Today I received yet another Facebook “Fan Request” from a woman I barely know for something I’ve never heard of. I’ve been getting a lot of these lately. Why I’d consider being a “Fan” of something I don’t know, sent by a person I barely know, is beyond me.
Beneath the “I’m just offering you something good” facade is an aggressive, self-promotional practice motivated by a desire to leverage social media for personal and professional gain. And, what these fan requesters fail to realize is that if they continue to bug people they barely know with these spammy requests their “friends” will not only not be fans, they won’t be friends.
It’s about having a great product or service and repeatedly convincing many people that you do. How you do that depends on your particular product or service, your target, your specific marketing goal, and your budget. It also depends on how visible, likable, informative, engaging, creative, memorable, and smart your message is.
In the ad biz there’s a saying that you can’t be very good if you haven’t been fired. I guess that makes me very, very, very, very good.
It’s true that ad people get canned more than most. It’s an industry thing. Nevertheless, four times is kind of a lot and each time, for me, was a painful experience casting doubts about my talent and future. Little did I realize that those firings were directing on a course that would ultimately lead to the co-founding an award-winning Madison Avenue agency and a White House honor.
If you’re a business owner you’ll eventually get to the point where your question changes from, “Do I really need marketing help?” to “How do I find marketing help? And how do I know who’s good?” So, here’s the 11 key criteria to base your decision on:
1) The Work. Many marketing experts are personable, persuasive people who don’t necessarily have the talent or range of work to back it up. So, you’ve gotta spend a few minutes on their site to see the work they show. And, if it doesn’t turn you on, rule them out.
2) Credentials and Experience. Your main guy/gal had better have there bio on the website, and it’d better be impressive.
By nature entrepreneurs are a resourceful bunch. If they see a need, they fill it. If they see a problem, they try to solve it. Generally, it’s a good thing. Where it becomes problematic is with marketing their business. With few exceptions it can be an ineffective use of time and money. In some cases, it can be fatal.
Case in point — a business-owner doctor once hired us to help and then sat me down for about an hour telling me how clever he was at marketing. It was like someone showing me ugly pictures of their baby and bragging how cute he is. The doctor is now out of business. I did what I could to help, but it was a case of “too little, too late.” He had blown so much money on his own unprofessional efforts, we couldn’t recoup from the damage. So, if your business is more sophisticated than a lemonade stand, it would be wise to get help.
How do you find it? One thing I suggest when seeking any kind of help is to 1) listen to what their clients say and 2) see how well that marketing expert markets themselves. So, check out their website, read their client testimonies, and see what kind of G-Cred they have. That will give you a good perspective on whether they are worthy to be hired.
So, I was on the phone recently with yet another marketing expert promoting yet another marketing seminar. Considering that this expert’s website gave me a big ERROR message when I logged in I was extra curious to find out more about who this genius was. Ironically, her seminar was entitled: “How to Market Your Business.”
When logo design prices range from 50 grand to 50 bucks (for a cheesy prefab logo) it’s no wonder business owners are confused about logo cost. The answer lies somewhere in the middle with independent designers and design firms offering logo services for every price range. So, the question besides price is: “What’s a ‘good’ logo?”
For many business owners that answer is: whatever floats their boat. However, a truly good logo must be right for your business from a marketing/communication standpoint. Some key considerations are:
<> It must be a simple design.
<> It must work equally well in both color and black & white.
<> It must look good small.
Most importantly, it must represent your business or product and communicate your “brand essence.” So, what does that mean? Check out these examples.
