Marketing Your Maryland Business - 7 Tips for Business Owners to Attract More Maryland Customers

Maryland is rich with a diverse range of consumers. The proximity of Maryland to the nation’s capital and Northern Virginia’s high-tech corridor makes it an ideal place for people in all sectors of government, government contract work and private industry to live. For a relatively small state, Maryland is home to a surprising range of tourist attractions – from historic Gettysburg to Baltimore’s famed Inner Harbor, loads of government agencies including the NSA, cutting edge tech firms like advertising.com, world-renowned sports companies including Under Armor and Fila, and thousands of hotels, restaurants and shops. Maryland even has casino gambling adding fuel to the business economy, albeit in its infancy. Even in today’s economically challenged environment, finding a job at almost any level is not only possible, but probable – a statement that not every state in the country can boast. For those working in Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia, MD offers a close and convenient, yet seemingly worlds-away locale for living, shopping and playing. Maryland’s unique combination of government, high-tech and rural areas not only attract consumers but new businesses alike.

If you are a business owner wishing to attract Maryland consumers, listen up. The diversity of those living and spending in Maryland calls for diversity in marketing. Therefore, marketing your MD business should take a multi-pronged approach. If you wish to attract more people in Maryland to your business, here are some helpful tips.

1. Invest in a comprehensive website. As any business owner in any industry knows, a well-executed website is a must. When your focus is on attracting MD consumers, make sure that your website is not only attractive from a design standpoint, but that it contains everything that a Maryland consumer would want. If you own a restaurant, for example, your website should look and sound inviting and delicious. But don’t stop there. Be sure your website contains easy to find, understand and print (Google maps and Mapquest links are ideal). If you offer specials, coupons, themed parties or other items that help make your business stand apart from others, be sure those are included as well.

2. Invest in search engine marketing. A great website is nice but if nobody can find it, it’s a fruitless endeavor. When your website was built, hopefully your web designer had the knowledge and expertise to construct it in a way that is search engine friendly. (See our page on search engine marketing in MD for more information on search engine friendly sites). If you don’t know if your site was constructed with search in mind, or if it’s not being found on searches, hire a professional to evaluate your site and make changes that will boost its rankings. Sometimes even small changes to a site can make a huge difference in rankings. Other search engine marketing to attract MD customers includes pay-per-click campaigns, article writing/posting, and a good linking strategy.

3. Make sure social media marketing is in the mix. Consumers in MD, just like those everywhere, are all over social media. And believe it or not, they are looking for the goods and services you provide there. Whether they are clicking on ads or asking their friends for recommendations, MD consumers should be able to find you in places like Facebook and LinkedIn. And, depending on the nature of your business, perhaps YouTube and Twitter as well. Restaurants, salons and spas, for example, are a must for social media marketing. (See our pages on social media marketing in MD, restaurant marketing in MD and salon and spa marketing in MD for more information.)

4. Pepper Maryland with your brand. These days there is a diminishing direct return on investment when it comes to print advertising, direct mail, broadcast advertising and certainly phone book advertising. But before you toss them out of your marketing mix altogether, consider their branding impact vs. their direct return. Just because someone doesn’t pick up the phone and call you because you ran a radio ad, for example, doesn’t mean that the ad wasn’t effective. Every single impression that your business has on MD consumers – whether it was a radio ad, newspaper ad or mailer – is embedded in that consumers brain somewhere. With enough of those impressions, you can see how a business could become top-of-mind when that MD consumer does have a need for what you provide. And while doing a plethora of activities may sound unrealistic budget wise, doing MD marketing in this way doesn’t have to break the bank. If marketing your MD business comes with a tight budget, seek out less expensive options for branding. Well-place fliers, local papers, neighborhood mailers and local radio stations offer adequate brand impressions without the high price tag. Another option is rotating your budget. Instead of being on the air, sending mailers and placing print ads each month, rotate the ad spend around between mediums.

5. Conduct regular e-mail marketing. E-mail marketing is, by far, your lowest cost marketing effort. While it takes time to build your opt-in e-mail list, it costs you very little to send out an e-mail. Be sure that you are taking full advantage of this cost effective marketing to Maryland consumers one or twice per month. More often if you have a business that will tolerate it. Daily specials e-mails may not be out of the question for a restaurant, for example, but for a home improvement company, that frequency won’t fly. While MD consumers like e-mail marketing, it must be well-balanced with your business.

6. Embrace Maryland’s cultural and ethnic diversity. While not all areas of MD are culturally diverse, many sectors of the state most certainly area. If your business attracts those in Maryland from all walks of life, consider those differences in marketing your MD business. If you’re not in tune with the cultural differences outside of your own, elicit the help of someone who is. Have them critique your business from their perspective. What are the first impressions? What does or does not attract them to your business? What changes could be made to better accommodate those customers? Changes need not be dramatic, but may well make a big difference in attracting more Maryland customers.

