Greetings!
I know you are all very very worried about spending dollars wisely. I totally understand. However, not spending on marketing is a very dangerous decision to make. Having a brick and mortar location with equipment and/or inventory is not enough to keep your business viable. I have said this many times, and I cannot say it enough: YOU MUST MARKET YOUR BUSINESS!! I don't mean taking out an occasional ad or creating a website. That is not marketing. To understand what I mean, just look around at all the retail and commercial space for lease out there. There were businesses in those spaces not too long ago, but now they are gone. To prevent this from happening to you, pursue a strategy to keep your name in front of your current and potential customers. If you don't, they will think you are no longer in business and will look elsewhere. Your strategy must include a plan of how to reach your clients, how often, and which media to use. Most of you don't know how to do this, just as I don't know how to do what you do. So, do yourself a favor and develop a marketing budget (see the "How to Budget for Marketing" article below), and then call me to put your strategy into practice.
Take care and thanks for reading,
Jill
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How to budget for marketing
Clients always ask "how much does it cost?"
There is a general answer I can give you and then you can decide how much money you can allocate towards your marketing needs.
Generally, if you are a new business, or don't have a brand, you should expect to spend up to 10% of gross billings. So if you bill $1,000,000 a year, you should plan to spend up to $100,000 to develop your branding initally.
If, on the other hand, you already have a brand, you can lower your costs to about 5% of your billings. Those costs are not a one time cost, they are yearly costs.
Your current and prospective customers need to hear from you 10 times before they even remember your name. People are fickle. They are bombarded by over 4000 messages a day including emails, phone solicitators, tv and radio commercials, print ads, billboards, direct mail and more. So in order to break through that clutter you need to be persistent. And consistent. That means your message has to be the same from one media to another. And it has to be unique for your company, and has to have a reason people want to work with you.
Believe me, this is not news. This has been the "mantra" for many decades. What I find amazing is that companies don't follow this rule.
If you are truly interested in creating a brand, or continuing to market (especially with all the current options to pick from), please contact me. 301-229-1135.
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How we are like doctors
I compare what we, in my industry, do to what a doctor does. Doctors help people stay healthy. Most people usually go see their doctor when something hurts, or just isn't right. Maybe you tried to fix the problem by taking a few aspirins or cough medicine, or some homeopathic remedy. But the problem still persists. So your doctor assesses what is wrong. Perhaps he will take an x-ray, or a blood test, or whatever. Then he will determine the best medicine to get you better.
In my business, we do the same thing. Except we help keep businesses healthy. Perhaps you have been developing your own marketing materials, but there is something not working. You may not know what it is, so you try to fix it by creating more materials, or an ad, or a website, or whatever.
The problem with this approach is that unless you truly understand how to create a marketing strategy that works, you will waste lots of time, energy and money by doing it yourself.
Creating a plan based on how to reach specific customers is the key. Knowing how to create that plan takes many years of experience. We know the mistakes clients make trying to do their own marketing, and we can help you from making them.
Not everyone goes to the doctor, even when they are sick. They feel that they are well enough to get by. Not everyone will work with professional marketing and design firms. Same reason.
If you are the type that believes, like I do, that it is important to keep your business healthy and strong, give me a call.
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GLASS WORK for salePlease visit my glass site to view Jill's creative glass designs.
They make great gifts! Or call 301-229-1135 for a private appointment.
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Coffee with Jill
-she's buying!There are many helpful downloads on our website
for you for free!
They include:
Marketing Tools
Branding Powerpoint Presentation
Branding Questionnaire
Website Questionnaire
Logo Design Questionnaire
10 Networking Tips
The Art of Networking
FREE PDF DOWNLOADS
Call 301 229-1135 or
email jill@jtdesign.com TODAY!
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A little bit about Jill
I started my company in 1982 because I have a passion for design of all kinds. Over the years it has evolved from a graphic design studio to an advertising agency to a branding firm. I believe that every company, no matter how small, needs a strong and memorable brand. There is no doubt in my mind that without one, business will whittle away. A strong brand also attracts better employees.
Most people don't really understand what a brand is. They think it's a website, or a logo, or an ad. I spend lots of time helping clients understand what a brand is.
Branding and design make huge differences in the way people react and make decisions about what companies to work with, which restaurants to eat at, which cars to buy, etc. Most of the time, it's an unconscious decision, but nonetheless, the impression one feels when making decisions all boils down to branding.
Since I seem (to some) to be a natural teacher, I am an official one now. I am
teaching a graduate level course called Branding and Advertising at Johns Hopkins University. This came as a great surprise to me when I was invited to teach. I NEVER thought of myself as a teacher. But the challenge has been very interesting and worthwhile. I wrote the syllabus, created the content and determined the reading and assignments. That's a pretty heavy load to put on professors, one which I never thought about until I had to do it.
I am also an artist, currently absorbed mostly in creating fused glass art. That is a passion of mine. I show and sell my work at various galleries and private homes. I also have a small gallery set up at my home.
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So there you have it. A little bit about Jill. Now tell me a little bit about you!
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GSA Schedule (GS-23F-0240M GS-23F-0259P)
MBE Certified
301-229-1135
Click below for our website:
Jill Tanenbaum Graphic Design & Advertising
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Our services include branding, marketing strategy, graphic design, public relations, multi-media and website design, advertising, direct mail, signage and trade show booth design, publication and collateral design.
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