Archive for January, 2012

It’s All About The Content

Monday, January 30th, 2012

Before the Internet and assorted digital marketing tools that followed, B2B marketers largely relied on print vehicles to convey their messages. These included magazines, newspapers, brochures, other promotional literature, public relations and various forms of event and direct marketing. They also used video to demonstrate product benefits and applications.

On the B2C side you could add television and radio. Both B2B and B2C, of course, also used plenty of personal sales and sales promotion. Naturally, smart marketers still integrate many of these media into today’s promotional mix, along with social, Web, mobile and other “new” media.

One thing that hasn’t changed, regardless of the media you use, is the importance of meaningful content. And although the term lately seems to be used primarily for digital media, the fact is that what you say and show – in any context – must convey value to your target audience or they will not consider doing business with you.

This means we must understand what it is our potential customers want to know and provide it to them in as many venues as possible, depending on how they wish to access it. That is the big difference between today and BI (Before the Internet). Marketers can no longer control the flow of information with any certainty, because the customers decide when and where they will seek answers.

When choosing the kind of content to provide your audience, the trick is to put yourself in their shoes. What are they really looking for? Facts? Figures? Comparisons? User reviews? Price and delivery? All of the above? Most likely, yes. However, they’re only gathering this information for one reason: To find a means to satisfy a perceived need. So unless you understand what that need is, you’ll be hard pressed to provide the kind of information they truly want.

What most customers are looking for, of course, are facts and feelings that justify their buying decision. This means that, just like in the pre-Internet days, the most powerful content is not a blatant sales pitch, but rather a demonstration of the value the customer will receive from your products and services, including:
• Case histories in print and on video that let customers see how one of their own benefits from doing business with you.
• White papers that present unbiased information customers can use to make an informed buying decision. Such information also positions your enterprise as an expert in its field and demonstrates that you have the customer’s best interests at heart.
• Testimonials that honestly support your customer satisfaction claims.
• Helpful facts, figures, performance or payback calculators that customers can use as they sift through the sea of data.

Where you place this information depends on the nature of your business and target markets. Clearly the majority of customers access this information via Web sites, social media, blogs and other digital venues. And the more information, videos, photos, downloads etc. you populate, the more likely the audience you seek – and the search engines – will find you.

A word of caution: Don’t discount the ability of traditional promotional vehicles such as PR, advertising and direct marketing, to make your audience aware of the helpful information you offer and where they can find it. Finally, eliminate printed product brochures and other literature at your own peril. There are likely a substantial number of potential customers who prefer their information served up on what we call “paper.”

Norman J. Vallone helps businesses achieve their goals by advising, training and empowering them to strategically market their products and services. You can contact him via email: njv@njvallone.com or by calling 937-272-2051.

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Want Good Advertising? More Questions To Ask Yourself

Monday, January 23rd, 2012

In last month’s column I shared some thoughts about building a solid marketing platform for creating effective advertising. I suggested you begin by answering a few fundamental questions:

1. “What do I want to accomplish with this ad?”
2. “Who is the audience for this message?”
3. “What does my audience want or need that my product or service will satisfy better than any competitor?”
4. “What do I want the audience to do after they see or hear this ad?”

These answers help you develop a strong framework for your creative process. Please note that “creative” is not used here as a synonym for “graphic design.” Although design is a critical component, an effective ad is more than photography, illustration, typography or color choices. And while TV, radio, Internet video and other media provide the opportunity to reach your audience with sound, movement and special effects, good advertising involves seamlessly blending ideas and imagery to convey a compelling message.

So the first step in the creative process is to determine precisely what your clear, concise and compelling message is. Once the message is firmly established, you have a creative platform on which to build. Now you can combine the words, visual and aural elements that best present your message to the chosen audience.

Personally, I believe that the creative process is a bit of a mystery. You can read books and articles that espouse various creative formulae and, no doubt, these work for some practitioners. However my experience is that creative people must find their own methods and, in fact, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Moreover, the real issue is not how you get there, but rather how effective the finished ad achieves your advertising objectives.

