New Blog address

We have finally made the switch to a wordpress platform for our blog. We'll continue to provide tips, advice and observations about marketing, advertising, social media, television, radio, interactive marketing and anything else to do with marketing communication.
Please find us at our new location at www.charltonmarketing.com/blog
conveniently housed on our web site.

For whatever reason, I can't get this site to hyperlink to the new location, so you'll have to copy and paste, or retype the address into your browser.

See you there!

Email Effectiveness Increases From 20.8% to 35.2%

In our recently completed ad campaign for the Baxter Auto Parts Portland Historic Races, we increased our e-mail readership from 20.8% to 35.2% by Re-mailing.

With the volume of e-mail that most people receive, sending one blast to your opt-in list simply doesn't get the job done. There are too many recipients who, for whatever reason, don't open it. How many times have you deleted something you might have had some interest in reading if your weren't so busy, distracted by something, or simply in an impatient state of mind?

We sent the first e-mail out to a rather small list of 833 and within a few days achieved 173 reads, or 20.8%. We waited a week and sent the same e-mail out again to those who didn't open it. We got another 120 reads for an 18.2% opening rate. Together, we had 293 reads for a total percentage of 35.2%.

The second e-mail was identical to the first. It just illustrates that even highly targeted audiences see things somewhat randomly. Re-Mailing is a great way to increase your ROI for only the cost of sending it out.

The Most Important Marketing Strategy During a Recession

If you're in a position where you have a handful of key customers or accounts, your most critical marketing strategy right now should be enhancing personal relationships. The strength of customer loyalty is tested during bad economic times. So it's important to make sure you work to make it harder for current customers to tell you goodbye.

In a recessionary economy, savvy business people know that building market share is the key to success. They also know that many customers are more apt to make a change because they are open to any suggestion that a different solution might benefit them somehow. So, they are on the prowl for your customers, just as you should be on the prowl for theirs.

Obviously, you need to continue to deliver a quality product at a competitive price. And these days, even include some added value however possible. But, the intangible advantage of having a close relationship with your customer adds an extra level of security to your business. This doesn't mean you should run out and start layering on gifts or inviting them to dinner. If you're over-zealous you'll look desperate and insecure. It might take no more than an extra phone call or two every month just to check in. Or, depending upon your current relationship, it could include a trip to the golf course or some other activity you can share.

It is times such as these when deals get renegotiated and alliances get realigned. You need to use every trick in the book to keep your customers close to you. Strengthening your personal relationships is one of the best ways to do that.

Take this Mission Statement Test

Quick! Right now! Grab a piece of paper and write down your company's mission statement. Can you do it? Can your employees do it?

If you don't do another thing after reading this, at least try this test. Gather your management team, staff, or whomever you feel is important in your company to help carry out your mission, and hand each one a piece of paper.

Then, ask them to write down your company's mission statement.

Give them a few minutes, then ask each one to read what he or she wrote. If your group got it right, you are in an extreme minority of companies.

We marketers are always going on about how businesses need to clearly define their identity and communicate it consistently. But, we often forget to start where it has the greatest impact of all: inside the company itself.

A well articulated mission statement answers the question of why the company exists. It describes the overall need that it fills and guides the company in its big-picture actions.

Google the phrase "mission statement" and read as many as you can, and then start studying what makes a good one. There are lots of resources for learning how to write a mission statement. But first you need to recognize the importance of having one that people not only know, but understand and live by. Interestingly, most companies have one. It's written the day they go into business, then is forgotten forever.

There is unbelievable power in having a group of talented, hard working people all pursuing the same goal for the same reason. A mission statement is the foundation of that great place to be. And, dragging it out and making sure everyone knows what it is isn't that hard to do.

How to Keep Poor Customer Service from Killing your Advertising Campaign

It’s been said that nothing kills a bad product faster than a good advertising campaign. If you are in the business of selling products, you can often recognize the dogs and eliminate them from your product mix before too much damage is done. But, if we define your “product” as not just the item you sell, but the entire customer experience you create, there are many other things to consider.

After more than 20 years of creating and managing advertising campaigns for businesses, I can say that customer service is one of the most important elements of any marketing effort. You may have the best product at the best time and the best price. But, if you’re sales staff isn’t up to making the customer feel genuinely valued it’s all for nothing.

I worked with a retail chain that was having problems with sales in a couple of their stores. We tried everything. Some efforts provided some anemic results and others created a short sales spike that quickly disappeared. One day we found a scathing review on one of the review sites on the web. It detailed the quintessential bad service experience that we all love to pass on to others. A follow-up mystery shopping exercise quickly revealed a sales person who should have never been a sales person.

