Creating a Marketing Plan--For Dynamos and Dummies

Courtesy of Richard Hessler--a very prolific guy!

If you are going to create a marketing plan or campaign on a limited budget, the size of your target market should be limited. In determining the size of your target market, consider your ability to fund and manage a minimum of five simultaneous marketing channels. Five to eight marketing channels focused repetitively on the same target market group will yield the greatest results from your time and money investment.

Generally, there are 21 marketing channels from which to choose:

1. Advertising: (indirect) display advertising, classified advertising, yellow pages, inserts/circulars.
2. Buzz Marketing: (direct) paying people to say good things about your product or service to others.
3. Canvassing: (direct) Physically going door-to-door to solicit leads.
4. Cinema Advertising: (indirect) movie trailer ads, pre-movie advertising slides.
5. Client referrals: (direct)
6. Direct Mail: (indirect)
7. Indoor Advertising: (indirect) airport signage, marquee advertising
8. Networking: (direct) charity, community organizations, volunteering, formal networking groups.
9. Outdoor advertising: (indirect) billboards, building signage, bus benches/boards, lawn signs, sky writing/airplane banners, blimps, posters & playbills, stickers/bumper stickers, flyers, banners.
10. Point-of-Purchase Display: (indirect) banners, counter displays, mobiles, multi-media CD-ROM.
11. Professional Referrals: (direct)
12. Public Relations: (indirect) print articles, radio & TV commentary, print feature stories, print quotes.
13. Publishing: (indirect) books, newsletter.
14. Radio Advertising: (indirect) host-paid radio show, commercials, infomercials.
15. Seminars: (direct) public, private.
16. Telemarketing: (direct/indirect) outbound, on-hold narration, conference calls, tele-seminars, fax blasting.
17. Television Advertising: (indirect) host-paid TV show, pay-for-guest TV show, commercials, infomercials, product/service placement.
18. Trade shows: (direct)
19. Special Events: (direct) birthday parties, retirement parties, event parties, celebrity events, charity fundraisers, sport professionals, open houses, client appreciation.
20. Sponsorships: (indirect)
21. World Wide Web: (indirect) website, direct email, eNewsletter, SPAM, blogging, pod casting.

The impression you want to leave with your target market is that you appear to be everywhere; when in fact, you are just in front of your target audience.

Emphasize direct marketing channels over indirect. Direct marketing channels put you or a spokesperson face-to-face or voice-to-voice with your target audience. Direct marketing channels should be implemented first. Indirect marketing channels are used to reinforce your direct marketing efforts and create brand awareness.

Overall, the 21 marketing channel categories listed are effective. Some may not be as applicable to promote your specific product or service. Your results will depend on your creativity and making adjustments based on your results over time.

An Example:

Let’s say you want to sell a specific professional service to a specific group of people in a community. Choosing the following marketing channels may help you enroll attendees to a seminar that will generate sales meetings.

1. Client referrals: (direct) ask your existing clients, friends and family to invite people to the event.
2. Advertising: (indirect) run a low-cost circular in the newspaper, rent a billboard in a conspicuous location.
3. Direct mail: (indirect) purchase a mailing list for your demographic in the community.
4. Networking: (direct) promote the seminar at networking groups you frequent.
5. Professional Referrals: (direct) ask other professionals you work with to invite their clients to your event.
6. Telemarketing: (direct) call warm prospects and cold prospects to invite them to the event (businesses only unless you have a prior relationship).
7. Trade Shows: (direct) promote the seminar at a tradeshow.
8. World Wide Web: (indirect) promote the seminar on your website or eNewsletter.
9. Seminars: (direct) conduct the seminar with the goal being to schedule sales meetings at a later date.

The goal of marketing is to get someone to want to meet with you to learn more about your product or service. Marketing is NOT about educating everyone about your entire menu of services, save the details for the sales presentation. Market with an eye towards what the target market believes they need. We all use the same marketing channels, it’s your unique creativity and concerted efforts to communicate your value tailored to the prospect that will produce results.

Website Design / Marketing 101

However rudimentary it might seem to most, the basics of a creating successful web-site continue to be overlooked and under-appreciated by a large majority of businesses.

