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Superbowl Ads: Marketing Bonanza or Money Pit?

Feb 7th, 2010
by Brent Allan.
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The Superbowl is in the books. Congrats to the New Orleans Saints. Everyone (except those who live in Indiana) loves to see an underdog success story.

Over the next few days, you will see about 944 blog posts about Marketing during the Superbowl. I wanted to be among the first, so that I don’t have to try to outwrite some of the best out there. If I go first, they have to outwrite me. Mwahahahaa! (By the way, I don’t think “outwrite” is actually a word.)

First off, let’s address the obvious. The average cost of a 30-second commercial spot during Superbowl 44 was around $3.01 million. Some companies and products had three or more spots, such as Denny’s (advertising their Free Grand Slam on Tuesday) and Bud Light (who just had a bunch of random commercials that tried to be clever). So, that is over $9 million spent by just those companies.

Dorito’s also had several, along with Hyundai.

We got to see the Tim Tebow ad, which stirred up tons of controversy for no good reason. We got to see Coke team up with the Simpsons.

In all of these, very few of the ads directed viewers to go to the Internet, where they could offer incentives for joining a mailing list or fan page on one of the numerous social media sites. In other words, the ads may have been entertaining (and I use that term loosely), but were completely useless in accomplishing what ads should do, which is get someone to take action.

Speaking of soft drinks, where was all of the social media stuff that Pepsi was going to be doing in lieu of spending millions on TV spots. I haven’t seen anything on Facebook, Twitter, or any of the other sites I frequent. Have I just missed them, or was Pepsi just trying to build anticipatory buzz? I sincerely hope it was not the latter, especially if they didn’t follow through. They may have stuff out there, but I didn’t see any of it, and I am their target audience.

All in all, Superbowl advertising has gotten worse every year. The first few years of entertaining ads, where we saw Budweiser frogs and Spuds Mackenzie, were interesting and fun. Then in the years following, it was no longer about informing and more about trying to be unique and clever. People tune in who aren’t football fans, just to watch the commercials (which are waaaay to frequent for my football-loving tastes).

The advertisers have succeeded in making people want to see commercials, but have failed in delivering memorable messages. In this new era where every commercial is bizarre and intended to be entertaining, nothing sticks out anymore. It is just another flake in the avalanche of advertising we get bombarded with.

Posted in: Advertising, Buzz, Marketing, Viral.
Tagged: ·

How to Make Ends Meet and Still Save Face

Feb 2nd, 2010
by Brent Allan.
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istock_000004571059mediumI was recently talking to an entrepreneur who is really struggling in this economy. The truth is, many of us are. Yes, even me, I admit it.

One of the concerns she expressed was that she would love to take a second job to supplement her income, but if any of her clients or associates see her working that other job, they may infer that she is not successful and therefore not very good at what she does.

First off, you need to do what you need to do. It isn’t easy having your own business, and even harder if you have a family that relies on you to bring home the bacon. If you need to find an additional source of bacon, so be it.

Second, there is very little chance that many of the people you know are going to happen to come to your other job and see you. Granted, you probably don’t want to go work at Starbuck’s in the same community as you do business, since that is a place where many small business people frequent.

But hey, if you got a part-time job waiting tables at the local Pub n’ Grub, the likelihood of someone you know coming in and seeing you is not very high.

For awhile after I had started my business, I had a job at a book store. I was there for about 9 months. In that period of time, I had exactly ONE person come in who I knew. Which brings me to my third point.

Let’s say that someone does see you. So what? When they say “Oh, you’re working here now?” you say “Just to add some extra income. The economy is tough, so I do this to fill in during my slow times during the week.”

People understand. Many of them wish they could find a second job. Some of them wish they could find a FIRST job. Anyone who tells you that they are doing just peachy during these times is either very lucky or very lying. (It’s my blog, so I can use improper phrases like “very lying.”) They too may be trying to save face, and don’t want to tell you that the bank just repossessed their car. Yes, it is important to look successful, but people can often spot a phony.

The bottom line is that you can’t let what someone MAY think of you IF they happen to see you working another job interfere with your primary directive, which is paying the bills and taking care of your family.

