Top Five Marketing Mistakes Companies Make...And How To Recover!

When marketing efforts are not successful, many companies wonder why…They sent out direct mail, or refreshed their website, initiated Google Adwords, or attended a trade show, but are left disappointed and frustrated with languishing sales and underused resources.

Why isn’t the phone ringing? What went wrong?

The high level answer to this question is that marketing efforts must be more than a disconnected series of tasks. Effective marketing is not a single activity, but a well choreographed effort that takes planning, consistency, and fortitude to accomplish. The deeper answer comes from analyzing the top five biggest marketing mistakes we've seen companies make.

Are you making one or more of these mistakes? If so, how can you recover?

#1: MARKETING WITHOUT A STRATEGY IN PLACE

Common Mistake: Believing your product does everything, your target market is anyone who has money to spend, and/or you don’t have competition.

Because companies are frustrated by a lack of revenue, they often equate limiting their target market with limiting opportunity. The fact is, for marketing efforts to succeed, you must define a target market segment where your product has the most relevance and the best competitive advantage! Most of us can simply not afford to market everything to anyone with the delusion we are the only option for our customers to consider.

Recovery Plan: You need a marketing plan—and fast. Stop all marketing activities immediately and take the next three to six weeks to plan your new approach. Build a brief overview description of each product and service you offer, including features and benefits—concentrating on the differentiating features only. Research your competition and document their offer, pricing structure, strengths and weaknesses, along with your competitive advantage. Once you identify your key advantage (value proposition) over the competition, play it up consistently in every marketing vehicle you produce. Recognize you can’t afford to market to everyone and define your target markets by grouping and categorizing the characteristics of your current customer base. Then choose marketing vehicles that only cater to that defined group of potential buyers. Finally, create a calendar of events and associated budget that will act as your roadmap to success!

Watch your sales begin to climb! But don’t congratulate yourself yet; effective marketing takes patience and persistence. Your journey is just beginning!

#2: BEING INCONSISTENT WITH YOUR BRAND.

Common Mistake: Changing your company’s positioning depending on the audience, marketing vehicle used, or person delivering it.

Although some companies have actually gone through the steps to clearly outlining their company's positioning language, we find that many individuals within that company still have their own version. And this “customized” statement can change depending on who is receiving the information. The result? A confused audience—unsure of who you are and what your company does—that is unable to convey your offering to anyone else. Brand awareness is only built by CONSISTENTLY communicating your company’s position and identity each and every time, so that eventually your “listeners” will repeat your positioning exactly as you intend them to repeat it.

Recovery Plan: You need positioning language that clearly defines who you are and what you offer, strongly differentiates you from competition, and can be delivered consistently by every employee. Host a brainstorming session with key team-members and craft a statement that everyone agrees upon, understands, and supports. The positioning statement must include who you are, what you offer, for whom, for what result, and why someone should choose you over anyone else. Launch it internally, and define its use and how employees will support it. Then do a full audit of your materials and fix any inconsistencies. Gaining buy-off at the executive level will ensure success from the top down.

Remember all employees must work together as ambassadors of the brand. Understanding this concept before you spend money on marketing activities is imperative to your success!

#3: NOT INTEGRATING MARKETING WITH SALES EFFORTS.

Common Mistake: Developing marketing programs or materials that fizzle out in the sales process and never get used by the sales team.

Often marketing teams spend a considerable amount of time, effort, and perhaps most importantly money to create a collateral kit and sales presentation for a new program or product offering. The sales team rejects the materials because they don’t address the most compelling selling points and produces their own one-off presentations and brochures that send mixed messages to prospects and customers. To further illustrate the point, many times a marketing team will launch a new direct mail program to “generate sales leads” for the sales team, only to find that sales doesn’t follow up on them because they don’t feel the leads are “qualified.”

Not having a clear integration between sales and marketing can only result in failed marketing programs, costing you lost revenue opportunities and wasted expenses.

Recovery Plan: Ask your sales team to participate in marketing planning. Implement a sales advisory committee that is run by marketing and includes both sales management and representatives to participate and provide feedback on proposed marketing programs and deliverables. Also, schedule quarterly customer visits for marketing and sales to call on a variety of current clients together. These visits provide more insight into the customer’s perspective and the sales person’s challenges than any other technique. Bring the lessons learned back to the advisory committee to shape more relevant marketing tools.

Without uniting sales and marketing efforts, your strategies are only realizing one-half of the equation. Integrate now to gain the buy-in and support necessary to generate sales!

#4: MARKETING SOMETHING YOU DON'T ACTUALLY DELIVER.

