Marketing Lessons From The Circus!

If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying “Circus Coming to the Fairground Saturday”, that’s advertising.

If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk it into town, that’s promotion.

If the elephant walks through the mayor’s flower bed, that’s publicity.

And if you get the mayor to laugh about it, that’s public relations.

If the town’s citizens go the circus, you show them the many entertainment booths, explain how much fun they’ll have spending money at the booths, answer their questions and ultimately, they spend a lot at the circus, that’s sales.

And, if you planned the whole thing, that’s Marketing!

- Unknown

How To Get Out Of Your Business And Into The World!

Do you have a question for the Marketing Department. Send it to Marketingguys@gmail.com We will be glad to answer it for you. A self employed business owner from California, USA, recently wrote to us with the following question:

Dear Marketing Department: I own my business, and I am the sole employee. So I don’t have much contact with the outside world on an ongoing basis. But I feel I need it. Do you have any suggestions on how I can get more social stimulation?
Self Employed

Dear Self Employed:
Have you ever thought of joining a local community service organization? There are plenty of them out there: like the Kiwanis or the Elks or the Lions Club. Our favorite is the Rotary Club, because it is such a great organization, and it is all over the world. Rotary does rewarding work locally and internationally. You will get the rewards of helping out the people in need, plus you will have the interaction of working with highly motivated people. And although it is not the primary reason for joining Rotary, Networking is for certain a great benefit of being involved. You will have contacts with people you can call on when you need their products or services and, in turn, they will call upon you when they need your help.

Getting involved in a service organization is not only good for your soul, but it will eventually payoff for your business. It should be a part of your Marketing strategy. You find out information on your local Rotary by going to www.rotary.org/

What is your Blog Marketing Strategy?

Blogs are taking over the world! They are the fastest growing component of the Internet, today, growing by 1,600,000 a day! They are not only a tremendous place to get marketing information; they are also an outstanding place to share marketing information.

Since you are reading this, you are aware of blogs, as this is one. But are you using them as a marketing tool for your business? You should be!

First of all, they can be used for research. There are several search engines you can use for blogs including Google, Icerocket, Technotita and Blog Pulse. Type in your product or service words related to your business and see what comes up. What is being covered on blogs will tap you into what current in your market. Then too, the beauty of blogs is that you can contribute to them. So when there is a topic that is related to your business, become a part of the chatter. In doing so, you are directing attention to your business and, in turn, marketing yourself.

The blog world is here to stay! It is quickly taking the Internet into a new dimension! Be part of the flow!

Hiring an ad agency can be like buying the whole cow when all you need is a glass of milk

The value of flexibility…

Crowley Design Associates (www.crowleydesign.com) is comprised of Patrick Crowley, owner and art director and that's it!
A versatile group of talent that spans all reaches of the advertising and marketing industry is "On-Call" and used only when needed. These specialists are brought in based on how well their individual skills and strengths match up with your unique marketing needs. Writer, photographer etc.

• Full service — Want a design agency that does it all? With Crowley Design Associates, there’s no need to hire an entire ad agency staff. Our hand-picked team of specialists can do the job just as well if not better…AND for less!
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• Just a project — Why buy the whole cow when all you need is a quart of milk? Crowley Design Associates, flexible, “talent-on-call” process is the perfect solution for those single projects when you want quality without the pricey “commitment.”
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• In-house direction — Have good talent on-staff but just need an extra shot of fresh creative ideas? Let Crowley Design Associates motivate your marketing people and help direct the big picture!
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• Brainstorming — Planning a brainstorming session to launch a new product or service? Let us sit in and offer creative input.

Is Your Business In The News Today? It Should Be! Make It Happen!

Businesses that want to promote their company should take a lesson from Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain. All three know that they succeed without good media coverage.

Increasing sales is critical to the success of any business. Unfortunately, more effort is put into organizing the company, then marketing the products. And one key marketing tool is media coverage. That includes newspapers, radio, TV and don't forget the web.

It Takes Effort
It take some luck but mostly it takes strategy. Remember: there are many other organizations competing for the same media attention. When it comes to media coverage, the other companies are the competition. So, you need to work at it.

How To Get Media Attention?
It starts with a good press release. And a good press release is not the most creatively written release. It is the most effectively written release. Why? Releases are meant to catch the attention of the reporter. And the editor or reporter who is determining whether to use your release is making that decision in just seconds. Seconds!

Keep It Simple
Therefore, it is critical that the key information in a press release is right up top, and easy to find. start by putting the most important information in the first paragraph and the least important information in the last paragraph.

