Marketing Archives - Page 43 of 67 - McLellan Marketing Group

How well do you listen to your marketplace?

October 3, 2007

We’ve all heard the quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus, "we were born with two ears and one mouth, so we can listen twice as much as we speak."

I doubt Epictetus was a marketing consultant, but it is not a stretch to apply his wisdom to our efforts. Marketers have a tendency to "talk" a lot. After all, we have a lot to say. We have features to point out. Benefits to reference. Special pricing to announce. Nothing wrong with any of that.

But we also need to listen.

How do we listen to our marketplace? Try some of these on for size:

Client satisfaction survey
Client needs assessments
Attend industry trade shows
Monitor blogs for mentions of your company and your competitors
Read trade publications
The old-fashioned suggestion box
Google yourself/company

Along with those effective methods, there are also more direct and immediate ways to actively listen. After you’ve completed a project or delivered your product, why not just pick up the phone and call? Ask for their impressions. Find out if you surprised them in any way (good or bad) and what they expected the experience or product usage to be like. Imagine how you would feel if you received that kind of call. Appreciated? Special? Is that the kind of call you’re likely to talk about? You bet.

A word of caution. Do not try to sell anything during this call. This is about listening, remember?

If you commit to listening more, you will glean insights that change the way you do business and you’ll see a spike in sales as a result. Guaranteed.

How are you going to improve your listening this month?

Recent posts:

~ Are you really listening?
~ Listen and respond (Marketing Lesson from Walt)
~ Listen up

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Marketing isn’t about shortcuts

October 1, 2007

Remember that one essay test you took in school. You meant to study. But for some reason you just didn’t have the time. Truth be told, you didn’t really read the book. But you skimmed over the Cliff Notes. And you did repent in the end — cramming the night before the test.

Sure, sure…you should have started cramming a few days earlier or at the very least, not so late that night. With the radio on.

Do you remember what you got on that test? I’ll bet you weren’t happy with the grade.

Shortcuts didn’t work in school and they don’t work in marketing either. I have yet to see a marketing department or agency that had a drive-up window.

I get why it happens. There’s an almost constant demand on CMOs and marketing directors to produce results. And no agency worth their salt doesn’t want that too.

But there are some pretty important aspects of your business and products/services that need to be understood before we just whip up a brochure or direct mail series.

We aren’t doing the strategic thinking and planning just to get our jollies. We have a responsibility. We owe it to you. Because you’re about to spend a lot of money. We want to make sure you spend it right.

This applies if you’re doing your own marketing too.

Getting ready to produce something. Are you sure you’re not taking a shortcut?

If you can’t describe how you are genuinely and relevantly different from your competitors, stop.
If you can’t describe your ideal customer, stop.
If you don’t have a broad brand/marketing plan so that you aren’t operating in a vacuum, stop.
If you haven’t defined how you are visually going to communicate your company’s offerings, stop.
If you don’t know how you’re going to follow up on the leads the new marketing tactci generates, stop.

Whether you’re working with your internal team or with your agency — don’t short change the process. If you do some strategic thinking up front and make some of those key decisions, the tactics and tools actually get produced much faster and much more cost effectively.

Shortcuts are never going to yield the results you want. Better to do it right than do it again. Just ask your former teacher who gave you the C.

How do you ensure that you’re not taking a shortcut?

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Come mix and mingle

September 30, 2007

One of the things I love about big cocktail parties is the mixing and mingling. It's a smorgasbord of conversations and you can drift in and out, sampling a little bit of each one.

So, imagine all the Age of Conversation authors standing around, drink in hand, chatting. Wouldn't it be fun to flit from group to group, engaging with each author?

Well, until we can make that happen, David Brazeal of JournaMarketing (and an AoC author) is doing the next best thing. He's vowed to create a podcast with each author and share them with all of us.

He's got three done and you can check them out on his site.

Gavin Heaton
Me
Becky Carroll

This will be a series worth watching for. Thanks to David for putting the spotlight on each author!

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Where is your customer’s watering hole?

September 26, 2007

You're on a photo safari. You want to get a great shot of the elusive white tiger. Where do you go?

How about where the tigers hang out? Where is their watering hole? Odds are pretty good that if you hang out where the tigers hang out — you'll get that shot.

The same is true of your customers. Want to have access to them? Go where they go. Walk their walk. Talk their talk.

By hanging out at your customer's watering hole, they become a person you're having a conversation with, not a crowd you are shouting at.

Where do your customers gather? What are you doing to make sure you're there too?

