tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5624495250795191802024-03-08T14:31:22.106-05:00three60 marketing<center><b>marketing. public relations. branding. social media. advertising. innovation.</b></center>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-17428269405990492782014-07-26T11:32:00.001-04:002014-07-29T14:19:42.301-04:00The 5 P's of Marketing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Any Marketing 101 class will espouse the values of the 4 P’s of Marketing, or the “Marketing Mix”, consisting of Product, Place, Price and Promotion. However, the most important P may be one that isn’t traditionally included in this list: Perception.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Product refers to the physical goods being offered. This includes the product's design, its features and functionality and other tangible attributes. Place (or Placement) refers to the distribution channels where the product is offered i.e. online, in-store or through a dedicated sales force. Price is pretty self explanatory, but requires you to consider the profit margin required, the price elasticity of the market and where your product will be priced in relation to competitors. Promotion includes all methods of communication about the product, including advertising and public relations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although these four aspects of marketing provide a strong framework for marketing strategy, perception has become an increasingly salient piece of the mix as branding continues to play a larger role in marketing efforts. In fact, the entire concept of branding could be considered the art of shaping perception. A brand encompasses much more than just the company’s image; a clear brand identity sets the tone within a company, guiding operational decisions, customer service policies and company culture. However, consumer perception of a brand can make or break a company.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A company must focus on all aspects of the brand experience in order to ensure that consumers perceive the brand in a positive light. This includes advertising, customer service, packaging, product, etc. - Essentially, all of the 4 P’s listed above. The importance of brand has been amplified by the rise of social media as consumers have been empowered to shape others’ perceptions with a single post, tweet or shared photo. As a result, it is more critical than ever to consider all four P’s of the marketing mix as well as their effect on the other P: Perception.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-41855765580086417772014-04-22T10:44:00.001-04:002014-04-22T10:45:13.181-04:00Creating Breakthrough Innovations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What makes a product a breakthrough innovation? First, a breakthrough product is typically a commercial success. But plenty of products are commercially successful; a breakthrough is much more than that. A true breakthrough changes the market landscape in some significant way. Breakthrough products disrupt markets and business models and change the way people live. They change behaviors and lifestyles. In fact, they often change the world as we know it. Think iPhone, iPad, YouTube, 3D printers, Facebook, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But how do you develop a breakthrough product? There are countless products released every day, and a minuscule percentage of them will ever be considered breakthroughs. True breakthroughs typically take advantage of key gaps in the market, or “product opportunity gaps.” These product opportunity gaps are created by an interaction between various social, economic and technological trends. Examples of social trends include the increase of women in the workforce, population growth, changes in where people spend their time, and any other sociological factors. Examples of economic trends include recessions, financial booms, and any other factors that impact the way people spend their money. Examples of technological trends include the increasing prevalence of mobile phones, the inception of GPS and Bluetooth, or countless other technological factors that create new business opportunities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Although the right intersection of social, economic and technological trends can create a fertile environment for a breakthrough innovation, other factors must come into play in order to catapult a product to breakthrough status. Specifically, the product needs to be the right fit for the opportunity gap. It must provide the features and functionality that consumers require while delivering the form factor and design that make it a desirable product. It must hit the sweet spot on this form vs. function continuum by delivering just the right combination of desirability and functionality.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Finally, once the sweet spot has been successfully identified, the product must be priced, positioned and marketed to effectively exploit the product opportunity gap. This is where effective marketing comes in. A product may be the perfect fit for a product opportunity gap, but if the target market doesn't know that the product exists, then it's never going to become a breakthrough. This is why it’s critical for companies to consider marketing as a central factor during their new product development process. Market research and effective marketing are just as important as traditional engineering R&D when it comes to creating a breakthrough product.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-54220461974442986822014-02-19T11:20:00.000-05:002014-02-19T11:53:56.693-05:00How "Growth Hacking" Can Help You Rapidly Scale Your Business<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJULULPIrSS1jmox3J2SIaLarZqkbNu_5JW8puc9AcyUQR9yJOeO_PxMOsm6m1MfkjHwK1eobq5pgfILaFcE_5KtbtR1QQblS6DgdrmWysT1B7ap8N4qzS0hsUV9s-2ftQkM3wTTQ1RY/s1600/Business-Growth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSJULULPIrSS1jmox3J2SIaLarZqkbNu_5JW8puc9AcyUQR9yJOeO_PxMOsm6m1MfkjHwK1eobq5pgfILaFcE_5KtbtR1QQblS6DgdrmWysT1B7ap8N4qzS0hsUV9s-2ftQkM3wTTQ1RY/s200/Business-Growth.jpg" height="199" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Growth hacking" is a business and marketing concept that has been building momentum, particularly among tech start-ups. Essentially, growth hacking is the concept of scaling a company or product quickly by making data-driven decisions. It also dictates how the product or company is marketed to potential customers. Growth hacking eschews traditional marketing channels for low cost "guerilla" tactics that promote rapid growth. A key tenet of growth hacking is that it encourages businesses to take an outside-the-box approach to marketing, taking all aspects of operations into consideration when identifying growth opportunities.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This process starts with incorporating growth into the product itself. When developing a product, it is critical to make sure there is "Product Market Fit". Essentially, this means that there is a market, or a need, for your product. If you are developing another "me-too" product or a product that doesn't address any existing issue or void in the market, then you will never succeed with a growth hacking approach. The key to growth hacking is that you are offering something new and noteworthy. Even after you have developed a product or service with Product Market Fit, this process requires you to constantly iterate. Growth hacking relies heavily on usage analytics to continuously improve your product.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Once you have Product Market Fit and have implemented a process of constant improvement, you must determine the best way to hack your growth. Again, you should identify tactics that are outside of typical marketing channels. A good example of growth hacking is the way that Gmail grew during its beta stage. Each Gmail user received a finite number of invitations to the service that they could share with friends. Not only did this strategy encourage users to proactively tell their friends about Gmail, but it added a level of exclusivity to the service, making it even more attractive to potential users. Another excellent example of a company effectively implementing a growth hacking strategy is Dropbox. Each user receives a modest 2GB of cloud storage when they sign up for a free account, but they receive an additional 500 MB of space for every person they refer to the service. Just like Gmail, this encourages users to share the service with their friends, and in this case, provides a tangible incentive for doing so. A more subtle growth hacking example is the default "Sent from my iPhone" email signature. This broadcasts to every one of your email recipients that you are staying productive on-the-go by using an iPhone. Most successful growth hacking tactics are essentially word-of-mouth or buzz marketing strategies, but implemented in an innovative or unique manner.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Identifying these opportunities should be the job of everyone in the company, not just the marketing department. In fact, many companies utilizing growth hacking don't even maintain a formal marketing department. Instead, marketing has become the job of every employee.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-73795942708110765342014-01-14T09:31:00.001-05:002014-01-14T09:43:33.757-05:00Using Data to Optimize Your Marketing Efforts<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91CBvPAx_v73hzKbd9bpVV1BH_t2FSSa03qhmHfaxjGPru9TfP4mYoJ92qT2pKPxy1UsZc060xDFDxpWGzyzEPY2DOnDQs7Hpz4rmt-On4TlyHldTACOhCvPdb-MA07K2zxaNBD4xEYw/s1600/marketing+data.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg91CBvPAx_v73hzKbd9bpVV1BH_t2FSSa03qhmHfaxjGPru9TfP4mYoJ92qT2pKPxy1UsZc060xDFDxpWGzyzEPY2DOnDQs7Hpz4rmt-On4TlyHldTACOhCvPdb-MA07K2zxaNBD4xEYw/s320/marketing+data.