. Your marketing plan will also provide you with something that enables you to measure how you are progressing. This can then highlight strategies that are working for you and those that are not.
A good marketing plan will also benefit you in that it provides your outside financiers with confidence that you know your market and that you know how to achieve your objectives.
A good marketing plan will deal with the matter of sourcing new leads as well as creating new networking opportunities for your business. The bottom line means your plan will define your business as well as your customers and your future plans.
What is a Good Marketing Plan
A good marketing plan is really a blueprint for the action that your business needs to take in order to achieve certain goals. It will identify the most cost effective ways of performing certain functions and should show the best way to present your business to your target audience.
A good marketing plan will save you money by cutting out unnecessary expenses while at the same time presenting you with new marketing opportunities. A good plan will work for your business to make sure that what you do fits into your budget and that your marketing drive reaches your target audience.
It will essentially keep all your activities and your budgets on track. If you don’t have a good marketing plan it is possible that you are not taking full advantage of all the ways to reach your target audience. This will result in decreased sales.
A Marketing Plan must Reach People
Your marketing plan will provide you with a track upon which your business needs to run. It is similar to a flight plan for pilots. Their flight plan tells them the direction along which their plane is going to fly, where they are leaving from and the path they have to take to get to their destination.
A sports coach will have a game plan that sets out how the team is going to play the game that particular day. The coach will work on strategies that will effectively frustrate and win out over the competition so they can come out on top.
Your marketing plan should be designed in a similar fashion.
- It has to be built with an end result in mind.
- It should fit the specific markets you are aiming for as well as the people in those markets.
- It has to be flexible to meet the needs of the people in the markets because those needs are constantly changing.
- It must focus on people rather than on products.
Remember to always develop a marketing plan that is specifically designed to reach people.
Copyright 2005 StartRunGrow
http://www.startrungrow.com
StartRunGrow (http://www.startrungrow.com) is a global online information organization that specializes in creating, developing and marketing business help information specifically with the aim of “making business easier” for entrepreneurs around the world. The StartRunGrow objective is to become a dominant player in the business help arena providing end to end solutions for the millions of small and medium businesses worldwide who continue to struggle daily with the difficulties of starting, running and growing a successful business.
Account activation. – Affiliate Marketing
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How to Measure Twitter Marketing Success
Guest post by Indu Priya. Sometimes it is difficult to measure success of your marketing efforts in emerging media like Twitter. It is tough to understand.
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Building Marketing Momentum For Your Small Business
The success of your business depends on your ability to build marketing momentum. Without the ability to generate new sources of leads your capacity to sell will slump and the growth of your business will stagnate or shrink.
Unfortunately, many small business owners are at a loss when tasked with coming up with new ways to market while others are frustrated into stagnation by seeing consistently ineffective results from their marketing efforts. It doesn’t matter if your business is young or established. If your business is young you must market well simply to survive. On the other hand, if you have had marketing success with a method that does not increase your opportunity to generate new business your success will be stunted by your limited ability to find new sources of business.
Building marketing momentum is like kicking a ball down a hill that keeps getting steeper. Each time the hill becomes a little steeper the ball will roll faster and pick up momentum. In marketing, any tactic you add to attract attention to what you do is like making the hill a little steeper.
The other day I was talking to Ed who runs a successful metal shining business. I asked him how he went about generating new sales. He told me that 100% of his marketing effort is networking. I couldn’t help but wonder why. I realize that he is doing well with it but if he simply placed an ad in the yellow pages that generated just one sale a year he would cover the cost of the ad and be profitable!
Even though Ed’s networking efforts are successful he is limiting his ability to grow his business by only implementing one form of marketing. By simply trying something new in addition to networking Ed can benefit from developing a new way to generate leads and build his marketing momentum.
Is your marketing effort one dimensional or stagnant? Here are five tactics you can use to build marketing momentum.
