It never fails, every time I hit the highway I see a billboard that boldly states…
"Does advertising work? It just did!"
I bet you've seen a similar billboard on your daily commute — proudly displaying it's pointless message in a horrible combination of fonts and colors. It is designed to serve one purpose and that purpose is simply to get everyone's attention. This, my friend, is advertising at it's worst. Why would I suggest that getting attention is bad advertising? Because it congratulates itself on having produced a result, but the result was nothing more than me reading the message. The advertising was in no way relevant to me as a consumer. Getting my attention acheived nothing. The simple fact is that the billboard company would be doing itself a huge favor if they would simply state, "Your message here." with their phone number prominently displayed. This would have addressed a potential prospect's need while providing a call-to-action. Their message does neither.
Just Be Relevant
You can impress your audience with a bold, cutting edge style. You can even wow your audience with a really creative concept. Your ad could show off every incredible feature your product offers and you can have the lowest price in town. But, if your message is not relevant to your target audience, no amount of persuasion is going make it sell.
The first thing you must do is make sure you are talking to the right audience. The second things is to make sure you show them how your product is going to meet their needs or fulfill their desires. For example, help them make or save more money, save them time, allow them to avoid doing stuff they don’t like, help them feel better about themselves. Whatever the case may be, make sure your message is relevant — and your product lives up to your pitch — and you'll be on your way to producing the best advertising ever!
Howard L. Theriot
Catch Light Productions
http://www.catchlight.com
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Managing The Marketing Mix
Problem. Many organizations approach marketing by writing a marketing plan and then putting a lot of energy into producing the projects to fulfill that plan. And all to often, the plan goes astray and the budget gets blown on unplanned incidentals, leaving the company at a loss or dipping into next year's budget in order to keep things moving. The results are inefficient and generally ineffective marketing tactics.
Solution. Complete the circle. A marketing plan is only as good as a well developed strategy. While your Individual campaigns and projects may make up the bulk of your budget, establishing and maintaining the right corporate and brand identity will ensure consistency and effectiveness. And targeting your audience by demographics is only half the process in lead generation — you must also qualify these prospects in order to produce the best ROI. Finally, the often overlooked areas of public relations and customer service, which rely more on effort than on dollars, can quite possibly create the make-or-break situation. In other words, plan your strategy and tactics rather than just listing projects and goals.
Vendors vs Partners. Will managing a marketing plan internally on an as needed basis and distributing individual projects to multiple vendors will save money and allow more projects to be produced for greater results? No necessarily. The average cost for a client to take on a new vendors is approximately 12.5% of the budget. This is due to the following problems:
* Short-rated contracts
* Transfer of artwork and other files and information
* Out-of-pocket and time lost to conduct a new vendor search
* Time needed to get the new client/vendor up to speed
* Start-up inefficiencies for the new vendor as they learn the client’s business and procedures
By forming a relationship with your agency as a strategic partner, you will be following the lead of successful companies who understand the benefits of of such an alliance. With the right partner at your side, you will benefit from greater market intelligence, a viewpoint not affected by internal politics, and greater efficiency as all involved remain focused on well developed strategies.
Solution. Complete the circle. A marketing plan is only as good as a well developed strategy. While your Individual campaigns and projects may make up the bulk of your budget, establishing and maintaining the right corporate and brand identity will ensure consistency and effectiveness. And targeting your audience by demographics is only half the process in lead generation — you must also qualify these prospects in order to produce the best ROI. Finally, the often overlooked areas of public relations and customer service, which rely more on effort than on dollars, can quite possibly create the make-or-break situation. In other words, plan your strategy and tactics rather than just listing projects and goals.
Vendors vs Partners. Will managing a marketing plan internally on an as needed basis and distributing individual projects to multiple vendors will save money and allow more projects to be produced for greater results? No necessarily. The average cost for a client to take on a new vendors is approximately 12.5% of the budget. This is due to the following problems:
* Short-rated contracts
* Transfer of artwork and other files and information
* Out-of-pocket and time lost to conduct a new vendor search
* Time needed to get the new client/vendor up to speed
* Start-up inefficiencies for the new vendor as they learn the client’s business and procedures
By forming a relationship with your agency as a strategic partner, you will be following the lead of successful companies who understand the benefits of of such an alliance. With the right partner at your side, you will benefit from greater market intelligence, a viewpoint not affected by internal politics, and greater efficiency as all involved remain focused on well developed strategies.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Something Unexpected
In today's highly competitive marketplace, consumers can choose from any number of competing sellers in order to get what they want. When you and your competitors offer the same quality product and rely on low prices, loss leaders, and special incentives to make the sale, the product becomes a mere commodity and price is all that matters. But, when you shift your focus away from the sale and toward the consumer experience, you change the playing field.
