Home » Marketing
Direct Marketing - How to Sell a Pitch
6:18 PM |The story is aflame in your brain and you know it will be the next big hit. You're ready to sell your movie script, television script, documentary, comic book or video game to the producer. You do this by selling your pitch. The pitch details what your idea is and the story that it will tell. The pitch explains why it is a good time to produce this story, what makes it unique and what the demand for the story is. It should introduce the characters, the setting, the genre and the plot.
1
Research your audience. Customize your pitch so that it appeals to the needs and style of the person who will be receiving the pitch. Pitch only those ideas that the person produces. Don't pitch a situation comedy to a producer who does only nature documentaries.
2
Create a hook. Grab the producer right away, and don't hide the gems in the middle or bottom of the pitch. Give the producer the good stuff right away. Give away the ending if you need to so long as you grab the producer's attention immediately. Write a great title for your pitch that will spark and keep interest.
3
Pack your pitch with strong verbs and vivid language. Let your voice shine through so that the pitch evangelizes for your writing abilities. Write the pitch in the same style as the work that you are trying to sell. Instill the pitch with a comic tone if the story is a comedy; make it suspenseful if the story is a thriller. Put your best writing into the pitch.
4
Instill a sense of urgency into the pitch. Convince the producer that now is the time for your story to be told. Explain how it relates to a particular trend or consumer demand. Support your story with data about why it will sell and what will make it successful.
5
Communicate what is important. Hit quickly upon the major ideas and describe the story arc. Don't clutter your pitch with too many extraneous details. Describe your story arc, what makes it unique and what is most important for the producers to know.
6
Overcome objections. Anticipate the objections that might be made to the story, and address them in a positive fashion during the pitch. Differentiate your story from the many others that are out there while still explaining why it would be a commercially successful venture.
7
Ask for the sale. Close your pitch by asking the producer to produce your work.
Read more…
1
Research your audience. Customize your pitch so that it appeals to the needs and style of the person who will be receiving the pitch. Pitch only those ideas that the person produces. Don't pitch a situation comedy to a producer who does only nature documentaries.
2
Create a hook. Grab the producer right away, and don't hide the gems in the middle or bottom of the pitch. Give the producer the good stuff right away. Give away the ending if you need to so long as you grab the producer's attention immediately. Write a great title for your pitch that will spark and keep interest.
3
Pack your pitch with strong verbs and vivid language. Let your voice shine through so that the pitch evangelizes for your writing abilities. Write the pitch in the same style as the work that you are trying to sell. Instill the pitch with a comic tone if the story is a comedy; make it suspenseful if the story is a thriller. Put your best writing into the pitch.
4
Instill a sense of urgency into the pitch. Convince the producer that now is the time for your story to be told. Explain how it relates to a particular trend or consumer demand. Support your story with data about why it will sell and what will make it successful.
5
Communicate what is important. Hit quickly upon the major ideas and describe the story arc. Don't clutter your pitch with too many extraneous details. Describe your story arc, what makes it unique and what is most important for the producers to know.
6
Overcome objections. Anticipate the objections that might be made to the story, and address them in a positive fashion during the pitch. Differentiate your story from the many others that are out there while still explaining why it would be a commercially successful venture.
7
Ask for the sale. Close your pitch by asking the producer to produce your work.
Marketing Strategies - What Is Hypothetical Scenario Marketing?
11:33 PM |Hypothetical scenario marketing blends traditional marketing techniques with sophisticated forecasting tools to determine the marketing strategies for possible new products. Marketing experts use customer surveys and focus groups to gauge customer interest in products currently under development. These techniques enable marketers to find which products have the highest potential for success while avoiding those that have the highest probability of failure.
How Hypothetical Marketing Works
Hypothetical scenario marketers devise potential situations as part of a product's marketing strategy. They create these scenarios during the development phases of a new product to predict the reactions of their potential customers before the product hits the marketplace. The marketers gather the data from customer surveys, interviews, and other interactions and analyze the results. A thorough analysis of the data enables marketers to develop strategies and tactics for launching the product's marketing campaign.
Hypothetical Marketing Applications
Marketers often use hypothetical scenarios to develop assorted variations of a product and run marketing tests on these newer versions. These variations can include changes in color, size, logos or packaging. For instance, in 1992, the Pepsi-Cola company released Crystal Pepsi, a clear, caffeine-free version of its trademark cola drink. The drink tested well in smaller markets, but did not achieve lasting success. The company discontinued the Crystal Pepsi brand in 1994.
Hypothetical Marketing Techniques
Marketers test hypothetical scenarios on the four criteria found in typical marketing plans: product, placement, price and presentation. The marketers use hypothetical product scenarios to determine whether the product will meet the customer's needs. Placement scenarios test ideas on where and how the product will be displayed. Price points show marketers the prices that customers would be willing to pay for such a product. Presentation scenarios inform marketers on customer preferences for logo, color scheme and packaging.
Hypothetical Threats
New product launches involve many details. While some of these scenarios show the product in its best light, other situations can threaten the product's viability before it hits store shelves. Hypothetical scenario marketing also involves analyzing any potential threats that would hurt the product's success. Some of these scenarios include political, legal or economic events that can overshadow a product's beneficial qualities. Other scenarios involve analyzing the behavior of competitors through price wars and market share changes.
Read more…
How Hypothetical Marketing Works
Hypothetical scenario marketers devise potential situations as part of a product's marketing strategy. They create these scenarios during the development phases of a new product to predict the reactions of their potential customers before the product hits the marketplace. The marketers gather the data from customer surveys, interviews, and other interactions and analyze the results. A thorough analysis of the data enables marketers to develop strategies and tactics for launching the product's marketing campaign.
Hypothetical Marketing Applications
Marketers often use hypothetical scenarios to develop assorted variations of a product and run marketing tests on these newer versions. These variations can include changes in color, size, logos or packaging. For instance, in 1992, the Pepsi-Cola company released Crystal Pepsi, a clear, caffeine-free version of its trademark cola drink. The drink tested well in smaller markets, but did not achieve lasting success. The company discontinued the Crystal Pepsi brand in 1994.
Hypothetical Marketing Techniques
Marketers test hypothetical scenarios on the four criteria found in typical marketing plans: product, placement, price and presentation. The marketers use hypothetical product scenarios to determine whether the product will meet the customer's needs. Placement scenarios test ideas on where and how the product will be displayed. Price points show marketers the prices that customers would be willing to pay for such a product. Presentation scenarios inform marketers on customer preferences for logo, color scheme and packaging.
Hypothetical Threats
New product launches involve many details. While some of these scenarios show the product in its best light, other situations can threaten the product's viability before it hits store shelves. Hypothetical scenario marketing also involves analyzing any potential threats that would hurt the product's success. Some of these scenarios include political, legal or economic events that can overshadow a product's beneficial qualities. Other scenarios involve analyzing the behavior of competitors through price wars and market share changes.
Marketing Strategies - Acupuncture Marketing Ideas
11:24 PM |Acupuncture is a health-and-wellness practice drawn from the ancient Chinese practice of inserting thin needles into the skin to relieve pain, cure illness, or increase well-being. Modern acupuncturists use numerous marketing methods to reach potential customers and grow their practices.
Referrals and Word of Mouth
One of the cheapest and most effective methods for marketing an acupuncture practice is through word of mouth. Acupuncturists providing excellent service can stimulate word-of-mouth marketing by directly asking clients for referrals and offering discounts for customers that refer friends, family and colleagues. Acupuncture clinics can also produce educational guides and coupons to give clients so that they may share these materials with others. Giveaways such as pens, mugs and stress-relief toys can stimulate conversation between satisfied customers and their coworkers and friends.
Online Marketing
Many people seeking pain relief search the Internet to find health practitioners. Acupuncture practices can promote their services by setting up professional-quality websites and maintaining a presence on social media. Effective websites include a description of the services offered, testimonials from current clients and a way for customers to set up an appointment. Offering an incentive for current and prospective clients to share their email addresses allows acupuncturists to send discounts and marketing materials on a regular basis.
Cross-Promotion
General practitioners, specialists and others in the medical profession often provide referrals to other health professionals, including those practicing alternative wellness methods. Acupuncturists can seek out doctors and health providers who support acupuncture and offer to promote the provider's services to their clients in return for similar promotion of the acupuncture practice. When finalizing a cross-promotional arrangement leave signage, brochures and coupons with partners to make it easy for them to promote your services.
Acupuncture Seminars
Many potential customers have heard of acupuncture, but are unfamiliar with the practice and unsure how it could help them. Acupuncture clinics can set up informational seminars to introduce people to acupuncture and build relationships with them. These seminars may be held in person or online. Be sure to have plenty of staff present to answer questions and hand out materials. Promote these free workshops by asking current clients to invite friends, sending out postcards in the vicinity of the acupuncture practice and posting information on local online calendars, websites and blogs.
Read more…
Referrals and Word of Mouth
One of the cheapest and most effective methods for marketing an acupuncture practice is through word of mouth. Acupuncturists providing excellent service can stimulate word-of-mouth marketing by directly asking clients for referrals and offering discounts for customers that refer friends, family and colleagues. Acupuncture clinics can also produce educational guides and coupons to give clients so that they may share these materials with others. Giveaways such as pens, mugs and stress-relief toys can stimulate conversation between satisfied customers and their coworkers and friends.
