Marketing Consulting for Growing Business: Angels Blog

10 ways to spring clean your marketing approach for growth

Sat, 28 Aug 2010 06:11:51 GMT

Given that we're in the last days of winter, I thought a blog post around how you can use the energy and sense of renewal that spring brings to take a look at your marketing approach.

Here are my 10 marketing fertiliser tips, implementing some of these might help you clear the weeds that slow down new growth.

Do a thorough web site review. Is your copy clear and concise? Check for broken links. Review any automated email messages. Bold important copy links. Add more inbound and outbound links. Add contact us, subscribe to emails as many places as possible on your site.
Conduct a survey about what your clients want. Add a reward or incentive. Structure your survey around information that will help you find new opportunities to add products or services or review the ones you have. You might even be able to create a press release on any interesting findings.
Start a system for measuring marketing. Make sure you are collecting information about how people found out about you and then tracking that through to conversion.
Clean up your database. Make sure you are getting rid of email addresses that bounce.
Take on an intern or work experience student to have them call and get correct details for all your clients or customers and get them subscribed to your email newsletter.
Lay all your marketing materials out and do a thorough review for consistency of message, look and feel and consistency around who you are targeting.
Review any affiliate or partner marketing or referral programmes. Are they working for you? Could you create new relationships or nurture current ones to improve performance.
Take a look at your email signatures on all yours and your staff's emails. Are they consistent? Could you add more links to let people know about products, offers, events. Are you extending an invitation to subscribe to your newsletter, fan you on facebook, connect on linked-in or follow you on Twitter?
Sit in on some sales meetings, or listen to some new phone enquiry calls. If you do all the selling, get some feedback on your approach. How are new business opportunities being handled? Can you create or review your sales scripts, email responses, proposal templates or presentations to make them work better for you.
Dig out your marketing plan or get a fresh sheet of paper to write a new one. Is your marketing activity aligned to marketing goals, or are you doing things adhoc without a clear plan?

I don't know about you, but a good spring clean always gives me a clear head and more energy. Both necessary for running a business. Got any spring cleaning tips you can share?

Offers don't need to cost anything

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 02:30:31 GMT

Last Saturday night I went along to a fundraising event, part of some ongoing activities which began when a friend of mine received some very bad news around 18 months ago.

She really needed some help, so a bunch of us rallied around to arrange some fundraising activities.

The purpose of this post is not to tell my friends story (if you want to know her story you can read about it at the web site we created). I want to tell a story about local area marketing and in particular about how generosity can deliver real marketing results for small business.

One of the fundraising activities that we were involved in was the organisation of a benefit event in August last year.

A lot of entertainers donated their time to perform at the event. A fashion parade, using local Mums as models was part of the evening's entertainment thanks to a local fashion boutique, who provided clothes and styling.

When we were getting the word out about the event the local paper ran a story about my friend and what we were doing to help.

A local hairdressing salon contacted us as a result and offered to donate their time to do all of the hairstyling for the event and also the hair for some of the organising committee.

The salon had only recently opened and was located in an arcade, not the best position for passing trade.

I dropped in to their busy little salon the other day as they generously donated some vouchers to a couple of the people that worked tirelessly on the second event I went along to last weekend.

I thanked them again for helping out and asked them how things were going for them following the last event.

They said it had been amazing, they picked up lots of clients via the Mum's who were models and it had generated heaps of great word of mouth.

Now, lots of businesses often give stuff away for as auction items etc for fundraisers but I'm not sure they ever really know what it can deliver for their business.

Here's why I think my hairdressing friends got such a good response:

They had a giving mentality - instead of having to be asked to contribute something, they offered, they were more generous, offering theirs and their staff's time as well as something for the auction.
They really aligned what they could give with their target market. Busy Mum's were a key target. What better way to generate positive word of mouth than offer to do the hair for Mum's for a major local event full of parents of local families. As these Mum's were models for the night too, and many of their friends where at the event and those who weren't knew about it. There was lots of buzz and talk around how great they looked .
They were proactive about local area marketing. How could they create new networks and generate positive word of mouth.

The biggest obstacle small businesses have when it comes to marketing is their own apathy. By being proactive, and thinking about what you can give you can generate lots of positive word of mouth and opportunity.

If you don't know where to start. Get some help. Start with a basic marketing plan, educate yourself about marketing, read up on it or work with an expert. Whatever it is, something is better than nothing.

Sometimes, like my hairdresser friends, it's simply having the right mindset that makes the biggest difference.

How does your mindset made a difference to your marketing?

Make The Most Of Your Customer Database

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 05:28:29 GMT

For small businesses on a small budget a good database is a cost-effective marketing tool that can increase the sale value of your business and make you more attractive to partners who may want to conduct co-marketing activities.

The steps to creating and making the most of a customer database are to:

* Select the right database program-Web-based databases like Zoho, Highrise, Work etc and Sugar offer free trial versions so you can find the best tool for your needs.

* Decide what information is relevant to store-The most important data to capture includes contact details, name, gender and marital status but you can also include social network addresses, buying behaviour and history, value of transactions and habits and relationships - both business and personal.

* Populate, maintain and grow your database-Make it a standard business process to get contact details into your database at every customer contact point. Use customer surveys, competitions and promotions to give you access to new prospects.

* Regularly communicate with your database-Regular contact helps ensure that you are in constant conversation with customers and prospects increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases and referrals. Actively doing personal follow ups every 90 days will also help drive sales, on top of the passive contact systems you have in place like your regular newsletters, offers or Facebook updates. Your current customers are your most valuable resource for finding new ones. To generate referrals, you need to actively create them, not just through providing a great experience for your existing clients, but also through your systems. But don't forget you must ALWAYS acknowledge a referral.

So you've built a great database and set up a system to drive sales and referrals from it - but how do you measure success?

Keep an eye on:

-Traffic to your referral offer/page

-Repeat purchases

-Number of referral appointments

-Number of referral closed deals, and

-Overall comparative cost of acquisition.

You'll know you've got a valuable asset on your hands once you look at the numbers!

We've Moved!

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 06:37:33 GMT

Marketing Angels HQ has now relocated to sunny Manly, on Sydney's northern beaches. Our CEO and Chief Angel Michelle Gamble is a Manly local, and she is very excited to have Marketing Angels HQ a part of the local landscape. In fact she started the business from her home in Manly 9 years ago.

Although it was a little stressful and we spent days with our heads in packing boxes, moving can be a positive experience!

First it gave us the chance to clean and purge. If you have files you haven't touched in years its probably best to recycle them. If you're nervous about loosing anything important, you can always scan the documents and have a digital record.

Decorating your new office is key to impressing clients who are visiting your premises for meetings. Here at our new HQ we've given it a fresh coat of paint, polished up the floorboards, put in some new lighting and are on the hunt for some artwork. Our favourite thing so far is having fresh flowers in the office- smells and looks gorgeous, while being fairly inexpensive.

Most importantly, let all your existing customers know you've moved, and let all new potential customers know you've arrived. Join the local chamber of commerce, reach out to the local press and neighbouring businesses, and have a launch party to create some buzz.

Come visit our new premise and say hello. There's always someone here that can help you with your small business marketing needs

There's no such thing as no judgement..

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 02:43:00 GMT

I like to think of myself as a pretty open and accepting person. I've travelled the world, I grew up in the country, come from a very working class family and have been exposed to people from all walks of life.

The truth is though, I still make judgements based on appearances. I'd challenge anyone who said they didn't. That's why cover shots on magazines and book covers are so important... you know how the saying goes re books and covers and any person in publishing would agree.

