A Marketing Expert, Think Again!

[Eieio]

A Marketing Expert, Think Again!
Who is an Expert?

How many blogs and articles have I read from “so called experts” in marketing. Too many! There are books out there that are a dime a dozen. There are people that I talk to that say” this works for me and gets profitable leads.” Well, first of all, How do I know that they even have a profitable business?


Blindly following who?
Many ideas I hear are just for an occasional attempt to get leads, the old,” marketing event of the week “ type tactics. I even hear people that claim to know niche marketing, but have they ever had to” live and die” from their own ideas and efforts by running a successful business with those same ideas. Do you follow a pretender, contender or a proven leader? Your business depends on you! Your decisions pave the road towards…..where? Throwing words around is fine. Creating perception is one of the things that marketers do. But realize the words eventually

Link to full article: http://www.remodelbuddy.com/marketing-expert-think-again

[uwing]

Who is an Expert?

There's a bunch of them at CT http://smilies.zx6r.info/lachen/567.gif
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Thanks for the post and link. I agree to. I was just reading a book, got to the 3rd chapter and thought this dam book is just wasting my time

[orson]

The ideas Tim is expressing are very much in line with the book 'Duct Tape Marketing' which I know Tim is a big fan of, and it is a great read.

One thing that always sticks in my head is an issue of either Qualified Remodeler or Remodeling mag, can't remember which, where they did a fairly comprehensive survey on lead sources and referrals were 80% of all leads.

If you put it in that perspective all the butt loads of money companies spend on advertising is all to compete for 20% of the total market. That's insane.

Typically most of us think of a referral as "a past customer recommending us to someone who has a need for our service". That happens and it's great, because we are instantly halfway or more to the "know, like & trust" stage.

Most of us also get some referrals from family and friends here and there as well which is great.

Now, just expand that concept of a referral to every one of your marketing efforts. For me, every dollar I spend on marketing and advertising has to do one of two things:

1. A direct advertisement that must actually intersect with a potential client at their time of need.

or

2. Builds a larger referral network, often out of people I don't even know or never even speak directly to. (This is why things like FaceBook are so freakin cool, they don't even cost hard cash, just time!)

When you look at number 1 and number 2 just remember, #1 is only competing for 20% of the available market, while #2 applies to the other 80%, and your money and time should reflect that.

[dan-o]

Good points Orson but, like most things, there are exceptions to the rule.

Being a young company (6yrs) my first customers aren't back in the market for a repaint yet. I figure I've got another 2 years before that really takes effect so I need to stay heavy on the marketing.

I use direct mail and that brings in 80% of my business historically (I am still compiling 09 stats which is my first year with a website). While I do get referrals, they most often come after prospects see someone they know on my 10+ page reference list. The other 20% comes from neighbors and referrals.

Other than providing leads my marketing has also dramatically increased my brand awareness. It may hit people not in the market for work but eventually it will and by that time I will be familiar to them (in addition to job signs, vehicle lettering etc).

I need to wade through all the new fangled social marketing this winter. I would love to see some threads documenting proven success from facebook/linked in etc.

[orson]

Good points Orson but, like most things, there are exceptions to the rule.

Being a young company (6yrs) my first customers aren't back in the market for a repaint yet. I figure I've got another 2 years before that really takes effect so I need to stay heavy on the marketing.

I use direct mail and that brings in 80% of my business historically (I am still compiling 09 stats which is my first year with a website). While I do get referrals, they most often come after prospects see someone they know on my 10+ page reference list. The other 20% comes from neighbors and referrals.

Other than providing leads my marketing has also dramatically increased my brand awareness. It may hit people not in the market for work but eventually it will and by that time I will be familiar to them (in addition to job signs, vehicle lettering etc).

I need to wade through all the new fangled social marketing this winter. I would love to see some threads documenting proven success from facebook/linked in etc.

dan-o,

I know what you mean, my company is only 2 years old, so I don't have a good referral base yet either.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I think it's productive and effective to think of your marketing and the marketing tool of advertising in terms of expanding your referral base rather than just generating leads.

For instance, if I sent out a mailer that was just a printed postcard with a nice picture and my phone number and some typical BS about what a wonderfull company we are I'm going to get a pretty small response rate.

On the other hand, I could send out a hand written letter with a personalized tone that was friendly and informational and steered people to my FaceBook business page. Let's say a few of those people got a warm fuzzy from the letter, checked out my FB page and my website, read testimonials, saw cool pics and interactions between me and customers on my FB wall. I'm thinking that person could very coneivably hit the 'know like & trust' point without ever speaking directly to you, and would actually refer your company if someone asked them about the service you provide. Maybe they'll become a fan of your FB site. Now they've given you permission to continue marketing to them.

So the tool you used is advertising(the mailer) to direct people into your online marketing (FB and website) which is part of your branding(every aspect of your business that touches other people) and out of that came a person who feels like they know like and trust your business so they refer you.

By the way, this is just my opinion, and by no means do I have any credentials in marketing. I'm just thinking out loud here.

[RCP]

dan-o,



On the other hand, I could send out a hand written letter with a personalized tone that was friendly and informational and steered people to my FaceBook business page. Let's say a few of those people got a warm fuzzy from the letter, checked out my FB page and my website, read testimonials, saw cool pics and interactions between me and customers on my FB wall. I'm thinking that person could very coneivably hit the 'know like & trust' point without ever speaking directly to you, and would actually refer your company if someone asked them about the service you provide. Maybe they'll become a fan of your FB site. Now they've given you permission to continue marketing to them.

So the tool you used is advertising(the mailer) to direct people into your online marketing (FB and website) which is part of your branding(every aspect of your business that touches other people) and out of that came a person who feels like they know like and trust your business so they refer you.

By the way, this is just my opinion, and by no means do I have any credentials in marketing. I'm just thinking out loud here.

I think you have hit a very important point. I agree!

[dan-o]

So the tool you used is advertising(the mailer) to direct people into your online marketing (FB and website) which is part of your branding(every aspect of your business that touches other people) and out of that came a person who feels like they know like and trust your business so they refer you.

By the way, this is just my opinion, and by no means do I have any credentials in marketing. I'm just thinking out loud here.

That makes total sense.

I pretty much do exactly that with my letter. It's not hand-written or personalized beyond the envelope, but it's laid-back communication that I've been told is a window to how I run my business. Most customers looked at my site prior to contacting me (mostly by phone).

My interest in learning more re: social networking (or whatever FB etc is called) is due to knowing I need to push 'me' more versus the business.

To date I've waited until quoting a job to sell myself but, like you said, it's more efficient to do that in advance when possible. I didn't figure that out until this year.