Here is the sixth of 10 insane, but curable mistakes that businesses make with their social media …
and I’ll provide solutions to modify your process so you can CRUSH IT instantly.

6. SHARING TOO MUCH BUSINESS CONTENT ON YOUR PERSONAL ACCOUNTS.

Friends and family members who are connected with you on social media sites do so to learn about YOU—not about your business EVERY day. Rest assured, this strategy will make your friends and family hit the “mute” button on your social media.

Trust me when I tell you that they want to hear about your latest “opportunity”—as much as you are looking forward to that next “cold call” from a telemarketer at dinnertime. Capisce? (That’s “do you understand?” in Italian).

Simply connect with people there and remind them that you have great business resources on your business profiles and share that link with them. Feel free to even share your STOREWIDE SALE or FREE drawstring bag with your logo on it—but in moderation—after all, who doesn’t like FREE?

If you desire content that will educate, excite & engage, please call us at 860.621.8866. We can help you craft an affordable strategy that will exceed your expectations.

We’re JC Marketing Communications
www.jcmcom.com
and we’d like you to ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them.

It’s really simple—people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

Be on the lookout for the remaining four tips in the coming days!

Here is the fifth of 10 insane, but curable mistakes that businesses make with their social media …
and I’ll provide solutions to modify your process so you can CRUSH IT instantly.

5. POSTING PERSONAL INFO ON YOUR BUSINESS ACCOUNT.   

If your social media person is neither business savvy or is lacking in marketing experience, they may not understand the best way to ensure the narrative of your brand is presented properly to your target audience.

For example, you might see business Facebook pages that have a photo of a grandchild spitting up … accompanied by a disturbing post that discusses an impending divorce. Some people think it’s a way to show they’re human … we beg to differ. TMI folks … TMI … (Too much information) that just isn’t appropriate in this situation.

If you are a small business and you’re looking to create that family feel, there is a MUCH BETTER WAY to accomplish that goal without airing your dirty laundry.

Instead, why not share helpful information that will be beneficial to your audience.

Personal information on a business page can include things that give insight to what you stand for and add to your brand—such as, work anniversaries, introduce team members posts with interesting facts about each person, photos from a conference with some helpful nuggets that you took away from it.

As my friend Gerry Matalon of Matalon Media so conveniently puts it—“let your audience see behind the curtain of your business” … however I will add: “Leave the front door of your house CLOSED!”

If you desire content that will educate, excite & engage, please call us at 860.621.8866. We can help you craft an affordable strategy that will exceed your expectations.

We’re JC Marketing Communications
www.jcmcom.com
and we’d like you to ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them.

It’s really simple—people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

Be on the lookout for the remaining five tips in the coming days!

Here is the fourth of 10 insane, but curable mistakes that businesses make with their social media …
and I’ll provide solutions to modify your process so you can CRUSH IT instantly.

4. IGNORING THE VISUAL IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA. 

Connecting visually is one of the most effective ways to grab the attention of your potential buyer. Outlets such as Instagram and Pinterest have us viewing striking photos that titillate and entice viewership! Even LinkedIn is putting more focus on the visual aspect of connectivity.

If you peruse your Facebook, Twitter or Google+ profiles and don’t see boatloads of visual content, you are missing out on the opportunity to have your content noticed by your prospect.

With the sheer volume of content that jets in front of our eyeballs each day, text becomes the “white noise” in-between jawdropping images and mind-bending quotes professionally designed on interesting backgrounds. Steve Jobs made sure you have a great camera on your iPad or iPhone … always be on the lookout & don’t waste an opportunity to capture something insanely great.

Try shooting a relevant photo of a hummingbird outside your window or something cool in your office. Now go get an app or program that allows you to add text across the picture to share with your social audience. Text alone puts your audience to sleep! Why not increase viewership by adding interest with extraordinary visual content?

If you would like help creating images that excite & engage, please call us at 860.621.8866. We can help you craft an affordable strategy that will exceed your expectations.

Happy social media prospecting! …
We’re JC Marketing Communications
www.jcmcom.com
and we’d like you to ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them.

It’s really simple—people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

Be on the lookout for the remaining six tips in the coming days!

Here is the third of 10 insane, but curable mistakes that businesses make with their social media …
and I’ll provide solutions to modify your process so you can get on track instantly.

3. THINKING SOCIAL MEDIA IS FREE.
Remember how excited you were when someone told you it costs NOTHING to create your social media accounts?

Chances are your friend said “You gotta get on Facebook and promote your business—everybody’s doing it! And when you learned it was “FREE” … all the better. But is it really FREE? It might be if your don’t think the time you spend on it isn’t valuable.

To get any real return on investment for your social media activity, you will want to set aside a budget for running customized messages on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and even Instagram.

Oh sure, you probably heard business owners say on Sharktank™ that they didn’t spend any money on marketing and advertising. That’s actually misleading, because when you examine their strategy more closely, you would learn that nearly all of them invested money on Facebook and other outlets promoting their product … therefore, they did spend money on marketing and advertising.

