5 Ways to Get Your Marketing Message EVERYWHERE

Unless your Starbuck’s or McDonald’s, you’ll have a hard time getting your message everywhere. These guys have the deep pockets necessary to invest in massive marketing campaigns.

Most small businesses do not have deep pockets, particularly in today’s environment.

Nevertheless, even a small business can create the perception that its message is everywhere. Perception is the key. You don’t need your message everywhere; you need the perception that your message is everywhere.

Here are five ways to shape the perception that your message is everywhere:

1) Narrow Your Focus: Remember the 80/20 Rule? 80% of your business will come from 20% of your customers. So narrow your focus to those 20%. Really dig into that segment and find out what they do, read or watch and get your message there. You don’t need to be everywhere for everybody. Just 20%.

2) Use Multiple Channels: this basic marketing strategy is an area where many small businesses fail. One ad in one newspaper is not enough. Only a certain segment of you market—and a shrinking one at that—reads the newspaper. Be sure you leverage a number of marketing channels. At a minimum, have a plan for at least four marketing channels. Choose from events, direct mail, print ads, the web, sponsorships, social media, relationship marketing or more. Select ones that your target market will hit.

3) Keep Your Message Clear and Consistent: the last thing you want is a confusing or convoluted message. Find one key message and repeat that same message across all channels. The more clear and consistent the message, the more pervasive it becomes. Repetition and consistency feed the perception that you are everywhere.

4) Leverage Technology: technology is an excellent way to do more with less. There are sophisticated web companies, like Acerno, that can set up banner ads that will actually follow web users from your site. Someone that visits your site will get a cookie that enables your banner ads to pop up on other sites on that visitor’s computer. This makes the visitor feel that you are everywhere, when in fact you are just following that one person.

5) Feed Your Word-of-Mouth: the ultimate goal for any marketing message is to have the message spread with as little investment as possible. This is the entire basis of viral marketing: the message spreads like a virus while the original agent does nothing. So feed the word-of-mouth. Get your message recipients to spread the word for you. Create some buzz and excitement that will get people to talk and communicate to each other about your message.

In order to move your business to the next level, you need to create the perception that your marketing message is everywhere.

Even the heavy hitters with million dollar marketing budgets can’t get everywhere. Yet with a couple of tricks like the ones mentioned above, their marketing message is pervasive.

So get pervasive, or at least create the perception that your message is pervasive.

Dr. Seuss = Sales Coach

When was the last time you read "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss? For me, it was last night.

Dr. Seuss gets frequent play at storytime in my house. The rhyming and rhythm is great fun with the little ones and they love the drawings. "Horton Hears a Who" and "Cat in the Hat" are probably the favorite selections at the moment, but last night we tackled "Green Eggs and Ham."

As I was reading it, I couldn't help but think how persistent Sam-I-Am is. Sam-I-Am consistently offers his green eggs and ham to his counterpart only to be rejected and refused time after time. However, Sam-I-Am never loses his cool and continues to suggest endless ways and places to try green eggs and ham.

Ultimately Sam-I-Am wins out when he suggests that his friend try a taste: "You do not like them./So you say./Try them! Try them!/And you may./Try them and you may, I say." Despite the resistance, Sam-I-Am convinces his friend to taste the green eggs and ham. The result: the sale is closed and Sam-I-Am converts his friend's "NO" to a resounding "YES." Even better, his friend now becomes completely sold on green eggs and ham so much so that he wants to share it with others.

Dr. Seuss shows how persistence, suggestive selling and sticking with it can lead to "YES." Sam-I-Am might be too pushy for some tastes, but he certainly demonstrates that sales is a long term committment that requires finding just right combination to move from "NO" to "YES." And once you find that right combination, you create more and more customers that love your product or service.

You may have to suggest many options, you may have to ask more than once and you ultimately may need to give a little bit for free. But like Sam-I-Am, if you stick with it and don't take "NO" for an answer, you too can convert those naysayers into brand advocates.

