Creating Effective Local Promotions (part 1 of 2)

This is Part 1 of an article I wrote for 'The Science of Beauty', a national magazine for the salon industry. However the message applies to all businesses that promote locally.
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Creating Effective Local Promotions

The first thing you need to consider when planning a promotion in your local area is… Who is in your local area?

You need to have a clear image of whom you will be speaking to through your promotion. What type of person do you expect to attract?

Most salons service a distinct local area – usually within about a 5km to 7km radius from the salon. Have you actually mapped where your market is? The best way to do this is to review your client data and create a list of all clients by postcode. Then you can sort the postcodes (using a spreadsheet) and determine the actual geographic spread of clients.

Understand Who You Are Talking To

You might be surprised at the results. I have seen salons that have 80% of clients within a 5km radius. This has a huge impact on which marketing communication tactics you should use. There is no point promoting to people who live 10 or 15km away if they aren’t going to travel to your salon.

Once you know the geographic coverage of your local market area consider the demographic and socio-economic profile of the people living there.

Demographics means the age, lifestyle, family size etc of the local residents.

Socio-economic means the financial status of residents including what type of jobs they do and average household income.

If you’re new to your market area, or simply not sure about the different areas, why not hop in the car and take a drive around and see for yourself. You can also access census data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics if you want even more detail (visit www.abs.gov.au).

Part of your assessment of the local area should also include a competitor analysis. Who are your competitors? How do they compare to you for presentation of the business, services offered, pricing etc? Know your enemy!

One of the main reasons you need to have an understanding of the demographics and socio-economic factors is that it can help you decide what you should be promoting - which services and products, and at which price-point.

What to Offer?

I’ve written before about not offering a discount. Why is it bad? Because discounts undermine the perceived value in your services and products. It also makes it harder to get new clients to re-book at full price.

The best thing to do is to think about the purpose of the promotion. Then you can decide what to offer.

* Is it to attract more first-time clients?
* Is it to promote a specific service/product?
* Is it to fill a gap in your booking schedule?

For example if your aim is to attract more clients for any/all of your services, then you would want to promote the most popular services. Give people something they want.

Create a Package – Promote Value

Then think about how you can create a package combining a number of these services and/or products. Don’t simply reduce the price on your popular services. That’s business suicide!

The idea of offering a package is two-fold. Firstly, it creates a high perceived value. In reality you may have more margin to play with on services than on products. So by making smart decisions about your package you can still make your offer profitable for you.

Secondly, offering a package makes it difficult, if not impossible, for your prospects to easily compare you to competitors. This way you don’t need to offer the lowest prices to get attention.

Keep the focus of your offer on ‘value’, not on ‘price’.
And be sure to include a reason to respond NOW. Consider using a limited time offer, or a limited quality offer. Be specific about the time frame or number.

Stay tuned for Part 2...

6 Simple Tips for Effective Promotional Flyers

See these real-life examples

1. Consistent Use of Colours (not too dull; not too many colours).

Don’t try using a rainbow of colours. Usually you should focus on colours that are part of your company’s colour scheme or logo. Figure out what will work best and stick to it. Consistency is the key – but ensure you have a colour that can be used to highlight the important points. Contrast is always helpful in attracting attention.

2. Interesting Main Graphic/image to Grab Attention.

Think about the newspaper. You look at the pictures first, then the headline. Then read the story (maybe). Make sure you use a relevant and interesting graphic, cartoon, picture, drawing or image. Don’t be too clever in your choice of graphic – make sure everyone will understand what the image is and how it is relevant.

3. Use a Clear Headline Stating the Benefit.

Lead with your strongest points. Your headline will grab attention – make the most of it. Think of the most important and attractive words to use such as Free, Save, Bonus, Guaranteed, Easy, Lose, Win, Limited, Exclusive, Easy… and more.

4. Include an Offer.

Give people something to respond to… NOW! Don’t assume they will call you. Give them something they can’t refuse. For many services a free report is a good offeras people want to be educated about what they are buying. Or a free trial. Or a value-added offer (buy 1 get one free). Try to avoid using a straight discount – it cheapens your service or product.

5. Include a Direct Call-to-Action.

Tell people how they should respond. Be very clear. Give them multiple options. People love going to your website to check you out before they contact you. Make sure your website is listed as well as phone, fax or email response options. Make it quick and easy to respond.

6. Contact Details or Location Clearly Visible.

Don’t make recipients hunt for your details – they don’t have the time. Many people won’t be able to read small print, so keep the font size at least 12 point or larger. Make it bold. Make it obvious.

Good luck with your next flyer!

By the way, most of these tips also apply to creating effective advertisements and brochures.

