Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts
Monday, July 12, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
The Top 10 Marketing Tips of All Time
With more than a decade of experience in marketing, ranking from pay-per-click to direct mail, I’ve seen a lot of failures and far more successes when it comes to marketing.
Today, the art of marketing is far more complex than it once was. However, many of the same basic principles still apply. Too often, professional marketers and small business owners overlook the basic techniques that have separated successful campaigns from those that never turn a profit. Here is my all time list of effective marketing tips.
Know your audience. Successful campaigns get that way because marketers know their audience. They fully understand their needs, how to help meet those needs and how to create demand. Knowing and understanding your audience through proper market segmentation means a well targeted campaign that generates a profitable return.
Focus on the offer. A marketing offer is the driving force of marketing promotions that drive results. In fact, market testing has proven that the offer is the most significant criterion for conversion. Focus on your offer if you want to be successful.
Split test. Never ever run a campaign without testing something. One of the most common is a split test which allows you to simultaneously test two versions of something. It can be a web page, post card, or email. Split testing is essential for improving performance.
Never work alone. The most creative ideas come from working with other creative people. Don’t feel like you need to have all the answers or great ideas. You may start with an idea, but an open dialog with creative individuals will make it better.
Don’t sell on price. I’ve seen so many marketers fail because they sell on price alone. This leads to a discounting war, lower profitability, and often bankruptcy. Rather, focus on creating so much value that the perception of price becomes insignificant.
Consistent messaging. Consider the entire user experience before you launch a campaign. From email to website to offer, is the prospect having a consistent user experience? If they are, your campaigns stand above 98% of others.
Create value after the sale. As marketers, it’s our job to understand our market segment and build relationships, not dump people off at the front door of our store and walk away. Focus as much of your energy on building relationships with customers as you do prospects.
Test. Test. Test. In addition to split testing, you should consider multiple forms of testing in each marketing discipline. For direct mail, test headlines, offers, copy, time of direct mail drop, etc. Consider testing a life long mission.
Integrated Marketing Works Best. You can’t rely on one form of marketing to carry you to success. It’s okay to generate most of your leads or sales through PPC marketing if you will but what happens when that dries out? Use multiple media sources to meet your goals.
Nothing can replace experience. You can run out and hire all of the best consultants in the world, but you still have to do the work. Nothing can replace actual experience. It will make you a stronger marketer and more successful in the long term.
Apply these helpful marketing tips if you want to be truly successful. These techniques and tips are applied by successful marketers on a daily basis. The result is an ever growing success rate of marketing success.
Today, the art of marketing is far more complex than it once was. However, many of the same basic principles still apply. Too often, professional marketers and small business owners overlook the basic techniques that have separated successful campaigns from those that never turn a profit. Here is my all time list of effective marketing tips.
Know your audience. Successful campaigns get that way because marketers know their audience. They fully understand their needs, how to help meet those needs and how to create demand. Knowing and understanding your audience through proper market segmentation means a well targeted campaign that generates a profitable return.
Focus on the offer. A marketing offer is the driving force of marketing promotions that drive results. In fact, market testing has proven that the offer is the most significant criterion for conversion. Focus on your offer if you want to be successful.
Split test. Never ever run a campaign without testing something. One of the most common is a split test which allows you to simultaneously test two versions of something. It can be a web page, post card, or email. Split testing is essential for improving performance.
Never work alone. The most creative ideas come from working with other creative people. Don’t feel like you need to have all the answers or great ideas. You may start with an idea, but an open dialog with creative individuals will make it better.
Don’t sell on price. I’ve seen so many marketers fail because they sell on price alone. This leads to a discounting war, lower profitability, and often bankruptcy. Rather, focus on creating so much value that the perception of price becomes insignificant.
Consistent messaging. Consider the entire user experience before you launch a campaign. From email to website to offer, is the prospect having a consistent user experience? If they are, your campaigns stand above 98% of others.
Create value after the sale. As marketers, it’s our job to understand our market segment and build relationships, not dump people off at the front door of our store and walk away. Focus as much of your energy on building relationships with customers as you do prospects.
Test. Test. Test. In addition to split testing, you should consider multiple forms of testing in each marketing discipline. For direct mail, test headlines, offers, copy, time of direct mail drop, etc. Consider testing a life long mission.
Integrated Marketing Works Best. You can’t rely on one form of marketing to carry you to success. It’s okay to generate most of your leads or sales through PPC marketing if you will but what happens when that dries out? Use multiple media sources to meet your goals.
Nothing can replace experience. You can run out and hire all of the best consultants in the world, but you still have to do the work. Nothing can replace actual experience. It will make you a stronger marketer and more successful in the long term.
Apply these helpful marketing tips if you want to be truly successful. These techniques and tips are applied by successful marketers on a daily basis. The result is an ever growing success rate of marketing success.
Where Marketing Goes Wrong
With the right planning, executing on an effective marketing campaign is easy. However, getting things right at the point of interaction with a prospective customer is where it all happens.
Not too long ago I was traveling and decided to run into a coffee shop. Upon entering, I noticed there weren't a lot of people there so I went right up to the cashier and ordered my coffee. She was miserable. No "hello", no "smile", nothing.
Imagine being the marketing guy (or gal) for this coffee shop. You could do everything right and then lose business because of a depressed cashier! I for one have not interest in going back to that place.
Yet this happens all the time. Prospective customers visit retailers only to have a bad experience. Or they buy products that under perform. Worse yet, they reach out for help only to speak to an unhelpful representative or call center where you can barely hear the customer service rep.
Marketing is more than running a direct mail campaign, its the whole package. If you want to take your marketing up a notch, think about the whole user experience. From first touch to repeat purchase, marketing needs to be involved with the entire purchase decision process and then some.
This week, take a closer look at your process from start to finish. It's always best to see things from a customers perspective. You may just find some opportunities for improvement!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Marketing Tips - Ten Tips To Communicate With Force
Here are ten tips to get your message across effectively to your target audience.
• Optimize your presentation of facts.• Choose your words carefully.• Build rapport with an informal tone.• Use rapport to strengthen acceptance.• Be persuasive with credibility and clarity.• Pay attention to pronoun use.• Maximize your opener.• Know your audience and how to reach it.• Influence reader receptivity through strategic word choice.• Add potency with powerful adjectives.
(Taken from the DMA insider, "Cutting Edge Creative.")
Monday, May 24, 2010
The 3 Differences in Your International Marketing Plan
Already have a marketing plan for your household? You need a plan for international marketing? Of course, we can assume that these two marketing plans, will never be the same. There are three differences, you must include in the planning of international marketing.
Feedback
When marketing in the foreign markets is necessary to stimulate feedback from the market. Indeed, this must beof your top priorities right from the beginning.
When you first start targeting a foreign country you will need to adjust your communication and your marketing and sales strategies.
It is important to understand how your communication is received in a different culture. And this takes time to understand well.
As you get to know your foreign markets you still need to pay attention. In order to seize business opportunities, and avoid bad decisions, you need to know what is going on.
Place a high priority on stimulating feedback in your international marketing plan.
Flexibility
Again, it is all about getting to know markets that are different from your home market.
As you get to know and understand these new prospects better you will need to adjust your marketing. Simply put:
Your international prospects react differently to your products.
These differences may be very subtle. They can also appear at any stage of your international business. But if you stimulate feedback and listen for these differences you can:
Improve your international results.
Become present in your foreign markets.
A little time spent double checking your strategies can save you time, money and cultural blunders. So, plan for flexibility. Include a process of evaluations, and room for change, in your international marketing
Profitability
In an international marketing plan you need for accountability are even more elements of marketing. The economy may depend on international efforts.
What does this mean? Here is a simple action plan:
Check your international marketing plan
Creating a process
Include measures that can be measured
Review these steps for the relevance
Use this procedure to createaccountability
Review results for viability
This gives your business the tools to make the right decisions to grow in foreign markets. Include a process for marketing accountability in your international marketing plan.
Use Your International Marketing Plan
Incorporate these 3 elements in your international marketing plan and add one more. Next all you need is to:
Put your international marketing plan into action.
Even if you start with the most basic marketing plan, all you really need is to take action and give priority to these 3 differences. Your market feedback, flexibility and viability analysis will guide you through the rest.
Feedback
When marketing in the foreign markets is necessary to stimulate feedback from the market. Indeed, this must beof your top priorities right from the beginning.
When you first start targeting a foreign country you will need to adjust your communication and your marketing and sales strategies.
It is important to understand how your communication is received in a different culture. And this takes time to understand well.
As you get to know your foreign markets you still need to pay attention. In order to seize business opportunities, and avoid bad decisions, you need to know what is going on.
Place a high priority on stimulating feedback in your international marketing plan.
Flexibility
Again, it is all about getting to know markets that are different from your home market.
As you get to know and understand these new prospects better you will need to adjust your marketing. Simply put:
Your international prospects react differently to your products.
These differences may be very subtle. They can also appear at any stage of your international business. But if you stimulate feedback and listen for these differences you can:
Improve your international results.
Become present in your foreign markets.
A little time spent double checking your strategies can save you time, money and cultural blunders. So, plan for flexibility. Include a process of evaluations, and room for change, in your international marketing
Profitability
In an international marketing plan you need for accountability are even more elements of marketing. The economy may depend on international efforts.
What does this mean? Here is a simple action plan:
Check your international marketing plan
Creating a process
Include measures that can be measured
Review these steps for the relevance
Use this procedure to createaccountability
Review results for viability
This gives your business the tools to make the right decisions to grow in foreign markets. Include a process for marketing accountability in your international marketing plan.
Use Your International Marketing Plan
Incorporate these 3 elements in your international marketing plan and add one more. Next all you need is to:
Put your international marketing plan into action.
Even if you start with the most basic marketing plan, all you really need is to take action and give priority to these 3 differences. Your market feedback, flexibility and viability analysis will guide you through the rest.
How to set up an effective marketing plan
How to set up an effective marketing plan? The process of selling goods and services to customers through digital technology and through the Internet is called e-marketing. The expansion of computer technology and the Internet was a great opportunity for all types of business methods to complement their traditional marketing to generate more sales, the market reached a wider, all those who use e-marketing. It 'was also the basis for launchingmany small businesses. Today, every company, large or small, is known for the power of e-marketing, and all agreed that the future of marketing is the e-retail.
The e-mail marketing is very similar to traditional marketing. The goal is the same, and your message to your target audience to deliver. The difference with e-marketing is that you are new and powerful options for advertising your products, services or companies. It couldand always the traditional method, but it is recommended to exploit the opportunities that the Internet is in marketing. The use of e-marketing, you can greatly increase your market share and profits. It 'also less expensive and less labor intensive.
How to set up an effective marketing plan? To launch an effective e-marketing campaign, you should be an effective e-marketing plan if you wantensure a response with potential customers. Here are some things you should consider taking if you plan to start creating an effective e-marketing.
First you must identify your market. You have to learn their expectations, needs and requirements. You must have an idea how to build your sales letter, according to the market. It is also necessary to study the 'marketing strategies of your competitors and trying to find something newnoted. You need a serious search for keywords, for those keywords with less competition, you will find the opportunity to climb to the first page of search in search engines, and meanwhile, best describes the demands of your potential customers.
Before you define your policies, set your budget. This allows the identification of a campaign, strategies and techniques, marketing, you can use to start-E. Depending on your budget, you canTo formulate methods, most are on hand to capture the public's attention. You can vary the strategies and establish your priorities. It 'very important to carefully budget costs, especially if you decide to use pay per click "campaigns to promote their e-business. Make sure that the costs will not get out of your control. Analyze the cost compared to your benefit to a budget acceptable to be determined. Paid advertising is the fastest way toDrive targeted traffic to your website, but the incorrect handling may be a disaster for your e-business.