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An ongoing criticism of social media marketing is that it offers an uncertain ROI. However, measuring ROI has always been a central challenge for marketers. Whether you work in marketing or not, you have probably heard some variation of the often quoted adage, "Only half of marketing works. The problem is, we don't know which half." Identifying which marketing efforts are the most effective has long been a significant hurdle for marketers, inhibiting our ability to optimize (or justify) our efforts.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite the ongoing concerns when it comes to social media ROI, this uncertainty is much more of an issue when it comes to traditional advertising channels such as television, radio and print ads. The predominant method of evaluating these channels - monitoring sales trends and trying to match them to recent ad campaigns - is an imprecise science at best. In fact, social media and other forms of online advertising finally change that. Digital marketing channels empower marketers with the best opportunity we have ever had to accurately track and identify what is working and what isn't. We can now track site visits, click-through rates, calls to action and many other online activities related to our marketing efforts. Meanwhile, search engine advertising platforms such as Google Adwords deliver extremely granular reporting while site analytics tools and A/B testing software enable marketers to optimize their efforts even further. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">However, many marketers are hesitant to use these tools because they have grown comfortable with the "spray and pray" approach. If they don't know which of their efforts are effective, then they can't be held accountable if things aren't going well. However, it is critical to overcome this complacency and utilize the many resources now available in order to ensure long-term success for your company.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-25039522831554954622013-12-05T13:52:00.000-05:002013-12-05T15:28:11.781-05:00Creating Brand Advocates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeXlnzv9Kfpl48ipBJzNOaH4iRJCsHnSN4p4OYawjEv3VvB4qa57K6g68AyhIAS_dgC2u4FYvoJBaD0TKzYOUe9dQxuY9dX8UwPkABgRvPgWW4gSPJJrCeqeS_MikCpfdou-qFzK2okQ/s1600/brand+advocates.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeXlnzv9Kfpl48ipBJzNOaH4iRJCsHnSN4p4OYawjEv3VvB4qa57K6g68AyhIAS_dgC2u4FYvoJBaD0TKzYOUe9dQxuY9dX8UwPkABgRvPgWW4gSPJJrCeqeS_MikCpfdou-qFzK2okQ/s320/brand+advocates.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Advertising can be an effective way of communicating your product or service, but the average consumer is reluctant to trust traditional advertisements. Referrals and word of mouth are much more effective ways to get your message heard because these methods come from trusted sources: friends and family. The best way to ensure positive word of mouth about your company is to create positive experiences for your existing customers. This is especially important in the age of social media, when every individual has the ability to communicate with hundreds, if not thousands, of people with a couple taps on their phone or clicks of their mouse. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By establishing a more personal connection with your customers, you can increase the chance that they will go out and tell their friends about you. To leverage your most enthusiastic customers, you can take this concept a step further and implement an official brand advocacy program. Many companies have set up VIP programs or "street teams" that reward their best customers for their loyalty. If you can make your brand advocates feel that they are "part of the team," they will spread your message and promote your brand to everyone they know. These brand advocates represent a sales force that you don't have to pay.</span><br />
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This concept doesn't need to be exclusive to your customers. It is important that your employees are also ambassadors for your brand. While many companies assume that their employees are already brand advocates, that's not always the case. You must make a conscious effort to cultivate a mindset of advocacy within your organization. This can be done with team-building exercises, company retreats, corporate culture initiatives, or simply by encouraging a sense of community and company pride.</span><br />
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NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-21694553700080419232013-11-05T10:45:00.001-05:002013-11-05T10:45:28.249-05:00Social media has redefined branding<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ADYqxRqXlM70xqEnV6dfgCYaX19FHMGRNct04QbwBTuQSi1Vouvihe146feaU20elhUXY0ea3jAJeEmO-pB3EheM-A7Q0AE0tAAXF5iKVfoH3Q94-kRCV4XjwnBwrbfjvHnBJBtPysQ/s1600/social-media-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ADYqxRqXlM70xqEnV6dfgCYaX19FHMGRNct04QbwBTuQSi1Vouvihe146feaU20elhUXY0ea3jAJeEmO-pB3EheM-A7Q0AE0tAAXF5iKVfoH3Q94-kRCV4XjwnBwrbfjvHnBJBtPysQ/s320/social-media-2.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before social media, a company shaped its brand primarily through advertising. It was easy to control the message and project the desired brand image. Since the advent of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus, Pinterest, etc., the game has changed dramatically. Companies now have a way to interact with customers and shape their brand in real-time. This can be either good or bad, depending on the company's approach to branding and marketing. Companies who were comfortable with and preferred a tightly controlled brand message are having a difficult time adapting to the new media landscape. On the other hand, companies who prefer a more customer-focused approach now have countless tools at their disposal.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In order to thrive in this environment, you must join the companies who have embraced social media and proactive customer engagement. Interacting with customers, responding to complaints (and compliments) and maintaining a social media presence are all essential parts of building your brand in this new marketing ecosystem. If you don't participate in social media, the conversation isn't going to stop just because you're ignoring it. Your customers are using social media on a daily basis and they're posting about their experiences with your company, good or bad. By accepting this fact and joining the conversation, you can leverage positive experiences, address negative situations, and build your brand in the process.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com196tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-290894870000519192013-10-02T14:10:00.001-04:002013-10-02T14:14:13.894-04:00How to make your company part of the conversation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's no secret that people prefer to read about relevant topics. When a headline mentions a recent news item or a trending topic, it is much more likely to be read. Your company may not always be in the news, but it is relatively easy to become part of the conversation. In fact, leveraging current events and interesting news items is one of the best ways to generate press for your business. Many PR strategies focus on what the particular company is doing, but it is often more effective to determine how your business can fit into what is already being talked about.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A good way to become part of the conversation is by establishing a reputation as a <a href="http://www.three60marketing.com/2011/10/become-expert.html" target="_blank">thought leader</a>. You can accomplish this with an informative email newsletter, thoughtful blog posts, an engaging online video or podcast, an educational e-book or frequent tweets or Facebook updates with useful advice. If you are seen as an expert in your field, news outlets will come to you for commentary on current events in your industry. This allows you to get media coverage even if your company isn't doing anything particularly newsworthy. Every time you are mentioned or quoted in the news further bolsters your position as an expert in your field.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Another way to become part of the conversation is to figure out how to tie your product or service to the current event. Even if there is no clear connection, be creative. There is always some way to connect your product to the story. At Harbortouch, we launched a campaign called "<a href="http://www.harbortouch.com/ditchthedongle" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ditch the Dongle</a>" earlier this year (a little alliteration never hurts). Mobile payment apps like Square have been in the news quite a bit lately, particularly within the tech and retail/restaurant industries. Square and other similar apps utilize a plastic "dongle" which plugs into the user's mobile phone to process credit card payments. Our campaign included press outreach, a landing page and an animated video explaining why these mobile dongles aren't the best solution for restaurants and retail stores. Hundreds of news outlets ended up covering our story and the landing page got thousands of hits. In this case, we didn't just want to join the conversation - we wanted to change its direction. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whether you want to simply join the conversation or actively change its direction, these tactics will help you obtain media coverage and gain exposure for your business.</span></div>