Posted in: Small Biz.
Tagged: ·

Following Through

Jan 26th, 2010
by Brent Allan.
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I am up to my ears in projects. I have new things I am working on, old things I am refining, old clients I am helping, new clients I am helping.

And they are all in process as I sit here and type.

I just spent the past few minutes staring at the screen, trying to figure out what to write. Because I needed to give you guys something to read. I have a few really great blog posts in the works, but simply haven’t had time to finish them.

So I decided I would just write about this mountain of tasks, and how I feel a bit overwhelmed.

I am writing this because it is real, and I am sure many of you reading this can relate. There are times when your “to-do” list is like 309 pages long, and just looking at it makes you want to throw up.

It happens to us all. It is not a good thing, but it is part of life.

So don’t beat up on yourself about it. I’m not. Just roll up your sleeves and get to work. Like the old adage “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer being “one bite at a time.”

Take your mountain of projects one bite at a time. I promise that I will post here when I finish a project. I hope it will be in just a day or two.

Thanks for reading. Now time for me to get back to work. (And I am watching re-runs of South Park.)

Posted in: Time Management.
Tagged: ·

The Lack of Influence of Naked People

Jan 21st, 2010
by Brent Allan.
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businessman“Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.”

- Mark Twain


Recently, I was having a discussion with a business associate of mine. She had recently gone on a business trip, and when she got back, she promptly went out and bought some new clothing.

Seems like an odd chain of events, right?

No, her luggage wasn’t lost. No, she didn’t spill wine into her suitcase.

She told me that, on the trip, she had to attend a cocktail reception where people were networking and meeting each other. This was a reception of people in her field from all over the country.

She said that she just felt like people were looking right past her, not even noticing. She wasn’t dressed casually, but she wasn’t dressed as well as she could have been as appropriate for the occasion.

I was once given the advice to try to determine what the level of dress may be at any event I may be attending, and then go one step above. If most people will be dressed business casual, I wear a suit. If it is a “Black Tie Optional” event, I am always in my tux.

Another bit of advice that essentially says the same thing is “Always dress as if you have someplace fancier to go to afterwards.”

My associate also mentioned how she often doesn’t like to dress up, that it makes her feel phony, that such a look “isn’t her”.

Something that is important to keep in mind is that your clothing is just the packaging. It doesn’t change the product inside. It merely makes people form a positive first impression.

When you are shopping for something at the store, and you have no preconceived notions as to which brand may be best, don’t you look at the packaging? If a product came in a very nice package and another came in a very plain package, and both were the same price, which would you choose?

It is true that you only get one chance to make a good first impression. People DO judge a book by its cover.

Posted in: Miscellaneous.
Tagged: · ·

Your Prospects are Lying to You

Jan 14th, 2010
by Brent Allan.
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crystal-ball

You have a product or service. You are trying to market it to the adoring public, who have cash that you want.

But the real reasons they want your product may not be the reasons they are telling you. They may not even be admitting the real reasons to themselves.

For instance, let’s say you own a dog-grooming service. Your prospect tells you the reason he wants your service is because he wants the family dog to be clean and have short hair.

You, in turn, believe him and that is the type of things you address in your future marketing, because obviously that is what your customers want.

The truth may be far deeper. He may not care about the dog, but his wife wants those things. So, the REAL reason he wants your services is so that his wife will stop nagging him!

Now, what is the practical application here? Am I telling you that your next ad should say “Stop Your Wife’s Nagging, Get the Dog Groomed Today”?

No. I can’t give you a specific solution, but I wanted to make you aware of the problem. You have to become a mindreader. You have to learn to look beyond what your customers tell you to their real thought processes behind their words. It isn’t easy, I know. But if you are able to get into your prospect’s head, find out what really motivates his behaviour, then your sales will soar.

How do I get into my customer’s head?

Well, that’s the real trick, now isn’t it?

Nobody said this marketing stuff is easy. But here are a few pointers.

Remember that your customer is a human being, with hopes, dreams, fears, etc. The first thing I would do is paint a picture of your customer.

I’m not talking about getting out a canvas and brushes and actually making a painting. I mean describe your customer in as precise a level of detail as possible. Figure out who your ideal, perfect customer is. What is his or her life like? What does this person do for a living? How big is his or her family? What does your customer do with free time on the weekends? What is his or her hobby? You may not think these details are important, but they are. A simple distinction between whether you are targeting men or women can mean a tremendous shift in thinking.