One of the biggest reasons you must have a custom Facebook account for your business is to be able to run very targeted messages that are seen by your specific customer base. When I hear people complaining that Facebook is always trying to get them to pay for their posts to be seen, I ask them if they know what it costs to have a billboard up, embark on a direct mail campaign, or run a series of TV commercials.

Marketing costs should be built into your business plan.

If you would like help to get a successful campaign started, please call us at 860.621.8866. We can help you craft an affordable strategy that will exceed your expectations.

Happy social media-ing! …
We’re JC Marketing Communications
www.jcmcom.com
and we’d like you to ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them.

It’s really simple—people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

Be on the lookout for the other seven tips in the coming days!

Here is the second of 10 toxic, but curable mistakes that businesses make with their social media …
and I’ll provide solutions to modify your process so you can get on track instantly.

2. INCONSISTENT POSTING
Many companies start off like a rocket. They excitedly put out two to three posts a day on their social media sites and all of a sudden … 7-14 days later, it grinds to a halt!

Pretty soon a week goes by, a month goes by … nada, zilch, zippo. All that momentum they began to build is wasted. And they’ll have to start all over again from ground zero. Sounds alittle bit like going on a diet … and then losing interest when the pounds don’t melt away doesn’t it?

SOLUTION?
Persistence, tenacity & determination. No sane individual goes on a first date and proposes marriage, do they? So why would someone who just “met” you, instantly “buy” your message?

Furthermore, it’s important to note that each specific social media site has a “native” means to interact in that arena—learn about the importance of “native” by visiting my blogpost at:
bit.ly/2ciQdD8

You must remember there’s also both an optimal time and frequency to post. Plus, there are a lot of other factors you should understand before you even craft your “brand narrative” … such as:
Who is your target audience?
What time of day is your target market most likely to be online?
How much valuable content do you have available to post?

Facebook or Google+:
Some experts say two-to-five times a day has proven to work well, as long as you are NOT just posting pet photos and asking people to name the newest member(s) of your family. Or worse, how great you are. Self-serving propaganda just doesn’t cut it. We have all fallen victim to that blah, blah, blah! Heck, we all have seen so much of that type of nonsense that it just pollutes & dilutes—it ultimately drives viewers away.

Content should be relevant, meaningful—plus any educational content must engage your audience. You gotta meet them where they are. This is where you might need expert execution from a marketing professional. Or, try doing-it-yourself.

Twitter:
For your business: I recommend your company post 20-30 tweets on twitter throughout the day and you will see a continuous growth in “followers” because the content your “dripping” will soon reach mass market. Personally our business is in contact with many companies across the U.S.A. because we have cultivated relationships over time. Our brand narrative has resonated with other businesses in Milwaukee, Indiana & San Diego—just to name a few. Those relationships built with “like-minded people” led to conversing on the phone … and then actually doing business with them. In essence, we took our “followers” on a journey where they got to know, like & trust us.

LinkedIn:
To stay in front of your audience and prove that you are a “thought leader” in your industry, LinkedIn is a wonderful platform and our experience shows that one post per day is more than sufficient for this arena.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg …
you also may want to “fish” in Tumblr, Pinterest, Youtube and a host of other outlets to connect with potential viewers & buyers. That’s a heck of an audience to have access to. Successful implementation will really grow your business.

These tips will help you the next time you post …
We’re JC Marketing Communications 860.621.8866
www.jcmcom.com
and we’d like you to ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them.

It’s really simple—people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

Be on the lookout for the other eight tips in the coming days!

Social Media Marketing is not as easy as the neighborhood kids make it look.

I meet people all the time and inevitably, there’s questions about social media marketing. What’s crazy is when you observe the body language of the person asking … and it instantly changes to a defeated look as they say and ask, “I have been trying to figure out this whole social media thing forever. What advice do you have?”

Before I answer their question, they hurriedly add something like “I try to post regularly, I’m guessing it’s not often enough … but I brought in a millennial intern to help a couple days a week, but still NOTHING! I think we are doing several things wrong but I don’t know what.”

FACT IS:
Many businesses use social media sporadically AND without a plan … so it’s no wonder why most businesses DO NOT achieve the benchmarks they expect.

Here are the first of 10 insane, but curable mistakes that businesses make with their social media …
and I’ll provide solutions to modify your process so you can get on track instantly.

MISTAKE 1. POSTING ALL PROMOTIONAL CONTENT
Buyers are NOT demanding you social sell them!
And I will give you a 100% guarantee that no one is waiting for your cold call. No one has ever said to themselves the moment they wake up in the morning,
“OMG, I really hope some salesperson calls me out of the blue today.”

While it’s true that you are spending time using social media tools to market your business and actually make sales, it is that constant social media sales bombarding behavior that will repel your audience from EVER getting close enough to buy from you.

There’s one exception:
you have a very well known brand that people will be attracted to socially just to buy, (i.e. Dunkin Donuts, Godiva chocolates, or DSW Shoes).

THE SOLUTION:
you have to build relationships using social media and prove to your audience that you are there to be helpful, to provide valuable resources to them … and yes,
eventually you hope to build enough “brand awareness” that they buy from you—once they LIKE you.

This tip will help you the next time you post …
We’re JC Marketing Communications 860.621.8866
www.jcmcom.com
and we’d like you to ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them.

