Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, branding, copywriting, marketing
Effective marketing does not have to cost a fortune – it just needs to have the right persuasive techniques employed. By using these five persuasive marketing techniques, you will be able to create advertising that will, over time, increase your brand recognition and increase your revenue. Using these five principles and see what happens to your message!
Be Frequent and Consistent - A lot of small businesses become discouraged when their advertising efforts don’t bring about the desired results. There are no marketing techniques for “instant” results, but employing your message on a regular, frequent schedule over a continuous period of time will, in most cases, pay off. Effective advertising requires getting your persuasive message in front of your market as often and as consistently as your budget allows.
Create Comprehension - The first principle in creating a persuasive message is comprehension. Readers should be able to instantly understand the message of your marketing piece. To create instant comprehension:
- Make sure your message is clearly stated with text and illustrated in the graphics.
- Use the principle of repetition to emphasize your message.
- Keep the message simple.
Build an Emotional Connection - The second principle for creating a persuasive message is connection. Readers will remember and respond to an advertisement that evokes an emotional response that helps them relate to your message. To create an emotional connection:
- Use a message that has meaning and significance for your target market.
- The message should trigger an emotional response – excitement, happiness, nostalgia, passion, etc.
- Use an emotional message that calls readers to action.
Be Credible - The third principle for creating a persuasive message is credibility. Your target audience needs to be able to believe your message. This ties back to the reputation of your business as well as the message being used in your campaign. To create credibility:
- Have high customer satisfaction standards for your business.
- Use ethical business practices based on integrity to build a believable reputation for your business.
- Use an emotional message that your target audience can believe.
Be Contagious - The fourth principle for creating a persuasive message is contagiousness. Think of the Gieco gecko: he is cute, he is funny, he is clever, and he is memorable. How can anyone resist this witty little reptile? To create contagiousness:
- Incorporate elements of humor, likeability, cleverness, and energy.
- Coin a memorable slogan or catch phrase that will stay with your target audience.
- Make sure your message is able to evoke an emotional response that will have your target audience talking about it and will motivate a demonstrable reaction.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: business card printing, business cards, marketing
Before rushing into the all-important task of business card printing, take a moment to think about the role of your contact card. A business card should say something about you and your company. It should bring recall to the conversation between you and the client long after you have parted. Therefore, designing a business card should be carefully completed. Here are five considerations to keep in mind for creating a memorable business card.
- Stand out in a crowd – At any business event where everyone is passing out their business cards, attendees usually come away at the end of the day with a handful of contact cards. Yours should accurately and uniquely represent your company. Don’t make the mistake of creating a design that gets lost in the crowd, but rather one that stands out.
- Subliminal messages – The meanings of colors is a powerful way to convey certain feelings. Taking the time to research the different messages that each color sends will result in more than just a colorful card, it will also send the right kind of message.
- Tactile advantages – One important aspect to business card printing that many people forget about is the feel of the card. When touching your card, a client will associate any unusual tactile sensation with your personality. Try velvet for a more gentle message or sharp edges for an “all-business” corporate association.
- Quality stock – Using cheap paper tells others that what you have to offer is cheap. Prospects will have trouble believing that your product has the best features of any available if your contact information is printed on flimsy, low-quality stock.
- Speak clearly – The typography you choose for your text needs to not only represent your business image but should also be easy to read. Business cards do not allow for large a font, which means that the type of font you use should be easily readable in a small size. Too many curlicues will hide the shape of the letters, so opt for something a little more easy to see.
Always consider these five aspects of design before printing business cards to insure that yours accurately and uniquely represents your company image.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: advertising, branding, brochures, business cards, marketing, printing
Whether you are a new company looking for ways to make sure your brand is successful or a company that has tried and tried again but just can’t seem to get your brand to stick, there is a solution. When a brand flops, it is usually due to the same few mistakes. Your business can create a successful brand simply by knowing the most common reasons for branding failure and know how to correct them.