To that end, here are a few key questions I ask when evaluating the advertising we create for our clients:

1. Will the intended audience clearly understand the benefits this product provides to them? Your customers don’t buy from you because they think your ads are clever. They are also unimpressed with your product’s newest bells and whistles, unless they can clearly see value for themselves. So be certain that you translate features into benefits, and don’t obscure your message with distracting visual or other effects. Again, all of the elements in your advertising should work together harmoniously to convey the value message.

2. Does the ad use language that the customer understands? There may be technical or scientific reasons why your product is superior, but unless you present these facts in easy-to-understand words and images, your audience may simply ignore them. This doesn’t mean “talking down” to your audience. It means using everyday language, just as you would if you were explaining your product’s benefits to your friends and neighbors. And although there may be justification for more technical terms in B2B situations, remember that these business people are human beings, too.

3. Can you keep the promises you make in the ad? The worst thing an advertiser can do is to get a customer excited about the rewards of a product or service and then fail to deliver. It should be common sense, but overstating a product’s performance is one of the quickest ways to alienate customers. And if the product is as good as you claim, please make sure you have enough inventory to meet the demand. Remember: in today’s world of instant digital communications and multiple social media platforms, bad news travels incredibly fast.

4. Are you insulting your audience? Granted, you want to capture the attention of your audience, and sometimes that calls for doing something outrageous. However, making your intended customer the butt of a joke, or having them appear inept may well backfire. There are, indeed, circumstances in which the customer can see the humor in his or her own shortcomings, as gently portrayed in an ad. However, making your customer look ridiculous, or portraying them harshly can easily send the audience elsewhere.

Of course we all draw on our own experiences when deciding whether or not an ad is worthy of carrying our company’s name and reputation. If you’d like to share some of your thoughts on creating effective advertising, send them to me so I can pass them along in a future column.

Norman J. Vallone helps businesses achieve their goals by advising, training and empowering them to strategically market their products and services. You can contact him via email: njv@njvallone.com or by calling 937-272-2051.

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Want Good Advertising? Ask Yourself These Questions.

Monday, January 16th, 2012

Seen any good advertising lately? Neither have I. Well, to be fair, there are some good ads out there. The problem is, there are far too many really bad ones. “But wait,” you say, “There’s that really funny one about some car and the one with the cool computer graphics…” Yes, but do you remember the advertiser’s name? Do you know what the marketing message was? And most important: Did it make you consider buying what they were selling? No? Then the ad was a failure.

The fact is, creating good, effective advertising is more complicated than it looks. It takes skilled craftspeople to do so consistently well and, unfortunately, not every advertiser understands this. Sad to say there are also some so-called “professionals” who, frankly, should not be practicing the art of advertising. Then there are the talented designers or graphic artists who are forced to work in a vacuum and who could really use marketing guidance and the help of a creative writer to balance their efforts. And pity the one-person “communications” or “marketing” department in a small enterprise who is given the responsibility for creating advertising, but whose skills lay elsewhere.

So how can you help the people working on your marketing communications create good advertising that gets results? Well there’s no shortage of rules, opinions and formulae expressed by past and present advertising luminaries. You can certainly learn from these master craftspeople and may pick up some techniques that will serve you well.

However, without a sound marketing foundation upon which to build your advertising, you may still fail spectacularly. So before you think about copy, art or production values, please ask yourself four very important questions:

1) “What do I want to accomplish with this ad?” Yes, of course, you want your audience to buy your product, service, or argument, or donate to your cause. However, depending on what it is you’re selling, your objective will likely be to move the audience along the path to the sale in one or more of these ways: by informing (“Introducing a new, safer way to get a good night’s sleep.”), persuading (“Here’s why you’ll get at least 5 more miles to the gallon than with any other gasoline.”) or reminding (“You’ll love it just as much today as you did when you were a kid.”). With your objectives firmly defined, you’re less likely to get off track as you develop the ad.

2) “Who is the audience for this message?” Again, without a clearly understood target in site, your ad can easily miss the mark. Age, gender, income level and many other factors will influence choice of words, colors, typography, music, images and other creative elements. The answer to this question will also give you the information you need to choose the best media channels for your advertising.