It’s really simple—people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

Be on the lookout for the other nine tips in upcoming blog posts!

Imagine if you had more customers, clients, patients or members coming to you 24 hours-a-day…
7 days-a-week…365 days-a-year?

The key difference between JC Marketing Communications (JCMC) and ordinary website developers is that we create an entire internet marketing strategy and content that integrates with a client’s non-internet activities to maximize revenues and profits. Your website should be more than just “name, rank and serial number…or a boatload of stock photography…and YOU focused message mumbo jumbo.”

Want to improve your web presence? Call us today 860.621.8866.

You will have access to a
complete internet marketing strategy…

Studies show that most websites are not profitable or provide definitive information to help the visitor make an educated buying decision. Just having a website—even a website that is visually appealing—just isn’t enough. In order to compete and succeed, you need a complete internet marketing strategy! The team at JCMC provides the know-how to help you succeed.

Most websites fail to make a profit because they are designed by well-meaning, but uninformed designers with little or no marketing experience. Or the business owner asks someone to develop a web presence on an unreasonably low-budget. If you need to increase sales through various revenue streams, direct response marketing is what sells on the internet. And only a handful of professionals know how to do it right.

We provide a comprehensive internet marketing strategy to drive qualified traffic to your website. We show you how to motivate traffic to tell you who they are…and permit you to contact them. We show you how to convert visitors into buyers. We also possess comprehensive programming and technological abilities to help you succeed with your mission.

Social media marketing is constantly evolving and it’s evident that many businesses or marketers just aren’t keeping pace by using each of the mediums correctly. In this article, you’ll learn some of the biggest mistakes you’re making in social media marketing and understand how you can fix them.

Which room in the house are you in?

Most business people ignore the context of each social media platform. Content may be king, but context of that content is even more important. I recommend you study & learn exactly what type of content is “native” to each platform or what I call a “room” in the house.

Let’s look at it this way: do you have a sink in the middle of your bedroom? Chances are your answer is a “big bag of nope!”

The same logic goes for social media—the various platforms should be viewed as individual “rooms” in your house. Each serves a different purpose and how you negotiate or interact in each room is different. So to elevate your social media marketing, think about how your content will perform in each of the “rooms” you’ll put it in and make sure you’re always sharing valuable, native content that’s congruent to the visitors of that “room.”

Millions of business owners and amateur marketers see social networks or social media as places to distribute content and bring you somewhere else … rather than viewing each social media realm as separate places or “rooms” to natively tell their stories. To reiterate, we’ll refer to individual social media sites as platforms or “rooms.” They’re not looking for relationships, they just throw stuff out there to see what sticks!

Great social media marketing starts with listening and understanding how to relate to your audience

YES! Even the haters. You just have to understand that people just want to be heard—even if it is negative. They also want to see that there’s some effort being invested towards them from your end. How do you prove it to them? My mantra is: “Care about your people with your social media marketing and they’ll care about you.”

I hope by now it’s obvious to you that JC Marketing Communications creates “meaningful” relationships with all our customers or followers. Those customers or followers who are looking for something less … we sorta find a nice way to part ways with them. But I digress …

So you want to learn what “the best practices in social media” is all about?

To fully understand, let’s look at the psychology of why somebody may be on a specific social site.

Room #1 (Pinterest)
Female subject “A”—let’s call her Sally and the time is 8 p.m. EST
Why is Sally on Pinterest at 8 p.m. at night? Why is Sally on Pinterest at all? The data shows analytically and anecdotally “it’s because “she has the intent to buy something” …

The data has shown that if someone “PINs” something, it’s one of two scenarios: 1) it’s highly likely and significant enough that Sally has “pinned” it because she is ready to buy. Otherwise, why would she “pin” it? 2) Conversely, Sally might “pin” something because her intent or immediate aspiration is “to make that purchase someday soon.” What have you learned from this? You now know that beautiful images and infographics do well on Pinterest.

You must understand that this social media destination has to be treated differently from …

Room #2 (facebook)
Female subject “B”—let’s call her Hannah and it’s also 8 p.m. EST
Why Hannah is “going through her facebook at 8 p.m. on her smartphone.” Obviously, Hannah’s clearly doing that to keep in touch with her friends and her world. In essence, this is all about “context” and should be treated as such. She’s there for that specific reason. What have you learned from this? You now know that Hannah is NOT there to buy anything.

Look at it this in simpler terms …
Have you ever noticed the way you and a friend might interact when you meet at a mall on a Friday night is different from each of you meeting at a conference in a hotel on a Saturday morning? Each of us acts differently depending on the context of the situation we are in. The same goes for social media. The wittiness that does well on twitter … is different from the picture that is posted on instagram.. or the silly animated GIF on Tumblr. In closing, you must respect the context of the “room” or platform in which you are storytelling.

That’s the blueprint—if you want to follow it, you WILL achieve the results you want to achieve.

However, if you want to throw your hands up and say “it’s too difficult,” then you have two choices …
1) Hire a professional with a sophisticated, and proven track record of success in social media marketing … or …
2) The alternative is to “not do anything” and “live” with the consequences of “doing nothing.”

