Red Zone Marketing's Blog

There Are Only 2 Reasons Your Marketing Isn’t Working

In business, the root of success and failure can often be very complex. However, when you break down marketing successes and failures, there are only 2 reasons a service-based business is not having desired success. 

1) You have the wrong people implementing the strategy

2) You just have the wrong strategy

More often than not we are wasting time and resources fixing the wrong problems.

The wrong people implementing the strategy. Sometimes, you have to look toward your team to determine why your strategy is ineffective. Where are the holes in your process? Do you have a system in place for carrying out the various elements of your strategy? I received a call from a financial advisor last month with a “strategy” issue about the public workshops he was hosting. He had people attending his workshop, he received high evaluations on the presentation, and 75% said they would like more information or a meeting. However, very few ever turned into an appointment or sale. He was convinced that the wrong people were attending, and considering discontinuing the seminars. Crazy enough, after talking with his staff, the real problem was right in front of him. His 2 staff people responsible for scheduling appointments were swamped with their day-to-day work and didn’t begin calling to schedule appointments until almost 1 week after the event. By that time there is no doubt the interest had waned. Conclusion: People problem. We don’t have the results in yet, but he mandated before his workshop last week that his staff schedule appointments at the event or the day after at the latest. He now has a full schedule of appointments for this week and next – already a big improvement!

The wrong strategy. Sometimes, no matter how many times you tweak your strategy, it is the strategy itself that is not working. It’s time to simply try something new. We often spend countless hours modifying something that will never work properly. In another case an advisor was sending out a regularly scheduled email newsletter. The content was well written, but he felt like nothing was happening since he started sending out the email newsletter 6 months earlier – no comments, calls, appointments, etc. After he took a look at the analytics on who was opening his email newsletter, it became clear that very few people were even opening his newsletter called “Retirement Talk.” Turns out, a majority of his email list was comprised of business owners and executives. They obviously weren’t seeing themselves in retirement just yet, and so weren’t even opening his email. He then selected a different email newsletter from his provider that he called “Financial Smarts… for Entrepreneurs and Professionals” and his open rate doubled and continues to go up. Conclusions: Strategy problem.

You may be thinking that these issues are obvious to pinpoint. And they are. But they happen ALL THE TIME! So, try taking a look at your marketing problems in a simpler way. The answer is often right in front of you.

The Power of Planning: It Pays!

In the book, What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School, Mark McCormack refers to a study conducted on students in the 1979 Harvard MBA program. In the study, students were asked, "Have you set clear, written goals for your future, and made plans to accomplish them?" Only three percent of the graduates had written goals and plans; 13 percent had goals but they were not in writing; and 84 percent had no specific goals at all.

Ten years later, the members of the class were interviewed again, and the findings were shocking. The 13 percent of the class who had goals were earning on average twice as much as the 84 percent who had no goals at all. And what about the three percent who had clear, written goals? They were earning on average ten times as much as the other 97 percent all together.

Setting goals and planning your path for bringing in new sales for 2011 may not be a lot of fun and can feel slightly overwhelming. Most feel they can survive just fine without planning. But the fact is, you will NOT have fewer sales and less profits when you plan. It is really a win-win for you and your 2011 results.

With 2010 coming to a quick close, it is not too late to plan out your marketing for 2011. At Red Zone Marketing we have been working with many firms helping them plan their strategy and actions for 2011. BUT, you don’t have to hire a firm to do this! There are a few tools we have created that can help you get your planning moving forward (including one for FREE!).

1.  A FREE Holiday Gift for Marketing Audibles subscribers. Click here for your free download of the Red Zone Marketing Action Plan template that we use with clients to help plan, visualize and hold everyone accountable for marketing activities. It is a tool that allows you to keep all of your marketing activities organized so you can implement systematically. This is a great way to keep you focused on others in the New Year!

