Marketing Archives - Page 62 of 67 - McLellan Marketing Group

The devil’s in the details

December 7, 2006

When it comes to marketing and business communications tools, there are few things that can derail a good piece faster than a typo or misused word.

Proofreading is one of those thankless, tedious, painfully boring tasks. It’s easier and dare I say it, short-term pleasurable to skip. But, it will get you every time.

Here are some proofing pointers:

Don’t rush it. Ideally, if you are the author, you’ll set it aside for a day so you can look at your writing with fresh eyes.

Read it out loud. Sure it sounds silly, but you’ll be stunned (and relieved) at how many more mistakes you catch this way.

Don’t rely on spell-check alone. it’s fallible, as I’ll bet you have already discovered.

Make 3 passes. Read through it first for content. The second time around, check for grammatical, punctuation and structural errors. Finally, go through and watch for typos and spelling problems.

The best solution of all — have someone other than yourself do the proofing. Theres nothing more aggitating then having a mis take fowl up your good work. (how many did you count?)

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John Jantsch writes a great marketing blog, aimed squarely at small businesses. He’s gone one better and written a new book. I have pointed you in his direction on numerous occasions, by linking to his blog.

To promote his book, he’s put together a big bushel of freebies that you can get if you pre-order his book here.

I have no doubt the book is well worth the price and the read. John does not disappoint.

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Your big deal is no big deal

December 6, 2006

An ad come on the radio the other day and I was struck by how often they emphasized that they offered a free consultation. Yes, absolutely free. No strings attached. Yours for the asking. You know what I thought to myself? Duh.

Who doesn’t offer that? We can call it a free initial consultation, obligation free quote or a no risk trial but it all boils down to the same thing. And since everyone does it, it seems silly and self-serving to make such a big deal about it.

If that’s the only thing you have to offer or spotlight, you need to go back to the drawing board. That’s not an offer that is significant enough to make someone raise their hand and say they want to buy. That’s just the price of admission.

Pull out your brochures, web copy, radio scripts or whatever communication tools you use to sell. Circle any of these phrases that you find:

* Free consultation
* Free initial visit
* No risk trial
* Obligation free quote/meeting
* Money back guarantee
* Convenient hours
* Guaranteed 100% satisfaction

Are these important elements of your offering? Sure. Should they be bolded, highlighted and put in the center? No. They are givens. It’s the bare minimum of what people expect. Does including some of this language reassure your audience? Maybe but if they need that reassurance, you’ve still got a lot of work ahead of you.

If you can’t find it within yourself to stop including this language, be sure it’s in the background, not front and center. In the meantime, start to figure out all the reasons why someone should be tripping over themselves to get to you, not all the ways they can weasel out if they’re unhappy.

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2006: A marketing perspective

December 5, 2006

On November 28th, I wrote about a project that David Armano posed at his Logic + Emotion blog.

In short, he asked what was the most significant "something" of 2006, from a marketing perspective. I encouraged you to drop by and share your thoughts. Whether you did or not, try to make time to check out the post and comments now. Lots of insightful comments there and well worth the read.

As he promised he would, David culled through the many perspectives and selected some to create a visual in slide show or PDF formats. This is something you’re going to not only want to see, but to share. Go grab it today and start a conversation. I’m honored that David used some of my thoughts on pages 5 & 7.

After you have a chance to read through it…here’s what I am wondering. Obviously, since he asked the question on his blog, all the answers are from people who either blog or follow them. These are, I think its safe to assume, people who are pretty up on the new media exploding in our world. How do you think the answers would have differed if he had asked the question in a more traditional venue?

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Knock down the barriers (Marketing Lessons from Walt)

December 2, 2006

This is the last in my eight-day series – Marketing Lessons from Walt. As my family and I enjoy Walt Disney World , I’m going to capture some of the marketing genius that I believe began with Walt’s passion and has now grown into one of the world’s most powerful brands.

On the road to every sale there are barriers. It might be price, or timing or who knows what. A smart marketer removes as many of the barriers as they can anticipate. Disney is a master at this. Throughout their theme parks, there are shops. Lots and lots of shops. You can buy anything from t-shirts to works of art and just about everything in between. Hauling those packages around with you all day is a pain. And could deter many a purchase. But never fear…Disney has lots of options.

You can have the packages delivered right to your Disney resort
You can have the packages shipped home
You can have your packages sent to the front of the park and pick up your treasures on the way out
You can rent a locker and put your packages there
You can take one of the business cards, jot down the item number and call later to order it

What barriers keep your customers from buying? What have you done to remove them? Do your customers know?

Marketing Lessons from Walt – The Series:

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Dance with the one that brought you (Marketing Lessons from Walt)

December 1, 2006

This is the seventh in my eight-day series – Marketing Lessons from Walt. As my family and I enjoy Walt Disney World , I’m going to capture some of the marketing genius that I believe began with Walt’s passion and has now grown into one of the world’s most powerful brands.

Most organizations expend 95% of their marketing efforts chasing after potential business. Once a client is in the door, it’s onto the next. Chalk up the win and go after the next big fish in the pond, right?

Not so fast my friend. It’s your current clients who keep your doors open. And are the most likely to give you new opportunities and sales. Disney understands while its great to get new faces into their theme parks, they need to reward those most loyal guests as well. One way they do this is by extending park hours to those guests who are staying in a Disney owned resort.

