Sales | Agile' Marketing Services

The PASCU Ad Template

April 2, 2024 by amsadmin

I had a client contact me recently about running advertisements for their business. This would be their first venture into advertising, and wanted some information on the best type of ad to create.

While the word “best” is a loaded word, I suggested that since they were just starting out, the ads should be built using the PASCU template. It’s a simple formula, easily understood by both the creator and the consumer, and it tends to work well for almost all businesses.

PASCU is an acronym for:

Problem
Agitate
Solution
Call to action
Urgency

You state a problem a prospect might be having, and then you agitate the prospect – perhaps by carrying the problem to an extreme. The advertiser suggests a solution that they provide, and gives a call to action with a short deadline. Let me give you an example, based on my client’s business.

Did winter weather damage your driveway? Don’t let it destroy the resale value of your home! Smith Brothers fixes most driveways in under 8 hours. Call today to schedule an estimate in the next seven days.

The first sentence brings up a problem the prospect is having. The second sentence takes the consequences of that damage to an extreme. The solution is the third sentence, the remedy for the problem that my client is selling. The final sentence tells the prospect what action to take (“Call”), when to do it (“today”), and the quick reward for doing so (“estimate in the next seven days”).

There are other types of advertisements that might be better, depending on the service or product you’re selling, but PASCU is a great first step towards advertising.

If you have any questions about ad creation, please feel free to reach out to me today.

The Only Reason To Have A Show Booth Is To Turn A Profit

February 26, 2024 by amsadmin

People decide to get a booth for their business at trade or business shows for several reasons. They decide it’s a good place to show off new product, or to make industry contacts.

Sometimes, they decide that the show is being held in a location they’ve always wanted to visit (Vegas!) and they can write off the expense.

The most common reason I’ve heard over the years is that their competition is doing it, so that person needs to have a booth at the show, too.

I have one rule for trade and business shows, and I know I sound like the obnoxious SOB I am, because when my clients try to tell me their reasons for going to the show this year, I repeat the acronym below louder and louder. I talk over them until they get the idea and go quiet. It’s pronounced exactly the way it’s spelled.

TORTHASBITTAP. Remember it.

The Only Reason To Have A Show Booth Is To Turn A Profit.

All other “reasons” are excuses. If you don’t have a process in place to turn a profit, don’t go.

Profit is usually defined as the money a company receives above and beyond the cost associated with producing a good or service. In other words, “buy low and sell high.”

However, it can have a wider meaning. Let’s say you work at a not-for-profit business, and decide to go to a show. The fact that you’re not in business for the money is in the definition of your type of business! In this case, “profit” could mean you’re looking to leave a show with more of something than you came with. Donors (that is, money), but also volunteers, material, publicity, and so forth. The only way to turn a profit is to make a sale.

Selling is generally described as exchanging money for goods or services. A broader definition might be that you convince someone of the value of an idea via a discussion. For instance, I have a non-profit client that runs a small cat rescue organization. If they want to generate funds from donors, they might engage in a discussion of Trap/Neuter/Release (TNR) programs, and convince their target audience of the value of trapping members of a feral cat colony, performing spay & neuter services on the cats, and releasing them back where they were picked up. Their talk might catch the attention of a local journalist, who writes an article about TNR. A retired person volunteers to pick up the feral cats and drop them off after their surgery. My client has profited from dispensing information at a show, even though money has not changed hands. That is, as long as they consider the acquired publicity and volunteer efforts to be more valuable than whatever money they spent to attend the show.

When considering getting a booth at a show or conference, please keep the concept of TORTHASBITTAP in the back of your mind.

Prepare Your Promotions Preemptively

February 17, 2024 by amsadmin

Which is to say, start working on creating your promos before you need them.

How Early Should you Start?

If you know you’ve got a “normal” promotion you’d like to run, I recommend starting 3 months, or 12 weeks ahead of time. If you’ve got a large promotion – think Black Friday – then it’s not unreasonable to start your preparations a year in advance.

Set Your Goals

Maybe you want to increase your sales. Maybe you want to add customers, or increase your email list. Maybe you want to introduce a new service or product. Decide what your primary goal is, and perhaps a secondary goal.

Plan Your Process

Once you’ve determined your goals, you need to set up a process to reach them, and then a process for how you’re going to measure your attempt. Will you be using a system that’s already in place, or do you need to build or refurb a system to facilitate your attempts? Knowing your goals, and they system used for attaining them, will drive your creative efforts.