2.  The Marketing Planning Guide: The Marketing Planning Guide for Building Your Best Growth Plan for 2011 is your Marketing Formula for Success in an immediate download of a 65-page, complete marketing plan template, for attracting your best clients. A step-by-step plan that walks you through thinking about and planning YOUR strategy for all the critical aspects of marketing, planning, and the actions you will take to move to your next level.

Enter code PLAN2011 when checking out to receive an exclusive discount for Marketing Audibles subscribers.

Marketing Botox

 

 

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing 

Botox is not a permanent solution to aging and wrinkles. It is a superficial fix and after a few months the same old wrinkles reappear. There is often the urge for a similar approach to marketing efforts. Many businesses are looking for a quick fix to bring on new business fast. Don’t get me wrong – there is nothing wrong with a quick fix. But if you have a quick fix, you end up doing it over and over again instead of getting to the root of the issue and developing a longer term strategy-based solution.

We look at one main indicator to determine the health of the business, and ultimately it is quite simple.

The indicator: Are you getting as many qualified referrals as you believe you deserve?

When you evaluate your ability to generate referrals you are taking a look at the core of your business and the strength of your business relationships. Relationships tell so much about longevity and success. Marketing tactics may generate new business, but typically, the most powerful strategy for new business in a service-based firm is one that most don’t even consider a marketing tactic. Generating referrals is a marketing strategy and it is gives a clear look deep into a business.

If a business is lacking referrals, the first reaction may be to look outside of the client base to attract new clients by advertising, sending out direct mail, conducting workshops, etc.  The best plan of action may be to use some quick fix strategies, while at the same time looking more in depth at the business. Evaluate and improve the service, the communication, the interactions, the web presence, presentation of your benefits, and ultimately the ability to generate referrals. Marketing Botox alone will rarely get a business where they want to go – but it sure will keep you busy. Busy thinking of new quick fixes to your business challenges.

 

Thank you to the staff of Red Zone Marketing: Representing my staff of 7, on Saturday Jolene and Denise showed up at my house and completely surprised me with beautiful roses and an ice cream cake…for Bosses Day! They know the direct path to my heart! It was better than my Birthday (I didn’t have to get older to get gifts ☺), and I didn’t even know it was Bosses Day last week! Thank you, thank you! 

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Killing Your Competition with (Client) Kindness

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Five Core Principles for Turning Clients and Prospects into Raving Fans

Once upon a time customer service meant more than pressing 2 to wait (and wait and wait) for “the next available representative.” Companies valued those who bought their goods and services and went the proverbial extra mile to make them happy. Today we’re more likely to hear about a company that’s ripped off its customers.

Failing to make your customers happy is more than a shame. It’s slow-motion corporate suicide. If you want to make it in today’s crowded, recession-wracked market, you absolutely must create clients and customers who rave about your company the way they would their favorite sports team.

Obviously, making raving fans out of your clients is easier said than done. If it were easy, then corporate giants that have plenty of money to throw at such a concept would be overrun with happy customers.

In my new book, …And the Clients Went Wild! How Savvy Professionals Win All the Business They Want (Wiley, 2010, www.AndTheClientsWentWild.com), I lay out a blueprint for cultivating loyal clients and generating growing sales through a collection of principles and tactics that have proven successful for others in business.  These businesses have effectively created a loyal following of passionate vocal clients, and with the execution of these principles, you can too.

1st Principle: What Are YOU Doing That No One Else Is Doing? In order to gain exposure, it helps to be or to offer something unique—or do something that no one else dares. It’s true that standing out from the crowd is probably the riskiest of the five principles. However, it may be equally risky to run a conservative, “under‐the‐radar” firm these days—you risk becoming an anachronism. While successful firms stick to their values, they also find ways to be so exciting that people don’t have a choice but to pay attention…and buy.

2nd Principle: Focus Your Marketing on Benefits, Results, and a Call to Action. Another way to gain success is to ensure you are answering the question, What’s really in it for me? for your clients. Too many businesses accentuate the features of their products or services rather than the benefits—what your clients really care about. “Open 24 Hours” is a feature. Benefits are value statements about the features of a product or service, with an emphasis on what the customer gets. For example, a benefit might be that a product makes you look slimmer or saves lots of money on gas. Too many companies leave it up to their prospects to figure out the benefits of their products or services.

