No One Knows Who We Are!

They can’t buy from you if they don’t know who you are.

No we are not saying that advertising is the answer to all of your growth problems. What we are saying is that your prospective customer must know who you are and have a positive impression of you and/or your products/services. We call this Awareness Positioning.

In Awareness Positioning, your objective is to effectively place your business’ name or product/service into the mind of your targeted prospective customer so that when they decide to buy, it’s your company or product/service they think of first (with a positive perception of your company or product/service). In essence, you are positioning your company for opportunities.

So which marketing or sales tactic works best to keep your name in the minds of your target audience? Sorry, there is no “cure-all” marketing pill here. No single marketing tactic will sustain the growth you seek. Instead we advise our clients to take a multi-pronged approach. Research shows that it takes a prospective customer between six and eight times of favorable contacts with your name or product/service before they develop a positive perception of you and are positioned for an opportunity to sell to them.

There are a number of approaches to this topic and much of what you choose to use will be strongly driven by what you can afford to spend. Some of the tactics we will share with you can be costly.

There is no better source of new customers than your existing customers. Encourage existing customers to talk positively about your company and its products/services. Make it easy for them to do this. Here are a few ideas:

• Add a customer comments section to your company web site where customers can give direct comments for prospective customers to see.
• Include customer testimonials in marketing and sales materials.
• Thank customers for referring potential customers to you and encourage them to do again and again.
• Create financial incentive programs for customer referrals.
• Create customer user groups and encourage guests to participate.
• Create family and friends networking events

Look for companies who do not compete with you but share the same or similar customer demographics or are in a position to recommend you or talk about your company and its products. The more people that know about your company the better.

There are a great number of outlets where you can get free exposure for your company. Here is a short list of some of the places to place your name.

• Press releases to newspapers, television and radio stations
• Write Letters to the Editor
• Write articles for industry newsletters, magazines, and other publications
• Volunteer to be an expert guest on a radio or television show
• Volunteer to be a columnist in the newspaper on topics the reader would find valuable but also highlights you and your company.

In today’s electronic world, many of these impressions are coming in electronic forms such as e-mail, electronic newsletters, web sites, search engines, online directories, and Internet social networking sites such as:

• Facebook
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Plaxo
• Ryze
• Flickr
• Skype
• Xing
• Naymz

Are you maximizing the positive impressions you make in these formats?

When we say advertising most of us consider traditional commercials on television or radio or ads in newspapers and magazines but these are only the tip of where you can pay to have your name. Take a look at some of these non-traditional ideas for advertising:

• Outside signs, billboards, balloons and posters
• Direct mail postcards
• Web page banner ads
• Search engine word ads
• Yellow pages (online too)
• Movie Theater Screens (in movies if you have big money to spend)
• Event sponsorship
• Sports team uniforms
• Blimps and sky plane banners
• Kiosks
• Software games

The list can go on and on. Be creative. Wherever you target prospective customers are, so can your ad.

There are a great number of tradeshows, conventions, conferences and fairs where you can get free exposure for your company. The trick is choosing the right ones for your company and its products/services. Here are some ideas to help you evaluate which ones to attend/exhibit at:

• Some event organizers will sell you a list of the prior year’s attendees. Look this over to see if you see the type of prospective customers you want to see on the list.
• Look at the exhibitor list from last year and this year. Are any of your competitors there?
• Does the show require or is it customary to have expensive trade show exhibits? Is this a positive aspect for you or a negative one?
• Measure the potential against the cost in dollars, resources and time

Case Study: Car Dealership Customized Postcards

A local car dealership wanted to get former customers to buy their next car at their dealership.  They had a database of customer names and addresses, the car they bought, when they bought it, and the salesman’s name.  They took this information and produced a direct mail postcard campaign utilizing this customization process.

On the front of each individual postcard was the name of the customer (“e.g. Hi Cindy) and two photographs –one of the exact model of car they purchased before (in the color they purchased) and a second showing what the newest model of that car in that color looked like.

On the back of the postcard there is a nice short note from the salesperson that served them suggesting that it has been several years since they purchased heir old car and now might be a good time to look at the new models.

The response rate was 23%. Normal response rates for non-customized direct mail ranges between 1-3%.  You can do the math on whether the added cost for customization was beneficial.

The impression you make on customers and potential customers has a direct affect on your revenues.  If you need help to improve build your awareness to the Next Level, give us a call.

Types of Marketing and Sales Materials:

• Annual reports
• Booklets
• Brochures
• Tri-fold brochures
• Case history
• Catalogs
• Circulars
• Data sheets
• Fliers
• Invoice stuffers
• Newsletters
• Posters
• Postcards
• Letterhead
• Business cards
• Fax cover sheets
• E-mail stationary
• Electronic newsletters
• Electronic announcements
• Presentations (paper and electronic)
• Checklist: Objectives of Marketing & Sales Materials
• Provide product/service information to customers
• Educate new prospective customers on your company and products/services
• Build corporate image
• Establish credibility of your company or products/services
• Sell the product/service directly through the mail or e-mail
• Help salespeople get appointments
• Help salespeople make presentations
• Help close the sale
• Support dealers, distributors, agents, and sales reps
• Add value to the product
• Enhance the effectiveness of direct mail promotions
• Leave behind with customers as a reminder
• Respond to inquiries
• Hand out at trade shows, fairs, conventions and public events
• Display at point of purchase
• Serve as reference material for employees, vendors, the press, or investors
• Disseminate news
• Announce new products/services or improvements
• Highlight new applications for existing products/services
• Train and educate new employees, vendors, agents, distributors, or dealers
• Recruit new employees, agents, vendors, distributors, or dealers
• Provide useful information to the public
• Answer common questions of prospective customers
• Generate new business leads
• Qualify your company to be on a prospective customer’s approval vendor list

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Take you marketing efforts to the Next Level!
Reaching beyond the expected with persuasive marketing solutions that target the right audience at the right time. Integrated marketing solutions that explain in a compelling way what a product or service does, the value it brings, and why a reader should be interested in learning more.

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