The problem was fixed, but the damage lingered for some time. This kind of problem can be hard to find quickly if there are just one or two people in a branch store or office most of the time. So, it is valuable to have an on-going service evaluation program such as a mystery shopper in place along with on-going training and coaching for your employees.

You can lose a sale because of price. You can lose a sale because a customer returns an item. But, you will lose a customer if your pre sale or more importantly, your post sale service is bad.

30 Things to Never Say in your Advertising

You’ve got your marketing plan worked out. Your budget is more than you would like, but you’re willing to commit to it. You’ve decided what media you are going to use, and you’re pretty proud of the deal you were able to negotiate. You’ve got your offer or message worked out. All that’s left to do is write your ad and get it produced. No problem. At least, that’s what most business people think.

Good business people are highly disciplined at measuring value. And, every step of the campaign development process has some basis in being able to measure something except the creative step. That’s where almost every entrepreneur falls down. Even the good ones.

Time and time again, I have seen the manager/owner write his own copy or try to direct a writer to create copy that is full of ad clichés that neither stand out nor convince. The result is predictable. All that time, effort and money is neutralized by ad copy that is only efficient at blending into the great background hum of “white noise”.

With that in mind, I have created a list of phrases and words to avoid. If you find any of these in your ad copy, re-write it. You can find words to get the same ideas across with more personality and originality.

1. Once in a lifetime
2. Friendliest store in town
3. Why pay more
4. Lowest prices of the year
5. Dare to compare
6. Lowest prices in town
7. Save like never before
8. Make an offer
9. Highest quality, lowest price
10. Best service in town
11. The perfect gift
12. For any budget
13. Public notice
14. Buy with confidence
15. Check out our great selection
16. Nobody beats our prices
17. We’ll save you money
18. Store-wide clearance
19. We sell more (item) than anyone
20. Hurry in
21. Everything must go
22. Never lower
23. Follow the crowds
24. Now is the time to buy
25. Don’t miss this sale
26. Save today
27. You won’t find deals like this…
28. Unbelievable prices (bargains, deals, etc.)
29. Boss is away
30. Gigantic sale

If you find yourself using any of the above phrases, go back and think of a more unique way to say the same thing. These phrases have been used so many times for so many products that there is simply no credibility to them any longer.

In fact, there are probably more that I have overlooked here.

Please feel free to add any others that you would like to never hear again.

How to Calculate Expected Response from a Newspaper Ad

Few people, including advertising professionals, know how to calculate the expected response from a newspaper ad. A newspaper circulation of 200,000 doesn't mean 200,000 people will be contemplating your ad.

Here are the variables you need to consider when calculating an expected response from a newspaper ad.

1. YOUR TARGET
Every product has a demographic that represents its prime target. Let's say, for the sake of this example, that your target demographic is adults, 25 - 54

2. MARKET SIZE
If you are located in a city of 1.5 million people and the 25 - 54 demographic represents 40%, then your target population is 600,000.

3. DURATION BETWEEN PURCHASES
Since people don't buy every product they use every day of the year, the duration between purchases is important to consider. Let's say people buy your product one time per year on average. Then, your available market in any month is 1/12 of 600,000, or 50,000. Of course, you'll have to take into account the seasonal fluctuations for your product and apply the same logic.

4. NEWSPAPER CIRCULATION
If your local daily newspaper has a 40% penetration in your market, calculate that against your available 50,000 market to reach 20,000 possible qualified exposures to your message.

5. READERSHIP
Not every subscriber reads every page every day. Studies have shown that if you get 10% of the subscribers to read your ad, that is a very generous number. Applying that calculation to our example reduced the number of targeted customers to 2,000.

6. YOUR MARKET SHARE
Unless you have an exclusive monopoly in your market, you have competition with some customers who are loyal to them. If your overall market share is 10%, you can apply that to the remaining targeted customers, leaving 200 as your reasonable expectation.

7. RESPONSE RATE
Assume a 2% response rate from your ad.

8. RESPONSE
Your expected response (customers making a transaction) will be 4.

These numbers can vary wildly. However, the chain of logic remains constant. The offer, size of ad, weather, lack of or heavy competition, time of year and numerous other influences can have a bearing on final results. But, this model is useful to illustrate the realities of advertising response.

An 1876 Invention is Becoming an Important Marketing Tool

Sometimes we can overlook a marketing advantage that's hiding right out in plain sight. A case in point is a tool that was invented back in 1876. It's called a telephone. And, it may be on its way to becoming one of the most effective marketing tools that exists in these days of social media and web marketing.

