Creating a small business marketing plan

Duct Tape Marketing Founder, John Jantsch, talks about a calendaring system that helps small businesses focus on executing their marketing plan daily, weekly and monthly.

AdWORKS is Coming

Come to learn how to be a part of the biggest Marketing & Advertising opportunity in Northwest Ohio at the AdWORKS Kick-Off event Thurs., June 25.

This social hour is free to attend by all. Ad Club of Toledo President, Sara Shiels and I, along with other Ad Club members, will be unveiling all the juicy details of the upcoming AdWORKS event on October 9. You will learn how to be a part of the show by exhibiting, serving on a breakout discussion panel, sponsoring a portion of the event and much, much more.

Those attending the AdWORKS Kick-Off have first crack at exhibitor location, sponsorships, and additional options. You will want to attend this to be in “the know” for the upcoming event!

The Toledo Club - “Red Room”
235 14th Street
Toledo, OH  43604

Thursday, June 25
5:30-7:30 p.m.
AdWORKS Preview Presentation at 6:00 p.m.

Free to attend. Cash bar.

Please RSVP to Patty Schoepf by calling 419.866.4199 or e-mail director@adclubtoledo.org.

How to do business on the World Wide Web even when your target is the guy next door?

When I talk to many small business owners about the Internet and ways to use it to grow their business, I often encounter this response, “That’s just for people trying to sell stuff to people all over the world,” or “I tried that and it didn’t work for me.”

Whenever I hear that type of talk from small business owners, I cringe.

Let me get to the point. You must be on the Internet. You must find ways to use Internet based tools such as email to enhance your marketing efforts.

Most of the Internet resistance that small business owners harbor stem from a couple of places. First of all they may have bought into the initial Internet hype that made it sound as though any business could set up a web site and start raking in cash.

The other perception that keeps businesses off of the net is the belief that since they are only trying to do business in their community or maybe even their tiny little neighborhood the Internet and Internet based tools have nothing to offer.

Let me say it again. “You can use the World Wide Web even if your market is the Guy Next Door.” The cost of developing a web site and web hosting have become so inexpensive there is no excuse to pass on this form of marketing.

The first thing you must understand is how most people use the web. While there are some folks who fire up their computer to go shopping, most people use the Internet as a tool to gather information. Now they may use that information to make a purchase decision but first they will gather.

So it stands to reason that as increasing numbers of people turn to their computers for research purposes, the businesses that are ready and waiting to provide that information stand to gain over those who fail to meet this need.

I know many people, myself included, who use the Internet like a giant phone book. It is easier for me to locate a local business or service with a few clicks than to plow through a phone book.

As regional web directories and search portals grow in popularity, gaining listings in them will be more important than a Yellow Page listing. (See recommended resource for information on regional directories)

Most businesses should look at their web sites as a way to provide information and customer service first and as a way to generate leads and perhaps sales second.

A web site also allows you to enhance your advertising efforts by placing free detailed information, reports and beneficial content in a place where anyone can retrieve it. The web lets even the local neighborhood store deliver information on things such as special offerings, coupons and client previews.

Smart marketers will use a web site to get customer feedback. A web site is a great place to store all of your company’s printed sales and technical literature.

The ways to use a web site in your business are endless.

A web site is not the end all of marketing it is simply another very powerful marketing tool. To ignore it is to limit the ways in which a client or potential client can build a relationship with your firm…and that would be a costly mistake.

Why Messages Aren’t Enough

I found this fascinating quote today:

Core messages. Key messages. Messages, messages. We really put a lot of stock in that word, don’t we?Why Messages Aren’t Enough, Apr 2009

You should read the whole article.

Smart marketing in a tough economy

Last week I had the distinct honor and pleasure of participating on a marketing panel organized by Leasa Maxx of Maxx Marketing & Design and the Maumee Chamber of Commerce.

On the panel with me were three very talented marketing professionals: Susie Joyner, marketing manager at Allshred Services; Deborah Rasmusson, director of vocational services for Sunshine Inc. and Georgette’s Grounds & Gifts and Tim Langhorst, executive vp at Thread Information Design.

We covered a lot of ground on topics such as:

• how small businesses can get more bang from their marketing dollars, without spending more
• what can small businesses do to combat the need for cold calling
• how can small businesses foster stronger relationships with clients and prospects
• what is social media and does it make sense for “my” small business
• tips and advise on how to build a practical online strategy

Small business marketing takeaway:

Carve out 60 minutes and watch this video. It’s loaded with tons of practical information and tips on how to market smarter in this very tough economy.

The renaissance of small business marketing

How users engage with you through digital channels will ultimately define your brand.

Try not to interrupt what people are interested in. BE what people are interested in.

Hot off the presses! Check out my column in Abec’s Small Business Review

Over the past few week, I’ve touched on the importance of differentiation to small businesses.

Now, check out my full article in the February/March issue of Abec’s Small Business Review.

