Three Tips for Developing an Effective Marketing Plan
By Natasha | April 4, 2008
I came across this Blog by Drew McLellan on effective marketing planning. An effective marketing plan can keep you focused on your goals and caution you to spend your marketing budget on the wrong things.
So you need a marketing plan, but where do you start? Here is some advice from Drew McLellan:
- You can be too ambitious. Most small businesses make the mistake of launching too many marketing initiatives when they don’t have the resources to follow through on each one. You’re better off doing fewer things, but doing them frequently and well.
- Don’t depend on a single medium. Says McLellan, “No matter how much you believe in word of mouth, direct mail, e-newsletters or an interactive Web site, one of your goals should be delivering key messages through a variety of media.” It isn’t called a marketing mix for nothing. With a more diverse campaign you are likely to increase your reach and your number of impressions.
- Remember your core audience. You want to attract new customers, and there’s a natural urge to invest all of your marketing resources in doing just that. But, warns McLellan, it’s a shortsighted strategy. “The two most important audiences are your employees and your current customers,” he says. “Be sure your marketing plan gives them enough attention.” These groups deserve at least half of your time and budget.
Source: Drew’s Marketing Minute. Read the original blog post here.
Topics: Marketing | No Comments »
Serve a steady stream of snack-sized messages
By Natasha | March 27, 2008
I am really enjoying the Blog from Drew McLellan, here is another tasty topic for you…..
Ever hear those radio spots where the poor on-air talent is talking so fast it sounds as if they didn’t take a breath for the entire: 60 seconds?
That’s an example of the “shove it all in” thinking.
Many business owners believe that they have to cram all the facts, figures and information into every single ad, sign, brochure and web page. They are in a panic, imagining that they might never have another chance to tell their story.
Of course, when they create marketing tools that are over-packed, that’s exactly what happens. The audience turns a deaf ear.
When you think about creating a marketing piece — think bite-sized snacks. One piece, one message.
Have you ever over indulged at Christmas and when you finally pushed away from the table, you felt like you might burst? Contrast that with how you feel when you eat several mini-meals throughout a day.
Your marketing tools should be like mini-meals. Tasty treats that your audience will look forward to because they are not too filling and were created to delight the consumer.
Be a smart marketer. Don’t drive your audience away by drowning them in details. Give them plenty of time and space to slowly absorb your message. One bite at a time.
Topics: General, Marketing | No Comments »
Happy Easter
By Natasha | March 18, 2008
Five-id will be taking a break over Easter. We wish you all a safe break and will see you back on the 25th of March.
Topics: General | Comments Off
Customer Service 101
By Natasha | March 6, 2008
Customers don’t care about your problems. They want a product or service delivered as promised, not an excuse for why it didn’t happen. And be prepared for indifference if your idea of small talk includes personal anecdotes about kids with the flu or a flat tyre on the way to work. Remember, they’re your customers, not your friends.
Customers don’t understand quality. Most customers have no way to measure the quality of the goods/services you provide. All they know is the experience that surrounds the sale. Since we tend to base opinions about quality on the overall experience, don’t neglect to back up your great product with great customer service.
Customers need you to manage their experience. By anticipating what might confuse or concern your customers and mapping out the road ahead you can put them at ease. Put your best and brightest in key positions. These employees will enforce or kill your brand every time they answer the phone or greet a client.
Topics: Customer Service, Marketing | No Comments »
Is Your Headline Working for or Against You?
By Natasha | March 2, 2008
Don’t blame media choices for a failed marketing campaign. Deciding that your direct mail or print ads didn’t work can be a costly mistake, for instance, when a more likely explanation is that you chose the wrong message for your audience.
Or perhaps the problem is as simple as a boring, ineffective headline. You might even have forgotten to include one at all! Or perhaps you thought your business name is the headline. Well it’s not.
Here are a few tips to get that headline working for you:
1. Get to the point. Brief, punchy headlines work best
2. Make it active. Energise your headline with vivid, action verbs.
3. Grab the readers’ attention. Use copy that asks a personal, poignant or catchy question.
4. Use visual appeal. Use a white type on a black background as contrast.
Don’t expect the headline to sell for you. But on the flip side, don’t expect the reader to stop without a show-stopping headline.
Topics: Marketing | No Comments »