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NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-9874849925106219052013-08-28T11:40:00.001-04:002013-08-28T16:43:59.102-04:00Branding is more than a buzzword<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Along with "innovation" and "disruptive", branding has become one of the most overused words in business. This is unfortunate since branding is such an integral part of any company. The concept of branding may seem like marketing fluff to many who believe that the products a company produces or the services they provide are the only things that matter. However, branding defines a company's identity. This doesn't just refer to the perception that others have of the company (although that is certainly an important aspect of branding), but the brand also serves as a guiding force internally. A clear brand identity sets the tone within a company, guiding operational decisions, customer service policies and company culture.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; text-align: -webkit-auto;">One example of a brand guiding an entire company is Zappos. The company's brand revolves around their focus on customer service, starting with the company's "Family Core Values". These values are a driving force internally as well as a key tenet of the Zappos brand image. Or take Apple, whose focus on design and simplicity is not only present in its advertising, packaging, website and retail stores, but also guides virtually every product decision within the company, from hardware to software.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The most important thing to consider when building a brand is to remain consistent. If an advertising campaign focuses on customer service, but you have sub-par customer satisfaction, this message isn't going to resonate and you will quickly lose credibility. If your brand projects an irreverent, personable image, your customer service reps shouldn't be reading from robotic scripts. The most successful brands, the ones that stand the test of time, are those that have a strong identity both externally and internally.</span></div>
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<br />NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-55938479282859396552013-07-24T16:45:00.000-04:002013-07-24T16:45:44.939-04:00Blue Ocean Strategy<div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most business strategies focus on how to beat the competition. It seems obvious that the success of any business relies on its ability to outperform its rivals. However, Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim present another option in their widely-acclaimed business book "Blue Ocean Strategy". The book argues that you can actually make competition irrelevant by creating uncontested market space, or "blue oceans". Although finding these opportunities is certainly easier said than done, the book offers a comprehensive outline of the practices other companies have followed to create their own blue oceans.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The first step is to follow the "Four Actions Framework", a method of re-prioritizing attributes of an existing product or service in such a way that creates an entirely new category or industry where no relevant competitors exist. Essentially, you need to determine what consumers value most and increase the focus on these factors while reducing or eliminating the focus on unimportant factors. Most importantly, you must then introduce completely new factors that create unprecedented value. The "four actions" that comprise this process include:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eliminating factors that the industry takes for granted but are not valued by the customer</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Reducing factors that can be minimized without much negative impact on the customer experience</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Raising factors that are valued by the customer but are not adequately emphasized</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Creating factors that the industry has never offered but provide high value to the customer</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By reallocating resources and refocusing your offering, you can find uncontested market space within your industry (although you will essentially be creating an entirely new industry in the process). It is critical to pursue both value and innovation in order for this strategy to succeed. This means you need to keep costs low by reducing and eliminating factors in order to make it feasible to deliver the innovative factors that effectively differentiate the new offering. You can't create and raise factors without eliminating and reducing other factors (or at least you can't do it cost effectively enough to succeed in the long-term).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To identify areas of potential uncontested market space, the book offers six "paths" that you can follow:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Path 1 - Look across alternative industries (NetJets combines convenience, flexibility and service of private air travel with cost closer to commercial air travel)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Path 2 - Look across strategic groups within industries (Curves focuses on women, combining cost, convenience and nonthreatening environment of home workout programs with health club equipment and the motivation offered by a group workout atmosphere)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Path 3 - Look across the chain of buyers - Redefine the industry buyer group (Prescription drug companies began marketing directly to consumers instead of focusing on medical professionals)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Path 4 - Look across complementary product and service offerings (The addition of childcare to gyms and movie theaters, encouraging parents to patronize their business without having to worry about finding a babysitter)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Path 5 - Look across functional or emotional appeal to buyers - Rethink the functional/emotional orientation of the industry by adding a sentimental aspect to traditionally utility products or reducing emotional associations to create a simpler purchase process (Swatch adding image to utility of budget watch market)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Path 6 - Look across time - Participate in shaping external trends over time (Should only be followed if the trends you are leveraging are decisive to the business, irreversible and follow a clear trajectory)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is essential that you ignore long held beliefs and industry norms in order to move into new market space. If you try to compete with your rivals on the traditional terms, you will remain in a red ocean indefinitely. What blue ocean opportunities exist in (or outside) your industry?</span></div>
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NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-77766139818914998942013-06-24T09:58:00.001-04:002013-06-24T09:59:07.325-04:00Focus on your customers instead of your products<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGVEChn_Btf064xvLuGbE0y2sryt2NjlMOMyMtPDI02z7dOTLjDgYZ6JUdtBpFlVFKlAzoTlSoq26ubToJWwU9arHW1FhPB8bNReZaJGd5azCzLdthc_YVOK5wSkAMMro_i3_ICYSmIo/s1600/3-Innovation-Growth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxGVEChn_Btf064xvLuGbE0y2sryt2NjlMOMyMtPDI02z7dOTLjDgYZ6JUdtBpFlVFKlAzoTlSoq26ubToJWwU9arHW1FhPB8bNReZaJGd5azCzLdthc_YVOK5wSkAMMro_i3_ICYSmIo/s320/3-Innovation-Growth.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What business are you in? The way you answer that question will determine the long term success of your brand. If you answered that question by naming the product you sell, it is critical to expand that view of your business. Instead of focusing on your product, focus on your customers' needs. Whatever product you offer, you are really in the business of fulfilling certain needs. If necessary, shift your focus to meet these needs even if that means abandoning your product. In fact, if you focus on only the product, you are bound to become obsolete.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All industries go through distinct life cycles, from growth to maturity to decline. During the growth phase and maturity, it is easy to assume that the decline is nowhere in sight, but history tells us that all product life cycles will eventually come full circle. By focusing on consumer needs, your strategy will evolve with your market and organically adapt to changes in customer demand. A narrow focus on the product, however, will surely result in obsolescence. It is easy to become complacent during the growth and maturity stages of a product's life cycle but a lack of innovation to meet your customer's needs will ensure a quick decline once these needs begin to change.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take the example of the railroad industry. The railroad companies stopped growing because their executives incorrectly assumed that they were in the railroad business instead of the transportation business. They viewed themselves as providing a product instead of serving customers. Instead of figuring out ways to provide a better transportation experience for their customers or improve transportation as a whole, these companies focused solely on keeping the railroads running efficiently, even as the railroads were in obvious decline. A recent ad campaign for Amtrak asks viewers, "What if you could redesign business travel from scratch?" The answer highlights the way that Amtrak's service addresses various pain points typically associated with other forms of business travel. Judging by this ad, it seems that the railroad executives may have finally figured out that they are in the transportation business.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Instead of asking "What business are you in?" maybe you should be asking "What need are you fulfilling?". Forget your product and focus on your customers - that is the key to sustainable success.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>This post was inspired by the 1960 Harvard Business Review article "Marketing Myopia" by Theodore Levitt and summarizes many of the key points outlined in that article.</i></span><br />
