Marketing Services : Back to Basics

Los Angeles. Chicago. New York. La Crosse. Minneapolis. Winona. Marketing is essentially the same no matter where you live, no matter what you sell, and no matter how you're selling it.

Know Yourself    What do you do better than anyone else? What is your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? If you want to beat the competition, you need to have an answer. What else do you offer? Superior service? Better price? Smarter marketing? No matter the added benefit, repeat business comes when consumers believe in the quality of your product. Staying ahead of the curve is essential to growth, and change should be built on market research, not a feeling. Pay close attention to the numbers. They won't lie.

Know Your Audience    Knowing and appealing to your audience is what it's all about. Successful marketers appeal directly to the target audience. You see examples everywhere. Weekly newspapers are written to a different level than the New York Times. Four-wheel drive vehicles are advertised during football games. Web sites use short copy and bold images. Finding your audience is easiest when you have a plan, and when you pay attention to how consumers react. Planning is about asking and answering the right questions. Who is going to buy your product? What do they do? How much disposable income? How many kids? What type of car do they drive? Paying attention is about your current and potential customers. You may no t be appealing to people you think should be purchasing your product. Why? Ask yourself what the competition is offering. Better yet, ask yourself what you could be offering that motivates your customer to make a purchase right now.

Benefits    Showing benefits is the key. A lot of people confuse features with benefits. A hybrid car, for instance, features an electric motor to assist the gas motor. The benefits are more disposable income based on gas savings and a cleaner environment. That's what consumers buy. It's the old WIIFM or What's In It For Me. The benefit of belonging isn't about racking up points on your credit card; it's about relaxing and sitting back in a hammock on a warm Hawaiian night. Remember, that all competent marketers sell benefits, so make yours stand out. And make it personal.

Call to Action    What will make the consumer decide? The call to action can be blatant, subtle or anything in between. Whatever it is, your customer need to be moved to make a buying decision. It can be buy now and save, or if I get an IPod, I'll be as cool as Bono, or it can be a belief that if I don't buy this product, I will continue in pain. The consumer's life has to be better in some way. I've known people who have built beautiful, information-filled web sites. They would get plenty of visitors, but hardly anyone would buy because there was no compelling reason to pull the trigger. So, ask yourself, Why will a customer make a buying decision today? The answer better be there, or you will need to rethink what your marketing plan.

Marketing Services : Brand Loyalty

We All Want Brand Loyalty

Most of the shoes in my closet come from Nordstrom's, a company known for great shoes at a fair price and superior customer service.

I'm treated well, so I come back. After all, it's easier to keep an existing customer than to get a new one. I see a benefit in the experience,

So, when our grandson was ready for his first shoes we went along. The Nordstrom's sales associate came quickly. We expected that. We felt that she was there to help, even though we knew she was there for a sale. In our minds, we believed that our grandson was her focus. She knew her audience. We expected that too. She was on the front-line, and she was doing well.

The shoes looked good, and she sold the benefits -- superior construction and quality. It will help him as he starts to walk. She didn't need to talk about price. The call to action was subtle, but it couldn't be missed. If you want this child to walk correctly, and maybe even a little sooner because of all that valuable support, get these "first walkers".

Nordstrom's had the sale all along. That's because they had done everything right in all our interactions before that moment.

Taking it to the Next Level
What happened after the sale is what really impressed me. Our grandson has a lifetime of shoe buying ahead. Nordstrom's didn't miss that. They created a number of reasons to come back.

Out came the Polaroid; out came his very own adorable stuffed animal named Nordy. Every time his parents see the picture or he plays with Nordy, or they see him walking in his first walkers, they'll think of Nordstrom's. To top it all off, Santa stopped by. It was a positive, memorable experience. That's how brand loyalty is created.

You Don't Have to Get Your Picture Taken with Santa
Repeat sales. That's the name of the game. Companies pour thousands of dollars into retention surveys. But the answer might be this simple: Customers who have a positive first experience and feel they received a good product at a fair price are really only looking for an excuse to come back. Treat them well, and they will always return.

Marketing Services : You are the Brand

Whenever you are in front of a customer, you are the brand. That's on the phone, in person and even when you are away from work.

The way the customer perceives you matters more than your advertising, more than your pricing, more than your guarantee, more than anything. It doesn't matter if you're the owner or the newest employee. The relationship your client/customer has is with you because to your customer, you are the business.

It may seem like overkill, but the way you dress, comb your hair, learn your specs, share your knowledge, answer the phone and especially how engaged you are with your client will make a difference. Most clients/customers want to feel valued. You are the person who will give them that value. Given that the services you are providing are nearly the same as your competition's, the customer will go with the person they think cares about them and their business.

Think about it. The customer's loyalty is with you to a great extent. Sure, your company provides things that they may not be able to get some place else. But if you were to leave, your customer will move with you if you've given him/her great service.

One great question is how this personal service relates to a web site. It may be this simple: most web transactions are like a catalog sale — the customer is treated as a transaction. The more transactions, the more income. It's a numbers game. In a brick and mortar business, people who come into the business are treated like clients. They have value, and that value grows when a relationship is developed and nurtured. So, are you developing a relationship with your web client? Are you doing things that make those clients feel valued?

Everyone's a customer — your boss, your employees, your family, the people at the store, the people who hit your web site, everyone. For the company to grow, they must have a reason to come back, and when you are that customer's contact, you are the reason.

Confidential Documents Case Study

The goal of great marketing is simple: Get as many people as possible to buy your product. The “how” is where it can get complicated. To help Confidential Document Services, the region leader in shredding confidential materials, reach its goals, we created benefits-related pieces for specific segments of the company's target audience.

A series of postcards to a targeted prospect base resulted in a sharp increase in new accounts, a flyer inserted in a newsletter in the company's new branch location increased awareness in a competitive market, letters to other specific audiences include a piece that increases retention by rewarding current customers for staying with the company, and a new quarterly newsletter helps to inform, recognize and upsell current customers and targeted prospects.

Confidential Document Services experienced growth from this campaign, and we can help you do the same.