Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

In a difficult and challenging economy, small businesses tend to cut back and eliminate staff in order to keep their financials on track.  2009 was difficult for most of my client, but I was glad to see that the small businesses I dealt with knew better than cutting back on their marketing budget.

While most of the small-business market decrease, even eliminate, their marketing efforts due to finances… we need to keep in mind that this is the perfect time to actually increase budget pushing your marketing efforts even further.  Your competition is pulling back from the market, therefore giving you the opportunity to actually STAND OUT and GET THROUGH the clutter – getting more results and response from your target market.

Also, a crucial point to keep in mind is the fact that marketing is a combination of resources through a combination of media.  Although placing an ad in a newspaper for example might give you some results; we cannot ignore the fact that the combined efforts and presence on multiple media, such as newspaper, TV, Radio and online, give you better exposure therefore increasing your chances at better results.

We all know that it takes a lot more than one message to get consumers to take action.  It takes more than one message to get through and have your message register in your target’s brain.  Repetition is the key!  Doing it over and over again proved to be successful. 

Also, make sure that you keep track of your results.  Which message is getting through? How? Why? and what kind of response are you getting from your target market?  On the other hand, analyze why other messages are not getting through and find out how you can rectify the situation.  Marketing is not a one-time shot. It is a continuous constant process!

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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Getting Ready for 2010

This is the perfect time for business owners to look back at what 2009 had brought to the table, evaluate results and plan ahead for the new year.

By looking back to the past few months, acknowledge your successes and what you did well.  Ask yourself questions such as “what was great about 2009?” ”What was your biggest success?” “What skills did you develop?”

Tap yourself on the back and acknowledge what you have accomplished so far.  Regardless of how you feel, I want you to realize that chances are that you learned something throughout 2009, you met new connections and grew your network…  you closed sales and proved yourself one more time!

Now is the time to look at where you are in terms of goals and accomplishments.  Evaluate what you have achieved and where you are still lacking.  Concentrate on how you can make adjustments and revamp your 2010 strategy to develop even more on your success and accomplishment.

And remember, THE SKY IS THE LIMIT!

Happy Holidays!

A Holiday Strategy for Email Marketing

It is officially the Holiday season! And as a follow up to my previous post on Holiday Networking, I wanted to write a bit on how to use email marketing to leverage your holiday messages and connect with your network of partners, clients and prospects.

It is well-known that email marketing is more affordable than direct mail pieces and can be used by small businesses to get in front of their prospects and target market.

While planning for your email marketing campaign, decide on what will make your offer/promotion stand out and how it will add value to the recipient. Make sure that you craft your message in a way that projects the “What’s in It For Me?” very clearly. A simple easy message usually does it. You do not need complicated sentences to relay your offer. A “Buy one, get one Free!” or “Order Online Now and Receive Free Shipping” will do it!

Choose the subject line that is clear and appealing in a way to increase the curiosity level to get the recipient to open and read the email. Don’t forget to include in your message a Call to Action: “Call before December 10 and you will receive 15% off!” “Limited time offer, Act Now!”… In addition, keep in mind that graphics never fail. Have a nicely professionaly designed newsletter that includes images of the products you are offering. Also, do not forget to make those images clickable routing back to your website.

On a side note though, don’t make your newsletter a pure sales pitch… Add some spices to it by offering FREE tips, information, and advice to the recipient. Use a topic within your expertise or throw in a holiday gift idea in there… Even a recipe for a special holiday dish would not hurt!

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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Holiday Networking

The holiday season is finally here! It is time to celebrate with family and friends. It is time to attend office parties, holiday celebrations, and more.

It is time to NETWORK; meet new people and catch-up with connections.

Plan ahead! Be selective about which events you want to attend. Keep in mind that there is no way you can attend every single event, especially those happening at the same time. You want to work hard on making this experience beneficial to you and the people you meet.

Be ready! Have plenty of business cards. Know where they are on your body, or in your purse. Show interest in others’s business cards by complementing one or two things about them. Remember a business card is a calling card. It represents you. So make sure it is neat and presented appropiately to the other party.

