In colder northern environments during winter months there are definitely less marketing opportunities than during warmer months. The outdoor events are slim to none, less people spending time outdoors and more. Does this mean there are no marketing opportunities?
NO.
During the winter months you can still do your front line marketing (see http://hcvmarketing.blogspot.com/2014/06/front-line-marketing.html) as your first and least expensive. Look for opportunities at indoor events such as business card exchanges, networking after work events, events at your local convention center (such as seminars, conventions, etc.). If you believe that any of the attendees at these events would be able to use your products or services then invest the time to pursue it. Even if you only get a couple customers out of it and they have a great experience then they become your marketing tool through word of mouth advertising.
There are marketing opportunities everywhere and all year. Your job is to find and use them to the fullest.
Monday, November 23, 2015
Sunday, August 23, 2015
The economy and marketing
As I sit here on a beautiful and cool Sunday morning I see many commercials for shows which are coming this fall. There are shows which contain violence, crime and other dramas of negativity. Does this affect our view of the economy. DEFINITELY!
When you are surrounded by negativity then you exude what you have absorbed. I was looking at a study survey I took as a manager in my younger years and it showed me geared toward negative traits. Given this same survey today and I am sure it would be much different. I shy away from watching any shows which portray negativity, crime or so called "reality TV" such as the news, NCIS, Law and Order, etc. I much prefer comedies such as The Big Bang Theory, The Bob Newhart Show, Seinfeld and my all time favorite, Mad About You. If these are not on then I listen to upbeat or relaxing music. This positive energy which I am absorbing through my viewing and listening habits has allowed me to see the world in a different light and I share that with others in the business world. In my hometown of Philadelphia for instance I was speaking with a building engineer yesterday while I was in a work zone on Broad Street. We were chatting about different items about the our beloved city and how the economy was not doing well. I politely disagreed with him and discussed next years crane rentals for construction as well as letting him know about how the sales in most of our clients businesses have increase dramatically over the past 24 months. He had no idea about any of this and I saw his attitude lift a little.
How does this relate to marketing? Marketing is all about selling the positives of your business or product and how it will help those who you are marketing to. It does not have to make them wealthy (although many of us would like that), nor does it have to immediately make all your problems go away. As an example I will use products I have been purchasing recently for my home. I have been buying the bright colored kitchen accessories like can openers, coffee presses and tea kettles. The items are replacements for worn out pieces and they have not made me more money nor have they fixed any of the items in my house which need repair, but they have made an impact on my attitude. The bright yellows and greens have brightened up my kitchen as well as my views of my world and allowed my creativity to flow once again. For your business you could utilize the same method by purchasing brightly colored company apparel to give to your staff or bright colored promotional products to give out which reflect positivity. This coupled with great customer service (which is also part of marketing), should net you an increase in sales.
So go forth and be positive!
When you are surrounded by negativity then you exude what you have absorbed. I was looking at a study survey I took as a manager in my younger years and it showed me geared toward negative traits. Given this same survey today and I am sure it would be much different. I shy away from watching any shows which portray negativity, crime or so called "reality TV" such as the news, NCIS, Law and Order, etc. I much prefer comedies such as The Big Bang Theory, The Bob Newhart Show, Seinfeld and my all time favorite, Mad About You. If these are not on then I listen to upbeat or relaxing music. This positive energy which I am absorbing through my viewing and listening habits has allowed me to see the world in a different light and I share that with others in the business world. In my hometown of Philadelphia for instance I was speaking with a building engineer yesterday while I was in a work zone on Broad Street. We were chatting about different items about the our beloved city and how the economy was not doing well. I politely disagreed with him and discussed next years crane rentals for construction as well as letting him know about how the sales in most of our clients businesses have increase dramatically over the past 24 months. He had no idea about any of this and I saw his attitude lift a little.
How does this relate to marketing? Marketing is all about selling the positives of your business or product and how it will help those who you are marketing to. It does not have to make them wealthy (although many of us would like that), nor does it have to immediately make all your problems go away. As an example I will use products I have been purchasing recently for my home. I have been buying the bright colored kitchen accessories like can openers, coffee presses and tea kettles. The items are replacements for worn out pieces and they have not made me more money nor have they fixed any of the items in my house which need repair, but they have made an impact on my attitude. The bright yellows and greens have brightened up my kitchen as well as my views of my world and allowed my creativity to flow once again. For your business you could utilize the same method by purchasing brightly colored company apparel to give to your staff or bright colored promotional products to give out which reflect positivity. This coupled with great customer service (which is also part of marketing), should net you an increase in sales.