What Is Most important?
The information that answers the question: who, what, where, when, and why? Just the facts: Then in the paragraphs that follow, you can give more details, quote your club president, tell how to get more information, etc.

Concentrate On The Headline.
Give your press release a headline. Keep it short (no more than 5-8 words). Make it interesting. Think about what makes your story newsworthy...remember the old adage: "If a dog bites a man, that is not news. But if a man bites a dog, that is news." Finally, make it local. Local media likes local stories.

Call
The next key step to press releases, which 99% of people fail to do, is follow the release up with a phone calls. Call the reporter within a week after you sent it. Call the reporter and tell the reporter that you are just calling to make sure he or she received it and you want to know if he or she wants any further information. That phone call gives you a reason to plug the event in person.

There are many ways to market an company, but if you can get the media to work with you, your company will be that much more easier to market!

NEXT: What should the press release look like and how should you send it to the media. Watch for the next edition of this column in this blog.

Considering Direct Mail? Make Sure It Does Not Go Sour By Sweeting Up The Offer!

Are you considering sending out direct mailers to prospective customer?

Remember that the key to any good direct mail is to get a response to an offer. And an offer is something you are providing for some sort of investment from the customer.

The important point to remember is that when you make an offer make sure that it is clear what you are offering, keep the offer something that is of value to your target market and make the offer something simple to get it.And don’t just offer your service or product. Sweeten up the deal!

Here are some sweeteners you can add to the deal:

Free Gift

Limited Time Introduction

Introductory Price

Relationship Discount

Trade-in Offer

Early Bird Discount

Free Trial

Last Chance

Long-Term Guarantee

Limited Edition

Enrollment Period

Money-Back Guarantee

Price Increase Announcement

Refunds and Rebates

Free Gift With Payment

Annual Membership Fee

Free When You Refer A Customer

Marketing Quote Of The Week

"Strategy and timing are the Himalayas of marketing. Everything else is the
Catskills. " Al Ries

Does a good story really make a product better?

Just because a large creative agency tells you they’re better than everyone else, it doesn’t necessarily make it true. Large agencies spend a lot of their time...and yours...selling themselves to you, knowing that a well-executed story about their “leading-edge capabilities” is often all it takes to persuade a client to buy into the idea that they are indeed better. And this perception simply may not be the case.
It’s like the wine glass maker whose entire marketing strategy is based on convincing potential customers that his pricey, hand-blown wine glasses make wine taste better...when in reality, there is no difference in taste when comparing similarly shaped glasses. The wine tastes better simply because people, even wine connoisseurs, have been very cleverly persuaded that, in his “special” wine glasses, it should.
So why pay more when what really matters is what’s “inside the glass”?
Crowley Design Associates delivers creative work that’s as good as the larger agencies without charging you for an expensive song and dance. With no costly overhead to maintain, I’ll assemble just the right outsourced talent necessary to give your ad, brochure, Web site or other marketing materials the look and the voice you want them to have…without compromising the high-caliber quality your marketing needs demand. For less. For real.

Is Your Business Sign Making Your Business Visable Or Invisible!

Sign are an important part of any businesses marketing campaign. Too often signs are too small and just not easy to read. How large should your sign be....the following chart may help you: the first number indicates how far away your sign will be seen, and the second number is the recommended size of the letters:

50 feet 2" letters
100 feet 4" letters
250 feet 10" letters
360 feet 16" letters
500 feet 22" letters
750 feet 33" letters
1000 feet 43" letters
1320 feet 57" letters

This letter visibility chart was made based upon information provided by Pennsylvania Transportation Institute, Penn State University and the United States Sign Council (USSC).

Better Your Businesses MPG ..From Your Office Seat Not Your Car Seat!

Gas prices having an impact on your sales and marketing efforts? Then change your focus on MPG! Instead of worrying about your Miles Per Gallon, focus on your Marketing Performance Goals. Stop putting so much of your money into paying for gas and coming away with nothing.

How? Redirect your efforts and money into non gas using marketing activities.

Traditional Approaches
There are traditional approaches like direct mail, emails, the phone, public relation releases, community involvement and advertising.

Non Traditional Approaches
Then there are non traditional but increasing growing ideas such as creating web sites and blogs; joining on-line networking groups like LinkedIn; downloading Skype for on line voice and visual communication; sending out emails (not just for communication but also for on-line brochures and newsletters as well as presentations, and the sign up and posting articles on sites such as digg and dil.icio.us.

Keep watching!
The Marketing Department Blog as we address several of these idea and we get you to start improving your MPG! Or write to us at marketingguys@gmail.com

Keep Your Business Flying, Even When The Economic Winds Have Stop Blowing!

