Posted on 10 July 2009
Tags: Business, company, Internet Marketing, las vegas, marketing campaigns, marketing communications, marketing consultant, marketing materials, marketing mistakes, marketing plan, Perkolate, professional, professional marketing, target market, website
I write a lot about what businesses and companies in Las Vegas SHOULD do to ensure proper marketing, internet marketing and marketing communications strategies and tactics, but I thought it was important to point out marketing mistakes that businesses and companies often make and should be aware of.
Top 10 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid for your Las Vegas business:
- Not having a basic marketing plan written. You need to know where you are going to go and how to get there, right?
- Not reserving a marketing budget. This is a big one in Las Vegas. You need to be aware that to market your company or business properly in Las Vegas, you need to have a budget to execute a marketing plan.
- Not understanding your target market and target customer and their challenges and problems. You need to know this in order to best market to them and to know how to effectively communicate with them and help solve their specific business problems and issues.
- Not having consistent messaging across all of your marketing materials including brochures, websites, flyers and ads can hurt the core messages that you are trying to communicate through your marketing efforts and leaves potential customers confused and makes your business look unprofessional.
- Not understanding your product or service’s specific benefit that is provides to your customer. You need to clearly define how you can help your client and why they should choose your products or services over your competitors.
- Targeting “everybody” is a huge mistake as well. You may think your product or service may be targeted to “everybody” but it’s not. It’s always best to define groups within your market, a zip code, an age range, one particular issue you can solve for a prospective client.
- Badly written marketing copy can ruin the first chance you have at converting a looker into a customer. The copy and text on your marketing materials, brochure and website should be well written, concise and should describe the benefits of your products and services and should contain a clear and compelling call-to-action.
- Not using testimonials from your present clients. They are your most powerful advocates and you should use quotes and case studies in all of your marketing materials.
- Thinking you do not need a website. A website is CRITICAL to competing in the Las Vegas business market. Your competitors all have websites!
- Not measuring the results of your marketing campaigns and refining them as you go along. Marketing is not an exact science, you make professional estimations and even if a campaign is going great, you can continue to monitor and refine a marketing campaign to ensure you get the best results possible!
Posted on 25 May 2009
Tags: Business, company, las vegas, Marketing, marketing strategy, strategy, target, target market
Importance of defining your business and target market
Imagine if you were standing in a crowd of loud people and someone is speaking directly to you from the crowd. What are the chances of hearing that person? Practically none, right? A similar analogy can be applied to your business. If you have thought of starting your own business, apart from a lot of other overheads, you must be thinking defining of your target market.
A recent survey conducted by Forrester reports that about 55% of the businesses fail because they fail to define their target market. Most importantly, even after defining their target market, they have not been able to correlate that important information to their business.
Identifying your target market
Assume you are selling waterless car washes as your company’s main product. As a part of the marketing strategy, you would definitely wish to target those people who have multiple vehicles. Alternatively, you could also look at targeting areas that are suffering from a water shortage.
With the above said, one thing is clear – You are focusing your product on certain sections of the market – your target market. You might think you are limiting your sales opportunities, but the opposite is true, you are zeroing in on the exact market that would purchase your company’s products and services.
Narrowing down your target market to a set of specific individuals means that you give the feeling to customers that they are a part of a privileged group and have a far better chance at gaining leads and new customers!
Posted on 01 May 2009
Tags: Business, business owner, business owners, customer referral, Effective, effective marketing, email, email newsletter, Free, las vegas, Marketing, marketing efforts, marketing plan, marketing strategies, marketing strategy, niche marketing, strategy, target, target market, vegas company
Las Vegas business owners and companies spend hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on their marketing efforts. Unfortunately many smaller companies don’t even have a marketing plan or strategy in place to help guide them and judge the results of their efforts. Many times, it seems like money wasted.
Put on your Marketing Strategy cap!
There are numerous highly effective marketing strategies that can help you grow your Las Vegas business that can help you refine your marketing efforts. Just takes a bit of time, thought and research to figure out a plan. Here are some suggestions:
- Identify Your Target Market – Who buys your products and services and why? How old are they, are they male or female, conservative or liberal? How do they think and feel?
