One recent weekday morning, the McKinsey Development team participated in a seminar put on by the Greater Warrenton Chamber of Commerce. During our presentation, we covered many aspects of small-business marketing.
During the question-and-answer session, several attendees wanted to know about blogging. Among the questions: how often must you post to make your blog viable, and--more fundamentally--what should a business blogger blog about?
We offered up our answers, and they seemed well-received. (Nobody pelted us with leftover pasteries, anyway.)
Regarding the questions above, we said:
We get asked about blogging a lot. Done right, a blog is a valuable strategy in your marketing plan. Among other things, a good blog can:
- Provide dynamic content on your website,
- Attract inbound leads via organic search,
- Establish you as an expert in your field, and
- Serve as an ongoing link with existing customers.
For most businesses, getting started is the toughest part of blogging. We understand, and we want to help. So we created a free, one-page eBrief featuring our seven steps to stellar business blogging.
Click here and fill in a few blanks, and you too can have your very own copy.
Read it, follow it, share it, and tell us what you think of it in the comments below. Don't forget to leave a link to your blog!
Search "Marketing" in Amazon.com's Books category and you'll come up with about 75,000 titles--and that's just the paperbacks. I'm sure stacks of them are stellar. Here are two that I believe absolutely, positively should be on the bookshelf (or Kindle) of anyone who runs a firm, contributes to the ad-creation process, or, for that matter, pays people or agencies to do either.
The first is Marty Neumeier's The Brand Gap (not an affiliate link, just a plain-Jane one). Written in 2003 and revised in 2005, the book is an easy read stuffed with simple yet sweeping insight on what a brand is and is not (spoiler alert: a logo is not a brand), and how to craft a good one. His fundamental message:
"A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It's not what you say it is. It's what THEY say it is."
This message cuts to the core of so much more than branding--indeed, it underscores the massive role that the customer plays in marketing today. Most business folk recognize that this is what makes social media so powerful: the ability to get involved in--and learn from--a conversation, as opposed to just another channel over which messages can be broadcast. Yet it's amazing how many people forget the customer when they're crafting the rest of their marketing strategies, including bedrock ones like what they hope their brand will be. (Remember, fellow marketing folks, it's not what you say it is....)
Neumeier's book is, as he puts it, the minimum amount of information needed to convey his message. If adding yet another business book to your to-read list is too daunting (hey, we're all busy, right?), you're in luck: Neumeier's published a downloadable .PDF presentation that summarizes his points nicely. Get it here now; thank me later.
Next up is an ever more classic (read: old) offering: Luke Sullivan's Hey Whipple, Squeeze This. First written in 1998 and updated twice since, the book is the veteran copywriter and blogger's irreverent take on the history of advertising and, more importantly, what makes a good ad.
Two of myriad takeaways that resonated with me:
Saying you're cool isn't the same as being cool. To paraphrase Sullivan: Ever see a Nike ad that says, "We're cool?" Nope. Nike just is cool, which is why people line up to buy Nike's stuff, even though it's, well, just stuff.
The less you have in the ad, the better. Granted, this is a generality, but it's generally true. Notes Sullivan: "Every element you add to a layout reduces the importance of all the other elements."
Great copy next to a great image reduces the greatness of both. This is especially true in online or large-format (billboards, vehicle wraps, etc.), when you have less time to make an impression on your target. The ad shown here for VW, done by Bill Bernbach-led DDB, is a great example.
Sullivan lauds DDB and its VW Bug campaign in particular for giving the advertising world myriad examples of how to stand out. (Or, as he so eloquently puts it, "not suck.")
The theme that links both of these books: simplicity. Yes, marketing can be complex, what with aspects like quantitative research that helps shape campaigns, and analytics that help determine success (or lack thereof). Often, though, it's the simple approach that makes a brand shine or an ad campaign resonate.
Got a simple ad you love? Find it online and post a link in the comments section.
