Posts Tagged ‘Integrated Marketing Communication’

There’s something I love about watching sign twirlers. I’m not talking the long-suffering ones that appear to be a bored employee, humiliated to be stuck outside in some kind of mascot costume and horrified because they don’t know any cool sign twirling tricks. I’m talking the ones that draw the eye because they are rocking the house with their moves and ingenious twirling capabilities. And it occurred to me the other day we could all learn a few things from a good sign twirler:

1. Fake it until you make it – You can’t tell me that all of those rockin’ sign twirlers love their job when its 100 degrees outside or dropping a nice snowy mix. But you would never know they don’t love their jobs because they never show it.  They are outside enthusiastically tossing and twirling and on some level, it makes you as a potential customer stop and take notice. Your business could probably stand to approach marketing with that mentality, because if you can’t buy into it, neither can you customers.

2. Take time and listen to the music - Sign twirlers take this literally – probably because they can and its one way to beat off the boredom blues. But as a business person, you can take that statement figuratively or literally. Wouldn’t it be nice to take some moments of enjoyment out of whatever it is you are doing?

3. Infuse some energy – A good sign twirler always looks energized, alert and active – much like your business should! No one wants to do business with a sluggish organization, so show off the energy and enthusiasm you have for your work in order to get others to buy what you’re selling!

4. Create a new move - Sign twirlers don’t just shake their money maker (sign that is). They generally show off every dance move they know and ultimately, whatever new move comes to mind. Why? Because they don’t want to be like everyone else and neither should your business. So think about how to position yourself so you offer something no one else has! It’s one way to really stand out.

5. They have it, so they flaunt it – Sign twirlers dance, hop, skip, wave, flip, spin and in general show off their signage. They do it because its part of their job to draw attention to their client. You should do the same to draw attention to your business! Don’t be shy about telling people (in the appropriate manner of course), what you do and how you can help them. If they don’t know, they won’t buy…

Can you think of other ways sign twirlers could teach us a lesson or two? Leave a comment below!

Candy Rice of The Collective Savvy with her regular car business brainstorming partner, her husband Tim. Photo courtesy of Sohi Photography.

I’ve heard of the “napkin effect” for brainstorming (http://www.thebackofthenapkin.com/), but I’ve never really been a huge napkin user for business (I generally have a notebook for that!). But I realized something today. Some of the best business brainstorming I’ve ever experienced occurs in the car. Call it the smartphone effect, the telecommute effect, or just plan ol’ there’s-nothing-else-to-do effect. But regardless, the car seems to be catalyst for creative conversation.

I could focus on the calls from the car (when its parked of course). Or the borrowing of a store’s Wifi from the car in order to be on the internet. Or checking phone messages or texts from the smartphone. But really the thing I think is key is the lack of overall external distractions. You are cruising along with someone beside you and invariably you start talking. Off goes the radio, on goes the conversation and BOOM–you have impromptu business brainstorming at your fingertips.

What makes car brainstorming so effective?

1. You have someone to talk to for an extended period -How often does that really happen? In this day and age, people are often so busy they don’t have time to just sit and talk.

2. You have subconscious or overt prompters for conversation – great billboard advertising, an interesting bumper sticker, a car you like, etc. Many things can trigger a conversation, which evolves to ideas and problem solving.

3. You have a need to connect – or in some cases just talk – about your business and have a ready audience within reach. So you do. It’s that simple!

4. You have few interruptions – The TV is off, you can’t text and drive, the kids aren’t vying for attention and the dog doesn’t need to be walked. Amazing how much creativity spews forth when you have brain cells left for it.

5. You aren’t talking to just your co-workers, partners or subordinates about work – You are chatting with your spouse, a buddy, you children or a neighbor.

I actually find number 5 most valuable. Why? Because they bring a different and fresh perspective to your business, even if that is not an area they work in.

Now, the challenge of brainstorming in the car is limited resources for making a list, taking notes or doing immediate look-ups. I actually think that can be a good thing b/c it allows you to stay focused on the business at hand. But if you are like me and need to record the key conversational elements in some way, maybe implement one of the following tactics.

