Thinking of using a globe in your logo?

October 14, 2007

Picture_16 I was standing in Office Depot this weekend and noticed their "let us design your logo" display.  And there they were.  The painfully trite visuals that business owners seem to be drawn to when designing their own logo.

You know the ones — globes, shaking hands, the outline of your state, or the very popular paw print (you pick the animal of choice).

Picture_17 If you want your business to be perceived as unique — don’t use the same, tired visuals that everyone else has already used.  A logo does not have to be a literal translation of your business’ name or deliverable.   

Think beyond the expected.  Think abstract.  Think about building a brand by being fresh and different.

Picture_14 Think anything but a globe.

Related Posts:

~ Logos 101
~ Consistency – vital or overrated?

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Dr. Marketer?

October 13, 2007

Picture_12 Sometimes, we get so caught up in discussing tactics or crunching numbers that we forget we’re in the human behavior business.  At the very root of marketing is this reality: 

Our job is to get people to do something.  Believe something.  Care about something.  Our job is to affect human behavior.  And to affect it, we must understand it.

I’m not saying we all need to run out and get our doctorate in psychiatry.  But I am suggesting we’d better be avid students. 

On any given day, a marketing professional might have to:

  • Understand what motivates a 33 year old suburban mom
  • Talk a client down from the figurative ledge because their boss is demanding instant results
  • Ask questions that get people to think in a new way
  • Write in a way that’s native and comforting to a person facing their death
  • Motivate employees to do superior work for a client who nitpicks and changes direction mid-stream
  • Take a furious customer from screaming to calm and feeling heard
  • Guide a group discussion to help a client unearth an uncomfortable truth about their company’s service
  • Figure out how and why three 19 year olds react completely differently to a new product
  • And so much more

I don’t believe a person can be successful in marketing if they don’t understand and care about how people tick.   

Of course, the couch is optional.

What do you think?  Am I placing too much importance on this aspect of marketing?

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How much should I spend on marketing?

October 11, 2007

Budget This is probably one of the most asked questions of marketing agencies and consultants.  If you google the phrase, there are almost 17 million results.  Guess it’s on peoples’ minds, eh?

I think one of the reasons why it’s on everyone’s mind is because there is no magic answer.  Before we get into the methods of determining a right answer, let’s be very clear about these two points:

The exact amount matters less than having an amount.  In other words, having and tracking a marketing budget, even if your initial number is off, is much more important than getting the number exactly right.

You can have the right budget and spend it on the wrong things.  A marketing plan should always be tied to a strategic marketing budget.

Now, let’s tackle the question.  Here are some of the more effective ways to set a marketing budget:

Percentage of gross sales/revenue:

This is probably the simplest method.  Most experts recommend somewhere in the range of 2-8% of gross sales.  McKinsey & Company is often quoted at 5%.

Most small businesses (less than $5 million gross revenue) should shoot for at least 7-8%.

Industry-specific:

Many industries have their own standard.  For example:

  • Consumer package goods:  Up to 50% of projected net sales to launch a new product
  • Industrial B-to-B:  1% of gross sales
  • Retail:  4-10% of net revenues
  • Banks/Credit Unions:  2-5% of assets
  • Law firms:  1-4% of gross revenues
  • Pharmaceuticals:  Up to 20% of net sales
  • Hospitals:  1% of net revenues

Lifetime value of customer:

The idea is simple.  You identify how much profit (on average) you make during the lifetime of that customer relationship and determine how much you are willing to invest per customer acquisition.  If you choose this method be very careful that your numbers are accurate.

Goals/Plan driven:

The thinking behind this method is really a blend of some of the others.  Identify measurable goals (# of new clients, % of revenue increase, etc) and then determine your sales equation.

For example:  For every 100 prospects approached, you get 25 initial meetings.  From those 25 meetings, you can expect to get 12 invitations to present a proposal.  From 12 proposals, you will score 4 new clients.  If your goal is 20 new clients, you now know that you need to approach 500 qualified prospects.  You build your marketing plan to accomplish that and assign the costs accordingly.

Again, this method requires very accurate numbers to make the equations viable.

So what do you think?  Which method do you currently use?  If you don’t have a marketing budget, which method do you think would serve you best?

kick it on Iowa Newz

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Do I need a marketing budget?

October 9, 2007

Bowling "How much should we be spending on marketing?"  This is probably one of the most common questions we get asked. Or, on the flip side of that, we hear, "oh, we don’t have a budget.  We’re just a small business.  We just go with our gut."

