Your 2021 Marketing Plan

Your 2021 Marketing Plan

by | Nov 17, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

2020 is thankfully coming to an end, and you have made it through another year in an increasingly competitive and complex environment! 

Congratulations! But how is your future looking?

Peter Drucker, who has been described as “the founder of modern business management” said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” 

Your challenge for 2021 is not so much to predict what kind of year you will have as it is to plan and implement the actions necessary to create the outcome you want.

You may have heard this before, but I am about to share with you the single most important thing about planning your marketing for the year ahead. The most important thing about planning your marketing is…… Planning Your Marketing!

All too often, amidst trying to run a business and planning ahead, marketing goes to the bottom of the pile to be looked after “tomorrow”. And, like the sign at the neighborhood pub that reads, “Free beer, tomorrow”… you know they’ll never have to give free beer away because the sign never changes and tomorrow always remains a day away!

Everything you do, from hiring your new sales manager to renewing your lease and ordering your merchandise, has a deadline. But, marketing and advertising decisions always seem to be able to be postponed.

Businesses that don’t plan often end up doing last-minute knee-jerk promotions in reaction to their competition, rather than strategically holding the course to build their brand.

One of the cornerstones to any successful business plan is a well thought out marketing plan. Click here to read the 10 Planning Questions you need to answer to prepare your successful 2021 marketing plan. 

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Problems = Opportunities

Problems = Opportunities

by | Nov 10, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Have you heard the classic tale of the two shoe salesmen who were sent to a remote third-world village to sell shoes? When they arrived at the village, one immediately sent a message to his office saying, “There’s a problem. No one here wears shoes. Will return tonight”.

The other salesman, upon arrival, sent a message back to the home office as well saying, “We hit the jackpot! No one here has shoes. Send lots of inventory immediately”.   

COVID-19 has caused one problem after another. However, for every problem it has created, it has also created an opportunity. 

A quote that every business owner should hang on their office wall is this: 

Problems = Opportunities

“It’s never a problem. It’s an opportunity to create a solution to a certain situation.”

The most successful businesses recognize problems as opportunities in disguise. After all, the first premise of marketing is “find a need and fill it”. The best companies and managers see those opportunities, while others are complacent and accept the status quo.

Robert Kennedy once said, “Others see things as they are and say, ‘Why?’ I see things as they could be and say, ‘Why not?” Do you see things as they are, or, as they could be?

At some point, hopefully much sooner than later, the COVID pandemic will ”officially” be over. But, in the aftermath of recovery impaired by closed businesses, displaced families, and increased competition, it can be easy to see people who “don’t wear shoes” versus people who “need shoes”. 

Many of our clients are busy multi-tasking, negotiating leases, hiring and training staff, buying and selling merchandise, wrestling with health and safety regulations or bankers, and more. While marketing is on their to-do lists, their hectic schedules can cause them to miss some of the opportunities that lie ahead as we sit on the threshold of our world post-COVID.

Often, we need a fresh new perspective to focus on opportunities and growth. Me and my team are here to help with that perspective.

Contact me, Scott@WOWO.com  to arrange a no-obligation appointment to explore how you can grow your business in the months to come.  

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Out with the Old, In with the New

Out with the Old, In with the New

by | Nov 3, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

In the old media world, 86% of advertising budgets went towards production and delivery costs that are totally unnecessary in the new electronic media age.

This archaic mode of communication came at the cost of harvesting trees, operating expensive pulp and paper mills, the printing process, and the entire delivery system, from beginning to end.

In the new electronic media age, none of those costs are necessary.

The perfect, and much more cost-effective, media mix today is the combination of internet, including websites, email, and social media, plus broadcast, which includes radio, TV, and mobile.

In this new media world, your media strategy is simplified and more effective. The strategy of many of the best marketers today use broadcast to inspire and internet to inform.

The “inform” side of the strategy is much more cost-effective than old, printed platforms. The internet is available at your customers’ fingertips 24/7.  It’s interactive, and it’s 86% cheaper because it eliminates the massive cost of harvesting trees and the process of creating, printing, and delivering the printed pieces.

Remember when you had to pay for color in old media? On the internet, color is free and there are no “deadlines”…you can change your message whenever it suits you.

On the “inspire” side of the new electronic media scale, broadcast is there to create an awareness and preference for your brand or business. It’s that preference you create in the minds of your prospects for your business that is the most effective S.E.O. (Search Engine Optimization) on the planet!

Research has proven your customers will go to the first name they recognize or are familiar with on a search engine page rather than click on one at the top of the page they have never heard of.

Better yet is to create such a strong identity with the broadcast half of your electronic media mix that your prospects Google your business name rather than what you sell. Googling what you sell reveals a list of your competitors while searching your name takes prospects directly to your website.

Click here if you would like to see our Ten Ways to Profit from Your Website in the new electronic media age.
 
 
What you just read is from this weeks Sound ADvice email newsletters that can be yours, absolutely free by signing up.
 
I want to expand and tell you how we have been adapting and moving away from the old and embracing the new at WOWO radio where I lead a team of advertising sales and marketing consultants.
 
1st off in the radio ads themselves, we are encouraging our clients to stop using phone numbers.  We don’t need them anymore.  Our smartphones will make the call for us without us ever needing to know the number.
 
Also stop with the WWW dot your website dot com.  It’s not needed.  Or if it is, then you need to get your tech support to clean up your website.
 
