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Actual for You - Hiring a Marketing Company? If They Can't or Won't Tell You a Measurable Result... RUN!
...In many situations we act without even knowing why we act the way we do...This is no longer desirable when your organization is changing too often...Knowledge Management is (amongst other aspects) about making the “private” knowledge “publicly” available...So that you can bridge the Knowledge Gap...But your organization was not used to this. Different teams applied different principles...And now what?How to address this new set of principles so that knowledge management is adopted in the primary process?When existing employees and management get new tasks and when the environment is changed, you cannot longer rely on old knowledge patterns. “How was it, that we did this before? And why doesn’t this work no longer?”Everybody “knows” how the previous organiza
However, for most small businesses, you can’t wait 2 years for the results. Branding alone isn’t going to get it.
Direct marketing will produce a measurable result next week. I’ll know that I got 0.5% or 5% out of every 1,000 pieces of direct mail or other direct marketing. If it’s below 5% I’ll tweak it and watch the response go up the next time and the next time. I can continually get better and better.
Branding can still happen as an afterthought of direct marketing. But I intend to see a result on the first mailing, probably next week. And, yes, over time the response rate will get better and better as I build brand awareness. The difference is that direct marketing is driving for a specific measurable result on each campaign. It’s asking for an immediate action…Come to my seminar…Sign up here.
Branding alone is just saying “Hi. Don’t you see me. I’m great.”
I continually measure not o
Yesterday I saw this ad in a magazineLadies these shoes would make you a football star. Check out latest foot ware at our store. 20% discount for first 30 customers.What a nonsense? How many women are actually interested in football? Few! No. The answer is very few. Would any woman buy shoes just because it will make her football star? I don’t think so. The above ad is a perfect example of uninspiring, disgusting and non-targeted marketing, in simple words “Full of bullshit”. Its irony that most marketing campaigns are not designed by keeping human psyche in perspective. Men and women are two different creatures in every way and we have to deal with this issue in our promotional efforts. There are few things work with women and some with men. Let’s take a look at it<
Direct marketing produces right away. Branding takes longer...a lot longer. Learn to tell the difference.
One of the things I keep telling my business clients is that you don’t do anything that you can’t measure. So, before we ever decide to do any step, marketing, sales, production, we must have a measurable target. Then when we start seeing results, we measure the results, and compare that to our target. If we are below target we tweak, adjust, optimize to get it up where we thought it should be, and, in most cases, we can get there quickly…probably in a week or two. Over time we are still looking for the opportunities to make that number better. Significant improvements usually come along because we are looking at the numbers.
I heard an interesting statistic the other day. You are 7 times more likely to achieve your goals if you have
- A measurable target,
- An action plan to get there,
- Are monitoring the results, and continually optimizing.
That’s a rather impressive number . . . 7 times more likely if you have a measurable target.
Do you have measurable goals, track your results, and act on what you find?
I’d like to tell you a story about an experience of mine.
Last year I was traveling to the Middle East a lot, the oil companies are some of my clients. Because of the amount of travel, 1-2 weeks a month, I found that I was letting some of my marketing results slip. I was just not around to do it myself any longer. When I’d get back my marketing would be behind, and so were the number of new customers coming through the door. I’d have to work to get the client flow starting again, and suddenly I’d be on my way out of the country with the cycle starting all over again. This resulted in a see-saw of clients and productivity. Something I tell my clients how to avoid, I emphasize that they focus equally on a balance of incoming leads, sales closes, and production completion. But here I was letting things slip myself.
I decided that it was time for me to hire a marketing company to do it for me when I’m gone so I’d come back to a steady flow of new clients. I turned to a local well known marketing company who works with some of the largest companies around. The first thing I asked them was, “What is your average direct mail campaign response rate?”
I don’t do anything without having a target. My own direct mail campaigns typically run in the 5% area. I know that for every 1,000 pieces of direct mail I send out I’ll have around 50-60 calls. So, I wanted to know how well this “expert” company was doing before hiring them. Their answer was, “Oh, every company we work for is different. We can’t measure that kind of thing.”
CAN’T MEASURE! That is what I teach my clients to do, and this expert marketing company doesn’t measure!!!!
At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I asked them to let me talk to 5 of their clients.
And I was absolutely amazed. Every last one of their clients had exactly the same answer.
