By Heather Gallegos Marketing doesnt work. How often have you considered this to be true? If
so, you are not alone in thinking that spending money on print ads just doesnt work
bring you the clients you were expecting. And simply placing advertisements here
and there will never bring you the clients you seek because the act of placing an ad
isnt marketing. Placing an ad is just one of many activities that is often
misunderstood as doing marketing. When you spend your marketing dollars
because you think you should, or because an advertising sales rep calls, you are
doing slot machine marketing as you are gambling on the poor odds of a good
outcome. And changing slot machines to advertise another newspaper or send a
new direct mail postcard doesnt work either. However, by answering seven
simple questions (that Ill get to in the next pages) youll know whether that money
is spent on marketing that will work. But before we get into that, lets make sure we are all familiar with What makes good marketing good? You probably do your marketing to attract new clients. And that is true to a certain
extent, but to be good marketing needs to be built into every aspect of your
business. You may have heard about brand marketing and branding as yet
something else you as a small business owner should be doing. Simply put, brand
marketing is about reserving a spot in your clients mind just for your business.
And this spot is a very special spot as it carries emotions, feelings, memories,
comments from friends and images of your ads, emails, or storefront facade. Some
of these things you have control over, and some you do not. Earning that little
tiny spot is hard. Especially in the age of information overload where we receive
millions of marketing offers a day from marketing activities like: TV, the web,
internet search engines, the radio, billboards, newspapers, magazines and so on.
And hopefully, when you do earn that spot in you clients memory, it is full of
positive associations with your business where they rave about you and come
back again and again instead of spreading bad reviews. Although it is hard to do, it
is done over and over again by small and large businesses that know the key to
good marketing. Consistency is the key. Just like good skincare, marketing requires consistency. Changing cleansers or
products every time your client does skincare has the same disastrous results as
changing your words, images or colors every time you do marketing. You want
your clients to recognize your marketing in a split second and remember all
those wonderful feelings, aromas or results of being in your spa or salon chair.
Being consistent with words (also called messages), images (such as your logo),
and colors (your decor, menu, website, advertisements) is the only way you have a
hope of reserving that spot in your clients mind. While repetition may be boring in
an industry that thrives on creativity, it is absolutely required in marketing your
business. Consistency in your marketing, the delivery of your services, how you
answer the phone, your hours of operationthey all need to be repeated in the same
manner to build on that spot you want to own in your clients mind. Never fear, all
hope for fun and creativity is not lost. You can be creative and consistent at the same time. There are many businesses have creative and consistent marketing activities. You
are probably familiar with a few of them as it is required to create a well-known
brand. Disney does it well everyone knows where to find the happiest place on
earth. Everything Disney does is according to a strict marketing strategy that
has consistent images (Mickey Mouse ears, Cinderellas castle), values (family,
fun) and words (Disney). From Disneyland to Disney Online to Radio Disney to
the Disney Channelevery singe channel of communicating with their customer
has the consistent appearance, words and emotions. Yet, Disneys marketing is
very creative and you can tell they have fun with it. BMW, McDonalds, Apple
and Microsoft are other examples where the marketing executives behind these
brands are very much in control of their marketing messages. Some corporations
even have brand police that approve every brochure, webpage and advertisement
to make sure it is consistent with the marketing plan. I use these corporate brand
examples because most everyone has heard of them, but you dont have to be a
large corporation or even part of a franchise to have marketing that works to attract
and retain clients. In fact, consistent marketing is much easier when there are only
one or two people making the decisions. Marketing that works requires up-front work. Admit it. Creating a marketing plan is usually not on the top of the list when
starting up or revving up your business. Construction, employee hiring, equipment
and product selectionthey usually take a large portion of your attention during
start-up. And the day-to-day details of running a business keep you from working
on that ideal marketing plan now. While many businesses manage this way, the
path to profitability and being 100% booked is made much easier by being able to
answer these 7 questions before you spend any money on marketing activities. 1. Is this activity a part of my brand and marketing plan?
I know this is a tough question to start with since this question assumes you have
one already. If you dont, it is never too late to create a brand and marketing
plan. It isnt a complicated thing, but it does take some thought. A long-term
marketing plan or strategy typically includes defining the words, images,
emotions, and colors that make-up your brand. It also includes a plan of
marketing activities that are regularly, and consistently, spread out through the
year that communicates with current and target clients in the yellow pages, your
e-mails, your website, web search engines, community web searches (e.g.,
CitySearch, Yelp), spa search engines (e.g., SpaFinder), holiday/theme
packages, community newspapers, your answer machine message, your in-spa or
in-salon marketing (menu of services, signs, brochures, client protocols), the
way you or your staff answers the phone, direct mail post cards, radio ads,
community events, educational classes, etc. Beginning with the end in mind is not easy. But youll achieve peace of mind
by having a plan or road map or even a simple calendar of events planned out for
a twelve-month period. You will be able to be less reactive and avoid those last
minute print runs or rushed holiday package planning. Instead, your marketing
activities can be put on autopilot and become a part of your normal operations
even delegated to someone on your staff. 2. Can I measure the results of this marketing?
