Atlanta's Marketing Center

Meatball Marketing

I generally run into two types of organizations. The first type tends to focus on the operations and the sales part of the business. They'll make an effort on the marketing side but the activity tends to be sporadic and very far in between. So they don't get much marketing traction. The second type focuses heavily on marketing (which is good) but tend to overdo it then burn themselves out. Since marketing is a high activity function, it's easy to get caught in the cycle of perfection...and I can tell you that at the small business level, there's just not enough room for perfection in marketing.

Now don't get me wrong...I'm not talking about letting misspellings on advertising literature go or missing milestones on a promotional event. No, what I'm talking about is taking care of the important things and sometimes looking pass the details. I call this meatball marketing. Meatball marketing is making sure that the most important elements of your marketing program move forward consistently...from planning, to improvements to you brand, and (perhaps most importantly) that the basic marketing tactics are completed.

Is it vitally important what card stock you send literature out on? or is it more important that you got it out at all? I vote for the latter. Of course, being precise is paramount, but not at the expense of the activity not happening. I see organizations get bogged down with the minor details at times...then something else springs up in the organization to push the momentum off the tracks. The next thing you know, the organization is resurrecting the marketing program a quarter later. And that's not a good recipe...even for meatballs.

Are you Going the Wrong Way?

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In a recent post I wrote about the difference between the marketing function and the advertising function.  As a small business owner, you must keep both things in mind if you want to be and stay effective.

The $5000 website you paid for that has little traffic is, to a large degree, worthless.  It's similar to a fancy store at the back of a strip center that no one ever walks into. 

On the other hand, a cheap looking website that gets a lot of traffic can damage your reputation and be of little value as well.  The solution is to have a presentable website that takes advantage of search engine optimization techniques.

You can solve this dilemna by always asking yourself what you're trying to accomplish and whether a piece accomplishes it.  Too many owners are stuck sold on things that are "pretty" or "cool" while the piece does little to attract business.  Have you fallen into this trap?

9 Years Old

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I recently heard a popular marketing speaker say that he advises his clients to think of their customers as being 9 years old.  He believes that in terms of getting their attention, people never really grow past that point and that marketing materials that are developed (big type size, simple words and ideas) appeal best to them.  His clients have been successful in adopting this approach.

It's an interesting concept.  I believe that the concept is accurate...and inaccurate.  It's true in the sense that people are typically very busy and are deluged with advertising messages constantly.  Based on that, they just don't have the time to consider messages with a lot of depth.  I think it's incorrect in that there is a wide range of consumers out there and it depends upon what you're selling and who you're targeting to.

I'd be interested to know what you think.  Obviously you wouldn't tell them you think they're childlike, but is it best to advertise to prospects/customers as if they're 9 years ago?

The Right Way to Market

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While things are difficult these days, I'm still taken aback at the lack of focus in the marketplace. The focus continues to be on an event that will suddenly change a business (ie. "if I send these inserts to 30k people then my business will turn around" or "if I can hire a good sales rep then everything will be ok").  That's a belief that can and does bring a business down.  If you're looking for the "magic elixir", then you're probably going down a disappointing road.

No matter what size your business, you need to focus a good amount of time on marketing it consistently, predictably and over the life of your business.  When planning, you need to develop not only a business plan but a marketing plan.  And you need a marketing budget.  You either need to set aside time for it yourself, or have a resource that can manage and implement everything that needs to be done.

The public notices if you're a one-shot deal.  They don't respond to that.  It takes some time for them to regard you as a stable, serious provider of services (whatever you do), and there needs to be a consistent dialogue with them through a number of means.

Just like with anything, effective marketing takes commitment and focus.  I know I have in the past, but have you fallen victim to the "marketing is an event" syndrome?  What is your experience?

Marketing is Writing

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There's really no getting around it. The truth is that people rarely buy anything without having read something about it. Whether it's product/service descriptions, advertisements, press releases, website, articles, blog posts, or even the product packaging...people like to learn more about what you offer in their own way and time, and there's no better way than through the written word. This is why you need to get into the habit of writing...or find someone who can do it for you.

When I communicate this to a client, I tend to get one of two responses... either that they can't write or that they don't have time. Both are understandable...however, I still believe it's important for the owner or management team to be involved in shaping the communication with the outside world. So even if they're not doing all the writing, they're setting the right tone and direction. I find that once a business owner starts to write again, like a bike, they pick it up pretty quickly. 

The benefits of this activity are numerous. In addition to validating the sale in the buyers' minds, writing creates ideas. It's rarely the other way around. There are many times that I have no idea what I am going to write, but once I start, ideas develop. And what comes about is often far greater than anything I could have simply thought and then transferred to paper or screen.  I also find that writing organizes the thoughts and makes you a better communicator...such as in your ability to sell.  So get out the pen and start writing again...for your business's sake.