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Whatever you do, don’t brush their butt

September 24, 2007

You know how we say that marketing isn't rocket science? Well, it isn't. But sometimes it is about the science of understanding your consumer. Paco Underhill, in his best selling book The Science of Shopping, identified a significant negative motivator for shoppers.

The butt brush. Yes, the butt brush.

According to research, a shopper, especially a woman shopper, is far less likely to buy something if her rear end is bumped or brushed, even lightly, by another customer, while they are both looking at a display.

The net result of this research is that stores need to be very aware of creating wide and clear aisles.

If you aren't in a retail business, how does this apply to you?

In every industry, there is the equivalent of the butt brush. Some little, seemingly insignificant factor, that makes your customer decide to shop or buy elsewhere. Something that just makes them a little uneasy.

Can you identify what it is for your business? If not, spend some time watching the shopping and buying patterns of your clients.

Look for clues. Or better yet, ask. A slight shift in your selling environment, materials, pitch or product may result in a measurable jump in sales.

Do you have a personal "butt brush" story? Something that turns you off as a consumer?

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Ready to do a brand check?

September 23, 2007

Consumers are bombarded with 3,000+ marketing messages a day. Are you sure you're breaking through the clutter with a consistent brand message?

Swing over to my post at Small Business Branding to see if you've missed anything.

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RFP’s — what did we do to deserve them?

September 23, 2007

If you want to make an agency person or consultant cringe, just whisper "RFP"

I have to wonder what level of mistrust or what horrific deed was done years ago that forced someone on the client side to create the first RFP. They are torture for the applicants and I can't imagine much fun on the client side.

We're having a lively discussion about RFPs over at Marketing Prof's Daily Fix. Come join us.

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Logos 101

September 19, 2007

All too often, marketing messages get lost because they are packed like sardines with other marketing messages. There is no place that is less forgiving of that than a logo. A successful logo captures the essence of a company with one quick mark. According to Paul Rand, here's what a good logo must do.

It should be timeless. It should be flexible so as the company evolves, the meaning behind the logo can evolve too.
It should be a mark that can be interpreted by anyone, almost anywhere.
It should send a clear message.
It should work in all media, in all colors and black/white combinations.
Above all else, it should be simple, recognizable and relevant.

How does your company's logo stack up?

If you're wondering who Paul Rand is, he's the man who designed some of the most recognized logos in our culture: UPS, Westinghouse and IBM.

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Want to tune up your sales savvy?

September 17, 2007

In terms of sales strategists, they don't come much smarter or more engaging than Jill Konrath. I've shared some of her ideas here before. She's got a great blog and has written the best selling book Selling to Big Companies.

One of the marketing/sales concepts that I preach all the time is give a little first. If you want someone to give you their valuable time or attention, let alone their money — you give first. A free sample to let them taste what they can have for themselves.

Jill, as you'd guess, is a master at this technique.

In launching her sales conference (November 5-6, Mpls) geared specifically for women, Sales SheBang, she has put together an incredible Goody Bag, filled with free e-books on the art and science of selling, all written by Jill herself.

I'm no fool so I downloaded each and every e-book. Each one is an excellent primer on a different aspect of selling. Check out this grid of insights from one of Jill's e-books.

There's content for staff meeting or two right there!

In a recent e-mail exchange Jill said something that I think is very indicative of who she is as a person. She said, "I am in my "mentoring" years and willingly share what I have to help others in any way that I can."

Take Jill up on that offer…grab those e-books and soak up the smarts.

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Are you a pick up artist?

September 15, 2007

Having a teenager in the house means we watch some pretty interesting TV shows. A recent VH1 offering is called The Pick Up Artist. It features 8 lovable losers who have never had any luck with women and a Pick Up Artist named Mystery.

In the hour long show, Mystery teaches the guys some slick language and practiced "gambits" as he calls them. Then, the guys walk into a crowded bar and look for possible "targets." It doesn't matter who they are. Any woman will do.

The guys fumble through the gambits, trip over themselves in their eagerness to sell themselves to just about anyone….and in the end, usually leave the bar alone, tail tucked.

They're not there because they care about the women or even want to get to know them. They're just trying to score before the other guys do. It's about the win, not the person.

Pretty sleazy, isn't it?

I was feeling pretty high and mighty until I realized that what Mystery's teaching isn't all that different from how many companies approach marketing.

Use slick language
Have a practiced "gambit"
Identify a target
Run the gambit, hoping to score
It's not about the other person, it's about the score

It's an easy hole to fall into when you're trying to make this quarter's projected sales numbers or feeling the pressure of a CEO's scrutiny.

So before you dismiss Mystery and his pick up lines are you sure you're not a pick up artist too?

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