Successful E-Newsletter Formats

Successful e-newsletters urge readers to do three things: 1) open the e-newsletter, 2) read it and 3) act upon it. This was my conclusion in a previous post about e-newsletter content. But format, in many respects, is just as important as content. Format brands your message and creates a bond with the reader. It provides a platform to communicate value and offer your products and services.

To ensure that you consistently brand your e-newsletter and communicate maximum value, ensure that your e-newsletter format accomplishes these three things:

1) Consistency: readers don’t want to play guessing games. Select a format and stick with it. You can update your format as you find what works, but don’t deviate too far from one consistent format. If you decide to change your format, let your readers now. This can be an additional marketing touch point that won’t seem intrusive.

2) Easy-to-Follow: let the reader skim content quickly. Use headlines, bullet points and bold text to highlight key points. These call outs should be simple and highly visible as they contain your key communication points. Stick to three or maybe four sections in total. Your e-newsletter can be lengthy if you continue to provide valuable content, but break it up into a few sections to make it easy-to-follow.

3) Seamless Click-thrus: your e-newsletter should provide a platform for readers to find out more. Reference websites and links within the format and content of your website, but double check to make sure that all references seamlessly link to the intended websites. This sounds obvious, but I've seen too many e-newsletters that frustrate readers with links to nonexistent sites. Ideally, you want readers to spend more time on your site, so think where people would go from one link to another and where you want to drive them.

Ultimately an e-newsletter must both inform and sell. Content should communicate value and the format should build a relationship with readers. There are several reasons why you need an e-newsletter to market your business. Among other things, they are an economical way to market your products and services and they should be a part of your marketing plan.

4 Absolutely Crucial Keys to Direct Mail

For most businesses, well-executed direct mail campaigns continue to generate new business, retain existing customers and build brand awareness. Old-fashioned direct mail delivered to your customer’s and prospect’s doors can truly differentiate your product or service offering. More importantly, if it is done well, your direct mail will not be seen as intrusive clutter. Instead, it can genuinely add value and promote your business.

So how do you do it well? Here are four strategies that you MUST implement with Direct Mail:

1) UTILIZE THE RIGHT LIST: The most important success factor in direct mail is your list. Make sure the database you use is representative of your target market. It’s not about the “quantity” of leads on the list; it’s about the “quality” of the leads.

The best place to start is your current and past customer base. These are your advocates for your products or services. If you continue to stay top-of-mind with these people, they will continue to recommend your business. Referrals are the easiest way to build a successful business. Mail past and current customers consistently. You can even offer incentives for referrals.

If you mail to prospects, ensure you hit your target market. Target demographics like income, age, gender, education level, etc. Consult your local print and mail shop or check out www.srds.com for more resources on the right list.

2)OFFER SOMETHING IRRESISTIBLE: Drive response with an offer that people cannot refuse. For example, “Mention this postcard and get 25% off your next order!” Offer value-add items that convert mail-recipients into paying customers. These types of offers are most successful when tied to a deadline, like “this month only.” Deadlines will create a sense of urgency and will motivate responders to follow up.

3) TRACK AND MEASURE YOUR CAMPAIGNS: Unless you track and measure the response to your campaigns, you will never know if it works. You can track your campaign by measuring responses to your offer. Some simple math can go a long way: count all of the responses to your direct mail piece and divide by the number of mail pieces you sent out to give you a “Response Rate” (responders as a percentage of pieces mailed). 1% is the industry average for direct mail, but the right offer to the right list can generate as much as 10-15% in response. Track a campaign, learn why or why not it was successful, and apply what you learned to the next campaign.

4) REPEAT, REPEAT AND REPEAT: You will never generate much business with only one direct mail piece. Sending only one piece to your list is a waste of money. You must repeat, repeat and repeat your campaigns. Repetition of a consistent message will build brand awareness. When planning direct mail, plan for three or more touch points. It’s okay to mail the same piece over and over. If you’re not mailing the same piece, make sure you use the same logo, branding, image and message in all of your pieces to reinforce a consistent brand and image.

Direct mail continues to be a very effective and efficient way to generate business and it should be a component of your marketing plan. If it is done well, it can truly move your business to the next level.