OK, go ahead and roll your eyes at the corn-ball notion that some argument could be made for such a preposterous statement. To be clear, I'm not suggesting that a telemarketing campaign is better than an e-mail campaign. What I'm suggesting is that the telephone be used more often to connect with clients, important customers and others who are important to you.

Consider for a moment just how much e-mail has replaced talking on the phone over the last 10 years. Sure, e-mail is faster, easier and more convenient. No argument there. But, we also use e-mail to avoid even the most minor fear of rejection or having to deliver bad news. It's much easier to craft an e-mail than it is to face a challenging conversation.

the last time I advertised for a position in the agency, I narrowed my final choices down to four people and called each one. I got voice-mail on every call, so I asked them to call me on the phone to make an appointment for a final interview. Two called and two e-mailed me. I replied to the two e-mails, again asking them to call (making sure they had my phone number). One called and the other wrote another e-mail wanting to set a time. Guess who got eliminated from the final round first?

It made me realize that we are so used to communicating by e-mail that we've lost a degree of our connection with some who are very important to us. If you replace just 20% of your e-mail conversations with phone calls to your important contacts, you will be making yourself different while making a difference.

Keeping good customers is more important today than ever before. And these days, your competitors are trying harder than ever to get your customers. The telephone is a great tool for maintaining that connection. Because, tagging your e-mail with "LOL" will never create the same bond as sharing a genuine laugh.

Do You Hate Advertising Agencies?

There have been a number of occasions where I've met with business owners and managers who state flatly that they don't like ad agencies and don't think they can add any value to their marketing efforts. It's always left me somewhat speechless, because these people have formed strongly held opinions that were shaped by some experience they had. And, there was no amount of persuasion that was going to change their minds.

In reflecting upon why such negative feelings are held by some, I recounted some of the things I've seen over the years. Following is a list of five things that can turn a viable client into an anti-ad agency evangelist.

1. SURPRISE BILLS
Nothing will lead to a lack of trust faster than a bill that is not expected. Reasonable clients will expect a bill for work done. But, I have seen bills from some ad agencies that are completely out of line with the work that was performed. Once a business owner feels burned by an ad agency, it is almost impossible to gain their trust again.

2. UNDER SERVICE THE ACCOUNT
This takes a little longer for the client to recognize. But eventually, if they aren't given enough attention, they will believe that no matter how little they are charged, it is money wasted. Ironically, this problem usually comes from the agency charging too little so it has to take on more clients than it can effectively handle just to make a profit.

3. GET CAUGHT UP IN THEIR OWN CREATIVE IDEAS
I've seen wonderful work for a client, expertly executed and complete. And, completely off the mark. I worked with a pizza company whose previous agency's branding efforts were so completely off the mark that people came in thinking it was a slot car store. Small wonder they're still gun-shy.

4. OVER PROMISE IN THE BEGINNING
In this highly competitive business, many agencies resort to unrealistic promises of success in order to land the account. Then, of course, the results are never even close. Sometimes, if the agency can create a personal bond fast enough, they can modify client expectations back to something reasonable. But, often they can't, and the business owner feels burned by the whole experience.

5. CREATIVE ARROGANCE
It isn't as prevalent as the movies would have us believe. But, it still happens too much. Some young creative guy teams up with some young AE, and suddenly they think they are the only ones with answers that matter. The truth is, business owners often have much to offer and create a much better team when included. Not much will turn off a business owner who has worked his or her tail off to get where they are faster than some arrogant outsider who gets a boost from trying to make his client look inferior.

Thankfully, most agencies are not like this. They are hard working, insightful, talented groups of people who can add lots of horsepower to a businesses success. And, sadly, many who got burned once continue to get burned because they lose a competitive edge by doing it themselves.

Do Web Marketing Experts Really Pay for Themselves?

Anyone who hasn't been locked in a closet for the past five years knows that the Internet has helped level the marketing playing field between large and small companies. Social media and other web marketing methods are allowing businesses with small marketing budgets to compete with larger companies.

Not too many years ago, a business needed to spend $200,000 or more annually in a small to medium market just to have a minimal presence. That left most businesses out of the hunt for any kind of top of mind awareness in their market. Businesses with smaller budgets were limited to a selection of marketing alternatives that might include guerrilla marketing, community newspapers, local store marketing or maybe a modest presence in the local daily newspaper.

Today, if a business owner figures out how to harness the power of the Internet, a world of potential customers, literally, opens up. That's the good news. the bad news is that it isn't quite as easy as it might first appear.

In my experience, most people who run a business find that it's a full time job. Business people tend to be consumed with all that needs tending, from personnel issues to accounting. From dealing with vendors to keeping customers happy. And, there are dozens of other tasks, each screaming for the entrepreneur's attention.

