Five Marketing Essentials

Here are five basics that many small businesses and ISPs ignore when they make their marketing plans.

by Brock Henderson Principal, Henderson & Associates [May 21, 2007]

In my previous articles, I have said that there is no single best form of advertising, and that still holds true. What works for one company or in one part of the country doesn't mean it will work for everyone, everywhere.

There are some marketing efforts, however, that I feel every business should be engaged in all the time. Fortunately, most of them are not expensive.

• Trade Shows
• Networking
• Newsletters
• Advertising Specialties (imprinted items)
• Business Cards

Trade Shows—If your local Chamber of Commerce has business events where you can set up a booth or table top display, you should be there. If there are local trade shows for other industries and you can exhibit, then try it out. If nothing else, these are excellent opportunities to meet people and network, (which we discuss next).

Exhibiting at a trade show can be very expensive. It depends on the size and type of show. A small local Chamber event may cost little or nothing; a large show can have booths costing thousands of dollars. Booth displays can be rented or purchased, and range in price from a couple of hundred dollars to rent a small booth for a few days to thousands of dollars to have a large (8' x 10') booth custom created.

Also, don't just attend these things as exhibitors. Go to trade shows as an attendee to find out what is happening in the industry as well as increase your networking. I am constantly amazed when people tell me they don't attend ISPCON because "I've seen it before". Trade show attendance is not just about "seeing" but also about "being seen", networking, and education.

Attend your local business or Chamber shows, attend local technology shows, and attend trade shows from other industries when held locally. Get out there and talk to potential customers and find out what is going on in their industry and how you might be able to help.

Networking—This fundamental element of sales should not be relegated to just sales people, you owners need to be at it hot and heavy as well. Remember, you are your business.

There are a lot of networking opportunities out there; Chambers of Commerce, Sales and Marketing groups, ISP Planet discussion groups, www.linkedin.com, and more. Make contacts, and keep in touch with those contacts.

It would be great if you could get every member of your team to do some active networking—not just the salespeople, but also tech support, accounting, and even the janitor. The more people you and your staff can interact with in a positive manner, the better. Be it though trade shows, church groups, civic groups, or volunteer activities please encourage your entire staff to be active about meeting people and networking.

Networking can take a lot of time and energy, but it costs practically zero (you will have to buy a membership in the Chamber and other organizations as needed). "Being connected" is vital for any business.

Newsletters—To me, this is an excellent marketing tool because in our electronic age, you don't have to pay for printing or postage. Some ISPs feel that putting out a newsletter via e-mail will be considered as Spam, but I disagree completely. Good newsletters, those that are informative and not a continuous sales pitch, will be appreciated by your customer, and that will increase loyalty and reduce churn. Of course, you do need to be responsible about opt-in and opt-out.

While providing useful content for the customer to enhance their Internet and computer experience, your newsletter is an excellent way to mention new products or services that you might be offering. Don't load the newsletter down with ads, but when "selling" a service make it sound like a news story about your company.

Don't worry about not having the time or talent to write a regular newsletter, there are marketing companies out there that will do it for you at a reasonable rate. Check them out and see what they have to offer.

Advertising Specialties—Often referred to as "trinkets" these items are anything but. (Not unless you consider a $3,000 gold fountain pen a trinket.)

Ad specialties—when selected properly—can be very effective marketing tools providing you with long-term advertising. Unlike other forms of advertising, ad specialties can stick around for years!

Proper selection is the most important part of making this an effective give-away; it must have a high-perceived value to the recipient. That does not mean it has to cost a lot, simply that it is something the prospect or client will appreciate and use. If they don't use it and have it in front of them constantly, the item has zero marketing impact.

Business Cards—This one may surprise you, but it is an integral part of your marketing arsenal. The person's title is more important than you might imagine; for your business card I urge you to make your title President. When you meet potential business customers and they see you are the President of the company, you will be listened to much more earnestly than if you put General Manager. Any title other than President implies that someone is over you, which means you aren't as important as whomever is above you.

One time I met a small business owner that had one employee—him. For his title he had: CEO, CFO, CIO, President, Chairman of the Board, Treasurer, Vice President, Chief Cook & Bottle Washer, & Janitor. While a bit humorous, it didn't instill any confidence in me about him or his company.

A pet peeve of mine is that some businesses try and cram too much information on the card, and it ends up with a lot of tiny print that's difficult to read. I went to a small trade show today and one of the sales reps gave me a business card that had so much on it that I needed my reading glasses and a magnifying glass to see everything. OK, I'm getting old, I understand that, but did she really need the addresses of both company offices, two fax numbers, and three phone numbers, plus her e-mail, and the company website all on the card? All of that plus her name and title was crammed into the bottom half of the business card, the top half was just the company logo.

You may have a really cool logo, but prospects are more interested in the name and contact information of the rep and that's what should dominate your business card. Name, title, phone number, and e-mail address are important to anyone who wants to contact you and should be easily readable, not all jammed together at the bottom of the card.

The business card should follow the KISS Principle: Keep It Simple Stupid. If that's too strong, how about Keep It Simple & Straightforward? Whichever you choose, apply it to all of your marketing and networking efforts.

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