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How to double your reach with half your marketing budget

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Double your reach with half your marketing budget

  by Tony Eades 
Business Marketing Specialist

When times get tough we need to become smarter about how and where we spend our marketing dollar. Imagine if you could double the potential audience for your product or service whilst halving your marketing spend. Well the good news is you can and it’s a lot easier than you think.


 
Interestingly, these businesses like you spend their entire marketing budget trying to attract their customers. So why not approach one of these businesses with an innovative direct mail or print advertising campaign where you share the costs? For example, you as the menswear store join forces with the fitness club and offer a ‘complete new you package’ where you receive a three month fitness membership, personal training session and a new outfit for one great price? Both businesses share equally in the promotion yet halve their marketing budget.

But wait, there’s more! Now you have halved your marketing budget it’s time to double your reach. Your business and that of the non-competing business should have an active database of customers that you communicate with regularly through store promotions, direct mail and e-newsletters. So why not cross promote? In the example above the menswear store would offer an introductory, one month free gym membership exclusively to its database and in return the fitness club would offer its members a 20% exclusive discount on any purchase made at the menswear store.

So just by thinking a little smarter you can literally double your potential customer base and at the same time reduce your marketing spend by as much as 50%.



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Personalise your printing for FREE in April

Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Free variable data printing this month

Add up to three fields of information for free, like a name, title and company name or address, to your marketing materials like brochures, flyers or invites.

Hurry offer is for April digital print orders only!

Here’s a sample of some of the great digital printing specials available …


 

Full colour printing on 100gsm laser stock, folded to DL or A5 – prices include GST and delivery (artwork supplied) …


Quantity  1-sided  2-sided 
100  $150  $250
200  $180  $280
500  $330   $565 


Plus, free variable data overprint for this month only!

 

For more details email us or phone us on 1300 55 30 33

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DVD Business Cards – the new craze!

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

✔ Works on computer based or domestic DVD Players*
✔ Compact business card size
✔ Add video, pictures, audio and more!
✔ Ideal for actors, models and business professionals

Package One $795

  • Conversion of your existing VHS, CD, DVD or DV Tapes (up to one hour)
  • Selection process and editing of your clips to a 3 to 4 minute presentation
  • Automated slideshow of your jpeg photos (up to 20)
  • DVD Brandpro card screen menu
  • DVD Brandpro card artwork
  • Production and duplication of 20 DVD Brandpro cards (additional copies @ $9 each)


Package Two $1,295

  • As per Package One, plus...
  • 1 hour high definition videoshoot with Director at our location
  • Editing/soundmix and final render
  • Production and duplication of an extra 30 DVD Brandpro cards (additional copies @ $9 each)


*Not compatible with slot driven players, Brandpro DVD cards sit in a CD or DVD tray

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Secrets of search engine optimisation and online advertising revealed

Tuesday, April 07, 2009
What makes a good landing page?


A good landing page will be simple, well written and be relevant to only the keywords the person has typed in. Different people take different paths and use different keywords to find the same product or service. It is important to speak “their language”. For instance, somebody searching for: “After Hours Plumber” will respond better to a page which talks about an “After Hours Plumber” than a page which is focused on “Plumbing Services” even though they both relate to the same service.

The page must be designed with human behaviour in mind flowing left to right, top to bottom, with a very clear call-to-action which allows the lead to be placed on a database for follow ups. There should be no unnecessary images or elements to distract the visitor from taking the path and action you want them to take.

Why most Google AdWords campaigns don’t work

Most people who run Adwords campaigns simply get as many relevant keywords as they can, run one add on them and point the adds straight to their home page. The problem with doing this is:

  1. They pay a premium price for clicks as the advertisement and home page cannot be relevant for 10, 20 or 100 keywords.
  2. They get a lot of junk traffic and pay for clicks that are not relevant, giving them an extremely lowconversion rate (if they convert any leads at all)
  3. People clicking on the adds are taken to the home page where they are confused by a multitude of options not relevant to their keyword search and they usually leave without taking any action.

The benefits of an effective ‘pay per click’ campaign

Unless you are targeting a set of keywords that nobody dominates (which probably means there are very few searches for those keywords), the process of getting organic (free) traffic to your website is a long one and a lot of homework is necessary to ensure you get it right and don't go down the wrong road, optimising keywords that bring your website very little traffic, or a lot of the wrong kind of traffic.

