What is Marketing???

[nickless]

I've just had a meeting with the 2 top bosses. Apparently the people who were doing the marketing for us don't want to do it any longer because they've become too busy with other projects. So, having outsourced it c. 3 months ago, it's now come back full circle.

Bosses have asked me whether I want to do the marketing from Jan on. Our company has not done any marketing before, and bosses are a bit vague about what to do.

As I understand, I would have to place ads, arrange exhibitions, write editorials.

What else?
And how do I do this?
I've never done any marketing, and frankly, I wouldn't know where to start.
I sort of know the product, but would have to do quite a lot of homework in that respect.

They want my decision on Monday.

Any info, comments, checklists, do's and dont's or ANYTHING would really be appreciated.

Thanks...



nickless

[Jackie G]

Advertising:  newspapers etc have a set rate they charge - usually per single column centimetre (here in the UK anyway).  You NEVER pay that if you're doing marketing for a business.  If you're going to be a regular advertiser in certain publications, it would be good to get to know who would be handling your account at the publication and meet them to discuss your needs.  They should be able to help you and will negotiate rates with you.  (If you count across a paper or magazine and see how many columns there are, then you can see how many scc an advert will take up)  They will also help you with sizing your advert.  If your organisation can afford it, you should not let a publication set your advert for you - they generally make a complete hash of it and if there is time to proof it, fine, but usually there's not.  That means you need the help of an advertising agency.  They may also help you out with the media buying - but that incurs a fee and your post sounds like you're not going that route.  But do have your adverts professionally set - the papers like it better (less for them to do) and they look better printed.  For that though, you need to know what the requirements are of the publication in terms of sizing, bleed, etc, etc (bleed is where colour is concerned)

Exhibitions:  You haven't said what type of exhibitions you would be organising - whether this would be taking a shell type stand at a professionally organised and run trade fair, or whether it would be small one off type display-type exhibitions at local shopping centres etc.

If the former, the exhibition organisers should produce a complete pack which answers all your questions, and if it doesn't, they should know them.  I used to work for a trade exhibition organiser and we did massive things like engineering and building.  

If the latter, it all depends what kind of space you have and what you're exhibiting.  A must on any stand is some kind of flyer which attracts people to take it away and which obviously explains what the product is about and how they can buy it, at what cost, etc, etc.  If budget is tight you may have freestanding display boards which can be a nightmare if they get knocked.  If you can afford to get one of these fantastic pop up things made - and the price of these is coming down - that's a great backdrop for any kind of display.

Editorials:  the trick here is to put yourself in the shoes of someone who knows nothing about your product.  You need to tell them about it in the shortest possible way so as to keep their interest.  A case study could be a good way if your product lends itself to a story about how Joe and Jane Bloggs find such a use for it in their home or whatever.  There is also such a thing as an advertorial whereby you would pay for an advert, and this would be accompanied by editorial running alongside - great jargon!

Hope this helps.  It could be a lot of fun, though hard work.  It might get you out of the office a bit more, if that's something you want to do - but if it's a huge amount of additional work on your schedule then you either need an assistant or a huge rise!

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[nickless]

Thanks, Jackie, for the quick and detailed answer. As you can tell from my initial post, I have no idea what to do, and where to start.

Advertising:
There is a company who would do the ads for us. “All” we have to do is provide the photos (which hopefully will come from our Austrian principals who by the way will have nothing at all to do with our marketing), the text, the layout and perhaps thousand other things I can’t think of now. We have had the odd ¼ page colour advert in various professional publications in the past, but there doesn’t seem to have been any consistency or reasons why we have chosen one over the other. It looks like we placed an ad with them because they rang us up in the first place. So I would have a few magazines to play with, and will take up your suggestion of meeting the account managers face to face to negotiate good rates.

Exhibitions:
They’ll be trade fairs (no public access, just trade) here in the UK and in Ireland. We have just booked one event in March 2006, so perhaps the organisers contact us soon with a welcome pack. Otherwise I would have to ring them in early Jan. So far, I have been to a few trade fairs myself as a visitor, and roughly know what to expect, but organisationwise, that could be quite a lot of work. But – hey – organisation is the one thing I’m good at .

Editorials:
I’m not a great writer, so that could potentially be the most difficult bit.

