In a previous post, I noted "Don’t assume you know what your customers’ needs are."

So you’ve been in business a while and in the same industry for many years. you call on the same people everytime and you know the industry inside out. So, you know what your customers’ needs are, right?

Can you truthfully answer yes?

Calling on the same people doesn’t mean you know them well enough to know what they need. I don’t think that one can equate familiarity with individuals to familiarity with their needs.

Let’s throw the current economic uncertainty into the equation.

An article in Marketing Week recently held in Adelaide expounded on one of the speakers, Dr Peter Steidl of Mindshare, (Sourced from an article “Delivering resutls through the downturn”, in Direct September/October issue, pp 14-15) He said that economic recession is not driven by inability to spend, but by the uncertainty about the future. “In fact, during a recession, consumers have more discretionary spend, due to lower interest rates and lower petrol prices. But they are motivated to re-examine habitual purchases (which account for 85 percent of purchases) both in a consumer and a B2B environment.”

The article went further to say that the downturn is a “time of opportunity for marketers looking to expand their market share, because consumers are more receptive to messaging about innovation and difference.”

Steidl also noted that marketing was not innovating. He maintained that marketing practice was not changing.

He further noted that recessions were historically times when more number one brands went down to number three. He added that “This is the time for smaller, more agile brands to make their move.

“Speed and flexibility can beat scale”, he said.

Perhaps to highlight some of these points, Tim Cooper of Coopers Brewery who said that “In recessionary times when discretionary spending is being hit, people are happy to do it themselves and take up the hobby of home-brewing.”

Which makes you think, you can still your product, but it may be a different model, a different configuration or a variation on your normal offering. And, if that is what your customers want, why not give it to them.

Applied to the original theme of this post, do we really know what our customers’ need are, let’s consider what the current economic downturn does to his/her thinking. We can then tailor our communication to our customers, in light of how they would look at spending, when everyone is making his/her discretionary spend go further.

Rummaging trough some old magazines, I came across an old copy of The Bulletin and flicked through until I came to an article on guerrilla and viral marketing. It’s a pet topic and something I haven’t given much thought in a while.

The Web 2.0 world, with the mushrooming of social media, makes it imperative that marketers think outside the box of traditional or more conventional media. Communication is not only done through print advertising, PR, the electronic media and so on.

First and foremost of the use of the web as a marketing communication medium is the website. Once up and running, this has to be freshened up with new content, a new look and so on. And, this should be done regularly.

BTW, I too fall on this aspect, so marketing communication consultants are not immune. Mind you this year has seen the most number of changes to my website, but I digress.

My favourite Web 2.0 medium still is blogging. This marcom method is now main stream. It’s not the realm of “nerd” types, but something more and more corporates are adopting.

If you’re still thinking about it, maybe it’s time to be more serious and jump in. Blogging allows you to reach your target market easily, in ways not available previously. As publsiher, you control content and can make yourself whatever you want your image to be.

It allows you to talk informally in super friendly terms. And, very importantly it allows you to get feedback in ways not previously possible.

Just think, it’s so easy to respond to a blog, in the surrounds of posts and other comments. It’s a lot harder to pick up the phone and complain. And, besides, let’s face it most people will not complain. They tend to just drop you altogether.

And, without feedback, you’d only notice when a customer’s leaving shows its effect on the bottom line. By then, it may be too late.

Blogging also allows other things I’ll cover in another post.

Going back to that issue of the Bulletin, on page 49 (February 20, 2007) there was list reprinted from “Marketing Work: Unlocking Big Company Strategies for Small Business” by Chris Lee and Danele Lima, Morgan James Publishing included. The list is reprinted in toto:

Ten Marketing No-Nos:

1. Don’t assume you know what your customers’ needs are.
2. Don’t underestimate the shortcomings of your business.
3. Don’t try to market your product to everyone.
4. Don’t take your customer’s for granted.
5. Don’t hire slick salespeople with poor listening skills.
6. Don’t design your marketing plan in a vacuum.
7. Don’t leave weaker areas of the business alone.
8. Don’t launch into expensive research every time.
9. Don’t dwell on poor performance.
10. Don’t stress out completely and lose your work-life balance.

