Pure Marketing

Marketing to the Bell Curve

Marketing To The Bell Curve

While my associates may grow tired of hearing me utter the phrase, few concepts are more pertinent to marketing. "The world is a bell curve" is a marketing universal constant. It applies to EVERYTHING you do. There is a bell curve for weight, age, intelligence, and more appropriately for marketers, beverage consumption, desire for gadgets, length of time people keep a car.

Understanding this basic concept is crucial to developing an effective marketing plan. Of course you start with your product positioning and target market, but then you must apply the bell curve. Realize that whatever you produce - assuming it is a viable product, you will have one end of the curve embrace it whole heartedly, typically the early adopters. These folks are fairly easy to market to, they will buy anything as soon as it is available. Unfortunately we all wish there were more of them. The other end of the curve contains the "never going to buy anything new" group. You cannot frustrate yourself trying to reach them - just let it go. The middle of the curve - and the consumers on both sides of the middle - focus your time there. The better you can define what rings their bell - the more successful you will be.

Back in the game with my new iPad. It is a great device.

More posts to come soon.

Marketing 101 - Stand Out

In one of the first marketing classes I attended – the professor made a very simple but enlightening statement. “When it comes to marketing, you can either blend in or stand out”. It sounds so simple, but it needs to be part of the fabric of your business. Steve Jobs is a master of this. Do you think Apple products blend in or stand out? When Jobs created the first generation IPOD, it was big and bulky and clunky by today’s standards, but it was also completely different from any other MP3 player oon the market. It allowed the user (with Itunes) to purchase music one song at a time which has virtually turned the music industry upside down.

Now think of your business. Are you trying to “keep up with the Jones’s “ or are you looking to doing things completely differently than anyone else? Ask yourself the question – if you don’t have a good answer, then you are just like one of the many MP3 manufacturers who look in awe at the success of Apple.

Don’t even get me started on the Iphone. I could write volumes about that!

Great Ad for Amazon Kindle

I came across this ad in the December issue of Forbes.  I thought it was a brilliant use of ad space - to literally force the reader reading this article to finish reading the article on the following page framed INSIDE the Kindle.  Very creative - and exceptional use of the ad space.

Please note that the arrow was not there -I stuck it in there to make it easy to follow.

You can click on the thumbnail below to get a popup window with the picture expanded. 

My wife purchased a Kindle for me for Christmas.  I had seen this ad prior to that - and I admit the ad piqued my interest.  As it turns out - Forbes has a vested interest in the Kindle - you can purchase issues of Forbes on the Kindle individually of as a subscription.

Great marketing by Amazon.

 

 

Signs and Logos

When starting a business you are running around doing many things - and an afterthought can be your art: signs and logos. In many cases these will be with you for a LONG TIME. While there is no law that says you can't change them later, it is best to do it right - the first time so you do not have to change it. Change will hurt your brand awareness. Here are some thoughts to consider on signs and logos: Can you easily read it? It sound obvious but sometimes a designer's creative aspirations interfere with plain old readibility. Is it printable easily? Consider where you are using it. If it will be in the Yellow Pages - it should look good on those pages. Take a look - some don't. Can you read the sign at night? Will it be confused with another company? Does it mean anything to the uninformed person? Near me there is a business in a strip mall - it is called "Brook". I have no idea what it is. Unless I pull in the lot and look inside - I will never know what the heck kind of business is in there. I bet I am not alone. Choose function over "style" when you have a choice.

Avoid "Virtual Chest Thumping"

When you are promoting your business, it is natural to be very proud of your background and accomplishments.  Try not to be too focused on this in your marketing communications however.  Many marketers fall into the trap I call “Virtual Chest Thumping” basically marketing messages to the customer “hey look at me”.  While this may stroke your own ego when you read it, many times however it only serves to make the customer think “is that supposed to impress me”. 

Remember – your job is to impress the prospect with your ability to serve THEM – not to spout off about YOU.

 

Here is a before and after from a message I pulled from a Web home page – name changed of course . . .

 

Founded in 1995, the firm’s philosophy is to partner elegant, innovative design with responsive, personal service. University of Illinois educated John Smith, the firm’s principal, has more than 27 years of experience in various building types, particularly residential, commercial, educational, and cultural projects.

 

  Problems with this:

·             Too broad – should segment site by customer type

·             Residential customers don’t want their home to look commercial . . . 

and vice versa

·             Tells customer nothing about the process

·             Nothing there to start the process (no action prompted)

 

   Revised (focus on each segment – individually) 

 

Our firm’s design philosophy is simple:Our firm’s design philosophy is simple:    We make your dreams come true.We make your dreams come true.    The process begins with our professional designers presenting a variety of options for you to consider.The process begins with our professional designers presenting a variety of options for you to consider.    These consultations often result in concepts that are “beyond typical”.These consultations often result in concepts that are “beyond typical”.    We then take these designs to our experienced staff of architects who take the next step and turn the concepts into potential plans.We then take these designs to our experienced staff of architects who take the next step and turn the concepts into potential plans.  

You can get started today.You can get started today.    Of course our initial consultations are always complimentary. Call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX and start dreaming!Of course our initial consultations are always complimentary. Call us at XXX-XXX-XXXX and start dreaming!

