DIY to MWO - From "Doing It Yourself” to "Making With Others”
DIY (do-it-yourself) Marketing Tips for University of Houston Small Business Development Center...
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Transcript of DIY (do-it-yourself) Marketing Tips for University of Houston Small Business Development Center...
Your Presenter
Mandy de LeónSr. Account Manager
Freed Advertising
Your Presenter
• 30 years experience in MarCom• Marketing/Management degrees cum laude
from HBU
• Client side AND agency side
• Worked for many entrepreneurs with shoestring budgets
ME
Today’s Agenda
• Marketing vs. Hiring Outside Resources• Great Houston example of DIY to Hire
Today’s Agenda
• Strategy vs. tactics• Developing your branding• B2B marketing
– Collateral package– Presentations– Trade shows/events– Trade publications– Other
Today’s Agenda
• B2C marketing– Website– Email marketing– PPC advertising– Publicity– Social media– Other things to consider
Strategy vs. Tactics
1. A method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem.
From businessdictionary.com
2. The art and science of planning and marshaling resources for their most efficient and effective use. The term is derived from the Greek word for leading an army. See also tactics.
This is WAR, People!
Strategy vs. Tactics
Means by which a strategy is carried out; planned and ad hoc activities meant to deal with the demands of the moment, and to move from one milestone to another in pursuit of the overall goal(s).
From businessdictionary.com
Strategy is Part of the Marketing Plan
• Executive summary• Situation analysis• Business description• SWOT analysis• Competitive climate• Forecast• Vision• Market research
A well-written marketing or strategic plan will address topics such as:
• Target market• Goals• Tactics• Market trends• Marketing mix - 4 P’s• Competitive edge• Mission• Audiences
Marketing Plan Process
Marketing Plan• Vision: An aspirational description of what an organization would like to
accomplish.
• Mission: A written declaration of an organization's core purpose and focus. Properly crafted mission statements (1) state values that are important to the company, (2) state which markets will be served and how, and (3) communicate intended direction to the entire organization.
• Goal: An observable and measurable end result having one or more objectives to be achieved within a timeframe. Goals should be S-M-A-R-T.
• Objective: A specific result that a person or system aims to achieve within a time frame and with available resources.
• Action Plan: A sequence of activities that must be performed for a strategy to succeed. An action plan has three major elements (1) Specific tasks: what will be done and by whom. (2) Time horizon: when will it be done. (3) Resource allocation: what specific funds are available for specific activities.
From businessdictionary.com
Planning
Make your plans, but be ready to turn on a dime due to constantly changing market conditions…
“We are living in exponential times*”
• *See “Shift Happens” on YouTube• Also Forbes
“Can You Handle an Exponential Rate of Change?”
Planning“In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
- 34th President of U.S.
- 5-Star General WWII
Branding Your Product or Service
The brand is the position of trust and preference that your product, service or company holds in the consumer’s mind that distinguishes you from your competitors in the same category
Your Brand is Like our Flag
What does it stand for?
Your Logo is NOT Your Brand
• Your logo is a mental cue that triggers a set of impressions that your brand has made, either good or bad
• Impressions are tightly linked to expectations
• Your brand needs to create a positive set of experiences in order for the consumer to seek you out over your competitors
How Do You Create a Great Brand?
• Discussion• Opinions• Comments• Criticism• Praise• Judgments
Branding Mechanics
• Your name• Your look
– Your logo– Your fonts– Your colors
• Your promise– Positioning– Philosophy– USP/unique selling proposition)
• Your tagline
The NAME Game
A Successful Name Does the Following
Developed with a strategy in mind iPod
Distinguishes the product or service from the competition
Rooms to Go
Holds a special position in the consumer’s mind because of its meaning
The Dump
Implies a benefit Whole Foods
Describes something
A Successful Name Does the Following
Has a nice ring to it Febreze
Has a symbolic association Emerald Homes
Hard Rock Cafe
Available for Legal Protection
Evokes emotion-memory image
Insert name here
Easy to Remember
Outback Steakhouse
Charming Charlie
What am I hoping to achieve with my name?