- Market to Existing Customers – Your existing customers are your most valuable resource. Be aware of what services you’ve provided to them and anticipate if they need additional products or services. They aren’t always aware of all of the products and services you offer. Help them, they already trust you.
- Niche Marketing – What customers or clients do you currently have where you deliver the best results and generate the most revenue? Many marketing experts agree this is one of the simplest and most effective ways to generate business.
- Provide Free Information – Providing potential clients with free information, facts, resources that will help them solve their business problem and save them time and money is a valuable strategy in getting your foot in the door for a prospect to become a client.
- Maintain Communications – Keeping in touch with present and potential clients is personable and keeps your name and company in their mind throughout the year. You can send postcards, mailers, email newsletters or call them on the phone to check in.
- Customer Referral Campaign – Offer an incentive (gift certificate, free services, etc.) for your existing loyal customers to keep your services in mind with the people they already do business with. They can act as sales people for you and you should do the same for your Clients as well.
Posted on 26 April 2009
Tags: Business, business cards, business logo, company, company logo, competition, Design, email, las vegas, logo, logo design, Marketing, marketing materials, new business, professional, professional identity, target, target market, website
A logo can make or break your new business.
A logo is most often the single most identifiable representation of your business and in Las Vegas, creditiblity is key. Your logo appears on your business cards, stationery, letterhead, envelopes, forms, collateral, website, email signature, maybe even on trucks and signage. It represents everything your company stands for, the tone, your products and services, your professionalism.
Many smaller companies make the mistake of not having a solid professionally designed logo for their business. Or worse, they use different logos for different marketing materials, or change the colors, fonts, styles, and more. This creates an inconsistent image in your customer’s and potential customer’s minds. It detracts from your professional identity.
With this in mind, you should ask yourself the following when evaluating your current company logo:
- Is your logo professionally designed and used consistently across any and all marketing materials?
- Does the look and feel of your logo represent your company in the best possible manner?
- Do you feel that your logo separates you from your competition?
- Does your logo provide that invaluable “first impression”?
- Does your logo speak directly to your target market?
- Do you feel that your logo makes you look more established and bigger than your competitors?
Need professional help?
Posted on 01 April 2009
Tags: amp services, ballet theater, blogs, Design, firm, las vegas, law firms, Marketing, meetup groups, neighborhood demographics, Nevada, relocation tools, strategy, Summerlin, summerlin las vegas, summerlin las vegas nv, summerlin nevada, summerlin nv, summerlink, target market, target markets, tpc summerlin, vegas nv news, vegas sun, vegas web, vegas web design, web design marketing, website
Does your marketing strategy include targeting the Summerlin, NV area of Las Vegas? There are plenty of key target markets residing in Summerlin. If this is indeed one of your strategies, here are some resources to try to help you reach this lucrative market:
Summerlin Newspapers
Summerlin Magazines
Summerlin Websites
Summerlin Blogs
Summerlin Organizations
Summerlin News
Summerlin Information
Posted on 17 March 2009
Tags: budget, Business, business day, company, direct marketing, Effective, email, good marketing, internet, Internet Marketing, las vegas, marketing agency, marketing efforts, marketing goals, professional, target, target market, website
If you are considering choosing a marketing agency here in Las Vegas it means that you are serious and committed to growing your company. Enlisting the help of a marketing professional can greatly help you market your products and services.
When choosing a marketing agency or consultant here in Las Vegas, there are certain things you should investigate about the potential marketing agency:
- Look for local Las Vegas Marketing Agency. You will be able to meet face to face and it keeps business in our community. Check out my company’s website at www.perkolate.com.
- Review their website. You can learn a lot about a company from reviewing their website closely. Look for the staff’s experience, view who their clients are, ask questions if you call them.
- Can they work within your budget. Yes, marketing requires a budget, but a good marketing agency should be able to work within your budget, however big or small
- Are they responsive? When you call or email the potential marketing agency, do they return your call or email within one business day?
- Does the marketing agency you are considering have supporting services you might need, like web design, web development and graphic design?
A good marketing agency should be able to speak with you, ask questions, and have a basic understanding about your business and marketing goals, a bit about your target market and the most effective ways to reach your target market through direct marketing or internet marketing efforts.
