Dare to Be Different In Your Marketing

Do you want to attract the attention of more potential clients and customer? Then it's time to dare to be different. Over the last five years our marketing departments have become complacent. Rather than come up with new concepts, ideas, and marketing plans way to often we only revisit someone elses idea, change a few things and call it our own.

Do you want to create buzz about your products and services? Would you like people to take a look at what it is that you have to offer over your competitor? If you answered yes to either of these questions then this year I dare you to be different.

Develop new ideas, actually spend time brainstorming to firm up your own company's marketing message. Stop looking at what everyone else is doing. Quit comparing your creative ideas with others.

It's time we learn that adopting the tactics and strategies of another company is just simply not enough. It's still important to do your research regarding your competitors. However, it's more important to listen to the needs of prospects and current clients. Truth be known most marketing companies have stopped listening. When did it become ok to quit paying attention to our markets? We want a quick fix, a fast campaign, an instaneous idea. We've stopped putting in the time necessary to be effective.

Daring to be different doesn't have to be difficult, often enough it's as simple as getting back to the basics. You can do it in four easy steps. To get started consider the following:

• Define your products and/or services.
• Define the needs that these products or services fulfill.
• Survey and listen to your current clients and customers and figure out what it is that they like or don't like about your product. ask them how you can make them better. Ask them how they found out about you and what it was that brought them your way.
• Develop a marketing plan for the next 6 months using the three steps above.

I've seen way too many marketing professionals burn out and stray away from the basics. When this happens it just becomes "easier" to begin to do what everyone else is doing. Realize that I said easier not more effective. I've also seen marketing professionals turn their careers and their marketing departments around by adopting the basic principles that they abandoned. I challenge you to revisit your marketing campaigns, apply the basic principles, and dare to be different. I think you'll be surprised at the difference that it will make in the effectiveness and the excitement of your own marketing campaigns.

4 Ways to Overcome Marketing Challenges Forever

For most small business owners, marketing is an overwhelming concept. They need marketing solutions that ensure a smooth-running, profitable business yet most don't know where to begin or how to focus their efforts.

90% of small businesses don't even have a marketing plan. It's difficult to reach your destination if you don't know where you're going!

If you're a small business owner looking for ease, focus and marketing success, we recommend that you focus on just 4 tactics:

1. Establish a memorable and unmistakeable brand identity:

   The secret to business success is determined by your ability to powerfully communicate your business with laser precision and your ability to deliver a clearly-defined and consistent experience.

   In a nutshell... it's called branding, and, when done right, it ensures a thriving business with all the customers and profits you need. The secret is to establish a powerful brand identity that sings distinction. And establish that identity before you launch any marketing activities.

2. Create a deep connection with your core target audience - your potential raving fans!

   Who wants and needs what you have to offer? The only wrong answer is "everyone." If you're a pediatrician, you may see infants and children. Are they your target audience? No! They are your patients, but it's the parents you need to connect with to get the kids in your door. And it's not just any parents - it's a definite group of parents.

   In marketing, you get a lot more "bang for your buck" if you focus your spending on a well-defined group of people that you enjoy working with. The better you define this group, the more effective your marketing can be.

3. Design compelling offerings that pull customers in like a magnet.

   80% of all purchase decisions are based on emotion. It's your job as a marketer to know how your customers want to feel and to get them to visualize how your services can meet their needs. People want to know, "What's in it for me?" Tap into the emotion and create offerings that touch your customers.

4. Craft A Personal, Workable Marketing Plan

   Marketing is everything you do to make your product or service more visible, more desirable and more profitable. Your marketing plan will clearly define the big picture and provide focus and direction based on the 4 'P's of Marketing - product, price, place/distribution and promotion.

   Since 90% of small business owners do not have a plan, you'll have a leg up on your competition by crafting your personal, workable marketing plan to ensure that you reach your business goals.

Following these 4 criteria will transform any small business into a money-making machine guaranteed to grow your client list, sales and profits. The upfront work is the secret to a million-dollar business, literally and figuratively.

Being Unique is a Good Thing... Isn't It?

New entrepreneurs frequently hear the advice to "be unique" in their marketing. The basic idea is a valuable one -- to get attention in a crowded marketplace, you must stand out in some way. Distinguishing your product or service from the competition can make your marketing more effective. Crafting a novel marketing message can attract the notice of more potential customers.