3rd Principle: Go Viral! A viral message is an idea, notion, or practice that’s transmitted from person to person through speech, gestures, the internet, email, or other media. It ignites and motivates people to move the message. Most viral marketing programs give away valuable products or services to attract attention—free benefits, information, software programs, or downloads. It’s essential that you do everything possible to make it easier for people to access information or material that may go viral.

4th Principle: Leverage Your Business Network for Incremental Growth. It takes a plan, but using your network—business and otherwise—can be the miracle alternative to the typical grind of cold calls and prospecting. A productive business network is filled with respected, well-connected, influential people—called “Centers of Influence”—that share your target market and have a complementary rather than a competing service or product. You can capitalize on these connections by creating strategic alliances or by simply sharing your networks and making referrals.

5th Principle: The Ability to Execute Is Critically Important to Your Game Plan. In today’s fast‐moving, completely networked world, superior execution is clearly driving success for business. Small business owners are great at adopting many new marketing ideas. What they are not so great at is finishing. The best marketing strategy is the one you can pull off completely.

Perhaps more than ever before people want to do business with those they feel they can trust. They are attracted to businesses they feel will go out of their way to provide them the absolute best products or services available. And the absolute best way to elicit that trust in prospects is by having clients who cheer you on at every turn. So, don’t waste another second waiting to develop a marketing plan that will influence your clients to go wild for you.

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Recession-Inspired Smart Changes to Your Business

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

I just want to be done hearing about  - and living - this recession. All of the analogies, comparisons, sound bites, and talk. Most of the firms I know are getting down to business, marketing and focusing on their target market of prospects. But it is true that the recession is still here and there continues to be stories of businesses folding or becoming unrecognizable in terms of staff, clients and success. One of the most successful individuals I had the privilege to know was a top financial advisor for many years - one of the best in the nation. But the recession has been exceptionally hard on him. It causes a few conclusions and lessons: 1. Success is fleeting. 2. Change is necessary. 3. Testing new ideas is a critical task so that time/money is not wasted. 4. Having the right staff in place is critical in moving forward.

Ultimately, today we have to get more quantitative. If what we are doing is not getting tangible RESULTS, we have to make a change. Firms that have come through are doing a few things differently and better than ever before. Here are some of their smart and simple activities:

1.       Focusing on sales and marketing again in an inspired way. The most successful have become more aggressive in messaging their value and benefits and letting their target market know what they do so well. It is simply getting back to a daily focus on the core of what makes a business successful – more sales.

2.       Asking…”What’s the return on investment?” For instance, a seminar or event isn’t successful based on the number of attendees; it’s on the ultimate results and measurable outcomes (ie sales or referrals). Firms are getting increasingly quantitative - as if they were a publicly traded company - imagine that! Sounds simple, but setting a sales objective for everything you do, and reaching it is truly inspiring!

3.       Reorganizing your staff objectives. How is your staff performing? Add a significant, measurable performance element to compensation. You may like your employees personally, but if they cannot meet performance measures, or client survey results are not showing that they are making an impact, then they could be hurting more than helping. Find out who is not a team player. A feud internally can cause significant issues that project onto your clients and prospects on behalf of your staff. And that is never good.

It is simple, but requires focus, strategy and motivation to make some small and large changes. Smart changes. Changes you probably should have made long ago.

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Winning Needs a Plan, Not Just a Vision

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Rocky Wirtz, the owner of the Blackhawks for less than 2 years, declared that the team would be a winning franchise again. Then he took action to do something about it. He almost immediately moved to change everything about the team from the players, to home office staff, to media contracts. And just as important as winning the Stanley Cup (Congratulations Blackhawks!), is how he did it. He had a plan that had likely been formulating for years prior to his assumption of the team from his late father, Bill Wirtz.