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NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-47229481011184466902013-05-20T10:02:00.001-04:002013-05-20T10:02:41.333-04:00B2B + B2C = B2P<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is often assumed that B2B and B2C businesses must approach marketing very differently and utilize completely different strategies. While B2B marketing extols the benefits provided to a company and B2C is aimed at the individual consumer, when it comes down to it, you are still marketing to a person.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The black and white way of viewing B2B vs. B2C has shifted over the years, especially with the increasing influence of social media and other online channels that empower the individual. These channels have been the great equalizer, forcing marketers to treat their clients as people instead of "consumers" or "businesses". In essence, business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) have evolved into business-to-people (B2P).</span><br />
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B2P combines various aspects from both B2B and B2C. B2B has always involved more relationship building. A longer sales cycle has given B2B companies more time to connect and engage with their prospective buyers. However, social media has enabled this same type of relationship building for B2C brands, allowing these companies to connect and engage with their customers earlier in the sales process. B2C companies no longer have to wait until the customer is in the store to make an impact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the other side, B2C has always kept the focus solely on the individual. This is a strategy that B2B companies are now emulating by tailoring their pitch to the benefits provided to the buyer. These companies are essentially explaining how they can make a particular employee's job easier or improve performance that will in turn make the buyer look better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As B2B and B2C come together, it is essential for marketers to focus on relationship building and the benefits offered by their product or service, not whether their customer happens to be buying for themselves or for their company.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-7139086828997894092013-04-22T15:13:00.001-04:002013-04-22T15:20:40.608-04:00What Bottled Water Can Teach You About Marketing<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nowhere is the power of branding and marketing as clear as it is in the bottled water industry. Despite virtually zero product differentiation, bottled water has become a billion dollar business with a wide range of prices, many distinct brands and strong brand loyalty. Brands like smartwater, Fiji, Voss, and plenty others have effectively found a niche within an undifferentiated market.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This industry represents a microcosm of virtually every other market. Without any product differentiation, these companies have come to rely on branding as the only way to stand out. It is the ultimate test of branding, illustrating how powerful marketing and branding can be to influence consumer behavior.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you understand what has made these water companies so successful, you can apply the same marketing concepts to your own product. First, you need to create demand. Not that long ago, the idea of paying for water would have sounded absurd. Water is a commodity freely available from any faucet, yet some savvy marketers managed to create a demand for this product and over time have developed this demand into a need. Now it has become taboo to drink water straight from the faucet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The evolution of this market is similar to the way Listerine pioneered the mouthwash industry. The company started marketing its product in the 1920s as a cure for "chronic halitosis", an obscure term for bad breath. Before this ad campaign, bad breath had never been considered a cause for concern; now oral care is a multi-billion dollar industry. In both instances, savvy marketing effectively created a market out of thin air. <b><u>Find a problem that your product solves</u></b>, even if it isn't much of a day to day concern for most people, <b><u>and focus on the positive result</u></b>, whether it provides convenience, improved productivity, better health, more pleasure, etc.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ever since the market for bottled water was successfully created, branding has been a central aspect of the industry. First, there were variations of "spring water" and "purified water". Then, more savvy companies went beyond those standard distinctions to boast their "vapor distilled" (smartwater) or "artesian water" (Fiji & Voss), each sounding more exotic (and ridiculous) than the last. Consumers have flocked to these trendy water brands, the shape of someone's water bottle becoming something of a status symbol.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hopefully your product's differentiator is more tangible than these examples, but even if not, you can follow their lead to make yourself stand out. <u style="font-weight: bold;">The key is to find something (anything) that you can promote as being unique to your brand</u>. If you're product or service is virtually undifferentiated from the competition, then pick any characteristic of your product and herald the benefits of this particular attribute. Consumers will begin to associate your brand with these benefits, even if the attribute is something common in your industry (think about how Coors Light highlights how "cold" their beer is). It is all how you present and own these benefits in order to align them with your brand.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-665047691726953252013-03-20T12:17:00.002-04:002013-03-20T12:17:46.124-04:00Tell Your Brand's Story<br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: initial; border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A story is more engaging than a tagline. When you are trying to reach prospective customers, tell a story that they can connect with. This can be the story of your company or the story of your customers. Regardless of what the story is about, make it engaging.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, determine who the characters are going to be in your story. Is it your company's founder, one of your customers, or one of your employees? Once you have your main character, determine the plot. If you are telling the story of one of your customers, the plot can be how the product or service has benefited them. How has your product improved their life? Is there a challenge that it helped them overcome? Or tell the story of how your company was founded. What motivated your founder to start the business? What does the history of your company say about its values or current way of operating? If you are telling the story of an employee, describe how they contribute to the company and why their role is important.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whatever the story, make sure it is something that will resonate with consumers so that they want to make themselves part of the same story. That is the ultimate goal. You want your prospective customers to hear or read the story and feel a stronger connection to your company as a result. By telling a story, you are humanizing your company. A good story can make consumers root for you and feel invested in your success. This not only encourages them to purchase from you, but increases their loyalty to your brand.</span></div>
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NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-136061289922138632013-02-13T15:31:00.000-05:002013-02-13T15:31:20.694-05:00The Importance of Building a Strong Brand<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A strong brand is essential for connecting with consumers and helping your company stand out from the crowd. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">However, marketers often approach each advertising campaign, website or piece of sales collateral as individual, unconnected items instead of tying them together to form a cohesive brand image. Each marketing item should fit together like a puzzle and solidify your overall brand. It's this collective whole that defines how your company is perceived by consumers. This </span>brand image should always be taken into account when implementing any new ma</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">rketing project or your carefully crafted brand will erode over time</span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's beneficial to periodically conduct an audit of your brand to avoid this brand erosion<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">. The audit should include a comprehensive evaluation of all your marketing initiatives - from websites, to email templates, to sales sheets and brochures - to determine whether these items are all aligned with, and supporting, your brand. Make sure to look at these items as objectively as any consumer would. First, you need to decide if there is a cohesive brand at all. Then, assuming there is some branding in place, is this brand aligned with the message that you want to be communicating to customers and potential customers? In other words, is your brand sending the right message? What type of personality does your brand have? Is it all business, projecting a more professional image, or is your brand more casual, presenting your company as more personable? The appropriate brand image will depend heavily on your particular industry and whether you are selling B2B or directly to consumers. Regardless of the type of brand you want to embody, is your current branding presenting your company in the right light?