- “Gee, I don’t know how many new customers I’ve gotten from their campaigns.”
- I wouldn’t take a non-answer for an answer so I asked if they had seen ANY increase in business of any kind. When forced, they answered, “No, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.” And these companies had used the marketing firm for 6 months to 2 years. That was certainly long enough to see a result, but they hadn’t.
- Every last one said: the marketing company is doing a “brand awareness” campaign for them and that it would take about 2 years. They didn’t expect to see any real progress for at least 2 years.
2 YEARS! And at about $15,000 a month. Boy did that marketing company sell them a bill of goods.
That is one of the main differences between direct marketing and brand awareness marketing. Direct marketing is a direct contact with the customer with direct and immediate measurable response. Where branding is sort of like saying here I am and some day you’ll recognize I’m standing over here.
Branding works for companies like McDonald’s, Coke, Nike, etc. When I want a sandwich and see the arches I tool right in there. I know what I’ll get.
However, for most small businesses, you can’t wait 2 years for the results. Branding alone isn’t going to get it.
Direct marketing will produce a measurable result next week. I’ll know that I got 0.5% or 5% out of every 1,000 pieces of direct mail or other direct marketing. If it’s below 5% I’ll tweak it and watch the response go up the next time and the next time. I can continually get better and better.
Branding can still happen as an afterthought of direct marketing. But I intend to see a result on the first mailing, probably next week. And, yes, over time the response rate will get better and better as I build brand awareness. The difference is that direct marketing is driving for a specific measurable result on each campaign. It’s asking for an immediate action…Come to my seminar…Sign up here.
Branding alone is just saying “Hi. Don’t you see me. I’m great.”
I continually measure not o
Those who push paper and demand forms when they are not completely necessary are doing so to their own peril. Unfortunately when the government demands forms they do it to our peril. You see incase you had not noticed FORM is a four letter word and for good reason too. Forms are so often used by bureaucracies, lawyers and stodgy old corporations who are on their way out.The surest way to kill any progress is to stop the process and start making people fill out forms. Bill Gates was able to reduce the number of forms used in his company to only a few, guess what? Microsoft became the biggest corporation in the world after that.If you increase paperwork and bureaucracy you will impede innovation, efficiency and could potentially lose your intended victory. We must avoid forms
That’s a rather impressive number . . . 7 times more likely if you have a measurable target.
Do you have measurable goals, track your results, and act on what you find?
I’d like to tell you a story about an experience of mine.
Last year I was traveling to the Middle East a lot, the oil companies are some of my clients. Because of the amount of travel, 1-2 weeks a month, I found that I was letting some of my marketing results slip. I was just not around to do it myself any longer. When I’d get back my marketing would be behind, and so were the number of new customers coming through the door. I’d have to work to get the client flow starting again, and suddenly I’d be on my way out of the country with the cycle starting all over again. This resulted in a see-saw of clients and productivity. Something I tell my clients how to avoid, I emphasize that they focus equally on a balance of incoming leads, sales closes, and production completion. But here I was letting things slip myself.
I decided that it was time for me to hire a marketing company to do it for me when I’m gone so I’d come back to a steady flow of new clients. I turned to a local well known marketing company who works with some of the largest companies around. The first thing I asked them was, “What is your average direct mail campaign response rate?”
I don’t do anything without having a target. My own direct mail campaigns typically run in the 5% area. I know that for every 1,000 pieces of direct mail I send out I’ll have around 50-60 calls. So, I wanted to know how well this “expert” company was doing before hiring them. Their answer was, “Oh, every company we work for is different. We can’t measure that kind of thing.”
CAN’T MEASURE! That is what I teach my clients to do, and this expert marketing company doesn’t measure!!!!
At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I asked them to let me talk to 5 of their clients.
And I was absolutely amazed. Every last one of their clients had exactly the same answer.
- “Gee, I don’t know how many new customers I’ve gotten from their campaigns.”
- I wouldn’t take a non-answer for an answer so I asked if they had seen ANY increase in business of any kind. When forced, they answered, “No, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.” And these companies had used the marketing firm for 6 months to 2 years. That was certainly long enough to see a result, but they hadn’t.
- Every last one said: the marketing company is doing a “brand awareness” campaign for them and that it would take about 2 years. They didn’t expect to see any real progress for at least 2 years.