Create – Then Wait

I come from a writing background. I recommend to people that they develop their creative – text, visuals, storyboard for videos – early. Complete your first draft, and then set it off to the side. Work on something else. Give your work enough time (at least a week, and maybe even up to 6 weeks if needed) so that when you come back to it, you can evaluate it with fresh eyes. You want to pare down your work, hone it to the sharpest edge. The creative should deliver your entire message clearly, and not detract from it.

How Late Is Too Late?

I try to begin my efforts at least 8 weeks ahead of time. I begin worrying when I’ve got 6 weeks left before the starting bell. In the past, I’ve run a successful campaign with less than a week’s lead time, but it involved dropping everything else, and working long hours. I don’t recommend it!

I would recommend that you plan on using as much time as you can give yourself, and then a little more. If you know you can pull off the planning, creative, and execution in eight weeks, try to give yourself at least ten weeks, and twelve is even better. Once you have your promo process in place, and you know it always takes you 7 weeks, then set aside nine for your next project.

Always expect the unexpected! Sickness, accidents, unexpected celebrations – it’s all hiding just around the bend, out of site. There’s nothing wrong with having everything in place three weeks before the ball drops. It’s like insurance: when you’re making plans, you hope you’re wasting time and money. It’s always better than the alternative.

What’s Your Situation Like?

How far ahead do you start working on regular promotions? How about large-scale promotions? I’d love to hear from you! Please leave your comments below.

Donate In Their Name: Make Your Client The Hero

May 5, 2021 by amsadmin

Most of my clients arrive by word-of-mouth, which is great. I reached out to a prospect the other day, who was referred by one of my existing clients. I offered them a small freebie. The prospect was initially hesitant, until I mentioned that my existing client – whom the prospect knows – had donated this service to them. Wow, were they impressed!

A note of warning – don’t say something like this if it isn’t true! Make sure you check with your existing customer to make sure they don’t mind doing this.

In addition to the prospect being impressed, my existing client was as well. I offered to give something to someone they know, in their name. How cool is that? The product or service you offer doesn’t have to be super expensive, it just has to have a perceived value. The receiver gets something useful, and the giver looks like a hero. And that’s the point.

There are a number of things you can “give” to existing customers to show you appreciate them. I’ve talked about this before in posts about loyalty programs, and customer retention strategies. A discount is great, but a hand-written card is better. Above both of these is letting your customer appear as the hero to someone else.

I make it a practice to ask all my clients about their favorite charities, especially local ones. When I’m sending out holiday or event cards (again, written and addressed by hand), I often include cards to those charities, letting them know that my clients mentioned them as being a good cause. Even though the card is from me, I make sure my client is mentioned prominently. In other words, I make my client the hero. My clients often hear about that card!

Offering to provide a product or service in the name of your client is, very obviously, also a great way to find new clients!

31-day Email Onboarding Sequence

January 6, 2021 by amsadmin

No matter what you read, I can tell you bluntly that email lists work. They help you turn leads (“Anyone with a heartbeat”) into prospects. Used correctly, they can also help you turn prospects into first-time purchasers.

The base of an email list, however, is the automated onboarding sequence. You should have this set up before you post your sign-up form. I’ve developed an outline for a 7-email onboarding sequence, sent over 31 days after a person signs up, that will help you develop a relationship with the list member.

Relationship Building

It’s a hoary old chestnut, but “People do business with those they know, like, and trust.” The whole point of an email list is to build a relationship between each member on the list, and the business. But how do you get there?

Give Without Receiving

Many, many email lists are based on the concept of the “lead magnet.” That is: your business trades something of value – like information, or a checklist, or something else the recipient might find useful – in exchange for adding that person to your email list. And that’s where a lot of businesses stop, which is one of the reasons people quit reading their emails, and fail to develop the relationship.

The best way to build trust and likability is to keep giving. You’re not losing anything, so why not continue to provide value? Make sure at least two emails in your onboarding sequence give the recipient helpful, actionable information. Even if they don’t need that information, they will most likely recognize the value you’re giving them.

Ask Their Opinion

When we first meet someone, our brains love it when they ask about us. What do we like? How do we feel about a topic? What is our opinion of a situation? One of your onboarding emails should ask their opinion of a subject related to why they might have joined your list. You might start your question with –

What is your opinion of. . .
What’s your favorite. . .
What do you think about. . .

