Marketing vs. Advertising. What works and why?

This was inspired by a conversation I had with my Insurance Agent.

Marketing vs. Advertising. What works and why?

1. Marketing is the BIG Picture. Marketing includes many different elements that add up to how you and your company are perceived by the public.

2. EVERYTIME a person thinks about you/your company, an impression is being made, either positive, negative, or somewhere in between.

3. These impressions add up to create the overall image of you/your company.

4. What causes a person to think about you/your company?
• A conversation specific to you/your company.
• A conversation about a competitor of you/your company.
• An overheard remark about you/your company, or your competitor.
• Advertising for you/your company, or your competitor.
• A hands-on experience with you/your company, or your competitor.
• Other sensory experiences that trigger a thought about you/your company, or your competitor. (The aroma of freshly brewed coffee, the sound of an ambulance, the touch of a little child’s sticky hands)

5. Okay, let’s get down to the nitty gritty. There are internal and external elements to your marketing. Let’s start with the internal:
• First customer contact. Telephone? How is the phone answered? What is the mood and tone of voice of the person answering? Is it inviting and welcoming or does the person answering sound rushed, bothered, or unfriendly. Same concepts for your walk in traffic. What are the impressions you and your staff project to your clients and potential clients? What improvements need to be made?
• Follow up and service. Is there anything lacking? (Nearly everyone and every business have at least on area that could use improvement. Find out what could be improved with you/your company.
• Ask, and work to improve, instead of making excuses. There is a bit of truth in every complaint. Also find out what people are not complaining about.

6. External marketing. This is often what we call advertising. Questions to ask:
• Is it consistent? Do you present a uniform picture to the public of what you are about and why they should do business with you? (The opposite is a scattered, all things to all people, confusing, and blurry image for you/your company)
• Are you using the most effective mediums to leverage your time and resources? Until recently drug companies did not advertise directly to consumers for prescription medicines. For dozens of years, they spent their time and money going directly to the doctors to convince them to prescribe their medicines. Who are your most likely customers? Are you inviting them to use you? How are you doing it? There are strengths and weaknesses of Radio, TV, Billboards, Internet, Newspapers, Direct Mail, Magazines, and each one of these are effective for the right business, when matched up properly with realistic goals and objectives.
• Networking is one way to get the word out about you/your company, if you understand what it can and cannot do. Give the people you network with the information so they will a)want to recommend you to others (EMOTIONS) and b) understand why to recommend you to others (FACTS)

7. You/your company, does not operate in a vacuum. Consumers need to know why they should buy from you/your company instead of your competition. EVERYONE HAS COMPETITION. I want to know why I should give YOU my money instead of spending it on something else or somewhere else. Too many businesses fail because they fail to recognize this principle.

8. Understand that your marketing and advertising needs to be designed to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS with current and future customers. Building relationships take time and exposure. People want to feel good when they spend their money and it is a combination of facts and emotion that produces that good feeling. The more personal a message is, the easier it is to build that relationship. That’s why I prefer radio for many of my clients, because it is a very personal medium that involves talking, imagery, emotion, and facts. It can also be cost effective depending on what needs to be accomplished to produce a nice return on investment. And it can be used in combination with other mediums to enhance an advertising and marketing program.

For more information, contact Scott Howard at Scott @ScLoHo.net

Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?

THE FOLLOWING IS FROM MICHELE MILLER. SHE HAS A GREAT BLOG ABOUT MARKETING THAT YOU SHOULD READ ON A REGULAR BASIS.

The wait is over… not for your cat but for the book itself. Waiting for Your Cat to Bark?, the newest book from Jeffrey and Bryan Eisenberg (along with the incomparable Lisa Davis) is now on the shelves. Having read a pre-publication copy, I can assure you this is one book you’re going to want to get your hands on. Plain and simple, it’s all about persuading customers to do business with you when they ignore marketing. And this team of authors does a heck of a job. Read an excerpt from the book here. .

In the book, you’ll learn:

* How the customer’s buying process works in a cross-channel, new media-driven marketplace
* Why customers respond differently today than they used to
* How to use the Web to generate persuasive momentum across multiple channels
* How the various touch-points within a business affect each other
* How to guide prospects through the buying process at every customer touch-points
* How personality traits influence customer behavior online and offline
* How to anticipate the different angles from which customers approach your business
* How to identify and provide meaningful answers to your customers’ questions at each stage of their buying process
* How to begin implementing Persuasion Architecture™ techniques for your business

In addition to the book, you also get an 80-minute DVD of a conversation about the book that took place between the Eisenbergs and some of the great marketing minds of the day (yes, I’m in the audience and no to your other question). You can watch a preview of the video here.

