Marketing Archives - Page 46 of 67 - McLellan Marketing Group

What marketing advice would you pack into a solo sentence?

July 30, 2007

You've got a lifetime of marketing smarts. You're asked for your best bit of wisdom. You take a deep breath because you've got a lot to say.

Whoa there.

Do it in a sentence.

That was the request that Matt McDonald made of me and some other marketing bloggers. Before you hit the link and see what Seth, Guy and some others had to say — answer it here for all of us.

In a single sentence — what's your best dose of marketing wisdom?

No one is a demographic range: How to actually talk to people

July 27, 2007

Are you a 25-54 year old male who wants a motorcycle?

I'm pretty sure that there's never been anyone who is 25-54. Maybe 27 or 39. But not the whole range.

And yet…most marketing plans talk demographics. We describe our target audience is such broad terms that at best, they are a blur. No wonder most marketing copy (brochures, radio scripts, web sites) is vague and uninspired. If I asked you to say three things about a motorcycle that would appeal to a 25-54 year old, how in the world would you know what to say?

But, what if I said: you are talking to a 52 year old man. He's a white collar professional that just dropped his youngest off at college. His 50th birthday hit him pretty hard. He's been at the same company for 8 years and he and his wife get away for 2-3 long weekends a year and they take one family vacation a year, to the family condo time share in Boca.

This past year, he and his wife celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and he surprised her with a diamond eternity band. They like to entertain at home or go out for dinner with friends.

He likes to read thrillers and spy stories. He putters a little in the garden and plays poker twice a month with some old college buddies. He enjoys a good cigar and scotch at the poker game and is often heard saying "life is not about the destination, it is about the journey."

Now…could you come up with three things about a motorcycle that would appeal to this man? I bet your copy isn't vague any more.

Rather than trying to talk to shadows…and demographics, try creating the perfect customer. Every business has one. That doesn't mean every customer will match all the criteria, but the closer you can come, the better.

So it stands to reason, the more specifically you can talk to that target audience, the more likely you are to attract the right customers.

How do you begin to create the perfect customer? Grab a piece of paper and a pencil/pen and let's get you started.

Ready? Quickly write down the names of 3-5 of your company's best current customers.

Now, again without mental editing, list characteristics of this customer. These might include things like:

If your customers are companies:

Size of company (employees, locations, etc.)
Industry
Gross annual billings
Structure (partnership, corporation, non-profit, association, etc)
Type of work
Frequency of work
Amount of annual revenue for your company from this one
Type of day to day communication (do they need hand holding, have you ever met in person, are they a golfing buddy)
Market position (leader, #2, newcomer)
Personality of key customer contact

If your customers are individuals:

Age
Education
Daily Habits
Kind of work they do
Where they shop
What causes they are passionate about
Where in the life cycle are they
How do they dress
What kind of car do they drive
What's their leisure time look like
Attitude about work, family, life etc

Now look for trends. What do your best customers have in common? Begin to build a profile. Fill in the blanks as you can. If possible, make this multi-media. Are there colors, visuals, songs, smells etc. that you associate with this perfect customer?

Let this profile evolve over time. Tweak it as you begin to use it. If it helps, give your perfect customer a name. Aim your marketing right at that person. Write/design as though you are talking directly to them. And watch your results rise.

What do you think? If you've already done something like this, tell us about it. If you haven't yet…how might this be helpful to you?

Bad customers, branding, chasing cool and babies

July 25, 2007

If you're looking for me today, you're going to have to look all over. It's a little like "where in the world is Carmen San Diego" but with a twist. Check out my posts on these blogs:

Marketing Profs Daily Fix: No one believes in branding more than I do. But have we gone a little too far when we hire professionals to help us brand our baby?

IowaBiz: Everyone wants to be the iPod of their industry. What gets in the way of being a company capable of creating that kind of cool?

Small Business Branding: Everyone's had a bad customer. Guess what? That's our own fault. Branding done right can help us avoid those potential customers who in the end, just aren't for us.

Come catch me if you can!

Newsletter No no’s

July 24, 2007

Newsletters are a popular marketing tool. Done well, they can be incredibly effective. Unfortunately, most people's efforts end up in the circular file before anyone has bothered to read it. Why? Because they committed too many newsletter no no's. If you're the editor-in-chief of your company's newsletter, be mindful to avoid these mistakes. MMG's is hot off the press.

