Chapter 5: Crafting your Marketing Message

Marketing Plan Podcast_WEB BANNER

How can you make a good first impression?

Your only given one chance to make a first impression, and often times it can make or break a new relationship with your customer. Your initial means of communication is your marketing message, a consistent, creative line that customers pick up when they first come in contact with your brand. While its easy to be succumbed into using that line to boast about your brand, customers really don’t want to hear it. What customers do want to hear, is a marketing message full of personality, promise, and contrast.

Chapter Five of The Marketing Plan Podcast will guide you through three principals to help you create the perfect brand message to seal the relationship with future customers. You can view Chapter Five’s notes here.

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Jay Ehret
Dean of Marketing Know-How
The Marketing Spot

 

Powering Down One Podcast – Launching Another

New marketing podcast is coming

After 99 episodes, Power to the Small Business will be changing. Actually this podcast will be powering down to make room for a new marketing podcast that I will launch next week, on April 24, 2014. I will post the first few episodes here so that you can get a taste of the new show to see if you like it.

Meantime, I invite you to listen to the most popular episode of the 99 that I produced. It features, Megan Duckett, the entrepreneur who founded Sew What, a theatrical curtain company in Southern California. Cool-sounding business, huh? Well it is, and Megan has a lot of marketing wisdom to share about how she turned Sew What into a powerful brand.

And, for your marketing learning pleasure, I present…

Top 5 Episodes of Power to the Small Business

  1. #39 – Megan Duckett; An Entrepreneurs View of Marketing
  2. #14 – Jim Morris: A Tagline is Your Best Brand Communication Tool
  3. #37 – Marketers Roundtable 1: A Discussion of Current Marketing Issues
  4. #40 – Tom Hopkins on the Sales-Marketing Mix
  5. #38 – Simon Salt: Building, Protecting, Destroying Your Online Brand

Remember to check back next week for my brand new marketing podcast. It will be filled with awesome content, and a plan to transform your business into the brand  you’ve always dreamed it could be!

Thanks for listening!Jay Ehret signature

How to Create Great Advertising

Topic: Creativity and Advertising

Guide to advertising and creativity

Podcast Episode #80 of the internet show about small business marketing


If you want to make your cash register ring with advertising, what do you do? Get creative. But just what is creativity and how do you use it to create great advertising? In this episode of Power to the Small Business, author, advertising expert, and ad agency creative director Luke Sullivan tells us how we can create great advertising.

Host: Jay Ehret – Chief Officer of Awesomeness at TheMarketingSpot.com
Guest: Luke Sullivan – Creative Director at GSD&M and author of Hey Whipple, Squeeze This
Length: 29 minutes


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— SHOW NOTES AND LINKS —

What is Great Advertising?

The convergence of advertising that is fun, exciting and interesting, with advertising that makes the cash register ring.

Luke Sullivan’s Creative Process:

  1. Fully understand the business, what it does, what it wants to accomplish, who it targets, who the competition is.
  2. Figure out what the business has, that people want, that the competition isn’t giving them.
  3. Sit down with a pad of paper and a pencil. Face a blank wall. Don’t look at beautiful settings, instead turn yourself inward.
  4. Then draw a little square on a blank sheet of paper. Fill it with something interesting.
  5. The objective is to take everything about the business and burn it down into a single idea that is interesting. It might be a visual, and idea, a movement.
  6. If you can’t get your idea into that little square, it’s not a big idea.

Selected Advertising Quotes from Luke Sullivan:

On the necessity of creativity in advertising:

“It is not required. But that means all the weight goes on to your product… When you don’t have a great or breakthrough product, then maybe you are going to need to align some marketing in your favor. Then, I think creativity is the best business tool you have to unfairly beat the competition.”

“Creativity needs to be in service of a commercial purpose. If it’s just creativity for creativity’s sake, well then it’s just art.”

On creating great advertising:

“You need to figure out the one thing; the one thing that you can tell your best customer that will get them to lean in and talk about your product.”

SHOW LINKS

Luke Sullivan’s Blog: www.HeyWhipple.com
Buy Luke’s Book: Hey Whipple, Squeeze This

Get updates on: The Marketing Spot Group Coaching

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Marketing Traps and Treasures

Topic: What do to, what not to do.

Marketing Traps and Marketing Opportunities

Podcast Episode #78 of the internet show about small business marketing


Host: Jay Ehret – Chief Officer of Awesomeness at TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 27 minutes


— SHOW NOTES AND LINKS —

Marketing Traps:

1. Discounting – Thinking the reason people are not buying from you is because your price is too high. See also: 3 Predictably Irrational Pricing Strategies and What Should You do About Discounting?