Online Marketing
Many people seeking pain relief search the Internet to find health practitioners. Acupuncture practices can promote their services by setting up professional-quality websites and maintaining a presence on social media. Effective websites include a description of the services offered, testimonials from current clients and a way for customers to set up an appointment. Offering an incentive for current and prospective clients to share their email addresses allows acupuncturists to send discounts and marketing materials on a regular basis.
Cross-Promotion
General practitioners, specialists and others in the medical profession often provide referrals to other health professionals, including those practicing alternative wellness methods. Acupuncturists can seek out doctors and health providers who support acupuncture and offer to promote the provider's services to their clients in return for similar promotion of the acupuncture practice. When finalizing a cross-promotional arrangement leave signage, brochures and coupons with partners to make it easy for them to promote your services.
Acupuncture Seminars
Many potential customers have heard of acupuncture, but are unfamiliar with the practice and unsure how it could help them. Acupuncture clinics can set up informational seminars to introduce people to acupuncture and build relationships with them. These seminars may be held in person or online. Be sure to have plenty of staff present to answer questions and hand out materials. Promote these free workshops by asking current clients to invite friends, sending out postcards in the vicinity of the acupuncture practice and posting information on local online calendars, websites and blogs.
Marketing Strategies - Advantages & Limitations of Television as an Advertising Medium
11:20 PM |Television is an important medium used by advertisers to deliver commercial messages to targeted customers. While advantages of television include the ability to reach a lot of people with a creative message, it does have some limitations relative to other traditional media. In particular, commercials often suffer from a lack of audience attentiveness and they can get expensive for local companies.
Creative Opportunities
Relative to other media, television has significant creative opportunities. You can tell a story and creatively mix backgrounds, lighting, settings, characters, action, movement and sounds. Advertisers often use the opportunity to demonstrate their products to the audience. Sellers of cleaning products, for instance, may show how their brand cleans or disinfects effectively.
Reach Lots of People
TV remains one of the best media options to reach a lot of people. In a local market, you can potentially target thousands or tens of thousands of audience members during a given show or time frame. You can also select a particular target market based on shared interest in certain stations or programs. A local retailer may simply run a series of ads on a local network affiliate station to create brand awareness.
Budget Challenges
One of the most significant limitations of television advertising for small businesses are the costs. It typically takes at least $3,000 to $7,000 to produce a local commercial, though rates vary by location. Then, it costs thousands of dollars for a package of spots in a month. The actual price of your ads varies based on the audience and time frame, but the larger the audience, the higher the price.
Message Life
A television commercial has a fleeting message. It runs for 30 to 60 seconds and before the next commercial or the show comes on. The nature of commercials means you typically have to hit individual audience members with multiple exposures before the ad has a memorable effect. This contributes to the high cost of placements. Customers generally have negative attitudes toward TV commercials, so your message doesn't resonate with distracted viewers or those that fast-forward through recorded programs.
Geographic Segmentation
You can often segment a TV audience demographically or by lifestyle interests. However, television has limited geographic segmentation opportunities. A local business can't pay just to reach its town or community. It must pay to deliver ads to the entire local market for the television station. This can lead to significant waste in local TV advertising.
Read more…
Creative Opportunities
Relative to other media, television has significant creative opportunities. You can tell a story and creatively mix backgrounds, lighting, settings, characters, action, movement and sounds. Advertisers often use the opportunity to demonstrate their products to the audience. Sellers of cleaning products, for instance, may show how their brand cleans or disinfects effectively.
Reach Lots of People
TV remains one of the best media options to reach a lot of people. In a local market, you can potentially target thousands or tens of thousands of audience members during a given show or time frame. You can also select a particular target market based on shared interest in certain stations or programs. A local retailer may simply run a series of ads on a local network affiliate station to create brand awareness.
Budget Challenges
One of the most significant limitations of television advertising for small businesses are the costs. It typically takes at least $3,000 to $7,000 to produce a local commercial, though rates vary by location. Then, it costs thousands of dollars for a package of spots in a month. The actual price of your ads varies based on the audience and time frame, but the larger the audience, the higher the price.
Message Life
A television commercial has a fleeting message. It runs for 30 to 60 seconds and before the next commercial or the show comes on. The nature of commercials means you typically have to hit individual audience members with multiple exposures before the ad has a memorable effect. This contributes to the high cost of placements. Customers generally have negative attitudes toward TV commercials, so your message doesn't resonate with distracted viewers or those that fast-forward through recorded programs.
Geographic Segmentation
You can often segment a TV audience demographically or by lifestyle interests. However, television has limited geographic segmentation opportunities. A local business can't pay just to reach its town or community. It must pay to deliver ads to the entire local market for the television station. This can lead to significant waste in local TV advertising.
Marketing Strategies - How to Write an RFP for Marketing Collateral Materials
11:16 PM |If your company needs marketing collateral, but doesn’t have in-house talent to create it, writing an RFP to distribute to agencies can be an effective means to find the best way to get the job done. Taking the time to write a very detailed RFP will help you find the marketing agency best suited to your needs. When your company and the marketing agency are on the same page from the start, there’s no need for unpleasant surprises.
Brief Company Introduction
Provide respondents with a brief overview of your organization, including any details relevant to the creation of your marketing collateral materials. Points to touch on may consist of company history, organizational mission, current challenges and an overview of your products and services. This helps the reader to get a better idea of what you’re looking for, so he can decide if he thinks his company could be a good fit for your marketing materials.
Schedule of Deadlines
Include a schedule of dates relevant to both candidate selection and project completion. This includes the RFP deadline, date finalists will be contacted for interviews, interview dates and any other relevant dates that candidates need to know. Also include the proposed project start dates, any known due dates and the final date that either all marketing collateral must be completed or a contract end date. This lets a candidate know your timeline from the start, so if she doesn’t think her company will be able to keep up, she won’t waste both your time and hers by responding to the RFP.
Scope of Work
Clearly state the type of marketing collateral your company needs. For example, if you need print materials like fact sheets, brochures, business cards and newsletters, list each item requested. Explain who your target market is and the goals you’re trying to achieve. Describe whether you’re looking to have a long-term, ongoing relationship with the company or simply want them to produce the requested marketing materials one time. Include your budget, so the marketing company can create a realistic proposal based on your pricing structure.
Clear Submission Guidelines
Tell respondents how you would like to receive the completed proposal. This can include instructions to mail a certain number of hard copies to your company, email the response or a combination of both. Many companies create a panel to review RFPs, so they request a certain number of copies so each member can have the proposal in front of them during group discussions.
Read more…
Brief Company Introduction
Provide respondents with a brief overview of your organization, including any details relevant to the creation of your marketing collateral materials. Points to touch on may consist of company history, organizational mission, current challenges and an overview of your products and services. This helps the reader to get a better idea of what you’re looking for, so he can decide if he thinks his company could be a good fit for your marketing materials.
Schedule of Deadlines
Include a schedule of dates relevant to both candidate selection and project completion. This includes the RFP deadline, date finalists will be contacted for interviews, interview dates and any other relevant dates that candidates need to know. Also include the proposed project start dates, any known due dates and the final date that either all marketing collateral must be completed or a contract end date. This lets a candidate know your timeline from the start, so if she doesn’t think her company will be able to keep up, she won’t waste both your time and hers by responding to the RFP.
Scope of Work
Clearly state the type of marketing collateral your company needs. For example, if you need print materials like fact sheets, brochures, business cards and newsletters, list each item requested. Explain who your target market is and the goals you’re trying to achieve. Describe whether you’re looking to have a long-term, ongoing relationship with the company or simply want them to produce the requested marketing materials one time. Include your budget, so the marketing company can create a realistic proposal based on your pricing structure.
Clear Submission Guidelines
Tell respondents how you would like to receive the completed proposal. This can include instructions to mail a certain number of hard copies to your company, email the response or a combination of both. Many companies create a panel to review RFPs, so they request a certain number of copies so each member can have the proposal in front of them during group discussions.
Marketing Strategies - The Persuasion Techniques of Beauty Product Advertising
11:11 PM |Beauty is big business, and the beauty and personal care industries saw $426 billion in sales in 2011, according to The Beauty Company. Effective marketing can mean the difference between everyone's new go-to product and a creation that never makes it big. You'll have to tailor your marketing techniques to your business's needs and the specific product you're advertising, but the beauty industry has established some tried-and-true -- and occasionally controversial -- marketing strategies.
Self-Esteem and Body Image
Sociologist Jean Kilbourne emphasizes in her book, "Can't Buy My Love," that many beauty industry persuasion tactics rely on the low self-esteem of consumers -- particularly women. An advertisement might show an image of an aging woman next to a young and beautiful woman, then emphasize that women who use the product in question are less likely to look aged or unattractive. Playing on well-known insecurities, such as weight, age, the ability to attract the opposite sex or insecurities about career achievements, can be effective.
These marketing techniques are controversial, and some companies have attempted to stem the tide of poor self-esteem. Dove's Real Beauty campaign, for example, relies on marketing techniques that oppose unrealistic images of beauty and that encourage high self-esteem.