So there you have it.

REMEMBER:
Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them. After all, people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

The number one reason customers aren’t buying from you is
… not because of your price
… not because of your product
… not because of your competition
… or not even because of a lack of need!

According to researchers at Primary Intelligence … they have learned it’s because “your prospect/buyer prefers the status quo.”

They simply don’t want to make a change—in the buyer’s eyes it’s too much effort to change.

Studies showed—
many of your potential buyers think “to switch is too complicated.” It now makes perfect sense as to why over 90% of people don’t like their doctor, yet they don’t switch doctors.
Imagine that?

Your consumers believe that if your product is going to take a lot of time and effort … or even have to do with some sort of “pain,”
they’d rather stick to the “status quo.”

Here’s three things that you can do so that
“status quo” is NOT your customer’s objection.
1) Do a thorough discovery to find out what is important to your customer. Drill down deep to understand, then anticipate their needs and/or objections.
2) Focus only on the features & benefits that are important to your customer. Be “emotionally correct” versus “factually correct.”
3) Do a statement of content—tell the customer what they can expect from your product or service.

REMEMBER:
Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them. After all, people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

We’re JC Marketing Communications—
wishing you a very blessed week!
860.621.8866

Be advised that many questions from your customers are actually “objections” in disguise. So pay particular attention when questions are asked … then listen intently so you can truly understand exactly where your prospect is coming from.

This brings us to what we call—The Customer’s Final Objection
“The Customer’s Final Objection” is when you are at “the moment of truth”—specifically when you are asking your buyer for a commitment … whether that be “the sale” … or the “money.”

It’s important to note:
NEVER confuse “objections” with “excuses”—because you’ll end up by reacting to the prospect’s “excuses” … versus responding to their “objections.”

How do you recognize the difference?
You look for “core objections” …
however, “excuses” will sound something like this: “that sounds great, send me a proposal” or “send me something and I’ll run it by my team” … “we need to think about it.”

There’s really six core objections when you are asking for the sale. To understand them, you need to look at the “why” behind the “what.” Understand the psychology of the mind of your consumer. Here’s where the behavioral science of what my team at JC Marketing Communications does and how that factors in.

So why is the customer who you courted and built a relationship with giving you an excuse?
Think about “how are you as a consumer and analyze yourself?” How do you react when you’re being “sold.” It’s simple and it has to do with the three area’s of everyone’s brain.

One area of our brain is the “fight” or “flight” part! It’s the part where you reach a state of fear when making a decision. One expert refers to this portion of our psyche as the “reptilian” part of our brain.

Next … you can look to the second area—which is referred to as the “inner brain.” That’s the place where people go when they’re in love … or listening to a great song. That’s the “happy place” part of our brain.

Then there’s the third part called the “smart brain.” It’s where people go when they’re learning new concepts … or doing things like balancing a checkbook. In this case, it’s when we are learning the particulars of a product or service.

So when you are “selling” you must understand that a prospect cannot access all three areas of their brain simultaneously. We humans can’t access our “reptilian” part of our brain without first passing through our “happy place.” What does that mean for you when trying to close a sale?

The consumer could be scared or suspicious. Why you ask? We haven’t earned enough TRUST throughout the sales process … or maybe their embarrassed because they can’t completely afford your product or service … let alone understand what it is that your selling. They might not be a “real buyer.” I would even venture to say “they’re shopping you.” Sometimes the person you’re meeting with is NOT the decision maker, but have been playing like they are.

So if you get an objection, the worst thing you can do as a salesperson is challenge it. Many of us have made that fatal mistake. That response often comes off as an attack on your prospect—at least that’s how they will hear it. Often times that approach moves your prospect from an emotional state of fear … to even more fear—or a heightened ANGER state.

Your whole goal is to get to the “real objection.” Ask questions of your prospect to get to the actual reason.
Solution: Change your buyers emotional state before you change the terms of your deal. Some sales people hear the customers objection and automatically want to change the various items of the contract. i.e. payment terms, add more services for the same money … even drop the price. If you do that you will certainly lose credibility.

Find ways to move your potential customer to their “happy place.” Take the pressure off the customer by giving them relief. Put away your things like you are ready to leave. The very act of you looking like your “moving on” provides relief to your prospect. That puts the customer into their happy place & you should genuinely use this as an opportunity to begin building rapport again. Change the subject. Ask questions like “So, how long have you been with this company? What are your weekend plans? What do you like to do in your spare time?” Be creative and genuinely build honest rapport. Changing the subject gets your prospect out of the “fight” or “flight” mindset.

As you’re packing up to leave—you may also learn how much time the customer needs to make a decision by asking them point-blank. Try to even set a followup appointment. If it’s a week or two … then ask the question: “Let’s flash forward … can you foresee what concerns or questions you might have at that time?” I will say that almost 70% of the time the real reason will be revealed. You got to his/her answer because you changed your prospect’s emotional state, getting them to “think” again.

