Tagged: advertising RSS

  • admin 12:29 pm on July 12, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: advertising, book, ,   

    Cover | Advertisings’ Missing Link: Cultivation 


    advertisingcultivation

    As you may know I am putting a little ebook together on advertising. Here’s an introduction

    Some time ago a fisherman had a problem. He had this fish cage in the water right where big and small fish were. He noticed that many large fish came to visit him, made use of his offer and then disappeared again. He also noticed that some of his large fish never came back. But he saw them at his friend’s cage. This was upsetting. After all the work he did giving fish what they want they had the audacity to leave him.

    The fisherman made another starling discovery. There were many small fish reading the story that he left on the door of the cage. But they all stopped there. They read and disappeared. But as these small fish grew fatter his friend collected most of them.

    He gathered all his courage and asked his friend why he was so successful? The friend said it’s pretty simple. But he was not sure if he wanted to share the secret. This secret has been part of his family for ages.

    However he noticed how desperate his friend was and decided to help.

    You already have your cage where the fish are but you have a problem. You are only attracting the few big fish who want what you have on offer today. Most of the fish coming past your gate and reading your story are not ready or don’t want what you have. They don’t want it when they read it. They do want it tomorrow but then they have moved on.

    You have no bait for the small fish who want it later. You must add other bait that will attract them to you even if they don’t want to take your main offer.

    Let me say that to take your main offer is a major commitment from the fish and they cannot or will not make that commitment yet. What I want you to do are to offer something they want today! But something that does not need any major commitment from them.

    The other problem that you have is that when you do catch a large fish, and you exchange the offer, you let the fish go. This is a waste.

    I want you to go and create two cultivation pools; one for the big fish that grab your offer, and another pool for small fish who are not yet ready to make the major commitment.

    Then I want you to change your story on your cage door. Tell them about your major offer but also share information about your cultivation pool. Tell the fish that you will feed them tips and secrets on how to survive. You will share “For Free” when they become part of your cultivation pool. The cultivation pool is their place where they can grow huge with knowledge. And only when they are ready can they take you up on your offer or they can leave. There’s no obligation.

    But you may say that I am stupid telling them there’s no obligation. This is a long story and I will suffice to say that I am getting more fish in my cultivation pool because of my “no obligation” statement. I think it helps fish coming into my pool because they feel at ease.

    But that’s not all. You must also offer a cultivation pool for the large fish who took your offer. This will keep them happy until they are ready to take another offer.

    It is that simple.

    If it’s that simple why are more fisherman not using the cultivation pool?

     

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  • admin 2:21 pm on July 10, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: advertising, , mind map, , online,   

    Case Study: Disastrous Small Business Advertising 


    cultivationandhookadvertisiThis is also a request for help. If you feel like helping create this mind map go to MindMeisters and improve it. I will take the final product and add it to the ebook, Cultivation: Advertisings  Missing Link I am writing. If you want a copy subscribe to my newsletter.

    Not so long ago a friend was burgled. A few minutes after I learned about the incident I was on the phone and I asked if I could assist. My friend said that he would appreciate it if I could research home security systems and advise him.

    I knew a local provider, even the name of the business, but not the phone number. That was unfortunate because I have done business with Hawk Eye Security. I have met the owner at various events. And his technicians did some work at my home; they are pleasant and professional.

    Hawk Eye advertised in every possible off-line publication. They were involved in, and sponsored, many local events. Peter, the owner is well known and liked in the community. He grew up here.

    I, therefore, felt that Hawk Eye Security was a trust-worthy business I could recommend with confidence. Unfortunately I did know Peter’s or Hawk phone number. And I went searching on Google. I entered “Hawk Eye Security.” Nothing. Hawk Eye Security did not exists, at least not according to Google. The alternative was the Yellow Pages but we treat this 5 kilogram book as a dangerous implement. The Yellow Pages is not easily accessible.

    Google provides easy alternatives. I phoned another security company and spoke to a pleasant man. He was in the business for 6 six years. It was obvious that he knew his story because he fed me with advice. And the more advice he gave me the more I liked him. At the end I asked him to call my friend in need. He said he will.

    But what about Peter and Hawk Eye?

    Eventually I found his number via Google. He was listed on an obscure classified ads site.

    I phoned Peter but he was not available. I told my story to the staff and ask them for advice. They said Peter was the only one able to help me. I asked if they have a brochure that they could email or fax to me. Nothing. I asked for Peter’s cell phone number.

    The assistant hesitated and eventually told me she could not share Peter’s cell number. The next thing I was transferred. Another assistant told me that Peter is not in. I explained again that I wanted info. He could not help me. Reluctantly he gave me Peter’s cell number. I left a message and Peter phoned me back later the afternoon.

    This is what this book is all about. Peter spends mind blowing amounts on advertising and sponsorships but he is wasting most of it.

