Newsletter from March 17, 2004
Hello
Thanks for subscribing to the Tailored Newsletter at www.tailored.com.au. If you want to read this newsletter online, simply visit here: www.tailored.com.au/newslettermarch1704.htm.
As you might be aware this newsletter is rather late. Actually very late. And I know why. (I was going to say the dog ate it - but that excuse just doesn't fly these days)
You see, being the perfectionist I am, I've been thinking that I have to write a huge newsletter packed with every bit of info I know.
But in reading the newsletters I subscribe to, I found that I prefer the smaller, regular ones with tidbits of info. Good info, but small chunks of it is best.
So I'm committed to sending out this newsletter every month. Every month.
Okay, that's the welcome! Let's get into it..............
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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Creating the Buzz
2. Stop your marketing right now!
3. The life of Byron
4. Positioning - smart strategy for success
5. WIN, WIN, WIN! Can I borrow your brain please? Did I mention you can win?!!
6. Free report - does your business need a Web Site?
=============== Creating the Buzz ===============
It's hard to know how to market your business these days. A million and one competing ways, all screaming that they are the best value for money. All twisting the statistics to justify just about any claim.
- Just how do you market your products?
- And just how do you market cost effectively?
I'll start off by talking about what can be called buzz marketing.
It's marketing where you create awareness of your product or service using low cost, high impact 'guerilla' tactics.
But not just awareness. Buzz marketing means creating sustainable interest that leads to purchase (and ultimately brand loyalty).
Many of the tactics used in creating a 'buzz' are successful because they are unrecognized as marketing. I truly can't stress enough the effectiveness of any marketing that assists in generating word of mouth recognition of a business. When you learn of a product or service - and in a positive way - from another person who isn't directly associated with that product or service then you are highly likely to try that brand.
---- Some examples of buzz marketing ----
Here are some examples - an attractive woman, we'll call her Mel after my lovely wife (heh, anything to get in the good books!) initiates a conversation in a bar with a guy (we'll call him Mike) she doesn't know. Surprisingly enough (!!) Mike offers to buy Mel a drink. Her drink of choice is the new "Bren Beer".
Mel then spends the next 5 minutes talking about how great the new beer is.
Mike will give that beer a try. Almost guaranteed.
And beer's a good example here because research shows that guys drink the beer their friends do. So if Mike starts drinking this new beer, then his friends will too.
Taking that as a one off marketing strategy let's look at the result.
1. The target market (that's Mike) has been positively exposed to the brand.
2. A credible and (perceived) independent third party has endorsed the product.
Brilliant marketing.
I'll leave aside the ethical issues of buzz marketing. Many people might find such a strategy, as detailed above, deceitful and underhanded. I'm not the moral police here.
(But then we might start talking about the issues of marketing a product that's not good for you - fatty foods, cigarettes, etc - and marketing that is directly aimed at influencing young, impressionable minds.)
Here's another example. Your local school.
Children are very easily influenced and store great importance on being 'cool'. Numerous companies have identified this and used this to great advantage. Here's what they do:
1. Identify the coolest kids in the school.
2. Recruit these cool kids as 'endorsers'
3. Equip these kids with whatever it is you want to promote
4. Now watch the sales grow as the other kids in the school 'must have' this latest product
But does it work?
In a word: Yes.
A report in 2001 by McKinsey & Company found that 67% of sales in US consumer goods are influenced by word of mouth. Anecdotally, for purchases such as meals, computers, movies, mobile phones and cars word of mouth is the major factor.
Create positive word of mouth about your product and sales will go up. Generating positive word of mouth should be a huge part of your marketing strategy.
========== STOP YOUR MARKETING RIGHT NOW! ==========
Here's an unorthodox strategy I sometimes recommend to clients with existing businesses.
- Stop the advertising.
- Stop the sponsorship.
- Stop the billboards.
- Stop everything.
Believe it or not, there are 2 very sound reasons behind this.
Have you heard the old saying "Half of my marketing works. I just don't know which half." That's nonsense, rubbish and plain stupid.
Why would you possibly waste what could be thousands of dollars on marketing that doesn't work, just for the sake of a little research? Crazy.
With the very expensive marketing these days you need to know exactly what return you are receiving, if in fact you are receiving one, from those $5,000 per month billboards on the highway.
---- Stop for 2 months ----
Stop all marketing for two- (2) months and see how your sales figures go (if they don't alter in the slightest then you'll know that the previous marketing hasn't been working.). Then slowly, strategy by strategy, start your marketing. And measure every single activity.
If the $30,000 TV advertising campaign is supposed to be so great, you are now in a position to accurately measure its impact and the amount of profit it generates. If it does perform - great. Take more ads. If it doesn't, then stop it.
Measuring is crucial for any business. And rare. Ask every customer "How did you hear of us?"
"How did you hear of us?"
A simple question that will tell you how your marketing is doing and, importantly, how you are doing in terms of providing your customers with a positive experience.
You'll very quickly know which of your marketing strategies are doing the job. Stop those marketing strategies that aren't.
---- Reason number 2 for stopping your marketing ----
Reason number 2 for stopping your marketing is so you can get your business right. And by that I mean the brand. And by that I mean everything. And by that I mean.....just kidding! There's enough "By that I mean's.."