2 YEARS! And at about $15,000 a month. Boy did that marketing company sell them a bill of goods.
That is one of the main differences between direct marketing and brand awareness marketing. Direct marketing is a direct contact with the customer with direct and immediate measurable response. Where branding is sort of like saying here I am and some day you’ll recognize I’m standing over here.
Branding works for companies like McDonald’s, Coke, Nike, etc. When I want a sandwich and see the arches I tool right in there. I know what I’ll get.
However, for most small businesses, you can’t wait 2 years for the results. Branding alone isn’t going to get it.
Direct marketing will produce a measurable result next week. I’ll know that I got 0.5% or 5% out of every 1,000 pieces of direct mail or other direct marketing. If it’s below 5% I’ll tweak it and watch the response go up the next time and the next time. I can continually get better and better.
Branding can still happen as an afterthought of direct marketing. But I intend to see a result on the first mailing, probably next week. And, yes, over time the response rate will get better and better as I build brand awareness. The difference is that direct marketing is driving for a specific measurable result on each campaign. It’s asking for an immediate action…Come to my seminar…Sign up here.
Branding alone is just saying “Hi. Don’t you see me. I’m great.”
I continually measure not o
It is easier to walk through life with the attitude of Positive Intent.Positive Intent means you approach everything with the thought process in place that no matter what, there will be a positive ending to whatever you are doing.This is akin to stepping up to the plate with the thought process of “I am here to put the ball in play”.You are assuming that putting the ball in play will start a positive chain of events. If the ball is hit on the ground, perhaps it will scoot between two fielders and roll into the outfield for a hit. If the ball is hit in the air, perhaps it will travel between the reach of the outfielders and roll all the way to the wall, maybe even resulting in an extra bases hit. Even if the ball is caught and the batter is thrown out, he still acco
I decided that it was time for me to hire a marketing company to do it for me when I’m gone so I’d come back to a steady flow of new clients. I turned to a local well known marketing company who works with some of the largest companies around. The first thing I asked them was, “What is your average direct mail campaign response rate?”
I don’t do anything without having a target. My own direct mail campaigns typically run in the 5% area. I know that for every 1,000 pieces of direct mail I send out I’ll have around 50-60 calls. So, I wanted to know how well this “expert” company was doing before hiring them. Their answer was, “Oh, every company we work for is different. We can’t measure that kind of thing.”
CAN’T MEASURE! That is what I teach my clients to do, and this expert marketing company doesn’t measure!!!!
At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I asked them to let me talk to 5 of their clients.
And I was absolutely amazed. Every last one of their clients had exactly the same answer.
- “Gee, I don’t know how many new customers I’ve gotten from their campaigns.”
- I wouldn’t take a non-answer for an answer so I asked if they had seen ANY increase in business of any kind. When forced, they answered, “No, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.” And these companies had used the marketing firm for 6 months to 2 years. That was certainly long enough to see a result, but they hadn’t.
- Every last one said: the marketing company is doing a “brand awareness” campaign for them and that it would take about 2 years. They didn’t expect to see any real progress for at least 2 years.
2 YEARS! And at about $15,000 a month. Boy did that marketing company sell them a bill of goods.
That is one of the main differences between direct marketing and brand awareness marketing. Direct marketing is a direct contact with the customer with direct and immediate measurable response. Where branding is sort of like saying here I am and some day you’ll recognize I’m standing over here.
Branding works for companies like McDonald’s, Coke, Nike, etc. When I want a sandwich and see the arches I tool right in there. I know what I’ll get.
However, for most small businesses, you can’t wait 2 years for the results. Branding alone isn’t going to get it.
Direct marketing will produce a measurable result next week. I’ll know that I got 0.5% or 5% out of every 1,000 pieces of direct mail or other direct marketing. If it’s below 5% I’ll tweak it and watch the response go up the next time and the next time. I can continually get better and better.
Branding can still happen as an afterthought of direct marketing. But I intend to see a result on the first mailing, probably next week. And, yes, over time the response rate will get better and better as I build brand awareness. The difference is that direct marketing is driving for a specific measurable result on each campaign. It’s asking for an immediate action…Come to my seminar…Sign up here.
Branding alone is just saying “Hi. Don’t you see me. I’m great.”
