A former art director/copywriter at advertising agencies incl.: McCann Ericson, Ogilvy & Mather and F.H.Hayhurst (now Saachi & Saachi), Ken Burgin opened his own creative shop, Context, in 1980. Now partnered with Liz Walker in Marketing Masters a full service marketing company in Ontario, Canada.
When I was
growing up in the 1950's, Shell, the petroleum company, was advertising that
their gasoline contained "TCP" an additive that increased horsepower
and made an engine run better. There was no reference to fuel economy that I
can recall—who cared? …gas was about 25 cents a gallon!
We are working on a new campaign for a client and spent a few hours today looking at competitive web sites, ads and brochures.
After about three hours we looked at each other and said, “Can you remember anything any of these companies said that stands out?” Ken said, “I bet if I took all these brochures, and removed the company name and logo, even our client couldn’t tell them apart!”
Statistics show that 70% of entrepreneur-owned businesses do not survive the founder. Did you work this hard, for this long, to see your life’s work implode?
One of the most important features about good marketing process is its impact when it comes time for the owner to move out. Whether you plan to sell out or pass the business on, having a marketing system installed that generates leads and converts them to loyal, profitable clients will significantly improve your business’s value.
So your business has a web site. Great! As we’ve said before, “It’s a credibility issue—these days a business is expected to have a web site.” But wait a minute, what’s the site doing for you?
Canadian Tire CEO Stephen Wetmore is growing his “smart stores” Some store sales have grown between six and eight per cent, and some departments have more than doubled. You can grow your retail business by copying some of his proven ideas. Here’s how:
My brother-in-law, Dave, called last night. He's started a new business—small engine repair. He's very good at it, been doing it for years working for various shops around town. Dave once installed a Ford 8-cylinder engine in his Harley-Davidson. His dad got angry when he found the Harley's engine was installed in his Ford—but that's a whole other story. Anyways, now he's striking out on his own.
Right now in Canada, almost 85% of the population uses the Internet and it’s safe to say this number will continue to expand. So why wouldn’t you use your web site to support the advertising you do in all other media? You do have a web site, right?
When I’m presenting a seminar to a group of business owners, I always ask, “Who here, is in the marketing business?” The answers usually revolve around, “Just YOU.”
I’m a big fan of “growing loyalty” among Ideal Clients over pretty much any other business building tactic—it’s the lowest cost sales activity you will ever engage in, since you are already doing business with them, you already know what they want and need, and you can easily find out if they are being wooed by someone else. How easy is that?
A former art director/copywriter at advertising agencies incl.: McCann Ericson, Ogilvy & Mather and F.H.Hayhurst (now Saachi & Saachi), Ken Burgin opened his own creative shop, Context, in 1980. Now partnered with Liz Walker in Marketing Masters a full service marketing company in Ontario, Canada.
full story
printer version