No grand plan: Your newsletter needs to have a vision. Without it, it's just a hodge-podge of articles that has no continuity. It's hard to build reader loyalty without it. Make sure you identify your key audiences and what you're trying to get them to do/know.

Too much ego: Sure, your newsletter is a sales tool. But be careful that you don't toot your own horn to the point of arrogance. Celebrate your product/service's excellence but do it with case studies or client testimonials rather than in the first person.

Not providing value: We live in a "what's in it for me" society. Your newsletter is fighting for your audience's most precious asset – their time. So make it worthwhile. Give them new information or insights so they look forward to receiving your newsletter.

Inconsistency: Hitting deadlines is tough and to let them slide. But, if you promise a quarterly or monthly newsletter, then it needs to come out on time. Every time. What do you think it says about your business if you don't keep your promise on newsletter deadlines?

Lack of interaction: Give your readers a chance to talk back. An e-mail address, a contest, a bounce back card, a URL that solicits feedback. Make it a conversation rather than a monologue.

Newsletters are a lot of work. Make sure all the effort you put into your publication pays off. Avoid these newsletter no no's and you'll have loyal readers for life.

Want to read a little more? Here are some good tips. And a few more.

What newsletter do you always welcome into your e-mail in box? What makes it a must read for you?

Do your words caress your wares?

July 21, 2007

It's human nature. When someone loves something, we are drawn to it as well. Maybe it's a borrowed esteem thing. But, when someone is that gaga over something, you just know there has to be something to it.

And that love cannot be faked. It's in their eyes. And in their words. They don't just describe the object of their affection; their words actually caress it. Let me give you an example.

The J. Peterman Company catalog is a copywriting lesson in and of itself. Each item is artfully displayed but it's the description that enraptures the would-be shopper.

Listen to how they describe an item called Floral Silk Dress.

Just a few hundred intimate friends on hand for a good cause, canapés among the rosebushes.

Castor Swilling and Mia Culp have flown in from the coast.

All the power couples have showed up – the Bagbalms, the de Kays, the Thralls, the fun-loving Audibles. There's the cream of the Beltway too, from Justice Hardly and Secretary Spinner to the indefatigable Snapper Balding.

But it's you, my dear, who carries the day….the first woman to sell one million dollars worth of raffle tickets.

You know how to dress for these things. Floral Silk Dress (No. 1865). Sleeveless, mid-calf length confection of gossamer 10mm georgette lined in silk charmeuse (satin side against your body). High Empire waist with cummerbund pleats. Decorative self-covered buttons down the front. Eight godets for sweep and flutter.

Or…the Malaguena skirt.

The impulse to flirt is inborn, which is a good thing. Social life with flirtation would be a bowl of very dull porridge.

Unfortunately, political correctness et al. has created ambivalence about flirting. Clumsiness. Confusion.

People attend courses with titles like "Get What You Want Through Flirting." They text each other across a crowded room.

May I suggest a more organic approach?

Start by putting on this skirt. The gentle motion of the silk tiers draws attention, stirs imagination. Life warms up without bursting into flames. Lines of communication tend to open naturally.

True flirtation isn't a preliminary. It's a preliminary to a preliminary. Malaguena Skirt (No. 1586), four soft, flowing angled tiers of silk georgette. Ankle-length. Easy-fitting elastic waist. Georgette lining. Inspired by a flamenco dancer's dress at Rosa de Triana in Old San Juan, just up from the city gate.

That is pure decadence. Love shimmers off every word. You get a sense of affection and a dash of reverence.

In a world of USA Today bullet point or colorful graph ads….this is remarkable. You can't love something with bullet points or a bar chart. It's just too efficient. Love isn't efficient, it is effusive.

I liken this kind of writing to cotton candy. Do we technically need it? No. But its sticky sweetness melts in our mouth and creates an experience unto itself.

Do your words caress your wares? If you don't show the love, how can you expect your customers to?

How about lingerie-clad women wading through bubbles?

July 13, 2007

When Steven Singer asked himself what 21-30 year old men wanted…that was the answer he came up with — what about lingerie-clad women wading through bubbles. Hard to argue with his logic.

