Speaking of ads…..
….You need to measure the success of your advertising campaigns in an effort to ensure you know what works (and do it again) and what doesn’t (stop doing that).
Forget brand awareness, forget likelihood to buy, forget any other marketing jargon except for this point.
The one and only thing you really need to measure with your advertising campaigns is:
Did your sales go up? If yes (and by more $ than the advertising cost), then it worked. No if’s or but’s.
The good thing about having small children is that you can generally teach them to say whatever you want. In my case the question is, “Am I good looking?”
Each and every one (makes it sound like I have 100 children, but I only have 3) of my children respond with “You’re a hottie Dad!”
That’s despite the fact that I look like Shrek!
Business is rocking along at the moment with new clients coming in all directions. We are currently doing something like 15 web sites, have picked up some decent sized and interesting marketing jobs, as well as some great PR work. With all this business coming in, we have lots of meetings with clients.
And I’ve noticed something very interesting. What have you noticed Brendon? We’ll, I’m glad you asked. I’ve noticed this:
I dress better when I know I’ll be meeting with clients or potential clients. I usually dress well for the office, but with the finishing off of my book (it’s now at the printers) over the past few months taking long, long hours I found that I was not dressing quite as well as I could.
When I dress well, something happens.
I feel like I’m in a costume. Well, not really a costume, but I feel a little like I have a part to play – an expectation to meet (that’s the phrase I was looking for!).
When I dress really well I am treated differently. I certainly feel different. And I act differently. Because there is an expectation with my appearance I’m perceived differently. I feel more confident. And, partly due to my appearance, it’s as though I am somehow more credible and believable.
It’s as though, when you think (even us Shrek-looking people know we don’t look that good!) you look great, you can draw some sort of strength or confidence from yourself. It’s as though it is coming from an external source (your clothes or appearance) when it is really coming from you.
What about you?
When you look and feel great, do you feel more confident? More in control? More optimistic?
I’d be willing to bet that you do. Come on and join me in looking your absolute best each and every day. Then grab that enthusiasm and confidence that comes with it and make the best of yourself, your business, your life!
Try it for a week and see how you go. You could be amazed by the results.
Regards
Brendon
(from ww.tailored.com.au – posted July 2003)
For any web designers/web developers reading this, of the 15 web sites we are doing at the moment, we have got the leads almost exclusively through word of mouth. 14 out of the 15 have been referred by family/friends/clients.
* We won another site today – referral.
* We’ll get another one tomorrow – referral.
* Then another one early next week – newspaper ad.
* Then another one I’m 90% sure of winning- referral.
That will be 19 sites in a couple of weeks, 17 being referred by others.
If you are a web developer, generate as much word of mouth business as possible. It’s the best (and cheapest) way to get a new client. How we mainly do it is:
a) keep in regular touch with our clients and ask them for referrals
b) send newsletters to clients/prospects/friends/etc letting them know of any successes, what we are doing now, etc.
We also reward any person who sends a prospect our way – maybe a bottle of wine, dinner or a show.
And I’ve had some interesting chats with non-businesspeople who see that as a bribe. I think that’s a crazy view. If someone sends a friend to my business with a terrific recommendation to use us, that person is putting food on my table, heat in my house and paying for the roof over my head.
I want to say “Thanks friend! We take great pride in providing a great service and I appreciate your recognising that and helping us to succeed. Here’s a bottle of wine as my way of saying thanks.”
It would be rude not to says “Thanks.”
So, ask for referrals from clients, friends and family. When someone helps you get a client, say thanks. It’s good manners. My mum taught me that.
Regards
Brendon
(posted on www.tailored.com.au July 2003)
Some of the most successful ads I have ever done have been newspaper ads with the headline:
Don’t buy [ product ] until you read this!!
The ad would go on to educate the reader about the value and benefit of my clients’ product. The ad would never denigrate the competition, it would simply clearly show the differences between their product and my client’s product.
It’s a simple, old, easy and effective technique.
Generating media coverage for clients can be brilliant if done right. A mention on a national TV show or in a magazine can result in, literally, millions of dollars worth of sales.
The work that goes into getting a story run on these programs/magazine can be huge, but the results are well worth it. And sometimes you just have to make a phone call!
A couple of weeks ago, we were talking with a journalist with a major weekly magazine (readership of around 1 million) about a possible story. She wasn’t interested in the pitch we were making, but before we stopped talking we suggested another story for a different client.
Result: An article has been written, photos shot and it’s all set to be published in two- (2) weeks time.
Conservatively, that could be $200,000 worth of sales for our client. All for a 20 cent phone call. I’ll keep you posted on how it goes.
