Business Advisor Network Blog

Some small business owners don’t feel that building a brand is relevant to them… think again!

There are so many things that need to be done when setting up your new business. One of the many critical things is creating a brand for your small business. A brand is important as it adds value to your product or service, assuming that what you provide is of good quality. A brand also helps your customers to recognize your product over your competitors’ products and this will help encourage them to buy from you instead of them.

Branding is mainly for the purpose of showing the customer that your product is a step up or better than any of the other products in the market. A good brand usually represents a high quality product or service. It will lead customers to begin to rely on that product or service and they will hopefully start to tell all their friends about it as well. Word of mouth is one of the most effective methods of marketing and it can begin with good branding for your small business.

As you begin to create a brand for your business you need to know who your target audience is going to be. Scope out the demographics so that you can build them into your brand. These demographic considerations can be branded in the way words, colour schemes and graphics of your logo. The final result should appeal to the audience you are targeting. An effective brand is one which will catch the customer’s eye and they will recognize the product and what it is for, rather than just recognising the business behind the product. Make sure you understand the needs and wants of your audience. Create a brand which outdoes the competition, so that people will be drawn to your service or product.

The most important part of creating your brand is establishing a promise and guarantee that you will provide a great product or service. A successful brand will help establish the reputation of your business if it can demonstrate this to your future and current customers. Creating a good brand will create trust. It will make a statement saying that you will live up to and back up your product when it comes to quality, competitors’ prices and customer service. Successful branding is putting your service or product up above everyone else’s and making sure it stays there.

Creating a brand for your small business could be the key component that you need in order to succeed. A good brand will help create trust between you and your customers. Finally, make sure you do your research first and then build your brand around it and your target audience.

Regards,

Virtual Advisor

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When times get tough, the tough get going.

Research tells us that a downturn is the one of the best times for the marketing department to stand out and serve the company well.

Normally, in a downturn most CEO’s will look at cutting costs across the business in order to offset a decline in revenue and marketing budgets are most commonly the ones to be cut.

Often the strategic value of good marketing is misunderstood so during a downturn its function and expenditure is likely to be challenged more than other parts of the business.

The answer is to demonstrate the return on the marketing spending so that it doesn’t become a cost center where your budget is calculated as a percentage of revenue, but rather a profit center where the budget allocations are seen as providing positive returns.

This is more important today, especially in light of some recent findings that the impact of marketing can be stronger during downturns than during the good years.

A good example of this is ability to grow in tough times is Microsoft during the early 90’s. The company believed it had great value in their new product offerings so they got behind them with an aggressive marketing. This propelled the company from being big into a massive behemoth.

A current example, in spite of negative news about global economies is Apple’s aggressive marketing of its iPhone which are doing spectacularly well.

Don’t  slash your marketing budget because now is a wonderful opportunity to think through the customer centric mission of your business and not succumb to blaming the downturn for revenue loss.

Think through your organisational goals and examine all elements of the business and ask yourself “why” a specific area or areas are not performing well.  This will provide you with an indication of the true value being created by that part of the business.

In good times, taking time out to reflect on the business and to define what it could do better doesn’t happen because money is coming in and companies don’t feel the need to challenge themselves.

by
Neil Fairley

Workforce Advisors Group

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This week we continue with our Marketing mini series and take a closer look at an old marketing favourite – the SWOT analysis.

An important part of market research is understanding your current market position.  To assess your current situation, you need to undertake a marketing audit using a SWOT technique.

SWOT analysis is a process by which you analyse you current business characteristics and the environment in which your business operates.  SWOT stands for:

S - Strengths
W – Weaknesses
O – Opportunities
T – Threats

From this assessment you can build a plan or strategy.  You can also apply it to your competitors so you can learn their strengths and counter them, and exploit any weaknesses where you have an advantage.

