Make Your Product Familiar

One constant in advertising and marketing is that every new business owner we meet has more knowledge of their product and/or service than they could ever convey to a customer in the space of a :30 second commercial. It's at this point we have to convey to them that they must do two things. 1. They have to accurately relay the "value proposition" to the would-be customer, (I touched on this yesterday) and 2. they need to, in some way make their product or service "familiar." Well, they tell us, "it's a new product, how am I going to make it familiar?" And we respond that making something "familiar" is not about telling the customer everything (who, what when) about the product, it's about answering the all-important question of "why?" Why should they care about it. Telling them something that they already "feel" is true about how the product will benefit them. Relating it in such a way that they feel as though they've known about it, wanted it, had an idea about a similar product, etc. for a long time. You want that client/customer to say..."you know, just the other day I was thinking that someone should invent this....it sure would help me out with X." Voila! Now, when this happens it's familiar in that customer's head...he or she was able to relate it to a specific situation in his or her own life. "Familiar" = "Personal", and as we all know, "personal" is how the vast majority of business is done! Ok, now let's say that on some planet or in some weird dimension the above advice doesn't necessarily work best for you ... there's another way. Saddle up alongside of a brand that's already established. It's done all the time. License a specific design, logo, pattern for your product that already carries a lot of weight in your chosen competitive set. Set up a mutually beneficial partnership with a well-known, established company (brand) and leverage that name recognition to help pull you further down the tracks. Again, the net/net here is that if you want more sales for your new products or services, make them familiar to the customers. People buy what they know!

I LOVE technology - A small biz owner's perspective

Now, for those of you who know me (Dave), you know that I'm not a technology hound in any sense of the word. You know that I'm usually busy enough that if something breaks I simply get someone to come fix it. I just never had the aptitude for programming, and/or technology above "remedial." For years I carried a Blackberry, a Palm Treo, etc. without doing much with the functionality beyond calling people and the occasional text message (and that was very occasional) This year, however, I upgraded to a new smart phone and made a commitment to myself (as a small business owner) that I was going to learn how to use it..I mean REALLY use it. It took me about 3 weeks, but finally it happened ... and I couldn't be happier. Now, I've finally come to see the advantages so many people had been espousing (for years)! I can work from mobile locations, I'm more effective on the road, I can communicate in various formats...it's AWESOME. I used to joke that smart phones made me feel dumb...now I feel as though I am truly mastering my work time, and simultaneously finding that I have more time for my family. So, after years of resistance and frustration, this is what it feels like to finally understand the features and benefits of the technology attached to my belt...I Like It!

Search and Social Media Working Together for Your Business

People ask us all the time about two “buzz worthy” items these days…Search Engine Optimization and Social Media. Well, what most don’t realize is that the two are completely and utterly connected to each other. Now, most folks understand that search engines are driven by high-powered, mathematical algorithms, which are able to judge content based on the words (copy) on your website. What these massive ranking formulas cannot understand is just HOW valuable the information on the website is. (They can count the words but they really don’t know how valued any one word is over another in a societal context) Bing! (on goes the light bulb)… This is where social media/marketing comes in. These search engines now have a partner! Not only can they determine the content of your site, but based off of searches and comments on social media websites such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Digg, etc. they are able to determine the value of that content (who’s posting/talking about a particular topic and how many times in “real world,” person-to-person exchanges.). The combination of traditional search metrics when combined with the input from social media is extremely potent. So, the bottom line is, if you’re trying to optimize your rankings and drive more people to your website you won’t be able to do so (effectively) without some sort of social media strategy.

Beyond Facebook and Twitter...

Digg, Newsvine, Delicious, Reddit, Technorati, StumbleUpon...the list continues to grow.

Are you utilizing online tools as they emerge, or do you just go to Facebook and Twitter because you've heard of them?

Come on now, tell the truth.

The internet is filled with remarkable tools designed to increase exposure, track web traffic, and share new ideas.