Far too often, consumer experiences are delivered short of expectations. With the heavy presence of social media in our lives today, there's big buzz about "engaging" the consumer. But, I don't think too many of us understand what that really means. Doc Searls in writing about “the intention economy”, suggests that buyers find sellers, as opposed to sellers capturing buyers. He also shows us that the seller must earn respect and trust, and that branding is only useful if it is based on truth. Sellers must focus first and foremost on building relationships with buyers. The sale is a by-product of this relationship.
Building successful relationships with consumers means becoming transparent and giving them more than they expect. Now, more than ever, we must be focused on the quality of the consumer experience in addition to the quality of our product and service. Relationship building goes much deeper than simply putting your best face forward. It goes deep into that all important courtship, and it takes a whole lot more than giving flowers and holding hands to grow a beautiful relationship. It takes trust. It takes passion. It takes creativity. It takes honesty.
The average consumer prefers recommendations from family and friends over advertising. And, according to a Forrester research study examining consumer trust with various forms of advertising, consumer opinions posted online scored higher than traditional marketing tactics. Social media has permeated our daily lives to the degree that buying decisions are often based on the recommendations from around the globe instead of merely across the dinner table. This is an opportunity to capitalize on the marketing holy grail: word-of-mouth. Unfortunately, many marketers go wrong by trying to manage word of mouth. You cannot manage word of mouth. You can create the right circumstances to encourage good word of mouth. That's all you can do.
The fact is that consumers can no longer be sold to. Whether you like it or not, they are in control of when and how they buy. They know what's going on in the marketplace and they come to you armed with product reviews and competitive offers. As a marketer, now is the time to reinvent your approach in order to win consumers and meet business goals.
The opportunity is right in front of you and the choice is yours… simply do your job and deliver what you're supposed to deliver, or rise above and beyond the call of duty by delivering something great. Something unexpected.
Far too often, consumer experiences are delivered short of expectations. With the heavy presence of social media in our lives today, there's big buzz about "engaging" the consumer. But, I don't think too many of us understand what that really means. Doc Searls in writing about “the intention economy”, suggests that buyers find sellers, as opposed to sellers capturing buyers. He also shows us that the seller must earn respect and trust, and that branding is only useful if it is based on truth. Sellers must focus first and foremost on building relationships with buyers. The sale is a by-product of this relationship.
Building successful relationships with consumers means becoming transparent and giving them more than they expect. Now, more than ever, we must be focused on the quality of the consumer experience in addition to the quality of our product and service. Relationship building goes much deeper than simply putting your best face forward. It goes deep into that all important courtship, and it takes a whole lot more than giving flowers and holding hands to grow a beautiful relationship. It takes trust. It takes passion. It takes creativity. It takes honesty.
The average consumer prefers recommendations from family and friends over advertising. And, according to a Forrester research study examining consumer trust with various forms of advertising, consumer opinions posted online scored higher than traditional marketing tactics. Social media has permeated our daily lives to the degree that buying decisions are often based on the recommendations from around the globe instead of merely across the dinner table. This is an opportunity to capitalize on the marketing holy grail: word-of-mouth. Unfortunately, many marketers go wrong by trying to manage word of mouth. You cannot manage word of mouth. You can create the right circumstances to encourage good word of mouth. That's all you can do.
The fact is that consumers can no longer be sold to. Whether you like it or not, they are in control of when and how they buy. They know what's going on in the marketplace and they come to you armed with product reviews and competitive offers. As a marketer, now is the time to reinvent your approach in order to win consumers and meet business goals.
The opportunity is right in front of you and the choice is yours… simply do your job and deliver what you're supposed to deliver, or rise above and beyond the call of duty by delivering something great. Something unexpected.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
The Right Answer
Effective annual marketing plans have always relied on a combination of real data and intelligent assumptions. Recent years have brought us a great deal of change at a very fast pace, which has created new challenges as well as new opportunities for preparing an effective 2010 marketing strategy.
I believe it is very safe to say that when it comes to marketing tactics, there is no common "right answer". When asked by clients if a particular tactic will produce the desired results, I can only honestly say that it all depends on the product, target, message and — more importantly in today's changing landscape — how the consumer wants to be approached.
