johnthesearcher
New Member
Last week I met a few of my friends from Shetland who were down on a random shopping trip to the 'mainland' Our random meetings have been going on for about 10 years now and has jokingly become known as the 'Table of Eight'
I agree that it may not sound like too big a deal but when you live most of your life on an island.....trips to Edinburgh for shopping is the closest thing to 'retail nirvanna' - a pain for some ....therapy for most.
One of the girls is affectionately nicknamed 'big bird' and the conversation got around to tv programs and in particular Sesame Street. Some of you may be simply too young to remember Sesame Street which was a kid's early learning program - I was 'forced' to watch when my kids were growing up.
The essence of the program is 'repetition' .......12345 , ABCDEFG...... numbers and alphabet over and over again which helped kids remember, and for some reason started me thinking about the core marketing success principle which is.... systems and repetition.
Why is repetition so important in both personal and business creativity?
Simply because the act of repeating something helps us to discover our personal or business rhythms and learn them more intimately. This knowledge saves time, maximizes our energy and creativity. Repetition lubricates creativity, increases capacity, and helps develop effective working patterns that result in higher efficiency, greater return on our time and financial investment and ultimately higher profits.
No matter what the creative goal, project portfolio or marketing plan, repetition plays a key role in the creative process, from start to finish.
Among the most effective creativity tools we have at our disposal are, systemics, repetition and focussed planning which are all key........ to more leads, better conversation rates and more sales.
The conversation moved on to Marketing and the realisation of the true impact of having and fine tuning our marketing plan.
Many businesses have a great product or service, but when asked what their marketing strategic and tactical goals are, they often fail to come up with an effective long term plan to reach their selected target audience.
So is planning important? ........ Yes it is. Is repetition of something which works important ? ......almost always! Is a relationship based marketing plan better than a transactional one? ......every time!
Once you've put in place your plan, added your chronological check points, then measured the return on investment of both money and time, then analysed it and found it to be better than the one you had before ......then set that as a 'control' or benchmark, then repeat it.
90% of sales are lost because of one simple mistake .............
Most small to medium sized enterprises use a marketing 'model' that is destined to fail. They use the One Step model which assumes that the best way to market and get the sale is to 'cut to the chase' by trying to transform prospects into customers instantly.
We come accross it everyday in our Inbox, snail mail or from telemarketing companies.
The technique is often called One Step Marketing because the objective is to convince the prospect to go from reading an ad/sales letter or listening to the sales pitch to reaching for their wallet or credit card and making a purchase in one step.
Nice plan but with no long term benefits.............. to either you or your prospective clients.
Trying to sell your product or service to someone who doesn't know you, trust you and appreciate the value of the service you provide is simply........transactional marketing (one step) and should be left to the 'opportunist'. The above would never be considered as a long term or replicatable marketing plan.
The simple analogy is like planning a holiday. How? well when taking a trip, you look at where you’re headed and map out the best possible route to get to your destination.
1. TRIP: Where are we going?
BUSINESS: What is my marketing goal for my business?
2. TRIP: Who are the people involved?
BUSINESS: Do I have a viable target market/audience?
3. TRIP: How much will it cost?
BUSINESS: What is my projected marketing budget?
4. TRIP: How will I know when I get there?
BUSINESS: What are the marketing vehicles (ie. email, newsletters, mailers, media communication) I will use and how will I measure whether I've been successful or not?
5. TRIP: Have I considered the impact of climatic changes?
BUSINESS: Will I have seasonal, one-time or all year-round clients?
6. TRIP: What items do I need to take or consider in case of an emergency?
BUSINESS: In the event that something unexpected happens with my initial plans, do I have a contingency plan of action to continue on the road to reaching my goals?
7. TRIP: What is my trip’s departure time and ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)?
BUSINESS: What are my short and long term business goals (ie. 6 months, 1 year, 5 years and beyond)?
These questions will help you understand the dynamics of business planning, editing and executing your marketing roadmap. Like reading a map or checking for driving directions online, someone previously traveled down the same road to success that you’re traveling and has already worked out the best possible routes to take, leading you through the path of attaining business victory!