More sales and marketing tips here

The Trading Post Newspaper Bites The Dust

For years the Trading Post newspaper was 'the' place to look when buying or selling any number of goods. It was famous - a market leader, published weekly. Now it is dead. The last issue will be published on Oct 29.

Killed by the internet and the growth of online shopping.

In the space of a few years this iconic print publication has seen its usage decimated.

But it's online version has skyrocketed in popularity. The Trading Post lives on, online.

The publication's readership dropped by one third to 469,000 in the last year.

But tradingpost.com.au, which launched in 1996, averages 1.8 million unique visitors a month. The publication's mobile site, launched last year, attracts around 140,000 visitors each month.

In the past two years, The Trading Post's number of print ads fell by 70% but the number of ads placed on tradingpost.com.au grew by 30%.

The lesson for your business... stay vigilant of trends. Your clients want an easy life. They will take whatever option they think will make it easiest for them.

Of course quality matters. But people want innovation, ease of use... and quality.

A Lesson on Marketing Consistency from the Franchise Industry

Being in a franchise group often creates real challenges for entrepreneurial business owners. The Franchisor goes to great lengths to create a proven system. But the entrepreneurial Franchisee sees opportunities to tweak and change the Franchise marketing format.

In a recent article on Brand Channel, Karyn Kozo says:

When franchisees deviate from the established visual and verbal language that has been endorsed by the corporate office because they don’t think it will be effective in their market, they diminish their ability to build on the brand equity that they bought into. Creating their own ad formats and communications pieces is like starting at ground zero and building a brand from the ground up.

Many smaller businesses ignore the impact that is created by using a variety of advertising messages. Their thinking is usually reactive - and short term.

The truth is that customers are easily confused by receiving different messages from the same business. People receive thousands of promotional messages every day. They wont stop and try to figure YOU out. They will just MOVE ON to an offer they can understand... and that is consistent.

Karyn Kozo goes on to say:

But, no matter where the idea originates, the key is to anchor it in strategy, assess the value to the target audience and execute it at a level of consistency and flexibility that’s appropriate for the organization and the brand.

See what she says... "anchor in strategy"... and ... "value to target audience".

Effective marketing is rarely achieved by reactive "we need more sales" advertising or special offers.

If you are in a group or franchise system, be prepared to discuss your local marketing ideas with your Franchisor. Most established groups offer a local area marketing program to help you combine the best of corporate branding and the needs of your local market.

If you have an individual business, pay attention to what the 'big boys' do with their consistent approach to marketing. You may not have (or need) their marketing budget... but a consistent approach can pay dividends.

Less can be more.

Less confusion. Fewer special offers. A more consistent marketing message.

Cement your position (and value offer) by being consistent with your marketing messages.

Your customers will thank you by buying more from you!

Latest BizTip Q + A - how to get a mailing list

I regularly get questions from business owners. Unlike other advisors I know, I don't always charge for my advice. Every now and then I'll post one of my answers onto the BizTips page at my website. Here is the latest question and answer...

Paul P. asked:
I'm starting my own business, and all I want to do is buy one mailing list of one-family homes valued at $250,000 and up, in Louisville, Kentucky. Everyone wants to sell me some kind of package. Lost. What can I do?

Answer:
As I'm not in your area I can't tell you exactly what information is available. However, from my experience that sort of detailed/matched information will only be available if it has been specifically collected previously by a commercial organisation or research company. General government census data doesn't usually match data like the family type with a specific home address (within a specific range of value).

I don't think you should have to buy a 'package' of data but the list you want may be quite expensive, as far as lists go, because it is for upper income households, and must have been pre-qualified (i.e. checked) to make sure the family and home value status match.

Check around for 'list brokers' who may be able to provide what you want. Ask them what they have. They may be outside your area but have suitable list for you. Prices are usually quoted per 'record' (which is per name). Check how recent the list is, and how often it is used (maybe it is over-used and recipients are sick of getting mail?)

As an alternative, why not target tight geographic areas where the home values match what you need, and start a promotional program to attract the right type of client. Your promotional/marketing plan could include the following (Note: I don't know what you will be offering, so not all ideas may be equally suitable):

* Leaflet drops
* Advertising in local papers
* Editorials in local papers based on a news-worthy story you can offer.
* Sponsoring suitable events in the area.
* Speaking to local groups (maybe Rotary, business, special interest groups)
* Website, with key words targeting the area and what you are offering.
* Joint ventures with existing businesses who already have those types of clients you are targeting:
- mail outs
- seminars
- advertising
- email newsletter advertising
- reciprocal links on website
* Building referral network based on building a relationship with the referrers.

Hope this gets you thinking!

All the best.
Stuart.