MarketingMoment

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One day it’s pay-per-click (PPC) advertising . . . the next it’s Social Media . . . then it’s a new variation on SEO (search engine optimisation) . . . and the list goes on. While these tools can help a business, not one has proven to be the ‘magic bullet’ to catapult your business to success and really set you apart from the competition.

However, there is a single, often-overlooked tool that can and does.

Many top business-owners and marketers from around the world use it. It has the power to make everything you do for your own business work better — from product launches right through to traffic strategies to customer service.

By disregarding this tool, you run the risk of letting your competition take full advantage of it . . . and so accede to them not only getting better results from ANY marketing technique or strategy they use, but also gain a significantly better market share than you.

So what is this essential business tool?

Copywriting.

“Yes, but I already know how to write,” you’re thinking. That’s great. But while we can all ‘write’, copywriting involves SO much more than simply penning a few well-crafted words. Before she or he writes, a good copywriter will spend a considerable amount of time researching the intended audience. They’ll make sure they understand buyer behaviour and how to craft your message in such a way that it really makes a splash.

The Key to Your Success — Online or Offline

Good copywriting can make confusing policies crystal clear. It can keep inter-company communications running smoothly through the careful use of words. And it can build relationships, be positively persuasive and ethically ’sell’ a company’s products or services.

In short, it is the MESSAGE that you present to your target market — at every stage of the sales process. And, as any top author, business-owner or marketing expert knows, WHAT you say and HOW you communicate with your prospect means everything to your business.

Considering Cost Effectiveness

The problem is that most entrepreneurs and SMEs lack either the time to do justice to their ‘business words’ or they lack the necessary skill sets in order to communicate their company’s message effectively.

There is no doubt that copywriting is labour-intensive and time-consuming. Let’s say you’re a small business-owner and you’re spending at least several days per week writing the copy for your sales letters or your blog posts. How much money could you have earned in that time? Would your business suffer more or less by continuing to write your own copy when you have one-hundred-and-one other things you need to do, as opposed to hiring a copywriter to take care of it for you?

No Short Cuts, Now, Please!

Okay, so let’s assume you have the time and you don’t mind that hiring outside will probably save you a lot more than your time is worth. You can always learn to master copywriting yourself through an assortment of educational tools.

What you need to do here is make sure you ALWAYS carefully choose the right words for the right audience and in the right context. If you don’t adequately explain how you differ from your competition . . . If you can’t convey all the relevant benefits you bring to your prospect . . . or the credibility you have . . . or you don’t know what response triggers to use . . . and more, then you are putting a very low ceiling on your overall business growth.

So don’t be tempted to cut costs or give short shrift to copy development. Instead, make sure you are doing everything possible to optimise the performance of the words you use for the benefit of your company. Believe me, your business will thank you for it.

By Tracey Dooley, Creative Consultant | PR Doctor | Marketing & Alliance Strategist

Better Writing Skills 101 — Write Your Way to Blockbuster Results and BOOST Business to Boot explains the ins and outs of good, effective business writing and shows you how to work within the ‘rules’ (or, indeed, when to break them) to write persuasive or professional emails, letters, brochures and more that are clear, convincing and make an impact. Find out more here:

http://bit.ly/BizWriting101

(C) 2010 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved 

Want to use this article (or any other entry on this blog) on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include the following:

Tracey Dooley of MediaMinister (www.mediaminister.co.uk) is an experienced copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 18 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertains. =====>  www.mediaminister.co.uk.

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The following article is one that I first wrote last year for my ezine subscribers, but is as relevant now as it was then.  So I thought I’d post it here. I hope you enjoy it!

.    .    .

As the decade draws to an end, every publisher and producer is turning their head towards the “top ten of ” … well, everything, it seems — films, books, TV shows, gadgets, it all makes for a good top ten list. Everything, it seems, but the top ten marketing insights for business.