7. And finally, your MD marketing efforts need to be consistent. All too often, business owners allow their marketing efforts to happen in waves. When business is slow, their marketing efforts increase. It’s a both a knee-jerk reaction to the here and now, as well as an opportunity to keep those on staff busy when business isn’t. But wave marketing, as I have just decided to coin it, is not effective. Marketing efforts of all types need time to gel. If you wait until business is slow to begin marketing, you will still need to wait for the results. Your best bet is to maintain consistent efforts – both during busy and slow times – to ensure smaller waves and more consistent results.

Maryland is a great place to work, live and own a business. The consumers in MD are financially, culturally and ethnically diverse. Keeping these tips for MD marketing in mind, you’re sure to attract even more Maryland business.

Is Data Killing Marketing & Advertising Success?

Over the past 10 years or so (give or take) marketing decisions are being made more and more by relying solely on numbers. Huge amounts of marketing dollars are spent relentlessly tracking clicks, inquiries, calls and even online consumer behavior. This data, while certainly giving desperate marketers something to cling to when making decisions, may also be killing us. Well, killing good marketing and advertising, anyway. And killing the reason we got into this business in the first place.

As a marketing professional on the creative side of the table, I have always sort of bristled at the idea of going one way or another with a campaign idea simply because the numbers said we should. Or, should I say, our interpretation of the numbers said we should.

It used to be that creative teams hit the streets and talked to people, conducted customer focus groups, had brainstorming sessions and developed the best creative ideas they could to sell the products and services of their clients. Their ideas were based on consumer feedback and just plain old gut instinct. Now, researchers pour over website stats, count online inquiries, track calls and monitor online behavior like a scientist trying to cure a disease. Once the data is mined and interpreted, then the 'creative' process begins.

This laser focus on data and our reluctance to pull the trigger on anything if we don't have numbers to back it up is one reason social media is so perplexing to some marketers. Social media is conversation. It's opinion. It's voyerism (now that's fun!). It's interaction. And try as we might to direct a Facebook user to make an online purchase during her hour of computer time after she puts the kids to bed, she simply may not be in the mood. So what else is new. But in her conversations with friends, her spying on neighbors and her clicking on funny videos, seeds were planted for sure. Trackable? No. Effective. Oh heeeelllll yes.

The most fun thing about marketing and advertising - and the most infuriating - is the unpredictability of consumers. We're simply moody beings. It's as if consumer behavior is this mysterious fog that sways in the breeze, changing direction at random. It's truly like the weather. Sometimes you know what's coming, other times, you don't - no matter what size your Doppler radar is. We will NEVER, no matter how much money we throw into software tracking system, figure it out. So the game plays on.

While data is the best we have to go on in black and white, I am of the belief that true creative marketing, and ultimately truly successful marketing, should rely more on gut instinct and good old fashioned consumer interaction than data alone. I'm not saying screw the data altogether, I'm saying make it just one of the pieces of the puzzle. Get to know your target audience on a deeper level than
is shown on paper. After all, I can write a biography and tell you all about me, but you will never really get to know me until you meet me. And even then, until we're BFF's, you'll only get half the story. So let's use the data for what it's worth, but don't make it the be-all end-all of our campaigns.

Stay creative my friends!

Social Media’s Effect on Brand Transparency

The public’s call for brand transparency is as old as snake oil salesmen. As the most highly-evolved creatures on the planet, we’re none too happy when we allow ourselves to be deceived. And if there’s one industry that has mastered the art of deception since the beginning, it’s advertising. Too-good-to-be-true claims, a low, low price simply too good to pass up and ultra-steamy sex appeal are like the magic fairy dust of ad campaigns. We’re momentarily blinded by that ‘gotta have it!’ feeling that has those purses and wallets open faster than you can say, “ShamWhat?!”

But alas…you get it home and that super cool gadget that the screaming dude was selling – which really worked well on the commercial - doesn’t work nearly as well in my house. Could it be me? Maybe I’m doing it wrong. Or was I…oh crap…duped. Damnit!

Something interesting is happening, though. Social media and an overall higher level of product knowledge made possible by the availability of information is making us all smarter consumers. Or at least it should be.

Now, when someone is dissatisfied with a product, instead of stopping at “Damnit!”, they hit the internet. They write product reviews. They tweet about it. They tell their friends and family on Facebook. Hell, they may even create a blog about it and invite others to chime in. The result? Bad publicity and readily-available information so the next time a savvy consumer goes online to do their research BEFORE opening that wallet, the same mistake won’t be made again. And no matter what your brand or advertising budget, enough of those and you’re out of business.