Branding fourth among five small business marketing pillars

Adapted from: “Five Pillars of Wisdom” by Suzanne Lowe, CMO Magazine, 2004

It’s no secret. These are challenging economic times for small businesses. We’re all searching for the answer to the question: “What can we do to win our share of business and escape the struggle?”

This time around branding seems to be the latest marketing trend small businesses are looking to for relief and to help ease their pain.

For small businesses, branding can be a savvy marketing initiative, but only if several important questions are answered first. Questions like:

• What is your company’s business goals or “end-game”?
• What is your point of differentiation and core message?
• Who is your Ideal Client?
• What is your current position in the marketplace?

Branding is something you do after you’ve figured out what it is you’re trying to brand and should be fourth among five linked small business marketing pillars: strategy, differentiation, positioning, branding and marketing communications.

1. Strategy - This is where branding should begin. All the goals of the branding program should align as closely as possible to the overall business strategy. This is also where critical marketplace questions need to be answered. Questions like: What business are we in? What service(s) do we provide? Do we provide significant benefits to our clients? What is our end-game or strategic goals?
2. Differentiation - I talk a lot about differentiation because I believe that a clear differentiation strategy is the foundation of real competitive advantage. Prior to developing a branding strategy, small businesses must understand the ways in which they are uniquely valuable to their customers.
3. Positioning - Don’t confuse positioning with branding and differentiation. Positioning is a separate principle that relates to a firm’s placement on a client’s mental map. Before creating a branding program, a firm should know what “spot” it holds in the marketplace today and whether or not their strategic objectives anticipate their customer’s future perspectives.
4. Branding - I’ve said it before… branding is more about fulfilling an intangible emotional promise than about a logo or color scheme. Everything a firm does and says will be conformed to build a customer’s expectation.
5. Marketing Communications - Perhaps the most familiar pillar. Many small businesses haven’t fully aligned resources to effectively communicate branding promises through carefully crafted messages and images.

Small business marketing takeaway:

Branding is crucial to the success of small businesses, but be careful not to let branding initiatives drive strategy. The reason most some small business branding efforts fail is because firms don’t first understand where branding fits along the continuum of other marketing initiatives. You don’t need millions of dollars to address the five marketing pillars above. Many small businesses are able to do the most relevant strategic work first and develop sophisticated branding strategies on a modest budget.

Revealed: The secret to small business marketing success

The topic of differentiation has been on my mind for a while. I talked about it Saturday and have run across several other posts that make me think I’m not the only one consumed by the notion.

I especially enjoyed Tom Fishburne’s “blend into the herd” cartoon and post. Tom writes:

“Blending into the herd” feels like one of the most common responses to the recession.  2009 is full of so much risk on its own, businesses are becoming even more risk adverse than usual to compensate.  The first projects to get cut are the speculative ones.  Many companies are pulling back on innovation as a way to batten the hatches.

This defense is illusory though.  If anything, retailers are facing even greater pressure to rationalize their shelves.  Redundant products are in danger of getting cut.  Consumers are shifting to cheaper private label if there’s no compelling reason to buy branded products. Differentiation is more important than ever.

I could not agree more.

Given nothing to prove them wrong, your prospects will believe that your business is just like any other. Any accountant is good enough to complete my tax return, any electrician is good enough to install my ceiling fan and any restaurant is good enough to fill my stomach and stop my hunger pangs. We have become a society where undifferentiated businesses are lumped into the category of “good enough”, where products and services are differentiated solely based on price.

Small business marketing takeaway:

A quality point of differentiation is in the way you do business, the way you package your product, the way you sell your service, the fact that you send cookies to your clients, the fact that you show people how to transform their lives – it’s in the experience you provide.

Describe what it is that you do that sets you apart from the good enough businesses. I’d love to hear from you.

The closest thing to a small business marketing magic bullet

I recently asked the following question to several LinkedIn groups I belong to: As a small business owner, what are the top three marketing challenges you face that need to be addressed within the first quarter of 2009? Even though the method is highly unscientific, I wanted to take the marketing pulse of small businesses, not just in northwest Ohio, but around the country.

As you can imagine, the things that keep small business owners up at night are varied, from the economy and branding to time management and referrals. While I believe that there is no “magic bullet” to marketing, almost without exception, the answers that were given can be boiled down to one thing: finding and communicating the core difference of their business, product or service .

If you remember one thing from this post remember this: if you can’t find a way to differentiate your business from every other business that does what you do and if you can’t communicate that difference in a way that really matters to a narrow target market, then you’re basically in the commodity business. If I can’t tell how one business is different than another then I will use the only thing I can measure – price. Yes, the driving force in the commodity business is always price.

Marketing is about creating know, like, trust with your clients and developing an ongoing relationship - this doesn’t happen quickly and there’s no magic bullet. It takes hard work, time and consistently communicating your core difference to build your reputation and loyal customer base.

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