Marketing folks and advertising salespeople will both tell you that you need to deliver your message to your customer a minimum of five times before the customer will act on your offer. What sometimes is missed in this discussion is that it needs to be the same message five times.
So, without boring your audience to tears with the repetition, how do you get space in the frontal lobe of their brain?
That's where a great tagline fits in.
A great tagline defines your business in one sentence or less. A great tagline is also arguably the most difficult part of developing your marketing strategy.
A great tagline has rhythm. It defines your business in a way your target customer can relate to. It also doesn't try to be all things to all people. And a great tagline immediately tells your customers "what's it in for me".
Burger King has one of the great taglines - Have it your way. If there was ever something that spoke to "what's in it for me", it's this one. (Pity they can't get their act together on their strategies...even a great tagline can't save you if you flip flop all over the place with your strategies.)
The value of a great tagline is in its ability to be on everything you do to market your business. It should be on your business cards, brochures, print ads, signage and...well, you get the idea. If your tagline is well done, then all these "hits" on your customer will help you develop space in their brain.
How do you get a great tagline and how do you know when it's great?
You can, of course, hire a professional. Writing great taglines is a serious skill. When you think about how many business owners can't describe their business in 30 seconds or less, you can imagine how hard it is to actually come up with something in one sentence or less.
Another option, and one of my favourites, is to have a tagline party. Silly? Yes, maybe. But I have found wonderful taglines evolve from many brains bouncing ideas around. Get some friends, customers or staff together and throw all ideas into play. No idea is too silly. From silly ideas come great taglines. After a couple hours of eating, drinking and making merry, pick two ideas and massage them into final examples. Then test each of them to find which one relates well with your customers.
I'm not saying a tagline party will work for everyone. And you should bounce your final ideas off a professional to make sure they are all the things you think they are. A professional can help you polish your tagline into a bright shining example of clever marketing.
Many business owners think that a tagline is only for the "big guys" but a great tagline is a lifeline for new and small businesses.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Friday, May 16, 2008
Psychographics - a better audience definition
For many businesses, trying to get a great definition of your customer base just can't happen with demographics alone. In most instances, your customer base is defined by a lifestyle or a mindset, rather than by their age, income and education.
You need to discover what makes your customer base tick. Do they love to read? And if so, what do they read? Do they love to garden? Are they fans of old movies? Every one of these answers teaches you more about your audience and how to reach them with your marketing efforts.
For the sake of example, let's look at organic products. This is a very specific mindset and lifestyle. They cost more than traditional products and their benefits tend to not be seen immediately. So what might be the defining elements of this customer base?
With traditional demographics, this audience could be defined as anyone over 21 years of age, largely female, with college or university education and a mid-range to high income. They have a healthy lifestyle that would include exercise, outdoor activities such as gardening or hiking, they stay away from prepackaged/preprepared foods. They like to read and support the arts in some form.
So what could your marketing plan include that would reach this customer base? If we only looked at the demographic information, it might make sense to buy traditional media like radio or newspapers. But that just isn't targeted enough.
With the information about the customers likes and dislikes, you can fine-tune your plan and hit them where they live, thereby getting more return on your marketing investment. Gardening magazines would be a good choice. Magazines based on hobbies or interests are read with more attention than general stream newspapers or magazines. In Canada, Canadian Gardening offers a subscription base that would well match the psychographics of an organic product purchaser.
Sponsoring an art event or buying an ad in a theatre program, would also streamline your message delivery. The most important thing is to not waste your money on traditional, general interest media.
So how do you figure out the psychographics of your customer base? Talk to them. Survey them. You'll see commonalities fairly quickly. And there will be commonalities you can take advantage of to grow your business.
You need to discover what makes your customer base tick. Do they love to read? And if so, what do they read? Do they love to garden? Are they fans of old movies? Every one of these answers teaches you more about your audience and how to reach them with your marketing efforts.
For the sake of example, let's look at organic products. This is a very specific mindset and lifestyle. They cost more than traditional products and their benefits tend to not be seen immediately. So what might be the defining elements of this customer base?
With traditional demographics, this audience could be defined as anyone over 21 years of age, largely female, with college or university education and a mid-range to high income. They have a healthy lifestyle that would include exercise, outdoor activities such as gardening or hiking, they stay away from prepackaged/preprepared foods. They like to read and support the arts in some form.
