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>Hi, Mystery Meat, uh Person, > >Thank you for your grand message—just half kidding. > >Hi to all who are here to learn & contribute, > >I write long posts because there’s so much to share. >My choices are share nothing; share a little; share a >lot; cover each point in depth or just introduce >concepts. In each message, I need to determine what to >include to help you thrive without deluging you with >too much. You can submit questions for clarification & >for more information. > >Since so many of you read these posts, then leave >without submitting anything, I post what I hope will >help you. Sometimes, I end up answering posts like >this from this usurper, since there’s a lack of others. > >But seriously, if I don’t have an answer, somebody >else might. > >Yes, folks, Grand Mystery gave you some good advice. > >I'm not jealous. If I were envious, I’d try to 1-up >this pretender. But I won’t. I'm about to 7-Up this >person. > >When you (GM) wrote about alternatives with merit, I >think you meant ‘Use & possibly lose other pieces >first.’ It implies testing to find optimal methods, >messages, etc. by investing limited resources in the >tests. Invest just enough money to determine if >something works well. > >What’s Common Sense Isn’t Necessarily Common Knowledge >I know some points in this post are obvious to some of >you. Too often some business owners try to stay in >business without marketing, as if that could work. In >bad economic times, too many business owners reduce >their marketing instead making their marketing more >effective & efficient. > >I’ve written things to consider so your marketing will >be optimal—more effective & efficient. Below, I’ve >explained things I hadn’t written before. > >Passing The Testing Process >You can have sales people test different messages & >offers. When, at least, one version works well, you >can test variations of it. > >You may get maximum results from everything you do >now. Your results can change because of a saturated >market; customers’ changing life cycles; customers’ >changing finances; etc. Testing different media, >methods & messages can increase your repertoire, so >you’ll have more things you can do when something >stops working. > >If a message successfully draws the right prospects, >then test it elsewhere in: >Different media (newspaper, radio, etc.) >Different vehicle in a medium (WOMT, WCUB, etc.) >Different positions (sections of the same newspaper, >another daypart in a station) > >Run of station—having a commercial aired at the >discretion of the station’s traffic manager—can be >effective, but what will you have learned? If your >message is aired at any time of any day, how will you >know if a specific daypart would be better? > >Compared to reserving specific time spots, you may pay >less for run of station, so it can be used as a >general test on a particular station. But if your >store is open 10 AM – 10 PM (& if you don’t have a >full function web site), people exposed to your >message at midnight can’t buy from you until 10 hours >later. Will they remember? Will they be able to get to >your store during business hours? > >I’ve often heard “Radio is everywhere.” That may be >accurate, but is everywhere effective for you? Maybe >it is, but you need to track results so you’ll know >where people are when they decide to visit your store. > >Staying with the chess metaphor: >It’s best to figure a few moves ahead. Where will >prospects be when they’re exposed to your offers? What >will they be doing? What do you have to offer that’s >more compelling than what they’re doing & thinking >when they hear/see your message? What do you have to >do to be sure they’ll remember your offer when they’re >ready to buy? (I’ve written about setting the context >in other posts, you can use the search link above the >forum title to search for “context”.) > >Is It Time For Plan B—Or Maybe C? >It’s best to figure a few competitive moves ahead. >Know what competitors may do & what you can do to >decrease the effect on your business & market niche. >You need flexible plans (with various >options/alternatives), so you can respond to customer >demand; new marketing & merchandise opportunities; the >economy; competitive moves; etc. > >But flexibility isn't an excuse for having no plans. >If you don’t have plans or established goals, your >“success” wouldn’t be by design. Anything that may >“work” by chance, but it may not work later. (Working >by design has some risk in it, but there’s more risk >without a design.) > >How can you adapt to changing circumstances—by using >plan B—if you haven’t designed a definite plan A? How >can you test variations of something you haven’t >codified? If everything is random—ad hoc, how would >you know what worked & why? How would you know what to >change & what to eliminate? > >Besides having plans & goals, you should have policies >& procedures to use to follow your plans & achieve >your goals. If you don’t have 3 Ps—policies, plans & >procedures, can you realistically expect to achieve >goals? If you don’t have policies & procedures, do you >really have a plan? > >If you don’t establish & use 3 Ps, how can you >realistically expect to have consistent, positive >results? How will you consistently satisfy & hopefully >please customers if you & your staff make up your >actions ad hoc—as you go along? > >How can you repeat what works optimally, if you don’t >have ways to track your actions & the results? How can >you determine what went wrong & why, when it went >wrong & how to avoid it, if you don’t have a system or >checklist to guide you? > >You have a better chance to predict your future when >you make your future. When I was a chess novice—trying >not to lose instead of trying to win—I didn’t create >my future, I only tried to keep my present situation >from getting worse. But I didn’t have a plan to make >it better. > >Changes will happen anyway. Some changes are neutral & >it’s up to you to make them positive. Since no matter >what you do, changes will happen anyway, you should be >the creator—or at least collaborator—of as many >changes as possible. When you have other teammates & >consultants creating & implementing positive changes, >you’ll have more power to create the changes that’ll >benefit your team & customers. > >Sam Walton Created Wal-Mart’s Future & the Future of >Failed Competitors >He didn’t become a billionaire by accident. He didn’t >inherit billions of dollars or receive his fortune as >a gift. > >I'm not blaming him for the failure of others. Those >who failed or are failing now didn’t/don’t have to >accept the future Walton created. > >If you don’t create