This business of web marketing takes precious time that most business people simply don't have. And, it isn't just the time to execute the e-marketing plan. It also involves creating the plan. How, as an entry level player, do you know where you should have a presence, and what you should do once you are there?

How much effort should you put against search engine optimization? Should you be on YouTube, Flickr, Twitter or Facebook? Should you have an e-mail program or a paid search campaign? Does a blog make sense for you? Then there are the hundreds of add-on applications that extend the effectiveness of all these platforms. And, how do you connect your choices so they all coordinate to deliver a cohesive message to the same target audience? Finally, how do you measure results?

It is the rare business owner who can figure all this out and still run his business. Take advantage of the opportunities the web offers and start today by hiring someone who already knows this stuff. They'll do a much better job, and do it quicker than you could ever hope to. The money you save by trying to figure it out yourself will be a trifle compared to what you will gain by ramping up now and staying ahead of your competition.

Technorati

This post is strictly for the purpose of following the instructions for claiming my blog on Technorati.

Technorati Profile

This procedure seems odd, but I'll give it a try.

Store closing strategy for A Boy is personal

A going out of business strategy isn't something a marketing company such as ours likes to create for a valued client. But, this recession is ruthless, and really doesn't care about the human side of the story. And, this one is a little personal for me, not because they are a great client, but because I really, really like their stores.

In this case, we are about to launch a store closing campaign for four of the six A Boy Plumbing and Electrical Supply stores in the Portland / Vancouver area. The unfortunate part is that the stores were doing fine, given the bad economy. It was the parent company that relied entirely upon contractor building activity that was really hit hard. And, as much as A Boy provided revenue, it couldn't provide enough to fill the huge, growing vacuum created by the much larger parent company.

With only about five weeks to close, we were given the task to unload more than $1 million worth of inventory. Our plan involves three phases. The first phase announces the existence of the sale and will last for about two weeks. The second phase will call out inventory categories that need more attention and apply deep discounts to the message. The third phase will begin a countdown to closing in order to create urgency. The final phase will also feature drastically discounted examples.

The media will go for tonnage. This is a fairly simple message that people will understand quickly. So, we're buying :15 and :10 second radio and TV spots, supplemented with 4 - 5 second TV, and getting as many messages as possible out there.

The good news is that this isn't one of those phony sale schemes where prices are raised so they can be lowered, and the net result is no savings. This is the real deal. There's no time or interest in playing those unethical games. So, you might say that this is a guy's dream come true: a store filled with all kinds of tools, hardware, fixtures and other man toys on sale.

On the other hand, I'm going to miss my favorite store. The A Boy on Foster. It's the closest thing to an old fashioned hardware store I know, where the guys there really know their stuff and there's none of that "big operation" slickness that stocks only those things that deliver the highest annual turns.

More good news! Two of the stores: Hollywood and Barbur Blvd. are being purchased by the original owner and will remain open under his exclusive ownership.

I think this little gem of a chain will once again grow into various Portland area neighborhoods to serve as a great alternative to the big, impersonal box stores.

Create a Marketing Plan for the Economic Recovery Now

More and more indicators are pointing to an economic recovery. That means marketers must look past their recession strategy and begin planning their recovery marketing strategy.

I have witnessed businesses cutting overhead, cutting jobs and salaries, closing branches, cutting marginal lines and doing all the things necessary to survive. Most have already done just about everything they can do, and are managing to struggle through.

Finally, Saturday's Oregonian reported: "Battered economy looking a bit better". By the way, while some of the indicators they reported were recent, I think evidence existed three or four weeks ago, and the newspaper is woefully behind in its reporting. Current unemployment figures are better than expected, the bank stress test showed that banks are in better shape than experts were expecting, the Dow has been up 8 weeks out of the past 9, and the NASDAQ has been up 9 straight weeks.

So, with these positive signs, it becomes clear that sharp marketers who recognize the importance of staying in front of trends must be planning how to address the change now.

Here are seven recommendations for marketers looking to plan ahead, made in a recent article by John Quelch, a professor at Harvard Business School.

1. FOCUS ON HIGH POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS
Identify those who may have been putting off the buying decision and speak to them first.

2. DON'T ASSUME A RETURN TO NORMAL
This long, deep recession is more likely to permanently change consumer attitudes and behaviors. Be sure to listen and watch carefully the signals they are sending you.

3. ASSESS TARGET CUSTOMER TRUST
Companies, especially financial companies, have taken a beating in the past several months. Add services and support to boost your trust with customers.

4. STAY FOCUSED ON COST
This long recession has created a downward pressure on prices that will not go away with the recovery.