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just find and copy what works, replicate what is proven to be successful.
John
I agree that it may not sound like too big a deal but when you live most of your life on an island.....trips to Edinburgh for shopping is the closest thing to 'retail nirvanna' - a pain for some ....therapy for most.
One of the girls is affectionately nicknamed 'big bird' and the conversation got around to tv programs and in particular Sesame Street. Some of you may be simply too young to remember Sesame Street which was a kid's early learning program - I was 'forced' to watch when my kids were growing up.
The essence of the program is 'repetition' .......12345 , ABCDEFG...... numbers and alphabet over and over again which helped kids remember, and for some reason started me thinking about the core marketing success principle which is.... systems and repetition.
Why is repetition so important in both personal and business creativity?
Simply because the act of repeating something helps us to discover our personal or business rhythms and learn them more intimately. This knowledge saves time, maximizes our energy and creativity. Repetition lubricates creativity, increases capacity, and helps develop effective working patterns that result in higher efficiency, greater return on our time and financial investment and ultimately higher profits.
No matter what the creative goal, project portfolio or marketing plan, repetition plays a key role in the creative process, from start to finish.
Among the most effective creativity tools we have at our disposal are, systemics, repetition and focussed planning which are all key........ to more leads, better conversation rates and more sales.
The conversation moved on to Marketing and the realisation of the true impact of having and fine tuning our marketing plan.
Many businesses have a great product or service, but when asked what their marketing strategic and tactical goals are, they often fail to come up with an effective long term plan to reach their selected target audience.
So is planning important? ........ Yes it is. Is repetition of something which works important ? ......almost always! Is a relationship based marketing plan better than a transactional one? ......every time!
Once you've put in place your plan, added your chronological check points, then measured the return on investment of both money and time, then analysed it and found it to be better than the one you had before ......then set that as a 'control' or benchmark, then repeat it.
90% of sales are lost because of one simple mistake .............
Most small to medium sized enterprises use a marketing 'model' that is destined to fail. They use the One Step model which assumes that the best way to market and get the sale is to 'cut to the chase' by trying to transform prospects into customers instantly.
We come accross it everyday in our Inbox, snail mail or from telemarketing companies.
The technique is often called One Step Marketing because the objective is to convince the prospect to go from reading an ad/sales letter or listening to the sales pitch to reaching for their wallet or credit card and making a purchase in one step.
Nice plan but with no long term benefits.............. to either you or your prospective clients.
Trying to sell your product or service to someone who doesn't know you, trust you and appreciate the value of the service you provide is simply........transactional marketing (one step) and should be left to the 'opportunist'. The above would never be considered as a long term or replicatable marketing plan.
The simple analogy is like planning a holiday. How? well when taking a trip, you look at where you’re headed and map out the best possible route to get to your destination.
1. TRIP: Where are we going?
BUSINESS: What is my marketing goal for my business?
2. TRIP: Who are the people involved?
BUSINESS: Do I have a viable target market/audience?
3. TRIP: How much will it cost?
BUSINESS: What is my projected marketing budget?
4. TRIP: How will I know when I get there?
BUSINESS: What are the marketing vehicles (ie. email, newsletters, mailers, media communication) I will use and how will I measure whether I've been successful or not?
5. TRIP: Have I considered the impact of climatic changes?
BUSINESS: Will I have seasonal, one-time or all year-round clients?
6. TRIP: What items do I need to take or consider in case of an emergency?
BUSINESS: In the event that something unexpected happens with my initial plans, do I have a contingency plan of action to continue on the road to reaching my goals?
7. TRIP: What is my trip’s departure time and ETA (Estimated Time of Arrival)?
BUSINESS: What are my short and long term business goals (ie. 6 months, 1 year, 5 years and beyond)?
These questions will help you understand the dynamics of business planning, editing and executing your marketing roadmap. Like reading a map or checking for driving directions online, someone previously traveled down the same road to success that you’re traveling and has already worked out the best possible routes to take, leading you through the path of attaining business victory!
You don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just find and copy what works, replicate what is proven to be successful.
John
