|
|
| www.1001TopWords.com |
|
|
Know Thy Competition
BREAK FROM HO-HUM MARKETING ? IT'S TOO BORING! KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE AND YOUR COMPETITORS Here's an 8 step process to get started: 1. FIND YOUR COMPETITORS. Yes, everyone has them although almost every company I work with initially says they don't have any. It's just not true. Google the keywords that describe your company such as; "marketing consulting" or "IT Support in Kalamazoo", you'll find them. 2. MAKE A LIST OF WHAT YOUR COMPETITORS CLAIM. Make a list in one column of what main verbs or nouns your competitors are using. In the case of my company, which does marketing, the list is: consulting, business management, promotional design, copywriting, market research, websites, advertising, marketing plans and so forth. 3. LIST WHAT YOU OFFER, in detail. In another column make a list of what you offer. 4. FIND WHAT IS SIMILAR. Circle the words in both columns that are basically similar in meaning. 5. FIND THE DIFFERENCES. Now highlight the words in your column that are different. Remember, it doesn't necessarily have to be a product or service that is completely different, but maybe the way you offer that service. For example, my company looks into the soul of a company to find out what really is meaningful to them with our unique process that allows them to attract clients that are really right (and ripe!) for them, rather than just spam everyone with tons of promotion like most marketing consultants recommend. What does yours do? [Hint: do NOT say "we give good service" because that is what virtually everyone on the planet THINKS sets them apart. It doesn't. It's passé, boring and completely meaningless since it's oversaturated in our contemporary vocabulary.] Go ahead, be creative, not boring. Everyone will appreciate it and you'll get more clients. ASK YOUR CLIENTS. Now ask some of your colleagues, friends or clients to tell you truthfully what they value about you. When you fully understand what makes your clients tick (and more importantly, what they love ? or don't love -- about doing business with you), you can promote those qualities to other potential markets. Add those comments to your own column and highlight the phrases that are unique from your competitors. Your clients will exactly know how you are different, better, and more valuable to them-and you may even learn a few things you could change to make your offerings even more perfect for them! We find hiring a researcher gets you the very best answers the most honestly. But if you cannot afford this, send a very short questionnaire to clients asking them some very specific questions about what is of value, what is not. Best to incentivize your clients for the time it takes them to answer these questions, since everyone's time is valuable. You could try offering movie tickets, one of your products, some of your time for free, or whatever you think THEY would appreciate. At some point, be sure to get a pro to do this 'client evaluation' because you'll get much deeper, more useful testimonials you can use in your promotional materials that those quickie survey answers just don't generate as well. 6. INVESTIGATION LEADS TO RESULTS. When you do this investigation, many wonderful surprises emerge. You might find that your clients need other services you could offer, or that you are undervaluing your services and could easily raise your prices (this is actually a very common discovery). Also, you might find that a simple change to your invoice system would make everyone much happier. Or, you might learn that even though you believe you offer lightning-fast response time, your clients don't perceive it that way. From this information, you can often make improvements that lead to significantly more income. 7. ASSEMBLE YOUR CONTENT. Now take all those phrases and keywords you highlighted and put them on a page, add a bit of your true soul and beliefs about your company (you have some passion, presumably, otherwise why would you start your own business?) to build emotion, and then list your services or product descriptions. If you're not an experienced writer, hire one to help you. Need advice or a referral? Call us. Or ask your competitors. I do. 8. CREATE THE BUZZ. Now consider the last company you heard about that totally gripped you. You wanted to tell all your friends about it, because it had such an intriguing affect on you, right? In marketing, it's all about creating that "buzz" - you want to evoke that reaction in your audience (or target market) through your marketing materials, your print ads, TV commercials, presentations, networking, and of course ? by doing great work, which offers lots of value! So, take this information and get it out to the world in any and every way you can. MARKETING TAKES TIME. SPEND IT WISELY. Allison Bliss Consulting, the creator of "Marketing as a Spiritual Practice" method, rebels against misleading, pushy, spam-filled marketing offering Fortune 500 companies and entrepreneurs an integrated range of do-it-yourself marketing products & customized marketing strategy, plans, promotional materials, websites, and hands-on services. Having studied with Frances Ford Coppola and other film greats, Bliss is a member of the Directors Guild of America where she crafted hundreds of films, tv shows, and commercials. She moved into marketing to help worthy business get noticed, and because she figured they needed her help more than Hollywood did. Her website offers tools to make marketing idiot-proof for under $20
