The State of Marketing Today
By Media Corp LLC Worldwide | June 27, 2008
Author: Michael Lee-Smith
Marketing is hard work. Now, I know what many are thinking. Outside of the marketing end of the building, who’s going to believe that?
To many people, marketing is either something that “anybody can do”, or it’s the department that enjoys a free ride on the hard work of the rest of an organization.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
It takes a high level of nimble creativity to effectively create trust of and demand for any product. And it’s getting increasingly more difficult.
In study after study, consumers have stressed that, regardless of the communication medium, they’d rather not see ads. For example, a 2004 study by Forrester found that when people watch pre-recorded television shows, they skip an average of 92 percent of the commercials.
And, love them or hate them, advertisements are a key method of getting the message out to the buying public.
Confronting an ad-averse audience is difficult, and poses a series of questions. Not the least of which is how to break through the aversion somehow.
We in the advertising industry have responded in a variety of ways, ranging from moving more heavily to online advertising, to using more intrusive (I might suggest underhanded) tactics?
As marketers, we all face the same concern: how do we make an impression? Where do you go, what do you do, when the audience, everywhere, starts tuning us out?
Unfortunately, many ad agencies and “creative” types are turning to shock, a marketing strategy that includes running a shocking advertisement or communication stunt at a moment of maximum exposure, attempting to cajole (often through threats) a presumably impartial media, and then arguing that it’s in all the service of branding.
Does anyone else think this is ethically suspect? How can marketers justify disrespectful, manipulative strategies and tactics? Advertising is strategic, and the audience is constantly evolving. But there are certain limits. Sometimes, these strategies just seem so manipulative.
That’s not to say “disruptive” marketing is bad. Rather, marketing is currently standing at edge.
Marketing, to a large degree, is why people have an increasingly tough time trusting corporations. Broken promises, exaggerated claims, poor excuses. All of these contribute to a lack of faith on the part of the public.
It is possible, though, to break through the clutter and still be respectful. It comes down to motivation and mediums. “Motivation” means that professional marketers must choose to be honest with their audience. “Mediums” refers to the methods and tools we use.
It’s not too late for marketing to overcome this challenge of trust. But we do need to be proactive, to select methods that don’t undermine our word. And we must take the time to encourage fellow marketers to be respectful of the buying public.
When we get down to it, the “buzz” is important. And generating immediate sales is also of vital importance. But it’s important, also, to not lose site of the long term effects of our marketing and communication decisions. If we’re selling aggressively now, and laying the groundwork for a mistrustful public, we might eventually make it impossible for our companies to survive.
That would eventually undermine all marketing.
And that would be a truly unfortunate loss.
Topics: Media Corp LLC Worldwide, MediaCorp Overland Park Kansas | Comments Off
Basic Marketing Dope
By Media Corp LLC Worldwide | June 27, 2008
Author: Joy H. Gendusa
Sometimes the simplest data is the best. Marketing is not complex if you know the basics - that’s true with anything by the way. Here are some tools that are brilliantly simple and with them you really won’t have to sweat the small stuff.
Hot Dope #1) The more that your potential customers see your name in front of them, the more likely they are to call your number (and not someone else’s) when they need the services you offer.
Many marketing efforts go unrewarded, not because they were off target but simply because they weren’t given enough of an opportunity to work. Showing your TV commercial one time, running an ad in the newspaper once, or doing one mailing of postcards may not be enough to grab and keep the audience’s attention.
Get your name out there, do it on a regular basis and people will remember you when they need someone in your line of business. Actually, this particular �Hot Dope” cannot be stressed enough - and failure to adhere to it is the #1 reason new businesses fail.
You should also know that taking the time to really see which pieces will generate the response you want will pay off. Don’t just totally give up when a response is low - persistence is vital.
Hot dope # 2) Measure your Return On Investment (ROI) in terms of actual MONEY not response rate. An advertising vehicle is working when the MONEY that it brings in has more value than the MONEY and time that is spent on the marketing.
Don’t fall into the trap of becoming discouraged by a small number of callers responding to a large number of pieces. If you spend several hundred dollars to be in the view of a few thousand possible leads, it may only take a few customers responding for you to make enough of a profit for this type of marketing to be valuable. The usefulness of any vehicle can only be determined after the amount of income generated by the promotion has been calculated. If you spend 1/5 of what you generate or generate 5 times what you spend, your campaign was successful.
Hot dope #3) It is much easier to “sell” a prospect once you get them to call or come in to your store. In 2-Step Marketing, step 1 is to get them interested; step 2 is having them speak to a representative to get all the details - and get �closed” by that representative.
Your design must be eye catching and informative, but don’t try to close the sale by explaining all of the details in one piece of advertising. The details of a business transaction often take many more words to explain than the main concept of what is being sold. For example, if your company offers great prices depending on the quantity purchased, there is no need to list the prices for every quantity that you sell. Simply give examples of two or three different quantities and state somewhere in the advertisement that other discounts are available for other quantities. This will prompt them to call to get the rest of the details once you have gotten their interest.
Marketing can be as simple as 1-2-3 when you know the basics. By no means have I given you all the basics here, but by learning and implementing these 3 marketing fundamentals, you are already on your way to marketing success!
Topics: Media Corp LLC Worldwide, MediaCorp Overland Park Kansas | Comments Off