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We’ve almost approached the mid-point in the first month of 2009. By now, you have hopefully started to execute some of the marketing activities you planned for the year. Here are a few blunders that you want to avoid as you travel the path to marketing success:

1. Not Planning for Success : It takes planning to triumph in any area. This is especially true when it comes to marketing. Take time to draft a marketing plan that will guide you throughout the year.  Your plan doesn’t have to be long. At the very least, list your goals and objectives for the year and the strategies and tactics (and associated costs) it will take to reach the desired results.
2. Not Being Flexible : We are in a season of constant change. Make a commitment to be flexible in your business so that you can always put the needs of your customers first. Do you need to change or extend your hours? Are new services needed? How about a rewards program? There are many creative things you can do. When your customers are happy, you thrive.
3. Leaving the Game : Now is not the time to slack on your marketing efforts. Use creative, cost-effective marketing tools like public relations, email marketing, and community partnerships to keep your company’s name out there.
4. Not Using Your Expertise To Its Fullest : You’ve started a business, which probably means that you consider yourself pretty knowledgeable about your field. Share what you know with others by writing articles for industry trade publications, speaking at events, or even starting a blog.
5. Forgetting to Maximize PR : Public relations is one of the most powerful tools in the marketing arsenal. A (positive) story on your business by a media outlet carries a lot of mileage. Get your PR efforts on track by jotting down story/article concepts about your business and researching key media contacts in your area. After you find the appropriate reporter for your story, reach out to him/her and ask how you can be a resource.
6. Not Building your Web Presence : Do you know your Webutation ? Try Googling the name of your business and see what comes up. Is the information accurate and updated? Is your website current? Hundreds of millions of people across the world use the Web everyday. Make sure your business is represented properly when they find it.

These are just a few pointers to help start your marketing journey off right in 2009. Are there any blunders missing from the list?

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About Kristina Hill

An expert in marketing communications, Kristina Hill provides integrated marketing consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses through MarComm Creative Group, LLC. The business offers an array of services, including: public relations and media relations; advertising planning and placement; integrated marketing plan development and execution; and writing services.

Popularity: 22% [?]

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• July 27, 2008 -- 4 Marketing Jumpstarters For The Week (0)
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• March 7, 2009 -- A Great Story Is the Cornerstone of Business Success (4)
• January 31, 2009 -- Insider PR Tips From Newspaper Veteran (0)

How does your product present an oxymoron to people’s thinking?

The Marketing Rep:

Or how about this one?

Fainter:

Hoiday Inn Express calls on consumers to “get smart”.

It is catchy.

It is memorable.

And it’s a tagline that’s been used since 1998.

This is no “gimmick”. This is consistent word-of-mouth, from an audacious slogan that is being reinforced, and backed up.

The Smart Show.

The Smart Show web series, which first premiered last year, targets the business traveler with tips, ideas, facts, and other entertaining segments, and integrates Web and video content with promotional offers and brand sponsorship.

Episodes of the web series are embedded into Facebook applications and YouTube. It’s hip, digestible, and appealing to the Web 2.0 crowd.

Holiday Inn Express is actually increasing its advertising spend, even as the recession looms. They are taking advantage of their competition cutting back on spending… by filling the void. They are appealing to consumers eager for high value at a low cost.

Who doesn’t want to feel like they’ve gotten a better deal than they deserve, after paying for something?

Let’s call this the “ANTI-BUYER’S REMORSE” phenomenon.

Holiday Inn Express is serving this up. In spades.

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Free Prize Inside:

Holiday Inn Express - Nuclear Meltdown:

Holiday Inn Express - Breakfast Bar:

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Bolaji Oyejide is an online marketer and word of mouth maven. In his spare time, he explores how to generate passive income via blogging and affiliate marketing. Escape the Rat Race, and Find your Buried Cheese.

Follow me on Twitter…

Popularity: 17% [?]

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3.6 (3 people)

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I was on digg.com and came across a post called "Creative Bus Stop Advertisements" that received quite a few "diggs." The post showcased a selection of eye-catching bus ads from around the world. The ads were innovative and also communicated the brand identities of the sponsoring companies (which include McDonald’s, IKEA, and 3M) extremely well. I thought it would be fun to share the ads with you - http://tinyurl.com/4byw9w

Take a look at the ads and let me know which ones you like best. My personal favorite is the realhiphop.com ad. You can’t go wrong with the afro. Hopefully, what you see will spark a creative burst of energy for your next advertising campaign.

Enjoy!

————————
About Kristina Hill

An expert in marketing communications, Kristina Hill provides integrated marketing consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses through MarComm Creative Group, LLC. The business offers an array of services, including: public relations and media relations; advertising planning and placement; integrated marketing plan development and execution; and, writing services.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Rate this:

2.5

Related Posts

• January 10, 2009 -- Six Marketing Blunders To Avoid In 2009 (2)
• October 31, 2008 -- Oxymorons in a recession: Holiday Inn Express. (0)
• September 16, 2008 -- More awesomeness = More word-of-mouth-iness. (3)
• July 27, 2008 -- 4 Marketing Jumpstarters For The Week (0)

Jessica Hagy’s Indexed blog is uniquely insightful.