Does the name convey what makes my product or service unique?
Will the name appeal to my target audience?
Does the name describe what my product or service is?
Ask Yourself These Questions:
Best Buy
Age Perfect
Garden of Eatin’
Marble Slab
Ask Yourself These Questions:
Does the name convey why my product or service is in existence?
Lifetime Fitness
Does the name describe my product/service core attribute?
Netflix, Paypal
Does the name stand out from the competition?
Snapple
Ask Yourself These Questions:
Does the name evoke a feeling or emotion?
KY Intense
Does the name give a positive brand experience?
CVS Pharmacy
Is the name easy to spell and pronounce?
JIF
Can I use the name long term?
Verizon
Naming Examples
• Metaphors: Jaguar, Amazon, Monster• Positive connotation blends: OnStar, TrueGreen,
Truvia• Descriptive hybrids: CarMax, JetBlue,
LendingTree, steviacane• Key attributes: Sir Speedy, Priceline, Service
Masters, JiffyLube
Naming Examples
• Dr. Bradford Dentistry Associates vs. Miles of Smiles Dentists?
• Dunn Incorporated vs. Dunn’s Dance Studio?
• Jim Smith Foods vs. Hot n’ Spicy Texas Snacks Inc.?
• HouTex Solutions vs. Space City Engineering?
Name Brainstorming
• Sit down with your family, associates, mentors, friends
• Write down key attributes, benefits, feelings of your product or service
• Keep a thesaurus / iPad handy
• Best ideas come from fun atmosphere and laughter
Brainstorm ExerciseDay Care Business• Who’s the target?• What are the benefits /
attributes / features? Let’s do some wordsmithing
• Short list of names• What feelings or
impressions do they convey?
• Which name would you “trust” your child with more?
Name Brainstorming
Should also consider your url while brainstorming your name to see what’s available
– Checking urls: Go to networksolutions.com or godaddy.com
– Good articles on entrepreneur.com on name development and brainstorming
Name Research
Name Research
1. Google it
2. Hire an attorney
3. Go to
Importance of Checking Out Your Name Choice
• “Velvet Melvin” Pub on Richmond near Kirby
• Originally called “Velvet Elvis” Pub• Presley Estate sued• They had to change the name – costly!
– Identity / name recognition– Brand equity– Signage– Website– Printed materials, etc.
Book Naming
• Book about mid-life dating• Aimed at women• Short stories• Humorous• Crazy but true• Electronically published
Suggested Titles
• Weirdo Magnet• Oh, no, he di’int!• Check, Please!• Run, Mandy, Run!• Zero Tolerance• You can’t make this stuff up• Looking for my knight in the middle ages• Looking for my main squeeze and finding
lemons
Naming Case Study
Your Look
Your Look• You must employ good design• Professional design may be what will make
someone choose your product or service over another
• Do not leave design to amateurs• Design evolves, just like fashion – you’ve got to
change with the times
Website Evolution
Website Evolution
Learn to be a (Commercial) Art Critic
• Clunky• Unsophisticated• Busy• Boring• Unbalanced• Out of proportion• Distracting• Fighting elements• No harmony• Disorganized
• Sophisticated• Sleek• Streamlined• Pleasing• Easy on the eye• Enlightening• Evocative• Engaging• Attractive• Balanced
Ask Yourself These Questions:• How will the logo be
used?– Logos on signs need to
be legible• Is it unique?• Is it evocative?• Is it understandable?• Is it different?
