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Effective Advertising campaign for a computer Company
Question:
Hi I myself am a marketing manager for a small new media content developer. I’ve been in the job for 6 months and like yourself it was a newly created position. The first thing to get hold of is… – Who are the customers, and what do they do. – Who are the competition and how do they go about communicating with their customers (which are the ones that you are not communicating with) – The company itself. What are its capabilities, budgets networking connections etc. In marketing terms it the simple 3C’s triangle – Customers / Competition / Company Good luck – John
Response:
First, we all have to admit that you are better then some readers here think. You forced them to comment on fact assumption that you don’t know anything about marketing when in fact you managed to get quite few replies to the post. Now, if you want quick and cheap name recognition and free marketing on the net create an affiliate program like Amazon. com did. If you are fair people will see that and tell others. In short time you will have members who will promote you promoting themselves. Also join Linkexchange to offer discounts to it’s members and swap banners (free). Spend more time studying how other web oriented businesses work. I am myself with such company which has affiliate program (you have to pay small fee to join). I like working with computers and I am working hard in this business but I bet the company is doing good too. Good luck. Krzysztof Trelski Everybody’s buying PCs, so why aren’t you selling them and profiting from this unprecedented and undeniable boom? SELL WHAT YOU KNOW. Become a Technology Consultant today. <a href="www.mdltwn.com/cstore">www.mdltwn.com/cstore</a>
Response:
>Are you only targeting local business or a wider market. Is your >website mentioned in every marketing, promotional and printed item? >for a company in the computer business, your web site must be up and professional.
Have you looked at an Internet Banner Advertising (blatent plug). Mike Salomon BannerPromo.com http://www.bannerpromo.com — BannerPromo.com is offering a new self generating FREE advertising page. You give bannerPromo your information including the url for your gif and BannerPromo will email you the code to include on your page. Your ad will be included on all of the Free Advertising Pages for three generations. Check it out at: http://www.bpfa.com/linkcgi/freepage.cfm
Response:
[Mod: I've asked you before, keep your sig to 8 lines, including the use of lines. Next time, I'll simply return the post.] Hi All, The first thing that Richelle should do is review the company’s mission statement. Determine whether or not the mission statement conforms with the activities currently in place. If not, they need to determine what their ultimate goal is – to create awareness of the products/services, of the company, etc. Once they’ve determined the goal they need to make sure every department buys into it because what marketing does, i.e., advertising, PR, community relations, employee relations, everything, should set the tone for the entire company to follow suit. If what’s being submitted to their clients and potential clients is not on the up & up when they come to the company for service/products it will make for bad publicity and a drop in sales. Tracey Lowrance Getting your business name out there just got easier!! Let OutSource ConneXion be your Marketing Department! Toll Free Phone (888) 826-5034 Phone (404) 299-7549 Toll Free Fax (888) 820-7448 Fax (404) 299-8346 – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hi there, > Yes, that’s one of the things we have to re-iterate to clients over and > over. If you’re going to talk the talk, you’d better walk the walk. > My company provides public relations services and in the course of doing so, > we have to remind companies that no matter what they say on the outside (via > mass media) they have to be able to deliver when the customer comes calling. > Some people we deal with are individuals and it’s not so difficult then, but > when you start dealing with companies and staffs — you have to have the > enthusiasm in the first place. > Word of mouth is very powerful indeed and many times helps make or break the > buying decision. >> Hello – I have just accepted a position as marketing manager for a small >> computer company. This is a newly created position. The company is a >> retail outfit, a service center, an ISP and also provides web page design >> services. They are currently utilizing local newspapers for print ads, and >> have an ad running on cable television. What can I do? Where do I start? >> If anyone has had any success with a situation like this, I’d appreciate >> your input. >Interesting — right now a small computer company in Iowa City, which happens >to be a retail outfit, service center, ISP, and also provides web design (so >they say) is currently running print ads in local papers to get new ISP >customers. >And in the past two weeks I’ve been putting up with no-answers and repeated >line drops, and earlier in the summer there was a four-day outage of Internet >connection. And they don’t answer phone messages, and don’t open until 10. >I’m quite close to dropping their service and telling everyone I know how >terrible they are — I’m fairly close to picketing the store. >In your situation, I’d take a look at daily operations and remind them that >keeping existing customers is as important as attracting new, and that word of >mouth can be powerful.
Response:
> Hello – I have just accepted a position as marketing manager for a small > computer company. This is a newly created position. The company is a > retail outfit, a service center, an ISP and also provides web page design > services. They are currently utilizing local newspapers for print ads, and > have an ad running on cable television. What can I do? Where do I start? > If anyone has had any success with a situation like this, I’d appreciate > your input.
Interesting — right now a small computer company in Iowa City, which happens to be a retail outfit, service center, ISP, and also provides web design (so they say) is currently running print ads in local papers to get new ISP customers. And in the past two weeks I’ve been putting up with no-answers and repeated line drops, and earlier in the summer there was a four-day outage of Internet connection. And they don’t answer phone messages, and don’t open until 10. I’m quite close to dropping their service and telling everyone I know how terrible they are — I’m fairly close to picketing the store. In your situation, I’d take a look at daily operations and remind them that keeping existing customers is as important as attracting new, and that word of mouth can be powerful.