Believe me, if you don't have a strategy...someone specifically assigned to work these avenues for your business....your competitors will have an edge on you.

NOW, is one of the most exciting times in human history, if you think the Industrial Revolution was a big deal...wait 'til you see these next twenty years!

Who's minding the store?

Through eighteen years of sales and marketing, I've had contact with countless small business owners...or at least with the people who answer the phone.

Today, I conducted an experiment...I made a few phone calls, to get a read on who it is who's answering business calls these days.

I made ten calls, here's what I got:

1 call went directly to a voice recording telling me my subject was out of the office, and would return July 20. That's good information...if today wasn't July 27.

3 calls were answered by people who barely spoke English. OK, I get it, we're a diverse society...I have no problem with that...but if you're doing business in Wisconsin, and the person receiving calls for you does not speak English...you have a major problem.

2 calls ended with me hanging up, because apparently there are no human beings there, only voicemail options. Forget it. If I need more information before I make a purchase...you'd better have an actual person in your building.

1 call went to an answering service. I took that as a good sign, until the person spoke. Please folks, if you're being paid to take business calls...try not to sound 15. "Um, ok, so, Mike should call you back, or you want to call him back, or what?"...just didn't move me in the direction I'm sure Mike would have preferred.

This leaves me with the Lonely Three. Three of my ten calls were handled by well-trained individuals who listened to my needs, asked appropriate questions, and directed me to the person best-suited to serve me.

I understand how small this sample was, but I have a feeling I'd have reached the same conclusion even if I'd made a thousand calls. Many, if not most, small and medium sized businesses are losing sales because the person answering their phone is not up to the task.

Honestly now, hasn't the economic downturn hurt you enough all by itself?

Is there any chance poor phone skills are costing you money?

Social Media...Why?

You know... we've been posting thoughts about social media (like everyone else in marketing) like crazy and it occurred to me that we never really answered the question as to WHY you should consider it. Let me offer up just a couple of compelling reasons:

• By having people from your company (executive team or otherwise) putting information out in the Twitterverse, on Facebook, or Linked-In, you will be putting an all-too-important face on your brand. You're essentially giving the "would be consumer" a window into the soul of your company. A personal appeal that has not been available on such a broad scale at any time in our history. This broad-based communication on a personal level falls directly in line with one of the oldest maxims in marketing: That "people buy what they know," and if they get to know you that will go a long way towards building a great lead generation community.

• Social media is based on "permission" rather than interruption. What I mean by this is that with social media you are following people, asking them to be your friend, asking them to follow you, asking them to add you to their list, etc. You need their "permission." Traditionally, whether it be print, direct mail, phone solicitation, direct sales, etc. there was a degree of interruption involved in the process. You had to "replace" the thought your prospect was thinking with something more compelling...in other words, you needed to "interrupt" whatever it was they were thinking of and/or doing in order to get your message across.

• You can be as big as anyone out there: Fortune 500 companies have just the same amount of opportunity as you in the Social Media Network universe...as a matter of fact, many of them are still trying to figure out just how to leverage it. Smaller, more efficient companies are taking advantage of this format on a daily basis. In the online universe, and especially in the Social Marketing/Networking arena, ad budgets don't matter and therefore, the playing field is much more level.
  

For ages small and medium sized business owners have tried to figure out a cost effective method of doing this...now they can.

The Twitterverse

Just had a friend e-mail me some stats on Twitter...and this is a guy who should know. Thought I'd just take a moment to share them with you.

• Twitter is gaining an average of ~7,000 users per day...
• ~18% of Twitter's users have joined within the past 60 days...
• ~70% of Twitter's users joined in 2008
• The most tweets take place on Thursday of each week (probably folks lining things up for the weekend)
• Tweets drop off 25-30% over the weekend...
• ~30% of Twitter users have >30 followers...
• Twitter Traffic has grown over 1,164% in the past 12 months and is up 16.5% in the past month alone (Compete.com statistics)
• Twitter has approximately 22 Million unique visitors per month.
  
