Spark into Marketing » Marketing

Small business marketing ideas to spark your business progress

jeanspark — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:24:04 +0000

Small business marketing ideas come at you at all times of the day and night. While many small business owners may not have hearts that beat faster at the thought of a marketing plan, a marketing idea can be like the spark of a firework and energise you.

Marketing ideas can be big or small, short term or long term. They may lead to a marketing plan or to the trial of an idea but either way they take you forward. Going forward is essential to business life. To mis-quote Bob Dylan if your business is not getting ideas and busy being born it is busy dying..

But creative ideas tend not to come to us in an orderly way. It is important to be constantly alert for them, and write them down. As entrepreneurs we tend to have more ideas per moment than most, and one way of combating any sense of overwhelm or frustration is to record all ideas without judgement, and then process them afterwards. The ideas will be a treasure trove for ways to improve customer service, (or your life), develop new products and ranges, as well as find new clients.

The spark and the energy of the new idea is nurtured. New ideas often meet resistance – whether from your work or home team – so give them some breathing space before they get out into the world.

What is the point of marketing ideas?

Marketing ideas help your small business to communicate what is special your offer (and you) so that the right people buy more easily more often. The right marketing ideas help the buying decision to happen more effortlessly. You have more fun being you, and you make more money so you can make more difference. Pretty good, huh?

When do you find marketing ideas?

When you are more relaxed. The shower or the bath is one of the best places – think of Archimedes shouting Eureka ( I have found it) when he was in the bath, or Newton – not slaving away but sitting under an apple tree – when the idea of gravity occurred to him. It is important to have periods of relaxation during the day. They give your subconscious a chance to get to work, and you stop getting in your own way.

How do you find marketing ideas?

Go out and about and keep your eyes open. Watch how people behave when they are buying stuff even if it has nothing to do with your business. Ideas from other markets can easily work in your own. Note down anything that seems interesting. then give yourself a period of time to reflect. Sit in a cafe on your own, read the paper, listen and watch.

If you have a marketing problem get clear first on the problem. Maybe you want more customers, perhaps you sense that you are not presenting your business as a benefit to your customer, perhaps you need some new product ideas. The worst way to solve it is by getting desperate – ideas and solutions seem to disappear.

Write out the situation as clearly as you can. There may be some emotion behind what you are saying to yourself, and it is good to get clear on that, too. Sometimes we can be simply unaware of what voices are talking in our heads! Write down the exact words you are saying to yourself and notice the tone of voice you are using. Simply looking at those words and getting a sense of the emotion will help. It could be anger, frustration, or sadness, fear or excitement…your emotion will affect the response.

Then write the problem out again as briefly and unemotionally as possible. Reduce it almost to a formula. See if you agree with it when it is written out, and if not, do it again to reduce it to its simplest form. Then shut your notebook and go out and lhave a great day.

Ideas will start to come to you. By recording them (no matter how crazy) you tell your subconscious to carry on working for you, and you will soon be an organic ideas farm and more and more ideas will flow and later you can choose from the best ones.

When do the marketing ideas come to you?

When you least expect it! Your subconscious (and the reticular activation part of your brain) can do far more work for you when not constantly interrupted by your conscious mind interfering. So, as we have said, a relaxed state of mind is the best. You could be driving back from seeing a client, feeling relaxed when suddently you get a brilliant idea about how to structure the website better. It may surprise you that is is so simple, and you could wonder why you have not thought of it before. Be grateful you have had the idea, and write it down.When I have reached my destination I often have a quick refresh of my mind to see what I have been thinking about, and discover all kinds of good marketing ideas. .. and yes, note them down on paper, otherwise I will forget them. Drawings and doodles are good, too, as they come from the more imaginative side of the brain.

The simple act of clearing ideas out of your mind helps enormously to remind you that you have good ideas, and helps you to act on them, too.

You could be cooking a meal and not thinking about anything when suddenly the question you really need to ask your clients jumps fully formed into your mind. Or you could be on the point of waking up and you realise that the words for your strap line have arrived! Walking and other forms of physical exercise are good especially if there is an element of rhythm as it seems to soothe the brain and get you into that relaxed state.

