Avoiding "Ageism" in Your Marketing

Ordinarily when you are working on determining your target market, you take into consideration things like what your ideal customer looks like by way of income, interests, geographic location (urban, suburban, rural), vocation, marital status, family type, and even age, among others.

If you sell video games, you will probably target a younger clientele than you would if you sell artificial hips, for instance. (Don't laugh too hard. I have seen TV ads for certain artificial joints. These campaigns are to build top of mind awareness so that, if and when you need one, you will be prone to ask your doctor, "What about the Owta Joint? I saw it on TV." And the hope is that the doctor will either recommend that joint or will consider using it.)

But let's not forget that building a tight demographic can lead you to have tunnel vision regarding other candidates for your products/services. I had lunch in a small town recently and was sitting near a group of about eight or ten women who were apparently part of a knitting or quilting circle. As I ate, I overheard the conversations of these ladies, average age probably about fifty, but ranging up to maybe 65 or so. At one point one of the women said she wished she knew how to find out about a certain bit of information and one of the older ladies said something like, "Why don't you just ask Google? That's what I do when I want to find out something." To look at them, you would have thought they were too "old" to be internet savvy, yet there were some in that group who were apparently quite comfortable using internet search.

A search term you may have heard is "long-tail search". This involves an approach to your keyword usage that takes into consideration keywords that are not in the most-used category in searches. In a similar way, take into consideration that there will be potential customers for your business that don't fall into the mainstream demographic breakdown you may derive from the cold, formulaic marketing technique you may use.

Remember that, even if your company caters to a younger general demographic, it is still the older generation that has the most money to spend. In many cases, the electronics and other techie gadgets the younger set owns were bought for them by their older family members. Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, graduation gifts -- cell phones, iPads, laptops, GPS units -- are many times provided by mom or dad or grandparents.

You can reverse that idea and see the potential in marketing some stereotypically "older" products/services to younger people as well. The decision to move older parents to a retirement community may be influenced by younger family members, for instance. That joint I mentioned earlier might be recommended to grandpa by a son or grandson who saw and remembered the commercial.

So, yes, by all means, do your demographic homework. But try to keep your focus broad enough that you can see the sense in hitting some potential markets that might seem to be a little outside the box. For one thing, the competition might be less for some of those customers.

Phone Books Dead? Not really!

I recently read the results of a study by Market Authority which shows that phone directories are still very much alive, and need to still be a part of most business's advertising mix. But rather than having me reiterate all that, check it out for yourself at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2013/1/prweb10351426.htm?goback=%2Eanb_2935101_*2_*1_*1_*1_*1_*1 .

I realize all the digital media sales people will get out the torches and pitchforks to kill this monstrous truth, but that doesn't change the facts. As for me, I don't champion one over the other. I wholeheartedly believe in both areas of media, and I provide my clients with outreach in both. There are many factors that determine to what degree and when a business should alter their media mix between traditional media and digital media. And by "traditional media" I mean pretty much everything that existed pre-internet:  radio, tv, billboards, direct mail, magazine ads, yellow pages, etc. Now back to the phone book, the "original search engine".

If you are a business owner who doesn't personally use a phone book, let me ask you: Do you really think that everyone else thinks or acts just as you do? Even if you include your circle of friends as digital-only searchers/buyers, is the rest of your potential customer base all on board to the same degree as you?

If you are a realist, you have no problem answering "no" to those questions. And you have no problem also admitting that you want to reach as many potential customers as possible. You also realize that, over the next few years, even decades, you will need to do some shifting to accommodate changes in the public's search-and-buy habits. And that will mean shifting more of your investment into online venues.

So the new media mantra, "Print Is Dead", is not true. The only ones trying to foist this view on you are either the digital-only companies who don't have (and aren't able to start) a print directory, or those who have drunk the Kool-Aid of those new media companies. It is just as wrong to relegate phone books to the trash heap as it is to ignore the increasing relevance of internet advertising.

My advice is to avoid jumping too quickly into a "new media only" advertising program just because it is new. You'll be unnecessarily cutting off a significant portion of your viable market. There are exceptions to this, but for the majority of locally oriented businesses, the "mom and pop" shops or sole proprietor contractors, you will be hurting yourself by becoming too narrow in your advertising focus. If your business is solely an online sales or ecommerce business, then sure, go all out on the internet. But for the rest of you, try to maintain a proper balance and don't lose your focus on the Big Picture.

Internet Arrogance

What's up with website developers? I have quite a bit of experience dealing with people who build websites and I have to say, I am somewhat mystified by the prevailing attitude of many of them. Let me first say that I, at least at this time, don't build sites myself. But my training is in critiquing sites to see whether or not they are built properly for search engine visibility. Among other things, I am concerned as to whether proper on-site optimization has been implemented or not. If it hasn't, I point out a few suggestions to strengthen the site. So when I look at your site, my first concern is not how pretty it is, or that you have butterflies flying across the screen or that it plays "My Heart Will Go On and On". (I am not a fan of either of these types of functions by the way.)

I am also well trained regarding SEO, SEM, adwords, local search, keyword strategies, social media, backlinks, etc. So when I analyze a website, it is my intention to help make the site more visible to Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc.

But here is the stickler. When I offer information or make suggestions, I find that the site developer often tends to respond with arrogance or even anger. They downplay the suggestion and pooh-pooh its importance. They often seem to feel they need to defend themselves by "out-tech-ing" me. And this applies to both the do-it-yourselfer and to builders who work for companies who create sites.

It makes me wonder whether the schools who train these people, or website building guide books, even cover on-site optimization. My training goes even farther and relates specifically to commercial website visibility. There are certain elements that are of particular importance to local business sites.