You may be saying to yourself “I am an insurance agent. My customers are both men and women.” And that may be true, but you have to decide on one to target. Because the way you communicate with a woman, what her “hot buttons” are, what her fears and dreams are, are vastly different from how you would most effectively communicate to a man.

Once you know all of this information about your ideal customer, you can begin to see what is important to him. Maybe his family is important. Maybe, if he has a good job but no family, then he likes to buy expensive gadgets. Maybe if she is a twenty-something recent college grad, then her focus is on carving out her place in the “real world.” She is afraid that she won’t find a good job and her student loans will come due and she will have to admit failure and move back home with her parents.

These are all things that your prospect may feel to the deepest core of her being, but she would never tell you that. She may not consciously be aware of these reasons and motivations herself.

Don’t just figure out what your customer wants to buy. Seek to understand the true motivations, the reason WHY he or she wants to buy.

Posted in: Marketing.
Tagged: · ·

It’s All About Communicating

Jan 7th, 2010
by Brent Allan.
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horse-chat-lo-res1Internet marketers tend to do it too much. Offline businesses don’t do it often enough.

I am talking, of course, about keeping in touch with previous clients.

If you do business with an internet marketer, you might possibly receive three emails each and every day from that person for the rest of your natural life.

If you do business with an offline business, you may be lucky to ever hear from them again. Depending on the industry, you may get a calendar at Christmas.

The key to developing customer loyalty and building relationships is constant communication, but not so much that it gets annoying.

Many businesses do not even e-mail their customers, which is a shame. Those that do keep in contact with their clients only do so to sell to them. They e-mail about special offers, discount coupons, and anything else to try to get the customer to buy something more. Which, in itself, is not a bad thing, it just should not be the only thing.

I suggest you also communicate with your existing customers in a way that adds value. Send them a handy tip on a new way to use the item they already purchased. Send them other news related to their interests (which obviously include whatever they bought from you.)

In all of these ways, you are adding value to what they already purchased. You are giving more to them, and asking nothing in return. By doing this, you eliminate the stigma of “Every time Company X contacts me, they are trying to sell me something.” Your communications are much more likely to be opened and read and acted upon because you are proving that you are putting the customer first, and not just trying to make a sale.

So if your sales are lagging, shoot an e-mail out to your list of current customers. Or mail them an actual letter.

“But Brent, if I do that now after having ignored them this whole time, won’t it seem like I am just trying to sell them something?”

Good point. So don’t sell in this communication. Wish them a happy new year, send them a handy tip, give them some value, something besides selling.

Even this time, it will remind them of who you are and what you offer, just by contacting them. It may remind them that they need your product. Even if it doesn’t, contact them again next month, just to make contact. Don’t sell.

Then in a few months, after you have established a pattern of contacting them to add value, then you can try to sell. I recommend, at most, a ratio of 3:1 of value-adding correspondence to sales attempts.

Once you establish a pattern of keeping in contact, then you can earn the trust of your customers, and it becomes much easier to sell them again later.

Want an easy to use, automated system of keeping in contact, that won’t cost a fortune and gets 50x as much attention as e-mail?

Try it out for free at www.EasyStayInTouchSystem.com. That’s much more than just an affiliate link. It’s actually my own personal branded site.

(Pssst . . . you can get one too!)

Posted in: Marketing, Uncategorized.
Tagged: ·

2 Keys to Getting More Clients

Jan 5th, 2010
by Brent Allan.
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I know it has been a few weeks since I last posted. The holidays have come and gone, and I did not want to do the obligatory “New Year’s Pep Rally” post. (I had actually planned to do one, but then I saw that everyone was doing it. And I figured that if I was sick of them, I couldn’t submit you to the same thing in good conscience.)

So here we are, it’s a new year, and I am back to writing.

In speaking to people, many of them have said that in the new year they want to attract more business. Of course, something like that is easier said than done, but I wanted to re-examine a common belief (that is partly true.)

We have all heard the phrase of “All things being equal, people will do business with those they know, like, and trust.”

