Who's Steering Your Ship?

Who's Steering Your Ship? Is your small business marketing suffering from too many Indians and no chief? Your website was designed by your brother and developed by your brother's friend; your graphics were created by your neighbor's cousin; your brand and logo are some clip art you found on the internet; your media plan was created by a freelance media expert; your unique selling proposition, well what's that?   Do all of these entities work together to create a successful marketing plan and singular brand message? You will need each of these components to implement a plan for your small business. However, it shouldn't be a fruit bowl toss up of "experts" each doing what they do best In a silo without someone taking a helicopter view of the overall strategy. Every textbook, business consultant, and professor will tell you that a marketing plan is required for a business to succeed. Is it possible to have a well thought out strategic marketing plan when there's seven different experts who rarely, if ever, communicate with each other. Would you run your restaurant with a kitchen full of cooks, each making their own special sauce or dish, then serving it as a meal to your customers? One plate would probably have chocolate covered gnocchi with a side of sushi. This restaurant would not be in business very long. Don't let your marketing plan fall prey to such a screwed up concoction. Your marketing plan must be well designed and thought out, reviewed frequently, and watched over with a careful eye.  The advantage to running a small business, is that your plan can be nimble and tweaked easily. You can measure different tactics and adjust quickly if one strategy  isn't performing.  Do-it-today action steps: Take a moment today to step back and take a helicopter view of your marketing strategy. Is it cohesive? Do all the parts join together well, taking your customer from an interested stranger to a loyal customer? Respond to this email and let me know about some of the challenges you have with your marketing strategy.  Your Marketing Captain, Larry P.S. We are cooking up a new website chock full of marketing tips, ecourses, and consulting opportunities that will put you on the road to successful marketing for your small business. Sign up here to be notified first.     If you enjoyed this, please share:             Lippi & Co. Direct Response 2820 Selwyn Ave, Suite 871 Charlotte, North Carolina 28209

Have you bought a product from an ad lately?

Have you bought a product from an ad lately?

My guess, you probably haven't bought a product based on an ad you've seen. Now that you're thinking about that, let me ask, why not? So many factors are at play here that my brain is exploding as to where to start.  Let's begin with your product or service. How well do you know your customer and your product? Imagine sending a door-to-door salesman out with a sample case that he is unfamiliar with to an unknown consumer. (See Sales Begin Before the Salesman Calls). I wouldn't bet on many sales. With the barrage of sales messages your customer is hit with constantly, how do you get seen and how do you get chosen? Just like with any successful endeavor, you need to start with a plan. No Plan =  No Business.

Here are 5 Steps to Building an Effective Marketing Plan:

Step 1: Know Your Customer   Define a specific target audience. This takes research. It is critical that you learn who your potential customers are. Your company will benefit by allowing for a consistent, relevant message to a smaller target audience and thereby reduce the cost of reaching them. (See Why Advertising Doesn't Work). Develop a target Demographic (age, gender, marital status, geographic location, household income, etc.)? You will want to determine their Psychographics (values, beliefs, interests etc.) Where do they shop, what publications, websites and social media outlets do they peruse?  Once you've located them interact with them on a consistent basis. Engage with them through the mediums discovered in your research. Always request feedback. The more information you can attain the more value you can add to the future development of your product and brand.

Step 2: Know Your Product I would start by asking yourself what does your company sell and why should anyone want it? Mainly what are the product or service benefits you are providing to your customer? What's in it for them? How does it solve their problem or answer a need? Develop a product personality which specifically relates to them. Think of your product as a brand which speaks to them consistently with one tone and one message. Define a unique selling proposition which clearly communicates a reason to buy from you instead of the competition. (See I Traded a Gun Fo a Stick). A definable value. Thereby making price a non-issue. Never compete on price. It becomes a race to the bottom. Someone will always be cheaper.

Step 3: Know How to Reach Your Customer   Whether you're an established business with a large advertising budget or a start up, you want to use those bucks wisely. Allow for more frequency by determining and utilizing the least expensive method of reaching your customer. Frequency is important because not everyone is viewing a given media precisely at the time your message is running. You want to be sure that a given media reaches your potential customer. Just reaching large numbers of people doesn't result in effective marketing. (See Pay Your Advertising Agency More Than They Ask). I love it when a TV sales rep tells my client that their station reaches half a million people. That's great, except that my client's audience is within 3 miles of his location. A good media plan requires as much creativity as the ad you're running. Your product may not need mass media. In fact, in certain cases, a viral approach or public relations might be in order. PR is certainly the most cost-effective and credible form of marketing. The fact that PR appears to be written by a third party, makes it more believable to the consumer. My last point here is on budget. Think of your advertising budget as an investment, not a cost. Allot a number to it for a period of time and stick to it. Advertising and its message is a building process that takes time and repetition to work.