Appeals to Luxury and Lifestyle
People often use beauty products to achieve a goal. A woman might try a new lipstick to attract a date or purchase an understated perfume to wear to a job interview. Beauty advertisements frequently appeal to luxurious lifestyles and aspirations to attract business. For example, a high-end lipstick might show an image of a woman nailing a job interview, then add a tagline emphasizing that the lipstick gave the woman confidence. A luxury perfume might rely on images of tropical vacations or romance, implying that the perfume will help the customer achieve a luxurious lifestyle.
Social Marketing
Social marketing relies on customers to attract new customers and encourages consumers to engage with others about their product experiences. Beauty blogs and review sites, for example, may allow cosmetic companies to advertise, and some beauty companies encourage customers to post reviews. They might even give free samples to beauty bloggers. Facebook and Twitter can also help attract new customers, particularly when businesses post about new products, by offering discounts or encouraging customers to offer tips for using various products.
Appeals to Science and Effects
People buy beauty products because they hope they will work, so pointing to the effectiveness of a product is a clear way to win customers. Businesses might post before and after images using real people. Alternatively, some businesses use appeals to science. They might cite statistics indicating a product's effectiveness, or list scientific-sounding ingredients. Beauty companies frequently make appeals to "revolutionary" or "proprietary" technology to set their products apart.
Read more…
Self-Esteem and Body Image
Sociologist Jean Kilbourne emphasizes in her book, "Can't Buy My Love," that many beauty industry persuasion tactics rely on the low self-esteem of consumers -- particularly women. An advertisement might show an image of an aging woman next to a young and beautiful woman, then emphasize that women who use the product in question are less likely to look aged or unattractive. Playing on well-known insecurities, such as weight, age, the ability to attract the opposite sex or insecurities about career achievements, can be effective.
These marketing techniques are controversial, and some companies have attempted to stem the tide of poor self-esteem. Dove's Real Beauty campaign, for example, relies on marketing techniques that oppose unrealistic images of beauty and that encourage high self-esteem.
Appeals to Luxury and Lifestyle
People often use beauty products to achieve a goal. A woman might try a new lipstick to attract a date or purchase an understated perfume to wear to a job interview. Beauty advertisements frequently appeal to luxurious lifestyles and aspirations to attract business. For example, a high-end lipstick might show an image of a woman nailing a job interview, then add a tagline emphasizing that the lipstick gave the woman confidence. A luxury perfume might rely on images of tropical vacations or romance, implying that the perfume will help the customer achieve a luxurious lifestyle.
Social Marketing
Social marketing relies on customers to attract new customers and encourages consumers to engage with others about their product experiences. Beauty blogs and review sites, for example, may allow cosmetic companies to advertise, and some beauty companies encourage customers to post reviews. They might even give free samples to beauty bloggers. Facebook and Twitter can also help attract new customers, particularly when businesses post about new products, by offering discounts or encouraging customers to offer tips for using various products.
Appeals to Science and Effects
People buy beauty products because they hope they will work, so pointing to the effectiveness of a product is a clear way to win customers. Businesses might post before and after images using real people. Alternatively, some businesses use appeals to science. They might cite statistics indicating a product's effectiveness, or list scientific-sounding ingredients. Beauty companies frequently make appeals to "revolutionary" or "proprietary" technology to set their products apart.
Marketing Strategies - How to Market Your Store With Free Samples
11:06 PM |Distributing free samples can be a very effective way to introduce customers to your products. Sometimes people just need to try something out before making the decision that the item is worth their money. Give free samples away at your store or another location frequented by your target market to ensure you’re getting the product in front of the right audience.
Find Your Target Market
To make giving away free product samples an effective tactic, you need to get in front of your target market. Partner with a local business frequented by your ideal customers, or participate in an event you know your customer base will attend. In one creative example, the New York City coffee shop Dr. Drip went to the New York University campus during finals week with 2,000 cups of free coffee to hand out to tired students in need of a caffeine boost. Distributing free samples can be a very effective practice, but only if you’re giving them to the right crowd.
Include Contact Information
The purpose of distributing free samples is to entice the customer to come back and purchase the item, so don’t let them walk away without giving them your contact information. If the product is a durable item that the customer will use for awhile before throwing away, put your store name and website, email address or phone number directly on the package. Include a business card with non-durable items to give people an easy way to find your business.
Offer Coupons
Tempt samplers who like your product to make the initial purchase by offering a coupon or limited time discount. If you’re able to get them to purchase the product once, there’s a good chance you can turn them into repeat customers. Hopefully a customer will enjoy his first purchase so much that he won’t mind paying full price the second time.
Choose Products Wisely
Don’t simply give products away for free because you’ve had a surplus sitting in your supply room for years. This will not attract any customers besides those simply after anything free. Instead, select new products, to introduce them to your customers . Or you could also give away small samples of your best selling items. Either way, the items you choose should be products you’re proud to distribute, not something you’re simply trying to get rid of.
Read more…
Find Your Target Market
To make giving away free product samples an effective tactic, you need to get in front of your target market. Partner with a local business frequented by your ideal customers, or participate in an event you know your customer base will attend. In one creative example, the New York City coffee shop Dr. Drip went to the New York University campus during finals week with 2,000 cups of free coffee to hand out to tired students in need of a caffeine boost. Distributing free samples can be a very effective practice, but only if you’re giving them to the right crowd.
Include Contact Information
The purpose of distributing free samples is to entice the customer to come back and purchase the item, so don’t let them walk away without giving them your contact information. If the product is a durable item that the customer will use for awhile before throwing away, put your store name and website, email address or phone number directly on the package. Include a business card with non-durable items to give people an easy way to find your business.
Offer Coupons
Tempt samplers who like your product to make the initial purchase by offering a coupon or limited time discount. If you’re able to get them to purchase the product once, there’s a good chance you can turn them into repeat customers. Hopefully a customer will enjoy his first purchase so much that he won’t mind paying full price the second time.
Choose Products Wisely
Don’t simply give products away for free because you’ve had a surplus sitting in your supply room for years. This will not attract any customers besides those simply after anything free. Instead, select new products, to introduce them to your customers . Or you could also give away small samples of your best selling items. Either way, the items you choose should be products you’re proud to distribute, not something you’re simply trying to get rid of.
Marketing Strategies - How to Sell to Distributors
11:02 PM |Distributors are an important sales and marketing channel for small businesses. They enable you to deal with small or geographically remote customers that your sales representatives could not reach cost effectively. Distributors may agree to market your products exclusively, or they can sell them alongside those of your competitors.
Set Marketing Objectives
It’s important to integrate your distributor strategy with your overall marketing objectives. If you want to expand your business in a particular market sector, look for distributors with experience in that sector. You may want to grow your business in other states or nationwide; find distributors who have outlets in the territories you are targeting. If your overall objective is to grow business by strengthening relationships with your most important customers, consider allocating responsibility for small customers to distributors. That frees your sales team to concentrate on key accounts.
Research Potential Distributors
Before approaching distributors for the first time, research their businesses. By visiting the distributors’ websites, you can find out the type of products they sell, the locations they cover and the companies they represent. You can also find out if they offer a technical support service, which may be important for the types of products you plan to sell through their outlets. This research helps you identify the most suitable distributors to meet your marketing objectives. Consultants Anderson Baillie notes that many companies find their distribution networks perform poorly because they were the wrong distributors to recruit in the first place or their focus has moved in new directions.
Present Your Company and Products
If distributors are important to your business, ask one of your sales representatives to take responsibility for developing channel sales. Prepare a presentation that the representative can use in meetings with distributors. Include information on the sales potential of your products to show distributors how your business can benefit theirs. Outline the support you will offer distributors, including product training, marketing funds and promotional material. Set out your requirements for the relationship, including the discounts you will offer, the distributor’s minimum order value or stockholding level and your commercial terms.
Help Distributors to Sell
As well as selling in to distributors, you must help them sell to their customers so you can increase your total sales. The consultancy Pure Channels describes this as a process of driving business growth through targeted and measurable channel marketing programs. You can build sales by forwarding sales leads to distributors from your marketing campaigns, recommending your authorized distributors in your marketing communications and running joint marketing campaigns. You can also set up incentive programs that offer distributors rewards for selling more of your products, such as higher discounts, additional marketing funds or rebates.
Read more…
Set Marketing Objectives
It’s important to integrate your distributor strategy with your overall marketing objectives. If you want to expand your business in a particular market sector, look for distributors with experience in that sector. You may want to grow your business in other states or nationwide; find distributors who have outlets in the territories you are targeting. If your overall objective is to grow business by strengthening relationships with your most important customers, consider allocating responsibility for small customers to distributors. That frees your sales team to concentrate on key accounts.
Research Potential Distributors
Before approaching distributors for the first time, research their businesses. By visiting the distributors’ websites, you can find out the type of products they sell, the locations they cover and the companies they represent. You can also find out if they offer a technical support service, which may be important for the types of products you plan to sell through their outlets. This research helps you identify the most suitable distributors to meet your marketing objectives. Consultants Anderson Baillie notes that many companies find their distribution networks perform poorly because they were the wrong distributors to recruit in the first place or their focus has moved in new directions.
Present Your Company and Products
If distributors are important to your business, ask one of your sales representatives to take responsibility for developing channel sales. Prepare a presentation that the representative can use in meetings with distributors. Include information on the sales potential of your products to show distributors how your business can benefit theirs. Outline the support you will offer distributors, including product training, marketing funds and promotional material. Set out your requirements for the relationship, including the discounts you will offer, the distributor’s minimum order value or stockholding level and your commercial terms.
