marketing focus dec 2014

1

Ph: +61 0451 184 599 Email: [email protected] Web: www.marketingmeansbusiness.com

Marketing focus

PRO VI D ING A R ANG E OF T I PS, I D EAS AND ST R AT EG I ES

FOR T H E SM ALL BU SIN ESS OW NER

Helping you achieve your

business goals in 2015 One of the biggest and most important “shifts” that will occur in marketing in 2015 - especially for small and micro businesses will be honesty, openness and transparency. Consumers look for truthfulness in advertising, and, so often, they are let down and disappointed by false, misleading or incorrect statements made by many businesses. Credibility should be the “Key” word for small business marketing in 2015.

By making a concerted effort to

build transparency into all of your

marketing will not only help put

customers’ minds at ease, but can

give you a genuine competitive

edge over your competitors.

One of the best ways of building

credibility into all of your

advertising is by providing real

customer testimonials.

Simple one-line recommendations

are not enough anymore, because

customers know they are too easy

to falsify or embellish.

If at all possible, use customer

testimonials that have full names,

details, and ideally, a photo of them

(this personalises both you and

your business).

This applies to ALL of your

advertising:- Your website, flyers,

brochures, emails, social media,

newspapers.

Remember, the word is

CREDIBILITY.

MARKET WATCH FOR 2015 Does Your Marketing Strategy Need a Revamp? As we near 2015 have you started to look at your New Year marketing strategy? Did

you implement all of the marketing plans that you intended to do in 2014, or have

you still not managed to get around to doing it? Perhaps you could use this little note

as a reminder to refresh your business, revamp your marketing and tie up loose ends.

Issue 7 Volume 3 December 2014

A company is only as good

as its people, their ability to

deliver, and the promises

they keep.

http://www.kayakonlinemarketing.com/testimonials/

http://www.kayakonlinemarketing.com/testimonials/

2


Ethics in Business - False or Misleading Advertising

False or misleading claims by

big retailers, including

supermarket giants Coles and

Woolworths, have always been

the main source of complaints

from consumers and the small

business sector.

But, it’s not just the giants who

do it (and appear to get away

with it).

Let me give you an example of

what I mean, and what

continues to peeve me:

I need to fly from Brisbane to

Sydney to meet up with a

client, and will need to hire a

car while I’m there, and also

stay overnight.

I do all of the bookings online,

and pay the respective fees or

give them my credit card

details (and that’s another

thing I hate doing.)

Land in Sydney, and it takes

the usual 10-15 minutes to get

off the damn ‘plane, and then

wait at the carousel for my

luggage for another 10-15

minutes. Then go to Avis, or

Budget, or Hertz to pick up my

car. Patiently (not) wait in line

until it’s my turn and then the

“fun” starts.

“Do you want insurance?” I

am hastily asked. “It doesn’t

matter who caused the accident, if you

don’t take out the insurance, you could

be up for at least $2,000.”

Of course I want / need insurance …

“Okay, $47.00 thanks” … and, “Oh,

by the way, if you don’t fill the tank up

again before you bring the car back, we

will have to charge you $3.50 a litre to

do it ourselves”

I then fire up and tell them that this

information is nowhere to be found on

their website, nor is it anywhere to be

found in the car hire contract I just

signed (in triplicate).

That’s when I get the “dumb” look

from them.

But Wait … There’s more … Then I

arrive at the motel I have booked online

a few days earlier; and after checking in

and signing relevant paperwork, I am

then asked if I have a car.

Naturally my response is “Yes”. “Then,

if you would like to park your car in the

motel parking, that’s $20 per day. Is

that okay”? … is the reply from the

innocent - looking receptionist.

So, I fire up again. Why aren’t people

advised of this when they book? Why

isn’t it on their website?

Is this False or Misleading advertising?

Some people would say that it’s not.

However, in my view, it’s certainly

deceptive advertising, and you’re not

made aware of these necessary,

extra charges and fees until you’re

committed.

The Australian Competition and

Consumer Commission (ACCC)

states: “Prices displayed by a

business must be clear, accurate

and not misleading to consumers.

You should always display the

total price of a product or

service.” …. It goes on to say:

“However, You do not need to

include optional charges or

extras”

So, that’s how the businesses -

Airline; Car Hire; Motel / Resort

- get appear to be able to get away

with it.

So, in my view, this sort of

advertising is unethical, but

apparently it is quite lawful

according to the ACCC.

Deceptive advertising is false

advertising, and it is illegal, but it

seems that unethical advertising is

neither deceptive nor illegal;

however, they offend moral

principles of human acceptance in

terms of bad intent and effects.

Ultimately, I’d like to believe that

ethical advertising is regulated by

societal norms of acceptable

advertising communications and

the moral and ethics of

advertisers.

3


Marketing Tips To Build Your Business Why Don’t More Business Owners Actively Network?

Why Don’t More Business

Owners Actively Network?

There are many reasons why this

happens: Two of the major

reasons are:

1. They’ve tried once or twice and

networking hasn’t worked for

them.

2. Many business owners are

simply antisocial

Many people will attend a business

networking function, and simply

engage in pleasant conversations,

which leads precisely nowhere.