Next, isolate the objection.
Let’s say they tell you they’re going to talk to your competitor. Instead of defending your position, tell them that you “totally understand.” Chances are it’s a big decision so you can say: “that’s fair” … then immediately ask: “is there anything else that would prevent you from moving forward?” You will isolate their position. 9 times out of ten you will get the “ real objection.” Be on their side … your genuine respect will wind up positioning you as their ally.

Here are the six common or typical objections:

1) “I don’t know if we can use your product or service. We’re sort of interested, we’re doing research to see if it’s for us. It might be a luxury product versus a necessity … we’re not sure if we will use it to the full potential.”

2) “I just can’t make this make financial sense. I don’t see the value. I want to check out your competitor. I think I can get it cheaper—I want to check out other companies who do what you do. I think I can get it better somewhere else.”

3) “I don’t know if I trust you and your company.” This objection is precisely about your not establishing credibility and your failure to build rapport.

4) “Your product or service is just too complicated.” People simply don’t want to change. They’d rather make no decision … than make a decision. They’ll tell you what they have now is working fine. They basically don’t want to upset the apple cart. They’re happy to remain status quo.

5) “Timing. Real budgetary issues. Not in their budget this year. But we’re looking anyway.”

6) “They have to talk to a third party … I have to run this by my partner … a spouse … a board.” Or even personal politics … “I told my friend’s wife that I’d use her company for my next project.”

According to a published report on WNPR, the average attention span of an American at 8 seconds, we’ll need to get to the real objection quick or we’ll be strung along forever.

The longer you have to wait for the next appointment, the less likely you’ll get a sale. With a finite amount of mental space available to your needs, there’s too many things to divert a prospect’s attention from you. They might even buy something else that came up in the meantime. Perhaps a similar product that they think will do the job better, for less money—a solution to their “real” or perceived problem. Or heck, maybe an emergency came up that depletes their budget and they will never buy your product because they used up their money for something else.

Introduce what one expert calls an “infant negative.” This helps your prospect understand that YOU understand them.

Trust is a real issue today for just about everything. We’re suspicious more than ever. Most people think “the salesperson will tell me whatever I need to hear to get his/her the sale.”

So here’s an excellent thought. Don’t paint your product “all sunshine & roses.” Tell your prospect what your service or product won’t do. Pick something small that won’t kill the sale. Make sure it’s NOT something congruent with the “real objection.” Frame it in a way so your prospect can understand. Your customer will honestly believe what your product will do. This moves a prospect from “fear” to a thoughtful conversation. Then, you can get them to their “happy place.”

To summarize: CHANGE YOUR PROSPECT’S EMOTIONAL STATE BEFORE YOU CHANGE THE DEAL.

With regards to getting an excuse or objection from a prospect … here’s an exercise you can do right now. Write down all of the things you can say about your product or service that will get your prospect to their “happy place.” That is different from industry to industry so this requires some effort. Then develop your technique for each of the objections you expect to encounter.

REMEMBER:
Your customer doesn’t need to understand your product, they just need to know you understand them. After all, people don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.

We’re JC Marketing Communications—
wishing you a very blessed week!
860.621.8866

I LOVE marketing—especially in the field of advertising and branding! And as much as I LOVE doing it … I LOVE talking about it.

Marketers like our JC Marketing Communications team enjoy the verbal & mental jousting that leads to impassioned, spirited debates. The result—Our client WINS. Imagine that? We fight hard NOT to be right, but for the sake of our client’s mission—which, is focused on their return on investment (ROI). They put out “good money” and NEED to get back a major reward.

In this business of marketing & advertising … you have to have a voracious appetite for learning … because it’s through the “learning you can do the churning.” You cannot provide innovation and achieve your client’s desired outcomes without putting in the work. Personally, I find it fascinating “why people make the choices they make. Particularly when it comes to purchasing decisions.

I love learning what is considered a “clean & classy layout” to one client in an industry … but that exact same layout is “boring or ordinary” to another client in that same industry. I love understanding why a brochure layout appears “busy” to one client … and yet that same layout speaks “WOW” to another client from the same industry. It’s rewarding when learning the tipping point or pain points of one demographic … or what’s pleasurable (emotionally) to another demographic.”

I love breaking marketing down—the anatomy of it … that fierce process of drilling down deep … right to it’s molecular strands (DNA). And then further dissecting that. What a rush it is searching for the key sub-atomic particles that can influence my audience to take the action my client and I desire. It’s exciting because the target market is always “predictably irrational.” Marketing is an ever challenging process where you have to be ready to test and refine infinitely … nurturing, evolving and yet, remember to be calculated in your process. A blend of science and emotion! Our philosophy opens more doors to bigger clients simply because we have gone deeper than most marketing & advertising agencies typically go.

By now you know why I like to break down marketing architecturally. I’m sure it’s because in many ways I’m very analytical—without being anal. I’ve always enjoyed subjects like math and science. I enjoy structure & logic … and yet, what makes me different is I adore the chaos within the marketing malestrom. The spiderwebbing tapestry versus the straight weave. Exactly what does that mean? Out of all that chaos & bedlam of information, it allows me to birth insanely great creativity! That’s right. Despite being a very analytical type, I embrace spontaneity. Thrive on it. My business partner Mike G says, “JC loves the moment when he’s put in a position of discomfort. A place where he identifies “controlled spontaneity.” And G’s right … dare I say it? It’s the orgasm of the profession … the reward for the effort of marketing & decision-making done well.