5. KNOW YOUR LEAD INDICATORS
What do you notice that precedes or validates your customer behaviors? Identify those and pay attention to them.

6. DEVELOP SCENARIOS
Since there is no way for you to know exactly what will happen or when, you must be prepared to adjust your marketing to fluctuations of surprisingly robust sales and short periods of reversal.

7. DON'T WAIT FOR PERMISSION
Start planning now. Don't wait for an official announcement that the recession is over. By that time, you will be behind your competitors.

Media Buying: seven mistakes made by business owners

We've been around buying media for more than 20 years, so we've seen just about every sales pitch, rationale and strategy there is. I'd say we've seen them all, but there's always the slim possibility there might be one out there we haven't seen yet.

More to the point, however, is that along the way, we've also heard from a great number of business owners and managers who are convinced they are getting the best media buy possible. No one, despite their credentials or experience, could possibly negotiate a better deal than they did.

In no case, ever, have we come across an owner-made media buy that could not be improved. And most of the improvements needed were significant. Here are some of the pitfalls of a business owner or manager negotiating his or her own media buy.

1. CHEAP SPOTS DON'T MEAN VALUE
It is in a business manager's makeup to measure the value of something by its cost. All to often we have witnessed a business owner proudly showing the super low costs of his TV or radio commercials without taking into account the size of the audience. A half hour in timing can make a huge difference in the numbers of people who will watch or listen to the commercial. The super low cost spots are super low for a reason. There's no audience.

2. BEST RATES COMPARED TO WHAT?
While we're on the subject of rates, most do-it-yourselfers are convinced that they negotiated the best rates in town. What they fail to recognize is that part of a good media salesman's job is to close the sale making the buyer thinking they got the best rate in town. And, they're usually pretty good at doing that. A client of ours is one of the best negotiators I've even met. But, he turned his media buying over because he wisely recognized that he had nothing to compare his rates to in order to verify what he was paying. A media buyer buys for a number of clients, therefore has a view of the playing field that a single business owner cannot have. This client actually lowered his media costs by going through a buyer.

3. ELIMINATE ANY POSSIBILITY OF SELF INTEREST.
Objectivity is extremely important when it comes to media buying. In almost every direct situation, some media rep has managed to create a close relationship with the business owner. Often, the business owner will even consult their favorite, trusted media rep for information not related to the rep's station. This is a huge error, regardless of the trust factor. No media rep is without a self-interest in selling his station. It can and absolutely will color any advice provided. Only an independent media professional is in a position to recommend a media mix without bias.

4. DON'T BUY WHAT YOU LIKE.
People who buy their own media tend to buy programming that they like. It's hard to spend $3,000 on a schedule, then not see it because it's not where you are watching or listening. But, that's what must be done. Media has to be purchased where your customers are watching, not you. And, too often, business owners believe their customers have the same media habits as their own.

5. SPREAD IT OUT AND WATCH RESULTS DIMINISH.
Stations like to sell schedules that are convenient for them, not schedules that deliver customers to you. I have never been able to understand why they do this, but it happens repeatedly. A station will push direct advertisers into a buy that is spread out over all day parts as evenly as possible. This is so they can sell their time slots evenly, thus leaving time in all day parts to sell to other advertisers. The trouble is, it dilutes the effectiveness of they buy for the advertiser. Media professionals have information that shows audience levels throughout the day and can balance the buy to maximize the fluctuation.

6. RESIST THE $300 PRIME SPOT PITCH.
Too many smart business people get lured by the promise of a prime spot for a fraction of its regular price. Smetimes you can get a cheap prime spot. But, it's almost always at the expense of the overall efficiency of the buy. Sometimes when you pay a small amount for a bank of commercials that are allowed to rotate throughout the day at the station's discretion, you can get lucky. But, by the time you add up what you paid and measure it against what you got, it is a very bad gamble. Even if you landed a cheap spot in a prime time television slot, you can bet the rest of your schedule ran in garbage times because that's where stations have most of their inventory.

7. HOW DO YOU KNOW YOU GOT WHAT YOU PAID FOR?
After a schedule runs, how do you know if it delivered the audience that was promised? Even if a business owner is sophisticated enough to know how to buy programming based upon audience levels, he rarely follows through with the station to measure whether the program actually delivered. Most don't know that if a TV station delivers less than 90% of the promised audience during a campaign, they have to make up the difference. An independent media buyer will use her own rating information to analyze the buy after it has run to make sure the advertiser got everything he paid for.

Does Advertising During a Recession Really Pay Off?

Most savvy business owners and managers know that the best marketing strategy during a recession is to advertise as aggressively as possible. But, just in case you need some reinforcement to support that truism, consider the following information.