There's no question that an element of uniqueness in your marketing can make your business more memorable, competitive, and special to your target audience. These are all reasons why being different can be good. But how different should you be?

A student in one of my classes had noticed there were no display ads for management consultants in his local Yellow Pages. "What a great opportunity," he thought, "to make my business stand out to prospective clients." He spent over $200 per month on a large ad for a full year. The result was not a single phone call, unless you count the ones from vendors trying to sell him photocopiers and phone systems.

He had neglected to ask his consulting colleagues WHY none of them had ads in the Yellow Pages. It seemed like a good idea to him, and no one else was doing it, so he pulled out his checkbook. What never occurred to him -- and what any experienced colleague could have told him -- was that companies don't choose management consultants from ads in the phone book.

Sometimes you can be too unique for your own good. There's a lot in sales and marketing that is tried and true. If you decide to forge a completely new trail, you may be attempting an experiment that many others in your field have already tried with no success.

It's not always just your marketing techniques that are a little too different. The same problem can afflict the product or service you are marketing.

I met a fellow while networking who had a "unique process" for helping companies resolve conflicts between employee groups. When I asked him to explain his process, he said I would have to experience it to understand it. I inquired how it compared to solutions like mediation or team building, and he told me it was a totally different approach that defied comparison.

Since I knew a company that needed help with a problem like the one he described, I would have liked to refer him. But I couldn't picture myself calling my friend at the company to say, "Hi, I know someone who says he can fix your problem, but he can't explain how. You'll just have to hire him and see."

Being noticeably different from the competition can help you attract customers and close sales. But claiming that you have no competition is naive. Comparisons to a known quantity can help prospective customers understand where your product or service fits in the range of solutions they are considering. If they can't compare it to anything, it's doubtful that they will be able to see how your offering could work.

Your market, too, needs to be a group of people who already exist and can be readily identified. A reader once wrote to ask me for some advice on getting her new book published. I asked what market category it fell into, and she replied that she hadn't really thought about it.

I pressed her bit, explaining that her book needed to be categorized in order to be marketed and sold. Even something as simple as where to shelve it in a bookstore depended on having a category to print on the back cover. Was it self-help, spirituality, careers, business? Who did she see as the audience for her book?

She asserted that she was creating a new paradigm, and if I was going to help her, I needed to think more creatively. My reply was to tell her I couldn't help her at all. Her idea may have been brilliant, but no publisher was going to touch her project.

Creating the perception that your product or service is one of a kind can help you capture people's attention and make them remember you. But you have to be able to identify the people you want to reach and communicate how you can be of service in words they can understand.

You know those car commercials that go, "Zoom, zoom, zoom?" I had to see those ads dozens of times before I could remember that the car being advertised was a Mazda. "Zoom" was unique alright, but what did it have to do with Mazda? Or with the benefits of owning one? A catchy slogan like "Inspiration Beats Perspiration" may be clever and unusual, but what the heck is it marketing?

Definitely look for a unique way to express the benefits you offer to your clients, but make sure it still communicates what you actually do. It's okay to get creative with your marketing, but don't bet the rent money on untried techniques.

If you really want to make your marketing more effective, cheaper and less stressful, stop re-inventing the wheel. Find models that work and replicate them. I'm not suggesting that you plagiarize your competitors' marketing copy, but when you see someone successful in your field, find out what they are doing right, and follow their lead.

Don't let your business be a victim of "terminal uniqueness" -- the belief that you are so different from anyone else that none of the rules apply to you. Being distinctive is good; being eccentric can be unwise.

Whats the Future for Marketing in the Media Industry?

Like any business, the media industry evolves in cycles. In the past, there have been few job openings at media companies, but now, as content converges and more media companies are looking for ways to branch out and reach larger population bases, there is an increase in the availability of highly coveted marketing positions. However, the availability of new technologies and new developments in the media industry have created a demand for new kinds of experience, cultural knowledge and skills sets that candidates must be aware of if they wish to vye for such a position.

The volume of marketing jobs tends to ebb and flow with the economic cycle. Today, we are at the top of the business cycle and marketing jobs are plentiful across a variety of industries. Even the media industry, which traditionally has not provided much career potential for marketing executives, is opening its doors. In fact, the media industry is currently exceeding more mature industries, such as consumer packaged goods, in career opportunities for marketers.