• The average number of people someone is following is ~70
• The amount of people that follow a person or group will in large part be determined by how many people or groups they follow.

Currently there are millions on Twitter and other social networking websites. These, through the right kind of usage and positioning can be valuable tools to business and fantastic methods of communication between individuals.

We look forward to seeing you in The Twitterverse!

SEO for the CEO

By now, we all know the power of the search engine. We all know we want our name at the top, but what is the best way to get there?

The first lesson is, correctly done, the process of SEO takes a little time. Yes, you can hit fast and hard, and see a spike in your rankings...but that is often costly, and almost always temporary.

It takes a body of work to reach your ultimate goal. You have to become easy to find, but the trick is, once you're there...you have to remain easy to find.

If that last sentence surprised or confused you...you're not ready to fully optimize today's search engines...which happen to be the most powerful marketing tools of all time.

We can help. Feel free to contact us at www.thewpmgroup.com, or www.iadvertizing.com.

There is a clear path...but you'll need a map.

-Todd Coppernoll

Over 40s Now Flock to Social Networks

The explosion has already occurred, if you're still waiting for "grown ups" to begin using social networks - you've missed the launch.

In the last six months, I've been found online by 150 high school classmates. I'm 42.

We're here, we like it, and we're staying.

If you have a marketing message...all generations are now well-represented. Yes, we all know about Facebook and Twitter, but there are many more....do you know how to find your audience online?

Now, I've really seen it all...

Now I've seen it all...and trust me, in this instance I'm thankful! I just got off the phone with a former iAdvertizing.com client and during the course of the conversation he said that he had some extra time (he has a business partner so he doesn't shoulder all the load) and asked if we were in need of some additional representation in his city...now, that's cool! I've known this client for some time and he's a consumate businessman...more than that I've grown to trust his judgment. The fact that he would consider working with iAdvertizing in some capacity speaks volumes to me. It's validation (for me) that we're on the right path. I love days like this when I get feedback that I'm otherwise not expecting or searching for. A client that wants to become part of the gang...that's nice!


www.iAdvertizing.com

What Every New Business Needs To Know About Marketing

In being considered a small to medium-sized business specialist we get the question (either from prospective clients or hypothetically) - What is the one thing you would tell any new or small business owner to get them started on the right path? That one's easy!

If we're consulting with you, one of the first things you'll hear is "Your customer only needs/wants to hear one piece of information from you in any advertising/marketing message. The answer to the question: 'What's in it for me?!?' How is your product or service going to make his or her life better."

If you think about it that question is asked and answered with EVERY PURCHASE you make. Whether it's your home purchase (perhaps it's in the right school district, convenient to your work, is in the "right neighborhood, etc.) the clothes you buy (how do they make you feel, how do you look in that color?) or the church you attend (good minister, lots of friends attend, etc.). Literally every purchase you make is done so by evaluating the simple question of "what's in it for me?"

So, I would tell any new business, small business, or established business looking for a fresh coat of paint that they should carefully examine what they are providing to their potential customer base that will enrich their lives in some manner and carefully craft a specific value proposition from there. One that can translate over to business identity, advertising, website presence, etc.

It's not an easy task but one that businesses cannot thrive without.

The Cost of Unexpected Sales Calls

A recent survey showed:

The average office manager in this country is paid $17 per hour.

The average office gets 10 unexpected sales calls (combined phone and in-person) each week.

Business owners, on average, are paying their office managers $18 per week, or $936 per year, to handle these unexpected sales calls.

OK, I'm not piling on sales reps, not in the least - but we all know at least some of these sales calls turn out to be a waste of everyone's time, because the product or service simply is not a match for the business the rep has called on.

A new service, which will allow businesses to streamline the process of receiving, and prioritizing sales calls is on its way...projections say, that $936 per year will be reduced by up to 75%!

I'll post additional information as it becomes available.

Benefits of Social Media

Recently we've had a lot of customers asking us about the benefits of "social media" and how that can affect their businesses. Well, I thought we should take just a few moments to throw out some answers that might encourage folks to take a closer look at this growing marketing outlet.