The first study conducted to measure the effectiveness of marketing during a recession was conducted by Rolland Vaile during the recession of 1923. He later published his report in the Harvard Business Review. It showed the biggest sales increases throughout the period during and following the recession were rung up by the companies that advertised the most.

The next studies were done during the recessions of 1949 and 1954. Again, results showed that companies that advertised had the most sales. But more importantly, it showed the companies that did not advertise not only lost sales during the recession, but continued to lag behind after the recession.

More studies were done during the recessions of 1958 and 1961 with the same results. But, this time they also measured profits. In every case, companies who quit or cut back advertising lost market share and lagged behind those who maintained their budgets.

Another study was done during the recession of 1970 with the same result. Then McGraw Hill conducted a study during the recession of 1981 and 1982 with the same result. Then David Ogilvy's agency Group Center for R&D did one during the 1990 recession. You guessed it: the same result.

That's ten separate studies over an eighty year period and every one of them returned the same result.

This is the time to be aggressive with your marketing. This is not to say you should be foolish with your budget and spend more than you can afford. But, don't do what so many business people do, which is to take the fastest and easiest route to cutting overhead by slashing their marketing budget while hanging onto other expenses that could be trimmed.

Television and radio are not dead yet

I just read a short article entitled "Agencies Need to Think More Facebook, Twitter, Less TV."

While my methodical, logical tendency is tugging at me to study the comparison between social marketing and traditional broadcast, then present a studied article with all kinds of facts and figures, I'm caving to impulse. Going with my gut, supported by my personal experience with what I see happening today.

Our agency has been ramping up our social media knowledge and skills as quickly as possible because we recognize its profound importance as time goes on. In the process, I've noticed a continuing increase of information and opinions on social media, to the point where it appears that some consider traditional media dead and buried. I suppose this is a natural phenomenon when something as new and ground-breaking as social media is discovered. We get caught up in the frenzy, and bail from our old ways like rats jumping off a sinking ship.

Except, the ship isn't sinking.

True, traditional media is becoming more fractured. But, just because the days of three primary networks, and a handful of local radio stations are gone doesn't mean the medium has lost its usefulness. Case in point. We have been running a television campaign for a chain of restaurants in the Sacramento California area. Since we started in June 2008, they have been up in sales every single month. And, up significantly, anywhere from 20% to 30%. And, this is in a recession! And, this isn't the only success story we've seen using traditional media.

What this shows is that it isn't just the media. It's finding the right message, then finding your audience. Sometimes the audience can be found on TV, sometimes on radio, sometimes in an industry magazine. If anything, it has made ad agencies more valuable than ever, because they are equipped to find the right mix of places where a client's audience hangs out.

Social marketing should be a growing part of the mix, no doubt. And for some, social marketing will be all that is needed, or can be afforded. But, the real marketing answer is in looking at the entire landscape of options and mixing them most efficiently to achieve the client's goals.

Rob

Guerrilla Marketing: step one

successful marketing in a recession often relies more on hard work and wits than a big advertising budget. You can build sales, despite the recession, if you start by paying attention to the people most likely to shop at your store. And, for many businesses, those people are the ones who live within a mile or so of your store.

In nearly every neighborhood, there are hundreds of opportunities to generate low cost or no cost sales promotions. All it take is a little time to get out of your store and circulate in your community. By focusing your efforts in the geographic area from which you pull the vast majority of your customers, you can zero in on potentially overlooked customers right in your own back yard.

But, don't just casually stroll through your neighborhood. Take time to observe and really study the geographic landscape of your surroundings. Whether you are the owner or manager of a single store, or supervise several locations, you can benefit from mapping out the area around your stores to make informed decisions about your local sales promotion strategies.

Start by creating a map of your store's geographic location. Include all main arterials, surface streets, businesses, schools, churches, retail centers, civic offices and so on. Work to create an intimate understanding of what's in your community. How many banks are there, how many schools? How many ice cream shops, how many places serve lunch? Study the landscape and see what you can learn about where people are going and at what time. Are there potential cross-promotion partners out there? Perhaps an auto body shop, post office or transit center would make sense. Or perhaps a local video store or dry cleaner. These are the observations you can use as a means of sculpting a plan. The better you know your neighborhood, the better you'll be equipped to spot opportunities.

Getting involved in your community and getting to know the various business owners out there will make it much easier to develop relationships that can take on many forms. As you survey the territory around you, stop in and say hello to the managers and operators in your community. Introduce yourself, stay for coffee, share a little about your current business and ask them about their recent hurdles or successes. In all, develop a rapport so that you can use this network to further your local store marketing efforts. The following ideas are just some of the possibilities.

