Keeping your defenses up - why to increase Marketing in tough times

When the Global Financial Crisis (GFC) hit the world markets there were a great deal businesses that were put to the sword. Businesses that were already struggling simply couldn't deal with the downturn in consumer confidence.Although Australia was reasonably well insulated from the GFC there is no doubt that it did effect some businesses and its ripple effects are still being felt today.

As is usually the case businesses generally choose to cut back on costs. The first of the major costs that a number of businesses chose to cut back on was advertising. It was obvious from this reaction that businesses purely did not understand how advertising, or more importantly Marketing, could help their business grow instead of decline in this hard time.
Advertising is but a small part of the Marketing process and can be deadly if not used correctly. Businesses can waste thousands of dollars pumping out advertisements to an audience that either a) Doesn't understand the message being sent or b) Isn't interested in the service. However if Advertisements are directed correctly to their intended audience they can be an effective tool if used in conjunction with an overall Marketing plan.

A little while back I was in a Marketing class and we were discussing different advertisements that we had heard or seen and one's which we thought were the most effective in getting their message across. We all started discussing one particular advertisement and how the ad made the business look unprofessional due to the fact that it had a child in it that seemed to have nothing to do with the overall message. It was then stated by one of the students that the owner of the business had told the advertising company that he would not let them advertise his business unless they had a spot in it for his child.

Clearly this business had no idea of the purpose of advertising and was using it to satisfy his personal needs more than trying to achieve the overall goals of his business. The sad thing is that the advertising company would have been more than happy to accept his money. One of the first things that any business should know is who their target market are. Granted the students in the class were not the target market for this particular business but knowing the business and the industry that they were in, it was clear that they were missing the mark.

An event like the GFC was a perfect opportunity for business owners to examine their business and work out who their target market was and come up with a strategy to reach that market and convey any messages the business wanted them to receive.

To successfully achieve this a business must start by:

• Formulating a detailed business plan- Everyone has heard the statistics that a great number of businesses fail in the first year of trade yet many businesses fail to devise a detailed business plan. By writing down the goals of your business you set down a clear path for success.
• Research your business - many businesses have been in business for a number of years yet rely on customers finding them through a couple of loosely placed radio or newspaper ads. By researching who buys your product or utilizes your service you have a better understanding on how to effectively deliver you product or service to them. This reduces waste and keeps overall costs to a minimum.
• Know your competitors- The best way to improve your business is to know who your competitors are and what they are doing differently to steer customers away from your business. By conducting an effective competitor analysis you can find opportunities to differentiate your product or service from your competitors.
• Evaluate your business regularly- By sitting down and evaluating your business regularly you can track how your business is going and if any strategies you put into place are working. An effective way to achieve this is through a SWOT analysis.

By creating a Strategy for your business you are able to anticipate problems and see opportunities that you would have otherwise been blind to. That's why when times are tough it is important to rethink your strategies, reevaluate your position in the market place and look at what your competitors are doing. Imagine the amount of exposure and the money you could have saved if you had been doing it earlier!

Tell us how Marketing has changed your business when times were tough. How important is it to have a plan?

Marketing Ideas - Thinking outside the square: When Big fish eat Little fish

Marketing Ideas - Thinking outside the square: When Big fish eat Little fish: "There has been much talk over the last month in regards to retail owners and their fight against the online shopping explosion. If you did..."

Why Marketing?

Many businesses ask themselves the question, why do I need Marketing? Surely all I need to do is advertise more, don't I?

What a lot of businesses don't realise is that there is more to growing and expanding their business than meets the eye. A lot of  time by pouring money into advertising a business may as well be burning it to keep themselves warm this winter.

Marketing works on the premise of developing a strategies to achieve the long term goals of the business. This could mean expanding a business to the point where the owners may wish to franchise or it could mean building a business big enough so that it is bought out by a larger company.

It is within this strategy that markers are able to see how the business is performing financially and in relation to its competitors. This involves examining the businesses customers in relation to its long term goals.

By sitting down with a marketer you are getting an external, unbiased view of your business. It is from this view that you are able to highlight areas of your business that you may not have thought of exploiting before.

Utilising the skills of an expert marketer could save you thousands of dollars and mean that you are connecting to more people in a more effective way. Advertising is only one way that businesses are able to reach their target audience and can be effective when it is used correctly.

If marketing has changed the way that you do business,  tell us about it and how it made a difference.

Getting started with Marketing - Brainstorming

Everyone has had that moment in their lives. You know the one great idea that will change everything. It just so happens that this is not so uncommon.

The trouble is that not many people capitalise on these ideas or more importantly really brainstorm that single idea and turn it into five ideas or more.

I have expanded on many ideas in the past and these are the techniques that I have found to be the most effective.

Firstly It is important to outline what the original idea means to you and what you would like to achieve from it. I means using the the "G" word. Thats right writting down your goals.

As scary as that may be for alot of people it can be a crucial step in following through on your original ideas and gaining the full benefit from your intended project. By understanding where you want your idea to go you can understand how to get there.

As an example if you had an idea for a routine that woould improve your childs learning then sit down and write why it is important to you and who will be the main people effected. By linking emotion to your idea you give it momentum and create passion. All of a sudden its not just an idea, but a project that you are passionate about.

The second step is to take your goals and your original idea and break it down into steps. Essentially pull it to bits. For example if you had an idea to design a new brand of footwear for children you might want to look at all the attributes of the product and most importantly who your target market will be and the end benefit that the target market will receive. Look at every single part of the idea such as the name of your product, colour, shape, sizes, where it would sell, who would buy it, why they would buy it, can we sell accessories for it? (Polisher, socks etc..) The list is endless but the more information that you explore the clearer your idea will become. 

Think who is buying your product and what it is your really selling.  An example of this is the success of crocks. Even though a lot of people think they look ridiculous, there are countless people who still wear them in public. They purchased the crocks not for their looks but because they were comfortable. Therfore crocks were selling comfort and not just a shoe.

For the second step it is crucial that you write down every single idea that comes to you regardless of how ridiculous it sounds. The ideas need to be big, colourful and bold so consider using butchers paper and hang them from your wall. Mindmaps are great as they allow you to expand your ideas but also think logically as to how your ideas are arranged. It can be beneficial to bounce ideas of another person, but make sure that you trust that person to keep your ideas to themselves.

The third step is to examine the results of your brainstorming. Like a genius painter observing his or her work stand back and examine what has been achieved. Chances are that you will have created many more ideas and will have a map of what it is that you want to achieve. You may even combine a couple of the ideas that you have thought of to create a brand new idea!