Step 4: Knowledge is Power   Earlier in this newsletter we mentioned opening a dialog with your customer as an effective means of developing a position for your company. The more information these customers give you the easier for you to know where you are in their hearts and minds and where you need to be. Social media opens this dialog in a much more personal and informative manner than pure paid-for advertising. This form of marketing allows for a real-time dialog. Every communication vehicle should contain a call to action. How else would you be able to judge the effectiveness of your ad? That call to action may come in the form of sales, sales inquiries and information capture. Remember that even negative comments are beneficial in planning future developments of product and marketing. Oh yeah, test your message, test your media and test your products relevance.

Step 5: Know Your Competition A good starting point in attacking your competition is knowing as much as you can about them. Figure out which competitors are the most successful and why. How do they market themselves? What media do they use? Determine the market share they own. Will you take market share from them or develop a market of your own. In the 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, Al Reis states that if you can't be first in a category, pick a category in which you can be first. Be inventive in developing ads that position your company against everyone else. This allows for smaller companies to compete with the big boys. Their are three types of ads to make your point against your competitors.(See You Don't Need a Bazooka to kill a Fly). The Testimonial (make sure the person giving the testimonial is credible and not just a famous celeb with no connection to your product). The Product Demonstration (show how the product works and all the benefits of using it) and the Side-by-Side comparison (this will show why your product is the better choice). You may want to conduct in-store surveys and focus group research. I would suggest using a professional to accomplish this research.

Let me conclude with a short example of commitment to understanding one's product and customer. I had an old advertising buddy who was passionate about advertising as I am. His agency picked up a grocery product account. After working a full day at his agency, he swept floors in a grocery store. All the while, he watched customer behavior and the choices they made. Perhaps even asking a few questions of shoppers. That's a committed advertising guy. Needless to say his agency is one of the most successful in the state.

The Fear and Loathing of Advertising (Part 3 of 3)

In Parts 1 & 2, (Fear and Loathing of Advertising (Part 1) (Fear and Loathing of Advertising (Part 2), I talked about fear that resulted from changes in the economy and the media. In Part 3, I'm going to discuss the failures of my own industry. Sad to say, after 45 years in this business, it doesn't surprise me that advertising agencies are often loathed. (Why Advertising Doesn't Work) Let's start with a problem that's become prevalent in today's economy:

The Proliferation of Advertising Agencies

The downsizing of larger agencies has often led employees who were let go to start their own "agencies". They may be talented graphic designers, IT people or even copywriters, but does that make them an advertising agency? Do these ambitious new "agency heads" possess a thorough understanding of marketing - or do they offer only their own, limited perspectives? Can they show you resumes of successful campaigns and explain the strategic rationales that went into them, or are their portfolios merely "cool stuff that won awards for creativity" (but not necessarily business for the clients)? (Can a Grease Monkey Build a Spaceship?)

Poor performance here can sour the most forgiving client. Is this caused by a lack of knowledge of proven advertising principles, as might be the case of a start-up agency, or is it pure laziness, sometimes displayed even by larger agencies? Good Advertising takes work.

There are agencies that prefer to dive right into developing clever creative rather than taking the time to explore the benefits of the client's offerings and how they align with their customer's needs and wants.  (Forget Madmen, Hire the Corleone Family)

Which brings me to poor performance. It would be like hiring an architect to design you a house, and rather than listening to your needs, he designs what he likes because "he's the expert." Then you come to realize, after spending lots of cash, that the house doesn't function like you wanted it to.

The same sort of thing has happened, unfortunately, to companies I've interviewed. They've hired pompous ad people who promised more than they delivered. I can't tell you how often potential clients tell me that they spent $$$ on advertising and can't tell me what they got from it. Please! No matter whom you're working with, demand a return on investment. If You Can't Measure It, Don't Buy it.