Great ideas, worth considering. In fact, I plan to dedicate my next post/s to these points.

Last week, a client’s email set-up was only partially receiving emails. Originally, I thought that this was because of the client’s inability to use Outlook. Allow me to explain what happened.

When the client’s website was finally uploaded live, it was setup at another hosting company. Some of the email address owners had difficulty setting up, which I attributed to the same reason.

I spent some time in front of one the client’s computers and set up his outlook. It worked and received a test email via outlook and via his yahoo email account. Problem solved. Or was it?

Late last week, the CEO sent me an email which read in part that the IP address (confirmed to be the ISP’s) was blacklisted. Referred this to the ISP, and kept on their backs to get a resolution.

The problem was that Spam and Open Relay Blocking System (SORBS) was blacklisting the IP address, which was blocking emails. The ISP terminated the account of the spammer concerned and informed SORBS, so hopefully that problem is solved.

Lesson learned. Actually two were learned. First of all, the customer is always right. This old adage is something that a marketer must not forget. I must admit that I did get to learn more about Outlook in the process. But, the customer is right.

If there is a complaint, one cannot just dismiss this off-hand. Not that I did. But, I should have given this more importance. In my defence, I did speak with web design colleagues and they agreed with me, with DNS transfer completed, email should work.

SORBS and IP blocking did not even come into the picture.

Second and more important lesson learned is listen to your customers. We cannot assume that we  know what our customer’s needs are, what they’re thinking of at a point in time or why they need our help. Let’s face it, as a marketer, our raison d'être is to serve our customers. Full stop.

No customer, no us.

Listening is both an art and a science. Communication is two-way street. It starts with listening. If we communicate as part of our marketing effort, we should be prepared to listen, to get feedback.

While the points I’ve given here appear to be pretty basic. They should be noted and reconsidered. Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees, when we’re caught in the fast-paced world of today.

These lessons are applicable to anyone in business. And, they’re very valuable that we should not just brush them aside. After all, if we cannot communicate and listen to our customers and we don’t believe that they are always right, we will probably be out-of-business pretty quickly.

Worth a thought.

I've been pushing blogging as a good method of marketing communication to help improve the search engine rankings for my clients' websites. Not only does blogging do that, but it is by itself a good tool to communicate with customers and potential customers, get feedback from sectors of the marketplace you would not normally hear from and so on. I've covered this in a number of previous posts on another blog.

Now, with my tie-up with Pulse Solutions, JG Marketing Services now offers SEO services in a more structured way. Pulse offers a lot of expertise and many years of experience in many aspects of the web.

They've shown me their successes and I was quite impressed.

A lot the skills they've picked up with all the work done, can be leveraged to offer Australian companies similar successes. After all, we don't want to waste all that acquired knowledge.

We have a number of off-the-shelf plans on offer. And we can offer tailored solutions for those with specialised requirements.

For more information, you can download a flyer explaining what's involved: click here to download the flyer
We are offering special deals to our first customers, so if you're interested let me know. I'll offer an extra discount to interested parties who mention this post.

The money that goes into logo design and re-design must really be a lot. And, with what you see out there, makes you wonder. Consider the revamped Qantas logo. Whatever was paid, I image is nothing, compared to what will be spent on redoing planes and other assets in the new livery.

Wisely, Qantas went for a very subtle change, which is almost identical to the original. I believe that the change was kinda forced on the company by the purchase of the new A380 aircraft. Which goes to show you how things happen in business.

What about your logo? Is it doing the trick for you? Does it embody what your company stands for? Does it help set out your brand? Does it leave a good impression?

Anyone who sees your logo for the first time should be left with a good impression. Let's face it, first impressions count for a lot.

If you were to go for a job interview sloppily dressed, with hair unkempt, clothes dissheveled and looking like you not only need a bath but a shave as well, how do you expect to get that job you applied for. Even if you’re the most qualified, if the job is for an executive position, you should go to the interview dressed the part.

