Find Out How To Get The Highest ROI On Your Marketing Dollar

Ron Jobson, president of Enthusiast Partner ForSight Marketing, shares little known advice for small & mid-size businesses that can increase your sales & profit 2, 3, 4 or even 10 times!

May 14, 2007
Found in: Articles : Editorial : General Interest :

The Problem With Marketing Today

Every year, small and mid-size businesses spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising and marketing in an attempt to grow their company and become more profitable. But just because they're spending money doesn't mean these businesses are getting the highest ROI possible on their marketing dollar.

“The #1 problem that exists in marketing today is that every company in every conceivable industry is saying roughly the same thing,” says Ron Jobson, owner of the Pasadena-based marketing firm, ForSight Marketing. “Take any industry – financial services, dentists, landscape contractors, realtors – and flip to their section in the local yellow pages. I guarantee you’ll find that almost every company focuses on listing their services and products, but fails to communicate their ‘unique value proposition’ – or why they are any better or any different than their competitors.”

According to Jobson, this situation leaves the average American consumer confused and frustrated because they can’t decipher a real and quantifiable difference between companies in any given industry. This means that small and mid-size businesses end up competing on just one thing: price.

10 Tips For More Effective Marketing

In an attempt to help small and mid-size business owners, Jobson offers 10 marketing tips that can be implemented immediately to increase your leads, response rates and profit:

1. Focus on your prospects, not on you.
   
   Your marketing should focus on your customers’ “hot buttons”, or what really matters to them. It should focus on how your customers will benefit from your business, rather than just the services and products you offer. A good rule of thumb is that the words “you” and “your” should appear at least twice as many times in your marketing pieces as “we” and “our”.
   
   
2. Don’t begin an ad, postcard or other marketing piece with your name or logo.
   
   Unless you’re Microsoft, Starbucks or Nike, your name and logo will not interrupt prospective customers. Remember, people don’t care who you are until they know what you can do for them.
   
   
3. Make a risk-FREE offer.
   
   When prospective customers see your ad, postcard or website, the easiest thing for them to do is…NOTHING! So all of your marketing pieces should include a risk-free offer that gives prospects a reason to call you. Offer a free report or a special discount on services and products.


4. Use a P.S. in your letters.
   
   While your headline is the #1 most read part of a letter, readers will often skip directly to the P.S. Make sure to include a low-risk offer or call to action in your P.S.


5. Educate your prospective customers.
   
   Provide educational information that will be of interest to prospective customers. Give them tips and ideas they can benefit from instead of just a description of your company and its services. Education-based marketing will ensure that your website, ads and other tools are perceived as valuable rather than as just more annoying marketing.


6. Track your results carefully.
   
   Put a system in place to track your marketing results so that you know exactly which pieces are creating the highest response rate.
   
   
7. Test everything.
   
   Test each marketing piece to a small sample and then compare the results. Just because you think an ad will work doesn’t mean it will actually resonate with your prospective customers. Testing can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long-run.
   
   
8. Market to each contact consistently.
   
   The average customer will not buy from you until AFTER the 7th contact with your business, so it’s critical that you market consistently and frequently to the same audience. If you’re launching a direct mail campaign, commit to doing it at least once a month for 10 months. Research shows that response rates go up exponentially when you contact your prospects multiple times.
   
   
9. Don’t be afraid to spend money.
   
   Depending on your industry, you should be investing between 2.5% to 10% of your gross annual sales on marketing. But if done right, you’ll earn back 2, 3, 4 or even 10 times your initial investment.
   
   
10. Put a system-backed plan in place.
    
    Don’t expect growth to “just happen”! You have to create a strategic plan that is systematized and easy to implement, and you have to have the right team of people in place to make sure the plan gets implemented.
    

Have you ever felt like your marketing isn't working or you're not receiving the kind of return that you want on your advertising investment? Jobson often talks with business owners who feel that way, and he tells them all the same thing: "You have to create marketing the makes your prospects listen and take action, and you have to put a system in place. Business owners work hard to systematize the rest of their business, so why would your marketing be any different?”

Not Sure If Your Marketing Is Actually Working?

Marketing tip #7 reminds you of the importance of testing all of your marketing and tracking the results to avoid spending money on advertising that isn't working. To ensure that you never make a major marketing mistake again, go here and download this FREE report: "Eliminate the Guesswork In Your Marketing! How To Test & Save Yourself Thousands!"

About Enthusiast Partner ForSight Marketing

ForSight Marketing is a full-service agency that provides strategic marketing solutions for small and mid-size businesses to gain market share in all types of industries. ForSight builds a specific “case of evidence” for its clients based on quantifiable research and creates marketing that separates businesses from their competition. ForSight implements a unique and proprietary marketing formula that is guaranteed to dramatically increase sales, leads, response rates and profits for companies in every conceivable industry, including retail, service, professional, manufacturing, wholesale and more. For more information, visit www.forsightmarketing.com.