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If your brand audit leaves you wanting more, don't fret. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">There are countless examples of successful brand turnarounds. Consider Old Spice, who just a few years ago had become a stodgy, irrelevant deodorant company. With the help of a very creative advertising campaign that went viral, the company has quickly become a model of a successful branding initiative.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Our company, Harbortouch, recently underwent a re-branding initiative which included both a name change and overall repositioning in the marketplace. We went from just another credit card processor with an innocuous name, United Bank Card, to a forward thinking, technology oriented company offering some truly differentiated products to our business clients. Although it first seemed like a daunting project, this re-branding project gave us the perfect chance to reevaluate our entire brand image. Since we needed to update all of our websites and marketing collateral with the new name and logo anyway, we were able to take the opportunity to make sure every item fit together into a cohesive whole. Since then, we have made a conscious effort to consider our branding when developing any new marketing materials or </span>implementing any new marketing initiative<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">. Make sure that you are doing the same for your company and you will see a tremendous improvement to your overall brand.</span></span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-24013304449043988762013-01-15T10:51:00.000-05:002013-01-15T10:51:50.694-05:00Be Disruptive, or Risk Being Disrupted<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWa2i7bnqy0uNTcmBglNs0ArSXNz19eT0sn9ZPoDA4m7kwm7m7w0ZS3ucrO7CgMafdjsyEVaGcNsCEY6NfxvZg7_gZt1FnRihb58DG9rvmH_eBoVi9kI9BoQYkFcfTpiWMb0htsYfqHU/s1600/iStock_000019568102XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvWa2i7bnqy0uNTcmBglNs0ArSXNz19eT0sn9ZPoDA4m7kwm7m7w0ZS3ucrO7CgMafdjsyEVaGcNsCEY6NfxvZg7_gZt1FnRihb58DG9rvmH_eBoVi9kI9BoQYkFcfTpiWMb0htsYfqHU/s320/iStock_000019568102XSmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The media loves to highlight "disruptive" companies and technologies - organizations that are shaking up the status quo in their respective industries. However, there are many businesses out there who are terrified of this type of change. If you are one of those that see change as a threat, then you need to learn how to embrace disruption if you want to thrive, or even survive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even if you are an established company,</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> you need to sometimes think like a start-up. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't wait to be disrupted. Be the disruptor. If you want to succeed in the long-term, you must be proactive instead of reactive. Identify the trends and make sure you are on the cutting edge. In fact, to be disruptive, you need to be ahead of the curve entirely. You need to blaze a trail into uncharted territory. If your ideas seem radical, even better; a radical idea is often just what is needed to innovate in an entrenched industry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Focus on moving your industry forward and you will earn genuine differentiation in the marketplace. When you have a product, service or business model that is truly unique (and better than the existing alternative), the market will come to you. </span><br />
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NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-71840605302607788592012-12-12T17:21:00.000-05:002012-12-19T16:45:23.859-05:00"Get Emotional" - How to Build an Emotional Bond With Your Customers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj04vCAghft2rWfUCPerS-Mi9y2euAHchqLMkcIMJ0ofiKXNenEytiSC8qhkk9wR6QmREXPQ7ALPfgvGASH-b4EhFfLfcHQci0XmRuWAtY_FnNUZPFVT4BX2aXw1oeT9H5KJFvSGVjp-CI/s1600/apple+marketing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj04vCAghft2rWfUCPerS-Mi9y2euAHchqLMkcIMJ0ofiKXNenEytiSC8qhkk9wR6QmREXPQ7ALPfgvGASH-b4EhFfLfcHQci0XmRuWAtY_FnNUZPFVT4BX2aXw1oeT9H5KJFvSGVjp-CI/s200/apple+marketing.jpg" width="163" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Build an emotional connection with your customers. This is what has made Apple so successful. While Samsung's recent series of humorous commercials point out the irrational level of loyalty many consumers feel towards Apple, there is a reason why many people refuse to buy a phone (or tablet or computer) from anyone else. It's not just the widely acclaimed Apple "ecosystem", although that is a strong retention tool. It's not just the focus on the design of the software and hardware, although that draws many to the brand. What really sets the company apart is their ability to elicit a personal connection with their customers that is unmatched among their competitors. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Apple customers are </span><i style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">passionate</i><span style="font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;"> </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">about the products and the company itself. You don't see any Samsung or Sony stickers on cars, but you see quite a few Apple logos. People have the same connection to Apple that they do to their favorite sports team (just listen to an Apple user argue with an Android or Windows user). This connection goes well beyond any rational appreciation for the company's products; it is a deeper psychological bond between brand and customer. </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Listening to an Apple fanatic talk about the company is like listening to a religious fanatic spreading the good word. In fact, a recent study found that Apple ads actually elicit a reaction in these customers' brains similar to those who experience religious devotion (Read about the study <a href="http://articles.cnn.com/2011-05-19/tech/apple.religion_1_apple-store-apple-employees-brains?_s=PM:TECH" target="_blank">here</a>, or <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-20064577-71.html" target="_blank">here</a>). While this may be taking it to an extreme, there is no denying the fact that the emotional connection Apple builds with its customers is a key factor in the company's success.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">This bond is not easy to create, but it is worth the effort. A personal connection with your customers is the most powerful marketing tool out there. This emotional bond can be developed through exceptional customer service (think <a href="http://three60marketing.blogspot.com/2011/05/importance-of-customer-service.html" target="_blank">Zappos</a>), an outstanding user experience, unparalleled quality or an overwhelming value. However, to truly emulate Apple's success with this strategy, you need to provide the full package. Every point of contact with your company should be flawless, and if it's not, you need to be able to go above and beyond to fix any perceived flaw. Marketing is the thread that holds this experience together. Every advertisement or piece of marketing collateral should reinforce the emotional bond that you have built. Each marketing message should remind your customers why you're more than just another company and why they should feel a connection to your brand.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-family: Tahoma; text-align: -webkit-auto;">How can you get started building this type of connection with your own customers?</span></div>
NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-11929493258519922152012-11-08T14:57:00.001-05:002012-11-08T15:00:05.684-05:00What's in it for me?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09GigKn416p169mUGiHARWehrY08TGa9K1CXzW-tzfCrbFNOZ187PlEWzNAoaOd3cFUv2BdAczDlBjWKp3QYgfgLFGE8aJtNLSofaF78btRiYCbAyZx0fPRsmLrs2wJOG6CCpfEeYP0c/s1600/whats+in+it+for+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi09GigKn416p169mUGiHARWehrY08TGa9K1CXzW-tzfCrbFNOZ187PlEWzNAoaOd3cFUv2BdAczDlBjWKp3QYgfgLFGE8aJtNLSofaF78btRiYCbAyZx0fPRsmLrs2wJOG6CCpfEeYP0c/s200/whats+in+it+for+me.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your marketing message should always be highlighting how your product will help your customers. Although it should be obvious, this marketing fundamental often gets forgotten. All of your promotional material should answer the customer's most salient question: "What's in it for me?"</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At Harbortouch, we sell hardware and software so it's easy to get caught up on a particular product's specs or a comprehensive feature list, but this isn't always the best way to present our products. Remember your audience. You will quickly lose a potential customer's interest if they can't relate to your jargon or see how your product will benefit them. </span><br />