So go forth and be positive!
Friday, October 17, 2014
Building your house - vol. 1
Why the title "Building your house" for a marketing blog?
I picked this analogy to use as it is universally understood by anyone from any industry. To build a house you have to have a foundation. The same thing is true in marketing a business. The foundation you need to have in place is you. You as the owner, CEO, President or the person in charge. If there is no one in charge, guiding people and resources then the business will fail, therefore marketing it is not necessary.
Next you need the framework. Without framework, no building will stand. This framework is your staff (hired or contract workers) and suppliers. The staff and suppliers should be knowledgable and reliable. If you are lacking in staff, knowledge or supplies needed to complete your task then your business will fail.
Once you have these two items in place and functioning like a well oiled machine, then you can market your business. A good marketing program is like the walls and landscaping of your house. The walls and landscape need to be attractive, welcoming and enticing so that people will want to visit.
As an example of a poorly built house is a business we know of first hand which wants to grow and get more business. They are a small business in the residential service industry providing homeowners with plumbing, heating and cooling services. They have good suppliers but are lacking in focus of the owner and lacking in staff. The lack of staff results in longer wait times than competitors offer. This lack of staff forces the owner, who is very knowledgable in the industry and has quality service, to work on calls that a staff member should handle. Since the owner is working on calls they are unable to have the time to properly plan and execute a good growth strategy. This business continually pours money into marketing the business through mailer programs, local store cart advertising as well as ads in publications. They get very little return on their investment as it is using these methods alone and with the foundation and framework not being stable they are getting a reputation as unreliable and are missing out on one large FREE marketing program.......RECOMMENDATIONS!
I picked this analogy to use as it is universally understood by anyone from any industry. To build a house you have to have a foundation. The same thing is true in marketing a business. The foundation you need to have in place is you. You as the owner, CEO, President or the person in charge. If there is no one in charge, guiding people and resources then the business will fail, therefore marketing it is not necessary.
Next you need the framework. Without framework, no building will stand. This framework is your staff (hired or contract workers) and suppliers. The staff and suppliers should be knowledgable and reliable. If you are lacking in staff, knowledge or supplies needed to complete your task then your business will fail.
Once you have these two items in place and functioning like a well oiled machine, then you can market your business. A good marketing program is like the walls and landscaping of your house. The walls and landscape need to be attractive, welcoming and enticing so that people will want to visit.
As an example of a poorly built house is a business we know of first hand which wants to grow and get more business. They are a small business in the residential service industry providing homeowners with plumbing, heating and cooling services. They have good suppliers but are lacking in focus of the owner and lacking in staff. The lack of staff results in longer wait times than competitors offer. This lack of staff forces the owner, who is very knowledgable in the industry and has quality service, to work on calls that a staff member should handle. Since the owner is working on calls they are unable to have the time to properly plan and execute a good growth strategy. This business continually pours money into marketing the business through mailer programs, local store cart advertising as well as ads in publications. They get very little return on their investment as it is using these methods alone and with the foundation and framework not being stable they are getting a reputation as unreliable and are missing out on one large FREE marketing program.......RECOMMENDATIONS!
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Consumer marketing
Consumers are bombarded daily with advertisements, signs, banners, commercials and more. Truth is that they are overwhelmed. With this in mind, how do you market to consumers and stand out enough so you aren't lumped in with the advertising crowd? I am so glad you asked!
The best way to stand out from the crowd is two tiered, first is simplicity. In simplistic marketing utilize simple methods to keep your name out in front of the consumer for as long as you can through subliminal messaging. Items which work well are calendars, sport schedules, refrigerator magnets, mugs, water bottles and apparel. These are items which are used daily and the consumer sees your company name, logo and information daily. This simplistic route is perfect for any business.
The next tier is to utilize unique promotional products and advertising. You want to utilize items which don't blend in with the ones that other companies are giving out. Regular pens will blend in with the crowd, as well as a standard 11 oz. mug. There are many unique imprintable pens, mugs and more out there and this is where your promotional products experts come in. They can guide you in the direction of the unique items you are looking for. The unique approach works best for medium to large sized companies who require larger volumes of these products. Smaller companies can utilize these as well but will be limited by their marketing budgets.
