Marketing strategy…

The 4 P’s of Marketing

Are Alive and Well

In the Jan. /Feb issue of 1to 1 Magazine, author Paul Greenburg says the 4 P’s are no longer king. He says now the 5 C’s dominate. They are: contextual, connected, collaborative, creative and content driven. Say what?

How do you make any of those high C’s make music without the 4 P’s of product, price, place and promotion. Aren’t the 5 C’s all part of promotion? And don’t those neat sounding C’s contribute to, rather than replace what helps establish product, price and place?

In the same issue, Lior Arussy, President of Strativity Group, argues for a new gaggle of P’s: preference, premium price, portion of budget and permanence of relationship. He says the new 4 P’s are not company-centric, but customer-centric. Say what?

How do you build preference, establish a premium price, capture a portion of budget and build a permanent relationship without those good old-fashioned P’s?

Also, in the same issue, James Vila, Senior Director, Carlson 1 to 1, and Principal Peppers & Rogers, says the idea that the 4 P’s are history “is clearly nonsense.” He argues that the Internet and the fragmentation of marketing disciplines and communications tools have changed the way we use the 4 P’s. Right on!

Peter Nyberg, President and Founder of Ingage, agrees. He says we need a holistic approach to the 4 P’s based on listening to customers to guide our strategies. Now that’s customer- centric.

Tip for The Little Guy

Click on www.1to1media.com to read the complete article and others relevant to all marketers, great and small. It will be a good investment of your precious time.

Advertising Creativity…

The UPS Store® gets a “Gutsy Award”

for running upside-down ad

It’s nice to see a big company with big cajones. I know it’s not the first time it’s been done intentionally, but The UPS Store® ran a full page ad upside-down in the March issue of Fast Company Magazine. That’s a risky gambit to capture readers. It took guts to make the bet. But I bet that ad earned high noticed and read scores.

When you flip it over, the message is right on: “Think this upside-down page is surprising? Imagine finding one in your presentation.”

The solution-promise comes next to a pretty talking head: “Don’t worry, bring your presentations to The UPS Store® and we’ll get them done right.” That’s a tidy bit of believable positioning about their capability.

History repeats itself

Many years ago, Red Garrison, publisher and editor of a trade journal, The Texas Poultry Times was asked by a new advertiser if anybody read his paper. Ticked Red off a little, so the next issue, he ran the guy’s ad upside-down.

When the advertiser’s phone started ringing off the wall, Red had made his point. What’s more when word got around that Red did it deliberately, those who missed the ad had to check the paper again to read it.

Tip for the Little Guy:

It’s tough to break through the clutter out there. Especially with a modest budget. Maybe running an ad upside-down isn’t a great way to get attention. Nobody likes to be conned. But if you can find a valid reason to do it without straining to be too cute, it might work. Just make certain the pub knows what you’re up to so they don’t try to fix it.

Time Magazine Article Helps

Support Effects of Branding

There may be no living with the brand guys now that they’ve read the Time article “Marketing to Your Mind.” (January 29, 2007). It substantiates with scientific research the power of branding.

Researcher P. Read Montague of Baylor College of Medicine gave 67 folks a blind taste test of Coke and Pepsi. The results: Tasters were closely split on their preference. But, when he repeated the test after telling them what they were sipping, three out of four said they preferred Coke.

The brand advocates will say, “Well, sure. That’s why we advertise. We build brand preference.” But the direct response folks will say the brand guys are just confirming what all great copywriters know: You sell more stuff when you leverage ideas that are already in the prospect’s head. Just tap my medial prefrontal cortex and hippocampus circuits and you’ve got the sale? Well, not quite.

The point is, the brand folks have a point. Branding is getting a bad rap from some critics. They argue that you can’t measure the ROI on many branding campaigns. Once upon a time, that was true. But today there’s no excuse for not building in some metrics to help separate B.S. from accountability.

Branding Helps Persuasion

Marketing requires persuading others that you have a product or service that will fulfill a need or a want. It’s much easier to help prospects sell themselves when they know and trust your brand. The internet makes it much easier for them to shop products, compare features, benefits and price. When all things are equal, or close to equal, the strong brand has a leg up on the ladder to a sale.

Tip for The Little Guy

Brand AND sell. Forget the old notion that “You’ve got to keep your name before the public.” That’s not enough. You’ve got to sell stuff while you build a brand your customers and prospects know and trust. Every ad, every campaign, should be able to stand on its own while it builds the brand and promotes sales. Readers aren’t just hanging out waiting for your next message. Every bit of marcom is a sales and brand building opportunity. But, it’s not enough just to get them to love you. Give them reasons to buy.