With a special wrist band, Disney resort guests can enjoy the most popular rides and attractions without long lines. There’s an air of exclusivity at being able to wave your wrist band and stay to play another few hours. It sure makes us glad we’re staying where we are.

How do you reward your current clients? How do you make them feel special and valued? Are you sure they know about the little extras you give them? Don’t be so sure. It may not be a wrist band…but be sure you find a way to reward your good clients and make sure they know they’re appreciated.

Marketing Lessons from Walt – The Series:

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Set Expectations (Marketing Lessons from Walt)

December 1, 2006

This is the sixth in my eight-day series – Marketing Lessons from Walt. As my family and I enjoy Walt Disney World, I’m going to capture some of the marketing genius that I believe began with Walt’s passion and has now grown into one of the world’s most powerful brands.

Human nature dictates that we are much more comfortable with the known. While surprises are nice if they’re fun-filled, no one likes a nasty surprise, like a rush charge or an extra long wait for a product or service delivery. The folks at Disney understand that human truth. So they set expectations for their guests.

At the front of every attraction there is a sign that tells you the current wait time. (Night photography is not my forte!) You make an informed decision — is Space Mountain worth a 90 minute wait? Is Big Thunder Mountain enough fun to stand in line for 45 minutes? Customers don’t mind boundaries or consequences if they know in advance what they are. I’ll bet it won’t surprise you to learn that if there’s a 20 minute wait posted at a Disney attraction, the real wait time is more like 10-15 minutes. Set expectations and when possible — exceed them.

Do you set your clients’ expectations? Billing, delivery times, levels of service, your availability, etc.? How do you do that? Conversation? A New Client handbook? A contract?

How you set them is a communications choice. But setting them is just smart business.

Marketing Lessons from Walt – The Series:

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Listen and Respond (Marketing Lessons from Walt)

November 29, 2006

This is the fifth in my eight-day series – Marketing Lessons from Walt. As my family and I enjoy Walt Disney World, I’m going to capture some of the marketing genius that I believe began with Walt’s passion and has now grown into one of the world’s most powerful brands.

For many families, a trip to Disneyland or Walt Disney World is a once in a lifetime experience. Kids dream for years before they finally get to step into the Magic Kingdom. So the expectations are incredibly high. This can’t just be a fun vacation. This needs to be the uber vacation.

One of Disney’s habits that has helped launch and maintain their brand’s success is that they listen and respond to what they hear. It’s not uncommon to get stopped by a survey taker in one of the theme parks.

Here’s an example. Kids arrive at Disney World with one goal. Meet Mickey Mouse. It’s their core reason for making the journey. They have dreamed of that moment for years. It used to be that it was left to chance. If a child happened to be in a particular spot in the Magic Kingdom, when Mickey was there signing autographs then the child’s dream was fulfilled. But, if the fates didn’t align, the child was likely to go home having seen Mickey in the parade but never being able to hug or interact with the Big M himself.

Parents shared this insight with Disney officials and Toon Town was created. A whole new land, where you can tour Mickey and Minnie’s homes and, no matter what else is going on in the park — meet Mickey. Mickey now waits for his fans, young and old, to come visit him in Toon Town. Today, no child has to leave their uber vacation without a Mouse encounter. Cue the happy music.

When was the last time you asked your customers what they wanted or needed from you? How did you let them know that you heard them? Never asked? What’s stopping you?(My dad and daughter enjoy their mouse meeting)

Marketing Lessons from Walt – The Series:

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What’s the most significant aspect of marketing/advertising 2006?

November 28, 2006

That is the question posed by David Armano over at his Logic + Emotion blog. He asks:

What was the most significant event/aspect of 2006 in regards to marketing, advertising or user experience?

He will use readers’ comments and thoughts in creating a visual to sum it all up. The answers are well worth the read, whether they end up in the visual or not.

Join in the conversation. After all, some might suggest that’s a pretty significant aspect of 2006.

An interesting side question is of course…what’s next? How will what happened this year influence 2007? What do you predict will have some staying power? What will become a fad and fade away? How are you going to capture and harness these evolutions?

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Evolve (Marketing Lessons from Walt)

November 28, 2006

This is the fourth in my eight-day series – Marketing Lessons from Walt. As my family and I enjoy Walt Disney World, I’m going to capture some of the marketing genius that I believe began with Walt’s passion and has now grown into one of the world’s most powerful brands.

When Walt originally conceived Disneyland and Walt Disney World, his vision was to create a place where entire families, from toddler to grandparent, could enjoy the attractions together. No health warnings, no height requirements. And so they were built.

Fast forward to today, where the Rockin’ Roller Coaster is one of the most popular attractions at WDW. This roller coaster is not for the faint of heart. You go from 0-60 mph in 2.8 seconds and right into an upside down loop. I can only imagine what Walt is thinking.

But, then again, Walt was about as savvy a marketer as you can find. So he is probably nodding his head and recognizing that strong brands must evolve with the times, the consumer, and the competition. Had Disney executives clung to Walt’s vision without taking new realities into account, I’m not sure the theme parks would have survived for the past several decades.

Today’s Disney is a blend of Walt’s original family friendly vision and a modern amusement park. The brand has evolved and thrived.

When was the last time you did a reality check on your own organization’s brand? Are you stuck in a vision of the past? Is it time for an evolution?

Marketing Lessons from Walt – The Series:

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