No, I didn’t forget! Business has really been booming and I haven’t had the time to write as much as I would like. That being said, I wanted to pick up in Marketing once again and talk about Positioning Statements and setting up your advertising strategies. If you look back at the last  Business Plan post (Week 4), the position statement would go right before Product positioning.

Positioning Statement

A positioning statement is used to better identify the purpose of your product in relation to the needs of your targeted segments. The positioning statement when properly crafted whould answer seven questions:

1. Who your company is
2. What your company does
3. Who your customers are
4. What your customers are in need of
5. What your competition offers
6. What you offer instead
7. How you customers benefit from your product

Here is an example of a positioning statement I would use for my marketing plan:

(1) PFS Consulting is a business strategies and process analysis consulting firm (2) that was started to help business develop a solid plan for success. (3) Our customers are small to medium sized businesses (4) who are tired of consultants who promise benefits, but don’t deliver the understanding of what it takes to start and maintain a successful business. (5) Unlike the typical management consulting firms, who concentrate on building the bottom line through advertising and sales, (6) PFS Consulting focuses on building success through a thorough understanding of who your target markets are, what they need, how you can fill those needs and how to let them know you have their solution. (7) Thereby creating a solid foundation for business profitability and future success.

As you can see the positioning statement sets the stage for all of your marketing efforts going forward because it causes you to identify all of the key factors concerning your target market. It also makes you acutely aware of the relationship between your products and those targeted segments of your markets.

Moving forward, when we begin discussing advertising in greater detail, you will create a positioning statement for every market segmentation and use that statement to best determine how to reach your customers. The positioning statement will serve as a template for which medias would be most effective in reaching your targeted audience.

For example, in the positioning statement I gave previously, my targeted customers are tired of the traditional consultant, therefore, advertising in traditional medias like the Yellow Pages may not be reasonable. However, small business networks, blogs, and webinars may be a much better solution. 

Positioning is one of the 4 P’s of Marketing Mix and although we have covered them previously, we will be revisiting them throughout the remaining weeks.

Marketing, Business Development | No Comments »

There is no denying we are in an economic slowdown. If you are in a sales related industry you are probably under great stress to comp the figures from the previous year.

In times like these, referrals can be the life blood of your existence and allow you to stay in the game and not have to resort to a "real" job. I know you are saying you ask for referrals all the time, so what else can be done? It is my proposal to you to use a tangible thank you for referrals. A good friend of mine is an insurance agent and he decided to give a $20 gift card for every referral that resulted in a policy. He began purchasing ten or so a quarter and now is up to 50 per quarter. That is an additional 16 sales per month!! Is there anyone among you who could use an additional 16 sales each month?

Before you run off to Starbucks, let’s take a closer look at the feasibility of such a program. This type of incentive works best when your cost of obtaining a sale is more than the level of reward. For example, if you quantified the time you spend cold calling, sending fliers, or prospecting and it exceeds $20, then giving a $20 gift card for a referral makes perfect sense.

The best way to implement this program is to send Thank You cards to everyone you do business with now and announce the incentive program as well. Be clear the referral has to end with a sale in order for them to receive the reward (to avoid getting numbers from the phone book). Keep a log of who receives the rewards and how many during the course of the year. If you have a person or office that is referring more than others, consider raising the amount of the award.

I think you will be amazed at how responsive people are to something as simple as a giftcard. Don’t be cheap!! If you sell a product over $10,000 then the reward should be at least $200. Remember it only costs you something if you closed a sale! Let me know how it worked for you.

Marketing, Business Development | No Comments »

On my ride home I used to pass a Chinese restaurant that was a free standing location on the corner of a very busy intersection. Over the past two years, I have never seen any cars in the parking lot nor patrons inside eating. I often wondered why that was and thought about going inside and asking how business was during the hours I am not passing by.

Several months ago, the Chinese restaurant closed, but it did not stay vacant long. It was soon replaced by  another company selling grilled foods. As the months have gone by since the Grand Opening, guess what? I have not seen any cars in the parking lot nor patrons inside eating.

In analyzing this situation from a purely speculative position, I have to ask, "Is it possible for a good location to be a bad choice?" 

If I were contracted by the most recent owner to perform site anaylsis, I would have examined two key factors:

• Who is the target market for this location?
• What are you doing to attract their business?

It is easy to understand why each of the owners may have thought there were plenty of potential customers given the fact there is a college directly across the street, a bus depot to the right of it and plenty of housing within walking distance, but which of those groups represented the most likely patron?

Let start with the college students - while the grilled restaurant’s menu fits well into the students’ price range, is their menu conducive of grabbing a quick bite in between classes or a meal they could eat on the way home? Are the menu selections favorable to the students palate? What type of food choices do the students have on campus?

Next we would take a look at the people who work at the bus depot. How many employes remain in the depot during the day? Do the drivers come back to the hub during lunch hour? What time do the drivers get to the depot in the morning and would it be worth adding a breakfast menu? What time do the various shifts end? Does the company ever have special occasion dinners or lunches?

Finally, we would address the residents in the surrounding area. What are the food choices within three blocks of the restaurant? Are there other places to get the same type of foods within one mile? What is the average tenure of restaurants in the area? Which fast food chains are near? What are the demographic breakdowns of the neighborhoods? Are there more apartments than houses? What percentage of customers walk up versus drive up?

Once this information has been obtained and analyzed, we can look at which targets make sense for the business and how we would maximize exposure without spending huge amounts of money.