Marketing & branding—as I have practiced it for nearly 40 years—is NOT for the faint of heart. If you don’t embrace change… or just want to RIGHT all the time, forget it. And there’s so many different factors that can get introduced into your equation as you are in the middle of solving the issue. That’s why there’s a razor thin line between success and failure. Measure it … track it … it’s what JC Marketing stands for. As “marketing rockstars” … it’s the only way we know if the fans are diggin’ our tune(s)! And best part is—you have to accomplish your mission under extremely insane deadlines. What a rush flying without a net!

And as much as I know about marketing & branding—or what my pastor calls “my behavioral science thing”—for me it is like a ‘smoke ring’ of whatever. An ever changing nebula of organic energy and fickleism that no one can ever seem to nail down. For folks like you looking to solve a specific problem, no wonder why you all are confused and jaded by the marketing experts. You want the magic wand … the magic bullet. There isn’t one. Marketing is a roll your sleeves up career. And that’s another reason why the marketing profession is fun for me.

One thing I wish were different. Our “creative field” suffers from the interpretive opinion culture. Although there’s not many professions that are excluded. I can think of one though. Stand-up comedy. Any LIVE comedy act instantly knows from the audience reaction when he/she’s is cooking with gas … or about to be skewered. By the audience that is. But I digress …

This leads me to share the information you came here for. A few colleagues were recently discussing the critical marketing best practices.

We grant you insider view/access:

What is a critical marketing best practice that is often overlooked?

• A critical best practice I see most often overlooked is continuing to maintain contact and offer value to customers post-sale. Maintaining that relationship in a meaningful and systematic way allows you to open the door to a plethora of referrals—and importantly … repeated sales. Some companies who do this very well might offer in-person training courses for subjects like web development and digital marketing. And once you’ve enrolled in a course, they become dedicated to your success until well after you’ve finished. They do this by offering free workshops, networking events, job listings … to find a job using your newfound skills.

He went on to say:

• At the end of the day tactics and execution can all be optimized fairly quickly—systems and efficient workflows can be put in place. But without an effective strategy, everything falls short. To me, everything comes back to content. Content is the foundation of any company. Content is the documentation of validating the reason why the company is in business in the first place. When a company doesn’t have content (or good content) … it really makes me wonder how far they think they will be able to get. Especially by seducing the new age of educated buyers. Copywriting and ads are great, but “magic” words may quickly lose value from overuse (by other marketers). And also lose value as potential customers begin seeking more substantial value. Even though recent surveys keep saying that more money is being poured into content, I still don’t believe companies are spending enough time on building a bulletproof content strategy that’s backed by data. Marketers have to get their hands dirty—read more about their customers—get in touch with their customers, and read a lot about their industry & product. Simply—many novices and marketers overlook the importance of understanding all of the pain points of their customers … and turning that into genuine content.

A fellow colleague added:

• I agree, but want to add this unique angle. Keep your content at the potential clients level—FREE from industry jargon. As marketers put out more and more content, we typically ascend into some level of technicality that is very fun to write about … or discuss with our peers, but lost on a potential customer. Take for instance “marketing automation”… Unless you are very 101 with your content, it can potentially be completely lost on your intended audience.

Another colleague went on to say:

• Great point. So True. You have to practice removing the jargon. When you do a lot of research its easy to fall into the same trap that professors fall into—“believing in new words,” rather than focusing on the benefits behind those new insights. You can’t alienate. I feel that many marketers, as they focus more and more on pushing out content, the pressure is to make more words—that makes sense because long form content is good—but when that long form means adding words that don’t add value then it misses the point. This is our solution for this problem, keeps you grounded (keeps content at the potential clients level). The Solution: Make content HYPER tailored to your potential customers—which means NO MORE general marketing advice. Stay clear of marketing 101 content. Make content tailored to their industry, their customers. This worked for me when I took my consulting practice to a higher level because I focused on a specific vertical. It gave me industry expertise in the higher education market, alternative education market. I had early problems and had to turn down potential deals. BUT it helped me become an expert in an industry, and take on more clients within that industry. I leveraged that super tailored content with workshops, where attendees accomplished stuff. I got deals because they knew that my team could do it better. And for the people who didn’t hire my team, we are still in good relations. Yes—they basically got free consulting—but they were never going to hire us anyway. The better information you give out (as in information that is “professional/ hired work” level)—the higher quality the lead …When I would ask them why they wanted us, I frequently heard something like “well, if you are giving us this for FREE—and it works well—then what even better results can we expect when we hire you.”

Another spirited colleague chimed in …

• I just had to say this … Writing content is NOT the goal.
  Getting readers to do the thing that you are writing about is the goal. Think of it like personal training. Everybody knows how to get fit—its science and common knowledge. But personal training is a rapidly growing industry and its because it gets people to do the work that they already know they should have been doing. If you treat your content like this, your early traction might be lower (because its segmented and targeted to a specific vertical) BUT the amount of flexibility it gives you as collateral for outreach is AMAZING.Its like: I noticed you are interested in doing “A,” so I did “A” for you a little bit—and here it is—and I hope it helps you get “A” done more easily.Things happen:1. You build a portfolio of SHOWABLE work (whatever it is—you can showcase it.)1. You look like you genuinely care.If they don’t hire you, its fine. Because that vertical is ripe with dozens and dozens of competitors that you can present that work to. Over time, you keep doing that and you will have built a portfolio that is insanely “valuable” that pro-bono or not—companies are going to find you.

