“Can't Afford to Market Right Now - Check Back in Six Months”

How many marketers and business coaches are hearing, “I just don’t have the budget now. Check back with me in six months”?

And, how many businesses who really need help (and who may not make it another six months without marketing or business coaching) are saying this?

         

          Here’s the sad but true story that I recently read a version of and thought it was so appropriate for today’s business environment that I had to share it. You may have heard it before, but it is worth reading again. In fact, it might make a good holiday card  - LOL!

Why is it so prevalent that a person wakes up under a marketed blanket on a marketed mattress and pulls off marketed pajamas then bathes in a marketed shower, brushes his/her teeth with marketed toothpaste, washes with marketed soap, puts on marketed clothes, drinks a cup of marketed coffee, drives to work in a marketed car and when asked to spend money on marketing, states that they can’t? ironically, when the business’ sales eventually decline, he/she markets the business for sale!

How do you overcome this obstacle? One way is to forward this to those with similar behaviors. Not a subtle approach – but one that can hit home and change attitudes and then behaviors.

After all, “Continuing to do the same thing and expecting a different outcome is a sign of insanity, right?”    

Good luck!

Mary

Homage To Our Veterans

A very dear friend, Irene Brennick, author of "Bring Your Audience to Their Feet" is multi-talented and wrote and performed this tribute to everyday heroes like our Vets.  Please take a moment  on this special day and listen. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ad-tNkoRvSo



Feel free to pass along to anyone you know who would enjoy it and please especially take a moment and pass it on to a Vet or a Vet's Family so that they do know that there are those of us who appreiciate their service, sacrifice and dedication to our country.

Thank you and thank you with great admiration and appreciation to our Vets and their families.

Mary

Revitalize Inactive Customers – Now Is Definitely the Time to Do It! Here’s How To Get Started

This is primarily used for B2B (business to business) clients but can be effective for B2C (business to consumer) as well. If you have the contact info for your “lost” customers, you are a head of the game. If you don’t – shame on you and start NOW.

The best way to approach this is objectively.

What you want to do it find out why they are not buying from you anymore. Don’t assume it is just the economy. Many things are needed so why aren’t they getting them from you?

There Can Be Many Reasons

·       Has the contact changed?

·       Did you/your company do something to upset them?

·        Do they believe or perceive that they don't need what your company offers anymore?

·       Or??

If you take a very objective, conversational approach by contacting them and asking them WHY they don't do business with your company anymore, you will receive many different answers.

 Each of Those Answers is an Opportunity

·       If the contact has changed, you have the opportunity to introduce yourself and your company to the new contact and be sure to emphasize the benefits of why your company is the best resource for their needs. This one can be one of the hardest sells because often the new contact has past providers that they are loyal to. In this case, it is best to get to a face to face meeting to review the savings, “over the top” service or other miracles that you have pulled off for their company. It is time to toot your own horn. People want to do business with someone who treats them special and by doing your homework and presenting a, “we care about you and your success,” approach, you have a better chance of them giving you a try over the person they have done business with. If you can, find out who the preferred vendor is, be sure that your presentation includes advantages of your company that the other company cannot provide. DO NOT make direct comparisons. NEVER bash a competitor. But if you do your skillful due diligence, you can present advantages without even mentioning the other company’s name. If you can, ask for a presentation time slot with others present – like the new person’s boss. This will potentially give you another advocate in the room and the boss will appreciate the effort you are going to to regain their business. If you’re lucky, they will apply a bit of pressure to the new person to buy from you. DO NOT do this without the permission of the new person. You could risk alienating them if you go around or above them.  

·        If your company did something to upset them – fix it. Fall on the sword if necessary. This is not a market in which one can take the low road. Even if the “error” was not your fault, suck it up and make it right.

 More Valuable Outcomes to Finding Out Why

·       One good reason to find out why the customer is not buying from you anymore is that if you collect the data in a database (even an excel doc if you aren't a techie), you will find patterns and trends as to why people have stopped doing business with your company.