• Check your cell phone for voice recording capabilities and make verbal notes once you are parked.
• Keep a notebook in the car, solely for the purpose of car brainstorming. Go ahead and clip one of your favorite pens to it so nothing hinders you from capturing what you need when you have the chance to write.
• Ask your passenger to help you remember the key points – maybe even have them call your voicemail and leave a message so you can note it later.

Regardless, I am sure you can come up with a solution to retain what you need. But the key thing to do is enjoy the time and value of the car brainstorm. It’s an under-appreciated phenomena!

Have savvy thoughts or suggestions on this post? Leave a comment and let us know!

Candy and Tim with a great idea... Photo courtesy of Sohi Photography.

Positioning is a powerful thing. Make a one woman weep and another woman sing… or something along those lines!

In all seriousness, positioning is a crucial part of the business of marketing. Without it, you lack direction, clarity and purpose in your marketing endeavors; or at the very least, in the mind of your consumers. I had a “daily life” reminder of that recently when I was trying to sell a table on Craigslist.

This table was a good table. It was a nice dark color, had some cool silver accents and was super sturdy. As a matter of fact, it had been used as a desk in two households before being relegated to the Craigslist sell pile. So I diligently posted pictures of the table, the dimensions of the table and mentioned the (very) slight damage on the top. It was priced to sell and I was ready to go.

But I had no buyers. I reposted several times over time, changing up the verbiage and the headlines, but always promoting this great table. No luck.

No luck that is, until I realized I had positioned that table all wrong. I was selling it as a table. So I sat down, removed my past Craigslist post and reposted that table – this time as the perfect desk.  It was big, it was of a dark tone, it had cool silver accents and was a super sturdy desk with a slight marking on top that your computer would hide. That table sold within an hour – and the buyer was afraid I might sell it out from underneath her.

Positioning that table as a table did me no good. Who wants a slightly damaged centerpiece for their dining room? But positioning that table as a desk did the trick – because in the words of the purchaser – “This is perfect! Exactly what I was looking for!” And so the table sold, all because I repositioned that table in the mind of the consumer! A great lesson to be reminded of!

Marking Myths. Social Media Hype. Bogus Business Beliefs.

It all adds up to one thing – preconceived notions that can take you for a ride going the wrong way.

As marketers, we know that repeat messaging can make its mark. But what we can often miss is the fact it can make its mark on us! So when we repeatedly hear things like “You have to do this” or “Everyone has X,” you simply start to believe it. The worst part is, the decision to believe it is not often made-its just a gradual process that slowly invades your consciousness and starts driving your actions.  Sometimes something happens that challenges those beliefs and you realized you’ve been carrying this weight around without your knowledge.

But we recommend you try to take  a more proactive approach:

1. Pay attention to when you feel yourself shifting into autopilot and pull out your inner 3 year old; ask “why? why? why?” until you get to the answer you want.
2. Listen when others question your beliefs. You may not agree with what that person has to say, but you may learn something along the way.
3. And most importantly, open yourself to learning something new-and try to do it without making an immediate judgement. Read new resources. Attend unusual seminars. Debate an issue with someone outside your field.

We guarantee as you shake loose old beliefs, you will establish conscious, well-informed ones.

Chances are, if you have been in business a while, you can easily spout details about your specific target market. You probably know if more women than men buy your product, average age range, family status and more. Some of this may have been through careful cultivation and others through just general observation.

But perhaps the time has come to identify a new target market. You need to grow your customer base or you have a new product on the market. If you need a refresher on how to identify the “perfect” customer, think about the following:

1. Sex – Male or female? Think through the ideal client who will purchase your goods or services. How do you envision them?
2. Age range – Are you targeting youth, 30′s or boomers? What you choose determines your media and communication usage. Make sure you can narrow down the range!
3. Level of education – Is your ideal customer highly educated? Or do they have a high school diploma?
4. Family status – Married? Children? Partners? Family status often drives purchasing decisions on a variety of levels.
5. Income level – Income level affects spending. So think about your price point and if the item you are selling is perceived as “necessity” or “luxury.”
6. Psychographics – Buying power and interest doesn’t just stem from the who and what – it stems from the “why.” Look at buying habits of different groups – hipsters, boomers, or special interest groups, such as crafters.  It’s amazing the insight that can be gained from observing the “why.”