Social media, by definition is simply the transformation of content readers into content publishers, or sites that provide "user generated content." This, in and of itself provides amazing results in terms of like-minded people, businesses, groups, philanthropies, etc. gravitating towards each other in cyberspace - becoming communities, building relationships, and ultimately being "SOCIAL."

Social media is anything that allows the user-generated information flow. These vehicles can take the shape of Internet forums, Message Boards, Wikis, Weblogs, Social Networking websites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc.), and Vlogs (video blogs), just to name the most obvious.

To reap the benefits of social networking you must first be able to GIVE. Meaning, that if you go into any social networking endeavor with the mindset that all you're going to do is bombard people with how great you or your product of company is, don't bother. You must be willing to give or bring something of value to the community. You must be willing to exchange information and ideas that others can benefit from. Ultimately, any community you seek to join is not going to even look your way if they sense that all you want to do is take from them...in this respect the Internet is even more critical than the physical world. In the social networking realm, you're totally judged on your content. There are no good looks, fancy clothes, cool cars, or trendy watering holes to be seen at. Your admission to the community and/or acceptance by others is based solely on your perceived intent!

Finally, any social networking campaign that is entered into is not a "load & leave" proposition. It's one that must be continually worked. You must update your blog, keep your website content fresh, participate in discussions relating to your industry or personal interests, be available for advice, and ultimately allot the time needed for people and groups to get to know you and what you stand for. In so doing you will garner friends, colleagues, lead sources, and possibly even increased sales.

When I started my Twitter account I read a great piece (and I wish I'd saved it) in which the author said, when anyone running a company, or who is part of an executive team begins Tweeting, the first inclination is to begin "chest thumping" about his or her company...DON'T!!!
The author then went on to say why and it made all the sense in the world to me. He said (and I paraphrase)...

-Twitter and other social networking sites are designed and are at their best when people who know very little about you or your company can make a human connection to the brand through your tweets and/or postings. It is a chance for people to get to know the people behind the brand and otherwise provides them with a window into the soul of the company. -

This single piece of information got me off on the right foot with Twitter and our other social media networking endeavors...I sincerely hope that something I've conveyed above will help at least one person out there do the same!

Birth of a Startup / Importance of Your Business Plan

You've started a company...with a friend, a co-worker, a spouse or other relative...it really doesn't matter who...it's going to be someone you're close to or have had a working relationship with in the past. This is the first stage of the life cycle. You will have meetings around the kitchen table, at Starbucks, over dinner, and/or spent countless hours on the phone with each other. You will spend weekends together, become close(r) with each other's families and friends. In other words you'll be in each others hip pockets. Then there will come a divergence of ideas...count on it. This may be philosophical, financial, ideological, etc. It may also be brought about by the addition of other people to the corporate mix. Whatever the reason it will be emotional as you've spent so much time as a "team" (to the exclusion of many other things) that you'll be headed into uncertain waters. You may question the partnership, the percieved value of the players, the direction of the company...it can be a really tough time. It's at this moment your business plan HAS TO CARRY YOU. You have to have faith in the groundrules and milestones you set in the beginning. This is the time your endeavor is moving from caterpillar to butterfly all in one move. It's the "make-or-break" for many a young exectuvie team. Trust in each other, the team that has been built, and most importantly don't lose focus of why you started the company in the first place. This is why your business plan is so terribly important!