Help Distributors to Sell
As well as selling in to distributors, you must help them sell to their customers so you can increase your total sales. The consultancy Pure Channels describes this as a process of driving business growth through targeted and measurable channel marketing programs. You can build sales by forwarding sales leads to distributors from your marketing campaigns, recommending your authorized distributors in your marketing communications and running joint marketing campaigns. You can also set up incentive programs that offer distributors rewards for selling more of your products, such as higher discounts, additional marketing funds or rebates.
Marketing Strategies - How to Promote Your Collection Agency
10:27 PM |As the owner of a debt collection agency, companies rely on you to help them recover unpaid bills from delinquent clients. If you’re looking to expand your clientele, there are many different ways to market your business both in your community and online. It can be difficult for a customer to differentiate between collection agencies, so it’s your job to create a marketing strategy that sets you apart from your competition. Show potential clients that you’re the debt collector that will get the job done right.
1
Attend networking events to meet other business owners in your area. Let people know that you run a debt collection agency and hand your business card out to everyone you meet. The more you’re able to get your name out in the community, the greater your chances of being called upon when another business owner needs your services.
2
Create a website for your company, if you don’t already have one. Include SEO keywords in your website copy, to increase your rankings in search results. Effective keywords might be collections agency, collections agencies and collection agency, along with your location and any special expertise you offer. Copy on your website should list your services, contact information, mission and approach. It can also be helpful to add customer testimonials to your site, so visitors can see that you’re an accomplished professional.
3
Place videos on your website introducing yourself to clients and providing an overview of your business. Customers need to know they can trust the person they're hiring to collect money on their behalf and video is a quick and easy way for people to screen you.
4
Put your business on social media. Take advantage of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, which provide limitless opportunities for you to reach a broad audience. Create a profile on each site for your business to engage with potential clients and network with other collection agencies. For example, LinkedIn has many groups for you to connect with other professionals in the collections agency business, including Debt Collection Marketing: More Revenue More Clients., Staring a Collections Agency, ACA International, Debt Collectors and many more.
5
Tell your story. Add a blog to your company website where you can humanize your company by explaining the reason you got into the collections business and why you love your job. Debt collectors sometimes get a bad rap as caring only about money, but this can show clients you're in the business to help others
6
When you're able to successfully recover debt for a satisfied customer, ask him to review your business on sites like Yelp. Many professionals head to user review sites when they need to hire a company, so if you’re on there with multiple positive reviews, they’ll see that you’re more than capable of getting the job done right.
7
Form a unique niche for your business, to stand out from other debt collection agencies. For example, Unique Management Services works exclusively with libraries to recover overdue materials, fines and fees. The company promotes it’s “Gentle Nudge Process,” which encourages patrons to settle past due materials without discouraging them from returning to the library.
Read more…
1
Attend networking events to meet other business owners in your area. Let people know that you run a debt collection agency and hand your business card out to everyone you meet. The more you’re able to get your name out in the community, the greater your chances of being called upon when another business owner needs your services.
2
Create a website for your company, if you don’t already have one. Include SEO keywords in your website copy, to increase your rankings in search results. Effective keywords might be collections agency, collections agencies and collection agency, along with your location and any special expertise you offer. Copy on your website should list your services, contact information, mission and approach. It can also be helpful to add customer testimonials to your site, so visitors can see that you’re an accomplished professional.
3
Place videos on your website introducing yourself to clients and providing an overview of your business. Customers need to know they can trust the person they're hiring to collect money on their behalf and video is a quick and easy way for people to screen you.
4
Put your business on social media. Take advantage of social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, which provide limitless opportunities for you to reach a broad audience. Create a profile on each site for your business to engage with potential clients and network with other collection agencies. For example, LinkedIn has many groups for you to connect with other professionals in the collections agency business, including Debt Collection Marketing: More Revenue More Clients., Staring a Collections Agency, ACA International, Debt Collectors and many more.
5
Tell your story. Add a blog to your company website where you can humanize your company by explaining the reason you got into the collections business and why you love your job. Debt collectors sometimes get a bad rap as caring only about money, but this can show clients you're in the business to help others
6
When you're able to successfully recover debt for a satisfied customer, ask him to review your business on sites like Yelp. Many professionals head to user review sites when they need to hire a company, so if you’re on there with multiple positive reviews, they’ll see that you’re more than capable of getting the job done right.
7
Form a unique niche for your business, to stand out from other debt collection agencies. For example, Unique Management Services works exclusively with libraries to recover overdue materials, fines and fees. The company promotes it’s “Gentle Nudge Process,” which encourages patrons to settle past due materials without discouraging them from returning to the library.
Marketing Strategies - Marketing Strategies for an OB-GYN
10:21 PM |Creating a marketing strategy to reach out to women helps ensure your OB-GYN practice bustles with patients each day. Identify your target market, so you can create messages that attract new patients and keep current ones coming back. Some of your patients will come to you, but it may take savvy thinking to find others.
Put Your Business Online
People used to check the Yellow Pages and newspaper ads when they needed to find a doctor, but the Internet has replaced that. These days, everyone has a website, even physicians. If your practice doesn’t have a website, you’re missing out on any patient who heads to the Internet when she’s looking for a new doctor. Your website should include your biography, contact information, list of services offered, directions to your office, list of accepted insurance types and anything else helpful to patients. For example, the Women’s Care of Beverly Hills Group has a patient portal on their website, where women can schedule appointments online, request prescription refills and access medical records.
Create a Social Media Strategy
Social media has become so popular that everyone, including doctors, have accounts on sites like Facebook and Twitter. There’s a good chance your target market spends a good deal of time on these sites, so by creating a social media strategy for your business, you’re able to connect with your patients in a more personal manner than offered by traditional advertising methods. For example, you could post content related to current health issues, promoting the services you offer and telling the stories of inspirational patients. If your clients are on social media, you need to be there too.
Participate in Community Events
Attend community events like health fairs to get your name out to local women. Contact organizers to set up a booth promoting your business and giving you a chance to personally meet all women who stop by. Bring business cards, fliers promoting the importance of routine checkups and other promotional items with your name and contact information on them.
Network with Other Physicians
Attend networking events to meet other doctors. Create a mutually beneficial relationship with the new contacts you meet to refer patients to one another’s practices. Of course you should always research the other doctor to make sure he’s someone you trust your patients with before making referrals. A patient trusts her doctor, so if another physician refers you as a great OB-GYN, there’s a good chance she’ll give you a call.
Read more…
Put Your Business Online
People used to check the Yellow Pages and newspaper ads when they needed to find a doctor, but the Internet has replaced that. These days, everyone has a website, even physicians. If your practice doesn’t have a website, you’re missing out on any patient who heads to the Internet when she’s looking for a new doctor. Your website should include your biography, contact information, list of services offered, directions to your office, list of accepted insurance types and anything else helpful to patients. For example, the Women’s Care of Beverly Hills Group has a patient portal on their website, where women can schedule appointments online, request prescription refills and access medical records.
Create a Social Media Strategy
Social media has become so popular that everyone, including doctors, have accounts on sites like Facebook and Twitter. There’s a good chance your target market spends a good deal of time on these sites, so by creating a social media strategy for your business, you’re able to connect with your patients in a more personal manner than offered by traditional advertising methods. For example, you could post content related to current health issues, promoting the services you offer and telling the stories of inspirational patients. If your clients are on social media, you need to be there too.
Participate in Community Events
Attend community events like health fairs to get your name out to local women. Contact organizers to set up a booth promoting your business and giving you a chance to personally meet all women who stop by. Bring business cards, fliers promoting the importance of routine checkups and other promotional items with your name and contact information on them.
Network with Other Physicians
Attend networking events to meet other doctors. Create a mutually beneficial relationship with the new contacts you meet to refer patients to one another’s practices. Of course you should always research the other doctor to make sure he’s someone you trust your patients with before making referrals. A patient trusts her doctor, so if another physician refers you as a great OB-GYN, there’s a good chance she’ll give you a call.
Marketing Strategies - How to Make a Marketing Phrase
10:15 PM |Marketing phrases are some of the most challenging content a copywriter is ever asked to write. It entails taking the central messages of a company and placing them into one succinct sentence, sometimes entailing no more than three to four words. But a perfectly crafted phrase can drive business and inevitably put that company on the map.
Researching Provides Returns
Start off by doing some research. Get to know the audience for the intended piece by asking yourself what’s important to consumers. Determine what motivates them to invest in one product or service over another. How do these people think or talk? What might spark their interest and make them take notice? From there, identify the features and benefits of the company, product or service and then the attributes of the company, product or service that sets it apart from its competitors. Most of this information can be gathered from previous marketing collateral, such as brochures, website content, advertisements and catalogs, as well as product specs, market research and internal memos. You should also look at direct competitors to see how they speak to their audience.
Defining Goals for Direction
With a handle on the marketplace itself, turn your attention to the overall objective or objectives of the phrase. Is it to build name recognition? Does it need to establish credibility? Or, is it intended to launch a new product or service? Are you hoping to elicit some sort of feeling in your readers, such as excitement or fear of missing out? Is it there to establish customer loyalty? What about build upon the historical image or reputation of the company? Maybe even reposition a product or service for a new audience? The list can go on and on, but it’s essential to define the goal to give the writing process a direction.