Common Mistake: Aggressively marketing a skill set, technology, product, or service that has not been tested or validated, or is simply not available yet…the “we could offer that" syndrome. This is a case where to "fake it till you make it" mantra simply does not work!

Your marketing team has created eye-catching materials, compelling positioning, and an aggressive campaign for the launch of a new company product or service. The campaign is very successful, however operations cannot handle the demands. They are either under-staffed, or worse—they do not have the skill sets or ability to deliver on the new program. Or maybe, the product itself is not available in time, or has production problems. This not only upsets your customers, it demoralizes your sales and marketing team. They stop selling and the pipeline dries up.

Recovery Plan: Ask company leadership to immediately realign the efforts of marketing and operations. Perform a gap analysis and assess what needs to happen to fulfill the new business demands, from both marketing and operational perspectives. Then create a plan and detail the specific steps required for each team to support existing sales as well as successfully roll out the offering to new customers. Identify milestones for each group to report on and demonstrate progress. This not only builds confidence within each team, but also fosters a sense of pride across the organization.

You must raise your game to meet the new demand. It is a good problem to have, but take care of it quickly as you won’t be given another opportunity to prove yourself.

#5: NOT USING THE MARKETING MIX EFFECTIVELY.

Common Mistake: Fixating on only one marketing vehicle to promote a company and/or its products.

Many marketing plans we see only focus on one activity like direct mail, advertising, public relations, or cold calling, and do not use several or all of these vehicles together in concert. Putting your eggs in only one basket may generate some leads for your company, but this strategy will ultimately limit your ability to maximize sales opportunities within a target market and optimize your marketing spend. Your customers need to see and learn about your company through a few different vehicles before they will be finally prompted to respond to your offer.

Recovery Plan: Your goal should be to touch your prospects from the many angles they conduct business. Choose a marketing mix that caters specifically to your target market, and then create a program schedule that ensures the right level of coverage across the multiple channels, increasing activities around key product launches or to address seasonality issues. Then be patient and let them work. It takes time, but rest assured, the variety of vehicles, working in concert, will build awareness and generate leads at an exponentially higher rate than any one vehicle alone can accomplish.

Good luck. And, Happy Marketing!

WRITTEN BY Go to Market Strategies in Dec. 2010

PARTNERS IN 2011

Plenty is being reported in the media these days (and here in Greater Cincinnati area) about what to expect for an economic climate in 2011: trends in our industry, corporate spending levels and needs, and how to plan and prepare for it.

For me, 2011 plans include preparing for my second year of ownership, developing a strategic plan for the business and an actionable marketing plan. My plan includes several pieces of the marketing mix, such as direct mail, network marketing, presentations, advertising in key publications and attending trade shows. Do you have your plans for 2011 developed? If not, you are not alone. Here at AlphaGraphics we not only help you develop your plan but we can implement it as well.

Both in life and in business, preparation takes planning and foresight. Anticipate what you can, plan for the unexpected, and be willing to adjust with the flow as you move into a new business year.

Along the way, be sure to let us know what we can do to help you prepare. Ask us the questions you need answered when planning marketing communications and seek professional advice when you need to bounce ideas off of industry experts. We’re here to help you succeed!

Lastly… the long awaited launch of our Navigation's Newsletter is just around the corner. I am so excited for the launch of this product, which I have personally invested time in.

Thank you for your business, and thank you for choosing AlphaGraphics!