It is sometimes a challenge, or even impossible, to truly track how much
business you are generating with a marketing activity. Knowing how many
people visit your website is a good example of how you can measure the impact
of a marketing activity that directs people to your website. You may be aware of
it, but there are companies that can set up a temporary website address (URL) or
even a special toll-free number for you to use just once in your marketing
activity (such as in a magazine ad or direct mail postcard). Clients who use
them will land on your normal website or having their phone called answered at
your front-desk without knowing the difference. However, youll be able to
track how many people actually called from that one marketing activity. This is
a much better way to know that the $800 you spent on an ad actually motivated
people to action. Experimenting with different words, promotional offers, colors or images can
now be done AND measured to truly know which works best to attract interest
and generate business. You can measure which local newspaper or magazine is
best in which to continue advertising. Once you are able to measure how big the
response is, your future decisions will be much easier to make about ongoing
marketing spending. 3. Can I afford it? Now, Im not talking about the actual cost of production or
mailing costs. Those costs are important (and Ill get to that in a minute), but I
want you to calculate the cost of any promotional discount. How much profit
do you make on your 20% off coupon? In many day spas, there may not be
enough profit margin to cover a 20% discount. When that is the case, they are
essentially paying clients to visit their business with these types of promotions.
I can hear you asking but dont I have to motivate people to make an
appointment? And of course the answer is yes! But you can do this while
making sure the service you perform is profitable. For example, offer a free
upgrade or add-on to a common service:
Free skin or hair consultation with first service
Free deep conditioning with hair coloring
Free lip or eye treatment with facial
Free brow wax with your high-end facial
Free shoulder massage with mani/pedi
Free foot reflexology with 60 minute massage
Have fun with trying to define add-ons to your services that adds minimal or no
cost and doesnt increase the time on the service. You could even include these
add-ons on your menu with a price so anyone can add them to a service, as these
are great profit boosters. For medical spas, this question may be easier to answer due to higher service
margins. Instead of buy-four-get-one-free packages, consider promotions that
do not greatly impact your profit margins. Consider offering a free skincare kit
with the purchase of a 5 session Botox package. Or a free makeup application
with the purchase of a 3-session Restylane package. Neither have a major (if
any) impact on your bottom line, but provide added perks to your clients. 4. Is this the best way to spend my marketing budget? This is the more common
can I afford it question. As with all investments in your business, you should
consider the return on that marketing investment prior to spending it. To do
that, youll need to calculate how many appointments you need to schedule in
order to payback or breakeven on your marketing spending. To many, this
seems like an easy calculation but it can be tricky. The first step is to take a
closer look at all the costs. Lets take a look at a hypothetical half-page local
magazine/newspaper advertisement. Assume the magazine has 8,000 readers
that are within 15 miles of your business. Costs:
$250 Graphic artist (recommended for a high quality perception of your business)
$1250 Magazine Ad
$1500 Total Cost So how many of the 8,000 readers need to book (and pay for) a service in order
for you to earn back that $1500? This is the second step is to estimate the
average price for all your services. To be conservative well guess an entrylevel
service at $65 is the average price for services booked when clients saw
that ad. The third step is to calculate you profit on that average priced service.
It is easy to skip this step, but the breakeven number of services is not 23 ($1500
divided by $65). You would be forgetting to account for you your overhead and
labor costs. Remember it is the profit in your business that pays back your
investments. So with that in mind, lets assume a simple to calculate 10% profit
margin or $6.50 ($65 x .10) per service. Marketing Payback Calculation:
Total costs divided by average service profit
$1500 $6.50 = 230 services So, it will take 230 $65 services to pay for that magazine ad. That would be
booking one of your employees solid for about six weeks. How many ads do
you know that will book you solid for six weeks? That has to be pretty good ad!
You may be thinking now that with this calculation, youll never pay for
advertising again! While there are exceptions (such as start-up or a really big
event), I generally do not recommend print advertising for this reason. It is
usually impossible to generate enough business from that marketing activity to
pay for the cost. You may still be able to get your business listed or highlighted
in that magazine or newspaper without placing an ad by issuing a press release
or posting on community calendars. (And there are plenty of other ways to
increase awareness without advertising in a newspaper.) Although this example was about an advertisement, all marketing activities
should be measured with this calculation. Try it out with your most recent
marketing activity. You may find that lower cost marketing activities such as
printed and Internet directory listings, e-mails and direct mail postcards usually
make more financial sense for service businesses like yours. 5. Am I attracting my ideal client? Do promotions and discounts attract your
ideal client? If your ideal client sees their health and appearance as a high
priority and has the means and willingness to pay for high-quality results, then
your 20% off coupons and buy one get one free promotions are not attracting
them. However, maybe you are interested in the value-based client that wants
to do it all on a budget. Either way (you do need to choose one) you can attract
them without constantly giving them a portion of your profits when they walk in
the door. You can do this with a focused effort to plan a marketing campaign
that is both interesting, buzz worth and motivating to take action. If you are placing an advertisement in a printed magazine or newspaper, be sure
to ask for readership demographics. Youll want to look for a high number of
subscribers/readers that are 1) located in your local neighborhood (10 15
miles) and 2) fit your ideal client profile. I dont recommend advertising in
larger circulation newspapers that dont have targeted subscribers, as your ad
will be expensive and easily overlooked. Local TV advertising might work if aired during a local community show or a
health/fitness show. But be careful with trading the large exposure off with
targeting your ideal clientespecially if the cost for that one TV advertisement
drains your entire marketing budget. Internet marketing and SEO (search engine optimization) are perfect for targeted
marketing to your ideal client because your website or ad is only displayed when
someone shows interest in what you offer. Google AdWords offers flexible
options and great metrics for pay-for-click advertising. Working with web
marketing specialists to insert keywords and several other techniques to your
website, you can increase the placement of your website in search engine listings
without having to pay-per-click. 6. Do the graphics and/or words speak well of my business and motivate
action?