I believe that the plan you lay out to achieve the win should be as strong as your winning idea. It should be tactical, multi-faceted, well thought out, and reviewed with others. Knowing HOW to reach your goals is critical if you realistically expect to reach them.

A financial advisor recently told me that he was going to write a book that was going to become a million-copy bestseller. Now that would be a big win! I was interested. “Wow, that’s awesome!” I said. “How are you going to sell that many books?” He then pointed to a poster board leaning up against the wall in his office...

It was what he referred to as his “Vision Board” that he had his assistant spend hours preparing for him. In the center of his “Vision Board” was a picture of Oprah Winfrey.  “Oprah. That’s how I’m going to get there,” he said.  Surrounding Oprah on the board was Larry King and other media personalities.

So to clarify, I asked him how he was going to get in touch with all of the media tycoons to get his book on their shows. He pointed to his assistant. “We’re going to call them. “

I walked out of his office thinking that I had just witnessed a real-life episode of “The Office.” Now it may be true that his book will get great media coverage and he will sell 1 million copies. The problem in my eyes is that if his book idea is so great, why doesn’t he spend more time on his plan? Getting on Oprah is not a new idea or anything close to a sure thing. Yet, that’s essentially his plan. To me, it seems his grand plan is nothing more than a grand dream that his assistant put on poster board. A truly great idea deserves a great plan - not a shot in the dark. Believing it’s achievable is a powerful first step, but without a powerful plan, it very well may remain a dream. Rocky Wirtz and the members of the Blackhawks have worked for years with the vision of the Stanley Cup. Rocky took the big steps to get it done. Does the quality of your plans to win match the quality of your winning idea? 

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Imitating Innovators is Smart Business

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Did you know that 97.8% of the value of innovations goes to imitators? (“Imitation is More Valuable Than Innovation,” Harvard Business Review, April 2010.) White Castle led to McDonald’s; Diners Club lead to Visa, MasterCard and American Express. Walmart’s founder admitted to borrowing most of its practices from others and improving on them. 

In the financial services industry there are many product companies that never are the innovators but have profited from taking an initial innovative idea and making it more appealing (for instance the riders on variable annuities). That means that the hard work in designing a concept, breaking ground, and taking it to market first are on the shoulders of the initial creator. Their many attempts to create something that is just right finally pay off…until someone else swoops in and makes it that much better. The truth is, making the innovation better or taking it to market in a more effective way is often what brings greater success.

In marketing, people copy others all the time. It’s like watching someone else putt on a golf course green right before it’s your turn to try a similar putt. You learn from what happened to the first person’s putt and hopefully are able to make it better.  Was there an unseen dip in the green?  Where does it break towards the hole? According to those much smarter than I, it is imitation that trumps innovation. It seems to be smart business to start keeping an eye out for the innovators in and “learn from their putt” instead of spending the time and resources to be the first to try something.

But isn’t copying against the law? Copying isn’t illegal unless there is a trademark, copyright or patent protecting it. So, do you have a marketing strategy or idea you want to implement in your marketing plan this year?  It might have a better chance of succeeding if someone else has tested it first, and you learn from their results and make it better.

Would you rather be first or last? According to the infamous Ricky Bobby from Talladega Nights, “if you’re not first you’re last”. In business, however, it may be better to be second. 

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Planners vs. Actors – How to find a profitable balance between over-thinking and jumping the gun

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

Are you doing without planning or planning without doing?

My own first reaction is to take quick action without taking the time to plan – a “Let's Do it Now” mentality. I constantly have to stop myself from acting without planning, and allow some time to think through the strategy first. Others spend so much time planning that when they are finally ready to take action, the time for action has come and gone.

Sometimes we are too close to things in our own business. For clients we work with at Red Zone Marketing, we always focus on strategic planning first and action second. It’s certainly easier to take a different perspective with someone else’s business.

Both quick action and over-planning are problems. In order to have the best-executed strategy that will lead you to your goal, planning and expedient action are both critical. Ask yourself, can I plan more, or should I do more? Somewhere in the middle is probably the right answer. 