Marketing Chaos

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I went to a recent conference where fellow marketing professionals gathered.  You'd think that with like-minded people, the subject of marketing and the how-to's would be pretty similar for all of us.  Interestingly, it wasn't.  This is because marketing is an ocean of information and processes.  It's vast enough to get lost or at a minimum, confused.

Toward the end of the meeting, we all had a chance to help a gentleman's small business (a songwriter/producer) through advice and counsel.  After he described the business and the marketing challenges he's experienced, about 15 of us went around and gave him marketing advice and suggested techniques to drive business.  There wasn't a single similar idea between and of us.  All were good ideas and could be applied with success.

The missing ingredient in all of them was the laying of the foundation.  Without taking the steps of targeting a market and developing a USP, your business is going to be the slave of marketing tactics in the long run. 

Through all the marketing chaos, take the time to do it right...lay the foundation, build a marketing plan, then market all day long.

The Balance of Art and Business

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I have a friend who recently graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design. It’s a wonderful school with departments such as photography, graphic design, video production, illustration, etc. His classes are filled with young, talented students like himself who possess impressive creative ability. The school, like all higher level art and design institutions, is dedicated to producing graduates who can make tremendous impact on commerce.

And sadly, I believe they’re misled to some degree. There has always been a battle between form and function in the arts/creative area…the looks and aesthetic versus the results and pragmatism. Finding the right mix is the key. According to my contacts there say that the focus from the professors is more on the student’s creativity and artistic license than the needs of a target audience. 

These same students will graduate and go on to compete with each other in small and large ad agencies to come up with aesthetically pleasing graphics and clever angles that sometimes don’t sell anything…but look great. My message to you is to keep a sharp eye on this and manage it. Focus not on whether your ads/websites/images are graphically pleasing but how effectively they’re getting your prospects and customers to buy.

Small Business Growth--Like a Weed

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I met with the owner of a services company in Atlanta the other day. Like so many small businesses, he was from that industry and decided to strike out on his own by finding some capital, finding a couple of clients and growing through referrals. And, like some other businesses, he’s done ok.

But growing solely through word-of-mouth early on is a blessing and curse. The blessing is that it’s a cheap way of marketing, the leads are stronger than an advertising lead due to the relationship nature, and that you can grow into a pretty sizable business depending upon how much time you put into it. But the curse is more often than not that all kinds of business comes in (some not-so-good), the business coming in is not predictable, and the business tends to grow to a certain point then levels off due to the time that owners have to continually invest.

For these businesses, the learning curve on becoming a more effective, efficient marketing operation is steep. How do you get leads into your business? How has it changed over the years?

Deluged!

I'm always intrigued about the number of ad messages an average American is exposed to per day--even in a slowdown like this. This includes everything from Twitter messages to radio and tv ads to billboards. Since everyone is different in terms of what they consciously think about, I'll define it as what they're exposed to whether they're consciously aware or not. These are the claims that I discovered:

Per day:
Business Journal (Phoenix) - 500 messages
Consumer Reports - 202
Texas A&M Study - 750
Newspaper Asso of America - 2500
Book DataSmog - 3000
UCS (Union of Concerned Scientists) Study - 3000
University of Washington study - 1000
Nielsen report - 1500

What this is telling me is that we still have a LOT of advertising to digest...particularly when the average consumer has little to spend on discretionary items. But a lot of that advertising continues to be below average. My message to you is that you still need to market and advertise...but just make sure it's targeted. That way, you'll get through when others don't.

Take the Road Less Travelled

Small businesses don't have the deep pockets that the larger companies have.  The larger companies typically have pretty sizable marketing budgets to play with.  They can afford to run "image advertising".  This kind of advertising is when a company promotes its brand and creates a mood. 

Small businesses must be a lot more aggressive and direct with their advertising dollar.  The problem is that owners typically do what the big guys do and run advertising like their neighbors or the big guys.  That formula is this--the name of the company, a few benefits, perhaps a picture or two, and a phone number.  The message is "ok, here I am...I'm not much different than the next guy but please call so that I can sell you something".

You must make the decision when you go into business that you will differentiate yourself from your competitors and be creative when advertising.  Taking the 'road less travelled' means no matter what the communication, you have an attention-grabbing headline, sub-headlines, description, a call to action, a guarantee and a couple ways to contact you.

The problem is that the approach is out of the comfort zone...fewer small business owners go this way because they consider it to be a risk. I can tell you from practical, real-world experience that following the crowd in this case is the biggest risk of all.  What's been your experience?