She draws 2×2 graphs on index cards. Period.

I found this particular 2×2 graph, created by Jessica, relevant.

The graph suggests that the higher the quality of your product, the less advertising it needs.

Let’s hear it for word-of-mouth!

There were a couple of comments on Jessica’s blog though, that questioned her premise.

This comment from Simon was good:

Simon: “It’s cute, I like it, but it is absolute nonsense. Plenty of companies make quality products but need advertising and marketing to explain and persuade busy customers to buy or use.

Sure word of mouth is a massive driver but advertising and word of mouth live side by side, they don’t replace each other. ”

Perhaps a more accurate graph would be Advertising Needed vs “Perceived Quality”.

As in - even if you have the highest quality product, and no one knows about it… word-of-mouth alone won’t cut it. But as people perceive your product to be high quality, word-of-mouth will increase, and advertising dollars can decrease. (Part of perceived quality is having a memorable story to tell.)

You probably don’t want to eliminate advertising dollars completely. But building a remarkable product, and then making sure people know about that high quality, will build you word-of-mouth over the long term.

So here’s an equation you can run with:

What’s your take? Mouth off.

Free Prize Inside:

• March 10th is the International Day of Awesomeness.


• Awesomeness & Mouthiness are a nod to Stephen Colbert’s invention of the word Truthiness.


• I created the Awesomeness = Mouthiness graphic using PicNik.


• Jessica Hagy’s web site is a one-pager.

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Bolaji Oyejide is an Online Marketer and serial entrepreneur. His latest company, Rat Race Escape Artists (www.Rat-Race-Escape-Artists.com), helps you create a personalized plan to get out of the Rat Race, and find your buried cheese.

Popularity: 33% [?]

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2.5

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• August 22, 2008 -- Tiger Woods Walks on Water: How to be an Oxymoron. (1)
• August 9, 2008 -- “I’m Running for President.” Driving word-of-mouth by putting your customer in the story. (3)
• March 28, 2009 -- How to sell boxes like Tiffany (2)
• October 31, 2008 -- Oxymorons in a recession: Holiday Inn Express. (0)
• October 2, 2008 -- How simplicity drives word-of-mouth. (0)
• September 30, 2008 -- Stop redesigning the STOP sign (The customer is often wrong.) (2)
• September 24, 2008 -- “We Heart Pig Lipstick”. Why gimmicks don’t drive word-of-mouth. (1)

Successful marketing takes time and ongoing effort to develop ideas that really connect with people. Because we’re all crazy busy juggling multiple personal and professional tasks, I wanted to share four simple things you can do this week to support your business’ marketing efforts. Here goes:

1. Develop PR Ideas: Jot down ideas that you can use to develop press releases and story pitches. Check out several local and national news outlets to see what the hot topics are if you need inspiration.
2. Expand Your Customer Incentives: The economic downturn has people thinking about how they can save money. Can you launch new incentives to attach additional value to your products and services? Some ideas could include hosting free product demos, discounts on select purchases, or a rewards program.
3. Refresh Your Website: People will be more likely to visit your website on a consistent basis when there is fresh content. Take time to review your website to see what new content can be added. Tips and how-to information is always popular.
4. Review Your Advertising Campaign: Contact your local radio and TV stations to request advertising rate and demographic information. If you’re already advertising, select outlets that allow you to connect with a new customer base.

These are just a few things you can do this week to market your business, and still have time to tackle all the other things you have on your plate. Have a great week!

————————
About Kristina Hill

An expert in marketing communications, Kristina Hill provides integrated marketing consulting services to small and mid-sized businesses through MarComm Creative Group, LLC. The business offers an array of services, including: public relations and media relations; advertising planning and placement; integrated marketing plan development and execution; and, writing services.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Rate this:

2.5

Related Posts

• January 10, 2009 -- Six Marketing Blunders To Avoid In 2009 (2)
• August 15, 2009 -- PR 101: I’m Really, Really Sorry (2)
• June 22, 2009 -- How To Stretch Your Press Release (2)
• May 30, 2009 -- Do Your Employees Know You? (0)
• May 15, 2009 -- New Words For A New World (2)
• April 22, 2009 -- Get Paid to Read Books (1)
• April 17, 2009 -- Lessons from the Domino’s Pizza Fiasco (0)
• March 21, 2009 -- 4 Questions To Ask Before Your Next Media Interview (3)
• March 7, 2009 -- A Great Story Is the Cornerstone of Business Success (4)
• February 21, 2009 -- Communication Lessons From The White House Web Strategy (2)