Tag Archives: small business marketing

The 1920 Guide to 21st Century Marketing

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1920 ad image

You’re probably wondering how anything published in 1920 could possibly be relevant in 2009. No twitter tips? No super-networker’s secrets on using LinkedIn? Not one.

The closest thing they had to social media were dead-tree newspapers and radio. And, hey, the music and the clothes were weird.

Technology has changed, but basic marketing principles are still the same. Debates rage over long or short copy now (as they did then), some companies try to sell to everyone (while others focus on a niche), and everyone looking at your ad, reading your blog, or scanning your letter wants to know what’s in it for them.

Should my copy be long or short?

Write as much (or as little) as you need to tell your story. Long isn’t better, and short isn’t better. Better is what works with your customers.

Use headlines, bold type, and bullets. Break the copy up into chunks, so it’s more readable. People will skim, but if they’re interested, they will read more closely.

Sell to your target market (not everybody)

You are talking to thousands of people. Some will be interested (some won’t). The response of people “in your industry” doesn’t matter. The response of your potential customers does. Try to strike a chord with them. If you are advertising cars, you have no use for non-drivers.

Nobody will read your entire ad to find out if your product is appealing. They will glance at it, and decide based on the headline or the picture. Talk only to the people you seek as customers.

Be specific, not vague

Saying “the best in the world” or “lowest prices” or “reliable” simply states the expected and obvious. They often lead readers to discount what you say, rather than believe you.

Instead, be specific. If the exhibits you designed attracted 37% more traffic, say so. There’s a reason why Ivory Soap is marketed as 99 44/100% pure.

The book? It’s called Scientific Advertising by Claude C. Hopkins. Click here for your free copy.

Photo: ClevelandSGS

Nine Barriers That Stop You From Getting More Business Online

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toll booth barrier image

1. Requiring a login or a particular blog account to comment

Slowing people down only frustrates them. Make comments and contacts easy.

2. Advance “Payment”

Requiring (an email address or a sign up) before a visitor can watch your demo, check out your reel, or see your designs

3. Broken links

Nobody can interact with your site or buy your products if they can’t find them. Here’s a free tool to check your Web site.

4. Flash intros

These irritate people more than I can say; you’re forced to watch something with no way out. Auto play and sound is even worse. Just say no.

5. Asking for Twitter followers upfront

Establish trust first.  Let people get to know you (and your great content) before you ask them to follow you.

6. Contact forms with lots of fields

The more information you ask for (name, address, phone, state, city, country, zip, blood type…OK, I’m kidding about that last one), the less likely people are to fill out your form.  Keep it to a minimum.

7. Leaping before you look

Habitat UK jumped into Twitter and began their tweets with popular hashtags (alert symbols meant to help people follow conversations on a particular topic on Twitter) that had nothing to do with furniture.

8. Talking camera, design, or web geek instead of English.

Your customers don’t care about your cool tools. They care about what those cool tools can do (holes, not drills).

9. Too much information

I was recently asked to review a site that had 45 links on the left-hand menu and another 37 on the right. My head was spinning. Keep it simple. If you’ve got lots of links, put them under pop-out sub-menus.

Photo: jetzenpolis

An Easy Way to Get More Downloads

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Offering a free report on your Web site is a great way to get more prospects. However, after you’ve spent lots of time writing the report, designing it, and putting together a campaign to promote it, it’s easy to overlook one simple thing that can make a huge difference in how many people ask for your report.

Ask for as little information as possible; if you want it to go viral, don’t put any barriers at all. Just include your contact information at the end and encourage people to pass it on.

If you’re interested in building your list, just ask for name and email address. You’ll find that conversion rates will jump considerably. A friend just put up a report asking for 10 fields (name, company, street, city, state, country, postal code, etc.). I didn’t want to fill all that in, and I know the guy!

Are You Selling to Yourself or Your Customers?

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What do these three companies have in common:

1) An environmental engineering firm that wants to put a cartoon frog on their site because it stands for a religious acronym.

2) A real estate broker who has filled his Web site with his religious beliefs.

3) A car company brochure for a new commuter truck emphasizing the “Duratec 2.0 liter dual overhead cam” and the “split-rear doors [which] open at a standard 180 degrees or an optional 255 degrees”. (The truck sounds great for deliveries, once you translate the features into benefits; more on that at The New York Times business blog)

What’s the connection? They’re all focusing on what THEY like, rather than what’s important to their customers.

The engineering firm’s clients probably aren’t interested in that poor, lost frog. They just want to know that the company can save them from worrying about water contamination, environmental hazards, and lawsuits.

The real estate broker’s customers want to find a home they can fall in love with (and afford), not a sermon or indoctrination in religious beliefs they may not share.

And, car buyers would undoubtedly prefer to be told what that overhead cam will do for them (it gives the truck extra pep, so it goes fast and handles well). The angle on the doors means that they swing out of your way, so its easier to load or unload the vehicle.

That ad for a coal sifter looks pretty silly in the 21st century, but if you click on it, you’ll see that it does have clear benefits to the consumer (save money and keep your clothes clean). Unfortunately, some modern-day companies have forgotten this.

People buy when you show them how your product helps them (not how it helps you).

Photo: Library of Congress

Why Do People Buy From You?

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3D Realty Handshake

It may not be why you think. Greg discovered that people who buy green energy systems do it to be socially responsible. This discovery made his client realize that they were competing with both construction companies and charities. It also led to possible new partnerships with nature and conservation organizations.

Bodo talked to trade show attendees and found that the people who bought platinum lab materials were more concerned about durability than price.

Asking your customers questions can lead to new ways of marketing your products, open avenues for building new partnerships, and help you to better focus your marketing efforts.

There’s no point going on about the 12 colors your 42″ plasma TV comes in if what people really care about is the great picture (or the bragging rights).

How can you find out?

Ask them. Email a short survey (you can use surveymonkey or even Google docs), or make a few phone calls. Find out what’s on their minds. You may get a few surprises. You may also find new possibilities.