Successful means different things to different people-but it all boils down to the same principles--and principles that the largest organizations, including "new media" companies have a strange habit of not paying attention to--including making it simple for a prospect or a client to contact you.

Read the link to an elementary disseration provided by Startup Nation... Its not only applicable to start-ups, some of the world's biggest brand marketers would do themselves a big favor by focusing on the simplest 5 points in the article.

Inviting Customers To Write Your Ads???

Marketing Guru Denny Hatch hits the nail on the head when lamenting about the latest approach brand marketers and high priced advertising execs are taking in efforts to embrace their audience--letting customers develop ad campaigns and tag lines....

I completely agree with Denny--GM encouraging customers to develop short videos is fun...but is it selling cars?...Giving customers the opportunity to be part of the experience by inviting them to create ad copy and content is a fad...what marketers need to really focus on is paying more attention to customer feedback and what really inspires them to purchase (or not purchase) their products

A Somber Moment: A Great Marketer is Gone

Last week, I posted a missive about a frustrating experience that I had with a "free, anti-virus software" being touted by a company called Comodo, whose Chairman, Eric Emanuel was a long time friend of mine. The 'beta' version, which had been promoted for several months, corrupted my hard drive. After exchanging flame mail throughout the day with Eric's CEO and, Eric interceded, spanked us both, after which he and I had a spirited discussion i.e. his company's marketing strategy...and how to leverage his special friends & family email list..

Two days ago, I received an email from Eric's daughter informing those on his friends and family list that Eric, barely 60, had passed away the previous night. Eric Emanuel's career extended more than 40 years, he was a visionary on Wall Street, an accomplished entertainment industry marketer and producer, a philanthropist, a mentor to rising stars, a dedicated father and loving husband. Eric's magic wand touched hundreds of people, and those that he took into his circle were truly fortunate.

Marketing & Sales : Running For Office--Case Study Jeanine Pirro

If you're from outside the New York area, you might not be aware of Westchester County District Attorney, Ms. Jeanine Pirro (R).. A case study in leadership, marketing, sales and a great representative of the GOP mindset.

I like Jeanine because she is scrappy, says her mind (when she can make it up), and pushes the envelope.. all of the hallmarks of a great marketer/salesperson. But she's a politician, so its part of the territory. Her Achilles heel (on one foot anyway)--is her husband...a man's man. While she's been politicking---he's been finding himself in one jam after another..including jail stints on tax charges, out-of-wedlock children appearing, driving too fast too often, etc etc... But God Bless Jean--she's sticking by her man, while he keeps dragging her through the mud...

This is where it gets messy. Jean was going to run for US Senate...but the GOP Gods told her " no dice--we're not putting you up against Hilary Clinton.." They told her to run for NY Attorney General instead, where her big opposition is only the former NY Governor's son...and a handsome guy at that too.... This week the news flash comes that Jean was conspiring to wire tap her husband--she thought he was cheating on her again...and she recruited none other than Bernard Kerik..the wannabe Homeland Security Director that turned out be slightly mobbed up...and operates slightly under the table...(this is the guy that was Rudy Guiliani's Police Commissioner (and he actually did a great job; and I don't care who payed for and decorated the apartment that he set up to have trysts with a girlfriend).

Jean---after what we've been reading about HP, why would you rely on Bernie Kerik of all people...all while running for the top law enforcement job in the state.... ..

This story goes under "would you believe it????"

Demystifying Search Engine Optimization

That's it. I've had it. After reading an advice column in the WSJ responding to a small business owner weighing alternatives on how to better optimize her website for search engines--including whether to pay the $10,000 to an SEO firm.

I've said this before in prior postings...and I'll say it again. . There is no silver bullet to getting first page rankings on the major search engines--other than the pay-per-click ads that appear on the right side of Google--and equivalent spots on MSN or Yahoo!. .

