Jun 2009
What's New in July!
06/30/2009 04:40 PM Filed in: Jeff Dostal
July is here! Are you attracting all the customers you want? If not, read on!
A brand new Bonus Video is being introduced.
“Consistency is Everything" is our brand new Bonus Video for July. Thousands of dollars are wasted every year by companies that don’t understand the value and benefit of consistency in all areas of their advertising. Do you? You will after watching this short video.Check out the latest Marketing Firepower Success Story!
We’re excited to introduce you to Roger Reynolds of Reynolds Design and Remodeling. Roger is our July Success Story. A business owner like yourself, he has discovered that effective marketing and advertising really does work.We like to bring you a little something extra each month as well with our free E-Book offer.
If you are looking for a great book to read, take advantage of our free e-Book this month, Napoleon Hill’s Awesome Secret by Will Edwards. If you have read and enjoyed Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, you’ll enjoy how Will Edwards breaks down the secret to success Napoleon Hill wrote about.Have a successful day!
Jeff is President of Marketing Firepower and an experienced marketing professional. He has helped many business become successful through the effective use of advertising.
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Personal Selling: How Strong is Your Merchandising?
06/30/2009 04:16 PM Filed in: Van Coker
The most essential ingredient of any successful business is an effective Marketing Bridge. If you are unfamiliar with the term, “Marketing Bridge” refers to all the forces that combine to make a sale and create a customer for your enterprise. Every business has one. Some are in good shape. Some are in need of major repair and reconstruction. The inventor, designer, and creator of the Marketing Bridge, Norton E. Warner, also happens to be the founder of Marketing Firepower.
It has always interested me how many business owners tend to point fingers and cast blame when advertising expectations are not met. It could be the 3-day weekend sale that failed to deliver the anticipated traffic or sales results. It could be quarterly sales figures that fell short of the previous year. Or, worse yet, it could be a serious decline in the year-end figures. More and more often, the first area blamed is...advertising.
It’s so easy to look for something to blame for poor performance, but I would challenge you to take a serious look at one particular plank in your Marketing Bridge – your Merchandising.
Is your store of office as neat and clean as it could be? What does the customer perceive when he or she first walks in the door? Are the floors and windows clean? Is the showroom neat and tidy? What perception do people get when they simply drive past your business? Does it look like you are successful? Does it send an inviting message to the customer? Does it look as good, or better than, the competition? Does it look like the trash man must be on vacation? Or does it look like times are tough and we may not be around much longer?
If you have a changeable sign in front of your business, do you keep it current and up to date? Nothing shows lack of attention like displaying “Happy Fourth of July” while people are driving past your business on July 7th.
What about product pricing? Is your merchandise properly marked? Or do people have to ask the price and wonder if it’s the same price for everybody else? Don’t make it difficult. Don’t be deceptive, or give the impression that you might be.
What about your website? Do you carefully monitor and update the information? Does it help consumers gather timely information about you at their convenience? Or does it show outdated information? If the customer perceives lack of attention on your website, they will also assume the same lack of attention when it comes to customer service.
I remember the story about a major airline (now extinct, by the way) that queried their passengers about the service they received. One of the discoveries showed that passengers who noticed a soiled headrest also perceived poor engine maintenance. So if that was the passenger’s perception, how likely do you think it would be to fly that airline again? The engines may have been perfectly maintained, but perception is everything. Perception is the customer’s reality.
Pay close attention to all the signals your business sends out, whether on purpose or by accident. Poorly executed merchandising will hinder your advertising and marketing efforts. Strong merchandising will help good advertising perform up to its potential. Take a look around you and make some improvements in your merchandising. Do it today. Do it every week.
Van is vice president of Marketing Firepower with decades of experience in helping small business succeed through the effective use of advertising.
Vision, Leadership and Winning Strategy
06/30/2009 03:36 PM Filed in: Norton Warner
A practical, dynamic, creative entrepreneurial vision is rare. Vision begets innovation and is a prerequisite to leadership. If you have a precise vision for your business, it can be your greatest competitive advantage.
Your competitors who have no vision will find themselves chasing yours. Running after your vision, your imagination, your innovations and your leadership, they will forever be in your dust, months, maybe years, behind you. They may imitate what they see as your success strategy, not because it is right for them, but because they're trying to catch and then overtake you. However, no one can copy your heartfelt commitment to serve your customers.