If you aren't familiar with the Four P's of marketing [see footnote], it's a tried and true concept that I believe is as relevant today as when it was first introduced a half a century ago. However, the fourth P, "Promotion", requires some special attention these days. It isn't all about print vs broadcast media, public relations, and your sales force anymore. Today we are faced with — and perhaps blessed with — the possibility of building personal relationships with the masses. Today's buzz phrase is "Social Media" and it really can work if you are smart in your approach.
Before jumping onto FaceBook or Twitter, it's important to understand that social media can work with you or against you in two significant ways:
1. Social media allows you to hold a conversation with your audience
2. Social media allows your audience to hold a conversation with others about you
It is also important to understand that social media isn't just about FaceBook and Twitter. It's also about blogs, media sharing, widgets, mobile apps, podcasting, rss, email, and good ol' word-of-mouth. According to the MarketingSavant, a social media campaign by Ben & Jerry's yielded a 42% increase in time spent engaged with their website, strengthened existing relationships, and introduced younger audiences. This is an excellent example of how you can utilize social media through your own website without relying on trends like FaceBook.
But, don't let assumptions about social media overpower your focus on traditional media. Broadcast, outdoor, and print media are still the right choices in many cases. With the array of marketing channels available to us today through social and traditional media comes much uncertainty. For this reason, it may be wise to include experiments in your marketing strategy to isolate the effects of each option. If you have real data on your target demographics and psychographics — and you really should — you can start with assumptions about how they may want to be approached. Perform short market tests through seemingly appropriate channels and cut the loser at each stage. It will take time to isolate the winners, but solid experiments will ultimately reveal them.
As you begin working on next year's marketing plan, take a fresh look at the marketing mix. Determine which uncertainties require the most attention, and why. Work through the potential impact of reducing these uncertainties and you will be on your way to finding the right answer for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.
Until next time,
Howard Theriot
Catch Light Productions
Four P's Of Marketing
http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/
I believe it is very safe to say that when it comes to marketing tactics, there is no common "right answer". When asked by clients if a particular tactic will produce the desired results, I can only honestly say that it all depends on the product, target, message and — more importantly in today's changing landscape — how the consumer wants to be approached.
If you aren't familiar with the Four P's of marketing [see footnote], it's a tried and true concept that I believe is as relevant today as when it was first introduced a half a century ago. However, the fourth P, "Promotion", requires some special attention these days. It isn't all about print vs broadcast media, public relations, and your sales force anymore. Today we are faced with — and perhaps blessed with — the possibility of building personal relationships with the masses. Today's buzz phrase is "Social Media" and it really can work if you are smart in your approach.
Before jumping onto FaceBook or Twitter, it's important to understand that social media can work with you or against you in two significant ways:
1. Social media allows you to hold a conversation with your audience
2. Social media allows your audience to hold a conversation with others about you
It is also important to understand that social media isn't just about FaceBook and Twitter. It's also about blogs, media sharing, widgets, mobile apps, podcasting, rss, email, and good ol' word-of-mouth. According to the MarketingSavant, a social media campaign by Ben & Jerry's yielded a 42% increase in time spent engaged with their website, strengthened existing relationships, and introduced younger audiences. This is an excellent example of how you can utilize social media through your own website without relying on trends like FaceBook.
But, don't let assumptions about social media overpower your focus on traditional media. Broadcast, outdoor, and print media are still the right choices in many cases. With the array of marketing channels available to us today through social and traditional media comes much uncertainty. For this reason, it may be wise to include experiments in your marketing strategy to isolate the effects of each option. If you have real data on your target demographics and psychographics — and you really should — you can start with assumptions about how they may want to be approached. Perform short market tests through seemingly appropriate channels and cut the loser at each stage. It will take time to isolate the winners, but solid experiments will ultimately reveal them.
As you begin working on next year's marketing plan, take a fresh look at the marketing mix. Determine which uncertainties require the most attention, and why. Work through the potential impact of reducing these uncertainties and you will be on your way to finding the right answer for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones.
Until next time,
Howard Theriot
Catch Light Productions
Four P's Of Marketing
http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Market Like You Mean It
Are your marketing efforts methodical and driven by real data, with a focus on measurable results? Or do you have a tendency to run promotions on a whim — maybe because business is slow or you got a great rate on some unused media inventory?
It's unfortunate that we often run across the latter when talking to new and prospective clients. We find many new businesses — and even established companies who have just gone a bit stale — are often not focused on putting meaning into their marketing efforts. They tend to be focused on the transaction rather than the relationship. They think the latest social media trend will answer their prayers. Or perhaps they just rely on gimmicks or fluff to draw attention rather than capitalizing on the actual merits of their products to build brand value.