So what could your marketing plan include that would reach this customer base? If we only looked at the demographic information, it might make sense to buy traditional media like radio or newspapers. But that just isn't targeted enough.
With the information about the customers likes and dislikes, you can fine-tune your plan and hit them where they live, thereby getting more return on your marketing investment. Gardening magazines would be a good choice. Magazines based on hobbies or interests are read with more attention than general stream newspapers or magazines. In Canada, Canadian Gardening offers a subscription base that would well match the psychographics of an organic product purchaser.
Sponsoring an art event or buying an ad in a theatre program, would also streamline your message delivery. The most important thing is to not waste your money on traditional, general interest media.
So how do you figure out the psychographics of your customer base? Talk to them. Survey them. You'll see commonalities fairly quickly. And there will be commonalities you can take advantage of to grow your business.
Friday, May 9, 2008
Perception is Reality - Finally proof!
For years, I've been coaching clients through the maze of their customers' perceptions and how they relate to the business' reality. I've also written periodically about audience perceptions in these blog pages.
The bottom line is: your customer's perception about your business is truly their reality about your business. Based on your marketing tactics do they perceive you as trustworthy, reliable, quality? Their perceptions are built from the quality of your paper choices, the colours and language styles you use, their personal experience with you and the myriad of other things that represent your brand.
This week The New York Times, that most august of publications, ran a story discussing two studies into consumers' preferences in wine. Within the article I discovered valuable proof that perception is indeed reality.
In one study, researchers scanned the brains of 21 volunteers as they tasted small samples of wine. They scanned the part of the brain where flavour responses apparently register. The subjects were only told the price of the wine. Without their knowledge, they tasted one wine twice but were given two different prices for that wine. Invariably, they preferred the one they thought was more expensive.
So now we can safely say perception is not a small trigger. If brain activity can actually be measured and responses changed because of perception, small businesses need to be ever more aware of the perception they are delivering. Professional marketers have been aware of this for centuries, but most small business owners aren't professional marketers.
Perhaps the most marvelous example of perception being reality is Cervantes' Man of La Mancha. In this story, Don Quixote is viewed as a dangerous madman because he sees the world differently from those around him. But his perception of the world is truly his reality. Where everyone else sees a barmaid prostitute, Quixote sees a chaste, saintly woman. The strength of his belief eventually sways a couple of people to believe they are what he sees.
Unfortunately, for small businesses there isn't time to convince your customer of your reality if it differs from their perception. So the key is to control their perceptions right from the start. You might be proud of your business, but do your customers see that in your marketing tactics? You may believe you have a valuable, unique product or service, but do your customers see that?
Customers make purchases with their heart and their head. We know the emotional purchase is almost always based on perception, but now we have proof that perception is also affecting the brain.
The bottom line is: your customer's perception about your business is truly their reality about your business. Based on your marketing tactics do they perceive you as trustworthy, reliable, quality? Their perceptions are built from the quality of your paper choices, the colours and language styles you use, their personal experience with you and the myriad of other things that represent your brand.
This week The New York Times, that most august of publications, ran a story discussing two studies into consumers' preferences in wine. Within the article I discovered valuable proof that perception is indeed reality.
In one study, researchers scanned the brains of 21 volunteers as they tasted small samples of wine. They scanned the part of the brain where flavour responses apparently register. The subjects were only told the price of the wine. Without their knowledge, they tasted one wine twice but were given two different prices for that wine. Invariably, they preferred the one they thought was more expensive.
So now we can safely say perception is not a small trigger. If brain activity can actually be measured and responses changed because of perception, small businesses need to be ever more aware of the perception they are delivering. Professional marketers have been aware of this for centuries, but most small business owners aren't professional marketers.
Perhaps the most marvelous example of perception being reality is Cervantes' Man of La Mancha. In this story, Don Quixote is viewed as a dangerous madman because he sees the world differently from those around him. But his perception of the world is truly his reality. Where everyone else sees a barmaid prostitute, Quixote sees a chaste, saintly woman. The strength of his belief eventually sways a couple of people to believe they are what he sees.
Unfortunately, for small businesses there isn't time to convince your customer of your reality if it differs from their perception. So the key is to control their perceptions right from the start. You might be proud of your business, but do your customers see that in your marketing tactics? You may believe you have a valuable, unique product or service, but do your customers see that?