Marketing ideas achieved through this process usually have more vitality and are more sustainable than ideas generated simply through will-power.

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Marketing idea: customer loyalty or new customer?

jeanspark — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 18:06:04 +0000

Customer loyalty is what all business owners want to achieve. Loyal customers keep on coming back and help your business to be more profitable.

Every small business owner knows that customers who know like and trust you are more likely to stay with you.

Provided you can keep on pleasing the customer they are unlikely to want to go off into the big bad world on their own, and take the risk of disconnecting with you. After a while the familiar seems safe, and resistance to change becomes the motivating force. As a small business you have the added potential for a more personal relationship with your customer, and they will genuinely not want to leave.

In the old days we all stayed loyal. Loyal to our bank, loyal to our mortgage company, loyal to our insurance provider, and loyal to our utilities provider. But we are not in the old days any longer, and in the new world it seems that the new customer hits more targets more quickly, and helps to grow market share.

I have just had a conversation with a friend of mine who noticed that her home central hearing / servicing /electricity contract had increased by 25% over the previous year. She got an alternative quote from another supplier which was 50% cheaper, and then rang the original provider to tell them she was leaving. Within a blink of an eye her quote had reduced from £ 40 per month to £ 10 per month. Her first response was outrage. Why was the price inflated for a loyal customer, and then dropped when she said she was going to leave? If there had been no price increase, she would have been happy to pay as before. That was her first thought. Her second thought was to follow the money, and make the saving.

She has been retained as a customer. But at some cost. She now no longer feels loyal to them, and when the contract is renewed again next year will fight to the death (make a phone call) to keep the price as low as possible. She has become a savvy customer, motivated by price, and is no longer a natural customer. She is going to write and complain, and will expect a convincing response.

Banks, insurance companies, and mobile phone companies are notorious for giving preferential treatment to their new customers. The net result is that existing customers feel aggrieved, and loyalty is lost.

Price is part of the reason why consumers buy. The other parts consist of branding, values, and customer service. Treat customers well and natural inertia will help them to stay with you. Treat customers badly and they shop around for price. Small businesses have a natural advantage for staying in the warm pool of customer loyalty and avoid being caught in the cold ocean of price alone.

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Simon Cowell or audience – who wins X Factor?

jeanspark — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:03:18 +0000

: Image via Wikipedia

Comments by Simon Cowell in the semi-finals of X Factor last weekend suggested to me that he thought Danyl was the best contender to win the competition. Evidence? He said that his was the best first audition ever, and seemed a little warmer in his approval of him than the other three contestants.

My personal view was that the only person with a chance of winning was Danyl. But what did the audience think?

They voted him out.

That means 2 “experts” are wrong ( I include myself) and the audience is right.

The audience has the power. They can vote and will – at a later stage – buy the CD’s, DVD’s go to the live shows…and effectively create success.

You can say that the voting audience is mostly young girls which is why there are more boys in the final, and could explain why JedWard stayed in the competition so long. Who is the buying audience for pop music? Young girls.

As the expert in our own business it is as well to remember that it is the audience who decides. They decide to give you money, and if they like you and want to see you next week. Whatever you are selling – therapy sessions, gigs at the O2 arena, consultancy services or books and CD’s – it is the audience who decides.

And the message is:

Know your audience (demographics will help)

Find out what they want (X Factor showed us week after week)

Be good at something (singing) but also be appealing

Test with different choices (Stacey Solomon, Olly Murs or Joe McElderry)

Know you can be wrong

Throw in some excitement by associating with bigger names – (George Michael, Michael Buble and Robbie Williams)(which could alter the voting demographics)

Then make the record and hope that it sells as well as Susan Boyle’s 4.5 million copies shipped to the US – breaking all records.

Let the X Factor inspire you in your marketing!

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The perfect marketing (and internet marketing) conference or event

jeanspark — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 22:23:34 +0000

Marketing and internet marketing conferences are part of the product offering of many gurus and would-be gurus.

Unlike professional qualifications there are no requirements for continuing professional development in marketing a business, but those attending hope that their business will increase significantly.

