Advertisement Ideas: Listen Up!!!

As I turned in my key after being let go by Sinbad Sports I started to think that it was time to listen up and pay attention to the signs that GOD was delivering. I found myself like the character Billy Jack as I have become a tin soldier in the fight to help businesses grow. I have run into some obstacles like stubborn business owners who think they know everything and have not realized that the day you think you know everything is the day you start to lose everything. In my 40 years of marketing, sales, advertising, media relations, public relations, and non-profit experience I have found that many of those in ownership roles and leadership roles do not listen and as a result leave a lot of money on the table. The really good business owners gather input from their employees and value that the employees may have a better feel for what the consumer seeks. The key is to listen up and not take anything personally when an employee comes to you with something that makes sense. When an employees sees what the trends in the market place and comes to you with the trends you as a business owner should be aware and formulate a plan that will help you strengthen your brand and increase your revenue by staying ahead of the trends.
As a business owner it is important to listen to your employees especially the employees who have a working knowledge of the industry and a proven track record of success. When you find an employee who truly has a dedication to your business make sure you are listening and keeping that employee happy for if you let them go they may just go out and follow their dreams and become your competitor and thus take business away from you. When customers are bragging about an employee and tell you that the reason they are coming to the store is that particular employee don’t say oh they would have come any way as it is the merchandise not the employee that they are coming for. Remember people do business with people they know, like, and trust and if an employee is cultivating those customer relationships you keep them and you listen to them. When you empower an employee and allow them to thrive your business will grow and your revenue will increase. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Listen Up!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Time To Represent!!!

In marketing, media relations, public relations, and advertising it is important to remember to walk your walk and talk your talk and represent who you are and what you do and give people a reason to use your services or buy your products. Sometimes it is necessary to have some swag and walk it out. It is important to look at how you are going to represent. Ask yourself when you walk into a room the three things you want to be seen as and then seek ways to bring these three things to the top of the mind of the people you are interacting with? Ask yourself how am I showing up and how am I resonating with the target audience I am seeking? Think of ways you can best represent your product or services. Ask yourself how many places are there where you can represent your product or services and where your target audience will see you. I have found that many people lose out on opportunities because they do not make marketing and advertising a priority or they don’t spend money on getting their name in front of their target audience.

Say what you want about The Florida Marlins they do get one thing right and that is the marketing of their product. Now you may not have the budget to hire Pitbull to do a theme song for you but you may have the budget to make videos and put them on YouTube and other social media outlets. The key is to remember to represent your product and service wherever and whenever possible. I have witnessed many business people turn down affordable opportunities only to stay stagnant in the market place. If you are to truly represent you must evolve and differentiate yourself from everyone else. It is when you are relevant, entertaining, and resonating that you will have the most success. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Time To Represent!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Stop Being Foolish!!!

When was the last time you turned down an opportunity and instructed your customer service person or secretary to use the programmed response of we are not interested? How many opportunities have you let slip away because of a foolish mindset and a preconceived notion of that won’t work for me? How many times have you said I am not interested and then realized maybe I should have listened to the options or at least gotten to know who I was dealing with? How many times have you been presented an advertising idea only to make excuses and not strengthen your brand or increase your revenue? How many times have you decided to pass up advertising opportunities? How many times have you chosen to advertise only to realize that your choice was not the most effective choice? Sometimes it simply comes down to making a decision to stop being foolish.

Sometimes in business we play the part of a fool because we turn down opportunities that could help us to build a stronger brand or that could actually increase our revenue because we do not see the value of what someone is offering. How many times have you let someone leave your business that could of been of service and value to you? How many times have you stayed in your office or in you brick and mortar building wondering why your business is slow? Instead of being foolish and wondering why things are slow it is time to be proactive and speed things up. I like using the example of the pizza place that I spoke with about going out and getting to know his neighbors who said oh I don’t have time for that. This pizza place was in a very heavily trafficked plaza with many store that had many employees so I asked have you gone to the bigger stores and offered them a lunch or dinner special. The answer was no. I suggested he do this and he got very upset and said now you are telling me how to run my business I said no I am suggesting a way for you to increase traffic and build revenue. He wasn’t to receptive so I left. Six months later his pizza place was closed. I thought what would have happened if he stopped being foolish? My advice to all business owners, marketing executives, and non-profit leaders is to get out there and start meeting people and stop being foolish with your decisions. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Stop Being Foolish!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Get Loud!!!