You can shortcut the process of getting traffic and at the same time get very good intelligence on the best keywords to target with PPC (pay per click) advertising. Running a PPC campaign at the start of your SEO campaign will cost a little more, but you will start to get inquiries immediately and more importantly, you will know the keywords which are going to be most productive for your business.

Those of us running PPC campaigns are usually quite mystified at the difference between keyword traffic estimated by Google's own suggestion tool and the reality once a campaign starts. Equally as inconclusive are the results given by different keyword research tools like Wordtracker – they are often completely opposed – and all are apparently using the same logs - those of the search engines themselves.

A properly run pay per click campaign will benefit you in the following ways:

  1. It will bring you leads in a very short time frame.
  2. It will tell you which keywords are actually getting the most searches – no guesswork.
  3. More importantly, it will tell you which keywords are bringing inquiries (valuable leads as opposed to tyre kickers)
  4. It will tell you the kind of message the market responds best to – (so you can develop your other advertising and even your website around that)
  5. It will give you a database of interested people that you can market back to.

By basing your longer term SEO campaign on the hard facts you get from a Pay Per Click campaign and not on best guesses you get from research tools, you will give yourself the best possible chance of dominating the most valuable keywords for your business – ensuring your online success.

3 Month Intensive Pay Per Click Campaign - $2,990*

For more details emailtony@thebrandmanager.com.au or call 130055 30 33.

*Please note – cost includes domain name registration, landing page hosting and use of our email marketing account. It does not include the cost of the clicks for the campaign. Clients must use a credit card to pay for this and must be prepared to spend up to $2,000 in clicks to get the campaign working properly.

Generic domains used for the campaign remain our property.


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Five tips for better business financial stability

Tuesday, April 07, 2009
By Tim Hoopmann



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Here's a smart way to build an online business

Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Here’s a smart way to build an on-line business


With millions of people surfing the internet daily it is vital that your business has a dynamic web presence.

Why pay $5,000 to $10,000 for a custom made website when you can build and host your own unique web page 
for a fraction of the cost?

With DesignShop’s exclusive Web Builder software you can design, build and self-manage your online business from only $47 a month, with no set-up fee.  Web Builder gives you the option of including an e-catalogue, forums, blogs, news, FAQs, secure zones and more! 

Web Builder provides a simple framework to develop an online business in just a few easy steps.  You can choose to enhance your website with one of DesignShop's design packages including copywriting, Flash animation and customised web page artwork.

To find out more visit: www.designshop.com.au

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Your logo says it all

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Your logo says it all

By Tony Eades  Business Marketing Specialist

Your logo is one of the most important assets to your business.

Take Coca- Cola for example, their logo could be licensed or sold today for millions of dollars– that’s just the logo not even the company.

Your logo is the pivot point of your business operations, everything comes from it.

Your customers react and interact withit, your marketing materials feature it and your  advertising promotes it. It’s not just a pretty picture – the colours chosen, the typeface  selected and the illustrations you use, all blend together to create a ‘feeling’ for your  business.

Your logo creates that all important ‘first impression’ for your potential customers. 

A logo should be current – if it is more than five years old then you really need to upgrade it. You probably aren’t wearing the same clothes you bought five to ten years ago - fashions and trends changeand your business image needs to reflect this.

Like a creative, modern design colour also adds vibrancy to a brand and delivers a physiological message to your potential customers.

Your logo should be at least two colours and usually no more than four – these  colour combinations create subliminal meanings like friendly, trustworthy,  dependable and so on.

 What are your logo colours secretly saying about your  business? 

Today’s modern printing methods have made full colour printing more affordable than everbefore so don’t be scared to use bright colours in your design.

A word of warning though – make sure that the colour chosen works equally as well on a computer screen as it does on a printed letterhead or business card – colour consistency across all mediums is vital to brand building.


Ideally you should employ the services of a qualified designer to create your logo as this will become your business brand. 
An initial outlay of a few thousand dollars now will turn out to be the best investment you could make in ensuring the 
success of your business in the future.

Who knows – maybe someday your logo, like Coca-Cola’s could be worth millions too.


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Get More Marketing Bang for Your Buck

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

How to make the most of a $5000 marketing budget

 

So you’ve got $5,000 to market your business but what do you 

spend it on to get the ‘best bang’ for your buck?


Here’s Tony Eades’ TOP FIVE marketing activities (in order of importance) to promote and grow your business with an 

investment of only $5000.