That is indeed true, but in the real world, things are NEVER equal. Even so, people will still usually do business with those they know, like, and trust.

The other component, however, is that they have to view you as competent. That you are able to do that which they need done.

In today’s business world, it simply isn’t good enough to just be known, liked, and trusted. You have to be viewed as an expert.

I have many people who know me, like me, and trust me, but they would never come to me for brain surgery. Why? Because, (duh!) I don’t know anything about brain surgery. On the flip side, if I needed brain surgery, I don’t care if the surgeon is abrasive and someone I don’t like. I want him operating on me. Because he is the expert, he is competent in the area that I need him to be competent about. I don’t care about his customer service skills (I doubt there is such a thing in the medical field anyway), I don’t care where he went to college, and I don’t care if he is a lousy father and his home life is in shambles. All I care about is that he can operate on my brain in a way that gives me the desired result. I won’t know him well, I don’t have to like him, but his expertise goes a long way towards making me trust him.

But then we get back to the “all things being equal” part. If you have to choose between two brain surgeons, you will choose the one you know, like, and trust.

So, how do you get a reputation as an expert?

Quite simply, you share your expertise. One reason I blog is to show off. I offer a sample of my knowledge so others can see that I know what I am talking about.

If you do not want to blog, then you can have information products, give lectures and presentations,  or just pontificate to anyone willing to listen. But the best way to be viewed as an expert is to simply look the part.

If you tell people you are an expert on a topic, and it isn’t too far-fetched, they will be inclined to believe you. If you claim to be an expert at cooking, people will believe you more than if you say you are an expert on rare poisonous plants from the neolithic era.

But everything about you must be congruent to that claim. You must dress, talk, and act the part.

To give you an example, one time I was at a networking event and I met someone who claimed to be a marketing expert. He was dressed nicely in a suit, and spoke well. I was inclined to take his word for it. Then he handed me his business card.

His business card was a plain white card with his name, title, and contact information. That’s it.

I am sorry, but if you want to be viewed as an expert in marketing, your marketing pieces must be pretty stupendous. Just like if I claim to be an expert at cooking, I better give you more than a plain grilled cheese sandwich.

Don’t wait for someone to tell you that you are an expert. There are no tests to pass (unless you are claiming certifications or licenses in a technical or professional field.) If you know more about something than an average person, you are an expert. You don’t need to know EVERYTHING, just enough that you can educate others on things they themselves do not know. The truth be told, a little bit of intense study on a specialized topic can turn anyone into an expert.

If you want to be viewed as an expert, BE an expert. Look like an expert, act like an expert. And believe that you are one.

Posted in: Branding, Business Concepts.

The One Where My Brain Throws Up All Over the Blog

Dec 18th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

. . . and I say the words “Screw That” quite a bit.

Things are becoming much more clear for me. I know I wanted things to be different in 2010. But I didn’t realize how different.

I have been writing this blog for just over a year and a half now. And before that, I had blogged for about 6 months on a blog I had abandoned.

So here I am after two years of blogging, and I can say one thing with brutal honesty. My blogging sucks.

I am a good writer, but it rarely came across in the posts. I think it was because I was lazy. I wanted to try to stick to a schedule, and deliver quality content to show that I am so smart. Even though I got my best responses from readers when I just got real and said what was on my mind.

And yes, I need to remember that I have some readers. Not bunches, but a few. I know this because they talk to me. They are people from my networking groups. And I have gotten a few comments from people I don’t know.

I know a ridiculous amount of stuff about marketing and branding. I have a college degree that I will be paying for until I am a million years old. I have bookshelves that should hold all of my books, but instead the books are in piles all around my office because I take them down and read parts and then don’t put them back. People like me read lots of books, but they are usually fantasy or sci-fi or mysteries or historical books about wars and politics and stuff. Not me. I read marketing books for fun.

And because of all of this, I want people to think I am uber-successful, so that they will want to give me money to help them to be uber-successful.

Well screw that. I AM successful, but not in the way many people feel it should be defined. I am worse than broke, because I owe more than I have (largely because of the aforementioned college degree.) But I have a roof over my head, a car that runs, a wonderful wife, and two fabulous kids who are only slightly brain-damaged.

