3. 3The SMART Marketing Guide
What is SMART Marketing?
SMART marketing is a process that has been developed to help
professional service providers reach their turnover and profitability
targets. It is called SMART marketing because it starts with a SMART goal.
It is a simple process that can be applied by anybody regardless of their
background or marketing education and it will help grow your business.
This is an introductory guide which gives you the basics you need to
develop your own SMART marketing plan.
The first step is determine
your SMART goal. What do
you want your annual
business turnover to be in 12
months time?
Such as “In 12 months, I want my business to be invoicing over £x per year.”
£x could represent an increase of 20, 30 or even 40% of your current
turnover or for a new business be based on your business plan.
Business with less than £10m turnover invest around 8.6% of their target
turnover in their marketing (Chareted Institute of Marketing). For
professional service providers, this is usually lower. Accounting firms
invest around 5% (Accountacy Age).
Some firms invest less as they get business through networking and you
can count your time spent as part of your marketing spend. You should
always budget to make some marketing spend though.
4. 4
1. Client- Define
This is the most important step in the
process. You need to decide what your
ideal client looks like and then focus your
marketing on them. The more your
marketing is tailored to a tightly
defined ideal client, the more
successful it will be. Remember:
1. There is no such thing as a
professional service provider who
has universal appeal.
2. No business wants to have anyone
and everyone as clients.
You need to define your client in 3
ways:
ü Demographic
ü Geographic
ü Psychographic (next page)
Geographic segmentation is where you
group your clients by location, e.g.
determine where your ideal client lives
and where their business is based.
If you are a business-to-business
company then you must profile the
companies you want to work with as well
as the decision maker.
Demographic
This includes profiling companies
and the decision makers or the
private individual.
Company profiling includes:
Ø Industry (or industries)
Ø Annual turnover
Ø Number of employees
Ø Years in business
Decision maker or private
individual profiling includes:
Ø Age range
Ø Gender
Ø Occupation
Ø Income
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5. 5
Psychographics is
the study of
personality, values,
opinions, attitudes,
interests, and
lifestyles.
Here is where you group
your target market by
these factors. This is a
very powerful technique
as it helps uncover what
motivates your target
market to buy from you.
It also gives you better
ways to approach your
target market.
Psychographic Profiling
Questions
Psychographics can be very in-depth (the
more in-depth, the better). Here are 5 key
questions to get you started, regardless of
your target market ask:
1. What are their top 3 frustrations that
our service can help solve?
2. Who are they influenced by? Who do
they already trust?
3. Where do they look for information
on the services we offer?
4. Which marketing channels do they
trust? Which do they hate?
5. What clubs and associations do they
belong to?
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6. 6
2. Client’s Wants
People buy a product or service for
what it does for them rather than for its
features. This has been stated many
times in the acronym FAB (Features,
Advantages, Benefits).
Marketeers must translate the features of
your service into advantages and finally
into benefits to the client.
For example, take one aspect of
accounting, say doing a tax return:
Feature- A correct tax return filed on time.
Advantage- Completed for you by an
experienced professional who knows all
the rules and regulations and how to
make the best return on your behalf.
Benefit- You pay less tax.
However, the biggest buying motivator is
emotional benefits.
Emotional benefit- Being able to sleep
easy in the confidence that your tax return
is correct and that you have paid the exact
amount due and nothing more.
Few professional service providers
focus on emotional benefits but these
are the route to marketing success.
What People Really
Want
Research indicates that there
are 8 key primary drivers which
we all share. The relevant ones
for the professional services are:
Ø Survival, enjoyment of life
Ø Freedom from fear, pain, and
danger
Ø Comfortable living conditions
Ø To be seen as superior and
winning
Ø Care and protection of loved
ones
Ø Social approval
How can you appeal to these?
Secondary drivers include;
economy/ profit, efficiency,
convenience and dependability.
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3. Cost
It is important that you get your price
right. Your price is the thing which
determines your profit and your
company's viability.