The most loathsome of all of  ad agency sins is overcharging.  I'm not sure when or why it's happened, but it is a reality. Greed certainly has played a role. Because they could get away with it, many agencies have charged exorbitant rates. They found they could charge outrageous markups and that retainers didn't have to correlate with time and materials. And their clients didn't challenge them. Then the recession hit. I think every business should be accountable for their charges and fees. Sure, surgeons don't charge by the hour, but for their knowledge and skill. Ad agencies rarely save lives. Hell, most don't even save companies! I wish that at advertising award ceremonies, the campaigns that win would be judged by what they accomplished rather that the cleverness of the approach. There, I've said it. Please don't get me wrong. There are some great agencies and ad people out there. The ones worth their salt are truly special and should be rewarded accordingly. You can find them. It means doing your homework. It's too bad there's not an Angie's List for ad people.

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The Fear and Loathing of Advertising (Part 2 of 3)

The Fear and Loathing of Advertising (Part 2 of 3) In Fear & Loathing of Advertising Part 1, we discussed changes in advertising over the past several years. Part 2 will explain why today's business operators are afraid of advertising. It's not the world of TV's Bewitched anymore. In lead character Darryl's time, advertising was a lot simpler. Companies hired professionals to plan a strategy, build a brand, choose media outlets and deliver results. Of course there was less competition, fewer media outlets, and the economy was booming. Today, with the opportunities (and challenges!) provided by the Internet and Social Media (So How's Your Social Life?) , marketing decisions are more confusing and difficult.  Scared yet? Your competitors can now easily research your company and its products. You're not isolated any longer; they can copy and implement your most vital information. This allows them to narrow any product or service advantage you may have achieved. Former employees of downsized companies in your industry have created even more competition. Start-ups get up to speed faster and more efficiently than ever before. Social media gets these companies into the minds and hearts of your customers faster and at less expense than ever (Email Marketing and Social Networking). Often these smaller companies are biting into your market share. I'm guessing plenty of marketers would want Samantha to twitch her nose and eliminate the Internet, smart phones and tablets.    Witchcraft isn't the answer. What can you do to overcome the fear of losing out to changes in our world? The first step is to embrace change. Learn the basics of today's advertising options. These include social, viral and Internet marketing. You don't have to master the technology - there are professionals who can do that for you. You don't have to be a plumber to know when your toilet needs to be flushed. Don't be afraid to consult and work with advertising specialists who work in the new media and understand Direct Response and can show you what they've done for others (Can a Grease Monkey Build a Spaceship?). Look for a real understanding of your branding and messaging - the things that will separate you from your competition. No matter the choice of media, it's how you communicate with potential customers that will win the battle of the brands. Imagine you're trying to build a great ball team. You'd want specific talent in every position. The same should apply to your selection of marketing partners. You can position yourself for more wins by doing a little research before hiring your team (Forget Mad Men, Hire the Corleone Family). Know your Product.  Know your Competition.  Know your Customer. We hope we've opened your eyes a little about today's advertising challenges and that perhaps you've begun to consider a more effective marketing approach.  This is the end of Part 2. Part 3 will be coming to you soon. Part 3 will cover the loathing of advertising today. Sign up for future emails and share your comments with us by clicking here.

The Fear and Loathing of Advertising (Part 1 of 3)

The Fear and Loathing of Advertising (Part 1 of 3)

"There's nothing I'm afraid of like scared people" - Robert Frost In 40 years of working in the advertising industry, I have never sensed so much negative feeling toward advertising agencies among small business owners as I do today. In the past, networking events were an important source of new business opportunities for me. Now when I mention that I own an advertising agency, people cringe, glaze over or slink away.

What has happened? Has the business world changed? Is there a fear of the unknown? Or has advertising failed to achieve the respect of small business people? I think it's all three.

Let's begin with how the business world has changed. Most small businesses have less liquidity than in years past. Seeking the most bang for their buck, they choose social media based on its reach and affordability. The opportunities appear endless. Many business people think they can create their own message and control where and when it gets circulated, without outside help.

Another change is driven by the media itself (newspapers, TV, radio stations). To secure the placement of ads, commercials and even direct marketing initiatives, they waive or hugely discount production costs. Cutting even deeper into the heart of the traditional advertising agency, they give the client the 15% commission they used to give the agency for its time and coordination efforts. All this sounds like savings for the small business person.