As a marketer I'm always talking about how important appearances are when it comes to positioning your business and creating an instant perception in someone's mind.

Your business card, your logo, your web site, store presence, staff - all of it says something about your business.

I've also been thinking lately though about individual appearance. I've sat across from business owners often in meetings who've wanted our help with marketing and helping them get a foot in the door, with key distributors, clients or influencers.

Often these business owners are starting out, so they can't rely on client testimonials, case studies or proven outcomes to convince prospects to trust them.

Inevitably positioning and brand image are usually mentioned.. but I have to admit, it's very hard to tackle the sensitive question of personal image. I've sat in meetings knowing that getting the designers to overhaul a web site or logo is only half the battle.

That's why I've decided to blog about it as an easier forum in which to address it.

Looking professional and like you care about what you look like, says a lot to someone that you are trying to approach.

If your look is dated, your hair unkempt, not well trimmed or those side burns are way too long, you are sending a message about how much you care about yourself. It also says something about how self-aware you are and how perceptive your are about what's happening around you.

Now I'm not suggesting that you rush out to join the biggest loser, or visit a cosmetic surgeon but I am saying that taking a good look in the mirror occasionally and thinking about the perception you might be creating with your appearance isn't a bad idea.

Often simple small improvments can have a big impact:

Investing in some classic outfits that highlight your good features and minimise the flaws.
Having a good hair cut that you can maintain that looks contemporary.
Losing long side burns, comb-overs, moustaches or beards.
Changing accessories (like glasses, jewellery etc) to give an outfit more polish.
Getting some professional shots taken for marketing purposes.

I'm no image consultant, but there's a very good case for them exisiting.

So, take a good look in the mirror and ask yourself (or even better ask someone else who you know will be honest) about what your image says about you?

Have you had an image overhaul to help sell yourself, what impact did it have? Has someone's appearance cost them your business and why?

Is telemarketing to businesses a dirty word?

Tue, 13 Apr 2010 23:19:14 GMT

Are you aware that the Australian Communications and Media Authority is considering extending the do not call register to include businesses?

This means that business owners could nominate to be included on the do not call register to prevent them being contacted by other businesses for sales purposes.

Now, I'm the first to admit that I find some telemarketing approaches offensive. Particularly those that big business is often responsible for.

Being called by a heavily accented person, on a bad line reading verbatim off a script and refusing "not interested" as an answer is extremely irritating. Nobody gains anything from this type of approach.

Unfortunately small business is often the recipient of such calls yet they are potentially the organisations to be most directly disadvantaged by extending the do not call register to include businesses.

The telephone is still one of the most cost effective ways to target a new sales prospect, particularly when you are just starting out in business.

Whilst I'm a big fan of making sure you have a prospects permission before you send them communciations - often cold calling is how you get that permission in the first place.

I'm not sure what the answer to the problem is but it seems the real danger here is that a few big bad eggs are ruining the basket for small businesses.

Perhaps a solution might be for the register to exclude smaller businesses and for business owners electing to be on the register to be able to select which industries they want to avoid contact from as there are some serial offenders from certain industries.

I'm having my say here and have also responded to an Australian Direct Marketing Association survey sent by the Australian Business Women's Network.

What's your opinion?

Shy + Small Business = Branding Fail

Fri, 04 Sep 2009 06:33:29 GMT

This week I was invited to a "Bloggers Breakfast" with an international thought leader in the marketing world. I went not really realising it was branded as a Bloggers Breakfast.

There's a photo of me out there in the Twitterverse hiding behind the real bloggers at this breakfast in Sydney. I've felt a bit awkward about it ever since because, even though I have a blog I'm a lazy blogger. Doing it whenever I have a chance instead of really committing to it like the other people I was lucky to share breakfast with.

Side note: The breakfast was with David Meerman-Scott who is out here doing a social media Masterclass. If you only read one or 2 business books a year read one of his - "The New Rules of Marketing & PR" or "World Wide Rave".

On to my point. I was feeling guilty about my blogging apathy. Less than once a month = blogger fail. True bloggers at at it weekly (sometimes daily e.g Seth Godin).

I've been shy about being branded a blogger because I don't do it as well as the ones who really deserve the title.

It got me thinking, being shy is a real handicap when it comes to small business. It's not part of our culture in Australia to boast, but those who put themselves out there are the winners.

1. Because being bold gets you noticed

and;

2. Because once you put yourself out there you have to deliver.

When you start a small business you are putting everything on the line. Often your life savings, sometimes your house and definetly the idea of a a regular, consistent income stream in the short term.

Ignoring brand building (because you think you can't afford to advertise) or because you're uncomfortable about making a noise about your name is really kind of dumb. Low brand awareness means you're always going to be paying top dollar to get noticed.

Here's a proven equation. High brand awareness = low cost of customer acquisition.

Example: This week I stayed at Q1 on the Gold Coast. The tallest, slickest apartment tower in one of the most amazing locations in the world. At the entrance to the building (prime location) is an "under construction" retail space.

There's a big dark ugly space exposed to all who walk past it (2 months from peak season) looking desolate, empty and far from "opening soon" as the small sign suggests on the vast window. This space would be in one of the most highly trafficked spots on the Gold Coast.

Small business + shy = branding fail.

Here's a prime opportunity for this Japanese eatery to boast about the brand and the exciting experience awaiting potential customers. Maybe there's a slim chance the owners of this fabulous opportunity might read about this blog post.

If so, I implore them to cover up the ugly construction works with window signage creating some excitement about what's going on inside. Your window signage should be SHOUTING IN A MAJOR WAY about what people can expect when it opens (a web address would be a good idea too).

Most small businesses can't afford to do the sort of marketing that has traditionally been viewed as brand building (Print, TV, Outdoor advertising).

It doesn't get any better than this when it comes to cheap outdoor advertising (a tried and tested winner in brand building). The web site address just increases the opportunity to engage with those interested in the potential tasty dining experience to come.

Given the space and location I'm certain that they are spending a motza on the fit out and some great, good looking staff to deliver the experience. They've totally overlooked creating some excitement around their brand. Maybe because they're worried about not opening on time.

If you put yourself out there you've no choice but to deliver.

So I'm going to try and live up to my tag as a blogger. No choice now it's out there, so I may as well treat it as an opportunity to lift my game.

Ask yourself, are you being shy about your brand? Are you too scared to enter that business or industry award? Are you putting off making some noise because then you'll have to deliver?

Going into business for yourself is a white-knuckle ride sometimes. You're taking some huge risks. So be as courageous with your brand as you are with your business. Jump into the branding opportunity boots and all. It will keep you honest to your customers and your people.

Watch this space, I'm counting on you to keep me honest too.

What shade of green are you?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 00:57:57 GMT

I recently discovered that I was a HERB. Not exactly flattering, but preferable in my mind, than being SCUM or even a RAW NUTZ for that matter.

No, I try not to make a habit of calling others or myself names, so what exactly am I on about? A rather creative, if not insulting (across the board) way of categorising Green Consumers. Ranging from the completely OTT tree hugging dark green fanatics, to the brown, head-in-the-sand 'What environment?' well, SCUM.

What shade are you?

To describe the various shades of green found in today's consumer, we have the:

RAW NUTZ: Righteous And Willing Nature Unspoiling Total Zealots. The politically-active minority who are on the edge of eco-innovation.