For this example, we will conclude the greatest potential patronage would be the college and its students. Low cost, high impact marketing can include:

• Donating folders to the college with the restaurant’s menu and hours
• Purchasing advertising space in the school newspaper
• Sponsoring events for social organizations
• Host tastings of new products
• Sponsoring neighborhood sports teams
• Host home owner association meetings
• Host professors or other faculty functions 

As you can see, a good location without proper planning can be just as costly as a location that is less desirable. While traffic count and abundant potential may seem ideal on the outside, careful consideration and marketing has to be done to determine if the location is right for your business. Take the time to do a thorough market analysis and  target market analysis and you will save your company from being the next empty business I pass on the way home. 

Marketing, Management | No Comments »

As the Holiday Season continues, we are all out purchasing gifts for friends, family and ourselves, but have you considered purchasing gifts for your employees and customers? Showing appreciation for employee and customer loyalty is a sure way to have it continue.

One of the fastest growing gift sectors is gift cards. Gift  cards are available from just about every retailer and give you the flexibility of saying thank you in a tangible way, without being as impersonal as cash or purchasing something the recipient can’t use. Other gift cards such as Visa’s Giftcard, can be used anywhere Visa debit cards are accepted, which allows you the chance to give the perfect gift everytime.

Many of the gift card vendors will allow you to upload your own images to be placed on the giftcard and others offer co-branding of your logo onto their card along with a message to the recipient. As an employee gift, placing a special message and/or their name on the gift card, shows a relationship that says you know who they are and appreciate what they do.

For your customers, it is an acknowledgement of all they do for your business and an invitation to continue doing business with you. Additionally, if you use a branded card, every time your customer uses the gift card, they and the retailer see your name and logo, which is very valuable in market penetration and exposure.

There is no debating the competition for your customer’s loyalty and money. Every effort you make to establish a relationship with your customer base, the greater the chance of retention and expanion. The same is true for employees, the days of working for one company until retirement have long passed. Employees are willing to change companies until they find one that gives them the job satisfaction they feel they deserve. In a study done by Northwestern University, 55% of respondents agreed their job performance was directly affected by how they felt they were treated.

If you did not budget for gifts this year, make sure you add it to next year’s budget and come back and let me know how it was received.

Marketing, Market Trends | No Comments »

My most recent client has a product line that can be sold person to person and he has made a good profit over the past year. Now he is looking to expand and increase his market presence as well as, market share. Of course my first suggestion was a website. While he is aware of the successes people have had with the Internet, he is "old-school" and hasn’t embraced technology. In fact, he has had a laptop for more than a year, but has never opened the box.

As I began explaining how the Internet was a gateway to the world and how many of his goals could be obtained and financed through a website, he began to have the same expression on his face as my wife when I try to explain why you use a pitching wedge instead of a nine iron on certain shots.

This was not an uncommon response when dealing with older entrepreneurs and as you can imagine, his next question was, "How important is a website, anyway?" While I could have spent the next two days explaining, I decided to get the idea across in three simple points:

1. When a small business owner hands a business card to a prospective client, having a website lets that customer know you have embraced current technologies and are offering the convenience of shopping online.
2. That you understand your customers and have taken the time research and design an Internet offering to allow them the opportunity to see your entire product line, answer questions, and learn more about your company. 
3. Addiitonally, a website helps a business owner with the high cost of inventory by giving the ability to show multiple skus in various fabrics, finishes, sizes, and colors. It allows a more cost effective way to reach a broader market via the World Wide Web and can provide a valuable means of market research in customer preferences and sku analysis.

In today’s global market, websites are not only valuable, but essential. I can personally say as a consumer, a company that does not have a website, does not have me as a patron. Initially the website serves as an extension of your marketing efforts. As the company grows and name recognition and reputation increases among your target markets, the website can be a source of revenue and growth.

Marketing, Business Development | No Comments »

Effective advertising is letting your target markets know you have the solution to their needs. In the development of the ad piece you use to make them aware, you must understand the consumer does not care who you are until they need you. When I explain this to business owners, it is met with a raised brow and matching grimace. "What do you mean by that", they typically ask. If you look at the sequence of events involved when a potential customer views an unsolicited piece of advertising it usually goes like this:

1. What is it?
2. What does it do?
3. How much does it cost?
4. How can I reach them?
5. Where are they located?
6. And oh yeah, what was the name of that company?

In our busy society we have very little patience for things that are unexpected, therefore advertising campaigns must utilize as much effective pitch time as the readers patience will allow. I can remember in the 1980’s there was a campaign that had the words Great Sex!! at the top of the page and followed with, "now that I have you attention" and went into the pitch. This was great at the time because it gave the reader a chuckle and many times achieved the goal of them reading at least half of the ad. Unfortunately, pop up adds have ruined the effectiveness of surprise advertising; people are for more likely to think an ad the had the words Great Sex!! was for Viagra or some other sexual aid and throw the piece away.

What I stress most to business owners is the understanding of their target market and designing their campaign around the tendencies of said group. If you are targeting "Soccer Moms" the ad has to be short to the point and relevant to what she needs at that time. She is not going to take the time to read your ad unless it hits upon something she needs now or is aware of needing in the next few days. For those of you who are married, have you ever had your wife ask you about an ad for a service that was on TV or the radio? She describes as much as she can remember and asks if you know who they are. That is what I am talking about. She did not care about who the company was until it fulfilled a need she had.

When you are designing your next ad use the large type for an introduction to what you can do for the consumer and put your company’s name in the same small print as the telephone number at the bottom of the page and see if there is a difference in response. If you have associates who fall within the demographics of your target market, let them see your add and ask them what it is about, not what they think about how it looks. Experiment with different layouts and ways of drawing attention to what you are trying to sell and keep pride of ownership from reducing the efficacy of your campaign.

Marketing, Word to the Wise | No Comments »