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Don't include a laundry list of technical specifications. Instead of focusing on features, focus on what those features actually mean to the customer. Show different use cases that will resonate with the audience, illustrating ways in which they would actually use the product. Show the prospective customer how you can help improve their life. Instead of listing cold technical specifications, give them the "warm and fuzzies". Identify their pain points and deliver a solution.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To illustrate this point, let's take a look at the processor specifications listed for a smartphone on Verizon Wireless's website:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Processor: 1.5 GHz dual–core processor with 1 GB of LP DDR2 RAM"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the time you get to "1.5 GHz," your eyes have probably already glazed over. The problem is that this approach doesn't answer the vital question, "What's in it for me?"</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the other hand, Apple focuses solely on the benefits to the user. In fact, they don't even divulge the exact speed of the processor in their newest iPhone:</span><br />
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"With the new A6 chip, just about everything you do on iPhone 5 is noticeably faster... So apps launch, web pages load, and email attachments appear almost instantly. The A6 chip also offers graphics performance that’s up to twice as fast as the A5. So you can power through graphics-intensive apps and games. And enjoy higher frame rates for smoother, more realistic gameplay."<br />
<br />After reading this passage, it is easy to see why you would want the A6 chip because the text relates the speed of the processor to the tasks you use your phone for on a daily basis. If a potential customer doesn't understand how a particular feature will benefit them, then all the megahertz and gigabytes in the world aren't going to get them to buy your product.<br />
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</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-21224896264245418152012-10-01T15:12:00.002-04:002012-10-01T15:12:57.253-04:00The Personal Touch<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWqZsIEj-5l3hI9pNKyD5GCBqWjrNIaiW1PpBL8ymnr0gd1mRERqkJNAhzEYQgu4NyE5q0gn61uVP0RofKaarpjD4c2Trg6OewNlOaDl1WsWnyrP2GXte7BmUWrt83kC3NJdY3yNK4qU/s1600/whiteglove_800x598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbWqZsIEj-5l3hI9pNKyD5GCBqWjrNIaiW1PpBL8ymnr0gd1mRERqkJNAhzEYQgu4NyE5q0gn61uVP0RofKaarpjD4c2Trg6OewNlOaDl1WsWnyrP2GXte7BmUWrt83kC3NJdY3yNK4qU/s320/whiteglove_800x598.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In this digital age, when emailing, texting, tweeting and posting on a friend's Facebook wall are the primary ways of communicating for most people, a personal touch can go a long way. This especially holds true for companies that offer a high ticket product or service. When you're making a sales call, actually make a phone call. Even better, set up an in-person meeting or take your prospect out for lunch. That doesn't mean you shouldn't leverage more technological means of communication; a periodic email to check in with your current customers or to follow up on a recent meeting is always a good idea, and if you can connect with them via social media, go for it. But it's important not to forget the power of actual human contact.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is critical to build rapport and a personal connection with your customers if you want to secure a long-term relationship. At Harbortouch, I work with many different vendors and the level of customer service varies considerably from company to company. We have some vendors that are always available via phone or email and even visit our office periodically to bring the important points of contact out for lunch. On the other hand, there are some vendors that we rarely hear from and don't respond to inquiries even when we try to reach out to them. We are often approached by competitors of our current vendors who try to persuade us to switch allegiances. I can tell you that our vendors who provide a personal touch are much more likely to withstand the test of time, while the vendors who are unreachable are hanging on to our business very tenuously. We all know that it is significantly more expensive to obtain a new customer than to keep an existing one, so why not put in a little extra effort to build and nurture the relationships with your current clients?</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-62409721800170678322012-08-28T09:50:00.000-04:002012-08-29T11:44:00.690-04:00Why Controversy Isn't A Bad Thing<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA36wT_KPjdWpc41Eth4hsL95ddYVQSpWHkd7R-lXRlfVzjH9GFAvwlwr56j6IfgugI-81fiCbh37Mf2JLc8j02bDcV_o9Nb6mNl-kXAOD5CI4kAxT9e5G8eGpGQfy3eaAMIB7ilxCbiw/s1600/censored.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA36wT_KPjdWpc41Eth4hsL95ddYVQSpWHkd7R-lXRlfVzjH9GFAvwlwr56j6IfgugI-81fiCbh37Mf2JLc8j02bDcV_o9Nb6mNl-kXAOD5CI4kAxT9e5G8eGpGQfy3eaAMIB7ilxCbiw/s200/censored.png" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When most people think of "controversy", they have a negative connotation of the word. Controversial topics are taboo, and controversy is thought of as something to be avoided. However, people are also attracted to controversy. It makes ordinary things more interesting, and more importantly for businesses, it garners attention and gains exposure. Just like the saying goes, "There is no such thing as bad press" (up to a point, of course).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Controversy doesn't necessarily mean something is offensive; any idea that disrupts the status quo can usually be considered controversial to some degree. There are countless mainstream brands and companies like Facebook and iTunes that could be considered to fall into this category. <span style="background-color: white;">At Harbortouch, we are well known within the payments industry for this. In 2004, we launched a free credit card terminal program.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background-color: white;">Prior to this initiative, merchants had to purchase or lease their processing equipment at a cost of hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. For obvious reasons, our free option caused a lot of push-back in the industry from entrenched competitors who made their money selling the equipment; however, our approach quickly became the industry standard. We shook up the industry again in 2009 with our free cash register program and in 2011 with a free touch-screen point of sale system program. </span></span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Most people are innately averse to change, so anything that is perceived as out of the ordinary can cause a stir. However, when you try to kowtow to existing norms and accepted practices, that's when products and companies fall into mediocrity and eventually obscurity.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many companies have taken a calculated risk in leveraging controversy in their favor. Godaddy's controversial Super Bowl commercials were the catalyst that catapulted the company to its place as the largest domain registrar in the world. It's hard to differentiate yourself in a market as innocuous as website domain registrations, but GoDaddy managed to stand out and is now four times the size of its closest competitor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So what are you waiting for? Push the envelope, stir the pot, and stand out from the crowd.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-50697893137207847502012-07-16T11:49:00.000-04:002012-09-27T16:36:13.926-04:00How to Utilize Permission Marketing<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hWAIU5CDLIRFBOAEuEW-8b4q_aXfrMHp0RMxMW4egYA3TQxph4Q2aVAaY8m0fJ-Kwqr6nSZ5usFGPUEitkI5eSID-dIsjKhynqNlHsHbkmpiiJ4jWWt_v-Jhjf1Fy2KMDC9oTJNX9Fw/s1600/permission-marketing.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-hWAIU5CDLIRFBOAEuEW-8b4q_aXfrMHp0RMxMW4egYA3TQxph4Q2aVAaY8m0fJ-Kwqr6nSZ5usFGPUEitkI5eSID-dIsjKhynqNlHsHbkmpiiJ4jWWt_v-Jhjf1Fy2KMDC9oTJNX9Fw/s200/permission-marketing.jpeg" width="145" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently finished Seth Godin's book "Permission Marketing". Written in the pre-social media days, the book was way ahead of its time. In short, it's all about obtaining increasing levels of permission from existing and prospective customers in order to more effectively build a relationship with them. For example, a low level permission may be a Facebook like or a Twitter follow, while a slightly higher level could be providing an email address or other contact information, with another level being the completion of a survey on an individual's interests or preferences. As you learn more about these consumers and earn higher levels of permission, you can then target them with sales pitches or ads that are more relevant, anticipated and personal. </span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Taken to the extreme, companies like Google, Amazon and Apple have accounts that require a very high level of permission including payment information and other personal details. These accounts track the individual's shopping behavior and preferences, furthering the personalization process. These companies are then able to provide highly customized product recommendations and tailor the individual shopping experience for each customer. They have been able to leverage this high-level permission for unparalleled success.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;">Godin stresses the importance of taking it slow and increasing your level of communication over time commensurate with the level of permission that has been granted by that individual. You do not want to overreach your level of permission and prompt the consumer to revoke your permission entirely. </span><span style="background-color: white;">As you move up the permission ladder, your marketing efforts can become more personalized, more relevant and will be increasingly anticipated by that particular individual.</span></span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can facilitate the progression through these levels of permission by gaining the consumer's trust. You want to move from awareness to familiarity to trust to purchase, with trust being the catalyst from awareness and familiarity to purchase. Trust can be achieved in various ways. You can give your company a personality, via social media or other channels of communication, to become more than just another brand. You can also position your company as an expert through thought leadership pieces such as informative blog posts, white papers, podcasts, etc. You will also earn their trust in the way you manage the permission they have granted you.</span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By building trust and taking the time to nurture your relationships with current and potential customers, they will be willing to grant you an increasing level of permission which will ultimately allow you to lock in that customer and make more sales.</span></div>
