The days of responding to the clever advertising of national brands are winding down.  In fact, I recently learned that currently only 18% of television spots generate positive ROI.

Wow!  What a difference from when I was a Media Director (1966-76), placing clients’ advertising in the print and broadcast media.  Little did the major media (or I) suspect that within fewer than two decades, their Golden Age would begin to diminish considerably.

Now, city by city, the emphasis on supporting local businesses is growing exponentially.  Here in Fort Collins, CO we are blessed to have a dynamo named Gailmarie Kimmel.  Several years ago Gailmarie started an annual “Be Local” book, priced at the princely sum of $10.00, offering $600.00 worth of coupons to theaters, restaurants, local shops, farms, you name them.  You can find them everywhere!

Gailmarie has also been a major force in our Sustainable Living Fairs, which held their 10^th Annual event last September.

With Hill Grimmett, who runs the Northern Colorado Food Incubator, Gailmarie has proven the healthy appetite that Northern Colorado residents have for local foods and crafts.   Ten Winter Markets ran from November through March, and local vendors were more than pleased.  And, let’s not forget the local business owners who have much to crow about, as a result of the “Shop Fort Collins First” campaign that’s been running for the past few years.

What’s going on?  Well, certainly, the recession has expedited an interest in gardening and crafts.  We’re simply going back to basics.

Moreover, we’re paying more attention to ingredients on packages.  Organics and “natural” are in.  Why pay for produce that’s chemically infused to withstand the rigors of distance shipping, when we can buy totally fresh, locally-made products created with purity, passion and integrity?

It’s fun to discover the delicious byproducts of all the farms and ranches in our area, as other residents are finding in their locales across the US.

Then, of course, we’re supporting local businesses and restaurants, because they feature great products, food and service.  We avoid shipping costs and don’t have to drive very far.  Our daily newspaper features local businesses and farm families every week.  It seems the public is casting its vote for local, independent, fresh and pure.

What an exciting time!

Right now it feels as if the business community is divided into two camps: those who are resisting social media and those who are their raving fans.

While I admit to being not nearly so proficient as I could be, I’m trying and learning as much as I can; moreover, while I still see them as potentially great gobblers of our precious time, I can’t deny social media’s effectiveness.

Clearly, in just a few years, the social media have turned conventional marketing strategies on their ears.

You’ve heard me say many times that it’s not no money; and it’s not no time.  It’s no priority.  When one doesn’t know the benefits of doing something, any excuse will do.

Yet for those holdouts who were waiting for real live success stories, they’re here!  Social media testimonials are erasing cynicism . . . quickly.

Let’s get back to priority.  For those in very small businesses, there is no law that says the owner has to do it all.  Learning to delegate is an important managerial skill that is crucial to a company’s growth.

It’s possible to delegate social media participation.  And this doesn’t have to be a full-time job.  I would guess that there are many people out of work right now who are skilled in the social media.  In fact they’re using social media as I write this to try to find employment.

You know unemployed or under-employed people; we all do.  Here’s an incredible opportunity to create a win-win.  Find someone to help your business grow through social media, and give that person some free-lance, hourly work at a fee considerably above minimum wage.

Resourcefulness is a wonderful trait, isn’t it?

You bet they aren’t!  A wise man (whose identity I do not know) once said, “There’s nothing so constant as change.”

Unfortunately it’s come so quickly that many aren’t ready for it.

Not too many years ago there were three major television networks.  Now there are myriad specialized networks, and the three majors are floundering.  Where channel numbers used to end at thirteen, they now go into the high hundreds.

Not that long ago, there were both morning and evening newspapers in virtually every major city.  How many dailies have closed down in the past decade?

It’s only since 1991 that the Internet has become available outside of the scientific and academic communities; yet how much has the Internet changed the way we seek and acquire information in only 19 years?  That’s not even a generation!

And recently Facebook celebrated its mere 6^th anniversary.  In only six years, consider how Facebook in particular (and social marketing in general) have altered the ways we communicate and market.

So . . . the complaint that “things we did for years aren’t working any longer” simply reinforces the resistance to, or denial of change.  We’re fast leaving behind the passivity of promoting our companies and waiting for people to respond.

Here’s the good news, however: there are several marketing strategies that cost next to nothing, or are even free, that do work.  Today we have to be far more pro-active, as in strategies that are face-to-face, voice-to-voice and educational.

The big question is, how fervently are you resisting them, because “we’ve always done it (another) way”?

Marketing today is all about emotion.  Certainly not the logic of going for the numbers and percentages of response.  People buy from you because they have confidence in, are comfortable with and trust you – all emotions.

Here’s more good news: expensive, unaffordable advertising and direct mail campaigns are on the decline.  We’re marketing and targeting on far smaller scales.

How can you incorporate interactivity and participation into your marketing activities?   It’s time to engage your prospects, clients and customers . .  pro-actively!