3) “What does my audience want or need that my product or service will satisfy better than any competitor?” Obviously this is the key to your marketing message. For example, are you selling safety and peace-of-mind through your alarm systems and monitoring service? If so, what sets you apart from the other security companies? Is your system proven more reliable? Can you guarantee faster response times? Do you have useful technology that no one else offers? The more your message differentiates you from the competition while addressing the needs of your audience, the more powerful your advertising will be.

4) “What do I want the audience to do after they see or hear this ad?” Come to your store? Go to your Web site? Call for a free estimate? This is, of course, the “call for action” that every ad should have. Since it is quite often found at the very end of the ad, you may think it’s premature to worry about it at this point. On the contrary. When you know what the end game is, you can better structure the ad to make the call for action a logical next step.

Once you have the answers to these fundamental questions, you’re ready to begin the creative process. And that’s the subject for another column.

Norman J. Vallone helps businesses achieve their goals by advising, training and empowering them to strategically market their products and services. You can contact him via email: njv@njvallone.com or by calling 937-272-2051.

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Take Time For A Marketing Review

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

A fashion designer I know works for a well-known American apparel maker. In her current position she is tasked with projecting future fashion trends. These include styles, color, fabrics and other factors. Based in Manhattan, her work takes her to Paris, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Milan, Hong Kong and other fashionable locations.

Why does her company go to the expense of sending her on these expeditions? Because they recognize the importance of understanding the many factors that influence the future of their business. Or to put it another way: They know that timely, accurate information is critical to making sound business decisions.

Now, your business may not be as trendy as the fashion industry; changes in your markets may not come about as quickly or frequently; and it may not be necessary to send someone to far away cities. Nevertheless it pays to be constantly aware of the environment in which your enterprise operates. That’s why I advise my clients to regularly review their business landscape and adjust their marketing strategies accordingly.

The best way to do this is by setting aside one day each month or two, away from your day-to-day operations, to perform a simple marketing review. Ideally your key players will prepare by compiling all of the market intelligence that’s come their way in the intervening time. Then you’ll conduct a classic SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities & Threats) analysis for your products and services, pricing and distribution schemes, promotional activities, and human resources (also known as people). Naturally, you’ll also take a hard look at your financial health, especially cash flow.

It’s best to have someone outside of the organization facilitate these sessions to help keep everyone on track. When I assume this role for my clients, my chief task is helping them focus on the big picture and not get bogged down in minutia. Typically this means enforcing a few agreed-upon rules of engagement such as these:

1. The goal is to move the company forward, not dwell on what is past. Therefore these sessions are about finding solutions, not assigning blame.

2. Although it is natural to look inward when performing these analyses, you must also consider each issue from the perspective of your customers. For example, is R & D aware of what the users like and dislike about your products? If so, are there actions you can take that will benefit these customers while still maintaining profitability? On another front: Are you getting feedback that indicates your customer service isn’t all it should be? Knowing it’s more cost-effective to keep existing customers than to find new ones, what can you do about it?

3. Make sure you have a clear understanding of the situation before making any decisions. Too often our tendency is to rush to judgment before we have the complete picture. Taking action without thoroughly defining the issue can lead to costly mistakes.

4. On the other hand, don’t get caught in “analysis – paralysis.” If you have a clear understanding of the issue and a reasonable amount of information with which to make a decision, do so and move on.

5. Leave word not to be interrupted unless life and/or property are in immediate peril, and turn off your cell phones and other mobile devices. The idea is to focus on the job at hand. You can check in during meal breaks. And if you don’t believe that your people are capable of handling things for a few hours, that should be your number one issue to attack.

Although it may seem counterintuitive to action-oriented entrepreneurs, taking a day off to work on your business this way will actually help you move ahead more quickly. And if you discover that you need to send someone to Paris, give me a call. Have passport, will travel.

Norman J. Vallone helps businesses achieve their goals by advising, training and empowering them to strategically market their products and services. You can contact him via email: njv@njvallone.com or by calling 937-272-2051.

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