That Thin Yellow Line

I just received a message in my "in box" warning me of all the bad things that can happen in and throughout "social media." The article was well written, if not a bit alarmist. I cannot help but to feel sorry for people that go through life continually worried about what "might" happen. If someone wants to write bad things about you on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn, they will...and you cannot stop them. Even if you or your company don't have an account on a social networking site, they can still say that you or your firm acts like a barrel of monkeys and are incompetent, unworthy of business, etc. I liken it to getting out on the road in your vehicle...what is there to keep that other driver from hitting you other than a painted yellow line...in most cases, nothing! You have to have faith in the ability of other drivers that they value themselves and their health enough not to cross over that line. Similarly individuals and companies that embark on the use of social media websites have to exhibit a similar kind of faith that people won't cross that invisible line into the realm of liable and/or slander. Now, that isn't to say that you just throw caution to the wind (again, you wouldn't do that in your car), so, if you're worried whether someone who you might add as a "FRIEND" on Facebook is going to post something that could be offensive or damaging to you or your business, you might just want to think twice about adding them. If yours is a corporate Twitter or LinkedIn account you will want to be judicious as to whom you allow to post. If you give blanket access to everyone in your office then you run the risk that one or more will display poor judgment ... just be prepared. I guess the bottom line is that if you look at social media there is indeed a tremendous upside in terms of exposure and potential sales...but for every upside there is a downside. And in my opinion, the threat of any downside can be simply maintained and minimized by obeying some simple rules of the Internet road!

Wal-Mart Leaning

Just saw an article that talked about how Wal-Mart is leaning on marketing to cut costs. With the iAdvertizing.com model we've put in place here at WPM, I cannot help but to think this totally validates (on the grandest scale possible) the new a-la-carte, fixed-rate model that our team has put in place in order to help companies of all sizes save money on their ad-spend. It's nice to get it right every once in a while :-)

Fantastic show in FL. TC attended and saved our client from the onslaught of media folks interested in their products after they won "best of show" in the Freshwater Rod category (30+ entrants into this category). Out of that and other recent experiences, something rather remarkable has struck our team. As we watched this "explosion" unfold in Orlando it was apparent that these folks have done it right! Believe me that we've seen enough "GREAT IDEAS" wither on the vine from either poor planning, not enough market/consumer-base research, and/or under capitalization. As a matter of fact there are a number of new clients that are "doing it right" these days. Maybe, just maybe that's one small silver lining in the overall economic downturn we're currently experiencing...new companies are performing more due-diligence in preparing their go-to-market offering...setting up the correct amount of funding...developing dealer/distributor channels, allocating budget for marketing, and otherwise planning for what happens "IF." Perhaps these new entrepreneurs are feeling as though this is their shot at making it, their one shining moment, and therefore aren't going to leave anything to chance. If that's the case, then that is indeed a silver lining and we couldn't be happier

The Beginning ...

I sat at my son's computer on Dec. 26th, 2008 and came up with the idea for iAdvertizing.com I thought to myself, "what a great day it must've been over at Apple when they came up with the thought behind iTunes. Someone could actually come in to their website and instead of purchasing an entire CD for $12-$15 dollars, (when they only wanted 2 or 3 songs) they could simply choose those 2 or 3 songs and pay only .99 cents for each - saving themselves the difference." Now, since THE WPM GROUP (our full service agency offering) is virtual, with all designers and staff working across the nation from their homes I figured that we could do the same thing for the advertising world. With the economy circling the drain and businesses being squeezed from every direction (supply and consumer price side) we realized that there is really NO SHORTAGE of marketing NEED, but there was a server shortage of businesses willing to pay for the long-term agency retainer style contracts. So, with the help of our management team and designers we were able to develop a fixed pricing list and otherwise commoditize each of our marketing agencies' service offerings. This would allow business owners, marketing officers, etc. to come in, choose only what they want and/or need and not have to worry about whether or not their advertising/marketing dollars were being used effectively. On top of that we decided that we'd offer evey business a free service that they could use, even if they didn't purchase from iAdvertising. That service was a free, real-time, automated quote feature. You see, for far too long traditional advertising agencies have cloaked the cost of services in a shroud of mystery. We felt as though the time for complete transparency had arrived. So, with the launch of iAdvertizing we made it so that anyone can come to our menu of services page, begin clickng on the items they want and then, off to the left side, they would see a real-time total appear. This would allow them to move forward with a baseline number from which to compare with other marketing options they may investigate. We felt as though this was the best way to do business and from what we've seen to date, so do our customers.