Hello Again.
I am testing this new service one more time to make sure it really works before I drop hundreds of e-addresses in to the service.
Blessings,
Randy
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
The Marketing Bridge
Business consultant Chuck Mefford of Lighthouse Communications teaches an excellent study on “the marketing bridge.” The marketing bridge includes everything that links the customer to the sale and everything that separates the customer from the sale. Mefford breaks down the marketing bridge into five basic areas.
First is your Competitiveness. How does your business compare with your competitors? Do your customers walk away satisfied? What competitive advantages is your business offering in the marketplace?
The second step of the bridge is merchandising. Do you have nice curb appeal? Would someone want to stop by simply by driving by? Is your location clean inside and out? Do you feel “invited in” when you walk across the threshold of the main entrance? How often are your displays rotated and do you have an annual floor game plan? Are your stores hours convenient to your customers or convenient to the storeowner? What about your signage? Can you spot your store sign easily from ¼ mile away? Does your sign reflect your image or the image of your sign maker? In a recent study, well lit merchandise sold 3-to-1 over poorly lit merchandise in the same store. How is your lighting? Your price tags must be easy to find and if you’re having a sale, even easier to find. Are your products season appropriate, can I buy swimming suits in the summer and snow blowers in the winter? Are your aisles wide enough to get through? Do you have a common-sense and relevant floor plan? Is the coffee next to the doughnuts at one end of the store and at the other end do you have the oil and the washer-fluid? Do you have a window presentation? Is it appealing?
The third step in the marketing bridge is Personal Selling Skills. Is there a relatively quick greeting? Is your staff cheerful and sincere? Is your staff trained to focus on solving customer needs? How is your staff’s appearance? Is there a consistency in their dress code? Is it obvious who is an employee and who is not? Does your sales staff use personal recommendations after using the products themselves? Are they able to paint a picture of how your product or service should be used for best results? Does your staff make accessory suggestions that actually make sense?
The fourth step in the marketing bridge is the Customer’s Perspective. Does your business represent quality product lines? Are you getting good word-of-mouth from your current customers? Do you give back to the community? Do you have a simple return policy? Do you always do what you say you will do? Do you take cash, checks, and the four main credit cards are there credit options and is there an ATM on site? Are your bathrooms as clean as they can possibly be? How many potential customers in your market have you on one of the top three rungs of the positioning ladder in their mind?
The fifth step of the marketing bridge is advertising. Are you branding or are you advertising an event? Is your message clear? Are you getting enough frequency? Are you advertising 52 weeks a year and getting enough consistency? Is your staff always aware of your promotions? Are you offering the public something only you can offer in your entire market?
If you consider your business a boat, you can row it yourself. If your boat has holes in it or if parts of your marketing bridge are missing, you are going to sink. If you strap on the motor of advertising without patching the holes, you’ll go down faster. Advertising only speeds up to what’s going to happen anyway. If you’re good at what you do, you will grow faster.
If you suck like a Hoover, you’ll crash and burn with amazing speed!
First is your Competitiveness. How does your business compare with your competitors? Do your customers walk away satisfied? What competitive advantages is your business offering in the marketplace?
The second step of the bridge is merchandising. Do you have nice curb appeal? Would someone want to stop by simply by driving by? Is your location clean inside and out? Do you feel “invited in” when you walk across the threshold of the main entrance? How often are your displays rotated and do you have an annual floor game plan? Are your stores hours convenient to your customers or convenient to the storeowner? What about your signage? Can you spot your store sign easily from ¼ mile away? Does your sign reflect your image or the image of your sign maker? In a recent study, well lit merchandise sold 3-to-1 over poorly lit merchandise in the same store. How is your lighting? Your price tags must be easy to find and if you’re having a sale, even easier to find. Are your products season appropriate, can I buy swimming suits in the summer and snow blowers in the winter? Are your aisles wide enough to get through? Do you have a common-sense and relevant floor plan? Is the coffee next to the doughnuts at one end of the store and at the other end do you have the oil and the washer-fluid? Do you have a window presentation? Is it appealing?
The third step in the marketing bridge is Personal Selling Skills. Is there a relatively quick greeting? Is your staff cheerful and sincere? Is your staff trained to focus on solving customer needs? How is your staff’s appearance? Is there a consistency in their dress code? Is it obvious who is an employee and who is not? Does your sales staff use personal recommendations after using the products themselves? Are they able to paint a picture of how your product or service should be used for best results? Does your staff make accessory suggestions that actually make sense?
