Special Marketing Tips Sheet for BPMA members

1. Why Marketing Doesn’t Work
5 common problems and “quick” fixes
Have you ever done a promotional mailing and been really disappointed with the response? Have
you been to a trade show, worked hard all day, had great conversations, sent out loads of quotes
and were sure you were on to a winner – and it just flopped? Are you doing lots of “marketing” and
still struggling to bring in new business and close sales?
When this happens most people are baffled. After all you’ve got a great range of products, offer
great deals and have spent ages working on your marketing, so how come you’re not getting the
results. You know that effective marketing is at the heart of most successful companies – after all
that’s the business you’re in. You advise your customers where to spend some of their marketing
monies….and yet you can’t seem to get it right for yourself!
Here are a few common marketing problems and simple ways to fix them - you’ll soon get your
business buzzing:
Problem #1. We’ve got a great range of products…..but we’re not getting the results.
You know your market well – you’ve done your research, know the best suppliers, can spot the
latest trends, offer competitive prices and deliver great service. So what’s going wrong?
Quick Fix: The key is to switch your focus to your customer. Don’t swamp them with a catalogue of
fantastic products or baffle them with 20 variations of jotter pads. Instead pinpoint that one
product that will really work for them. Explain how it will grab their customers’ attention, how it
will make their customers feel when they get one. Show them how they’ll increase their brand
awareness and get their customers talking. Your customers don’t want to know how great you are,
they want to know how they great you can make them. Spell out the benefit to THEM.
Problem #2. It’s a BIG market – we just seem to keep missing it.
Merchandising is BIG business – an estimated £750m a year. But it’s all too easy to fall into the
trap of trying to be everything to everyone. Not only is that ineffective, but costly too.
Quick Fix: Find your niche, focus on that narrow segment of the market – that gap that only you
can fill. Concentrate your effort to be one in a million, not one of a million. Identify your ideal
customer, aim at them and you’ll soon achieve success – a scatter-gun approach will only get a few
customers by chance. Remember the Chinese saying, “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.”
Problem #3. Our marketing looks and sounds like everyone else.
Is your website a catalogue of promotional items, categorised by product type? Do you promise
lowest prices, quick-fast quotes, guaranteed delivery dates, personalised service? Maybe you have
got something different, an edge over your competitors - but your marketing doesn’t communicate
that, and you sound like all the others.
Quick Fix: Look for a benefit that only you provide, or a problem only you can solve. Focus on your
ideal customer – what are the biggest problems that you can solve for them? How can you show
them or demonstrate your expertise? The more you focus on that, the more it will sink in. Don’t
Visit www.helenmurdochmarketing.com
for even more hints and tips and other great marketing resources

2. try and confuse them with everything about your business, your product range or your service.
Focus their attention on what is important to them.
Problem #4. We’re really busy ….but it doesn’t produce results.
You’re doing lots of marketing all the time – website, brochures, mailings, trade shows, Facebook
and Twitter, email marketing and so on – but nothing is producing results. It’s costing a lot of time
and money and you really wonder if it’s worthwhile.
Quick Fix: Being busy is not enough – your activity needs to be purposeful and productive. All
successful marketers have a plan; they don’t just do something because it ‘sounds like a good idea’
or they were ‘offered a great deal’. If you plan your marketing then you know who you are
targeting, what you are going to say to them and can establish the best way to connect with them.
By following your plan, your marketing will be more focused, more cost-effective and will produce
the results you want.
Problem #5. We don’t know what works and what doesn’t.
You’ve done lots of activity and something somewhere is working, but you just don’t know what.
You don’t measure or evaluate any of your marketing activity, so you just can’t tell.
Quick Fix: Marketing is about generating profitable income, so it is a serious business. All
marketing activity should be accountable and monitoring and measuring techniques should be part
of the planning of any activity. Keep track of the responses you get from your exhibitions, email
blasts, direct mail shots, telephone enquiries, social media activity…...every part of your marketing
activity can be measured. Undertake formal and informal research to establish what your
customers think about you, where they have heard about you, why they respond to one type of
communication against another. Use this information to plan your future campaigns and focus your
activity even more tightly.
Marketing does work and can produce exceptional results for your business. Remember things take
time, don’t expect overnight success with just one email campaign and a few tweets. Plan your
activity, get to know your customers, focus your attention on what is important to them and you
will see the results. Don’t give up – just reassess what you are doing and try again.
SPECIAL OFFER: For BPMA members ONLY - FREE 30-minute telephone marketing review.
Do you want a second opinion or some fresh marketing input? Email me today to book your FREE
marketing review.
Just 10 spaces available, so first-come, first-served. Offer closes 23 November 2012.
Email Helen@helenmurdochmarketing.com now!
Visit www.helenmurdochmarketing.com
for even more hints and tips and other great marketing resources
©2012 H M Marketing Ltd
Tel: 01656 773645 Email: helen@helenmurdochmarketing.com
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