Of course, no great trip would be complete without a marketing experience blog post upon my return!

We went for dinner at the Sunset Grill at the Radisson Hotel, our usual spot for our anniversary. In response to a joke by the waiter about the dangers of the extremely large steak knife, I mentioned it was our anniversary so my husband need not worry about the size of the knife.

As usual we had a wonderful dinner, but without warning, out came the waiter with this fantastic dessert prepared just for us! Warm chocolate souffle with ice cream was heavenly, but the preparation, presentation and surprise was just the best.

Having a wonderful, romantic dinner was what we expected when we went to the Sunset Grill. This surprise by the waiter not only exceeded our expectations, it made the experience much more memorable.

Marketing Tip

Surprise your customers with something that they don’t expect to make their every experience with you pleasantly memorable. A dessert really didn’t cost a lot but the impression it made on us was quite extensive. Quality service is always appreciated although sometimes expected. But a surprise bonus, such as this totally unexpected, wonderful dessert, goes a long way towards developing or solidifying your long-term relationships with your valued customers and strengthening your brand in their eyes.

What small surprise can you give your valued customers and clients to make their experience with you memorable?

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Surprise – The Secret to Exceeding Expectations is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

I’m sure you are trying to figure out how this relates to marketing your business.

On my way home, I realized that both Coldplay and U2 share something in common – they put themselves as close to their audience as they safely can. They figure out what drives their fans and keeps them coming back for more. Other rock bands separate themselves up on stage, putting a wall up between them and their audience.

But both U2 and Coldplay are skilled at playing to the crowd. U2 has the catwalk that enables the members to come right out into the audience while staying visible to everyone in the arena. Coldplay extended the stage on either end, allowing them to come out towards the audience and get closer to them as well. In addition, Coldplay came up into the audience on a small stage and sang two songs in the crowd, sharing themselves with everyone.

As business owners, we should take a lesson from U2 and Coldplay and build that “fan” relationship with your customers, prospects and aquaintances. Figure out how to get close to them so you can figure out what drives their business and how you can help them achieve their goals or minimize their challenges. Listen to them when they talk, give them what they want and they will be fans of yours for a long time.

U2 photo credit  Phil Romans.

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Lessons from a Rock Concert is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Push marketing is when you use various activities to get your message in front of your ideal client. The marketer is in control of what the message is, how it is seen, when and where. 

Ok so that coincides with what I term traditional marketing activities. Doing things to make sure your target audience sees or hears your message.

However, I was a bit surprised at some of the answers when it came to pull marketing. First my definition of pull marketing:

Marketing activities that encourage your prospect to seek you out and find out whether you have something of value to offer them. Pull marketing activities build relationships and can include blogging, podcasting, article marketing and networking (both on and offline). Pull marketing uses the law of attraction, incorporating all the components of your personal brand to attract and retain these people as your biggest fans.

But as I read the various definitions of pull marketing, I realized that social media has changed its definition, and probably for the better. Today, pull marketing is about developing relationships that attract your ideal client to you. It shows the value you offer to these prospects so that they naturally are attracted to your products and / or services.

Before social media, pull marketing was viewed quite differently. In an article from MoreBusiness.com dated August 2006, it states that:

Pull marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies that are meant to entice the prospect to buy your product or service. Some classic examples are “half off!” or “bring in this coupon to save 25%” or “buy one get one free”, etc.

With pull marketing, you are trying to create a sense of increased, time limited value so that the customer will come into your store to buy.

And although that last statement may be true, I view this type of marketing as push as the promotional strategies are still controlled by the marketer, not the target market. Offers such as these should always be included in your marketing activities to draw people in. But they are not pull strategies in my mind.

True pull marketing is based on us being visible where your ideal client hangs out and becoming part of their communities. Greg Verdino says it well:

Pull is not about pulling consumers in; it’s about giving consumers a reason to pull us in.  Remember truism #1 – they’re in control; they (not we) decide where they go and what they experience.  We’ve lost the right to pull consumers anywhere (if we ever really had that right at all.)

Pull means that we to go to them, join their communities, give them reasons to voluntarily draw us into their personal media experiences.  We’re not interrupting them.  They’re opting into us. 

To get your ideal client to discover you, develop a marketing plan that combines a strong personal brand and word of mouth marketing tactics (both online and offline) to increase your exposure as an expert in your discipline. This will help you attract them to you and make them your true fans.

