Smart Marketing

Does Branding really work for your Consulting Firm?

Consulting firm marketers are always touting the value of establishing a brand…and now they have the data to back it up. RainToday.com found that consulting firms, that are well-known in their target markets, receive higher fees, see their revenue grow, and earn higher profits than their lesser-known counterparts.

Last month, RainToday published its Fees and Pricing Benchmark Report: Consulting Industry 2008 research, in which we surveyed 645 consultants to find out what challenges firms face when setting fee levels. They revealed hourly rates, profitability, discounting norms – a bunch of great stuff.

Check it out...

Small Business Marketing; Consider using a Style Guide to Boost your Brand

Most small business marketing departments start developing a hodge podge of marketing materials and before they know it, the small business' brand and marketing efforts look haphazard.

To address this small business marketing issue of haphazard marketing, consider using a style guide. A style guide is a set of standards for the design and creation of marketing materials.

A solid style guide will help you maximize the impact of your small business brand by standardizing the use of such marketing elements as:
* Brand personality
* Brand name conventions
* Logos—construction, usage, use with other logos
* Taglines & supplemental signatures
* Color, typography, backgrounds
* The use of white space
* Contact info (websites, phone numbers)
* Company identity materials
* Collateral materials

If your small business marketing efforts produce more than 3 pieces of marketing material a year, you should consider developing a style guide.

I'll talk more in depth about style guides, and the incredible impact they can have on your small business' growth, in future issues of my newsletter Marketing Tips & Tools.

Debunking the 24 hour small business marketing plan

There’s a popular trend in small business marketing today to tell people it will take a ridiculously short amount of time to complete something. For example, if I say you can have rippling abs in 24 hours, now I’ve got your attention, right?

Well, the sad fact is claims like these are false and misleading. I know this approach appeals to our time-starved society’s lifestyle, but when it comes to small business marketing plans, it’s all wrong.

Look, I’ve consulted directly with hundreds of small businesses and worked with thousands more solo entrepreneurs, and I’m here to tell you that developing a realistic and practical small business marketing plan WILL take more than 24 hours. The myth of the 24 hour marketing plan is spreading like wildfire, but what it really deserves is a thorough dousing. Remember that nothing in this world that is worth having, ends up taking only 24 hours.

If you want to reach conclusions about 1) who you should market to 2) what you should say to them and 3) where you should say it, then you’re going to require time to reflect.

If this makes sense to you, you might want to check out my brand new e-book How to Write a Marketing Plan that Wins New Clients and Grows your Business.

How to decide on the right marketing tools for your small business marketing plan

In my brand new e-book, How to Write a Marketing Plan that Wins New Clients and Grows Your Business I define a successful marketing plan tool as one that satisfies 3 criteria:
* Comfort
* Effectiveness
* Sustainability

Let me explain....

After working with hundreds of small business leaders to develop marketing plans, I've learned that a successful marketing tool for that business is one that the leader 1) enjoys doing 2) generates a favorable response and 3) is consistently pursued. Hence, one that is 1) comfortable 2) effective and 3) sustainable.

If you struggle with finding marketing tools that you enjoy and are effective, then you owe it to yourself to check out How to Write a Marketing Plan that Wins New Clients and Grows Your Business.

I guarantee it will help you identify the marketing tools that will gorw your business and gain new clients...or your money back.

Small Business Internet Marketing: Key Website Navigation Sections Needed

Every small business that has a website should try to standardize portions of that small business website. I know this flies in the face of the marketing principle to be different whenever you can, but with the web maturing a bit, and standard conventions in small business websites becoming more pronounced, I think there are several navigation sections that website visitors come to expect when they land on your site.

They are:
About Us - Visitors who are new to your site, and don't know much about your company, want to start with the basics. An About Us section not only answers many of a visitor's basic questions about the small business, but it also helps them understand how the company positions itself. Note: the search engine savvy marketer makes the tab read "About (your company name)" instead of About Us so the search engines digest another mention of your company name.