Finding the Key to the Phrase
After defining the goal or goals of the phrase, create a list of keywords -- and key phrases, for that matter. There’s no right or wrong way to develop this list, but reviewing your research and objectives is a good place to start. From there, look at the competitor’s marketing collateral for “buzz” words. Ask customers for their opinions of the product or service, and then draw out the most common words used to describe it. Of course, a little brainstorming on your own can help fill in the qualities of the company, product or service you hope to promote through the phrase.
Placing Pen to Paper
Once you feel confident that you’ve covered all of your bases, sit down to write the phrase. Using the objectives and keywords, jot down everything that comes to mind. Try using creative association, where you compare and contrast keywords with the features and benefits of the company, product or service in question. Map out your ideas by using the central feature of the company, product or service, and then branch out with related ideas and phrases. Eventually, you’ll begin to narrow them down to a phrase that works for the company, product or service.
Put the Phrase to the Test
After compiling a list of phrases you like, test them in a number of different ways. Asking opinions from consumers is probably one of the most common methods of testing. But you should also “test” them for your intended marketing channels. Does the phrase work on a brochure as well as a website? Is it appropriate for business cards and trade-show signage? If a phrase isn’t able to cross marketing channels, it may not be the best option.
Read more…
Researching Provides Returns
Start off by doing some research. Get to know the audience for the intended piece by asking yourself what’s important to consumers. Determine what motivates them to invest in one product or service over another. How do these people think or talk? What might spark their interest and make them take notice? From there, identify the features and benefits of the company, product or service and then the attributes of the company, product or service that sets it apart from its competitors. Most of this information can be gathered from previous marketing collateral, such as brochures, website content, advertisements and catalogs, as well as product specs, market research and internal memos. You should also look at direct competitors to see how they speak to their audience.
Defining Goals for Direction
With a handle on the marketplace itself, turn your attention to the overall objective or objectives of the phrase. Is it to build name recognition? Does it need to establish credibility? Or, is it intended to launch a new product or service? Are you hoping to elicit some sort of feeling in your readers, such as excitement or fear of missing out? Is it there to establish customer loyalty? What about build upon the historical image or reputation of the company? Maybe even reposition a product or service for a new audience? The list can go on and on, but it’s essential to define the goal to give the writing process a direction.
Finding the Key to the Phrase
After defining the goal or goals of the phrase, create a list of keywords -- and key phrases, for that matter. There’s no right or wrong way to develop this list, but reviewing your research and objectives is a good place to start. From there, look at the competitor’s marketing collateral for “buzz” words. Ask customers for their opinions of the product or service, and then draw out the most common words used to describe it. Of course, a little brainstorming on your own can help fill in the qualities of the company, product or service you hope to promote through the phrase.
Placing Pen to Paper
Once you feel confident that you’ve covered all of your bases, sit down to write the phrase. Using the objectives and keywords, jot down everything that comes to mind. Try using creative association, where you compare and contrast keywords with the features and benefits of the company, product or service in question. Map out your ideas by using the central feature of the company, product or service, and then branch out with related ideas and phrases. Eventually, you’ll begin to narrow them down to a phrase that works for the company, product or service.
Put the Phrase to the Test
After compiling a list of phrases you like, test them in a number of different ways. Asking opinions from consumers is probably one of the most common methods of testing. But you should also “test” them for your intended marketing channels. Does the phrase work on a brochure as well as a website? Is it appropriate for business cards and trade-show signage? If a phrase isn’t able to cross marketing channels, it may not be the best option.
Marketing Strategies - What Is Emotional Bonding in Advertising?
10:08 PM |Emotional bonding in advertising refers to efforts by companies to create subconscious emotional attachments between customers and their brands. When you can successfully create such a bond between your target customers and your brand, you can get customers to make routine purchases of your products and services regardless of their conscious concerns.
Bonding through Branding
The process of using advertising to present your brand and develop emotional bonds is called branding. This strategy is part of the long-term communication objectives commonly implemented by companies. New companies invest significantly to make target customers aware of their brands and to present and reinforce core benefits, such as product quality, sophistication, luxury, value and affordability. Established companies look to strengthen bonds with customers with ongoing communication and frequent reminders about brand attributes.
The Great Contradiction
In his 2008 book "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy," author Martin Lindstrom shared the results of his three year neuromarketing study. Lindstrom found that prospects often say one thing about particular brands, but then act differently in buying situations. For instance, a buyer might say in a focus group or survey that he likes the features and attributes of a particular brand the best. However, when shopping, he may be subconsciously drawn to a competing brand because of its color, style or positive subconscious recall. This contradiction makes it difficult for companies to get entirely accurate assessments of buying motives when conducting research.
Testing the Bond
In a November 2008 article response to Linstrom's book, ad agency i.d.e.a.'s Chief Relationships Officer Jon Bailey indicated that one way to overcome the discrepancy between a buyer's cognitive expressions and buying habits is to conduct research differently. He advises his clients to ask buyers to view products as people when making assessments of them. For instance, when expressing views on a brand of toilet paper, a buyer might think of a person and describe qualities like strong, dependable, sturdy or soft. By viewing the product as a person rather than an inanimate object, the person is may connect more easily to his emotions.
Emotional Appeals
Advertisers use a number of emotional appeals in their ads to help shape customer perceptions about the brand. Happiness, joy, peace, fear, anxiety and guilt are some of the emotions advertisers target when trying to form emotional bonds. A coffee brand might tell a story about starting your day with a comfortable routine where you read the paper and drink your coffee to instill an emotional bond between the customer and the coffee that ties to the routine.
Read more…
Bonding through Branding
The process of using advertising to present your brand and develop emotional bonds is called branding. This strategy is part of the long-term communication objectives commonly implemented by companies. New companies invest significantly to make target customers aware of their brands and to present and reinforce core benefits, such as product quality, sophistication, luxury, value and affordability. Established companies look to strengthen bonds with customers with ongoing communication and frequent reminders about brand attributes.
The Great Contradiction
In his 2008 book "Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy," author Martin Lindstrom shared the results of his three year neuromarketing study. Lindstrom found that prospects often say one thing about particular brands, but then act differently in buying situations. For instance, a buyer might say in a focus group or survey that he likes the features and attributes of a particular brand the best. However, when shopping, he may be subconsciously drawn to a competing brand because of its color, style or positive subconscious recall. This contradiction makes it difficult for companies to get entirely accurate assessments of buying motives when conducting research.
Testing the Bond
In a November 2008 article response to Linstrom's book, ad agency i.d.e.a.'s Chief Relationships Officer Jon Bailey indicated that one way to overcome the discrepancy between a buyer's cognitive expressions and buying habits is to conduct research differently. He advises his clients to ask buyers to view products as people when making assessments of them. For instance, when expressing views on a brand of toilet paper, a buyer might think of a person and describe qualities like strong, dependable, sturdy or soft. By viewing the product as a person rather than an inanimate object, the person is may connect more easily to his emotions.
Emotional Appeals
Advertisers use a number of emotional appeals in their ads to help shape customer perceptions about the brand. Happiness, joy, peace, fear, anxiety and guilt are some of the emotions advertisers target when trying to form emotional bonds. A coffee brand might tell a story about starting your day with a comfortable routine where you read the paper and drink your coffee to instill an emotional bond between the customer and the coffee that ties to the routine.
Marketing Strategies - Successful Implementation of a Differentiation Strategy
10:03 PM |Almost every product or service has either a direct competitor or substitute from which customers can choose. Companies that adopt a strategy of differentiation must work to increase the perceived value of their product or service to make them stand apart. There are several approaches to implementing a differentiation strategy that can be used separately or together
Differentiating on Product
Unique product features can be used to implement a differentiation strategy. Those features should meet consumer needs more efficiently or quickly than competitors. The cost of adding a feature, however, has to be less than the premium that can be charged for adding the feature. Unique manufacturing processes can help differentiate a product. For example, it might be manufactured using green technology, or it might be manufactured domestically rather than being outsourced, or it might be manufactured using a unique raw material that competitors don’t have. Companies like Gucci have differentiated their products on the basis of style and design.
Differentiating on Quality
In mature markets like Western Europe or America, quality is taken for granted as inferior products quickly fail in the marketplace because of their own shortcomings. To differentiate your product here, it needs to be of a superior, deluxe quality, which brings in a new set of problems. The cost associated with producing a superior, deluxe product raises the cost to where the target segment that can afford it is very limited. In developing markets where many products are inferior, using quality to differentiate your product can be a successful strategy.
Differentiating on Service
Certain products are commodities and almost impossible to differentiate based on product attributes, so the focus on those becomes differentiation by service. A company might focus on speed of delivery, offering free or reduced price on overnight delivery. Use of multiple channels of distribution might make your product more easily available to consumers than your competition. The use of loyalty programs for rewards or discounts will generate repeat purchases and retain your customer base. Companies that offer complex or hi-tech products that in competitive markets might consider offering better after sales service and training than competitors.
Differentiating thru Positioning
When using a differentiation strategy, the goal is to convince your potential consumers that your product is a better value than your competitors. One way is to differentiate by product, quality or service. Another is through positioning where, according to noted business author Philip Kotler, a company uses advertising and promotion to create a distinctive place in the mind of the consumer that attributes unique features to your product. Those features may or may not be unique, but if the consumer believes them to be, you have successfully differentiated your product.