Often at seminars I ask attendees what they think is the single most important aspect of running a business.  People start to call out, “quality, range of products and services, good employees, expertise, price.”

As they call out these and other issues, I have an answer for each; “won’t be important, doesn’t matter” and so on.  After they’re through I state very simply, “The most critical part of running your business is keeping your name out there.  If you don’t do that, nothing else matters.”

That sobers them quickly enough.  How are you going to generate business, if nobody knows about you?  And how will prospects learn about you, if marketing is always the last thing you pay attention to in your business?

Over the years I’ve learned it’s not really No Time; nor is it No Money.  It’s overwhelmingly No Priority.  If you don’t know the benefits (WII-FMs: what’s in it for me?) of doing something, it’s very easy to find excuses not to do it!

These days I hear the same excuses over and over again.  “I’m uncomfortable with marketing; finance is my thing” or “I don’t know where to begin” or “Marketing is expensive, and I don’t have the cash flow to support it.”

Rubbish.  If you don’t know how to promote your business, you shouldn’t own one.  If you are overwhelmed by where to start, purchase two hours of consultation from a marketing consultant who will give you several suggestions of what’s appropriate for you.  If you’re worried about the money, let your resourcefulness kick in.  It’s called “bootstrapping.”

The simple fact is that you’re not going to succeed, or even survive, by burying your head in the sand.  Marketing is fun; it’s exciting and invigorating.  If you’re passionate about what you do, the passion will come through in the excitement you generate, when you talk about your products and services.

Marketing is that easy.  In marketing it’s not what you spend, but how you spend it.  Primarily, marketing is getting and keeping your name out there through networking and schmoozing, both of which are free to inexpensive.

What are you waiting for?

On the phone with a client last week, I received yet another reinforcing lesson in how companies don’t communicate.

Only in the past few weeks has this company assigned an individual to call clients regarding installations and repairs of the week before.  They’re just beginning to realize that there could be some business in service contracts, and having let warranties run out!  Imagine how the client feels, being told their warranty ran out six months ago; and they’ll now have to pay full rate for repairs.  I made it clear that I would be livid!

Here’s the rub, though: this company isn’t unique.  Thinking about how to position them away from their competition, I asked, “How good are your competitors at staying in touch?”  To my relief  (as far as this client is concerned), they replied, “Oh, none of them stay in touch, either.”  This client has nowhere to go but up!

What makes small and growing businesses worship “new business” to such an extent, while ignoring the clients/customers they already have?  Don’t they know that the #1 reason why companies change vendors is Lack of Attention?  What’s wrong with this incommunicado picture?

At a time when individuals and companies are being more and more discretionary with their funds and price has become exceedingly important, doesn’t it make good sense to stay in touch?  To prove you’re there after the sale?  To justify the value to a client/customer of working with you?

It seems to me that the best thing that might be said about a company right now is along the lines of, “I know they’re not the cheapest, but their service is spectacular.  I’m confident I’m saving money in the long run, because you get what you pay for; and I’m not switching to a lower-cost vendor for price only.

What’s the chance people are saying that about you?

All around me, people are proving that they haven’t a clue what marketing is.  This comes out when they tell me, “I have no money to market.”  Actually, they’re talking about advertising.  Advertising is a part of marketing, but marketing isn’t just advertising.

It also hits home, when I hear about people in marketing positions being laid off.  Unquestionably, marketing can appear ephemeral; and employers don’t know how to measure the results that marketing brings.  They don’t even set goals!

A huge issue is the attraction to marketing that is Unknown to Unknown (cold calls, cold mailings, media advertising and a good deal of website activity).  People aren’t targeting their marketing efforts.  They don’t have Marketing Plans (a client proved this morning he doesn’t even know what a Marketing Plan is).  Exacerbating the lack of targeting is the lack of continuity; people shoot themselves in their feet by focusing on one-shots (“Let’s run an ad and see what happens.”).

I learned recently about a couple who wanted to promote their Grand Opening through public relations.  When two releases didn’t show results, they stopped the PR.  That’s unfortunate, because they quit before the momentum had a chance to kick in.

Marketing needs focus and continuity.  Neither has to be expensive.  In marketing it’s not what you spend, but how you spend it.  Those whose businesses will survive know that you have to keep your name “out there.”  And that doesn’t have to be a costly proposition, if you understand how to market effectively.

Too many times lately, I’ve heard, “our salespeople are complaining that we’re not giving them enough advertising support.  They want us to run in the newspapers, go on the radio, place coupons in household mailers.”

That’s b.s.  They want you to do what?  Spend your money, not theirs?  I don’t think so!

There are basically three ways to market:  Unknown to Unknown (cold calls, cold mailings, media advertising, about 80% of the Internet), Known to Unknown (public relations and referrals) and Known to Known (additional business from existing clients or customers).

