Marketing Tips for Business
Issue 2 October
Dear business people;
As we enter into the fourth quarter, there are many exciting opportunities for you to participate in to promote your business.
Last month my marketing letter was well received. Many people gave input and the hot button seemed to be customer service. On our springfieldpride.com site, we receive many letters about customer service. Many spoke about what they are doing to promote customer service.
As we make the turn into the fall season, the fourth quarter of the year, the windows of marketing are wide open. Advertisements are everywhere.
This is the time where everyone wants your advertising dollar. A time where concentration on what is going on with clients and customers is our only thought. Many businesses operate with what is know as an advertising budget. They build in advertising as part of their marketing program (Remember, advertising is a part of marketing and not ONLY marketing. See my last letter.) This budget is usually determined at the beginning of a fiscal year. It is often a percentage of sales. Recommended is frequently 10%. A new business will usually have to bite the bullet and establish a flat rate(eg. $100 per month).
Making decisions outside of your budget? Good and bad. The "bad" is that you are overstepping boundaries you have established for the good growth of your business.It's money you had allocated for other things. Remember advertising is just a portion of the marketing package. The "good" may be the opportunity that was not present last year.
This month we will discuss advertising and advertising types. May sound funny, but when we determine what is the group of people we want to reach, then we get a better idea of where to advertise and what to advertise. We want our marketing to have a goal, and advertising is part of the package. Random advertising or scattered advertising does not work very well. Why? Think of it like advertising like a bowl of water. Each ad is a marble. The more marbles you throw in a bowl of water(your targeted market) the sooner it overflows and spills over.
Print
Brochures, catalogs, newspaper and flyers. Flyers are great for
one shot promotions and they can be used for bag stuffers. Brochures
are kept by clients for that next vacation or purchase. Catalogs
are expensive, but often allow your customers greater ability
to place future orders. Print can be very inexpensive advertising.
A great place to begin promotion of your business. Who buys from
print? People pick up print or read print when they are looking
for an item or service. Make sure your target market is the person
who will pick up a brochure or flyer, read the newspaper. Determine
the seasons where people will seek your products or services and
utilize print in those times for greater impact.
Internet
The internet is the largest shopping center in the world. After
using the internet for nearly 6 years, owning an internet company
and selling and buying on the internet, here is a reality. For
the most part, it is a great place for the shopper and a competitive
place for the seller. A web site is inexpensive. Promotion of
sites is easy. But for most businesses, it is a place to direct
clients or buyers to during hours that you are not open. I had
a client the other day who wanted to market a product for the
holiday for $209. They would make 10% on this product. Within
30 minutes I found the same product for as low as $174. What would
bring people to their site? It would be ok for the existing client.
But a surfing client would be unlikely. Most business will use
the internet to build their existing client base. If you have
a unique product or service again you will rate high. Pricing
will vary in web site construction-SHOP!
Telephone
This is often over looked in a world that considers a sales call
invasive, but often in business to business it is a great way
to reach people. One of the key things is to know who you need
to speak to and have short message that you can convey quickly.
Radio
You are driving down the road listening to your favorite music
or talk show host and there it is. The ad! Radio advertising affects
people because they are already in listening mode. It invades
the listeners space. Good radio ads complement what is being listened
to. They range from 15 seconds to 60 seconds. Often your own voice
is your best ad. People identify you with your business or service.
Radio advertising bought in quantity gives you a wide range of
listeners for less money per spot. Research your station. Does
it meet your desired clientele? Does it hit your desired region?
stations have demographics that can show you where to put your
advertising dollar. A bank will not do as well on a rock station
as it will on a talk station. If you are selling skateboards,
go with the rock station. Buy enough radio to get results. Remember
the marble in the water. Long term contracts frequently give you
better prices and better results. Check out cash buys. Some stations
offer guaranteed results.
Email
In a day of so much spam, the eyes are on those who are sensitive
to the law. On the other hand accumulated lists of existing customers
and clients is often a quick, "painless" way to reach
people with timely specials or updates.
Word of mouth
People talking to people about people. Most would say it is people
referring people to your business or service as the result of
experience. Partially true. The unseen reality is this. It is
people who have read about your company or service in a magazine
or heard a radio ad or saw you on the web. They tell their friends.
Do not over look other forms of advertising as it builds you up
in people's eyes.
Other forms of advertising-
Over the years we have seen many other forms of advertising. The mattress man outside the store, the delivery of gifts and flowers to clients, bumper stickers and signs. We will discuss these in future articles, as we are trying to get ready for the holidays.
This letter is for you to use in choosing your marketing strategy.
Here at Talk Radio we are seeing a great deal to add to her of success with the addition of George Russell's Morning Liftoff. Arnie Arnessen has just received another station to carry her, so present sponsors receive extended advertising. Our Springfield Cosmos games have brought many listeners to "Springfield's first radio station." We have great packages with spots as low as $5 if you are shopping price for the holiday season. We are introducing a new contest for customer service, a big contest for the holidays and many new changes.
Enter this season knowing that Talk Radio is here to help you. Covering Manchester, VT to Manchester, NH and Bradford, VT to Brattleboro, VT(though I heard us in Northampton, Mass. the other day!) I would love to sit down and discuss complete marketing with you to help you fulfill your goals.
Have a great month.
Sincerely,
Lee Johndrow
NEXT MONTH-Contest to promote your business
Sidenote
Markup in retail. There is a lot of confusion over what "mark
up" is versus the more accepted way of determining gross
profit. Marking a product up 100% does not mean you make 100%
of the sale. When you subtract the cost from the total sale, the
margin of profit or gross profit is 50%. A product costs $100.
You sell it for $200. This is a mark up of 100%. You are making
$100. When you take the profit ($100) and divide it by the gross
sale ($200), your gross profit percentage is 50%. Gross profit
is your cost subtracted from your total sale. This remainder(gross
profit) is divided by the total sale giving you gross profit percentage.
Remember marking up 50% does not make you 50% but actually a gross
profit of 33%. For more information on this topic, write me.