Archive for November, 2011
Is There a Magic Marketing Formula? – Part 1
One of the biggest mistakes that I see small business owners make is to spend their money (or time) on marketing or advertising, not get the results they want and then conclude that marketing doesn’t work. Or they keep on spending their money and time on advertising, despite their lack of results and convince themselves that it’s “raising their profile”. (In reality, it’s probably just money down the drain.)
The main reason that their marketing doesn’t produce the results that they want is because they’ve usually missed out or half done one of the ingredients of their “marketing formula” or are doing things in the wrong order. Getting your marketing right is a bit like baking a cake – you need the right ingredients, in the right proportions, added in the right sequence and baked at the right temperature.
What can a good “marketing formula” do for you?
A good marketing formula can help you to:
* raise response to all of your marketing activities so that you have more leads in your pipeline for the same investment * make your marketing profitable (as it should be!) rather than an expense * secure more sales from the presentations you do and the appointments you attend
Once you’ve worked out your formula, most of your campaigns will be successes and you can use your formula over and over again to continually reproduce outstanding results.
To illustrate the point, one famous marketer claims to have done a direct mail campaign that got a 100% response! In other words, everyone that he sent his letter to bought his product or service. Now, that is unheard of in a world where a 3% response rate is considered to be good. Another marketer claims to turn 98% of all telephone consultations into business (and 40% is generally considered to be doing OK in her field).
These people have got their marketing formulas highly tuned and working very hard for them. Can you achieve the same results? Well, you may not ever achieve a 100% response to a mailshot, (that was probably an exceptional case) but you can certainly improve the performance of your marketing and start making it pay once you know and understand the ingredients of marketing success.
So what are the ingredients and steps of a good “marketing formula”?
Your marketing formula is comprised of two parts:
The ingredients:
This is really the foundation of your marketing – it’s the groundwork that allows whatever marketing activities you undertake to actually work and give you good results. The ingredients are:
* a very clear target market (preferably one that is hungry for what you offer) * a thorough understanding of your target market – what concerns them, why they would buy your services, what motivates them and how you can identify and locate them * a good value proposition (the tangible outcome you deliver) * an irresistible offer * an understanding of the competitive landscape and where your company fits in (or in other words – your differentiation and your positioning) * a strong, client-attracting message
You can have brilliantly executed marketing, but if the ingredients are wrong, then you’re either going to attract all the wrong types of people, or attract multitudes less than you are really capable of. Either way, you would be wasting your marketing effort and budget.
The steps:
These are the steps that you take to implement your marketing, and the sequence you move your potential buyers through en-route to them becoming loyal clients. These include:
* the strategy you use to get your compelling message in front of your target market * where and how you place your message for maximum impact in the budget you’ve allocated (your message can be delivered verbally or in written form) * the timing of your message * the steps your prospects need to be taken through to turn them from strangers into paying clients
A weakness or failure at any of these points will lead to reduced response and lowered conversion rates – and that means weak results and wasted investment. It’s somewhat like a chain – the system fails at the weakest points, so all points have to be as strong as possible.
So if you want your marketing to succeed, you need a good formula – the right ingredients combined in the right steps. Just like baking a cake – if you do things in the wrong order, or miss steps out, you’ll end up with a result you didn’t want – a burnt cake, a cake that’s rock hard or biscuits instead!
In part two of this series of articles I’ll discuss the ingredients in more detail – so look out for it in a couple of weeks. 
Copyright 2005 Attractioneering
Jane Hendry helps professionals, consultants and coaches to create marketing systems that easily and consistently attract their ideal clients. To get your f*ree Attraction Marketing Starter Kit please visit http://www.attractioneers.com
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PROBLEM
We live in a fast changing and over-communicated society. The status quo or “life as usual” is no longer an option.
Let’s face facts. The world has gone crazy. Everything we once took for granted is changing at a frighteningly fast and furious pace. Day by day the world is getting more confusing and complex. Changes that used to take place over a life time are taking place overnight.
In these days of great changes there are incredible new opportunities to consider and at the same time there are perilous new pitfalls and dangers to avoid.
It’s a major challenge just trying to keep up. Perhaps you’ve felt overwhelmed at times with the seemingly impossible task of making your business support your basic lifestyle, much less your ideal lifestyle.
You need to understand these three important facts about business success today:
=> “What you know and when you know it – can make or break you!”
=> “The business with the best product or service no longer makes the big money. Today, the business with the best marketing does.”
=> “Traditional marketing is dying.”
Studies indicate that most people are exposed to an average of 3,000 different marketing messages every day. Customers are increasingly overwhelmed by advertising clutter and are growing resistant to traditional marketing.
Traditional marketing is tell-based marketing. It’s image-based marketing. It’s “we’re the best” based marketing. It doesn’t work. It’s dying. Using traditional marketing strategies to connect with customers that are increasingly overwhelmed by advertising clutter is perhaps the quickest way to go broke.