• Will it make sense if you have to print in one color? Design in B&W first
Fonts Convey Different Messages
• Strong• Wimpy• Sexy
• Simple• Elegant
• Sophisticated• Smart
• Easygoing• Uptight
• Fun
Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
Good Art vs. Bad Art
Brand Color Palette
Think of your favorite sports teams• Team branding has color scheme• They have a logo or a stamp or a “bug”• They stick to their brand in everything they do
Nobody Does It Better
Color in American Culture
• RED: energy, war, danger, strength, power, love, determination, passion, desire
• ORANGE: enthusiasm, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, fun
Color in American Culture
• YELLOW: joy, happiness, intellect, energy, cowardliness, lighthearted, childish, freshness
• GREEN: growth, harmony, freshness, fertility, safety, money, stability, endurance, hope
Color in American Culture• BLUE: depth, stability,
trust, loyalty, faith, confidence, wisdom, intelligence, truth, tranquility, piety, sincerity
• PURPLE: power, nobility, luxury, ambition, wealth, wisdom, creativity, mystery, magic
Color in American Culture
• BLACK: power, elegance, formality, evil, death, mystery, grief, strength, authority, prestige
• WHITE: light, goodness, innocence, purity, virginity, safety, cleanliness, faith, coolness
Pop Quiz!
Your Message
Your Messaging
• Your brand promise (positioning, philosophy, USP/unique selling proposition)
• Your voice or personality− Is your brand fun, serious, loveable, helpful,
compassionate, etc?• Your language
− Don’t talk to a Millennial like you would talk to The Greatest Generation
Your Tagline
• Make it short• Make it
memorable• Make it
descriptive• Make it easy to
understand• Make it clever if
you can
Pop Quiz• Made from the best stuff on earth• Don’t leave home without it.• The quicker picker-upper• Priceless.• Think different.• Because I’m worth it.• Where the pets go• Fly the friendly skies• Eat fresh• What’s in your wallet?• The king of beers• The ultimate driving machine
Testing / Market Research• You can do informal testing
yourself by email or with focus groups of friends/acquaintances– Surveymonkey.com– Facebook.com
• Don’t rely completely on your own tastes and biases!– Does your finished branding
exercise appeal to your market? YOU may not be the market!
A Final Word
• You are easily recognized• You don’t confuse your customer• You build trust/loyalty with your customer• You build brand value
Why is brand consistency so important?
B2B Basics
• Collateral and sales materials
• Presentations• Trade publications• Trade shows and
events• Press releases and
other items covered under B2C
Collateral and Sales Materials• Develop a package you can hand
out to potential buyers, trade shows, the media, etc.
• Doesn’t have to be expensive• Can print at home• Need at least a sell-sheet that
has:− Product/service line− Product/service descriptions− Photos (professional photography)
Collateral and Sales Materials
What about an electronic “sell-sheet” on a thumb drive or some other electronic device?
−Question: Will they take the extra step to put it in their computer and look at it vs. something you hand them to look at and read?
−It depends on your
market and your
product or service
Presentations
• Designed in Powerpoint or Keynote• Some do’s and don’ts
Presentations Do’s
• Brand consistency - use your brand’s color palette and font
• Remember who your audience is and connect with them
• Be respectful of time• Be enthusiastic about why they
should buy your product or service• Prepare for the questions you think
they may have• Close
Presentations Don’ts
• Overwhelm your audience with special effects
• Cram a bunch of words on a slide• Read your slides word for word• Ramble• Create more slides than what is needed • Forget a leave-behind with your contact
info
Trade Publications
• Local – Regional – National• For niche industries, the trade
organization could be your lifeblood• Ad opportunities on website
or eblasts• Many times they
sponsor shows or awards
Trade Shows
• Trade shows can be a great way to get your product seen by your target
• Start off by just going to a trade show and learn
• Need professional booth graphics in brand
• Plenty of collateral• Sampling, demos• Enthusiastic, energetic
people with a smile
Events
• Depending on your market and your product/ service, an event may be more fruitful than a trade show
• Lunch ‘n Learns can be relatively inexpensive
• You can invite “partners” to share costs
Trade Shows vs. Events
Trade show cons• Can be expensive
− Cost of booth− Booth graphics− Travel costs
• Competition• Might be
overwhelming
Trade show pros• Trade show
does most of the work
− Gets the target there for you
• Huge volume of people at one time
• Advertising
Events vs. Trade Shows
Event cons• It’s a DIY• Can be expensive• You have to plan
and coordinate• You have to invite
people and follow up to make sure they show up
Event pros• Can be more
economical• More personalized,
one-on-one touch• Not competing with
anyone else like at a trade show
• Can be more memorable
Who Knew?