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Push vs. Pull Marketing is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

For many thinking of starting their own businesses, the fear of finding clients can paralyze them enough to sabotage their efforts. Cold calling prospects can make some of us break out in a cold sweat. One of the things that I learned early on in my business start-up days is that there are other ways to find clients. When you have worked in corporate America for your entire career, one of the skills you didn’t learn was how to network. As a business owner, networking is one of the best ways to get clients and today, adding social networking to the mix makes your ability to find business that much easier.

One of the first things I did when I launched the business was to join BNI (Business Network International). Some people feel that it doesn’t work, but when you are starting a business, being busy meeting new people, gaining a support organization and having a place to test your marketing message is really a valuable exercise. The next thing I did was to take a course on networking. The course taught me the basic principle of growing your business, called the VCP model – Visibility + Credibility = Profitability. Dr. Ivan Misner developed this three phase relationship development model: Visibility–Credibility–Profitability or VCP, to help business owners understand how to generate profitable relationships.

• Visibility – Be seen otherwise out of sight, out of mind.
• Credibility – Develop the relationship so that people understand your value and how to refer business to you.
• Profitability – Cultivating relationship with the right referral sources will result in profitable business relationships.

The principles of networking transcend to social networking. How does the VCP model work in social networking?

Building visibility and credibility using social media takes time but is worth it as it provides the venue from which you can create visibility and demonstrate your expertise. In many ways, it’s easier to develop this reputation online since the tools enable you to build your reputation on a daily basis. In person networking events happen frequently, but not 24×7.

Where to begin?

• Create a blog and write relevant posts;
• Create profiles on social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook, MyBlogLog and other social networks that relate to your area of expertise;
• Link your blog to your profiles and look for other opportunities to get link love;
• Comment intelligently on other blogs;
• Submit your blog to Technorati and Blogged.com;
• Answer questions on LinkedIn;



• Share presentations on SlideShare with linked audio if you have it;
• Create videos and upload to YouTube.

You get the picture!

So why do we do it?

Because according to John Jantsch, ”Tis better to be found than to find“.

1) It’s just a whole lot more fun to pick up the phone and have someone on the other end go on about all the great things they have read, seen and heard about your products and services.

2) (And I think this is a really big point) Prospects that come to you by way of your information machine, that have logically progressed down a path of education, are probably ten times more likely to be ideal and equally more likely to close than those that you go out and try to convince to buy from you. In fact, your marketing system can be one of the greatest ways to qualify leads – if a lead won’t go down your education path, that might be a red flag that they won’t be an ideal customer either.

What other ways do you recommend people get visibility and credibility using social media?

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Visibility + Credibility = Profitability is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

The Experience

I bought Cuisinart replacement filters for my coffee maker through Amazon which was fulfilled by SmallAppliance.com. The cost was under $20.

When the package arrived, two of the three boxes of filters were fine. In the third box, one of the filters was broken and the charcoal was loose inside the packaging. It was obvious that the filter was not broken during transit as the box and cellophane packaging was not opened or damaged.

I called SmallAppliance.com to get a replacement for the broken filter. I was told I had to take a picture and send it to them for proof of the damage so they could provide it to Cuisinart for them to get a refund. Then I was told that once I got the replacement I had to return the box with the broken filter.

I asked why for a $7 item I had to jump through hoops to get it replaced when most times the merchant just sends another and says keep the damaged item? Their answer was that they didn’t like it either but it was what Cuisinart required of them in order to get a refund for the damaged goods.

Ok, call me crazy but was this really worth my dissatisfaction for an item that may have cost Cuisinart 10 cents to make that was defective from the time it left their warehouse? Is this Cuisinart’s way of punishing distributors because they can sell the product cheaper than the manufacturer can (Cuisinart charged $10 vs. $7 from SmallAppliances.com for the single box of 2 filters)?

I’m letting SmallAppliance.com off the hook here only because I had to believe them when they said they had to do this to get a refund from Cuisinart. Plus they got points when the manager emailed me back when she got the picture and apologized profusely again about the inconvenience.

This return policy/process should be reviewed by the management of both companies. Was this really worth the effort for the negative feelings I have now? I love Cuisinart appliances, but I will now think twice before I buy another in the event I need to return a replacement part.

The Marketing Lesson

Review your processes you use with your clients. If they take more effort than they are worth, streamline or better, eliminate them. Make it as easy to do business with you as you can. When you are providing a service to your customers or clients (distributors are service businesses, not product businesses), make the entire experience one of your key differentiators that get you noticed over the competition.