Then you have goals for your e-marketing campaign. The body needs your e-presence, is the information about your company. The free movement of targeted search engines is vital for your business. You have to study all options to increase website traffic and determine the methods to use to achieve your goals could. Never Stickone method. The use of multiple methods of e-marketing, you get more time, but the result will reward your efforts. Blogging and article marketing methods have proven effective for most companies craft free targeted traffic to your e-.
How to set up an effective marketing plan? There are many ways to free online help in your business to succeed-and, like social networking, submitting your site to search engines and canweb directory, free search engine optimization and online web site traffic analysis tools, and much more. If you want to schedule for more information on creating effective marketing, visit my website.
The e-mail marketing is very similar to traditional marketing. The goal is the same, and your message to your target audience to deliver. The difference with e-marketing is that you are new and powerful options for advertising your products, services or companies. It couldand always the traditional method, but it is recommended to exploit the opportunities that the Internet is in marketing. The use of e-marketing, you can greatly increase your market share and profits. It 'also less expensive and less labor intensive.
How to set up an effective marketing plan? To launch an effective e-marketing campaign, you should be an effective e-marketing plan if you wantensure a response with potential customers. Here are some things you should consider taking if you plan to start creating an effective e-marketing.
First you must identify your market. You have to learn their expectations, needs and requirements. You must have an idea how to build your sales letter, according to the market. It is also necessary to study the 'marketing strategies of your competitors and trying to find something newnoted. You need a serious search for keywords, for those keywords with less competition, you will find the opportunity to climb to the first page of search in search engines, and meanwhile, best describes the demands of your potential customers.
Before you define your policies, set your budget. This allows the identification of a campaign, strategies and techniques, marketing, you can use to start-E. Depending on your budget, you canTo formulate methods, most are on hand to capture the public's attention. You can vary the strategies and establish your priorities. It 'very important to carefully budget costs, especially if you decide to use pay per click "campaigns to promote their e-business. Make sure that the costs will not get out of your control. Analyze the cost compared to your benefit to a budget acceptable to be determined. Paid advertising is the fastest way toDrive targeted traffic to your website, but the incorrect handling may be a disaster for your e-business.
Then you have goals for your e-marketing campaign. The body needs your e-presence, is the information about your company. The free movement of targeted search engines is vital for your business. You have to study all options to increase website traffic and determine the methods to use to achieve your goals could. Never Stickone method. The use of multiple methods of e-marketing, you get more time, but the result will reward your efforts. Blogging and article marketing methods have proven effective for most companies craft free targeted traffic to your e-.
How to set up an effective marketing plan? There are many ways to free online help in your business to succeed-and, like social networking, submitting your site to search engines and canweb directory, free search engine optimization and online web site traffic analysis tools, and much more. If you want to schedule for more information on creating effective marketing, visit my website.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Finishing Your Marketing Plan
Marketing plans can feel like a pain in the neck (not to mention other body parts). Reality is quite the opposite. Small business owners, and others without a boss to impose a due date, often find themselves "too busy" to complete a marketing plan or update the existing one. If this sounds like you, then you are leaving profits on the table and the best thing you can do for your business is finish a 2007 marketing plan. Here are five tips to help you follow through with planning:
Once you have chosen your approach, stick to it. If you begin pulling procedures from several different methods, you may become overwhelmed and never finish. The critical part is completing the plan so you have a strategic document to act from.
You can use specialized project management tools to automate timeline creation or do it manually in a spreadsheet or text document. If you are completing a timeline manually, start with the due date and work backwards. Note each major project milestone leading up to completion and the time needed for each component. This will give you intermediate deadlines, so you will know if you fall behind schedule. Leave room for comments and notations about who is responsible for each aspect of implementation.
Also, know how you will measure success, and set up ways to monitor project results. Problems are easiest to solve early on, before the entire budget has been spent and there is time to adjust for improvement.
Take these tips to heart and you’ll find your business running more smoothly and profitably.
Have an Approach To Planning
Before you begin, research different options and tools for writing your marketing plan. There are several correct ways to complete a plan. Options range from a simple one-day plan to software-developed plans to detailed company-dictated procedures resulting in a book-length document.Once you have chosen your approach, stick to it. If you begin pulling procedures from several different methods, you may become overwhelmed and never finish. The critical part is completing the plan so you have a strategic document to act from.
Make Time To Finish a Formal Plan
If you do not set aside dedicated time for completing your marketing plan, it will always be pushed to the back burner and never completed. Schedule marketing plan development as you would a meeting. Block time out on your calendar and keep that appointment.Build in Implementation Timelines and Evaluation Measures
Your marketing plan isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on (or the drive it’s stored on) without strong implementation. Following timelines leading up to and evaluating performance during execution can make for smoother implementation.You can use specialized project management tools to automate timeline creation or do it manually in a spreadsheet or text document. If you are completing a timeline manually, start with the due date and work backwards. Note each major project milestone leading up to completion and the time needed for each component. This will give you intermediate deadlines, so you will know if you fall behind schedule. Leave room for comments and notations about who is responsible for each aspect of implementation.
Also, know how you will measure success, and set up ways to monitor project results. Problems are easiest to solve early on, before the entire budget has been spent and there is time to adjust for improvement.
Execute Year Round
The place for your marketing plan is "front and center," not in a drawer next to the tax returns. Refer to it often throughout the year as you execute the marketing programs you've planned. This keeps you focused on programs in the plan.Measure Opportunities Against Strategies
New marketing opportunities present themselves often. Without a visible plan, you may find yourself darting after opportunities instead of following a strategic plan. Whenever a new opportunity arises, refer to your marketing plan and ask yourself if it fits with one of your marketing strategies. If so, decide (1) which program in your plan it will replace and (2) if funds are best spent on the original or new project. By going through this exercise, you will be less inclined to make poor marketing decisions.Take these tips to heart and you’ll find your business running more smoothly and profitably.
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Friday, April 30, 2010
Small Business Marketing Planning
Small business marketing planning is something most entrepreneurs and small business owners never do, much to their detriment. They spend their time jumping from the latest new thing to the next big thing, never stopping for a breath.
So what does small business marketing planning entail exactly? Here are some of the steps that we take our marketing clients through that could help you to get your marketing efforts on track:
- Who are the clients you are trying to attract
- How have you found them before
- What products and services do they like
- What products and services should you offer
- What channels (online, offline, social media, direct mail, etc) should you use to reach those people with your offer
- What steps are you going to take this month, this week, today to implement your marketing plan
- What metrics are you going to use to gauge your success? Added contacts, friends, followers, sales, leads, etc.
One of the first things you should notice about this is that at no time did I say do you want a new logo, blog, email program or any other specific thing that is the flavor of the moment. all of the shiney marketing things like Facebook, Wordpress, and Email are just the TOOLS to use and are a HUGE distraction to your plan. Figure out WHAT to do BEFORE you figure out HOW you are going to accomplish it!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Top 10 Marketing Concepts for Small Business
Over the past decade more and more people are getting fired, getting downsized, or getting fed up with their corporate jobs and embark on the journey as a small business owner. Unfortunately, most of the new small business owners fail to consider their marketing plans or strategy. There are many marketing concepts for small business marketing to consider and plan for, but here is our list of Top 10 Marketing Concepts For Small Business Marketing.
Marketing Concept # 1: Consistency
Consistency is the number one marketing concept for small business marketing only because it is left out of marketing concepts for so many businesses. I have worked with a long list of clients, big and small, that are extremely inconsistent in all areas of their marketing. Consistency helps lower the cost of marketing and increase the effectiveness of branding.
Marketing Concept # 2: Planning
Once small business owners decide to be consistent with their marketing, planning is the next major concept to engage. Planning is the most vital part of small business marketing or any level of marketing, for that matter, and so many owners, marketing managers, and even CMOs plan poorly. Put the time into planning your marketing strategy, budget, and other concepts presented here to ensure success.
Marketing Concept # 3: Strategy
Strategy immediately follows planning because your strategy is the foundation for the rest of your marketing activities. In the process of planning, you must develop your strategy: who you will target, how you will target them, and how will you keep them as a customer.
Marketing Concept # 4: Target Market
Target market is also another key concept for small business marketing. Defining exactly who you are targeting allows small business owners to focus on specific customers and reduce marketing waste. A well-defined target market will make every other marketing concept so much easier to implement successfully.
Marketing Concept # 5: Budget
Although it is listed at number 5, budgeting is important throughout the entire process. Creating a marketing budget is usually the hardest and most inaccurate part of small business marketing. Most small businesses owners lack a great deal of experience in marketing, so their budgets usually end up skewed. The most important part of this marketing concept is to actually establish a marketing budget. From there, you can worry about how to distribute your available funds.
Marketing Concept # 6: Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is usually defined as product, pricing, place, and promotion. As a small business owner, you must specifically decide on your products (or services), the appropriate pricing, where and how you will distribute your products, and how will you let everyone know about you and your products.
Marketing Concept # 7: Website
In today’s market, a business of any size must have a website. I hate when I see businesses that have a one page website with out-dated information. Customers, be it businesses or consumers, will search the web over 60% of the time before making any purchasing decisions. This marketing concept contains a slew of additional components, but you must at least develop a small web presence of some kind and keep it updated.
Marketing Concept # 8: Branding
Many small businesses owners also neglect this concept. Small business marketing must focus on this marketing concept just as much as large corporations do. Branding consists of the pictures, logo, design scheme, layout, make up, and image of your products and even your company. Branding is how your customers perceive (please place a lot of emphasis on that word!) your products and company. Make sure to pay special attention to what kind of brand you are building through each step of your planning and implementation.
Marketing Concept # 9: Promotion and Advertising
Promotion and advertising is a very complex marketing concept, but must be considered for any type of business and its products and services. Once you engage the previous 8 marketing concepts, you must finally let your target market know about you and your products. Proper promotion and advertising will result in effective brand recognition, and, ultimately, increased sales.
Marketing Concept # 10: Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
The concept of customer relationship management has become a huge industry in the marketing world. There are many types of software and services offered to help businesses of any size handle their customer relationship management. Since there is so much available, usually for a large sum of money, small business owners usually look at this concept as something they are not big enough for or have enough money to implement. Don’t be fooled by the massive industry that has evolved from this concept. Maintaining proper customer relationship management is essential to creating loyal and consistent customers.
This list of marketing concepts should be examined, researched, planned, and implemented, especially by small businesses, in order to be successful. Also, your marketing doesn’t stop here. Each business is unique and will have additional components that must be considered, but this list will jump-start any marketing plan.
Marketing Concept # 1: Consistency
Consistency is the number one marketing concept for small business marketing only because it is left out of marketing concepts for so many businesses. I have worked with a long list of clients, big and small, that are extremely inconsistent in all areas of their marketing. Consistency helps lower the cost of marketing and increase the effectiveness of branding.
Marketing Concept # 2: Planning
Once small business owners decide to be consistent with their marketing, planning is the next major concept to engage. Planning is the most vital part of small business marketing or any level of marketing, for that matter, and so many owners, marketing managers, and even CMOs plan poorly. Put the time into planning your marketing strategy, budget, and other concepts presented here to ensure success.
Marketing Concept # 3: Strategy
Strategy immediately follows planning because your strategy is the foundation for the rest of your marketing activities. In the process of planning, you must develop your strategy: who you will target, how you will target them, and how will you keep them as a customer.
Marketing Concept # 4: Target Market
Target market is also another key concept for small business marketing. Defining exactly who you are targeting allows small business owners to focus on specific customers and reduce marketing waste. A well-defined target market will make every other marketing concept so much easier to implement successfully.