Deliver a Great Marketing Message
A great marketing message will have the effect of generating interest in what you do. It never ceases to amaze me the number of small business owners that fail to use a compelling marketing message. How many times has someone described to you their business or what they do with a label like, “I’m an accountant” or “I’m in Communications”? Such answers are not likely to start interesting conversations and marketing opportunities are missed.
If you answer the “what do you do?” question with a savvy marketing message you will find that more people associate what you do with a need of their own or that of a friend, colleague or relative and you will win more referral business. Develop and use an outstanding, compelling marketing message and you will find that more people show interest in what you do. The result will be more better sales.
Make Cold Calling a Hot Source of Sales
Many small business owners hate to make cold calls. Their derision is understandable. By making cold calls they are setting themselves up for rejection. No one likes being rejected. However, rejection is part of the game when making phone calls. Once you realize that it’s not your fault when someone says no during a cold call you can move passed your barrier and add cold calling to your marketing arsenal.
The fact is that by regularly picking up the phone and reaching out to potential clients small business owners increase their chance of finding new business. A percentage of the people you speak with will become clients when you make cold calls, especially if you are targeting your market well and are offering something they need. What’s more you can work to improve your phone skills to increase your ability to make sales. Add cold calling to your marketing strategy and you will increase your opportunity to generate new business.
Use Your Web Site as An Effective Marketing Tool
Many companies have web sites that fail as effective marketing tools. Does your web site consistently generate leads and sales? It should. And it can. The World Wide Web is a continuously open marketplace that reaches hundreds of millions of consumers every moment of every day and allows you to easily and accurately target those who buy your products or services. A company without a web site as part of its marketing team is missing a fantastic opportunity to increase its revenue stream. Deliver a web site that functions as an effective marketing tool and you will consistently add to your marketing momentum.
Develop Your Network
Another great tool to use to build marketing momentum is networking. Networking is a highly effective means of generating referral business (which is some of the easiest business to get, once you get a referral). A person who is willing to take someone else’s advice to contact you about your product or service will transfer the trust he has in his friend or colleague making the referral to you. Making it easier for clients to trust you removes one of the barriers to making a sale. By developing a robust network you will increase your ability to find new prospects and do more business.
So then, just how should you go about building your network?
Ed, from our previous example, is able to successfully operate his business with networking alone. That’s because Ed networks the right way. Many small business owners and executives don’t realize what networking truly is. Unfortunately, all too often people think they are networking by reaching out only to the people they know when what they should be doing is taking steps to continually expand their network. Ed regularly attends networking events and is involved with multiple networking groups. He ads new people to his network all the time and has a successful business to show for it (though he could be even more successful if he added another tool to his marketing toolbox).
Measure Your Results
No matter what tactics you adapt to market yourself or your business be sure to measure your results. By measuring your marketing results you will be able to move away from or correct what does not work and stick with and reinforce what does. By diligently measuring your results you will improve your ability to ad to your marketing momentum and grow your business and success.
By measuring my results and trying new things I have been able to develop an ad that enjoys a 20% response rate. The ad is so successful I only need to run it occasionally to generate enough calls to keep me very busy. Not only does this great ad do a fantastic job of generating interest in my marketing services it saves me money on my advertising costs because I can meet my goals by running fewer ads.
You too can develop highly effective ads by measuring your results.
Move Your Marketing Forward
If your marketing efforts aren’t helping you reach your goals you can improve your results by implementing any one of the tactics outlined above. Choose the one you feel most comfortable with and take small measured steps toward realistic goals and you will see a beneficial transformation in your marketing results.
Jeremy Cohen helps independent professionals and small business owners increase profits with stronger leads and more lucrative sales. Download his free marketing guide at www.MoreLeadsAndSales.com.
Diageo focuses on category-led marketing globally and adds BBH to …
Diageo has restructured parts of its global marketing team in a bid to work more efficiently under a category led approach. The move also sees Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) scooping its £40m global advertising account for Baileys.
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Affiliate Marketing Revealed
The internet has opened huge doors for the entrepreneurial spirit. It is no longer necessary to achieve new business ventures in the brick and mortar tradition with astronomical start up costs, franchise fees, stocked inventory, and employees. It is now possible for every individual who desires to start their own business from home. The basic start up costs and even the trial and error period have been significantly reduced even in just the last two years.
