The Quotable Quill - Marketing Tips for Small Businesses

I read a lot of marketing blogs and articles. The way some marketing gurus tell it, it’s all about the marketing. Well, this is somewhat true, but not entirely true. 

Because I believe in the end, it’s all about the product. Case in point: I recently got back from vacation (yes, that partially explains the lack of posting here!). We had a fabulous time, and discovered a wonderful amusement park. Having children means I get to traipse through amusement parks on a somewhat regular basis.

As a family we’ve been to: Six Flags Astroworld (now closed), Six Flags Arlington, Hurricane Harbor, Sea World San Antonio, Six Flags Fiesta Texas, Disney World (Orlando) and now Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Disney, of course, is king. But let me tell you, Busch Gardens, which I knew little about beforehand, runs a very close second.

It was expensive to get in, but worth every penny. The food in the park, though pricey, was as good as anything we had at Disney. The park was clean, and full of different things to do. It wasn’t just all rides, there were some wonderful shows, shops and wildlife exhibits. The park is divided, similar to Epcot, into “worlds”. It’s all faux, but it is well-done and well-maintained. The employees were stellar. Very courteous. Bush Gardens has taken a page from Disney’s book and replicated it quite nicely.

What does this have to do with marketing? Everything. Notice that I mentioned above that Six Flags Astroworld is now closed. It closed because it wasn’t profitable. Why wasn’t it profitable, despite tons of marketing dollars spent on advertising? My opinion is because it was dirty and shabby-looking. The food was over-priced and sub-standard. Employees were not rude, but not helpful either.

Several times a day I’m bombarded with commercials (the recent round really cheesy and not at all well-done) about Six Flags Fiesta Texas. We were there just two weeks before Busch Gardens. We had a good time, but the food was sub-standard, employees were not helpful, and the overall park was shabby. Notice a trend here in the Six Flags brand? Since we live less than an hour from Six Flags Fiesta Texas, the probability is good we’ll return. But I gotta tell you, I got really spoiled by Busch Gardens. And all the marketing dollars Six Flags spends will not convince me that they’re any better.

This leads us to Christie’s Marketing Principle #5: Marketing is important – but you need to back it up with a good product.

‘Til next time friends,

Christie

I’ve heard it before, “Why should I join a Chamber? They don’t do anything for me.” My answer to that question is, “Well, what are you doing for them?”

Even in a relatively small area like the one I live in, there are still hundreds of local Chamber of Commerce members. How is the Chamber staff to know who’s who if you don’t show up? Just because you offer the ‘next best thing’, unless you’re the only one in the whole region that offers that ‘next best thing’, then you’re not likely to get referred before any other Chamber member. Put in some face time though, and watch your referrals climb.

Like any successful business undertaking, relationships are key. Your relationship with your local Chamber can make the difference between receiving those coveted referrals and being passed over. Do you regularly attend Chamber events? Do you volunteer time to the Chamber? If you don’t, don’t expect to be on the receiving end of lots of referrals. Out of sight, out of mind. Don’t assume your membership entitles you to a referral.

This leads to Christie’s Marketing Principle #4: Take the time to build the relationships, letting the Chamber staff and other members get to know you. You’ll be glad you did when you do start getting those referrals.

‘Til next time friends,
Christie

The web is abuzz these days with tips, tutorials and “experts” on search engine optimization. Some of these people really are experts. However, some of them are not. It’s unfortunate that small business owners (and some large ones, too!) get caught up in the hype and scare tactics.

Here’s the thing. Yes, having a website optimized is important. Debate is ongoing as to whether or not meta tags (descriptions and keywords hidden in your web code) are as important as they used to be for search engine ranking. But there is no question that the content of your website is. There are some “keyword content mills” out there selling cheaply written content that promises to be keyword-rich and help your website achieve better ranking. Let me tell you friends, that it doesn’t matter how many keywords you cram your web content with, if your content is bad and doesn’t take into account your audience and your unique service (or product) that you provide, having a high search engine ranking will not be your pot of gold.