Does your list of business-related New Year’s resolutions include improving your company’s marketing plan? If so, here are a few basics to nail down before you start running any ads or posting any content.
I find it helpful to approach building a marketing plan like a contractor approaches building a house: before any of the fancy stuff goes in, a solid foundation goes down. As you pull together your marketing plan blueprint for 2012, here are four key elements that you should include:
1) Objectives. Everything in your marketing plan should tie back to fundamental business objectives. If not, you’re wasting time and money. Business objectives are simple and straightforward: they might be about building brand awareness (measurable though things like surveys) or simply increasing sales by X percent. Your marketing plan can’t be deemed successful if there’s nothing that the strategies and tactics focus on. Note that we’re talking about bottom-line business objectives here. A Facebook campaign will have its own goals, such as doubling fan page likes or adding prospects to an email list. These are important, but they’re not what drives the plan overall. Business objectives: know yours, and make sure your marketing plan relates back to them.
2) Audience. This one may seem obvious, but it’s amazing how many well-meaning marketers make ad-buy decisions based on elements like reach or cost-per-impression without first thinking about the audience on the receiving end. A thousand bucks’ worth of carefully targeted Facebook ads running over many months may seem like a great deal compared to the $1,000 one-time, four-color ad in your local small-circulation publication. But if your audience is more likely to read that pub than linger in front of a Facebook newsfeed (it’s a stretch, but last we heard, print’s not dead yet…) then you may be wasting your money. A simple breakdown of who your target audiences are, which ones you want more of, and where you’re likely to find them will go a long way in maximizing your marketing dollars. Where can you get these all-important demographics and psychographics and insight on how to reach them? Individual print pubs and ad-supported websites should have media kits. Yeah, they’re a bit biased, but it’s a start. Pew Internet has great stats for online usage and tendencies, too.
3) Schedule. Not sure where to start with your marketing plan? Consult your business schedule. Odds are you know when major events are happening–an open house, a major sale, or a market-driven rush on your product or service, like New Year’s resolutioners signing up for that long-overdue gym membership. Jot those down, and start there. If your business doesn’t have such an obvious event-driven schedule, think about internal activities–such as your annual fund drive or volunteer effort for the local charity of choice–and count those as events worth marketing, or marketing around.
4) Measurement. This element 
is more like a home warranty, in that–unlike the rest of the foundation–it’s not put into action until after the project is finished. Still, it’s fundamental to your plan’s overall success. For every chosen strategy, come up with a way to track results. Inbound marketing strategies, like blogging or SEO/SEM, offer myriad ways to measure effectiveness. Social networks have their insights and ad-campaign stats and, from your website’s end, inbound link-tracking capabilities. For traditional strategies like print ads or TV, use landing pages, QR codes or (at the very least) simple lead-tracking by hand and month-over-month comparisons to render some sort of verdict. Study your results, and–much like you do with a warranty–fix what’s broken.
Lots of factors go into making a marketing plan successful. Setting it up for success is the first step. If your plan has the four core elements above, you’re well on your way.
Working on your 2012 marketing plan? Have a question about a seemingly daunting element? Shoot us an email with a brief description of your challenge and the best way to reach you. Someone from our team will be happy to offer 15 or so minutes of no-cost, no-obligation time to see if we can get you a bit closer to meeting those all-important objectives.
That there is a billboard. It’s one of the tactics we’re using as part of an extensive integrated marketing communications campaign for client Blue Ridge Orthopaedic & Spine Center.
What, exactly, is integrated marketing communications (IMC)? Let’s start with what it’s not: it’s not marketing, advertising, public relations, or social media. Rather, it’s a mix of those–perhaps all of those and more–rolled into a concise, easy-to-follow plan that starts with a set of concise, easy-to-understand business objectives.
Or, as the folks at my grad school program explain it, just as individual instruments come together to create a beautiful piece of music, so do strategies like print advertising and direct mail combine to create a stellar IMC campaign.
