| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
The Future of Marketing Part 1
It used to be if you were a small business, you were at a distinct disadvantage with your marketing compared to the bigger companies. No more. Small business owners will actually have an edge over bigger companies thanks to the emerging marketing model. Yes, you heard right. Emerging marketing model. The old ways of marketing are dying. And a new regime is coming of age. To understand how marketing is changing, it's important to start with a bit of history. The image most of us have of marketing is based on an old communications model, one that was popular in, say, the 1970s. That was when we had three broadcast networks (ABC, CBS and NBC -- no FOX either) a public station, one newspaper and a handful of magazines and radio stations. Trade magazines and newsletters were few and far between, we had no Internet and no e-mail. Because consumers had so few choices, it was fairly easy to market to them. Chances were pretty good they were watching, reading or listening to one of a handful of mass media sources. In fact, to be successful in this marketing model, all you really needed was money. Here's how it worked. A business created a good product. The business hired an advertising agency. The agency spent thousands of dollars placing ads on the three network television stations and national magazines. Perhaps it also bought a few spots on local radio stations and newspapers. And if the ad budget was big enough, success was practically guaranteed. There was no mystery to marketing. Mostly it was a numbers game. Spend the money and get a return. Businesses were selling products. Mass media businesses were selling advertising space. Advertising agencies were buying space. Everyone was making money. And everyone was happy. Fast forward to 2004. Now, instead of three television channels we have hundreds. Instead of a handful of magazines we have dozens, including about a million trade publications. On top of that, we have the Internet and e-mail just begging for a piece of our time. Never before in the history of communications have audiences been so fragmented. Just finding your customers has turned into that old adage of finding a needle in a haystack. But that's not the only challenge -- even if you do locate your customers that's no guarantee they'll listen to you. Wherever we go, we are confronted by marketing message after marketing message. It's been estimated that we're bombarded with over 3,000 messages a day...and that number keeps going up. How have we responded? By learning to shut most of those messages out (which of course makes it even harder for marketers to get us to act upon their message). But the woes of the traditional marketing model don't end there. The Internet has also introduced a little thing called accountability When you market online, you can track what people are looking at and, even more importantly, where you lost them in selling process. For instance, you can check your Web site stats and see which pages people entered your site and which pages made them leave. You can track what people clicked on in your e-mail campaign or if they clicked at all. With traditional or offline marketing, you only know if it worked (a customer bought something) or didn't (a customer didn't buy something). You don't know if they saw the ad, read the ad or what happened. All of this is bad news for those who have built their business on the traditional marketing model. But, it could be good news for you. How? Find out in part two. Michele Pariza Wacek owns Creative Concepts and Copywriting, a writing, marketing and creativity agency. She offers two free e-newsletters that help subscribers combine their creativity with hard-hitting marketing and copywriting principles to become more successful at attracting new clients, selling products and services and boosting business. She can be reached at http://www.writingusa.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
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. Creating a Marketing Plan for Your Website Have you created a marketing plan for your Website? If not, it is time to think about developing one. An Internet marketing plan helps you make the right day-to-day and long term decisions. Promotional Lanyards to Market Your Products and Services It has become fairly common place to see Id badges dangling from a persons neck on a short cord, and on the cord or small rope itself, is printed the name of a company, or a school or an event on it. When you spot one of these, you can be sure you're looking at a lanyard. Discount Promotional Items - How to Save Money It takes money to make money is an adage we hear everyday in the business world. So, when it comes to getting promotional items, you've got to budget for it. People Pleasing Postcards Why are more businesses turning to full-color postcards as a key form of promotion? The biggest reason is the simplest: You don't have to open a postcard. It won't get lumped in with all the direct mail envelopes that people toss without opening. Mail Can Make You Money Are you still waiting for business to turn around before you start direct mail marketing? Waiting around won't get you any business. The time to start is now. Common Exhibit Marketing Mistakes: Ten Tips on How to Avoid Them The key to great exhibiting is marketing. But marketing is a very inexact science that leaves room for a multitude of errors to occur. Create Your Own Rumors A consultant new in the city asked me how I managed to get business so fast. Working for that marketing company definitely gave me a jump start. Fair Measures Corporation A case study in online "thinking outside the box" The Fair Measures Corporation Web site, at http://www.FairMeasures. 10 Essential Criteria For Choosing Your Target Market A specific group of people you will focus on selling your services to is your target market. This is not to be confused with the problem you will be solving for this group. Why Cutting Prices Is Like Cutting Your Own Throat Why cutting your prices is like cutting your own throat. It's the oldest sales tactic in the world? And one of the worst? Price cutting. 10 Beer Budget Event Marketing Tips Are you planning an event or participating in a trade show any time soon? If so, consider the following 10 low-cost marketing tactics before mailing your payment.Event Marketing Tactic #1 -- Is the purchase decision-maker attending the event? Are you certain? Let's say you sell gifts that help increase employee moral and you're considering exhibiting at the National Association of Human Resources annual conference. Make More Money with Marketing Metrics Do you know how effective each of your individual marketing tactics is? Many small business owners market in a vacuum. They spend money on brochures, advertisements and web sites with no real way to tie specific results to specific endeavors. Your 30 Second Commercial This tip is so simple, that many people we've talked with never bother using it, but it is highly effective. Prepare a 30 second verbal commercial about what your business offers. Five Tips for Trade Show Success on a Small Budget No matter how small your marketing budget, your business can afford to have a successful presence at trade shows without incurring big expenses. Here are five tips for exhibiting in trade shows inexpensively:1) Have a sales representative exhibit your line at a trade show. Direct Mail Strategy - Brand Identity Guru 1. Know your purpose: What do you want your direct mailer to accomplish? Do you want to be remembered? Do you want to educate prospects about benefits? Recently, Brand Identity Guru was hired to expand a clients direct mail efforts, so we created a direct mail piece to showcase our clients related capabilities. Uncover Your Hidden Markets Want a simple, low-cost way to boost your sales? Just uncover the narrowly defined sub-markets hidden in your main market. Then create special versions of your advertising to focus on the specific needs of prospects in these hidden market segments. How To Conduct Effective Online Surveys Although they are inexpensive and product fast results, online surveys still need to be conducted properly to be really effective. The key steps for conducting effective online surveys are:Identify your objectiveDecide what information you needDevelop a questionnaireConduct the surveyAnalyze the responsesRecommend a course of action* Identify your objectiveOnline surveys are conducted to find out the characteristics, behaviors, opinions, and knowledge of a particular population. Think Creatively While Reinventing Your Marketing and Selling -- Its For Your Survival! We live in a world that for many has become technology advantaged in business and life. Imagine, for a moment, just how communication, science, art, medicine, automation, supply chain and products have all been reinvented. Are You Overlooking Your Hidden Profit Centers? There are other names given to "Back-End Selling". You may think of it as follow through, or maybe VALUE added.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
