Marketing wisdom for SMEs

What they said

Quotes from the
marketing greats plus
some hints & tips for
how to apply their
thinking to your
business.

Great little bites of marketing insights

Bambi Gordon
www.thewoo.com.au

Quotes on even numbered pages are
attributed to the authors/experts/gurus.
The Woo content appears on right
hand (odd numbered) pages.

Images throughout:
Dreamstime
Image Pg 8 & 9: Bambi Gordon
Please feel free to share this book – as a
slidedeck or PDF – as long as you don’t make
any changes to the content, nor sell it. Thanks.

Marketing Bites from www.thewoo.com.au

2

By sharing some great quotes about marketing –
and then giving you my take on each one – I
hope to inspire you to address the marketing
basics in your business.
Please also visit www.thewoo.com.au for tools,
resources and info about future “How to do
marketing” programs.


3

“The great fallacy of marketing is that it
can be delegated to a few people in your
company and to inanimate objects, such as
ads, brochures and web sites.
The most effective marketing is human to
human; everything else is a compromise”

Steve Yastrow, : http://yastrow.com/


4

The aim of marketing is to ‘connect’. To build a bond.
The function is to find the right messages to send to the right people via
the right channels. It is expressed via the communication between you and
Your customers. It is not just your advertising. It is your invoice. It is every
phone call. Every email. It is your car (if you have your
brand displayed). And every person in your organisation
is responsible for its delivery. Every piece of
communication sends a message – intentional
or not.


Do your staff know
that they are all marketing managers?
5

"If you don't believe in your product, or if
you're not consistent and regular in the way
you promote it, the odds of succeeding go
way down. The primary function of the
marketing plan is to ensure that you have the
resources and the wherewithal to do what it
takes to make your product work."

Jay Levinson http://www.gmarketing.com/


6

No marketing?
No business!
Marketing is frightening. When things are quiet we know we need to be doing it - but
where is the cash flow coming from? When things are busy - who needs marketing .
Right?
You do need to have an ongoing plan with an ongoing
budget to support it. The plan needs to address existing
customers and potential customers - finding the right, and
consistent activity, to ensure the quantity and quality of both.
If you are not prepared to invest in
marketing – you have a hobby or perhaps
you have just bought yourself a job.
But you certainly don’t have a business.


7

“When you (fail) to
connect your brand
to your marketplace,
you undervalue its power”

Michel Hogan, Principal, Brandology
and Brand Alignment Group
http://www.brandology.com.au/group/our_people.html


8

Where they have an itch,
you should be there to scratch it
Your brand should be everywhere that your target market is – every
time they are looking for your type of product or service, whenever
they are trying to fulfil an unfulfilled need.

This means placing your brand, strategically, with the right creative message,
with the right frequency, in the right places.
Your aim should be to connect your brand to your customers. By being where they
are. Using tools that allow engagement. And connecting through satisfying their
needs.


9

“Authenticity is extraordinarily
important these days, precisely because
so much of our communication is
second-hand and is at a reserve or
distance. That makes us crave the
power, the intimacy of a direct
conversation”

Nick Morgan www.publicwords.com

Marketing is all about people. Your business is all about people. And the
experiences that these people have. People buy from people who they trust.

And if you are going to get people to
trust you, you need to do as you say
you will do. Be authentic. Be
sincere. Be open & transparent. BE
REAL

11

“Just like every powerful tool,
the impact comes from the
craftsman, not the tool”

Seth Godin.
www.sethgodin.com

12

Start with Strategy...the tools will follow
Anyone can put an ad in the 'paper. Anyone can tweet. The difference is finding authentic
and exciting ways to make that stuff really talk to your customers. And that stuff all comes
down to strategy.
If you don't have a marketing strategy you may want to do a quick one page version:

Profile your target market - You are not targeting all people. In fact, though you may sell
broadly you need to target very narrow. List everything you know about your ideal customer
(gender, income, location, what they believe, what else they like, their values, life-stage.
Then list everything about your product (service) that appeals to that ideal customer (your
brand)
The third point is to look at the market place and find the one clear point of difference that
you have
Your strategy is, therefore, to Promote the Differences of
your Product or Service to your Target market by
Engaging them with your Brand. That strategy will now direct
you as to which tools and how to use them.