One of The fastest growing home based business opportunities is affiliate program marketing. The basis of affiliate programs is to “borrow” the web site, materials, and the products or service of a successful website and create your own success related to the site. It is a broad stroked marketing concept similar to traditional franchising without the exorbitant fees and start up costs.
“Work smart, not hard. Instead play hard.” Isn’t that the goal we all have in mind when we hit the internet looking for alternative methods of making money at home? If you are like most of us thus far you have found your search fruitless and expensive as you’ve attempted numerous programs that promise riches beyond your wildest dreams in a few short weeks. That’s where affiliatepit offers the smart working individual’s tools.
Affiliate program marketing can be remarkably successful, if you have what it takes. Don’t be scared, what it really takes are a few simple qualities that most of us already possess. Yet if nobody really outlines the quality affiliate program marketer’s roadmap to success, how are we ever supposed to get there?
EFFECTIVE AFFILIATE MARKETING RESOURCES
Highly recommended for beginners and seasoned marketers alike is the basic overview offered at affiliatepit. Here the home entrepreneur will discover a step by step basic guide to beginning this industrious revolution. Home based workers know that without a true step by step plan success becomes the lucky shot in the dark. Without guidance, internet marketing can be a vast and scary ocean of pitfalls and trial and error.
One of the keys to producing a successful plan to internet marketing, as affiliatepit explores in depth, is having the willingness to learn and be teachable. It only makes common sense. If there is someone out there who is doing something that is bringing in success, then wouldn’t it make sense to mimic their basic steps to achieve a similar success? Of course it does! And to have all of these plans explained and outlined in one easy to manage website makes internet marketing that much more attainable for the average individual.
Working smart in part, is knowing where to obtain your information. In affiliate marketing, that can be a daunting and nearly insurmountable task if left to one’s own devices. Rather, finding the affiliatepitwebsite is like starting a race 50 yards ahead of your nearest competitor, giving the average internet marketer a serious edge on other internet marketing plans.
THE AFFILIATE MARKETING NICHE
Equally as important as knowing how to be a teachable network marketing student, you have to find the right affiliate marketing niche that is right for you. Luckily, as you are peeking around the Affiliate Pit’s website, you can discover in depth information on deciding exactly which program is going to work for you and which ones won’t. As teachable as you may be, it is always better to market a program and product that you can sink your heart into rather than trying to achieve success with something you yourself don’t have much faith in. The difference shows in your marketing techniques.
Once you find your affiliate marketing niche, the next step is to understand the ins and outs, so to speak, of affiliate network marketing. Luckily, you don’t have to go searching the web for more information, nor do you need to ask uninformed mentors who are just getting started themselves. affiliatepit has the information available with the simple click of your mouse. The articles that are hand selected by the webmaster cover every available topic discerning network affiliate marketing. This is in all inclusive work at home website that can excel your learning process, which in turn excels your success. It’s a no-brainer leap that this will excel the sought out money in your pocket.
The personal stories of network affiliate marketing are an absolute must read. Here you can learn from the mistakes of others and save yourself time and money in the learning process. It is unrealistic to expect that regardless of the affiliate program you choose that there will not be a learning curve to accompany it. However, using the resources offered on affiliatepit can drastically improve your odds of success. And that’s why we’re all in this, right?
ADVERTISING KEYS IN NETWORK MARKETING
Internet marketing lends itself to a variety of avenues of promotion. Without promotion it is of course, impossible to get the word out about your program. Traditional advertising in available through internet venues. Buying advertising space on successful websites is one way to get the message to prospective marketers that you have the best thing around. This can be effective if you do your research, knowing what kind of traffic hits the sites you’re considering, how much advertising they run, and how much bang you will get for your buck.
You can buy internet traffic if you go through those companies that guarantee traffic for a set fee. While the concept is good, traffic typically equals interested customers, but it is important to remember that some site pay their surfers to click on specific websites. Thus they are completely uninterested in whatever you may be promoting and simply clicking on your website just as they click on hundreds of other websites.