No Memorable Image – Some companies make the mistake of creating a logo without a memorable image. Make sure that the image in your logo is something that is uniquely yours and is appropriate for your company. Think of the Nike logo – the swoosh image is not only one-of-a-kind but also appealing to their target audience. The swoosh looks athletic.
Inconsistency - In every single item that is associated with your company, whether color posters or packaging materials, consistently use the same core branding aspects. The same logo, company name, tagline will reinforce your brand over and over to the public. For the same reason, you will need to give employees the same business card design for further branding consistency.
No Focus – What do you do best? What do you want to be known for? Whether it is one-on-one personalized service or the newest technology, constantly reinforce this unique offer. Also, know who your company appeals to. Know your target market so that you don’t waste your branding efforts on an audience that doesn’t have a need for your services. Knowing your target audience will further help you fine tune your company image to fit your customers’ needs and lifestyle.
Unbelievable Message – Your tagline and core message should be believable to customers. If you advertise like Verizon Wireless that “we never stop working for you,” you’d better follow through and never stop working for a customer when they come to you with a complaint about your service or product.
Poorly Constructed Message – In order for your customers to both remember and believe your message and tagline, they need to be able to understand what it is you are offering. If your message is jumbled with too many technical terms, your customers will get frustrated and give up trying to understand you. Be clear with your words and phrases so that customers know exactly what you offer and also what sets you apart from your competitors.
Poor Maintenance – Ever heard the phrase “keep on keeping on?” Don’t just stop with one marketing campaign, one run of color posters, one printing of brochures. Your marketing campaigns should be ongoing and constantly putting your brand in front of your target market. This concept is at the heart of successful branding. Most brands are successful simply because they become recognizable because they are always in the public eye.
Poor Customer Service – Train employees on your mission and goals. If your employees don’t know the image your company wants to portray, how can you expect them to portray this image to your customers? Employees should know the reason for your tagline; they need to be excited about making your brand known to customers.
Old Marketing Materials – Keep your look fresh by re-designing your marketing materials, including flyers, brochures and postcards every so often. While it does save money to order larger quantities, don’t order too much or you’ll bore your target audience with the same materials year after year. Just remember to keep your key branding items the same.
No Word of Mouth Advertising – One of the most common reasons for customers to switch companies is through referrals from their friends and family. Give existing customers referral postcards with a 10% discount for new customers, and give your existing customers the same for every postcard with their name on it that gets used. When you get positive feedback from customers, ask if you can use it in your brochures or place it on your website. Referrals help to reinforce the integrity of your brand.
No Plan for Testing – Your business needs to keep track of marketing efforts so that you know what works for getting your brand name to your target market. Track the return on investment (ROI) of your direct mail campaigns, research the best locations to hang your color posters, ask new customers how they heard of your business. Testing your marketing efforts will help you to build a tried and true campaign that will work for you year after year.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Word of mouth advertising is effective because it is trustworthy. When a friend or relative recommends a product or service, you know you can trust their opinion based on the history you share with them. Word of mouth advertising fits well into any budget because it is inexpensive, but it does take a concentrated effort. Here are some tips on how to encourage word of mouth advertising among your customers.
Postcards or business cards are a great way to generate effective word-of-mouth advertising!
Give Rewards – The most obvious way to get your customers talking about your business is to offer them something in return. This should be a carefully thought out promotion or you may end up spending too much money in your promotional offers. Referral business cards or postcards are a great way to keep promotional offers within reason. Offer customers a few of your cards at checkout. For each new customer who comes in with a referral card, the existing customer named on the card could be given 10% off one item or 20% off a purchase of $100 or more. You may want to offer the same special to the new customers as well.
Start Conversations – Another obvious way to advertise your business with word of mouth is to talk about it yourself. Become knowledgeable about your business and products so that you can have interesting conversations about its place in the community, in the industry, or even in society at large. You may want to have a few of your referral cards handy during a conversation to offer friends and family. Create a sense of enthusiasm and purpose when you talk to others about your business – it’s contagious!