The best start: “We need your help.”

Show You’re Listening

Communications experts call this “active listening.” You should reflect back that you’ve heard the thoughts and opinions of the list, and that you appreciate their feedback. You don’t have to agree with or even acknowledge each individual reply. You could show poll results of the aggregate answers, or reflect back that, “Most people we’ve asked think. . .” The important thing here is to ask for their input, and show that you’re listening.

7 Emails

You don’t want to beat new members over the head with emails every day. Then you’re that person they just met who won’t leave them alone!

By the same token, you don’t want to leave them wondering if they’re really on your list, or what to do next.

So here are the seven email topics I suggest for building that initial relationship with new members, along with the schedule for sending them.

Note: The schedule starts on the day they sign up – Day 01. It doesn’t matter what month and day is on the calendar when they sign up – this schedule takes care of that. If you have someone who joins your list on May 3rd, then that’s Day 01 for them. Someone who joins on October 14th has their Day 01 on that day.

1) Thank You/Unsubscribe any time – Day 01

As soon as the person confirms that they’ve subscribed (you should always use a double opt-in process), they should get an email thanking them for signing up, and pointing out the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the email. You don’t want them to feel trapped. Besides, if at any point they decide receiving your emails is not for them, you want to make it easy for them to leave. Too many autoresponder lists are choked with people who don’t open the emails sent to them.

2) About Us/Services & Products – Day 02

The next day, send them an email that spells out what your company does. Short and simple is always best!

3) Mission Statement/Philosophy – Day 09

Your next email gives them a bit of background. It might be, “I started this business because. . .” or “Here at ZYXCo, we believe that. . .” The important message here is, “This is why we do what we do.”

4) Helpful Info/Article – Day 13

As I said near the beginning, too many businesses quit giving of themselves. Here’s another chance to give your new listmember something they can use. Maybe it’s a checklist, or a graphic they can keep on their desk, or an article (one of your blog posts) that provides helpful info, and solves one small problem – I like to say that it scratches an itch – that they might have.

5) What’s Your Opinion? – Day 19

Don’t you hate it when you meet someone, and any conversation is all about them? We call them boors – and not just because they’re usually boring!

So, don’t be that person. Create a blog post that’s a poll, or asks a question. Ask people that question in this email, and point them to the post where you encourage them to leave their opion, or their thoughts on the subject.

This accomplishes several things. First, you’re soliciting their input, and that will make them feel important! Also, when they go to the post, they will see you have several other people who are interacting with you, so they know they’re not alone on this email-centric journey. Warm and fuzzy feelings will abound.

6) Helpful Info/Article – Day 25

Here’s your second chance at providing help to the people on your list. One of my dear friends keeps this in mind with a plaque above his desk – “Be a blessing in peoples’ lives.” Stretch that helpfulness muscle!

7) Direct Sales Pitch – Day 31

I’m on a couple lists where every single email I get is a hard-core sales solicitation. “BUY THIS NOW!!!” I mean, that’s very tiring. I get it: “Buy my stuff, or get off my list.”

But you’re in business, and that’s what businesses do – they sell products and services. Every person who signed up for your list knew that going in. A very good way of looking at sales is that you’re helping each customer resolve a problem they have. You’re providing a solution. True, not every solution fits every problem, but it doesn’t hurt to offer. And your last email in the onboarding sequence is a great time to do that.

And that’s a good onboarding process that will help you develop a relationship with each person on your email list.

The 8 Touchstones of Marketing Cycle

November 5, 2020 by amsadmin

Regardless of your definition of marketing, there is a process associated with marketing your business, products, and services. This process or plan should be framed as one or more goals (I prefer SMART goals), underlied by one or more strategies (a defining statement of action or policy). These strategies are then accomplished by using a series of tactics, or action steps.

Quick Marketing Definition

Before we get to the 8 Touchstones of Marketing, let me prop yet another definition of marketing up in front of you:

Marketing is a two-way interaction with the public, prospects, and peers to present them with the best face of a business. You do this to inform and persuade them of the benefits of purchasing from that business.

The 8 Touchstones

I see a lot of small businesses whose marketing plan is merely to open their doors – physical or digital – and hope for people to storm in. As has been said elsewhere, “Hope is not a strategy.”