Spam restrictions have since created more difficulty in e-mail marketing, but no fear, it can still be accomplished through opt in e-mail lists. These lists are people who are interested in both receiving offers via e-mail as well as posting their own. It is possible to find interested prospects that are not having success in their own program this way.
Pay-per-click advertising is becoming one of the most popular methods of advertising on the internet today. Pay-per-click advertising is an agreement with the major search engines that for a given amount of money per introduced click on your website, your site appears under specifically chosen key word searches. This can be effective, but it can also be expensive. It is imperative to get all the available information to mainstream your advertising dollar.
INFORMATION NECCESSITIES
This information is available and steps to discovering the best way for you to advertise your site at affiliatepit. Considering that while there are effective free methods of advertising, it is possible to spend an enormous amount of money on various advertising venues without seeing results if you go off uninformed and too ambitious.
Since most affiliate network marketing programs are available in many countries, it is still easy to assist your prospects regardless of a communication gap. Afiliatepit has a convenient language converter directly linked to its site. Therefore it is possible to direct potential associates to the website instead of trying to navigate a maze of language barriers.
Affiliate network internet marketing is a fabulous method of capital gain for marketers looking for their own business venture but don’t have their own product to sell or service to offer. Choosing the right program allows the home based entrepreneur to market a solid business plan without having to invent his own services and products. This has opened doors to the otherwise fated nine to five work a day individual who is sarching for an alternative method of doing business.
If you have questions, or are interested in finding unbiased information that you can not quite readily find, the answers are as simply as asking the webmaster to explore your ideas. affiliatepit is an unbiased website that is also interested in multiple contributors and partnerships with various websites. The individually selected topics and articles allow for unbiased reviews of various topics regarding affiliate network internet marketing.
This user friendly site really has exceeded most other sites with its ability to deliver the much needed information needed for both the beginning and professional internet marketer. It is highly recommended you take the nuggets of knowledge offered on the site and grow them into your own plans, and direct them toward your own business.
Once you’ve picked the brains of the contributors for awhile, of course it is recommended not only that you direct you potential prospects to the site, but why not take out a little advertising for yourself? With such following and unique perspective on affiliate network internet marketing, the internet business person should be able to take advantage of the people who will inevitably be attracted to the site.
Congratulations in your decision to step out and above the nine to five job. In your quest to improve your lifestyle, don’t forget that even the most successful need to return to the basics every now and then. Successful internet marketers never stop educating themselves on new trends, new ideas, better and more streamlined advertising options and of course, faster paths to success.
Bobby Ryatt, writes articles or on vatiour subjects and has a treasure chest of information and resources for you to at. http://www.affiliatepit.com
http://affiliatepit.blogspot.com
Search Engine Marketing-how it Differs From Search Engine …
Search engine marketing is a set of marketing methods used to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages. Types of search engine.
Research As A Key In Successful Internet Marketing Campaign « When …
A profound research on products and product marketing is vital. And not only that, but as well you have to research the web traffic volume and existing competition on the market. Below there is a detailed explanation why research is …
Advertising research :jimvoorhies.com
Advertising research. Posted by jim. Nov 18. You might be surprised about what advertisers know about you. Or, more appropriately, what they think they know about you. For example, what you consume says a lot about you. …
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14 Serious Mistakes of Your Tourism Brochure Marketing Strategy
This is a long article with many parts of interesting skills and knowledge and up to now is the best article about brochure marketing in the world; In fact, it’s the first chapter of Advanced Tourism Brochure Marketing Package published by T-IM.com ; therefor, its content is also great for any businesses which have a marketing brochure.
This article is so comprehensive and has 2 parts:
Part 1: The first 7 serious brochure marketing mistakes
Part 2: The second 7 mistakes more to be revealed.
Due to the length of the whole article make difficult to read and remember for reader , I just supply the part 1. At the end of this article, there will have a link to the part 2 and Friendly print version of the whole article.