Success in marketing is based on matching your message to the needs of your market. You need to have the right message for the right market. How can you succeed with traditional tell-based marketing when your target market is tuning you out?
Say good-bye to the old school of marketing.
The old school of marketing is tell-based marketing. It’s dying.
In the old school of marketing you hide in a cocoon for a long time while you create something you want to sell. Then you tell people how great this thing is you want to sell them. Only then do you find out if anybody wants it. The product comes first, and then you find a market for it. Your success is based on your ability to correctly guess what the market wants and the monologue you use to tell your customers.
SOLUTION
Say hello to the new school of marketing. The new school of marketing is ask-based marketing.
The most effective way to market your business in today’s economy is ask-based, direct-response marketing.
With ask-based marketing you tap your customers on the shoulder and you ask them what they want. You create what they asked for. You sell it to those who asked for it. The market comes first, and then you create a product or service for that market. Your success is based on your ability to ask questions and dialogue with your customers.
Ask-based marketing is going to be the future of Internet marketing because it works.
The secret to marketing in today’s marketplace is “ask don’t tell.”
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
Adjust your priorities. As the owner of a business, you should spend at least 25% of your time marketing your business.
Get a sheet of paper. Write down the following commitments:
=> Once a week, learn and implement a new marketing strategy.
=> Run an Ask Campaign to find out what your customers want. Create a product based on what they tell you. Sell the product to those who asked for it.
=> Spend less time “telling” your customers and more time “asking” your customers.
=> If you are too busy and don’t have the time to do what you know you need to do, get some help.
And now I would like to invite you to claim your instant free access to the “Ask Don’t Tell Marketing Secrets Guide” by going to http://www.TheAskMarketingSystem.com
You’ll get a 54-page Guide (in PDF format) that:
=> teaches you how to run an Ask Campaign
=> gives you the secrets to ask-based marketing
=> shows you how to take the guesswork out of marketing your business.
While you’re there, tell us what’s the biggest challenge you have marketing your business.
From Jim Oliver (author and Marketing Coach)
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Legal Marketing – How To Get Top Dollar For Your Services
Legal marketing success for you can reside in your knowing the psycho-graphics of your market. One key area of law marketing psycho-graphics is knowing how your prospective client is thinking about fees. In one of my other articles I write about law practice management pricing strategies. If you have not read that article I do recommend you read it since it is related to getting top dollar for your services. That said lets move forward in getting you comfortable in getting the fees you deserve from your legal marketing.
In legal marketing you need to know is very few people have the time, energy and perseverance to “shop” very much for a lawyer. These prospects will use price as a quick way to decide if someone is competent. In law marketing you need to know people are already preconditioned to think about price in certain ways. If your fee is $150 per hour, a second lawyer’s fee is $200 per hour and a third lawyer’s fee is $250 per hour what is the pre-programmed way clients will be thinking? It is highly likely in legal marketing they are thinking the “cheap” lawyer must not be as good as the other two. Why? Because in the USA culture people are taught “you get what you pay for” and thus the cheapest lawyer “must have something wrong with them” or they will be “cutting corners” in some way to be so “cheap”. You don’t want to be in that law marketing club for sure. They are also thinking “the most expensive lawyer must be the most experienced, most skilled, the most specialized and at least among the best.” You do want to be in that legal marketing club or at least close to that club. So you see in law practice management being in at lest the beginning of the top 30% of fees in your community is where you want to be if you possibly can. In legal marketing terms you are “positioning” yourself as among the best by having a higher price.
Additionally in legal marketing terms it is also much better to spend you law marketing dollars getting fewer high quality prospective clients to speak with and do that well than it is to have to shift through a legion of “frogs” who are shopping, shopping, shopping for “cheap”. Also the “cheap” client is not loyal to you but to “cheap” and if they find “cheaper” they are gone. I will give you a bit more on this aspect of legal marketing later in the article.
We have the legal marketing positioning we need in place now so what is next? What do you actually say to have someone ready to pay top dollar? First you need to tell them up front, close to the beginning of the conversation, something close to the following: “I do want you to know that I can’t work with everyone. Sometimes I don’t have the exact expertise you may need. Also I do want you to know that I am not the most inexpensive attorney in the city. If I am a good match for your situation I will be talking with you about fees. If my fees are too expensive for you don’t be afraid or embarrassed to tell me. I will have some good referrals for you that might be a better fit for your budget.”
In legal marketing terms what have you done here? You have made yourself a scarce service. We all are pre-programmed to think something or someone that is scarce is valuable (Cialdini Ph.D., Influence, Science and Practice; 2001). You have told them you don’t work with just anyone. Now they are hoping that their case is a good fit so they can have you. They are wondering if you can fit them in since you are in such demand that you can decline cases. Nice law marketing positioning for sure. Suddenly they are auditioning for you, not you auditioning for them. They also are thinking this fellow must be really, really good or he would not be saying such things to me. They are thinking that they better act quickly and say yes to hiring you or you may be full and can’t take them later. They also may be imagining a really, really high fee in their minds and when you quote something less than their imagination (which you can often) or contrast it with something higher or a benefit (more here later) they are relieved. Besides if they have been shopping then they know the really, really high fee and you are maybe 20% to 30% below that.