It also helps you to recognise opportunities and threats.  It can help you get into the product life cycle at the right time, or prepare to get out before the market declines.  In short, it helps you to plan your strategy or your direction rather than leave it to change.

First look at your business; where are you strengths and weaknesses?  Strengths are those things that you are good at and the things that make you business prosper.  Write them down.

Now have a look at your weaknesses.  Weaknesses are those things that you do not do as well as you think you could and are able to improve.  Write them down.

Strengths or weaknesses could appear in any of the following areas

Finance- cash flow, debt/equity, level of assets, profitability, capital available,

Production – plant & equipment, quality control, research & development, patents, production methods

Marketing – customer base, price structure, distribution, location, promotion, product range

Personnel – staff size, key personnel, morale, leadership, communication

Next look at the opportunities and threats in the external environment.  Opportunities are those areas where we may sense there are currently gaps in the market not being filled.  this could be because of changes in technology or in customer preferences.  Write down the opportunities.

Now look at the threats you face.  Threats are factors which could affect your business in the future and over which you have little control, often caused by changed competitive or economic conditions.  Write down the threats.

Opportunities and threats may be in the following areas:

Competition - new competitors, import competition, aggressive competitors,

Economic – inflation, interest rates, credit availability, unemployment

Government Policy – taxation, imports & tariffs, legislation

Social - changes to customer preferences, social values, population changes

Technology- new technology, changing cost structures, obsolescence, new products

Suppliers – mergers/monopolies, prices, distribution, competition

You have now completed a basic marketing audit which will assist you to develop an integrated marketing strategy.  To develop the strategy you need to see the whole picture.  To do this complete a SWOT grid.

An overall picture should now be a little clearer; the strategy you should follow may even just make itself obvious by completing the grid.  Let’s look at an example.

The business is a small shoe manufacturer based in Brisbane.  The SWOT grid looks like this:

In order to:

• Minimise weaknesses or convert them to strengths
• maximise strengths
• avoid threats
• capitalise on opportunities

What should this business do?

Look back at the SWOT grid; are there any strategies that become obvious?  Before reading any further write them down.

There are many potential strategies for this business but perhaps an obvious one looks like this:

• concentrate on quality shoes.  There is a growth in quality shoe sales and the Australian devaluing dollar has made imported shoes more expensive.
• minimise cheaper lines.  Increasing cheap imports and tariff cuts will make these lines even less profitable.
• develop a wider range.  There is more design expertise available and more sales in this area means a greater opportunity to target specific markets.
• Update plant and equipment.  To restore profitability and deal with competition, cost-efficient manufacturing is necessary.  Finance may be available by mortgage over buildings.

Take a moment and conduct a SWOT analysis on your own business.  It may just surprise you what opportunities are out there.

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Welcome back to our marketing mini series.  This week we are looking at how understanding and managing the product life cycle can impact your business.  If you missed out on other articles in the series you can check them out here:  Researching Your Market Segmenting Your Market

Most products have a life cycle.  From introduction they move into a growth phase, then reach maturity and eventually decline.  For some products this life cycle can be very rapid (remember the Rubik’s Cube?)  while others it may be long and drawn out (eg free to air television).

Products show different characteristics at each stage of their life cycle.  If you look at the following diagram and table, you will notice that as a product matures it tends to experience different industry trends, pricing structures and competition.

The Product Lifecycle

As an example, cast your mind back (if you can) to the American style drive-in cinemas that first appeared in Australia capital cities in the early 1950′s.  As is typical with a new idea, it took time to introduce this new American craze to Australians. Promotion was concentrated at attracting those people willing to innovate (the young and those already introduced to the idea through American films).  The product was fairly basic – a bulldozed paddock, screen and shed with little else.  The early prices were relatively high, creating some profits and attracting new operators.

By the mid 1950′s, drive-in cinemas had moved into the growth phase.  New drive-ins sprung up in the major cities and in every big country town across Australia.  the customers became more diverse – “come as you please in the family car”.  As competition increase, the cinemas vied for customers by enhancing the service through eateries, barbecue facilities, playgrounds, amenities and better quality films.

