Last week we talked about the basics of forming a marketing plan, answering six fundamental questions: what do you do, why should we go with you instead of someone else, what are you doing now, what’s working, who is your ideal customer and where can you find them?
As I noted, the answers are going to form the core of your marketing plan, so let’s expand on that a bit.
You’ll notice that I didn’t say a single word about the Internet, postcards, TV, radio, billboards, direct mail, Yellow Pages, newspapers, Web sites or any other media.
Until you’ve answered those original six questions, none of those things matter.
Working…or not
That’s why I asked what you’re doing now and what’s working. I don’t care which media you’re using, I just want to know what’s working and what isn’t.
When I say “working”, I mean tell me how many leads/customers you’ve gotten from each advertising source and how much each one costs.
If you don’t know, you aren’t working hard enough. It’s definitely harder to keep track of these things than to avoid it, but that’s what tells you *what works* and *what doesn’t*.
Most people don’t have a truly accurate idea what’s working. They have gut feel, but the numbers frequently don’t align with the gut feel.
Know what that means? Wasted advertising dollars. Can you afford that?
Learning what works isn’t without challenges. Staff, for one.
If you don’t bother to take the time to explain the value of keeping track of what brought people to your business and what they spent, you won’t get buy in and it won’t happen.
Maybe you shouldn’t have to sell this to your staff, but suck it up and do it, because it’s important.
Make it easy so that it becomes second nature for your staff to record this info.
Part of that is impressing upon them that the effort to record this information is part of what helps keep them employed. The better your tracking, the better your finances will be, because you’ll be able to fine tune your expenses and get more for your ad dollars.
Fishing for customers
I know I talk about fish a lot – but that’s exactly the thought process. What critter is hatching? What’s spawning? What’s the water visibility like? What’s the light like? What’s the water temperature?
All of these things matter, just like the factors you have to consider when trying to attract customers.
Whether you’re talking fish or customers, the better you know them, the better you are able to understand what’s important to them and what drives their decisions.
Without that knowledge, it’s pretty hard to be on their mind when they make a purchase decision.
Burgers are Personal
Last but not least, I thought I’d share this with you, mostly because I harp on that Business is Personal thing. Anytime I see a good example of how to turn ordinary into pretty darned cool, I’ll try to share it.
A Burger King in Brazil took and printed their customers’ photos on the paper used to wrap their burger. Their point was to emphasize the reality behind the corporate “Have it your way” slogan – and this tactic does exactly that.
What could make your burger more personal than having your face on the wrapper?
If you and your staff discussed this in a meeting, it’s likely that your team could’ve come up with 100 different reasons NOT to do it. I suspect the management of this Burger King had the same thoughts.
Note: Print readers should visit http://adsoftheworld.com/media/ambient/burger_king_whopperface to see the Burger King video.
How can you make your business more personal to your customers?
Tiffany is known for the little blue box. Mercedes is known for luxury, but the luxury doesn’t stop with their cars. It extends to their relationship with their owners with a litany of personal touches. Disney has guests, not customers – and treats them like guests.
What would Tiffany, Mercedes or Disney do if they owned your business?
Want to learn more about Mark or ask him to write about a business, operations or marketing problem? See Mark’s site or contact him via email at mriffey at flatheadbeacon.com.