OK so lets say this legal marketing scenario did not go that well. What if the person says something like: “But your fee is $300 per hour and another lawyer I talked to charges $225 per hour.” What do you say? How about something like this: “I don’t know exactly why this lawyer is charging so much less than I do, however, I can tell you exactly what you will be getting working with me, what my qualifications/experience/expertise are with respect to your particular matter and I just can’t help but wonder what he might be missing or leaving out by charging the fee he charges.” In law marketing here you want to bring forward in their minds the unconscious thought that someone who charges less must be doing less of a job for you or is not as competent. The old “you get what you pay for” scenario most of us were raised on works well in legal marketing. Another way to say it is “penny wise, pound foolish” since if a lawyer who charges less does the job one could just wind up paying more later because of that “cheaper” work.
Another good job of law marketing positioning I’d say. In a specialty practice area this old adage is even more applicable than say a commodity practice area like residential real estate closings. I think you get the idea here in this law practice management effort. In what you are saying be sure they are wondering just what might be missing since doubt is what you need to create in the mind of the prospect about your competitors. You might even want to go so far as to list out in detail what you will be doing and providing for the client before you say the magic words I just gave you so they see all that is coming their way by selecting you. Again with this legal marketing approach what we are doing is bringing forward “doubt” and “suspicion” while making sure they know how solid you are for them. It never hurts to have testimonials or letters of recommendation as well to show prospective clients before you give the magic words.
In legal marketing a bit of preemption or prevention could work well in telling prospective clients about your fees as well. If you contrast your fee against a higher fee then your fee does not sound so large even if it is larger than a competing lawyers fee. An example would be a family lawyer might say something like: “Some attorneys would charge as much as $20,000 for handling this type of a divorce, however, with my experience and expertise I know I can do the divorce for you for $15,000″. Here you are saying your competitors’ fees first with your fee second making your fee sound good compared to the others. Another law marketing example would be in estate planning you could say something like: “I can prepare a document (for document insert the correct technical term) that will save you $400,000 in federal estate taxes for only $20,000.” Here you are contrasting your fee to the savings and saying the savings first and your fee last. A PI lawyer might say, “Some attorneys would charge you 40% of the recovery, however, I will be able to take your case for 30% of recovery.” I think you get the idea here when it comes to this law practice management strategy.
Legal marketing is not always a “slam dunk so now, you have done everything I suggested above and the client is still having price objections. My advice is to let that client go. If money is their only remaining objection and nothing you have said or done to this point has made a difference then I suspect they are going to be a problem in other areas later on. What type of a law practice management problem? Well, like not paying their fees or objecting to some of your billing demanding still a lower fee. Also, they are telling you extremely clearly they are a price only buyer not a value purchaser who is not loyal to you as a long-term client but loyal to the lowest price. In legal marketing you need long-term clients who are not price sensitive and not problematic. Finally, if you begin to negotiate the price now you are showing weakness and they will use that weakness with you down the line. I say legal marketing is tough enough without this type of client. Make a good referral to one of your competitors who is not reading my material so they have the headaches that keeps them bogged down and not able to do any legal marketing since they are bogged down with these types of clients!
You can download free now the 125 page Report titled “31 Proven Law Firm Marketing Strategies” by Henry Harlow and much more. You can increase your income; reduce your work hours as you serve your clients better than ever – guaranteed. http://www.Law-Firm-Marketing-Coach.com
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Viral Marketing
What is Viral Marketing?
“Viral marketing is word of mouth marketing on the web. In other words it is the “e” term for word of mouth marketing.”
Viral marketing was born in 1996. Viral marketing messages receive 5 -15% click through rate. 57% say word of mouth or viral marketing is their main source of information about new websites.
The Classic Example…
The classic example of viral marketing is Hotmail.com, one of the first free Web-based e-mail services. E-mails sent using this service contain an advertisement for Hotmail at the bottom of the message.
Power of Viral Marketing…
This medium could be used to spread the word about your business among the target audience. The essence of it is that you empower visitors to your website to tell other people about your company and your site. You provide something that encourages people to spread the word, and momentum builds. What’s great about viral marketing is that it is low effort and low expense.
Viral marketing is more powerful than third-party advertising and you can expect a good conversion rate because it conveys an implied endorsement from a friend. People who visit your website as a result of viral marketing will have good impression about your company or the product because someone has recommended it to them.
Forms of Viral marketing…
We can identify two most common forms of viral marketing as service and incentive based models.
Service Based
In the service based model consumer has to spread the information about the company or the product to his / her friends in order to get the service.