Improvements:

             Customer-centric focus

·             Explains the process

·             Gets customers “dreaming”

              Call to action

Moral of the story here – don’t get too wrapped up with your experience, education, or breadth of services offered.  Today’s demanding customers really don’t care how long you have been in business, where you went to school, and usually only want one service at a time.  Give them what they want.  Tell you how you will accomplish that.

Don’t Mix Messages

When communicating with customers, (letters, advertisements, even phone calls and meetings) it is important to know in advance what your message is – and stay on that message.  If you try to convey more than one message, you confuse the customer, and you diminish the effectiveness of the entire communication.  You do not remotely get “two for one” (two messages in one communication) what you get is a confused customer who is unlikely to act in the desired manner.

 

Here is an example.  Let’s say you run a service business and you recently had a new customer use your service for the first time.  You decide to sent them a thank you letter – a very good idea!  So what is the message?  Say thank you . . .  you can throw in how you value their business, and are glad to have them as a customer . . . . etc.  then end it.  A MISTAKE would be adding something like “Our company has a referral program in which customers can earn . . . .”  here you have stepped over the line.  You have gone from “thank you” to “selling”.  And you have greatly diminished your Thank You and are unlikely to reap any referrals in this manner.  Now, a SECOND letter a month or so later could possibly do the trick.  Even if there is no referral, it could trigger the customer to want to use your service again.

Names Are A Big Deal – Part 2

There was a pizza place North of Chicago “Madhu’s Pizza” – it just closed in the last year or so.  I don’t know about you, but when I am looking for a pizza place, I look for some sort of Italian affiliation.  My personal favorite is Lou Malnati’s here in Chicago.  Wonderful Pizza and a good name.

 

Now let’s talk about Madhu’s pizza.  I am sure Madhu is a fine fellow who makes a nice pizza (I have never tried it) but I do know that Madhu should have chosen a different name.  I will bet he worked very hard in putting the money together to build his restaurant.  By the time he was ready to launch, he was probably so proud and so excited there was only one name the establishment could be.  Unfortunately I believe using his own name was a mistake.  Madhu apparently let his own personal pride take precedence over what is truly best for his business.  He would have been far better off choosing “Antonio’s” or “Luigi’s”. 

 

Everything you do from a marketing standpoint should be “customer-centric”.  That is the first question to ask yourself, “What would the customer want” (WWCW).  If you are continually focused on the customers, they will be far more likely to focus on you.

 

Swallow your pride, and choose your name based on what the customers are looking for.

Names Are a BIG Deal - Part 1

Have you ever eaten Patagonian Toothfish?  I’ll bet you have even though you may not have realized it.  That is because some crafty marketing folks got on the case and correctly assumed that Patagonian Toothfish did not sound that appetizing to the masses.  So what did they do?  They changed the name to Chilean Sea Bass, and the sales skyrocketed!  Unfortunately to the point where this slow-growing fish is in severe decline in numbers due to over-fishing.  The marketers did their job – now it is time for the fish harvesting authorities to do theirs.

The point of this discussion is that names ARE a big deal, despite what some so called experts say.  They need to be easy to say, easy to remember, and in the days of Internet marketing, easy to type.

Consider this when coming up with a name for your product or service.  In most cases, simple is better.  Even Jay Conrad Levinson 9Father of Guerrilla Marketing) will tell you that “Guerrilla Marketing” is a challenging name – and is hard to spell.  Their Web site is smart – it is simply www.gmarketing.com.

We will continue this discussion in our next post with another name example also related to food.

Eliminate the "But"

No I did not spell it wrong, and this is not a diet post.  

I was in a restaurant recently, and most everything was great.  It was a nice little diner-type place.  Good food, excellent decor, fine service. Everything seemed way above average, then when I reached for an additional napkin I found them to be very cheap and flimsly.  WHY????? They had pretty much everything nailed - EXCEPT the napkins.  I cannot understand why the owner allows this to take place.  I am sure if he or she were reading this - they might think twice about buying the cheap napkins.

So if I have to explain to someone how I would rate the restaurant, I would say "Good food, good service,  . . . . and close my mini-review with  ""but they surprisingly had very cheap napkins".

I realize they are in business and every nickel counts, but they cannot skimp on the small stuff, because people remember it.  I certainly did.  I would not have noticed it if it were even "average".  

What would I do if I owned the restaurant?  I would upgrade the napkins (of course) which will cost probably 10 cents per patron.  That would "eliminate the but".  However I would not stop there.  I would try to "Strive for the Land of AND".  I would have something to give customers as they leave.  Balloons for the kids, packs of gum for those leaving (giving mints is average), perhaps even bottles of water there for the asking (it was a hot day).  The cost of these amenities could easily be built into the cost of the food - no more than $1 total for our party of 6.

Then, with everything else being equal, customers could say my restaurant had "Good food, excellent decor, fine service, AND they handed my kids balloons and me a pack of sugar free gum as I walked out. What a great place!"

You have heard it a thousand times - it is the little things that matter.  Eliminate the "buts".  Strive for "the land of AND".  I am certain it will pay off for you.