Smart Marketing

Do you like this blog?

If you enjoy my Smart Marketing blog, then may I ask a favor?

The highly-respected online marketing site, Marketing Sherpa, has nominated my blog in the category of Best Blog on Small Business Marketing. I'm up against some very stiff competition (I know because I have RSS feeds for most of them).

But if you enjoy my blog, could I ask you to vote for it? The blog's name is Smart Marketing and it's the 4th one listed in the section titled "Best Blog on Small Business Marketing".

Just click the link here, cast your vote, and be done with it. The whole thing takes about 30 seconds. 

Thanks...

Color in marketing; What do certain colors mean?

Confused about what message a certain color sends? Here are some basic colors and the emotions they communicate:

Red: Hot, passionate, active
Yellow: Energetic, bright, sunny, cheerful
Green: Natural, fertile, calm, prosperous
Blue: Cold, serene, loyal, excellence
Brown: Earthy, mature, reliable
Purple: Royal, powerful, luxurious
Black: Authoritative, respectful, strong
White: Cool, pure, true, innocent
Gold: Majestic, rich, wise, honored

I'll be speaking at the Publishers University out in New York this week. Talk with you when I get back.

PS - If you like this blog, please vote for it in Marketing Sherpa's "Best Blogs" contest. Just click here http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=333931095143 and vote for "Smart Marketing" as the Best Blog for Small Business.

Get leads? No, get qualified leads!

Too many businesses focus on getting leads, lots of leads. But I feel like a greater emphasis should be placed on getting qualified leads. I'll give you an example:

Yesterday I was a roundtable leader at a local Chamber of Commerce event. Events like these are true lead generators for my marketing consulting business because they give me a opportunity to personally interact with small business owners.

At a similar event 3 months ago, my roundtable was jam-packed with attendees. This time however, I was informed the night before that there would only be 6 attendees. My first reaction was "Why bother?"

But what I didn't know until I showed up was that two of the 6 people were actual prospects, another one was looking for a speaker at his next American Marketing Association meeting and another was the president of the Chamber itself...someone who had referred business to me earlier this month.

The net of all this is that even though I sat with only 6 people at my table, most of them were highly qualified prospects and referral generators.  After the event, I thanked my lucky stars that I had this opportunity to spend quality time with these folks.

What do you think? Is there an unhealthy fixation on generating NUMBERS of leads vs. QUALIFIED leads?

Do you like this blog?

If you enjoy my Smart Marketing blog, then may I ask a favor?

The highly-respected online marketing site, Marketing Sherpa, has nominated my blog in the category of Best Blog on Small Business Marketing. I'm up against some very stiff competition (I know because I have RSS feeds for most of them).

But if you enjoy my blog, could I ask you to vote for it? The blog's name is Smart Marketing and it's the 4th one listed in the section titled "Best Blog on Small Business Marketing".

Just click the link here, cast your vote, and be done with it. The whole thing takes about 30 seconds. 

Thanks...

PS If your answer to my post title "Do you like this blog?" was NO, then what can I do to improve it?

Your Company's Voice

I've just signed a contract with Dearborn Trade Publishing to write my second book. The subject will be How to Develop a Winning Identity for your Business.

To that end, it occurs to me that finding a company's voice is a crucial component of a business identity. Do you agree?

Also, I get a bit rankled when one of my clients objects to starting a sentence with "And...", or overturns using a colloquialism like "Kinda cool, huh?". In my mind, these are devices that craft a more personal voice, with the intent of registering better with an audience. 

How do you think a company should craft its unique voice?

Marketing's Rule of 7

I first learned of the 7 Points of Contact Rule from Dr. Jeffrey Lant. In one of his books, he stated that it takes, on average, 7 contacts between a buyer and seller before the buyer feels comfortable enough to do business with the seller. Therefore the marketer should try to establish 7 points of contact (emails, direct mail, face-to-face appointments, etc) within a specified time period in order to further the sale.

In almost all of my speeches and seminars, this point alone is an epiphany to my audience.

Here's my question: Has anyone out there come across quantifiable data that supports this notion? Or have you seen a different number that is backed up by empirical data?

