Death of TV Advertising

This is just another nail in the traditional marketing coffin:

"It looks like 2008 will be the first year in 48 years that TV-station
advertising will decline in a presidential election and Olympic year.."

-Michael Nathanson, media analyst, Sanford Bernstein

If your still using traditional ads, whether they be on TV, Radio, or Print, you seriously need to revaluate your marketing strategy and what you really hope to accomplish.

We as marketers, are no longer in control. Cue the new marketing.

5 Steps to Attracting Customers During a Recession

With fragmented markets, consumer loyalty at an all time low, along with economic uncertainty, relationship marketing cannot be overlooked. If you want to attract customers in bad times (and keep them for the good times), humanizing the marketing experience is required. This is a huge pillar in the new marketing philsophy - not to mention excellent brand building.

1. Offer your customer/prospect an incentive to volunteer - that is find ways to have your customer raise their hand when they are interested in buying something from you. This incentive can be a prize, reward points, a promise for free (unique) info. Whatever it is, make sure your offering has an emotional bonus that is easily idenfiable.

2. Provide a Curriculum - with the attention offered by a prospect, you need to build a teaching tool that over time, educates the consumer about your product or service. In short, the prospect feels motivated to return to you due to the freshness (and relevances) of the content. This is known as the drip, drip method - offering differnt types of chocolate each time instead of a chocolate box all at once (where's the surprise in that?)

3. Use Reinforcement - ensure that your incentive is communicated at each stage to maintain permission and open lines of communication. Readers of this blog will know that coming back frequently, leads to one being well educated in new marketing techniques.

4. Offer additional Incentives - to get even more permission from the consumer. Say you have an email inquiry from a prospect but no phone #. "I can come over today for that consultation, if you can provide me with your phone # and address" could be your response. You benefit with increased information about your prospect (where they leave, how serious they are), and the time conscious prospect gets preferred (customized) treatment. Treating people differently is the key to making customers feel special.

5. Leverage the relationship - Over time use the permission given to change the customer's behaviours towards profits. This can be where you close a sale, offer additional products/services that are relevant, or just maintaining consistent communication letting your customer know you care about them.

Notice how the word permission is used a lot in the steps. What I am referring to here is permissive marketing. Instead of interrupting your customers with cold calls, traditional ads, or useless direct mail or email campaigns, create extraordinary content that makes the customer find you and feel motivated to contact you, for more information.

Attracting and retaining customers is a lot like dating. Just because we're entering bad economic times, doesn't mean people want to stop being cared about.

Website Best Practices

1. Get traffic to your website

• Use Google AdWords (or other permissive pay per click advertising)
• Identify people who will spread the word for you (think existing customers)
• Content is queen. That means focusing on content that matters to your audience, that makes them want to come back again and again. This will create organic SEO as well.

2. Tell a remarkable story

• Your story must be in sync with you original marketing message, as you have a very short time to make a first impression. Mainly because people don't remember the second one.
• Note I say "remarkable", not average, very good, or good enough. If it doesn't stand out, doesn't sound edgy enough, rewrite it.
• Your story should be able to be summed up in 10 words or less by your customer, employees, or anyone else who interacts with your organization.

3. Treat People Differently

• Contrary to popular belief, treating people the same is like preaching a "one size fits all". Marketing to everyone the same means no one feels special. You will be ignored.
• Instead offer a free prize (purple cow) or other emotional bonus. Surprising your customers (in a good way) is the real reason people buy (and stay) with you.

4. Test and Measure

• What you can't measure you'll find hard to market. And there's really no excuse in today's Internet age to adopt some form of quantitative system to gauge customer activity.
• Web analytics is pretty much a given, but don't forget to look at your offline activities as well. Find out who's buying from you, when, where, and why. Keep track of this data in a customer relationship management (CRM) software.
• While logic/rational data is what CRM's are best known for, don't forget to also track emotional/sensual information as well. People tend to make their decision based on emotions and justify it later with facts (cognitive dissonance)
• And if you don't have a website, blog, or other forum of online presence - what are you waiting for? With that being said approach your online presence as a living tree - needing constant care and attention. That means updating a on a frequent schedule

Still need help? Give me a shout (top left) and I can steer you in the right direction.