Critical marketing functions include

1. Identifying the important supporters within the marketplace. Everyone will tell you to focus on customers, former customers and prospects, but there are also groups that set rules and regulations, influence or recommend, establish barriers, service the product after the sale and review the product. All of these groups and more are supporters that play a role in the successful marketing of a product or service.
2. Identifying and valuing specific target purchaser/user groups for the product. (Also known as target audiences or market segments.). Marketing should answer the questions focusing on who will be a likely prospect, who will be the best customer. Keep in mind that within the target audience there may be groups that will be readily obvious as "end users" but there may also be groups that specify, recommend, purchase, service, pay for; without a great stretch of the imagination, they may all be considered customers or prospects.
3. Communicating with the marketplace. This function may involve traditional communications disciplines (public relations, advertising, sales promotion, face to face selling) along side new disciplines (the Internet, social media, text messaging etc.). Each target audience segment within the marketplace may play a different role in the success of marketing so different techniques or disciplines may be required to communicate effectively. Objectives need to be set for each discipline used and for each audience group or segment that is targeted.
4. Conducting transactions with the marketplace. Most people think of marketing activities as advertising or promotional events -- very visible, very costly. But other interactions are part of the marketing process and should be viewed as such. (Here is where the outside-in perspective of marketing plays a vital role.) Order processing is not just an inventory transaction, but a marketing one as well — the timely delivery of a product in good condition goes a long way in helping establish a positive attitude about the company and provides another reason for the end-user to purchase again and to recommend the company and its products to others. Payment processing is not just a financial transaction; it is an important element in the marketing process — payment is what is given in exchange for the item that will satisfy a need (or an itch). Shipping the product is not just the act of putting something in a box and handing it over to UPS; it is a marketing transaction as well — satisfaction with the product or the company is never higher than when the box or envelop is just about to be opened.
5. Obtaining on-going feedback from the marketplace. An important function of marketing is to measure the performance of the enterprise in its efforts to acquire and maintain customers. What does it cost to acquire a customer? What does it cost to obtain the second order or purchase? Establishing performance metrics is often an afterthought in the planning process and, in many instances, superficial.
6. Market share is but one measure of marketing performance. Share of Customer is equally, if not, more important: if a customer purchases 100 units/year from enterprise ‘A’ but purchases 500 units /year in total, enterprise ‘A’ has a Share of Customer of 20%. How much effort should be expended to increase Share of Customer? Or, how much should be spent to maintain the customer at that level?
7. Obtaining feedback also means understanding the environmental conditions that the enterprise operates in, the product is marketed in. Spending on research is essential to direct the development of a product or service and the development of communications messages necessary to acquaint potential customers with the product or service, instill in them positive feelings about the product or service and motivate them to purchase.

Web to Print Solutions

In the new now, companies are increasingly looking for ways to increase their productivity while decreasing their cost. One sure way to make this happen is to use an online digital catalog from your local marketing and print provider. The benefit of instituting this type of system are numerous, such as consistent look and feel of marketing collateral for remote sales associates, the ability to understand which marketing collateral pieces are being used by distributors and which marketing collateral pieces are not getting traction in the market place. Another great benefit of this type of solution for customers is to have a full service marketing and print provider handle all of the fulfillment and mailing services associated with your online order. This is cost effective as you do not have to worry about the time and cost associated with personnel working on projects that are not your core competencies.
One example of a customer that has taken full advantage of this solution is a major pharmaceutical company with well over 1000 sales representatives located throughout the eastern portion of the United States. They have placed over 20 different product brochures on their web site, with each brochure having a series of 10 product collateral flyers. Sales representatives have the ability to order any of the product brochures using the online tool which has shopping cart functionality, secure online ordering ability and automatic order review prior to order placement. At the end of the month the management team has the ability to review what each region has ordered, the cost of the product, cost of shipping and cost of fulfillment. This process saves the company several thousands of dollars each year in shipping and printing cost and ensures that the brand image is maintained.
If you would like to discuss how an online ordering site can benefit your company in terms of increasing productivity and decreasing operational cost, please contact Duane Hampton at AlphaGraphics Mason at 513-229-3600.

Charitable Donations Decline; Direct Mail Still Key to Fundraising

By Chantal Tode on June 9th, 2010

Overall charitable donations fell 3.6% in 2009 for a total of $303.75 billion while individual giving fell an estimated 0.4%, according to a new report from Giving USA Foundation.

Overall, the results were better than expected for a year beset by economic turmoil and predictions that non-profit organizations would be among those most hurt by the financial pinch.

Education, grant making foundations, arts and culture organizations and public-society benefit organizations all saw a decline in giving last year while donations were up for human services, health, international aid and environmental/animal-related charities, according to the report.

A separate report from Target Analytics reviews fundraising performance by channel. Direct mail was the channel of delivery for 68% of fundraising revenue in 2009, according to Target Analytics’ report on direct marketing fundraising. While the proportion of revenue coming in online has been growing steadily, it accounted for only 9% of fundraising revenue in 2009 while 3% came in through telemarketing.

Most new donors are acquired through the mail, according to the Target Analytics report, with 87% of all new donors acquired via direct mail. While the proportion of donors acquired online is growing rapidly, only 12% of new donors were acquired online in 2009.

For some interesting ideas on how non-profits are effectively using direct mail, check out this article on the Association of Fundraising Professionals Web site, which discusses the growing importance of mail-recruited monthly donors, using direct mail to get close to donors and how direct mail plays well with other channels.

At AlphaGraphics we have designed and implemented several direct mail campaigns. Examples include variable data programs, PURL campaigns and regular direct mail programs. If you are interested in increasing donations to your favorite charity then we need to have a conversation.