The next step up is to open the doors, and then find a way to shout, “I’m here!” That’s a little better, but what do you do when people actually show up?

Your marketing plan should include tactics for informing people about the benefits of doing business with your company. But once contact is made, you need to move them along a path to keep them informed and happy, and lead them to a place where they’ll purchase from you.

Your marketing plan should have these touchstones, in this order:

Find leads (“A lead is anything with a heartbeat”) by communicating with the public
Turn these raw leads into prospects (people who have an interest in your product or service) by starting an informative relationship with them
Help persuade prospects to make a purchase
Help new customers find joy in their purchase (minimize buyer’s remorse)
Persuade existing customers to purchase more/more often
Help people move from being customers (purchasers of services products) to fans of the business
Help fans find more prospects (become unpaid marketing/sales reps for the business)
Start the cycle all over again

Line vs Spiral

Essentially, your marketing plan is about helping – or guiding – people through steps from being a lead, to a prospect, to a first-time buyer, to a happy repeat customer, to fan, to unpaid marketing & sales representative.

Many entrepreneurs think of moving through this marketing process as a line. Probably not a straight line, but they see it as following the steps – first A, then B, on to C, etc. However, this process is actually a cycle; it starts in one place, and then moves around until it arrives at that starting point once again.

Sure, when you arrive at the starting point, you can pick up more people to insert into your marketing process. But one of the objectives of moving people along this process is to raise them higher than they were. For instance, one cycle can be explained as taking a person from being a lead, to a prospect, to getting them to make their first purchase. Now they’re back at Point A, and this is where a lot of marketers drop the ball. They leave the new customer on the same level as people who’ve never bought from the company! The idea here is to raise these new customers up a level, and help them become comfortable enough to make more purchases from the business. While the strategy is the same (“Help them feel happy enough to make a purchase”), the tactics are different on this level (for example: instead of a price discount on a single item, you give them a larger discount based on volume purchases). On this cycle, you want to move them from first-time purchaser, to happy repeat customer, to fan of the business.

These cycles should be an upward spiral. You might be bringing the customers over “the same old ground,” but since both of you are familiar with the process, you can use more detailed and intricate techniques to interact with them. As an example, you might have added a prospect to your list with just their first name and email address. When they make their first purchase, you can add more detailed info to their record; last name, address, birth date, and phone number. You might then go on to ask them for even more detailed information about themselves. If you’ve developed the relationship well enough, they should be happy to provide it.

Effective Tactics

Of course, the 8 Touchstones by themselves are nearly useless. You have to put together a plan of effective tactics that allow you to aid people in moving through all 8 Touchstones. We’ll be discussing those in much more detail soon!

I welcome comments, questions and suggestions. Just post them below!

As Many As It Takes

October 22, 2020 by amsadmin

How many marketing plans does your business need? The answer is: as many as it takes.

A simple, single plan

If you’ve got a hotdog cart on the corner of 1st and Main, I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll get by with just one marketing plan. You’ve got one business (the cart), with one division (the attendant – you), selling a single product (hot dogs on buns), to a single target audience (hungry people from the immediate vicinity who want a quick meal).

Your marketing media may consist of print (words on the cart & umbrella, a sign stuck to the window of a shuttered business) and audio (shouting, “Get your dogs here!”).

More variables, more plans

But once you start opening new locations, or adding new products or services, or even servicing different target markets, you might find marketing easier if you have plans that address those specific differences.

Imagine there are several buildings down the street on the corners of 5th and Main, packed full of law offices. Another cart down there (same business, new division) selling an upmarket product (new product) to a different target audience (lawyers with more cash, or using digital payments). This would require a different marketing plan. Instead of hawking cheap dogs, your marketing pitch might be for quality served quickly, in a wrapper that will keep food from falling on their expensive clothes.

That new target market will probably respond better to different marketing techniques. Hand drawn signs and shouts are less likely to draw them in.

Specific plans for specific differences

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got a brick-n-mortar store, or a virtual business. As you begin to grow and diversify your lines, it’s inevitable that the things you’re selling will appeal to different audiences. Having a plan on how to best reach them – to introduce them to your products or services, and convince them to buy from you – is important.