So here are my top ten for 2010. They come from some of the insights I’ve had or come across about marketing to date that I believe will still be just as influential for your business in 2010.

1. Social Media

Hoping to become firm favourites with their target audiences, a lot of brands jumped on the LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter bandwagon that rolled in and has since dominated cyberspace over the past few years. The problem is, despite their keenness and swiftness, they really didn’t invest enough time or resources to leverage either one. Worse, some businesses chose to ignore social media altogether. Big mistakes…

For these Web 2.0 tools are here to stay — at least until they’re replaced by Web 3.0 or something even more sophisticated. With that in mind, savvy marketers will make the most of them by building direct relationships and developing conversations with the very people they want to reach. Not only that, they will make sure they are being as authentic and credible as possible by being prepared to listen, share information or valuable resources and respond fairly quickly.

Further reading: “Reach a Wider Audience With Less Effort” – http://bit.ly/4BLXkA

2. Joint Ventures

One of the best ways to market a business — especially if you’re just starting out — is to set up joint ventures (JVs). This is where you partner with other businesses to sell your services or products to their customers or prospects.

There are two main ways of doing JVs: a) let your JV partners introduce what you’re selling to their customers for a set price, or, b) let them join your affiliate programme and earn commission for each service or product sold through them.

(PS Tried-and-tested JV Programme coming in 2010)

3. Honesty

Over recent years, there have been more and more ‘tell-all’ consumer-created TV shows and websites, thus signalling a new era of honesty and transparency.

By being authentic in everything you do or say, always delivering what you promise, being upfront about the small print and being as genuine and good to your word as you can, your customers are more likely to sing your praises, rather than badmouth you. Therefore, your reputation will grow and so will your market share. And, as Comcast found out, honesty can even transform a PR nightmare into an industry-leading customer service.

Further reading: http://comcastmustdie.com

http://twitter.com/comcastcares

4. The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

A lot of freelancers, entrepreneurs and businesses don’t have a system for determining which prospects would turn out to be good clients and which ones would not.  Others simply cast their net too wide. Rather than focusing on a niche or core client base, they are trying to be everything to everyone. This kind of marketing hardly ever works in your favour.

If clients are less than ideal, chances are they will end up draining your energy, productivity and overall enjoyment. So set up a system for recognising the warning signs of ‘toxic clients’ — it will save you time, energy and resources in the long run.

Further reading: “Engage the ‘Right’ Clients & Watch Your Business Grow” – http://bit.ly/8sGPDb

“Stop Working With Deadbeats! Attract IDEAL Clients & Knock Out The Competition Instead” toolkit — http://mediaminister.co.uk/products.htm

5. It’s Not What You Sell it’s the Way that You Sell It

How a business sells to consumers is just as important as what is being sold — indeed, it is more significant than ever before.

With today’s consumer more firmly in the purchasing driving seat, advertisers and marketers alike are having to change the way they communicate their message.

What sets apart a business in today’s shifting landscape boils down to one thing: Does the marketing message identify and appeal to customer ‘hot buttons’? That is, is what you are saying likely to trigger your prospect’s hidden psychological buying triggers?

You have to truly understand your target market. You need to know what makes them tick … what makes them buy. And then you use proven methods to ethically turn casual browsers into qualified leads and buyers.

Further reading: “From Cold to Hot - How ‘Buttons’ Can Drive Up Sales Like Nothing Else” – http://bit.ly/75mVvf

TO BE CONTINUED … Catch Part 2 in the next Issue!

By Tracey Dooley, Creative Consultant | PR Doctor | Marketing & Alliance Strategist

Psssst . . .  Not sure where to start? As well as offering worksheets and home-study tools, I can give you profit-multiplying advice and pointers on things you can do straight away to attract new business with my Powerfully Effective Marketing sessions. 

(Why struggle needlessly when you can get expert affordable mentoring and have fun attracting clients easily?) 