No, no, no, no, no. 

Let’s get to the most important message first.  Every company, even a one person consultancy, should have a defined marketing budget.  You absolutely, positively will mis-spend, over spend and wrongly spend if you do not have a budget.  I promise you that.

Think of a budget as those bumpers you can use in a bowling alley. (even if you don’t have kids!)  They keep you from getting too deep in the gutter.  You can still get a little off center, but you can’t completely skip the lane.  With the bumpers in place, you’re bound to hit at least a few pins.

You need a written marketing budget that is tied to your sales goals.  Now that we know you need one, in the next post we’ll talk about how to create one.

For those of you who have ventured into the waters without a budget, any war stories we can learn from?

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BrandingWire: Why are we losing business?

October 8, 2007

Brandwire

 

This month’s BrandingWire offering asks an interesting question.  A B2B consultancy that works primarily with high-tech and health care clients is losing market share.  What should they do?

Here’s their current situation:

  • They are losing contracts to lower pricing and bigger firms.
  • They’ve stopped growing.
  • If they do land a client, they usually only buy one project and don’t return.

Here’s how they describe their client profile:

  • Revenues: $1 million to $25 million
  • Employees: 150 or fewer
  • Verticals: High-tech and health care
  • Location: North America

Sometimes the best advice we need to offer a prospect or client is — you shouldn’t market anything right now. To jump into marketing tactics at this stage with this particular client would be putting lipstick on a pig. 

There are questions that need asking long before we pull the trigger on any attempt to help them attract new clients.  They have problems that marketing cannot fix.  And it would be irresponsible of us to encourage them to spend money that’s just going to perpetuate the problem.

This is a classic mistake many businesses make.  They’re struggling so they throw more marketing dollars at the problem.  But what if the problem has little to do with marketing?  Here are some harsh realities that this client needs to face before they launch any new marketing initiatives.

Your target market is too big

The range between $1 million and $25 million is huge.  Companies on each side of that size spectrum behave completely differently.  My guess is that our client needs to drastically narrow that range to find their sweet spot.  Right now, they are aiming at much too wide a target.

You don’t know how you are perceived

We need to have some in-depth conversations with past clients, current clients and those clients who opted for a competitor.  We need to understand, from their perspective, how this company is coming across. 

The biggie:  You can’t sustain business

But, without a doubt the most glaring problem we need to solve is the company’s inability to keep current clients happy and coming back for more. 

If you can’t earn a current client’s trust and more business, then you are destined to fail.  No business can be profitable with a revolving door or clients.  The costs of acquisition is just too high. 

Bottom line: 

This year’s marketing budget is going to be dedicated to identifying and fixing the problems that have gotten our client into this situation.  We can’t market them out of the hole they’ve dug.

As is the BrandingWire tradition, there will be several other marketing pros who will weigh in on this scenario. Check out their posts as well!

    Olivier Blanchard
    Becky Carroll
    Derrick Daye
    Kevin Dugan
    Lewis Green
    Gavin Heaton
    Martin Jelsema
    Valeria Maltoni
    Drew McLellan
    Patrick Schaber
    Steve Woodruff

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Win Jill Konrath’s book: Selling to Big Companies

October 5, 2007

Picture_2 Boy, this is a sweet deal. 

Jill Konrath e-mailed me right around the time we were celebrating the blog’s first anniversary and generously offered to give me a copy of her book as a giveaway during the anniversary hoopla.  But, I just couldn’t pull it all together so she graciously let me wait a week or so.  Here we are.

I just finished it and it is excellent!  I found some take aways that I know are going to make MMG more successful.

In the comments section — leave a sales tip, horror story, lesson learned or struggle.  That’s your "entry fee" for being put in the drawing.  If you’re too shy to comment, e-mail me.

Here’s a little about the book:

Stop struggling to get into big companies. Learn practical strategies to crack into corporate accounts, shrink your sales cycle and close more business in Jill Konrath’s new book.

In Selling to Big Companies, you’ll discover how to:

  • Target accounts where you can succeed.
  • Find the names of corporate decision makers.
  • Create breakthrough value propositions.
  • Develop effective account entry campaigns.
  • Craft enticing voicemail messages.
  • Overcome obstacles to getting in.
  • Have powerful initial sales meetings.
  • Differentiate yourself from other sellers.

Don’t forget that Jill is also throwing the sales conference that’s a not to be missed for women who want to take their sales skills to the next level.  Minneapolis. November 5-6.   You’ll learn enough within the first hour to cover the investment and more.