Unless you're hiring a relative, a girlfriend (or boyfriend), or someone that has pictures of you having intimate relations with a farm animal, paying $5000, $10,000 or even the $40,000 that have been quoted to me for the" latest and greatest SEO Solutions", you're wasting your money... And in deference to the hundreds of 'consultants', 'experts' and gurus that claim otherwise---I'd welcome any comments/replies.... But in the mean time---here's some very practical, proven, and easy to implement steps that integrate a modicum of knowledge i.e. website architecture, the ability to spell, and the compunction to roll up your sleeves and do a little bit of work.

1. key words. duh...incorporate no more than 20 within the text presentation on each of your pages.. If you don't know which key words will be more productive than others, simply defer to your google adwords or yahoo adminstrator page...they do free analysis of your page and display rankings i.e. popularity of various words phrases.

2. make sure you incorporate them into page titles...using hyphens to separate the specific page title is a good idea...if changing an existing page title...i.e. www.jlcgroup.net/client_testimonials.html make sure to do a 301direct...if you don't know what that is,..ask your web adminstator to make sure its done....have him review the various meta tag structures and key words within those tags also...too many is not good...know what the rules are i.e. number of characters/words for each type of tag.

3. This is where it gets important..... SEO is no different than the integrated strategies that you use to promote any kind of business business...e.g. co-branding campaigns, referrals from local partners, a news release every once in a while...a newsletter...telephoning clients to make sure the car they just bought is running smoothly...
so..as far as SEO...this means

i. Links---have a page on your site for 'partners'....provide a brief description of each, and a hyperlink...it works better if they do the same for you...if you're a member of an association, club, professional organization..links to those should be included...links links links...

ii. news releases. write them and distribute them.. you can pay $400 to PR News..or more lyou can use any of the free news release websites...make sure they are well written, appropriate, and don't do it too often....your website should have a section for 'news'...upload the links to that section...

iii. enewsletters are great because if designed nicely, they servce multiple purposes---and i've got one client that published a newsletter that automatically appears when i enter the key word for his company name.

iv. if you are a small on-line retailer....you need complentary approaches to get people to your website...you don't want visitors, you want customers...and you get customers via referral, or via third party credibility (being mentioned in a news story etc)..and via advertising...which brings us to pay per click....call up the people at efrontier...they can help the biggest idiots in the world.....

i just saved you $10,000 on a SEO expert...if you have the money to spend, you can contact me, for the same price, i'll help with ALL of the above. :)

Email: What Problem Are You Solving??

Sitting down and coming up with copy for anything can be a daunting task right? Even if you're writing about something you know pretty well. One of the things I've been wrestling with is that fact that so many companies are so enamored with their "features" they fail to talk about the benefits, that is, what problems the features are going to solve.

Not surprisingly, this is the same thing that many people overlook when constructing a one-sheet, a business proposal, or a capital raising campaign.

But let's focus on email marketing for a second....and some nice tips from VerticalResponse..one of the leading vendors in the email marketing space.

BENEFITS-BENEFITS-BENEFITS

Make your copy more benefit-oriented and tell your recipients why they'd want your widget, not just how cool your widget is. People are emotional, they buy because they want to know how your product or service will benefit them first, features are secondary.

When you're writing your copy and you list a feature, always pay off the feature with what goes after "...so now you can..." or "...for better..." in your copy.

I went through my inbox and found a few emails that outlined both the need for and good use of benefit-oriented copy.

Toysrus.com - In the excerpt from their latest email, we're never told "why" it's going to be better for us to shop using our existing account information.

We might have said,

"... so now you won't have to create another new account and manage yet another user name and password! More time for shopping and saving!"

... or something like that.

The Sport Tec jacket - What an amazing invention. So many pockets and zippers. But what are they all good for? You wouldn't know with their email, and we can only guess whether anyone else can figure out what makes Sport Tec great.

Those "FREE" Anti-Virus Softwares---Nothing is Free

OK...I got snookered....by a long time friend and Chairman of a company called Comodo that has been putting out a press release every week touting its products, many of which are free (the trojan horse to selling its primary product, SSL certificates).