You might be surprised by how much we
have increased a company's
profitability just by applying some key
pricing strategies.
Different strategies apply to different
industries, companies, their positioning in
the market place and, most importantly,
their target market. However, there is a
key pricing strategy that applies
universally. I call it a pricing
optimisation checklist.
Every business has a number of factors
which dictate what it can charge.
Generally, it is difficult for a company to
charge more than the lowest of these
factors indicates. However, by raising
that one factor to align with the rest then
prices can be raised easily (see
opposite).
Note: Price is important in establishing
prospect confidence. Too low or too high
a price can damage your credibility.
Pricing Optimisation
Checklist
You should align all of the below
with your price:
ü Quality of your final product
(e.g. tax return, postivie verdict,
new logo, plans for a house,
business growth
recommendations etc.)
ü Results achieved for the client
through using your service
ü Quality of client care
ü Appearance of your frontline
staff, fee earners and directors
ü Look and quality of marketing
ü Speed of response
ü Business address (city centre
vs. out of town)
ü Office layout and appearance
ü Number of staffThe SMART Marketing Guide
8. 8The SMART Marketing Guide
4. Competition
Your direct competition are those businesses who offer a similar quality
product or service for a similar price to your carefully defined target
market. You may also have indirect competitors who are competing for the
same pot of money as you. For example, web site designers, social media
experts, graphic designers, telemarketers etc. all compete for a company’s
marketing budget.
Competitive intelligence theory states you should have about 5 main
competitors.
Remember your competitors should be similar to you in terms of quality,
price and size. For example an independent, accounting practice with 4
partners does not compete with KPMG. It competes with other similar size
practices in the area.
Identify your 5 main
competitors and look at their:
Ø Marketing strategy
Ø Offerings
Ø Price
Ø Key messages and USP
Ø Core Values
Ø Position in the marketplace
This review will give you an idea of how you can compete effectively. You
should complete the rest of your SMART marketing plan with these findings
in mind. They are particularly important for the next step.
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5. Communication
You should work out the main
messages that you want to
communicate bearing in mind the
findings on your competition.
These messages include your:
Ø Unique Selling Proposition
Ø Value Proposition
Ø Core Values
Ø Benefits and emotional
benefits
It can take some time to develop these
messages but it is time well spent.
Your core values are very important
and are the heart of your brand.
I want to briefly touch on the Unique
Selling Proposition (USP). This is
probably the most mis-understood term
in marketing.
The concept of the USP (see right)
was first outlined by marketing pioneer
Rosser Reeves. While you don’t want
to move the mass millions, you do want
it to have sufficient appeal to your
target market.
Unique Selling
Proposition
As outlined in Reality in Advertising
by Rosser Reeves in 1961:
1.Each advertisement must make a
proposition to the consumer. Not
just words, not just product puffery,
not just show-window advertising.
Each advertisement must say to
each reader: "Buy this product, and
you will get this specific benefit."
2. The proposition must be one that
the competition either cannot, or
does not, offer. It must be unique—
either a uniqueness of the brand or
a claim not otherwise made in that
particular field of advertising.
3.The proposition must be so strong
that it can move the mass millions,
i.e., pull over new clients to your
service.
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10. 10
6. Confidence
Now, you have worked out your key
messages and benefits, how are you
going to make your prospects believe
that you can achieve the results they
are hoping for? This is the biggest
marketing barrier that the
professional services face.
I could spend a week with 6 different
accountants and at the end of 6 weeks
I still could not tell you which was the
best. I am not qualified to judge.
However, I would retain the one I had
the most confidence in.
So it is vital that you inspire
confidence in your prospects. They
must have confidence in:
Ø You and your business
Ø Your marketing messages and
Ø The results you can achieve for
them before they will deal with you.
If someone knows you for long enough
and hears about the results you
achieve, they will gain confidence in
you naturally. However, you don’t have
the years this process can take so you
must accelerate it.