Products (or services) - Another standard tab that people hunt for. Not only does the first time visitor want to understand the broad company view (About Us), but they also want to know what do you offer me that I might be interested in?

FAQ - FAQ pages are becoming the de facto standard these days. Not only is a FAQ a great way for visitors to answer their own questions, but it's also a great way to allow visitors to prequalify themselves. For example, if your FAQ page has the following question "What is a profile of your firm's best prospect?", the reader may start to see themselves in the answer.

I'll cover even more of these standard navigation sections of a small business website in future issues of my newsletter Marketing Tips & Tools.

Brand New Small Business Marketing Plan Tool

Does your small business lack a marketing plan? Are you frustrated that your small business marketing efforts aren't generating enough new clients?

The small business world is divided into two distinct camps: the "haves" and the "have nots". I've found after working with hundreds of small businesses over the last 20 years that small business owners who have all the clients they need, also have a marketing plan.

But the have nots…well they haven't a clue about their marketing. They are frustrated every single day because their small business isn't growing, yet they don't know why. And the biggest reason is because they don't have a marketing plan.

I've just spent the last 6 months writing, polishing and perfecting a new e-book called How to Write a Marketing Plan that Wins New Clients and Grows Your Business and if you're struggling right now in your small business marketing efforts, give this a try.

It's only $49.95 and once you purchase How to Write a Marketing Plan that Wins New Clients and Grows Your Business you get 3 bonus reports absolutely free: "10 Things you can Do Right Now to Improve your Marketing", "The 10 Commandments of Successful Marketing" and my "PowerPack of Marketing Tips & Tools".

If you're interested in growing your small business this year, in fact right now, then check out my new e-book How to Write a Marketing Plan that Wins New Clients and Grows Your Business.

Small Business Marketing Tip: Networking Rule #1

Whenever a small business marketing person meets with another to network, I advise that small business marketing person to ALWAYS come prepared with a leave behind. A leave behind is a relevant marketing tool that's given to another to help them understand better what the small business person's company does.

I should hasten to add that a proper leave-behind is in addition to a business card. A business card is simply a printed form of an introduction ("Hi, I'm Jay Lipe with Emerge Marketing and here's my card").

A leave behind is any information or marketing tool that builds upon the conversation taking place. Some of the most common leave behinds I see used by my small business marketing clients are:
* Brochures
* White papers
* Articles of interest
* Case studies
* Article reprints
* DVD's or CD's containing information about your company

There are probably hundreds of others, but the point remains: As a matter of course always provide a leave-behind at the close of any networking meeting. It helps deepen your guest's understanding of your business, provides them something to store in their files and provides them with an opportunity to pass along something about your company to others. Not to mention it's a nice gesture to leave someone with a "gift".

Like what you read here? I cover a host of practical small business marketing tips like this in my newsletter Marketing Tips & Tools.

Small Business Internet Marketing: Web 2.0 Is the New Direction

If you're in charge of marketing for your small business, you'll want to check out Michael Wesch's YouTube video The Machine is Us(ing) Us. This 5 minute video will expand your mind into appreciating how the internet marketing landscape is fast changing for any small business.

If you watch the video pay particular attention to how "mashing" is becoming popular (you'll see a brief section on it at towards the end of the video). Seems like the newest wave.

If your small business is considering how its marketing should change ahead of the curve, this video can serve as a useful guide. Web 2.0 for small businesses is here to stay.

After you've had a chance to view the video, I'd be curious to get your feedback. What does the video say to you?

Like what you read here? Try subscribing to my newsletter Marketing Tips & Tools.

Small Business Marketing: We Hold These Small Business Marketing Truths to be Self-Evident...