No one can occupy your mind, duplicate your thinking processes or experience your desire to win. No competitor can usurp your goal of customer satisfaction. Your competitor cannot be you. You are the competitive advantage. Only from your vision as the leader of your enterprise can a winning strategy emerge.
Author and corporate consultant Peter Drucker claims that business, "because its purpose is to create customers," has only two functions: "marketing and innovation. Marketing and innovation produce results. All the rest are costs."
The first function, marketing, was the subject of Chapter II, "The Battlefield" from my book, David Can Still Beat Goliath. The second, innovation, is the key to your strategy. Be innovative in ways that set you apart from your competition. Use innovation to establish a proprietary enterprise. If yours is perceived as a commodity enterprise, you could be fighting Goliath with an empty slingshot.
To create a winning strategy, you must learn everything you can about your competition, your own enterprise, and your most profitable customer. In marketing and advertising, the proper analysis of this knowledge is a source of power.
Norton is the author and creator of Marketing Firepower. Five decades helping businesses develop strategies, create campaigns, identify and target the most profitable customer and proper budgeting advice have all contributed to the Marketing Firepower information. Norton created Marketing Firepower to make his experience and success strategies available to businesses around the world.
Taking the Fear out of Public Speaking-Excitement is the Key!
06/30/2009 03:18 PM Filed in: John DiPietro
We continue our series on TAKING THE FEAR OUT OF PUBLIC SPEAKING. In our last issue, we looked at the overall benefits of becoming a great public speaker. In this issue, we want to look at two of the main points in becoming the person that you would like to be when it comes to your public speaking ability.
That’s right, call it passion, excitement or enthusiasm, but either way, it means that when you speak with conviction, you are setting yourself apart from most of the other speakers that audiences hear. I cannot even count the number of immediately forgettable speakers that parade themselves in front of an audience and begin to instantly have the crowd hope that the session ends very soon! These folks just go up and recite facts and figures that the audience is already aware of. When you take the microphone, your first job is to let the audience know that you are excited to be there and want to take them on a memorable journey. Do it with a smile, an appropriate joke or a timely story of interest to all. Even, the capability to move from side to side on the stage shows motion and excitement. Changing the tone of your voice offers the same opportunity. Speak loudly during dramatic parts of the talk, and quietly during somber moments. So before your next trip to the stage, figure out what you can do to add life, passion and excitement to your message.
Point two: FEAR is common.
Studies still show that the number one fear that people have is the fear of getting in front of an audience and delivering a speech. Many fear death less than public speaking! If you fall into that category, you are certainly not alone. You can master your fear by going directly at the issues that scare you. You have to approach that stage with the attitude “this audience is going to love me.” Also, it helps to alleviate fear with the knowledge that the audience wants you to do well. After all, they have to sit through your presentation. So, fear will never be totally eliminated from your preparation. A little fear is good, since it makes you aware of your potential for great success while delivering a great presentation or great failure if you deliver a shoddy performance.
Next month, we will discuss how to never start your program and how you can dress for success from the stage!
John DiPietro speaks to audiences all across the USA. He can be reached at john@Johndipietro.com. He is the author of “You Don’t Have to be Perfect to be Great” and is featured in a newest edition of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inside Basketball.
How to “Play the Percentages” and Win
06/17/2009 09:45 AM Filed in: Van Coker
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What's New in June!
06/01/2009 10:26 PM Filed in: Jeff Dostal
Welcome to June. We have some great new videos this month as well as a very special ebook we’re excited to share with you. Read More...
Personal Selling: It Makes the Difference
06/01/2009 09:46 PM Filed in: Van Coker
Advertising and marketing are much different. You can see advertising. You can hear advertising. In many cases you can even touch advertising. But in most cases, it’s extremely difficult to precisely measure the results of advertising.
First the Goal, Then the Means
06/01/2009 09:37 PM Filed in: Norton Warner
Your strategy begins with a goal. Corporate consultant Peter Drucker claims that “the best way to predict the future is to create it.” Your goals predict the future of your enterprise. When you establish goals and commit yourself to them, you become a slave to the master you have created. Read More...
Taking the Fear Out of Public Speaking
06/01/2009 09:32 PM Filed in: John DiPietro
Have you ever thought that you would rather jump off a bridge than to get up and deliver a verbal presentation in front of your peers? If that thought ever entered your mind, relax. You are not alone. Studies show that the fear of public speaking ranks right up there!
The other studies show that the person who has the capability to deliver an effective verbal presentation will earn more money, advance faster and be highly recognized in the business field. Read More...