Response:
Hi there, Yes, that’s one of the things we have to re-iterate to clients over and over. If you’re going to talk the talk, you’d better walk the walk. My company provides public relations services and in the course of doing so, we have to remind companies that no matter what they say on the outside (via mass media) they have to be able to deliver when the customer comes calling. Some people we deal with are individuals and it’s not so difficult then, but when you start dealing with companies and staffs — you have to have the enthusiasm in the first place. Word of mouth is very powerful indeed and many times helps make or break the buying decision. Best wishes, Terri Firebaugh Firebaugh Communications www.firepub.com Public Relations Author/Book Tours Psychology Health/Fitness Small Business Professionals
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> Hello – I have just accepted a position as marketing manager for a small > computer company. This is a newly created position. The company is a > retail outfit, a service center, an ISP and also provides web page design > services. They are currently utilizing local newspapers for print ads, and > have an ad running on cable television. What can I do? Where do I start? > If anyone has had any success with a situation like this, I’d appreciate > your input. >Interesting — right now a small computer company in Iowa City, which happens >to be a retail outfit, service center, ISP, and also provides web design (so >they say) is currently running print ads in local papers to get new ISP >customers. >And in the past two weeks I’ve been putting up with no-answers and repeated >line drops, and earlier in the summer there was a four-day outage of Internet >connection. And they don’t answer phone messages, and don’t open until 10. >I’m quite close to dropping their service and telling everyone I know how >terrible they are — I’m fairly close to picketing the store. >In your situation, I’d take a look at daily operations and remind them that >keeping existing customers is as important as attracting new, and that word of >mouth can be powerful.
Response:
>What can I do? Where do I start? >If anyone has had any success with a situation like this, I’d appreciate >your input. >Thanks >Richelle Keating
May I ask HOW you got this job in the first place? Tim Ireland ~ mondovision ~ http://business.virgin.net/tim.i/index.htm
Response:
Hello – I have just accepted a position as marketing manager for a small computer company. This is a newly created position. The company is a retail outfit, a service center, an ISP and also provides web page design services. They are currently utilizing local newspapers for print ads, and have an ad running on cable television. What can I do? Where do I start? If anyone has had any success with a situation like this, I’d appreciate your input. Thanks Richelle Keating
Response:
Richelle, (nice name by the way) Where do you start? Well that depends on a number of things,…like Budget. do you have one to work in? If you do you can take a mass approach. Contact all the local radio and TV stations, along with the newspapers (dailies, weeklies, entertainment rags whatever). Find out who is hosting their sites. Inquire about their trade policy. If you can build a bank of trade in media, you can combine that with strategic cash buys to immediately create interest in your company. Most importantly, look at the content of your advertising. Does it have a USP (Unique Selling Point) Placing ads without an attractive offer is like taping wings to your money and offering it to fly away. Anyways, I would start with that and an in-depth study of your market and your competitors. Find out the demographics of your town / city. Find out how many people are using computers, plan to buy them, how many use the Internet and for what purpose. This will help you target your marketing to your potential customers. Study your competition, what do they do well, what do they stink at? Then develop niches and strategies to exploit them from there. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – >Hello – I have just accepted a position as marketing manager for a small >computer company. This is a newly created position. The company is a >retail outfit, a service center, an ISP and also provides web page design >services. They are currently utilizing local newspapers for print ads, and >have an ad running on cable television. What can I do? Where do I start? >If anyone has had any success with a situation like this, I’d appreciate >your input.
Response:
Hello Richelle, There is one thing I am very curious about. Common knowledge and experience dictate when I hire a fast food cook I should have the expectation the "chef" knows how to toast a piece of bread… I am honestly curious how you went about getting hired as a marketing manager and how the hiring decision maker made the decision to hire you… You must have some special skills you haven’t mentioned in your post. In response to your question: I’d start by setting dimensions to the marketing effort: 1. What expectation(s) did the hiring manager share with you? 2. What problems did the hiring manager bring up during the pre-hiring interview(s)? 3. Does the company have a business plan? What financial objectives are in place? 4. Take a look at available financial information by profit center (each customer category can be classified as a profit center). What is the % of total profit contribution of each profit center? 5. Talk to the "strategic planner" or owner or whoever it is who has a vision for what the company should look like in 5 years. What is the profit expectations of the investors? If there is none, set realistic profit and annual growth rate objectives (set them a little higher to give you something to shoot for unless you will be evaluated on the results… then set it lower and then outperform expectations and reap the rewards for your efforts… this is politics..) for the company. These will be your "metrics" for growing the company. 6. Perform a SWOT (Strength – Weakness – Opportunity – Threat) analysis for each profit center and determine which of the profit center(s) can help you achieve your overall profit and growth objectives. 7. Coordinate with management on what a realistic profit and growth objective should be for the company. If you cannot obtain any decisions (which is frequently the case), proceed with your best options all the while keeping the discussions going. At this point you are ready to start doing marketing work: benchmark each offering, position the offering against the competition, check pricing, verify market share, set realistic market share goals, develop and implement tactics for attaining your market share, launch appropriate marcom activities, keep track of progress and adjust plans to compensate for changing market conditions. Just a few comments. J.P. Solyom KS Business Development