Marketing Concept # 5: Budget
Although it is listed at number 5, budgeting is important throughout the entire process. Creating a marketing budget is usually the hardest and most inaccurate part of small business marketing. Most small businesses owners lack a great deal of experience in marketing, so their budgets usually end up skewed. The most important part of this marketing concept is to actually establish a marketing budget. From there, you can worry about how to distribute your available funds.
Marketing Concept # 6: Marketing Mix
The marketing mix is usually defined as product, pricing, place, and promotion. As a small business owner, you must specifically decide on your products (or services), the appropriate pricing, where and how you will distribute your products, and how will you let everyone know about you and your products.
Marketing Concept # 7: Website
In today’s market, a business of any size must have a website. I hate when I see businesses that have a one page website with out-dated information. Customers, be it businesses or consumers, will search the web over 60% of the time before making any purchasing decisions. This marketing concept contains a slew of additional components, but you must at least develop a small web presence of some kind and keep it updated.
Marketing Concept # 8: Branding
Many small businesses owners also neglect this concept. Small business marketing must focus on this marketing concept just as much as large corporations do. Branding consists of the pictures, logo, design scheme, layout, make up, and image of your products and even your company. Branding is how your customers perceive (please place a lot of emphasis on that word!) your products and company. Make sure to pay special attention to what kind of brand you are building through each step of your planning and implementation.
Marketing Concept # 9: Promotion and Advertising
Promotion and advertising is a very complex marketing concept, but must be considered for any type of business and its products and services. Once you engage the previous 8 marketing concepts, you must finally let your target market know about you and your products. Proper promotion and advertising will result in effective brand recognition, and, ultimately, increased sales.
Marketing Concept # 10: Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
The concept of customer relationship management has become a huge industry in the marketing world. There are many types of software and services offered to help businesses of any size handle their customer relationship management. Since there is so much available, usually for a large sum of money, small business owners usually look at this concept as something they are not big enough for or have enough money to implement. Don’t be fooled by the massive industry that has evolved from this concept. Maintaining proper customer relationship management is essential to creating loyal and consistent customers.
This list of marketing concepts should be examined, researched, planned, and implemented, especially by small businesses, in order to be successful. Also, your marketing doesn’t stop here. Each business is unique and will have additional components that must be considered, but this list will jump-start any marketing plan.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Marketing Is A System, Not An Event
Small business marketers love the chase. Love the new fangled way to make the phone ring. They love to think of a marketing promotion as a single event. But it's precisely this view of marketing that holds most small businesses back. They fall prey to the "marketing idea of the week" and never fully explore what it takes to create and build a completely functioning, consistently performing, marketing system.
In this article I am going to outline the basic steps that any business can follow on the way to creating their very own marketing system. But first let's explore this word system in the context of marketing. Small business owners have no problem thinking systems when it comes to say, accounting or hiring. When it comes to marketing though, all bets are off. It's as if they are waiting for magic fairy dust to fall upon them with the next great marketing innovation.
Look, effective marketing is little more than creating and operating an effective marketing system. Now, when I use the word system I mean several things. 1) The system is documented - You can't have a system or a step in a system unless you write it down. 2) The system is built on sound marketing principals and 3) You constantly measure, innovate, and refine the system.
Okay, so on to the system building steps.
1) Narrow and define a target market - Small business owners love to say yes. "Sure we can do that." The next thing you know the target market is roughly anyone they think will pay them. You must commit to a narrowly defined target market and you must focus all of your attention upon serving that market like no one ever dreamed of. A narrow marketing focus might be - Estate Attorneys - as opposed to Law Firms.
2) Discover and communicate a core message for that market - Until you can show how your firm is different and offers something unique, you will always compete on price. You must find a way to tell your newly defined narrow target market why you have something to offer that they value. Your core message might be - We show estate attorneys how gain all of the business they can handle - as opposed to: We help law firms.
3) Develop multiple forms of permission based lead generation - No one like to be sold to and more and more advertising is falling on numb ears and eyes. Your lead generation system must be built on several fronts, such as public relations, referral marketing, strategic partnerships, and targeted advertising. Your lead generation message must offer the target market a reason to want to know more. Forget about the sale, look for ways to build trust.
4) Construct a lead conversion and customer reselling process - No amount of leads in the world will help your business if you don't efficiently turn those leads into clients. You must have a plan that maps out what you will do when phone rings, when you make the sales call and when it's time to do more business with the clients you already have. Most small businesses completely ignore this aspect of their marketing, but this is where the real success in marketing lies.
5) Create educational based marketing and presentation materials - Forget about the glossy sales brochure, use your marketing materials to teach how your firm is different, how you solve real problems, how you work, why you work, what you believe and your marketing will be much more successful. Your web site must come from this point of view as well.
6) Define the most important marketing success indicators - Setting marketing goals for such things as leads, appointments, sales, phone calls, referrals, impressions, mentions and anything else you can think to measure is how you turn marketing into a game and how you keep score of the game. Everyone loves and game and the only way to improve something is to measure how well you are doing in the first place.
7) Build an annual marketing calendar and budget and stick to it - Once you have spent the time and energy to think through steps 1-6 you need to commit your plan to a marketing calendar and then allocate (or at least think about) the money it will take to implement your plan. Once you create a calendar it is much more likely that you will look at the tasks assigned to each month like a "to-do" list. So, instead of whining that you should do more marketing, you simply scratch each item off your list and plan for the next. It's an amazingly simple but effective device.
Okay...now the last bit of advice.
Every system needs a champion. Either find someone in your organization who does little else but operate the system or hire a marketing professional and charge them with helping you develop, implement and run the system.
Properly fed and maintained, this little marketing system can become the engine that drives your firm's climb to the top.
In this article I am going to outline the basic steps that any business can follow on the way to creating their very own marketing system. But first let's explore this word system in the context of marketing. Small business owners have no problem thinking systems when it comes to say, accounting or hiring. When it comes to marketing though, all bets are off. It's as if they are waiting for magic fairy dust to fall upon them with the next great marketing innovation.
Look, effective marketing is little more than creating and operating an effective marketing system. Now, when I use the word system I mean several things. 1) The system is documented - You can't have a system or a step in a system unless you write it down. 2) The system is built on sound marketing principals and 3) You constantly measure, innovate, and refine the system.
Okay, so on to the system building steps.
1) Narrow and define a target market - Small business owners love to say yes. "Sure we can do that." The next thing you know the target market is roughly anyone they think will pay them. You must commit to a narrowly defined target market and you must focus all of your attention upon serving that market like no one ever dreamed of. A narrow marketing focus might be - Estate Attorneys - as opposed to Law Firms.
2) Discover and communicate a core message for that market - Until you can show how your firm is different and offers something unique, you will always compete on price. You must find a way to tell your newly defined narrow target market why you have something to offer that they value. Your core message might be - We show estate attorneys how gain all of the business they can handle - as opposed to: We help law firms.
3) Develop multiple forms of permission based lead generation - No one like to be sold to and more and more advertising is falling on numb ears and eyes. Your lead generation system must be built on several fronts, such as public relations, referral marketing, strategic partnerships, and targeted advertising. Your lead generation message must offer the target market a reason to want to know more. Forget about the sale, look for ways to build trust.
4) Construct a lead conversion and customer reselling process - No amount of leads in the world will help your business if you don't efficiently turn those leads into clients. You must have a plan that maps out what you will do when phone rings, when you make the sales call and when it's time to do more business with the clients you already have. Most small businesses completely ignore this aspect of their marketing, but this is where the real success in marketing lies.
5) Create educational based marketing and presentation materials - Forget about the glossy sales brochure, use your marketing materials to teach how your firm is different, how you solve real problems, how you work, why you work, what you believe and your marketing will be much more successful. Your web site must come from this point of view as well.
6) Define the most important marketing success indicators - Setting marketing goals for such things as leads, appointments, sales, phone calls, referrals, impressions, mentions and anything else you can think to measure is how you turn marketing into a game and how you keep score of the game. Everyone loves and game and the only way to improve something is to measure how well you are doing in the first place.
7) Build an annual marketing calendar and budget and stick to it - Once you have spent the time and energy to think through steps 1-6 you need to commit your plan to a marketing calendar and then allocate (or at least think about) the money it will take to implement your plan. Once you create a calendar it is much more likely that you will look at the tasks assigned to each month like a "to-do" list. So, instead of whining that you should do more marketing, you simply scratch each item off your list and plan for the next. It's an amazingly simple but effective device.
Okay...now the last bit of advice.
Every system needs a champion. Either find someone in your organization who does little else but operate the system or hire a marketing professional and charge them with helping you develop, implement and run the system.
Properly fed and maintained, this little marketing system can become the engine that drives your firm's climb to the top.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Strategies For Internet Marketing Beginners
If you have been considering utilizing the internet to further develop your business there are some things you should understand in order to be as effective as possible with your internet marketing.
Internet marketing beginners often become overwhelmed with all the different approaches to this marketing approach, if you follow some basic principles then you will not need to feel overwhelmed.
There is a lot for internet marketing beginners to consider.
Of course there are similar marketing principles on the internet as there are in the traditional marketing world.
The benefit of internet marketing is that it can have lower costs associated with reaching your potential customer and your customer base has the potential to be much larger than it would be otherwise.
The key is to learn how to promote yourself and your business. There are marketing strategies that are unique to the internet. It is these strategies that can be confusing at first.
These marketing strategies will help to increase your traffic.
As internet marketing beginners there are effective ways to learn these internet marketing strategies. Obviously the better you become at utilizing certain strategies the greater the potential for you to have success.
As a beginner you should explore the internet to find strategies that work for others. You can profit from the success of others by investing in some instructional material that provides marketing strategies.
There are numerous guides on the internet that will provide you with instructional information on how to be successful as an internet marketer. These programs may provide information on how to generate traffic.
These programs may also provide information on creating brand awareness and positioning yourself for success.
The key to success with internet marketing is to understand that you need to get proper exposure. This exposure is often gained through social media marketing, such as face book and MySpace.
This strategy works much in the same manner as becoming known in the community if you have a physical business location.
The better known you become the larger your customer base will typically become.
When you approach your marketing campaign as internet marketing beginners you need to keep in mind that people tend to shop in a similar manner on the internet as they do in a store.
For this reason it is important to understand your potential customers and how they think. Figure out what techniques are most likely to attract your potential customers.
Internet marketing beginners often become overwhelmed with all the different approaches to this marketing approach, if you follow some basic principles then you will not need to feel overwhelmed.
There is a lot for internet marketing beginners to consider.
Of course there are similar marketing principles on the internet as there are in the traditional marketing world.
The benefit of internet marketing is that it can have lower costs associated with reaching your potential customer and your customer base has the potential to be much larger than it would be otherwise.
The key is to learn how to promote yourself and your business. There are marketing strategies that are unique to the internet. It is these strategies that can be confusing at first.
These marketing strategies will help to increase your traffic.
As internet marketing beginners there are effective ways to learn these internet marketing strategies. Obviously the better you become at utilizing certain strategies the greater the potential for you to have success.
As a beginner you should explore the internet to find strategies that work for others. You can profit from the success of others by investing in some instructional material that provides marketing strategies.
There are numerous guides on the internet that will provide you with instructional information on how to be successful as an internet marketer. These programs may provide information on how to generate traffic.
These programs may also provide information on creating brand awareness and positioning yourself for success.
The key to success with internet marketing is to understand that you need to get proper exposure. This exposure is often gained through social media marketing, such as face book and MySpace.
This strategy works much in the same manner as becoming known in the community if you have a physical business location.
The better known you become the larger your customer base will typically become.
When you approach your marketing campaign as internet marketing beginners you need to keep in mind that people tend to shop in a similar manner on the internet as they do in a store.
For this reason it is important to understand your potential customers and how they think. Figure out what techniques are most likely to attract your potential customers.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Online Marketing Course - 3 Things You Never Knew
Seriously, don't you think the claims that they tell you about your ideal online marketing course is getting a little boring? The reason why this short report was created is so you can identify the ideal online marketing course for you.
