Strategy Archives - Page 26 of 53 - McLellan Marketing Group

Try a whisper

June 23, 2008

Our world is chaos 24/7.

Noise, noise and more noise. We have clutter in our mailboxes, in our ears, and in our in baskets. We’re exposed to over 4,000 marketing messages a day and it seems like every one of them is shouting at us – waving their arms frantically to get us to notice.

I wonder if there might not be a better way?

We’ve all see the power of walking into a room of screaming children and beginning to whisper. Pretty soon, the kids are quieting down, afraid they’re going to miss something. Soon, they are straining to hear. We do the same thing as adults. We have grown so accustomed to being bombarded with noise that we are drawn to the softness of a whisper.

This is a principle that we can apply to our marketing efforts. The initial goal is to get our audience’s attention, right? Well what if we did that by speaking softly? By not having our headline at 42 point type. By not having our radio announcer talk as loud and as fast as he can. Or by using white space to make our website feel inviting and calm?

Here’s how the thought process works.

We have a lot of important things to say. Features, benefits. And we figure, we’d better take full advantage if we can get someone’s attention. Never know when we might have it again. So, let’s shove every bit of information into every postcard, e-mail, banner ad or press release.

What if instead of talking over ourselves with multiple messages and creating so much noise that it turns into static, we self-filtered?

What’s the one thing you need them to know? A URL? A date? A change in tax law? Focus on a single message. Then tell them. But do it softly.

FREE e-book on word of mouth marketing

June 19, 2008

Dave Balter, of BzzAgent (which I have written about before) has written a new book, The Word of Mouth Manual: Volume II.

His book and how he’s promoting it is an embodiment of Word of Mouth itself. As Dave’s site says "Every aspect of it was conceived as an illustration of how to get people talking. There are dozens of elements of WOM in action which will become entirely obvious once you see it, read it and hold it. For example, the title begs people to ask, "Where’s Volume I?" which is as good a way as any to get a dialogue going. The same goes for the monkey on the cover (and how that guy eats bananas, of course)."

You can buy the book on Amazon for $45 or you can download the PDF (full content) version for free.

Your call. I went for the free one myself!

Thanks to John Jantsch for asking me to pass this along to you.

6 tips for creating a print ad that actually works

June 19, 2008

Let’s be honest. Most print ads in newspapers and magazines stink. We flip through the publications without a glance at the ads or their offers.

How can you avoid being nothing more than a blur?

Make sure your headline has stopping power

If your headline is a snooze, your ad will go unread. It’s that simple. Intrigue them, challenge a common belief, ask a question or throw your offer up there – but do not be dull.

Your ad is not about you

Consumers care about their lives and their needs. Not you. So don’t waste valuable ad space talking about you. Help them understand how or why you can help them. Talk to them about what matters to them.

One message

If your audience can only remember one thing from your ad what do you want it to be? Don’t overload the ad with every benefit and feature to your offering. Stay focused on your main point and don’t take the readers off on a bunch of tangents.

Short and sweet

Write the copy that you want to include in your ad. Now cut it in half. It’s a painful process but it forces you to really think through your message. After you cut it in half, cut it again by a third. Now…you have boiled down to the bare essentials.

Say it visually

The visual you select for your ad is critical. It should help advance the story. It should not be trite – the same photo everyone else would choose. You don’t always have to be literal. If you’re going into a trade publication where everyone used a set of trite images to convey the same message, avoid those images like the plague! Ask yourself "what visual would communicate the message but also surprise the reader?" That’s a winner.

Make your offer clear and compelling

Every ad has one job. To advance the reader to the next step. Visit your website, call your 800 number, clip the coupon. Whatever it is you want them to do…be clear. And give them a reason to do it now, rather than a few weeks from now.

Print advertising can be a very effective tactic. But most people don’t make the most of the ads they buy. Don’t waste good money on bad ads.

Seth Godin’s TED talk

June 10, 2008

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.

The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).

Here’s Seth Godin’s shot at it. Yes, it’s 18 minutes long…but you’ll be glad you watched. He’s a master storyteller. Which as you know, is what marketing and branding is all about.

What did you think? Takeaways?

5 ways to market your business for little to no money

June 6, 2008

No matter where I speak, who the audience is or even the topic I am supposed to address, this same question comes up:

How do you market your business if you don’t have a lot of money?

Well, the short answer to that is….you’d better find some resources for marketing or you are in a lot of trouble. But, that doesn’t mean they all have to cost an arm and a leg.

Here are five of my favorites and none of them will break the bank.

Hang out where your potential customers hang out and be helpful. Do your clients read certain blogs? Then be there and share your expertise. Do they all run in local marathons? Be there, handing out clean, dry socks with your logo on them. Do they go to industry trade shows? Be there and host a free Q&A about their biggest problems. Don’t wait for them to come to you. Go out and find their watering hole.

Know your perfect customer and only take work from them. This requires incredible discipline but pays big dividends. Rather than taking clients for cash flow, ONLY take on those clients that you can delight. And who delight you by paying you a fair price.