Not sure how to determine this information? Conduct focus groups and tests. Depending on your budget, you can use a formalized focus group company. But if financing is a challenge, get smart about resources at hand. Look at trends on the internet. Listen to what your customers are saying (“My mother would love that!”). Pay attention to what’s “hot” around you and identify where there are opportunities. Put others on the search. Talk to your local librarian about how to research some of this. Essentially – pay attention and think about how opportunities apply to your product or service!

We’ve had a lot of conversations with clients recently about what I like to call “Taming the Time Suck.” Like a lion on the loose, social media can be a fascinating thing to observe. Or play around in. Regardless of whether you do it for business or pleasure, social media can eat a ton of time if you don’t manage your efforts effectively.

While each day can be different – as well as each opportunity you may capitalize on – it’s important to designate the right time for the right projects.

5 Ways to Tame the Time Suck

1. Designate time to work on your social media projects. – This is especially important when developing or revamping your materials. Setting up, tweaking, etc., can be quite the time suck,  so make sure you plan for your social media activities. Go as far as to close your browser if you have to get other work done and then just open it up with you have time to monitor and manage.

2. Designate time each day to work on your accounts. – You will need time to manage and monitor your accounts. And you should adjust that time if you know your posts and activities relate to a prime media story, a seasonal promotion, or something equally as important to capitalize on.

3. Prioritize - Not everything has to be done each day or in every way. Are most of your customers YouTube watchers? Then spend more time there rather than on LinkedIn. Move things to the back burner as needed, but make sure you don’t embrace the empty storefront scenario – you still need to keep things active!

4. Be effective - It’s tempting to goof off: looking at fun links, playing games, or responding to friends’ posts. But treat your job like a job, and you’ll minimize the amount of time you are supposedly spending on social media for work.

5. Prepare – If you need assistance from other departments (such as graphic design work, customer service, etc.), make sure you are communicating with them in advance or as needed in order to handle your campaigns efficiently and effectively. Preparing properly can make a world of difference!

Have other tips for taming the time suck? Please post below!

“For every minute spent in organizing, an hour is earned.” ~Author Unknown

And never is that more true than when preparing for a marketing launch of any type! You already know proper traditional and social marketing is key, but this week we want to delve more into the crucial element of timing to make this happen!

3 Savvy Tips for Timing an Effective Launch

1. Give yourself time – and then add time to that! –  Why? Because nothing ever goes as planned. But you can combat that by building in a cushion to your production schedule at each major milestone. So the next time your designer is out sick, your IT person is battling a virus, or Twitter is showing the fail whale for days on end, you are still in good shape!

2. Pick Your Launch Day with Care – While all issues can’t be anticipated, there are some good rules of thumb to follow – carefully plan around holidays and  avoid major tech or political announcements. You’d hate to lose your limelight to something you could have avoided, so check your calendars!

3. Know Your Customers – Most people know their customers well enough to know when they think about your company. Perhaps it’s a Monday in the afternoon, or as they prep for the weekend plans on Thursday after work.  Make sure your launch date resonates with your goals, your customer usage, and has real impact!

Of course, not all things can be anticipated. But with a little planning and consideration for your launch, you should be in pretty good shape!

Want some help launching your marketing strategy or campaign? Let us know! info@thecollectivesavvy.com

July is all about launching your social media and traditional marketing efforts.

Much like a rocket launch, there are many things that have to occur before you blast off your integrated traditional and social media efforts. Everything should be properly prepared, fully synchronized, and perfectly executed; otherwise you can be stuck with a visible mess!

5 Savvy Tips for Pre-Launch Activities:

1. Set aside some time – Don’t launch in a rush because mistakes and missed opportunities are more likely to happen. Designate time prior to your launch to get all of your ducks in a row!