When searching for a marketing position in the media industry, it is important to know that the industry is highly heterogeneous. Because of this it can be difficult to identify what sort of marketing jobs are most prevalent. HarperCollins and MySpace, for example, are both media businesses and are owned by the same parent, but they go to market in very different ways. In addition, they have different revenue models that require very different forms of marketing. Marketing opportunities abound in a variety of niche specialties. For example, an e-commerce company might be interested in hiring marketing professionals to support customer acquisitions or product development, while a magazine might need marketing support in circulation. Candidates should focus on where their skills and interests lie before pursuing marketing positions at media companies so that they can adequately match their qualifications to a specific marketing function.

Marketers should also be aware of the competition that they will face when pursuing a position at a media company. Typically, marketers must have a plethora of solid experience and a vast understanding of the media industry and the specific changes impacting the industry they are looking to work in. Marketers should already be familiar with how to communicate their messages across a variety of mediums and how to connect with a large customer base. Convergence has significantly blurred the lines between print, internet, television and radio. Messaging that used to be tailored for one outlet will now have to be adjusted for a wider audience. Further, the accessibility of the internet has created a very diverse and global customer base, so marketers should build their awareness of different cultures and respective sensitivities.

Marketers will also need to enhance their skills in internet marketing, as many media companies now want marketers to have at least 10-15 years of internet marketing experience. Because the internet industry is relatively young, and has not always valued marketing as much as other functions, there are few marketers with this much internet experience. However, for those who can enhance their internet marketing skills, or have the experience, the demand has completely outstripped the supply. There are currently two areas of internet marketing that offer the greatest growth potential: search engine marketing and advertising sales marketing.

The career potential for marketers in the media industry is anticipated to keep growing. Should the economy dip, this may change slightly, however the media industry is fairly resilient and the continued conglomeration and convergence will ensure growth for years to come. On the whole, the media space is a welcome environment for ambitious marketers who will continue to enjoy good career prospects and interesting, meaningful work.

Rick Linde is a Partner at Battalia Winston International, a leading executive search firm. With more than 20 years of executive recruitment experience, Rick is a top recruiter in the marketing, sales and media industries.

What to Look for When Outsourcing Your Marketing

It's not a secret that many companies that downsize, re-prioritize or expand find outsourcing to be a cost effective decision to fulfill certain corporation functions. Outsourcing has become an essential aspect of business strategies and this included the marketing function.

Outsourcing allows a company to put more focus on product development and overall operations. It eliminates the delay the need to hire full-time staff and avoids tasking overworked staff. Many marketing consultants help companies market their products and services without extending their in-house marketing staff. They can often provide the same service as an in-house marketing department, but at half the cost.

By outsourcing you gain the following:

• Specialized skills and expertise
• An external perspective and view point

Outsourcing can be intimidating at first, but there are things to look for when choosing a marketing consultant or an outside marketing firm. Here are a few evaluating questions that should assist you in finding a marketing consultant that is right for you.

• Area of Expertise

  Find out what their expertise is in. There are many component to marketing. What do they focus on? Here are common areas of expertise:

  • Search Engine Marketing and Optimization
  • Branding
  • Positioning
  • Affiliate Marketing Development and Management
  • Marketing Strategy and Plan Development
  • Internet Marketing Strategy and Plan Development
  • Lead Generation
  • Sales and Marketing Campaign Development
  • Marketing Classes, Seminars, and Workshops

  Figure out what areas you need help in and look for consultants with expertise in those areas.

Training/Education

What type of training and/or education is important to you. I will tell you that education is important, however experience and hands-on expertise can far out weigh education when it comes down to success in marketing.

Ask for case studies, referrals, and experience in the areas that you need assistance in.

Certifications/Memberships

This will also tell you how active they are in the marketing community as well as if they've been certified in certain areas of marketing.

Notable Achievements

What are the notable achievements that the marketing consultant has achieved. What work are they most proud of?

Client References

Never hire a marketing consultant without contacting client referrals. We can get very excited about the sales presentation and the marketing brochures we've been handed when looking for a consultant, but the truth is the proof is in the achieved results. If they could not succeed with other clients, what makes you think they can succeed when it comes to marketing your products and services? Call those references, it only takes a few minutes and it is worth your time.

Evaluate the Fees

Before signing any agreements make sure you are clear in the fee structure. Is it based on milestone payments, paying everything up front, or are they working on a pay-for-performance structure? Be clear about what you will be charged and how those fees are determined.