The need for integrated marketing

If you don't have an integrated marketing program, you'll shoot yourself in the foot. What is an integrated marketing program? Here's an example:

I am working with a top selling real estate agent in MN, helping her market a brand new real estate project in the city. We have developed high-quality ads and placed them in close to 10 publications. We have aired radio ads and placed ads on LCD's in the bathrooms of high-quality restaurants to generate leads.We have also launched a publicity campaign aimed at attracting editorial coverage in the key Twin Cities dailies.

All this front end marketing of the property has generated substantial leads in the property. So what's the problem?

The problem is that the real estate developer on the project has dragged its heels in setting up a high-quality demo unit. Consequently all these leads that respond from the front end marketing efforts are shown a demo unit that is unfurnished and underwhelming. The developer has only recently agreed to upgrade the unit.

This is an example of a marketing effort that is NOT integrated. If it were, the highest quality demo unit would have been in place from day 1. Instead, leads have been generated and the back-end effort has left them wanting.

Today's lesson: make sure all aspects of your marketing, both front-end (advertising) and back-end (demo unit), carry the highest quality BEFORE leads are generated.

Brand identity from a 5th grade perspective

My son's middle school recently underwent a brand identity change. And the fallout has been significant.

Previous to January, the school mascot was a Panther. Sleek and dangerous were the undertones and I never heard one student complain.

In January however, a few parents got it into their heads that a Panther was bad (I can only imagine why) and changed the mascot to the Fish. So my son's school identity went overnight from the Burroughs Panthers to the Burroughs Fish.

Call me a competitive,  ex-jock, frat boy type if you will, but this new identity sucks. How can anyone get excited about being a Fish? What kind of imagery does this evoke?

Even at the middle school level, this new identity defines the students' collective personality. How? In my son's words "We're just a bunch of fish now."

OK, in the spirit of democracy, how many of you out there like Burroughs Panthers and how many like Burroughs Fish? Why?

What all goes into a Marketing Plan?

Recently, I posted about sending my 11 year old son through a marketing campaign with me as his target audience. His objective was a Game Cube and mine was to get him to appreciate the patience required in a marketing campaign.

We both achieved our objectives. But he also learned the most important steps in a marketing plan. Among the most important aspects he had to grapple with in his marketing plan were:

• Vision
• Goals
• Problems
• Positioning
• Identity
• Marketing Strategies
• Tactics
• Timelines
• Budgets
• Roles & responsibilities
• Follow through
• Metrics
• Leadership

I've probably listed too many elements but as a trained marketer, I know their importance. Ok folks, what have I missed?

As president, you set the sales identity

I'm working with a client now whose president doesn't see himself as a sales rep. I suspect it's equal parts of 1) being an introvert and 2) wishing to delegate this responsibility.

But the way I see it, a company's identity is fashioned from the top down. If the president is loathe to sell, then so is everyone else in the company. And the market will pick up on this.

I've worked with this president over the past several weeks to schedule appointments, follow up on certain projects and chase down leads. We've put some account planning and territory management tools in place.

The long and short of all this is that the president has generated quite a few conversations, and subsequent appointments.  But alas, the effort hasn't generated bottom line dollars yet, and the president wants to see immediate results. 

Here's what I'm wondering: Can a president who hasn't historically viewed himself as a sales rep, transform himself into one? Does a company's identity stem from the actions of its president? How?

What is Marketing?

Answers to the question "What is Marketing?" abound. But here's a straight-forward definition that answers What is Marketing, once and for all:

Marketing is...
The sum total of all contacts your company has with the outside world.

From this definition you can conclude the following:

• Marketing covers far more than just ads and brochures -  Accepting this definition means leaving a voicemail, interviewing job candidates or even describing your business to someone at a cocktail party qualify as marketing activities.
• Every employee who interacts with the outside world is a marketer - Touch points between your employees and the market define your marketing; not necessarily just your marketing department.
• There's a premium on consistency - Imagine a buyer calling your company. If that person hears one company description from the receptionist "Hello this is XYZ, how may I direct your call?", another from your customer service operator "Hello this is XYZ Company, a division of ABC Corporation. How may I help you?" and a third from the customer service rep "Hello this is XYZ Customer Service, leaders in gizmo manufacturing", the company's identity is processed 3 different ways.

What do you think of my definition?
How about some other definitions of marketing? What terms do you use to describe the art & science of marketing?