(C) 2009 T Dooley, All Rights Reserved 

Want to use this article on your website, blog, a message board or in an ezine? Not a problem! But please give credit where it’s due. You MUST include the following:

Tracey Dooley of MediaMinister (www.mediaminister.co.uk) is an experienced copywriter, editor and marketer. She has spent 18 years crafting compelling concepts and copy that successfully sell, inform, educate or entertains. =====> To receive your F.R.E.E. Audio CD  and sign up for her freebie business-building tips, marketing and publicity pointers, visit www.mediaminister.co.uk.

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The ongoing turbulence in the credit, consumer and property markets continues to throw a lot of entrepreneurs, start-ups and marketers off their game. And if you’re one of them, I bet you’ll be surprised by what I’m about to say: Market more and panic less.

Whaddya mean you don’t have time for marketing?!! You DO run a business - and want to keep it that way - don’t you? Then marketing is simply not negotiable. It is a MUST if you wish to survive in business. No matter how insignificant it seems, by doing some marketing every day I am able to keep in front of my current and potential clients. 
 And the ’smarter’ I market my products and services, the better my hold on my own market share.

You need to do the same. After all, economic downturns (which, by the way, always end in an upturn) bring an entirely new meaning to the term ’survival of the fittest’. But I’m here to tell you that YOU DO indeed have the power to create business . . . IF your focus is in the right place – and that means using SMARTER marketing to get more sales, regardless of what the economy is doing, or how much of a time-debt you have.

It boils down to this: if you don’t, can’t or won’t market your products or services, then your business will fail. And that goes for ANY business in ANY economy. However, if you continue to market – perhaps more aggressively but certainly more smartly than ever before – then your business will have a better chance of survival than most.

Further reading:Business Survival Tools: Don’t Get Left Behind

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“People like to buy products and services from people and companies they like . . . Customers want you to create some kind of relationship with them,” says marketing veteran and consultant Don Debelak in his book Marketing Magic (published by Adams Media Corporation).

He goes on to list 14 reasons why people might buy from you as opposed to your competitors:

1. “Your product solves a problem that no other product solves as well.
2. “The customer perceives your product or service to possess one feature or benefit lacking in other’s products or services, and that feature is relatively important to him or her.
3. “Some people feel your product or service works best.
4. “Some people feel more comfortable using your product than others’ products.
5. “Some people feel that your product has higher quality.
6. “Some people feel that your product is the lowest-priced or the highest-value product.
7. “Some people will buy from you because they like you or like the way you do business.
8. “Your return policies, guarantess, and support are important to some people.
9. “Your product or service carries a prestige image that some customers appreciate.
10. “Your business offers a wider choice to customers.
11. “Your business location is more convenient to some customers.
12. “Some people will continue to buy from you from habit.
13. “Some people will buy from you because you always have the newest or most innovative products.
14. “Your offer a product that makes people feel goot about themselves or others, makes them look good in others’ eyes, or offers a way of showing love or appreciation.”

Perhaps you recognise some of them with your own product or service. Is there one that you can develop to use as your USP (unique selling proposition)? If you already have an USP you are happy with, maybe you can use the above to help fine-tune it so it really works in your favour.

As well as knowing why people are buying your product or service, it pays to know why they aren’t.

Debelak offers the following list:

1. “Business buyers may fear [they are] making a mistake in buying from you.
2. “Some suspects may not have developed sufficient trust in you or your product.
3. “Some suspect may perceive that your products or services are of questionable quality.
4. “Your products or services do not address an important problem of theirs.
5. “Some suspects won’t think they need your product at all.
6. “Many prospects are likely to have satisfactory relationships with one or more of your competitors.”

So you can see finding out why people won’t buy from you is just as important, if not more important, than knowing why your customers do buy from you. When you understand both sides of the coin, you can effectively set up a comfortable environment — through your promotional materials, your in-store layout, your website,  and so on — in which people are likely to buy.

