Marketing’s #1 Rule
You can choose to read about all the marketing tactics you’d like, but the first step in a healthy business is the planning part of marketing. It’s so easy to get caught up in the “marketing event of the week”. But this isn’t how effective marketing is carried out.
I used to work for an advertising company (imagine that!) who reacted to the latest marketing technique. One such technique at the time was email marketing. The results were spotty at best not necessary because of the technique but because of the this-is-going-to-get-us-all-the-business-we-want mentality.
You need a planned approach which involves goals, logical steps, a budget, and partners. Anything outside of this project management approach will be knee-jerk and over time, unsuccessful. The most effective companies manage each area of the business, and that includes marketing. For some reason, many owners feel as though marketing runs on itself. Perhaps this was true in days past where one could put a sign outside the office, take out a yellow page ad, and business would walk through the door.
But in today’s world the competitive landscape is fierce. You must be good in all areas…quality, customer service, operations, accounting, management, and of course (and perhaps the most important area of all), marketing.
I would suggest the first step is to take out your business plan and develop a marketing plan that complements the vision (if you don’t have either I would suggest that you start writing). Determine how you’re doing first. This includes the business in addition to where you are in the industry as compared to others. This would involve some industry research. Then there are marketing planning steps that are essential.
First is to narrow and define the market you want to go for…in essence your target market. Starting with your ideal customer can help you to determine that. You must understand in order to be successful that you have to narrow your view down to those who value what you offer most. It’s so easy to play into the helping-anybody syndrome, and it will pull your business down quickly. You’ve got to say ‘no’ and be disciplined about this. Next is to determine a core message that will appeal to that target market and to package your business in that way. You want everything boiled down to a simple and targeted message.
Finally, you need to determine the appropriate marketing tactics for you business (e.g. direct mail, seminars, signage, etc.). Once you have defined these, you’ll need to set a budget and get help (ie. graphic designers, fulfillment house partner, etc.)
As you can see, an effective approach is a planned one…one that involves commitment and focus.
Scott Campbell owns Impact Marketing, Inc out of Atlanta, GA. He installs a marketing system, called the “Ultimate Marketing System”, into small businesses and practices in the Atlanta, GA area.
Learn more about Impact Marketing and its solutions here at http://www.impactyourcompany.com.
International Brand Naming And How Words Can Hurt You
It was the famous publicist PJ Barnum who said in 1855 “I do not care what people say about me but get my name right”.
In today’s international marketplace, getting names right is vital.
Marketers and brand managers are becoming more and more concerned that their newly created name will be inappropriate in their target markets.
We’ve all seen middle aged marketing executives embarrass themselves when trying to appear trendy to the youth market but things get even worse when attacking overseas markets.
What many people don’t realize is that innocuous English product names often do not travel well. So called, ‘bad’ names, names which embarrass, offend or are just plain unsuitable, are profligate.
Bad products names, bad brand names and even bad company titles, are continuously spawned and the headlong drive towards globalization has given unwelcome publicity to all of them. There are many instances of where things have gone awry, most of them too rude to mention in this article.
It’s not just names which need careful attention, straplines can go just as wrong. Take for example, Electrolux, the Swedish white goods company, who used the strapline “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux” to great effect when promoting a vacuum cleaner across Europe. Unfortunately, when they used the same line for the US launch they became a laughing stock as ‘sucks’ means something is ‘very bad’ in America.
Bad translations on apparel can also convey the wrong message. Take the slogan “I saw the potato”, instead of the correct Spanish translation of “I saw the Pope,” used on promotional T-Shirts for the Pope’s visit to Miami.
The cost of such a damaging event cannot easily be counted. The very fact that a product might have to be hurriedly withdrawn, or quickly re-badged can have a catastrophic effect on the image, position and value of the brand and, of course its owner.
How can one put a value on that? The cost can be enormous, with the repercussions leaving careers in tatters. It seems almost ridiculous to many outside the marketing business that there are still organisations that undertake no due diligence and take a chance on it being ‘alright on the night’.
Most sensible people take out insurance to cover them for almost every event and occasion, yet when instances of such obvious potential devastation occur, it is always too late to do anything about it.
Traditional remedies such as expecting your advertising agency to provide such a service is, with some exceptions, a waste of time. It’s like asking your dentist to give you a diagnosis in respect of a pain in your toe.
You might expect your translation agency to offer this service but, unless they are very experienced and have regularly handled the needs and demands of checking words worldwide, again you could be wasting your money. Proper checking involves much more than whether the word means something contentious or just risible in a foreign language.