Read more…
Differentiating on Product
Unique product features can be used to implement a differentiation strategy. Those features should meet consumer needs more efficiently or quickly than competitors. The cost of adding a feature, however, has to be less than the premium that can be charged for adding the feature. Unique manufacturing processes can help differentiate a product. For example, it might be manufactured using green technology, or it might be manufactured domestically rather than being outsourced, or it might be manufactured using a unique raw material that competitors don’t have. Companies like Gucci have differentiated their products on the basis of style and design.
Differentiating on Quality
In mature markets like Western Europe or America, quality is taken for granted as inferior products quickly fail in the marketplace because of their own shortcomings. To differentiate your product here, it needs to be of a superior, deluxe quality, which brings in a new set of problems. The cost associated with producing a superior, deluxe product raises the cost to where the target segment that can afford it is very limited. In developing markets where many products are inferior, using quality to differentiate your product can be a successful strategy.
Differentiating on Service
Certain products are commodities and almost impossible to differentiate based on product attributes, so the focus on those becomes differentiation by service. A company might focus on speed of delivery, offering free or reduced price on overnight delivery. Use of multiple channels of distribution might make your product more easily available to consumers than your competition. The use of loyalty programs for rewards or discounts will generate repeat purchases and retain your customer base. Companies that offer complex or hi-tech products that in competitive markets might consider offering better after sales service and training than competitors.
Differentiating thru Positioning
When using a differentiation strategy, the goal is to convince your potential consumers that your product is a better value than your competitors. One way is to differentiate by product, quality or service. Another is through positioning where, according to noted business author Philip Kotler, a company uses advertising and promotion to create a distinctive place in the mind of the consumer that attributes unique features to your product. Those features may or may not be unique, but if the consumer believes them to be, you have successfully differentiated your product.
Marketing Strategies - How to Stop Wasting Money on Advertising
9:58 PM |Small businesses often have limited advertising budgets relative to larger corporations. Therefore, you can't afford to waste dollars on ineffective or inefficient ads. No company is ever going to operate a completely foolproof plan with zero waste. However, a few critical steps can improve your overall investment in advertising.
Research
It may seem counterintuitive to invest time and money to research when your goal is to minimize ad expenditures. However, the time and money spent upfront on ad research can put you in a better position to understand your customers and develop products,services and ad messages that have greater impact. Knowing what customers want from your brand helps you develop messages that appeal to their particular buying motives in an influential way.
Target Discrete Markets
You can't be all things to all people, especially as a small business. You have to identify particular customer market segments that your business and solutions best appeal to in a way that can generate profit. Your primary target market is the segment of customers that would spend top dollar on the products and services that you specialize in selling. Identifying targeted customers also allows you to better select media that customers use for efficient message delivery.
Assess the Results
To continually reduce your wasted ad expenditures, you need to track ad messages that attract customers most effectively to your business. You can ask customers when they first visit your store or website how they heard about your company. As you discover which advertising strategies and messages work the best, you can focus more of your ad dollars in those approaches and eliminate or minimize investments in less effective approaches.
Get Discounts
One of the more straight-forward ways to save money on advertising is to look for discount opportunities just as consumers do. Many media providers offer discounts of 10 to 15 percent when you submit an ad well ahead of the deadline. Magazines, for instance, offer discounts because early submission gives them more flexibility in layout. You can also buy ads in bulk once you know what works. Buying in bulk or paying in advance for several months or a year can lead to discounts relative to single or limited timeframe purchases.
Read more…
Research
It may seem counterintuitive to invest time and money to research when your goal is to minimize ad expenditures. However, the time and money spent upfront on ad research can put you in a better position to understand your customers and develop products,services and ad messages that have greater impact. Knowing what customers want from your brand helps you develop messages that appeal to their particular buying motives in an influential way.
Target Discrete Markets
You can't be all things to all people, especially as a small business. You have to identify particular customer market segments that your business and solutions best appeal to in a way that can generate profit. Your primary target market is the segment of customers that would spend top dollar on the products and services that you specialize in selling. Identifying targeted customers also allows you to better select media that customers use for efficient message delivery.
Assess the Results
To continually reduce your wasted ad expenditures, you need to track ad messages that attract customers most effectively to your business. You can ask customers when they first visit your store or website how they heard about your company. As you discover which advertising strategies and messages work the best, you can focus more of your ad dollars in those approaches and eliminate or minimize investments in less effective approaches.
Get Discounts
One of the more straight-forward ways to save money on advertising is to look for discount opportunities just as consumers do. Many media providers offer discounts of 10 to 15 percent when you submit an ad well ahead of the deadline. Magazines, for instance, offer discounts because early submission gives them more flexibility in layout. You can also buy ads in bulk once you know what works. Buying in bulk or paying in advance for several months or a year can lead to discounts relative to single or limited timeframe purchases.
Marketing Strategies - How to Market to the High Net Worth
9:09 PM |Affluent customers are on the radar of most marketing professionals; landing them can help to push a marketer to higher pay scales, improve credibility and increase exposure to additional highly valued targets. According to Richard Becker, vice president of marketing strategy for Equifax, consumers considered to have high net worth make up about 10 percent of the U.S. population, representing close to 12 million households. This group accounts for nearly 50 percent of retail purchases that total about $4.1 trillion a year. It’s their attitudes, aspirations and lifestyles that drive their purchasing decisions.
1
Design promotions specifically reserved for your elite target market. Make the promotion sound exclusive, with different characteristics and requirements than the services or products you sell to the majority of your customers. One-of-a-kind offerings and invitation-only sales play into wealthy consumers’ needs to stand out from the rest of the buying public.
2
Explain the value of your products or services in a way that the wealthy can understand and appreciate. According to Becker, wealthy consumers are fiscally conservative and are not susceptible to get-rich-quick schemes or sounds-too-good-to-be-true offers. They want to know their money is being used wisely and will provide exceptional benefits worth the price they pay.
3
Provide consistently excellent customer service. Follow up on every sale to ensure the customers' satisfaction. Give wealthy clients access to a private line for customer service that is operated by well-trained staffers who can solve problems instantly. Send salespeople on deliveries to make sure everything goes smoothly and to serve as a liaison or concierge.
4
Set up a reward system for successful referrals using a gift that is recognized as having a high value in and of itself. For example, clients who receive a gift such as a Tiffany wine glass in the recognizable blue box may appreciate the gesture and seek to get more glasses with more lucrative referrals.
Read more…
1
Design promotions specifically reserved for your elite target market. Make the promotion sound exclusive, with different characteristics and requirements than the services or products you sell to the majority of your customers. One-of-a-kind offerings and invitation-only sales play into wealthy consumers’ needs to stand out from the rest of the buying public.
2
Explain the value of your products or services in a way that the wealthy can understand and appreciate. According to Becker, wealthy consumers are fiscally conservative and are not susceptible to get-rich-quick schemes or sounds-too-good-to-be-true offers. They want to know their money is being used wisely and will provide exceptional benefits worth the price they pay.
3
Provide consistently excellent customer service. Follow up on every sale to ensure the customers' satisfaction. Give wealthy clients access to a private line for customer service that is operated by well-trained staffers who can solve problems instantly. Send salespeople on deliveries to make sure everything goes smoothly and to serve as a liaison or concierge.
4
Set up a reward system for successful referrals using a gift that is recognized as having a high value in and of itself. For example, clients who receive a gift such as a Tiffany wine glass in the recognizable blue box may appreciate the gesture and seek to get more glasses with more lucrative referrals.
Marketing Strategies - Marketing Ideas to Attract Brides
9:04 PM |Brides and their families spend millions of dollars on weddings every year and the bridal industry is full of competitors vying for their attention. By using creative marketing techniques catering to the specific needs and preferences of the bridal market, you can tap into this lucrative business to the benefit of your company's bottom line.
Become Socially Oriented
Use social media outlets as an affordable way to market to brides and their families. Create posts featuring news about a celebrity wedding or an event you just handled. Put up ads on social media sites that target your preferred demographic group and follow up with potential customers' questions to increase interaction on these sites. Advertise any specials and discounts on your social media channels. If you work with a minority segment of the population, advertise that fact. For example, offer a Latin-inspired menu for your catering business or floral arrangements that are symbolic in the Italian tradition. Post pictures of same-sex marriage ceremonies you've handled to show you cater to that segment as well.
Set Your Sites High
Having an updated, attractive website is also crucial in the bridal industry. According to food-service company US Foods, you have only three seconds to catch the bride's attention, so make your homepage count. Rather than showing a list of hard-to-read text on your main page, use pictures to convey your products and services. Be sure to update your site on a regular basis to maintain your image as a leader in the field. Customer testimonials are also a must as they can vouch for your business when placed on your website. Providing your customers with their own wedding website to share information about the nuptials with family and friends offers another incentive for them to use your business and to post photos of ideas that inspired them.
Cross Marketing
Establishing relationships with other vendors targeting the bridal market can help your business. For example, if you are a florist, talk to churches, country clubs and reception halls about the potential to cross-market your business with theirs. You might also consider contacting DJs, caterers, photographers and wedding planners to expand your horizons. Offer to take other vendors to lunch, or for a drink, to make lasting connections and follow up with them to build your business relationships.