Duane Hampton, President of AlphaGraphics

Saving Dollars when the Budget is Tight

During the past several months printing and advertising budgets have fallen dramatically. To help minimize your printing costs, thePrintGuide.Com would like to offer these helpful tips to keep your printing project on budget.
The main objective when printing anything is efficiency. How efficient are you? How efficient is your printer? How can I get the printer to be sympathetic to my needs as a consumer? These are questions you must stop and ask yourself before starting your work or choosing a printer.
• Developing a relationship with your printer is the most important objective. You should feel confident asking your printer about optimizing efficiency. Here are a few tips to help you do so.
• Always ask the printer for recommendations. Whether it is paper type or the number of inks being used, a good printer will always be able to help you find what’s best and most efficient for your project.
• Always ask the printer about reducing paper waste. This is very important and can be quite expensive if not accomplished. In most cases, the paper or material cost is the largest part of the printers’ expense. Get the paper or material cost down and the price is sure to be lower.
• One color is always going to be least expensive to print. Keep your color designs to a minimum if possible. You’ll not only save money on ink but on the costs of the printing plates as well.
• Consider having your work printed on colored stock. This could save money if you were planning on a two colored print job.
• Print projects with bleeds typically cost more. Avoid a bleed if possible as this will help keep the amount of material lower (therefore lowering your costs).

At Alphagraphics Mason we have over 40 years of print and marketing experience. You can feel confident that we will combine the right look and feel to meet your budget constraints. Additionally, it is all about ROI at the end of the day. By working with Alphagraphics we will work with you to design a solution that will exceed your expectations. We have the ability to acquire a targeted customer list, graphically design the direct mail, implement the latest PURL campaign methodologies and follow up with your customers after the mailing.

Elements to Consider in Developing a Direct Marketing Plan

Posted On: MBDA website


What is the best way to reach my customers directly?

The four elements to consider in developing a direct marketing plan are goals, target customers, strategy of the offer, testing of the program and measuring success.

Goals

Generally speaking, a direct marketing program is used to secure sales directly from the producer of product or provider of service to the intended customer. A response rate of 2 percent is considered successful. This does not imply that 98% of the program was unsuccessful; just that those targeted customers were not ready to purchase at that particular time. The targeted customers certainly became more aware of the product or service and will be given the opportunity to buy again at a later date.

Other goals for a direct marketing approach can be assisting the sales process by identifying prospective customers or educating the targeted customers. Be clear about the goals of the program so that you can measure the program’s success.

Target Customers
Crucial to the success of any direct marketing program is the target market. The more qualified the customer, the more likely the sale. Qualifying issues can be age, gender, income, education level, geographic location, previous mail-order purchases, etc. For most start-up businesses, targeted customer lists can be obtained through groups such as the Chamber of Commerce, professional trade associations, etc.

Lists are available for sale with either some minimum dollar value or minimum number of prospects. Purchasing a list is a good way to supplement your target customer database, but external lists can have duplicate names, incomplete data, etc., so testing purchased lists is always a good idea.

Strategy of the Offer
It is necessary to develop an effective offer strategy that meets the target customer’s needs. Included for consideration are the product or service, the offer (reason to buy at this time), the medium and the distribution method.

Choose the product or service that is the most attractive to the targeted customers and create an offer that will move the customer to purchase. For example, if your business is carpet cleaning, your offer might be targeted for spring cleaning and include a discount of two rooms cleaned for the price of one. The more convenient and attractive the offer, the better results will be obtained.

Choice of medium is also important. Oversized postcards can be very effective, since there is no envelope to open and the offer can be stated boldly so the potential customer doesn’t miss the message. If your choice is included in an envelope, be sure something eye-catching is printed on the outside of the envelope; preferably printed in color. A telemarketing campaign might also be a good choice, depending on your budget and ability to launch an effective campaign. Telemarketers need a good script, practice and training to be successful. One advantage of a telemarketing campaign is the ability to obtain information about your product or service, whether or not the potential customer purchases the item offered.

Testing the Program
Each element of the program should be tested. Was the choice of product or service the appropriate item? Was the offer attractive enough? Was it offered to the right customer? Was the medium the best choice for reaching the customer? Follow up is necessary to determine that each element was the appropriate choice, and follow up should be directed to both customers who purchased the product or service and those who did not.

Measuring Success
Success of direct marketing programs can be measured in two ways: the tangible results of dollars spent versus revenues produced and the intangible results of information obtained about the market and customers.