Frankly I have no idea why they had to pick me! I don’t think I’m outgoing and aggressive enough to market our company/our products, and usually would prefer to stay anonymously behind my desk. Bosses are currently discussing next year’s pay packets, so mine will probably hugely depend on my decision on Monday.



nickless

[Jackie G]

Over to you to make your decision then!

On trade fairs, happy to help with more info especially now I know they're in the UK.  If you haven't heard from the company by all means chase them early January and think about the kind of things you want to know.

Power on stand is essential for lighting - the hall lighting is never enough, trust me.

And you need manpower ON the stand, very very important - preferably fairly knowledgeable about the product.  And a good pair of shoes.  If you're going to wear heels, I suggest having 2 pairs to change half way through the day as my feet always got very sore.  And it can be very hot in these halls, so lots of water so you don't dehydrate.

Follow up is most important after an exhibition - no good someone expressing an interest and completing a form at the exhibition and may be wanting to buy your product, and then nobody following up from the sales team (?) immediately after.  That is vital.

The previous advertising does sound a bit vague but you should be thinking also about which publication best meets your target audience.  No point in advertising in (all made up names)

Power Tools Monthly (DIY enthusiasts publication) if what you sell is a trade power tool that DIY enthusiasts wouldn't know how or want to use;
Sewing Machine Weekly, if your audience is not users of sewing machines

extreme, I know, but it's hard to be specific without knowing what you do!

Good luck with making your decision over the weekend - let us know.  And you can always PM me at any time about trade fairs especially (I also worked in an advertising agency for 5 years so have quite a bit of knowledge there too!)

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[virtuallysorted]

My advice is to think like your customer - what publications do they read? What do they do? Where do they shop? What do they trust?

However, I would start really simply with something very immediate for your bosses to see.  Think about how you communicate with your customers - that's having everything on standard templates for powerpoint presentations, faxes, comp slips, invoices, letterheads, etc and it's something you can do almost immediately to raise the profile of your company's branding.  

Secondly, I'd review what you've done and what has worked for you in the past.  There are loads of lessons to be learned from this.  Put in place a monitoring system to find out how people hear about you (could be as simple as asking people when they call!).  And ask existing customers why they use you and where they heard about you.   Get testimonials if possible while you're doing this!

Thirdly, look at free resources such as Yellow Pages listings, directory listings, things your company could get involved in which would be good PR / promotional opportunities.  Arm yourself with info about your company and its products and services and some hi-res photos suitable for publication along with both a hi-res and lo-res jpeg of your company logo.  Voila, a basic press pack is created!

[nickless]

Thanks, Jackie, for your offer. I'll probably get back to it in the new year when things start to happen .

We have been selling this product for an Austrian company for the last 6 years, but nothing has been done to promote it, other than word of mouth, and the odd advert. But no-one has really thought about a strategy.

Company templates etc are set up and have just been revamped since we're dropping our own company name, and are promoting the Austrian brand, at least: hoping to promote.

There's going to be an English website, but at the moment, even though you type in companyname.co.uk, it's still all in German. That just doesn't help! They've got all the translations... I've virtually spent months on them! So why can't they put them in place???

Seems like lots of scope for development in all areas.

Thanks for your support!

nickless

[countrigal]

My only addition would be to suggest a marketing class at a local university -- if you take on this challenge, take a class.  It would give you some information on the hows, what's, etc and show your willingness to grow for the position.  I took such a class while working on my BS degree, and loved it, learned a lot, and know that I wouldn't be too good at it.

Good luck, whatever your decision...

CountriGal
Peer Moderator

[nickless]

Right, that's it. I said YES.

Have been given a lot of paperwork, reading material, magazines, exhibition info... enough to keep me busy for the next few days. When I got it all straight in my head when to do what, I'll start my new career in the New Year.

nickless

[Jackie G]

well done, you should be able to enjoy it and take it and shape it and make it yours.

Jackie, Peer Moderator
www.iqps.org

[susans]

That was excellent advice and information Jackie gave you.  We do have some articles on DeskDemon about Marekting, in the VA section we have a few but they are really related to small home business but you may get a tip or two out of them.  As for tradeshows, we have a section in the Meeting section (scroll down and there are about 5 articles on tradeshows.)  On the VA page the index has a list of marketing ideas from a questionnaire on "What is your favorite marketing tip"  You can scroll down and get ideas from that as well!  

http://us.deskdemon.com/pages/us/va/article/9marketingtips



http://us.deskdemon.com/pages/us/meeting/index

Congrats and have fun with it!  

