You’re Judged on Your Associations

Mom always said…"you are who you associate with" and she definitely wasn’t wrong. Of course as time went on, you grew up, became wiser, made your own choices and while you still shared interests and maybe even the same group of friends, you probably no longer shared every opinion or thought of theirs anymore. That’s a good thing.

Unfortunately, some companies (and/or marketing agencies, marketing vendors, etc) don’t seem to get the "you are who you associate with" rule which is a very costly and damaging mistake.

Point in case: On a rare evening when I had an hour or so to watch TV I was watching a show on the issues surrounding human trafficking all over Asia. It’s awful. Young girls sold into sex slavery against their will. Horrible living conditions and little education make this lifestyle (for lack of better terms) a vicious cycle for these children and women who grow up under these circumstances.

"Okay, Meg, got it…it’s horrible and all but how does this relate to marketing and business?" Well, as I watched this expose, I viewed two ads during two different commercial breaks. One was for Korean Air and the second paid for by the Travel Commission of Vietnam encouraging tourism. Unfortunately, Korean Air and the Travel Commission of Vietnam didn’t think to ask (or their marketing agency or vendors did think or care) to ensure their ads were aired in a rotation that employed the "negative marketing" tactic.

Negative marketing (just a word I use..nothing official) is when you avoid placing your company in the middle of anything that is relative to your company’s services but is negative. So while I know Korean Air and the Vietnam Travel Commission are in no way promoting human trafficking, my mind is subconsciously (or consciously) associating the two because of the proximity of the two messages. A HUGE MISTAKE! So I ask myself, "Why would I want to go to Vietnam (even if it’s not the country that the expose is focusing on) when human trafficking in Asia is such a huge problem? I have no intentions of supporting that activity."

So business owners, Marketing Directors, TV/Radio/Print/Online marketing vendors, do your clients a favor. They’re hiring you to act on their behalf and produce revenue! Gone are the days when anyone should tolerate vendors that take the client’s money for the sake of making a buck. We need to partner, care, embrace the client’s business and it is our responsibility as marketers to make sure they see a positive return on the money/time they spent with us.

Marketers, be responsible. Business owners and Marketing Executives, be aware. Ask questions!

This is Meg Ferguson from Vision House Marketing and I would love to hear your thoughts/experiences with "negative marketing."

Small Businesses, Stop Listening To the Insanity!

Okay..that’s it! I’m mad! Damn mad! I’m listening to prospective and existing clients alike vent about the garbage fed to them daily by marketing vendors who don’t know what the hell they’re talking about! In this economy (or any for that matter), you cannot waste a dime on ineffective and inefficient marketing! On or offline, more vendors than not will take your money and waste it! The key to any marketing campaign is conversions! Conversions! Conversions! Meaning, actual leads that turn into sales. Clicks don’t matter. Page ranks don’t matter. What matters is the effort spent results into sales.

I have a client who called me the other day concerned that their traffic to their website was less than they expected. Ironically, of the traffic they were getting (they’re a highly specific medical practice), they were seeing a 46% conversion rate! Meaning 46% of those who did come to the site as a result of our online marketing campaign turned into a legitimate lead! I had them go back and cross analyze those leads to sales (patients in this case). 20% turned into new patients!

The reason they called me? Another vendor was in to see them and sold them a load of crap with regards to page rank and traffic to their site! Once I showed them the actual - IMPORTANT - numbers, they were floored. I asked them to contact that vendor and challenge them with questions regarding their conversion tracking methodology. As suspected….they lied and said those numbers are not important.

I guess this entry is more for the lame vendors out there who got into this business because they saw their share of marketing budgets go toward online marketing but who have NO CLUE about marketing….learn marketing 101, and this space will be a nice place to compete! It will also be much more pleasant for small businesses in the Greater Philadelphia area. The less garbage they hear, the less insanity in the market place!

Small businesses, tell me about your marketing vendor experiences. Let’s hear the good, the bad, the ugly! You are in power now. It’s a nice position to be in! Use it…let’s hear from you! Comment on this posting!

Until next time, this is Meg Ferguson from Vision House Marketing, LLC saying have an effective and efficient day!