Moreover, you even can do this in less than 24 hours flat. You do not need any technical skills or massive researching firepower. All you need is to discover the 3 things you ever knew about selecting the right online marketing course.
1) You Never Knew: What Defines A Good Online Marketing Course
Firstly, you have to admit this with me. We are all emotionally driven at some point so a little bit of logical tuning is needed in our hearts. At the very core, we can define that your ideal online marketing course would have to be based on your needs alone. That's right.
Let's just say that you really need to learn about article marketing via an online marketing course. That you need to learn it because you will apply this strategy soon. Then, go and ask around your Internet marketing colleagues for reference to some of the best article marketing courses that they've seen. Keep it as a list.
2) You Never Knew: How To Choose Properly...
You got that list of 5, maybe 10 recommendations. What you need to do is look at your budget. My education budget should be 10-15% of my monthly income. It's up to you. By looking at the list you have, keep the ones which do not go beyond your budget.
Cross out the ones which are over your learning allowance. Do keep in mind that an online marketing course can be anything from a membership based subscription, coaching or just an informational product. That is why you should not run out of options. Pick one, buddy.
3) You Never Knew: When You Will Get A Return On Investment
Trust me. Setting aside some money in a good online marketing course is 10 times better than buying yourself a pair of nice jeans at the end of the month. You are investing in yourself. When you finally identify a great online marketing course, make sure that you also put what you learn into practice.
Your investment in an online marketing course only becomes more visible when you begin to apply what you learn. I mean in a large scale manner. Just like a stallion that runs free. It doesn't just run around the lake. It runs over valley, wide open fields and countrysides!
In closing, you should never stop learning or stop taking any online marketing course. My mentor once told me that, "life is a lifetime of learning" and I agree. You are created with so much potential for success. All it takes is the strength to push forward every single day of your life.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Your Guide to Online Marketing Success
In today's business world, online marketing isn't just effective; it's essential
At one time, business essentials were limited to business cards, yellow page ads and brochures. Newspapers, radio and television were used by cutting-edge businesses of yore and still reap huge rewards for big-businesses today.
Mass media are generally just not cost-effective for most local businesses. In the 21st Century, it's clear that the impact of these tools is diminished by the world wide web. We search for products and services online from our desktops, laptops and cell phones. Yet most local business owners don't take advantage of the affordability and profits available through online marketing.
Like a business plan and a budget, an Internet marketing strategy is essential for modern-day small business success. While a website provides a good starting point, online marketing requires more than a couple of static web pages. Instead, a successful internet approach requires a dynamic and well-rounded web presence that builds relationships in addition to sales, fans in addition to customers.
A comprehensive Internet marketing strategy replaces newspaper ads with banner ads, yellow pages with search engines, snail mail with e-mail, town squares with social networks and sales letters with custom content. The technology is as evolutionary as it is revolutionary, and smart businesses are taking advantage of current environment to trounce their competition.
Tools and technology aside, there are dozens of reasons to engage actively and often in Internet marketing. Here are a few of the most persuasive:
1. When they need information, modern-day consumers go online; your successful internet marketing program will make sure they find you when they are shopping for your product or service.
2. Online marketing has tremendous research potential; if nothing else, companies should engage in online marketing research in order to collect data about their customers, prospects and competitors.
3. By marketing on the internet, companies can reach a highly targeted audience; what's more, they can reach it quickly, intimately and more cost-effectively online than traditional marketing approaches.
4. Online marketing lends itself to instant conversions. Customers can quickly and easily find what they want and immediately click through to purchase it.
5. Compared with many traditional marketing vehicles, Internet marketing services are both more affordable and more effective.
6. Internet marketing provides marketing power to local business owners; by marketing online, your company can enjoy big-business marketing exposure on a local marketing budget.
Action Steps. Some contacts and resources to help you get started with your online marketing:
Search engine marketing strengthens your online marketing strategy.
Once you have a website, Internet marketing via search engines will help your customers find it. Consider search engine optimization, which will improve your search engine rankings, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, which markets your company via relevant, targeted search engine queries.
ACTION: Before you build a web site, use Wordtracker's free keyword suggestion tool to choose keywords; use those keywords in your descriptions and meta-tags, PPC advertising via Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search in order to build search engine traffic.
Select appropriate display advertising and leverage online marketing tools
Display advertising, including banner ads, is a basic form of online marketing. Because you'll pay for impressions - banner ads are usually priced using CPM, or cost per thousand impressions - make sure you place ads only on websites that your target markets visit.
ACTION: Yahoo! Advertising provides Internet marketing services to design, purchase and place your Internet advertisements
Public relations promotes your online marketing image
Marketing on the internet includes more than advertising; it's also about public relations. Generate publicity online and continually monitor, build and maintain your online reputation.
ACTION: Include Google Alerts in your online marketing strategy. Use them to keep tabs on mentions of your name, your company and your products online; search Technorati for mentions in blogs and social media. And, when you write press releases, distribute them via a newswire service like PRWeb, which allows you to tag your release for exposure on social bookmarking sites like Digg and Del.iciou.us.
Engage e-mail marketing to reach your online market
Promotional e-mails, including targeted messages and periodic e-mail newsletters, are effective, opt-in tools for one-to-one marketing. Send news or send coupons, but whatever you do, don't spam.
ACTION: VerticalResponse is a popular e-mail marketing vendor that can help you develop and execute a one-on-one marketing strategy; browse its resources page for e-mail marketing research, tips and advice.
Pursue affiliate marketing to leverage online marketing relationships
A collaborative approach to Internet marketing, affiliate marketing consists of advertisements on other people's websites. When a customer clicks on the ads and visits your website, your affiliate gets a small commission. You can also reverse the process and get profits from promoting other vendors' products
ACTION: LinkShare and ClickBank are examples of companies that provide affiliate-focused internet marketing services, AffiliateScout.com and AffiliatePrograms.com are directories where you can search for affiliate networks based on location, industry, etc.
Make blogging an integral piece of your internet marketing strategy
Blogs offer business owners an affordable and personable way to connect online with customers. Blogging about your business, your industry and your life positions you as an expert, an advocate and most importantly, a real person.
ACTION: For a low monthly fee, you can publish your own blog via sites like TypePad and Movable Type; Blogger and WordPress, meanwhile, are free. Don't forget to market your blog via RSS feeds; while most blogging software will create RSS feeds for you, online marketing companies like SimpleFeed can help, too.
Get involved in social networks to broaden your online reach
Social networks are the networking component to your modern-day online marketing strategy; giving your company a presence on popular social networks especially engages younger consumers and turns them into brand evangelists.
ACTION: While MySpace, Friendster and Facebook tend to be the most attractive social networks for companies who are marketing on the Internet, other sites, such as Second Life and Twitter, are becoming major players. Still other sites, like LinkedIn, are proving themselves important stomping grounds for B2B marketers.
Photos and video provide impact to your online marketing
Use pictures of your business, staff and customers everywhere you can. Images touch us emotionally and convey messages quickly. Remember that surfers have short attention-spans.
ACTION: Start taking pictures of your business' world right now, poast them to your website and social sites, like your Facebook page.
Release viral marketing to spread your online marketing message
Whether you send a viral e-mail, produce a viral video or build a viral website, Internet marketing of the viral variety spreads far and fast, allowing you to start small and finish big.
ACTION: Consider uploading branded media to sites like YouTube, Revver or Flickr. A video or photo that goes viral can attract heaps of new business.
Generate online word of mouth with consumer-driven Internet marketing efforts
Internet marketing is about interactivity. Give your customers a platform for expressing-and sharing-their opinions online in order to build buzz and goodwill.
ACTION: Customer reviews provide credibility for companies that give consumers the power to do their Internet marketing for them; while many shopping cart solutions, such as Zoovy, now include built-in customer review functions, companies like PowerReviews specialize in them.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Online Marketing Guide
o More than advertising for your website, Internet marketing should provide you with an entire online brand. Your Internet marketing strategy should go beyond just making sales and toward building an engaging online web presence.
o Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When you're marketing online, reserve a portion of your budget for offline advertising, such as direct mail, which you can use to push traffic to your website.
o Keep in mind that not all online advertising can be bought; a big part of Internet marketing is building relationships and earning reputations.
o Whether off-line or online, marketing requires a clear and comprehensive understanding of your target customers. Find out who your best customers are and where you can find them online, then go after them.
o Internet marketing is about usefulness. It's not enough to build a pretty website; you must also build one that's engaging and easy to use. If you focus your Internet marketing strategy on creating a positive user experience, it will eventually be profitable to you.
At one time, business essentials were limited to business cards, yellow page ads and brochures. Newspapers, radio and television were used by cutting-edge businesses of yore and still reap huge rewards for big-businesses today.
Mass media are generally just not cost-effective for most local businesses. In the 21st Century, it's clear that the impact of these tools is diminished by the world wide web. We search for products and services online from our desktops, laptops and cell phones. Yet most local business owners don't take advantage of the affordability and profits available through online marketing.
Like a business plan and a budget, an Internet marketing strategy is essential for modern-day small business success. While a website provides a good starting point, online marketing requires more than a couple of static web pages. Instead, a successful internet approach requires a dynamic and well-rounded web presence that builds relationships in addition to sales, fans in addition to customers.
A comprehensive Internet marketing strategy replaces newspaper ads with banner ads, yellow pages with search engines, snail mail with e-mail, town squares with social networks and sales letters with custom content. The technology is as evolutionary as it is revolutionary, and smart businesses are taking advantage of current environment to trounce their competition.
Tools and technology aside, there are dozens of reasons to engage actively and often in Internet marketing. Here are a few of the most persuasive:
1. When they need information, modern-day consumers go online; your successful internet marketing program will make sure they find you when they are shopping for your product or service.
2. Online marketing has tremendous research potential; if nothing else, companies should engage in online marketing research in order to collect data about their customers, prospects and competitors.
3. By marketing on the internet, companies can reach a highly targeted audience; what's more, they can reach it quickly, intimately and more cost-effectively online than traditional marketing approaches.
4. Online marketing lends itself to instant conversions. Customers can quickly and easily find what they want and immediately click through to purchase it.
5. Compared with many traditional marketing vehicles, Internet marketing services are both more affordable and more effective.
6. Internet marketing provides marketing power to local business owners; by marketing online, your company can enjoy big-business marketing exposure on a local marketing budget.
Action Steps. Some contacts and resources to help you get started with your online marketing:
Search engine marketing strengthens your online marketing strategy.
Once you have a website, Internet marketing via search engines will help your customers find it. Consider search engine optimization, which will improve your search engine rankings, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, which markets your company via relevant, targeted search engine queries.
ACTION: Before you build a web site, use Wordtracker's free keyword suggestion tool to choose keywords; use those keywords in your descriptions and meta-tags, PPC advertising via Google AdWords and Yahoo! Sponsored Search in order to build search engine traffic.
Select appropriate display advertising and leverage online marketing tools
Display advertising, including banner ads, is a basic form of online marketing. Because you'll pay for impressions - banner ads are usually priced using CPM, or cost per thousand impressions - make sure you place ads only on websites that your target markets visit.
ACTION: Yahoo! Advertising provides Internet marketing services to design, purchase and place your Internet advertisements
Public relations promotes your online marketing image
Marketing on the internet includes more than advertising; it's also about public relations. Generate publicity online and continually monitor, build and maintain your online reputation.
ACTION: Include Google Alerts in your online marketing strategy. Use them to keep tabs on mentions of your name, your company and your products online; search Technorati for mentions in blogs and social media. And, when you write press releases, distribute them via a newswire service like PRWeb, which allows you to tag your release for exposure on social bookmarking sites like Digg and Del.iciou.us.