There are many marketing consultants out there and with the power of the internet they are not hard to find. Make sure you are comfortable with their experience and that you also feel they understand your marketing goals. They should take the time to listen to you about the vision of where you want to go and what you want marketing to achieve for you before they ever present to you a fee structure. If they are in a rush to have you sign the contract without taking the time to understand your business run away fast and find someone else. They should be patient in the courting process to gain your business, if you feel rushed it will only get worse after the agreement is signed.

MarketingPlan Pro Software by Palo Alto Software

The Bottom Line

MarketingPlan Pro is an easy software that provides you with a step-by-step guide to create your marketing plan. It is powered by Duct Tape Marketing and provides you with an action-oriented marketing plan that you can put into use today.

Pros

• easy to use
• integration of goals and marketing activties
• measure success and milestones
• create a basic plan in 30 minutes
• great format that includes charts and tables

Cons

• no Macintosh version - only PC friendly

Description

• An easy to follow program that walks you through the steps of creating your marketing plan.
• Creates your marketing plan in a format that uses strong documentation, great tables and explanation graphs.
• You can use the marketing plan software to gauge your goals and milestones that you've created within your plan.

Guide Review - MarketingPlan Pro Software by Palo Alto Software

I had the opportunity to review a new software developed by Palo Alto Software. This software packaged is called MarketPlan Pro and it's powered by the Duct Tape Marketing superstar John Jantsch.

I'll admit I'm a faithful follower of John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing and it's not just because he lives in my backyard, Kansas City. John and I have had the opportunity to sit down over a cup of coffee and I will tell you he's one of the most down-to-earth marketing gurus out there.

When I first received the email about MarketPlan Pro, I had to jump right on it. If I gauged the questions that came into my inbox on a daily basis I'd have to say that I'm most often asked about creating a marketing plan. The development of a marketing plan can seem overwhelming and often confusing. Even after doing it 10 years I can still get stuck in creating a plan that is clear, concise and effective.

What I love about the MarketPlan Pro software is it helped me by integrating my marketing activities and goals with a roadmap that I could follow. You can even use the software to measure your success and milestones. It creates a simple process that helps you to build supporting documentation for your marketing intiatives not to mention that fact that I absolutely love the charts, tables and the plans format. It's easy to create, easy to read and most of all easy to follow. I even used the basic version and had my marketing plan created in 30 minutes.

One problem I did have with the software is it's not available for a Mac, so sorry Mac users you'll need to wait a bit and keep your fingers crossed that Palo Alto will develop a Mac version soon.

Buy Direct

Suggested Reading

John Jantsch - Duct Tape Marketing

Breaking Into the Career Field of Marketing

A career in marketing is enjoyable and fun. Most people who work in marketing will tell you it provides them with the challenge they have always wanted. The reason being is marketing is always changing; there are always techniques to learn, cases to study, and strategies to research.

Do you have what it takes?

• Can you communicate your thoughts, ideas, and information clearly and concisely both in writing and verbally?
• Are you able to recognize problems and devise an appropriate plan of action to resolve that problem?
• Can you organize and interpret complex data?
• Are you good at generating new ideas? Can you then take and organize those ideas and communicate them verbally?

If you possess the qualities above then you could be a good candidate for entering and being successful in the career of marketing. Marketing offers various career opportunities, so it's easy to choose one that reflects your interest, values, and personal style.

As a marketing major you can gain experience in your chosen career by participating in an internship or volunteering in service learning and community projects. Samples of potential experiences include:

• Conducting Market Research for a Fortune 500 Company.
• Promoting products through development of Point-of-Purchase displays.
• Spending time reviewing potential cost, price, and market research for service programs.
• Learning how to research customer base potential using available data.
• Designing an advertising or promotional campaign to promote new services.
• Developing a marketing plan for a global business.

What if you don't have a college degree in marketing?

Don't worry. I think you will find the statistics in the chart to the right not only interesting, but encouraging. The table below shows the percentage and the degree background of new graduates that have begun a career in marketing.

So now that I've given you hope, how do you get your foot in the door? It will take determination and persistence, but it can be done. You will find that a start in marketing will normally put you in an entry position as a market research assistant, print buyer, general management trainee, or you can enter a program as a graduate trainee.

