Smooth Move Marketing

Posts Tagged ‘advertising’

Your media pitches can go straight over the plate. With a little forethought, and a few tips, you can throw fewer balls and more media relations strikes.

Brevity is the soul of wit. Shakespeare could have been giving media relations tips when he penned this gem several hundred years ago. If you can’t get to the point in your subject line in 10 words or less, you need to work on your message. Keep the subject line short and to the point, and include the time frame if it is important to the pitch. For instance: “Entrepreneurs Storming NC General Assembly Tuesday”

Surprise! If you have a startling or interesting fact, use it as a hook. I am developing a story idea about local home prices. My initial thought for a subject line is: “Average Lake Norman Home Listing Price Spikes To $413,000.” Recently I used these subject lines to get coverage: “Interest Rates Hit Six Month Low” and “No Credit Score, No Problem”.

Humor Me. Humor is not for everyone. It is best to use it only if you know the reporter has a sense of humor or appreciates quirky items. Maria Stainer, assistant managing editor of the Washington Times, was quoted recently about an email pitch that got her attention and coverage. “Teach Your Dog To Meditate” was the line that hooked her on a story about a new book on animal behavior.
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Successful businesses know the importance of building and maintaining good working relationships, whether it is with partners, employees, business or trade organizations, the government, media representatives, vendors, consumers, or the community at large. A business must carefully balance the benefits of these interpersonal relationships and should never allow these relationships to blind their judgment especially when it relates to what is in the best interest of the business’s continued success and growth

Buying advertising media based on interpersonal relationships is a common mistake made by many small businesses. This strategy throws the business’s strategic marketing plan into the winds of chance in exchange for the warm and fuzzy feelings that come with doing business among friends. However, when the smoke clears the business has made costly advertising expenditures with little or no results and the long term negative effects may not readily be seen. Simply, the marketing / advertising expenditures have been made, the budget may or may not be busted, and the results may be none to little measurable penetration into the business’s target demographic market segment.
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Often the real profits lie in back-end sales.

Once you have a customer, you simply offer additional products, add-ons, upgrades, a super-deluxe version of the original product purchase with all the bells and whistles. The customer is already “sold” on the product or service, based on your sales material or presentation.

The back-end offer should supply the answer to “what’s next?” It should be related in some way to the original product, and the most successful back-end products are higher-priced accessories that makes it easier of better for the buyer than simply having the original.

A back end product should further enhance the product that the buyer intended to purchase. Whatever the original product does, a good back-end product will make it faster, better, more detailed, more complete or easier to use and benefit from – in essence it is far more helpful to the prospect in satisfying his wants, than is the original, more basic product.

Keys to Success

The success of back-end products can be attributed to having a captive, highly targeted audience who is definitely interested in achieving a specific result or solving a specific problem. The add-on product makes it easier to solve the prospect’s problem, quickly.

Another factor is to further sell the customer while he is still in the buying mode and while he is feeling good about solving a problem or moving closer towards a goal.
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Successful marketing is not really measured in how many customers you were able to sell today. To be really able to say that you have a great marketing strategy is to be able to know that your customers were happy and satisfied with their purchase and that they were able to get their money’s worth.

There was a time in history when advertising was overstated. This was during the time when advertising was still new and only few people were aware of it. All business owners have to do is make up some claims and hopefully many people will be attracted to buy their products. But today, this strategy doesn’t work anymore. People are much wiser these days when buying products and availing of services. They know that when a certain marketing material is exaggerated it has hidden flaws and faults. Competition is also stiff that is why business owners would rather put sincere advertising in their materials than risk losing their customers and their business.

So when businesses need to promote something these days they make sure that it contains good content, design and of course honest advertising. Customers are fussier these days. They make sure that they get their dollar’s worth for whatever product they buy. So let’s say you want to advertise your new products through posters. It is important to not only put a lot of attention to the design but to the content as well. What you put in your poster will reflect not only your business and product but who you really are. If you are able to convey a sincere and professional impression to your target customers then they might continue buying your products and even refer you to their friends and colleagues.
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