HERBs: Hopeful Eco Ranting Buyers. They buy into new ideas and technology quite easily, may be more tolerant of performance or cost issues and may be willing to spend more for green products because they believe they are making a difference.

MOSS: Masses of Sustainable Starters. Have a fairly high interest in green solutions, yet a reluctance to overly change their lifestyles.

WEEDs: Waiting For Everybody Else Demographic. A more slowly-evolving majority, on the fence when it comes to the environment and reluctant to embrace newer technology.

SCUM: Stubborn, Comatose, Undereducated Mainstream. Do not believe environmental concerns apply to them. They may not even believe the planet is in any trouble at all.

Thanks to Unicycle Creative for this enlightened demographic breakdown.

From SCUM to WEEDS

Be aware however, that consumers - and your own shade of green - will probably change over your lifetime. How green or brown you are, will vary depending on your life cycle and life events.

If you suffer a health scare, you may suddenly become aware of how a chemically indulgent lifestyle has taken its toll on your body. Or you may well enjoy the miracle and blessing of birth and make conscious decisions relating to your legacy and the world your child will be left with. There are triggers throughout life that spark action from most conscious people.

Even if you're not a RAW NUTZ or a HERB, every one is reachable and has the ability to change their behaviour - it just may not be through appealing to their green values.

So like all marketing, it is imperative to know what your customers' values are. What language is needed to speak to their listening? What do they want to hear and what will motivate them into action?

Will you sway customers with talk on saving the environment or will that alienate them? Are you better off not getting on the green soapbox and instead highlighting the cost saving, the increased productivity, the convenience or the 'insert-other-benefit-here' instead?

Know what your audience wants, then deliver that to them. Even if they love your product, business or service for reasons other than eco-friendly ones, at least you can sleep well at night knowing they're doing their bit.

A note of warning!

Be nothing but honest about your green claims. Do not declare anything but the absolute truth as the lovely people at ACCC will hunt you down and murder your brand, not to mention your once trusting customers running a mile to get away from you.

The Trust Factor

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:30:21 GMT

I often have people comment on how effective we appear to be at Marketing, with people often seeing or hearing of us in the Small to Medium business space.

Whilst I'm really proud that's the perception we've created (it needs to be really given that we're a marketing company) - the recent year has really had me on my toes, trying to adapt to how prospective clients look for and buy services like mine.

What has become glaringly apparent to me is that building trust with current and potential clients is absolutely critical right now!

What worked 18 months ago, when it came to Marketing our business is significantly different to what works now.

Back then, the pace was fast and furious in the business world. Our phone was rinigng off the hook with new enquiries. Most of which came via our paid Google Adwords campaign. Now it's a totally different story.

Paid Google advertising for us now delivers a very small number of leads comparitively. The lightbulb moment for me was realising that whilst business owners were still interested in Marketing services they were more cautious about engaging or even enquiring about a supplier they hadn't encountered before.

So I rolled up my sleeves and got busy! What I needed to do was educate the market more about what we do and what we have to offer. At 35 word Google Ad just wasn't cutting it in today's climate.

This meant:

Speaking at Events, Seminars and Workshops

Contributing articles to publications

Creating relationships with the media and being helpful and responsive with any media enquiries

Relentless networking

Committing signifiant time and energy to Social Media (Linked-in, Facebook, Twitter) to learn, expand my network and tribe of followers interested in Marketing for small business.

Improving my Search Engine Optimisation

The result is that traffic to my web site and new business enquiries have actually increased rather than decreased. We still need to work really hard though to make the most of those enquiries and create further trust through our dialogue, product offering and delivery of services going forward but it really helps to still have a healthy level of enquiries coming in.

If you're baffled by why the phone isn't ringing or why your web site traffic has dropped off, maybe it's worthwhile thinking about how you can develop more trust from propsects in what you have to offer and how they can benefit? Do you need to totally overhaul the way you market you business?

Perhaps you could share how you're developing more trust and the difference it's making in your own business.

Managing Customer Expectations

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:49:57 GMT

Firstly, yes I'm one of those people who buys water. What's wrong with tap water you say? Well having lived in Scotland where the tap water tastes sensational, Sydney water doesn't quite cut it for me.

But anyway onto my story.

I would like to rant about a recent (minor) but annoying customer service experience with, let's call them 'X Water Company'.

Being a fairly new customer of theirs, I've been ordering my water online - after first checking that yes, they deliver to my home area. Splendid!

Only after my third order and third subsequent argument with their customer service department to track down my order, did it come to light that they only deliver to my home area once every 2 weeks - and often on days when I'm not at home. The next option, can they deliver to my work? Yes but that's only once per month - and on the day that I'm at home!

Grrrr.

Why is this important information not clearly spelt out on the website, when checking delivery areas or on the order confirmation email?

Don't get me wrong, I'm certainly not expecting X Water Company to deliver especially for me. I understand the cost of petrol, staff etc. they need to stick to a schedule. However make the schedule public knowledge!

Solution - why not offer new customers a calendar (magnetic to keep on the fridge) which is colour coded to outline delivery areas and dates. That way, customers such as myself are informed and can easily keep track on water supplies, ordering and delivery dates. Better still send an automatic outlook appointment so it's scheduled into your diary.

Details such as this would make my experience with X Water Company that much more enjoyable and easy. Instead I'm looking for an alternative company who can deliver directly to my home on a day that I'm there.

In today's highly competitive and unstable environment, it's worth thinking through every stage of customer contact and service to ensure it's the best, easiest and most enjoyable it can be.

What Makes a New Brand a Winner?

Thu, 09 Apr 2009 05:37:54 GMT

This week I was reminded why I really love what I do, and also what I need to continue doing to grow my brand!

I got to see the birth of a new product created by a passionate, committed business owner who is totally uncomprising about her vision.

It got me thinking, why is that that this particular product/brand has me so excited? At Marketing Angels we work with start up businesses creating new products or services every day but it's rare that one comes along that has us all so excited.

So here's the 5 things I think you need to have to build an amazing brand.

1. Know what your higher purpose is. Everyone's got to make a living. But you need to know what it is that gets you out of bed everyday that's bigger than money. Once you can name that make sure everybody knows about it. Your customers, your staff, your friends, your family and the media. Make sure that everything you do is aligned with that purpose.

2. Know what it's going to take to make your product stand out. Go look for that one flaw or missing element that all the other products in your category haven't cracked. Then let nothing come between you and solving that problem. Then you know you've got something really special AND you have something to hang your hat on!

3. Do things properly! This may sound like a no brainer, but seriously, I can't tell you how many times I've seen business owners skimp on some of the most critical elements of presenting a succesful brand.

Some examples:
- Cheap shoddy packaging for a high-end product
- Poor photography
- Bad printing
- Cheap poorly constructed web sites with no thought gone into the content that's never updated
- Bad marketing emails sent to people who've never subscribed to receive them.

Everyone's got a small budget when they are starting out but you really need to think about where you skimp and where you invest. Your brand and how it's presented when you first go to market it is critical. The furniture in the office, the expenisve CRM system vs basic spreashseet, using an intern instead of a full time employee is probably a better place to look for savings.

4. Know what you are good at - then get help with the other stuff. Usually as the founder you're great at inspiring people with your passion, designing amazing products and getting them made. You might not excel at Marketing, Sales Distribution, Accounting and Cash Flow management. All things that help get a great brand off the ground.

Start learning about all those things (books, seminars, mentors etc), but also get help from experts to set you on the right path. That way you get to keep innovating and building your brand which is what founders should be doing.