·       If your company has changed whatever it is that caused people to stop buying from you, it is time to do a new campaign to all customers -- past and current-- to let them know how and why you are better now. If your company has not changed whatever it is that caused desertion, then you should bring the data to the attention of people in your company who can and will fix the problem. Remind them that if they don't fix the problem, the same thing will continue to happen. This is not a market in which losing customers can be taken lightly.

·       You may also unveil lifecycle information. You might find that a significant portion of the dead customers all left after a specific period of time-- say many left after 3 years. This will give you a lifecycle prediction for your existing clients. You need to work on extending that time period.

·       With this information, another opportunity presents itself ...find a way to re-engage your customers just before the 3 year period. We did this for a major luxury auto company and we found that the customer began shopping six months before their lease was up. So we engaged with the customers around 9 months before their lease was up. We offered them loyalty discounts. We refreshed appended data and complimented their accomplishments and tried to up sell them if their financial status had changed. It worked, we reengaged with this customer and with a little homework, we spoke to them as individuals. (This is where a full blown CRM/Loyalty Program is worth its weight in gold. If you are tracking all of their interactions with you, including web history, you can customize your approach to appeal to them directly.) DON’T send the same canned letter to everyone. I smacks (loudly) of insincerity. Take advantage of the data available to you, give it some thought and utilize POD (print on demand) to customize each communication to your customers.

·        If you find a clear lifecycle in your dead customers, it is a sure sign that you need to deploy or vastly upgrade your existing loyalty program.

·       One last thought, if you can get access to each customer’s purchasing habits i.e.; what did they buy from you, how often, what did they look at on your web site, what did they call in and complain to a service agent about, etc., study this info before you engage with them. The data will help you in your conversation with them and they will feel very special that you know about their specific account.

This is just a start in re-engaging with your inactive customers, but I hope it adds some insight into the importance of working at reengaging your customers. We are all aware that it costs more to gain a new customer than keep an existing one, so the benefits and payoff are well worth it.

If I can be of service to you or your company in collecting data, writing a script to begin the discussion of reengagement with your customers or if you need assistance developing or improving your loyalty programs or campaigns, please feel contact me.

Don’t just let your customers disappear – go get ‘em!

Good luck!

Mary

Six Reasons Why You Should Hire A Consultant in Q4 During A Recession

This will be short! The six reasons are so skewed towards doing it versus not doing it that I can even bulletize them and you will easily see why you should be looking for the right consultant NOW.

• Use it or lose it. Many budgets are still calendar year and if you don't use funds, they are gone next year. Don't buy into the rhetoric that you’ll be rewarded for saving money. It doesn’t happen. And, if you are a fiscal year budget – you’re half way through the game partner, better get on it to finish strong.
• Chances are, you are behind the eight ball and are not hitting your Q4 or Yearly Goals. You have two options: 1) fret about it and work to the bone to attempt to make up the chasm (which probably won’t happen and you’ll burn out your team doing it), or 2) take your lump, get an outside viewpoint and an innovative plan to hit the ground running in Q1. Often new, fresh, objective and novel ideas come from the outside looking in. Use a consultant to do this.
• If you use a consultant now to design a solid plan for Q1, you can spend the remainder of Q4 getting your team amped up, on board and already working towards the new concepts. You may even see an uptick in Q4 if you get at it early enough ;)
• Stop looking at bringing in a consultant to “look things over” as a threat, sign of weakness or admittance of defeat. Athletes use coaches and specialized trainers when an area of their performance is not at its peak. The human body often requires a doctor to provide an exam to ensure the “system” is running as it should. We take our cars in for a “tune up” for heaven’s sake! Bringing in a consultant; one thorough and knowledgeable in operations, fiscal management, marketing, sales, and employee relations with an imagination and positive attitude is the solution to getting out of the slump we are in. If more businesses got a “tune up” in Q4, our outlook for Q1 as a country would be much better than it is today.
• The answers to improving productivity, loyalty, profits and new services and products are out there. Hire a consultant with no vested interest in office politics, ensuring everyone likes him/her and is only there to provide objective feedback on what is going well and what isn’t and can provide a solid plan for improvement in Q1 and beyond.
• As the commercial with the drill sergeant as a therapist would say, “get out of scary mamby pamby land” and make a decision that will change your future outcome.