7 Ways to Win at Customer Service

Contrary to popular belief marketing is not all about the sellers side. Consumer empowmerment is just as important - marketing yourself as one who can't (won't) be taken advantaged of:

1. “What’s your name?” Without a doubt, the single most important thing you can ask in any customer-service conversation is that simple question. Using the agent’s name during the call also keeps things friendly and reminds him that you know who he is. (He knows that he can’t put you on permanent hold or hang up without repercussions.) The more information you can get about the person—his call center, years of service, hobbies—the better. Of course, make sure you write it all down in case you need it later.

2. “Be calm.” This is something you say to yourself. No matter how frustrated you are or how badly you’ve been treated, you must keep your cool. If you don’t, you’ll give the company you’re dealing with reason to dismiss you without taking care of you. When you feel like shouting, start talking softly. The harder someone has to listen, the more likely he is to hear what you have to say. Sometimes the most compelling words are those said most casually. Just remember Anthony Hopkins’ smiling recollection about “fava beans and Chianti” in the movie Silence of the Lambs. Was anything ever so ominous?

3. “We…” You’re more likely to get what you’re asking for if you enlist the agent in your cause. Statements such as, “I know we can find a satisfactory solution,” dilute the adversarial nature of the conversation. The feeling of teamwork you impart creates a framework in which you and the agent are working together to solve a common problem.

4. “My goal is…” Be specific and realistic about what you’re seeking. You should ask for your money’s worth—a product that works as advertised or a service to the standard you paid for. Asking compensation for your time, punitive damages, or letters of apology are not realistic demands. State your need clearly. “If you can ship me a replacement within a couple of days, I’ll be satisfied.” The more you help the agent see her way to making you happy and getting you off the line, the closer you will be to achieving your goal.

5. “I’m not going away.” This isn’t a threat; it’s a promise that you aren’t going to give up easily. Customer service agents toss out phrases such as “it’s our policy” and “there’s nothing I can do” in hopes that you will accept their version of reality and go away. When you don’t hang up the phone, they are forced to continue dealing with you.

6.“Escalate.” This is customer service speak for “take me to your leader.” Using professional jargon indicates that you are a knowledgeable consumer. Telling the agent that if she can’t help you, you’d like her to “escalate the call,” is equivalent to asking to speak to a supervisor. Agents get dinged for every call they have to bump upstairs. So let her know that’s your intention while giving her one last time to give you what you’re asking for.

7. “Thank you.” While it’s sometimes difficult to remember that the agent is a human, too, and not just a cog in a corporate machine, you will enhance your position if you express your gratitude for her efforts. This positive reinforcement doesn’t mean that you are giving anything up or taking less than you deserve. It does make you stand out as a good guy in the endless chain of complaining customers that the agent deals with as the regular part of her job. Simply put, people are more likely to help those who are nice to them.

The common element here: The more you appear to be a reasonable person willing to accept a reasonable solution, the better your chances will be at getting what you’re asking for. Remember, you’re coming from a position of strength—you are in the right, and you’re only asking for what you deserve.

How to Listen to Your Clients

It's no coincidence that the human body has two ears and one mouth. To be really good at marketing, persuading, or selling you must find ot how to use these natural listening devices in proportion: Listening twice as much as you talk.

To develop your ear, try these two simple exercises:

1. Listen to someone selling to others, or trying to sell to you.

Pay attention to what his words are doing. While you're listening, ask yourself these questions:

• Do his words paint positive or negative mental pictures? Remember people think in images far more often than they think in words or numbers.


• Do his words say anything that may raise a new objection to his product/service? Objections are a sign of doubt, but a signal that the client is interested in being persuaded.


• Are all his words necessary? Brevity is king in an attention deficit world


• Does he ask questions and thenc arefully listen to the prospect's answers?


• Does he move forware with questions, or gett off course by talking about features and benefits the customer has not expressed a need for?

2. Record yourself with a customer (ask for permission first)

You may be shocked at how much chatter you cut out (I know I was). To detect what you need to cut, consider the following:

• What is the quality of questions I ask? Do you get to the point or beat around the bush.


• Am I asking information gathering questions to help move forward with a sale, or just filling a sound void?

As you discover more about listening well, the phrase "putting your foot in your mouth" will gain a totally new meaning. After all, you can't put your foot in your mouth if it's closed. So close it, and listen more!