5. Build a Tribe of believers - go seeking out others who believe in the same purpose you do and engage with them. Start a blog about your passion to spread the word, have an individual dialogue with your customers - whether it's a visit, picking up the phone or getting on to Twitter. Ask them for feedback or opinion. Communicate as often, openly with as many people as you can in an authentic way about what you believe in.

I reckon if you can tick all of the boxes above you've got the hardest bit nailed.

Oh, and if you're curious about what it was that got me so excited, check out www.lamav.com Australia's first anti-ageing, certified organic skin care range. Founded by Tarj Mavi. Tarj has spent 4yrs finding sourcing natural organic ingredients that actually work to solve skincare problems usually resolved through chemically based products. If you're passionate about safe products that don't harm the environment join her tribe.

Could your company use SMS as a way to talk to customers?

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:19:28 GMT

In 2005 Virgin Mobile got a lot of attention with a faux viral campaign which pretended to leak Jason Donovan's personal mobile number.

People were urged to call or text 0403 JASOND. Callers heard Jason's cranky sounding voicemail saying he was fed up with all the prank calls. Texts received back "U don't give up do u! You're not even with Virgin either? Ha enjoy your next bill! If you're capable I suggest u visit www.responsiblemobileuse.com.au (a Virgin marketing site).

However, you don't need to go to such extremes to use SMS as a low-cost way of communicating with your customers.

The main thing about SMS is that it's short and sweet (obviously!) - you have a maximum of 160 characters to work with so make them count. So SMS isn't the time to introduce your company, or give an in-depth account of your product offerings.

So when is it worth using?
- Reminding customers about an appointment
- Confirming a booking
- Reminding customers their contract is about to expire
- Wishing customers Happy Birthday
- Telling customers about a simple offer
- Directing customers to your website for further information
- Telling customers their order is available for pick up
- Letting customers know you're running late for an appointment

Industries
SMS is useful to a wide variety of industries but especially hospitality, beauty, hair salons, telecommunications, health and retail.

How do you make it work?
Be relevant and personalised. Given that legally every SMS needs to have an opt-out, only contact customers if they'll be pleased to hear from you.
Ensure that all responses are logged, and any sales enquiries followed up.

Who can I contact?
Under the Spam Act 2003 you can contact existing customers who have opted-in to receive marketing materials and have provided you with their mobile number.

What not to do?
Be careful when you send it! Nobody is going to be pleased to hear from you at 3am in the morning.

How Much are Staff Cuts Affecting Sales and Customer Loyalty?

Sun, 22 Feb 2009 02:21:32 GMT

I spent Saturday morning this weekend doing some much needed clothes shopping for my 3 kids (with 2 of my children (both under 4) with me). Brave I know but it had to be done!

I had decided to cash in some of my Credit Card Rewards points on David Jones vouchers for this purpose. So my choice was limited to shopping in David Jones.

David Jones have built their reputation on quality, service and choice..."Theres no other Store like David Jones...". Unfortunately for David Jones, whilst there may not be a store exactly like David Jones there are actually a lot of other stores that sell the same stuff.

If it wasn't for the fact that I had David Jones vouchers I would have taken my cash and spent it at one of those others stores.

This got me thinking? I wonder how many retailers at the moment are compromising the integrity of their brand and losing sales because of the measures they are taking in response to the economic downturn?

One of the things I needed to buy was shoes. Something that you really need assistance with from a sales assistant, and when you have 2 small children with you, you need that assistance to be efficient. There was no sales assistant at the Children's Shoe section. Eventually a Sales Assistant from the Babywear section came to our rescue after we went searching.

She took the Children's shoe fittings, and then went hunting for the shoes we had selected. Because all the shoes were poorly marked (not marked with the range of sizes that particular shoe came in) it turned out that none of the shoes I wanted were available in the right size.

Eventually after about 30 minutes the shop assistant had dug the only 2 pairs of shoes in the store that came in the particular size that we needed. As these were our only option we bought both.

There were other things we wanted to buy as well (all available at David Jones) but because of the amount of time it took us to buy the shoes, the children's and my patience had well and truly run out!

The Sales Assistant worked really hard to help us despite the tough conditions. She shared with us how much staff cuts had affected the team's ability to serve customers well, and manage the stock so it was easy to find what they needed for customers. The assistant serving in the section directly across from the shoe section said she had seen several customers leave the store after not being able to find anyone to serve them.

It makes me wonder how much revenue David Jones gave up that day vs how much they saved? Not to mention the impact that the poor experience will have beyond those direct sales in negative word of mouth and a poor brand perception (this blog post is a case in point).

It is a reality that with lower consumer confidence and spending cuts will be made. Retailers need to ensure that despite the cuts they can still provide a quality customer experience.

I would have thought the shoe section was one area where staffing was essential, unless they changed the store format and had all the stock available on the floor for you to find the correct size yourself .

Constant monitoring of the customer experience through mystery shopping, exit surveys etc could help retailers understand the point at which responses to the changing economic downturn become self-fulfilling, negatively impacting their ability to make sales and drive loyalty.

Running Successful Webinars

Wed, 18 Feb 2009 02:14:47 GMT

I've just attended a Webinar by the talented team at Marketing Profs and Citrix on running succesful Webinars and thought I'd share a summary. I found it really helpful for anyone considering a webinar programme as part of their marketing mix..

Before I launch into my summary I found a statistic mentioned in the webinar really quite compelling. Research indicates that the most effective B to B marketingtools are - Seminars, Webinars and Inside Sales - despite this, email and trade events are still the most used - so you clearly have a chance to get a competitive edge if you start using these tools.

I'll also be rushing out to buy a copy of David Meerman-Scott's book "The New Rules of PR and Marketing", which includes information on webinars as a key example of the changing marketing landscape.

Why would you do a Webinar?
1. Generate leads (through the colleciton of contact details of attendees, and building awareness around your band)
2. Nurture current business relationships (through the provision of useful information)
3. Training purposes (self-explantory really)

What do you need?
1. Web Conference Platformo (like Citrix "Go To Meeting")
2. Topics
3. Speakers (a good one!)
4. Audience (You can have up to 1000 attendees)

The key to a succesful Webinar programme is great content (no surprises there!). However, some key tips for ensuring you have great content are as follows:

- Content must have a purpose or business objective in mind
- Any content should be vendor agnostic - it shouldn't be about flogging a product but helping the audience through education.
- Content needs to be trustworthy
- Content needs to be engaging
- Include an interactive component (such as polls or chat)
- Should follow an Agenda or Roadmap - e.g. 10 tips so the viewer can see where they're going
- Should rely on passionate talent

Things to avoid
- Working with PR people or handlers - work directly with the speaker
- Don't use a speaker who will work for leads (pay them if you need to don't trade off as it will affect the integrity of the content)
- Avoid a Panel structure - its very hard to follow with a Webinar format and makes it hard to keep the Webinar running to the alotted time.
- Avoid Complicated Graphs or Full Screen shots of web pages (zoom in on what's important)

Some great tips for great slides and the avoidance of death by Powerpoint
- Download Seth Godin's free E-Book"Really Bad Powerpoint and How to Avoid it"
- Visit SlideShare and have a look at their Top Presentation of the Day section
- Read Cliff Atkinson's book "Beyond Bullet Points"

Key Ways to Get your Audience
- Banner Ads (on your site and others)
- Article tie-ins (mention it in your own articles or send details to others in the Blogosphere for inclusion in theirs)
- Social Media (send invites out via facebook or tweet about it on Twitter)
- Email promotion - Marketing Profs have found this the most effective and find they get the highest attendee rate when the invitaiton is send 3-5 days before the event
- Your invitation should also be different to your landing page (copy, tone and the amount of detail). Invitations should be more informal and brief. The landing page more detailed.

