| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Hermey Wants To Be A Dentist
December marked the 40th anniversary of the original broadcast of the classic "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer"©, network television's longest-running, highest-rated holiday special. From my earliest childhood memories, watching Rudolph has been a tradition, one that continues today with my own family. While Rudolph never crosses my mind during the year, a few days before and after the broadcast I'm always saying some of the classic lines to our kids: "His beak is blinkin' like a blinkin' beacon."/"I'm cute. I'm cute! She said I'm cuuuuute!"/"Now you come to elf practice, learn how to wiggle your ears and chuckle warmly and go hee-hee and ho-ho and important stuff like that." I guess Rudolph remains forever etched in our minds and memories. Just in time for Christmas, there was a 40th Anniversary Collector's Edition DVD that includes a previously deleted scene and a bonus CD featuring Destiny's Child. There are also new lighted tree ornaments, snow globe, jigsaw puzzle, inflatable yard decorations and exclusive Beary-Limited® edition, commemorative Rudolph at Build-A-Bear Workshop. No doubt, all of these products are part of a carefully designed strategy by marketing experts to capitalize on our love of Rudolph and his misfit friends. Success Handler Action: After you finish reading this, gather your team and discuss why customers/clients love you. Be sure to remember they "buy" for different reasons than you "sell". For instance, people buy: thrills, not circus tickets; spills, not NASCAR; and chills, not horror movies. The more clearly you understand why they buy your products/services, the better you will be able to communicate with them. Here are some questions to help you get started: ~ What are the biggest strengths of your small business? ~ How do you treat customers/clients differently than your competitors? ~ Who are your "best" customers/clients, and what do they have in common? ~ Which areas of your small business receive the most compliments? ~ What are the benefits customers/clients receive from each of your products/services? All of the Rudolph merchandise didn't just show up on store shelves and Web sites this month waiting for customers. It took a lot of advance work to design, develop and distribute them. It also took a precise marketing plan to make sure potential customers find out about all of the many products available for decorating their homes and giving as gifts. As a small business owner, it is important you have a marketing plan to let your customers/clients and prospects know about all the benefits they will receive from you and your team. Success Handler Action: Your marketing plan is a roadmap that clarifies all of the actions you will take to get your message out to the right audience the right number of times this year. It is your path to higher sales, and includes analyses of your business, your competition and your best prospects. Here are five steps for creating the right plan for your small business: 1. Conduct a SWOT, identifying your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. 2. List your products/services and why people buy from you and your team. 3. Describe the potential customers/clients you want to reach with your marketing efforts. 4. Write down the options you have for capturing their attention. 5. Select the strategies and tactics you will utilize to communicate with them. Taking the time now to create your marketing plan will give your small business a better shot at soaring, just like those young yearlings in Rudolph who receive flying lessons from their instructor and pal Comet. In fact, if you create and stick to the right plan, it could be that you'll go down in history. Copyright © 2004 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved. The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he's been there - as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Every Days a Holiday! You probably know that February 2nd is Groundhog Day. But did you know that it is also Kiwi Fruit Day, Laugh and Grow Rich Day, and Bonza Bottler Day(tm)? Each of these holidays was created by someone who wanted to commemorate or promote something. Getting Your Marketing Message Across with CD Business Cards CD Business cards allows any type of business that dynamic look. Hand out your business card on disc and see the expression on your clients faces. Marketing: Can I Trust You? We live in an unprecedented era of communication. Because of this, your prospects are literally bombarded from all directions with marketing messages. Resistances To Marketing a Practice-Part 1 If you are a therapist, counselor, or an alternative or complementary health practitioner (naturopath, homeopathetic doctor, massage therapist, body worker, etc.), in all likelihood, you are not only uninformed about effective marketing methods, but you are also likely to have some negative feelings about self promotion and marketing. Create a Blueprint for Your Success Having a strong foundation enables you to build a thriving, profitable life and business. A simple method to create this foundation is with Discovery, Vision, Planning and Benchmarking, the four cornerstones of your life as well as your business. Business Postcard Marketing: 35 Ways to Use It Postcards are an effective way for many business owners and marketing managers to attract new customers and increase sales from existing ones. Postcards are inexpensive to produce and mail. The 3 Unknown Steps of Marketing Success To be your own marketing expert you first need to know where to begin. It's no good learning how to be a good copywriter, if you don't know what medium is best to promote your work through. Profitable Marketing Programs Part 2: Figuring Break Even Point In Part 1 -- http://www.websitemarketingplan. Are Your Prospects Walking Out on You? After 11 years in sales, I've put together and delivered more sales presentations, briefings, and demos than I care to remember. But the nice thing about repetition is that after a few dozen presentations you get very good at reading body language. The Top 10 Wild and Wacky Ways to Market Yourself for Big Visibility In today's competitive world of business, it takes moxie and pizazz to sell a great product, idea, or service. This list will provide you with ten unusual and creative marketing strategies which will help you to stand apart from the competition and to increase your visibility. How to Turn Your Marketing Into a Money-Making Machine - Preparing for Marketing That Yields Results The usual complaint from companies is that Marketing simply does not yield as expected. So much effort, time, and money goes into campaigns, and yet the frustrations persist: Why aren't sales up? Why are we not growing? And the truth, sadly enough, is that no one can really pinpoint what is working well, and what simply is not producing anything (and costing the company!). The Role of Marketing for Boards of Directors Small and emerging companies often do not put together a board of advisors or board of directors for many reasons. Some entrepreneurs believe that businessmen and women would not be willing to serve on their board of advisors for the little or no compensation that the new company can afford. Boost Your Business With Testimonials When used correctly, testimonials can boost your response dramatically. They help build the prospect's perception of believability, stability, honesty, and value in your product or service. The 5 Minute Marketing Plan If I were to ask you right now, what marketing tactics have you used, umm, say in the last month, could you tell me?Chances are you probably could rattle them off quickly enough.Now, say if I asked you if you knew the results those tactics brought. Laws of Marketing - The 10 Immutable Most marketers believe that anything is achievable if you are energetic, creative or determined enough. But laws of marketing follow laws of business, and if you violate them, you risk your marketing dollars. The Top Ten Ways to Get Beyond Networking And Generate Cash-Building Exposure Gain the exposure you need to succeed with these ten tips:1. Present yourself as a specialist and/or an authority in your field. Niche Marketing: The Affiliate Angle If you're just dipping your toes into the waters of Niche Marketing for the first time then Affiliate marketing is the ultimate low risk choice to get you started.Affiliate programmes cost nothing to join and present an almost infinite choice of products and services from which to build a niche business. Word of Mouth Marketing 'Word of Mouth' is still one of the most effectivemarketing techniques, online or offline.Joe arrives at your website and he likes it. The 5 Musts of Marketing For most of the small business owners I work with, marketing has become the equivalent of a four-letter word. Inevitably, when I ask the question, "Do you have a marketing plan?" or "What marketing activities do you engage in?" I get the full gamut of responses from the proverbial deer in the headlights stare, to a vociferous, "I hate marketing, it's the least favorite part of my business!"After years of witnessing this reaction, and learning a bit about modern marketing, I'm starting to understand why traditional marketing is perceived and experienced as a necessary evil and avoided like a root canal. Using Business Cards as Invitations Business card size works well for invitations to special events.What do you visualize when you think about invitations? More than likely you are thinking about a wedding or a party.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
