Tomato Fish Marketing

The other day I listened to an archived video from Duct Tape Marketing called “Facebook for Small Business”. There were 4 panelists and consensus was that every small business needs to be on Facebook marketing their product/service or company in general. I must admit that I only watched the first 20 minutes or so of the 58:55 minute video, but here is what I heard:

1. Facebook is now the top relationship site
2. Facebook has over 350M users = huge captive audience
3. Easy way to reach out to your target market

Now, let me preface what I’m about to say next… I am a fan of Duct Tape Marketing.

However, I disagree that every small business needs to be on Facebook:

Yes, FB is one of the top relationship sites, but the majority of it’s users are on the young end of GenY. And yes, Facebook does have a large audience, but it’s filled mostly with women. Neither of these demographics fit every small business target market.

Lastly, FB can be a more simplified way to reach your audience (not to mention it is cost-effective – for now), but when does it become a monetizable strategy? Aside from their advertising model, which is mediocre at best, how do you know if you are reaching your audience and is your product or service something that the FB market is interested in purchasing?

On a positive note, Facebook users age 35+ is growing and could surpass the GenY group, but before you put all of your stock into Facebook as your 2010 marketing strategy, know your audience and do your research.

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Join us Friday, February 12th, for our monthly free Whiteboard Strategy Session.

This month in our studio we will be talking about “5 Tips and 5 Tools to Getting Things Done”.

DATE:  February 12, 2010

TIME: 10A – 11:30A

LOCATION: 6055 N. College Avenue #201, Indy 46220

Please RSVP before Friday if you plan on attending.

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I found this fascinating quote today:

Businesses need a marketing strategy. And yes, the marketing strategy should consider use of social media. But isn’t social media one of MANY marketing tactics?creoquality.com, Social Media Is A Marketing Tactic–Not A Strategy, Jan 2010

You should read the whole article.

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Which are you?

1. a company performing different activities from competition, or
2. a company performing similar activities as competition but in a different way

If you don’t know or don’t have a strategic position, maybe this will help:

Approach your strategic position in one of the following ways:

• serve few needs of many customers (Jiffy Lube provides only auto lubricants)
• serve broad needs of few customers (AMEX Black Card targets high wealth clients), or
• serve broad needs of many customers in a narrow market (Progeny Genetics serves Researchers in the genetics market)

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Okay, it’s a new year and it’s probably safe to assume that there are a lot of new Year’s resolutions floating around out there. It’s probably also safe to assume that by March 1st, maybe earlier, a lot of us will have ditched the New Year’s resolutions. That New Year routine that you carefully planned and mapped out for yourself and your company is probably also getting a little difficult to keep up with right?

Forget the New Year’s Resolutions…

Keep it simple this year by focusing on the following:

1. refresh your sales pitch (or create one if you don’t have one already)
2. be sure you articulate your strategic position (more to come in another post)
3. get excited about it
4. be confident that you have something that other people want to buy
5. GET OUT AND SELL!!!!!!!!

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Join us this Friday, January 8th, for our monthly free Whiteboard Session.

This month in our studio Creo Quality will be leading the discussion regarding their 20/20 Strategic Vision Program.

Creo Quality helps their clients balance strategy and tactics. Creo Quality is a CATALYST that can help you CONNECT and CREATE in order to achieve success through the following:

Join us for the Whiteboard Session to learn more about the 20/20 Strategic Vision Program and how we can help you be successful in 2010 and beyond.

Please RSVP before Friday if you plan on attending. Thank you and Happy New Year!

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Last, but not least, in out TOMI Triangle is the importance of having a solid web presence. Your web site is the tool that you can use to create calls-to-action, gather data about your visitors, and earn direct sales.

A web site is the best resource a potential client or customer has for learning who, what , why, how and when your business can help them.

Your web site becomes the home that you send your contacts to from your email marketing campaigns and if your website is user friendly and enjoyable for the visitor you will see them continue to come back to your site (even outside of email marketing campaigns).

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Why is email marketing so important? Email marketing is important because it works and it works with almost any size budget. Here are some email marketing facts for you to think about:

• According to the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing generated an ROI of $43.62 for every dollar spent on it in 2009 and outperforms all other direct marketing channels.
• According to Forbes Media in Feb/March 2009, email and e-newsletter marketing are considered the second-most effective tool for generating conversions, just behind SEO (www.forbesmedia.com).
• A 2009 survey of US B2B marketers by MarketingProfs and Forrester Research found that 39% planned to increase email budgets, while 11% planned a decrease (www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007108).
• The DMA estimate spending on email marketing (in the USA) will increase from $600 million in 2008 to $700 million in 2009 (http://directmag.com/email/1014-email-roi-dma/).
• A 2008 survey by Forrester Research revealed that 95% of surveyed marketers use email marketing, with another 4% planning to do so by year end (http://directmag.com/magill/0909-marketers-social-media/).

Why does email marketing work?

• It allows targeting and is data driven
• It drives direct sales
• It builds loyalty and trust
• It supports your sales and lead generation

And every email campaign that you send out generates data that can be use to refine your message and calls-to-action.

• Email promotions / offers generate immediate action
• Informative email newsletters provide contacts with wanted information, builds awareness, contributes to corporate branding, and strengthens trust and loyalty.

So, we know that email marketing works, but you must have the following first:

• a complete, up to date list of folks that want to hear from you (Importance of CRM),
• a consistent and clear message, and
• an effective delivery system

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What is a TOMI triangle you might ask? TOMI Triangle is the unique system we have developed to evaluate and monitor the Targeted Online Marketing & Implementation activity for small to medium sized businesses. The system is made up of three parts: CRM, Email Marketing, and Web Site. For this post, however, we will only be focusing on the importance of CRM.

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On Friday, November 13th we will be hosting our monthly Whiteboard Strategy Session (Broad Ripple office) from 10a to 11:30a.

This month we will discuss the TOMI Triangle:

• What it is.
• What it does.
• How you can use it.

Don’t bother with Google – you won’t find it, just show up and find out what the TOMI Triangle is.

Please RSVP so we have enough refreshments for everyone!

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