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Customer Experience & Marketing is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

But that has changed. The reason? Marriott Vacation Club™. They got us there on a promotional package, which my first thought was, “great, 5 nights for cheap in Aruba just to take their 90 minute tour”. Unbeknownst to us, we actually were sold and we’re now the proud owners of a two bedroom villa at the Surf Club in Aruba.

Why did we change our minds? There were 3 vital reasons:

• They sell their timeshares in seasons, not weeks. We can choose a timeframe within a 7 month period to vacation.
• We can trade the second bedroom (called a lock-off) for a second week either in Aruba or elsewhere (so two weeks for the price of one).
• We own the property for life and can pass it on through our estate.

So what part of the marketing worked.

• The telemarketing call – I’m normally not receptive but I remember the person getting my attention quickly before I tuned out. Do I remember exactly what she said? Not really but I didn’t say no and hang up.
• The offer – I got 4 nights/5 days in Orlando for $399 if we used it before the end of 2007. I said I was more interested in Aruba. They said ok. No arguments, no roadblocks.
• Ease of signing up – I called an 800 number and spoke to someone who was friendly and informed. Offered me a 5th night for free – cool. So I got 5 nights/6 days in Aruba for $399.
• Welcome package of $100 in coupons – yes, I’m easily sold on a free dinner.
• The 90 minute tour – they really did a nice job. The sales person didn’t sell, she educated. I think I’ve touted the effect of educating your prospect, not selling. She listened, didn’t try to oversell, explained all the trading tips we could use to maximize our investments and let us make a decision. I respected that and it made a huge difference. In the past, other timeshare vendors pushed too hard.

So, I guess I eat my previous words to folks when I said “Nah, I’m not interested – just using the promotional package to get a good deal on the vacation.

So Marriott, you definitely have your campaign down and it works. As a very critical marketing person, you got high marks on how you handled this entire process.

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Marriott® – Marketing that Worked is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

The process to switch was pretty smooth and so far I like the phone service. It has a lot of options I didn’t have on my business line through Verizon (which they offer but I never was successful at getting them turned on) and our home line which I added for the $20 also has unlimited calling, making that even a better deal (our home line was bare bones basic which we still paid $30 for!).

Now the marketing lesson here is what Verizon didn’t do to save a customer. All I got from them was a recorded message on my answering machine and two form letters sent special delivery (one for each phone number) saying the same thing they said in the recorded message. This actually made me laugh as I felt that I was not important enough to save. I hope they didn’t think that the special delivery of the letters would make me feel special!

Had I received a call from a human to discuss my switch with them, I would have at least felt as if losing a customer for whatever reason was important to them. Even if they couldn’t match the price and service Comcast is offering, they may have learned something from our conversation.

Every one who touches a customer has to be part of the marketing effort to ensure your customers maintain a high impression of your business. Making it human and personal is still the best way to maintain a relationship, even if you lose that customer. Who knows, that customer may want to come back someday and they will remember the personalized touch.

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

The Verizon Experience is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.

Well, yeah they are people, but a person buying a product for themselves verses buying for their company is a very different, emotional experience. In fact, there are profound differences that you must remember when developing your marketing activities. B2B depends on relationship building marketing efforts. Using consumer-focused strategies to market your B2B business will, at best, just cost you money. And, in some cases, it may cost you customers.

What is B2B and B2C Marketing

These terms were coined to differentiate Internet commerce businesses that sold to primarily to consumers verses those whose market are other businesses. These terms have expanded their definitions to refer to any business who sells primarily to the end customer (B2C) or to other businesses (B2B), both online and offline. Although the marketing programs are the same for each type of business (events, direct marketing, internet marketing, advertising, public relations, word of mouth and alliances), how they are executed, what they say, and the outcome of the marketing activities differ.

The first step in developing your marketing strategy for B2B is similar to the first step in a B2C strategy: identify who the customer is and why they need to hear your message. From there, the marketing activities diverge.

The highlighted boxes summarize the differences between B2B marketing and B2C marketing. Your marketing plan needs to take into account the differences and ensure you are developing the right types of activities for your particular market.

Businesses that Sell to Consumers

The ultimate goal of B2C marketing is to convert shoppers into buyers as aggressively and consistently as possible. B2C companies employ more merchandising activities like coupons, displays, store fronts (both real and Internet) and offers to entice the target market to buy. B2C marketing campaigns are concerned with the transaction, are shorter in duration and need to capture the customer’s interest immediately. These campaigns often offer special deals, discounts, or vouchers that can be used both online and in the store. For example, the goal of an email campaign for a B2C company is to get consumers to buy the product immediately. The email will take the consumer to a landing page on the web site that is designed to sell the product and make purchasing very easy by integrating the shopping cart and checkout page into the flow of the transaction. Any more than a couple of clicks and the customer is likely to abandon the shopping cart.

