In 2007 the SPCA debuted a commercial featuring the faces of sad dogs and cats, while Sarah McLachlan sang “Angel” in the background. In one year, that single advertisement raised over $30 million for the animal adoption agency.

To get people to buy, you have to appeal to their emotions.

Contentment is capitalism’s worst enemy. We are constantly spending money, because we are constantly trying to make our lives better.

But whether it be the new shirt which will make us seem more fashionable, or the maid service that will save us time, or that cup of coffee that keeps us going in the morning – we need to be emotionally instigated.

Lori Turner, of the Memphis Daily News, recently composed a list of the different buying-types and the desires that drive them:

-      Survivor Buyer

• Buys to fulfill basic needs, whether that be food, or perceived needs (such as a cellphone)

-      Convenience Buyer

• Buys services or products that help save time

-      Scarcity Buyer

• Buys whatever is in limited quantity in order to achieve the status of a “haver” in a “have-not” world

-      Prestige Buyer

• Buys to promote social standing

-      Community-Focused Buyer

• Buys in order to be a part of a community (such as, Apple users)

-      Value-Minded Buyer

• Buys products whose perceived value is greater than actual cost

-      Fearful Buyer

• Buys to eliminate fear (such as bed bug mattress covers)

But now that it’s not the early 1900s, we are overwhelmed with choices. Not only do we need to know what to buy to make our lives better, we need to know which brand is the best option. The business that takes the time to fully understand their key demographic, and that demographic’s buying-type, will  have a better chance of achieving the right emotional response to gain and keep consumers.

A tradeshow offers you the chance to do something you don’t often have the opportunity to do: walk into a room full of your key demographic. But if you’re not prepared properly, it won’t matter who’s in the room. It’s like being handed an apple when you don’t have any teeth.

The key to a being a success at a trade show is making sure:

-      You cater to your demographic

-      You stand out amongst your peers

-      You are aware of logistics

Demographic

You originally enter a trade show because you deem the demographic to be beneficial to your brand. But what is important is that prior to the trade show, you identify sub-groups within the tradeshow’s general demographic. This way, you can fully prepare to cater to whatever types of potential consumers may wander past your booth.

For example: if you’re going to a pet supply tradeshow, and you are a company who sells organic cotton leashes, identify how you can appeal to environmentally conscious dog owners. Then determine how you may reach those dog owners who have no environmental stance or even pet owners that like to walk their cats (it never hurts to think outside the box).

Stand Out

Chances are there will be a number of different companies hawking their own leashes as well. Find a way to stand out. Perhaps hang your leashes from trees made of dog bones or prove how strong your leashes are by bringing in a few heavyweight champs to have a leash tug-of-war.

Creativity will broadcast your business.

Logistics

One of the things that we, at Dreamscape, have found to be an important part of being successful at a tradeshow is planning for the general logistics of the show itself. Considerations include: developing timelines and budgets, determining where your company should be positioned within the show, and what tools will be available at your disposal. The last thing you want is to be disorganized, because this will reflect poorly on your company.

Tradeshows really can be a very fruitful and fun experience if you are well prepared. Top the preparation off with a “Wow!” factor and you’ll be sure to convince cat owners that walking is all the rage.

Marketing for any business must include:

-      Determining your marketing goals

-      Identifying your key demographic

-      Developing a plan to reach this demographic

-      Implementing this plan

When it comes to marketing for small businesses versus large businesses, the principles are the same. The difference lies in selectivity. Large businesses can afford to spread their marketing initiatives over a variety of mediums, small businesses have to choose the avenues that will be the most beneficial.

Dreamscape has a lot of experience improving the marketing efforts of small businesses. Here are some important aspects for you to consider:

Power of the Internet

It’s very important that all businesses have an online presence. This should start with a well written, attractive, and easily navigable website.  But to further your outreach, consider creating a Facebook page and a Twitter account for your business. Both services are free, and if you use them well, you will see a positive return on your time investment.

Some quick rules of thumb: enter at least one Tweet a day, post somewhere between 1-4 items on your Facebook page a week, and always respond to people that reach out to you on both mediums. Your customers want to be valued, starting and continuing a dialogue online is an easy (and, once again, free) way to show them they are appreciated.

Budget Marketing

Beyond free social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, most other marketing initiatives will cost you money. However, there are some actions you can take to reduce marketing expenses.

Budget-Conscious Marketing Ideas:

-      Piggy-Back

• Have a booth set up at an event, such as a charity walk or run, or partner with another business to send out mutual mailings and increase your customer base.

-      Barter

• Offer some of your products or services for advertising space.

-       Always be “On”

• Take every opportunity to promote your business. When you send out mail, toss in a brochure. At the end of your emails, list your web address and a very brief pitch.