Drive-ins moved into the mature part of the cycle in the early 1960′s.  The market for drive-ins reached saturation point.  Those people who were likely to visit a drive-in had done so.  Competition concentrated on stealing each others customers, creating return visits and earning more out of each customer by providing new and varied services.

The decline started gradually with the introduction of television.  As the number of people who could afford a television increase and the quality of programs improved, the market for drive-ins audiences started to contract.  This trend continued as the price of televisions decreased, colour TV was introduced, and in the 1980′s the video cassette arrived.  The drive-ins fought the decline in the market by targeting special interest groups and so we saw R-rated films, sex and violence.  competition for a declining market was intense, forcing down prices.  Profits dropped and drive-ins closed.

It may be possible to extend the life of a product by finding new markets for it.  Denim was originally the garment that night soil carters wore, four wheel drive vehicles have at different times been military vehicles, utility/off-road vehicles, status symbols, and most recently safe family vehicles.  Sometimes a product can be remodelled, eg, Vegemite, Pears soap, creating a cycle-recycle pattern.

Cycle - Recycle Pattern

• You may be able to capitalise on a product’s life cycle.

If you are looking to develop a new product or service, you may be able to jump on the bandwagon with an associated product.  For example, in the market for four wheel drive vehicles, an automotive related business could include bull bars in their product offering.  There are dangers in this however, as you will be dependent on another product outside your influence.  In this case, any decline in demand for four wheel drive vehicles will greatly affect the business.

• You will understand the life cycle of your product or service.

You should be aware of where your product is in its life cycle.  If necessary, you may need to develop new products to counter the decline of your existing ones.  When the market for denim jeans became saturated, manufacturers branched out into denim jackets, skirts and other designs.

• If you are thinking of entering a new type of business it is important to know whereabouts in the life cycle it is.

Many of the video outlet operators entered the video market at the mature stage.  New owners paid a premium for the outlets as the price was based on historical figures which showed rapid growth.  But what they were unaware of was that the market had reached saturation level and the nature of competition was likely to change.  Many outlets have since failed, hit by competitive pricing and declining profits, while others have merged into chains to obtain the benefits of lower video and DVD costs and cross custom.

Take a close look at your current business and the products / services that you offer.  Where are your key profit drivers currently in the product life cycle?  How should you react?  What opportunities are out there to allow you to get ahead of the curve.

Next week we’ll look at the tried and tested and often misunderstood SWOT analysis.

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How to find out more about your profit drivers and the three keys to growing your business?

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Welcome to part 2 of our marketing mini-series.

If you missed out first installment you can check it out here – Market Research.

The most fundamental principle in marketing is knowing who your customers are and what they need.  Yet many small business operators do not understand this.  They decide on what they are going to offer, start the business and wait for the customers to come rolling in.  They see their customers as a crowd of people, out there somewhere, just waiting for this product or service.  They have not segmented their market.

For most products and services there is not just ‘one’ market but groups of sub-markets.  These sub-markets are groups of people who have some common characteristics or needs, but who differ in characteristics and needs from other groups.  These sub-groups are called market segments.

Many small businesses take a non-segmented approach and try to reach the whole market. These are often the businesses that find themselves in difficulty and without a suitable marketing strategy.  A weak appeal to the whole market is not as effective as a strong appeal to a specific segment.  In other words, you are better off saying something to someone than nothing to everyone.

The better you can segment your market, the more clearly you are able to identify what motivates those customers and the more accurately you can tailor your marketing mix to meet their needs.  This leads to a much more effective use of your marketing dollar.

The table below lists the factors that identify specific groups of customers.  When you analyse the customers within your industry, you will notice that they fall into groups with one or more of these factors in common.