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NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-64837827168566622912012-06-18T11:56:00.000-04:002012-06-18T11:59:21.600-04:00The Allure of Exclusivity<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50ylj8SOnXis01hg3wYDpLTBdW-w13shJu-1Lrkurk-vxSCR_Mt_VQB1RXtHUu_j8rKmlXHvDPmjcRXW4dh_1sut4m-ufd5Z4tUWljSfRWwZ8r_hedUjdXaBeua_eEkmoqyiUI6jspMQ/s1600/VelvetRope1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg50ylj8SOnXis01hg3wYDpLTBdW-w13shJu-1Lrkurk-vxSCR_Mt_VQB1RXtHUu_j8rKmlXHvDPmjcRXW4dh_1sut4m-ufd5Z4tUWljSfRWwZ8r_hedUjdXaBeua_eEkmoqyiUI6jspMQ/s200/VelvetRope1.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everyone wants to be on the inside. They want to be part of the inner circle, a member of the in-group. When companies create an environment of exclusivity, they are appealing to this innate desire for inclusion.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's common practice for new technology companies, whether developing a new social network or a mobile app, to offer a limited number of "beta" invites before providing access to the general public. This does more than supply the company with a test environment for their product; it creates a buzz due to the exclusive nature of these invitations. Pinterest, which recently skyrocketed in popularity to become one of the hottest social networks, started out by requiring users to sign up for a waitlist to join. Similarly, in the early days of Gmail, now probably the most popular web-based email client, you had to be invited to set up an account by someone who already had one. Another example is the music streaming service Spotify which recently took the US by storm, initially launching in this country with a limited number of account invitations. You can even trace Facebook's unprecedented success back to its days as an exclusive, college-only social network requiring a ".edu" email address to join, a differentiating factor that helped propel it past existing competitors like MySpace and Friendster.</span></div>
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leveraging the allure of exclusivity is a practice that has been utilized by businesses long before these Internet companies entered the fray. Country clubs and other exclusive members-only organizations have been around for ages. Another prime example of this strategy being used effectively is American Express, which has turned its cardholders into a membership "community". They even go a step further by offering different levels of exclusivity; starting with their entry-level Green card, all the way up to the pinnacle of exclusivity, the Centurion Card, or Black Card as it's more commonly called. These examples also add the incentive of special treatment; not only are the customers included in an exclusive group, but they are receiving the VIP treatment as well.</span></span><br />
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<span style="border-collapse: separate; border-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Any type of closed community with even the most superficial barrier to entry, whether its a VIP rewards program or members-only community, helps foster an exclusive atmosphere and appeals to our natural inclination towards being included. How can you make your customers feel as though they are part of an exclusive group?</span></span></div>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-4932545518438140032012-05-21T11:58:00.000-04:002012-05-21T17:49:38.378-04:00Taking A 'Startup' Approach To Marketing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDajTXJmqIVFll02MHQbvcpZAlXoZFC3W4Wd-ciBS7cuUpoC6BiMcXf6hsE5McMDtESOXTJW_-EQUtFPY4N-ub-u4ohyphenhyphen19kUuN76c2ZwGqZzEbICUmvdAkugd_xQWlFu836idRLvuiYBI/s1600/entrepreneur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDajTXJmqIVFll02MHQbvcpZAlXoZFC3W4Wd-ciBS7cuUpoC6BiMcXf6hsE5McMDtESOXTJW_-EQUtFPY4N-ub-u4ohyphenhyphen19kUuN76c2ZwGqZzEbICUmvdAkugd_xQWlFu836idRLvuiYBI/s320/entrepreneur.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Startup" and "entrepreneur" have recently become buzzwords in the lexicon of American culture. Most people associate these terms with the latest Internet and mobile technology companies. They think of people like Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook, Jack Dorsey of Twitter (and more recently Square), Dennis Crowley of Foursquare, etc. However, these terms really describe a particular approach to business, not any specific industry type. Any retail store, service provider, or small business can fit the bill if they're in the right mindset.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even if you're not building the next Facebook or Twitter, you can still harness the startup mentality at your own company. What differentiates a startup from just another new business and an entrepreneur from a traditional business owner is a set of common attributes held deep within the DNA of the company or founder. Entrepreneurs have a spark, an intense drive that propels them to succeed. They believe in what they are doing. For entrepreneurs, their work is more than just a way to earn a paycheck; it is something that they are truly passionate about. This attitude is a defining characteristic of most startups and is what sets them apart from other businesses. Startups are companies that are trying to make a dent in the universe. They are permeated with enthusiasm for what they're doing and an aura of excitement that is impossible to fake. Not all small businesses possess these characteristics, and larger companies often lose touch with them as they grow.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can also tap into this energy to improve your marketing efforts. It is a lot easier to convince prospective customers how great your product is when your company actually believes it. People are attracted to authenticity. The startup mindset resonates with consumers and helps your marketing efforts resonate as well.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It shouldn't come as a big surprise that startup entrepreneurs have become akin to rock stars lately; there is an allure associated with building something from the ground up and succeeding. It's the American dream, the ability to control your own destiny. Most people fantasize about taking the reigns and following this path. They dream of being their own boss, but they are afraid of the risks and uncertainties involved. They are used to a 9-to-5 routine that offers security and a regular paycheck. The kind of people who are willing to take these risks and build a startup take the same approach to their business decisions. Startups remain nimble and are not afraid of change; in fact, they are often the catalyst for change. These are the companies that take risks and disrupt industries. They shake up the status quo. This is what the words "startup" and "entrepreneur" really embody. These words don't necessarily refer to a specific industry; they describe a certain mindset that more companies would benefit from emulating in any industry.</span><br />
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<br /></div>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-85487434814407868332012-04-25T11:43:00.000-04:002012-04-25T11:43:35.306-04:00What happens in Vegas shouldn't stay in Vegas - How to make the most of trade shows<br />
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<span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've been to Las Vegas for two different trade shows in the past month. Although the city has a notorious reputation for debauchery, it's also an unparalleled hub for business. If you're going to any trade show, whether in Vegas or at your local VFW hall, there are a few things to consider to ensure a successful experience.</span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-collapse: separate;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1. Even if you can't afford a booth, <b>the first step is to show up</b>. Purchase an attendee badge (or see if they have a free option available) so you can at least walk the floor to network with potential customers and conduct some competitive research.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2. <b>If you have a booth, feature something unique to draw people in.</b> At the recent Nightclub & Bar Show, there was a booth for an extermination company. You'd think that this booth would quickly be overlooked at a show that featured countless beer and liquor companies offering free samples. However, the exterminators featured an assortment of live creepy crawlers such as tarantulas and scorpions, delivering a crowd that rivaled even the liquor companies. There are countless ways to draw attention to your exhibit: free giveaways, a putting green, a raffle, an open bar, models. At another trade show, I saw one company that had a live monkey in their booth (animals are pretty much a guaranteed hit). At the very least, make sure to have a live product demo. You're competing for the limited attention of the attendees; no one is going to take the time to stop by a boring booth just to grab your brochure.