13

“A brand is the DNA of an
organisation, the code that
determines how the product,
service or team should act, look
and evolve. The most powerful
branding comes from within".
Steven Overman, Jack Morton Worldwide.


14

Your brand isn't your logo.
Just as your personality isn’t your smile.

It is how your customer experiences your business
and how that is then conveyed and reinforced through
every touch point between you and your customer
(which includes your logo, your business name,
your returns policy, how your staff speak).
The most important thing about those touch points is
That every single one of them is consistent with every
other. They are connected. They ring true. And they
help your ‘brand’ connect with your audience.
Jot down some of the key words that describe your brand - the personality that you want your
business to have. For example professional, friendly, accessible, experienced, young, mature,
etc. And then look at every touch point and ask “ Does this convey those key words? Does the
way I answer the phone match that personality? How do my invoices rate? Is the language I
use in my emails consistent with that brand style? “ It is a Touch Point Audit for your brand.

15

"A brand is a living entity – and it is enriched
or undermined cumulatively over time,

Michael Eisner http://www.michaeleisner.com/


16


17

“You now have to decide what
'image' you want for your brand.
Image means personality.
Products, like people, have
personalities, and they can
make or break them in the
market place."

David Ogilvy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Ogilvy

18

Who are you?
The prom girl or jock?
The chairman of the board?
The hippie? The cool geek?

I know that these are all clichés and typecasting –
But just as we make instant judgements about
people from the way they dress, the language they
use, the environment they are in, the job they do,
the car their drive, the suburb they live in – all based
on gut feel, our emotions, values and upbringing - we
do the same when we come across a brand.
What is the image of your business?
How is that image conveyed?

And is that “person” someone that your
customers can relate?
What can you do to make your brand
as appealing as possible
to your target market?


19

Peter F.Drucker
http://www.druckerinstitute.com/

20

That’s enough about me....So, what do you
think about me?
It’s not about you. It’s about the customer.
Whenever you talk about your business instead of
talking about your customer, you bore them.

The “Back story” of your business – it’s age, how it
came about, how it has grown – can come later.
But the first stuff out of your mouth should be all about the Customer.
Everything you do is all about them: Their wants, their needs and their perceptions.
How do you discover their make-up, beliefs, values, and unfulfilled needs? You ask them – via
surveys, face to face, observation, analysing data, researching the market and your
competitors customers.
Then – when you ‘know’ them you ‘show’ them that you understand. You talk to them in their
voice. Share their values. Be interested in what they are interested in. Prove that you get
them by providing a product or service that FITS THEM.
Marketing Bites from www.thewoo.com.a 21
u

"If you do build a great experience,
customers tell each other about that.
Word of mouth is very powerful" Jeff Bezos


22

Experience creates a story. Stories spread.

Stories spread on word of mouth (and mouse). Where they will go, no one will know.
"The electrician turned up on time, and took of his shoes which is a good
sign....but his feet....” "I found this great web-site ...and it was delivered the next day”.
"I tried calling that new accountant.....”

What is the experience that you are giving every customer at ever
touch point and how do you feel about them creating a spreadable
story around that experience?


23

“Social media allows us to
behave in ways that
We are hardwired for in
the first place - as
humans. We can get frank
recommendations
from other humans
instead of from faceless
companies.”

Francois Gossieaux, The Hyper-Social Organization:
Eclipse Your Competition by Leveraging Social Media


24

Sometimes when we are ‘talking’ as our
business—we fall into business speak.

In this era of “permission” rather than
interruption marketing; where both the
consumer and the company have a voice,
where word of mouth and personal
recommendations are so vitally important it is
equally as important that you ‘speak’ as
a person.
That includes having profiles of you and your
team on your website. Using your own name in
social media.
Sharing the human face of your business.

25

“Many a small thing has
been made large by the
right kind of advertising."
Mark Twain

26

But what is the right
way?