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Build a Dynamic Business - 10 Steps to Start You Off It's where your employees are in a 'special place' when they work together. And to get there, they have to be in a culture that is very special - and you can create it in your business too!Here are ten key points that will make a big, big difference:-Build Great RelationshipsTake the time to engage with your people. Enjoy conversations with them. Listen more than you speak.Be GenerousThis is not a money thing. Generous with your time, your courtesy, your behaviours. Be a kind boss and be humble.Encourage PeopleEncouragement creates tremendous energy. Think about when you were encouraged - what was it that happened to you - replicate it a hundred times in the next week.Make it SafeLet people fail gracefully - and not about catching them out. Be the net they fall into and help them experience and learn from their mistakes safely.Trust and HonestyThese have to be a given for your people to give of their best for you. Setting the standards will encourage this as a baseline in your business.Enable RiskSure, gamble a bit on opportunities and let your people do so too. Risk is where the great inventions have happened in history - let it happen now.Give a HandYour people will value it when you get your hands dirty too. Take part in the 'business' when it needs you and be a part of the team sometimes.Provide a MapHelp your people help you and your business, by having a game plan for the future for the business and the people who work there. Be open with them - share your hopes, fears, worries and elation.Have ClarityBe very clear about what is expected of your people. Spell it out, go back, recheck and do it again. the onus is on you to get this right - not them.Laugh!The best creator of teams and the spirit they need, yet so often lack. Have fun, encourage laughing and get in there yourself - it will make the most enormous difference for you!With these conditions in place, you will then be able to leverage all the natural exuberance of your people - and get more, much more from them than you ever bargained for. Free Sample Sales Letter: Example of How to Write a Persuasive Business Marketing Letter Here is an example of a business-to-business sales letter mailed to auto dealers by a firm that markets gift cards that replace paper gift certificates. Anything in brackets [like this] did not appear in the letter but simply appears to describe the mechanics of the letter 4 Sales Strategies with Your Trade Show Exhibition Booth Trade show booths can act as an excellent source for generating sales enquiries in the short run. Companies are able to demonstrate their products or services and get instant enquiries at the booth which on timely follow up can result in sales. Some of the tips on how to maximize the benefits of a trade show booth as a sales tool are mentioned below: Time for Marketers to Clean Up Their Act! The company envisaged smaller Internet service providers (ISP's) as their main target market for the software. The company president contracted with a sales/marketing person to handle the ISP market. He personally trained the candidate for two weeks, emphasizing all the while that the ISP market is one that needs to be gently handled. Write Better Web Content If you're reading this article, chances are that you, like most professionals these days, understand the value of the Internet. It may be where you go to buy movie or concert tickets, browse restaurant menus, or plan your vacations. Most likely, you also turn to the Web to research business strategies, vendors and other companies. Using a Marketing Calendar Template Owning a small business isn't easy, especially if you are running it alone. Between moving products, taking orders, paying bills, and taking care of family, it is easy to lose track of everything you need to do. Using a calendar template to organize and manage your marketing strategy will ensure you don't drop the ball with one of the most important parts of your business. Why Instant Gratification Marketing Condemns Businesses To Losing 90% Of Their Potential Customers Most businesses target only people "ready-to-buy". These hot prospects are "Now Buyers" because they've been inching closer to a decision for some period of time. They're just about ready to spend cash. Advertisers target "Now Buyers" because the pressure is on to make sales immediately. And, they know these prospects are most qualified, from a timing standpoint. Eight No Cost Ways to Market Your Business Are you trying to promote your business with a tiny marketing budget? Opportunities are plentiful for low or no cost marketing. Here are a few that won't cost you a cent.Publish articles about your specialty. "How-to" articles are always welcome. Ensure you include your contact information.Write letters to the editor of publications your target market reads.Get involved in an organization or community project.Build strategic alliances with non-competing businesses and cross-promote each other.Publish a special report. A "super how to" list for your specialty area. Distribute freely. Ensure that your contact information is included.Speak to groups and organizations. Make sure the audience is your target market.Carefully target relationships with media sources.Write newsworthy press releases and distribute to your special contacts.The more proactive you can be, the better off your business will be. Business Cards that Make Them CALL How would you use business cards for gift certificates? Promotional Mugs: Become a Part of the Legendary Coffee Experience When you want someone to like you, associate yourself with something that they love. Take coffee for instance. How much of America, or the world for that matter, would still be asleep if it weren't for this dark, smoky beverage? Pamphlets and the Money They?ll Put in Your Pocket People are making a fortune on pamphlets. If you go into an airport you can purchase a pamphlet for around $6.95, and it probably cost under fifty cents to produce. It blows my mind to think that little folded up booklets are the sole reason that some people are rich today. It's crazy. Non-Profit Success Requires Ongoing Marketing In a crowded marketplace of ideas, it is important for non-profit organizations to establish a well-defined niche. While most non-profits are not selling products, they are selling their organization's mission, their ideas, their programs, and their services. In a world where everyone is inundated with information, a strong image is the key to community awareness. Developing and maintaining a visible and credible identity through marketing will increase local support for your organization. Principles of Marketing 101 Marketing results should be measured in only one way ? increased sales. Marketing should not be considered an art form. Its mere existence is not enough. Marketing is the first step to the sale. There are seven underlying principles upon which to base your marketing strategy and efforts. Follow them and your business will be a raving success. Violate them and you will fail as so many small businesses do. Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 2-Whats Beneath The Surface? When you take a piece of gold to a pawn shop sometimes they will take a small saw-like tool to scrape the jewelry to find out for sure "What's Beneath The Surface". Sometimes they find pure gold, silver, or tarnished metal. Devious and Deceptive Packaging Have you read anything in the news lately about childhood obesity, Jose Canseco and steroids, or fat free foods? Where is the truth in any of that? 10 Powerful Marketing Tips 1. Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market. People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.2. No single marketing effort works all the time for every business, so rotate several marketing tactics and vary your approach. Your customers tune out after awhile if you toot only one note. Not only that, YOU get bored. Marketing can be fun, so take advantage of the thousands of opportunities available for communicating your value to customers. But don't be arbitrary about your selection of a variety of marketing ploys. Plan carefully. Get feedback from customers and adapt your efforts accordingly.3. Use buddy marketing to promote your business. For example, if you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and/or business card of another business, which had agreed to do the same for you. This gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers.4. Answer Your Phone Differently. Try announcing a special offer when you answer the phone. For example you could say, "Good morning, this is Ann Marie with Check It Out; ask me about my special marketing offer." The caller is compelled to ask about the offer. Sure, many companies have recorded messages that play when you're tied up in a queue, but who do you know that has a live message? I certainly haven't heard of anyone. Make sure your offer is aggressive and increase your caller's urgency by including a not-so-distant expiration date.5. Stick It! Use stickers, stamps and handwritten notes on all of your direct mail efforts and day-to-day business mail. Remember, when you put a sticker or handwritten message on the outside of an envelope, it has the impact of a miniature billboard. People read it first; however, the message should be short and concise so it can be read in less than 10 seconds.6. Send A Second Offer To Your Customers Immediately After They've Purchased Your customer just purchased a sweater from your clothing shop. Send a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their business and informing them that upon their return with "this note" they may take advantage of a private offer, such as 20% off their next purchase. To create urgency, remember to include an expiration date.7. Newsletters. Did you know it costs six times more to make a sale to a new customer than to an existing one? You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. Keep costs down by sacrificing frequency and high production values. If printed newsletters are too expensive, consider an e-mail newsletter sent to people who subscribe at your Web site. 8. Seminars/ open house. Hosting an event is a great way to gain face time with key customers and prospects as well as get your company name circulating. With the right programming, you'll be rewarded with a nice turnout and media coverage. If it's a seminar, limit the attendance and charge a fee. A fee gives the impression of value. Free often connotes, whether intended or not, that attendees will have to endure a sales pitch.9. Bartering. This is an excellent tool to promote your business and get others to use your product and services. You can trade your product for advertising space or for another company's product or service. This is especially helpful when two companies on limited budgets can exchange their services.10. Mail Outs. Enclose your brochure, ad, flyer etc. in all your outgoing mail. It doesn't cost any additional postage and you'll be surprised at who could use what you're offering. Boost Your Business With Testimonials When used correctly, testimonials can boost your response dramatically. They help build the prospect's perception of believability, stability, honesty, and value in your product or service. When prospects see all those testimonials, especially from people to whom they can relate, they gain confdence in you. They become less worrried about making an error in buying what you sell. Happy Hunting! Before you ever get on the telephone, send a marketing piece or set up an appointment with a potential customer, you must first identify whom that customer might be. To do that, you will need to create an "ideal customer profile"-a profile of who would be the best possible prospect for you and whatever you are selling. Unique Marketing Ideas That Generate Cash! First of all - keep in touch with your customers! One of the best ways to do this is with a newsletter. Today it's easier than ever to have a newsletter ? use email. If you don't have your customer's email addresses already, start asking for them when they pay for something at the cash register. Give them an incentive for signing up for your free newsletter ? maybe a free gift or a small discount or even a prize draw they can be entered into. Can Message Board Marketing Work For You? One of the things that makes the Internet fun is all the message boards and forums. You can sound off about nearly anything, get and give advice, and even build a relationship or two.
|
| © Athifea Distribution LLC - 2013 |