This phenomenon is forcing companies to re-examine their products and their brands and find the honest attributes that will make them sell. Or at least it should be. Sex may still serve us well to spike sales temporarily (hello Old Spice ads!) but without quality and customer satisfaction to back it up, that spike will be short-lived.

An honest approach to branding and brand advertising is called brand transparency. What you see is what you get. Are agencies ready for it? Are the companies that create the products we use ready for it? They’d better be. Because trying to pull a fast one on the internet-savvy, social media toting consumers of today is dangerous business.

It reminds me of the movie from the 80’s where Dudley Moore was an ad exec and spent some time in a mental hospital after a breakdown. Remember that? It was called Crazy People, I think. He had this epiphany that truth in advertising just may work. “Volvo. They’re Boxy, but They’re Good!”

I recently caught a campaign that is a perfect example of brand transparency. It's a Miracle Whip television spot where people actually said they hated Miracle Whip. What was that agency thinking?! Well, I believe they were thinking pretty clearly. I envision the brainstorming session going something like this… "Ok team, so what is it about Miracle Whip that will sell?" "Well, it’s creamy and tastes good with ham." "Are you kidding me? That stuff is awful!" "Well I like it." "Well I don’t." And so the “Miracle Whip -love or you hate it” campaign was born.

We see Domino’s Pizza doing the same thing. They were getting a bad reputation and sales were slipping. So what did they do? They hit the airwaves with an in-your-face, ‘We suck, but we’re fixing it!’ campaign that is quite refreshing.

Can you imagine if every brand was forced to either make their numbers by being honest, or change their product so they could be?

It’s the Crazy People approach, and personally, I love it.

Will this approach sell? I think the jury is still out on both of the campaigns above. But as consumers, we should appreciate the transparency, and insist on more of it.

Is Inconsistency Killing Your Brand?

If there is one marketing problem that plagues small businesses it’s developing brand awareness on a shoestring budget. The bigger your budget, the easier it is to create brand awareness in a short amount of time. Hitting the airwaves with TV and radio spots, saturating local media with print ads, and dominating the search engines with top-spot pay-per-click ads and web banner advertising can quickly get your brand in front of your target audience. But when trying to build your brand with a small business budget, and a ‘slow and steady wins the race’ approach, you’d better be sure of one thing - consistency.

The Problem

Small business owners trying to save money on marketing often piece out their marketing activities to multiple sources. Some trade out services with friends, or they rely on friends and family members to help out. All fine, if those resources are good at what they do, but all too often, these different activities done by different people result in brand inconsistency. Bob, who does the website, is doing it as a favor, so you kind of let him do what he wants, and you’re afraid to give him much direction - he is doing it for free, sooo… Then there’s the coupon mailer that you were convinced to do by that pesky sales person who offered to handle all of the artwork and creative for you at no charge. And finally there is your client who agreed to do your company brochure as a trade for services. As far as saving money on your stuff, you’re doing great. But here’s what can happen…

Without proper direction on messaging, proper logo usage, standard colors, standard fonts, and a guide to using URLs and phone numbers in your advertising, each of these nice people re likely create your materials in their style and their voice. And none of them will look or sound like the next.

From your customers and potential customers’ perspectives, you may actually end up looking like several different companies. And if that happens, you’re missing the boat on brand awareness altogether.

The Solution

Invest some time and a little money in having your brand sharply defined, and have a formal Marketing Style Guide created. Settle firmly on a logo and your colors. Your Marketing Style Guide will be the branding bible from which each of your vendors (friends, family members, or whoever is doing marketing for you) will live by. Consider it the roots of your brand from which each of your brand activities will grow! Your Style Guide should be available to your providers in a PDF format with links to art files whenever possible. If that is not feasible, create the PDF of the guide, and include it on a flash drive or CD that includes your approved art files.

Your Marketing Style Guide PDF and files/links should include:

Logo - Include vector (EPS), and high resolution jpeg (RGB) and tiff (CMYK) versions that can easily be used for signage, print, and the web. Include the proper PMS, CMYK and RBG colors in the art files so that when your logo is printed, the colors are the same everywhere. Don’t worry if you don’t understand these acronyms - your Marketing Style Guide creator will. (If not…find someone else to do your Style Guide!) Include color, black and white, and reversed versions of your logo also.

Tag Line - If your business uses a consistent tag line, be sure to include this in your Marketing Style Guide. This is generally used in conjunction with your logo, and should be used consistently. Limit yourself to just one tagline. Other messages about your brand or business can be used as Key Marketing Messages, which we will get to in a moment.

Approved Fonts - Outside of proper logo and color usage, one of the most important elements in making sure your marketing materials look similar is choosing one or two approved fonts that can be used for ad/website headlines, sub-headlines and body copy. These fonts should go well with your logo.