Dress appropiately! Make sure you contact the host regarding the dress code if not mentioned on the invitation or event description. You do not want to be overdressed if it is a casual gathering. At the same time, you do not want to be under-dressed. Inquiring ahead of time would save you the trouble of guessing and not getting it right.

Keep in mind though, regardless if it is a holiday celebration or mixer, when it comes to networking, always follow the rules!

Happy Holidays!

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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Approaching the Holidays from a Business Perspective

It is the season to celebrate this special time of the year again with family, friends, connections, and more… This is a great time to extend best wishes to your network.  How are you planning on doing so?

Here are some options:

- Issue a special Holiday newsletter to mail out or email to your connections

- Place your order now for those special business Holiday greeting cards

- Plan on attending one or more Holiday business parties. I am sure you received few invitations already. Take advantage of this occasion to meet new people and reconnect with those you already know.

Now when it comes to your Holiday message, here are some tips on what to do:

- Select a tasteful appropiate design.

- Personalize the content with your own thoughts but be sensitive to the different ways people celebrate this season.

- Make sure to keep business OUT of your holiday greeting.

- Sign all your greeting cards: handwritten signature adds a nice touch and stands out.

Wishing you all the Best Holiday Season Ever!

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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Selecting the Name… Creating the Brand

One of the main elements that you need to think about when considering launching a new business is THE NAME!

It has been proven over and over again that great names are powerful in the marketing and advertising process that a company goes through.  Your Name is what differentiates you from others while helping you getting positioned in your audience mind.

Now how do you go about choosing The Name?

One of the first steps to take into consideration is to stay as objective as possible without allowing subjectivity to affect your decision making.  Remember, once you come up with the name, it is there to stay for a long time hopefully.  So make sure that you choose something unique and memorable that differentiates you from the competition.  And of course, do not forget to consider the name and how it is related to your services and/or products.

Choose a name that is easy to remember, unique and full of energy! Yes, full of energy where it can carry a marketing campaign all the way to success.

Once you decide on a name, and I totally realize that it is not as easy as it sounds, the next step would be to come up with a tagline to complement and add power and life to your name.  Consider companies such as Nike, for example, and their “Just Do it” tagline and the power it delivers in its simplicity taking the company beyond the concept of only selling tennis shoes.

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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Are you doing it all?

Now that we are almost half way through the fourth quarter of 2009, I think it is time to take a look at where we are in terms of image.  2009 brought lots of changes with companies merging with others, those changing their image and branding, others closing their doors for good, and of course those who are in a start-up mode.

While we will be missing some, consumers are definitely welcoming new additions and even accepting the new brand for some such as Jack in the Box and their new logo.

So this is the time for you to think about re-branding or even re-vamping your image when it comes to your graphics, print and online as well.  Remember, your collateral and web presence are your tool to deliver your message to prospects and clients.  They are your tool to accomplish what you have planned in your marketing plan.  Are you taking into consideration the 4 Ps of Marketing: Price, Product, Place and Promotion?

Just because you have been established for 1 or 20 years does not mean you do not need to keep visiting and revising your marketing material including print and online of course.  You have to always revisit and reconsider what you have in there… time and technology are evolving quickly and by continuously evolving your marketing material, you are opening more doors and venues to success.

When you are a business owner, you ought to wear multiple hats in order to respond to your business needs. But keep in mind that you are supposed to be working ON your business versus FOR your business.  So why don’t you concentrate on what you excel at doing and hire the expert to do your accounting, shipping, marketing, graphic design… or whatever you are not the expert at!

This year, many businesses decided to cut back on unnecessary expenses. And guess what? Marketing was added to the top of the list when it comes to these expenses… This is WRONG!  Since most businesses are cutting back on their marketing, this is the time for YOU to spend more because your dollar will go a long way with less competition out there… Your chances of standing out and appealing to consumers are greater believe it or not!