Whether you do them yourself or use a graphic artist, the words and visual
appeal of your marketing activities have to leave a positive and emotional
impression of your business. This means that you need to double and triple
check spelling and grammar, all graphics need to be of the correct resolution so
they print properly, and it should be easy on the eye and not be cluttered with too
many images or words. Printing a business card ad (a pretty graphic or
picture with your business name/address/phone number) or a list of every single
service you perform do not work to leave an emotional impression.
Additionally, they do not motivate someone to do take an action that results in
increasing your revenue. When creating your marketing activity, focus on what you want someone to do
after they read or listened or watched it. Do you want them to visit your
website? Call for an appointment? Attend a class? Tell a friend? Schedule a
free hair or skin analysis? Whatever it is, make sure that your request and the
benefit they will receive are clearly communicated. A good day spa example is
Book your facial and free personal skin analysis. Or for a salon Refer a friend
and receive a free hydration treatment at your next visit. Or for a medical spa
Attend our upcoming anti-aging class Is it medical fact or marketing fiction? 7. Is this the best way to achieve my marketing goal? If you find yourself still
very tempted to spend your money on an activity that doesnt look like you can
afford it, or doesnt exactly fit your plan, isnt measurable or target your ideal
client. ask yourself if this is this truly the best way to achieve your marketing
goal? Hopefully you have defined your marketing goal, but perhaps not (you
certainly arent alone if this is the case). The most common marketing goals are to attract new customers or to simply be
busier. While these are valid goals, you may want to consider this truth..
it takes dollars to earn new customers and pennies to keep them.
Perhaps focusing your marketing efforts might be better spent on your existing
clients through professional newsletters, client appreciation events (which can
double as buzz generators for new customers) or staff training on building client
relationships? Other marketing goals might be to simply increase awareness for your business
(most common for new businesses) or to attract a new type of client for a
recently added service. Regardless of the marketing goal itself, it needs 1) some sort to number to
measure it with (number of clients, increased sales, percentage of capacity, etc.);
and 2) to be a realistic number that can be reached using your planned marketing
activities. If not, consider lowering the goal or adjusting your marketing plan.
Im sure you figured out that the correct answer to all these questions is yes. If
for whatever reason you arent able to answer yes to all of them, proceed with
caution. Be very very clear with yourself about what you expect in return for
spending that money. Are you looking for the nice, but non-measurable
awareness? Are you bending to the pressure of guilt for not doing anything for a
while? Are you just not sure of where or how to start marketing? When in doubt,
dont allow a sales person to talk you into where and when you should market your
business. Finally, no-cost marketing activities should always be considered in your marketing
plan. Simple touches like a check-in call to your client two days after a service to
answer client questions will go a long way to increase customer loyalty and return
visits. Role playing with your staff about new customer service techniques and
product knowledge encourages free marketing of your existing products and
services to clients you have already frequenting your business. Having a solid marketing plan and being consistent are the foundations for good
marketing. Combined with these seven key questions to answer before you spend
money on a marketing activity, you can stop doing marketing that doesnt work
and start having your marketing work for you! Heather Gallegos spent 12 years in marketing, communications and
operation roles in the high-tech industry before becoming a
consultant to the wellness industry. President of Spa Clientle
Solutions (http://www.spaclientele.com), her unique perspective as a salon and day spa client,
strong marketing and business background, and affiliation with
Preston Spa Business Solutions (http://www.prestoninc.net) complement
one another to provide a powerhouse of practical and straightforward
solutions. She has helped day spas, medical spas and salons create their brand and
marketing plans, monthly e-newsletters, private label skincare lines, customer
appreciation events and local PR buzz. Published in Dermascope magazine,
Heather is also an active blogger about practical and helpful marketing ideas for
salons, day spas and medical spas at http://blog.spaclientele.com
Heather will be speaking live at the upcoming EPIC show in Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Gallegos http://EzineArticles.com/?Seven-Questions-to-Answer-Before-you-Spend-Money-on-Marketing&id=524684 purchase phentermine
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