In fact, Singer is betting the store on it. Steven Singers Jewelers is quite the departure from traditional jewelry advertising. Their promotions include in store bubble bath parties (yes, with the aforementioned scantily-clad women), chicken wing eating contests and giveaways on Howard Stern's radio show.

Recently covered in the WSJ online, Steven Singer Jewelers is proving that you don't have to look or sound like a Harlequin novel to sell diamonds. (Our friend Derrick Daye is quoted in the article.)

He started out with the billboards "I hate Steven Singer" throughout the metro. That drove people to the website, where they read stories from men who hated Steven Singer because they had to give up their great bachelor lives and now they're married.

Unconventional? I'll say. Attention-getting? You tell me. Sales are up 15-20% annually since he adopting his advertising strategy.

Singer is perfectly content that his "boorish" campaign offends some people. He's not trying to be everything to everyone. He knows exactly who he wants in his store and he's talking their language.

Risky? Sure. Smart branding that most people would be too skittish to do? I think so.

What do you think about Singer's brand? The upside is obvious – great sales. Is there a downside?

No one has ever asked us that

July 12, 2007

That's one of the sentences I love to hear in a new business conversation.

And we hear it pretty often. Why? Do we know some secret about their business? No. Are we experts in their category? Maybe, but that's not where the questions come from.

The questions come from not worrying about the sale. And not already having the next sentence lying in wait in our brains, to drive home a point about us.

They come from listening like a detective, trying to solve a case. Following leads in the conversation and tugging at every loose end, until we unravel whole story. It comes from wanting to understand and help them grow their business, not win the account.

We ask a lot of why questions. "Why are you in a hurry to build sales all of a sudden?"

We ask a lot of what if questions. "What if we increase inquiries by 25%? How will you handle that volume increase?"

We ask a lot of questions which frankly are none of a marketing agency's business. But we do believe they are our business. We believe agencies who stop at creating solid marketing tools are missing the boat. We have to help the client anticipate what's coming next. And often that comes from understanding what has come before.

We probably don't always ask them as delicately as we should. Instead, we ask with intense curiosity and enthusiasm. It's a way we demonstrate how we're different. It's a way we add more value.

I've always believed that one characteristic early adopters have is curiosity. Most people reading blogs today are early adopters. So…how do you use your curiosity to help grow your clients business? What are one or two questions you could ask that would inspire a prospect to say "no one's ever asked us that before."

100% support for subliminal advertising

July 10, 2007

We should all become subminal advertising artists. Every single one of us.

I don't care that in 1974 the FCC issued an order saying that anyone knowingly carry subliminal ads was operating "contrary to the public interest."

I don't care that they've proven that the infamous 1957 "drink Coke" movie theater story is a urban legend.

I don't care that some people allege that the Disney animation classic The Lion King has a seen where the word SEX is written in the clouds. (Not sure who that's advertising for!)

I don't care that some people have seen the word RATS in a commercial George W. Bush ran during his campaign for President against Gore.

When a store owner makes a customer feel like they're the most important person in the room, that's subliminal advertising. When an on-line help desk staffer takes an extra three minutes to write a personal comment in a "we've fixed your problem" e-mail, when a customer service rep hops in the car to hand deliver a part that a client desperately needs…that's subliminal advertising.

When a Disney cast member whose job is sweeping up popcorn stops to give a little boy a sticker…that's subliminal advertising. When a lube drive through shop checks a worried woman's car, makes a minor repair and then refuses to charge her anything…that is subliminal advertising.

We can consciously deliver our brand through marketing messages, signage, and consistency. But all of that pales in comparison to creating a customer experience that delights and surprises someone.

That kind of subliminal advertising gets people to not only buy what you sell but to talk about their buying experience. That kind of subliminal advertising transcends loyalty and moves to love.

We should all be that kind of advertiser.

BrandingWire: Estes Park, Colorado

July 9, 2007

If you haven't had a chance to read the backgrounder, you can find it on the BrandingWire's site.

For this exercise, I am going to stay focused on the brand position and not dig into tactics of execution.