So, how do we turn the tables and start making our marketing efforts more meaningful? For starters, your efforts should be focused with a clearly defined target audience and appropriate message. You should strive for customer acquisition and business growth, rather than simply making a sale. And possibly most important, yet most overlooked, your marketing should help consumers make a wise purchasing decision.
Eliminate Contradictions
Of course, your marketing efforts do not stop at the advertisement. You must really pay attention to details and think things through to the very end. If you promise a quality product, don't kill the experience with poor in-store display and sloppy handwritten signs. Don't let your staff kill the experience either. I have one client in particular with an employee who refuses to state the store name properly when answering the phone. She believes it sounds better her way. She may be a great employee in all other respects, but she should have absolutely zero customer interaction. Don't let this happen to you.
From the advertisement that brings them in the door, all the way through the purchasing experience, and right down to putting the product to use, the customer should experience your brand to the fullest.
Utilize Trends Wisely
Stop looking at your marketing efforts as mere sales tactics. Your company blog, your Facebook fan page, and even your Twitter posts can be great tools, but they are tools for engaging consumers — not selling to them. Find ways to use these current trends to build relationships and establish your business as a leader in your industry. But, do not get tied into social media to the degree that you are totally dependent on it — these are trends and will be replaced with a newer, shinier trend at some point.
Another trend to be careful of is pricing trends. We've seen dangerously low pricing trends within our own industry. It's virtually impossible for us to compete with hosting companies who oversell resources and printing companies who sell below wholesale, so we don't even try. The simple fact is that either a) they serve a very specific consumer base that is different than ours; or b) they will not be able to sustain a level of profitability that will allow them stay in business. Avoid the temptation to allow such pricing trends to shape your business. We keep our price points fair and appropriate to the value of our services. You should too.
Just remember, marketing is a job that's never done. It's an ongoing process and should evolve with your business. It should be driven by data and goals. And it should be about engaging the consumer — not persuading him.
It's unfortunate that we often run across the latter when talking to new and prospective clients. We find many new businesses — and even established companies who have just gone a bit stale — are often not focused on putting meaning into their marketing efforts. They tend to be focused on the transaction rather than the relationship. They think the latest social media trend will answer their prayers. Or perhaps they just rely on gimmicks or fluff to draw attention rather than capitalizing on the actual merits of their products to build brand value.
So, how do we turn the tables and start making our marketing efforts more meaningful? For starters, your efforts should be focused with a clearly defined target audience and appropriate message. You should strive for customer acquisition and business growth, rather than simply making a sale. And possibly most important, yet most overlooked, your marketing should help consumers make a wise purchasing decision.
Eliminate Contradictions
Of course, your marketing efforts do not stop at the advertisement. You must really pay attention to details and think things through to the very end. If you promise a quality product, don't kill the experience with poor in-store display and sloppy handwritten signs. Don't let your staff kill the experience either. I have one client in particular with an employee who refuses to state the store name properly when answering the phone. She believes it sounds better her way. She may be a great employee in all other respects, but she should have absolutely zero customer interaction. Don't let this happen to you.
From the advertisement that brings them in the door, all the way through the purchasing experience, and right down to putting the product to use, the customer should experience your brand to the fullest.
Utilize Trends Wisely
Stop looking at your marketing efforts as mere sales tactics. Your company blog, your Facebook fan page, and even your Twitter posts can be great tools, but they are tools for engaging consumers — not selling to them. Find ways to use these current trends to build relationships and establish your business as a leader in your industry. But, do not get tied into social media to the degree that you are totally dependent on it — these are trends and will be replaced with a newer, shinier trend at some point.
Another trend to be careful of is pricing trends. We've seen dangerously low pricing trends within our own industry. It's virtually impossible for us to compete with hosting companies who oversell resources and printing companies who sell below wholesale, so we don't even try. The simple fact is that either a) they serve a very specific consumer base that is different than ours; or b) they will not be able to sustain a level of profitability that will allow them stay in business. Avoid the temptation to allow such pricing trends to shape your business. We keep our price points fair and appropriate to the value of our services. You should too.
Just remember, marketing is a job that's never done. It's an ongoing process and should evolve with your business. It should be driven by data and goals. And it should be about engaging the consumer — not persuading him.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
In Brands We Trust
At it's essence, your brand is meant to do two things…
- Establish a personal connection with consumers, and
- Maintain that connection.