And lastly …

A lot of content I put out for our agency is about high level web development—but I throw in pop culture references, allusions, and other relatable elements to take the technical edge off of otherwise boring industry jargon. We all have content about branding and marketing—why not give it some original flair and diversify the library available to our personas so they don’t get lost.

For everyone who persevered this article, I hope you’ll be blessed by this extremely valuable advice from these gurus.

Insightful? Yes. Throughout their discussion, these pros respectfully disagreed at times, and yet built upon each others idea. It’s okay to disagree.

A good friend once told me: “If you are in a relationship with someone and you both agree on everything—one of you is unnecessary.” 

It makes total sense to me, but what about our target market? That’s marketing …

Be blessed always!

These are the words of Dick Clukey, President of Accu-Grind Cutter Service • accugrind.com

“In the summer of 2010, we were seriously contemplating downsizing because our business wasn’t as healthy as we hoped.

We had tried other marketing experts & efforts before, and we tried to do-it-ourselves … with little success. After careful consideration, we made a pivotal decision to hire JC Marketing. Please note, we did not inform JC Marketing that our company was in dire straits.

Cool under pressure, marketing expert Joseph Cekauskas and his team not only developed a comprehensive, multi-layered approach, they took care of all the details so we could continue to work ‘IN’ our business, while they ‘WORKED ON’ our business. JC Marketing’s expertise in our field of manufacturing and innovation was jaw-dropping.

JC Marketing’s innovative marketing produced all of the online & offline tools necessary to properly promote our brand.

From a completely new logo (they submitted 69 unique concepts making it fun to review, but incredibly hard to pick one)—to photography, to copywriting, to awesome graphics, to printing—plus navigating the intricacies of our website.

Many materials were produced quickly so we could begin marketing our company immediately.

When it was all ‘said & done’ … JC Marketing provided ALL of our custom materials and a strategy in under four months. Their generosity came to the forefront when JC Marketing’s president suggested to us a payment plan—an incredible 8 months to pay for our materials—ask Joseph Cekauskas about how that came about, it’s a great story (see below)!

Today, we have become a multi-million dollar company—having added new personnel & a whole lotta new equipment / capabilities.

Thanks to JC Marketing’s expertise, efforts & belief in us, AccuGrind is a healthy business … Proper positioning of our company propels & prospers our brand.”

Dick Clukey, President
Jason Bronson, General Manager
AccuGrind Cutter Services, Inc. • Terryville, CT

The back story of exactly how the “payment plan” strategy was offered to Accu-Grind’s ownership.

These are the words of Joseph Cekauskas, President of JC Marketing Communications • jcmcom.com

“My team from JC Marketing Communications (JCMC) had met with ownership at Accu-Grind (AGCS) on approximately five to 9 separate occasions over a six-month period. We thought it was closer to five visits … but AGCS management thinks it was closer to 10. I guess it illustrates to our readers how patient JC Marketing is.

Each time we met, their management battered us with questions about our expertise of manufacturing, as well as our knowledge of their target market. Impressed, Accu-Grind appeared cautious, and yet, never skeptical. They always showed great interest. After all, we have done the marketing for well over a hundred manufacturers from Maine to California during our 38 years in the marketing & advertising business.

With AGCS, we had to overcome some obstacles including, but not limited to ‘the owner’s daughter being a graphic artist and the future son-in-law a photographer. We had to be careful not to belittle the futile attempts each of them had made to help dad’s business. Heck, they tried. Graphic design is one thing … solid marketing strategy is another.

At no time did it appear that Accu-Grind’s finances were in question.

We did learn that years earlier, AGCS had hired other so-called marketing experts … but AGCS never achieved the goals those marketing consultants set. It was clear to our team that these strategies were flawed—it had nothing to do with AGCS’s execution of those directives.

Over the six months … both parties (JCMC & AGCS) were patient & cordial … many times I kept thinking ‘what on earth are they waiting for … we’re the solution to their business problems. Why haven’t they hired us?’

As patient a man as I am … I remember heading to AGCS for what I was thinking was probably the final time. Why did I think that? I was assuming this was a ‘poop-or-get-off-the-pot’ moment in our relationship with AGCS. As I drove along Route 6 through Bristol, I remember looking up at the blue sky through my open moonroof.

Being a man of faith, I felt compelled to petition to Lord … asking ‘Lord, I need your help … our abilities are a perfect fit to help Accu-Grind. But they’re not buying. I need your help. I NEED A PLAN.’

This might sound alittle wacky … and I can’t imagine what you’re thinking … but within seconds I heard an audible voice proclaim –

‘OFFER HIM A PAYMENT PLAN. I HAVE MADE SURE YOUR COMPANY HAS NO DEBT … so you can afford to offer him a payment plan.’