One interesting aspect of B2C marketing, however, is that many companies have realized the importance of loyalty. Amazon, Best Buy, and Staples combine merchandising and education to keep customers coming back. Add great customer service, and you get a winning combination.

Businesses that Sell to Businesses

Although the goal of B2B marketing is to convert prospects into customers, the process is longer and more involved. A B2B company needs to focus on relationship building and communication using marketing activities that generate leads that can be nurtured during the sales cycle. B2B companies use marketing to educate various players in the target audience because the decision to purchase is usually a multi-step process involving more than one person. For example, the goal of an email campaign for B2B is to drive prospects to the web to learn about your products and services. The e-mail to a business must contain contact information for offline communications and the landing page should contain information on features, benefits, and possibly pricing. This marketing activity is usually the first step in a longer, integrated touch campaign that may include direct mail, telemarketing, Web casts, newsletters and follow up by sales representatives who will discuss the businesses requirements in more detail and move the prospect through the sales cycle. Content is king for B2B marketing and white papers, newsletters, and coverage of your products and services by the media helps companies educate their prospects.

The B2B Buyer vs. the B2C Buyer

The business buyer is sophisticated, understands your product or service better than you do, and wants or needs to buy products or services to help their company stay profitable, competitive, and successful. Marketing copy must talk to a sophisticated audience. Your typical reader has a high interest in – and understanding of – your product (or at least of the problem it solves). Therefore, writing marketing copy is more complex and requires research to ensure you deliver the necessary information to the buyer.

The B2C buyer is usually looking for the best price and will research the competition prior to shopping. Another factor that does come into play, however, is whether the buyer trusts the retail outlet, either the store front or on the Internet. Although you can find the products on the Internet at many different price points, many consumers will still buy from a trusted source. In that respect, B2C marketing needs to convince the person to buy and build trust and loyalty with their customers.

Both buyers are interested in quality customer service. B2B customer service comes into play prior to ever making that first sale and begins with a customer’s very first contact with your company, whether you call them or they call you. B2C customer service helps build customer loyalty where customers will be willing to pay a slightly higher price to know that they can return the product easily and can trust the source they are dealing with. In other words, customer service is critical and although may not be considered “marketing”, bad customer service can render all of your marketing efforts useless.

Importance of Brand

A strong brand is important to both the B2B and the B2C markets, but for different reasons. With B2C, a strong brand can encourage the consumer to buy, remain loyal and potentially pay a higher price. In B2B markets, brand will only help you be considered, not necessarily chosen.

Business buyers are using more rational thought when selecting a product or service for their company. They are motivated by saving money, increasing productivity or raising profitability. Consumers are motivated by desire, style and prestige. For consumers, brand plays into the equation since we are more apt to buy “status” brands, such as BMW, Lexus, Rolex or Nike even though we most likely will pay more for the brand. In businesses today, however, the adage “no one ever got fired for buying IBM” no longer rings true. This is not to say that a professionally developed brand is not important for a B2B business. A quality brand is needed in any business in order to make a good first impression, but putting excessive marketing dollars into building brand awareness is not what counts in your B2B marketing plan.

Plan Before You Begin to Market

The bottom line is that the difference between B2B and B2C marketing comes down to the buyers’ emotional perspective about the purchase. Consumers make buying decisions based on status, security, comfort and quality. Business buyers make buying decisions based on increasing profitability, reducing costs and enhancing productivity. If you are a B2B business offering products and services to other businesses, put your marketing dollars into marketing programs and materials that offer your target what they need to make a rational buying decision. Help them determine the value of the product and service you offer through quality materials, testimonials, and other activities that build credibility. If you are a B2C business, understand what motivates your buyer and the emotional aspect of the buying decision. Create compelling materials that build awareness for your brand, enhance their comfort in buying from you, and project quality service and best price. As you create your marketing plan for the coming year, remember what is important to your target audience and create your marketing programs to speak to them.

©2012 Masterful Marketing. All Rights Reserved.

Marketing for B2B vs. B2C – Similar but Different is an original post from Debra Murphy, Small Business Marketing Coach: Masterful Marketing - Marketing in the New Media World. If you enjoyed this post, be sure to follow Debra on Twitter, Facebook or Google+.