Networking is another element of

your Marketing & Promotional

campaign, and to spend your

precious time and money to attend

a network event to simply have a

“mag” is as good as throwing your

advertising money away.

Your primary purpose in attending

these events is to promote you and

your business to new people

(potential customers and also

referrals).

Secondary purpose is to meet new

people where there might be a

mutual benefit to be gained by

both parties.

So, following up is critical to your

networking success.

After meeting new people,

particularly those who you see as

potential customers or referrals,

send them a note after meeting

them, connect with them on social

networking sites and add them to

your relationship management

systems.

Follow up is a lot more than having a

cup of coffee with them sometime, it’s

important to make sure that you build

the relationship after the event.

So many business owners treat

networking too lightly and passively.

They just expect the relationship will

grow and build over time. However, if

you manage the relationship

professionally and proactively, it will

grow and you both will benefit from the

relationship.

Networking is recognised as one of the

most powerful and effective ways to

grow your business, and shouldn’t be

treated lightly or half-heartedly.

Networking requires commitment and

skill, and it won’t just happen.

However, this is the expectation of

many people, and they don’t really

want to put the effort in to make it

work.

Business Networking, is one of the

most powerful ways that a person can

build a successful person. Your role

is to learn how to do it correctly to

make sure you have a chance to expand

your professional network and develop

new, genuine contacts and

relationships.

Business Networking is about win/

win.

You will find the help your business

needs and also help others to find what

they are looking for, and in return gain

new connections, respect and

credibility.

But there's so much more to

networking than just shaking

hands, having pleasant

conversations and exchanging

business cards. If it’s done right,

networking helps you forge

relationships with like-minded

professionals to the benefit all.

The objective is not about walking

away with a huge stack of

business cards of people you

couldn't recognise if they called

you the next day.

It's about fostering real

relationships with people who can

help build your business, or whom

you can help build theirs.

Networking is the art of

making personal connections.

Networking is a powerful way

to promote and build your

business, and, far from being

a bland pursuit, it is as much

about helping others as it is

about helping yourself.

Networking is not something

you do once; if it was, it

probably wouldn't work.

Networking, rather, is a habit,

which over time will lead to great

opportunities, including new

clients and much more.

It's about seeking out new people,

learning about them, and

maintaining connections once they

are made.

4


Always Monitor Your

Advertising: Ask every new

customer or potential customer

how they found out about you.

This is the most effective and

inexpensive market research you

will ever get and a great way to

test and measure your advertising

and word of mouth referrals.

Always Be Aware Of Your

Competition: Know your

competitors. Know what are they

doing? What does their total

advertising and marketing

activities comprise of? Are they

successful, and if so why? What

are their Strengths and their

Weaknesses? What do they do

well, and what do you think are

their weakness? Once you know

these answers, then you can

compete against and have a good

chance of surpassing them at their

own game

Under promise and over

deliver – it’s the easiest way to

delight customers and turn them

into loyal supporters of your

business. One of the most

important rules in customer

service is to exceed customer

expectations. He or she will

always have a set of expectations.

If you fall short on these, then the

customer will try to find a better

service. Meet these expectations,

and you will have a customer.

Exceed these expectations and

there’s a very good chance that

you will have a loyal, returning

customer.

Do Your Customers Like

You?

Might sound like a ridiculous

question (to some of us) but, It’s

KEEP YOUR

CUSTOMERS HAPPY

Sixty eight percent of

customers who leave do so

because they feel

unappreciated, unimportant,

and taken for granted.

a fact. People buy from people they

like.

You may believe that if you have the

best products at the lowest price,

that’s what really matters.

However, if a potential client doesn’t

like you, they are likely to do

business somewhere else. When it

comes to dealing with customers, it’s

all about human psychology.

Remember, you are building

Relationships, and this is what

business is all about.

Creating or Building a

Relationship with Your

Customers: To build solid

relationships with your customers

requires you and your staff to have

‘Customer Empathy”. What is

Customer Empathy? …. This creates

that warm glow you get when you

return to a business and they

remember your name and show that

they are pleased you've come back.

Customer Empathy: Customer

Empathy is introducing the Human

Element into your business. And, by

bringing the human element into your

interactions with your customers,

you've created an emotional bond

between you and your customer that

will make them loyal to you and

WANT to come back to you, even if

there's some better 'deal' elsewhere…

even in a recession.

A Few Customer Statistics For

You To Think About: It costs 5 times as much to attract

a new customer than to keep an

existing one

Almost 70% of customers stop

doing business if they

repeatedly receive poor service

A happy customer will tell

between 5 – 8 people (even

more with social media)

I could go on and on with these

statistics, but the MAIN points are

these:

Keeping your customers happy

is crucial to the health of your

business.

Happy customers are loyal

customers.

Loyal customers also often

generate referral business,

helping you grow your customer

base at a very low cost.

And yet, when you like your

customers, you get good at serving

their needs, even anticipating them.

Taking pride in the fact that they

have chosen to come back to you for

repeat business.

Helping them becomes a calling, not a chore.

Marketing Tips To Build Your Business

marketing focus dec 2014

Documents