Advertising Media

Yellow Page Ads Can Help
Build Your Business

Some folks are writing off print Yellow Page directories. Some of these folks are absolutely vehement about how useless they’ve become. I think their death knell should be muted --- for a while at least.

Yes, despite stats that show how popular the Yellow Pages are, print directories are losing their clout. Meanwhile Internet Yellow Pages are booming and will continue to grow at the expense of print. But print Yellow Pages can still be a good investment for any business--- if used wisely.

Don’t Take Bad Advice

One guru has advised his readers not to invest more than 10% of their ad bucks in Yellow Pages. That’s quite an arbitrary recommendation to make without a clue about the marketer’s niche, USP, product, price, location, or marcom plan.

This same guy says the only thing Yellow Pages do is validate that you are in business in the community. Not true. They can do a lot more. He also says that Internet Web sites are the best way to get across what you do and who you are. But he doesn’t say how you get traffic to your Web site. Yellow pages could help.

The Yellow Pages are one more opportunity to connect with people looking for what you have to offer. They can do far more than validate. They can differentiate. They can provide helpful information. Used creatively they can motivate. Words have power and their ads can help move products and build trust.

This same blogger says, “Word-of-mouth business networking is still the best way for any business to get to customers. It is cheaper and produces quicker and higher quality results.”

No! No! Word-of-mouth is just one of many ways to get to customers. And it’s a damn good way. But compared to an aggressive marcom plan, it will not get quicker results or higher quality results. Every satisfied customer gained through marcom becomes a word of mouth emissary. You’ll get more emissaries quicker through effective marcom than golf outings or social networking.

When investing your marcom dollars remember: It’s not the big that eat the small, it’s the fast that eat the slow. Don’t depend on word-of-mouth alone. It may take forever. I’ve met dozens of passive marketers who use it as an excuse for not investing in a solid marcom plan.

Tip for the Little Guy:

Follow the Yellow Book Road;

It might make you rich and famous.

Set up your own detours and shortcuts. Steer around any pitch to match the biggest ad on the page. Don’t just set up a listing, though. . Take a shortcut to the sale. Present a benefit and a call to action. For example, those who visit your Web site or blog or call your 800 number will get a discount coupon or other premium. Leverage that little Yellow Pager and you’ll get your money’s worth.

The Problem with Do-It-Yourself Advertising

Is Not Knowing what You Don’t Know

Herschell Lewis, author, marketing consultant, and copywriter once told me, “There are two things everyone thinks they know a lot about: How to run your business, and advertising.” They don’t know a lot about either.

There’s a painful amount of advertising dollars wasted because of lack of knowledge. People are writing ads who never studied copywriting… never heard of or read the books of Bob Bly, Dean Rieck, John Caples, David Olgivie or any of the other masters of the written word…masters who have created ads that moved (and still move) billions of dollars worth of products, services and ideas.

There are people writing ads who believe because they’re consumers of advertising that they are qualified to create it. Being a diner, does not make you a chef. And yet, not all great ideas belong to the professionals. Besides, advertising is so much fun it brings out the inept worst in people who fancy themselves as copywriters.

Advertising is not a science but it gets more scientific and measurable every day. But even more important, there are basic principles that work…principles that have been tested, researched and documented again and again. Those who ignore them are wasting money, or at the very least, not getting the results they should.

Advertising is surrounded by myths that stifle effectiveness and lead do-it-yourselfers down the wrong path. As a salesman, copywriter and consultant I’ve battled these myths for half a century. With modern measurements though, it’s getting easier to dispel them and prove just how wrong they are.

One Caveat

If you really have the time, temperament and talent for do-it-yourself advertising, hire the best damn copywriter you can afford to critique your work. You may find there are many things you thought you knew--- that you really don’t know--- but really should know.

Tip for the Little Guy

If you decide to do-it-yourself, it’s easy to get approval for your stuff from family and friends. But most of them are not qualified to offer constructive criticism. The approval you need must come from the market place. Professional counsel can help you avoid costly mistakes.

Whether you decide to tackle all or part of it by yourself, I strongly recommend
Do-It-Yourself Advertising by Sarah White and John Woods, from Adams Media Corp., 260 Center St., Holbrook, MA 02343.