Customers make purchases with their heart and their head. We know the emotional purchase is almost always based on perception, but now we have proof that perception is also affecting the brain.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Two takes on "you get what you pay for"
My work with small and rural business has made me realize there really are two concepts covered by the adage "you get what you pay for".
The first one is obvious. If you buy a cheap pair of shoes, they last three months; if you buy a good quality but more expensive pair, they last you years. The same goes with your marketing communications. A designer who charges you $10 per hour is probably one of three things: desperate, untrained or unemployable. Most designers have pride and talent that comes with a fair market value. This is also true of your marketing consultants. If your consultant has solid experience and a background with results, then it is going come with a price tag.
The second interpretation is a little different, but is a piece of information to which start-up businesses need to pay particular attention, and small business might still require.
In this case, "you get what you pay for" speaks to the fact that once you have paid for your design, you own it and your designer or advertising firm should make it readily available to you. In fact, you really should get copies of all your designs - logos, ads, print materials - to keep for your own records.
I have recently heard of too many situations where designers are refusing to release logo designs and print ads. And in some cases, promotional item houses are refusing to release the digitized logos used to sew garments. I assume they do this to try to keep the business to themselves. If they give you the logo, you can get anyone to do the work for you.
In both cases, once the item has been paid for, you own it and are entitled to have it in your possession to do with what you wish. Don't ever let a designer, ad firm or promo producer tell you otherwise.
Canadian Intellectual Property law stipulates that once the work is paid for, it belongs to the person/firm who paid for it. For there to be an exception to this rule, there must be a contract, signed by both parties that clearly states the property remains in the designer's ownership.
I think it is fair to say designers/companies who will not release your logo, ad or other designs are not ethical marketing personnel. If this has happened to you, I hope you no longer do work with them. If it hasn't happened to you yet, the minute it does change your supplier to someone who knows and abides by the law.
There may be a small fee from your designer to supply you with digital files of your work, and I mean a small fee. This would cover the time to back-up the files, sort them, burn them to disk, etc. Hopefully, your designer has included this in his estimate of costs and automatically supplies you with your files without any form of debate.
So if you are tired of hearing people say "you get what you pay for" as you go along marketing your business with cheap paper, amateur design or free existing templates - and then not seeing the results you desire - perhaps you weren't meant to be a long-lasting success. But even for you folks, the second interpretation is valuable.
The first one is obvious. If you buy a cheap pair of shoes, they last three months; if you buy a good quality but more expensive pair, they last you years. The same goes with your marketing communications. A designer who charges you $10 per hour is probably one of three things: desperate, untrained or unemployable. Most designers have pride and talent that comes with a fair market value. This is also true of your marketing consultants. If your consultant has solid experience and a background with results, then it is going come with a price tag.
The second interpretation is a little different, but is a piece of information to which start-up businesses need to pay particular attention, and small business might still require.
In this case, "you get what you pay for" speaks to the fact that once you have paid for your design, you own it and your designer or advertising firm should make it readily available to you. In fact, you really should get copies of all your designs - logos, ads, print materials - to keep for your own records.
I have recently heard of too many situations where designers are refusing to release logo designs and print ads. And in some cases, promotional item houses are refusing to release the digitized logos used to sew garments. I assume they do this to try to keep the business to themselves. If they give you the logo, you can get anyone to do the work for you.
In both cases, once the item has been paid for, you own it and are entitled to have it in your possession to do with what you wish. Don't ever let a designer, ad firm or promo producer tell you otherwise.
Canadian Intellectual Property law stipulates that once the work is paid for, it belongs to the person/firm who paid for it. For there to be an exception to this rule, there must be a contract, signed by both parties that clearly states the property remains in the designer's ownership.
I think it is fair to say designers/companies who will not release your logo, ad or other designs are not ethical marketing personnel. If this has happened to you, I hope you no longer do work with them. If it hasn't happened to you yet, the minute it does change your supplier to someone who knows and abides by the law.
There may be a small fee from your designer to supply you with digital files of your work, and I mean a small fee. This would cover the time to back-up the files, sort them, burn them to disk, etc. Hopefully, your designer has included this in his estimate of costs and automatically supplies you with your files without any form of debate.
So if you are tired of hearing people say "you get what you pay for" as you go along marketing your business with cheap paper, amateur design or free existing templates - and then not seeing the results you desire - perhaps you weren't meant to be a long-lasting success. But even for you folks, the second interpretation is valuable.
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