 

1.      BUILD YOUR ONLINE BUSINESS


Amazingly, about 60 per cent of SME’s still don’t have a convincing presence online. With millions of consumers searching daily online for products or using the internet to research a business before making a buying decision how can any business afford not to have an online shop front?


A $5,000 budget should buy you a professional 10-page website with necessities like e-news,
e-commerce, blogs, forums and a back-end content management system (CMS) so you can administer 

and edit the site yourself.

2.      DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN


Most small to medium businesses find that the majority of their regular customers virtually come from within a 5km radius of their front door. Through your local Australia Post distribution centre you can send ‘unaddressed mail’ to businesses, post office boxes or street addresses in your local area from just 12c an item.

 

Cleverly designed DL size (envelope size) flyers work best if printed on glossy, mid-weight stock – this helps take away the common junk mail feel.


To design, print and deliver 10,000-15,000 flyers should cost you less than $5,000 and achieve instant results.

 

3.      REFRESH YOUR BRAND


If you have had your logo for more than five years your brand is probably looking a little tired.

Let’s face it, how fashionable are your clothes from five years ago?


A modern redesign or upgrade of your logo can virtually re-launch your business in the market place.

A new look gives you and your sales team a reason to revisit all customers, old and new to re-introduce your business and its exciting new brand.

 

4.      TARGETED PRINT ADVERTISING


Most media publications charge a premium for advertising because of their high circulation, however, your target may only account for a small portion of these readers.


Find a trade magazine or publication that directly targets your industry or market and book a full page ad or series of half pages.  For new advertisers larger adverts deliver higher impact and can also give you some bargaining power to receive some complimentary editorial within the publication.

 

5.      HIGHER IMPACT SIGNAGE


Your building signage is like free advertising – promoting your business to passing traffic and potential trade everyday (and if illuminated, night traffic as well).  Like a house for sale with no For Sale sign out the front, poor signage can cost your business severely.


Is your main logo displayed on your building professionally, preferably in 3D, full colour and illuminated at night? Consider window displays printed on banner mesh or one-way vinyl that allows you to see out but display full colour graphics from the outside.  Are your company cars and vans sign written or at least display magnetic decals on the promoting your brand and website?


Then there’s informational signage – do customers know where to park, opening hours of your business, which products you sell or what services you offer?


Marketing is essential for your business survival and growth. It’s vital to get the most “bang” for your marketing buck.  For more marketing ideas on a shoestring budget call your Business Development Team at BrandManager on 1300 55 30 33.
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Welcome to BrandManager – your creative solutions company

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Have you noticed your sales declining, fewer prospects or even more competitors moving into your space?

Your brand is the most important asset in your business – it’s the reason why people buy from you and not your competitors. So, how effective is your brand in today’s marketplace – is it really as powerful as it could be?

Compare your logo, brand and USP (your unique selling proposition) to that of your competitors – does it clearly stand out, does it feel fresh and modern or old and tired?

If you were a potential customer would you be excited and motivated to buy from your business?
We’ve worked with literally hundreds of businesses like yours, large and small organisations from all over Australia and we have found that when it comes to marketing the same common mistakes are made time and time again.

Working with BrandManager means you will …

  • Unlock your true business potential, grow your brand and increase sales by avoiding common marketing mistakes
  • Tap in to a pool of creative talent to make your marketing more exciting and above all, far more effective
  • Save time by working with one company that has the experience you need in print, web, digital media and mainstream advertising
  • Save money with discounts of up to 30 percent on Australia’s best wholesale print pricing
  • Manage and grow your business with print marketing software, sales training and marketing workshops 
I'm Tony Eades, BrandManager's Creative Director - invest just 30 minutes in a meeting with me and I’ll show you where you are probably going wrong with your marketing and what you should be doing right now to grow your business brand. 

Phone us on 1300 55 30 33, email info@thebrandmanager.com.au or call in for a coffee at level 5, Nexus Building, 4 Columbia Court, Baulkham Hills.


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BrandAid Breakfast

Tuesday, April 07, 2009


Avoid the ten most common marketing mistakes and discover proven ways to build your business in a recession, increase sales, grow your customer base and build your brand in an economic downturn.  

Limit to just 10 businesses per session. Only $77 per person including coffee/breakfast plus a free ‘creative’ 
one on one at your business (worth $250).

Register your interest now for upcoming sessions in May and June 2009.

To register click here and nominate your number of attendees - available session dates will be sent to you for you to choose from.

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