Similarly, there are companies that are exploiting business owner lack of knowledge by selling them exorbitant web design packages based on search engine optimization. Do your homework. It’s not necessary to know everything – I am a big believer in hiring experts so you don’t have to know everything. That being said, do some research on who’s doing the offering. Is it a legitimate web design firm, or did you first hear about them through a random email.

I know of one business that recently spent over $1,500 on a new website promising better search engine optimization. Their old website was only a few months old. It was much more attractive design-wise. And guess what? It was more keyword-rich. In my opinion, this business was just scammed.

This leads us to Christie’s Marketing Principle #3: Don’t let yourself by bamboozled by tech-speak, and make a decision based on fear. Ask around, and make sure that what someone is trying to sell you is really worth your hard-earned money.

‘Til next time friends,

Christie

In my previous post, I pointed out that having cheap looking marketing materials can make you and your business look cheap, and totally non-professional. This especially includes business cards!

At a recent networking function, I was handed a business card by someone who obviously used a template, up to and including having the online print company’s logo still on the back of her card. Now, this businesswoman could be the best at whatever it is she does, but how many people never take the chance to find out because they’re turned off by her cookie cutter business cards? Business cards are just not that expensive that you need to rely on cheap ones, or ones you, heaven forfend, print out yourself on your desktop printer and punch out of an Avery template. Leave those to teenagers with lawnmoving and babysitting ventures - or for your own personal stash to give out to friends so you don’t have to write down your email for them.

For less than $150 you can have a custom-designed business card with 1,000 of them printed. That’s what I charge. (Check out my samples here). I have a great friend whose business tag line is: Image is everything. And it’s true. You only have a few seconds to make an impression, and a few seconds to get someone interested enough in you and your business to want more information. Why hand them a cheesy business card and throw those few seconds away?

To sum it up with Christie’s Marketing Principle #2: Just because you can get business cards dirt cheap or free, doesn’t mean you should.

‘Til next time, friends.
Christie

Recently I was at a function and met a businessperson (Person A) who had turned down the opportunity to do business with someone I happen to know (Person B). This potential partnership could have been a boon to both of their businesses, and could have netted them both some great gains. It was hard for Person A to turn down this opportunity, but she did it for a very solid marketing reason – her potential partner has horrible looking marketing materials. She didn’t want her business being perceived as less than professional, and she was afraid if she partnered with Person B, she’d hurt her reputation.

This gives rise to Christie’s Marketing Principle #1:

Just because you can create something in Word doesn’t necessarily mean you should.

Let’s face it. Word’s a good word-processing program. It’s easy to use, it’s intuitive, it comes with all kinds of templates and free clip art. What could be better?

How about something created and designed by a professional? In today’s competitive business environment a brochure created from Word (and no, Publisher is not much better) is not going to cut it. It will look like it was done on the cheap – especially if you then print it out from your desktop printer on regular paper. And using a pre-designed template that anyone and everyone could be using, does nothing to differentiate your business.

If your business is competing with other businesses for attention – like our business owner above, you’ve got to have the professional materials to back it up. If your toilet is clogged, you call a professional plumber. Why wouldn’t you use a professional writer and designer to create the image that you’re banking on to support your business? It makes no sense to spend thousands of dollars to start or keep your business going, and then scrimp on the tools you need to market it.

In my next post, I’ll expand a little and talk about business cards.

Christie

Well, I’ve spent alot of time considering this blog, and now I’ve finally put it up! In these pages, I hope to open up a dialogue where small business owners can discuss all things marketing and marketing-related. As the economy plays games with us and tries to decide whether or not we’re going to have a full-blown recession, business owners who are savvy marketers will wind up on top.

During the years I’ve spent in marketing, and the small amount of time I’ve owned my own business, I’ve come to discover that many business owners make some of the same mistakes in their marketing efforts over and over.  We’ll go into some of these here, and I’ll be bringing some business owner acquaintances of mine on board from time to time for the ride.

I hope this will be educational for all of us. Anytime you have a thought, please feel free to post it here.

Happy Marketing!

Christie