CMO - A Change Agent or Leader or Both?

It is a tightrope to exhibit the necessary leadership to get associates on board, but the success and team building occur when the vision of change is communicated in a way that everyone understands its benefit. Any change strategy will not succeed without “buy in”.

It amazes me how much of change management is still a top down process versus an inclusive web-style approach. Leadership can come from the top but “buy in” comes from within. Without it, the best plan will fail.

“Lip service” is easy for people to portray. Change is hard.

Change Management is never easy so if you find yourself in the position to spearhead transformation, be smarter than the average bear…and easy on yourself and others in the long run... and be inclusive in the planning, implementation and rewards. You’ll be amazed at how smoothly and enthusiastically

true change will not only occur.... but will be lasting.

Try this tactic the next time you a have siituation, challenge or problem that requires a new approach. I hope that you are not only successful, but enjoy the process. 

Best wishes from a Turn Around Executive who loves the method as much as the outcome!

Mary

Forthcoming books and articles:

" How to Move Clients to Spend in a Sluggish Economy"

" The Keys to Successful Loyalty Marketing"

" Some of Your Best Customers Are Right in Your Backyard "

What'sThe Difference Between B2B and B2C Marketing?

I'm currently surveying colleagues on their opinion of this question. I have a definite opinion. Suprise?!!

I'd love to hear your opinion and then I'll post my viewpoint.

(BTW, this question comes up a lot, but it was recently asked of me on a recent trip to Germany by a B2C Marketer who was being challenged to take on B2B and wanted advice.)

Let me know by making a comment what advice you would have given!

Until then,
Mary

What should a new, local fitness studio do to recruit clients?

This question was submitted to me by an excellent technology marketer and over all very smart woman. She is trying to help a local business that she really likes and wants to see it do well.

The question again is: What should a new, local fitness studio do to recruit clients? 

Well, here is my humble answer to this VERY smart friend:

Your fitness business owner needs to assess the market - which sucks now, right? Then, assess her potential clients within this rotten market - that would most likely be a very high end client who is not affected by the recession (oh-- I forgot -- I heard on the news that the recession was over--oops :P), a fitness or health oriented person who is looking to have a regime that they can afford, a retirement aged (AARP) segment that has the time to come to classes during the day and some discretionery income and health needs or a niche market of narcissists who would sell there child before they gave up anything that made them feel and look better! In other words, what was her business model when opening a business in this climate? Did she even have one or did she just decide to open up a business doing something she loves and cares about?

Since my friend provided me some background info on this business, it has a couple of strong points that could really help the owner decide which path(s) to take. Let me clarify that point. Sometimes you can lay a wide net, but as a small business, you have to take one market at a time or do small testing in two markets to see which one pulls a better response and then go after that market with a fury.

Here are the helpful facts of the current business:

• Location - It is located across the street from a high end hotel that runs specials for local residents to "get that get away feeling - without leaving town"
• Lure - The first class is free (this can and cannot be a plus and there is plenty of debate on giving away your service/product - but in our economy, free sells)
•  Price – The classes are extremely well priced - I'm talking $10 and less per session for yoga!
• Variety - There is a wide variety of classes from yoga to the new Brazillian craze dance style exercise to CPR training!