The WVU IMC folks also note that huge companies like Apple and Target are among those that use IMC. Don’t be fooled. In many ways, an IMC approach to marketing and public relations is even better-suited to small businesses. Why? Because one of IMC’s core pillars is using multiple outlets in a consistent, cost-effective way. In other words, come up with an approach and adapt it for use across multiple channels.
For a huge business, that could mean developing similar but separate campaigns for TV, online video, and national print ads, and mixing in an über high-profile retail location that’s as much a marketing vehicle as any actual promo piece. For a small business, it might mean a consistent message on Facebook, in an e-newsletter, and at the bottom of your customer invoices. (Don’t think of your invoices as marketing pieces, you say? Pro tip: every customer touch point–from the print ads that go through dozens of revisions to the information on your business cards–is a marketing piece. Treat ‘em all as such.)
Blue Ridge Orthopaedic & Spine Center’s IMC campaign has focused on the differences that it makes–with patients and the community. So far, the plan includes a TV commercial (below), an online video that talks about staff community involvement, print ads in pubs like Warrenton Lifestyle, and a billboard series, among other tactics. It’s been fun, and there’s still plenty more to come.
Every IMC campaign is different, but there are some common traits. Among them: a set of overall business objectives that drive the entire campaign, and a mix of strategies and tactics that reach the target markets identified as part of the planning process.
Having a hip, creative agency working alongside you doesn’t hurt, either. Just sayin’.
McKinsey Development is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of Flash Point Communications. Flash Point Founder David Henrickson joins the McKinsey Development team as its newest partner and creative director.
Henrickson is a marketer, graphic designer and writer with more than twenty years of experience reaching and serving a wide range of customers from regional and national businesses and associations to individual consumers. As Creative Director/Partner at McKinsey Development, Henrickson will oversee the firm’s print and online design projects while offering direct design and marketing expertise for specific projects.
“I’m very excited about the direction that McKinsey Development is taking and look forward to being part of the leadership that will shape the firm’s future,” said Henrickson. “I’m confident that the broad range of experiences I’ve gained as a marketer, graphic designer, and entrepreneur will help to push the firm forward in terms of both creativity and execution while helping our amazing list of clients grow and refine their own businesses.”
Prior to starting Flash Point Communications, Henrickson served as art director for advertising agencies located in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, including Earle Palmer Browne, Henry J. Kauffman & Associates and Kidwell McGowan Associates. David worked with agency staff and creative directors to complete projects for a range of companies and federal agencies.
“David is truly gifted in his areas of expertise,” said McKinsey Development Founder & CEO Crystal McKinsey, “His talents are a tremendous complement to those of the rest of the team, and his agency experience combined with his familiarity with the Northern Virginia market make him a natural fit with our firm.”
McKinsey Development is pleased to announce that the firm has has promoted Michelle Winner to partner. In her expanded role, she will collaborate with clients on broad marketing and public relations strategies and continue to work directly with them on specific print and web graphic design projects.
“Growing businesses need strong, capable leaders,” said McKinsey Development Founding CEO Crystal McKinsey. “Michelle’s ability to produce top-tier work and manage client accounts has made her an invaluable part of our team from day one. We’re excited to make her part of the company’s foundation as we continue to build our business.”
Winner is responsible for creating and designing online and traditional marketing, branding, and design pieces, ranging from logos to full-color print advertisements. She also works closely with the clients throughout the creative process. Winner, who earned her degree in Graphic Design from Marymount University, has spent nearly two decades in marketing and graphic design, including 10 years at a web development firm (where she earned a coveted CLIO award in the design arena) and eight years as the owner of her own design firm.
“Since joining McKinsey Development, I have been excited about the amazing energy, creativity and drive of the entire team,” Winner said. “I couldn’t be more honored to now be a partner with the company and look forward to many years collaborating and growing with the firm.”