Ways of Segmenting Your Market

Identifying Factors

GEOGRAPHICAL

• Location – urban, inner city, suburban, distance from your business

DEMOGRAPHIC

• Disposable Income – high, middle, low
• Age – child, teenager, adult, retired
• Sex – male, female
• Occupation – professional, clerical, white collar, blue collar, trade
• Education – secondary, tertiary, trade qualifications
• Special Characteristics – nationality, religion, race, cultural background

PSYCHOLOGICAL

• Lifestyle – image, preference, usage patterns
• Personal Preferences – hobbies, interests

WHAT IS PURCHASED

• Volume of purchases
• Type of purchase – wholesale, trade, retail

TYPE OF ORGANISATION

• Residential – flat, house, townhouse
• Business – partnerships, companies, sole traders, franchise, agents,
• Industry

For example, the market for dog food might be segmented and ‘labelled’ as follows:

‘Baby Substitute’ (10% of market)

• Demography – one small dog, no children, higher income, urban
• Psychological – dogs fragile indoor animals, owners very attached to dogs, dogs are finicky eaters, great desire to give what the dog wants

‘Nutritionist’ (15% of market)

• Demography – multiple dog owners, unlikely to have children, Australian urban, high/middle income
• Psychological – very personally attached to do, dog belongs to woman, interested in nutrition, food is varied, least interested in cost

‘Functionalists’ (40% of market)

• Demography – multiple dog ownership, usually children, lower income
• Psychological – dogs outdoor, hearty, eat anything, no bother, little attachment to dog, woman not involved in dog

I’m sure you can think of brands of dog food which target these different market segments.  Some brands appeal to ‘finicky eaters’, others promote their ‘nutritional content’ and other represent ‘value for money’.

Having segmented the market, you can better identify those segments that you can or should concentrate on, that is, which group to target.

Segmenting the market is a powerful tool.  Consider the case of two small manufacturers of paper plates.  If one manufacturer was market oriented, they may segment the market and find that there is a higher income group who would make more use of paper plates if they were more substantial, a more appealing range of colours and prints and a better finish.  The manufacturer can then create a marketing strategy to target this group and gain a competitive advantage over the other manufacturer.

Next issue we will look at the Product Life Cycle and this can dramatically impact your business.

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Many small business owners are frightened by the term market research.  Market research is seen as something that a large company does, not a small business.  yet nothing is further from the truth. 

Successful small business operators are constantly analysing the market, the competition and the needs of their customers.  They probably don’t call it market research though.  They call it “sharp business practice” or “being one step ahead”.  The effect is the same; they understand the market they operate in.

Market research is also seen as being too expensive.  But you should view it as an investment not as a cost.  It is possible for you to do your own research.

Whether you wish to research the market to start a new business or develop a strategy for your existing business, you do not need a marketing degree to gather the basic information.  What you do need is time, energy and a determination to develop a winning marketing strategy from the information you collect.

What then is market research?  Put simply, market research is the means by which you find out about the size, characteristics and nature of a market.  A market is any identified group of people who could use your product or service.  Valid market research may be as simple as talking to potential customers and finding out what they want.

There are many things that market research can tell you.  For example, you can:

• see if a market exists for your product or service
• define the size of that market
• determine customer profiles and target markets
• analyse market trends
• keep up with changes in the competition
• investigate customer needs
• ensure your price and product/service mix is realistic
• make sure your promotion is appropriate
• evaluate new product opportunities
• determine better ways of getting your product to the customer.

Market research helps you avoid one of the most common mistakes made in small business – producing a product or service and then trying to find customers for it.  By using market research, you can be sure you will be selling what customers want rather than just what you want to product/sell.

Be careful.  It is a trap to make assumptions about consumer needs based on your own values and behaviour, or those of your family and friends.  Your market research should extend further than family and friends which will soon verify or discount such assumptions.