Farmer’s Markets• If you have a food-related product, HEB and Williams
Sonoma troll the farmers markets looking for new products
B2C
• Website• Email marketing• PPC advertising• Publicity• Social media• Other things to consider
Website Set-Up
• Registering a domain name – www.networksolutions.com – godaddy.com
• Hosting – rackspace.com is one of most secure – not as vulnerable to hackers
• Hostgator.com and aws.amazon.com are cheap and good
• WordPress based setup works well
• Responsive programming
Website Design
• Make sure it’s easy to find your most important features, easy navigation
• Good photography• No typos• Keep your website in brand• Remember the design
discussion• Keep it simple
Website Functionality• Privacy policy, terms and conditions, disclaimers• Email sign-up• Contact on every page• Include links to your social media• E-commerce function – set up payments with
Paypal
Website Webmaster
• You need to prepare before hiring a webmaster• Make sure they test your site for PC and Mac• Create a mobile site through responsive
programming• Make sure they test your site on various browsers
and versions of browsers– Internet Explorer– Chrome– Safari– Firefox
Website Webmaster
• Remind them that not everyone has the gigantic monitors that they use
• Program with html text• Use JavaScript over Flash when possible
(works on mobile) – DO NOT USE FLASH• Difference between website
optimized for the user and website optimized for search engines – you need both
Optimization
Website Content and Search
• You need keyword rich copy for the search engines
• You need good content that people will link to• Proper coding and tagging• Make sure Google Analytics is engaged• Google webmaster tools• The more time and effort devoted to this, the
better SEO will be
Google Webmaster Tools
Google Analytics Dashboard
Google Keyword Tool
Every page should have its own title tag that describes what is on that page!
Keyword rich copy
optimized for search engines
Meta-Programming: View Source
Photos Need Alt Tags!
Website DevelopmentBefore you hire a webmaster, ask these questions:
• Can you show me examples of work for other clients?
• Can I talk to some of your clients?• Can you walk me through their Google Analytics so
I can see how their site is working?• Will you hook up my site to GA when it goes live?• When you program, do you optimize the site for
SEO?
Website Development
Before you hire a webmaster, ask these questions (cont’d):
• Do you code photo alt tags?• Do you have a linking strategy?• Do you write title tags for each page? • Do I get to approve the meta descriptions and
keywords?• Do you research keywords for me that should
be in my copy, or do I need to provide you with keywords and copy?
Website Development
Before you hire a webmaster, ask these questions (cont’d):
• Whenever I have a change or update, do you have to program it, or can I do that? In other words, will I get a CMS (content management system)?
• Do you program for the last three versions of Internet Explorer - 8, 9, 10 (32% of all traffic)?
• Will you design for 1024 x 768 resolution in a fixed width layout? (Responsive programming)
Website
A Plug for a Blog
• Consider having a blog as part of your website
• Another link• More opportunities for content and keywords (SEO)
• Another avenue for traffic• Positions you as an expert• Need to write once a week
Email Marketing
• One of the most cost effective ways to keep your name in front of your target audience
• Stats from email-list.com blog– Email marketing has an average return on
investment of $44 for every dollar spent*– More than 50% of consumers make
purchases as a direct outcome of email--drives more ROI than any other channel including social media and PPC advertising**
Email Marketing
• Have to be disciplined about collecting email addresses and sending out regular emails
• Use a service like Constant Contact or Exact Target– Don’t over email or under email– Do include offers and promotions– Do use photography– Do measure hits from your email to your site– Grass roots story
PPC Advertising
• Cost effective advertising to get your website found
• Google Adwords has been very effective – Facebook ads can be too
• Google has a Display Network where your ad can appear on blogs specific to your product or
• Learning curve• Write a variety of ads and test them to see what
works
PPC Advertising• Should monitor your investment to
see what words are working and not working through Google Analytics
• Monitor your CPC (cost per click) and CTR (click thru rate)
• If your CTR is low, you end up paying more for clicks
• Landing page needs to be relevant or bounce rate is high
Press Releases
• Main purpose is to get an editor to do a story on you
• When you write your release, make sure you have a hook• Why should anyone care about your
product/service/company? • What makes it unique or different? • Come up with a different angle
Press Releases
• Learn the proper format for writing press releases
• Google: How to write a press release• Main thing is to get right to the point in the
first paragraph• Tell your story, but concisely• You’ve got seconds to hook
the reader before he/she hits “delete”
Press Release Distribution• Start by building community relationships
− Local newspapers, magazines, radio shows, TV shows− Establish relationships with editors (bring them
samples, if you can)
• Distribute releases online through Marketwire or PRWeb for a fee
• Make sure you have keyword rich copy and hotlinks back to your website
Press Release Distribution
• Create an email distribution list – brainstorm “Who might/should be interested in this?”