Your ‘Who Is’ Statement - Every business owner should be able, in one or two sentences, to quickly and accurately describe his or her business. Sometimes called the ‘30-second elevator speech’, we’re calling this your ‘who is’ statement. For example: Who is Joe’s Landscaping? Joe’s Landscaping provides residential landscape design, water feature design and lawn mowing services to homeowners in Buck’s County. Your ‘who is’ statement sound simple, but you’d be surprised at how difficult it can be for a business own to define his or her business in such a short and concise way. But that’s exactly how it must be defined for marketing purposes. In marketing, we have just a few seconds to tell your story. When used consistently, your ‘who is’ statement can help potential customers get to know you.

Mission / Vision / Philosophy - Most companies have their company mission statement laid out. Whether it’s called your Mission, Vision, or Philosophy, it is helpful for your marketing materials providers to know what’s at the heart of your company. Knowing what you do, why you do it, and who you do it for are all items that should be included in your mission statement and in your Marketing Style Guide. While it may not be used verbatim (or at all) in ad copy, it can help flavor the overall direction.

Key Marketing Messages - Key marketing messages are similar to tag lines, and can be used to define certain segments of your business for individually-targeted marketing items. For instance, if Joe’s Landscaping does an e-mail focused on water features, they may choose a key marketing message such as ‘From small, relaxing Koi ponds to quarter-acre duck ponds and waterfalls, let the experts at Joe’s Landscaping create the water feature of your dreams.’ Key marketing messages are great ways to provide direction to your marketing materials provider, and can be used as the starting point for developing ad or web content.

Contact Information - Each of your marketing items should contain multiple ways for customers to contact us. Your marketing materials providers should be given your website ULR, phone number and an e-mail address to include on all materials.

Licenses, Awards & Certifications - Often businesses are required by law to include license numbers in their advertising. Be sure that your Marketing Style Guide includes any required license numbers. Additionally, many businesses find it useful to promote awards, ratings and certifications. If beneficial to your business, make sure your Marketing Style Guide includes the art files for any logos that should be included in your advertising. A good example of this is the Better Business Bureau logo - many companies who have received an A+ BBB Rating like to use that logo in their advertising.

Images or Image Direction - Your business should have a distinct look and feel. Along with the items above, brand consistency can be achieved through the use of approved photos. If you do not have photos that are used regularly on your materials, be sure that your marketing materials providers have some direction on what types of photos to use. For example, if Joe’s Landscaping targets homeowners with larger homes, it is beneficial for their marketing material provider to know not to use small homes on their materials.

A lack of brand consistency can dramatically slow brand awareness, and even confuse customers and prospects. But with a little bit of leg work, your Marketing Style Guide can save you and your marketing providers time and headaches, and help your business grow.

Groupons, Living Social & Other Group Coupons – Good or Bad for Business?

As consumer’s in today’s tough economy, we are on a constant search for deals. Searching for sales and coupons has become a way of life. So it stands to reason that the companies providing coupon deals are doing well. Some of them very well. Take the most popular one today – Groupon. The concept of group coupons – those that go into effect when a group of people agree to take advantage of them – has revolutionized the way consumers search for and redeem deals. And it has quickly made Groupon worth billions. There is no doubt that for consumers, it’s a huge hit. But for retailers, maybe not so much. It all depends. To determine whether or not to take the group coupon plunge, first you need to make sure you get all the facts.

Group Coupons – The Good, The Bad and the Ugly

Doing business in this economy is tough no matter how you slice it. Consumer spending is down, and competition is fierce. Retailers in particular are pulling out all the stops to get customers to spend a few of their hard-earned dollars with them instead of their competitor down the street. Group coupons are one way a business can divert business their way – at least momentarily. Here we break down the good, the bad and the ugly sides of group coupon sites like Groupon and Living Social.

The Good

For a business that needs to drive in new traffic – and lots of it – group coupons will most certainly do the trick. A restaurant that normally sees a modest weekday crowd can increase their customers tenfold (or more) by offering a $25 for $50 worth of food and drink coupon Monday through Thursday, for example. A nail salon that normally books 10 appointments a day can literally have thousands of new customers calling to book. If you’re ready for it (and you’d better be ready for it) offering a group coupon will increase your traffic.

Group coupons can also help your business get noticed. Many small businesses don’t have the advertising dollars to tell the world who they are, where they are, and what makes them worth a visit. They also don’t have the benefit of having an opt-in e-mail list thousands strong. Offer a Groupon, though, and suddenly your small business is smack in front of thousands of potential customers. Whether they take advantage of the deal or not, you’ve received tremendous brand exposure. And you have the opportunity to become a regular for customers who may have never found you before.