As you sit down to plan out your marketing strategy you can take a lesson from Jennifer Lopez and get loud. It is often said that the squeakiest wheel gets the grease well in advertising and marketing it is often the company that makes the most noise that gets the clients/customers. In a day and age where everyone is looking for ways to differentiate themselves from their competition it is important to focus on letting the end-user know the benefits of your product or service so you are heard over the competition. This could mean doing business in a public place like a Panera Bread, which is what I did last night (4/16/2015) as I ran the committee meeting for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton. After the meeting I was making a call about Relay For Life and a patron over heard the call and came over and made a $5 donation which opened the door for me to share with her what I was doing with Relay for Life and to give her my business card. By being a bit loud I drew attention to myself and made a new contact. In being outgoing and a bit loud you just may meet the contact who can help you to exceed your goals. Getting loud can mean putting out a bigger print advertisement in targeted publications that reach your desired target audience. In many cases sending a media release to these publications about what you are doing in the community and any new developments in the business will garner you a FREE article which if put on your website and included in your social media will give you credibility and edification in the market place.

Advertisement Ideas: More Ways To Get Loud!!!

One of the best lessons I learned about promotions was from KISS who encouraged us to shout it out loud!!! In a marketplace that is full of noise you must shout your message at times just to get noticed. The end-user for your product or service is being bombarded by advertising campaigns and have become numb to most forms of advertising. As a result to gain a competitive edge in the market place you must get loud. You must also be places where your competition is not. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Get Loud!!!

Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!

Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!!

I remember when I was younger and my younger brother Joshua was a big KISS fan and we would listen to this song. Today as I listened to the lyrics I thought the message is to SHOUT OUT About who you are, what you do, and give people a reason to use your product or services. I started to think why do people buy NIKE Products when there are other brands that are just as good? The answer is because NIKE Shouts the loudest and is constantly on the top of the mind of the consumer. Every where you look during a sporting event NIKE Has some type of presence. NIKE has also aligned itself with very well-known celebrities and athletes to build credibility.

You may be thinking but I don’t have a NIKE type budget. I am here to tell you yes it would be nice to have a NIKE type budget, however you can shout it out loud with your budget. I visit with many smaller businesses on a regular basis and the biggest excuse I hear when it comes to advertising is I don’t have a budget for that. I then ask do you have a marketing and advertising budget and yes there is a difference marketing is about building a brand so that when someone is ready to purchase your product or service they will choose you first. Advertising is promoting offers to drive traffic so you see a return on your investment. Many times I am told no. This is one of my pet peeves as I ask in mind how do you open a business and stay in business without setting aside some money to reach your desired target audience? I have encountered many people who don’t know who their target audience and I then ask them to give me a profile of who their customer is and they say everyone to which I reply your target audience can not be everyone for this is to broad of a spectrum to tackle. One must have a budget and know who their target audience is of they are to be successful. I ask businesses all the time how are you marketing and advertising and they tell me word of mouth. Word of mouth is okay however it must be augmented with other strategies because not everyone who needs your product or service is going to know your current customers. In order to shout it out loud you must have a strategic plan and you must find what your potential clients/customers are reading, watching, listening to, visiting on-line, and what they desire. A great way to shout it out loud is to answer the question of what problem do I solve in my clients/customers lives? Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: KISS Delivers Important Message About Building Your Brand!!!

Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!

When you begin the marketing process you first understand the complexity of it and a great way to get a grip and make effective marketing choices is to us the 7 P’s Marketing Mix Below. When you know each phase and you truly analyze the plan you can then implement the plan and evaluate and adjust accordingly.

Many times I hear JDOGG I need to get my name out there and drive business what do you suggest: Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: How To Make Effective Marketing Choices!!!!