So come on….share your sales savvy or angst.  Either way, you can be the big winner!

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Have you seen the branding periodic table?

October 4, 2007

So….I get an e-mail from Tanya, an intern at the Kolbrener agency in Pittsburgh.  She loves my blog and wanted to share something her employers created – the branding periodic table.

Note:  It’s cool, I am not knocking that at all.  Very inventive and visually appealing.  See….

Picture_13

      

But here’s my observation.  Tanya likes many marketing blogs.  (An update — I had a conversation with Brandon Fritz of Kolbrener and he assured me Tanya only e-mailed a handful of bloggers she really does like. She likes me!  She really likes me!) And like Pavlov’s dog — we all jumped up when she rang the bell. And then we each told ten friends, who told ten friends…

Have we contributed to the pollution of sameness in the blogosphere?  Do we as blog authors have a responsibility to try to differentiate our copy if we’re going to jump on someone’s bandwagon and all write about the same thing?  (Which some did)

Or is it a "no harm, no foul" deal.  Who cares if a bunch of blogs all point at the same thing in relatively the same way? 

What do you think?

Here are some of this week’s links to the interactive table:

Peep the Technique
Doug Karr
Orbit Now
Ryan Moede
Techy News Blog
Passionate Manager
Clever Think
Bloggermacha
Debbie Millman
The Branding Blog
Uwe’s blog
James & Joe
BrandUnited
Brand Autopsy

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What is the most powerful selling tool?

October 3, 2007

This just in from the folks at Nielsen.  No great shock (I don’t think) to see word of mouth topping the chart, in terms of effective selling tools.  The power of a recommendation from a known/trusted source has long been the gold standard.

But what’s pretty interesting, and a big change from a few years ago, is the third highest item on the list.  Opinions posted online. 

Picture_12_2

 

So, what do you think?  What does this say about blogging?  Sites like epinion.com?

If you’re on the company side — what do you think it means for you and where you spend your resources?  If you’re a consultant or agency-side pro — what do you think it means for you and for your clients?

By the way…this was an international survey.  It covers 47 Markets: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Thailand, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, UAE, United Kingdom, US and Vietnam.

Related posts:

~ How to get customers to talk about you
~ Is that your hand in my pocket?
~ Your future customer is behaving very oddly

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How well do you listen to your marketplace?

October 3, 2007

Listen We’ve all heard the quote from the Greek philosopher Epictetus, "we were born with two ears and one mouth, so we can listen twice as much as we speak."

I doubt Epictetus was a marketing consultant, but it is not a stretch to apply his wisdom to our efforts.  Marketers have a tendency to "talk" a lot.  After all, we have a lot to say.  We have features to point out.  Benefits to reference.  Special pricing to announce.  Nothing wrong with any of that.

But we also need to listen.

How do we listen to our marketplace?  Try some of these on for size:

  • Client satisfaction survey
  • Client needs assessments
  • Attend industry trade shows
  • Monitor blogs for mentions of your company and your competitors
  • Read trade publications
  • The old-fashioned suggestion box
  • Google yourself/company

Along with those effective methods, there are also more direct and immediate ways to actively listen.  After you’ve completed a project or delivered your product, why not just pick up the phone and call? Ask for their impressions.  Find out if you surprised them in any way (good or bad) and what they expected the experience or product usage to be like.  Imagine how you would feel if you received that kind of call.  Appreciated?  Special? Is that the kind of call you’re likely to talk about?  You bet.

A word of caution.  Do not try to sell anything during this call.  This is about listening, remember? 

If you commit to listening more, you will glean insights that change the way you do business and you’ll see a spike in sales as a result.  Guaranteed.

How are you going to improve your listening this month?

Recent posts:

~ Are you really listening?
~ Listen and respond (Marketing Lesson from Walt)
~ Listen up

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Join us for breakfast and some branding tomorrow?

October 2, 2007

Breakfast As you know, we MMGers are passionate about branding.  So much so that we want to share it with the business world. That’s why two years ago, we started hosting our monthly Branding Breakfast

October’s Branding Breakfast is tomorrow.  Other than the fact that it’s at the crack of dawn — it’s a good time.  You can enjoy a hot breakfast and a lively discussion about branding and how it could be applied to your business.

Here are the particulars:

Wednesday, October 3rd  (7:30 am – 8:30 am)
Workforce Development Office
430 East Grand
Downtown Des Moines

We hope you can join in the fun!

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