I continually measure not o
Pinpoint your own blocks to assertiveness: fear of disapproval, need to please others, fear of being too masculine or feminine, or the dread of making mistakes.Visualize yourself dealing effectively with a problem situation by considering alternative responses. Do not act hastily or in anger—calm yourself before the confrontation—take a deep breath with eyes closed and concentrate on controlling your temper. Practice remaining calm, collected, courteous. Be prepared to present yourself rationally and factually without emotion or conjecture. Avoid making mountains out of molehills. Pursuing an issue that is small will discredit you when an important issue needs to be faced and resolved. Repeat this step as often as necessary until you can comfortably imagine yourself dealing with t
- “Gee, I don’t know how many new customers I’ve gotten from their campaigns.”
- I wouldn’t take a non-answer for an answer so I asked if they had seen ANY increase in business of any kind. When forced, they answered, “No, I don’t think so. Not yet anyway.” And these companies had used the marketing firm for 6 months to 2 years. That was certainly long enough to see a result, but they hadn’t.
- Every last one said: the marketing company is doing a “brand awareness” campaign for them and that it would take about 2 years. They didn’t expect to see any real progress for at least 2 years.
2 YEARS! And at about $15,000 a month. Boy did that marketing company sell them a bill of goods.
That is one of the main differences between direct marketing and brand awareness marketing. Direct marketing is a direct contact with the customer with direct and immediate measurable response. Where branding is sort of like saying here I am and some day you’ll recognize I’m standing over here.
Branding works for companies like McDonald’s, Coke, Nike, etc. When I want a sandwich and see the arches I tool right in there. I know what I’ll get.
However, for most small businesses, you can’t wait 2 years for the results. Branding alone isn’t going to get it.
Direct marketing will produce a measurable result next week. I’ll know that I got 0.5% or 5% out of every 1,000 pieces of direct mail or other direct marketing. If it’s below 5% I’ll tweak it and watch the response go up the next time and the next time. I can continually get better and better.
Branding can still happen as an afterthought of direct marketing. But I intend to see a result on the first mailing, probably next week. And, yes, over time the response rate will get better and better as I build brand awareness. The difference is that direct marketing is driving for a specific measurable result on each campaign. It’s asking for an immediate action…Come to my seminar…Sign up here.
Branding alone is just saying “Hi. Don’t you see me. I’m great.”
I continually measure not o
In today’s global economy it is becoming increasingly more important for a business to adequately protect and enforce its intellectual property (IP). Most businesses are aware of one of the routes to such protection, namely obtaining patents and trademarks from the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and registering copyrights with the U.S. Copyright Office. While registering IP with these entities is fundamental to protection and enforcement, another valuable protection and enforcement resource exists with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).As a bureau of the Department of Homeland Security, the CBP is charged with securing our nation’s border, which includes protecting U.S. IP rights (primarily trademarks and copyrights) from infringing or counterfeit imports. The CBP main
However, for most small businesses, you can’t wait 2 years for the results. Branding alone isn’t going to get it.
Direct marketing will produce a measurable result next week. I’ll know that I got 0.5% or 5% out of every 1,000 pieces of direct mail or other direct marketing. If it’s below 5% I’ll tweak it and watch the response go up the next time and the next time. I can continually get better and better.
Branding can still happen as an afterthought of direct marketing. But I intend to see a result on the first mailing, probably next week. And, yes, over time the response rate will get better and better as I build brand awareness. The difference is that direct marketing is driving for a specific measurable result on each campaign. It’s asking for an immediate action…Come to my seminar…Sign up here.
Branding alone is just saying “Hi. Don’t you see me. I’m great.”
I continually measure not only my own results, but those of my suppliers and, as a result, I get better all of the time. If I’m not watching the numbers I can’t get better. I’ll continue to get what I’ve always gotten.
Let me ask you an important question.
Do you think the marketing company I mentioned doesn’t know what its sales figures are? They do. Yet, they don’t know what results they deliver to their customers.
What does that tell you? It tells me they are more interested in tracking their sales figures and improving those than they are in tracking the results they provide to a customer and getting better at that. They are interested in improving their sales but not mine.
So, the next time you place an ad anywhere, or hire a marketing company, ask them what their typical response rates are. If they can’t, or won’t tell you, go somewhere else, you are in the wrong place.
And what I’ve discovered is that most won’t commit to a specific deliverable number. When you find one that will, grab them. They are gold.
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