Altus Agency

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07/04/2015

04/30/2015

Marketing Minute:
Beat the Delete!
E-mail newsletters are one of the fastest growing communication and marketing tools today. But that sure doesn't mean they're all good. Avoid being filtered to the delete folder with a few of these tips.
~You only have a few seconds to catch their attention. Consistently deliver valuable information that doesn't have a lot of introductory fluff.
~ Write short. Short means about 50 percent less than you write for a printed newsletter. Set a word count maximum and stick to it.
~ Make sure it sounds like you. Don't be formal if you aren't...and don't be conversational and casual if your natural style is more formal. Remember, it's an extension of you and your brand.
~ Use lots of bullet points and lists. Think written sound bytes.
~ It's going to be forwarded. Count on it. So don't say anything you wouldn't want the world to see.
~ Newsletters are considered a news source. Do not spend so much time selling your services that they have to dig for the helpful information.
~ Create plenty of eye rest. People like to scan first and then go back to read. So break up your copy with bullet points, illustrations, graphs, or photography.
E-mail newsletters are a great way to start a conversation. Invite feedback, honor the above guidelines and have some fun. You'll like the results.

04/29/2015

Marketing Minute:

Word of mouth is a two-way street

Let's face it, stories about shoddy service, a product that flopped or a clerk who was the epitome of rude make much better stories than when things go well.
When was the last time you heard about good hospital food? See? We all know the power of word of mouth advertising, but what do you do when your customers are telling stories you'd rather not have seep beyond your door?
The best defense is to clearly communicate that your business wants to hear when things don't go according to plan. Let them tell you, rather than 137 of their closest friends. Offer satisfaction guarantees. Always ask, at the end of a transaction, if the client is happy with the results. Do follow up contacts, by phone or mail to verify that the customer is still satisfied. Point blank ask if they would refer you to their friends or colleagues.
Of course, you can do all of those things, but if you don't actually listen and respond to concerns and complaints - don't add insult to injury by asking. That just makes for a better story.
Look around your business. Check your invoices and receipts. Re-read your "welcome" letters or official business literature. If you were a brand new client - would you immediately recognize that your business was open to hearing complaints?
Take steps today to make your business one that encourages grumbling, grousing, complaining and whining. Not only will you stop the viral spreading of the bad story but you'll probably improve the buying experience for all your customers and generate more of that good word of mouth you're hoping for!

04/28/2015

Marketing Minute:
Worse than death?
In every poll about fear, speaking in front of an audience ranks right up there with snakes, the dentist's drill, heights, and death. It really doesn't have to be that way.
After delivering hundreds of presentations to groups that have ranged from 5 - 5,000, here's what I have learned:
Say no: Don't agree to speak on any topic that you don't really care about or aren't comfortable and competent to address.
Take charge of the room early: Whenever possible, get there early enough to test the mic, your projector and set the room temperature. Stand in the back of the room and review how your audience will see you. Re-arrange the chairs how you'd like them. This is your room.
Ignore the hands at your sides rule: Use your body. Talk with those hands. Wave those arms. Walk throughout the room. Be very visually present.
Be a storyteller: Facts and figures are fine. But bring your message alive with compelling stories. Use your voice to build suspense and convey emotions just like you're telling a ghost story around the campfire.
Slow down: Odds are that your nerves have you speaking faster than normal. Use pauses and moments of silence to emphasize key points.
Don't deliver a monologue: Somehow, somewhere -- build some interaction into your presentation. Ask questions. Take a show of hands survey. Ask them to tell a story. But do something that initiates an actual dialogue.
Most of all -- enjoy it. Remember, you are the guest of honor. Be there early, interact informally and make a couple new friends. Then, when you get up to speak you're not talking to perfect strangers. Make eye contact and grab them with what you have to say.

04/27/2015

Marketing Minute:
You have to keep the pipeline open
For many companies, business is good. Profits are healthy. But I think if we're honest, it's a little harder than it used to be to enjoy that success. In many industries, current clients are spending less. New customers are harder to come by. The decision timetable is longer. And there are more people than ever fighting you for each new piece of business.
Many businesses will look back on the last few years and realize that it was then that they learned the value of having a strong, active pipeline.
The time to look for new customers is not when you need them. Then, it can be too late. Every business needs to have a reliable, ongoing new business strategy that keeps chugging on, whether you are swamped with work or you are down to a trickle.
Over the next couple weeks, we'll be looking at some of the techniques you can use to keep inquiries, initial meetings and hot prospects flowing.
One of the most over looked but most effective is consistent direct mail contact. It can be a postcard, a letter, a newsletter or even an e-mail newsletter. The key word is consistent. Automate it so that it happens like clockwork, be it weekly, monthly or quarterly.
Depending on your business, it may not go out to the same audience every time. You might benefit from contacting new homeowners in your area or people who just had a baby. Think about who needs your products and services and what they need to know. That will direct your efforts. The goal here is stay top of mind so when they need what you sell, they remember you first.
Next week, we'll talk about giving away what your normally sell. Stay tuned.