Rehearsal is Critical
This was demonstrated in real time when some technical issues meant that a second speaker took over the presentation when the original speakers connection was lost!
- Test the speaker set up
- Check all the slides
- Review any procedures
- Be clear on who will be doing what/when

Start Simple
- Avoid video and screensharing
- Master the webinar tools (e.g. polling/chat etc) that compliment the webinar sessions!

In summary
- Have a clear mission or objective
- Only use speakers who know their stuff/who will impart valuable content.

I'm inspired and keen to use Webinars more as an effective marketing tool for Marketing Angels and our clients. So thanks to Marketing Profs for demonstrating an engaging and succesful webinar!

Social Media - Why all the Fuss?

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 23:34:57 GMT

Social Media refers to web-based tools that enable individuals to build large networks online through the publishing of content. Really the only way to get your head around it is to start doing it!

Obvious tools that most people are aware of are social networking sites such as Facebook, MySpace, You Tube, Linked In and more recently Twitter.

Social Media also refers to tools that can be applied to any web site such as Live Chat, Forums, Blogs, Voting applications etc. Allowing users to publish feedback on products or their purchasing experience, or perhaps vote for their favourite products gives you insight into what your customer, wants and doesn't want and also adds credibility to your offering.

The single most powerful thing about Social Media, apart from that it's FREE, is it's ability to generate awareness and word of mouth. It provides you the ability to tap into large networks of like-minded individuals from your desktop any time anywhere.

The trick to making the most of Social Media like any marketing is to only publish, relevant, interesting, valuable information and insights to people in your network. You can't just be focussed on flogging your offering. Your goal should be to create a community around your business through an authentic dialogue with that community.

From my own forays into Social Media I discovered a fantastic FREE e-book on Social Media for Small Business For a visual overview of how Twitter works to connect you with others see a great diagram by online retailer and guru of all things cool REMO

Still a sceptic? Here's a great example on how Social Media can deliver real results to business, read how a coffee shop owner doubled their turnover using Twitter.

I also know that through my own social networking activities that I've increased traffic to my web site and delivered other benefits to my business.

So get started - follow me on Twitter, and get some of your own followers. Maybe some of you are already social media converts and can share a story on how Social Media has delivered real results to your business?

Getting Match Fit for Marketing in 2009

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 23:47:07 GMT

With the New Year just around the corner, now is a great time to start thinking about how you are going to tackle the year ahead. Over the quieter business period at the end of Dec-early Jan - a lot of business owners finally have the time lie on a deck chair and have a ponder about working "on" the business whilst not having to deal with the normal day to day distractions of running a business.

When I was preparing for the recent Marketing Education Workshop series we ran with ANZ Bank I realised that even though we are a Marketing company there was some improvements I could make to my own marketing and thought it might be helpful to share some thoughts/tips on getting marketing ready for the challenging and potentially exciting year ahead!

a.Face Facts and Make a Plan - You'd have to be living in a cave not to be affected by the media hype around the Global Financial Crisis and the impact on business owners locally. I've seen a lot of businesses respond to this by immediately putting plans on hold. Paralysis might seem like a good idea now, but any impact will be greater than if you continued to market, as long as it's done smartly. The businesses that will do well will be the one's who take action quickly and keep their brand out there.

b.Is the changing economic climate going to impact you business positively or negatively?

Set some forecasts(will you grow or do you need to plan for a decline in sales)
How can you grow or maintain revenue regardless

Do you need to change your offering, pricing or payment plans.
Do you need to develop new products to suit changing buying patterns.
Can you take advantage of a lower Aussie dollar by chasing a Global market?
Can you acquire a competitor to grow market share.
Is your product or offering perfect for a more cautious, budget-conscious buyer, do you need to review your brand or marketing messages to make the most of the opportunity!

Do you need to do some Market Research to better understand how your customers will react and what you can do to keep them?

2. Educate yourself about new Marketing channels and methods. New media is moving faster than ever before. It's really hard to keep track of what's happening in the digital space and how you might make the most of that for your business, however it's also the most measurable, flexible form of marketing there is. Some key things you might want to read up on or find out more about are:

Search Engine Optimisation - How the Search Engine's work and how you can optimise your website and contribute to other sites to increase your ranking in the search results.
Search Engine Marketing - Using Google Adwords pay per click advertising in a targeted way to generate qualified leads and boost sales!
Using social networking to build referrals, increase your Search Engine Optimisation ranking. You might want investigate using the following platforms:

Facebook communities
Twitter - the micro-site blogging sit
Linked-In
Plaxo
MySpace
YouTube

3.Start Tracking - Think about all the ways you market your business and whether you can really measure the effectiveness of it. How could you measure the effectiveness better?

Are their way's you can increase the return on investment from each tactic?
Should you switch to direct email marketing vs direct mailing?
Could you increase your response rates using outsourced telemarketing leading to greater overall conversion and a lower cost of acquisition?

Marketing is a science and succesful marketers analyse everything!

Those who consistently market their business in a smart way over the next year have an opportunity to gain market share from less active competitors. So get working on your Marketing muscles to win!

Marketing Tips for Surviving the Downturn

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 05:02:51 GMT

With the change in the global economy many business are feeling the pinch. Consumers are spending less and businesses are being more conservative when it comes to spending.

We've put together 10 Marketing survival tips for Growing businesses to help them get through the times ahead!

1.Don't stop marketing!Make sure that you continue to keep your brand awareness up. Don't get caught up in the negative media hype. Stay focussed on learning about the positive things you can do to adjust and use that to think about how you might change how you go to market and what with!

2.Talk to your customers. Talk to as many customers as you can and find out how the changes are affecting them? What stops them from using certain products or services. What could you change to help them? Perhaps you can offer a different payment solution! Businesses that adapt to changing times and offer products and services more suited to the changing spending habits and needs of their clients will not only survive but many will thrive!

3.Use the Web - Make sure your web site is up to date and has exciting relevant content to your audience on it. Find ways to get your site linked to from more places:

- Contribute articles and newsletters to other sites that include a link to your site and some information about your business.

- Investigate the use of social media to have more people engage with your site e.g.

Start a blog

Contribute to other relevant blogs on topics your feel passionate about

Do regular polls to find out what customers want and need

Use Linked In, Plaxo, Facebook etc and keep your profile up to date..

- Get yourself on any relevant Business Directories and keep your profile up to date

- Keep on top of your Search Engine Optimisation - find as much out about it as you can and make it a daily task!

- Send email newsletters out regularly with content your customers care about - not just what you want to flog them!

4.Use the Media - Good publicity is the best advertising there is. Seek every opportunity you can to get in the media. Stunts, charity work, conducting and publishing relevant research... Start to develop some relationships with Journo's and keep in contact.

5.Develop channel/referral relationships. Look at how you can increase referrals through relationships with Channel partners (industry associations, affiliate businesses) to see how you can do some mutual back scratching to support each other through tougher times. You may be able to do a joint event with an associated business targeting the same customers and share the costs and the rewards!

6.Make sure all your marketing is measured. Find out how all your customers find out about you. Track your conversion and how much each lead and sale costs you. If you can't measure what you are doing - don't do it! Mediums such as Direct Marketing, Telemarketing, Search Engine Marketing, PR etc.. are all highly trackable.