Market research will give you the information necessary to create effective marketing strategies.  However, it is frequently difficult to sift through all the information you collect to come out with a clear picture of where you are now and where you want to be.  There are a number of techniques to help you interpret your research, the three most helpful to small business being:

• segmenting the market
• analysing the product life cycle
• conducting a SWOT analysis.

In the coming weeks we will look deeper into these techniques and examine in details the best approach for small business.  In the meantime, have a think about your own business “intelligence gathering” practices: are you listening to your customers regularly, are you surveying your customers, do you keep a look out for emerging trends and are you aware of changes in industry and governance issues that will effect your business.

Until next time.

Virtual Business Advisor

This week we look at Part 2 of 7 Strategies to Generate More Business.

Today we are going to examine 4 strategies that are simple to implement that will generate new business, increase business from your existing client base and build repeat business.  Let us remind you that you may not be able to use all of them in your business but you can certainly use some of them.

Packaging Different Products or Services Together

This is a marketing strategy usually used to increase the average purchase size in a business.  I recently saw an example of bundling in a book store.   The book was called “How to Buy Property – Cheaply” and sold for $32:95.  They store was also selling an audio CD called “Property and the Law – How to Save on Legals” and it sold for $29:95.  Packaged together they were selling for $49:95 – quite a saving.  I ask the store manager about the sales of the products and she indicated that they sold roughly a third each.

Prepay Agreements

You’ve probably seen this strategy used in the Health and Fitness markets.  You pay say $300 for a membership that entitles you to use the Gyms facilities for X amount of times over X period rather than paying for each individual visit.

This same idea can apply to many different businesses and it even presents an interesting opportunity for the small business owner to raise operating capital.  with this strategy, capital can actually be raised from customers by collecting in advance for future purchases.

Let’s use a restaurant as an example.  The restaurant owner could sell membership cards good for 10 meals anytime from a selected menu for $249.  If purchased one at a time the total cost may be $300.  So by purchasing the card in advance the customer saves about $50.   You may also want to tie in preferential reservations on short notice or offer some other bonus such as free parking or discount vouchers to your partner businesses.  If the restaurant sells 50 of these memberships, that’s over $12,000 up front to put back into the business as you see fit.

The Acceptance of Major Credit Cards

Every business should consider accepting Mastercard, VISA, American Express and Diners Club.  Of course retail stores, online marketers and restaurants almost HAVE to honour  these cards, but just about any business should.

Businesses including Doctors, Lawyers, tradesmen and professionals of all shapes and sizes should use credit cards as a way to increase their business, implement price increases with less client resistance and reduce collection problems.  The concept is quite simple – the easier you make it for your customers to buy and the more payment options you offer the customer the better.

Other extended credit options via finance facilities are growing in popularity outside of the traditional car, furniture, health equipment, computer and white goods suppliers.  It may be worth considering offering this facility in your market.

Regular Contact with Past & Present Customers

One of the most effective marketing strategies that any business can use to build customer loyalty, retain customers and to stimulate more frequent purchasing is the publication and distribution of direct mail.  A monthly newsletter is an extremely powerful, cost effective marketing method.  When you keep in touch with your clientele via your newsletter you do all of these valuable things.

1.  You create a habit on the part of your customers.  They expect to receive your newsletter and they get in the habit of reading it.

2.  You remain top mind for your category.

3.  You can pass along useful information and ideas that you customer appreciate.

4.  You can continue to demonstrate your expertise in your field.

5.  You can stimulate word-of-mouth advertising

6. You can advertise sales, special offers, new products, new services, new locations and anything you feel is relevant, adds value to your customer and increases the experience of doing business with you.

Now that you have these 7 strategies that can help you stimulate new business, increase business from existing customers and build repeat business, you need to give some thought into how to use them effectively.  We will look closer at implementing these strategies in later editions so stay tuned.  So you don’t miss any of this series or any of the blog posts, make sure you subscribe to updates via the RSS link at the bottom of the page.