What is your natural instinct? A valuable assessment tool is the Kolbe Index (www.Kolbe.com). The Kolbe A Index measures a person's instinctive method of operation (MO), and identifies the ways he or she will be most productive. It is assessing innate action-modes that, according to Kolbe, do not change over time.  To give an example: people with different profiles might respond to a challenge differently. Let’s say that the particular challenge is to get 10 clients in the next 2 months.  You may do it based on the 4 modes of action that individuals possess (or most likely a combination of all of them):

•  Quick Start: If you're a Quick Start, you'll probably go out and knock on doors, send out some mail, call some strategic alliances, plan a seminar, find out what someone else is doing and do all of these things at once. You will jump right into trial and error. 

• Fact Finder: You'll spend hours reading about, researching, asking questions, and learning about the best strategies for bringing on new clients before actually beginning. 

• Implementer: You will take a task like networking, one you can imagine doing or have planned, and start meeting people using this strategy tomorrow.  

• Follow Through: You’ll follow a plan given to you with focus and stay on task. 

What is your instinctive method of operation? Being aware of how you and your team instinctually react is an excellent first step to finding where you stand on the decision-making spectrum, and where you need to move along the scale for a more profitable balance.

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Strategy Before Tactics = Sales!

Blog from Maribeth Kuzmeski of Red Zone Marketing

You have a strategy, right? You don’t just go from one tactic to another – depending on what is the next hot idea – do you? Well, actually we all do from time to time. And when business conditions are more difficult we often go into survival mode and think only of the tactics that will bring us more immediate sales. We may announce a promotion, advertise a sale, reduce the price, develop an alternative offering, etc. But, a business needs a “Marketing Reason.” Simply selling products or services to people is NOT a reason or a strategy, it is a result. Determine your Marketing Reason, layout your Marketing Strategy and then develop and implement your Marketing Tactics. In that order.

So, before implementing the tactic of the day, consider answering a few quick questions that can lead you to your clear and defined Marketing Reason. It is critical to keeping your business on track in the short and long run.

1.       What do you want your target market to know about what you sell?

2.       What do you want them to believe about you?

3.       What do you want them to think about you?

4.       What do you want them to say about you?

Then, plan your strategy focused around your Marketing Reason. An example of a great strategy (and one that is certainly more inexpensive than implementing the tactic of the day) is to develop and focus your efforts on a pre-determined and specific niche. Do you have a niche, a narrow market niche? Do you have offerings that they need and want? Do they know about you?

Your strategy should be behind every business and marketing decision that you make. Tactics can often take us away from our Marketing Reason and away from our strategy. When you create your strategy, your business and sales efforts will become much easier. We want to help you with both Strategy and Tactics. Here are two great options to get you started:

1.       Access a free download of the business planning tool, The Red Zone Business Plan. It is designed with questions you can answer that will lead to your strategy. Usually it can be completed in just one hour and has been proven to affect long term, important change and results for your business! Planning your strategy is too important to ignore! (PS. Pass it along! Connect others to this free download!)

2.       Plan to Get Connected! As a special CONNECTORS PROMOTION: If you buy a copy of the book The Connectors, we will send you a free, electronic copy of the Marketing Action Plan Template that will help you organize your individual marketing tactics for 2010. Just forward your order confirmation email or receipt from the bookstore to info@redzonemarketing.com. Even easier, just email your favorite idea from the book. We will immediately email you back a copy of the electronic Marketing Action Plan Template that you can begin using right away.  The Marketing Action Plan will help to organize your marketing tactics including the details of each activity, when an activity should be started and completed, and a place to assign who's responsible. It will help you plan and keep your whole team accountable!

www.redzonemarketing.com

Maribeth Kuzmeski, is the author of the new book, The Connectors: How the World's Most Successful Businesspeople Build Relationships and Win Clients for Life (Wiley, September 2009, ISBN: 978-0-4704881-8-8, $22.95)

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