What to do when your customer says “No”
Customers will quite often say “No” to your offer. It’s natural that you won’t make every sale. Here’s what to do when the customer says “No”.
Say “Thank you.”
Thank the customer for giving you the opportunity to sell them something. Just because what you offered didn’t meet their needs, doesn’t mean it is their fault (it’s actually yours for not ensuring you knew exactly what their needs were).
“Thanks for the opportunity to help. Although you don’t require our services/product at this time, perhaps we can assist in the future.”
Plus, as my mum says, it’s good manners. And my mum is always right!
Stand out.
The one thing you need to do for marketing success
That’s not such a great heading, because there are many things you can do to achieve marketing success. But this one is a biggie!
You have to stand out. If you are the same as your competitors, then the buyer has no reason to buy from you. It’s sometimes called your unique selling proposition. That’s fancy talk for “do something different.”
It doesn’t have to be price. Sure, price is a consideration for many people, but it doesn’t have to be the difference.
What is your unique selling proposition?
We always check out how we are attracting business and this last week has been pretty typical.
I’ll take you through what has happened so you can see the many ways you can actually pick up business.
* Firstly, I played golf with a client and a friend of his. I got chatting to the friend about his business as we played.
(he beat me in Stableford – 37 to 36 points). We signed him up for web work today.
* On Wednesday I went to a businesspersons’ charity breakfast and met a few good contacts. 1 excellent lead there has already turned into business – we’re doing his PR.
* On Thursday our $60 newspaper advertisment paid off with a web site design client. Surprisingly, the client walked in, had a chat and we took a deposit on the spot.
* Also on Thursday, an existing client had us in for a meeting to review their marketing strategies. We have been contracted to do an overhaul of existing strategies.
* And last week we sent out 59 letters offering specific services (web site marketing) – total cost was $60. We attracted 2 new clients onto monthly contracts.
The point of all that – yes, there is a point! – is that you need to be implementing a varied and ongoing marketing plan to consistently bring clients to your door. Only then can you consistently grow your business.
I had an interesting conversation today with some people.
The first guy was a prospect I was pitching web site marketing to. We were discussing the merits of various strategies:
* Search Engines
* E-mail advertising – with your own list
* Providing content (i.e. articles)
* Banner ads
* Offline advertising
* Encouraging word of mouth
* Etc
The client stopped me pretty quickly to let me know that his research indicated that 95% of web traffic to web sites (including his) came through Search Engines, so wasting his money on all other forms of web site marketing to attract the additional 5% just wasn’t worth it.
Another prospect a little later, didn’t want Search Engine marketing for his site because he had looked at his stats and knew that the vast majority of his web site traffic was generated from sources other than Search Engines. “Search Engines don’t work!”
Who’s right? Both of them.
Who’s wrong? Both of them.
And that isn’t some crazy pyschobabble. Let me explain.
If we develop a site and initially market it through Search Engines, I’ll guarantee that the vast majority of people who find the site will find it through Search Engines.
If we develop a site and initially market it through an opt-in email list and magazine ads, I’ll guarantee that the vast majority of people who find the site will find it through email campaigns and magazine ads.
The point is that web site marketing generally works.
Take a well rounded approach to the marketing of your site and you’ll end up with a steady flow of visitors to your site from a variety of sources. If you do nothing but Search Engine marketing, 95% of your web visitors might well find you through Search Engines. But you’re cutting yourself short.
(The best sort of marketing for a web site I have ever done has been offline PR. We’re talking 10,000 highly targeted and motivated buyers visiting a site within 30 minutes of the PR piece going to air. Now that’s marketing!)
Some people say I have the “gift of the gab”. Other say I’ve kissed the Blarney Stone. And even others say I could sell ice to an Eskimo.
The inference being that I can sell anything to anyone.
But they are all wrong. I don’t think I’ve ever sold anything to anyone. And I’m damn good at it!
The term ‘selling’ implies talking someone into something they don’t really want. I sell the absolute opposite way. What I do is this:
I help the prospect get what they want.
If you help people get what they want, that’s not selling. They are buying. And happily.
Identify what your prospects might need and offer them a solution. They’ll buy everytime and be grateful for it!
Here’s about the best example I can give. With our web sites, I honestly believe we offer a very unique service. Our skill, expertise and experience means that we can provide a very valuable service to our prospects. What I generally do is identify the problem (they want more sales) and offer a solution (develop the web site in such a way so that they’ll make more sales).
That’s it. Nothing fancy there. We don’t try and sell the prospect anything. But we do help him identify a problem and then we offer a solution.
Sure, it’s a pedantic distinction, but it’s an important one. How can you apply it to what you do?