Tag Archives: advertising

How Can I Attract Buyers To Order My New Baseball Caps?

Products, , ,

I have tried just about anything and nothing seems be be working. Calling to ask for an appointment to show them the product line, trade shows, sending in samples. Buyers never return phone calls. At the trade shows the buyers only see their existing clients they have an appointment with and totally ignore the new companies with new products. My website doesn’t get any traffic either. Someone at the show suggested hiring a celebrity but as we found out they are extremely expensive and hard to get. I am thinking of joining a networking association in hopes to find some leads.

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The buyers you’ve been meeting simply aren’t interested in what you’re selling. This could because: 1) they don’t like your product, or 2) they don’t see a demand, or 3) they don’t like your presentation.

You have a number of approaches:

– Create a demand. Skip the buyers, sell direct to sk8ters and the rest of your target demographic. If you start getting sales, then buyers may follow.

– Improve your presentation. Your website seems to appeal to teens. Why not brand special caps for different college campuses? High Schools? Beach communities? Bars? Adult Sports Teams?

– Improve your product. Ask the buyers what they think about your product and listen. Do they like the price? Style? Uniqueness? Message?

I don’t think a networking assn will help – you haven’t yet identified what you need (other than sales). As for your website, if you’re not getting traffic, then you haven’t figured out what people are searching for and wading into those waters. MySpace would be a natural community to hype your hats and build traffic.

Madscam

Book Reviews,

MadScam“People don’t read advertising – they read what they are interested in. And sometimes, it happens to be ads.”
– Howard Gossage

George Parker ‘s very strong opinions on advertising are detailed in his latest book (subtitled “Kick-Ass Advertising Without the Madison Avenue Price Tag”). He rants about the way businesses generally do advertising, what’s wrong, and how to do much better (without spending a lot).

First, if your business foundation isn’t strong (poor quality of service or product), fix it. Spending time and money to create an ad only to have more people dissatisfied by your business isn’t a good idea.

To create a good (or great) ad, you need three things: information (your unique selling/value proposition – USP/ UVP), time (to craft), and money (to spread the message).

Some of his questions to help you craft your USP/UVP include:

  • Are you unique?
  • Can you positively prove it?
  • If you’re not unique, are you better at what you do than the competition?
  • Do you provide provable quality?
  • Do you provide value?
  • Are you totally reliable?
  • Do you give the impression you’ve been around for a while?
  • Do you have solid and reference-proof case studies?
  • If you went out of business tomorrow, would anyone, apart from you, your mother, your dog, and your investors care?

“The consumer isn’t stupid, she’s your wife.”
– David Olgilvy

Great ads aren’t full of clich?©s or say “me-too”. They are edgy ads full of true, useful information (USP/UVP) about your product (or service). They are well targeted. The standard axiom of “it takes 7 impressions to get noticed” are baloney – all it takes is one great ad to get noticed, and hammering a dumb message over and over is insulting to the reader.

Besides discussing when it’s appropriate to create print, radio, television, and online advertisements, he tells how (and who) should create the ads. He’s not a fan of doing it yourself with in-house talent; he strongly believes that you should almost always use a consultant / freelancer (like himself). When creating ads, use “tissue sessions”: a simple idea is shown and you brainstorm the contents with the ad-creating talent.

“I know that half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted.
Unfortunately, I don’t know which half.”
– John Wanamaker

He concludes that you must measure the result of your advertising. When someone new contacts you ask, “Where did you hear about us?”. Use tracking codes or special ad-specific offers to help isolate which ads produced which results. Without measuring, you have no clue if you’re wasting half your money (or more).

How To Word A Holiday Retail Sign?

Publicity,

I am trying to come up with a better term for our 50% holiday favorites sign that will hang in our windows. We are a retail junior girls clothing store.

We were thinking of maybe just doing a large 50% holiday favorites sign but is there a cuter or better way to say the holiday favorites part?

Our tagline for holiday is “season to…(love, wish, dream, give, etc)”

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Given the holiday tie-in, I’d suggest slightly changing your tagline to:

‘Tis The Season To…

Also, you might consider doing 2 for 1 instead of 50% off. If someone purchases an odd number of items (1, 3, etc.), you’ll get more money in your register.