This is what I mean by leaving a first impression. It really should be a good one.
 
If your brochure, business card, logo or other communication piece looks like it was done in matter of minutes on your word processor, what does that say about your company?

With the resources available today, there is really no excuse to get the communication piece not done professionally. And, this doesn’t have to cost the earth. (If in doubt, ask us. We're very reasonably priced. Ok, no more commercials.)

Let’s take the logo specially as our point of discussioin. This visual communication piece is the first representation of your company. While literacy is not a problem like it was two centuries back, when logos (or trademarks) had to really be very recognisable, as many people could not read, the logo should at least be memorable.

By memorable, I mean this must have some impact on the reader. Impact here also means legibility, right use of colour, visual appeal and so on.

BTW, what is a logo? Logo is a term taken from logotype, a symbol, used as a trademark or brand for acompany or its products and services.Trademarks were, as the name implies, used by traders and merchants to identify themselves. Today, logos (trademarks) are used by all sorts of organisations, including governments, clubs, associations and of course, business enterprises. (And, this ranges from the sole traders, mom and pops to the really large conglomerates.

Logos and trademarks are not just mere words or symbols they are many things. This is specially a means ofi dentity for an organisation, product or service. It is a means of differentiating these from others especially in the same field and, of course, a communication piece.

Logos communicate information to the reader things like value, origin, quality and so on.

Logos, especially trademarks, add value to organisations, products and services. They are valuable assets that are legal property. As such,many organisations spend a lot of time and money to protect their use.

As a communication piece, it should first be legible. Secondly, it should be memorable and stand out from the crowd. A quick logo, done on a wordprocessor just won’t do.

Going back to the first impressions,what would a logo that looks quickly done and is not legible say to a prospective customer? Would you deal with someone from a company tha treally didn’t put too much thought into its logo? Does the logo appear like it was a backyard operation?

Wouldn’t you rather deal with a company that looked professional and smart? And, these are things that the logo will communicate to the reader.

So, if you’re considering updating your logo, why not get some professiona lhelp to get the job done right. At the very least, consider legibility, memorability, impact and remember this must make a good first impression to whoever reads this.

In a previous life as a sales representative, I remember missing our on extra sales because the person I was calling on did not know about a range of products offer by the company I worked for. Why? The customer did not associate those products with me, or my company.

There’s a good lesson there. It’s one I’ve used to get my clients to try newsletters. They’re a good communication method to tell existing and potential clients about the full range of products and services one has to offer.

Let’s face it, human nature being what it is, pigeon-holing is quite common. Jenny Bloggs from XYZ Distributors is the one to go to for ABC widgets. So, when she calls, the customer orders the widgets. But, XYZ now also carry a range of gizmos. They also hired a rep to push the range.

Now, with a long business relationship already established with Jenny, how would she feel if she found out that the customer just ordered a pallet of gizmos from another company. “But, we carry a rnag of gizmos that are as good if not better, and quite competitively priced,” she tells the customer.

“I would have ordered from you had I known,” the customer retorts.

Rewind a few days and let’s say Jenny calls on the same customer and drops off a newsletter. The lead article is an announcement of the new distributorship for a new range of gizmos.

A new conversation takes place. The customer says, “Oh you guys carry gizmos, we need some.” Jenny replies, “Sure, we can help you with that.” And, she leaves with an order for a pallet of gizmos.

Remember you have full control over the content of your newsletter.  Newsletters can be printed or published in an electronic format (e.g., PDF). And, as publisher you can include any article you want, even feature your own ads.

You can include testimonials, case studies, new product listings and so on. You control content and you can distribute the newsletter via email, hold it on your website. It’s all up to you.

Of course, if you want to take the hassle out of publishing newsletters, you can always ,contact us. We do the whole thing for you. You, of course, have final approval.

A regular update to one's website is a given. One reason I suggest my clients have sections that can easily be updated, e.g., news, is that search engines like to go through new content. That's why they have robots regularly combing the web, in fact, its their raison d'être.

