Smart Marketing

Proposal writing mistake

A common proposal writing mistake my clients make is identifying only one price. After doing a good job of outlining the deliverables, the client boxes the buyer into a "yes" or "no" decision by stating only one price (Price $5,000).

The problem with this approach is that it doesn't leave the buyer with any latitude to discuss, ask questions or negotiate. I think the tone with this approach is "take it or leave it".

Why not quote a range (Price $4,000-$6,000)? This way the buyer feels like he has more input into any final decision. You, in turn, have flexibility to negotiate...and get the business. Right?

Visit this site for other common proposal writing mistakes.

Anita Campbell's PowerBlog Review

This blog was recently reviewed by Anita Campbell from Small Business Trends.

Check out the review.

Hey technology folks, where's the marketing?

I don't often rant in this blog, but now I will. For reasons that will bore you or take too long to explain, I won't go into detail on my latest technology woes. But here's my point:

The folks who are designing technology these days have forgotten the most important cog in their marketing wheel: the consumer. Most of us (definitely including me) have limited capabilities when it comes to technology. But the techno-marketers are caught in the trap of building bigger, faster things...that clearly outstrip the customers abilities. Many times, a new technology actually penalizes those of use who migrate from older technology.

Hey tech marketers...get back to the marketing basics and get a whole lot closer to your customers. We're tired of being made to feel stupid or powerless.

Why use a guarantee?

Offer a guarantee to your buyers, and you will close more sales. It's that simple.

A guarantee is one of the most important marketing tools in today's opt-in world because it reverses risk. No longer do your buyers shoulder all the risk if you have a guarantee. If, for some reason, they want to put an end to the relationship, they know they have a recourse.

A good guarantee also functions as an effective sales device. It can be one of the most powerful closing tools you have.

For more on how to use a guarantee, and the typical pitfalls with guarantees, check out Jim Logan's post .

Marketing a big ticket item

How does marketing a big ticket item differ from marketing a smaller one? I just finished up a marketing workshop at the University of Minnesota and here's how I defined the differences:

Big ticket items

• There are multiple buying audiences.
• There are also multiple levels of sign-off. Expect your sales effort to get sidetracked more often.
• You should use current customers to help sell prospects (e.g. bring prospects on-site to see a current installation)
• Find ways to reduce risk (i.e. guarantees, warranties)
• Financing can be an effective marketing tool.

Smaller ticket items

• There are fewer buying audiences.
• More often, the purchaser is the user also. Must appeal to both hats this person wears.
• Price receives even more consideration.
• Repeat sales are very important…and profitable.

Fellow bloggers...what else do you think distinguishes these two channels...?

Choosing a web site address

If you're choosing a URL for your new website, make sure it passes this test. Is it easily understood when you give it out over the phone?

I call this the phone-test, and your should pass this basic test.

Call up 5 people you know and tell them you're starting a new website with the URL of ...(fill in the blank). Then listen. Some reactions you might get are:

• "How do you spell that?"
• "Is that L-O-T-S O F-U-N.com or L-O-T-S A F-U-N.com?"
• "You must have just gone into a tunnel on your cell. What was that address again?"

Or, the person will just giving their opinion of your address. If this happens, your address has passed the phone test.

Over the life of your business, you're going to tell your address to a TON of people. Make sure it passes the phone test first and you'll save yourself a lot of time later on...

Brochure tips

Here are valuable tips to improve the marketing power of your brochure. These are excerpted from a speech I gave recently to small business owners at the Twin West Chamber of Commerce.

• Use a pain question (“Are you getting all the service you deserve from your marketing agency?”.
• Use the word “you” more than “we” throughout your body copy. 
• Try to avoid including prices, pictures of staff and client lists.
• Consider using a pocket folder – it’s more flexible and you can customize the brochure to each reader.
• Don’t be afraid of using white space.
• Use no more than 3 different font types.
• Make the brochure’s look & feel compliment your existing letterhead, business cards, other sales literature.
• Always give your reader 3 ways to respond (phone, email & website at the very least).
• Proofread the brochure by reading it out loud.
• Use subheads to break up copy.
• Include testimonials - they’re a great credibility builder.
• When possible, use captions for your photos -  they are widely read.

OK fellow bloggers, what have I missed...?

Raise your prices

Raising prices can be one of the most powerful marketing tools for a small business. But I'd be surprised if you saw it that way. Instead, the very idea might make you squirm in your seat or conjur up images of unhappy customers defecting to your competitors by the truckload.

But if you really sat down and analyzed it, you'd see that a price increase is a very profitable marketing tool. In fact, the consulting firm McKinsey once studied over 2,400 companies and found that a 1% price increase boosted, on average, these companies' bottom lines by 11%. A 1% increase in volume only generated a 3.3% increase in the bottom line.

Maybe sales (along with marketing) should spend as much time on pricing as they do on new business development.

I'll talk in future posts about how important it is to establish value in your service offering...as a precursory to any price increase. But for now, I'll leave you with this thought: Every minute you wring your hands over increasing your prices, your buyers are trying to figure out how to raise theirs!

Marketing momentum

What factors contribute to your marketing momentum? I'd suggest that the sounds of your small business play an important role. I'll give you an example.

In the 90's, I was brought in to help direct the marketing activities of a travel agency. At the time I arrived, this agency had a phone system that filled the air with ringing sounds on a busy day. Since our ads were placed in Sunday travel sections of newspapers, Monday was a very busy day...filled with ringing phones.

Then one day, the company switched phone vendors and a new phone system was installed. But this system was different: it announced new calls with only a flashing light. There weren't any more ringing phones. Well, you can imagine the effect.

When I walked into the offices on a Monday morning I was greeted by....deathly silence. Even though the phones were busy, you could never tell. This effect put a real damper on the mood of the agents...and drove me crazy. Sadly, the agency closed a few years later.

Morale of the story: make noise an integral part of your marketing effort. It helps you take your business' pulse and adds an element of excitement to your environment.

Blogs as a marketing tool

At the Radiant Marketing blog, Paul Chaney asked his friend, J.D. Iles to shed some light on how he uses his blog in his marketing mix.

His post, "Why my blog is a good tool", really points out how dynamic a blog can be. For example, Mr. Iles talks about how he has the buyer pull up his blog right during a sales call so he can show samples.

Or how he posts sketches to his blog so the buyer can approve designs before going into production.

To me this is all the functionality of a website, without the wait. Check out this post, you'll enjoy it.