The best way to stand out from the crowd is two tiered, first is simplicity. In simplistic marketing utilize simple methods to keep your name out in front of the consumer for as long as you can through subliminal messaging. Items which work well are calendars, sport schedules, refrigerator magnets, mugs, water bottles and apparel. These are items which are used daily and the consumer sees your company name, logo and information daily. This simplistic route is perfect for any business.
The next tier is to utilize unique promotional products and advertising. You want to utilize items which don't blend in with the ones that other companies are giving out. Regular pens will blend in with the crowd, as well as a standard 11 oz. mug. There are many unique imprintable pens, mugs and more out there and this is where your promotional products experts come in. They can guide you in the direction of the unique items you are looking for. The unique approach works best for medium to large sized companies who require larger volumes of these products. Smaller companies can utilize these as well but will be limited by their marketing budgets.
Friday, June 27, 2014
Front Line Marketing
One of the least expensive areas of marketing is what we call front line marketing. This type of marketing is done by your employees during customer interaction whether on the phone or in person. Front line marketing cost your business plenty if done incorrectly, done properly it not only costs nothing and actually earns you money.
If you own a small gastropub for example, how attentive are all of your staff to making sure that the client is promptly seated and served? I have dined in many Philly gastropubs and with the exception of one particular location, I have felt like a valued customer. When I feel appreciated then I not only continue to patronize the business but in addition I recommend it highly to others. This attentiveness by the staff not only cost nothing other than their time (which you are paying for anyway), it actually has brought additional business in the door through recommendations.
To make your front line marketing program a success you have to find a way to motivate your employees to be involved. While monetary incentives are always welcome there are other ways to motivate your employees such as flexible schedules, gift cards, incentive gifts (branded with your logo) or even just a great and friendly work environment. You can also mix and match any employee incentives by doing a different incentive each quarter with the reward given at that point. Don't dawdle by giving late rewards........this is sure to reverse the process you strived so hard to put into place.
If you own a small gastropub for example, how attentive are all of your staff to making sure that the client is promptly seated and served? I have dined in many Philly gastropubs and with the exception of one particular location, I have felt like a valued customer. When I feel appreciated then I not only continue to patronize the business but in addition I recommend it highly to others. This attentiveness by the staff not only cost nothing other than their time (which you are paying for anyway), it actually has brought additional business in the door through recommendations.
To make your front line marketing program a success you have to find a way to motivate your employees to be involved. While monetary incentives are always welcome there are other ways to motivate your employees such as flexible schedules, gift cards, incentive gifts (branded with your logo) or even just a great and friendly work environment. You can also mix and match any employee incentives by doing a different incentive each quarter with the reward given at that point. Don't dawdle by giving late rewards........this is sure to reverse the process you strived so hard to put into place.
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Small business marketing
It still continues to amaze me that business owners and managers think they can do all their marketing by themselves, without hiring professionals. Owners and managers are part of the entire marketing plan but they need outside help to make the overall program a success.
The first thing your professional marketer is going to do with you is to find out your objectives and develop a marketing plan for you to follow. When you plan your objective you must be specific and not just a general "bring in more clients" or "I want to increase business 10%". As an example, if you have a hair salon and want to "increase business" you need to take it down further to make it specific. Lets say you have 5 part time stylists and 4 are booked 85% capacity consistently and the fifth stylist only has booking equal to 30% capacity. Your objective then is to increase the bookings for stylist 5 alone. This more specific goal is measurable by looking at their bookings and you will also accomplish your previously more general goal of "increasing business".
Once your goal is met it is now time to develop your next marketing plan. This is where most companies make a mistake by not continuing to market their business. If you don't continually involve your company in marketing, eventually you will find yourself falling short of your competition who may wind up stealing your clients.
The first thing your professional marketer is going to do with you is to find out your objectives and develop a marketing plan for you to follow. When you plan your objective you must be specific and not just a general "bring in more clients" or "I want to increase business 10%". As an example, if you have a hair salon and want to "increase business" you need to take it down further to make it specific. Lets say you have 5 part time stylists and 4 are booked 85% capacity consistently and the fifth stylist only has booking equal to 30% capacity. Your objective then is to increase the bookings for stylist 5 alone. This more specific goal is measurable by looking at their bookings and you will also accomplish your previously more general goal of "increasing business".
Once your goal is met it is now time to develop your next marketing plan. This is where most companies make a mistake by not continuing to market their business. If you don't continually involve your company in marketing, eventually you will find yourself falling short of your competition who may wind up stealing your clients.
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