So, what can be done to reduce the risks of things going wrong? Fortunately, there are a few simple but highly effective precautions which can be taken:
1. Remember names change with speech
There’s a world of difference between the written and spoken word. Accents and dialects play havoc with the pronunciation of English words and vice versa.
Most of have had an experience of the way our own language is treated by foreigners. We sound similarly strange to foreigners when we try to speak in a language which isn’t our own. Before deciding on a name, simply ask a native speaker of the target language if it sounds OK to them.
2. Avoid names that can’t be pronounced easily, or at all
Although this sounds like another blatantly obvious point, it’s something which many people forget completely. Many languages have an alphabet and a way of speaking which makes the reading of English words difficult or, in some extreme cases, practically impossible.
For instance, all words in Japanese end in either a vowel or the letter ‘n’ so it makes sense to chose a name which follows this convention. By doing this, you can be confident that your Japanese customers will be able to pronounce it without difficulty or embarrassment.
3. Avoid names that confuse
A name may meet every other criteria but due to culture, product qualities or its position in the market place, it may still confuse its intended consumer. This fault will seriously endanger product positioning and so clarity must be established.
Many years ago the then President of the USA, John F Kennedy was making a speech close to the Berlin Wall. He finished off in an effort to try to identify himself with the long-suffering inhabitants by announcing to his audience “Ich bin ein Berliner”. Unfortunately, and unknown, to the President he was telling everyone that he was a doughnut; a Berliner being the popular name for a local pastry.
I am often amazed that companies spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars launching a product with a name which is so obviously wrong that it would have been flagged as inappropriate immediately had they undertaken proper checking.
The cost of checking is tiny compared to the damage caused by not doing so.
Peter Bennett is CEO of London Translations Limited which specializes in international name checking and linguistic assessment: Download his FREE report “International Brand Disasters and How To Avoid Them” from:
http://www.london-translations.co.uk/validata
Be Different or Be Extinct
We go about running our businesses 24 by 7. We handle all of the customer issues, we make sure the numbers are right, we coordinate all of our resources. If there’s one thing we forget to do though is let the world know how uniquely we do things. I think the reason for this is because we get so involved in the business.
The bottom line is this-because we don’t communicate how we’re different, consumers assume that you’re like everyone else. In the marketplace, people generally perceive that one accountant is like the next, one landscaper is like the next, and one electrician is like the next.
The truth of the matter is that you and other businesses are different. But a majority of the time, businesses simply don’t communicate this. They go about their businesses every day and wind up in the same position that other businesses that don’t communicate how they’re different-the position of competing on price. And let me tell you that this just isn’t a good place to be.
The worst case scenario is a slow languishing death as you keep cutting the price to get business. I’ve seen this in pretty sizable companies whose long-term “strategy” was to gain as much market share as possible then sell. More often times than naught, however, these same companies wound up filing for bankruptcy. I’m sure you would agree that there are few benefits to competing on price.
Part of the foundational marketing strategy is to identify what makes you different. The truth is that as you are different, your business is different as well. Whether this difference, this uniqueness, has to do with your offerings, or your processes or your customer service, you need to pinpoint them (I suggest finding three ways that you’re different), and package them creatively.
By showing how you’re different on a consistent basis, the value to your ideal audience will rise. When your value rises, the sales cycle shortens and your customers are more likely to pay higher prices. This a much better option than competing on price, isn’t it?
Before I go on, I want to point out that years ago, having better customer service, or having a good product line, or having reasonable pricing might have been a difference. But in today’s world, all those things are expectations. Assume that you must have all of those things just to stay in business.
So what are some examples of difference, or uniqueness? It’s a financial planner who provides auto detailing while performing an annual evaluation. It’s a roofing company who provides a thorough inspection before offering pricing. It’s a real estate agent who sends a gift basket when she gets a listing.
Oftentimes I find that companies already have differences in their businesses and it’s just a matter of identification and, in some cases, enhancing those differences.
Does that make sense? Finding this difference forces you out of the commodity business and immediately begins to communicate how you are unique.
Scott Campbell owns Impact Marketing, Inc out of Atlanta, GA. He installs a marketing system, called the “Ultimate Marketing System”, into businesses and practices in the Atlanta, GA area.
Learn more about Impact Marketing and its solutions here at http://www.impactyourcompany.com.
Putting a Face to a Name: Developing a Company Brand
The business world is all about first impressions. If a customer likes what they see right away, they are likely to invest. This is what makes branding so important. Your brand is what consumers will initially encounter when introduced to your company. You want your brand to entice potential customers to dig deeper and further explore what your company has to offer. With any luck, they will like what they see!
