What Do I Do With My Marketing Data?

By Kim Deppe
So, you have done your homework and now you know a little more about your customers. The question is, what do you do with all of that marketing data? Data is only useful to us if we can understand it and put it to use to help our businesses grow. Just knowing that 10% of your customers are blonde doesn't help much - unless you are selling hair color.

 The first thing to do is organize the information. Separate your customers by zip code, for example, so that you can see where your opportunities are. You may want to get a local zip code map and color code each zip code by how many customers come from that area. The color coding is a good way to get a visual guide to customers locations. Some questions to ask:
- do I need another location closer to my customers?
- why are some people close to me not using my business while others come from farther away?
- do my customer locations have anything to do with natural boundaries (rivers or lakes, for example) or roads and bridges? Are these barriers I can address?
- if my customers are clustered in certain areas, are there opportunities for me to target my marketing to those areas and try to get more customers? Remember, birds of a feather flock together!

You can also use geographic data like this to determine what kind of advertising you need to do. Can you do targeted mailings or do you need something broader like print, TV or radio advertising?

Be sure to ask lots of questions about your data. For example, when you look at information about how your customers found out about you, it can tell you whether you need a stronger online presence, better signage, or simply a good customer referral program. Ask the "why" questions - Why are 60% of my customers men? Why are most of my clients under age 40? And then think about whether this is what you intended - is it your target audience? And if not, should it be?

Digging into your data can be an interesting, time consuming, and sometimes lengthy process. But it is worth the time you take to understand what the data is telling you. If analytics isn't your thing, then by all means, find someone in your circle to help you, or hire a professional marketer or analyst to assist.

Lastly, don't make the mistake of doing this just once. Your customer base will be constantly changing and you should be collecting data regularly to keep on top of changes. For example, if you suddenly start seeing teenagers coming into your restaurant, you may want to figure out why - did a new skateboard park open nearby? is there a new school in the area? That will tell you if this is a fad or a permanent situation that you can capitalize on.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Know Thy Customers

By Kim Deppe

It's probably the first and most "commandment" of good marketing for your business - Know Thy Customers. Understanding who your business serves and who would be interested in buying your product or service is the first step toward building a targeted marketing plan.

But it isn't always easy to know a lot about your customers. You might be too busy to chat with them or, in the case of some businesses, you may never see or talk to them at all. So how can you learn more about them? Here are a few ideas you can use to gather information.

1. Do a survey. Online or on paper, a survey is a great way to get information from your clients or customers. Ask just a few questions that can be answered quickly - about 2 or 3 minutes is plenty of time to ask people to invest. There are some online survey tools that are free (Survey Monkey, for example) if you are only asking a few questions. Some companies send a survey out to every customer following an interaction, while others print an 800 number on the receipt with an inducement to take the survey. Whichever direction you go, make sure you are collecting the demographic data you will need to understand the results.

2. Gather information at point of sale. Ask for address, phone and email the first time you make a sale to every customer. Periodically ask if they have made any changes to that information. Note whether they are male or female. If you can add information about their general age group, that can help as well. Think in terms of groups such as Under 18, 19 - 35, 36 - 55, 55 and Above so that you can note that information in your files without having to ask the customer his or her age.

3. Do research. Look at the population data from the US Census for your area. This is available for free online and it can tell you about the population as a whole. This is useful for knowing how your customers are alike or different from the general population. Often your local Chamber of Commerce can provide you with this information, too.

4. Add demographic questions to forms on your website. These can be order forms, entry forms for a drawing, etc. Forms are a great way to collect data.

5. Encourage customers to sign up for your newsletter or notice of sales and specials. This connects your customer to you and gives you permission to market to them. That can make it easier in the future to collect information, send surveys, and request feedback.

After you have collected the data, the analysis begins. If this is not your strength, find someone who is good at interpreting this kind of data. Often, though, just reading through the answers and tracking the frequency of them can give you tremendous insight into your customer base.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Resources on Deppe Communications Website

Just a quick note to remind readers that there is resource material on my website around small business marketing, social media marketing, SEO and more. For example, there is a free download on the Small Business Marketing that will help you write your own Marketing Plan, plus ideas on low cost ways to market your business.

There is also a blog on the site that covers marketing issues, trends and observations. I hope you will visit www.DeppeCommunications.com and learn more about our company and how you can improve your marketing. We welcome your feedback!

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

3 Things You Can Do To Market Your Business Today

By Kim Deppe

Marketing does not have to involve a lot of money, time and effort. In fact, just about everyone knows that word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind. So today, I'm offering suggestions for 3 things you can do to market your business that cost little or nothing, but will help build your brand and your reputation.

1. Say Thank You. Seems simple, right? But do you really stop and thank your customers for choosing you? Instead of just saying "thank you" to everyone today, take an extra moment and really thank them. Say "I really appreciate you choosing us to do business with. I enjoy helping you and I hope you will come back again soon. Please let your friends and family know about us, too."

2. Make a Good First Impression. If you have a retail location, spend time walking through it and around it. Pick up trash, wipe fingerprints off the door, remove dead plants from the parking lot, make sure the shelves are tidy. Check the restrooms - often a place that gets forgotten but where your customers will make real judgments about your dedication to the business. Speak to people when they come in the door or call on the phone and make an effort to be friendly, upbeat and pleasant. Saying "hello, it's nice to see you today" is a lot better than "hi there."

3. Do Something Extra. Go above and beyond today and do something unexpected for your customers. Offer them coffee or cookies, put chocolates on your reception desk, give out coupons for their next visit or hand out trinkets to children who come in with their parents. Customers remember the extra special touches they experience and it will set you apart from your competition.

