Virginia Franchise Forum - Franchisee Roundtable Nov 11, 2009

Virginia Franchise Forum Franchisee Roundtable

Presented by Kate Dunn, Digital Innovations Group (DIG)

Agenda

• Current state of your marketing• 5 Step Plan to Improve Results and

Position Your Company for Growth• Examples• Questions

Moving From Survival To Growth

• Recession Mode– Downsized– Reduced hours– Reduced non critical expenses

• Marketing– Treading water

Let’s Talk About Marketing

• Only 15% of short term sales are the result of today’s marketing

• Today’s marketing initiatives drive 85% of long term sales

Source: What Sticks: Why Most Advertising Fails and How to Guarantee Yours Succeeds, by Rex Briggs, Greg Stuart

But…

• Business to Business– “We don’t have the budget.”

• Business to Consumer– “We don’t have the money.”

Reverse Logic

• Business to Business– “Wow, so you’re closing up shop? Who is

going to provide cleaning services to your clients now?”

• Business to Consumer– “Wow, so you’re moving in with friends or

relatives?”

The Real Meaning

• For both– “You have not made what you are selling a

priority for me.”

Really Good News

• “19% of advertising fails outright and 67% could achieve significant improvement that would require no additional spending.”

• Why Do We Miss the Mark? – Aren’t talking to the right prospects

• Targeting the wrong audience– Don’t understand the motivations of our prospects

• Irrelevant messaging– Don’t know how to reach our prospects

• Marketing Mix – VeriSign found that 10% of spend drove 98% of actions they wanted

– Don’t know who is serious• Qualification - 80% of all deals are lost due to a in adequate or non-existent

qualification process.

ES Research Group Study

Most Glaring Mistakes

• We aren’t remarkable• If we are we don’t tell

anybody

Author: Seth Godin

Basic Principles of Purple Cow

• Be Remarkable• If your not, get out

– "Quit or be exceptional. Average is for losers.” Seth Godin, The DIP

• Purple Cows will be talked about– WOM advertising is cheap

5 Step Action Plan for Growth

• Step 1: Answer these questions:– What is your company the best at

________?– Why is your company the best at it? – Who needs what your are best at?– How long will they need it?

Step 2:

• Start with what you think and then validate with your current customers

• Competitive Advantages– Must be unique– Must be quantifiable– Must be sustainable

• So are they?By Jaynie L. Smith

Visiting Nurses Association of Florida

• Competitive Advantages– Management had the wrong understanding– They did not understand what customers

thought was important• Developed a list of quantifiable things• Told people what they were

Best Competitive Advantage EVER!• VNA’s patients are re-

hospitalized 23% less than the competition

• Patients visited by VNA require emergency treatment 34% less often the those visited by competitors

• VNA’s patients improve 34% faster than the national average

VNA’s incidence of unexpected death is 47% lower than the national average

Step 3: Accentuate the Positive

• How can I get my existing customers to talk about my company?

Look for mavens and connectors to find your Tipping Point

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

How Do You Find Them?

• Ask happy customers when it is logical to ask

• Investigate who is talking now?– Blogging– On Linked In– Twitter– Facebook

• Engage the happy ones first

Business to Consumer

Get People To Talk About You

• Thumbs Up– Hustling Outback Kid– Arby’s Midlothian Turnpike, End on a High

Note teen– Gloria at the Origins Counter

• Thumbs Down– “McDonalds Drive By People”

• Companies who don’t handle a negative

A Big Mistake

Pay AttentionFixing a problem is better for you then not knowing there is a problem!

# 1 Prospecting Method is Referrals

• 84% of internal referrals will result in appointments

• 44% of external referrals will result in appointments

No More Cold Calling by Joanne Black

Step 4: Develop Your Own Following• Consider positioning yourself as an expert in

your field– Create own content

• Blog• Slideshare• You Tube• Comments on other blogs and communities

If you aren’t a writer, share content from others with your introductionGoogle Alert Yourself!

Google Alert – Free!

Social Media Success Factors

• Position yourself as a resource• Share your knowledge first• Avoid overt selling• Recognize that this tactic has a longer

horizon• Be consistent

# 5 Review Your Other Tactics

• Yellow Page Ads/Radio Ads– Use a unique URL or phone number to

measure results from your tactics• Direct Mail

– Differentiate in compiled mailings or get out

Direct Marketing Success40% from the list40% from the offer10% from the timing10% from CREATIVE!!!!

# 5 Review Your Other Tactics

• Print Advertising– With longer sales cycles, use landing pages to

learn from the interaction and nurture interest– With shorter sales cycles, provide ways for

recipient to show they may have future interest• Tip Lists etc.

• Promotions– Don’t buy the business over and over– Measure lifetime value or share of customer

Blue Tape - San Antonio, Texas

Personalized URL

Recipient Personalization

Versioned Copy

Offer – Everybody Wins!

Contact Personalization

PODi Best Practice

Landing Page

Qualifying Question

PODi Best Practice

Respondent Information Page

Pre-populated contact info. Additional info captured!

Capture Email Address

PODi Best Practice

Page Two – Versions based Question One Answer

Versioned Pages Based on Answer to Question One

PODi Best Practice

Final Qualifying Question

Respondent Requests Meeting

Versioned Copy Based on Answer to Question One

Versioned Thank You PagesEducation for Nurturing

Data collection

Data collection

Relationship Building

Results

• 4.45% Response Rate– Hit Landing Page

• 3.34% Conversion Rate– Completed URL Visit

• 27% of respondents requested a meeting to discuss relevant marketing– First tier prioritized prospects

• 56% of respondent use direct mail now– Second tier prioritized prospects

• 29% of respondents were non customers

Direct Market Association quotes response rates at 1.38% which is a 222% Improvement

Next Steps:

• Find a place to hide and answer questions 1 – 5• Devote a 30 minutes to watching and learning

from social media over the next two weeks so you can start to formulate a strategy for your company

• Read or Listen to:– Purple Cow, The Dip– Creating Competitive Advantage– The E-Myth Re-visisted

• Make sure you tell prospects exactly why they should buy from you every time you talk to them

Lastly and Most Importantly

• Get help if you need it.• If you aren’t out of business

you are still spending money so spend it wisely and earn a better return.

• Look for continuous improvement not just homeruns.

• Waiting until the end of the recession may mean you don’t make it out of the recession.