How to Develop a Brand
Begin by identifying your target market. You branding strategy will depend heavily on this factor. For instance, you will choose different approaches depending on whether you are marketing to wealthy, retired men or adolescent girls.
The spending habits, interests, age, gender, education level, and many other factors will play into your branding plans. Similarly, your target market will also dictate where you make your brand visible. If a wide margin of you potential customers read the New York Times, you’ll want to advertise there. If they are a more tech-savvy bunch, making your brand well known on the Internet will become a priority.
Once you know who you are trying to speak to, you have to figure out how. Decide what makes your company unique. What distinguishes you from the other guys? Why should a customer come to you instead of the competition? It is in developing those unique selling points that gives a face to your company.
Perhaps it is dependability, innovativeness, or creativity that sets you apart. Regardless of what it is, choose a couple of stand-out qualities and focus on them in the branding process.
Getting Your Brand Noticed
There are several ways to make your brand known to customers. The two main methods are the visual approach and the verbal approach. Any company would be wise to utilize both.
The visual approach involves a specific look to your brand that will be recognized no matter what the context. The best way to do this is through a logo. While it is helpful to have several versions of your logo to fit into different promotional settings, it is essential that a common “look” is maintained throughout.
Remember: what the eyes see, the brain remembers. Whether it be an identifiable font or a memorable graphic, the visual side of branding has become increasingly important in our media-saturated culture.
The verbal aspect of branding is directly connected to the visual. Sometimes they are one in the same, other times the words appear alone, away from the established “look.” The wording involved in the brand becomes evermore vital when separated from the visual.
Choosing a good name for your company is part of the branding process. Be sure to choose a name that is descriptive. Don’t get too creative with made-up titles that “sound cool.” They might be pleasing to the ear, but they won’t be remembered by the brain. Whether a customer sees the brand name with your logo or in a newspaper article in plain text, they should instantly recognize it.
A tagline can also be helpful in bolstering the brand. Taglines should always be short and sweet. Something clever or catchy will stick in the memories of customers the same way an attractive logo will.
Marketing With Confidence
You thought coming up with a brand was challenging, now try maintaining it. A devotion to your brand displays a devotion to your customers. It also shows that you have confidence in your product. Consumers will perceive that confidence and subconsciously internalize a feeling of trust for your brand.
It is that positive gut-reaction that you want. A creative, confident brand is generally the face on a creative and confident company, and that is something any customer will notice and remember.
Johnny Albertson is a musician, blogger and writer. You can visit his blog, www.beatintheblues.blogspot.com, for more insights and pearls of wisdom. Albertson is a big fan of www.articlemarketer.com, an online article distribution service.
http://www.articlemarketer.com
Internet Branding: Understanding Its Importance
Branding, as a whole, is essential for any serious business because quite simply a companys brand is what distinguishes it from its competitors. In todays computer age, not only is it essential for many businesses to have an internet presence to stay competitive but also to create a brand online that your target consumer market will recognize. An effective internet branding, just like its offline counterpart, helps bring awareness to your unique business offering and drive customer demand.
While Internet branding offers vast opportunities for business, in order for it to be effective one must be able to attract and engage its customers doing this over the Internet is not an easy task. Internet branding is not as simple as putting up a website and adding your company logo and slogan. Your internet branding strategy should make your online brand visible and distinguishable.
Internet branding makes use of technological tools to create an online presence for your business. Graphics and animation, a compelling web copy, and overall website design that reflect your companys brand are some of the important elements that will bring your online brand alive. Additionally, an attractive website that helps customers easily and quickly find the information they need is the key to get customer interaction and eventually, business. Your Internet branding strategy should incorporate good design elements and ease of use to create an effective overall impression of your company.
A strong online brand image will make the difference whether a customer will buy from you online or switch to your competitors. Remember, that online customers can just leave your site and go to your competitors in a click of a mouse. Therefore, a lot depends on the impression that they get from your site. Internet branding seeks to deliver an immediate unique message about your business to your target clients.
Visibility is also crucial in the online business world. There is no use to having a website if Internet users are not aware of it and because of the vast number of websites, businesses are competing to appear at the top pages of big search engines like Google and Yahoo!. Most customers do not look past the first few search pages when they make a search query so ranking high in these pages gives you better chances of driving customers to your site. That is why optimizing your site is another major consideration in Internet branding.
As you can see, there are many requirements for a successful Internet branding strategy. For small or large businesses, hiring an Internet branding or marketing specialist will be helpful to give you focus on your efforts in creating an online presence that will become a valuable asset to your business.
T J Madigan has been established in online business since 1998 and is director of a number of successful online projects one of which is http://articles.net.au your best source for FREE and private label articles.