Engage e-mail marketing to reach your online market
Promotional e-mails, including targeted messages and periodic e-mail newsletters, are effective, opt-in tools for one-to-one marketing. Send news or send coupons, but whatever you do, don't spam.
ACTION: VerticalResponse is a popular e-mail marketing vendor that can help you develop and execute a one-on-one marketing strategy; browse its resources page for e-mail marketing research, tips and advice.
Pursue affiliate marketing to leverage online marketing relationships
A collaborative approach to Internet marketing, affiliate marketing consists of advertisements on other people's websites. When a customer clicks on the ads and visits your website, your affiliate gets a small commission. You can also reverse the process and get profits from promoting other vendors' products
ACTION: LinkShare and ClickBank are examples of companies that provide affiliate-focused internet marketing services, AffiliateScout.com and AffiliatePrograms.com are directories where you can search for affiliate networks based on location, industry, etc.
Make blogging an integral piece of your internet marketing strategy
Blogs offer business owners an affordable and personable way to connect online with customers. Blogging about your business, your industry and your life positions you as an expert, an advocate and most importantly, a real person.
ACTION: For a low monthly fee, you can publish your own blog via sites like TypePad and Movable Type; Blogger and WordPress, meanwhile, are free. Don't forget to market your blog via RSS feeds; while most blogging software will create RSS feeds for you, online marketing companies like SimpleFeed can help, too.
Get involved in social networks to broaden your online reach
Social networks are the networking component to your modern-day online marketing strategy; giving your company a presence on popular social networks especially engages younger consumers and turns them into brand evangelists.
ACTION: While MySpace, Friendster and Facebook tend to be the most attractive social networks for companies who are marketing on the Internet, other sites, such as Second Life and Twitter, are becoming major players. Still other sites, like LinkedIn, are proving themselves important stomping grounds for B2B marketers.
Photos and video provide impact to your online marketing
Use pictures of your business, staff and customers everywhere you can. Images touch us emotionally and convey messages quickly. Remember that surfers have short attention-spans.
ACTION: Start taking pictures of your business' world right now, poast them to your website and social sites, like your Facebook page.
Release viral marketing to spread your online marketing message
Whether you send a viral e-mail, produce a viral video or build a viral website, Internet marketing of the viral variety spreads far and fast, allowing you to start small and finish big.
ACTION: Consider uploading branded media to sites like YouTube, Revver or Flickr. A video or photo that goes viral can attract heaps of new business.
Generate online word of mouth with consumer-driven Internet marketing efforts
Internet marketing is about interactivity. Give your customers a platform for expressing-and sharing-their opinions online in order to build buzz and goodwill.
ACTION: Customer reviews provide credibility for companies that give consumers the power to do their Internet marketing for them; while many shopping cart solutions, such as Zoovy, now include built-in customer review functions, companies like PowerReviews specialize in them.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Online Marketing Guide
o More than advertising for your website, Internet marketing should provide you with an entire online brand. Your Internet marketing strategy should go beyond just making sales and toward building an engaging online web presence.
o Don't put all your eggs in one basket. When you're marketing online, reserve a portion of your budget for offline advertising, such as direct mail, which you can use to push traffic to your website.
o Keep in mind that not all online advertising can be bought; a big part of Internet marketing is building relationships and earning reputations.
o Whether off-line or online, marketing requires a clear and comprehensive understanding of your target customers. Find out who your best customers are and where you can find them online, then go after them.
o Internet marketing is about usefulness. It's not enough to build a pretty website; you must also build one that's engaging and easy to use. If you focus your Internet marketing strategy on creating a positive user experience, it will eventually be profitable to you.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Marketing in Transition
Introduction
Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. In pre-modern economies, the predominance of small enterprise and there was monopoly and there was no recognition of marketing as a separate field of expertise. Marketing emerged as a separate technical field only in the late 19th century.
In the present scenario, the changing needs and wants or taste and preferences among the customers leads to paradigm shift in marketing. This is due to changing attitude and behaviour of the customers, globalization, increasing purchasing power and changing life style of the customers.
Causes for Marketing in Transition
• Globalization - Globalization has brought changes in technology, quality, service, work culture and undoubtedly fierce competition.
• Emerging Middle-Class Consumers - the increasing Purchasing Power of the Middle-Class consumers creates the MNC's to seek opportunity in the emerging market.
• Changing Lifestyle and attitude of Consumers - since there is a change in the customers lifestyle due to western influence the customer's needs and expectations has increased.
• Increasing literacy rate
• Children influence in buying decision making
• Changing perspective of rural marketing in India
• Increasing penetration of mass media
• Consumer awareness
• Information revolution
• An Enormous growth in international business
Formation of marketing concepts and practices
• 1905 - the University of Pennsylvania offered a course in "The Marketing of Products"
• 1908 - Harvard Business School opens
• 1940s - electronic computers developed
• 1980s - emergence of relationship marketing
• 1984 - introduction of guerilla marketing
• 1995-2001 - the Dot-com bubble temporarily re-defines the future of marketing
• 1996 - identification of viral marketing
Emerging New Marketing Practices
Due to increased competition the companies had necessity to enhance additional features to their products to promote the sale of their products. Many companies followed different marketing practices to attract their customers.
Winning concepts and marketing practices are
• Relationship marketing
• Co-branding
• Viral Marketing
• Sachet Marketing
• Green marketing
• Rural marketing
• Destination marketing
• Online marketing
• Cause related marketing
MARKETING IN TRANSITION
A transition from a product oriented approach to a resource oriented approach
Transaction marketing Relationship marketing
Focus on Obtaining new customers Customer retention
Orientation to Service features Customer benefits
Timescale shorts long
Customer service Little emphasis High emphasis
Customer commitment Limited High
Customer contact Limited High
Quality
Primarily an operations concern
The concern to all
Nowadays many companies are practicing the new marketing concepts and practices. Some of the examples are as follows.
Relationship marketing:
The domain of relationship marketing extends into many areas of marketing and strategic decision making. In the phenomenon of cooperation and collaboration with customers becomes the dominant paradigm of marketing practices. Relationship marketing has the potential to emerge as the predominance perspective in the paradigm of marketing.
In the fierce competitive market customer relationship management is emerging as the core marketing activity in companies. For that to maintain companies practices customer retention strategies and having good relation with the customers.
Example:
HSBC bank sent greeting cards to the customers on their birthdays to have good relationship
Whirlpool do very good post sale service to the customers.
Sachet Marketing
In India, Unilever successfully markets Sunsil and Lux shampoo sachets sold in units of 2-4 dollar cents; Clinic All Clear anti-dandruff shampoo sachets at 2.5 rupees each; and 16 cent Rexona deodorant sticks.
Idhayam gingili oil available for Rs 4/- package.
To capture the BOTTOM OF PYRAMID also
Green Marketing
It refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
Green marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though when it's done right. Nowadays all companies are trying to produce eco-friendly products. And many companies have got ISO 14001 awards and strive to get.
Examples are ITC products, in the note books, it is environment friendly notebook.
Changing Perspective Of Rural Marketing In India
The great Indian rural market is characterized by huge untapped potential and opportunities. It is estimated that almost 70% of Indian consumers live in rural areas, which generate almost half of the national income. The number of middle income households in rural India is growing to above 111 million by 2007. There are almost twice as many lower middle income households in rural areas as in the urban areas.
A large number of corporate are excited about tapping the potential of rural areas. The recent entry of some corporate like Bharti, ITC, DCM shriram consolidated, EID parry and Amul etc. proved their fascination towards this sector. These corporates tried to develop successful model of integrating information-technology in rural transformation in a profitable way.
The tamilnadu based EID parry has developed an agro-portal [http://www.indiaagrline.com] to cater the specific needs of the rural farming community. It is an endeavor to catalyze e-commerce in agricultural and non-farms products by offering a network of partnerships. The content is available in local tamil language.
The Anand, Gurajat based Amuls DISK dairy information system KIOSK project is yet another milestone of integrating corporate sector and information technology. These kiosk serve valuable information related to dairying, breeding and rearing cattle .
ITC e-choupal has emerged as one of the most ambitious project integrating information technology and corporate sector for rural transformation. ITC e-choupal network has already covered approximately 3.1 million farmers through 5050 choupal in 29,500 villages. The company has ambitious plan to reach 1,00,000 villages covering 10 million farmers by 2010 with whopping approximately 1,000 crore. It is opening 5-6 e-choupals everyday in six different states of India.
Pepsi rural marketing
Pepsi company India has entered into rural market by having joint programme with the Punjab agriculture university in ludiana and Punjab agro industries corporation in chandigarh. The programme focuses on evolving agricultural practices to help Punjab farmers produce crops that would make Indian products internationally competitive. To cultivate a range of sweet oranges for its Tropicana range.
Apart from that, they have given advertisement to attract the rural people with the celebrity of Amitabh bachchan and star cricketer sachin tendulkar.
Coca-cola rural marketing
With the help of Isha foundation coca-cola released the CD of the coca-cola tamil CSR film "NESA KARANGAL" and also acknowledged and appreciated coca-cola's efforts in promoting social cohesiveness and sportsmanship with an aim to transform rural lives,
Advertisements to attract the rural customers are maasa-actress Rani Mukherji acted in this advertisement and says "masti ka chataka" , Satis shah's maaza ad is also based on village background.
Aamir khan acted in the advertisement which showcases a beautiful village background with the punch line "thanda ka matlab cocacola" and also ad title "soni kudi" targeted the villagers.
Destination marketing:
Destination marketing is all about selling the experience. To sell the experience is far more difficult. In destination marketing media plays a major role . word of mouth plays a vital role in destination marketing . people love to discuss their tour, infact they feel proud in telling their experiences, they bring gifts for their close ones they show their photographs and purchases to their relatives and neighbours
Eg . kerala has implemented the destination marketing very successfully and emerged as the most acclaimed tourist destination of the country in the recent past. Because of this destination marketing kerala has achieved remarkable success in generating revenue and employment in state through tourism. It is estimated nearly $100 million which generate the employment opportunity in kerala.
In the recent past all the successful stories of destination marketing that is Malaysia, Goa, Kerala, Singapore etc.
Emergence of theme parks such as ADHISAYAM, MGM , BLACK THUNDER,- all are examples of destination marketing.
Transition from kirana stores to modern organized retail outlets:
Modern retailing in India is growing rapidly. Although it commands just 3% of the overall retail market share, changing demographics and consumer taste are driving the growth of more than 30% of the modern retail formats. It is expected to grow another 9% in the year of 2010. India is more attractive than ever to global retailers.
Major players in India are:
Pantaloon retail India limited or future group, RPG group, Tata group, k.Raheja corp. group of companies, RRL (Reliance retail limited), A.B.Birla group, Gati, Calvin klein,murjani group, Disney artist stores, Vishal group (vishal megamart)
Foreign players in India are
Wal-mart stores, Carrefour, Tesco, Rosy blue group, LVMH Group, Metro
This transition makes the marketing in transition
Transition in Segmentation:
Transition from demographic based segmentation to psychographic based segmentation . since 1950's market segmentation has been referred to as a process of identifying groups of individuals who are similar in attitudes etc. and the segmentation is of demographic segmentation . after 1970s it is psychographic segmentation , know about the customer taste and preferences and collect at the real time point of purchase data. And now it is need based segmentation is using for different marketing functions like advertising and new product development .
Cause related marketing
Cause related marketing is practiced on the rationale that consumers are human beings are kind hearted. The customer pay the amount with some satisfaction that the specific amount is to for relevant social cause.
Example
A sanitary napkin brand "whisper" announced a contribution o Re.1 on every pack of sales for blind relief society. This helps in improving whisper's market share.