After getting CEO emails to 'friends/investors' every week for past three years i.e. 'our latest and greatest accomplishments"---and even recommending the company to numerous friends, I finally downloaded the 'latest free anti-virus and free firewall apps... What a mistake...my laptop imploded and several hard drive extensions were corrupted....in the course of a 4 hour support call with Dell, it was determined this software was the root of the problem...I emailed the CEO of Comodo..who promptly responded with "this is a known problem with the Beta version" (which was introduced 2 months ago and is being heavily touted by the company)

Since the company isn't big enough to provide live tech support, the CEO pointed me to a blog where users contribute fixes to problems....bottom line, I've blown an entire day and have had to wipe out the OS and re-install, losing personal settings/configurations for (3) shared users..
Moral to the story: Don't download any free software---even if being promoted by someone that you had trusted.

Click Fraud & In Your Face FaceBook

Perhaps it was a coincidence that both front page of the New York Times Business section ran the same story that Business Week profiled on the front page of its weekly edition--which came out one day earlier--Click Fraud--Internet Advertising biggest achilles heel. I'm arguably one of the first that started using Google Adwords--and promoted its use to clients....but throughout that time, I've been shouting about instances of click fraud, and experienced several very costly instances. When complaining--and pointing to the abberational activity, Google's support analysts kept replying with excuses and explanations that made no sense... That caused me to cancel ad programs---and warn my clients about best practices for click advertising.

Are advertisers losing millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions or Billions??? Probably some where in the middle to upper end of the guestimates---and let's face it, no matter what Google or Yahoo! have evangelized, their incentive to take progressive steps to stem this problem is outweighed by the fact that these companies are direct beneficiaries of click fraud.

Its really simple--Google will distribute the placement of your ad through a daisy chain of networks, and get a slice of the pie every time the ad is clicked on. Unless the advertiser specifically configures his advertising program to only display ads within the Google search engine return page, that ad is displayed on upwards of thousands, if not tens of thousands of individual websites..

Now, from the advertiser perspective, that's the goal---presuming the third-party sites fall within the targeted demographic profile.. Which is what Google's recently recent platform 'content network' is supposed to achieve.. (The content network charges based on impressions, not clicks---the old fashioned method...Which is doubly troublesome...) And I have first have experience testing all of the different approaches.... And I can tell you that click fraud is a MAJOR problem...despite what Google or Yahoo! would like you to believe...

By the way, MSN has a new program that purportedly places your ads within sites that conform to the advertiser's demographic target zone---but again, wrought with potential for fraudsters to run up your ad spending with impressions and/or clicks being generated by those looking to get a piece of your ad spending, not access to a product or service that you are advertising.

If you want to limit your exposure--you can simply configure your adwords setting so that your ad only displays within the Google search network. This means your ad will only display when someone does a google search using one of the keywords that you are bidding for.. And this will also make it easier for Google to track those nasty competitors that are clicking on your ad hundreds of times so that they buy up all of your air time-

The downside is that you will get alot less exposure (figure 1/10 of what you are getting now if your ad setting includes both "Google search' and 'network partners')---the upside is that your ad will be displayed to a qualified audience that are specifically looking for results based on the Google search...But it will cost you more (figure 2x-3x) to get your ad displayed on the first or second return page.

Or we can all vote with our checkbooks and inundate Google Support with emails telling them we're refraining from advertising until they address the problem to our satisfaction... Sounds crazy?...

Not if you appreciate what happened over the past two weeks after FaceBook's users revolted when that company started publishing 'newsfeeds' profiling every single activity and posting of its members... That was a really stupid idea put into production by the brash 22 year old Harvard dropout that runs FaceBook --- 200,000 or more of its college student users revolted in mass, prompting FaceBook's pimply-faced genius to realize how much he screwed up. And his plan to open the network to anyone with a valid email address (as opposed to limiting it to college students/teachers---and more recently high school students) is perhaps the last goose that will kill his golden egg. This kid should have finished his coursework in Harvard--he might have been exposed to a few case studies that documented what happends to a company when they expand to quickly and disenfranchise the customer base that made them what they are..

This kid should hit whatever bid MSN has put on the table---take his $100 million in cash and call it a life...FaceBook is never---repeat NEVER--going to become a global social network---it was perfectly designed to cater to one very narrow audience---but if I'm allowed to have a page, my college daughter would puke---and immediately turn off her own page.

Enough said.