U to U costs the most, represents the greatest risk and takes the longest to work.  K to U and K to K are low-cost to no-cost, risk-free and work quickly.

So what’s wrong here?  It’s simple  Too many salespeople are used to the boss spending the money, while they sit back and wait for the leads to come in.  C’mon.  Those days are over!

It’s time to put some healthy demands on sales staffs, provide training on how to work smart not hard, rebel against the easy expenditures that are working less and eroding your profitability.

Everyone in a small or growing business is a member of the company’s Marketing Team.  That means they’re all in this together.  This isn’t about “you spend, I’ll reap.”  It’s about, “Boss, I’ve never sold this way before, but I’m willing to learn.  Who can we get in here to teach us about Relationship Marketing, which seems to be the new paradigm?”

Cold calls and cold mailings are out; relationship-building is in.  And, here’s the good news: this latter Marketing Strategy yields results almost immediately.  Yet there are still too many holdouts, and this is from the top down.

Employees reflect their company’s culture and beliefs, so come into the 21^st century!  Set a more contemporary marketing example.  Insert face-to-face and voice-to-voice strategies into your (written) Marketing Plan.

Stop marketing hard.  Market smart. Save significant marketing dollars and sell more . . . faster.

For 33 years I’ve spoken and consulted nationally, occasionally outside the US.  I’ve had the repeated thrill of receiving off-the-chart evaluations after conferences and the amazing honor of being invited back time and time again.

The people in my seminars and workshops are marvelous.  They ask questions, participate, become motivated.

The challenge is with their partners, fellow executives and employees back at the office, who haven’t become engaged in the excitement of marketing.  They claim they’re too busy.

Well, when the current rush of work ends, what will be in the pipeline?  Admit it.  Your people are intimidated by a lack of familiarity with marketing.  They’re comfortable with their daily routines and resistant of change.

It’s time to begin a marketing training program for everyone.  Find some seminars or latest business books and assign attendees/readers.  Hire a marketing professional who has nothing to sell but time, expertise and experience.  That rules out advertising agencies, public relations firms, media representatives, website developers, free-lance artists and copywriters, who all come later.   A Marketing Plan comes first.

Here’s what I’ve learned over the years:  it’s rarely “no time” nor “no money.”  It’s usually “no priority,” which stems from not knowing the benefits of doing something.  Of course, then, any excuse will do.

Unfortunately, there’s no higher priority in your company, practice or organization than consistent marketing.  Without marketing, you won’t have to worry about your products and services, quality control, trained employees, profitability, sustained growth – not any of it, if the marketplace doesn’t know who you are, what you do and how to find you.

Fortunately, in marketing it’s not what you spend, but how you spend it.

“We don’t have any time to think about marketing” has got to replaced by “how can we grow steadily and profitably, and what kind of marketing will that take?” It’s not the economy.  It’s the attitude toward marketing that has to change . . .  immediately.

How do people have so much common sense in their personal lives and so little, when it comes to their businesses?

Take marketing, for example.  Billions (that’s with a “b”) of dollars are wasted each year by small and growing companies, because people either don’t know what they’re doing; or they rely on the advice of their colleagues, who may or may not be equally ignorant.

If you bought a piece of equipment, you’d do your research.  Marketing, however, seems to be perennially on the back burner.  Then, when owners are desperate, we hear, “How cheaply can we get away with doing this?”  Or “Let’s run an ad (do a mailing) and see what happens.”

You respond to repetition.  Because of the stresses in your daily lives, you have to be reminded of the same things time and time again.  Isn’t that why Palm Pilots and Blackberries are so popular?  You don’t have to rely on your memory, when you can file away basic information, to be called up at a flick of a stylus.

What would make you even think you can get a response after running one ad or doing one mailing, when there are so many demands on peoples’ time; when TV viewership is eroding and splintering so consistently; when newspapers are closing in droves, because the younger generations are gaining their information from YouTube, the Internet, cable TV and Wikipedia?

It’s time to think in terms of Market Planning and marketing campaigns, and I’m not just talking about advertising in the media.  In marketing, it’s not what you spend; it’s how you spend it.

Marketing isn’t a do-it-yourself craft.  A few people have formidable marketing instincts, but they’re notable exceptions.  Most are intimidated by marketing and don’t know where to begin.  Do they try to learn more about marketing, by taking advantage of seminars and workshops?  Not nearly often enough.  Stop pretending you know everything.  Attend a seminar or two to ease your discomfort with marketing, and give this important discipline the attention it deserves.

Make your marketing time and dollar investments pay off.  Become more enthusiastic about marketing.  There’s no more exciting part of your business, practice or organization, than when you begin to see the results of your marketing efforts!

Welcome to The Adrienne’s Alert. I blog about real world issues concerning marketing. I don’t pull any punches so here goes…