The Bad

While driving a tremendous amount of traffic to your location may sound like one of those problems that you’d like to have, it may actually backfire if you’re not prepared. Take for example Crystal Nails in Chicago. Their $28 mani pedi deal actually did some harm to their business. It drove so much traffic – over 5,000 Groupons were sold – that some customers were forced to wait for up to 6 months to take advantage of their deal. And on top of that, for every day of those six months it was jam-packed with back-to-back appointments. Customers were forced to wait for long periods of time for their scheduled appointment, and the staff was stressed out to say the least. It’s a classic case of ‘be careful what you wish for!’

Another problem with offering a too-good-to-be-true deal to your patrons is that it makes them question if what they would normally is too much. If you can offer $50 worth of food for $25 today, why not do that all the time? Now, most consumers aren’t really that naïve, but offering over-the-top deals can devalue your products and services. If you do decide to do a group coupon, your best bet is to remind your customers that this is a one-time only deal, and assure them that still-valuable offers will come their way should they become loyal customers.

Finally, the worst part about group coupons is that for all of the traffic and all of the leg work involved in making sure that you’re properly prepared for it, it’s not profitable for most. Unless your margins are very high, or you have the ability to make up the money lost in add-on sales (such as alcohol if you’re a restaurant), you may actually lose money during your group coupon run. You may decide that the gamble, and potential loss is worth it to secure new customers long-term, but your business needs to be prepared to do a whole lot of work for not a whole lot of profit. Most group coupons sites requires that your offer be deeply discounted, and they take 30-50% of that. So, your $25 food gift certificate worth $50 when redeemed could actually yield you a mere $12.50.

The Ugly

Those that argue against the group coupon movement say that this method of devaluation of goods and services is ultimately very bad for business – whether they participate or not. They say that consumers who live their lives via these deals will not be loyal, but will instead be quite the opposite – utterly disloyal, on a never-ending search for the next big deal.

The bottom line is that only you know whether or not taking the group coupon plunge is worth the risk. Our short checklist of questions to ask yourself can help. Also, ask the businesses who you know have done Groupon, Living Social or other group coupon offers about their experience and their return. Ask them during the deal, then again 6 months later and see if their story is the same.

Things to Consider Before Doing Groupon or Living Social

·         Is my business and staff set up to take the sudden increase in traffic?

·         Are my margins substantial enough to sustain a 75% or more cut, or will the add-on sales make up for the loss?

·         Is the potential devaluation of my goods and services worth the immediate return?

·         Do I believe that the effort will generate repeat or long-term customers?

If you answered ‘No’ to one or more of these, only enter into a group coupon eyes wide open, and know that there is a risk of a down side. If you answered ‘Yes’ to all or most, and are ready to take the group coupon plunge, consider working with a marketing firm to help make the most of your effort. A marketing pro can help work with the coupon provider to craft the best offer for your customers and long-term goals, and can help you do other items to make the most of your group coupon experience.

Making Group Coupons Work

In addition to doing some leg work up front to craft your best offer – the one that will not only get you the increase in business you want, but be beneficial long-term – there are things you can do to make the group coupon experience last. For example, for those taking advantage of the offer, keep track of them and do your best to get follow-up contact information (e-mail is best). This way, you can offer them deals directly in the future, and save the hefty fees. Also consider offering a loyalty program to your group coupon redeemers to entice them to return. You can also gain more exposure for your company and help stay connected with customers on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. In addition to having the group coupon site send your offer, post it to your own social media sites and get people to pass it along. Bring them back to your Facebook page to ‘Like’ you, for example, and you’re on your way to building a nice following online.

Are You Ready to Do Groupon, Living Social or Another Group Coupon Offer?

Let Digidaze be your guide to group coupon specials. Call us at 1-855-digidaze (344-4329) or visit on the web at www.digidaze.com.

Home Improvement Marketing - What Works, What Doesn't, What Might...and Why

Home improvement companies large and small know that getting their message heard by homeowners in need isn’t easy. Home improvement contractors are everywhere, and each is vying for attention. Open any given value pack mailer or local coupon publication and you will see page after page of home improvement ads. From lawn services, landscapers, deck, pool & patio contractors to roofing, siding and windows, carpet, bathroom, sunroom and basement remodelers, the list goes on and on.

So as a contractor, how do you get your message heard? What marketing works, what doesn’t, and what aren’t we sure about? The answers depend somewhat on your local market and your budget, but here I provide some sure things that can be done no matter what your market or budget, and some tips on making the most of all of your home improvement marketing efforts.

What Works
When I say ‘What Works’, I am talking about items that I have personally used to market my clients that I wouldn’t hesitate to employ for any home improvement company. These are methods that have proven time and time again to be worth the investment. There are very few ‘sure things’ in marketing, but I’ll bet on these methods every time.