Netscape Instant messaging is an excellent example of a service-based model. Also some search engines and directories use this model to list websites. Some companies use this model to provide access white papers.
Incentive Based
Incentive-based models provide consumers cash, credit, or other rewards for spreading company information to friends. This model is encouraging people to spread the message actively because of the incentives. Incentive based viral marketing campaigns will cost more than the service-based campaigns.
Viral Marketing methods and techniques…
Viral Marketing works best in combination with e-Mail marketing, since e-Mail marketing provides Viral Marketing with a great communication medium. You can use e-mail to spread the message. This could be done by sending e-mail messages to individuals or by joining e-mail discussion groups. Most of the service based viral marketing campaigns are using e-mail as the main technique.
Another medium to carry out your viral marketing campaign is through message boards and discussion forums. It is important to identify message boards and discussion forums relevant to your industry, product or service. By participating in these message boards and discussion forums you can create awareness of your company among the target audience.
Writing articles is one of the powerful ways to spread your message. All you need to do is allow people to republish it for free, as long as they include a paragraph at the end of the article containing details of your company. This method is widely used by companies providing professional services like search engine marketing and web advertising.
Freebies, Giving something away for free is another powerful marketing method available. Giving away a free something like e-book, mouse pad will encourage people to spread your message.
About The Author
Rajitha Dahanayake is the Senior eMarketing Analyst of a company engages in providing eMarketing and e-Business solutions. He has over 3 years experience in Internet Marketing. He is a Member of The Chartered Institute of Marketing UK and a professional member of eMarketing Association (eMA) as well as International Internet Marketing Association (IIMA). Rajitha is a Certified eMarketer from eMA and holds the Certified Internet Marketing and Business Strategist (CIMBS) designation from IIMA.
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There exist many definitions of marketing, in fact, too many. Together with the progression of the Internet, and consequently the development of new marketing techniques, technologies and stratagem, new definitions of marketing are appearing in large numbers. However plural and diverse the definitions of marketing may be, the essence of the said remains intact. Marketing is still no doubt the unique function of the business enterprise and no prosperous business is possible nowadays without effective marketing.
Most businesses believe that marketing effectiveness is expressed solely in numbers. Apparently, there are aspects (metrics) of marketing effectiveness that can be quantified and measured. The first and foremost goal of marketing is to create customers. Consequently, the effectiveness of this aspect of marketing can be evaluated by the number of new customers, new leads of a company or, in case of telemarketing, the number of completed calls. Another significant metric of effectiveness is the number of new products purchased by existing customers since the objective of any enterprise that intends to stay competitive in the market is not only to create new customers but to value and retain the ones they have already.
Measuring the response is another simple and cogent way to evaluate marketing activities. By taking the total cost of a marketing activity (for example, from an advertisement) and dividing it by the total number of responses, you determine the cost per response ratio. This cost per response ratio can help you decide if this activity was a success by comparing it with other alternative marketing activities. A standard measure of the effectiveness of various marketing activities is marketing ROI (return-on-investment).
Apart from the above there are aspects of marketing effectiveness that cannot be quantified. Many marketing analysts state that the mission of marketing is to establish an environment in which the customer appreciates the benefits of doing business with your firm, to set the stage for making the sale, to create the circumstances that make the sale the next logical, appropriate step. The uniqueness of a company that sets it apart from the competitors, its strong hold on the market place, i.e. the status of a company as the acknowledged leader in the field, the ability to stay at the forefront of the customer’s mind can all be considered the benchmarks for testing marketing success of an enterprise.
Marketing effectiveness that results in businesses achieving its sales targets, enhanced profits and increased bottom line performance is determined by both quantified and non-quantified metrics. The concept of singling out certain metrics when analyzing the efficiency of marketing policy and performance has been adopted by many and continues to evolve. Making marketing more accountable is an opportunity to put the effectiveness of your marketing performance to test. The elaboration of modus operandi for measuring marketing performance has become a hot issue in today’s marketing discussions. There are two parties concerned that are interested more than others in the solution of the issue. The first party represented by chief executive officers, chief financial officers and board directors want to know that investment into marketing brings profit. Marketers that make the second party want to proof the same.
The solution of the problem took the form and shape of a scorecard, no surprise. Thus, marketing is becoming the last in the list of business functions to accept scorecards – a concise report featuring a set of measures that relate to the performance of an enterprise, as a means for measuring marketing activities in order to give an all-embracing view of the performance of the above business department.
The next question that arises here is how many metrics and which in particular will make a scorecard comprehensive and all-embracing. Some economists claim that there are over 50 marketing metrics; however, it is clear that not all of them are equally important. A scorecard that is able to accurately diagnose and predict the future of marketing performance will comprise the fundamental metrics that evaluate only what is really important.
The fundamental metrics should include not only quantified metrics that are easy to measure (for example, number of new customers, ROI) but also non-quantified ones (brand awareness, brand equity) since it is the latter which are mostly able to determine the long-term vitality of a business. Thus, elaboration of a perfect scorecard measuring marketing performance needs certain training. Surveys show that the ones that already exist may still need some refinement and updating.