Every aspect of your business impacts on the brand of your business. Is your customer service as good as can be? Is it a simple, progressive and effective service that leaves each and every customer going "Wow! Those guys are amazing!"?
---- If it's not, then it's time to act ----
What about your key message? Your message of just how you are different from your competition (and why that difference is important to your customer) - it is consistent across all areas? Is it the 'right' message?
By that I mean is your message what your customers want to know?
Let's take Virgin Blue - a low cost airline that operates in Australia under the worldwide 'Virgin' brand. The Virgin brand is one of fun and frivolity and very cheap products and services.
Every single piece of marketing for that business has to say the same thing.
- If I jump on a plane tomorrow and the staff are unhelpful and surly, that's impacting negatively on the brand.
- If the fares suddenly increase to the same level of the competition - bad for the brand.
- If they changed the colour of the uniform from a bright red to a dark and serious black, then that's not being true to the key message. And bad for the brand.
Every single aspect of your business impacts on your brand. If your brand is damaged in any way, so is your business.
Get your business right. 100 new customers who receive a great experience might be enough to build your entire business.
Happy customers come back. And they tell their friends. Who tell their friends. And that's the best advertising of all.
And good customer service is so rare that (as a person who looks at customer service a lot, I'd define good customer service as providing a memorable positive experience with your business, or exceeding the expectations of your customer) when it does occur it stands out like a beacon of light.
---- 100 unhappy customers can do some damage ----
100 new customers who receive a terrible experience might be enough to destroy your business. The negative word of mouth alone would be disastrous. Add to that the cost of getting new people to your business each and every time (it's far, far cheaper to keep existing customers than attract new ones).
But have every process right - from the way a customer is greeted when they walk into your shop, to how the telephone is answered, to the on-hold message, to the customer service, to customer follow up, the list goes on and on and on.
Get your business right before you start marketing it.
---- Spelling errors ----
Here's an example. Feedback from the survey we have on the web site (that I'm about to ask you to complete!) so far mentions that my spelling errors annoy some people. And fair enough.
It's a major consideration. And it is a consideration that is currently impacting negatively on my business. So I need to fix it before I continue marketing - it's not so smart encouraging people to the web site if the web site puts us in a poor light.
================ The life of Byron ================
I mentioned our graphic artist Byron on the web site a few days ago. My guess was that Byron, with his first employee on board, is about to experience some terrific growth. Here are three- (3) things he's doing:
1. Sending a letter out to every customer he has ever had announcing the expansion and restating his quality and commitment to service.
2. Using every single invoice to make an offer. "Special offer on Fridge Magnets for this week only. Our supplier of fridge magnets has offered us the following deal that we'd like to pass on to you."
(Make an offer in your invoices. Cheap and easy.)
3. Starting a newsletter offering tidbits of quality information to his clients and prospects. That positions Byron's business as expert and caring. Creating an emotional connection between his business and his clients. That's good for business.
Byron's finally getting time to work on his business rather than in it. Exciting times ahead.
========= Positioning - smart strategy for success ========
Here's an excellent example of making a statement to your market at a low, low cost.
I saw an ad the other day. It was for a racing bicycle. Nice bike. With a nice price tag. $17,000. Yep, $17,000 for a bike.
Now, my racing bike doesn't go as fast as it used to (but that's more an issue with my ageing legs!). But $17,000 for a new bike??! Nope, not for me.
But my assessment of that bike is this. It's not about the price. And it's not about selling that bike. It's about making a positioning statement to the market and making a brand statement. And it's been done very, very cheaply.
---- Probably not a viable market ----
At $17,000 a bike, it's probably not a viable market. There simply aren't enough people out there willing to buy a $17,000 bike to make this a profitable product. And I'd guess the company selling those bikes wouldn't expect to sell too many.
What they use it for is positioning - being seen as top quality
They might provide a few bikes to elite athletes (Bike riders, Tri-athletes, etc). My guess is they'll let the market see these great bikes and then introduce a lower-priced bike in a few months time.
The product is instantly branded as the premium brand within the market. The lower priced bikes will have part of the cachet attached by association with the brand. And that will equate to great sales.
================= WIN, WIN, WIN! =================
Can I borrow your brain please? Did I mention you can win?!!
We receive a lot of feedback from the Tailored web site and are always looking at how we can improve things. To help us get it right we've put together a quick and easy survey (just 10 quick questions) and would appreciate it if you could take a minute or 2 to complete it.
And win a great prize!
And to make it an even better survey we'll place everyone's name in a hat and draw a winner for a $50 book! A shameless bribe!
Click this link if you would like to help: http://www.tailored.com.au/tailored_survey.htm
===== Free resources - does your business need a web site? =====
This is a question I'm often asked. And if you're about to ask this very same question then I have the answer for you!
I've written a Free Report titled "Does your business need a Web Site?"
(Catchy title I agree!)
Click this link for the free report (it's a pdf file): www.tailored.com.au/examples/needwebsitereport.pdf
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Well, that's it for the March newsletter. Hope you found it of interest. If you have any questions please let me know at brendon@tailored.com.au. And have a good day.
Cheers
Brendon Sinclair
Click here for web site marketing media home page.
