How do you create marketing that "looks sharp"?

After my last post I was asked what I meant by "looking sharp".  I mean looking professional, of course, but more importantly, brand image is based on a good understanding of the market.

Effective market positioning -- and from that, brand image -- grows out of an understanding of three elements:

1)  The audience -- Who buys from you?  What are their needs and wants?  What moves them?

2)  Your competition -- Who sells what you sell - or an alternative?  What are they promising?  How are they saying it?

3)  Your company -- What BENEFITS do you offer that are meaningful to the audience and that differentiate you from the competition?

The most effective marketing I've seen blends these 3 elements. The least effective is marketing built around only what the company wants to say not what the prospective customer wants to hear.

More Bang for Your Marketing $$$: Look Sharp!!!

"Look sharp. Play sharp."

That's what my daughter's softball coach said. His teams always had the whitest pants and socks. They looked good ... spiffy ...sharp.  They didn't win every game, but they did well - better than expected.

Those words have stuck with me.

In business looks matter. From your product to your place of business, your firm will be judged on how you look. Professionalism and consistency are very important.

It starts with a well-designed logo, defined company colors and a tag line that delivers your benefit message. But that is ONLY the beginning. Now you need to roll out that identity in all your communications.   It's crucially important that you use your logo, colors, and tag line consistently.  Because that will demonstrate your professionalism

Here's a list of the places where your logo, colors and tag line may appear   Use it to keep your identity crisp, clear and consistent no matter where it shows up.

· Business Stationery - letterhead, envelopes, labels (print and electronic)
· Business Cards
· Email Signatures
· Signage
· Vehicles
· Products
· Advertising - print, broadcast, electronic
· Mailers - printed, email
· Literature - print, electronic
· Website
· Social Media
· Directory Listings
· Trade Show Displays
· Forms
· Badges
· Uniforms
· Promotional Items
· Point-of-Purchase

More bang for your marketing $$$: News releases that get noticed.

What do you do with junk mail? Do you delete it, toss it, or just ignore it– unless you see some benefit. Publication editors do the same. They toss, delete, or ignore news releases that don’t demonstrate a benefit for their audience.

Here are seven easy tips for writing releases that get picked up.

1. Make sure it’s newsworthy. What’s newsworthy? It needs to be timely, of interest to the publication’s audience, benefit-oriented, and substantive (that is, not self-serving, hype or fluff.)

2. Write a powerful headline. The headline will pull in the editor or leave her/him cold. Keep it short and descriptive, but make it interesting.

3. Use journalist style. Editors are looking for the facts, not fluff. Be sure to include the essentials: Who, What, When, Where, Why and How.

4. Keep it brief. Editors are pressed for time and inundated with releases. Keep yours to 300-800 words. The headline and first two paragraphs are the most important parts of your release.

5. Avoid jargon. Even if you’re sending a release on a technical topic to a technical journal, resist the temptation to use acronyms. Spell it out! Use common language. It will make your releases more readable and accessible.

6. Proof it. The accuracy of your release – including spelling and grammar – reflects on your company. If you aren’t good at proofreading your own stuff, enlist someone else to do it.

7. Include a photo.  This isn’t a writing tip, but it’s good advic. Publications are looking for good quality visuals, so including a photo, illustration, chart or graph (with a caption, please) increases your chance of getting picked up.

More bang for your marketing $$$: Say it again, Sam!

Animals learn through repetition, right? If you want a horse or dog to learn something you work with him over…and over…and over. That's the power of repetition. It’s a key element in successful marketing to humans, too.

Think about jingles, brand icons, and other ad messages (McDonald’s “I’m lovin’ it”; The Geico Gecko). These words and images stick with us for one big reason – REPETITION. You’ve heard and seen these messages again…and again…and again.

If you want people to absorb your message, repeat it. And I don’t mean two or three times, either. Current wisdom says it can take nine or more repetitions for a message to sink in.

Why does it take such an effort to make an impact? Consider these facts.

· We’re inundated with messages – from public bathroom doors to mobile devices to computer screens. You have to break through the clutter. Repetition combined with an intriguing presentation increases your odds of being noticed.

· Folks buy when they’re ready. You need to be visible consistently to capture someone's attention when the time is right.

· We retain only about 10% of the information we’re exposed to each day. Repetition increases the chance your message will be part of that lucky 10%.

Don't throw your money away on a single ad, mailer or email blast. Repeat your message for better results.

 

More bang for you marketing $$$:Be Direct! Target you communications with direct mail.

