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Idea #1 - So what is marketing?
 Today
our guest editor
is Catherine
Logue of Adelade,
Australia.
She has written
and conducted
Marketing & PR
material for
small business,
and also
conducts
training in an
Australian
program titled:
Frontline
Management
She is currently
the National
President of
AITD Australian
Institute of
Training &
Development,
hence she gets
asked to walk
her talk a far
bit with one
being able to
deliver relevant
training which
is tried and
tested in
business. She is
also a business
partner of Hutt
St Photos, as
well as running
her own Training
Company in
Australia as an
RTO (Registered
Training
Organisation)
(this means in
Australia, as an
RTO the company
is an endorsed
organization
which can
deliver
Nationally
recognized
qualifications
under Vocational
Education Act -
it is a
recognized
tertiary
qualification)
She has been
executive
producer of Bill
McCurry's Hot
Picks project
for 3 PMA
conventions to
date,doing Hot
Picks #4 this
weekend in
Melbourne.
(In honour of
Catherine's
Australian
heritage we have
ignored the
persistent
warnings of
Microsoft's
Spell Checker
and left the
"proper English"
spelling which
includes an
extra "u" in
some words and
"s" instead of
"z" when
comparing
Australian with
Yankee
spellings)
So what is
marketing?
by Catherine
Logue
The way your
store
communicates
with its
customers, or
potential
customers,
through
advertising,
promotions,
reputation -
word of mouth
and public
relations -
that's
marketing.
What ever you do
to market the
business incurs
a financial
investment. This
is not just the
advertising
space that is
booked and paid
for, or the
promotions and
mail-outs that
are printed and
distributed, but
also the cost of
your people.
Everything that
is utilised in
the name of
marketing must
work in harmony
with the
business and all
marketing
efforts to
maximise the
return on the
investment.
The main focus
in marketing is
attracting and
retaining a
growing base of
satisfied
customers, both
internal and
external.
This means the
procedures,
systems and
service ethos
within the
business need to
support the
marketing plan.
So all policies,
and activities,
should be
focused on
satisfying
customer needs.
Simple
approaches like
providing stools
for customers
who are working
on kiosks and a
space for them
to park a
stroller safely
are marketing
gems. Think
about the 50c
item such as a
bag hook under
the kiosk shelf.
This means
security for the
customer while
others do not
trip on their
gear.
One retailer
offered a simple
tip. She places
a small pad of
note paper and
some pencils
near the kiosk
for customers to
cross through
their orders, or
make notes of
other ideas to
bring back to
the store.
So the role of
marketing in
your business
means getting
the message to
the current and
potential
customers. The
products and
services of your
operation may
just sit on the
shelf if the
value and
benefit of using
them is not
shared or
understood.
So what is
your most
profitable line?
There was a time
when it was the
6x4-inch print.
In today's
market, this is
not where we
need to focus
our investment
dollars.
In speaking to
retailers,
several ideas
have been
shared. Many
stores have
identified
customers now
want to convert
their photos and
files to
electronic
copies. So offer
a competitive
scanning
service. Make
some profit.
Scanning is a
valued service
to the customer
and, as it only
costs time and
the price of the
blank media,
it's valuable
for the business
as well. This is
a prised service
for the local
funeral parlour
that is offering
presentations
during the
funeral service.
Ensure your
local funeral
operators know
you offer this
service.
A simple
approach to
marketing can
assist in the
understanding of
the whole
concept. In the
text "Digital
Guerrilla
Marketing"
comments that
regardless of
strategy, you
should start
with seven basic
sentences to
clarify the
marketing plan:
- The
purpose of
your
marketing
- The
benefits you
offer to
accomplish
that
purpose.
- Your
target
audience
- Your
marketing
weapons
- Your
niche in the
market
- Your
identity
- Your
marketing
investment
Do you know your
target market?
An interesting
exercise one of
our trainees
undertook was to
ask every
customer their
post (zip) code
for one month.
The report
revealed a whole
sector of the
suburban sprawl
that the store
was unaware
visited the
retail location.
It is essential
that the
selection of
target markets
meet the store's
objectives. It
is important to
maximise the
visibility of
the product and
service to
achieve the best
results for the
organisation.
One of our local
coffee shops has
identified the
large influx of
younger
generation
clients
following the
end of their
study day. So
there is a happy
hour from 3:30
to 4:30 offering
a Soda and
muffin at a
reduced price.
Most local cafes
are preparing
for end of day,
while this
forward-thinking
store is humming
at 4pm.
The selection of
the target
markets can
range from the
mass market to
customised or
micro markets.
Consider which
environment your
store needs to
focus on.
Most stores have
experienced the
mass markets
which appeal to
one large market
with a single
marketing
strategy. For
the smaller
retailer, this
may not be the
best spend of
their marketing
dollars. However
if the current
promotion is
suitable, ensure
your store piggy
backs on the
promotion.
One specialist
photo retailer
used this
concept last
holiday season.
The major
retailer [big
box store] had
adverts in the
paper, so the
specialty store
laminated the
page from the
paper and used
it as wallpaper
in their window
display saying,
don't walk past,
and ask about
our price and
accessories.
Do you operate
in the niche
market
environment? The
niche market
appeals to a
smaller
operation which
can focus on a
single product
or category to a
narrowly defined
target market.
Have you a local
college or
school which is
offering
photography as a
term subject?
Offer to be a
guest speaker at
their class, or
even invite them
into your store
to see behind
the scenes. Give
them some of
your time, you
do not have to
spend money,
just share your
expertise. Share
some of that
hard-won
knowledge you
probably take
for granted, but
others will find
illuminating.
What marketing
weapons do you
use? Remember
the old wallet
stuffers that
were used every
time the client
picked up their
film processing.
This concept
still works.
When I visit
clients I
regularly see
our promotions
on their
pinboards.
People still
find it hard to
throw away a
photograph. You
can use
short-dated
paper to create
them at little
expense. Remind
your regular
customers with
postcards.
Don't overlook
snail mail.
Email promotions
can be deleted,
hard copy
postcards get
considered. So
it can be an
effective
alternative and
it's worth going
to the extra
time and expense
to get hard copy
materials to
customers.
Customers do
value your
knowledge. Hutt
St Photos has
produced a range
of Tips Sheets
to assist with
the education of
the customers.
Just remember to
give your store
a credit on the
bottom.
The newest
target marketing
strategy 'micro
markets'
attempts to
appeal to
targeted
customers with
individualized
marketing
programs. The
Internet has
been the
catalyst for
this target
marketing
strategy. Do a
search on the
internet for
'photo books'
and just explore
what the
customer sees
when they look
up this
category.
One photo
retailer, who
enjoys his
photography as a
hobby as well as
a career, has
taken to
producing poster
prints, and
allowing the
local print
store to
displays his
work as art.
This doubles his
visibility, in
his store and
the local print
store. He also
has attached a
gallery page to
his website.
Customers can
order on-line.
One other
retailer selects
his 4 best
photographs each
month. These are
printed as
canvases and
displayed in the
local restaurant
every month. The
art has a price,
the artist and
the store where
they are
produced.
Raise your
visibility at
every
opportunity.
When you print
specialist
posters,
remember to
badge the copy
so others will
know who
produced the
photo.
Remember if you
can just do one
new action each
week, it means
you are
enhancing your
marketing
efforts. Let
people know you
have some great
ideas. Customers
like to work and
speak with
positive people. |