I have a friend who has a business making earrings. One line is made from recycled paper, and the other line is made of metal and gemstones. Yes, they’re both earrings, and there is some crossover from one target market to the other, but not much. The women buying the brightly colored paper earrings like to buy several pair at a time, giving them a selection to wear throughout the week. The women who buy pairs from the gem line usually only buy one pair at a time, although both audiences buy from my friend an average of four times per year. But her message to each audience is not the same!

The paper earrings are at a lower price point, but her profit margin is higher. In her emails to that audience, she emphasizes the bright colors and wide variety. They’re inexpensive enough that the audience can afford to buy several different sets to go with different outfits.

The gem earrings are marketed as unique – no pairs the same. They’re made of more expensive materials, and are promoted as going with higher-end clothing. Something worn for special occasions. While the prices are higher, the profit margin is slightly less than with the earrings made from paper.

Two different lines, two different audiences, two different marketing messages – two different marketing plans.

But the basics are the same

Building those plans may seem difficult, but you can create almost all marketing plans using a basic template. I’ve created a checklist for those that want a framework. This free version will allow you to make sure all your bases are covered. I’m currently building a low-cost online course covering the checklist items in much more depth.

Download your PDF of the free marketing plan checklist right here.

Free PDF: Starting from SCRATCH

September 28, 2020 by amsadmin

No matter the size or age of your business, sometimes it’s good to step back and look at things as if you were a rank beginner. Imagine you were someone just starting your business. What are some great questions to ask yourself before you jump head-first into the deep end of the pool?

Aside from building (or refining) your marketing plan, the answers to these questions can help you build the culture of your company. What do you want new employees to know? How should old hands think about, and act towards, customers and prospects?

It doesn’t matter if you own a small business, or manage a division of a large corporation, these questions apply to you and your marketing efforts.

I encourage you to grab a copy of this PDF, and actually take the time to answer the questions. You may discover something about yourself, and about your business.

Got questions or comments? Please feel free to put them below!

Why Engage in an Appreciation Program?

September 15, 2020 by amsadmin

For years, I’ve told my clients that the first additional marketing program they should implement is a Certificate of Appreciation program.

It’s inexpensive
It brings your business to the attention of others
It makes others look good
It works

The Point

Presenting Certificates of Appreciation needs to be an ongoing program, and not just a one-time event. Why? Because the number one reason for doing this is to get your business mentioned by the media over and over again, across an amount of time. I’m not talking about days or weeks, I’m talking about months and years.

The second most important reason for running an appreciation program is to demonstrate to others that you’re “good folks.” That as people, you (and your staff) truly appreciate the good that others do, and want to call it to the attention of their customers and prospects. You should be seen as appreciating others.

Why Promote Others?

“If I award others,” goes the usual argument, “I’m promoting their business and not mine.”

And this is exactly why you shouldn’t pull 20 people into a room, and give them all certs at the same time. Each individual time you submit a media release, you’re promoting the recipient but mentioning yourself as the giver. Over time – say, each month over the space of a year – you’ve promoted the recipients once each, but you’ve promoted yourself twelve times!

Worth A Thousand Words

When you choose folks to whom you’ll award certs, make sure they know ahead of time you’ll be taking pictures and/or video clips and submitting them to the media. Each picture will mean a ton to the individual recipient. After all, very few people get their picture in the media unless they donate a wing to the local children’s hospital. So here’s something special for them to hang on to: a photo of them getting an award. If they’re lucky, they can get a print-out of the photo and the release when it appears in the media.

The Results

What are the results – the benefits to you – of running an appreciation campaign?

You’ve done something positive for many individuals, who will then be inclined to do something good for you.

You’ve promoted yourself and your business in a positive manner, over and over again in searchable media.

You’re building an image – that is, building a part of your brand – that says a large part of your personality is gratitude and appreciation. Those are positive qualities prospects look for.

The Cost

The most expensive part of these programs is the time invested. That’s maybe two hours per recipient; you travel to them, take a pic, write and email the release, print the pic and the release, and hand deliver those back to the recipient. You can buy the frames and the certificate paper in bulk, along with the ink or toner to print them. The desktop printer is a one-time expense. You’ll sink maybe $5 into each recipient. Over a year, you’ll spend maybe $60.

And for thousands of dollars worth of positive publicity, isn’t that worth it?

Have you tried an appreciation program? If so, what were the results? If not – why haven’t you? I’d love to read your comments below!