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Now before we start, a word of warning…. Not all of these strategies are going to be suitable for every business.  Consider your product or service offering carefully and make a judgement call.  However don’t be afraid to give something a go.  Just because it hasn’t worked for someone else or hasn’t been used in your industry before, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you.  Dare to be different and stand out from the crowd.

Today we are going to examine 3 strategies that are simple to implement that will generate new business, increase business from your existing client base and build repeat business.

Frequent Buyers Program

We’ve all seen the major airlines introduce these types of programs over the years and now it has become an expectation of their overall service offering.  Hotel chains have also jumped on board in an attempt to encourage repeat business.  For the coffee drinkers amongst us the local coffee shop has even adapted this strategy.  It need not be anything fancy.  A simple business card or conveniently shaped card that fits neatly into the wallet will do just fine; it need not be anything complicated.

The idea is too not dazzle your customers with brilliant designs but encourage them to return to your place of business rather than spreading their patronage around town.  To make the incentive even more effective, you should tie it to an expiration date so that the stamps, punched holes, points or credits on the card have to be accumulated and redeemed within a certain time period.

You can make this type of program even more effective by ensuring you capture the details of the customer you are issuing the rewards card too.  The most effective way to do this is to capture the details of the customer before you issue the card, or at least when they redeem their reward when the card has been filled or the promotional period has ended.  This then enables you to communicate with them on an ongoing basis and add more value and enhance their experience with your business.

Discounting

Discounting is probably one of the most commonly used marketing strategies.  At some point in time I would guess every business in Australia has had at least one discount promotion… however, if overused it can quickly lose its effectiveness.

There are many examples of markets where the discount promo has been done to death and is now having adverse effects.  The jewellery business is one that comes to mind.  The public has been trained to expect huge discounts on retail jewellery and as a result, is reluctant to pay full retail price.  Rugs are another example – who has ever bought a rug at full price?

This customer mindset has also been created by artificial discounting.  This is the practice of quoting high retail prices only to discount the product to seal the deal.  Be very careful when using this tactic.  It can come around and bite you, as customers realise your sticker price is meaningless and everything becomes negotiable.

One company that has effectively managed the discounting in a very competitive market is David Jones.  DJs is not renowned for its discounting.  However, when they run their “Once Yearly Sale”, the discounts are genuine, it generate attention and gets results.

If you are going to use discounting as a strategy, it is important to have a logical reason tied to the promotion.  Otherwise you run the risk of essentially admitting that your regular prices are excessive and you diminish your value statement.  Inventory overstock, bulk purchase, an anniversary, introductory offer or, new release are examples of acceptable reasons for discounts.  I’m sure you could come up with many more.

Premiums

A premium offer is essentially, “Buy this, get this free”, or variations thereof.   This strategy can work well both on the B2C level and the B2B level.

An example of premiums in the B2C markets would include retail offers of free gifts with purchase.  The smarter marketers don’t give away the same product as the gift, they introduce new products as a way to encourage uptake of new inventory items.  For example, a free lipstick (new range) with every foundation purchased.  All parties win.  You’ve maintained the value and the integrity of your pricing and have planted a new product in the hands of the customers which can encourage repeat purchase; you’ve also built a relationship with your customer.  The customer also wins as they have benefited from an increase in perceived value and get to experience a new product.

Another example of premiums is discounted products for additional purchases.  E.g. Second item half price.  The concept is simple, the client was likely to be purchasing only one unit anyway and the second sale would’ve been missed.  The idea is to protect the full retail value of the initial product and discount or giveaway the margin on the second.  Once again a win win result.

An example of a B2B premium strategy would be the targeting of individuals responsible for the purchase of business products and services.  A free gift of a colour TV, DVD or holiday voucher are becoming popular with the purchase of office supplies, consumables and business related products.  In effect this type of offer let’s the business customer spend tax deductible business dollars for supplies and receive free and tax-free a gift they will use personally.

