Tomato Fish Marketing

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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Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry, 27-year-old entrepreneurs, have built the world’s largest eco-friendly cleaning brand, Method (sold at Target). In February 2001, they mixed their first four cleaning sprays and had the managers of 20 independent groceries itching to try them. Once they researched the market opportunity and got these stores to agree to try them, they pooled their money and built Method.

Reader’s Digest interviewed this entrepreneurial pair asking how they pulled off the launch of their new products in the middle of a recession (2001). Their answer? The recession forced them to sharpen their differentiators and make their product USP easy to grasp. To someone starting a business, Eric and Adam suggest understanding how your product or service brings value to consumers with extreme clarity.

Be clear and concise about your unique selling proposition.

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Every month Jon Speer (Creo Quality) and I host a Whiteboard Strategy Session in my office and ultimately the discussion moves into Social Media and all that it entails. Most of the time we have at least one person who is Social Media adverse and is pained by trying to keep up with everything that is going on in the Social Media world.

This morning Harvard Business Publishing had a great post on this very topic – check it out…

“Social media trends happen fast. Just when you’ve got your Facebook account set up, everyone’s tweeting instead. When embarking on using social media at your organization, don’t get hung up on trying to keep up. Even technology gurus have a hard time keeping track of all of the emerging tools and technologies. Instead, focus on what matters most to you, your team, and your organization. Only a few technologies will truly be helpful in achieving your goals and those are the only ones you need. By shutting off the noise of trying to keep up, you free yourself to make the most of the tools that will support you in what truly matters.“

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Reblog from Creo Quality:

I caught about 10 minutes of NPR today. Author John Freeman was on the Diane Rehm show. Freeman was talking about his latest book, “The Tyranny of Email: The Four-Thousand-Year Journey to Your Inbox“. I have not read the book nor did I catch enough of the interview to comprehend the author’s point of view. However, Rehm offered a statistic that I think is remarkable: employees spend 40% of their work day dealing with emails.creoquality.com, The Tyranny of Email, Oct 2009

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I recently got the Glodan postcard in the mail and loved what “Dan the Paper Man” had to say…

“A lawyer had successfully handled a difficult law case for a wealthy friend. Following the happy outcome of the case, the friend and client called on the lawyer, expressed his appreciation of his work and handed him a handsome Moroccan leather wallet. The lawyer looked at the wallet in astonishment and handed it back with a sharp reminder that a wallet could not possibly compensate him for his services. “My fee for that work”, acidly snapped the attorney, “is five hundred dollars.” The client opened the wallet, removed a one-thousand dollar bill, replaced it with a five-hundred dollar bill and handed it back to the lawyer with a smile.

However, a spelling error caught my eye and took my attention away from the story.

Lesson #1 – Direct Mail is more effective with poignant stories.

Lesson #2 – Review carefully and know that spell check doesn’t catch everything.

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