HLL announced a contribution of Rs 0.50 on the sale of each of its brand of lifebuoy brand soap to a diarrhea project.
Co-branding
Co-branding is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy. This co-branding is innovative in the marketing practices.
Examples:
• Andhra bank and ICFAI university are using the strategy of co-branding.
• Andhra bank and Hindustan petroleum also launched their co-branded card
• SBI card and LG electronics India launched the LG-SBI card. This is the country's first co-branded credit card for the consumer appliances industry and can be used at more than 2 lakh outlets in India.
• Idea cellular and HDFC Bank launched two co-branded cards providing multiple benefits to customers of both.
• Pillsbury Brownies with Nestle Chocolate
• Dell Computers with Intel Processors
Online marketing
Internet marketing, also referred to as online marketing, Internet advertising, or eMarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. Internet marketing also includes management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (E-CRM) systems.
Samsung marketing practices
Viral marketing , interactive marketing
Samsung created its "Fun Club" as a way to engage with Samsung mobile phone owners to help them get the most from their phones. Samsung provides content such as games, ringers, and wallpapers that are designed specifically for Samsung mobile phone models. Hearing about new mobile content is one of the benefits of joining the "Fun Club." Samsung was looking for a new way to use rich multimedia to promote the game, Skipping Stone, to its customers. Samsung engaged Enpocket to create a mobile marketing campaign promoting Skipping Stone using the graphically rich MMS channel.
Conclusion
In the present competitive scenario, there should be transition in marketing practices in order to survive in the market. Since "change in the only thing which never change" in the world, companies have to adapt themselves according to the changing environment. The best emerging practices in the corporate world is win-win concept to be the leader in the market.
Marketing is the management process that identifies, anticipates and satisfies customer requirements profitably. In pre-modern economies, the predominance of small enterprise and there was monopoly and there was no recognition of marketing as a separate field of expertise. Marketing emerged as a separate technical field only in the late 19th century.
In the present scenario, the changing needs and wants or taste and preferences among the customers leads to paradigm shift in marketing. This is due to changing attitude and behaviour of the customers, globalization, increasing purchasing power and changing life style of the customers.
Causes for Marketing in Transition
• Globalization - Globalization has brought changes in technology, quality, service, work culture and undoubtedly fierce competition.
• Emerging Middle-Class Consumers - the increasing Purchasing Power of the Middle-Class consumers creates the MNC's to seek opportunity in the emerging market.
• Changing Lifestyle and attitude of Consumers - since there is a change in the customers lifestyle due to western influence the customer's needs and expectations has increased.
• Increasing literacy rate
• Children influence in buying decision making
• Changing perspective of rural marketing in India
• Increasing penetration of mass media
• Consumer awareness
• Information revolution
• An Enormous growth in international business
Formation of marketing concepts and practices
• 1905 - the University of Pennsylvania offered a course in "The Marketing of Products"
• 1908 - Harvard Business School opens
• 1940s - electronic computers developed
• 1980s - emergence of relationship marketing
• 1984 - introduction of guerilla marketing
• 1995-2001 - the Dot-com bubble temporarily re-defines the future of marketing
• 1996 - identification of viral marketing
Emerging New Marketing Practices
Due to increased competition the companies had necessity to enhance additional features to their products to promote the sale of their products. Many companies followed different marketing practices to attract their customers.
Winning concepts and marketing practices are
• Relationship marketing
• Co-branding
• Viral Marketing
• Sachet Marketing
• Green marketing
• Rural marketing
• Destination marketing
• Online marketing
• Cause related marketing
MARKETING IN TRANSITION
A transition from a product oriented approach to a resource oriented approach
Transaction marketing Relationship marketing
Focus on Obtaining new customers Customer retention
Orientation to Service features Customer benefits
Timescale shorts long
Customer service Little emphasis High emphasis
Customer commitment Limited High
Customer contact Limited High
Quality
Primarily an operations concern
The concern to all
Nowadays many companies are practicing the new marketing concepts and practices. Some of the examples are as follows.
Relationship marketing:
The domain of relationship marketing extends into many areas of marketing and strategic decision making. In the phenomenon of cooperation and collaboration with customers becomes the dominant paradigm of marketing practices. Relationship marketing has the potential to emerge as the predominance perspective in the paradigm of marketing.
In the fierce competitive market customer relationship management is emerging as the core marketing activity in companies. For that to maintain companies practices customer retention strategies and having good relation with the customers.
Example:
HSBC bank sent greeting cards to the customers on their birthdays to have good relationship
Whirlpool do very good post sale service to the customers.
Sachet Marketing
In India, Unilever successfully markets Sunsil and Lux shampoo sachets sold in units of 2-4 dollar cents; Clinic All Clear anti-dandruff shampoo sachets at 2.5 rupees each; and 16 cent Rexona deodorant sticks.
Idhayam gingili oil available for Rs 4/- package.
To capture the BOTTOM OF PYRAMID also
Green Marketing
It refers to the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits. Such a product or service may be environmentally friendly in itself or produced and/or packaged in an environmentally friendly way.
Green marketing can be a very powerful marketing strategy though when it's done right. Nowadays all companies are trying to produce eco-friendly products. And many companies have got ISO 14001 awards and strive to get.
Examples are ITC products, in the note books, it is environment friendly notebook.
Changing Perspective Of Rural Marketing In India
The great Indian rural market is characterized by huge untapped potential and opportunities. It is estimated that almost 70% of Indian consumers live in rural areas, which generate almost half of the national income. The number of middle income households in rural India is growing to above 111 million by 2007. There are almost twice as many lower middle income households in rural areas as in the urban areas.
A large number of corporate are excited about tapping the potential of rural areas. The recent entry of some corporate like Bharti, ITC, DCM shriram consolidated, EID parry and Amul etc. proved their fascination towards this sector. These corporates tried to develop successful model of integrating information-technology in rural transformation in a profitable way.
The tamilnadu based EID parry has developed an agro-portal [http://www.indiaagrline.com] to cater the specific needs of the rural farming community. It is an endeavor to catalyze e-commerce in agricultural and non-farms products by offering a network of partnerships. The content is available in local tamil language.
The Anand, Gurajat based Amuls DISK dairy information system KIOSK project is yet another milestone of integrating corporate sector and information technology. These kiosk serve valuable information related to dairying, breeding and rearing cattle .
ITC e-choupal has emerged as one of the most ambitious project integrating information technology and corporate sector for rural transformation. ITC e-choupal network has already covered approximately 3.1 million farmers through 5050 choupal in 29,500 villages. The company has ambitious plan to reach 1,00,000 villages covering 10 million farmers by 2010 with whopping approximately 1,000 crore. It is opening 5-6 e-choupals everyday in six different states of India.
Pepsi rural marketing
Pepsi company India has entered into rural market by having joint programme with the Punjab agriculture university in ludiana and Punjab agro industries corporation in chandigarh. The programme focuses on evolving agricultural practices to help Punjab farmers produce crops that would make Indian products internationally competitive. To cultivate a range of sweet oranges for its Tropicana range.
Apart from that, they have given advertisement to attract the rural people with the celebrity of Amitabh bachchan and star cricketer sachin tendulkar.
Coca-cola rural marketing
With the help of Isha foundation coca-cola released the CD of the coca-cola tamil CSR film "NESA KARANGAL" and also acknowledged and appreciated coca-cola's efforts in promoting social cohesiveness and sportsmanship with an aim to transform rural lives,
Advertisements to attract the rural customers are maasa-actress Rani Mukherji acted in this advertisement and says "masti ka chataka" , Satis shah's maaza ad is also based on village background.
Aamir khan acted in the advertisement which showcases a beautiful village background with the punch line "thanda ka matlab cocacola" and also ad title "soni kudi" targeted the villagers.
Destination marketing:
Destination marketing is all about selling the experience. To sell the experience is far more difficult. In destination marketing media plays a major role . word of mouth plays a vital role in destination marketing . people love to discuss their tour, infact they feel proud in telling their experiences, they bring gifts for their close ones they show their photographs and purchases to their relatives and neighbours
Eg . kerala has implemented the destination marketing very successfully and emerged as the most acclaimed tourist destination of the country in the recent past. Because of this destination marketing kerala has achieved remarkable success in generating revenue and employment in state through tourism. It is estimated nearly $100 million which generate the employment opportunity in kerala.
In the recent past all the successful stories of destination marketing that is Malaysia, Goa, Kerala, Singapore etc.
Emergence of theme parks such as ADHISAYAM, MGM , BLACK THUNDER,- all are examples of destination marketing.
Transition from kirana stores to modern organized retail outlets:
Modern retailing in India is growing rapidly. Although it commands just 3% of the overall retail market share, changing demographics and consumer taste are driving the growth of more than 30% of the modern retail formats. It is expected to grow another 9% in the year of 2010. India is more attractive than ever to global retailers.
Major players in India are:
Pantaloon retail India limited or future group, RPG group, Tata group, k.Raheja corp. group of companies, RRL (Reliance retail limited), A.B.Birla group, Gati, Calvin klein,murjani group, Disney artist stores, Vishal group (vishal megamart)
Foreign players in India are
Wal-mart stores, Carrefour, Tesco, Rosy blue group, LVMH Group, Metro
This transition makes the marketing in transition
Transition in Segmentation:
Transition from demographic based segmentation to psychographic based segmentation . since 1950's market segmentation has been referred to as a process of identifying groups of individuals who are similar in attitudes etc. and the segmentation is of demographic segmentation . after 1970s it is psychographic segmentation , know about the customer taste and preferences and collect at the real time point of purchase data. And now it is need based segmentation is using for different marketing functions like advertising and new product development .
Cause related marketing
Cause related marketing is practiced on the rationale that consumers are human beings are kind hearted. The customer pay the amount with some satisfaction that the specific amount is to for relevant social cause.
Example
A sanitary napkin brand "whisper" announced a contribution o Re.1 on every pack of sales for blind relief society. This helps in improving whisper's market share.
HLL announced a contribution of Rs 0.50 on the sale of each of its brand of lifebuoy brand soap to a diarrhea project.
Co-branding
Co-branding is when two companies form an alliance to work together, creating marketing synergy. This co-branding is innovative in the marketing practices.
Examples:
• Andhra bank and ICFAI university are using the strategy of co-branding.
• Andhra bank and Hindustan petroleum also launched their co-branded card
• SBI card and LG electronics India launched the LG-SBI card. This is the country's first co-branded credit card for the consumer appliances industry and can be used at more than 2 lakh outlets in India.
• Idea cellular and HDFC Bank launched two co-branded cards providing multiple benefits to customers of both.
• Pillsbury Brownies with Nestle Chocolate
• Dell Computers with Intel Processors
Online marketing
Internet marketing, also referred to as online marketing, Internet advertising, or eMarketing, is the marketing of products or services over the Internet. Internet marketing also includes management of digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management (E-CRM) systems.
Samsung marketing practices
Viral marketing , interactive marketing
Samsung created its "Fun Club" as a way to engage with Samsung mobile phone owners to help them get the most from their phones. Samsung provides content such as games, ringers, and wallpapers that are designed specifically for Samsung mobile phone models. Hearing about new mobile content is one of the benefits of joining the "Fun Club." Samsung was looking for a new way to use rich multimedia to promote the game, Skipping Stone, to its customers. Samsung engaged Enpocket to create a mobile marketing campaign promoting Skipping Stone using the graphically rich MMS channel.
Conclusion
In the present competitive scenario, there should be transition in marketing practices in order to survive in the market. Since "change in the only thing which never change" in the world, companies have to adapt themselves according to the changing environment. The best emerging practices in the corporate world is win-win concept to be the leader in the market.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Marketing For Your Business
Marketing
This is the process through which goods and services are promoted for sale. In this process different individuals or groups of people create awareness about a certain product in the market thereby creating a value and demand for the product and thus sale of it to the general public.