Put On a Show
Attending bridal shows gets you right in front of your target market. However, you may have to compete with hundreds of other vendors, so differentiate your booth so it stands out from the crowd. Free-standing walls also provide you with more square footage. Create a conversation map so you can communicate key points to brides in a limited time period. Demonstrate your services to brides by having models wear your bridal gowns. Complete a bridal hairstyle or makeup session with a model or offer samples of your food to make an impression.
Email Marketing
Request email addresses from brides every chance you get. Add a contest to your social media page that requires an email address for notification. Have customers sign up at your bridal show. Send out monthly newsletters that showcase your most recent work, share tips and give advice to brides.
Read more…
Become Socially Oriented
Use social media outlets as an affordable way to market to brides and their families. Create posts featuring news about a celebrity wedding or an event you just handled. Put up ads on social media sites that target your preferred demographic group and follow up with potential customers' questions to increase interaction on these sites. Advertise any specials and discounts on your social media channels. If you work with a minority segment of the population, advertise that fact. For example, offer a Latin-inspired menu for your catering business or floral arrangements that are symbolic in the Italian tradition. Post pictures of same-sex marriage ceremonies you've handled to show you cater to that segment as well.
Set Your Sites High
Having an updated, attractive website is also crucial in the bridal industry. According to food-service company US Foods, you have only three seconds to catch the bride's attention, so make your homepage count. Rather than showing a list of hard-to-read text on your main page, use pictures to convey your products and services. Be sure to update your site on a regular basis to maintain your image as a leader in the field. Customer testimonials are also a must as they can vouch for your business when placed on your website. Providing your customers with their own wedding website to share information about the nuptials with family and friends offers another incentive for them to use your business and to post photos of ideas that inspired them.
Cross Marketing
Establishing relationships with other vendors targeting the bridal market can help your business. For example, if you are a florist, talk to churches, country clubs and reception halls about the potential to cross-market your business with theirs. You might also consider contacting DJs, caterers, photographers and wedding planners to expand your horizons. Offer to take other vendors to lunch, or for a drink, to make lasting connections and follow up with them to build your business relationships.
Put On a Show
Attending bridal shows gets you right in front of your target market. However, you may have to compete with hundreds of other vendors, so differentiate your booth so it stands out from the crowd. Free-standing walls also provide you with more square footage. Create a conversation map so you can communicate key points to brides in a limited time period. Demonstrate your services to brides by having models wear your bridal gowns. Complete a bridal hairstyle or makeup session with a model or offer samples of your food to make an impression.
Email Marketing
Request email addresses from brides every chance you get. Add a contest to your social media page that requires an email address for notification. Have customers sign up at your bridal show. Send out monthly newsletters that showcase your most recent work, share tips and give advice to brides.
Marketing Strategies - Multi-Faceted Marketing Strategies
8:59 PM |The greatest product in the world still won’t sell itself -- especially if you’re just getting your business off the ground. You also don’t have time or money for trial and error. When you embark on activities designed to sell your product, you are engaging in marketing. What works for one business doesn’t guarantee success for another; you must keep the specifics of your industry, your product and your customers in mind and develop a strategy that accounts for all of those facets.
Know Thy Customer
You should feel like you’ve been inside your customer’s home and could carry on a comfortable conversation across the dinner table the first time you meet. Take advantage of as much demographic research as possible that reveals what your customers buy, earn, watch, read and when, and how much they are willing to spend on whatever you are selling. If your customers span several age groups, you need to separate them out, because the habits of a 20-something won’t typically mirror those of someone three times his age.
Know Thy Competitor
Find out as much about your competition as possible, then identify what makes your product better or different. It may be a novel product feature or your pricing strategy. This is called positioning your product and its features and benefits. If you are entering the market after your competitors, you will have to convince customers to try your product at least once, which means they need a reason to select your item over one they have either already purchased or are considering purchasing. Sometimes positioning your product simply means targeting a different group of customers. For example, a competitor may position his product as an affordable alternative, leaving room for you to aim for a more elite market.
Pricing for Profit
Pricing your item will be the most difficult but most important thing you do as part of your marketing strategy. You must set your price high enough to cover your costs as well as make a profit, or you won’t stay in business -- at least not for long. It must also be what your customers are willing and able to pay, which means if it’s considerably higher than your competitors, there has to be a reason that resonates with your customers. One strategy is to set an introductory price to entice customers to make that first purchase, then get feedback to see how much more they are willing to pay -- if at all -- or modify your product strategy to reflect a different price. You also need to set your distribution strategy, which will also affect your pricing. If you sell your product online, for example, you will have to consider order-filling and shipping requirements.
Communicate to Get and Keep the Customer
Expect your customer communication to be never ending. When you first start the business, you will need public relations activities to get the word out about you and what you are selling. You can purchase some affordable advertising in newspapers or online venues to promote your products. Engage your customers in social media for free two-way communication; an added bonus is that this is an easy way to get feedback throughout your product life cycles. In a cyber-universe that connects easily and spreads information rapidly, monitoring your customers' reactions and responding to feedback is important.
Read more…
Know Thy Customer
You should feel like you’ve been inside your customer’s home and could carry on a comfortable conversation across the dinner table the first time you meet. Take advantage of as much demographic research as possible that reveals what your customers buy, earn, watch, read and when, and how much they are willing to spend on whatever you are selling. If your customers span several age groups, you need to separate them out, because the habits of a 20-something won’t typically mirror those of someone three times his age.
Know Thy Competitor
Find out as much about your competition as possible, then identify what makes your product better or different. It may be a novel product feature or your pricing strategy. This is called positioning your product and its features and benefits. If you are entering the market after your competitors, you will have to convince customers to try your product at least once, which means they need a reason to select your item over one they have either already purchased or are considering purchasing. Sometimes positioning your product simply means targeting a different group of customers. For example, a competitor may position his product as an affordable alternative, leaving room for you to aim for a more elite market.
Pricing for Profit
Pricing your item will be the most difficult but most important thing you do as part of your marketing strategy. You must set your price high enough to cover your costs as well as make a profit, or you won’t stay in business -- at least not for long. It must also be what your customers are willing and able to pay, which means if it’s considerably higher than your competitors, there has to be a reason that resonates with your customers. One strategy is to set an introductory price to entice customers to make that first purchase, then get feedback to see how much more they are willing to pay -- if at all -- or modify your product strategy to reflect a different price. You also need to set your distribution strategy, which will also affect your pricing. If you sell your product online, for example, you will have to consider order-filling and shipping requirements.
Communicate to Get and Keep the Customer
Expect your customer communication to be never ending. When you first start the business, you will need public relations activities to get the word out about you and what you are selling. You can purchase some affordable advertising in newspapers or online venues to promote your products. Engage your customers in social media for free two-way communication; an added bonus is that this is an easy way to get feedback throughout your product life cycles. In a cyber-universe that connects easily and spreads information rapidly, monitoring your customers' reactions and responding to feedback is important.
Marketing Strategies - How to Market Pushcarts
8:56 PM |Pushcarts are used by vendors to sell goods, services or food product on street corners, at flea markets and fairs and in shopping malls. Successfully marketing pushcarts requires communicating with businesses offering goods that can be sold in these locations. There is a large market for pushcarts, with over 30,000 businesses selling via pushcarts in the United States alone.
Industry Associations
Many big cities have regional street vendor associations that provide benefits to their members. Businesses marketing pushcarts can approach these associations for sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Pushcart sellers can also use these regional organizations to offer demonstrations and discounts to vendors as a perk of association membership. Before approaching a street vendor organization, marketers should create brochures or other materials highlighting the benefits of their pushcarts and pictures of their products. These brochures can generate interest from potential members.
Personal Referrals
Pushcart vending is a fragmented industry. There are few large street-vending or kiosk companies operating in this market. One way marketers can reach many independent operators and small vending businesses is by utilizing personal referrals from satisfied customers. Pushcart companies can approach current customers to ask for introductions to other vendors as well as testimonials that may be used in marketing materials.
Online Marketing
Pushcart manufacturers can reach street vendors and kiosk operators by establishing a strong web and social media presence. Many street vendors are active on social media as a way to connect with customers. Marketers can interact with pushcart operators online through social networks. Pushcart marketers can also create websites that show the benefits of their products over other options and that include pictures and testimonials from happy customers.
New Business Packages
Many storefront businesses and restaurants are not aware of the benefits of adding a pushcart sales stream to their revenue. Pushcart marketers can create complete packages for businesses that want to add a pushcart sales channel. These packages can include the purchase of a pushcart along with training and support. Businesses setting up a kiosk or street vending operation for the first time are likely to choose a company that offers training and in-person support over other firms that do not offer comprehensive packages.
Read more…
Industry Associations
Many big cities have regional street vendor associations that provide benefits to their members. Businesses marketing pushcarts can approach these associations for sponsorship and advertising opportunities. Pushcart sellers can also use these regional organizations to offer demonstrations and discounts to vendors as a perk of association membership. Before approaching a street vendor organization, marketers should create brochures or other materials highlighting the benefits of their pushcarts and pictures of their products. These brochures can generate interest from potential members.