Have a close look at your market, is it dominated by one type of promotion, is there a lot of discounting or premiums offered?   Perhaps it’s time to have a look at breaking the mould and trying something different.

More next week.

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At some point during the life of your business you will have to write an advertisement or a promotional piece for your business.  Be it editorial content, advertising or website copy, this can often be a challenging task.

Here are 10 sure fire tips that will improve your copywriting skills instantly.

1.  Translate product or service features into benefits. Don’t present information and assume that your reader will be able to interpret it.  For example, one of the most common instances of customer information assumption is in the Flat Screen TV market.  Telling a customer that the model they are looking at has a 10,000ms refresh rate means nothing.  It would be a huge mistake to assume that your customer knows why a high refresh rate is a desirable feature.  Telling them that a refresh rate of this speed eliminates blurring when viewing fast action sequences such as car racing or it produces sharper screen image for playing computer games makes far more sense.

2.  Don’t talk about “I” or “We” ,  Talk “You” or “Your”. When writing your copy, write from the your clients perspective not your own.  For example, replace “We build long lasting equipment” to “You will experience extended pleasure from the extraordinary durability” – see the difference?

3.  Credibility Counts. When demonstrating credibility the tendency is to pile all your proof into one or two sentences.  This can more often than not come across as the business trying too hard.  Sprinkle proof of credibility throughout your copy.   You can discuss, the length of time you have been in business, the size of your business, the number of customers you have served, include testimonials and memberships in associations and talk about guarantees and warranties.  Just don’t over do it.

4.  Use a little dramatic license. Now don’t take this the wrong way, we are not encouraging anyone to deceive or misrepresent anything.  The best way to explain this is to use an example.  We’ve all seen the Remington advertisements where the company President says, “I like this Remington shaver so much that I bought the company”.  Well that is just down right ridiculous… but a simple part of the truth none the less.  Other factors would’ve gone into the acquisition of this company, not least of which would’ve been the quality of the product.  Do you think he would’ve bought the company if it was a financial disaster waiting to happen?  Most likely not.

5.  Stories sell – facts tell. Use first person and third person stories about customers and their experiences with your company where-ever possible when highlighting key selling points.  Facts are often boring; when mixed into a relevant story they take on a life of their own.

6.  Don’t be afraid of long copy. Advertising copy should be as long as it needs to be.  It should be long enough to tell your story effectively and persuasively.  One of the most successful sales letters of all time is 42 pages long.  Whether your copy is short or long or in-between, just make it quality.

7.  Keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Don’t make the common mistake of overestimating the comprehension skills of your audience.  To be quickly and easily understood it should be structured for the reading ability equivalent to a year 8 student.  Complex sentence structure or long paragraphs can be intimidating and confusing to many people.  Remember to create your copy with your target market in mind.

8.  Create a sense of urgency. This can be done with discounts or bonus offers that expire within a certain time period or with extra incentives for fast response.  You’ve all seen it…. “Available to the first 50 callers only”, or “Ring now and we will also include…..”.

9.  Internal Repetition. Internal repetition is a critical technique to learn.  Try to make your main selling points in several different ways.  Using this technique allows you to remain focused on the message and drive home your key benefits.  Remember, when trying to explain something to different people quite often they will comprehend your message differently and the first penny will drop at various points and at different times during the conversation.

10.  Pimp your headline. If your prospects aren’t captured by your headline, then the rest doesn’t matter.  There are many techniques for writing headlines; here are a few examples.

1. Include a benefit statement in your headline: “Lose Weight Fast and Feel Great”.
2. Give specifics – “Lose Weight Fast - Drop 10  Kilos in 3 Weeks and Feel Great”.
3. Create a timeline.  “Lose Weight Fast! – Drop 10 Kilos in 3 Weeks in Time for Summer and Feel Great”.
4. Introduce intrigue.  “New Research Reveals:  How To Lose Weight Fast! – Drop 10 Kilos in 3 weeks in Time for Summer and Feel Great”.
5. Add a guarantee. “New Weight Loss Secrets Revealed: Discover How To Lose Weight Fast! – Drop 10 Kilos in 3 weeks. Feel Great this Summer, Guaranteed or Your Money Back.