Keep reading.
Part 1: The first 7 serious brochure marketing mistakes
A well- planed and carefully-designed tourism brochure will indeed increase the services business; especially it is the business of tourism. But many tourism marketers don’t make effective use of their brochure and leave out important elements. That is a cost, a real damage for your business.
If you have a marketing tool to use, you must ultimately exploit its profit; if you can not take advantage of the promotional tool, the money and time of publishing the tool is one of the biggest costs. The second cost is the lost prospects caught by your competitors who use this same tool at its most power. And the third created by the weakness of your integrated marketing plan – you do not know how to use one among many of your marketing tools effectively, how can you use the rest to get the most benefit of your marketing mix.
Mistake 1: Brochure is created as a sole fighter in the battle field of marketing. It is use lonely, separately with no support from other tool of marketing. There is no marketing plan as a base for your brochure. We create the brochure because the other has it, even a lot of it. And second reason is if we do a travel and hospitality business without having a brochure, it seems not to be a tourism business.
- In fact: Any advertising, including brochure, should be a part of the total marketing plan for a business. If your marketing strategy determines that tourism brochure are an effective method for reaching your target audience, then carefully design the best brochure possible.
Mistake 2: The most expensive misconception is that brochure sell- that a prospect will read the entire of the brochure with glowing adjectives, and sign a contract as a result of it.
- In fact: A brochure, in this context, is a pamphlet or booklet that describes an organization and its function, or a hotel with its services… it maybe used to explain all or a segment of an organization or a services supplier.
For example: we can design a brochure about our travel company, includes company’s mission, portfolio and all kinds of services …we supply.
We can also design a brochure about one of its favorite services, such as a special tour-to promote it only!
A good tourism marketing brochure should finish its duty as a good overview of an origination, a destination, a hotel or travel company, inspires the reader to the next step if he (she) is interested in the supplier’s services.
If a brochure catch the eyes of a random visitor or traveler who has no exact determination of buying or using, get him reading and put a good impression on the services supplier’s image, often is the feeling about a professional, it can be perceived as a good marketing brochure, although the reader do not take the next step then- just because he has no demand at that time.
That is the situation when a brochure does its responsibility of branding in the mind of a future client. It is a good job for a normal brochure.
Mistake 3: Another familiar trap in the mind of a brochure publisher is the concept that people read brochure thoroughly and carefully.
-In fact: A brochure, no matter how attractive or thorough, is usually simply glanced at. It maybe read in conjunction with other materials, to get an overall impression of a company. But it rarely devoured like a novel.
Mistake 4: The brochure doesn’t contain all the elements of a competent marketing message.
-In fact: Bit and pieces of information aren’t enough. Your brochure should take your prospects through your message from the beginning to the end. It should provide all the facts and persuasion necessary to get your prospects to take whatever action you want him to take.
Mistake 5: The brochure doesn’t contain a detailed list of services you offer.
-In fact: A prospect often looks at your services list to sees if you provide what they need. It they don’t see what they want, they may assume you don’t provide that services and call another one. Make sure you list all the services your visitor looks for.
Mistake 6: The brochure doesn’t explain how you differ from other competitors. There is no advantage of unique selling position for you. You look like the rest, and the rest is same you.
-In fact: If your prospects don’t know your competitive advantages, they often don’t have a clear reason to use or buy your services than another supplier’s.
(Here I tell you more about your competitive advantage:
A competitive advantage, in nature, is your unique selling position which is the foundation of your marketing strategy. All the marketing tools are used interactively in a period along a strategic plan of marketing your services. This marketing plan originates from many factors, such as the holidays season, the target visitors, the marketing budget, the stander of our services, the market trend, the competitors’ marketing strategy…but the most important is your target group.
You can discuss about this useful marketing topic in Tourism Internet Marketing Forum to enhance your internet sale as well as receive the great forum benefits.
http://www.tourism-internetmarketing.com/parent_page/Frequently_Asked_Question.htm#benefit
Therefore, if you can figure out exactly what your target group of a marketing plan is, focus tourism attract them by a target brochure, you will know how to create the competitive advantages for your brochure marketing campaign.)