Website – Now more than ever, the standout method of marketing that continues to show solid return on investment (ROI) is your website. Day after day, night after night, your website – if done right – can generate lead after lead. I’ve seen home improvement companies that do ZERO cold-calling and canvassing, and still generate millions of dollars in revenue due in part to their investment in a well-done, highly-optimized website. The key, however, is the ‘well-done’ part. Frankly, any jackleg contractor can get a website – maybe even an attractive one. But without the proper construction and search engine optimization techniques, it will serve as little more than an online brochure. Do yourself a favor and find a search engine pro that can analyze your site and help make changes that will get it working to generate quality leads.

Pay-per-click (Google) Advertising – Your website, as well-optimized as it may be – can’t possibly achieve top ranking for all of the key words and phrases that you need to reach your audience. Today’s searchers in many cases are using broad terms like ‘lawn service’ to find what they need. And at last check, on Google the term ‘lawn service’ yielded 9,400,000 results. If you’re part of one of the large franchises, you have a chance of being found. But if you’re Joe’s local lawn service, fagettaboutit. Your only hope in that broad search is to have your site pop up in the Sponsored Listings, or pay-per-clicks. Setting up Google pay-per-click advertising takes a little know-how, but is certainly available to anyone.

Signage – Contractors are on the road and in neighborhoods far more than they are in any office. They are out and about, all over their covered area day after day. Outfit those trucks – whether they are pick-up trucks, step vans or large vehicles – with nicely done signs, and you have yourself a rolling billboard. Forget the subtle vinyl lettering or magnetic sign – spend a little more on a colorful wrap (no need to wrap the whole thing –doors, the back window, and/or tailgate will do) and you will surely get noticed. In addition to vehicle signs, be sure to put a yard sign at every single installment. A yard sign is as good as a personal referral. And in today’s busy society when time spent talking to your neighbors can be few a far between, it allows the opportunity to broadcast to an entire neighborhood that one of their own has put their trust in you for their latest project. I’ve even seen home improvement companies provide incentives to homeowners for keeping the signs in their yard for extended periods of time. Well worth it.

Ratings-based Organizations – Organizations like the Better Business Bureau and Angie’s List allow their members and/or the general public to rate their experiences with contractors. And while many contractors shy away from these organizations for fear of bad ratings, my experience has been positive with these services. That is, of course, if you are reputable contractor. If you’re a successful contractor who has built a business based on referrals and quality workmanship, these services will speak for themselves. And when you do get you’re A+ rating, use it. Post it on your website and in ads, and it too can serve as a virtual referral.

Social Media Marketing – While the jury is still out on exactly how to track the direct return on your social media marketing investment, I wouldn’t hesitate to set aside a small amount of time and marketing budget for social media marketing. Why? Well for one, it’s about as low cost as you can get. It has the potential to be viral, and strong testimonial/referral benefits are there as well. It also tells the world that you are on top of things – you’re progressive and stand out as a leader in your field. I don’t recommend spending 2 hours a day tweeting, but spending 10 minutes a day to post an item or two to your Facebook business page and Twitter account can have great benefits.

PR – Getting into a regular routine of doing press releases about anything you can think of that might catch the attention of the local press is worthwhile. After a while, regular releases containing good information will catch the attention of the local media. You may even become their go-to people for home improvement information. Invest a little time in putting together a press-kit with your leaders’ biographies, a one-sheet about your company, and any articles, guides, or content you have is worth doing once a year. Then, be on the lookout for news worthy things to write about – significant new hires, a government regulation that affects your industry or homeowners, new products and services can all be spun into information that reporters will look out for.

Sales Support – One often overlooked area of marketing is sales support, however when done right, it can have an amazing return. Companies hire a guy, hand him some business card, send him on his way and expect great returns. Your sales team is the face of your business to customers, and you no doubt spend time agonizing over who to hire. So when you have a good team in place, do the right thing and arm them with the proper tools to make the sale more quickly. Online presentations and demos, e-mailable resource links, business cards, and leave-behinds should all be high on the list of items that your team has in their sales toolbox.

What Doesn’t Work
‘What Doesn’t Work’ is based on experience, and consists of items that you’d have to hold me down and force me to spend money on. That’s not to say that in some cases, some markets they don’t work, but at best, I consider these items to be hit or miss.

Large Phone Book Advertising – When I say ‘large phone book’ I am talking about the big yellow pages books. It’s no secret that these directories – in print – are dying. With internet availability everywhere and a strong push toward environmental responsibility, directory companies are scrambling to stay alive by offering online options. Unless you’re tracking your phone book response diligently and seeing a return, my advice would be to get out. Or at least reduce to in-column listings.