“It’s not the price tag that determines whether or not the customer will purchase. What does determine the sale is the value of what you are selling.”

2. Facebook – There have only been a few minor success stories for businesses that try to sell on Facebook. See also: A Facebook Fairy Tale – Horror Story and What should you do about Facebook?

“Most businesses put in time on their Facebook page with very little return on that time.”

3. Letting a media sales rep handle your marketing – Don’t let your rep come up with your creative and your campaign. It will look and feel like everything else on that medium. Maintain full control of your message and tell them what you want to run. Hire outside creative help if necessary.

“It’s not that they’re dishonest. They aren’t. They just don’t know what they’re doing. They’re a disinterested third party who hasn’t had the proper training.”

4. A good idea – Something really cool that doesn’t have a link to anything you’ve done in the past, nor anything you will do in the future. When that idea runs it’s course, the value of that idea is also over. See also: Opportunity Cost and the Danger of a Good Idea.

“Good ideas, they look pretty, but they’re tomorrow stealers.”

5. Going to an industry specialist – Most businesses from the same industry pretty much look all alike. The reason is they read the same industry trade publications and blogs, follow the same standards and methods of operations promoted by the same industry specialists.

“The only way you get talked about is if you are remarkable. And if you look like everyone else in the industry, you’re not going to get remarked about.”

Marketing Treasures:

1. Google local listings – You can improve your phone traffic if you raise your position in Google local listings. See also: Local Search Results and Local Search: The Game is Changing

“Claim your Google Places page and then optimize your home page on your website and raise your position in the Google local listings.”

2. Reading Books – Read three books on a subject and you will be an expert on that subject. Your ability is a combination of the books you read plus your practical experience. See also: Don’t just read a business book, digest it. and The Essential Small Business Reading List.

“Podcasts, blogs…they’re great. But, nothing beats books for in-depth knowledge.”

3. Tagline / Hook – An out-of-the-ordinary visual or verbal identifier. See also: The Importance of Taglines in Branding and What Your Tagline Says.

“A tagline, a hook, is something that customers can hang their memory on. Think of it as a ‘memory hook.’”

4. Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools – They help you analyze your website traffic and improve your search engine rankings. See also: Online ESP: Reading Your Customers’ Minds with Web Analytics

“I fully acknowledge that Google is the Evil Empire. But I’m going to use their free tools to help my business.”

5. A meaningful brand identity – A psychological, emotional relationship between a business and customers. See also: What is a brand? and The Branding Process Explained for Small Businesses.

“A brand by-product is customer loyalty.”

SHOW LINKS

Premium Webinar: How to Create, Write and Leverage a Blog
Registration Information: Jay Ehret’s Blogging Webinar
Webinar Discount Promotion Code: Power40

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The Spend Shift to Local Businesses

Topic: Local Business Market Share

Spend Shift by John Gerzema

Podcast Episode #77 of the internet show about small business marketing


Yes, you’re a local business, but are you getting your share of local business? Are local residents willing to pay a slight premium to you because you’re a local business? That depends. People really want to spend more money in their community with locally owned businesses, but not simply because they’re open for business. There are some criteria.

In this episode of the Power to the Small Business podcast, social theorist and author John Gerzema joins us to talk about the potential spend shift to local small businesses. Gerzema is co-author of Spend Shift: How the Post-Crisis Values Revolution Is Changing the Way We Buy, Sell, and Live. Gerzema says the time is right for local businesses to claim a larger share of consumer spending. People are less likely to trust larger institutions and they want to spend money with you. But are you ready to earn it? Gerzema shares some insightful advice and gives us the three keys for your business:

  • Character
  • Authenticity
  • Narrative

Guests: John Gerzema – Author and Global Chief Insights Officer for Young and Rubicam
Host: Jay Ehret – TheMarketingSpot.com
Length: 17 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #77 (for personal use only)

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SHOW NOTES

What spend shift?

Consumers are ready to embrace local brands, to shift money from larger institutions to local businesses. The question is, are you ready for the shift? Is your brand ready for the shift?

Customers will not just do business with you because you’re local. You still have to give them a reason. But when you do, they are more likely to do business with you. The three keys (from Spend Shift), character, authenticity, and narrative.

The Virtuous Circle:

The more  of a contribution you have to make to your community, the more will people are to embrace your brand.

Know your customers, how will you give back through your brand.

65% of people are willing to pay a premium for companies that made a contribution to the local community.