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">3. <b>Be prepared</b>. A large portion of the work that goes into a trade show takes place prior to the event. The first step is the booth itself. A professionally designed exhibit will help you put your best foot forward. Also make sure that it is set up during the designated installation times before general attendees are allowed on the show floor. You will also want to bring ample marketing materials and plenty of business cards to hand out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">4. <b>Try to close the sale right at the show</b>. This means that you should bring order forms and any other purchasing paperwork that's going to be required. While people are surrounded with the excitement of the convention, they get wrapped up in the moment and will be more likely to pull the trigger on a purchasing decision. Once people leave the show, they quickly lose enthusiasm and you lose momentum. Granted, some purchasing decisions require additional time and consideration, but at least try to get a hard commitment out of the prospective customer if possible.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">5. <b>Take advantage of after-hours activities.</b> Prospective customers often have their guards down at the convention's happy hour and other evening events. This offers a more informal venue for networking and provides an excellent opportunity to build a connection when they're not feeling as defensive against sales. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">6. </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Leverage the media in attendance.</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Trade shows and conventions are always prime locations to get face time with reporters from industry publications. They're there looking for a story - give them a reason to use yours. Obtain a media list from the show organizers prior to the convention and reach out to potential contacts to pitch your story, pique their interest and, ideally, set up a time to meet with them at the show. Put together a basic press kit with some of your marketing collateral and recent press releases to hand to the media at the show, or leave a few in the press area with your business card.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">7. </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Don't let what happened in Vegas stay in Vegas.</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> This is probably the most important one to remember. Follow up with all your leads after the show. You want to stay fresh in their minds and avoid losing momentum. You likely invested significant time, resources and capital to attend the show; don't throw this investment away. </span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-4212350668874672092012-04-02T16:24:00.000-04:002012-04-02T16:24:31.802-04:00How To Make An Impact With Your Marketing<br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At Harbortouch, it is our M.O. to shake up the industry on a fairly regular basis. We have been widely acknowledged for our ground-breaking initiatives since 2004, when the company forever changed the credit card processing industry with the launch of the first free credit card terminal program. </span><br />
<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Prior to this initiative, merchants had to purchase or lease their processing equipment at a cost of hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars. For obvious reasons, our free option made quite a splash, quickly becoming the industry standard while vaulting us to #19 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the country (we followed up the next year with a #6 ranking). In 2009, we took this concept to the next level, partnering with Casio Electronics to offer a free electronic cash register with integrated credit card processing capabilities. On January 1, 2011, we upped the ante again, offering an unprecedented free touch-screen point-of-sale (POS) system. This initiative was a resounding success, leading us to follow-up a year later with the addition of a new high-end model to the free POS line-up, Harbortouch POS Elite, along with various other enhancements to the program.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Each of these announcements, especially the more recent ones, were accompanied by a high-impact marketing campaign. Prior to the launch of our free cash register program, we ran a series of ads that announced "Something Big Is Coming". We complemented this with an email campaign exclaiming "Something big is coming", "It's really big" and "It's bigger than you think". Prior to the launch of our free POS program, we ran a similar "teaser" campaign that heralded "The next wave in the payments industry". Most recently, in advance of the Harbortouch POS Elite announcement, we ran ads stating simply "Get ready".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In essence, our ground-breaking product launches and our high impact marketing are two sides of the same coin. These types of ad campaigns and our tendency towards such revolutionary initiatives are both reflective of our overall company culture. Despite having over 200 employees, Harbortouch has start-up roots (founded by our CEO and CTO in our CEO's parents' basement), and as such, we have maintained the type of fast-paced and flexible operations which are typically associated with smaller companies. This has allowed us to push the envelope with innovative new programs (along with progressive marketing campaigns) which many other companies may have balked at in favor of a more conservative path. This strategy has enabled us to truly disrupt our industry and experience tremendous growth in the process.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You are not going to make a dent on the universe by following the easy route. Instead, go all in. Don't be bashful; make an impression.</span><br />
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<br /></div>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-562449525079519180.post-74400264897011667902012-03-06T16:13:00.001-05:002012-04-02T16:26:38.191-04:00Create A Brand Ecosystem<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I recently saw a quote from Google CEO Eric Schmidt describing the fact that consumers now choose which "ecosystem" they want to buy into when selecting their mobile phones, tablets and other gadgets - currently a choice between Google, Apple and Microsoft. The concept of a consumer ecosystem is an interesting one, and it goes well beyond the technology sector. In fact, a wide range of businesses can utilize a similar approach to their own operations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Whatever your business, consider creating an ecosystem for your customers (although you may have to stretch the definition a bit). This could apply to various aspects of your business, from the shopping experience to product usage. Experience is the key word here. You want to create an all-encompassing experience for your customers, and most importantly, a positive one. The goal is to create your own little branded universe.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_THAmC6aAMsv2p7m5TuBFXufmGJdHCSYXnqrm0sXII0NjJBZYdZp9f0Rh5ME7mOfxANRqOJ8jUaJdMEM_dumJe_NEWYl2EJSKyxCmjZlAmtE59HlkC3g0HRJISOJS3J0ky42RIBqzLE/s1600/MagicHatLogo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="147" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_THAmC6aAMsv2p7m5TuBFXufmGJdHCSYXnqrm0sXII0NjJBZYdZp9f0Rh5ME7mOfxANRqOJ8jUaJdMEM_dumJe_NEWYl2EJSKyxCmjZlAmtE59HlkC3g0HRJISOJS3J0ky42RIBqzLE/s200/MagicHatLogo.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On a recent trip to Vermont, I visited the Magic Hat Brewing Company. If you're unfamiliar with Magic Hat beer, the company is a unique microbrewery with a very distinctive brand image. As the guide on our brewery tour explained, when the company was founded in 1994, the founders noticed that most micro-brewed beers featured the same innocuous, forgettable branding. They decided that they could stand out from the crowd by creating an off-the-wall brand to go along with their unique (and delicious) beer. While Magic Hat is an excellent example of effective branding, they are also notable for creating a brand ecosystem. As soon as you walk into the windowless building that houses the brewery, you enter the Magic Hat universe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You're greeted by a darkly lit room filled with eclectic, funky decor. A bar along one wall of the main room offers free samples of beer. Every aspect of the brewery fits into the carefully crafted Magic Hat universe. This universe extends to their actual beer as well. Each of their beers has a unique style and branding (#9, Blind Faith, Hocus Pocus and Fat Angel to name a few) but all fit within the Magic Hat universe. Even if you're not able to visit the brewery, you can still be a part of the Magic Hat ecosystem. On the underside of each beer cap is a witty saying, making the customer feel like they are part of an inside joke, part of a community. In fact, community is a large part of this strategy. Social media is a great starting point for this, allowing you to keep customers immersed in your ecosystem even when they're not shopping or actively engaged (or in this case, drinking beer). Magic Hat builds community with multiple Twitter accounts, an active community on Facebook, various contests, and special events such as their annual Mardi Gras parade in Burlington, VT.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By creating an ecosystem for your customers, you can build community, increase loyalty and rule your own universe.</span>NHhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04826464370839490521noreply@blogger.com0