Making Sense of Marketing Models

Marketing can be bewildering for busy small business owners who wear many hats and are aiming to figure out the most effective marketing strategies while managing their day-to-day businesses. Daily we are bombarded with marketing messages from all directions-television, radio, SMS, internet and print media. The marketing messages may reach us via solicited or unsolicited (spam) channels.
Research on the internet reveals a multitude of marketing models and techniques, each claiming to be the best and most cost-effective one. There is Telemarketing - Bum Marketing - Niche Marketing -- Metaphor Marketing - Guerrilla Marketing - Ambush Marketing - Fusion Marketing and Alliance Marketing to mention a few. Not surprising, more and more people complain about having too much information and choices vs having too little. A working definition of the Marketing Models is provided at the end of this article.

How do you respond to this avalanche of information? Do you feel overwhelmed and do nothing? Or do file the information away for review when you have more time? Maybe that time never comes and you end up not making the decision that could support your business growth.

Marketing Models - What do they have in common? 

In its essence marketing models are a contest for your attention or the attention of your potential clients! They simply can be divided into Permission Marketing and Interruption Marketing Models.
Internet marketing pioneer and founder of Permission Marketing, Seth Godin says, "Advertising just doesn't work as well as it used to - in part because there's so much of it, in part because people have learned to ignore it, in part because the rise of the Net means that companies can go beyond it...we are entering an era that's going to change the way almost everything is marketed to almost everybody." This was in 1999. And while marketing with the rise of the Net has changed, the philosophy of permission marketing is as relevant to small business owners today as it was then.
Mass marketing, based on the Interruption Model, has become less effective because there's too much going on in our lives for us to enjoy being interrupted anymore. Interruption Marketing, however, is still extremely effective when there is not an overflow of interruptions. No doubt, you have your own thoughts and feeling about having your favorite TV show interrupted several times by an advert or your family dinner by Telemarketing calls, or your email inbox overflowing with spam emails. Is it possible that your potential clients have similar thoughts and feelings about your marketing strategy?

The challenge for marketers, Godin argues, is to persuade consumers to volunteer attention - to "raise their hands -- to agree to learn more about a company and its products." This makes perfect sense. He calls the new model "Permission Marketing" because it is built around permission. Permission marketing, he claims, "turns strangers into friends and friends into loyal customers."
Readers' Digest use permission marketing by giving the consumer an opportunity to win prizes in their Sweepstakes in return for the permission to send marketing literature. Another example is your subscription to newsletters.

In the United Kingdom opt-in is required for email marketing, under The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003. This came into force on the 11 December 2003.
Reflect and Act Marketing is a crucial aspect of your business success. If you are like most small business owners you will want to invest your marketing dollar wisely to maximize your marketing results. Permission Marketing is a powerful "be-in-touch, stay-in-touch" targeted relationship building strategy.

To get a better understanding of the effectiveness of your marketing strategies, I invite you to reflect on the following questions:

1. Am I maximizing my marketing opportunities?

2. Do my marketing efforts focus on the segment of the market that is likely to do business with me?

3. Are my marketing strategies based on the Permission Model or the Interruption Model?

4. How do potential clients perceive my marketing strategies? Do they welcome them? Do they create overwhelm?

5. How effective are my current marketing strategies?

6. What is the return on my marketing investment?

7. What is the most effective marketing strategy I can implement today?

To find out how consumers perceive your marketing strategies, I invite you to develop a five question questionnaire to conduct a mail or phone survey of 10-25 potential clients. Awareness is power when combined with effective action.

Marketing Models: Working Definitions

Alliance Marketing: "It's about developing a well-oiled strategy between companies who are doing business with the same prospects on a daily basis but are not competing with each other. It's a strategy that leverages each company's strengths and database for each other while yielding major results at the end of the day." - Matt Tommey

Ambush Marketing - "A deliberate attempt by a business or brand to associate itself with an event in order to gain some of the benefits associated with being an official sponsor without incurring the costs of sponsorship. - Blah La Word Press

Bum Marketing: Also known as article marketing.

Fusion Marketing: Is tying your marketing efforts in with the effort of others. It is a make-everybody-wealthy marketing tactic known in Japan and by guerrillas worldwide. It is also known as Collaborative Marketing. - Jay Conrad Levinson

Guerrilla Marketing: Is high impact low cost marketing.

Interruption Marketing: as the name indicates that each and every marketing strategy interrupts what potential customers are doing in order to get them to think about the marketing message. - Seth Godin

Metaphor Marketing: Is essentially Brand Marketing.

Niche Marketing: Is concentrating all marketing efforts on a small but specific and well defined segment of the population

Permission Marketing: As the name indicates, consumers need to grant you permission to send messages.

How to Get Started on Your Marketing Plan

When developing or updating a marketing plan, knowing where to start is often a challenge. To better develop effective marketing strategies, begin by gathering information about both your business and the larger business environment (competition, trends, statistics, etc).

Internally, the amount of information you gather about your own business will depend on your company size. Information can include business strategies and plans; company marketing plans; pricing; and income statements. Employee knowledge is also a valuable resource. As you gather information, if you at first turn to internal sources then expand your understanding through external resources you will do fine.

External information about the business environment often takes the form of existing research, articles, competitive information, and industry news. While these are often available in both print and digital, the focus here is finding information online.

Gathering Information Online - Getting Started

The numerous news sources and billion or so Web pages available on the Internet make finding information much easier than in pre-Internet days. Before the Internet, gathering information meant trips to the library, purchasing expensive publications and reports, and commissioning your own primary research. Now, it is a matter of knowing where to search.

You can start searching the Internet by looking in each of the general areas below. Organize useful material as you find it. Purchase, bookmark, or file each resource so you can draw upon it during marketing plan development.

These external resources, together with your internal company information, will be your initial knowledge base as you develop your Marketing Plan. As you progress along the planning process and the specific information you need become clearer, these initial resources are likely to be jumping-off points for gathering more specific information.

Information Sources

Annual Reports and other SEC Filings. These documents are required by publicly held U.S. companies and often include statistics and other industry information.

Books. Books can often provide detailed insight and analysis you cannot find elsewhere.

The Government. At last count 100 U.S. Federal agencies had statistical programs, many with data available on the Web. You can find the complete list at fedstats.gov/agencies/index.html.

Message Boards and Newsgroups. You can pick up on trends, hot topics in the industry, and competitor information by following discussions.

News Articles. These often give clues to the business environment and can lead you to additional information sources.

Newsletters. By reading and subscribing to competitor and industry newsletters you can get insight into current promotional tactics and other activities.

Research Sites. Archives, press releases, newsletters, and executive summaries on these sites can provide relevant research findings and statistics.

Search Engines and Directories. Search by keyword or drill down into directory sub-categories to find information.

Subject Sites. There are some general sites - suite101.com, about.com, and business.com to name three - with numerous topic-specific pages. Check for pages relating to your industry or product.

Trade Associations and Publications. You will often find industry information, statistics, and membership lists online.

White Papers and other Company Publications. Companies will sometimes publish free white papers that summarize the industry trends or other information.

Search these resources and follow a sound marketing plan strategy for greater business success.