Flying a kite in the wind, takes some skill and talents. But the real challenge is flying a kite with little wind. You have to be willing to work a lot harder and a lot smarter at it.

Marketing your business is a lot like flying that kite. When everything is going alright marketing your business takes some skill. But when the economy begins to struggle you have to work harder and, yes, smarter to get your business to soar like it did when the winds were blowing at a full gale.

Yet so many businesses just let their kite fall to the ground. They cut back on effort waiting for the winds to change. And unfortunately a recession is times that many businesses fail, simply because they did not work smarter and harder.

They stop putting the effort into keeping that kite up because they don’t know how to deal with Marketing in a recession. So they hunker down and wait with little more than hope. And hope is great, but it can run out and when it does, so does everything else.

But Your Marketing Department contends that this is the time to work smarter, rather than less. This is the time to keep that kite flying. In fact, if you can do that you are more likely to get better results than you will in good times. Why? Because the sky is filled with less kites than before, and few that are up there will get more attention. It is the law of averages!

So, how do you do all this? Your Marketing Department will help you with a series of article. Watch this Blog for more details!

The Reasons People Buy!

Marketing Quote Of The Week!

"Customers buy for their reasons, not yours."

Orvel Ray Wilson

Want your business to outsell your competitors? Think outside the bubble!

Have a marketing or sales question for Your Marketing Department? Send us an email at Marketingguys@gmail.com and we will post your question and answer on the Blog.


Q. A Laundromats owner asks: Dear Marketing Department. I own a Laundromat in a residential area that has many competing Laundryomats in the same area. How can I attract business away from my competitors?

A. Dear Laundromat owner: Have you done your marketing research. Have you gone around to your competition and found out what services they offer? That should be your first step.

What are their prices. What type of equipment do they have? How is their parking. What are their hours, are their facilities well lit and clean and is there someone always there to help them?

Then once you have gathered your information, determine what you can do different than what they are doing. Can you offer lower prices or discounts to frequent users? Do you have machines that handle special loads? Can you have slow day or times specials? If so, put big signs in your windows! Are your hours good for the early birds or the late comers.? If not, consider changing them. How clean is your facility?

How about thinking outside of the box! Is your laundromat wireless? It should be? Do you have magazines to read or maybe purchase? Do you sell food and drink? Do you have entertainment for the children. Have you ever considered selling wall space for advertisers? Have you ever considered offering seminars for people to listen to while they are doing their laundry? What about setting up a small library for people to read while they wash? How about offering MP3 music where people can plug in their head sets while they wash!

How do you market your laundromat. Do you have signs or posters? Do you h!ve a brochure about the laundromat with tips about cleaning. Do you do special event and send out press releases. Can you write a newsletter and send it to a mailing list?

The beauty about laundromats is that you have a captured audience for several hours. And they sit there waiting. How can you better that waiting time for them and improve the profitability of your business! Think!

In Difficult Economic Times Businesses Should Take Up Target Practice

Are your sales flat or declining? Are you thinking that maybe there is just no market for your business? Are you worried about failing? You are not alone! As the economic times worsen, business failures increase. Maybe it is time for you to take up target practice!

Think about what happens when you shoot a arrow at a target. What is your ultimate goal? To hit the bullseye right? Well think about your business as the bow and arrow. Your customers are all living in the bullseye.

Right now, if you are aiming for anything else but that bullseye, that is maybe the reason why your business is floundering right now!

Difficult economic times are not times to be overly ambitious and try to sell to the world. These are time you want to reach those people or businesses who will most likely purchase your product or service.

Think Local!
To start with, focus on your immediate area. The market within miles of your business. Then start to think about demographics. What are the demographics of those individuals or businesses that have a need and a want for your product. And more importantly will purchase your product...not just once, but will be repeat purchasers.

What Type Of Demographics?
For individuals those demographics include such factors as age, gender, life style, marital status, etc. For commercial customers think about their sales results, assets size, business type, staff size, growth history, their customer base, etc.

Know Your Bullseye?
One of the key reasons that businesses fail is because they do not know what their target market is. Who would most use your product or service? Older people or younger people? Small or large businesses? Who? And the answer to that question cannot be found in 5 minutes! It may take days or even weeks or even months.

It Will Pay Off!
But the effort will pay off! Once you have correctly identified the customers with the greatest potential for buying your product and services, then you are minimizing your efforts and expenses and maximizing your results! You would like that wouldn't you? It is all up to you!

Get A Work Sheet
Target Marketing is important in good economic times, and is ten times as important in poor economic times. For a worksheet on determining your bullseye, write to marketingguys@gmail.com