Five Things Often Overlooked In A Marketing Campaign
– Often It's The 'Small Stuff' That Makes The Difference –
HOUSTON (May 22, 2006) – Consumers process more than 300 commercial messages each waking hour. That's more than 5,000 commercial messages a day. As a result of this marketing inundation, getting through to a consumer has never proved to be more difficult. An attempt to stand out in this plethora of ads has led companies to revisit and sometimes increase their marketing budgets making them more diversified.
Simply applying more money towards marketing may not be a strong enough strategy. In hopes of achieving marketing success, it is essential that companies include the following often over-looked principles:
- Strike a Balance Between Branding and Benefits.
If you use nothing but facts to describe your product, you will fail. Customers buy benefits but how they feel about your company, your service or your product is as vitally important as any differentiating fact or feature. There are no best products or services except those perceived in the minds of your customers. So, decide how you want your customers to perceive your product or service and weave direct and consistent messages that support that position into every encounter you have with your prospects and customers.
- Timing counts.
There are two important concepts about timing in marketing. First, market products or services when people are ready to buy, not when you are ready to sell. For example, retailers feature winter clothes in the fall. Don't make the mistake of spending money trying to market your product or service when nobody is ready to buy. Secondly, if you are not the first product or service of your type in your marketing arena, you have to give a compelling reason for consumers to choose you. You must highlight how your product or service differs from your competitors.
- Don’t spread yourself too thin.
The first step in successful marketing is creating awareness that you exist. This means getting your message out as strongly as you can within the budget. If you don’t have the budget to do a multi-media advertising campaign, concentrate on one medium like newspaper or radio. Frequency and consistency are key and mandatory to be successful. Make sure you are buying enough to build frequency in one medium before adding another medium. Spreading your budget thin is wasteful.
- Look for customer touch points.
Customers are hard to come by. Once you get one, look for every opportunity to communicate more about your business. Initiate activities such as thanking the customer; rewarding repeat purchasing behavior; and cross selling customers when they purchase your product/service and suggest like items or services. You can do this when customers call your business, when you send them an e-mail, when they visit your location, when they leave with a bag or package or when you send them an invoice. Look for opportunities to "touch" your customers with messages of appreciation and to reinforce the position you wish to hold in their minds.
- Don’t forget your own people.
Too often, larger companies will roll out a new product or service and neglect to sell their employees on the benefits. All of your employees touch customers somehow, even if not directly. Make sure they know why you are adding a service or product and why you think your customers want or need the new offering. Remember, your people are your sales force. Market to them first, and they will help you spread the word.
Year-Long Platinum Anniversary Celebrations Continue
MMI continues to celebrate its 20th anniversary by hosting an event on the 20th of each month in 2006. Following April’s ice cream bash, MMI treated its employees to a beach bag with a monogrammed beach towel and beach goodies for them to enjoy on Saturday, May 20.
About Marion, Montgomery, Inc.
Celebrating 20 years of providing clients with unquestionable value, Houston-based Marion, Montgomery, Inc. is an award-winning, full-service marketing, advertising and public relations firm that provides clients with strategic marketing plans; market research; creative development; media planning and buying services; media relations; internal communications; community and public relations; special events; Web site construction; and interactive/new media products and strategies. MMI serves business-to-business and business-to-consumer clients from numerous industries, including automotive, financial services, health care, hospitality, industrial gas, insurance, legal, oil and gas, real estate, retail companies and more.