    What can we learn from this?

    1. Advertising is more than placing an advert.
    2. Your staff needs to be educated.
    3. Staff is not incompetent the boss is
    4. Your staff needs tools to communicate and sell when you not there
    5. The boss is not the only seller
    6. You must be visible online
    7. You need to ensure your advert is not designed to sell
    8. Your advert needs to cater for people who want info
    9. When people ask for info you need to collect names and email addresses
    10. You need an automated system to follow up with these people until they spend money with you
    11. When they have paid you for services or products proved, you need to keep them well fed with info and tips until they spend again

    I call this process the Creation Of A Cultivation Pool. And as I said, I will include the final mind map with the ideas on how to set the record straight.

    Please share this with your friends on lets get the mind mapping the problem experienced by small businesses.

     

    • morne 4:45 am on July 23, 2009 Permalink

      I have found your Blog (article) on Google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

      If you want, you are more then welcome to visit my website by Googling (Mortgage Plus cc) “a website aimed at helping the youth in South Africa find good financial advice with regards to bonds, home loans and mortgages. This is also aimed at building awareness to those in South Africa especially with our current escalation in property prices“.
      We are bond originators in South Africa, who is dedicated to procuring and arranging highly competitive mortgage lending rates to existing and new residential bondholders and we shall private a seamless transaction which not only results in substantial savings to the client, but which is also effective and convenient.
      If you know someone that needs assistants in NEW HOME LOANS, FURTHER BONDS, BUILDING LOANS, DEVELOPMENT FINANCE, or AFFORDABLE HOUSING please refer them to me. It will be highly appreciated.

      Ps: Keep up the good work. !!!!

      Yours truly,
      Morne Prinsloo
      http://www.mortgagepluscc.co.za

    • riffraffcoza 9:31 am on October 5, 2009 Permalink

      I believe offline an online advertising share the same importance. Every brick-n-mortar business should have a website with all their contact details and information available 24/7. Even if it is only one page.

    • best_business_phone 10:42 am on November 20, 2009 Permalink

      Yep! I was agreed, I'll keep in touch to your blog.

  • admin 2:27 pm on July 6, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , advertising, control, , , profit per customer   

    Newspaper Advertising Is Not Working 


    Yes. It’s true. It will not work for us as long as we ignore the basics. And don’t feel bad if you do because most business people do.

    You cannot really say if newspaper or any advertising is working or not until you start using some simple ideas to make it effective:

    1. Start measuring your conversion rates. Like how many people respond to your ad, how many people just ask for info (do you have electronic info and a newsletter available for them?), how many pay you after reading your ad?
    2. Publish two ads at anyone time and measure the conversion rates for each ad. Keep the best and change the the other until it becomes the best. Therefore always have a control to measure your new ad.
    3. Calculate the average profit per customer for the time a customers continue to spend money with you. When you have this info you will know how much can spend on advertising given a conversion rate. Therefore if you spend $80 bucks to get one client and the average client profit is $300 bucks then you should continue with the ad.
    4. Use the same ad in two different publications and measure the conversion rates for the two publications. Over time stop the ad in the worst performing publication and find another publication to compare against your control-publication.  
     

  • admin 8:38 am on July 6, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: advertising,   

    Are You Seeing Questionable Return From Your Newspaper Advertising 


    Has your small business advertising failed to pay off? Do you get that funny feeling in your stomach when writing out that renewal check to your yellow page rep (who only comes by once a year)? Are you seeing a questionable return from your newspaper advertising? Read the full story on Small Business Advertising…How to Make it Work.

    Now look at this from the publishers point of view as well. The yellow page rep who needs to collect the money. The payer and the asker feels the same. The yellow page rep has been to many advertisers and they don’t feel like paying. Because the advertiser is seeing questionable return.

    This does not mean that he is not getting any return it’s only that he is seeing nothing. This is because he is not measuring and the seller of the the advertising is not showing or teaching the advertiser how to measure return.

    I will be addressing these issues in my new ebook that I am thinking of calling “Discover Advertisings’ Missing Link: Cultivation” Subscribe to my newsletter to stay in touch.

     

  • admin 11:29 am on June 18, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: advertising, , , two step marketing   

    What Is Two-Step Marketing And How To Use It? 


    Two-step marketing means the prospect must respond to your (step 1) advertisement to (step 2) get more info. This info may be a letter, a free report, and tips. The intention is that the letter or brochure does all the pre-selling of your product or service. The two-step (1) advert normally directs your customer to a web page. (2) At the web page they exchange their name and email for the free information. Let’s look at…

    One-step advertising is when the ad goes all out and asks for the sale. This is also known as ’selling off the page.’ It is by far the hardest advertising method, and is very difficult to achieve successfully when selling a high value or complicated product or service. [I call this kiss on the first date advertising]

    (More …)

     

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