Archive for category Marketing Strategies
Sharp Shooting Marketing
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on March 5, 2010
Companies are finding it increasingly difficult to reach their potential customers. Finding your way through the social media and online marketing jungle is not an easy task. That is why, it is crucial for a company or an individual to specialize and focus on a niche market.
I remember when I first started my design business I took calls like: “Can you make me a website with 40 pages for under $200?”, “How about a logo? Can you manipulate my photos and put me next to Pamela Anderson?” My answer was always “yes” regardless if I was able to do any of it or not. I figured I have to “blast” them with my knowledge and show that I am an “all stop shop” for everything design related. I even got requests to create architectural drawings and redesign homes!
Needless to say I was the “jack-of-all-trades; master of just a few”. My life was chaotic and barely had time to catch reruns of “Family Guy”. Even more disturbing was the fact that my business was not even growing. That’s when I realized that this “shot-gun blasting” approach was not quite the one I was looking for.
After lots of research and feedback from my clients, I finally decided on my niche market. I start focusing on that and discarded all the other extra stuff. Pretty soon I became the expert in my niche market and clients were seeking me out instead of the other way around. Based on that, word-of-mouth was and continues to be still very big for me. Plus, it’s free!
If you are just starting out or if you are in midst of “revamping” your business marketing approach here are some things you need to consider:
1. ASSETT INVENTORY
Make a list of your strengths. Narrow them down to 2 to 3 max. Write down the pro’s and con’s for each; list all the ways you can develop the skills you already posses. Instead of dwindling on pleasing everyone with a multitude of services, focus on your strengths and be the best you can be in your field. These are your tools, your weapon and your ammo.
2. SEARCH & IMPROVISE
Find your field, your area of expertise and become the best you can be in that area. If someone is looking for a specialist in your field – you should be on top of that list. If you identify potential “contenders” in your niche market, network with them and find their strengths and weaknesses. Very often a new niche market might emerge just from this activity alone.
3. IDENTIFY POTENTIAL TARGETS
Go through your rolodex, Palm, contact database, friends, relatives, etc. and identify potential connections that are relevant to your “new” approach. If you are targeting, let’s say, the financial sector then contact the person who helped with your mortgage. Ask him/her to introduce you to his/her connections. “Facebook” your marketing approach towards potential clients.
4. KEEP THE PRESSURE ON
Once you identified your niche and thus your potential clients, research novel ways to create the buzz and display your potential. Take advantage of the social media and be active on all fronts. Send emails that have meaning and can benefit your clients. You don’t have to overwhelm them but make a gem of knowledge from every one of your messages. Store them on your website/blog for future reference. Just be consistent and adjust the “marketing” fire according to conditions of the market and especially to the mood of the targeted clients.
In conclusion – business is very fluid and it’s up to you to keep up, adapt, adjust and change course at a drop of a hat. Those who don’t will not win. In the words of a genius:
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
Albert Einstein
And one more: Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.
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- Niche Markets Are Very Popular With Todays Consumers (marketersdaily.com)
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How Not To Treat Your Clients
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on February 8, 2010
Each day we are bombarded with 3700 marketing and sales offers. Each and every day! For the most part, we ignore almost all of them. Why? Because they are boring.
Here’s a TV commercial that is not boring – the Korean Air Global Campaign – The Color of Perfection:
Notice the use of black & white cinematography along with softly painted aquamarine; the soothing music in the background. Everything moves in slow motion almost giving you the feeling of a weightless, romantic spa up in the sky. They don’t use airplanes in flight but flying is implied with images that recall a dreamy experience.
While waiting for my flight at LAX, I noticed to the right of my gate a Korean Air desk and instantly the commercial popped in my head. I start looking for the bright smiles of the Korean Airlines flight attendants and sure enough they appeared floating although walking. At least that’s how I saw them still under the spell of the TV commercial. Precise, distinguished and bright, the female flight attendants walked toward the gate and commenced boarding.
What impressed me the most though, was the effort and the extent of their courtesy while seeking possible air-heads taking a nap in the sea of patiently waiting passengers who could have missed their flight. They moved with purpose and efficiency through the crowd while calling last minute passengers. Now – that’s really good if not excellent customer service.
In contrast, I remember several years ago when my flight arrived late in Miami from Jamaica and I missed my connection to Detroit. So here I am, wife, small child and 3 pieces of luggage trying to convince the staff of a company that starts with American and ends with Airlines that we really need to get to Detroit and it was not our fault for the 2 hour late landing of Air Jamaica.
Needless to say, nobody gave a “flying sh…” – pun intended, about the 3 stranded Michiganders in the Miami Dade Airport. We were told to sit tight and get on the next plane like everyone else. No apologies, no special accommodations, not even a bag of peanuts. Now – that’s really crappy customer service.
I didn’t expect the royal treatment; not even a bump to First Class. Just some sympathy and 2 minutes of your “precious time” while pretending you are trying to help with my problems.
Ask me if I flew with that airline since. No wonder they were on the brink of bankruptcy; no wonder most American companies are outsourcing their customer service overseas; with an attitude like that who needs the aggravation? If the person on the other end shows some respect and courtesy, I can deal with a bit of an accent and not a perfect command of the English language.