04/26/2015

Marketing Minute:
You set the tone
Here’s a little fun fact for this week’s readers. I've been to Disney World at least once a year since it opened in 1971. As you can imagine, I sort of think of it as MY Disney World. But, a few weeks ago, I spent a weekend on unfamiliar grounds, Disneyland.
We spent the weekend comparing the two destinations but the difference that was most telling to me was each park's upkeep. At Disney World, everything is pristine. For as far as the eye can see, there are fresh coats of paint, spotless bathrooms, and neatly pruned flowerbeds and shrubbery. At Disneyland, facades were faded, railings were chipped and worn, and everything looked unkempt and dirty.
As human beings, we respond to our environment.
At Disney World, the guests pick up their own garbage, wipe up after themselves at the bathroom sinks and return tables and chairs to their rightful place as they leave restaurants.
At Disneyland, the guests respond to their surroundings as well. People were discarding paper cups anywhere they could toss them, the bathrooms were disgusting and guests had no qualms about violating rules or common courtesy.
Are the guests that different? Maybe a little, but I think it goes far beyond that.
Just like we're a lot more careful in someone's formal living room, our customers react to their surroundings as well. When was the last time you stood in your front lobby or walked through your office/store and tried to see it from fresh eyes?
Will a customer or potential customer get the impression that you take pride in your work? That your clients matter? That your business has seen better days?
Don't let your environment be created by accident. Be purposeful in creating the clues and cues that will trigger the response you want from employees, customers and prospects.

04/25/2015

Marketing Minute:
You stay in the nest until they're ready to fly
Clients aren't always ready to go where you need to take them.
They might be afraid. They might not have the budget. They might be caught up in some internal politics. What you're asking them to do might be difficult. Or, they might not get it.
But the bottom line is, they aren't ready to leave the nest.
We see that sometimes with clients when we talk about branding. They might think it's just fluff or they haven't wrapped their arms around the idea that their logo is not their brand. Whatever the reason -- they aren't ready to take advantage of the power that comes from truly knowing and living your brand story.
So as an agency, we have a choice. We can tell them to come back when they're ready or we can meet them where they are, stuck in their nest.
We all have clients like that. Those clients are like baby birds. If we rush them, shoving them out of the nest....splat! That serves no purpose but our ego.
We need to be patient and just hang with them in the nest. We can feed them little tidbits of information, letting them learn slowly and absorb what we're telling them. Sooner or later, they'll want to stretch their wings a little.
When you think about it, that's our job. To help clients gain the information and confidence (in us) they need so they can stretch their wings.

04/24/2015

Marketing Minute:
Your brand isn't just communicated visually...
Once a company identifies their brand, they quickly move to communicating that brand to their marketplace, just as they should. In most cases, however, they stop short.
One of the most powerful and overlooked aspects of your brand is your brand's voice. Just like consistency in your brand's visual presentation (logo, color palette, fonts etc.) is critical to building brand awareness and understanding, the same can be said of the voice.
Not sure what a brand voice is? If you saw an ad for a Mac computer and the copy was very technical and dry, would it feel right? Of course not, because that's not Apple's voice.
If you saw a brochure for the United Nations that was filled with hip-hop slang, would it feel right? Again, of course not.
The same is true of your organization. Whether you've ever thought about it or not, you do have an authentic brand voice. When you use it, it feels comfortable and genuine. When you don't - it sounds and feels artificial.
Many companies try to put on a more formal or authoritative voice in their marketing materials because they think it makes them more "official," when in fact it only makes them sound fake.
The greatest brand compliment you can receive is to meet someone for the first time and have them tell you that you "feel" just like your website or collateral materials. That means you are being consistent - you are speaking in the same voice, regardless of the medium.
Remember, good branding relies on consistency in all aspects of your brand.

04/23/2015

Marketing Minute:
Are you selling what your customers want to buy?
All too often, I see businesses advertising their wares from their own perspective. They talk about their expertise and what they DO or MAKE, thinking that's what people are buying.
Hence my question - are you selling what your customers want to buy?
Confused? There's a great story that illustrates this perfectly. A college professor stood in front of his classroom, holding a shovel. He told the class that their assignment was to write an ad selling the shovel.
The students got to work developing ads that talked about the virtues of the shovel - the hardwood handle, forged steel blade, the balance between the blade and the handle, etc. The professor let the students go on for a while and then he stopped them shaking his head. He said, "The secret to selling this shovel is to realize that no one buys a shovel just because they want a shovel. They buy a shovel because they need a hole."
No matter what you sell - you need to figure out what's behind that sale. They're not buying your service or your product. They're buying what they get out of that service or product. When you miss that - you run the risk of not meeting that need and losing a customer.
So how do you go from selling shovels to realizing that your customers want to buy a hole?
Ask better questions: Don't just ask the standard intake questions. Develop a short list of questions that will trigger a conversation about the underlying need.
Hire an outsider to talk to your current customers: Sometimes customers won't be very candid when you ask for feedback, but when you hire a firm to do that asking for you (or secret shop you), you'll be amazed at what you learn.
Observe them in the wild: Watching how your customers interact with what you sell can be incredibly enlightening. They might use it in a way you hadn't imagined or for a purpose you hadn't considered. They may have had to create a workaround because of something that isn't quite right.
The real secret to knowing what your customers actually want to buy is to never assume. Don't be fooled into thinking you know. Do the hard work of finding out and earn their loyalty for years to come.