From the viewpoint of the conference organiser there may be additional money to the entrance fee to be made through his or her own sales offer, or through offers made by other speakers. A “multi-speaker” event is becoming more common these days, and sometimes the entrance is free as money will be made on the speaker’s offers where organiser and speaker share revenue.

Having been to a number of conferences and seminars this year I have found it interesting how very differently they are run. The perfect conference, to be honest, would be where I leave the conference and magically new customers are already begging to work with me, or simply rushing for their credit cards so they can pay me money.

While I am waiting for that to happen (!) my wish list as an attendee is in this order:

1. Helpful atmosphere with guru (s) available to actually talk to you in the breaks about your issues without selling hard. (Very rare and precious.)

2. One or two big ideas that change perception and the sense of what is possible.

3. Likeable people to sit next to and meet. (JV partners of the future/friends starting as neighbours)

4. Some form of development during the event which moves action forward. We are all responsible for our own action but where it is integrated into the seminar it takes place more quickly and easily.

5. A list of tactics or a planned programme so that the doing takes place afterwards. A clear “next step”.

6. Some variety of speakers and presentation styles, but not too many.

7. One sales pitch made honestly and confidently. Not an over-hyped pitch-fest which contributes to overwhelm and makes the organisers look indecisive or greedy. Seeing a pitch made authentically and persuasively in the flesh can be empowering for an audience looking to develop their marketing.

8. Energy proactively managed. This doesn’t have to be massages and roof-raising shrieks but sitting still for three days is not normal.

9. A way of knowing who else is present. There will be natural alliances to be made.

Optional extras:

10. An organised follow-up group to work with to encourage implementation

11. An exotic location so simply getting there is a good experience

12. A beautiful notebook

13. Manual to take away.

None of the events I have attended have had all these elements. However, I can vouch for the fact that the non-critical (my optional points) were certainly an incentive to me to attend one of these seminars! While it had the optional extras in plenty it certainly lacked the very first option of being able to talk to the “guru/s”.

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Not just an anniversary a Marks and Spencers 125 year anniversary

jeanspark — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:30:00 +0000

Marks and Spencer is celebrating 125 years of trading.

Quite an achievement for any business. This is not just an ordinary anniversary .. as they say in the TV ad – but an extra special anniversary in this year of retail problems. What can a business owner learn?

Marks and Spencer 2009 Penny Bazaar as reported in the Daily Mail

1. Celebrate your anniversaries. Whether it is one year or 125 years make a noise about it. 125 years is a long time to be in business, and definitely a cause for celebration. M and S used the history of the “Penny Bazaar” to re-create part of their history, sell goods at 1 penny, and attract a lot of attention.

Even one year of trading is an achievement. The statistics from Britain and the US are alarming – most businesses fail. Sometimes 9 out of 10 will fail, but 4 out of 5 is common by the fifth year. If your business is anything over 1 year old – celebrate!

2. Products + salesmanship. Michael Marks introduced products from Poland to the North East of England. He offered exotic toys, which had probably never been seen before. He sounds like the classic entrepreneur: risk taker, resourceful and probably very charismatic. All entrepreneurs have to get buy-in not only for products and services but also for their ideas. it is salesmanship.

3. Know what your customers are thinking. One of the best principles of direct marketing is – as Robert Collier put it – to get into the conversation in the customer’s head. When those early buyers read the sign on one of Mark’s stalls which said: ” Don’t ask the price, it’s a penny” they must have become more willing to hand over the coin. It disqualified any customer who couldn’t read (and probably wouldn’t have a penny of disposable income), and made them feel their thoughts had been read.

4. Ask for what you want. Michael Marks was no slouch and expanded his business with market stalls and by selling products from Dewhurst’s a local supplier into the villages around Hartlepool. He approached Dewhurst to see if he would be interested in a partnership. Mr Dewhurst turned him down.

But, as in business networking events, if you ask for what you want clearly somebody will know somebody who is the right person. In this instance Mr Dewhurst recommended Thomas Spencer, his cashier. Thomas Spencer did see an opportunity for his money to grow, and probably for his talent to be applied. He invested £300 for half the business, took over the warehousing, and the company expanded rapidly.