How Can I Advertise My Business For Free?

eMarketing, Publicity, Starting Out, ,

I want to advertise my business on the web.

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There are lots of places to advertise on the web. The question is, where are your potential clients looking? What problem do you solve for them? How do you solve their problem? Why should they trust you?

Before wasting your time posting, figure out your strategic marketing plan. Then, you can advertise for the right customer at the right place at the right time (and stand out from all the other free advertisements).

How Can I Market My Computer Basics Training?

eMarketing, Products, ,

I am looking for your ideas for marketing my computer basics training kit…This will be of use to anyone seeking basic computing and Financial accounting skills for low to mid level jobs or personal use. It is written in simple language and all menus and options are described. The cover has been designed attractive with testimonials from the current users on the back cover (this is being published as a book for the first time, earlier I had given samples to some local enthusiasts to collect their response).

The problem is though there is a demand for this type of product, there are a number of big & small players with similar product. My shoestring marketing budget restricts me from larger than life publicity.

I can’t go for net marketing because of my target audience.

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As you mentioned, advertising via the web will be hard for your audience. However, many people can use a browser and read their emails, but can’t create a word processing document or spreadsheet. Also, people who help people who need training do use the web. Almost 400,000 people searched on “computer training” last month. Therefore, a net presence makes a lot of sense.

If you want to focus locally, focus on people re-entering the job market (retirees, stay-at-home moms/dads, ESL speakers). Your local SCORE, SBA, Community College, library, retirement homes, etc. may already be the focal point for these groups of people.

Does your book have an accompanying video? If not, create one. Post some lesson parts on your website & YouTube (etc.).

Since you’re a small fish in a big pond, you’ll need to create a strategy to make you stand out. You don’t want to say, “I’m just like the big players, but what I did is, umm, a little bit better.” You need something that makes you stand out. Guarantees? Phone support? Teleconference support? Videos? Seminars? Without a clear message, you’re going to have an uphill battle.

Persuasion: The Art Of Getting What You Want

Book Reviews,

Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You WantDave Lakhni’s book describes the fine line between the art of persuasion and manipulation (Dave was raised in a cult – he’s well-studied in manipulation and has applied his knowledge effectively in business.) While a manipulator attempts to get you to do something you wouldn’t normally do, a persuader tries to get you to choose them over the competition.

A business that’s simply trying to say “pick me” would be using persuasion. A business that’s trying to convince you that your life isn’t complete without buying something from them is manipulating.

Having someone detail the steps to persuade is a bit creepy, since they are using psychology to cause a change in someone else (rather than use it to understand yourself). However we all know that without clients you have no business.

The core of his book is his formula:

Position + Presentation * Influence = Persuasion

Position is the combination of your persona (your background, clothing, grooming create a savior mentality), your audience (how well-matched they are to what you’re selling), and the content of your story.

Presentation is how you tell your story (rapport, familiarity, words, props, relevancy, non-verbal cues, and image of success)

Influence is the psychology behind the presentation (time-sensitive, like-ability, trust-building, confidence, and accountability).

The business gem in book is the “Persuasive Advertising” chapter. Using the techniques in the book, he shows how to craft a story that’s well-targeted and has a moral to cause the reader to take action. It’s more than simply the USP/UVP (unique selling/value proposition) – it’s the USP/UVP with a persuasive story.

Creative Marketing Signs

Creative Business Ideas, Publicity, ,

I love seeing creative signs that underscore a business’s message. Here are a few to get your creative juices flowing:

Linen Ladies Bug LinenLadies.com caught my eye with a great moving billboard. The car is an 1973 Fiat 500 R shrink-wrapped with catchy graphics. The ladybug connects with the business name and immediately starts conversations.

Dr. Rabin Mailbox

 Dr. Rabin’s mailbox does double duty. One glance is all it takes to get a sense of his business. It also is a great landmark.
Blackboard Sandwich Board What catches my eye with this sandwich board sign is the clean retro look. The blackboard is also quite functional.
Coca Cola Goggomobil A 1959 Goggomobil Transporter Pickup shrink-wrapped. The graphics reinforce the company’s product.