Develop a promotion involving a local school or college. Demonstrate your product for a class or offer a discount to students through their campus newspaper.

Establish tie-ins with community stores. Offer to distribute their brochures if they'll distribute your brochures or coupons.

Provide a special "discount card" for employees of large-size businesses in your area.

Post your own sign or circular on local bulletin boards at supermarkets, schools, churches, businesses and clubs.

Offer your product, if it fits, to local charities as part of their fund-raising efforts.

Distribute or display your product at a high profile community events, such as concerts, street fairs or sporting events.

Make special offers with mailings to clubs or organizations in the area.

Create a special offer during narrow times of the day when you notice increased traffic, and promote it with window signs or sandwich boards.

The more people who get to know you personally, the more loyal customers you will see. Your community will appreciate any support you can give, and will extend their loyalty to your business relative to the time you devote to cultivating your community relations.

Advertising Strategies for a Recession

There have been many studies over time that have proven that advertising during a recession results in better sales during the recession and more explosive growth after it's over. In fact, most business people whom I've met know and understand this principle quite well. But, many continue to advertise using the same strategies they were using when the economy was robust.

A recession is an altogether different business landscape and must be approached with strategies that take this into account. We know that people tend to nest during a recession. Home and family become more important along with things that represent more traditional values.

Other traditional recessionary behavior includes changes in business relationships. Contract and finance terms tend to get renegotiated. Customers are more cautious with their purchases, as are businesses. People are more price sensitive. Customers may even trade down to less expensive models or temporarily quit buying some products.

Studies show that this behavior is caused more due to uncertainty of the future than a lack of funds. So, knowing all this, here is a short list of strategies that work best during a recession.

1.
People are looking for reassurance. Implement strategies that make buyers feel they are minimizing risk. Maybe enhance your guarantee or return policy. Or just include it more prominently in your messages.

2.
People are more comfortable with familiar things. Capitalize on your brand equity to reduce uncertainty. Include testimonials from past customers in your ads, or use product demonstrations. This might be a good time to remind customers of your longevity in the community. Implement a loyal customer program. Sponsor local events or activities. Ramp up your guerrilla marketing efforts and increase one-on-one visibility.

3.
If your product is a discretionary purchase, you may have to work harder to identify that which motivates people to buy and how the current climate is preventing them from acting. You may be forced to stimulate sales through extra incentives such as price cuts, financing offers, extra service or added value. Many marketing experts say you should avoid discounting. The truth is that sometimes you have to include that in the mix.

4.
If your product is a low priced discretionary purchase, emphasize the "reward" incentive. People will reward themselves with small indulgences because it makes them feel good and they feel like they deserve it.

5.
Include cost saving ideas, ways to help your customer's dollar go farther, or ways to get more use out of your product.

6.
Many people think there are too many sales until they are in the market for something. Then they look for a sale. Have short bursts of extremely attractive sales, surrounded by a solid branding campaign that emphasizes value and service.

7.
For business to business, concentrate on personal relationships, especially with current customers. Competitors will be targeting them.

8.
For business to business, concentrate on messages about products and activities that will improve your customer's bottom line.

9.
Concentrate on your core. Identify what you sell most of and sell the heck out of it. Identify what you do best, and ramp up your efforts even more. Identify who your biggest, most likely customers are and target them well.

10.
Implement an interactive strategy that makes connections with your best customers. Keep them engaged and demonstrate to them that you value them. There are many avenues, from blogging to e-mailing to Facebook, and yes, even Twitter. There is a combination that is best for you. Figure it out and do it.

You won't be doing everything that is listed here. But this should provide you with enough food for thought that you can take what is appropriate and run with it.

Increasing sales in a recession

It's true that some business categories and products actually experience an increase in sales during a recession. Those products usually represent a lower cost alternative to an otherwise routine buying decision. Some examples include beer as opposed to wine and spirits, fast food as opposed to sit down dining and second hand store sales as opposed to new products whose usefulness isn't significantly reduced by being used, such as books.

On the other hand, the harsh reality for most businesses today is that creating sales is a bona fide problem, requiring all the resourcefulness and ingenuity the entrepreneur can muster. It has been said that the new "up" is "flat".

There is actually some truth to that. But, a businessman should not aim for flat, even in a devastating economy such as we are experiencing.

Today, businesses have more marketing tools in their tool box than ever before. Of course, there are two sides to that coin. On one hand, more options means you can customize a plan more accurately than ever before. On the other hand, there are so many choices and combinations, it could take months or years and untold thousands of dollars before you figure it out.

Here are a few tips to help narrow your decisions.