5. Growing a business is different from starting a business. So the company belonged to them both and Marks had to share his venture. He ran the market stalls and Spencer ran the back office. They brought different – equally important – skills to the business which was bigger than either of them. Spencer was probably an expert with the quill pen and the ledger, and valued order and process, Marks saw opportunity everywhere, and had a million new ideas every day.

Marks developed the company to the stage where entrepreneurial skills and flair could be boosted by sound management. Once it made that transition, Marks and Spencer reached critical mass and the early success laid the foundation for the 125 year anniversary.

Anniversaries make news. They create a good answer to the question “Why should I know about this” and the media and your target market will be interested. They are a chance to promote products and services simply by virtue of the anniversary. It couldn’t be simpler!

Some of the better known retailers celebrating this year include:

Selfridges – 100 years in business in March

Primark – 40 years in business – their tale of growth and acquisition makes interesting reading.

Cargo -20 years

It is not only retailers who gain from the focus of an anniversary, but any organisation that has a link with a famous individal or cause. It is an opportunity for books, ebooks, events, festivals etc, and a re-publication of old material made newsworthy by the anniversary.

Charles Darwin – author of Origin of Species. 150 years since publication, 200 since his birth. The Natural History Museum and English Heritage were leaders in the focus on Darwin.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel – the great engineer. 150 years since his death. The anniversary has created opportunities for organisations as diverse as First Great Western trains to Brunel University .

Hampton Court – royal palace owned by Henry VIII. 500 years since Henry came to the throne. an opportunity for festivals, conferences and special events. ..not only for the Palace, but for any associated organisations.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Douglas Adams’ famous book is 30 years’ old and published by PanMacMillan who are promoting a special anniversary edition.

Island Records. The breathtakingly successful British recording studio with a stellar lineup from Bob Marley, Cat Stevens, and Amy Winehouse to Keane. 50 years old.

Look around for noteworthy events in your market even if your own history doesn’t warrant an anniversary. Ride on the coat-tails. Plan your anniversary in good time. It is a golden opportunity to connect and to promote.

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Creative spam with a story fools Akismet and interests me

jeanspark — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 09:03:19 +0000

Spam is getting more creative! I have just received 20 spam comments which Akismet (the Wordpress anti-spam device) has let through its filter, and presented to me to delete or approve.

When I read the first one I was not sure if it was spam.

It started with a feel good quote. I am completely in favour of feel-good quotes – in fact my daily quote from The Universe via Mike Dooley does a lot to brighten my day. But this quote had more of the hard-core persistence I find with some people on twitter.

Then after the quote was a brief personal “story” eg I am [name] and I live in [interesting country].

Then the appeal “I am also learning English please help me / is my English correct in this sentence”

Then a sentence about something slightly unpleasantly medical – a few were fungal related – nothing pornographic – but just enough to put you off your morning coffee.

However I did find them more interesting than the spam comments which just throw a bunch of words at the wall to see if any will stick.

In fact I almost wanted them to be from authentic people which proves the amazing power of stories even in spam! We all love stories, and are wired to listen to them.

The only other good thing about attracting more interesting spam then this blog must be worth spamming! As Oscar Wilde would have said if he were alive today ” There’s only one thing worse than getting spam, and that is having a blog that is not getting spam at all.”

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8 Reasons why “Britain’s Got Talent” is important for your business.

jeanspark — Sun, 31 May 2009 08:26:58 +0000

The world wide figures for Britain’s Got Talent have been phenomenal. Susan Boyle’s videos have been watched more than those of Barack Obama. Something is going on and there are powerful lessons for your business.

1. It reminds you that it is all about the audience. Unlike the Apprentice (apparently about business but more of a soap opera) the audience decides. It is the same in your business. They decide who they want to have the budget, the cash or the vote.

2. Talent and hard work take you most of the way, so you are ready for the opportunity. Susan Boyle said the only reason she was not famous was because she had not had the opportunity.