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People do business with people (or ‘brands’) they like and trust, and social media provides the bridge between companies and consumers. But what are the other compelling reasons for using social media? Here are the top 10:

1. It allows you to reach your target market by simply engaging in the right conversations with the right people. This can be much more effective (and a heck of a lot cheaper) than advertising.

2. You can create and build relationships with people who might not otherwise know about your products or services.

3. At least half of Facebook and Twitter users admit to being more likely to do business with a brand that uses social media than one that doesn’t.

4. You can drive high-quality traffic to your homepage/blog/other online sites via call-to-actions, and SEO (the Google search engine loves Twitter updates.

5. It allows you to learn more about, and tap into the wisdom of, your market — which ultimately leads to better positioning and therefore sales.

6. You can listen AND respond to what’s being said about your business (and your competition).

7. Social media allows people to gain a better insight into the company persona - it makes you ‘real’ to consumers.

8. It’s a tool that your ‘fans’ can use to spread positive word of mouth about you.

9. Offering help and advice related to your area of expertise/your products in a spontaneous fashion gives you authority.

10. Because your customers and competitors are using it.

Originally published in the newsletter, Communiqué for Success!

Copyright, T L Dooley. All Rights Reserved.

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Choosing a good business name is important not just for the legalities of operating a business, but also for making sure your prospective buyers choose you instead of your competitors.

Some experts say that your business name is the first thing that any potential customer will notice and is therefore more important than your sales pitch or even your end product.

I wouldn’t necessarily go that far, but it is certainly true that the name you choose will strike either the right – or wrong – tone with your potential customers.

Successful organisations don’t just invest in developing good names, they work hard to develop a brand name. Because, over time, a brand is capable of doing the selling for you…

People remember a good business name. So what does yours say about you?

A lot of ‘modern’ business names either use the name of the person (if it’s a consultant, for example), which is fine, or they play on words.

I’m not a huge fan of using a play on words in a business name. My feeling is that it doesn’t make the name any more memorable (which is presumably the intention), and it can look a little on the conceited, self-important side.

Another mistake is putting the personal element in a business name. You’d do a LOT better if you chose a name that immediately gets across what you sell or do, and perhaps how you stand apart from the competition.

Speaking personally, if I were to choose my own business name again, I would choose something that adds more of a perceived value, without being ‘cutesy’ about it.

A good business name should be short, unique, memorable, distinctive, catchy and, more importantly, easy to remember and to spell!

When you do settle on a name, make sure you do a search on the internet, just to make sure you are not unintentionally offending someone – often words translated into a different language or culture can really mean something else! Finally, make sure you always consider the legal ramifications of your chosen company name.

If you want professional help with finding and selecting the right business name, just let me know. Prices start from just £97 for up to five original names from which to choose.

Copyright, T L Dooley. All Rights Reserved.

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Fellow blogger Brad McCarty has a very interesting and useful post on social media, sparked by TWiT’s Leo Laporte anti-social media rant. It’s worth a read, especially if you are a fan of social media, as Brad defends its corner in a tight way.

But I think his last sentence is the key: “It’s your time, so spend it how you choose.”

Social media will work for the right people in the right circumstances, but there’s no denying that it can take time. Not just in terms of learning as much as possible about how to use each social media outlet, but also taking the time to ‘know’ your audience and give them what they want as well as work out how best to deliver it via social networking.

Moreover, I think it’s worth asking yourself what you want to get out of social media. Far too often, people jump on the bandwagon that’s carrying the latest craze without stopping to work out WHY they’re joining up in the first place.

So, if someone were to ask you what you want to get out of social media, would you know instantly?

Once you are clean on your objectives, then surely you are better placed to come up with a strategy for a better return on your investment … of time.

What do you think — is it time to re-think your own approach to social media?