• Spell names correctly!• Have a printed and pdf packet and photos
ready in case an editor calls or emails you• Website url on EVERYTHING
Publicity• Reach out to the Bloggers – send them
samples – “get social”• Create a two-minute
video, put it on YouTube, link back to your site
• If you have an event, look for calendar listings where you can post your event for free
Publicity
Other ideas– Hold an event– Create a contest– Community service– Giveaways - samples– Speaking engagements - free seminars– Become or position yourself as THE expert in
your field – write thought papers, online book, etc.
Publicity Stunts
Publicity Stunts
Publicity Stunts
Publicity - Braille Burgers
Publicity - Improv Everywhere
Publicity Stunt IdeasGet your creative juices flowing:
• Stage a weird protest• Buy something weird• Try for a Guinness world record• Hold a silly contest• Hire a famous person look-
a-like to do something funny• Create a “dumb ____” top 10 list• Create a viral video• Do a flash mob dance
Social Media
• In the beginning, there was the business card…
• Then came the website…• NOW, a consumer-facing business
should have a Facebook page• A Facebook page is like a second
website – in fact, it is a good substitute if you cannot afford a website
Social Media• If you don’t have a Facebook
page…are you hiding something?• Why don’t you talk to your
customers?• Great way to get feedback /
research• Works wonderfully with traditional
advertising and promotions• Measurable• Learn to embrace social media, it
will help you
Social Media• If you’re going to reach
out to Bloggers, you need a Facebook page
• If you can do sampling on Facebook, it’s the best way to get a lot of likes quickly
• Enlist your friends to promote your product on their Facebook pages
• Check-ins through Facebook
Social Media
• Pinterest – fastest growing social site ever* - see How To Use Pinterest for Business**
• Twitter – hashtag originators• YouTube• All these external social media sites can link back
to your website – Linking is part of good SEO strategy for your website
*August 12, 2012 ZDNet.com** http://blog.hubspot.com
A Word on #Hashtags• A new kind of url*• For marketers, the hope is to drive people to their
social media pages to engage them in the brand• Hashtags make it possible to group such
messages, since one can search for the hashtag and get the set of messages that contain it **
• Hashtags can be in several social media applications, not just Twitter
• Fallon/Timberlake hashtag skit*Houston Chronicle, 1-12-14**Wikipedia
Steviacane Case StudyGoal: Launch a new stevia sweetener nationwide and position as flavorful
Strategy: Create online presence on limited budget
1. Facebook landing page
2. Blogger outreach program
3. Giveaway program via social media
Results: In a mere three months, Imperial Sugar gave away over 75,000 samples to Facebook users. We garnered more than 52,000 active users on their Facebook page; the social media page received over 7,000 likes and over 500 users posted positive feedback about the product on the page.
Social Media
A word of caution…• Social media is an open
forum for brand critics• Have a plan to handle
them• Many times your fans will
do it for you
Advertise on your Assets!
Other Media
• Mobile Marketing• Text Messaging/Mobile• Traditional Advertising
– Print / Direct Mail– TV / Radio– Out-of-home– Video
Auxiliary Technology• Generate a QR Code
– the-qrcode-generator.com– Tracking it? Go to Google URL Builder
• Augmented Reality– Way to enhance the information gathering or buying
experience– https://www.layar.com/
Got Questions?
Thank You!
Mandy de Leó[email protected]