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Practical Marketing - Issue One, October 1999
Welcome to the first issue of Practical Marketing. This e-zine was born after getting so many questions from friends, clients,
and business associates. In the early days of my career with a small advertising agency, it was often difficult to convince our clients why they should market their business. Now, it seems marketing is one of
today's business buzz words - every one wants to know what they can do, especially when they are on a budget.
I subscribe to several marketing e-zines and magazines, but have been disappointed in their focus
on online or Internet marketing. Most seem to think this is the way to advertise and market your business cheaply. Or that once they have a web site, they don't have to worry about other marketing - all they have
to do is market their web site and they will magically increase their business. I've marketed a vast array of businesses and promotions: grand openings, publications, entertainment events, small and medium
businesses and more. I've found a lot of ways to advertise and market my own products as well as my clients' on a budget. It's these ideas I want to share with you in Practical Marketing.
I want this
e-zine to be interactive, however. Please send me your questions, problems, ideas, success (or horror) stories - anything related to advertising and marketing your business. Let's help each other grow and learn new
ideas and techniques. Please email me at pawtographics@scifispace.com
Now that I've rambled long enough on why I started this e-zine and some of my goals for
it, let's get on to the content!
The first thing to know about marketing is that it is not something you do once and forget about. Marketing is an on-going process. It consumes a vast amount of my time each and every day for each client - even on
weekends. It should consume a lot of your time, as well. Whether I'm writing ad copy, shopping downtown, or checking out their competition on the
Internet, I'm always thinking about marketing. I take notes all the time about a flyer rack I notice in the bookstore, the community bulletin board in that
grocery store, the new magazine that just came out, etc. Then when I'm planning a marketing campaign, I don't concentrate on just one method
but look for creative ways to market that might just cost a little in printing and time (for example: have you ever considered posting your web site address
on bulletin boards around your community? Or other areas when you are traveling? Look at bus stops and stations, airport waiting areas, grocery and
retail stores, pay phones, Laundromats, …any place people gather to wait or go into regularly. I keep a supply of small signs printed with the various web
sites I market in my car, laptop case, etc., along with a small stapler and roll of tape. And it doesn't just work for web sites - how about signs about that special you are running now? They don't have to be big to get attention
and there is no charge to put something on these bulletin boards. I have them in the back and side windows of my car too…my boyfriend laughed at me when I first did this until he started noticing people writing down the
address when my car was in parking lots or at stop lights!)
The first thing you should do whether marketing your business or your clients' is to thoroughly and completely
understand the business, the product or service, and the market. I have developed a little worksheet I fill out when first talking to a new client or working on a new product for an existing client.
It's a good place to start, so take the time this month to think about the things on this sheet. You can just copy and paste it into your word processor and
type the answers to each question under it. It always amazes me that so many people fail to consider even the first question. I don't know how many blank
looks I've gotten when I start asking new clients these questions! Use one copy for each product, service or event you want to market. If you are
working for someone else, start by asking them these questions then do some research and expand on their answers. Be as specific and complete as possible. Though I only use "product" in the questions below for simplicity,
they also apply to services, events, or whatever you are marketing. Then join me for next month's issue to learn how to use this data to your best advantage.
What exactly is the product you are marketing? Remember to be specific.
- What is the scope of the product? Is it regional, national, or international? Is it a product that appeals to the general public or only
to a specific industry? Is it consumer oriented or business specific?
- Does a similar product already exist in the market? If so, who are your competitors? (find their ads, get their sales literature, their
prices, check out their web site, and as much information as you can - I suggest you keep a folder or binder on each and every competitor and constantly update it.)
- What advantages does your product have over your competitors? Even minor things like a greater range of colors or sizes can be important and provide a marketing hook you can use.
- What advantages does your competitors' product have over yours?
- What are the greatest benefits of your product? Think in terms of what it will do for those who purchase it. What makes these benefits more important than those of your competitors' products?
- What is your market? Who is most likely to purchase your product? You should describe them as completely as possible in terms of age,
gender, income, hobbies and interests, where they go, what shops or restaurants they frequent, publications they read, activities, and as much as you can think of or find out. Take advantage of the Internet
and it's vast array of research materials, but don't forget about other resources such as libraries, industry publications and trade shows.
- Has any marketing been done so far? If so, gather copies of all existing items that have been produced. Is there a web site? Take at look at everything you can. Take a look at the results of these efforts
(hopefully some tracking has been done like number of inquiries each item produced, if not, see if you can get a general idea of this. Find out when the piece was produced and take a look at sales before and
after each piece. Did sales increase?). We'll analyze these pieces and their results in upcoming issues.
- If the product is industry-related or specific, find out as much about that industry as possible. Are there any industry-specific publications, web sites, television or radio programs, trade shows?
Make a list of all sources of information for that industry you can find as well as related industries (for example, if the product is aimed at the
steel industry, also look at any industry which uses steel such as construction, automotive, etc.) Get the media kits for every source you
find (often, these kits include a lot of free research data you can use).
- What is the goal for marketing this product? Is it to increase sales by x%? To increase awareness of the product? To get more people into the store? To generate leads for your sales team to follow up on?
Again be specific, but also be realistic. Marketing is an ongoing activity and a goal of increasing sales by 200% in one month is not realistic! Maybe in 12 or 18 months, but nothing happens over night.
Just going through this step and answering these questions as completely and honestly as possible will put you on your way to a great marketing campaign!
Next issue we will start to examine how to use this information to build a focused marketing campaign no matter what your product is.
Lori Anne Brown,
Editor
Practical Marketing is published the first Monday of every month. Subscribe by sending a blank email to practicalmktg-subscribe@listbot.com. Reprint rights are
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