Through marketing, a company or business creates consumers for their product which did not exist initially or was at a minimum level. Marketing of goods and services was as a result of over production of goods and services and the presence of mature markets therefore in order for a company to make profits they had to change tactics from focusing on production of goods to creating consumers for the products they produced. Thus, by so doing they could be able to get profits and beat competition in the market.
In order for marketing of a product to be successful, a marketer should ensure that he/she grasps the basic concepts of marketing. The concepts dictate that a company should efficiently know the needs and wants of the market they wish to sell and ensure that they achieve the desires of the target consumers in a satisfactory manner. Achieving this market satisfaction should be done in a manner that is better than competitors in the same business thereby gaining more customers.
There steps which a marketer should follow to ensure effective marketing of his products, firstly a marketer should know the appropriate communication skill to use to get the attention of the public. The goal should be to ensure that the targeted market gets to know of the availability of a certain product and get interested in it. Different goods and services need different ways of promotion but the most important point is using a communication method that captures the attention of the desired buyers. There are different ways of promotion of products for example, print media and electronic media which is bound to reach many people.
Also one can use direct marketing and personally selling the product or service. Personal selling is where salesmen or women approach different individuals or groups of desired customers and directly promote the items telling the potential customers the benefits of their products against others in the market. This type of promotion is best for the promotion of complex products which consumers need adequate knowledge of them. Products that can use this type of service include motor vehicles and insurance policies which are very specific.
Another marketing strategy is sales promotion, this technique involves use of sales brochure and coupons which briefly give details of particular goods and services and are numerously distributed to clients' randomly. However this process does not build a relationship with the clients as compared with personal selling. Advertising is the most popular form of marketing, this is when a business firm directly procures the services of a media company to publicize its goods and services, and this is usually done through television, radio, branding and billboards. This method is very effective since it captures a wide attention of potential customers within a short time.
Also directing marketing is another way of promotion of products unlike advertising, it is more personal and seeks to directly communicate with potential clients. Marketers use this method to create and retain customers through direct communication by methods such as sending electronic brochures through emails and other social web sites.
This is the process through which goods and services are promoted for sale. In this process different individuals or groups of people create awareness about a certain product in the market thereby creating a value and demand for the product and thus sale of it to the general public.
Through marketing, a company or business creates consumers for their product which did not exist initially or was at a minimum level. Marketing of goods and services was as a result of over production of goods and services and the presence of mature markets therefore in order for a company to make profits they had to change tactics from focusing on production of goods to creating consumers for the products they produced. Thus, by so doing they could be able to get profits and beat competition in the market.
In order for marketing of a product to be successful, a marketer should ensure that he/she grasps the basic concepts of marketing. The concepts dictate that a company should efficiently know the needs and wants of the market they wish to sell and ensure that they achieve the desires of the target consumers in a satisfactory manner. Achieving this market satisfaction should be done in a manner that is better than competitors in the same business thereby gaining more customers.
There steps which a marketer should follow to ensure effective marketing of his products, firstly a marketer should know the appropriate communication skill to use to get the attention of the public. The goal should be to ensure that the targeted market gets to know of the availability of a certain product and get interested in it. Different goods and services need different ways of promotion but the most important point is using a communication method that captures the attention of the desired buyers. There are different ways of promotion of products for example, print media and electronic media which is bound to reach many people.
Also one can use direct marketing and personally selling the product or service. Personal selling is where salesmen or women approach different individuals or groups of desired customers and directly promote the items telling the potential customers the benefits of their products against others in the market. This type of promotion is best for the promotion of complex products which consumers need adequate knowledge of them. Products that can use this type of service include motor vehicles and insurance policies which are very specific.
Another marketing strategy is sales promotion, this technique involves use of sales brochure and coupons which briefly give details of particular goods and services and are numerously distributed to clients' randomly. However this process does not build a relationship with the clients as compared with personal selling. Advertising is the most popular form of marketing, this is when a business firm directly procures the services of a media company to publicize its goods and services, and this is usually done through television, radio, branding and billboards. This method is very effective since it captures a wide attention of potential customers within a short time.
Also directing marketing is another way of promotion of products unlike advertising, it is more personal and seeks to directly communicate with potential clients. Marketers use this method to create and retain customers through direct communication by methods such as sending electronic brochures through emails and other social web sites.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
How to Mix Global Website Development With Traditional International Marketing
One way for businesses to plan for their international business expansion is to look at their progress in:
Progression Towards Website Globalization
- Websites as they move towards global business websites
- The different stages of traditional international marketing towards global business marketing
- Clearly identify where they are today on the scale of international business
- Create an International Internet Business Plan
Progression Towards Website Globalization
It is very interesting to note the online marketing progression today goes something like this:
Progression Towards Global Marketing
But compare this online process to the traditional international marketing process where companies progress to global marketing as follows:
International Internet Marketing Progression Plan
Small businesses just starting out in international business expansion need to create real communication with their international markets.
If you mix the progression towards global marketing with the progression towards website globalization this gives you a structure for an international internet marketing plan.
1 - Domestic Website For Domestic Marketing
2 - Internationalized Domestic Website For Export Marketing
In any event, you can always review your domestic website to make sure you are not unduly pushing away international visitors.
Some companies may opt for a separate international website.
This may be the case for French companies for example. They may keep their domestic website in French and start their international internet marketing with a separate international website targeting all foreign markets.
3 - Localized Website For International Marketing
You will create one localized website per country you market to, until you have a regional group of localized websites.
4 - Group Of Localized Websites For Multinational Marketing
This step really depends on the nature of your business and how you conduct your business in these regions.
5- Global Website For Global Marketing
But from a marketing standpoint, if you have one product to sell throughout a global market, your best online presence is through one global website giving access to a series of localized websites using templates.
Use Cross Cultural Communication Tools
The above plan gives you an outline of how you can use your website with an International Internet Marketing plan to progressively move towards full international business development.
Your international sales success depends on three things:
Your International Internet Business Plan will evolve through a learning process as you become more knowledgeable about your international markets. There are often many adjustments needed when expanding your business internationally. Take small steps and adapt your plan when needed.
Cross cultural communication experts identify five different cultural behavioral values. Studying these values gives you insights into the tools you can use online to adapt your communication to your different foreign markets.
Over the next five weeks I will review one set of these tools in the Get International Clients Newsletter. Sign up now and find out what you can do to market to different cultures.
Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?- From website internationalization = domestic website + all foreign & domestic markets
- To website localization = one foreign website + one foreign market
- To website globalization = all foreign websites + all foreign markets
Progression Towards Global Marketing
But compare this online process to the traditional international marketing process where companies progress to global marketing as follows:
- From Domestic Marketing = domestic product + domestic market
- To Export Marketing = domestic product + foreign market
- To International Marketing = one foreign product + one foreign country
- To Multinational Marketing = one foreign product + one foreign region of a few countries
- To Global Marketing = one product + all foreign countries & domestic market
International Internet Marketing Progression Plan
Small businesses just starting out in international business expansion need to create real communication with their international markets.
If you mix the progression towards global marketing with the progression towards website globalization this gives you a structure for an international internet marketing plan.
1 - Domestic Website For Domestic Marketing
- One domestic website
- Customized content and communication for your domestic market only
- Marketing your domestic product
- Marketing to your domestic market
2 - Internationalized Domestic Website For Export Marketing
- One domestic website
- Customized content and communication for both your domestic and all foreign markets
- Marketing your domestic product
- Marketing to your domestic market and all foreign markets
In any event, you can always review your domestic website to make sure you are not unduly pushing away international visitors.
Some companies may opt for a separate international website.
This may be the case for French companies for example. They may keep their domestic website in French and start their international internet marketing with a separate international website targeting all foreign markets.
3 - Localized Website For International Marketing
- One foreign website - begin using website templates
- Customized content and communication for one foreign market
- Marketing your product adapted to your foreign market
- Marketing to one foreign country
You will create one localized website per country you market to, until you have a regional group of localized websites.
4 - Group Of Localized Websites For Multinational Marketing
- A group of foreign websites - continue using website template
- Customized content and communication for each foreign country in the group of countries.
- Begin implementing one set of unique content adapted into each language for each country.
- Marketing your product adapted to your foreign market
- Marketing to a group of countries in one foreign region
This step really depends on the nature of your business and how you conduct your business in these regions.
5- Global Website For Global Marketing
- Dozens of foreign websites, one website per foreign country - using website templates
- One set of unique content adapted into each language for each country website based on templates.
- A culturally specific content and communication plan for each country
- Marketing one product for a global market
- Marketing to all foreign countries & your domestic market
But from a marketing standpoint, if you have one product to sell throughout a global market, your best online presence is through one global website giving access to a series of localized websites using templates.
Use Cross Cultural Communication Tools
The above plan gives you an outline of how you can use your website with an International Internet Marketing plan to progressively move towards full international business development.
Your international sales success depends on three things:
- Your content and communication must be customized for each market along the way.
- You need to use online tools to stimulate international feedback continuously.
- You must systematically track, analyze your results and adjust your marketing to fit with your international market.
Your International Internet Business Plan will evolve through a learning process as you become more knowledgeable about your international markets. There are often many adjustments needed when expanding your business internationally. Take small steps and adapt your plan when needed.
Cross cultural communication experts identify five different cultural behavioral values. Studying these values gives you insights into the tools you can use online to adapt your communication to your different foreign markets.
Over the next five weeks I will review one set of these tools in the Get International Clients Newsletter. Sign up now and find out what you can do to market to different cultures.
Learn how to combine cross-cultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Stock Market Tips - The 12 Most Important Tips to Get Started
Look before you leap is the most relevant of all stock market tips offered by investment specialist, don't rely on the stock market tips offered by your friend, the waiter at the restaurant or your brother in law, in other words trust your senses when making an investment. Your pre-investment research should include careful analysis of the market trends, industry performance and the price fluctuations of a stock so that you can pick the winners. Here are some stock market tips that will help you to familiarize yourself with some important concepts of equity investments.
Tip #1: When you buy a stock you are purchasing partial ownership in a company; also known as shares; these stocks give you a right to a part of the company's profits and assets; however, you are exempt from any liabilities that the organization may incur through the course of business.
Tip #2: There are different types of stocks and they offer a variety of features. While choosing the type of shares, you should ensure that the stock meets your investment objectives. For instance, if you are looking for a regular income, you should choose stocks that give regular dividends. On the other hand, if you are looking for capital gains, you should choose stocks that have a potential for significant price increase in future.
Tip #3: The stock market is not very different from an auction house where the number of buyers interested in a particular object often determines the extent of price rise
Tip #4: Stock prices are prone to fluctuations and depending on the type of stock you invest in, you may witness quite a bit of volatility on a daily basis
Tip #5: Companies only trade in their own stocks once; when they offer the share to the public for the first time through an IPO or initial public offering. Subsequently, the supply and demand factors for a particular stock and the company's performance sets the price of the shares without any interference from the company.
Tip #6: Stocks are traded through stock exchanges and the NYSE or the New York Stock exchange is the primary stock exchange in the country that has the highest number of blue chip companies listed on it.
Tip #7: There are two ways to purchase a stock, you can wither get in touch with a stock broking firm and open an account with them or you could enlist with an online stock broking firm and conduct stock trading and transactions online
Tip #8: You will need documents such as your social security, proof of residence and identity to open an account with a stock broking firm
Tip #9: The equities market works on a basic principle; that is a higher risk equates to a greater potential for reward; however, this principle does not always hold true.
Tip #10: You can get information on stocks through the stock charts and tables in your daily newspaper
Tip #11: Do not invest in stocks with your life's savings or with the money needed for your basic expenditure; stock market investments should be undertaken with any surplus money that you have after you have taken care of your basic needs and savings
Tip #12: If you are ready to try your luck in the equities market; it is essential to gather as much information as you can on stock analysis, investment strategies and the various tools used for the purpose from books, online articles etc.