2. Review opportunities – Things change. So make sure you are familiar with all existing opportunities for exposure and launching of integration. And don’t forget to look at upcoming opportunities! You’d hate to miss out by not paying attention.

3.  Lay out a plan - Put your pen to paper – or at least your fingers to your keyboard. You are more likely to stick to your plan if you write it out!

4. Gather the team – Integration and a proper launch are more likely to happen if you have the support and input of your team. They see things you don’t, so use those great minds to launch it right!

5. Prep – Preparation is important. Rarely can you launch an integrated effort without getting a few pre-launch projects done.

Launching an integrated marketing and social media marketing effort can save you a ton of time and resources, but you need to do it right to make it effective. The above tips are just a few of the ways to prepare for a fabulous launch! Have more tips? Leave a comment!

Do you need some help with your integration efforts? Contact The Collective Savvy – we’re happy to help! info@thecollectivesavvy.com.

One of the places many marketers fall down on the job is missing the chance to leverage current opportunities in preparation for future connections. We advocate that smart seasonal promotions should actually build your sales all year long. Integration of your marketing efforts – and collection of contact information – is essential to make this happen!

3 Savvy Ways to Collect Contact Information

1. Run a contest – Have people drop their business card into a unique bowl in the store for a chance to win or run an online contest through your website. Whatever you do, make sure that each of your marketing outlets (especially social media!) promotes this contest. The more interest, the more registrants. The more registrants, the more contact information you collect. The more you collect, the more opportunity you have to promote yourself moving forward for future promotions!

2. Ask for story or photo submittals – Pick a seasonal topic or a theme and then invite people to submit! Have them complete a form and then reward them with a coupon or special promotion related to your seasonal campaign. You do just a little work for potentially big results!

3. Ask people to opt in – Have a newsletter? Tell people. Run a Facebook page? Ask them to “like” it. Host a Twitter account? Invite them to follow. Make sure they know the opportunity is there by letting them know it’s there.

Once the seasonal campaign is over, follow up!

1. Thank people – Thank them for coming in, participating, etc. Do this quickly after the season is over, as customers often have short memories.

2. Referrals - If your system is sophisticated enough, make suggestions for future purchases based on past activity. If you don’t have an automated way to do that, use the past campaign as a springboard!

3. Reach out - Connect regularly to the folks who opted to receive your information. Easy rules of thumb:

- Twitter – At least once a day

- Facebook – At least 3 times a week

- Email newsletters – varies, from weekly to quarterly

- Blog posts – 1 time a month, at a minimum

Not sure where to get started? Drop us an email at info@thecollectivesavvy.com.

As we’ve mentioned in our blog posts, seasonal marketing can be a great way to boost sales, but you are often competing with others who are vying for the same attention. So consider a bonus to your customers! Everyone likes a free perk, especially during high purchasing times.

5 Savvy Bonus Options

1. Offer free shipping – Sell your items online? In a store? Offer free shipping for the duration of your seasonal campaign!

2. Offer free or donation-based gift wrapping services – It takes some of the pressure off of your customers. Plus it allows you to present your products in the best way possible!

3. Consider personal shopping assistance – People often benefit from a word of advice. So why make them wait until they can track down a sales associate? Set up an official shopping or gift item referral program. You know your goods best and a little personal attention never hurt anyone!

4. Showcase a story online - Talk about why you carry what you do, how your employees prep or volunteer for the holidays, why you enjoy your particular seasonal promotion, etc. – anything that blends a personal feel with a business promotion! Or ask others to submit their stories through Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube!

5. Consider extended hours or offer a class that helps customers prepare for traditional seasonal events - Make it easy for folks to come to you during a busy season. Empower them to decorate, prepare for big events, etc., by offering a free class – and boost your sales in the meantime!

Have other ideas on savvy ways to boost your seasonal marketing? Leave a comment!

Need help building a seasonal marketing plan? Let us know! info@thecollectivesavvy.com