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Posts Tagged ‘Marketplace’

Your Product 8.0 Doesn't Have A Chance If Your Marketing's Still 2.0!

Sunday, February 14th, 2010

Attention software developers. . .and everybody else.  After all the tough sledding you’ve done to get the product where it is, your marketing needs to live up to it.  Your Marketing 2.0 does a disservice to your Software 8.0.

The reality: your marketing is indistinguishable from your product or service until the the demo is done.  If your marketing is a yawn, you’ll do fewer demos.  This is the simple physics.

And oh, attention everybody else.  Your marketing needs to live up to what you sell, because your marketing is  indistinguishable from your product or service until the demo is done.

Actually, your marketing IS your product until the demo is done.

So, here’s what I see, especially with the marketing from software developers.  The firm goes through hell developing a new version of their product.  Coders cranking out upgrades to interfaces and simplifying work flows while continuing to support users.  Having to fix the airplane while flying the airplane comes to mind.

Okay, how do we describe the upgrades; the new version?  Well, we made our interfaces more intuitive.  You can batch process more tasks, fewer clicks, and a simpler path to the reports you want.  It’s easier to use.  Okay, so we have more features, it’s more intuitive and easier to use.  Let’s see, how does this compare to what we said about our current version. . .not to mention how it compares to what everybody else says about their software?  Oh, yeah, jeez, it all sounds the same.

How can 8 months or 18 months or 28 months of work and some brilliant improvements to the software really sound the same?  And, as a result, land with a thud in the marketplace?  Because it all sounds the same!!!

How to Lift Up Your Marketing

Show, don’t tell.  Let people experience the difference — a version of the demo — earlier in the sales cycle.  Like, say, maybe, in the first 30 seconds they’re on your site or in your trade show booth?  That’s about as long as you have.  Oh, it’s brutal.  I manage search for a number of clients.  Average time spent on site and number of pages visited: three and three.  And that’s across some wildly diverse industries.  So buckle up.

Do a human-talking-to-you video that captures why you’re different in less than a minute.  Or do a screen-capture video that lets people experience the “more intuitive” part of your new interface in less than a minute.  And do one for each of the differences you present.  Get people in front of something like that, and you can get people on the first page.

None of that is easy.  But all are worth going after because if you can hit on just one, it can change your business.  And what is it that they say, you learn more from your failures than your successes?  As one who has spent many a day on both sides of that equation, I am forced to agree.

But you have to learn from it and get back in the game.  Tough and confident as ever.  So, how did you get your software from 2.0 to 8.0?  Iterations.  Putting your best shot out there, letting users bang on it, taking feedback and chasing bugs, making improvements, introduce next version.  Repeat.

Ditto with your marketing.


Hamilton Wallace is a small business marketing consultant in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is an expert in direct response marketing, including sponsored search, SEO, direct mail, message and story, and in creating simplified, effective marketing consulting solutions for small businesses.
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Managing Dental Practices: the 3 Major Problems Facing Most Dentists Today… and How You Can Solve Them!

Saturday, January 23rd, 2010

Today, dentists are facing 3 major problems in managing their dental practices. These major problems could serve as a great hindrance in them, and managing their dental practices means that they are looking for any available means in looking for ideas and strategies that they can have. And so we at Dental Profits can assure you that we can help you as you face this challenges… and become successful in your dental practice. And this is something we focus specifically at our website for managing dental practices!

Now, here are the 3 problems in managing your dental practices that you should be aware of:

First Problem: First, it’s all about the competition. Now, this competition is growing because dentists are starting to realize that they can’t take their practice to the next level unless they start to: (1) increase the number of new patients (or quality of their patients) that are seen every month; (2) increase the amount of referrals; and (3) increase the time the each patient spends with them in their office. ( Now, this can be both a good news and a bad news… good news for those dentists who know how to do these in their practice, and bad news for those dentists who don’t!).