Pay-per-lead Services – For the contractor who has no other method of getting leads, this might be a source to get started, but in my experience, pay-per-lead services don’t work. Typically they are pricey, and they sell the leads they get to multiple contractors. Even the ones that promise exclusivity have turned out to be duds. Whether they are the major players or the smaller ones, all have had the same results. Very low quality leads and at a cost far too high.

Value Pack Mailers – Coupon-based value pack mailers are the definition of hit or miss. If you catch a home who opens the pack, and if he or she has an immediate need for what you’re selling and if he or she is attracted by the ad or offer, you might get some action. That’s a lot of if’s. In my experience, these packs are not cheap, and they are loaded with home improvement companies. In fact, during the writing of this article I received one in the mail. Out of the 45 ads in the pack, 22 of them – nearly 50% - were from home improvement companies. Can I possibly stand out in a crowd like this, and hit the homeowner at the exact right moment? Hmmmm…not really liking those odds.

Pricey Print Advertising – While some may argue that a flashy ad in a magazine has branding appeal, I have seen very little direct return on this type of investment. To get into the magazines, your money would be better spent doing PR that will get you a text mention or even an article.

What Might Work
The items that fall under the category of ‘What Might Work’ are items that are hit or miss, but have the added intangible value of branding. So while we can’t necessarily measure all of the effectiveness of these efforts, we have a sense that they do have some value. The recommendation on these would be to keep the dollars spent in check, but give the activities that fit your budget a shot.

Broadcast Advertising – Broadcast advertising is great for getting your name out there, but can be really expensive. A savvy marketer can find some diamonds in the rough – broadcast efforts that have a decent reach and a decent price tag – but they are hard to find. If broadcast is a part of your mix, try your best to track your efforts. Put landing page URL’s on your ads, whether they are radio or television ads, and a tracking phone number. Create an offer that is unique to the spot for additional tracking. And by all means, with this and every other marketing effort, talk to your customers about how they heard about you initially. If you hear ‘I heard/saw your commercial’ over and over, you will have a sense that it is working.

Event Marketing – Events range in size and price from affordable local events like street festivals and school-sponsored events to large home and garden shows, wine festivals, etc. The large shows can be tough to see a big return on – they are expensive to secure space, and expensive to haul your stuff and staff – and you can get lost in the noise of dozens of other companies just like yours. Smaller, more localized events, though, can have a nice return. While you won’t be getting a huge quantity of leads, you will likely have more time to spend with the people you do meet, and you won’t be competing with too many other companies like yours.

Direct Mail – The options for direct mail vary from mass mailers that can cost a fortune for printing and postage, to smaller, more cost-effective efforts. In my experience, stay away from mass mailings. The return is very low. However, neighborhood mailers from companies like Quantum Digital can have a decent return. When you are able to choose a select set of streets to mail to, you can keep your cost down by doing small runs, and you can piggyback on other efforts. For example, if Joe’s Roofing is doing a nice roof on Maple Street, Joe’s team knows when the install is happening. If they have their marketing efforts in sync, they can log into the mailer system, and choose Maple Street and its surrounding streets to mail to. Then, while his crew is there with their trucks (that have great signage) and there’s a nice job sign in the yard, the neighbors will receive a “We’re working in your neighborhood!” mailer. Bam! You have 3 solid hits to an entire neighborhood with very little cost.

Low-cost Print Advertising – It is tough to cut through the clutter with print advertising, but I have seen some success in choosing specialized, low-cost publications. School papers, and local papers with classified ads or event listings, can provide the benefit of showing community support, can showcase your branding, and may even get you a few leads.

OK, so now that you have an idea of what can work for you, let me give you the single best piece of advice that I can give for making it all work. It’s the same advice I give to young parents who want their kids to stay in line. One little word with big consequences when not followed... Consistency.

When you are inconsistent with your efforts, it’s advertising sabotage. When things look and sound different across each marketing effort, you are missing the opportunity to plant yourself in the brain of your target audience. I see contractors who use their logo five different ways. I see those who have really nicely designed ads in one location, and really lousy looking ones elsewhere. Invest the time and money into having a pro establish your brand’s look and feel. Everything from your logo, colors, style and your key marketing messages, to brand tone and personality should carry through all of your efforts.

The Experts at Digidaze Know Home Improvement
Need help with your home improvement marketing? Digidaze’s founder, Kris McCurry, can put her home improvement marketing expertise to work for you. Contact us by phone at 1-855-digidaze, or visit us online at http://www.digidaze.com/. You can also connect with us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/digidaze.