There you have it - 3 things you can do today to market your business without spending a fortune or taking a lot of time. Here's hoping you have a prosperous day! And, if you want more marketing ideas, please visit my website at www.DeppeCommunications.com.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

PR Mistakes

By Kim Deppe

I have been watching with interest as Subway tries to climb out of the "Footlong" public relations disaster. Clearly, they are in crisis mode now trying to mop up a mess they made when they first responded to the posting of photos on the internet showing their "footlong" sub was only about 11 inches long. The company's initial missteps are causing them to spend a lot of time, and money, trying to repair their brand. There are a few lessons here that any company can learn from.

1. Bad PR can happen to anyone. Yes, even organizations like the Red Cross have had their share of bad PR. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the company itself but rather one person in the organization. A VP can get arrested for DUI, or worse, and suddenly the entire company is under scrutiny.

2. Bad PR is temporary usually. Treat it that way. There is a good reason people refer to newspapers as fish wrappers - they are here today and gone tomorrow. Yes, things on the internet have a much longer life. But the public, especially the American public, has a short memory and they move on to the next bad news story quickly. There is usually only one reason for a bad story to grow legs - a dumb response from the company.

3. For goodness' sake, think through your first response. Subway's first response was something like (and I paraphrase here) "Footlong is a marketing term and doesn't really have anything to do with the size of the sub." Dumb, dumb, dumb. Who believes that? They named it the "footlong" for the precise reason that it was 12-inches long. They advertised it that way. But somewhere along the way during the midst of their crisis communications, some dumb cluck was allowed to put that statement out to the press. The company has been spending great effort to walk that back ever since. The most reasonable, and genuinely believable answer should have been a discussion about the variation in size due to baking.

3. Bad PR can be repaired, but it can take a long time and it can be difficult in the interim. Speaking as someone who had to put out statements that were in serious conflict with what I knew to be best, somedays you just have to suck it up. PR professionals are required to give their best advice, and it is not unusual for CEOs and lawyers to ignore that advice. Ultimately, though, the CEO must make the call and some days that will not line up with what the PR staff has advised.

4. Bad PR can almost always be overcome. While there are certainly examples of companies that never overcame the crisis, certainly some do.The Red Cross did a good job of making changes in the wake of allegations it was paying top executives too much. Subway, too, will get past this as long as they don't do anything else dumb.

5. Turn bad PR around. Subway has an opportunity here to make fun of the company by holding "is it 12 inches? campaigns. Think how much fun it would be to have scores of third graders come into the store, waving their rulers, and letting them do some measuring. Bring in al kinds of things the kids could measure that day. Fun for the kids, a chance for Subway staff to do some community volunteering, and a way to build real good will.

6. Have a crisis communications plan. If Subway had one, then it needs to be fixed because clearly a response went out to the media that was not well thought through. A crisis team must include not only the CEO and legal folks, but the head of PR, HR, Security, and operations. They will all have important issues to contribute as you craft a response.  Without a concrete plan, you may miss critical issues. Practice your crisis communications plan at least annually. And with any major PR issue, the CEO needs to be the spokesperson.  If he/she is pushing it down to PR, then there is a problem and you need to understand why immediately.

Kim Deppe is President of Deppe Communications, an outsource marketing firm located in the Jacksonville, FL area. Deppe Communications provides marketing consulting, search engine optimization, search engine marketing, public relations and advertising services to small and medium size businesses across the U.S. With over 25 years corporate executive marketing experience, Kim Deppe brings a unique combination of strategic marketing experience and online marketing know-how to her clients. For more information, visit www.DeppeCommunications.com, call 904.524.0170 or E-mail Kim@DeppeCommunications.com.

Not A Social Media Believer? Read on!

I still run into small business owners who tell me they don’t have any interest in being on social media. They don’t see any use for it, and they see it as something that either their kids or their wives use for talking to their friends. Because they are not participating in any kind of social media, they just don’t see a value to it. That’s kind of like saying “I don’t listen to the radio, so I don’t think it is a good way to advertise my business.”

I want to share some fresh statistics with you about social media that might influence your decision whether to start using it for your business:

Read More 

Why "We Care" is the Wrong Advertising Message

I spent more than 20 years in the healthcare marketing world and if there is one tenet I learned, it is that running ads that say "we care" is a tremendous waste of money. Why? Because when it comes to hospitals, doctors, surgical centers or other healthcare providers, "caring" is something that patients assume you will do or be. Really, do anyone ever expect their healthcare provider to NOT be caring? It is such an assumed part of what you provide to your customers, that it is silly to waste your money talking about it. So why do so many do it?

But I would extend that tenet beyond the healthcare industry and say that "we care" - or similar expressions of basic service - is a waste of your money. Here are some examples:

- Quality or High Quality
- Excellent Service
- Treat You Like Family
- We're the Best
- Lowest Price


There are many more, but the point here is that these are all things that your customers probably assume about you before they even decide to do business with you. Why would they ever do business with a retailer who didn't provide great service, or low prices, or good quality? Besides, a lot of customers don't really believe those claims, anyway - especially the younger Gen Y customers who are tremendously cynical about this sort of thing.

Yet, when it comes time to create advertising and marketing messages, many companies zero in on these phrases and want to pack in as many as they can into their ads. The problem is that when you do that, your ad becomes generic, and you begin to blend in with all of your competitors who are claiming the same thing.

So, what should you do? Find your UVP - Unique Value Proposition - and exploit it. Figure out what IS different about your company that customers will actually believe. Create a message that communicates that difference loud and clear. Make sure your employees know it, believe it, and can articulate it to your customers. Then put it in your advertising. And leave the "we care" stuff to the amateurs.