Edited by editorus on 21/12/05 06:54 PM.

[donnap99]

In reply to:

On the VA page the index has a list of marketing ideas from a questionnaire on "What is your favorite marketing tip"

Susan - I can't find this - can you provide the link, please?

Thanks!

DonnaP99

[susans]

http://us.deskdemon.com/pages/us/meeting/index  It is on that page (you have to scroll down a bit), I will paste them here:

• Actively be engaged in local company tele-market research
• Advertise honestly
• Advertise on search engines
• Advertising in small magazines
• Always have business cards ready to hand out
• Always look the part whenever you step out your door.
• Ask for referrals from the clients
• Attend local business networking events
• Be a great communicator, especially with e-mails. Nothing looks more unprofessional than bad grammar and bad spelling. Your e-mails represent you so you want them to look great.
• Be a great VA, and you will get dozens of referrals from satisfied customers.
• Be consistent
• Be enthusiastic. It draws people like a magnet.
• Be Frequent
• Be sure to include those that have confirmed prospect on a regular newsletter
• Before you advertise, make sure you're ready for anything.
• Biz Cards
• Brochures
• Business card magnets
• Business Cards
• Carry brochures when you are out shopping or visiting or other places.
• Check your purse for business cards every day.
• Create a website
• Create an attractive website that relays your message and services, and make sure you place it with the right search engines.
• Create different types of marketing/collateral pieces
• Direct mail to a specific segment of the market such as realtors, lawyers, medical practice
• Distribute brochures, business cards, post cards to targeted audience (customers)
• Distributing fliers at various local businesses
• Don't be shy. :-)
• Don't over look who you know, have cards or pens handy to give or drop off, don't be afraid to make a suggestion (which in our old lives, meant if we had the idea...we'd volunteered!)
• Don't splatter your marketing copy with buzzwords.
• Existing web host (i.e. Yahoo.com) for better exposure
• Flyers
• Follow-up calls to number one that say they are open to the idea or currently engaged in an exclusive contract with another VA by sending e-mail or fax or postal mail letter of introduction, business card (2), and either a web-card or tri-fold brochure;
• Follow-up the correspondence to number 2 with a call to confirm receipt of sent literature
• Get a coach.
• Get invoked in Community projects - Its amazing how many potential customers you can meet
• Great Web site.
• Have a good name, have a competitive advantage to promote your business, and be creative in your approach to potential clients - think about what their needs are and tell them how you can fulfill them.
• Have a specific market in mind before you begin.
• Have extra marketing "tools" with you at all times.
• Hit those yellow pages and market yourself!
• I have been sending small mailings each week, and a week after each mailing, I call the prospects to follow up with them. I've gotten some bites this way.
• Join a chamber of commerce or BNI group so that you can meet people face-to-face. Virtual Assistance is best described in person.
• Join your local chamber of commerce and other network groups.
• Join your local Chamber of Commerce
• Know how to promote your Web site.
• Leave business cards everywhere. Be ready with your "Mini Commercial" at any given moment. Never miss the opportunity to promote yourself.
• Let everyone know what you are doing, and give your business cards out to all who you know might know someone that could use your services.
• Listen to what people say and if an opportunity to promote yourself comes up - take it!!
• Look and be professional with yourself and materials.
• Lots of networking, old contacts, anyone
• Mailing lists
• Make magnets with your business information on them so that people will have it readily available when they need administrative support
• Make sure you provide good service by being courteous and listen to your prospects thoroughly.
• Market without paying (e.g. supermarket bulletin boards etc.)
• Mass mailing
• Network with other professionals that could use your services.
• Networking
• Offer the same tips you use successfully as a service.
• Place an ad in the newspaper
• Professional brochures and business cards
• Publish on the web
• Signs on your car
• Small newspapers
• Stay abreast of new situations
• Swap link programs.
• Talk to everyone about what you do and how it can help them with their business. Always strive to tell them what is in it for them.
• Talk to everyone you know about what you do.
• Tell everyone you talk to about what it is you do
• Use every opportunity to tell people what you do,
• Use networking as a marketing tool
• Use the yellow pages
• Volunteer work
• Web site post cards
• Website
• Word-of-mouth.
• Write Press Releases about interesting things about your business for (hopefully) free editorial in the newspapers
• You never know whom you might run into.

Edited by susans on 21/12/05 11:24 PM.