Advertising and Marketing

There are many theories in Advertising, which we learned in MBA school, yet many fall very short in the real world, where there is competition, changing demographics, intense adjusting of consumer buying behavior and so many more methods of advertising than ever before.

Indeed it is truly amazing that the MBA textbooks can keep up with it all and really they can’t. If you wish to stay up on what is new in advertising you really need to read the research data and white papers on the subject and how the Internet is changing and evolving. For instance AdSense at Google did not exist during the last reprint of college textbooks in advertising and even it is evolving once again you see?

There are so many changes and well I hate to break it to you MBA’ers out there, but I am simply not so interested really in any of your guff, you see I built a small car washing empire and never used the conventional marketing or advertising venues. We built the largest mobile car wash company in the world, without blowing our money on the MBA advertising methods.

In fact I use to be an avid reader of “Advertising Age” yet even so I could have easily re-written a third of those articles with a reality check. No, I am not bragging, but rather trying to get you to think on where advertising theory so often falls short you see? Consider all this in 2006. And no you cannot reprint this article for you next MBA Textbook.

Lance Winslow

[tags]Advertising Theory, Where it Falls Short[/tags]

With so much money invested on innefective advertising, it’s time to look at some good old fashioned ways of generating new business. One tried and tested way is by referral.

Here are three reasons why referrals are so valuable

1. Customers who refer are more likely to stay with you and as a result, spend more, adding to their lifetime value.

2. Referrals are more likely to become customers. Why? Because they have been recommended to you by someone they trust and who in turn, trusts you.

3. Referrals who become clients are likely in turn to generate referrals because they understand the process.

What’s the best way to generate referrals?

You have to earn them! You have to treat your customers as friends. The result is that they will want to introduce you to people they know who in turn can do business with you.

It’s back to that Trust thing again isn’t it? By showing you care about them and about their lives, your level of trusts increase. Remember the three things people think about before doing business with someone?

1. Do I like the?
2. Do I respect them?
3. Can I trust them?

By taking the time to develop relationships, trust increases, as does the likelihood of referrals.

By delivering a high standard of service in an appropriate professional environment or fashion, you are demonstrating your professional competence. The combination of this and your capacity to develop relationship will in turn earn you the right to ask for referrals.

I guarantee that if you did nothing else but began asking your customers for referrals on a regular basis you would instantly see an increase in referrals coming into your business.

The best time to ask for a referral is when a customer gives you a compliment or expresses any kind of gratitude towards you or your business. Tell them that your purpose in asking is to build your business. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

In fact, a client who really likes you will actually feel honoured that you have asked for their help.

Don’t be afraid to tell your clients whom they should be thinking of as referrals (i.e. people under a lot of stress, people who are health conscious, people in pain) – be specific. You get what you ask for!

OK, so now you’ve gained sufficient trust and respect to ask for referrals, what do you do when you start getting them?
Simple. Make a fuss of them by means of reward and recognition. Just as with children and dogs, rewarding good behaviour makes certain that the behaviour is rewarded.

Do it publicly, too. Create a Referral Recognition wall in your reception area. Put the names of people you’ve rewarded up there. Run a referral incentive program that rewards more for more referrals.

Remember we’re talking about the cost of client acquisition and retention here. Far better to pay for the client after they’ve spent than to gamble on attracting them!

With a Reward for Referral program, your costs are a fixed item for every new client, too, making budgeting far easier.

Ask yourself this question: Do I currently know my exact cost of customer aquisition? If the answer was “no” you should look closely at a referral reward program.

About the author:
James Yuille is a sales and marketing consultant and trainer with over 32 years experience. He is based in Brisbane, Australia.
His free weekly sales and marketing newsletter provides topical information for business owners and salespeople. Find out more at http://www.jamesyuille.com

[tags]referral, referral business, recognition,[/tags]

I suspect that everyone has an idea of what lamination is even if you have only seen it in passing. Restaurant menus are a common example. A plastic finish is placed over the menu to protect it from food and stains. But did you know that you can laminate just about anything that is flat? If it needs to be protected and reused, it is something to consider for lamination. The laminate also makes the original material stronger and more durable. All of our signs can be laminated, but the reasons are varied and not all signs should be laminated.

A number of our customers have fondly taken to our dry erase laminate. They can have engineering plans, tables, or other diagrams printed on almost any of our substrates (for example, PVC or aluminum). Once we cover them with the dry erase laminate, it allows the users to mark up the signs with dry erase ink which can easily be wiped off. It is wonderful for talks and demonstrations.

But our primary use for laminates is to protect signs and give them longer life expectancy. For example, our UV inks used in digital printing have a life time of about 3 years before they begin to fade without lamination. But a laminate can give them an additional 2 to 3 years without fading.

We like to encourage our customers to laminate the magnetic car signs we produce, because it protects the inks from abrasions – the roads constantly kick up dirt and dust which strike the signs. You should also consider laminates for signs that are frequently taken down and put back up. Real estate signs are a perfect example. They can come easily scratched without lamination. The user can also roll the sign up after meetings and reuse it without fear of the sign becoming warn.

And finally, we like to use laminates because they give the sign a nice professional finish. There are two basic types of finishes that can be achieved from laminate: matte and gloss. Matte finishes look a bit granular and are not reflective, but they tend to make colors on the sign more striking and vivid. In contrast, gloss finishes are reflective and tend to make bright colors radiate with strong definition.

There are two basic types of laminates: hot and cold. Hot laminates are placed on signs at approximately 220 to 300 degrees F. The process is a little more expensive than cold laminates, but the laminate lasts a bit longer. Unfortunately, some inks used in digital printing will melt under the hot conditions. You also cannot use hot laminates on heat sensitive papers.

Under these conditions, cold laminators are required. They use pressure sensitive adhesives to secure the lamination film. We also use a spray laminate (cold) to protect signs when cost is an issue. Spray laminates protect the sign but do not give a gloss finish or make the material more rigid.

Written by: Tony Nagy
Email: info@designasign.biz
To learn more about Magnetic signs and other types of signs please visit http://designasign.blogspot.com/ to purchase Magnets, Vinyl and just about every type of sign imaginable visit http://www.designasign.biz

[tags]Magnets, Vinyl and just about every type of sign imaginable[/tags]