Confidence Creators
There are about 30 confidence
creators which can rapidly help
build confidence. Here are 3 to
start you with:
Appearing to be Everywhere
Your Prospect Looks
The more times someone sees you
(e.g. at a networking event, an
exhibition, a seminar, in a
magazine, in the local press, on
social media etc.), the more
confidence they have in you.
Testimonials
These are vital and work well
provided they are specific.
Case Studies
Case studies, involving people like
your target market, can go into
detail and build confidence rapidly.
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11. 11
Content includes:
ü Articles
ü Books and e-books
ü Whitepapers
ü Photos and Videos
ü Presentations
ü CD’s/ MP3s
ü Infographics
Work out a production
timetable so that you are
regularly producing new
content to fuel your
marketing and add it to
your consistent campaign.
7. Content
Content is where you give your target market
information that is useful or interesting and you
aren’t directly selling to them. With content,
you are educating your prospect.
Good content increases confidence,
demonstrates credibility and gets your
prospect wanting more. It also highlights
your expertise and knowledge.
This is important as sometimes propsects don’t
appreciate the expertise and knowledge you
have developed or what difference your service
can make to them.
By giving your prospects content, they start
to better appreciate your value.
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12. 12
8. Copywriting
Copy is about influencing people. It
is about getting them to take action. It
is selling in print.
John E Kennedy changed the face of
advertising in 1905 when he declared
that “advertising is salesmanship in
print”.
This is very true. Copywriting though is
no longer just for direct mail, brochures
and printed adverts. It is also for e-mail
and web sites; YouTube and MP3
scripts as well as elevator pitches and
sales presentations.
It is a large subject which is not well-
known, even among some copywriters.
I was asked to compile a list of key
copywriting principles. I have given
you 3 key principles opposite.
Note for (1): There are only 3 types of
headlines that work. In order of
effectiveness, they are:
1. Self-interest (e.g. How to …)
2. News (e.g. Announcing …)
3. Curiosity
Curiosity usually only works well when
combined with (1) or (2).
Key Copywriting Rules
1. The Headline is the Most
Important Part
Your headline is the most
important part of your copy. In
an e-mail this is the subject line, for
a YouTube video, presentation or
web page it’s the title.
2. Long copy outsells short
copy…provided it is of
interest to your prospects
You should write for the potential
buyer rather than the casual reader
which often requires more than one
side of A4.
3. You Must Offer Something
You must offer a product or
service for people to buy- but
only one. The more choice you
give people, the lower the reponse
you get.
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Engagement
You must make it easy for
prospects to engage with you
without feeling pressured. This
could be through:
ü Connecting on LinkedIn
ü Reading your blog
ü Watching your videos
ü Signing up for your e-book
or e-newsletter
ü Talking to you at networking
events
ü Attending your free talks
ü Following you on Twitter
9. Convenience
Convenience is a key factor in today's society.
The easier you make it for your target market
to:
1. Find you
2. Engage with you
3. Contact you directly (to enquire, meet or
buy)
The more likely you are to succeed.
You need to be where your target market is
either likely to look for or be open to your
service. This could be off-line, e.g. prominent
signage, conferences, networking events,
appearing in magazines etc., or on-line, e.g.
social media, high visibility on Google etc.
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14. 14
Choosing Channels
No marketing channel is
inherently good or bad. The
effectiveness of a channel
(when used properly) depends
solely on your target market as
profiled earlier.
For example, we have found
that fax works very well for
schools and traditional
industries (such as
manufacturing).
As a general rule:
Ø Offline channels inspire
more confidence than on-
line ones
Ø More traditional approaches
work better for older people
Ø Direct mail is still effective.
Ø Social media is great for
boosting your profile and
driving traffic.
Ø The more channels people
can use to contact you the
better.
