| |
| |
|
Marketing Resource Center |
|
|
|
Is Your 4X4 Trail Rated?
"Traction. Articulation. Ground Clearance. Maneuverability. Water Fording. We've put your new Jeep vehicle through extreme tests on the most extreme off-road terrain we could find. Trail Rated means your Jeep vehicle is designed to surmount any obstacle you're likely to encounter and some you may never see." - Statement on Jeep Web site Jeep's marketing campaign for its Grand Cherokee, Liberty and Wrangler lines has a lot of existing and potential owners wondering what "Trail Rated" might do for them. That's a brilliant move on Jeep's part. In its basic form, Trail Rated is an internal system Jeep is referring to as "The New Standard in 4X4 Capability." By creating Trail Rated, Jeep established the industry standard by which others will be judged. Until competitors?or J.D. Power & Associates?introduce their own measurements, Jeep pretty much owns the benchmark - and the minds of all potential 4X4 buyers. Many other companies have developed systems to enhance their products or services, or the delivery of them. Sometimes these even spin off to become self-sustaining businesses. American Airlines did it with their SABRE® reservations system - which actually makes a whole lot more money these days than airplanes for shareholders. While your system in your small business may not be a candidate for becoming its own revenue stream, it could be a key marketing tool that immediately and powerfully distinguishes you from competitors. Success Handler Action: With your team, list all the things that make you unique - your industry-leading (or, at least, local competition-topping) standards. Here are some ideas to get started: ? Name some things your clients thanked you for recently. Why did they take the time to do that, and what system do you have in place that made these specific transactions go so smoothly clients went out of their way to let you know about it? ? What elements have you incorporated into your product, service or delivery as a result of trying to streamline that activity and/or noticing what clients were doing or saying? For example, one night at dinner recently, the waitress wrapped my receipt around my credit card, and attached to a pen the one I was to sign. This was a subtle action that caught my attention. Clearly, this restaurant noticed how customers frequently look at two receipts and wonder which one to leave behind. Then they came up with a better way - a system - and a nice touch that takes their excellent service to a higher standard! ? What formal processes do you utilize and/or what checklists do you use that could become part of your marketing initiative? A leader in the signs industry, created a system in which all projects flow through a quality control process from start to finish. They perfected it to such a degree they brand "Raising The Bar" for marketing purposes, commissioning a logo to show their pride and using it as an internal motivator as well. ? Is there something you do that is highly unique? Think of the Budweiser "Born On" Date. They were probably putting dates on their beer for a long time, or at least keeping record of them, but by recognizing this system as a marketing opportunity, the created a competitive advantage. Even if it isn't unique, you might be able to market something successfully - especially if your competitors aren't. For one small business client, we implemented a "We Recycle Peanuts" campaign, because no one else (read: the big gorilla competitor) was taking advantage of promoting this. The owner told me that for the first time since opening his business several years ago, he hasn't spent one dollar buying peanuts this year...a substantial savings. ? What really closes sales for you? Maybe it's you! If so, this can be a great marketing opportunity. Just think of it: "You get x and y and z and, most importantly, you get ME!" Now those great marketing guys at Daimler-Chrysler would think that's a brilliant idea! Copyright © 2005 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved. The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders, franchisees and franchisors find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he's been there - as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Spice It Up! Rib Festival Teaches Us About Product Value The Rib America Festival is a fun filled family event featuring award winning BBQ and live entertainment from national, regional and local talent. Each rib cooker features their very own special cooking strategy and recipes that make for a truly unique food festival experience. Global Market in the Cyber world-Go and Get It ! With the Internet opening up the doorway to the global market, everybody is up and running to reap the maximum benefit of this widely used medium. Not only has Internet gained importance as an important medium of communication but also has given a platform to thousands of people to nurture their entrepreneurship and realize their dreams of self-employment. How To Market Effectively Even If No One Understands What You Do So how do you effectively market your product or service when one knows anything about them because you're in a new and emerging industry? How can you expect to get customers if no one