What can be more memorable-a great TV commercial or a really bad experience? Let me know what you think. I promise I’ll listen.
How to Attract Clients with a Marketing Brochure
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on January 15, 2010
Marketing brochures are one of the key elements in order to promote your product and/or services to consumers; to attract potential buyers or manufacturers that might want to license or buy your invention.
This article is designed to give you an overview of some of the key considerations in developing a successful marketing brochure. Printing and distributing on and off line marketing brochures can do wonders for your bottom line.
A well-designed, well-written marketing brochure design is an opportunity to capture the attention of prospective clients and win them with an effective positioning statement, differentiating your products and services from those of the competition.
There are 3 major elements of a successful brochure:
How to Create Functional Web Forms
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on November 18, 2009
Once you “convinced” the web visitors to click through your website, you want them to land on – you guessed it -”your landing page”. There you should have a short and sweet form that will ask them a minimum number of questions so they can move forward as fast as possible and download the piece of information or whatever else you previously promised them.
Functional Web Forms
Do not make the mistake of displaying an email address. It shows 3 things:
Seduction or Marketing?
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on November 1, 2009
The world is full of descriptions and attempts to mold the definition of marketing, but so far I haven’t found a clear characterization of this escaping concept we face every day. To me – marketing is present in everything that we do on a daily basis; promise a surprise to your children to convince them to dress warm and – bang – you just did some marketing without even knowing it. Launch a new product and do whatever necessary to make the market react positive about it and you delivered yet another marketing punch.
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Seduction or Marketing
Everything that we do, from the mundane to the most exciting has in some way a direct or indirect connection to the concept of marketing. Even now, as you read this article, you are unknowingly participating in my marketing efforts of promoting knowledge through this blog.
So..what is Marketing then?
Read the rest of this entry »
10 Things You Should Know Before You Hire a SEO Company
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on October 12, 2009
SEO Top 10
You can do a lot of things that require effort and time in order to optimize your website or blog. Of course, you can always leave all this effort and time, for a cost, to specialized companies that do this for a living. They are called SEO companies.
Before you ask for help, I suggest a list of items you should ask these companies when you engage in setting up a connection with them. Based on their answers, you’ll be in a better position to decide if this is the real deal or another fly-by-night who will only bruise your Google rank and they disappear in the digital sunset with your money.
They are the ones who attempt to unfairly manipulate search engines results, only for a short lived high ranking position for your company.
Year 2012 – Are You Worried?
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on October 5, 2009
Survival Kit for the 2012 Marketer
Around the world, a large number of people tend to believe that this Mayan Calendar event is very real and the world will end on December 21st, 2012.
So are you going to do? Sit around and wait or gather water and clothes, weapons and other items every survival kit should have?
As for me, I don’t know… I like to see the world through rosed colored glasses and this 2012 sounds a bit far fetched.
Stop Chasing White Whales – Ahab!
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on September 28, 2009
Concentrate on small to medium size companies rather than large clients
Or How Not to Take a Nose Dive with Your Big Client Wrapped Around Your Neck
Years ago, while doing some IT work for a large home building company in Michigan, I came with the idea of starting my own web design and marketing company. The owner of the construction company encouraged me to pursue the dream, knowing I would save him a bundle by selling my services directly to him.
The next 3 years I was happy as a clam, making over 100K per year from this client alone. Of course I wanted to grow my young and promising company but I kept on looking for the big fish only; just like the client I started with. In my case, I was, in fact chasing whales.
In 2007, the home construction industry took a dive and my biggest client was terminally flopping in a knee deep puddle of bankruptcy. I was so tightly connected to the client that their free fall almost took my little company into the dark deeps of despair and lost revenue.
Luckily, I had a couple of “smaller fish” from which, even today, I get steady revenue.
Conclusion:
Include in your portfolio a variety of small and medium size companies and don’t get side tracked by hunting only the whales. If your client base consists of only one or two whales you risk sinking with the ship faster than you can say “Moby-Dick”.
Of course if you happen to hook a large fish that doesn’t mean you have to throw it back. Just don’t get all ‘Ahab” on this practice. Cater to smaller ones too and you’ll be well fed.
James Bond & the Secret of Successful Marketing
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on September 27, 2009
James Bond Like Marketing Tip
You go through the check list as M asked you back at the HQ. You have the car, the suit and a million dollar dazzling smile, but did you really scope all the vantage points, James?
During the weekend, Q from IT delivered a PowerPoint presentation so peppered with gizmos it would make a Swiss Army knife blush. The question is: Will it hold the audience captive in awe or will they drown in endless bottles of EVIAN? Shaken not stirred.
Prior to adventuring into unknown territories – aka The Big Sales Presentation with the Clients, any agent knows that gathering as much information possible about the target is crucial to his survival.
Are You Selling the Product or the Dream?
Posted by Claudiu Geanta in Marketing Strategies on September 27, 2009
Marketing Products of Dreams
Consumers don’t care and don’t want to know what electronic parts go in an iPod. All they care about is if the little devil will make them look cool on the treadmill while listening to their favorite music collection.
They could have bought any other musical storage device, but then again – can any of these other spin-offs help them plant the flag of cool on the mountain of “Supreme coolness”? I think not. The market shows the same.
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