I want the readers to know that we utilize retainers … but never a set payment plan. In our business, essentially a payment plan is something that comes with RISK.

When I arrived, I walked into the AGCS conference room and said … ‘Mr. Clukey I can offer you an eight-month payment plan.’

To all reading this: I don’t know where the eight months came from … it just came out. Divine intervention I guess.

Dick replied ‘great … write the agreement up … let’s get started.’

Floored, and yet excited … I immediately shouted ‘praise God!’ … while raising my arm above to the heavens. ASK & YOU SHALL RECEIVE INDEED!

Seated at the end of the table was Accu-Grind’s GM and it appeared he wanted to crash the celebration … ‘Yeah, but what if I need my materials BEFORE eight months?’

I quickly and firmly responded ‘Don’t worry Jason, you’ll have all your materials well in advance. I’ll be waiting on you to pay off the project. Please let me go so I can get my team started on solving your problem.’

During the next three and a half months … we implemented a successful strategy and developed all their materials online & offline. The result was their business was able to INSTANTLY become healthy.

Today AGCS is a major supplier to companies all over the globe. They continue to bring in state-of-the-art equipment … offer new services … spearheaded by extremely talented personnel.

My team and I are proud we transformed them into the winners that they are, and achieve the goals they desired.

Looking back, I’m glad Dick never shared that AGCS was about to severely downsize. Imagine, people losing their jobs … families effected.

Then again … when the pressure is on, JCMC is always at our best.

That benchmark day the good Lord blessed the relationship of JCMC & AGCS!

Proper positioning of your company will propel & prosper your brand!”

If you want to grow your business …

Gain the attention of key decision makers by impressing your target market with your knowledge of their business and trends in their marketplace …

How might you do this?

Learn which of their competitors are coming out with exciting, innovative products … or find out which of them may be investing in new marketing / sales infrastructure. The key is to learn exactly what are their specific issues.
Why? Because unattended issues & problems could become threats to their business … and then you can more easily identify which of those you can best help solve.

Dig deep … get down & dirty in their details. Chances are you might enjoy this learning process! What’s the downside to “learning more?” None of course.

When you do this, you’ll know exactly who your target market’s customer base is. This insight goes a long way in telling you how they think … maybe even the potential pressures they’re under … You can then leverage this information at every level of your relationship.

Tap into your target market’s emotion and create a sense of emergency.
Involve the heart, because “numbers & statistics tell, amazing stories—particularly ones that tug at the heartstrings—sell.”

I like to call them “my Jimmy Fund’ moments. But that’s a story for another day.

One more note of interest:

My pastor Tom loves to share this old adage:
“People don’t care how much you know, until they know how much YOU care.”

He couldn’t be more insightful and I am blessed that he generously shares his life experience.

So strive to understand your prospects perspective on ROI … understand both the customers they serve and their prospects drivers.
Speak their language … their language of business in order to establish credibility and trust.

Here’s how:

1) Strategically identify the specific products and services your prospect sells

2) Find their mission statement—what does the company stand for? … what do they represent?

3) Go out and find out who are some of the customers they serve.

4) Understand their market—i.e. are they in a growth mode … stagnant … or on a decline.

Decision makers that have problems and issues—those that need and want your help … are the ones you’ll be most connected to.
You and your team will be effective when you learn these things and this will go along way to capture your prospects attention.

Valuable information?

Of course this is. And yet, maybe you’d rather not go it alone. After all, execution of a marketing plan is 99% of the equation.

And JC Marketing has no equal when it comes to making your business plan a reality.

Do YOU desire expert HELP elevating your organization to the next level?
We will propel your business forward—you can be FREE to do the things you’ve always wanted to do.

Call JC Marketing Communications • 360 degree marketing
Insanely great marketing that’s measurable & trackable—RESULTS are EVERYTHING!
860.621.8866
www.jcmcom.com

Forget what you think you know.
Too many people grew up in an era of “image” marketing where just making a claim was good enough to get your product or service purchased. Back then, millions of dollars was poured into advertising in order for a product or service to hopefully achieve “top-of-mind branding.”

Online marketing campaigns are tedious work that can quickly swallow both your time and money. If you want to save both, this offering will help you understand what automation in your online marketing campaign is and why do you need it for your online business to be both competitive and profitable for you.

Read the full article here:
Here’s why you need automation in your online marketing campaign – Memeburn

Law firms are quickly realizing that they need good online marketing like all the other business that are trying to make themselves visible in the competitive online arena. The good thing about the Internet is that the small and medium sized law firms can build great image online, because the size of the company is not the most crucial thing in the Internet market.

Read the full article here:
Size Doesn’t Really Matter – Online Marketing Guide For Law Firms – Above the Law

The Internet is not the same anymore, so if you have a dental business and you still rely on your Internet practices from a couple of years ago, you need to read this article that will point all the new details that you have to be aware of if you plan to keep your business competitive. Items included in this article include the move to mobile internet and the usage of social media among other business issues.

Read the full article here:
3 Reasons Your Practice Needs an Online Marketing “Recare Plan” – Dental Economics