The fourth step in the marketing bridge is the Customer’s Perspective. Does your business represent quality product lines? Are you getting good word-of-mouth from your current customers? Do you give back to the community? Do you have a simple return policy? Do you always do what you say you will do? Do you take cash, checks, and the four main credit cards are there credit options and is there an ATM on site? Are your bathrooms as clean as they can possibly be? How many potential customers in your market have you on one of the top three rungs of the positioning ladder in their mind?
The fifth step of the marketing bridge is advertising. Are you branding or are you advertising an event? Is your message clear? Are you getting enough frequency? Are you advertising 52 weeks a year and getting enough consistency? Is your staff always aware of your promotions? Are you offering the public something only you can offer in your entire market?
If you consider your business a boat, you can row it yourself. If your boat has holes in it or if parts of your marketing bridge are missing, you are going to sink. If you strap on the motor of advertising without patching the holes, you’ll go down faster. Advertising only speeds up to what’s going to happen anyway. If you’re good at what you do, you will grow faster.
If you suck like a Hoover, you’ll crash and burn with amazing speed!
My favorite of Aesop's Fables
Once upon a time there was a hare who, boasting how he could run faster than anyone else, was forever teasing tortoise for its slowness. Then one day, the irate tortoise answered back: "Who do you think you are? There's no denying you're swift, but even you can be beaten!" The hare squealed with laughter.
"Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet there's nobody in the world that can win against me, I'm so speedy. Now, why don't you try?"
Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn they stood at the starting line. The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off. When the hare saw how painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. "Take your time!" he said. "I'll have forty winks and catch up with you in a minute."
The hare woke with a start from a fitful sleep and gazed round, looking for the tortoise. But the creature was only a short distance away, having barely covered a third of the course. Breathing a sigh of relief, the hare decided he might as well have breakfast too, and off he went to munch some cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the hot sun made his eyelids droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have another snooze before flashing past the winning post. And smiling at the thought of the look on the tortoise's face when it saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily. The sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish. At that very point, the hare woke with a jolt. He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he'd be first at the finish. But the hare's last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post. Poor hare! Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him. "Slow and steady does it every time!" he said.
This story has always given me hope. When my brother John was born, my mother told me he hit the ground running. After I was born, I think it was her hope I would be able jog a little.
This week I would like for you to read through this story a couple of times and think about the areas of life where "Consistency beats occasional brilliance".
Next week I'll show you how it applies to advertising.
Business Runs on Relationships, Relationships take Time!
"Beaten in a race? By whom? Not you, surely! I bet there's nobody in the world that can win against me, I'm so speedy. Now, why don't you try?"
Annoyed by such bragging, the tortoise accepted the challenge. A course was planned, and the next day at dawn they stood at the starting line. The hare yawned sleepily as the meek tortoise trudged slowly off. When the hare saw how painfully slow his rival was, he decided, half asleep on his feet, to have a quick nap. "Take your time!" he said. "I'll have forty winks and catch up with you in a minute."
The hare woke with a start from a fitful sleep and gazed round, looking for the tortoise. But the creature was only a short distance away, having barely covered a third of the course. Breathing a sigh of relief, the hare decided he might as well have breakfast too, and off he went to munch some cabbages he had noticed in a nearby field. But the heavy meal and the hot sun made his eyelids droop. With a careless glance at the tortoise, now halfway along the course, he decided to have another snooze before flashing past the winning post. And smiling at the thought of the look on the tortoise's face when it saw the hare speed by, he fell fast asleep and was soon snoring happily. The sun started to sink, below the horizon, and the tortoise, who had been plodding towards the winning post since morning, was scarcely a yard from the finish. At that very point, the hare woke with a jolt. He could see the tortoise a speck in the distance and away he dashed. He leapt and bounded at a great rate, his tongue lolling, and gasping for breath. Just a little more and he'd be first at the finish. But the hare's last leap was just too late, for the tortoise had beaten him to the winning post. Poor hare! Tired and in disgrace, he slumped down beside the tortoise who was silently smiling at him. "Slow and steady does it every time!" he said.
This story has always given me hope. When my brother John was born, my mother told me he hit the ground running. After I was born, I think it was her hope I would be able jog a little.
This week I would like for you to read through this story a couple of times and think about the areas of life where "Consistency beats occasional brilliance".
Next week I'll show you how it applies to advertising.
Business Runs on Relationships, Relationships take Time!
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