Technorati Tags: advertisements, google adwords, market orientation, market share

Well that’s pretty simple really. Show me a hunter and I’ll show you a trained marketing professional. I’ve spoken to many hunters and the thing that I have noticed is that they love the preparation and the hunting more than the actual killing of the animal. The dead animal is the proof that they had prepared properly, researched correctly, and tracked the target well. Whatever your dead animal (or the objective of your online advertising) is, the process is exactly the same as hunting.

First, know your target. The good hunters get out before hunting season to research locations where their targets may be. They monitor animal trails, foot prints, droppings, etc. All of this is to better understand the likelihood of getting the animal that they want. How many animals pass this point? How many times per day? What is the size of those that are passing? What research are you doing on your customers’ behavior patterns?

Next, know thyself. Take a look at what you are offering your target and how you are attempting to catch their attention. If the roles were reversed would your marketing campaign work on you? Hunters will scout out the best location to take advantage of passersby. They will actually pick out a couple of locations around a busy travel path, and use different ones based upon the time of day or direction the wind is blowing.

Finally, know your weapons. Familiarize yourself with what others in your industry are using to reach their target. Start with a couple of different methods and get good at them, and expand from there. If you try to do everything at once, you won’t get good enough at any of them. Shotguns are great for smaller, faster, and flying animals in fairly close range, but not so good with larger animals at a distance.

Here’s a tip for those of you that already have customers: Study them. Don’t assume that because you have studied them once, that you know them. The marketplace is always changing, study your most recent customers and track trends.

Technorati Tags: behavior patterns, hunting, marketing campaign, objective, Online Advertising, target

In previous posts I have discussed the choice between using a shotgun and a rifle, and how depending upon your business either could work. For those that don’t know the difference a rifle shoots a single bullet in a single path, a shotgun shoots many pellets in an ever widening path to the target. A rifle is exact, but there is a larger chance that you might miss. While a shotgun increases the chances that you’ll hit the target, the penetration of the pellets isn’t as deep. How about using many rifles at once? The only marketplace where this makes sense is on the internet, any other advertising medium would cost too much.

In Chris Anderson’s book, The Long Tail, he explains how the internet caters to niche markets and communities. He also discusses the fact that big online businesses have taken advantage of the niche markets that were “too small” and these niches have become a major portion of their businesses. Think about it, online, people can find the most random stuff—sure the popular stuff is still there, but so is a whole bunch of stuff that you can’t find in any store. Read more of Chris Anderson’s stuff at www.thelongtail.com .

If I am not selling a product or service that has mass appeal, but I can aggregate enough niches together, I’ll still be able to sell in high volumes.

So how do I do this?

Well, it takes quite a bit of work. I look at the possibilities, narrow it down to those niches that are most likely to enjoy my product or service, and then examine what modifications I need to make to make my product or service attractive to that particular niche. Then I pick a couple of niches that are prime targets and don’t require a lot of modification to my business to facilitate that new business. I’ll find the right mixes that work, and then I’ll start with modifications once I know it is worth doing. I’ll look at the marketing materials and campaigns, the look and feel of the website/landing page, the pricing strategy, and what modifications to the product or service will make it more palatable.

It can be a lot of work, but many companies have proven that the business model is effective in the online world. The result will be exact campaigns with an increased number of sales.

Technorati Tags: campaigns, chris anderson, niche markets, Online Advertising, prime targets, targeting

Love that Game!

Much is made of targeting customers, of zeroing in on the places they go, their methods of gaining information, who their friends are, and the best methods to reach them. Once I find my target (that can be a single customer), I research how they were found, then I want to find more of them (friends), and I want to get their friends. It is a lot like hunting really. Am I more likely to find a duck in the city or at a pond? If I find one, will that one lead me to more? What time of year is it? Why are they in that area? Should you use a rifle or a shotgun? These few questions have helped me to create ‘killer’ ad campaigns.

Am I more likely to find a duck in the city or at a pond?

Well, what about a pond in a city? Yeah, I could find ducks there as well, but I might get arrested trying to shoot one. Seriously though, I pay attention to places that aren’t so obvious when hunting for customers. This is an area that is often missed when businesses are too tightly defining their “target”. I often need to use a different message or campaign in order to find them though. The great thing about internet marketing is that more needles can be found much more efficiently. The internet does a phenomenal job of aggregating customers in niche locations.

Will one duck lead me to more?

Absolutely, but I must try to find out why the duck was there and if that location is likely to have more. Otherwise I may have just gotten lucky in finding the duck, and am not likely to find others there. Regardless, I still follow that duck, until he leads me to his friends—happy hunting.

What time of year is it? Why are they there?

This is important, because in a month they may not be there. I pay attention to trends and the environment so that tactics can be adjusted to the season. For example, a customer base is exclusively male, and it is November, why would you want to put together a campaign for females? Well, because they are buying presents for a lot of the males you target.

Rifle or shotgun?

For a duck? A shotgun, of course. But in reality it depends upon your business. Some people tend to use a rifle when they might want to consider a shotgun, and vice versa. Don’t get too caught up with one method, experiment a little. Don’t get too focused, yet try not to lose your focus.

There is not perfect, sure-fire method when it comes to advertising, but these are questions that should be evaluated frequently. Especially in online advertising—it is a different beast.

Technorati Tags: internet marketing, killer ad campaigns, niche, target, Targeting Customers

The Ad Exchange Program at ExchangeMyAd.com is set up so that business owners around the world can help to provide relevant advertising space to each other and keep businesses running in a difficult and uncertain time.  I am a business owner and understand how difficult it can be to adapt to a changing environment.  Advertising, in particular, is a sore spot.  Try as I might to watch the ROI on various campaigns for different businesses and make prudent decisions in good times, I am extra careful, cautious, and analytical during difficult times.  Advertising mistakes just seem extra costly when the margins are thinner; on the other hand, I know that to keep the business going I have to keep in front of my customers!

Some conversations with friends and associates led me to help create ExchangeMyAd.com where we can do our part to help the business community.  There are some challenges in making an exchange of advertising fair and effective.  First, online advertising that is based on “impressions” is begging to be wrought with fraud (especially in tough times).  Second, “clicks” aren’t a fair way to exchange–one “click” to one company may be worth a lot more, and the percentage of clicks varies on so many factors.  Third, you have to be able reach your target audience.

The first and second issues were dealt with through an arrangement with RealVu Technologies, www.realvu.net.  They have a patented technology that tracks when an ad comes into view on a person’s browser.  Tracking “views” facilitates a fair method to allow an exchange of advertising.  In addition, the reporting tool allows you to to actually compare impressions, views, clicks, videos watched, along with a whole host of other information that is useful for honing in your campaigns.

The third issue will be dealt with in time, which is why we are currently in beta.  The more websites that are exchanging ads, the better for everyone.  Even tiny sites are great, ones that wouldn’t normally be able to get advertisers, because when they are all aggregated it creates volume in even very niche markets.  Additionally, there are plans for local businesses to be able to target local customers (geotargeting). 

The greatest thing about the Ad Exchange Program is that I test out new messages, promotions, graphics, and videos until I find something that works.  I know the ROI, before I spend any money on additional advertising!  Crazy.  I will spend money on advertising all day long under those circumstances!

I am excited to have launched this platform for exchanging advertising, and for the future planned developments.  I am sure that there will be bumps along the way, and I thank you for your patience as we deal with them.  I appreciate your participation in the Ad Exchange Program and welcome feedback.

Technorati Tags: ad exchange program, business community, exchangemyad.com, impressions, patented technology