3. Talent and a story that touches the heart get you further. In Susan Boyle’s case from an unknown village on to the Oprah show. Her story was the contrast between the appearance and the voice, for Diversity the dance troupe it was all about brothers and friends and inspired leadership, for Julian Smith it was that his saxophone his wife and his children were what he loved. Not a soundbite, but way of capturing the essence. We all need a peg to hang an idea on.

Most of the finalists had a wonderful story. The grandfather who got over the grief of his wife’s death and the grand-daughter who had more confidence when with him, the father and son who adored each other and the son knew his dad had not had a father in his own life, the little sister who ended up singing (not singing and dancing) and coped with her tears, the boy who learnt the moves in his bedroom…

Shaun had an amazing voice didn’t have a really appealing story, and did not finish in the top three.

4. Tears, tantrums and weakness do not mean the end. Susan’s tantrums and Hollie’s tears did not make the public or the judges reject them. In fact the opposite happened. Things go wrong. Recovering from a mistake is what matters.

5. Telling the truth makes a difference. When Simon Cowell makes a critical comment he may get boos, but you can feel the truth of it. Everyone listens to what Simon says with closer attention because he does not hold back. He provides leadership. He preferred Diversity to their closest competition, while Piers Morgan preferred Flawless. Diversity won. Leadership is important. You may be booed by some, but you will have more authority and more people will trust you.

6. Choose the right song at the final. Sing a whole range of songs to see what fits, but go with the right one at the end. Your song in business is a mix of what you do, how you do it and why it is right for you.

7. The name is important. Britain’s Got Talent proved to be even more accurate this year, as the finalists were a specially talented group. Call your business and your products and services the right name, and it will do the work for you.

8. What’s happening in the wider world can help. Piers Morgan told Susan Boyle she had given the world something to believe in. The doom and gloom all around probably contributed to Susan’s fame. Home cooking, home grown vegetables, and home grown talent are all part of a new ethos which has contributed to the unprecedented coverage of this year’s Britain’s Got Talent.

Britain’s Got Talent has been a fantastic free learning experience for all of us in business. Use it!

The chances are that your customers have seen it or heard about it, so in addition it gives you an experience to talk about with them.

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7 Reasons why Susan Boyle’s got talent

jeanspark — Mon, 25 May 2009 13:11:53 +0000

Susan Boyle has qualified for the finals of “Britain’s Got Talent.”

What is special about her? After all there are plenty of dowdy middle-aged women with good voices who do well in the first rounds of a competition but never qualify for the final.

Why has Susan Boyle’s video been downloaded 58 million times? Why has she appeared on Oprah?

1. The contrast between the audience’s expectation that she had no talent and her amazingly talented singing told a dramatic and compelling story.

It is part of myth and fairy tale. The ugly ducking who turns into a swan, the “stupid” son who turns out to be powerful as well as good, the sister who suffers at the hands of others and ends up with a happy life and a handsome prince. Rags to riches, incompetence to competence, despair to hope, dreams to reality … these are the stories that speak to our soul.

Before she sang Susan looked dowdy, was obviously considered untalented, and her confidence was judged by the audience as mis-placed arrogance. Once she had sung a few notes the audience and judges could dare to believe in a fairy tale.

2. She has musical skill and her voice has a warm emotional quality which adds to her technical skill. She connect with people musically and emotionally.

3. She had confidence even before she sang a note. Simon Cowell asked her why she hadn’t made it before and she answered very matter of factly that she hadn’t had the opportunity before. She had the confidence to stand her ground.

When Simon said afterwards that she was a “tiger” .. she barely responded to the comment and gave it no space at all. A less confident person might have wanted that attention (and agreed or felt complimented) or rejected what he said and felt patronised. She did neither.

4. She has clarity and a sense of purpose. Her goal was to be as well-known as Elaine Paige. Her songs from “Les Miserables” have been sung by Elaine Paige, and the songs are full of passion and heartache which suits her voice. There is clarity about who she is, who she would be benchmarked against, and the niche she has chosen.

5. She has been disarmingly honest and vulnerable. She said she has not been kissed. Rather than feeling sorry for herself, she added with enormous glee that she wasn’t advertising.

6. The makeup is more pronunced, but she has had a tidy-up not a makeover. The second dress was a more approriate colour and had a more flattering neckline, but it was still a traditional dress. We know where we are with her, and we recognise her.