In today's world, it's difficult to find hard and fast truths in the world of small business marketing. But after helping hundreds of small businesses with their marketing, I have landed on a couple Small Business Marketing Truths. They are:

The most effective marketing comes from dialogues with your market - Too often we marketers presume to know what our market wants. Or even worse, we research our market, yet do it only once. The most powerful marketing efforts spring from ongoing dialogues we have with a market member. And the ongoing nature of these dialogues provides us with the up-to-the-minute knowledge to make shifts and adjustments in our marketing efforts.

There are no standard ways of marketing, only standard marketing conventions - Every business is different, and these differences show up in their seasonality, culture, product mix, pricing structures, vendors, partnership agreements, and hundreds of other facets. To say one marketing tool will produce the same response for every other company, is the worst kind of marketing ignorance.

Momentum and activity are 2 of the most valuable internal outcomes of marketing - When a small business begins a marketing initiative, the greatest returns, at first, are often internal. Employees sense a new energy and are naturally curious. Some may see that "we're finally marketing this company". It may take time for your market to generate external returns like leads, sales or revenues. But internally, if you pay attention, you'll see a host of more intangible rewards come to fruition immediately.

Marketing arguments must be backed up with rationale, otherwise they’re just opinions - Too many marketing discussions lack quantitative metrics to reinforce the points made. For example, I hear the comment "I don't like our advertising" all the time. And that's fine. But when I probe further with the question "Why?", the rationale ends there and I'm met with the response "I don't know, I just don't like it".

Ultimately, your market holds the final answer - Let's face it, we marketers don't know everything. And despite all our posturing in the board room, or the rationale based arguments we make (see above), if our market hates our new marketing, then they hate it. Period. Even if it wins awards, the fact that it generates few sales lands back in our lap. Be sensitive to what you know and don't, then look to your market for the final answer.

Like what you read here? Try subscribing to my newsletter Marketing Tips & Tools.

Best Small Business Marketing Books for 2008

Here are my votes for best small business marketing books for the new year ahead. I should clarify that these are not newly released small business marketing books. Instead, they're small business marketing books that EVERY small business marketer should own. They will teach and inspire you to grow your business:

Type and Layout; Are you Communicating or Just Making Pretty Shapes? – Colin Wheildon – This is probably the BEST marketing book I’ve read in 10 years. And that’s because it offers practical, research based advice on what works (and what doesn’t) in marketing communications. For example, did you know a headline that is in all caps is significantly harder to read than one in lower case? Then why are so many headlines these days still in all caps? Another example: Wheildon proves that body copy is much easier to comprehend when it’s presented as black type on a white background. Why then do so many publications suppress comprehension by placing colored copy on top of a tinted color block? If you have graphic designers who are hell bent on generating “creative designs”, keep this book nearby to convince them that it’s not about winning awards, but communicating effectively with your buyers. VERY highly recommended.

Don't Make Me Think; A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability by Steve Krug - This is probably the most entertaining book on website design I've come across. Krug identifies the most common mistakes when designing websites and then gives recommendations on how to address them. But the way he writes the book is the real clincher. All throughout, he uses cartoons to help you understand what's really going on inside people's heads as they navigate through a website. A fun read.

Words that Sell by Richard Bayan - This is a must-have desktop reference if you write marketing copy. It lists more than 2,500 high-powered words, phrases, and slogans, and provides instant access to key words that will move your readers. If you're stumped about how to write a convincing call-to-action, crack it open. If you wonder how you can creatively begin a letter with a generic salutation, open it up. If you've overused a word and need to find another way of saying the same thing, crack it open. Just for starters, it gives you 62 different ways to say "exciting" and 57 variations on "reliable". If you write copy (and what marketer doesn't), this book will expand your vocabulary every time you open it. This book was so successful it spawned Phrases that Sell and More Words that Sell. Five stars.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my two books: The Marketing Toolkit for Growing Businesses and Stand Out from the Crowd; Secrets to Crafting a Winning Company Identity.

Happy reading to you in 2008...