Message to Market Match - Targeting your Target Demographic
The other day I was driving around looking for some neat shops in the neighborhood that might benefit from online marketing (who can't, right?) and stumbled across some signage that was really surprising, not in that it had a typo (which happens more often than you'd imagine) or that it was in disrepair (a big problem with the Florida sunshine), but that they completely missed their mark.
Remember that your "brand" should be consistent -- all of your messages you send to your audience need to align with one another, lest your audience become confused about who you are. Branding comes in the form of websites, logos, newspaper advertisements, phone book ads, coupons, mailers, etc.
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Sex Sells - Timeless Marketing Motivators
I've been working my tuchas off for the past year or so, taking marketing classes, actually doing work and so forth, so I haven't really been able to contribute much to my Blog.
Working long, long, hours in Orlando for the past 3 months or so, it wasn't until very recently, I even spent a moment (not asleep) at the hotel. When I did, I was studying, or programming, or something similarly productive.
Now, if you've been working with me on the marketing front for any length of time, you've noticed I constantly mention how the most effective marketing motivator (for adults) is sex. If you can find a way to squeeze sex into your marketing message, you'll suddenly find customers. To summarize, "sex sells".
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Boosting your Profits through Consumables
There’s a big trend in consumer products today that merits the attention of every business owner. Understanding how to leverage these principles can improve the profitability of nearly every business model.
I was recently working with a member of a local marketing group here in Tampa who is a website designer, let’s call him Fred (not his real name). I got out of the “web design” and “SEO” businesses because of the same things Fred was complaining about.
I shared a number of insights with him that you can probably use in your own business. Then I thought about some other real world examples are sure to get your creative juices flowing about increasing your profitability.
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Marketing Lessons from ICE! - Laying the Foundation (Step 2)
Just a few weekends ago, I had the luxury of visiting ICE! in Gaylord Palms resort in Orlando. If you've never heard of it, it's quite an experience. They create the same type of ice sculptures that are designed every year in China that you’ve seen forwarded around in email blizzards - but you can see them live in Florida! Over 2 millions pounds of ice are carved into interactive exhibits, ice slides, with embedded lighting and oh so much more.
This is the second installment in my examination of the marketing plan behind the success that is ICE. Earlier this week, I covered the planning stages of a successful marketing initiative, using ICE!'s readily available examples of excellent marketing.
Once you have a solid marketing plan, it's time to start laying the foundation. If you don't you could end up like a client of mine who had over 70,000 visits to a page on his site in ONE day -- but didn't take the time to laying the foundation to make the best of that traffic. (I'll get you more on that story later)
Now, We're not just "talking" about marketing -- it's time to actually get moving. Read on to learn how to prepare your business for the flood of business which will come from launching a successful marketing campaign.
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Christmas Marketing from ICE! - The Plan! (Step 1)
A few weekends ago, I had the luxury of visiting ICE! in Gaylord Palms resort in Orlando. If you haven't heard of it, it's amazing. They create the same type of ice sculptures that are designed yearly in China that you’ve seen forwarded around in email blizzards - but you can see these creations live in Florida! Over 2 millions pounds of ice are carved into interactive exhibits, ice slides, with festive lighting and oh so much more.
As a marketing consultant, I pay attention to great marketing (and poor marketing) as I go places. Then, I dig deeper into the rationale for the success of the marketing efforts, improving my own skills and repertoire in the process. This is the same thing my top landscaper client does when he visits a site – when you’re really into something, you can’t help but see it all around you. And when you’re really, really into something, that’s when you stand out as extraordinary.
So, I thought it would be helpful for my clients (and would-be clients) to understand what a full marketing plan looks like from coming up with the reason/angle behind the marketing effort, and what marketing steps were taken across the entire client interaction process.
This article covers the planning stages of their marketing process. Planning is incredibly important. Though this effort isn't directly generating revenue, failing to plan guarantees that any marketing effort will perform far worse than it should.
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Small Business Marketing Sells the Sizzle, Not the Steak
We just got back from seeing ICE! at the Gaylord Springs in Kissimmee, Florida (right next to Hollywood, FL – just outside of Orlando, home of Disney World, and man, oh man, have I brought back a ton of real-world lessons on marketing from the big boys. If you can only work out ways to apply but a few of these multi-million dollar tools to normal businesses, you’ll be well on the way to sharing a similar success.
It’s going to take me a little bit to gather my notes and work up all of my thoughts on the lessons I’ve brought back into a cohesive package, so I’m going to drop another little nugget of wisdom on you. This is a simple and fundamental concept any business can apply to their marketing, and every business should.
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