Another mistake I noticed this year is that businesses admittedly claimed that they do not need help when it comes to marketing because they can do it themselves.  I smile and wish them good luck!  because they really need more than luck to be able to plan, put together and execute a full-blown successful marketing campaign.  They need to be honest with themselves that they really cannot do it all, especially when it comes to marketing. They simply need to accept the fact and hire someone who can help by either setting the grounds with a solid communication plan, revamping their image when it comes to print and online, and/or executing a full-blown marketing campaign that is worth their investment.

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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Connecting Effectively with others

While working on building relationships, some of us lose track and no longer concentrate on what matters in order to connect effectively with others. Here are couple of tips on how to stay on track:

Create your own opportunities
There are hundreds and thousands of groups that meet on a regular basis. Once you have your mind made up on implementing networking in your routine, work on allocating time slots in your weekly calendar for events and mixers. Plan by selecting a limited number of those groups that best suit your needs.

Do not sell
The purpose behind attending networking events is to meet others and create relationships. Therefore, when people network, the last thing they want to encounter is a sales person. Avoid selling. Offer advice instead. Ask others how you can help and you would be amazed at how they will open up to you.
Be present and listen to what they have to say. Ask more questions and show interest: that is how relationships start to develop.

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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A Situational Analysis for Your Marketing Plan – Part I

As a follow up to my previous blog, “A Marketing Plan… so What?” today’s post is discussing Situational Analysis.

Conducting a situational analysis will help you put into perspective where things stand.  Although this step is time consuming, it is extremely important to spend all needed time working on it.   Keep in mind though that this analysis should be continuously visited and reviewed to ensure its accuracy.

Here is what you need to take into consideration when putting together the situational analysis:

- Product

This section should include a detailed analysis of  your product such as its strengths and weaknesses; Is this your core product? or are you offering any secondary or extended products or services that are also included in the sales process? What about your product’s attributes? Describe your product’s main features and benefits. Include pricing at all levels (end-consumers, distributors, discounts…)  How are you planning to make the product accessible to end-users.  Are you running any promotions?  If so, talk about strategies in terms of marketing, sales, positioning…

- Target Market

Examine your target market based on customer-focused research.  Initiate by including a description of your approach to tackle the target market: are you planning to target a large market through a mass marketing strategy? or are you just planning to reach out selectively to a specific niche using a segmentation approach?

Include a demographic and psychographic analysis of your target maket including gender, income, age, occupation, family, geography, education, lifestyle, attitudes, purchasing habits… Also concentrate on the pain:  what kind of needs is your product responding to? what kind of benefits is your product filling?

What about product usage? Include an analysis on Who, Why, When and How?

- Who is/will be using the product?

- Why do they or will they be using the product?

- When do they or will they be using the product?

- How is or will the product be used?

Then position your product by evaluating how it is perceived by customers and how it is compared to what your competition offers.  In addition, discuss your target’s attitude towards your product and towards the general product category as well while describing the purchase process (decision-making, source of information, timeline…)

Stay tuned for more on putting together your marketing Plan…

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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An Executive Summary for Your Marketing Plan

As promised in my previous post titled “A Marketing Plan… So What?” I will be covering in more details each element starting with the executive summary.

Although the executive summary is usually located at the beginning of your marketing plam, it should be the last part you write.

The purpose of the executive summary is to offer your readers with a quick overview of your plan.  It is an introduction to your business, goals and strategies. That is why, your executive summary should summarize the following:

Description of your company, including your products and/or services

Mission statement

Management and team

Market and customer

Marketing and sales

Competition

Operations

Financial projections and plans

… concluding with a statement tailored to convince the reader that your are building a successful business!

Use the list above as a guideline to start putting your executive summary together adding couple of sentences about each topic.  Remember, this is a summary and it should be limited to a maximum of two pages while including enough intriguing information to encourage the reader to go beyond the two pages.  Make sure that you are using a positive and strong language targeting your audience in a way where it generates interest and excitement about what your business has to offer.

Manal Richa

The MarCom Network – Communications, Branding & Advertising Solutions
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