marketing bridge
How Well Do You Know Your Customer?
07/28/2009 01:14 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.
Almost everybody has heard the old saying, “He could sell iceboxes to Eskimos.” And for our friends in the southern hemisphere, they may be more familiar with, “He could sell sand to the Sahara desert.” These adages, of course, refer to a super sales person who can supposedly sell anything to anybody, even if the need doesn’t exist. The hidden truth is this; you can’t sell products and services to people who don’t need your products or your services. If you don’t know that there is no perceived need for ice, you will go bankrupt trying to sell ice. You have to know what customers need.
So how well do you know your customer? Do you really know what your customer wants or needs…or are you just guessing? Do you really know why your customer likes to do business with you…or are you just assuming? Only when you really know can you make progress on bringing new customers to your business. You will attract new customers for the same reasons you attracted your current customers. It’s just that simple.
Guessing the answers to all of the above questions won’t cut it. As management consultant, Peter Drucker, once stated, “What the people in the business think they know about the customer and the market is more likely to be wrong than right. There is only one person who really knows – the customer.”
One of the single biggest marketing mistakes I see repeated by businesses large and small, is “guessing” what attracted current customers to do business with them in the first place. Guess correctly and you might get by. But incorrectly assessing what attracted your current customers can be most detrimental. You will waste a great deal of time and money by throwing the proverbial you-know-what at the wall and seeing how much sticks.
A friend who owns a chain of highly successful convenience stores was ready to discontinue an in-store customer loyalty program. He thought it was costly, time-consuming, cumbersome and unnecessary. In his opinion, the customer loyalty cards made no positive difference and could be taken off the table with little or no consequence. He later discovered how wrong he was.
By interviewing his customers, we discovered how important clean restrooms were to the customer. Many, many customers were impressed with the friendliness of the cashiers. But the selling advantage mentioned most frequently was the customer loyalty card. Customers liked the fact that it required only five purchases to get a freebie…rather than ten or twelve like other convenience stores. The customer loyalty program that was almost discontinued turned out to be a huge competitive advantage.
Imagine what would have occurred if the customer loyalty program had been discontinued. Customers would have been disappointed, dissatisfied, and open to any and every invitation to do business with any other convenience store. They would have seen a gradual decline in customer count…a gradual decline in daily sales of coffee and soda…a gradual decline in sales at the gas pumps…and a certain decline in profitability.
When you really know why your current customers are choosing you over your competition, you will know what to communicate to attract new customers. Customer comment cards won’t do it. Having employees ask customers won’t get you the real answers. It takes someone with real skill and training to extract the real reasons why customers do business with you. Otherwise, you’ll end up with meaningless information like most everybody else wastes in their advertising. You’ve seen it; “friendly, courteous personnel,” and “for all your (fill in the blank) needs.”
That’s why the Marketing Firepower “Value Story Discovery” process makes such difference for small business success. When a business knows why consumers should do business with them, and know why current customers do conduct business with them, they will possess the information necessary to attract new customers. It means the difference between productive marketing and wasting money. And that can mean the difference between business success and business failure.
Don’t leave this information to guesswork. Invest in worthwhile information that will make a difference.
Van is vice president of Marketing Firepower with decades of experience in helping small business succeed through the effective use of advertising.
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Testing Your Own Marketing Bridge
07/28/2009 01:06 PM Filed in: Norton Warner
Advertisers sometimes buy advertising with the idea of testing the ad medium. There is nothing wrong with testing. A successful enterprise continually evaluates expenditures. Remember, however, that advertising may test your marketing bridge more than it does the medium.
Former president of Procter & Gamble, Howard J. Morgens once pointed out, "No amount of advertising can force people to buy things they do not want. Advertising cannot sell a poor product. It might induce people to try it once, but it cannot build an enduring business on such a product." Nor can advertising build an enduring business with a poor or ineffective marketing bridge.
There's an old story about a dog food company that developed a new product. Extensive marketing, distribution, and advertising supported the new dog food's introduction, but sales were poor nevertheless. The management brought the entire organization together to ferret out what the company was doing wrong in advertising and promotion. The answer emerged at a large group session when an elderly woman stood up and said, "I gave some to my dog and he don't like the damn stuff."
Naive advertisers are looking for that magic ad campaign, that enchanted medium, that inspired idea that will bring hordes of customers to their doors without any additional effort on the advertisers' part. Successful entrepreneurs must of course take risks, venture into the unknown, try new things, and take creative and innovative approaches. Sometimes, however, such an adventurous spirit leads businesses to try a medium and "see if it works." Advertisers say, "Let's give it a try" or "Let's give your medium a shot," as if they're offering the medium a brief trial period in which to show its stuff. Such advertisers usually jump from medium to medium, which undermines the frequency of impression that is essential for effective advertising.
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-Setting The Right Tone and Wearing the Right Clothes
07/28/2009 01:00 PM Filed in: John DiPietro
Regardless of how great the content of your message is, audience members can be swayed on what you are wearing in an instant and by what you say in the opening thirty seconds of your presentation. So, you can see, that it is vital to get off on the right foot(wear) with your audience.
Let’s look at how you look to the audience before you say your first word. Keep in mind that your topic can contain award-winning material, but if you have alienated your audience by your appearance, then your content is meaningless. Here are some tips for dressing for success on stage.
1. Remove your name badge. This is a gigantic distraction to the audience. First of all, it takes all of the attention of the audience member away from your face, from where your emotions should be flowing, to the glare filled and sometimes crooked name badge. This is not what you want to have happen before you say your first words. Taking your name badge off also “separates” you from the audience and gives you the authority that you will need on the stage.
2. Make sure your footwear (as referenced above) doesn't have any holes in the soles. (Have seen this on numerous occasions.) This screams “pauper.” Also, for ladies, no open toe shoes and ultra high heels should be worn. A bad combo is a great suit and shabby footwear. It devalues your look and your message. Be sure you shoes are tied and all buckles are securely fastened.
3. Keep your sport coat buttoned, especially if you are equipped with wireless microphone gear. Why let the gear become a distraction?
4. Dress one level above the attire of the audience. If you are underdressed, you do not exude authority. If you find you are overdressed, you can loosen your tie.
The big mistake that so many speakers make is to make reference to those that are late or not coming to the event in their opening sentences.
Never refer to those that are not there since it diminishes the value of those that are in the audience and did show up on time. Do not begin by saying something similar to, “Well, lets get started now and for those that come in late, I will go over the material they miss.” Never start that way. The only people that are important to you are those that are there right then. The person who is not there is not able to provide any useful activity to you after the event. In fact, don’t even give evidence to the fact that the room is not full. Just begin your talk as if you were speaking to a full house of attentive listeners.
Remember that your start determines your finish!
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.
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.
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.
Are You Going Up...or Coming Down?
04/24/2009 12:15 PM Filed in: Van Coker
A similar phenomenon occurs when you look at a business. You may see a well-kept, modern facade, nice parking lot and beautifully lighted at night. But just like the airplane, you have to see the business “in motion” to determine if it’s going up or coming down.
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