Tip #1: When you buy a stock you are purchasing partial ownership in a company; also known as shares; these stocks give you a right to a part of the company's profits and assets; however, you are exempt from any liabilities that the organization may incur through the course of business.
Tip #2: There are different types of stocks and they offer a variety of features. While choosing the type of shares, you should ensure that the stock meets your investment objectives. For instance, if you are looking for a regular income, you should choose stocks that give regular dividends. On the other hand, if you are looking for capital gains, you should choose stocks that have a potential for significant price increase in future.
Tip #3: The stock market is not very different from an auction house where the number of buyers interested in a particular object often determines the extent of price rise
Tip #4: Stock prices are prone to fluctuations and depending on the type of stock you invest in, you may witness quite a bit of volatility on a daily basis
Tip #5: Companies only trade in their own stocks once; when they offer the share to the public for the first time through an IPO or initial public offering. Subsequently, the supply and demand factors for a particular stock and the company's performance sets the price of the shares without any interference from the company.
Tip #6: Stocks are traded through stock exchanges and the NYSE or the New York Stock exchange is the primary stock exchange in the country that has the highest number of blue chip companies listed on it.
Tip #7: There are two ways to purchase a stock, you can wither get in touch with a stock broking firm and open an account with them or you could enlist with an online stock broking firm and conduct stock trading and transactions online
Tip #8: You will need documents such as your social security, proof of residence and identity to open an account with a stock broking firm
Tip #9: The equities market works on a basic principle; that is a higher risk equates to a greater potential for reward; however, this principle does not always hold true.
Tip #10: You can get information on stocks through the stock charts and tables in your daily newspaper
Tip #11: Do not invest in stocks with your life's savings or with the money needed for your basic expenditure; stock market investments should be undertaken with any surplus money that you have after you have taken care of your basic needs and savings
Tip #12: If you are ready to try your luck in the equities market; it is essential to gather as much information as you can on stock analysis, investment strategies and the various tools used for the purpose from books, online articles etc.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Internet Marketing Plan For Your Successful Business
This summary is not available. Please
click here to view the post.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
10 Important Marketing Tips
Each of the following Ten Marketing Tips is based on a
highly effective but often overlooked marketing tactic.
How many are you using? How many have you overlooked?
Marketing Tip #1:
Insulate yourself against the impact of change by
increasing the number of products and services you offer
...and by using a variety of different marketing methods.
Only a small portion of your total business will be
affected if the sales of one product declines or the
response to one marketing method drops.
Marketing Tip #2:
Customers are prospects too. Stay in contact with them.
Find or develop other products or services you can offer
them. It's easier to make a sale to a previous customer
than to someone who never bought from you.
Marketing Tip #3:
Avoid making any claim that sounds exaggerated ...even if
it is true. A bold claim creates doubt in your prospect's
mind and jeopardizes the sale. Reduce any bold claims to a
more believable level.
Marketing Tip #4:
Express numerical claims as odd numbers with fractions or
decimals. For example, "Our clients save 17.7 percent"
sounds more believable than "Our clients save 20 percent"
...even if 20 percent is the accurate number.
Marketing Tip #5:
To create an absolutely irresistible offer, combine a
special discount price and a set of valuable bonuses in the
same offer.
Marketing Tip #6:
Develop a series of 4 or 5 different special offers. Use
them one at a time with an expiration deadline. When one
offer expires, replace it with the next offer and a new
deadline. Continuously recycle through the same series of
offers. This enables you to keep using special offers to
generate sales without taking time to develop new ones.
Marketing Tip #7:
If you're attracting many prospects who really don't have
(or can't get) the money to buy your product or service
...you need to change your market. Target a market where
prospects have an intense desire for the benefits produced
by your product or service AND the money to buy it.
Marketing Tip #8:
Set yourself apart from competitors by offering an
exclusive benefit your competitors cannot copy ...or one
they're not willing to copy. One business owner I know
includes his personal phone number on every order. His
competitors don't ...and they are not likely to start making
themselves that accessible to customers.
Marketing Tip #9:
Advertising copy produces the biggest response when each
reader can believe the message was written specifically for
him or her. As you write any sales message, visualize
you're writing to one person instead of to a large group of
people. This will help you write in a less formal and more
personal style.
Marketing Tip #10:
Most sales are not made on the first contact. Develop a
method to capture and save the names and contact
information of prospects who don't buy from you. Follow up
periodically. A little gentle coaching will eventually
convert many of them into buyers.
Each of these 10 marketing tips implements a simple but
highly effective marketing tactic. Take action now to apply
those you overlooked. You'll be surprised by how much
business it produces for you.
highly effective but often overlooked marketing tactic.
How many are you using? How many have you overlooked?
Marketing Tip #1:
Insulate yourself against the impact of change by
increasing the number of products and services you offer
...and by using a variety of different marketing methods.
Only a small portion of your total business will be
affected if the sales of one product declines or the
response to one marketing method drops.
Marketing Tip #2:
Customers are prospects too. Stay in contact with them.
Find or develop other products or services you can offer
them. It's easier to make a sale to a previous customer
than to someone who never bought from you.
Marketing Tip #3:
Avoid making any claim that sounds exaggerated ...even if
it is true. A bold claim creates doubt in your prospect's
mind and jeopardizes the sale. Reduce any bold claims to a
more believable level.
Marketing Tip #4:
Express numerical claims as odd numbers with fractions or
decimals. For example, "Our clients save 17.7 percent"
sounds more believable than "Our clients save 20 percent"
...even if 20 percent is the accurate number.
Marketing Tip #5:
To create an absolutely irresistible offer, combine a
special discount price and a set of valuable bonuses in the
same offer.
Marketing Tip #6:
Develop a series of 4 or 5 different special offers. Use
them one at a time with an expiration deadline. When one
offer expires, replace it with the next offer and a new
deadline. Continuously recycle through the same series of
offers. This enables you to keep using special offers to
generate sales without taking time to develop new ones.
Marketing Tip #7:
If you're attracting many prospects who really don't have
(or can't get) the money to buy your product or service
...you need to change your market. Target a market where
prospects have an intense desire for the benefits produced
by your product or service AND the money to buy it.
Marketing Tip #8:
Set yourself apart from competitors by offering an
exclusive benefit your competitors cannot copy ...or one
they're not willing to copy. One business owner I know
includes his personal phone number on every order. His
competitors don't ...and they are not likely to start making
themselves that accessible to customers.
Marketing Tip #9:
Advertising copy produces the biggest response when each
reader can believe the message was written specifically for
him or her. As you write any sales message, visualize
you're writing to one person instead of to a large group of
people. This will help you write in a less formal and more
personal style.
Marketing Tip #10:
Most sales are not made on the first contact. Develop a
method to capture and save the names and contact
information of prospects who don't buy from you. Follow up
periodically. A little gentle coaching will eventually
convert many of them into buyers.
Each of these 10 marketing tips implements a simple but
highly effective marketing tactic. Take action now to apply
those you overlooked. You'll be surprised by how much
business it produces for you.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Marketing Automotive Facebook Fans
It’s been a very interesting month on Facebook for the automotive industry. A lot of companies are getting more aggressive with their marketing efforts and showed up with some decent spend promoting their brand fan pages in February, the Super Bowl happened, and Toyota is in a tailspin.
Marketing For Fans
Several brands did “Facebook Fan” campaigns. Fan campaigns are ad unit buys that typically show up on the Home News Feed page of Facebook in the Sponsored section between Suggestions and Events content. The ad units feature a “Become a Fan” button that allows people to easily fan a page without even having to visit it.
Dodge ran the most significant Fan campaign in February. They most have bought a full month of ad units, only the third time I’ve ever seen a brand do such a thing (VW and Honda being the other two.) Dodge ran ads featuring two messages. One featured their Super Bowl video “Man’s Last Stand” and the other linked to the Dodge Fan Page tab talking about their Super Beard Contest.Mazda also bought several weeks of Fan ad units in conjunction with their Mazda 2 vehicle launch. The ads asked users to “Join the Movement.” The ads did not feature a vehicle image; instead, the unit was a blue-on-blue checkered flag with a small Mazda logo. Very little branding in the units but Mazda had a significant percentage jump
in Facebook fans, a whopping 568% growth in February. Could it have been more with a stronger logo or did they gain more with less branding? Tough to say, but Mazda definitely attracted a strong number of fans with their buy. It’s hard to say whether Dodge or Mazda did better with their marketing buy on Facebook without knowing impressions bought and how targeted the buy was. Percentage wise Mazda did far better than Dodge’s 126% growth, but Dodge had a much higher starting number of fans. Dodge grew by 36,000 fans versus Mazda’s 18,000 fans or two times the growth in numbers over Mazda.
Volkswagen did a little bit of marketing in February too to further promote their PunchDub Super Bowl ad. They only ran Fan ad units for either a day or few days after the Sunday following the game. The ad units also included the Super Bowl commercial they did.
Ram Trucks and Acura both did marketing buys too, but nothing that significant. Acura saw growth of 10,000 fans but that probably didn’t involve much of an ad buy with targeted marketing spend and some fan growth due to organic increases; though, the 185% growth number shows they did accurately reach their fans.
Let’s Talk Toyota
This morning as I was finishing this article an article showed up on AdAge about “The Cult of Toyota” and how since the recall Toyota fans are rallying to the brand with a 10% growth in fans since the recall announcements that started at the end of January.
From the article:
“According to Doug Frisbie, Toyota Motor Sales USA's national social media and marketing integration manager, the automaker has actually grown its Facebook fan base more than 10% since late January, around the time of the marketer's Jan. 21 recall announcement and its Jan. 26 stop-sale date.First of all, the number is 15% in February, but that’s not my issue with the assessment.
“In fact, Mr. Frisbie said the automaker has been somewhat surprised by the large number of customers who have leapt to Toyota's defense in ‘an authentic way.’
“That's a testament to the resilience of the brand, but also to Toyota's ability to quickly pick up one of the most important tools in a crisis-communications handbook: social media.”
If we look back at Toyota’s growth in fans month-by-month we notice two things. One, they have doubled their percentage growth of fans gained from 7% to 15% from the January to February. So, AdAge is right the brand is attracting more fans since the recall so the recall must be the reason. Maybe not if we look at what else stands out in the data – they grew even more in November 2009 yet there was no recall then nor did they market for fans that month.
I would argue one couldn’t really account any surge in fans due to the recall. This is only four months of data and it is not clear what a typical growth in fans is for the brand. It looks to be somewhere around 11% on average so a 15% gain in one month really isn’t that significant especially when you consider how many other brands not marketing and not going through any major PR issues are also gaining fans in the double-digits.
One of the interesting things about doing this monthly "Facebook Fans by Brands" report is seeing how the spin is done to showcase things that seem unusual to the casual observer, but are really not. What would be interesting with the Toyota situation is to evaluate the brand’s conversations on its Facebook fan page since the recall. Now that might show something unusual or interesting.
A Couple House Cleaning Items
Suzuki decided to move their Facebook automotive content to a new Fan Page for Suzuki Autos that did cause some dip in their numbers since my prior calculations were using a more broad Suzuki Fan page that encompassed all of the brand's vehicles including motorcycles and recreational products.
Finally, I have been tracking Scion's brand page for quite sometime but just learned this month, when the fan page was updated with information about it being an Unofficial Fan Page, that it is not managed by the brand. Also, the page received a new friendly URL http://www.facebook.com/UnofficialScion. So, I have removed Scion from the report since they currently do not have a Fan Page for the brand; though, they do have one now for their Release Series vehicle line.
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