Let's return to social media. Indisputably it's a great advance in communications. But exploiting its potential requires specialized knowledge. Working on your behalf, a social media expert can help determine the motivations and habits of your prospective and current customers, craft messages that will resonate with them, and reach them exactly where they are. He or she can also ensure your social media campaign is proactive and consistent. Best of all, the price you pay a social media professional will provide a measurable return on your investment. Read my past Sticky Note, "So, How's Your Social Life" or "Email Marketing & Social Networking" for more insight.

However, you get what you pay for.

And what about those great savings on traditional media (i.e. who needs an ad agency)? For you to compete successfully, you have to have a brand  (LBA), an instant recognition that says you're good, you're trustworthy and you're successful. When the control of your message and how it looks is left to your media partners, the brand gets lost. These guys' objective is to sell space - whether magazine, newspaper, radio, TV or coupon mailer - not help you beat out your competition. For that, you need someone dedicated to your objectives.

Have ad agencies dropped the ball? Probably. Some have failed to deliver on their promises. Perhaps they've overreached. Or maybe they just got fat and lazy. It makes me crazy to think this is so. Surely there are exceptions. Unfortunately, it doesn't take many bad experiences to create fear and loathing for an entire industry. Everyone deserves to get what he pays for.

Here are a few suggestions.  Pay attention to the advertising of like products or services of successful companies. Find out who created the marketing and interview as many of those providers as you can. Don't be swayed by cutesy, clever ads (Refer to my Sticky Note, "I Traded a Gun for a Stick"). Often these are designed to win awards for the agency, not sell product for the client. Judge the agency by the results they've achieved for their customers, whether it's gaining measurable information, building loyalty or increasing sales. Hire the best and hold them accountable.

This is the end of Part 1. Parts 2 and 3 will be coming to you soon. Parts 2 and 3 will cover why most companies have a fear of the unknown when it comes to advertising.

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Get Your Foot Off the Break!

GET YOUR FOOT OFF THE BRAKE Consider today's Sticky Note as an open letter to advertising agency clients. Although most clients who work with an ad agency will give lip service to wanting to be Bold, Innovative andCompelling, most are really a stumbling block. Unfortunately, many insist on ordinary. Somehow playing it safe is the name of the game. I have personally run into many business owners who refuse to be different. They insist on using methodologies that imitate what their competition is doing rather than being innovative. For example, I recently pitched a car dealership that spends a fortune in local advertising. As our meeting progressed, I felt a real disconnect in that his only concern was the need to do the same things, in the same way as his competition. In other words, be as obnoxious in his ads as his competitors. The loud, cheesy ads are what you get when allowing the media outlet create them.Anytime I mentioned a new and unique approach, I was immediately shot down. Perhaps if he was open-minded and less of a know-it-all, his marketing would be more successful. Check out the 1961 ad by Ogilvy & Mather for Rolls Royce, below. Although the agency may have pulled the Rolls-Royce ad headline from a line that appeared in a printed MOTOR article -- (Notice the quotation marks around the headline) Ogilvy saw the grabber of a headline and ran with it. Today this ad stands as an icon and David Ogilvy a legend in daring to be different. Does anyone not get the headline message? Does anyone not want to read further? "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock" Now, that being said, not all bold, daring ads are successful. Advertisers and their agencies should never forget to sell the product not the ad.Daring without sell is a waste of an opportunity. Leo Burnett said it best in that an ad should say, "Here's what we've got. Here's what it will do for you. Here's how to get it." The key is to make sure that the selling message gets seen, read and acted upon. This is where a great agency becomes worth their salt. Most viewers only read an ad's headline. So, start by making the headline compelling enough to be read and motivate the reader to read on. If you have a headline that screams, let your visual whisper and vice versa. Clean, well-designed ads are more successful than cluttered ads where every inch of the space is crowded with information. These ads leave the reader not knowing where to look first or what the key selling point is. The imagery and the copy need to work in harmony.   This is where being bold plays out. Think of the DDB (Doyle, Dane & Bernbach) ad for Volkswagen. How great was Volkswagen as a client to allow an ad to run with the headline "Think Small"? Did they know their customer and what they wanted? You bet. Keeping the message simple avoided confusion and made it memorable. Lots of white space is my favorite.  Even the best and most creative agency can't make a bad product better. This, of course, is the job of the client. It can, however, make a parody product distinctive by learning everything they can about the product and understanding the audience. Find that singular product benefit for the customer and pound that message home. Ever face someone trying to sell you something you don't need or have the slightest interest in? The most critical component is to be honest. Remember, advertising is people talking to people. Who wants to do business with people they don't believe or trust? Sometimes clients want to avoid unpopular subjects. If the subject is relevant, run with it. Some of you might remember the 1962 ad for Avis, "We Try Harder." The ad, subsequent tagline and positioning was adopted in 1962 to make a more positive reference of Avis' status as the second largest car rental company in the US behind its larger competitor The Hertz Corporation.  TO ALL ADVERTISERS Can you really get these types of legendary messages from that newspaper producing your Print Ad, your TV Spot produced by that TV station or the Direct Mail campaign created by your printer? It takes a copywriter who writes like a poet, visuals designed by an artist and an agency who cares more about making great advertising than making money.Let your agency break rules, be uncommon and then get out of the way. It will amaze you what your agency can accomplish when clients inspire agencies and allow them to improve their ideas rather than waste time having to defend them. GET YOUR FOOT OFF THE BREAK AND WATCH YOUR AGENCY ROLL!    ***Although these ads are from the 60's, they are still relevant to today, proving that great advertising is timeless.