If you want to learn more about marketing metrics, check Sam Miller new web-site.
Financial Services Marketing Insights: A Marketing Compass
What we now call “marketing” began long before the name was coined. In the mid-1800s, traveling salesmen dressed “snake oil” and other tonics in fancy packaging and extolled their virtues to a gullible public. New marketing applications soon proliferated in the belief that marketing could make many new things possible in virtually any business situation. For more than a century, implementation, experience and ultimately strategy have helped marketing evolve from crude beginnings into today’s sophisticated practices.
Consumer product firms have been the pioneers in the marketing field and have taken the undisputed lead as the creators of marketing’s best practices. While sophisticated marketing techniques have spawned consumer giants, most financial services firms had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into the era of sophisticated marketing.
The Advancing State of Financial Services Marketing
Financial services marketing has, however, evolved rapidly over the last decade. As a result, the very nature of the marketing function in financial services firms is undergoing a dramatic modification as more attention is paid to marketing-driven processes that impact the entire firm. Our observations suggest that the more progressive financial services organizations are currently going through an intellectual and practical transition that is forcing the reexamination of the role of marketing within their firms. Many have begun to realize that financial marketing responsibilities include not only developing the firm’s mission statement and key messages, but also defining its business focus, relevant differentiation, competitive advantages and value proposition.
At the same time, however, a number of financial services marketing directors must engage in long-term turf battles with other departments before they can implement worthy financial marketing initiatives that will help accelerate the achievement of corporate goals. In many financial organizations, the persistent problem of differentiating financial marketing from sales still remains largely unresolved. In addition, some financial services marketing directors must still enlist substantial management support just to maintain equilibrium and obtain the opportunity to accomplish even limited objectives.
Focusing on the Customer
Peter Drucker, a sage of the financial marketing discipline, discussed customer defined value almost 50 years ago. During the last decade his concept of a customer-centric focus has become part of popular marketing literature and is now the guiding principle of financial marketing. Drucker’s fundamental mandate that ‘the customer’s interests must come first’ can be summarized by the following statements paraphrased from his extensive writings:
- The only valid definition of business purpose is to create a customer.
- What the business thinks it is producing is not as important as what customers think they are buying; what customers consider to be value is decisive.
- Every business has only two basic functions: marketing and innovation.
- Marketing is your whole business as seen from the customer’s point of view.
While easy to articulate, customer-centric practices are difficult to implement in most financial services organizations. Obstacles include a prevailing product-push mentality, a focus on short-term profitability, under-investment in financial marketing activities, and the lack of solid market intelligence about the needs and wants of target markets.
We believe, however, that in the future the most successful financial services marketing organizations will be those that make Drucker’s principles their own through extrapolation, adaptation and creative application. As effective financial marketing evolves to a cross-functional, multi-disciplinary activity, successful firms will create a culture of customer orientation throughout the organization and incorporate advocacy for customer welfare in all corporate decision-making.
With the financial services industry currently going through a transformation, management’s challenge is to provide the leadership to displace the status quo and create a culture of opportunity. Early adaptors who apply the concept of “integrated marketing” on an organization-wide basis will not only develop a customer-orientated culture, but also create opportunities for innovation, improved performance and incremental profitability.
About The Author
Mr. Jay Nagdeman, the Founder and President of Suasion Resources, has recently been identified as “One of the financial industry’s most innovative marketing minds” by Research Magazine. Mr. Nagdeman previously served as Director of Marketing in financial services firms and as a contributing editor for Barron’s. Prior to that, he taught at the business school of the University of Chicago.
Copyright © 2004 Suasion Resources Inc. All rights reserved.
For additional information, please visit us online at www.suasionresources.com.
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What to be Successful? Marketing Makes the Difference
When you hear the word “marketing” what comes to mind? More business or wasted money? If your experience with marketing or advertising has been less than positive your cynicism may be well founded. Yet, have you ever noticed a competitor with a mediocre product and a healthy business? The difference is often marketing.
Some say they’ve never done marketing and don’t need to because of good word-
of-mouth. Positive word-of-mouth is great, but not enough if you’re serious about
growing your business. Others do invest in marketing yet treat it as a necessary evil.
The problem with that mindset is that it’s driving with the brakes on. Those people
sabotage their efforts by making poor decisions, taking half-measures and often
resisting anything innovative.
When asked about the “one big key” to marketing success I reply that there’s
nothing more important than a “marketing mindset”. A marketing mindset is an
attitude, a way of thinking, that values and embraces the power of marketing. If you
look at the companies and brands that are most successful — Nike, Microsoft,
Virgin, Trump, Saturn, Kenneth Cole, etc — you’ll find someone at the top with a
marketing mindset. People like Trump, Cole, and Virgin’s Richard Branson may have
it instinctively. For most, however, it’s a learned attribute. So, if you don’t have a
marketing mindset yet, keep reading and start to get one.