It’s important to remember that any marketing effort, no matter how expensive or cheap, will do you no good if you’re reaching out to the wrong demographic. Always take the time to determine your demographic.

If you do this, chances are your “small business” won’t stay small for very long.

Establishing a relationship with a potential customer or a current one is an effective way to ensure profit. With the advent of the Internet and social media, it’s much easier than ever before.

Internet:

-      Create a content rich and attractive website. Make your domain name easy to find and search.

-      Offer options for customers, in store (if applicable) and online, to subscribe to your newsletter for additional savings. Use the form to learn more about your customer so you can make your e-mails more relevant (and therefore more personal).

Social Media:

-      Create a Twitter page where customers can learn more about what’s going on “behind the scenes.” Even better, use the format to respond to questions and to create conversations. Use Facebook in a similar way.

-      Encourage current customers to review your products or services on sites such as Yelp.com or Amazon.com. There’s great power in “word-of-mouth.”

-      Make your blog RSS feed compatible. This way readers can stay both current on your content and easily share it with others.

Outside of the customer relationship, knowing more about your customer base will help you to better target both the formation and marketing of your products and services.

What’s great about the Internet is it allows for an easy way of collecting data about your current and potential customer base. Here’s how:

-      Create a membership system, which allows customers to receive your newsletter as well as discounts. Request information such as gender and age in the sign-up form.

-      Use Facebook’s analytics to track who follows your business. You can learn such things as gender and location through this service.

-      Create fun Facebook applications, such as quizzes, which incorporate demographic questions, to help target the quiz results as well as gather information.

There are many creative ways in which to learn more about your demographics. But the key is to be constantly aware of the customer’s privacy. If you wouldn’t feel comfortable providing certain information, don’t expect a customer to.

Technology has taken the marketing world from print media and focus groups to social media and Google analytics. And just like McDonald’s changed the pace with which we feed, so the Internet has changed the speed with which we consume information.

But beyond speed, we also receive so much more information than ever before. According to a 2007 New York Times article, the average city-dwelling consumer is exposed to up to 5,000 ads a day. That’s a lot of competition for a consumer’s attention.

The Necessity of a Website

Every business should have a website. It need not be flashy, unless your industry demands it, but you need to be available online. A modern customer turns to Google before they ever search other sources.

Another benefit of having a website is you can link it to Google Analytics. This is a free way to learn more about your demographics and the effectiveness of your website itself.

E-Mail Newsletters

If you have a website, having a regular online newsletter is an easy and highly effective additional marketing tool. You can have a sign-up  form available on your website. Use this sign-up area to also discover the demographics of potential customers – offering a catered mailing in return for answers to “gender,” “location,” and “age.”

This is also a great way to offer promotions and unique information  not available on your website. Make it worth the customer’s while.

Social Media: To Use or Not to Use?

Using social media is not a necessity. It really depends on your business whether or not what, if any, forms of social media would be appropriate as a marketing tool.

A business-to-business corporation would have less of a need for an online presence, whereas a business-to-consumer corporation would do well to create an online persona.

The best part of social media is you can quickly develop a relationship with your potential customer.

As technology and social media continue to expand, your marketing needs will continue to evolve. But it’s important to remember, that no matter how strong an online presence your business has, nothing can replace an actual conversation with a customer. Don’t get trapped behind the computer screen.

Back in instant messaging’s heyday, I was always a bit perturbed when someone left an away message with a not-so-specific location.  “At the nail salon.” Now, I’d love to join you for a pedi, but where to head? I’m from New York, where nail salons are about as common as pizzerias, so a generic reference whittled the possibilities down to, oh, about 6 shops in a 2-mile radius.

Today, Twitter is the hot way to tell everyone your business, and–much to my delight–geotagging has made its way into those 140-character posts. Applications like UberTwitter can automatically post a link to a map of the user’s location when a tweet is sent via cell phone. It’s a virtual “You Are Here” for anyone to see. No GPS necessary, either; the application uses the nearest cell phone tower to determine where you’re tweeting from. That New York nail salon? No longer in question.
Imagine the possibilities for marketing. Have an event coming up? Tweet the locale, so everyone knows where to head. Off to a conference? Let clients know which hotel you’re staying at. Have a traveling business or delivery service? Ask employees to tweet from the truck so customers–and you–can track their progress. Geotagging can help target marketing outreach and locate new areas to expand business.
Now, not everyone dabbles in Twitter. It’s one of those “love it or hate it” things, but when everyone from Lance Armstrong to Auntie Anne’s is tweeting, it’s more “gotta do it” than anything else. Fortunately, the Dreamscape Marketing team can take social media off your hands. We’ll stay on top of the latest trends, whether it’s managing your Twitter account or posting news about your latest product on Facebook. A social media campaign can boost traffic to your Web site, improve customer relations and help identify potential business associates–just leave it to us.