What Makes You So Special?

WHAT MAKES YOU SO SPECIAL?

When you started your business or took the helm of a company that's  been around for awhile, you did so with a sense of what it is that makes  your company special. When you know your business's unique qualities,  as a product or service and are able to communicate it to your customers  -- that, in its simplest form, is Branding.

When you have a clear concept of your brand, every action your  business takes becomes an opportunity to strengthen and build that  brand in the minds of your audience. Remember, your brand is who  you are and how your audience knows you. It serves as a portal to  everything you do - a concept that represents your entire business:  value proposition, quality, pricing, people, relationships, reputation,  service, innovation, corporate stewardship, etc. Discover and nurture  your brand identity in the marketplace, by crafting a selling premise  that communicates these positive elements -- whatever it is that represents  the heart and soul of your company. Does your brand suggest the promise  of your product or service that will make the buyer more successful,  better looking or happier? These values need to be delivered with  continuity through all media networks. This may include, but not  limited to, your logo, positioning statement or tagline, your  collateral and ads. Perceived quality is the only brand association to  drive financial performance. Think about the brands that you buy and why.

If You're a Start-Up...

Developing a successful brand, for a start-up business, in some ways  may be easier and in others more difficult. It's easier because there  are no historic negatives to overcome. On the other hand, without  customers, there is no way to accomplish actionable research as to what  customers think of you and your product or why they purchase from you.  With a brand-new business, the sky's the limit as to what you can say about  your business and what it offers. Backing it up is the challenge. However, without a track record, how do you deliver believability to your promises?

A new business should first concentrate on the competition within its  chosen industry. What makes you different and better? Vigorous competition  results in price pressure and difficulty in gaining and holding on to a position.  Discover which benefits you can communicate to separate your business from  that competition and result in sales.  Limited financial resources, for marketing, may be a detriment when competing  with established, well funded firms. This is where branding is even more critical.  If you remain true to who you are as a business, develop the right messaging  when communicating to your audience and remain consistent, you can  overcome and beat out the competition.

If You're an Existing Business?

The challenges for an existing business are just the opposite than those  of a start-up. As a company that's been around for awhile, there may be  some history that needs to be built upon or overcome. There is the  benefit of having a customer base that can be surveyed for actionable  information. Surveying the customer base should be an on-going and  regular process. Are they happy with your product or service? Why do they  continue to buy from you? If possible, even query those customers you've lost. Established businesses also have an advantage in knowing and understanding  their competition. Of course, updating and readdressing the brand may be necessary.  You don't look, dress or even think the way you did a number of years ago.  We don't use the same phone, computer or get our information in the same  way we did before. The proliferation of new media demands change.  Communicating the benefits of the things we sell and who we are, if working,  shouldn't be changed. How we communicate those benefits must change  with the times.

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In a Nut Shell...

Let's look at the ways to cohesively structure your brand identity making it easier to gain recognition. - Visual Imagery - The Nike Swoosh - Projecting what your organization stands for - Fundamental values - Programs can create a recognizable brand (i.e., Ronald McDonald House) - Value Proposition - Functional Benefit, Emotional Benefit which  creates a relationship with the customer and drives purchasing  decision and reassures that they have selected a quality company.

Lippi & Co. is now offering a  FREE BRAND AUDIT!  If you are a viable, licensed business and want to take advantage of this offer contact me. Larry Lippi 704.995.9966 larry@lippi.com