Follis Fact #1 You need a Marketing Mindset.
Attracting vs. Chasing
A guy sees a beautiful woman in a bar, tracks down her name and number, calls her
up and says, “Hi, my name is Joe and I’m great in bed.” That’s cold calling. Another
guy sees a beautiful woman in a bar and gives her a napkin that says, “I’m Bill and
I’m great in bed.” That’s direct marketing. A third guy sees a beautiful woman in a
bar, has his ex-girlfriend go up to her and say, “See that cute guy over there? He’s
my ex, his name is Tom, and he’s really great in bed.” That’s PR. Last guy walks into
a bar, a beautiful woman approaches him and says, “Hi, my name is Courtney and I
hear you’re really great in bed.” That’s effective marketing.
Attraction is the essence of marketing. When you create enough desire to get your
prospect to come to you, they’ll always be more predisposed to buying. That bares
repeating. When you create enough desire to get your prospect to come to you,
they’ll always be more predisposed to buying. The challenge, of course, is that your
prospect is elusive prey. So, imagine the first rabbit hunters. They’d exhaust
themselves using spears and rocks until a more evolved Neanderthal got the idea of
using carrots. Or, imagine the girl who desperately wants a date, but can’t
understand why she scares guys away when she chases them. Unfortunately, too
many businesses act like that girl chasing for a date by putting lots into selling and
nothing into marketing.
Follis Fact #2 It’s always better to attract than chase.
Expense vs Investment
Those who don’t understand marketing view it as an expense. Those with a
marketing mindset know it’s an investment. They know that, if done right, it can
excite their prospects and produce a great return. “Done right” means well-
researched, well-managed, and generally handled by someone who knows what
they’re doing. Regarding expense, being a small business is a bad excuse to do
nothing. Start small, but do something. There are plenty of cost-effective, non-
traditional ways to do a test. So, if you want to grow, you can’t afford not to develop
a marketing plan.
Determine your Objective and Budget
Like building a house it starts with a solid foundation. Start with a clear objective.
The more specific you make it, the better you can develop an effective plan to
achieve it. If your company has no marketing director to create a plan, get help. A
marketing plan is critical and it involves the analysis of key market factors such as:
o the nature and traits of your product.
o the exact audience you’re targeting.
o the competitive environment.
o the traits of your industry/category.
o the maturity of your business.
o timing.
Your marketing budget depends upon the analysis of these factors as well as your
short and long term objectives. For some businesses, 5% of annual sales is plenty to
invest. For others, 10% may not be enough. Once the marketing goal is determined
it’s easier to determine the budget needed to achieve it.
Have a Great Product
At the risk of stating the obvious, a big key for marketing success is having a great
product. In his best-selling book, Purple Cow, marketing guru Seth Godin calls it,
“being remarkable.” It’s about having a product or service that’s exceptional.
Though many non-remarkable products may seem to do well because of great
marketing, no long-term success can be achieved without a great product. In fact, if
a product is not great, great marketing will usually make it fail faster. People will
buy it, not like it, and never buy it again.
Case in point: Ever see an exciting teaser for an upcoming movie? It can make a lot
of people run out and buy a ticket. The problem starts a couple of weeks later when
folks see the movie, hate it, and then spread the word. Before you know it, the
movie’s gone. Here’s another case. Remember New Coke? If not, you’re not alone. It
didn’t last long. Despite the marketing muscle that Coke put behind it, the Coke-
drinking public decided they were quite happy with the old Coke. Another case
involves a new tropical hotel. Eager to jump-start his business the owner got tour
directors and travel writers to check it out and hopefully generate some good buzz.
Problem was, the hotel wasn’t finished. Had he waited a couple more months he
would’ve gotten great reviews. Now he’ll be lucky if those tour directors and writers
give him another shot.
If businesses spent less energy trying to sell their product and more on improving
it, they’d have more success in the long run.
Follis Fact #3 Great marketing will make a bad product fail faster.
When product, client, and marketing are all exceptional the results can be a
beautiful thing — even if it doesn’t start off that way.
“Let me get this straight…you want my commercial to start with my competitor’s
tagline?”
That was the company president’s response when I presented the concept. I guess I
couldn’t blame him. Recommending that he put $350,000 behind a TV spot that
began with his main competitor’s tagline may not have seemed like the smartest
idea. Yet, I knew my concept was strong — if I could articulate it. But, before I
continue, let me step back and explain the scenario.
Sorrell Ridge Fruit Spreads was an unknown all-natural “spreadable fruit” product
(ie. jam) that had been selling in health food stores. Now, the tiny brand was ready
to battle the big guys on the grocery shelves of America. The main competitor and
undisputed leader in the category was Smucker’s. Smucker’s had a 30-year history
during which it built one of the strongest, most positive brand images in history.