1. MEDIA IS A GENUINE BARGAIN RIGHT NOW. Media is priced as a result of two factors: number the people reached and demand. Here is the paradox of a recession. There are more people home watching TV, listening to the radio and paying attention to media because they are not going out as often. Yet, advertisers have cut back so much that the media is in the midst of a discounting war just to get advertisers. The result is that you get more viewers for less money.

Our agency has been able to negotiate huge discounts and other added value for clients who use TV, radio and print. These days, you can even snag some prime time slots that normally sell for thousands for as little as a few hundred dollars.

This takes more money than time. But, the rewards can be great, and the value will never be better.

2. Interactive and social marketing is relatively inexpensive and highly targeted. Coordinating your e-mail program with your web site, optimization, blog, twitter, You Tube, Facebook and other applications can have a measurable impact on sales.

This takes more time than money. And, the learning curve will be a quite a bit longer to get it right, both technically and strategically. It's tempting to try this stuff yourself, but if you want to jump start your results, hire someone who knows what they're doing to do it for you.

3. Good old fashioned guerrilla marketing has not and will never become extinct. It has been our experience that the most successful businesses are those who layer on a guerrilla marketing strategy to whatever else they might be doing. There are hundreds of tactics from cross promoting with another business to neighborhood door hangers to tricks with signage that can increase foot traffic as much as 30%.

This takes more time than money. And, you probably already know some of the things you can do. It will take longer to drive sales if this is the only strategy you use.

Figuring out the right strategic mix and what message resonates best with your target audience can and will drive sales. One of our clients, a Sacramento sit down restaurant chain, saw a 24.5% increase in sales this January as a direct result of marketing. A recession is not the end of the world. Business is still out there. You just have to work a little more strategically to increase your share.

New Web Site for Filter Technology Ltd. Completed

We knew industrial air filtration would be a challenge, but we didn't know how big. After a number of obstacles on the client's part that could not be anticipated, we were recently able to complete an altogether new web site for Filter Technology Ltd. My hat goes off to Bob Hood, who was blindsided with a severe illness which created significant challenges during the developmental process. We are now happy to report that the site is complete, but more importantly, Bob is back to his old self, 100%.

Filter Technology is a company that designs, engineers and builds industrial air pollution control systems. You can visit the site at http://www.filtertechnologyltd.com/ . After having written much, and edited all of the copy for the site, I am now more knowledgeable about industrial air filtration that I ever thought I would be. Not that I know all that much about it. But, this is a shining example of what can be accomplished when the client supplies the knowledge and the agency puts it into words.

Bob is personally, one of the most authoritative experts in the country when it comes to high temperature filtration, using air to air head exchangers. You can see the page at www.filtertechnologyltd.com/products/high-temp-filtration/ . There are only two...maybe three others in the entire country who are as accomplished as Bob in the area of high temperature filtration.

Moreover, his business isn't restricted to the United State. He recently completed six process dust filters in Qatar. See www.filtertechnologyltd.com/products/process-dust-filters/ . More information is listed on the "Projects" page.

Consulting is an important part of Filter Technology's service, with a large portion of the business in bringing existing systems up to date. These days, many companies don't want to spend the money to completely replace their old systems, so the look to Bob to help them up-grade what they have. You can read more about it at www.filtertechnology.com/services-industrial-filtration/ .

We're pretty pleased with this new site, and so is Bob. He has already experienced an increase in visits and business activity as a direct result of launching his new web site.

Economists optimistic as spending rises

The Oregonian ran an AP story this morning reporting that consumer spending has increased two months in a row in January and February despite falling incomes. This is after a "half year of declines".

The bad news is that the story was buried on page 7 of the Metro section, which is now page one of the Business section. Anyone who has been paying any attention lately has to have noticed that the Oregonian is becoming thinner and thinner. Most of their problems are because of competition from the internet. But, the recession adds significantly to their woes as advertisers cut their ad budgets.

The irony is that they add fuel to their problems by sensationalizing the bad news week after week, while treating the best news in months like it was hardly worth mentioning. This, by the way, isn't unique to the newspaper. Their broadcast counterparts are just as guilty.

I'm not suggesting the irrational notion that the media's reporting caused the recession or can fix it by merely reporting positive news. But, consumer confidence and spending play a huge part in recovery. And the media's obsession with sensationalizing the bad and burying the good ultimately has an effect on consumer confidence.

And their sales departments wonder what can be done to increase ad revenues? Start with the editorial department.

Legitimate bad news needs to be reported relative to its impact on the public. But, after months of nothing but bad news, this glimmer of good news is big news. And it derserves more than page 7 of the Metro section.