Read the part 2:
Part 2: The second 7 mistakes more to be revealed.
http://www.tourism-internetmarketing.com/brochure_marketing/tourism%20_brochure_marketing_index.htm
…………………………………..
All articles of David Kan published in this website can be reprinted or posted on other website as well as the author ’s biography keep intact.
Advanced Tourism Brochure Marketing Package published by T-IM.com (http://www.tourism-internetmarketing.com/ebook/tourism_brochure_marketing_ebook.htm)
About the author:
David Kan is the CEO of T-IM.com
T-IM.com is the largest global Free tourism internet marketing resources with 57 & more online tools and forum to help tourism industry enhance their internet marketing result.
Website URL: http://www.tourism-internetmarketing.com
Click this link to quickly join in the Tourism Internet Marketing Forum to enhance your internet sale as well as receive the great forum benefits.
http://www.tourism-internetmarketing.com/parent_page/Frequently_Asked_Question.htm#benefit
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How to Steer Into the Curve – More Recession-Proof Marketing
Imagine a cold winter night with sleet beating down on your car as you drive through a mountain range. As you near the edge of a sharp curve you reduce your speed and pump your brakes gently. Suddenly, your car slips and screeches into a skid. You turn hard on your steering wheel to correct but the car goes out of control.
If you’ve ever been to diving school you’ve mostly likely come across many helpful instructions. One of the more counterintuitive instructions you’re bound to receive is about that same icy road. You are instructed to turn your wheel opposite your instincts and steer into the curve. The idea is that turning towards the dangerous skid helps you gain control, traction with your wheels and right your car. Ultimately, the advice is sound and keeps you from over correcting and suffering the dangerous consequences of responding poorly in that driving situation.
But how does learning to drive on a mountain teach you about marketing during a recession? While your business intuition during a recession might lead you to a “common sense” reaction to pull back on marketing expenses you should do the opposite to gain traction and control of your business. Similar to the driving instructions about steering on a slippery slope, one of the most counterintuitive yet powerful principles of marketing during a recession is that you should steer into the curve of the current market with your plans.
Fact is, increasing your marketing spend (or at least maintaining it) during a down marketing can be one of the best decisions you can make. By advancing your marketing plans during a time when all your competitors are reducing spending you are actually taking advantage of the artificial gap created. In other words, if your competitor normally spends $100 on an advertisement and you spend the same, all things being equal, there is no competitive advantage. But, if they pull back to $50 because of the down market and you maintain your spend, you’ve not only gain the advantage of their reduced spending but collectively you’ve also entered more boldly into an overall less competitive market place.
By steering into the curve of the market you take control of your environment and gain more traction than if playing on an even field. When we take a look at many other companies that have taken advantage of the down market by introducing products, brands, elevated their marketing plans and otherwise turned into the curve, you’ll see that success is prevalent after the recession is over. And, regardless of what you may have heard, the recession will end. The question remains, were will you be when it does? Will you be in a better positioned place? Or will you remain in the same equal or less footing as your competitors?
So, what are the rules to Steering into the Curve?
Rule one: make sure you have the right type of business model to begin with.
While you should turn into the market with your marketing plans, you can’t do so if you aren’t well capitalized. What I mean to say is, if you don’t have the business model that supports a marketing spend normally, then it will be more difficult to start developing a better marketing plan. To do so appropriately, consult with a marketing professional who also understand business development, not just ideas. They can help you shift your budget in a proactive way so that you don’t simply increase spending but spend your increase (if needed) smartly.
Rule two: Don’t spend if you don’t spend smart.
Everybody wants your money. Everybody. And that is no different when it comes to marketers. But just because somebody has a marketing service (even if it’s a good marketing service) it doesn’t mean that you need to spend money on it. There are many different marketing channels to create brand awareness, direct marketing response and consumer engagement. But you can’t do it all.