The Top 5 Businesses that Should Be All Over Facebook..and Why

As businesses in every sector rush to keep up with the addition of social media as a part of their overall marketing strategy, many are struggling to see the value. The truth is, not every business will see a huge return from investing heavily in social media marketing. There are compelling reasons for every business to be there – it’s free, you can reach a wide audience with very little time and effort, and your message has the potential to get passed around – but there are a few businesses that I would say HAVE TO be there. And not just be there, but be aaaaaaallll over it. Here’s a look at the Top 5 Businesses that Should Be All Over Facebook…and Why.

Sellers & Retailers

Yes, this is a broad stroke, but it’s true. If you sell stuff – whether you’re online seller or brick-and-mortar store – you should have a Facebook fan site. People buy stuff. People like to buy stuff. And people talk about the stuff they buy with other people. Social networks have become one of the top places that people share information about what they buy. They seek out and ‘Like’ their favorite brands. They look for coupons, special offers and new products. And if they find something they like, they share it. So, no matter what you happen to sell, it makes perfect sense for you to promote it on Facebook.

Salons & Spas

We love life’s luxuries, don’t we, ladies? And spending time being pampered at a salon or spa is right up there at the top. Facials, massages, manicures, pedicures, haircuts & highlights – we love the stuff that makes us feel fabulous! Not only do we like this pampering, we like to talk about it. Often, we like to partake in these luxuries with our friends, too. And more than anything at all, we like being able to partake in these luxuries at a discount. Salons, day spas, and medspas are using Facebook to maximize their best form of new business – referrals. They’re posting special offers, promoting events, and talking about the latest and greatest products. And if I’m a fan, at some point I will see something I like and share it. Your salon Facebook site can not only serve as a regular reminder to your existing clientele that you're there to pamper them, it can be an excellent referral tool as well.

Travel & Hospitality

I would dare to say that not a day goes by that when, as I sit behind my computer screen bleary-eyed from words and code, I don’t take a moment to dream of a place far, far away. In that moment, as I glance at my Facebook page, I’m lured in by a picture of an umbrella drink sitting alongside a crystal blue pool. Click! I’m checking out the airfare to Bermuda. The travel and hospitality industry – from travel companies and agents to resort destinations, family destinations, parks, and departments of tourism – is a perfect fit for Facebook. What we did and where we went last weekend, or where we’re headed – from family trips to romantic getaways – is one of the most widely talked about subjects on Facebook. Destination locations of all types – from petting zoos to 5-star resorts – are a natural for Facebook. Staying in front of your fans and their friends with special offersor simply new and interesting information will no doubt drive keep your existing fans coming back, but help you reach new ones as well.

Events & Entertainment

Akin to travel and hospitality, promoting events and entertainment on Facebook is a must. Check the stats and you will see that the pages with the most fans are dominated by entertainment. From Eminem to The Simpsons, millions of people opt-in to keep up with their favorite ways to stay amused. With a single wall post, Eminem, for example, can reach nearly 30 million fans…every day…for free. You’re not Eminem? No worries. Even local bands, entertainers, and events see huge benefits from spending a little time setting up and maintaining a Facebook site. I’m a fan of a local band who I know not many people have heard of, and even they have over 1,300 Facebook fans. That means that every time they have a gig, it takes 2 minutes (and no money) to promote it to more than 1,300 people. It’s really a no–brainer. Events and entertainment need not be limited to concerts and celebrities. Local theater, festivals, museums, art galleries – any form of recreation is perfect to promote on Facebook.

Food & Drink

There’s little else in this world that pleases us more than good food and drink. Much like we enjoy sharing details about our trips and outings with our friends, we share information about food. From restaurants and bars to recipes and grocery coupons, we readily share information about what we like to eat and drink and we look for and 'Like' the ones we like the most. Starbucks has more than 7 million Facebook fans. With an investment of 30 seconds of their time, they have the ability to announce a new product, distribute a coupon or promote a cause to more than 7 million people - incredible! And while you probably shouldn't get your hopes up for a fan base 7 million strong, it does go to show you that Facebookers are bigtime fans of food and drink. I often see posts from my friends discussing recipes, others about evenings out at a restaurant, and I get coupons passed along to me. So it makes sense that food and drink providers of all types be on Facebook.

So that’s the 'who' and the 'why'. What about the 'how'? Getting on Facebook is easy. But taking full advantage of what Facebook has to offer is a little more complex. Facebook allows you to create your own website within Facebook, complete with animations, navigation, video and more. New features just introduced this month (March, 2011) allow for incredibly robust applications. If your business falls into one of these categories, a small investment up front in getting your Facebook site set up and working for you will certainly pay off. If you need help getting set up, give us a shout.

While this Top 5 list is not the be-all, end-all list of who should be on Facebook, it gives you an idea of who is seeing the most benefit. Is your business thriving on Facebook? Tell us about it. We’d love to write a case study!

E-mail us at marketing@digidaze.com or hit us up on Facebook at www.facebook.com/digidaze