7.Have good sales processes. Focus on increasing your conversion not just the number of new leads or enquiries. Do some research on unconverted leads to find out why they aren't buying from you. Perhaps invest in some sales training for your sales team. Do some mystery shopping to find out what your customer is experiencing and what opportunities there are to increase the number of products you can sell to your customers.

8.Add value and over deliver - Thank your customers and find out some ways you can add value to them. When times are tough, trusted relationships are really important. Great service will ensure your customers stick with you and don't take any risks with new business relationships.

9.Don't Give Up! - Keep listening to customers, reading media, books and relevant business articles to keep you thinking about your business and how you adapt. If you keep learning through customer feedback and constantly thinking about how you can innovate your offering you will survive and quite possibly thrive!

10.Get Paid - It's not really a marketing tip I know but you gotta make sure people pay you! Stay on top of your receivables follow up as soon as a payment slips. Happy customers generally pay their bills so constant communication is key.

Happy marketing and keep on learning!

The New Business Triangle

Fri, 30 May 2008 05:48:40 GMT

Lead generation is a numbers game whose success can magnified many times over through diversity in marketing.

In general, there is no one magic way to generate an avalanche of leads.

It is possible for some businesses through a dramatic viral marketing outcome (think Youtube) but on the whole, on going and effective lead generation comes down to a combination of advertising, public relations and a systematic approach to referrals - the new business triangle as I like to call them.

Each form of lead generation strategy in isolation usually provides oridinary results. Employing all 3 approaches in concert provides a powerful synergistic effect that provides often spectacular results in comparison.

In order to better understand why this multi strategy approach makes sense let me explain the 3 P's of lead generation: Proposition (as in value proposition), Placement (as in the 3^rd P of traditional marketing) and Process.

Each of the points in the lead generation triangle offers you some advantage in one or more of the 3 Ps. A strategy that leverages all three points provides a more effective mix.

Here is how each of the strategies pan out.

1. Advertising

Dependent on the value of your keywords and habits of your target audience, online advertising offers a cost effective option over traditional forms of advertising medium. If your research is conclusive and yields a rich source of keywords, Placement will define your success.

2. Public Relations

Public Relations is a word driven marketing event and while the ideal value proposition should be communicated in less than 3 nano-seconds, public relations provides a strategy that both reinforces and explains the value proposition in much more depth.

3. Referrals

Oftentimes confused with "word-of-mouth", referrals are a positive and action orientated twist on the misunderstood term "favourable word of mouth". The referral source provides a compelling reason to buy your product through positive experience and education. This is more than talking about your brand and is the outcome from a high yielding customer experience program.

Each of the points in the New Business Triangle have their strengths and weaknesses however when they are used in the "a third, a third, a third" combination, they create synergistic effect that creates momentum in your marketing program.

tired of the green brigade?

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:08:45 GMT

Well like it or hate it, green brigade isn't going anywhere. Fortunately !

A 2007 report by Mobium Group, 'Living LOHAS' (Lifestyles of Health & Sustainability) , found Australian consumers currently spend $12b on goods and services in the 'green' market segment. And if current trends continue, the market is projected to reach $21b by 2010.

Niche market? I think not.

So how do you attract your share of this market?

1. Walk the talk

Savvy consumers are becoming increasingly aware of businesses not walking the talk. Greenwashing = the practice where a company tries to make it seem like it's greener than it actually is. These practices will eventually, and ultimately, backfire on the participating business.

Be genuine, be comprehensive and be passionate.

Any and all steps that a business takes will result in a win for the triple bottomline - people, planet and profits.

2. Go green quietly

You'd think that a green company should focus on the green consumer, right? Not necessarily.

Marketing to the green consumer can prove difficult, and sometimes even dangerous. Why?

By appealing to the green consumer, businesses run the risk of alienating mainstream consumers.

As consumers ourselves, we look to satisfy our personal needs before considering those of the planet and often, green products don't meet our basic needs. Small, niche green brands that appeal to the environmentalist can't reach the mainstream.

The result is that most companies are stuck somewhere in the middle - a very dangerous place.

So instead of asking 'how do we market to the green consumer', instead ask 'how can we focus on green behaviour that everyone can aspire to'.

HBS professor Ted Levitt's old marketing axiom that people who buy drills don't need drills; they need holes. Consumers - whether green or not - don't just want green products; they want solutions to everyday problems that are also kind to our environment.

Touted as our 'Green Angel' Joanna Outhwaite jumps on her soapbox at any given opportunity, as she's passionate to incorporate a more ethical, sustainable and responsible ethos into business.

Contact JoannaOuthwaite@marketingangels.com.au; 0439 730 736

making a statement

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 05:58:33 GMT

If you want your marketing efforts to fire, you need to give them direction and focus by zeroing in on a positioning statement. A positioning statement tells the market exactly what you promise to deliver. Having a good one is vital as it differentiates you from your competitors and means more impact and less waste from your marketing budget.

A positioning statement is one of the key elements in any brand as it can generate an emotional feeling in the target market. It works for small business:

Marketing Angels - Delivering marketing that works

Sustainable (building, design, landscaping) - Bringing the built environment to life

Pure Heaven (all natural body products) - Creating a peace of heaven for everyone

Opic (executive coaching and development) - Empowering people through knowledge

Vandenberg Reid (solicitors) - Understanding matters

And it works for big business:

BMW - sheer driving pleasure

VB - for a hard earned thirst

Jeans West - fits best

Aussie Home Loans - we'll save you

Hungry Jacks - the burgers are better at Hungry Jacks

Avis - we try harder

So, why should you spend time developing a clear positioning statement?

1.It saves time and money in developing and executing your marketing tactics.

2.It provides more effective communications through consistent, cohesive and differentiated messages.

3.It builds market awareness and higher brand recognition

4.It enables advocacy and referral from your customers, as it is easy for people to quote the positioning statement to explain what you 'promise'

5.And hence, it helps achieve the company's desired sustainable leadership position.

The aim of your positioning statement is to reflect today's reality yet help move your company toward it's sought after, achievable, differentiated and sustainable leadership position.

There are some essential questions that need to be answered before an effective positioning statement can be developed

?What business are you actually in

?Who you are as a business, what are the key values of the business

?Who is your target market

?What are the 'hot buttons' of those target clientele - what are they looking for?

?Who are your competitors and how are they positioning themselves

?What's different about your business

?Is there a unique benefit to be derived from your product or services?

Don't go for the easy option of claiming to be a 'leader' or 'the best', as it's a big promise to deliver on. Speaking it, does not make it so. Actions speak louder than words, so follow through with the promises of the brand. Trust is such an important element of building a brand. Trust is slow to evolve but quick to evaporate.

Work hard to reveal the unique offering of your business and keep in mind that a positioning statement can be very different to the current market position of your business.That's why it's important to find out how you are perceived in the market now, in order to develop 'how you would like to be perceived' in the future. Don't assume you know how the market perceives you either, go out and talk to them.

You'll need to interview a cross section of

?Current clients

?Long terms clients

?Recently acquired clients

?Disgruntled clients

?Target clients

?Key influencers of your market, such as media or government bodies.

And the sorts of questions you need to ask are not derived from a 'client satisfaction' questionnaire. You need to ask questions like:

1.If you were to describe our company to a colleague what words would you use

2.What services do we provide

3.How are we different from our competitors

When you know where you are at, you can then start to discuss where you want to be!

Where do you want to be?