Wouldn't you think you would welcome some tips and pointers from a trained professional if they help increase your online exposure?  So why the arrogance? Take the criticism, weigh the suggestions fairly, and then act accordingly. We are on the same team. The goal is the same, so let's work toward that common goal and forget who knows the most or who has the degree.

I recently had a great meeting with a young man who handles a local company's website. This guy was a breath of fresh air. He is among a minority of the webmasters with whom I have dealt. We had a very profitable time because he was open and soaked up the information I shared like a sponge. Likewise, I learned a few things from him. When the environment is one of co-operation, all parties benefit. There should be no room for ego or turf protection in this type of circumstance.

My bottom line here is that, if you are, or if you have, a webmaster, make sure he or she has enough humility to be open to information that might benefit your business. The person who handles your online presence should be a lifelong student, always learning. The net is very fluid, constantly changing. Search engines constantly revise their algorithms. It is worth the effort to stay teachable about the internet.

Why Business People Should Not Wear Loafers

I have often read articles that talk about businesses advertising on a "shoestring" budget. That isn't a bad thing if that is all you can do. It is certainly better than expecting to grow a business without advertising in any organized fashion.

My concern is for businesses who try to advertise on no shoestrings at all. They feel they can get the job done just by doing whatever is free. I am all for using every form of advertising that may be free, but hog-tying your business growth by neglecting to invest in more and better advertising is a big mistake. You'll never see the growth you want going the "loafer" route.

I see this concept at work when I notice a small business that only has a Facebook page. No website. Just a Facebook page, and maybe a Twitter page. And they expect to gain the same exposure they would if they had a website. Not going to happen. At least, if the website is properly built, the Facebook page approach won't get the job done as well. There is more to having a website than just building it and having it sit there unseen.

It would be much better to have a properly optimized website along with the Facebook (business version) page and any other social media pages/profiles working in unison to gain the kind of exposure and online response the business is looking for. Part of working in unison includes making sure all the subsidiary pages, profiles, etc., are linked to the website, which acts as the hub of all the other online presences.

Every credible source will recommend to you that you should establish a budget. The focus of this article is only to back that up. If you are serious about being in business, set a reasonable budget from the very beginning.

Then have a realistic plan about growing that budget as your business grows. That's all for now. Just don't wear loafers. Make sure you have, at bare minimum, shoestrings to get you going.

A Case of Mistaken Identity: 4 Tips to Avoid Scams

Well, it has happened again. Recently I visited a small beauty salon to discuss with them a variety of ways that my company could have helped them with some very basic advertising. I was greeted with a degree of scorn and was told that one of our other consultants had already been in. They said that a couple of weeks after our consultant had been in, they received a bill from our company for over $300. The inference was that my company had somehow hoodwinked them into a billing for something they did not want.

I knew the other guy had been in. In fact, he had suggested I go back by and see if they might have changed their mind about advertising. I also knew that he hadn't sold them any advertising and that we were not responsible for any billing of the beauty salon. I am positive that I know what happened.

Since our ad programs include yellow page advertising, we were being confused with one of the "yellow page" companies that sends out a document requesting a business to confirm that their listing information is correct. It is usually labelled as "This is not a bill". The problem is, if you don't read the small print, and if you don't pay close attention to where the form is from, you might be fooled by the walking fingers logo on the form. As far as you are concerned, it looks legitimate and so you sign it and send it in. The problem is, the walking fingers logo is not trademarked to any particular company and is used by directory companies of all kinds.

The company sending the form is NOT who you think they are. They are one of a number of companies who send out these misleading mailings, preying on the ignorance of businesses. They do publish some sort of directory, but most people never see it. Sometimes they are published in a national registry, but again, it is not one that the public will ever see. However, since they do publish some sort of phone directory, they are not considered illegal.

I rose, as tactfully as I could, to the defense of my company because I did not want to leave these beauty shop women with the impression that we had bilked them out of their money. I expressed concern and asked to see the bill so I could verify that my suspicions were correct, but they either didn't keep a copy or they were unwilling to show it. It seemed to me to be a case of "Don't bother me with the facts. My mind is made up!"

To prevent this from happening to you, here are a few tips:

First, pay attention to your mail. Make sure you can identify the company who is sending you a form. Just because it has the walking fingers on it, do not assume it is one of your legitimate phone book providers. If in doubt, look for a phone number on the form. Call and ask them to clarify exactly who they are. And speaking of phone calls, beware of phone solicitations for the same kind of service.

Second, never sign anything that says it is just to confirm your business information until you have read all the terms on the form. Often, when the form states that it is not a bill, the truth is that by signing the form and sending it in, you are authorizing the company to then send you a bill for that listing. You may or may not be able to get out of it, but if you will show a little caution here, it will save you a lot of headache.

Third, pay attention to your bona fide companies. There are legitimate providers who are there for you, helping connect you with customers. They will have no problem identifying themselves to you, and are worth listening to. Don't lump all advertising sales people into one heap with the few shady dealers out there.

Fourth, develop relationships with your representatives from the legitimate companies. Once you have established your reps, it will be easier to deal with each company in the future. Remember that it is rarely a good thing to treat people rudely.

Unfortunately for the beauty shop girls, I was unable to help them because they just simply were not going to listen. In retrospect, I think they were so afraid I might try to sell them something that they flat out didn't want to hear a thing I said. I can only hope that they will be more careful in the future when it comes to signing documents. And I can only hope that my attempt to defend my company will get them to dig out that form and verify that I was right. My reputation and my company's reputation is at stake.