A few companies that offer marketing graduate trainee programs include:

Mars
Mars does not have a specific marketing training program for graduates. They run a cross-functional management development program, through which graduates have access to opportunities in marketing. Recruits to the program are typically given three to four assignments, the first of which may be related to their experience or studies. The remaining assignments will be in other areas, and one may be overseas. Their goal is to broaden trainees' experiences.

Nestle
Nestle has recently changed its approach to hiring graduates. Nestle recruits in a similar fashion as to how they recruit other employee levels. Each department now recruits graduates throughout the year on an 'as-required' basis. Vacancies will be posted and advertised throughout the year.

Proctor and Gamble
Procter & Gamble's graduate training program recruits graduates into one of eight career tracks, including consumer and market knowledge and marketing. Consumer and market knowledge involves sophisticated and proactive market research-based work to identify business opportunities, including new product development. The marketing function involves growing the value of brands within the P&G product range. Marketing trainees will learn about advertising, PR, consumer bonding, direct marketing and project management within their first two years. The applicants are selected according to application form, a problem-solving test, interview, and site visit, where they will meet prospective managers and colleagues.

If you decide that the graduate training program route is not for you; you can still break into the field of marketing by being persistent. You will need to be willing to take on an entry-level position in most marketing agencies and work your way up. If this isn't a problem then it's time to begin your first marketing assignment, which is marketing you by developing that resume.

Beyond the 30 Second Spot: Marketers Adding Alternatives to Television Advertising

Seventy-eight percent of marketers feel that TV advertising has become less effective in the past two years

New York, NY (March 22, 2006) - A new survey, released today by the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) and Forrester Research, Inc. (Nasdaq: FORR), found that 78% of advertisers feel that traditional television advertising has become less effective in the past two years. The survey also found that marketers are exploring emerging technologies to help bolster their television advertising spend.

The joint survey asked 133 national advertisers about their attitudes towards TV advertising and what impact new technologies, such as digital video recorders (DVRs) and video-on-demand, will have on their TV advertising budgets. Those surveyed represent more than $20 billion worth of advertising, including marketers from Charles Schwab, Colgate, Dunkin' Donuts, Johnson & Johnson, Mattel, Pfizer, and Verizon.

"As DVRs look to climb above 30 million households in the next three years, advertisers are finding themselves forced to reconsider their media mix," said Josh Bernoff, Vice President, Forrester Research, who presented the findings today at the ANA Television Advertising Forum in New York. "Television networks continue to publish research that traditional TV advertising is potent as ever, but national advertisers aren't buying it and are seeking alternatives to enhance their budgets and move them beyond the customary 30-second spot."

Key highlights of the ANA/Forrester survey include:

- Almost 70% of advertisers think that DVRs and video-on-demand will reduce or destroy the effectiveness of traditional 30-second commercials.

- When DVRs spread to 30 million homes, close to 60% of advertisers say that they will spend less on conventional TV advertising; of those, 24% will cut their TV budgets by at least 25%.

- While 55% say that their top executives are closely watching changes in TV advertising, most advertisers have not experimented with advertising on DVRs (49%) or video-on-demand (44%).

- Eighty percent of advertisers will spend more of their advertising budget on Web advertising and 68% of advertisers will look to search engine marketing.

- Advertisers are also looking at alternatives to traditional TV advertising and will spend more of their advertising budgets on: branded entertainment within TV programs (61%); TV program sponsorships (55%); interactive advertising during TV programs (48%); online video ads (45%); and product placement (44%).

- Ninety-seven percent of advertisers agree that the TV industry will need new audience metrics - other than reach and frequency - to report commercial ratings, not just program ratings to effectively measure TV advertising.

"The television industry as we have known it may be challenged on a number of fronts, but continues to attract a significant media investment by ANA marketers," said Bob Liodice, President and CEO of the ANA. "As new and traditional media alternatives compete more aggressively for a share of the media pie, and marketers look to improve consumer targeting, reduce costs and enhance accountability, television is aggressively responding. With technology-based advances in addressability, enhanced television options, Internet convergence (IPTV) and branded entertainment opportunities, television is likely to continue as the dominant part of the marketing mix."

A full report on the survey findings will be available in the near future through Forrester Research (www.forrester.com). This is the third ANA/Forrester Research survey of advertisers on this topic. Previous surveys were fielded in 2002 and 2004.