10. Channels
Choosing the right marketing channels
for your business is often the biggest
marketing challenge. The majority of
businesses select which marketing
channels they invest their time and
money in by whim, fashion, personal
preference or advice (good or bad).
It is vital that you choose the right
channels for your business.
Otherwise, you are wasting your
marketing budget and time.
The only way to select your marketing
channels is to do some research and
identify those ones that your ideal
clients respond positively to. These
are the channels that they have
recently responded to or bought from
either through you or a competitor.
Once you have identified them then:
1. Find out the expected return rate
for each channel.
2. Find out how to use each channel
properly
3. Stick at using each channel for at
least 6 months.
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15. 15
Clear Measures
Ø Turnover
Ø Profit
Ø Number of new clients
Ø Number of prospect
meetings
Ø Number of responses to
each marketing piece
Ø Number of downloads from
your web site and/ or sign
up to your newsletter
Ø Number of clicks onto
campaign specific landing
pages
Ø Number of hits on your web
site
Ø Number of Twitter followers
and connections on
LinkedIn
Ø Number of views of your
YouTube videos
Ø Number of letters and e-
mails sent
11. Clear Measures
It is vital that you know where your
new business is coming from. It is
also important to know which
marketing channels and promotional
pieces are working and which aren't.
Many businesses can cut their
marketing spend and still win
more of the clients they want
simply by abandoning unsuccessful
channels/ promotional pieces and
putting some of the money and time
saved into the successful ones.
This section is very straightforward,
especially with so many on-line
channels having measures in place.
For other channels, you should give a
specific response for each piece and
measure that, for example in sales
letters you can give a phone number,
e-mail address and landing page
which is unique to that set of letters.
You need to have sub-measures as
well as key ones. Sub-measures
help bring about the key ones. You
can find an example breakdown
opposite.
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16. 16
12. Consistent and
Creative Campaign
This is the part where you get to
unleash your creativity. You and your
graphic designer need to determine
your visual strategy and the look for
each of your marketing channels such
as signage, brochures, web site etc.
You should have an overall on-going
general marketing campaign and
separate campaigns for specific
promotions such as events, seminars,
new services etc.
Most campaigns consist of a mix of:
• One-off activites (such as
producing a brochure, web site, the
addition of landing pages, writing a
an e-book, publishing a book,
producing a YouTube video etc.)
• Regular continuing activities (e.g.
direct mail, newsletters, e-mail, blog
articles, social media updates,
attending networking events etc.)
You should look to put the key pieces
into place (web site, brochure etc.)
before doing the regular activities.
Managing Your
Continuing
Campaign
Most businesses lose their edge
and the confidence they have built
up with prospects because they do
not keep their marketing campaign
going. There are many benefits
to doing this including having a
regular flow of new clients and
building confidence with new
prospects.
The easiest way to manage it is to
map out the month in Excel with
days across the top row and then
down the first column list the
regular channels you are using.
Put under each day the amount you
will do that day, e.g. send 10
marketing letters, do 6 tweets,
spend an hour on LinkedIn, write a
blog article or newsletter etc.
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17. 17
Next Steps Marketing the
Midlands
You can rest assured that we will
guide you and your company through
the complete SMART marketing
process and get the best results for
your business.
Contact :
Richard Fallon
Marketing the Midlands
35 St Paul’s Square,
Birmingham
B3 1ZQ
Mobile: 0778 9952251
Office: 0121 411 9947
E: richard@marketing-midlands.co.uk
Web: www.marketing-midlands.co.uk
The first thing to do now is go back
through each step in the process
and spend some time working
through it. The hardest steps are
the first few.
Once you have nailed down your
target market, done your research
and found out what your ideal
clients’ need, want and desire and
decided your position in the
marketplace, it starts to get easier.
I suggest you spend 4-6 mornings
developing your plan.
Good luck!
P.S. If you would like some
support then drop us a line. In
addition to producing your plan
we can deliver or coordinate its
implementation.
.The SMART Marketing Guide
