Target_the_Market_and_Win_the_Game

Target the market and win the game Helene Zampetakis From: The Australian August 28, 2009 12:00AM WHEN times are tough, low-cost marketing strategies look better than ever, but get it wrong and you're likely to spend more than you make. Countless beleaguered business owners have felt the pain of forking out on brochures, email marketing campaigns or loyalty schemes, only for the initiative to fall flat. While these promotional initiatives are intrinsically sound, marketing experts say it is not just a matter of setting them loose in your catchment area and waiting for the customers to roll in. Low-cost campaigns need to be well considered and accurately targeted to work. This is a lesson Devi Heating Systems managing director John Balass learned the hard way. Two years ago Balass decided to extend his customer base by penetrating the home-owner sector, although he has a strong reputation with architects and trades. He opted for a variety of advertising, taking out $800 print ads in trade magazines and a two-week radio slot for about $2000. "It was money down the drain," Balass says. When even the costlier Yellow Pages and a home show display failed to deliver, he was advised to go back to his core business and use it as a base for expansion. In June, Balass began an active sales campaign with architects and building trades. He increased face-to-face customer visits, put out news releases and multiplied telephone contact. It was much less costly than his advertising efforts and, more important, it paid off. "We've had four or five projects come through in that time," Balass says. A key to the turnaround is that Balass identified his core market and tailored his campaign to suit it. "There are a lot of different ways you can market yourself at low cost," says Anne Sorenson, director of small business consultancy MarketingIsUs. "But people get it wrong when they jump in and take an ad hoc, reactive approach. If you get it wrong, you can really erode your profit margin. You need a clear profile of your ideal customer and their habits, their preferences, what media they use, their age, sex and income. "Then you can communicate to that market." However, she advises business owners not to be too pushy: "Out of every 10 messages you send, make sure that eight add value to them." Business consultants advocate spending 2 per cent to 5 per cent of revenue on low-cost marketing campaigns. With the advent of social media, small-business owners with small budgets can more easily achieve the reach of sophisticated national advertisers at low cost, Australian Association of National Advertisers chief executive Scott McClellan says. "The almost infinite supply of media volume in the online world means the cost barrier to entry is no longer what it used to be," he says. "The trick is to get your customers talking to each other about your product or service by using a blog, Twitter or some other social medium. "Then bring to bear the cost-effective yet powerful search engine technology that the likes of Google are making available to small business at bargain rates." But although business can pay as little as 1c a click for Google Adwords, some owners make the mistake of paying top dollar to bump up their position on the list. "That's not really necessary in most cases," Pakka marketing technology specialist Mackey Kandarajah says. "It's far more effective to boost search engine optimization by building links to your website and downloading articles and blogs that draw readers. But strong messaging using the right medium is important." Kandarajah cites a client, an owner of a gelato bar, who runs a rainy day campaign using text messages offering customers a 15 per cent discount on ice cream tubs when the weather is bad. Trade goes up by five to seven times the norm during these initiatives. The critical part of this strategy hinges on amassing a database of customers who opt in to promotions.Low-cost strategies can pay off handsomely, as long as they are targeted property. "Business owners really need to do their homework," says MarketingIsUs's Sorenson."As they say, failing to plan is planning to fail."