You can also read reviews from folks like Seth Godin, Jeffrey Gitomer and Roy H. Williams. Go to this page now and you’ll save 35% off the publication price – the more copies you buy, the lower the price!

How to DOUBLE the number of Leads and Referrals you get from Networking:

How to DOUBLE the number of Leads and Referrals you get from Networking:

1. Ask yourself the following question: WHAT DO I HAVE TO OFFER THAT MY COMPETITORS DO NOT (OR CANNOT) OFFER? Too often we know someone else in your line of work and we need to know why to recommend YOU and not them.
2. Use an opening line that invites us to want to know more. Instead of something that will cause “tune out”.
3. INTER-ACTIVE. Use a question that we will say yes to. Such as, “Do you want to make more money?”
4. Ask for specific referrals.
5. Smile.
6. Deliver what you say you will do.
7. Give more.
8. Again, set yourself apart by asking yourself, WHAT DO I HAVE TO OFFER THAT MY COMPETITORS DO NOT (OR CANNOT) OFFER? And let us know about it.

A Sales Presentation Checklist

Great sales presentations begin well before the actual presentation is delivered. Preparation is critical and it shows your attendees (prospects and customers) that you value their time (and yours).

To maximize effectiveness, ensure your presentation:

1. Focuses on the benefits of your offering as they relate to solving the specific problems of the prospect.

2. Begins with the most important benefits and continues in descending order of importance, including only pertinent benefits.

3. Has no unneeded statements (zero fluff; ask yourself, “does it really matter?”)

4. Includes a very brief company background discussion only if it adds credibility to the product or service, or if it’s anticipated that the audience would like it addressed.

5. Includes appropriate, customized and easy-to-understand illustrations where applicable.

6. Includes opportunities for prospects to engage.

7. Includes a powerful conclusion which clearly illustrates the benefits your prospect will receive as a result of buying your solution now.

8. Is 10% shorter in terms of time than would be expected for a presentation which discusses a solution of its relative complexity.

Source: justsell.com (2006)

Classic Image Salon and Spa

This features my son doing the “German Voice”. Thanks Josh

And there are some outtakes here

Updates

Okay. I know. It’s been a while ince I last posted anything. But I’ve been rather busy recently as my youngest daughter Tiffany became Mrs Lloyd yesterday.

Here’s some goodies I’ve come across recently:

Buying Signals

Salespeople often misinterpret signs of interest from a prospect as a sign of reluctance. Be aware of these positive buying signals:

— Hesitancy. The prospect may be seeking more information in order to make a decision.

— Indecision. The prospect may be looking for options to help make up his/her mind.

— Reasoning aloud. The prospect may be selling himself or herself on the merits of what you are offering. It is best not to interrupt.

Source: Dartnell’s Sale$ Leader (4/10/06)

Learn from the Best

You begin succeeding in sales by finding successful people and surrounding yourself with them.

Be with the people whom you’d most like to become like. If you want to be average, then stick with average people. If it’s your desire to achieve greatness in sales, then learn what the great ones do and do it!

You’ll find that top professionals in this industry aren’t threatened by your desire to learn what they do. There’s plenty of opportunity for everyone, and really great leaders want to have followers who will get the job done.

Find out who the top producer is in your company, invite that person to lunch and listen to what they have to say. (Be sure to bring something to take notes. I didn’t do that the first time I asked a pro to lunch and ended up writing notes on napkins.)

Source: Sales trainer/author Tom Hopkins (tomhopkins.com — 2006)

Price vs. Value

Successful salespeople don’t sell price. They sell value.

Price will always seem high if value is perceived as low. When you focus on price either because of poor product knowledge, poor client knowledge or poor sales skills, you will always lose in the long run.

Clients don’t want cheap. They want the best value for their dollar. If you are focusing on price you will never make it big in this dynamic profession. However, if you always sell value you will never have to worry about losing business to price competition.

Oh yes, in the short term you might lose a sale here or there. But if you are in this business for the long haul for both your company and your client, sooner or later your prospects or clients will come back to you and the value they need and desire.

Source: Sales trainer/author Tim Connor (timconnor.com — 2006)