Direct mail –  surface mail or e-mail – is a great way to get response from a clearly defined audience. But doing direct mail successfully means watching three things:

1. LIST
Make sure your message goes to the RIGHT people. If you’re purchasing a list, ask to test a small number of names before investing in the full list.

When you send out a mailing, you can expect 1-3% wrong addresses. These will come as returned mail or maybe phone calls. It’s a good idea to keep track of the number of bad addresses. If you get more than 3%, you may be able to get money back from your list provider.

2. BREAK-THROUGH CREATIVE
Think of all the stuff in your in-box. A mailer needs to break through that clutter. Grab attention. Beg to be opened and read. So have some fun. Maybe take a risk. Different creative approaches can be tested to find what works best.

3. OFFER/CALL TO ACTION
Direct mail is all about response. So offer something attractive to spur it – a trinket, rebate, coupon, or informational pamphlet. Be creative here, too. This is another variable that can be tested.

Other factors to think about are:

REPETITION  For any communication program to succeed, you have to repeat, repeat, repeat. With direct mail you can send a series of mailers or send the same piece. Send pieces two or three weeks apart…and repeat the series in three to six months.

FOLLOW-UP  Phone calls to recipients after they’ve received a mailing can help get maximum results.

MEASUREMENT  Look at inquiry quantity and quality from your program. Use the information to make your program better.

More bang for your marketing $$$: Lookin’ Good

You’ve heard of dressing for success. Well, looks count when it comes to communications materials as well. In fact, looks matter a lot.

Whether it's electronic or print, you can avoid looking bush league by watching these details:

1) TYPEFACE
There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of typefaces. Some are easier to read than others. Use a readable face to make sure your text is easy-to-follow. Keep the type large enough, too. (You may have to cut back on copy to fit your space.) Avoid using more than two or three different faces in any piece. Multiple typefaces can look cluttered.

2) LINE LENGTH
Ever wonder why newspapers and magazines format their articles in columns? It’s easier for human eyes to track shorter lines of text. Break up your copy into columns about 3” wide or less for a cleaner look and better readability.

3) COPY LENGTH
Most of your audience won’t have the time or inclination to plow through long text. Keep what you have to say brief. Use bullet points.  Or use photos and captions -- much more involving than straight text  If it’s a web site, you can offer more information through links. That leaves it up to the visitor to click or not. 

4) PHOTOS/VISUALS
You know the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? It’s true. So use visuals to emphasize your messages. But be picky. Poor quality photos speak volumes about your organization. And what they say isn’t good.

5) PRODUCTION QUALITY
Fuzz is okay on peaches but not on web sites, ads, brochures, newsletters or anything else with your name on it. That means no fuzzy logos, fuzzy type or fuzzy photos.

6) CONSISTENCY
Once you’ve worked out a look, standardize it. Set up rules for logo usage, colors, tag line, and layout, and follow them. Consistency helps build familiarity.

More bang for your marketing $$$: Who Knows You?

Ever heard the expression, “It’s not what you know, but who you know”? It’s the theme song of networking.

When it comes to successful business development though, this saying needs to be turned on its head!! “It’s not what you know OR who you know, but WHO KNOWS YOU.”

True Story: A company introduced a product but didn’t budget for promotion. A few months down the road the CEO frowned and asked, “Why isn’t the new widget selling?”After we started a program of publicity, advertising and trade show support, sales happened.

Moral: Selling starts with awareness.

Awareness is so basic many business people overlook it or minimize its importance. But lack of awareness will stymie business growth every time.

How do you create awareness? You need to be visible. Depending on your business and audience, the following tools can help you:

1) ADVERTISING: Can be an effective way to create awareness IF you have an audience that can be reached through publications, broadcast or other media avenues.   Because of the growth of electronic media alternatives, cable TV, satellite radio and so on, the market's gotten very crowded and advertising is tougher to make work.

2) PUBLIC RELATIONS: Product releases, features and case histories can get the word out about your product. This is often a SLOOOOOW way to build awareness, but the cost is less than advertising.

3) SOCIAL MEDIA: If you know your audience is online and you know where to find them AND you know what interests them, you can use social networks to create an online community.  This will take time and effort, but could pay off for you.

4) DIRECT MAIL: Works best with narrow, well-defined audiences. A good list is essential – whether you’re sending your message email or surface mail.

5) TRADE SHOWS and EVENTS: This is much like retail. Attendees come to learn about new products and “kick the tires.” They want to get up close and personal with products, and they may want to be entertained as well. So add some flash and sizzle to your presence. Make it fun, but make it meaningful, too.

A combination of these tools can be very effective. Just be sure to repeat, Repeat, REPEAT your message over time so it sinks in.