Personal Referrals
Pushcart vending is a fragmented industry. There are few large street-vending or kiosk companies operating in this market. One way marketers can reach many independent operators and small vending businesses is by utilizing personal referrals from satisfied customers. Pushcart companies can approach current customers to ask for introductions to other vendors as well as testimonials that may be used in marketing materials.
Online Marketing
Pushcart manufacturers can reach street vendors and kiosk operators by establishing a strong web and social media presence. Many street vendors are active on social media as a way to connect with customers. Marketers can interact with pushcart operators online through social networks. Pushcart marketers can also create websites that show the benefits of their products over other options and that include pictures and testimonials from happy customers.
New Business Packages
Many storefront businesses and restaurants are not aware of the benefits of adding a pushcart sales stream to their revenue. Pushcart marketers can create complete packages for businesses that want to add a pushcart sales channel. These packages can include the purchase of a pushcart along with training and support. Businesses setting up a kiosk or street vending operation for the first time are likely to choose a company that offers training and in-person support over other firms that do not offer comprehensive packages.
Marketing Strategies - The Impact of Lean Thinking & the Lean Enterprise on Marketing
8:51 PM |Japanese car maker Toyota introduced lean principles to automobile manufacturing in the years after World War II. Companies aiming for improved quality and profitability continue to examine, adopt and adapt these principles today. While the greatest bottom-line benefits are likely found in manufacturing, the lean culture intent affects all aspects of a company's business. Marketing in particular presents unique challenges when incorporating lean principles.
Product Value
The first principle of lean, at its base level, is to build only what is needed. In the lean environment, marketing is a key source of information for the manufacturing process. Understanding market demand is fundamental in responding properly because the most efficiently designed and built product is just waste if the consumer is unwilling to buy it. Therefore, reliable customer feedback is essential for keeping a product line focused on models and features that will sell.
Marketing Communications
Agility - the speed at which a company responds to demand - is an element that must be considered alongside the cost-cutting principles of lean thinking. Marketing communications, in the form of advertising, require a high level of agility in responding to both market demand and opportunity. For example, the lean business examines the cost and scope of quality print advertising as well as its impact on the company brand. The lean marketing department also measures unused materials and incorporates that information into future print runs to avoid wastage.
Marketing Activity
Marketing doesn't operate on the same cycles as manufacturing, so the fundamentals of lean can be difficult to apply. However, lean principles are much more than the fundamentals and some of the refined concepts are appropriate and innovative when applied to marketing. For example, many sales departments benefit from abandoning a shotgun approach to sales calls - in other words, calling everyone they can think of. Defining how calls occur and then measuring how representatives perform in response to these definitions is integral to lean thinking.
Continuous Improvement
Manufacturing looks to inventory as the first step in the supply chain, when in fact there is no need for inventory without sales orders. Any disconnect between supply and demand reduces a company's agility, which means a major focus of lean marketing is continually improving the connection between sales orders and production. This might include incorporating sales orders into the manufacturing resource planning system, for example, so production has notice of demand early in the manufacturing cycle.
Read more…
Product Value
The first principle of lean, at its base level, is to build only what is needed. In the lean environment, marketing is a key source of information for the manufacturing process. Understanding market demand is fundamental in responding properly because the most efficiently designed and built product is just waste if the consumer is unwilling to buy it. Therefore, reliable customer feedback is essential for keeping a product line focused on models and features that will sell.
Marketing Communications
Agility - the speed at which a company responds to demand - is an element that must be considered alongside the cost-cutting principles of lean thinking. Marketing communications, in the form of advertising, require a high level of agility in responding to both market demand and opportunity. For example, the lean business examines the cost and scope of quality print advertising as well as its impact on the company brand. The lean marketing department also measures unused materials and incorporates that information into future print runs to avoid wastage.
Marketing Activity
Marketing doesn't operate on the same cycles as manufacturing, so the fundamentals of lean can be difficult to apply. However, lean principles are much more than the fundamentals and some of the refined concepts are appropriate and innovative when applied to marketing. For example, many sales departments benefit from abandoning a shotgun approach to sales calls - in other words, calling everyone they can think of. Defining how calls occur and then measuring how representatives perform in response to these definitions is integral to lean thinking.
Continuous Improvement
Manufacturing looks to inventory as the first step in the supply chain, when in fact there is no need for inventory without sales orders. Any disconnect between supply and demand reduces a company's agility, which means a major focus of lean marketing is continually improving the connection between sales orders and production. This might include incorporating sales orders into the manufacturing resource planning system, for example, so production has notice of demand early in the manufacturing cycle.
Online Marketing - How to Make Money for Your Business Using Search Engine Optimization
8:12 PM |Good search engine optimization is one of the most important factors in driving visitors to your website. Without optimizing your site, search engines will struggle to index its content and automatically lower its ranking on search results. As a result, traffic will be kept low, preventing your website from generating income via advertising or sales. By including optimization features such as meta descriptions, alt attributes and accurate page titles, you can move up the search engine rankings, target the correct customer and drive them to your site. The end result is a reliable source of revenue and a successful website.
Backlinks
A backlink is simply a link from another site to yours. Backlinks are one of the most important factors when search engines rank your site. That’s because the more backlinks pointing to your site, the more frequently search engine bots will visit and archive its content. The number of backlinks also gives search engines an accurate indication of how popular your site is with other users. There are many ways to backlink to your site, but the simplest are to collaborate with other sites, post content on your site that people will be genuinely interested in and write guest posts for other sites that link to your own.
Page Titles
When adding pages to your site, ensure the page title is relevant to search engine users. Use less than 70 characters, as this is the limit for search engine results. Avoid numbers, dates and unusual characters, while also keeping page titles short and carefully choosing your words. In short, imagine what you would type into a search engine to find the page, then use that search term in the page title.
Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are the descriptions for each page that appear on search engine results below the title. By adding a meta description to each page, you can ensure the exact phrase, sentence or description is seen by your target market. Make sure to use keywords in the meta description that are also included in the page title, as this will strengthen your ranking on search results. Avoid using more than 140 characters, as this is the limit search results display, and always try to hand write the meta description yourself -- search engine bots do a terrible job of automatically generating a description from your page content.
Permalinks
Permalinks are simply the URLs for each page of your site. They appear after the website address, so for example: www.mywebsite.com/permalink. When adding a page or post, custom write the permalink or HTML file yourself, and try to include keywords from the page that visitors and customers are likely to search for. Keep the permalink as short as possible and avoid using dates or folder structures.
Alt Attributes
An alt attribute is a brief description of an image that search engines use to identify its content. This enables the search engine to display image results for keywords and sentences, then forward traffic to your site when the image is clicked on. When adding images to your site, always include alt attributes in the image link code that briefly describes what the image depicts.
Avoid Tags
If you have to include tags on a webpage, use as few as possible. That’s because tags group multiple pages together -- repeatedly -- across your site. Search engine bots automatically de-rank duplicate pages and page content, so when they encounter the same page multiple times they lower its ranking on search results.
Google Adwords
Use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. It enables you to see how many people search for a particular keyword or search term each month, both globally and locally. By targeting keywords that receive a large amount of traffic, you can create content on your site that brings in a steady flow of customers from search engines.
Read more…
Backlinks
A backlink is simply a link from another site to yours. Backlinks are one of the most important factors when search engines rank your site. That’s because the more backlinks pointing to your site, the more frequently search engine bots will visit and archive its content. The number of backlinks also gives search engines an accurate indication of how popular your site is with other users. There are many ways to backlink to your site, but the simplest are to collaborate with other sites, post content on your site that people will be genuinely interested in and write guest posts for other sites that link to your own.
Page Titles
When adding pages to your site, ensure the page title is relevant to search engine users. Use less than 70 characters, as this is the limit for search engine results. Avoid numbers, dates and unusual characters, while also keeping page titles short and carefully choosing your words. In short, imagine what you would type into a search engine to find the page, then use that search term in the page title.
Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are the descriptions for each page that appear on search engine results below the title. By adding a meta description to each page, you can ensure the exact phrase, sentence or description is seen by your target market. Make sure to use keywords in the meta description that are also included in the page title, as this will strengthen your ranking on search results. Avoid using more than 140 characters, as this is the limit search results display, and always try to hand write the meta description yourself -- search engine bots do a terrible job of automatically generating a description from your page content.
Permalinks
Permalinks are simply the URLs for each page of your site. They appear after the website address, so for example: www.mywebsite.com/permalink. When adding a page or post, custom write the permalink or HTML file yourself, and try to include keywords from the page that visitors and customers are likely to search for. Keep the permalink as short as possible and avoid using dates or folder structures.
Alt Attributes
An alt attribute is a brief description of an image that search engines use to identify its content. This enables the search engine to display image results for keywords and sentences, then forward traffic to your site when the image is clicked on. When adding images to your site, always include alt attributes in the image link code that briefly describes what the image depicts.
Avoid Tags
If you have to include tags on a webpage, use as few as possible. That’s because tags group multiple pages together -- repeatedly -- across your site. Search engine bots automatically de-rank duplicate pages and page content, so when they encounter the same page multiple times they lower its ranking on search results.
Google Adwords
Use the Google Adwords Keyword Tool. It enables you to see how many people search for a particular keyword or search term each month, both globally and locally. By targeting keywords that receive a large amount of traffic, you can create content on your site that brings in a steady flow of customers from search engines.