Show Links

Buy the Book: – Spend Shift
John Gerzema’s website: JohnGerzema.com
Kaleisia Tea Lounge: TheTeaLounge.com
Event: 140 Characters Conference NYC
Jay’s Website: TheMarketingSpot.com

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Magic Marketing: The Dark and the Light

Topics: Customer Experience & Marketing Plans


Podcast Episode #75 of the internet show about small business marketing


There are two types of marketing magic, let’s call them light and dark marketing magic. The light magic is the kind that benefits customers, and is created for the good of all. The dark marketing magic is the selfish kind. The kind that makes you think you’re really taking a shortcut, but you’re only prolonging the problem.

In this episode of Power to the Small Business podcast, Podcast host and small business marketing specialist, Jay Ehret addresses both kinds of marketing magic: Light marketing magic in the form of magic spots in the customer experience, Dark marketing magic in the form of magic marketing pixie dust. Take a listen and determine how your business can be more than just a bullet point by adding some magic to the experience, and how you can avoid the dark magic marketing pixie dust.

Guests:
Jay Ehret The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 16 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #75 (for personal use only)

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SHOW NOTES

Making Magic Spots in the Customer Experience

MAGIC SPOT: Unexpected memorable moment in the experience that customers feel compelled to retell to their friends and family.

  • If you’re giving people what they expect, your business is in the mediocre middle.
  • Without an memorable moments in the customer experience, your business becomes a bullet point on the agenda.
  • It’s not your job to just provide a product or a service, you have to give people something that’s unexpected.
  • Magic sparks are word-of-mouth starters

Magic Marketing Pixie Dust

  • Desperate businesses reach for the Magic Marketing Pixie Dust thinking it will provide a cure.
  • There is no one-size fits all program. If one size fits all, it fits no one in particular. (Hand-me-down marketing)
  • Your success today is not determined by what you did today or yesterday.
  • Your success 365 days from today is determined by what you are doing right now.

Show Links

Start Building a Remarkable Experience Now (podcast)
The Experience Economy (podcast)
What’s the Secret of a World-Class Customer Experience? (podcast)
The Cult of Customer Amazement (podcast)

Free Recorded Customer Experience Webinar: Creating A Remarkable Customer Experience

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The Where and What of Word-of-Mouth Marketing

Topic: Word of Mouth


Photo courtesy of DavidK-Oregon

Podcast Episode #74 of the internet show about small business marketing


The first thing you need to know is where word of mouth takes place. It may surprise you that social media is not as important as the current hype suggests. The second thing you need to know is how you can create word of mouth conversation for your business. It may surprise you that it can be deliberately baked in to your business.

In this episode of Power to the Small Business podcast, you get a double shot of word of mouth wisdom for no extra charge! Two word of mouth braniacs join host Jay Ehret to discuss the where and the what of word of mouth. Learn where you might be wasting time trying to create conversation, and also get some practical tips on how you can use the 4 P’s of marketing to deliberately create word of mouth.

Guests:
Ed Keller, CEO of Keller Fay Group
John Moore, Marketingologist at Brand Autopsy Marketing Practice

Jay Ehret The Marketing Spot (Podcast Host)

Length: 38 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business
You can also download the mp3 file here: Download Power to the Small Business #74 (for personal use only)

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SHOW NOTES

Ed Keller on The Where of Word of Mouth

  • Marketing and advertising stimulate word-of-mouth conversations
  • Use your advertising to talk to your current customers instead of trying to attract new customers
  • Being present in advertising is important for word of mouth because it queues up your brand for conversation
  • 50% of all brand related word of mouth references marketing related activities

John Moore on The What of Word of Mouth

  • True word of mouth is how a business does business every day
  • Give people a reason to talk about you. Design products and services that are worthy of conversation
  • Deliberate Intention: Make every customer touchpoint a talking point by showing your personality
  • Use the 4 P’s of marketing to make sure you cover every customer touchpoint: Product, Price, Promotion, Place

SELECTED QUOTES FROM ED KELLER

On why word of mouth is important in the marketing mix:

“For a growing number of large, as well as small businesses, they’re beginning to realize the power of word of mouth in helping to make brand decisions in the name of marketing.”

On social media and word of mouth:

“There’s a lot of attention today to social media, but it might surprise a lot of your listeners to know that the overwhelming majority of word of mouth still takes place offline, when it comes to products, services and brands.”

On the advertising and word-of-mouth relationship:

“I think the number one objective for advertising in today’s marketplace is to spark advocacy and help spark conversation.”

SELECTED QUOTES FROM JOHN MOORE

On why some brands excel at word of mouth:

The best brands, that get the most conversation…it’s not about a campaign, it’s about how they do business.

On word-of-mouth marketing:

Word-of-mouth marketing is about giving consumers a reason or reasons to talk about a brand or product or a service.

On how small businesses can create conversation:

Small business people can strategically and intentionally design products and services to become worthy of being talked about.