Now, what I am specifically referring to is the look of the website, hence, the home page. Having sections on the home page that require regular update is a good idea. While this does not change the look, this is very search engine friendly.

Recently, I found that my work website while updated only a few months ago, was not working for me. While certain things were covered in the inside pages, this information should really be available a lot more easily.

How? Well, it should be right there. How did I do this? Well, through flash.

The difficulty with flash is that not all browsers are able to read this. This may require a download from the Adobe website. A link to this site on the web page is a must, with directions to download Flash Reader.

There should also be the facility to skip Flash, for viewers not interested in waiting for the Flash to download. We should always keep in mind that on slow connections a big Flash file is a problem. (Mind you, this is not as a problem today, as it was only last year.

Well, my main intro on my website now has Flash. And, with this, the script tells the story and shows some examples on the home page of content that will require one or two clicks to find inside the website.

The new home page is up and running.

So, what to do you think. I'd appreciate some feedback. Thanks.

 

Speaking to a client, recently, I asked how their stand went in the recent DesignEx. He said that there were less exhibitors, possibly by as much as 50%. Wow, that's a lot of people cutting back on their spending on exhibitions.

Now, the answer to the  next question was a real eye opener. How did you go at the show? Short answer: GREAT.

His explanation was that the same people who visited the show turned up, viz., specifiers like architects and so on. And, with less people exhibiting, they had more time to spend at his stand. Result, more enquiries and some really good leads. Yes, it was a good show.

Well, that goes to show you that trying to shy away from letting people know that your're still around and reminding them or your products and services is not a good idea in tough times. In fact, you have to make even more noises. After all, your competitors will probably call on your customers, if they cannot get any business out of their current customers.

It's plain common sense, if you stop your marketing communication spend, your customers will probably think that you're no longer around. Out of business.

Again, another reason to push harder during a downturn.

We should not forget that as things get quiet, people may find themselves in the situation that they have more time to look at alternative suppliers. Whilst, when times are busy and time was short, one tended to take the shortest path, use a current supplier. Now, with times being the way they are, looking for a better price, or a better product, is something one can do more easily.

Remember that old refrain still holds currency:

He who whispers down a well
About the goods he has to sell
Will never reap the golden dollars
As he who shows them round and hollers.

So, it's really something worth considering. Remind your customers that you're still around. Call on them, ring them up, advertise, write letters and make sure your goods (services) and holler.

Oh, just for the record the above photo was taken at my client's stand at the recent Collision Repair Expo. And, they had their most successful exhibition yet, with sales off-the-stand breaking all records. Makes you wonder.

Did you notice just how much spam you get in in your email account? If it’s anything like mine, it must be heaps.

It is some time back, but when email was still new, receiving one is a treat. But, today, you find that you’re copied with your colleague’s every email, your friends send you jokes, relatives send invitaions and so on, your in-box gets filled up very quickly.

And, to get through all of your email takes longer and longer.

A very cost effective way of getting your marketing communication message across is email. Definitely. With no postage to worry about, you can do this your self for next to nothing or get a professional services outfit to do this for you. And, this can still be done quite cheaply.

 

As you may have noticed from the above headline, I’m suggesting direct mail (i.e., snail mail) as a great way of getting your message heard.

Why snail mail?

Well, simply put, to get above the clutter. While emailing may be quite inexpensive, you may find it hard to be noticed in an a full inbox. You may also end up in a spam folder and not get noticed at all. Or, you may be accidentally deleted when your intended reader clears a full inbox very quickly.

You get my drift. To be noticed, you have to stand out. With all the clutter, this is quite hard.

So, doing a direct mail campaign may be a better way to go. While this will cost more, you get a better chance to get noticed. To get your message read!

The usual fundamentals apply. Plan your effort, get or prepare a good list, design your letter and other content, time your execution and of course, do not forget follow-up.

I’ll cover the essentials of a mail campaign in another post. Until then.