Their tagline, “With a name like Smucker’s it has to be good”, was famous and
endeared by the American public. What’s more, their ad budget was about 20 times
that of tiny Sorrell Ridge. To say we needed a kick-ass campaign is an
understatement. But Smucker’s was vulnerable. Their preserves were mostly high
fructose corn syrup, refined sugar, and little fruit. Sorrell Ridge, on the other hand,
was all fruit. It was a big competitive difference and the stage was set for a classic
David vs. Goliath battle. So, back to our meeting…
“You want my commercial to start with my competitor’s tagline?”
“The idea here isn’t to promote Smucker’s tagline, it’s to dismantle it,” I replied
passionately. The president’s eyebrows raised. I then walked him through the simple
30-second TV spot which opened with the Smucker’s tagline filling the screen…
With a name like Smucker’s it has to be good.
The announcer began: “For 30 years Smucker’s has been telling us they have to be
good. But in fact, Smucker’s Preserves is mostly corn syrup, refined sugar, and only
some fruit.” At the mention of each ingredient a pair of hands popped up from the
bottom of the TV screen and patched over the last line of type, “it has to be good,”
with a succession of modifications starting with “it’s probably good”, to “it might be
good,” and finally, “is it really so good?” We then cut to the Sorrell Ridge jar as the
announcer explained that “Sorrell Ridge is 100% fruit.” The final stake in the heart
was our tagline which played directly off Smucker’s:
Sorrell Ridge. With 100% fruit, it has to be better.
Holding my breath, I glance over at the Sorrell Ridge president who now looked like
a kid on Christmas morning. I then presented a “50 cents off” coupon ad with side-
by-side visuals of each jar positioned under their respective tagline. Like the TV, it
was simple, but compelling, and he loved it. But now came the legal questions.
Could we even do it? After some nail-biting delays, and a few minor copy changes,
the lawyers gave us the green light. But not without stern warnings that there was
no guarantee that Smucker’s wouldn’t sue. To the president’s credit, he pulled the
trigger on the campaign and we held our breath.
We didn’t have to hold it long. Sales spiked and within the month were up a full 90%.
Our thrilled client immediately doubled his media spending by scraping together
every dime he could muster. When the dust finally settled 12 months later, Sorrell
Ridge had a 50% national increase while sales for the entire jams category increased
only 3.5%. The Harvard Business Review wrote it up as a case study and Forbes
wrote it up as a 2-page feature. My partner and I got covered in a dozen trade
publications and appeared live on CNBC. And, despite all our legal fears, Smucker’s
never did take action. Everything we said was true and obviously Smucker’s knew it.
Though they probably could’ve tied us up in court, the last thing they needed was
more press. We simply had a better product and we got the message across in an
exciting way.
Follis Fact #4 The better your product, the better your marketing can be.
© 2005 John Follis. All rights reserved.
John Follis is one of the 12 “Best Advertising Minds of New York” as voted by The New York Ad Club. His campaigns are in 3 college textbooks, he has written for ADWEEK, and he has taught at 3 New York universities. Currently, John works on select projects, consults, and speaks. He may be reached at john@follisinc.com
For John’s booklet: How to Attract and Excite Your Prospects: A Guide for Getting the Best Marketing Results, visit: http://www.follisinc.com/booklet.htm
For consulting info, visit: Marketing Therapy: http://www.follisinc.com/therapy.htm
For speaking info, visit: Follis Speaking: http://www.follisinc.com/speaking.htm
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Business to Business or B2B marketing is the selling of services and products to businesses in order to support the operations of companies. Companies use these services to increase marketing, sales, profits and efficiency. With B2B, one should know the requirements, the present situation, competitors, trends, technology and costs involved. Besides traditional offline approaches, B2B uses an integration of online tools such as email marketing, online communities, CPC (cost-per-click ads) and pop-up or banner advertisings.
1. What are the five distinct concepts associated with B2B?
As in any type of marketing, B2B includes the exchange concept of marketing, the turn of production concept, the product concept, the phenomenon of marketing myopia and the sales concept.
2. What are a few business to business marketing features?
In B2B marketing, transactions are made between and within value chains. It has a small numbers of customers who require personalized marketing, including customized products and prices. Selling processes are complex and lengthy, and involve lots of players creating a demand decision chain. B2B is also noted for developing profitable, value-oriented relationships between two companies and several individuals within them.
3. What is a B2B marketing strategy?
It is a set of programs coupled with the target market opportunities in order to achieve organizational goals. Shaping this strategy involves three steps – target market choice, setting marketing objectives and building the B2B marketing program.
4. What are some similarities and differences between B2B and B2C?
B2B and B2C marketing are totally different. B2C or Business to Consumer marketing discloses, sells or markets services or goods to a group or target consumer. It is product driven and maximizes the value of the transaction. Repetition and imagery create its brand identity.