Once you have developed your positioning statement, communicating it to the market won't be your only focus, as everyone in the business needs to agree on it or at least be informed of it. That's an internal branding exercise, but I'll leave that discussion for another column!

How do you develop effective communication messages that the target audience understand

Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:47:06 GMT

How do you develop effective communication messages that the target audience understand, make an emotional impact and will act upon?

Marketing Angels has developed a system that ensures marketing communications are effective for the target audience. The Marketing Angels no-nonsense approach works across all industries and is simple enough that anyone can use, with or without professional marketing assistance. Download the steps here.

Don?t be scared off by all that brand talk..

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 05:16:11 GMT

A great brand can set your company apart, give you a competitive advantage and encourage loyalty from your customers and staff.

But there is so much lingo associated with brands!
Brand: equity, essence, attributes, benefits, awareness, recall ?.

Small business owners can be forgiven for being confused about where all this fits with growing their business and getting leads in the door.

The most important thing to realise is that the brand is much more than a logo. Brand is:

- the complete look and feel of all your company' communications material
- how customers think and feel when they hear your company's name, or see your company's advertising
- what customers, staff and other stakeholders expect of your company?and say about it
- what you promise the market, how you position your product and services
- about the way you run and communicate about your company
- in the integrity and consistency in all of your company's dealings.
- about growing your business and getting leads in the door

Brand is something marketers go to University to study, but as a small business owner, you don't have time to head back to school. What you do need is a basic understanding of brand so you can start applying the principles to your business.

Virgin, QANTAS, Bonds, Volvo, IBM, Bunnings, Nudie. Very different companies, yet all sit well in the same sentence because of their strong brands.

Virgin and QANTAS are in the same industry, they provide people with flights. Yet how you think about each company will vary widely. Maybe you think:

QANTAS: Australian, safe, trustworthy, stable, more expensive
Virgin: Economical, People's Champion, fresh, maverick, Richard Branson

Both of these companies have spent millions of dollars getting you to think this way. But just because you don't have millions to spend, doesn't mean you can ignore developing your brand.

The strength of a brand for a small business can be increased with some simple actions:
- Define who you are talking to, really get to know their needs and wants
- Match your products and services to the people you want to sell to
- Define what they are looking for and where they look for it
- Make sure your products and services can be found where they are looking!

Your business and your brand are the same thing, so focusing on your brand helps focus the direction of the business.

Take a look at what focusing on brand meant to this Sydney based operation.

Andrew Campbell planned to start a small business in an area he loved - boating.

He researched the industry, seeing a huge gap in the Sydney market for a professional boat care and management operation. He wanted to differentiate his company and be the best. So he ticked off practically every step in the process of creating a strong brand?even though at the time he was just a one man operation:

1. Company Name: Rather than Andrew's Detailing, the new venture was named "My Boatie". The name gave customers an idea of the personal service they could expect.
2. Company Conviction: The tag line: "Consider it done?well!" is fundamental to the way the company operates. Whether it be polishing a hull, teaching a new owner how to moor safely, or testing batteries prior to a client taking their vessel out.
3. Company Colours: My Boatie differentiated itself from other operators by choosing not to go with marine blues and whites, but a vivid orange and blue.
4. Company Uniform: Boats are million dollar investments for their owners, but many of the workers Andrew saw on them looked scruffy. He invested in a professional uniform for his team, even though it stretched his budget.
5. Company Website: The website reflected the professional attitude of the company
6. Company Employees: Andrew's expectations of himself and his staff were high
7. Company Conscious: My Boatie was one of the first company's to move to water saving devices, even though they added to the expense of operating the business
8. Company Vehicles: Andrew bought a second-hand van and fitted it out as a mobile office, storeroom and billboard. The sign-writing was a big outlay, but the professional look supported the brand and brought in more business.
9. Company Advertising: The company does limited traditional advertising, but when it does advertise, it maintains the same look and feel.
10. Miscellaneous: Everything from the way the phone is answered to the way the company deals with client feedback feeds back into the My Boatie brand.

A few customers have said when they think of My Boatie that they just feel a sense of trust. The company now operates in Sydney and Melbourne with further expansion on the horizon. The strong branding had an impact when Macquarie Leisure Trust invested in the company earlier this year.

So, brand is not just advertising and the way you communicate about your business, but it's the way customers actually feel about it based on the way you are running it, and in comparison to your competitors.

Getting your brand right or reinvigorating a stale one can set your business on the path to success. Start focusing on it now, and if you are juggling too many hats, find a good partner to manage it for you!

Jane Toohey, Director of Marketing Angels

What?s in a name?

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:11:31 GMT

Naming or re-naming a business or product can be thrilling or terrifying or both. There's a lot at stake, from legal ramifications right through to the future sale price of your business.

It's crucial for your business' health that you get it right, especially if you ever decide you'd like to grow it, expand your product or service range, sell it or take a partner on.

There are a few schools of thought when it comes to business and product names, and a lot will depend on your goals, exit strategy, whether you need to trademark it and the actual amount of marketing dollars you intend to back the name up with.

You can:

Say exactly what it is

Eg: Pizza Place, Tow Trucks on Call, House Cleaning & Gleaming

* - Positives: It spells out what you do for customers so there's no confusion about the business you're in. It's simple, makes sense and you're business will be easy to stumble across in the phone book and via Internet searches.

* - Negatives: It doesn't clearly differentiate you from your competitors and unless you're in a completely new industry, it will be hard to establish a strong brand.

Use an acronym

Eg: P.A.F.F. (Phones & Faxes Fast), B.I.L. (Buildings Illuminated Lightly)

* - Positives: It can sound snappy or different and still be logically explained

* - Negatives: You might keep having to spell it out for people. Also, the name might limit new services you'd like to introduce, and you won't want to add letters eg: PAFFATIC (Phones and Faxes Fast and Toner Ink Cartridges).

Use the founder's name

Eg: James Cole Consulting, Bill's Banners

* - Positives: It's great for networking and building your own personal brand. It's clear that there's someone in charge and proud to stand behind their name.

* - Negatives: You've definitely sold yourself short if your business grows, takes on a partner or you need to sell. Even the marketing professionals - the ad agencies - now steer clear of using their own names in their company brands. Whereas in the past they called themselves things like George Patterson Bates, Saatchi & Saatchi and Singletons?now it's they're more likely to be called Naked, Love Communications or Host and Moon.

Go for something different

Eg: Blue Dirt, Ocean Cosmotion

* - Positives: It differentiates you from the competition and if you name your business correctly, it will always stand out as unique and different (as long as you live up to the promise with your products and services!)

* - Negatives: It can be an expensive process as customers will need to rely on hearing more from you via marketing and PR until they understand what it is you actually do. You'll have to spend up big to educate the market, but once you have carved out that space, there'll be no confusing you with your competitors. A unique name also makes it easier for you to defend it if a competitor tries to name a similar product along the same lines.

Competitor Coat-tails

Eg: Tiger Song (original brand), Tiger Tim's Tunes (copycat)

* - Positives: It's hard to think of any positives, because even though you might gain a temporary ride on your competitor's coat-tails, you've set your business up for failure by being led rather than leading. It also means any marketing you do might actually send customers to your closely-named competitor.

* -Negatives: You could face expensive and draining legal action for trading off.

Mix it Up

Eg: Pizza Gourmevista!, CleanESS (Clean Environmentally Safe Soaps)

* - Positives: By combining a word stating what you do with something unique, you're able to get your message across and stand out, without having to spend a fortune on explaining what you do.

