IpsumNEWS Volume II Released

The second issue of IpsumNEWS is now available at: www.IpsumNEWS.com


It's been a month since our last issue and we're pleased to announce this latest version's release. Thanks to those of you who confirmed your subscription and a special thanks to those of you who pointed out the mistakes in the first issue. I have since learned how to use Spell Check.


In this edition ::

• Marketing Jargon Heard Around the Office
• 3 Keys to a Sales & Marketing Hybrid Website
• Tax Tips for Procrastinators
• Business-Building Website White Paper Available

IpsumNEWS will continue to be published monthly and sent to subscribers. If you haven't already, ensure you continue to receive IpsumNEWS by confirming your subscription.

Backwards Marketing Budgeting

When putting together your marketing budget, starting with a percentage of revenue, or building complicated SLAs or distributing detailed RFPs are all inefficient ways of determining your marketing budget and finding the perfect marketing firm for the job.

Let’s work backward.

Start with a final goal. This goal should be one that impacts you’re business greatly in some way. For example, let’s say that 10 new customers in a 12 month period will both generate a significant growth in your business but not overwhelm your resources.

Let’s also say that 10 new customers are worth $10,000 per year (every year) in profit for your business.

When setting your marketing budget, determine what reaching that goal is worth. In other words, what are you willing to invest (or gamble) to achieve that goal? That’s your marketing budget.

Sound easy? It is. The hard part is discovering the firm that can confidently achieve that objective for a price that will generate a positive return on that marketing investment and will fit snugly into your budget.

Here are a few things to look for in the perfect firm for you:

Location, Location, Location
The three rules of real estate are also key in determining the right firm for your business. Outsourcing your marketing activities can pay off huge dividends in quality, integration and speed, but it’s a gamble if you don’t ever meet the team you’re counting on in person.

Consider also, the “home court advantage” of a local firm. If the bulk of your marketing is regional, a local firm can leverage its local experience and contacts to better achieve your marketing objectives.

Access to Management
It’s nice to work with the combined resources of a large firm when everything’s progressing smoothly. It’s quite another when there are barriers to access the senior management when the wheels start falling off and you just need to get the job done.

Call the office. If a machine answers during business hours or if the people who are in charge are never available, go elsewhere. You may have saved yourself a world of pain in the future.

The “Right Price”
It’s very important when outsourcing your marketing to find a firm that will work with you and your budget. Ask about their policies on “Change Orders”, “Scope Creep”, and engagement options. You’ll quickly find out if your businesses are in alignment or if they’ll nickel and dime you to their last breath.

Ultimately, when determining your marketing budget, it’s best to work backwards, but that’s the easy part. Once you've got your budget, it’s time to start shopping. That’s when it can get a little tricky.

Looking to skip the tricky stuff? Contact JDM for a FREE marketing consultation. Let us help you find the right firm for your business and the right mix of marketing activities to acheive your goals.

Personalized TV Ads?

We’re closer than you think.

Currently, digital cable/satellite TV allows for user interactivity, specifically on-demand movies. There is an opportunity here for some technically-minded advertisers. What if TV ads we’re allowed the same level of interactivity and personalization?

Imagine if, around dinner-time, a commercial came on the TV for Pizza Hut. However, rather than just promoting pizza to a mass audience, what if it marketed it to YOU?

“Susan,” the announcer says. “It’s going to be a rainy night tonight. Would you like to order your usual medium deep-disk pizza with grilled pineapple? Just select 'Yes' on your remote to order and have it automatically delivered and billed to your account.”

Some people think this is intrusive or technically impossible. I think they lack imagination.

Technically, the technology already exists. When you order a pay-per-view movie and it already knows which you’ve watched and can display your account balance, your interacting on a 1:1 basis with your TV. Instead of the signal going to the cable company to display the movie you requested, the signal goes to the local pizza hut.

Intrusive? A little too ‘big-brother’? Please.