But the marketing programs are same for these two categories. Examples are events, direct marketing, internet marketing, advertising, public relations, word of mouth and alliances. The two categories differ in behaviors such as how the programs are executed, what they say and the product of the marketing activities. Both B2B and B2C have the same initial step in developing a marketing strategy.
5. What is a B2B buyer?
A B2B buyer understands your services or products better than you do. He wants to buy them to help his business remain profitable, competitive and successful.
Business To Business Marketing provides detailed information on Business To Business Marketing, Business To Business Email Marketing, Business To Business Marketing Strategies, Business To Business Internet Marketing and more. Business To Business Marketing is affiliated with Network Marketing Opportunities.
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General Theoretical Marketing Techniques
For a marketing plan to be successful, the mix of Product, Price, Promotion, and Placement must reflect the wants and desires of the consumers in the target market. Trying to convince a market segment to buy something they don’t want is extremely expensive and seldom successful. Marketers depend on marketing research, both formal and informal, to determine what consumers want and what they are willing to pay for. Marketers hope that this process will give them a sustainable competitive advantage. Marketing management is the practical application of this process.
Most companies today have a customer orientation (also called customer focus). This implies that the company focuses its activities and products on customer needs. Generally there are two ways of doing this: the customer-driven approach and the product innovation approach.
In the consumer-driven approach, consumer wants are the drivers of all strategic marketing decisions. No strategy is pursued until it passes the test of consumer research. Every aspect of a market offering, including the nature of the product itself, is driven by the needs of potential consumers. The starting point is always the consumer. The rationale for this approach is that there is no point spending R&D funds developing products that people will not buy. History attests to many products that were commercial failures in spite of being technological breakthroughs.
The next big thing is a concept in marketing that refers to a product or idea that will allow for a high amount of sales for that product and related products. Marketers believe that by finding or creating the next big thing they will spark a cultural revolution that results in this sales increase.
In a product innovation approach, the company pursues product innovation, then tries to develop a market for the product. Product innovation drives the process and marketing research is conducted primarily to ensure that a profitable market segment(s) exists for the innovation. The rationale is that customers may not know what options will be available to them in the future so we should not expect them to tell us what they will buy in the future. It is claimed that if Thomas Edison depended on marketing research he would have produced larger candles rather than inventing light bulbs. Many firms, such as research and development focused companies, successfully focus on product innovation. Many purists doubt whether this is really a form of marketing orientation at all, because of the ex post status of consumer research. Some even question whether it is marketing.
Diffusion of innovations research explores how and why people adopt new products, services and ideas.
A relatively new form of marketing uses the Internet and is called internet marketing or more generally e-marketing, affiliate marketing or online marketing. It typically tries to perfect the segmentation strategy used in traditional marketing. It targets its audience more precisely, and is sometimes called personalized marketing or one-to-one marketing.
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Reset Your Business Marketing Model and Create Marketing Ease
Combine traditional business marketing and Internet marketing strategies and increase your business revenues.
Business Marketing Works.
Without marketing your business has no revenues. This marketing may be from word of mouth of clients you’ve served already. Or it may be intentional marketing you create your self. Either way business marketing works. Marketing is the only way to your business success.
Traditional Business Marketing Techniques that Work
Traditionally, we know that ads in magazines, direct-mail postcards, direct-mail sales letters, business networking, telephone calls, and building business relationships all work. In fact, if you’re business marketing strategies are not working, take a look at the copy. What does each ads say? Are you tracking the results of the ad? Did the ad generate revenues for you? If not, you may have had an expense as a result of applying the traditional business marketing techniques. It could be costly to run the ad again using different copy until you find the copy that gets the result you want.
Combine Tradition Business Marketing with Internet Marketing Strategies that Work
Putting internet marketing strategies to work in your business can give you an opportunity to test your ads in a cost effective way. Using internet marketing strategies you can discover what works and doesn’t work with your ad for little or no cost.
Once an ad is getting results using internet marketing strategies, you can put the successful ad in magazines, postcards and even use it on your business card. With an ad that you know gets results the expense of the more traditional marketing techniques is viable.
Powerfully Effective Business Marketing
The combination of internet marketing strategies with traditional business marketing techniques is a powerful way to move your business forward and increase your revenues. It can take as little as three weeks to 90 days to begin seeing new results in your business.
It’s a Magical Combination.
Combining internet marketing strategies with traditional marketing techniques gives you a freedom for expressing yourself uniquely, unlike ever before. Your unique selling point can be easier to create. Your purpose becomes more defined. You are able to attract your ideal clients to your business more easily as a result
Just as business marketing is systematized and repeatable using traditional methods, internet marketing is repeatable and predictable as a clear system to follow. Learn these systems and surge your business revenues forward using the “magical combination” of traditional business marketing and internet marketing.
You’ll be smiling as you check your continuously increasing bank balance.
Juanita Bellavance is an internet marketing mentor with a focus on passive income streams combining internet technologies with other business models.
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