It all starts here with the strategy and a plan to allow it to work. Whatever level of involvement you wish—from scratch, to working with a company’s existing plans—we provide objective input.
As with all of our marketing mix endeavors for you, we start the process by understanding the category, the company, the product, the competition and the target audience.
Don’t be afraid… we make the process simple, whatever our level of involvement. Even the smallest company should have a plan. We have worked quite a bit with companies that have relied on instinct and experience to run their business—but now must have a marketing plan to move forward.
The process gives a short and long-term “blueprint” for success…
- Evaluate current status and develop key marketing objectives that support sales growth.
- Help target the most attractive markets for the company to pursue.
- Develop effective strategies from the marketing mix for penetrating each of these markets.
- Implement these strategies in the form of a plan of action that can be measured and controlled.
- Clever, thought-provoking signing of various kinds and sizes
- Consumer “quick reads” (take-one pieces that hit home quickly)
- Product displayers that prompt impulse purchase
- Delivers the brand promise
- Sells the features of its products and the benefits of these capabilities
- Educates the end users on product need and usage
- Portrays the company/brand as a highly legitimate, profitable resource
- Operates as a good “back-up source” after a trade show or sales call
- Is a front line sales tool that addresses when a prospect sees, reads or is referred to us by somebody else and “tunes into www.” This is our voice.
- Is dynamic… It doesn’t sit stagnant for long periods of time. Relevant information that educates and entertains brings back visitors so a communicative link remains between its customers and consumers.
- For starters, we work to make your booth a destination rather than a possible discovery. Strong, targeted direct marketing (regular and electronic mail) and selective trade advertising works to get retailers to come to your booth. We can create a show theme that adds another level of curiosity and interest.
- Visual enhancements like fresh creative placed on free-standing banners impress retailers while they’re at your booth
- Quality printed material detailing product and marketing initiatives interest retailers in what you have to offer
- Direct marketing follow up after the show assists in getting the order
- Meeting themes
- Motivational, product and marketing presentation material (Powerpoint)
- Hand-out material
- Newsletter (mail/e-mail)
- Weekly or Bi-Weekly Brief (mail/e-mail)
What’s your real purpose? What makes you relevant in the minds of potential sellers and users of your product or service? How are you different from your competitors?
The answers to these questions establishes your positioning… how you’re thought of by your target market. For better or for worse, these thoughts occur naturally in their minds. A good positioning strategy delivers the “for better” perception—the ones that lead to you being chosen over someone else.
Our positioning skills provide a stance—a clear posture that drives home the relevance and “added value” of the brand/product. At the same time this position decidedly differentiates it from competitors.
Often a brand and its product need to be “re-energized” with a fresh identity that is then “shown off” through new packaging. This has an exciting “rebirth” impact that results in an instant spurt of new business—incremental business coming from new accounts, as well as existing customers.
We have extensive experience in logo work and packaging. A product’s package is a vital sell-through element at the point-of-purchases.—one that effectively communicates relevance and value— or doesn’t.
Influencing the purchase decision at the point where it is finally made makes all the sense in the world. Whether it is an impulse purchase or a planned one, this is the all-important time when we make a convincing argument to buy you versus them. “Them” might have spent a whole lot more than you getting consumers to the store, but now we’re on the same playing field, so now it’s all about “stealing.”
How do we “steal” at the point-of-purchase?
Via messaging that’s captured by the eyes and sent to the Reasoning Dept. of the Brain:
There are many other elements to In-Store Marketing, like Packaging, Consumer Promotions and Retailer Sales Incentives. We consider investment into In-Store Marketing some of the best money you could possibly spend.
A targeted message to a targeted audience through the mail or electronically can have profound impact if the content is on target.
Especially effective to the trade to kick off a selling season, then as a prompt during it. Also a very good vehicle to announce trade show attendance and encourage visitation.
It’s all about dynamic creative.
As mentioned, we consider ourselves “enrichment specialist.” Our goal is to make your product more meaningful—not because it costs less, but because how special it is. Off-pricing only denigrates its value. Consumer promotion draws attention and sales to the product without using reduced-price as its calling card.
A good website isn’t a lot of content. Rather it’s good content that clearly delivers the most relevant information without having to “dig” for it.
Since the dawning of websites, we’ve been designing them. It’s staggering how much has changed and developed over the years. Today the website is a potent communications tool that enriches visitors with information-on-demand.
A brand website…
Trade shows are expensive—not only is it space and booth costs, it’s also the travel expenses and the time of company personnel attending them. One of our specialties is to maximize the return made on this investment.
Experience has shown that there are 4 basics that must be addressed to make your booth a destination discovery.
#1 and #4 reaches out before and after. #2 and #3 are on-the-spot influencers
All four are a combination of clever mental appeal and artistry to get maximum show results.
There are a number of things we do that support the sell-in effort—from doing full-blown seasonal product catalogs to sell sheets. In addition to putting product in its best possible light, this collateral works to heighten brand perception and positioning.
Economically and professionally produced, there’s an array of “support pieces” that reinforce the product catalog. These serve as strong working tools that enhance the customer sell-in process. (Good leave-behinds after sales calls.)
* Pamphlets, * Sell Sheets, * Account-Customized Product Pamphlets, * New Product Launch Pamphlets, * Theme/Positioning Page.
For many clients these have proven to be “life savers” in cases where product samples were in short supply, non-existent or incorrectly detailed. (It’s amazing what we can do in Photoshop!)
Where there is customer service offered, a live and in-color resource to impact sales is the retail sales associate. Simply, a product the salesperson is the most knowledgeable about will be the one he/she gravitates to.
We’ve created many programs designed to influence and educate these individuals that have immediate contact with the end-user. This can be a program tied into sales clinics conducted by company sales reps, or a “stand alone” program. It can also dovetail into a salesperson sales contest.
Educating and motivating the brand’s “voice”.
This is a multi-approach to best stimulate and inform the field force that takes the brand/product message to the retailer.
Sales meetings—Whether national or regional in scope, can provide:
Communication—On-going communication on a variety of important issues (product info, product trends, selling techniques, marketing programs, policies, etc.)—that gets read.
Sales Contests—Development of sales contests, of any size, that include theme and mechanics for execution. Can also send regular updates to extend interest and spike results.