understands what it is that you do?If this is your situation then a big part of your marketing strategy will need to be educating consumers about what you do. If yours is a field that is relatively new, or perhaps misunderstood, adopting an education strategy can help consumers understand the benefits you provide and feel more comfortable with the idea of purchasing your products or services. Top 9 Strategies To Attract More Clients Now 1. Advertise in trade journals, ezines, and web sites that cater to your ideal client. Direct Mail Marketing Generates Sales Leads: Heres How 1. PersonalUnlike an advertisement in a trade publication, which can be read by anyone, your sales letter arrives at your prospect's place of business as a piece of personal communication from your mind to his. Top 5 Ways to Generate Qualified Leads for Your Small Business Do you ever wonder if you could be doing a better job marketing your small business or professional service firm? Successfully marketing a small business is hard work. There are several key skills required to consistently develop new business that you, as a small business owner, must master in order to succeed. Why You Buy, Part Two More of the findings of the recent studies in behavioral economics:Webers LawA change of stimulus is more emotional and motivational, according to the base: Most subjects tested would drive across town to save $10 on a $20 item, for example, but not to save $10 on a $500 item. The lesson for sales people? If you won't lose a sale on a thousand-dollar couch over $10, sell the other benefits of the couch in your sales pitch. Who is Your Perfect Client When I started my coaching practice I believed that I could coach anyone. My marketing wasn't targeted. Print Marketing Campaign, Whats Important and Whats Not! Every company searches to lure customers to their product. Unless you have a monopoly or unique product your marketing goal is to fulfill your customers needs with your products. To All Internet Marketers - How To Get My Business? More and more people are realizing that the Internet offers great potential to set up a healthy business for pennies on the dollar. This is good news for internet marketers - but it also means that they need to lift their game. The 3 Unknown Steps of Marketing Success To be your own marketing expert you first need to know where to begin. It's no good learning how to be a good copywriter, if you don't know what medium is best to promote your work through. Marketing Plans... A Simple Approach To Get Off The Marketing Roller Coaster Are You Riding The Marketing Roller Coaster?If you're like many of the small business owners or independent professionals I meet, then running and marketing your business can be like riding on a roller coaster. I'm picturing a roller coaster that mostly goes up and down as opposed to one that flips you upside-down or sends you around backwards. How Would You Handle This? We have been talking about choosing groups to participate in that meet your needs and goals as a business professional. Once the decision is made on which groups to belong to, then a certain level of participation is required in order to achieve the individual goals set by the business professional. 5 Steps To Help Fail-Proof Your Growing Service Business Business startup and failure rates are scary.. Marketing to a Critical Mass In "Developing a Marketing Plan", we covered the first steps to developing a marketing plan and tracking where your customers are coming from.The thing that I noticed when I did this for my own business was that the majority of new clients could be attributed to more than one source. Postcards: Awareness Tool or Selling Tool? Are postcards better for building awareness or for selling?In my opinion, the answer to the above question is, "They can do both jobs. It depends on what type of business you're in. The Benefits of a Marketing Plan What is a Marketing Plan?Marketing is to do with matching the features and benefits that your products and services are able to provide with specific customers and then telling those customers why they should buy them from you. Your marketing plan details how to do this. The Use of Bar Code SMS in Mobile Marketing, Advertising, CRM Anybody that frequents shopping malls are familiar with the bar coding systems used by retailers to ease the line at the pay points. No more long lines at the till as the operator just pulls the product past the scanner and voila - the buyer pays and are on their way. Connecting With Your Clients Many service professionals tell me that they are uncomfortable with the idea of marketing -- like marketing is a bad word! For some, "marketing" brings up images of telemarketers, aggressive sales people, and feelings of resentment at being invaded. But marketing is really about connecting with your customers. Good Vibes/ Bad Vibes Have you ever walked into a store or business and felt uncomfortable there for no apparent reason? Have you ever walked into a store all happy and left quite frustrated? Have you ever wished your house could feel happier? The process called energetic clearing can make a significant improvement to any location.There are many kinds of energy all around us.
|
| home | site map | Advertising Articles |
| © 2006 |