7. She is courageous and exciting to watch. She could have been overawed by Piers Morgan thanking her from the whole world for being good news among the bad.

What did she do instead? Gave some exuberant shimmy-wiggles for “Piers-y baby!”

Who knows what she will do on the night of the finals?

What ever it is we will be on the edge of our seats and laughing with her not at her.

Susan Boyle’s talents would bring a spark to any small business so they become a winner.

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Amazon or Barclays customer service?

jeanspark — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:11:36 +0000

On Saturday morning I was paying some bills online. As it was Saturday I set the date for the payment transfer for Monday (2 days later) as I thought that would be reasonable.

I couldn’t process the payment because, Barclays Bank told me, I had to set the date to “immediate”.

Was it easy to set the date to “immediate?” No. I was thrown out of the whole process and ended up at a log in page again. When I tried to log in I was told that online banking was not available!

Of course online banking was available: I had just been sent to some strange waiting room in cyberspace without even a cheerful receptionist. In the end I had to go through the whole process again and was able to make the transfer. But what a waste of my time and my goodwill. Barclays have been doing online banking for years now. You would think they would have got the bugs sorted.

Just as I finished there was a knock on the door and a delivery man was standing there with a parcel from Amazon. I was astonished. The order had been made online the previous afternoon and I had not paid for delivery. My expectation was that the books would arrive in three days time.

So Amazon exceeded my expectation of their standard of customer service, and overdelivered, and Barclays failed to reach the standard I expected.

I don’t know how Amazon is faring in the recession but their customer service impressed me. They have cut 40% off many paperback costs, and obviously are hot on delivery. Good for them.

Barclays on the other hand have been doing online banking for a few years, and don’t seem to have the basics right. As they have chosen middle eastern, rather than taxpayer, money to bail them out, perhaps some new sharp shooter on the board will ask sharp questions about customer service. Sort that out, and they are more likely to keep existing customers.. and without the expense of expensive celebrity television advertising.

Good customer service is the foundation of good marketing… and is essential in the recession even more than at other times.

What are the standards that your customers expect? What are you telling them about what to expect?

Under promise and over deliver.

We have all heard it. It is a good policy to overdeliver against their expectations to get your customers talking about your business in the right way.

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Small business marketing idea – give it away

jeanspark — Mon, 04 May 2009 20:21:17 +0000

Recently in a food shop I caught sight of a wonderful array of oils and vinegars.

The whole display reminded me of being in France or Italy and was extremely attractive, and felt authentic. I enjoyed seeing the large containers and the small sample dishes filled with different scented and coloured oils.

Small samples are extremely inviting

Without thinking, I reached for some of the bread, and dipped it in the first oil. The taste was exquisite. I could immediately imagine eating this wonderful oil with bread and sharing with friends. I could visualise how being a customer would improve my life!

The fact that the colours were interesting and the scents appealing added to the experience.

Even if you have a service business there are many ways for prospective customers to get the experience you provide…and find out how good it is. The more they experience it – with all their senses – the more powerful it will be. You don’t just want to tell them .. it is important to show them.

Consumable items like the olive oil are obviously easy to sample. Services like back massage, reflexology and so on can be experienced in shorter sessions or consultations. Business services or coaching can identify the biggest problem of the client and demonstrate the solution.

Even if you have a service business an object or experience which can be touched, tasted, smelt, heard and seen will stay in the memory longer than an idea. And an experience that has an emotional quality will have more impact that an intellectual idea.

You can use all kinds of marketing ideas that describe your business as a metaphor ie in terms of something else.

So in Spring when everything is growing a beautiful flower bud given away in one-to-one or networking meetings could be perfect to demonstrate a business that helps companies grow. A packet of seeds mailed out to prospective customers could be equally powerful (and easier to send in the mail!)

The big difficulty is getting through defences so that people take in your message. As a small business the more creative and personal you are, the easier the message will get across.

Marketing your business can be an exciting adventure which means you and your future customers will have more fun! And yes, that makes it easier for you to be inspirational, and for them to buy.

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