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Marketing Myths

By Melissa Wall

We are all subjected to multiple marketing messages during a day and everyone has an opinion about advertising. But does that make everyone a marketing expert? Marketing is not just about advertising. Advertising is only one component of the promotional toolkit and promotion is only one of the four “Ps”…. product, pricing and place being the other three. All have significant bearing on a successful marketing program.

This is marketing 101 to professional marketers but many business owners do not understand the scope and process of marketing. Here are some common statements:

1. “I want to build a brand”. Brand building takes heavy dollar investments. It can’t be done on a shoestring budget or talked about in the same breath as guerilla marketing. Think Procter and Gamble, Nike, Monster. Think millions. Think consistency and long–term.

2. “My friend advertises his business on cable TV and has been getting lots of response.” Okay – but how many of those inquiries are from real buyers? Do you have a process in place to convert the inquiries into sales? Are you buying a bigger audience than you need to? If it is the right medium, are you prepared to do it for longer than a month?

3. “I’m not getting any response from my marketing efforts.” There could be lots of reasons for this including not targeting the right audience, not having a strong value proposition, insufficient repetition to build awareness or perhaps focusing too much on only one medium. 

Effective marketing starts with good strategy. You must identify the right target market, clearly state what problem you can solve or benefit you provide, and differentiate yourself from the competition. It’s also not an exact science. Marketing is like owning a race car…it often needs tuning.

For more information about how you can improve your marketing efforts, contact Melissa Wall, Marketing With Distinction, LLC, melissa@distinctmarketing.com or 203–888–9995.

 

Top 5 Myths of PR
By Tori Brown

It seems like people always have an excuse on why not to do PR. So we’ve taken the top “five” biggest myths- and debunked them all.

1. Only the connected get press
This is probably the most common misconception in PR. Yes, it certainly helps to know an editor or producer, but a big part of successful PR is timing, rather than connections. It’s much easier to piggyback your publicity on events that are already happening and attracting media attention, be it a holiday, event, or news story, rather than trying to create “news” and generate interest. You should work to cultivate relationships with the media, so that over time, they’ll come to you when a story breaks.

2. Money buys media attention
PR is actually very cost-efficient, especially compared to other marketing activities, like advertising, since you don’t pay a media outlet for PR placement. It is true that some PR-related activities, like events, can get a bit pricey. Yet an event may generate interest from media outlets that you couldn’t afford to advertise in so in the end you can come out ahead.

3. PR doesn’t do anything
PR can do everything from building brand recognition to increasing sales -- it just doesn’t happen overnight. It’s important to remember that the impact of PR is cumulative. It takes more than one article or media mention for people to become familiar with your product or service. Over the long haul, your credibility and reputation will build. So when it comes time for someone to decide between hiring “Company No PR” and your company, you’ll certainly have the edge. 

4. My industry doesn’t do PR
Nowadays, it’s hard to find any industry that’s doesn’t do PR; even professionals like doctors and lawyers are hopping on board. One plastic surgeon has made a name for himself by starting a blog where readers can send in pictures of celebrities. The doctor then discusses what procedures he believes they might have had done. By tying his area of expertise into newsworthy people, he is able to promote his own business. 

5. We’re too small to do PR
If you see yourself as a little fish in a big pond, that’s all you’ll be. Many “experts” and “go-to-guys” are not from huge corporations -- they just know how to promote themselves. And they never see any opportunity as “beneath” them, as long as the opportunity is relevant to their area of expertise. At the very least, they’ll end up with some clippings for their media kit, which can help nab other opportunities in the future.

 

Tori Brown is an Account Executive with Marx Communications, a public relations and marketing communications firm that helps B2B companies and individuals build their brands. For more information, please contact Tori tori@marxcommunications.com or 203-445-2851. To boost your business and learn more about our coaching service, email wendy@marxcommunications.com.

 

Networking: Truth or Delusion

By Martin Arnold 

Do you really understand what networking is all about? Take this truth or delusion test to find out.

Anyone in business knows about the value of networking. While the word itself is overused, until a better term comes along, networking defines a valuable tool for business and personal success.

Expert in networking Dr. Ivan Misner, founder of BNI, the world’s largest and most successful networking organization, writes about the many delusions that surround the subject.

Label each one of Mark Misner’s 10 statements below “truth” or “delusion, and see the bottom for how well you did.

  1. Networking is a fad.

  2. If you provide good customer service people will refer business to you.

  3. Word-of-mouth advertising is always working.

  4. The best way to ensure referral success is to follow the Golden Rule: treat your referral source the way you would like to be treated.

  5. It’s best to limit the number and types of networking groups to which you belong. 

  6. When you give referrals to others, you can expect them to give you referrals to you.

  7. When one of your business relationships passes you a referral that means the prospect is ready to hear a presentation on your product or service.

  8. If you join groups and organizations and become active, the members will get to know you and refer business to you.

  9. It’s not what you know, but who you know.

  10. You can network at any time, even at a funeral.

ANSWERS

  1. Delusion. Networking has been around since the Industrial Revolution in just about every country with a Free Market System.

  2. Delusion. Good customer service is key, but you cannot assume referrals will follow.

  3. True. The “word-of-mouth” channel is always “on.”

  4. Delusion. Think about the referral source in terms of what is in it for them, not for you. Now you are in the proper mindset to help the source in return.

  5. True. Spreading ourselves too thin disables our ability to focus on key referral sources.

  6. Delusion. You have to ensure that those to whom you refer to are aware of what you are looking for.

  7. Delusion. Treat the referral from zero base and ensure he or she is aware of your benefits and services.

  8. Delusion. Again, people need to know what you are looking for.

  9. True. Enough said.

  10. True. Just be tactful! 

Tally: 5 or fewer right and you need to brush up on networking; 6-8 right and you are on the right track; 9-10 and you know what networking is all about.

To boost your business and learn more about our coaching service and ebook for entrepreneurs, email Martin Arnold mharnold@sbcglobal.net.