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Despite the official end to the recession, the UK’s economy is still wavering and the immediate future looks anything BUT bright. So it’s little wonder if you’re feeling like most people in business; looking over your shoulder, wondering if you’re next in line to lose your job. If you own a business, then it’s likely you’re worried about the latest ’sales slump’. One thing is for sure; you can’t afford to be complacent right now. You absolutely MUST continue to market … perhaps more aggressively than ever before. (See my blog post, Business Survival Tools: Don’t Get Left Behind: http://TwitPWR.com/au6/)

The lead article in MediaMinister’s latest newsletter, Communiqué for Success, shows you how you can promote yourself in new, creative and low-cost (or F.R.E.E.) ways to bring customers through the door in ANY economy.

To read the full article and gain *hidden links* to recent CfS newsletter editions, you’ll have to become a subscriber. (That’s a good thing, by the way, or so CfS readers tell me!) As well as being FREE, you’ll receive a business-building report and audio CD that can dramatically improve sales simply for signing up and trying it out.

Subscribe here.

(You can unsubscribe at any time, and I NEVER abuse my subscriber’s email address. Your details are safe with me.)

Recent CfS newsletter issues cover:

Subscribe here.

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[Brighton, UK, 3 June 2010] ––– MediaMinister.co.uk today launched a new service aimed at small business-owners, business executives, entrepreneurs and independent service professionals who recognise the commercial traction of social media but have neither the time, skills nor inclination to exploit it for themselves.

“Social-media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook can really put a business in the spotlight … WHEN leveraged properly,” says Tracey Dooley, owner of the boutique-style communications site MediaMinister.co.uk. “The problem for most business owners and solopreneurs is having the time or the know-how to make it work for them. That is where I come in.

“My ‘ready-made’ social-media marketing packages take the hassle and mystery out of social media and can put a business or brand firmly on the online map.”

Essentially, Tracey becomes your virtual marketing director and ghost-writer in one, learning everything she can about you or your company and, as your ‘brand ambassador’, spending her time on social networks on your behalf. It’s about helping people improve their online business visibility or simply get more out of it…

“Social media can enhance a company’s image and create favourable relationships with its target market and potential joint-venture partners. My goal is to help people create a social-media presence that is painless, engaging and defines their position within their field. Once I’m briefed, clients can simply relax and trust me to do a professional job on their behalf.”

For more information or to buy a social-media marketing package, visit:
http://www.mediaminister.co.uk/socialmedia.htm

About MediaMinister
MediaMinister specialises in providing copywriting, editorial, marketing and creative-management services to clients worldwide. Services include: writing (journalism, creative and business), marketing, editing, proofreading and consulting. For more information or to set up a free communications evaluation, visit: www.mediaminister.co.uk

About Tracey Dooley
Tracey, a Brighton & Hove-based copywriter, marketing strategist, and editorial and creative consultant, has more than 15 years’ experience providing communications and public relations counsel to local and worldwide clients. She also helps entrepreneurs, authors, publishers and FTSE 100/250 companies boost response rates and attract new customers.

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The Best Service is No Service: How to Liberate Your Customers from Customer Service, Keep Them Happy, and Control Costs, by Bill Price and David Jaffe has been described as “probably the single best ‘how to’ book on earning customer trust” — and we all know what I think about that topic. Essentially, if you are in business and want to stay in business, ahead of the competition, then good customer service is crucial.

The authors begin by citing a gap between unparalleled innovation and customer service among companies. The latter has been left behind, they say. Which is not just a pity, but also almost a sin in today’s ‘the customer is king’ landscape. Not least because, as everyone should know by now, people won’t buy from you if they don’t trust you or have confidence in you. Both are dependent on providing a good customer experience.

Together, Price and Jaffe take you through theory, tips, checklists and case studies (including what NOT to do as well as what to do right) on how to empower your customers and serve them well.

Why The Best Service is No Service? Because the message is that businesses will be most successful if they only provide customer service that is essential to doing business. Too much is, say the authors, not a wise tactic and neither is too little. Just ensure that people find it as easy as possible to buy from you. In other words, don’t give them any excuses NOT to buy from you.

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