I did a little research on the business and here are a few things that could use some looking into:

• Website landing page. The header is great, but the pictures are poor quality and the strong points (listed above) are not pronounced on the page. The market that they are appealing to is not clear on the landing page and it needs to scream "My" (whatever market she is going after) place. There are some good images on later pages but the landing page is too wordy and not visually stimuating.
• SEO for the company name is non-existant. I even typed in the name of the business in a search and got something else -- that's bad for a business. (I have the same thing for another 'just ask mary' site who is a book keeper -- but this is a blog -- free advice -- not a business. Paying for SEO to give free advice would not be a good business decision;)).
• The average income in the area she is promoting in is twice the national average.
• The divorce rate in her state is 4.1 - Hey--- I'm just saying......when people get divorced, they tend to take stock of the "merchandise" and tend to begin to engage in activities where they work on their bodies and feeling better about themselves.

There is more info but that data provides opportunities to get started:

• Invest in SEO - I would choose keywords that exploit the pricepoint and the free class. This is appealing to people struggling through the economy, the divorcee who might be on a new budget and the retiree or stay-at-home mom on a fixed budget.
• Partner with local hotels (especially the one across the street!) - This is an area where there is business travel. Strike a deal with the hotels to have them pay you a nominal fee to include your class(es) as one of the ammenities or part of one of their hotel stay packages. Business people worry about how they are going to still get their work out while on business and if they advertise the service on their website, you have immediately gained extra traffic and some might argue credibility. 
• Partner with local businesses - The location she is in is surrounded by business parks. Meet with the HR Directors/ VP of HR and offer a free pass to the employees and then either a discount package or offer the business a set, per person in their company fee, to pay monthly as an added perk. In these days where many benefits are being cut in businesses, an attractive, low cost, health promoting benefit may be of interest to business owners. The holidays are coming and even getting the employers to give this to their employees for three months as a gift would give you enough time to hook them into signing after their free trial is up.
• Change the landing page - Some of the info on the page is good (like the picture of the before and after of the owner -- wow she looks amazing now!) but the page needs to grab on price, convenience and experience. Move a testimonial or two to this page. Show pics and bios of other instructors and make it fun—Why do they like teaching  (fill in their class(es) here? There are current visuals of an empty dance studio looking space-- that says nothing to the woman who has just had a baby. If you want to showcase the space, show it with your target audience in a class and add ambience -- like greenery, candles, etc. -- think spa-like and an oasis from the hectic day.
• Look at specialized programs and/or  wording like suitable "for beginners" or for the "plus 50 crowd" or "for new moms", etc. This makes people in these groups feel as if you understand where they are coming from. If you just say "a gentle class", they may still conjure up visions of showing up after having a full day of taking care of the baby with your hair in a pony tail and being surrounded by perfectly coiffed women who belong on those housewife tv shows while you’re trying to lose baby fat. It could be intimidated by not painting another true image for the viewer with a studio full of “people like them”.  
• Get linked in and network with the local health providers like nutritionists, social workers, mental health professionals, divorce lawyers and hospital outreach or community directors. Most hospitals have rehab facilities and once a patient's prescription has run out, they can no longer exercise at the facility. If the caregivers know about your program, they can recommend you as an affordable after care option. (Most of these facilities have a social director who can help you get the word out to the providers. From personal experience, a lunch meeting provided by you of course, where you present your business will usually work better than a brochure.) Also, most hospitals give new moms a "goody bag". If info or a certificate (adds value) for a free class and info about your services is in the bag, then you may develop a good niche. 

·         And as I recommended to another local businesses who is now flourishing – JOIN YOUR LOCAL CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND BECOME ACTIVE! It always has been and continues to be a great source of business for local, small shops.

There are many more ideas, but this should get the owner started with the low cost options. If you are in a position to spend a little money, two really great options are advertisements in the local paper (again price and value messaging) and movie screen advertising (you'd be surprised how inexpensive this is for the audience you will reach.) If you have a little more money to spend, consider marketing on dating sites.

Good luck and I truly wish the business success, 

Mary  

Mary M Mussard

http://justaskmary.blogspot.com    -  The "Dear Abby" of Marketing and Business