What this means is that branding is not a replacement for advertising, and advertising alone will not create a sustainable brand. Advertising should, of course, support your brand by building recognition and supporting your brand personality, but it will never replace that personal connection which successful brands rely so heavily on.
I'm sure you've heard this spiel time and time again, but in this difficult economic climate it's more important than ever to understand the value of your brand — your connection with consumers. People are more critical than usual about where and how they spend their money. Maintaining a personal connection builds trust. And trust always outweighs high dollar advertising. Always.
The thing about brands is that every business has one, whether they realize it or not. Starbucks has a very purposeful brand that tells me no matter what city I'm in, I can feel confident about getting a good cappuccino. On the other hand, my local coffee shop does just as good a job at getting me caffeinated, but has an atmosphere like no other — and it achieves this without purposeful corporate intervention. Starbucks relies on meticulous rules to build and maintain it's brand. My local dive benefits from consumer advocates who simply love them for what they are. The end result is that both of these brands have earned the trust of their patrons, albeit by totally different means.
I recall back in the late 1990s the word "brand" became a ridiculously overused buzzword and most of the people buzzing had little understanding of what a brand actually was. The big thing for small businesses to do back then was to pay a brand consultant to develop a new brand for them. As a full-service ad agency, brand development is certainly part of what we do for our clients, but there was something missing in the trend I was seeing. These consultants were going through the normal motions of brand discovery and development, but then handing the client their brand on disc with an implementation handbook. The result I saw time and time again was the business owner becoming obsessed with making sure their logo, typeface, and imagery was always just right according the the guidelines in their new handbook. That's wonderful. It truly is. But that's also corporate identity — not brand building.
You see, your brand is not a simple tangible item that can be put on disc with a handbook. It's your personality — your character. Yes, it must be expressed in every advertisement, every product package, and every web page. But, more importantly, in every action by every member of your company from the CEO right down to the delivery boy. And every prospect or customer must be treated as a potential brand ambassador. The emotional connections you form with consumers will build trust and loyalty, and an ultimately bigger ROI than any media budget.
It's up to you to live your brand and build the most valuable tool in your marketing arsenal — trust.
Until next time,
Howard Theriot
Catch Light Productions
http://www.catchlight.com
Established in 1989, Catch Light Productions is a creative agency specializing in turnkey advertising, marketing solutions and graphic design for small business, new business, and the entrepreneur.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Method Controls The Madness
The Plan. The first step in developing a successful marketing plan is to determine who you are and what makes you special. You must fill a need or people will have no use for your offerings, right? Consider where you want to be and how best to get there. Decide what it is that sets you apart and how this will benefit the consumer. A thorough understanding of yourself, your prospects, and your competition will help you determine — and achieve — your goals.
Focus. Although you may offer a variety of benefits that would appeal to many consumers, there is usually one single selling point which will win or lose your best market. Determine that one very special selling point and you will have established a focus which will set the standards for your competition to aspire to. When planning your communications, your message must be clear and specific to your objectives. If the message cannot be distilled down to one or two sentences, you are saying too much.
Your Role. As the client working with a marketing firm such as Catch Light Productions, you are the decision maker. You must make solid business decisions and then step back. Tough to swallow? Just consider that micro-managing projects can create a negative and counterproductive work environment and will often compromise the integrity of the finished marketing piece.
Success. How do we measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts? An immediate increase in sales? Improved image? Breaking into a new market? Ideally each piece would generate more sales, improve your overall image and get you a big chunk of new customers. Yes, on occasion, a single marketing project can produce remarkable success. But marketing should be viewed as a cumulative effort — growing stronger with each project. Set your sights on building long-term success one project at a time.
Keeping It Intact. You’ve mapped out a solid plan. You’ve developed a great concept. You’ve created outstanding visuals. You’re brave new approach to marketing is going great. So, why not just throw in a few “support” projects here and there? Because you are always judged by your poorest effort, that’s why. When it comes to marketing success, it isn’t enough to simply complete each project and then move on. You must look at the big picture — every single item that sports your logo must fully support your corporate identity, and every single item related to a particular project must fully support that project and it’s message. Allowing Catch Light Productions to provide a turnkey solution will not only be more cost-effective now and in the future, it will also ensure the quality, consistency, and integrity of your image.
Ready to get moving down a more sane path to marketing success? Drop us a line for a no-nonsense, no-pressure, no-sales pitch discussion of your needs and how we might best meet them.
Until next time,
Howard Theriot
Catch Light Productions
"In advertising there is a saying that if you can keep your head while all those around you are losing theirs — then you just don't understand the problem."
—Hugh Malcolm Beville, Jr.
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