• the right channel (social media or
print ads or sponsorship or all –
That is the channels where
your target market can see you;
the ones they consume).
• with the right message (the
message that conveys
what you can ‘mean’ to your target
market – a message that means
something to them, that they see
value in)
• in the right way (entertaining,
educational, something that gets
your target markets attention and
cuts through all the clutter).
And then do it over and over and over
and over and over again.


27

“Doing business without advertising
is like winking at a girl in the dark.
You know what you are doing
but nobody else does.”

Steuart Henderson Britt, Marketing
Management and Administrative Action

28

You have to tell people that you exist, what you can do for them, where they can find you.
That doesn’t need to be just via “advertising” that broadcasts a message in the hope that it will land on
receptive people. Broadcast has its role—it can quickly help build awareness. And people need to be
aware of you if they are ever going to engage. But after Awareness you want your potential customer to
be interested, to desire your product/service and then to act.
That means creating compelling and appealing messages, and then engaging in conversations using the
channels that your potential customers use.


29

“It’s never been easier for
audiences to skip, filter, or
avoid advertising, so the best
ideas are the ones that
respect that the audience
needs to get something out
of the work; it should inspire,
satisfy, or motivate them. You
can’t just bombard people
with messages anymore.”

Ajaz Ahmed


30

Are the messages that you are putting out there
of interest to your customers—or stuff that you think is
important?
Have you asked your existing customers what they love
most about your business? Why they have chosen to be your customer?

You need to communicate the ‘benefit’ of doing business with you. “Benefit”
is what your customers think is important (where-as “feature” is what you
think is).
Check your key messages—are they important to
your customers? Are they compelling and
appealing? Do you share them in creative,
entertaining and engaging ways?
Or are you sharing content that is really easy to ignore.

31

“Spam is a waste of the
receivers’ time, and, a waste of
the sender’s optimism.”

Mokokoma
Mokhonoana,
The
Confessions
of a Misfit


32

We know spam is wrong. Not just because
there are rules against it. But because
sending folk stuff they don’t want is not a
strategy.

Equally, hanging onto a big fat data-base of
names and regularly emailing them
without judiciously clearing out the list is
also not a strategy.
You don’t want to chase the big numbers—the quantity—in place of focusing
upon the right numbers—the quality. Make sure your data-base is quality.
The kind of people who could become customers. And that means only ever
having people who have truly opted-in (not just adding in the names of folk
you know on Facebook, or who have emailed you).
Segment and analyse your data-base on a regular basis. And be grateful for
unsubscribes! If they don’t want to be there you don’t want them.

33

Brian E. Boyd Sr., Social Media for the Executive

34

All great marketing takes careful strategic thought.

Maybe it is because it is called ‘social’ media.
Maybe because it is, on the surface, free.
Whatever the reason a lot of people just dive in,
start posting—with no clear objectives, little thought
given to their brand, and use it as a ‘broadcast’ channel.
Effective use of social media starts with
deciding which are the right channels to use—
and those channels are the ones that your potential
customers use. Then you need to decide on the key
messages and calls to action that you want to use;
the people who you want to engage with; and putting
out a variety of appealing content that builds your brand,
your profile and your ‘community’.


35

“In marketing you must choose between
boredom, shouting and seduction.
Which do you want?”
Roy H. Williams

36

Marketing is all about woo-ing customers.
Finding the perfect match.
Working out what is important to them.
Presenting the best of you – to attract them.
Pleasing them. Repeatedly.
And building a relationship.
Romance.
Seduction.
The Woo.


37

“Marketing is NOT optional.
It isn’t a silver bullet. It takes time
and it takes resources.
But you won’t build
a sustainable business
without it”
Bambi Gordon


38

The Woo
The business of marketing your business
PO Box 392, Warrandyte, Vic, 3113
T: 61 3 9844 4100
M: 0418 47 97 35
www.thewoo.com.au
bambi@thewoo.com.au


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Marketing wisdom for SMEs

Marketing wisdom for SMEs

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