Show Links

Keller Fay Group Blog
Kellery Fay on Twitter

John Moore’s Brand Autopsy Blog
John Moore on Twitter

– Free Recorded Word-of-Mouth Webinar: Creating Conversation

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Advertising Creativity: Generating Creative Ideas

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Advertising Creativity Podcast

Podcast Episode #71 Creativity in Advertising


Don’t you hate trying to come up with ideas for your advertising? The stumbling point is creativity. You know you should do something different so your ad doesn’t look like every other ad out there. Most people don’t think they are creative, so how do you generate creative advertisements?

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, we turn to Tom Altstiel for our creative answers. Alstiel is creative director and parter at Prom Krog Altstiel in Milwauke and he joins host Jay Ehret to discuss creativity in advertising. Altsteil is also co-author of the book: Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, and Design. Altstiel and Ehret discuss what real creativity is and how you can create creative advertising.

Guest: Tom Altstiel – Creative Director and Author, Milwaukee
Host: Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot, Waco, Texas
Length: 27 minutes

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You can also download the mp3 file here: Power to the Small Business #71 (for personal use only)


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ADVERTISING CREATIVITY SHOW NOTES

Creativity Definition: Presenting ideas in a way that most people don’t expect.

  • People must be able to relate to your idea
  • It is memorable

What is real Creativity in advertising?

  1. Unexpected – Presenting the familiar in a new and different way
  2. Relevant – Resonate with your intended target audience
  3. Strategic – Must be able to extend the idea into a campaign, and more than a one-time use

Benefits of creativity

  1. Builds your brand
  2. Creates long-term awareness
  3. Extends your marketing budget

 

 

SELECTED QUOTES FROM TOM ALTSTIEL

“You need to present ideas in a fresh way so that they’ll be more memorable. And the benefit of that is you’re able to spend less to get your message out.”

“Ultimately, the market decides if it’s good creative. If it gets attention, if it resonates with the target, if it motivates someone to take action, then it’s a great idea.”

“Humor…gets people to like your brand. It doesn’t necessarily get them to buy something. And if the objective is just brand recognition, I think humor is an excellent choice.””

SHOW LINKS

Tom Altstiel’s Agency: PKA Marketing
Buy Tom’s Book: Advertising Creative: Strategy, Copy, and Design
Premium Webinar: The Complete Guide to Facebook for Business
Free Advertising Webinar: Straddling The Fence

You may also be interested in reading: If you’ve ever said, “I’m not creative,” this is for you.

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Consumerology: How Customers Make Purchase Decisions

The Internet Show About Small Business Marketing

Consumerology by Philip Graves

Podcast Episode #70 Consumerology: How Customers Make Purchase Decisions


Consumers don’t make buying decisions the way we think they do. In fact, consumers don’t make decisions they way they think they do. The culprit is the subconscious mind. While customers think and rationalize with their conscious mind, at the point of purchase it’s the subconscious that often takes over to make the decision. What’s a business to do?

In this episode of Power to the Small Business, consumer behavior consultant Philip Graves joins host Jay Ehret to discuss the psychology of shopping and how consumers make purchase decisions. Graves is author of the book: Consumerology: The Market Research Myth, the Truth About Consumers, and the Psychology of Shopping. Graves and Ehret discuss the role of the conscious and subconscious mind in making purchase decisions. Take a listen and gain insights into how you can help the customer make a decision to buy from your business.

Guest: Philip Graves – Author and Consumer Behavior Consultant, Cambridge, England
Host: Jay Ehret – The Marketing Spot, Waco, Texas
Length: 27 minutes

Email subscribers and feed readers – If you don’t see the player, click here to listen to Power to the Small Business

You can also download the mp3 file here: Power to the Small Business #70 (for personal use only)

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SELECTED QUOTES FROM PHILIP GRAVES

On how customers evaluate their purchase decisions:

“We ourselves are not always aware of the mental processes that we have been through, that have resulted in us taking a particular action….Consumers end up not being very good witnesses to their own behavior.”

On customers not making a decision:

“When people have more choice, and when they’re aware that there’s more choice, they tend to feel less good about what they’ve chosen.”

“They’ll justify that to themselves as ‘Oh, I didn’t want to buy it today, or I couldn’t really get the one I wanted.’ But the reality is that you just haven’t given them an environment in which they feel they can make a choice.”

On helping consumers make a purchase decision:

“Stop thinking about them as conscious, rational creatures, and start to understand those unconscious mechanisms that are driving a large proportion of what they do.”

On consumer research:

“When you go to ask questions, whilst it’s a well-intentioned exercise, the part of the brain that people are responding with is not the part, very often, that is making the decisions on which purchases are made.”

Links:
Philip Graves Website
Buy the Book: Consumerology
The Marketing Spot Website

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