Читать книгу 30 Days to Online PR and Marketing Success - Gail Z. Martin - Страница 4

Marketing horror stories. You’ve probably heard them. You may have one yourself. These are the stories about how someone tried a marketing technique, sent out a press release, or ran an ad, and “it didn’t work.”

I’ve heard plenty of these stories. And as with most urban legends, there’s usually more to the story than meets the eye. If you’re reading this book, you’re a coach, consultant, speaker, author, or owner of a small business, and you want more from your marketing than you’re currently getting. You may not be marketing at all because your business is new, or because you’re afraid to fail. Or it may be that your marketing is chugging along with mediocre returns or muddled measurement.

Take heart. Marketing isn’t mysterious, and once you understand how the pieces fit together, you’ll be in a better position to market your own company or to oversee someone to handle marketing for you. Let’s start by looking at the seven most common reasons that marketing plans fail.

1. No planning. Many marketing efforts fail because there is no link between the marketing actions and the bottom-line business plan goals that drive revenue. Decision makers get caught up with a vivid, creative idea that isn’t accountable to the bottom line, or because they take a “great deal” offered by a salesperson for a media buy. Marketing without a plan is a disaster waiting to happen.

2. Inappropriate actions. If there is no plan, then marketing actions may conflict with each other. It’s unlikely that scatter-shot actions will support a business plan goal. Disappointing results come about because of a “ready, fire, aim” approach where actions aren’t anchored to business objectives and target audiences. Attempts to copy what a successful competitor is doing without understanding why (or whether) the action is working for them is also a dangerous approach.

3. Lack of clarity about the target market. Blasting out marketing without a clear target is wasteful and unsuccessful. You can’t hit a target if you haven’t identified it. There is a “sweet spot” of potential customers who could become your ideal clients. You’ll need to get to know them to win them.

4. Lack of clear goals. Not only do your marketing actions need to be linked to specific business goals, but each marketing action should be measurable. Build in measurability up front so expectations are clear.

5. Unreasonable expectations. Many people become disillusioned with marketing because they don’t understand the benchmarks for successful programs. For example, most direct mail professionals are thrilled to get a 1-percent response rate. One percent! Yet many small businesses send out a postcard mailing and quit in disgust, expecting a response of 20 percent, 30 percent or more. It’s important to have realistic expectations so you recognize success when you see it.

6. Unclear on how marketing works. For many people, marketing is a lot like a DVD player. They don’t know (and don’t care) how it works. Your odds of creating successful marketing are slim without some knowledge of how the pieces function and the process required to pull the pieces together. On the Internet, new tools are emerging almost daily. Understanding what makes marketing tick is essential whether you’re doing it yourself or delegating it to someone else.

7. Lack of patience. Did you know that marketing research shows that it takes between seven to 30 “touches” to make a sale? Customers won’t buy until they have an urgent need. Until then, all you can do is create name recognition and a good reputation. That’s the value of the Rule of 30. Marketing has a lot in common with farming. You wouldn’t plant seeds one day and go out the next and dig them up in disgust because full grown plants hadn’t sprouted overnight. Seeds take time to sprout. Marketing seeds also take time to grow.

Putting the 30 Day Guide to Use

Marketing success begins with RESULTS. The RESULTS approach stands for:

Recommit to marketing.

Expect success.

Seek partners.

Understand your audience.

Look for win-win scenarios.

Take strategic action.

Stay visible.

In the next 30 days, you can see your social media marketing go from zero to zoom by applying the RESULTS formula.

Recommit to set aside at least 30 minutes each day to developing your social media marketing strategy for the next 30 days. (Thirty minutes is a minimum. Once you get started, you’ll want to spend an hour, so block out the time now.)

Expect success by throwing yourself whole-heartedly into this 30-day commitment. If the little voice in the back of your head keeps saying, “This is ridiculous. This isn’t going to work,” you are programming yourself for failure. Program yourself for success by writing down 30 things you would like to achieve from your online marketing and PR strategy. Some ideas include:

– Reach new ideal prospects who may not know about your product/service and give them an incentive to learn more.

– Gain visibility in local, regional, national and professional media.

– Position your company as the expert and leader in its field.

Considering these three examples, come up with your own list of 30 Success Expectations and keep them handy to check back on.

Seek partners. Success in the online world is just as dependent on partnership and collaboration as in the “real” world. These partners might be trusted vendors on whom you rely for your online marketing tools, ecommerce applications, or PR distribution. They might also be companies in non-competing fields that serve the same customer base with whom you can create products and joint ventures.

Understand your audience in more profitable detail than ever before with the exercises in Chapter 3. Make a list of 30 things you wished you knew about your best customers – and create 30 questions you can use for quizzes, surveys and online discussions.

Look for win-win scenarios. When you select among online PR opportunities, be sure the sites you pick are frequently used by reporters, bloggers, and others in the media.

Take strategic action by putting what you learn in this book to work for you. Be sure to do the exercises at the end of each chapter. Complete all 30 chapter exercises in the next 30 days and watch your online marketing and PR soar!

Stay visible by keeping your name in the press through online PR. Create a list of 30 upcoming events, newsworthy items or announcements you could promote with online PR.

Most people put off doing marketing because they think it’s too difficult or too time-consuming. By using the principles in this book, you’ll do more in 30 minutes a day for 30 days than most business owners do all year. That’s the “Get Results” secret weapon – strategic, consistent effort in pursuit of clear, measurable results.

Results Reminder

Planning + Effort + Consistency = Results

The Rule of 30

How many times are your messages “touching” prospects prior to making the sale? How close is that number to 30?

30

Exercises

1. Describe your primary target audience in detail: age, gender, education, location, income, key concerns, hobbies, aspirations, etc.

2. Justify why this is your primary audience. Now identify your secondary audience and explain why it’s in second place. Look at your answers. Are they consistent with your ideal customer? With your current customers? How are they alike and different?