a better, stronger & more >compelling future for yourself & customers, >competitors will create the future. You probably won’t >like what they create for you. > >Mapping Your Success >Rich Schefren (http://www.strategicprofits.com/) >designs & uses Cashmaps, Process Maps & Mind Maps to >organize his plans, ideas & actions. > >Rich & I learned about policies, plans & procedures >from Chet Holmes. You can learn some basic things >about 3 P’s—without paying thousands of dollars like >Rich & I did. Chet wrote briefly about 3 P’s in an >article—the URL is >http://www.chetholmes.com/build_the_ultimate_business.h >tm >The full education is expensive & worthwhile. >I’ve written about 3 Ps—policies, plans & >procedures—in some other posts in this forum. > >Whether your plans are written only as words or in >charts/maps, it doesn’t matter as long as everybody >who needs to use your guidelines & instructions can >understand what they should do, plus how, how often, >how long, where, for whom & with whom they do the >tasks/projects. > >Empowering Metaphor: >Act as if your future is a remodeling or building >project. A contractor/consultant would ask about your >current situation & the situation you want. Do you >want to remodel your situation with small changes? Do >you want your future to be very different, as if your >plans called for a new building? > >When you know what you want & need, determine the >necessary steps. You can work forward from the present >to the future. You can work backward from your desired >future to the present. If you figure out steps 1-3, >then get stuck; refer to your desired situation. What >would be the 2nd from last thing you’d need to do >before your plan would be complete? > >Example: If your desired state is selling 100 cars, >you can work back mentally & determine what will >persuade a person to a buy a specific car. Then you >can figure what will bring people to the car lot. > >Eventually, you should have each step in the right >order. After that, you’ll have a plan you can >implement. > >Profitability Never Comes From Invisibility >You may’ve heard or read these concepts, “out of >sight, out of mind;” “perception is reality;” “can’t >see the forest for (because of) the trees;” & “If a >tree falls in a forest, but nobody can hear it, has it >really fallen?” > >If somebody is starving & can’t see edible, fresh food >all around him/her, in effect, none of the food exists >in his/her perception. In his/her reality, starvation >still exists despite the available, unused solutions. > >You & your business can offer affordable solutions & >still be bankrupt. If people, who want/need & can >afford the solutions, don’t know those exist or >realize your business is accessible (visitable) to >them, your business & solutions won’t help them or you. > >In case you don’t believe “Visitable” is a legitimate >word, you can visit this visitable web site & check <a >rel=nofollow target=_blank >href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/visitable">visit >able</a> > >Let’s equate Visible with Visitable, which means >accessible or open. Appointments with doctors are >called doctor visits. A visit can be a brief stay of >business. Visiting can be an official act for an >inspection or examination. Looking at a web site is >called visiting. Customers visit a store. Let’s expand >“visit” to mean a chance to interact, enjoy & >experience. > >A big part of marketing is putting things where people >can inspect & experience them & persuading them to do >it. > >None of these can happen if a doctor, business, web >site, store, etc. are invisible. There are no >interactions, inspections, enjoyment, examinations or >experiences with things that are inaccessible. > >Even if somebody orders something tangible via >mail/phone order or the Internet, s/he will expect to >eventually examine it. The product & experience of >using should be as good as or better than the >description you provide. You need to inspire them to >order the products, without over-promising. Because of >the guarantee/warranty, in effect, customers haven’t >bought/taken full possession of a product until >they’re satisfied or pleased with it. > >People Can’t Receive Your Message If You Don’t Send It >It means you need to present your messages & offers to >the right people, in the right ways, at the right >times, in the right places. Testing as I described in >this post & others helps you determine: 1- what the >right messages are; 2- who the right recipients are; >3- when the right times are; 4- where the right places >are; & 5- how to present your messages. > >It all starts with meaningful, relevant messages & >offers. Relevance is a major issue. After you, a >copywriter or consultant has written a marketing >message, ask- “So what? Why should I care?” while you >read or listen to it. If you don’t have valid reasons >for prospects to care about the existence of a problem >or availability of a solution, you don’t have a >compelling message. > >Though giant retailers tend to list products with >little more than pictures & prices, small retailers >shouldn’t try to succeed by doing what giants do. >Giant retailers tend to offer products people are >familiar with. When people know about products, >they’re concerned about prices. > >Since giants tend to charge lower prices than small >retailers can, small retailers need to offer >proprietary products (not commodities) that aren’t >profitable enough for giants. Proprietary products may >be new—unfamiliar—to consumers. Because of this, more >explanation—education—is required. > >A problem may not be common enough for a giant >retailer that thrives by offering middle of the road >products/solutions. > >If people lack what they need, want or should have, >they have a problem. Even if the problem isn’t common, >a solution is important. Even if somebody else thinks >their problems are minor, many problems can be solved >or mitigated. > >Basically, a marketing message is a communication to >let people in a market niche know their problems can >be solved & the solutions are available from a >specific business. It can include descriptions of >people’s problems to help them determine if they have >those problems. > >An offer is pricing, payment options, risk reversal >(guarantee/warranty) & other information people need >to know so they can determine if they want/need & can >afford a solution. > >Dennis S. Vogel >Getting the marketing results you need depends on the >value of solutions you offer. By using these URLs, >you’ll have access to some solutions & information. >http://www.lakefield.net/~thrivingbusiness/ >http://www.voy.com/31049/

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