And finally, become a student of copywriting.  Collect as many different examples of promotional pieces and direct mail as you can.  Over a period of time you will have a valuable “swipe file” that you can delve into when it comes time to create your own masterpieces.

Virtual Business Advisor

Somewhere in your office either resting on a shelf, on your desk or mounted to the wall is the most underutilised yet most powerful and effective marketing tool going around.  And guess what?…. you’re already paying for it but probably using it less and less effectively as time passes on.  We are talking about the telephone.

As the cost of other traditional methods of prospecting, qualifying customers, maintaining contact with existing customers and general marketing activities continue to increase almost daily, the art of telemarketing is seeing a resurgence and a return to favour.

Telemarketing has become an area of tremendous interest especially to the small to medium sized business… and it has many advantages.

With direct mail, to obtain economy of scale you may have to print several thousand or more flyers or brochures all at the one time.  Telemarketing enables you to pay as you go.

When it comes to most media advertising you have to pay for circulation; usually calculated by the thousand.  Depending on the medium you may be forced to reach out to tens or even hundreds of thousands of people all at the one time.  The good ole telephone allows you to reach out and contact as many or as few prospects as you wish.

Let’s look at a practical application.  If you run a local business like a real estate agent, hairdresser, gym, printing shop, clothing store or any form of retail outlet and you are disciplined enough to call just 3-5 prospects per day, you would’ve promoted your business to at least a thousand potential new customers a year in less than half an hour a day with virtually no extra costs.  Now any business can afford to do this type of marketing.

Telephone prospecting can be used effectively when qualifying or inviting new customers to a special event or sales presentation or seeking approval to email or mail further information on your offer.

This method of marketing does require the selection or compilation of a prospect list.  However, you don’t have to purchase large  lists from brokers, you can simply use your smarts.  If you are a B2B business you can target businesses in your local area and obtain their details from local business listings or online directories.  If you are more B2C then you can target a local area with a special promotion aimed at a particular suburb.  Some of the best promotions we have seen work have been directed at very small and targeted markets such as gated living communities and assisted living facilities.  Obviously your product or service will determine if this type of activity is suited to you.

Another application of telemarketing for most businesses is as a way of communicating with past and existing customers.  A personal phone call to an existing client is usually well received when it contains a special offer.  In store sales events, limited time discounts, close out offers, new products, sample ranges etc are all good excuses to phone existing clients and give them the jump on the general public when it comes to attending one of your events.  I  purchased a new car last year and the dealer phones me with invites to test drive all the latest vehicles in the range in additional to deals on after market accessories and extended warranties etc.   It works a treat….

Yet another application is the up sell.  This method is used most often when customers call into the business to place an order.   An example of this well executed is my local printer, after the order has been processed I receive a COLUMBO…. what is a COLUMBO?  It’s a marketing technique named after the famous TV character played by Peter Falk.

Columbo would always stop at the last minute and ask one more thing.  The printer simply asks.  “Just one more thing before you go.  We have a limited offer this week for our telephone customers of 25% off business cards and letter head printing, do you want to check, is it time for a top up of these items?  Simple huh?…  This can be used in just about any business.

Now I can hear what you are thinking…. and yes overseas telemarketing centres have recently tarnished the fine art of telemarketing.  However, used in the right manner with a genuine and caring approach, this marketing method can work a treat for your business.  Give it a try for just 2 weeks and see the results - it will cost you next to nothing but your time.  Make just 3-5 calls a day and see what happens – It think you will be surprised.

Virtual Business Advisor

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