Why are so many companies reducing, or worse yet, completely eliminating their advertising and marketing?

It doesn’t make any sense.

Think about it…

I understand the economy isn’t the greatest.  The thing is though; this is actually a great time to increase your investment in advertising and marketing, not reduce it.

With so many of your competitors shutting down their marketing machine (if they even had one), the amount of mail and messages received by your clients is way down because no one wants to let go of their cash.

What that means to you is this:

You now have a greater audience that’s seeing much less advertising from your competitors, so yours will stand out more.

That’s assuming your ads and marketing techniques are solid and built on time-proven direct marketing principles.

Past marketing surveys show when a economic problem turns around, the companies that increased investment in their own marketing  during the slow times showed a significant increase in sales over ones that didn’t.

So what are you waiting for?

For more information about this post, on website or print copywriting or marketing consulting services, please visit my website at www.crestviewmarketing.com.

Did you know you can list your business, even multiple businesses on Google Maps for free?

When someone does a Google search and adds a location such as a town or city in their search, depending on the relevance and distance, you may show up on top.  Try it.  For example, search on “plumber dover” and look at the top results.  Cool, huh!

Heck, you don’t even need a website! All you need is a free Google account to list your company.  You can create a easy listing that includes your address, contact information, hours, description of your comany, and payment options.

Videos and pictures can be added to your listing, if you so desire.  Select up to 3 categories, and voilla, you are done!

How to create your own free listing  

Go to www.maps.google.com and click on “put your business in Google maps” on the left.  Click on “add new listing” and enter all your pertinent information and click next.  It’s fast and easy, AND FREE! 

For more information on my copywriting or marketing consulting services, please visit my website at www.crestviewmarketing.com.

There is a distubing trend I have seen lately that is driving me crazy, so I need to get it off my chest.

That trend is people whining about results of their marketing and advertising methods.  I’ve met with several new clients recently where they say “nothing works” or “was disappointed with the results of my latest sales letter”, or something similar.

When I asked them if they had consulted with any one before meeting with me; many in fact, had previously discussed marketing strategies and ideas with other consultants.

So why the poor results, and why are these people complaining about those results?

After further digging, I found that some of the marketing advice given to these people was actually pretty good advice; some I would have given them myself.

The other common thread I found was that, even after paying for and getting good marketing advice in the past, was that they didn’t do anything with the advice they had paid for!  Instead, they kept doing the same thing they always did— and, guess what?

 Yep…they got what they always got.  Poor results!

After talking with me, many, but not all, blamed the previous consultant for their own poor results, when the blame truly rested squarely on their own shoulders for not following the advice given them.  I did set them straight.  Some admitted it, some didnt like it much.  But, that’s the way it goes.

No one likes to listen to complainers!

Once in a while, I run into the same thing myself.  I will talk to a prospect, maybe they can’t afford my services right away, but still need to do something. So what I tell them is this.

Go to my website  and sign up for my free Marketing Gems 101 newsletter that gives free marketing tips every few weeks.  Then they will at least have some good free information to act on themselves.

A few weeks later, I will contact them to see how it’s going, and, guess what?  They usually say “the same as before”.

Well, I already know why.  It’s because they haven’t done anything different than before, or anything at all.  I ask them if they signed up for the free tips.  Heck, they didn’t even sign up for the tips that would have started them off in the right direction!  FOR FREE! 

I got no sympathy for people who complain because of lack of their own actions.  You gotta do something about your own marketing.  It isn’t magic and it doesn’t happen all by itself. Take Action!

Granted, not everything will work, but many things will.  You’ll never know until you try.  Marketing is a big test.  No right, no wrong, just some things will work better than others, but you gotta do it.

Sometimes, I have to act like a nagging parent, but if that’s what prompts my clients to do something, than I’ve done my job.  If I (or anyone else) give you actionable tasks and you dont do ’em, you have no one to bitch about except yourself!

If you are interested in sales copywriting or marketing consulting services, please visit my website at www.crestviewmarketing.com.

Constant customer and prospect contact is a good thing!

First of all, every business, no matter what kind of business it is,  should keep in constant contact with their customer base and also their prospect list.  This is Marketing 101, but I am constantly amazed at how few companies really do it.

Heck, 2 months ago I purchased a new carpet from a local flooring company, and have yet to even get a thank you, or anything from them (other than an invoice in the mail).  I guess I really don’t expect to.

But that’s my point!  What a great opportunity they blew to at least touch base with me.  They should have thanked me,  make sure the carpet is holding up good, that the installation went according to plan, and to see if I needed anything else.

Afterwards, I wanted to get some of the remaining remnants made into mats so I just took it down to a carpet place one mile down the road and had them do it.  Another profit opportunity for the original company blown.

Anyway, that’s a little off the subject, but my point is to keep in contact.  A monthly newsletter or blog is a great and inexpensive way to do that, but many people don’t know what they should write about.

Great writing resource

I just finished reading this powerful e-book that provided me with a gazillion (alright, really over 300) simple ideas, and a step-by-step system to write newsletters, articles, blogs, or whatever else you may have up your sleeve!

The inspiring book is titled The Content Catalyst,  and was written by best-selling author of 38 marketing and design books, Roger C. Parker.  It literally takes every obstacle of writing away by guiding you by the hand every step of the way.  You will have your project written in an hour!

For his other incredibly inexpensive writing resources, visit his websites at Published & Profitable  and Design To Sell.

These are by far the easiest and least expensive ways I’ve seen to keep coming up with non-stop marketing content.  So now you have NO excuses for keeping in touch with your customers.

If you want more information about how to make more money with my sales copywriting or marketing consulting services, please visit my website at www.crestviewmarketing.com.