Just because I am not sickeningly rich doesn’t mean I don’t know marketing. I do, and in 2010 I am going to prove it.

Let’s face it. A lot of people are hurting. People are out of work, they are losing their homes, and even worse, they are losing their hope. Sometimes I get down about how I don’t have enough clients and that we are pretty darned poor and I wish I could give my family everything they could possibly want.

Well, to repeat what I said before, screw that. I want more clients. And even better if they can pay me. But if not, screw it. I’m going to help them anyway. We can work something out. If you run a restaurant and need help, I like to eat. If you run an auto repair place and need my help, I have two cars.

I am going to help lots of people to be successful in their businesses this coming year, and through that, I will be successful in my business.

I am going to start blogging about my thoughts. And those thoughts usually have to do with business and marketing and stuff. Because I think about those things more than is healthy. You may call it a very nerdy, boring obsession.

I’m not going to worry anymore about those dumb little “author blurbs” at the end of each post anymore. I first started doing that because I read somewhere that it would be good for SEO. Again, screw that.

So, where does this leave me? What is the plan?

I am going to blog about my thoughts. They will usually be about business stuff, but not always. You can read or not. I don’t care.

Posted in: Miscellaneous.
Tagged:

The Double Standard in Marketing

Dec 14th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

A lot of small business owners are ignorant when it comes to marketing. It isn’t their fault, they just have not been properly trained. They were trained in plumbing or interior design or basket-weaving or whatever it is their particular trade is.

So, they look to the experts. Although the traditional “experts” have been the people who work for the advertising media, such as the yellow pages, the newspaper, etc. These media companies have people on staff who will design an ad for your company so you, the business owner, don’t have to deal with it.

Business owners happily spend their hard-won dollars on these media because that is what business have always done. Very few properly track their ROI (Return on Investment) and just trust that these methods are helping their businesses.

The media will print the ads and distribute them in whatever way they do, and cross their fingers that someone will respond to the ads they sold to these business owners.

But they do business by a double standard. They say they will do their best, but won’t guarantee results.

So, my question to all the advertising media is “Why not?”

If you take your car to be repaired, you expect to get results. If you call a plumber, you expect him to fix your leaky faucet. If you purchase a widget, you expect it to properly widgetize.

We live in a society where people expect guarantees. It is expecting that if you are selling a product or service, that it actually does what it is supposed to.

I can only think of two industries that do not play by those rules. Medicine and Marketing.

I’m not going to get into the medical issue. Too big, too messy, and one I am completely unqualified to make an educated argument about.

But marketing, however, that’s a whole different bird.

If you were just selling ad design, then that would be an issue where you could say “You wanted an ad, you got an ad. No guarantee of effectiveness implied.” But they don’t do that. They say “We will design an ad for you to use in our publication, because advertising with us will help your business.”

These business owners look to these folks as the experts, and if their ad doesn’t get a good response, that business owner thinks “This kind of marketing doesn’t work.” And that is just a lie. ANY type of marketing, if done correctly, can produce measurable results, which can then be analyzed to see if that is a strategy that should be continued, modified, or eliminated.

If you are a business owner and someone wants to sell you on committing marketing dollars to their proposal, make them put their money where their mouths are. If someone is not accountable for the results they produce, then they really don’t care what those results are.

If they paid attention to the results they were getting for their clients, then they could constantly improve and could easily justify their rising costs, rather than running around, cold-calling to find the next sucker they can get to try them out with no guarantees on results.

Anyone who has any confidence in their product or service should offer guarantees. If they aren’t, then why should you settle for less?

Posted in: Advertising, Marketing.

Big Things on the Horizon

Dec 8th, 2009
by Brent Allan.
No comments yet

You may have noticed that my frequency of posting new content here to the blog has lessened. Well, there is a reason for that.
I don’t want to spill the beans yet, but there are some major changes that are going to be taking place regarding my business and my blog beginning in 2010. I am practically giddy with excitement.
Because of that, I will continue to post here to the blog at least once a week, and the content will be much more in-depth than what you have seen usually.
So, that’s it. Not much in this update, but stay tuned. 2010 is gonna rock!

Posted in: Uncategorized.

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