Category — Marketing Mistakes and Solutions

A friend in Colorado (where apparently, this is common) stopped at the grocery store the other day to buy gas.  There’s a speaker next to the pump – which immediately started urging her to buy some fuel additive. 

She hit the button to make it stop.  It kept going… and going.  She stood there muttering at the thing, ‘Didn’t I just tell you to shut up? Stop it! Be quiet!”

Congratulations, gas company. You’ve just invented “grocery spam.”

Just because you can use technology to talk directly to people doesn’t mean  you should – or that they want to hear what you’re saying.  

That’s not permission marketing.  Ask first.  Before you send your newsletter to someone, ask if they’re interested. Same with cell phone text messages (which are illegal in the US without express permission). Or, my personal least favorite, commercials (on monitors) in public restrooms. Don’t invent new and different kinds of spam.

A firm that markets to dentists sent a friend of mine the following email on Facebook:

New Patients from Facebook?

On Facebook:

• There are more than 500 million potential patients.

• You can target your patients by location and age.

• You can test and use what works.

• You set the daily budget you are comfortable with.

More info here (then it gives contact details)

Talking to the wrong people

Really? 500 million. Gee, my friend is gonna need a bigger office!

But seriously, this makes no sense. Does anyone go to Facebook looking for a dentist? No. When you need a dentist, and don’t know one, you ask your friends.

And how is my friend supposed to fill cavities for people who live 100 or 200 or 3000 miles away? Has this firm invented the virtual dentist?

Interruption, not permission

My dentist friend doesn’t want these emails. Yet, the company sending them doesn’t care (and I guess Facebook doesn’t either).

He, (and anyone else wanting to grow their business, is much better off using permission marketing to build a fan base of people who WANT to hear from him.

Numbers instead of niches

It doesn’t matter how many people are on Facebook. Numbers don’t matter. What does matter is reaching people who actually need/want your services, and who you can help. You cannot clean someone’s teeth if they’re in London and you’re in Philadelphia. You want to reach the right people, not just any people.  You can’t make money selling water skis to a list of 1,000,000 people who live in the desert.

Marketing like this is painful – both for you and your potential clients.  You won’t make money, and they’ll get mad at you (instead of wanting to do business with you).  Kinda like root canal (which, thankfully, I’ve never had).

Share your thoughts

Have you tried Facebook marketing?  What happened? Have you gotten any silly emails like my friend did?

Image: Wikimedia

This post was inspired by 10 Freelancer Mistakes That Damage Your Success on Men with Pens. Someone in the comments suggested a post from the company’s point of view. Here are 7 common pitfalls (and what to do about them).

1. Hiring the wrong specialty

If you need a screenwriter, get a screenwriter.  A speech writer get a speechwriter (and so on).  Copywriting, for instance is a particular skill, requiring that you know why  people buy.  There’s been some discussion recently about whether it’s necessary to specialize – but I know that as a copywriter, I haven’t the slightest idea how to write a screenplay.

2. Choosing by price

Price isn’t what matters.  Value (and return on investment) is.  As a creative, it’s part of your “job” to show them why you’re worth it (think Lamborghini vs. Hyundai).

3.  No contract

A handshake is fine for trading bubble gum cards (do they still have those?).  If you’re doing business, write down what each party is responsible for.  Make it clear what the objectives are, who does what, when they’re supposed to do it, and how much it will cot.   This protects both of you.

4.  Unclear objectives and budget

Before you hire someone, you need to be able to tell them what you want.  “I need copy for a web site” is too vague.  You want to say something like, I need a 10 page website to sell our widgets.  We want to increase sales by _______.  We have a budget of $___________ and a deadline of ________________.

5.  No ideal customer

If you don’t know who you want to reach/appeal to, your designer or copywriter won’t be able to doing her job properly.  Before you start working with someone (heck, before you start your business at all), you should know that your ideal customer is _________ . Their problems are ____________ and __________.  You solve those problems by ________________.

6. Lack of milestones

Most creatives will ask for tiered payments based on milestones.  Often this is a payment to start work, a second payment on delivery of draft copy or mock-ups, and a final payment on completion.  Set clear deadlines for delivery – and hold up your end too (they can’t start work or move forward without clear instructions).

7.  Poor communication

Tell the designer what you want (see point 4).  If you’re not sure about something, ask.  If something changes (deadlines, personnel, concepts) say so.  Respect their time and professionalism – don’t call at all hours.

What mistakes have you seen companies make?  What’s the biggest problem you had working with a client?

Image by jfrancis via Flickr

Got shopping cart or call to action buttons on your web site? Want people to click on them and buy your stuff or sign up for your newsletter?

Small things can make a big difference in your conversion rates (that’s the percentage of people who click through and sign up or buy or whatever you want them to do).

What  you may be doing wrong (and how to fix it).

Poor wording

If your call to action is weak, it will reduce the number of clicks you get. Test different options, such as “claim your copy”, “add to cart” or “sign up here”. See which gets more clicks. You can use Google’s Website Optimizer for this.

Dull colors

Brighter colors work better (ever wonder why paypal and Amazon buttons are orange?). Red is good too, but some people can’t see it. Also, make sure whatever color you use stands out against the rest of the site. Light green buttons on a dark green background won’t help.

Small buttons

Here’s one place you can make something big! Bigger buttons are easier to find and easier to click on.

Buried buttons

Have at least one button “above the fold” (meaning without scrolling down). If it’s a product page, have the button right up top (think Amazon again). If it’s a sales letter, put at least one button near the top. Some people decide after a few paragraphs, others need more information.

Blinking buttons

They’re annoying (who wants their site to look like a neon sign?) and distracting.

Illegible type

Tiny font sizes won’t help. Online, a sans serif font (like Helvetica) is easier to read than a serif font (like Times Roman).

Bonus tip:

Use a burst (think sunburst). It’s an old direct marketing trick, but it works online too. It draws attention to what you want people to do.

Image via Wikipedia

I was about to start typing today’s post when the phone rang. The woman was talking so fast I could hardly understand her (and I’m from New York, where we all talk really fast).

Me: “Whoa, slow down. What is it?”

Caller: “It’s about your merchant account.”

Me: “I don’t have one.”

Caller: “But you want one.”

Me: “No.”

Click.

You can have a great marketing plan. You can identify a niche market, build an ideal client profile, and select the best ways to reach them.

But, it will all fail if you’re not solving their problem, rather than yours.

Someone at the company where this woman works decided that they wanted to reach businesses like mine.  They created a marketing plan, hired people, and started calling.  They never stopped to think whether I needed what they were selling.

I don’t want a merchant account. I’m not a retailer. Paypal is fine.

Before you start selling your idea, see if your audience wants it.  Otherwise, you could end up with a bra dryer or nail polish for cats.