Take a look at all the channels available and line them up along side each other. Figure out the return on investment for each stream, see which channels align with your business, and then determine which you’ll use in an integrated manner. Of course, if you don’t understand how each of those would work, I again recommend getting professional marketing help. Don’t spend unless you know how to spend smart, get educated on how to spend smart, or get help from someone trustworthy who does.
Rule three: Just because they are good ideas doesn’t mean they are good for you.
Let’s go back to the diving analogy. This time though, think about your younger years…when you were first learning how to drive. You probably got a lot of advice from your friends on driving. And, more likely than not, a lot of it was bad advice. Why is that?
Well, it wasn’t because your friends didn’t like you or wanted to cause you harm. Instead, it was probably misplaced judgment, lack of larger perspectives or just plain and simple ignorance at work. All the same, everybody probably thought they had a good idea about how to drive.
Getting back to today, you probably also receive lots of different pieces of advice on how to do things in your business. Suggestions, advice and “secret techniques” on how to improve your business and marketing plans are plentiful. But, just because there are there and some of them are actually good, it doesn’t mean (like when you were younger) you should take that advice. On top of that the sheer number of possible selection offers real confusion on what to do next. You need to be careful though. Good ideas attract business like honey attracts flies. Before you act though, ask yourself tough questions. Is the idea good for your business specifically? Is the idea good right for your company? Just because it is a goof idea does not mean you should do it.
As you consider your business marketing plans make sure you are aware of the Steer into the Curve premise and rules of engagement. It could position you and your company for greater success in this recession market and for the future, once the market turns. Remember what we alluded to earlier: how you handle your marketing plans during an economic downturn is similar to the advice of steering into the curve in driving. It is sound and keeps you from over correcting and suffering the dangerous consequences of responding poorly in that situation.
Copyright Merge Left Marketing LLC 2009
Get more marketing and branding insight with our free article library at http://MergeLeftMarketing.com. Be Distinct. Be clear. Merge Left.
Great Views of Harbour Town
What is a Smart marketing system? Well, a Smart marketing system is not really a known term, but rather a term coined by someone who writes marketing books, does seminars and is a consultant in marketing. It makes sense to coin new phrases and new terms and indeed that is in perfect form of someone who does marketing.
To me, I believe a Smart marketing system would be one that would be similar to the one that I developed for by franchising company, which I had founded. I called my marketing system; Bonzai and Blitz Marketing. Whereas the marketing consultant and author who wrote about the Smart Marketing System; talks about a hybrid model of marketing which can be applied to be different types of businesses, I am quite confident that the Bonsai and Blitz marketing that I have created in the real world is far superior in every way, yet both methods are superior to what nearly all businesses out there are doing presently.
In fact, we proved it when we marketed our franchise system in 23 states, 450 cities and 110 major markets. We attacked the market and targeted the customers and slammed the competition into the carpet so hard that they gave up. Now that is marketing; it is that Smart marketing? Could I call my marketing system a Smart marketing system? Indeed I probably could; but I chose to call it Bonzai and Blitz marketing.
What we learned in this scenario when studying various hybrid marketing plans is that different people have found different ways to market and any marketing system that achieves results in the market place is a Smart marketing system. And that means whether it is my Bonzai and Blitz marketing system or the actual branded; Smart Marketing System by a marketing guru and consultant; it is still marketing and creative marketing which puts together multiple marketing methods towards a single message and a single goal for the company. I believe that in this case anyone would consider that to be Smart marketing. I hope you will consider this in 2006 and develop your marketing plan in a creative, innovative and successful fashion.
“Lance Winslow” – Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is an online writer in retirement.
The marketing opportunity of mobile social networking …
Great potential lies in the union of mobile social networking and location-based services. Take a look at some of the forces currently shaping this space.
FDA Warns Drug Manufacturer Over Facebook Marketing Strategy
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Junior Marketing Executive – Confidential – Century City CA …
Entertainment Industry job search results for Confidential, job title Junior Marketing Executive, this, Full Time, Job located in Century City, CA was posted 11/19/2009 11:58:49 AM.