Many of the natural benefits you might gravitate to as you think about branding Estes Park, are unfortunately a duh in Colorado. The scenery is breathtaking. Just like it is in Vail and Copper Mountain. There's lots of wildlife to see in the rustic setting. Same thing is true of the Rock Mountain National Park and Winter Park.

Great fishing, hunting, and hiking. Again, duh. I'm not suggesting that their marketing materials ignore these factors but none of them can occupy the brand position. They just aren't unique enough.

As I read through the information and reflected on my own trips to the area, I noticed some of the more thorny details that make Estes Park a tough sell compared to some of the more posh ski areas like Sundance, Vail or Aspen. Unfortunately, those are also the things that make them different from the more polished tourist areas.

So I thought it might be interesting to think about how to take the negatives and use those to our branding advantage. Let's take a brief look at each.

Limited access: From October to May, Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park is closed. Many of the stores close for the winter season or only keep weekend hours. As a result, they have a very short season.

Not a lot of glitz: When something thinks Colorado resort area, we immediately conjure up a Vail or Aspen experience with their high end shops, glitzy clubs and celebrity sightings. Estes Park couldn't be further from that image with its taffy and t-shirt shops. There are a few higher end stores but the spending per visitor is much lower in EP than other mountain areas.

One of their biggest claims to fame are the horse shows that are a part of their tradition. Even these are very down to earth productions. Again, a complete lack of glitz.

2 road town: Estes Park's "main drag" is two roads that stretch out long enough for the merchants to line up along the sidewalks. It's also the main thoroughfare for the town. I can remember the first time I got to Estes Park's business district my reaction was "this is it?"

So when you combine these factors together, what do you get? I think you get a unique brand for Estes Park. This is the city that isn't "putting on the Ritz" for tourists. They are what they are – a breathtakingly beautiful area that is comfortable in their own skin. They don't need to become something different for anyone.

Estes Park. Colorado au natural.

The copy surrounding the brand promise and the user experience can celebrate the "negatives" that makes Estes Park different from the ski areas and other mountain resort towns. It's certainly already earned its reputation for being one of the most beautiful areas of the state. The wildlife literally can be seen strolling down the main drag. And the residents are already set for their role. This already how they behave and come off. The people that I met are very proud of how rustic and rugged Estes Park is. They chose it because they wanted to get away from the noise and put on glamor of places like Sundance. They like that they're different. And I think many visitors do too.

If you've been to Estes Park, how does this jive with your experience? If you haven't been there before, how do you react to this positioning?

Did you play along? What recommendation would you make to the city?

Check out what the rest of the BrandingWire posse had to say and get more high-voltage ideas at BrandingWire.com.

Olivier Blanchard
Becky Carroll
Derrick Daye
Kevin Dugan
Lewis Green
Ann Handley
Gavin Heaton
Martin Jelsema
Valeria Maltoni
Drew McLellan
Patrick Schaber
Steve Woodruff

Get a sneak peek at the Age of Conversation cover!

July 8, 2007

We're only a week away so we decided to give you a glimpse at the Age of Conversation cover. Cool, eh?

There's a little more copy on the real cover but this gives you the main idea.

Believe it or not, a few months ago Gavin & I hadn't even conceived the idea for the Age of Conversation. A glimmer of a blog post/comment, over 100 enthusiastic and smart writers and voila…the book began to take shape.

Originally, we were just going to produce an e-book but it soon became clear that there was a significant demand for paperback and hardback books as well. So…you will have your choice!

One key fact has not changed.

All proceeds from all book sales will be donated to Variety, the Children's Charity. We'll also be setting up a way for people to donate more than the of the book price, if they choose to. We'll be designating the funds to the native countries of our authors.

Read about the book's origin. Marvel at the author list. Learn about the book's dedication. Pull out your wallet and get ready to revel in some excellent writing.

Here are the particulars…

Launch date: Monday, July 16th

Formats/Prices:

Hardbacks $29.99
Paperbacks $16.95
E-book $9.99

Watch this blog (and all the other authors' blogs) for more details and a link to the Age of Conversation store on Monday, July 16th!

We hope you love this book because we've decided we're going to do it all again (new topic) next year! If you missed out on authoring a chapter, be sure to let us know if you want in for the next edition.

Special thanks to David Armano for the cover design.

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