Think about why people hate commercials. Primarily, it’s because they speak to an over-generalized market of which you, the individual, is barely, if at all, a part of. Personalizing TV ads content will go a long way to keeping you from ‘switching that dial’.

There is another, final, point I’d like to make. With personalized, interactive TV ads also comes the ability to opt-out of specific content. Perhaps you’d rather not have your kids see the “girls gone wild” tv ads. Maybe you would like to see ads about new luxury sedans or movie trailers.

There are already several all-advertising channels available and as Internet-based video gains ground amidst increasing available bandwidth, it’s time we outgrow passive entertainment and marketing.

Come on TV, my old friend, it’s time to grow up.

Additional Information ::

We've been saying this for some time...read more about interactivity with new marketing mediums in our April 2007 post, "Convergence & Relevance".

Stay ahead of the curve by registering to download our "Marketing Trends for 2008" article.

The Negative Play

The Negative Play, or Negative Sell, is one you've probably heard before when you hear that the sports car your looking at is too fast, or the TV is too big, or the painting is too expensive. If you hear you can't have it, you want it more than ever.

It's simple human behavior. We tend to want what we can't have. This campaign strategy is designed around positioning the product as something that might be a little too beneficial.

The trick to successfully employing this strategy in your advertising and marketing activities is rather than telling the end user that they cannot possess this product or service, communicate how the product or service might benefit them greatly, but over a longer term. Communicate how it might provide them enormous value but the price will not stay this low much longer.

Use caution, however. Your prospective customer might just agree with you and move on. We've seen it happen.

Learn more about this and other campaign strategies on our website.

Marketing Intern Vows Not to Mess-Up Newsletter

Over the last few months Justin Downey Marketing has been preparing the launch of our marketing best practices newsletter. Today, the wait is over.

JDM is proud to announce, IpsumNEWS (that’s how someone decided we write it out).

http://www.IpsumNEWS.com

The newsletter features ::

• Marketing best practice articles
• Industry News Affecting small to mid-sized business
• Special offers and discounts from JDM and our Strategic Partners

The newsletter will also allow our readers to submit their own business news for inclusion in the next IpsumNEWS.

Why in the world is it called “IpsumNEWS?” Read the letter from the Editor/Intern.

The newsletter will be published monthly and delivered to subscribers on the first Friday of each month.

Be sure to join the mailing list. There will be only a limited number of subscriptions allowed and you’ll make the intern’s day.

Recession Threats Spur Alternative Marketing Strategies

“The evidence is now beyond a reasonable doubt,” said Scott Anderson of Wells Fargo & Company for the Wall Street Journal.

According to a study conducted by the Wall Street Journal in early March, 70% of economist said that the economy is in a recession. What does that mean for your business?

“If you remember your macro economics classes, during a recession, extravagant luxuries are the first to be replaced with more efficient, lower-cost alternatives.” Said Justin Downey, Managing Director of Justin Downey Marketing, a full-service marketing firm based in Dallas/Fort Worth. “In other words, when things are going well, people buy steak. When economic confidence is down, people buy beans.”

Traditional, broad-stroked advertising and marketing strategies such as television, radio and mass print are extravagant, inefficient luxuries that must be replaced with efficient lower-cost alternative marketing strategies.

As seen in our latest article, “Taking Advantage of 2008 Marketing Trends”, alternative marketing strategies such as online press releases, targeted pay-per-click, email, direct mail, and others are becoming the dominant alternatives to the much more expensive traditional strategies.

“There has to be a fundamental shift in businesses’ marketing mentality if they are going to keep their marketing costs down and remain competitive in a market with ever-narrowing profit margins.” remarked Mr. Downey in a recent interview. “It’s simply not enough to hit a demographic. We have to target our message as close to the individual as possible.”

You can register for “Taking Advantage of 2008 Marketing Trends” with this link:

http://www.justindowneymarketing.com/CFR/jdm_Registration.php?refer=trends08