* - Negatives: It still might not anchor your brand and corporate identity with as much strength as you need.

Whatever you do, it's important when deciding on a name for a new business or product line that you research it well. Seek feedback and advice, test the reactions of current or potential customers to the name and make sure you invest in name searches to discover if someone is already trading under, using or in the process of trade-marking a similar name. This process becomes even more vital due to ever-growing consumer use of Internet search. It's no use giving your business or product a name where the matching URL is already taken. It causes confusion and makes it just that much harder for people to find you.

Whatever you decide to call your business or new product, do make it memorable and enjoy the process (thesaurus in hand!)?when you get it right it will make a huge difference to the future of your company. "Janelle's Juice" just doesn't have quite the same impact as "Boost Juice" does it?!

Jane Toohey, Director of Marketing Angels.

Overshooting the LANDING PAGE: A tool or a destination.

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:34:52 GMT

Imagine you are walking down the street in your neighbourhood and you see a sign on the pavement: "Bakery - freshly baked every day". You are feeling a bit pekish and so you decide to investigate this new bakery. It's not your intention to necessarily buy anything, you just want to check out the new shop in your neighbourhood and if it looks good?well...it's morning tea time after all! And if not, well then, you know it's there for next time.

You walk in the door, but instead of a delicious-smelling, temptation-filled bakery, you find yourself in a room with a sign that says "to enter this bakery, you must first complete the following form". How would you feel and what do you think you'd do?

Now fast forward to the on-line environment. You spot an interesting headline in 'google' search, you click on the link and?.land on a page that asks you to complete your details to receive more information about the interesting item that first attracted your attention.

Welcome to a technologists LANDING PAGE!

As marketers and authors/owners of webpages, we are persuaded by our SEO's that keyword or adword links should always, always be directed to a LANDING PAGE. The reasons proffered are very logical and rational to a technologist: the LANDING PAGE can measure the effectiveness of different advertisements/keyword searches. It can measure advertisement effectiveness based on how many people click on your link, versus how many complete the form or take the requested prerequisite action. In this way, the efficiency or quality of the landing page can be measured by its conversion rate - the percentage of visitors who complete the desired action.

Since the economics of many online marketing programs are determined by the conversion rate, we are persuaded that LANDING PAGES are the holy grail, and we are encouraged to constantly test alternatives and improve our conversion rates.
But logic is not reality and technologists are in the main, lineal thinkers (they have to be, that's their job), but they are not marketers.

So what's the truth about LANDING PAGES and how can they work to your advantage in the on-line environment? How can you ensure your LANDING PAGE doesn't overshoot. And is the LANDING PAGE a tool or a destination?

Sorry, but to answer these questions we need to go back to the land of advertising and more specifically to the old-fashioned world of mail order. That's because everything that is old, is new again. LANDING PAGES are really just the couponed portion of a mail order offer.

Before we proceed, let's get a few terms and definitions under our belt.

Mail order, as opposed to advertising, is a directed sales communication crafted with the sole purpose of capturing your commitment to purchase. In order for it to be effective - the communication has to be persuasive; the argument logical - it typically sets up a problem that you identify with and provides you with the solution - the product/service; and importantly it entices you with offers and a 'no-brainer' deal; to complete the coupon and send off your money at best, or a worst, to pass-over your details so you can be contacted by a sales person. Mail order is a sales tool. Mail order relies on tight targeting and a deep understanding of the end-target's psyche to be effective. It's effectiveness is measured by CONVERSIONS - the number of people that undertake the desired action divided by the total number of opportunities.

Compare mail-order to advertising. Advertising is designed (usually for retail goods/services, and most often for FMCG's) to either re-enforce the BRAND to ensure it is top-of mind when you set out to the shops, or to make you AWARE of the product or service. It is not designed to SELL. Advertising is designed to ensure the advertised product or service becomes part of your conscious consideration-set if and when you need/require that product or service. Advertising depends on reach and frequency to be successful. Hitting the most number of people, lots of times. That's how you measure the effectiveness of advertising - how many consumers your advertising reached by how many times it reached them.

If LANDING PAGES are to be measured by conversions, then they need to have all the characteristics of old fashioned mail-order, to be effective. They need to do a sell job on the prospect, and entice them into a sale. An immediate sale.

If however, you want to advertise - re-enforce the BRAND and make your prospect AWARE of your BRAND - so they think of you when they are ready to purchase, then measure traffic, clicks and movement through your pages rather than "conversions".
So is your LANDING PAGE a tool or destination? It depends entirely on what you are trying to do and what you want the consumer to do.

Terri Gilden is a Senior Marketing Consultant with Marketing Angels. She specialises in working with clients to optimize their website presence within the marketing mix. Terri has worked with both large Corporates and SME's in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore and has extensive experience in CRM and loyalty management within a range of industry sectors. Her email address is terrigilden@marketingangels.com.au.

Are KEYWORDS replacing BRAND in the new economy?

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:23:33 GMT

There is a lot of discussion in marketing circles about the relevance of the brand in the new economy.

Technology enthusiasts would have us believe that the brand is already dead. Or at the very least, in its death throes. They believe information is the new order and with information freely available on the web, the Brand has simply become irrelevant.

Just as fervently, brand marketers argue that the Brand is even more important in the new economy than in bricks and mortar. They claim that consumers are in information overload and are seeking "sign posts" to help guide them in their purchase decisions. Such guides are found in the Brand that makes a 'promise' to the consumer. A promise about quality, value, and is trustworthy.

Originally the brand was a name, label or symbol developed to denote ownership. When shipping their items, companies would brand their logotype insignia on the shipping barrels. Modern brands originated with the advent of the packaged goods industry and mass production. It was found that branded goods competed more favourably with local familiar products, than generic packaged goods.

Manufacturers also found that customers were developing relationships with their brands: socially, psychologically and anthropologically. To take advantage of the phenomenon and gain the edge on their competitors, manufacturers began to associate 'values' with their brand: fun, healthy, active, and so branding developed as a marketing discipline.

The underlying ethos of the brand is that it provides the consumer with a familiar and presumably trustworthy option when faced with a daunting and confusing options landscape.

So how does this work in the on-line environment? Well the simple answer is this: the same as in an off-line environment. But then maybe we are asking the wrong question.

The web is not just used for commerce. It is also used for entertainment, for social interaction, and for information/study/research. A bit like TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, promotions?.wait a minute - just like any other medium!

So all the same rules apply.

If you are too small to spend squillions of dollars on your Brand (like almost all small business), then the same rules apply in an on-line environment as off-line: you need to attract your buyer, engage them, get them to take an action, AND get them to come back.

So where do keywords searches fit in? Well they are your on-line advertisement for your site. Yes, that's right - think of them as the copy of your advertisement - the headline in fact - and you can't go wrong. When advertising - what do you need to do? Attract the attention of your customer. Usually by coming up with a catchy and engaging headline. You use words that attract them, words they understand, words they would logically think of when they are seeking out a service provider. To do this you need to understand how your customers buy your product/service in an on-line environment.

This means you need to track visitations to and through your website. You need to understand how your customers are searching for your category of product/service and then use that knowledge to further enhance the on-page and off-page optimization of your website. You need to encourage testimonials and referrals (other ways to build trust when you have little or no brand presence). And you need to promote your site through all the traditional avenues: networking, PR, promotions, email tags, advertising, direct marketing, seminars, and association memberships.

So back to the question: Are KEYWORDS replacing BRAND in the new economy?

I'll let you be the judge.