Involve Employees – Maintain a good relationship with your employees. Employees who are satisfied with their work environment and coworkers are far more likely to recommend your business to their friends, family, and acquaintances. Consider giving some of the referral cards to employees perhaps with a cash bonus reward instead of the discount you offer to customers.
Display Feedback – When you get positive feedback from customers, post it on your website, in your store, add it to the design of your card on the next printing. If customers give you positive verbal feedback, ask them if they would mind jotting a quick note to the same affect. You may want to offer them something if it seems appropriate, but handle such instances with the utmost appreciation and graciousness in order to maintain your integrity.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Marketing a non-profit organization with limited funds can be a challenge, but it is vital to the flow of contributions and therefore important to the impact your organization can have on its community. Marketing should be maintained on a regular basis to keep your organization in front of both potential donors and those who may be able to benefit from your services. Special fundraising or awareness-raising events require ramping up the marketing efforts in order to have the most benefit. This is why you should consistently be checking your brochure or poster designs for certain important elements.
As a non-profit organization, your marketing should have several key elements. Not all of these will fit into each type of marketing, but you should always review the list and analyze each item for suitable application to each of the advertising venues:
- A mission statement introduces your organization’s cause and the services you offer and how they positively impact the community
- A demonstration of what your organization has been able to accomplish with past donations with the use of graphics, statistics, and/or numbers. This demonstration should boost confidence in the responsible use of donations by your organization.
- Examples of individuals involved with your organization through profiles of beneficiaries, donors, and volunteers. Spotlighting these various areas exemplifies the importance of involvement on many levels and how each participant is vital to the success of the organization.
- A call to action is easy to accept when the previous elements have been delivered in a compelling manner. A call to action invites individuals to visit your website, attend your event, call your office, make a donation, or even accept the beneficial services. During key fundraising promotions, having a sponsor who will match donations made in a certain time period adds a sense of urgency for those donors who might otherwise wait.
With these elements in mind, here are some low-cost marketing ideas for non-profit organizations:
Signs – Widely used during political campaigns, signs can also be an effective way to advertise non-profit organizations, especially promotional events or services the organization offers. Producing a large number of small signs to distribute around town is a relatively low cost way to get in front of a large audience. Be sure that the physical location of the organization or event has a good permanent sign as well as a display of the promotional signs for best results. Pair a brochure printing marketing campaign with the sign distribution to maximize exposure.
Press Releases – Issuing a press release is one of the most efficient ways to communicate the message of your non-profit organization. Press releases can always be re-used in brochure printing.
Invite the Press – Let your local newspaper and news stations know about an upcoming event along with the ways that your organization helps the community, and invite them to come. Give them “backstage” access. For the best results, combine an invitation to the press with a special spotlight on several specific testimonials during your event and in the publicity beforehand. Use quotes from the resulting news stories in future brochure printing materials.
Radio Interviews – Contact local radio stations, especially morning shows, to see about featuring your spokesperson as a guest on their program. This is another great way to get your message in front of a large audience of people on their way to or getting ready for work/school.
Write Newspaper Articles – Local or free newspapers may be willing to publish stories submitted by your organization written on topics related to your non-profit organization. This is best done on a regular basis to help build a connection between readers and your organization.
Brochures – Brochure printing is one of the longest standing methods for marketing non-profit organizations. Brochures can be printed for consistent, informational exposure, and kept on hand to distribute throughout the year. Brochures can also be printed for special events or seasons when your services are most needed. Separate brochures may be needed for donors and beneficiaries to illustrate services available or services that require funding.
Flyers – Flyers can be used in some of the same informational capacities as brochures for events or service awareness. Leave a stack of flyers (or brochures) with related organizations or businesses who are willing to partner with you.
Posters – Posters are great for displaying in medical clinics, pharmacies, grocery stores, libraries, etc to maintain public awareness.
One final tip: If you are printing large quantities of marketing materials (such as over a couple hundred), use a reputable online printing company. This will always save you money while providing excellent results, making your non-profit organization look that much more appealing to potential donors and volunteers.