Second Problem: Second, the society that we live in is oversaturated with marketing and advertising messages. That’s right! And this means that when you start to market your practice and services, you’re not just competing with all the other dentists; but competing with EVERY business, commercial, and media advertisement that is currently “flooding” the marketplace. Now that’s one tough competition! Now, the problem here is that since we are so over-sold and over-marketed to the public, our prospective patients are becoming more and more skeptical than ever before, as they are becoming more and more hesitant to respond to marketing or ads.

Third Problem: Third, it’s the recession. You see, for as long as we are in Iraq, Afghanistan, chasing down terrorists, and dealing with Middle Eastern Issues, there will always be a recession going all around us. The real estate market has dropped by over 22% in the past year, and worse thing is there is no recovery seen in sight! Go to “Google” and type in the keywords “National Consumer Spending” and read the headlines, and you’ll notice that every country is seeing dramatic declines in consumer spending. Although it doesn’t mean that our economy will not be able to come back, but it does mean that its future of the U.S. economy is at this time uncertain.

So, despite all of these 3 major problems that dentists are facing today, we at Dentist Profits can really help you gain new and effective ideas and solutions to every problems that you face in managing your dental practices. Believe me when I say that we have heard every kind of challenges and problems that our clients face in their dental practices… and that we have solved their problems! All you need to do is go to our website (which will be provided below) and we’ll help you to face these challenges… and become successful in your dental practice!

Log on to our website for managing dental practices, www.DentistProfits.com and also get a free CD and Book titled, “How To Predictably Grow Your Practice 25-35% Every Year While Enjoying More Control, Time Off, And Bottom-Line Net Profits!”.

My name is Ed O’Keefe, and over the past 7 ½ years I have shown over 5300 General Dentists world wide how to flood their practice with patients using my counter-intuitive, yet extremely effective dental marketing, internet dental marketing secrets, and dental advertising secrets that are proven, guaranteed, and unmatched by anyone else in dentistry!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/managing-dental-practices-the-3-major-problems-facing-most-dentists-today-and-how-you-can-solve-them-1767575.html

Small Business Cheap Advertising Solution

Thursday, December 17th, 2009

Every small business hits a hurdle when it comes to advertising as unlike the huge companies the budget for advertising is on the small side.  With the promo plate a small business can quickly get their information out to the masses with a minimal investment  Through out this article I will show you why the promo plate is the key to success for any small business.

What Exactly Is A Promo Plate – A promo plate is an attractive nameplate that you fix to the back of your vehicle.  Instead of having a tired old bumper sticker that will fade quickly a promo plate advertises your small business in a classy way that is sure to grab attention in your marketplace.

Who Can Benefit From A Promo Plate – Anyone who is wishing to gain business in their local market can benefit from a promo plate.  A real estate agent can show his or her contact information, a local website can promote their URL and a small business can raise name awareness by showing their name in a classy way.  The use of a promo plate is endless and as of late a number of people have been displaying their Twitter URL.

Does The Promo Plate Work – Imagine sitting in traffic and the vehicle in front of you has a bumper sticker and nine times out of ten you will read what it has to say.  Now imagine a stunning gold plated nameplate on the vehicle and you can see the power of the promo plate for at the end of the day this is the one that will stick in people’s minds.  If you live in a major city can you imagine the number of people who will see your promo plate each and every day.  Stand out in the crowd and you will attract customers to your small business.

Is The Promo Plate Cost Effective – Do you have any idea the price of a television ad or a radio ad and with both not only are they expensive you have to hope that your potential customer is watching or listening at the time the ad runs so it can be a heck of a gamble for a small business.  The promo ad is a one time investment that will continue to promote your business for as long as it is running and it cost a fraction of your typical television or radio ad.  The promo plate can advertise your small business to a huge number of people in your local area for under forty bucks.

With Christmas right around the corner the promo plate would make a great present for the small business owner in your family.  The promo plate is the ultimate solution for small business advertising.  Take a look at the Promo Plates website and I am sure you will agree.

I am a former Social Worker now working from home

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-tips-articles/small-business-cheap-advertising-solution-1589894.html

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