One more thing that I am entirely impressed with is how our morning show host has embraced social media for not just her own use but also for her advertising partners when appropriate.  If Kayla is your spokesperson and she has used your company, she’s going to share on her Facebook and Instagram accounts to all of her followers the wonderful your company has done for her.
 
 
Want to know more about using WOWO to draw people to your website and online activity?  Contact me, Scott@WOWO.com.

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Do Your Customers Trust You?

Do Your Customers Trust You?

by | Oct 20, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

Trust… It’s not just for personal relationships.  It’s a MUST in business too!  

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes.  Do you trust the vendors that you do business with? Are they providing you with or doing things for you that consciously or subconsciously earn your trust? If you stop trusting them, do you continue to do business with them? Your customers and prospects make their decisions based on the same criteria.

Trust is never given; it is something that must be earned!

Regardless if you own or run a B2B or B2C operation, trust is the cornerstone of your brand.  It’s not enough for you to know that you are trustworthy. The key is getting your current customers and future customers to know that you are trustworthy.  There is only one way, and that is to “prove it”.

The author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey, said, “Trust is the glue of life. It is the most essential ingredient in effective communication. It’s the foundational principle that holds all relationships”. 

Simply said, the more people trust you the more they will buy from you, and the more they will recommend you to others.  

In today’s competitive world, you can no longer assume people trust you. You must prove it, every day. No one thing is more powerful in building and growing a successful business than TRUST!

Rule #1 to building trust has always been Under-Promise and Over-Deliver.  In the year of COVID, the new #1 rule is Safety, creating an environment where your customers are safe to shop. According to nearly every recent survey, being safe while shopping is a top concern.  

If you would like to see 10 Ways to Build Better Trust within your business, click here.

We suggest you gather a group of trusted employees or friends and discuss ways to build trust within your company and then, exploit them. If you would like help implementing this in-house workshop, contact me. I will be glad to help.

And if you would business tips like this delivered to your email inbox every week, subscribe to my Sound ADvice newsletter in the box below.

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Priceless

Priceless

by | Oct 6, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

Do you remember the old Mastercard campaign?  The title of it was “Priceless” and the impact of the campaign was “priceless”.  “There are some things money can’t buy. For everything else, there’s Mastercard.” This “idea” turned this struggling company around and saved the brand. 

Here is a link to one of the memorable ads: https://www.marketingweek.com/mastercard-priceless-campaign/ 

As they say in baseball, we are heading into the 9th inning of 2020, or as we call it in business, Q4.

Faster than you can say, “Trick or Treat”, or know who the World Series Champion will be, the all-important holiday shopping season will begin.

Do you have an idea that is “Priceless”?

It shouldn’t be a surprise that the businesses with the best promotions typically have the strongest sales, but how do they come up with these brilliant ideas?  First of all, to get more than your fair share, the idea doesn’t have to be brilliant or “priceless”. A good idea is better than no idea at all.

Ideas sell.  If you are simply opening your door, hanging mistletoe, and decorating with garland or a wreath, and playing Christmas music, don’t expect a big uptick in your sales.

I’m not talking about creating a “priceless” ad campaign for the holidays, although that wouldn’t hurt. I’m talking about building an event, a promotion, something designed to energize your current customers and attract new customers.  

The trick is coming up with the idea.  Don’t try to do it on your own.  The old rule, “One of us is never as smart as all of us”, holds true when coming up with and creating successful promotions.  The first step is to create a theme. Gather your valued and trusted employees and come up with something unique. Use Google to help, she has hundreds of ideas.

If you would like additional help with creating a holiday promotion event, click here for 12 Tips to Creating and Executing a Holiday Promotion or reach out to your media rep that provides these weekly tips to you. They will gladly help you come up with ideas.

We hope the idea you come up with is “Priceless”!

What you just read is from this weeks Sound ADvice newsletter that can be yours if you subscribe using the box below.

Would you like professional advice from my team of marketers at WOWO radio?  Drop me a note Scott@WOWO.com

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The Drill or The Hole

The Drill or The Hole

by | Sep 15, 2020 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Every year there are millions of drills sold across North America. But here’s the crazy thing…not one person who bought a drill wanted a drill! What they really wanted were holes! 

If another tool would have made the holes faster, better, easier, or cheaper they would have bought that tool, not the drill.

In most business and product categories, including yours, the same is true. None of your customers want to buy your goods or services. They only want the “benefits” those goods and services deliver. 

No one wants to buy insurance; they want to be protected.  Nobody wants an aspirin; they want pain relief. 

All of the traditional sales training courses address the need for selling benefits versus features. It’s pretty basic stuff, and yet we often expect our advertising to sell features to consumers who only care about benefits.

Here is the litmus test that distinguishes features from benefits:  A feature remains true if the customer does not buy.  For example: “John Deere tractors are built better”.  

A benefit only occurs if the customer buys.  For example: “Nothing runs like a Deere. Your tractor will have fewer breakdowns, saving you money and time”.

Here is another feature vs. benefit example for a regional auto parts store: 

Feature: “A million different auto parts and accessories”

Benefit: “You’ll get your parts in a day or less”.

Your benefit statement should always answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” from your customer’s perspective.

Look at your next radio script or ad proof. Are your ads only talking about features (you) and not telling what’s in it for them (benefit)?  They don’t want a drill; they want a product that makes a hole!

Click here if you would like me to work with you to uncover the best possible benefit statements for your next advertising campaign.
And if you would like more business and marketing tips like this, sign up for my Sound ADvice news letter in the box below.
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