Create a referral network by delivering the first referral. When you help someone, it is human nature that they want to return the favor. Why not set the example by making an incredible referral. Now of course to do that…you need to know who their perfect customer is. Which means you get to have a very meaningful conversation that’s all about them. See how the human nature thing is going to work?

Use handwritten thank you notes to show your appreciation. In today’s high tech world, a personal gesture like a handwritten note means a great deal. It doesn’t have to be long or fancy. Just from the heart. And if you can’t thank a client from the heart, you should fire them before they fire you.

Let them have a taste. Sampling is one of the most effective marketing tactics around. There is no substitute for actually experiencing your product or service. And don’t give them a dumbed down version. This is your greatest opportunity to earn their trust and their business. So do it right.

Want more? Check out Lewis Green’s Marketing for Consultants on a Shoestring post.

Who is doing a stellar job of harnessing the power of their client base?

June 1, 2008

I gave a presentation on branding in Marco Island, FL (not a bad gig in January) and have since struck up an e-mail conversation with a gentleman from the UK who was there.

He asked me a question that I’m not sure I know the answer to….so I thought I would ask you. I am confident that you’ll know.

Do "we" know of some other B-to-B companies who are doing a stellar job of marketing to their existing client base to generate additional projects/revenue (in other words…turning clients into a referral source)?

What say you? Do you have some examples of work you’ve done for a client? Case studies you’ve read? Other blog posts you could point us to? Something you are doing inside your own company?

The elasticity of price

May 26, 2008

Gas prices are scooting over $4/gallon here in the states and yet consumption has not shown signs of significant reduction. How can that be?

That’s the question that reporter Gail Rosenblum of the Minneapolis Star Tribune posed to me late last week. Her article, Paying a lot for gas, changing lifestyles a little" appeared in Friday’s edition of the Star Tribune.

While I know this specific topic (gas prices) is on everyone’s mind, it seems to me that the conversation Gail and I had is even more interesting when you step back and look at consumer attitudes about prices in general.

Two years ago, we were in a tizzy over gas prices. We couldn’t believe they were going to be $2/gallon. We were outraged. We were going to cut back. (Of course, we didn’t) Fast forward to today. Imagine if I stopped people on the street and asked them what they would think of paying $2/gallon for gas. They would weep for joy. In fact, it would sound too good to be true and they’d ask me "what’s the catch?"

Ahhh, the elasticity of price perception.

Why do I think this is worthy of some thought? A few things to note:

The elasticity of price is a one-way street (we are never happy about going higher in price after the marketplace reduces costs.)

The elasticity of price is fast-acting (we get used to the higher price pretty quickly.)

The elasticity of price works best for necessities (we can cut back on stuff we don’t "need" but endure price hikes on stuff we think we do need.)

So how could you apply this thinking to how you set prices? If everyone in your industry is lowering prices because of the recession — how will this hold them back when they’re ready to re-raise their prices? How will it affect you if you resist the urge to lower prices now?

Do your employees think like owners?

May 13, 2008

It was Mother’s Day last week, so I, like millions of others, ordered flowers. So I wasn’t all that surprised to get the phone call saying "The flowers are beautiful, thank you."

I was surprised however at the next sentence. "Did you mean to order two identical bouquets?"

Uh no.

Two identical bouquets were delivered. Identical cards. Actually delivered by the same person at the same time. And apparently no one along the way stopped to ask why.

When I called the florist to see what was up — the customer service rep checked. Their records showed only the one order. She couldn’t explain the duplication. Her response — "I have no idea how that happened. Tell her to enjoy both bouquets."

Think of all the people who touched the order. The person who created the bouquets. The person who wrote out the cards (I ordered online). The person who scheduled the deliveries. The person who packed the truck. The delivery person.

Not one of those employees stopped to think how odd it was that the same person would get two of the exact same bouquets, with identical cards, from the same person.

So the florist is out a $75 bouquet. They look like their systems and delivery process needs some work and this story will be told and re-told.

All because an employee didn’t stop to wonder why. Or pick up a phone to double check.

The most important audience your business will ever have are your own employees. If they don’t get it — no one will. They deliver the brand every day. Or not.

Do a spot check today. Create a "what if" customer problem scenario and ask around. How would your employees handle it? Is it true to the way you want your customers to experience your brand?

How often, without you even knowing, are you creating a talkable moment by delivering two bouquets?

Are our words fading away?

May 3, 2008

There a roughly a zillion blogs and about a bazillion blog posts (these are approximations). Those posts use a gazillion and a half words. Every day.

Think of the words that seem to crop up everywhere. Transparency, conversation, consumer generated, authentic, engaged, empower. We could go on and on.

But here’s my question. Are we using this words so often and in so many places that we’re wearing them out? Are we reducing their impact and meaning? Are we squeezing the potency from them?

Can words tire? Can we tire of words?

Those are the questions I pose over at Marketing Profs Daily Fix. Come share your thoughts.

What social media tools are a must for business?

April 23, 2008

If you could only use/choose (up to) 10 different social media tools to enhance your business/organization’s performance and ability to get the job done — which ones would you choose….and why?

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