Advertising Agency Blog - Inspired 2 Design, LLC

It’s been a few days since Thanksgiving, and although everyone left the table “stuffed”, we still had tons of leftovers. I’m guessing you can probably relate. What to do when you just can’t look at another plate of microwaved mashed potatoes and stuffing?  Capitalizing on leftovers in new creative ways has been the subject of books, magazines, cooking shows, internet sites… you name it! But what about your marketing? Are you reheating leftover promotions - just one more run of 1000 business cards? Are you snacking on that same stale display ad? Renewing that billboard contract - for another 6 months or, worse… another year?  Are you…Microwaving Your Marketing?

Just as leftover Thanksgiving turkey has been remastered over the years, your marketing also needs to be reviewed periodically for freshness. Now while we at I2D are sticklers for promoting brand consistency, that’s never to be at the expense of blending-in with the wallpaper.  People are creatures of habit. If your advertising is part of that habit, it’s like driving to work and trying to remember if you’d locked the front door. When you do something over and over, or see the same thing over and over, it becomes just background noise.

Just take a little extra time before reordering that printed material, before clicking “Send” on your Email  newsletter, before signing off on the contract renewal. Take a few minutes to step back from your desk, and really look at what you’re about to do to market your business. These days, it’s tough enough to drive customers to your company. So, taking the time to really look at your creative, your message, your medium, and your overall marketing plan makes more sense than ever.

Don’t get leftover laziness, breathe new life into your marketing efforts! Call Inspired 2 Design before setting the timer on your Microwave Marketing … we’re here to help!

An effective marketing plan will:
-Identify the ideal customer
-Compare you to the rest of the industry or market
-Allow for evaluation of what works and what doesn’t work

10 step plan:

1. Describe your target market.
Be as specific as you can be in identifying and describing what the ideal customer looks like, and how they make buying decisions.

2. Gather information that describes the current market so you can position yourself correctly.
Who are your competitors? What they are doing? What they aren’t doing? What are the current trends?
Sources:
Trade publications
The public library
Small Business Development Center (like the one at Kennesaw State)
Government websites
Industry related blogs, news, articles and newsletters

3. State your marketing objective.
Describe what you want your customer to do after hearing, seeing, or experiencing your marketing message, may be requesting more info, an estimate, an appointment, a purchase, a consultation…

4. Describe your competitive advantage (some call it your USP - unique selling proposition).
Why is your product or service THE one to buy? What problems do you solve that no one else does?

5. Position yourself (branding comes into play here…)
How will you be remembered? What will customers and prospects think when they hear your name? Who are you and who do you want to be? Your brand must be believable.

6. Identify your message vehicles.
How will you deliver your message? What are competitors doing and what will you do? Include advertising, publicity, public relations, networking. How will you create buzz?

7. Develop your identity/look, and flaunt it.
Customers learn to trust you based on your actions, not your business card. However once you develop a reputation, people will judge you by your looks and remember you by your logo, your business card, your storefront, signs etc.

8. Set your marketing budget, most often as a percentage of projected gross sales.
In 2007 the average U.S. business reinvested 4% of gross revenue in marketing. You may need to double that in the first few years of your business, in spite of any economic downturn.

9. Create a marketing calendar for the year ahead. Revist your plan quarterly. Consider what has worked and what didn’t. Make appropriate adjustments.

10. Call in a professional, like Inspired 2 Design. We help small businesses make the right choices for all 9 of the marketing steps listed above.

Here’s an FYI, if you have a logo that’s been done for your company, and you either:

1. Feel it needs some updating (Coca-Cola, Walmart, Starbucks etc.) all have updated their logo to keep up with the times and trends, or

2. Never received all the files you needed from your designer (you need an .eps file and a high res jpg at the very least), or

3. Created the logo yourself, and really always planned to have a professional one designed, or

4. Don’t have a logo mark or slogan/tagline to brand your company…

Now may be just the time to take care of issues like these. Your company, no matter how big or how small, will benefit from creating, nurturing, and promoting a brand identity. If you aren’t using your logo on EVERYTHING you put out there…you’re missing out. Inspired 2 Design can help you get your existing logo updated, formatted, and polished for use in putting your company’s best face forward.

And if you have a logo and haven’t had it federally protected under U.S. Copyright law… contact Brad Crose at Crose Law. He’s an attorney who specializes in trademarks, copyrights and patents.