Social Media Marketing Archives - Page 15 of 24 by Mark Murnahan

Automotive Marketing Example: Selling Cars Online is More Than Cars and Dealers

Car dealers (the whole automotive marketing industry for that matter) are just an example I will use, but this is about a lot more than the automotive industry and car dealers. It applies to the automotive market, anecdotally, but this is mostly about overlooking the reasons people would want to buy from you, and being blind to what people are really looking for.

Without understanding people’s motivations and expectations, it is nearly impossible to deliver what they want. In the cases where you are able to reach the market and get the sale, it is usually only a small slice of the pie, and it is more blind luck than marketing talent. It is like driving a car with your eyes closed … you may not crash the first time, but it is just a matter of time.

Picture the car dealer for a moment. Maybe you know one who is doing things different and better than the rest, but it is pretty typical that they are looking for the immediate sale. They do a whole lot of advertising, but often lack a sustainable marketing strategy. Sure, if you throw out enough ads for the lowest priced cars, you will make a few sales (at the lowest possible profit), but sustainability suffers. The dealership marketing suffers in multiple ways, and here are just a few to consider:

The profit really stinks, because you are spending a lot of time and/or money to reach people based largely on their motivation to get the most for the least amount of money. Price is a motivator, but certainly the least profitable motivator.
Advertising without a people-focused sustainable marketing strategy diminishes the sustainability of referral business which comes with brand-loyalty.
Outbound marketing (marketing without ears) lacks the sustainability that comes with people having a reason and willingness to talk to you about your brand. It is important to realize that only a small number of brand-loyal customers and angry customers will tell you what they really think. When that limited information is what you use to make your marketing decisions, it is easy to make future mistakes.

I have criticized the automobile industry for their marketing shortsightedness, because it is a pretty easy target, and one that many of us can relate to. As an industry, they largely have a hard time looking beyond the next 30, 60, and 90 day cycles of their business. You can read more about my thoughts on that in my article titled “Topeka Kansas Car Dealer Social Media Marketing Case Study” which talked about car marketing and their self-centered approach.

Auto dealers’ urgency for more business stunts their vision, and diminishes their recognition of why people really buy cars. This is a challenge common to many industries. As I described in a recent article titled “7 Reasons That Your Marketing Sucks“, people buy cars for reasons such as freedom to roam, fun road trips, family safety, peace of mind, personal status, comfort, pride, dealership reputation, brand reputation, and other things. Buyers are not usually brand-loyal because of the screaming idiot in your commercials, and things like inflatable gorillas and guys in bad suits are tactics of the past. Today’s version of the loud mouth in the bad suit is to tweet and facebook your latest specials and hope it lands in the right place.

Automotive Marketing Goes Internet

These days, it seems that a lot of industries tend to mock the old-school marketing tactics of the pre-Internet automotive industry. Perhaps the flashy, screaming, “in-your-face” style of advertising was just all they knew, so they mocked it in hopes that it would work. It led to a significant amount of noise, but noise at a higher volume is still just noise.

While all of those “car dealer types” are out there making noise, it is a good time to move forward and market differently, using foresight, and giving people something compelling. The contrast between the good and the pathetic is stronger than ever, and for those who address the customer, the benefits are great. You know, the kind of marketing that addresses the things people want. The kind of marketing that doesn’t turn them off and allows them to feel comfortable enough to tell you why they are or are not buying from you. This is the kind of marketing that shows customers that you are listening.

On today’s “scan-and-click” busy Internet, you will have a lot less time to reach your market with your goods or services. Maybe you will blame “the Internet”, but let’s face it, if you are blaming the Internet; you are looking at this all wrong. The Internet affords companies amazing opportunities to reach their market and to create brand-awareness and loyalty, but it will require looking at things from a different perspective than it used to. It requires looking at things from the customer’s standpoint and discovering what it is that truly motivates them. This means you must listen to them.

Successful marketing today means that you have defined and delivered what the consumer wants. That means being able to look at yourself through their eyes and without your preconceptions and greed. You can have your greed back later, but you have to put it on the shelf at least long enough to make good marketing decisions.

Marketing Cars is Not Just About Cars and Car Dealers!

I use the automobile industry as a harsh example of short-sightedness and self-centered thinking, because many of us can relate to that. Now, regardless of your industry, just imagine what I said about some of the reasons people buy a car. Use it as an exercise and try to imagine how you would reach the people who may be in the market. Maybe their car keeps breaking down. Maybe they have a class reunion coming up and want to look good. Maybe they are not looking at all, but if they connect with somebody they like and that person happens to work in the industry, they may feel more loyal to a particular brand.

There are so many reasons for people to buy what you offer, but if you are trying to market to the wrong ones, at the wrong time, and with a message that is all about you and mostly addresses your interests, most of it will fall on deaf ears.

Perhaps instead of the same old price-boasting and deal-pimping, a look from the consumer’s standpoint is in order. How will you address them on their terms and based on their desires? How will you find what motivates them and makes your brand more interesting? If you want to sell more cars (or anything else) try thinking more like the buyer.

These are just a few of my thoughts. What are yours? I’m listening.

Photo Credit to Rmhermen via Wikipedia

Are You Ready to Market Like Einstein?

Marketing is what makes things sell, and it is what makes businesses profitable. Without marketing, whether word of mouth, television, radio, print, Internet, or some other medium, even the best companies with the best products will fail. Somebody has to make buyers aware of an offering, and do so in a desirable way, before it will sell. That is marketing in a nutshell.

Great marketing takes us by the nose and leads us to a brand. The best marketing makes us think. Sometimes it makes us laugh, and sometimes it makes us cry, but it always makes us think. When it makes us think enough, it makes us talk about it. It enters our conversations around the water cooler, at little league games, sitting at a bar among friends, and in boardrooms. When marketing is done at optimum levels, it permeates our conscious and our subconscious. That is the kind of marketing that makes the difference between Fortune 500 companies and all the others who came and left. It is also the kind of marketing that makes the difference between your little company and the little bigger company you want it to be. It only makes sense for you to want to know how to market better.

Marketing is not just about putting your words out to a bunch of people. Marketing also means bridging the divide between the way a producer thinks and the way their consumers think. It is not something that everybody is built for, but it is something they can practice and become better at. A lot of people can perform the more menial tasks associated with marketing, and millions of them can clearly send a tweet, update their Facebook, spam LinkedIn, or write a blog. Only a relatively few will make the necessary sacrifices of planning, learning, and stepping outside of themselves enough to do something truly brilliant that attracts people to them. It is precisely why marketing is not, and will never be a commodity.

Today’s Murnahanism: Good marketers must answer why their marketing is more expensive than others. Great marketers refuse to answer, because they don’t want the client who doesn’t already know.

Brilliant marketing comes with a cost. The cost can vary greatly, and I don’t just mean money, either. It often comes with the cost of a marketer who studies people and understands what drives them to take action. It takes somebody with a uniquely analytical mind who thinks differently than those around them. It comes with a whole lot of what I call “brain sweat”. If you are unprepared to afford these traditional costs associated with brilliant marketing, you had better be ready to sweat a lot, with your brain.

Are You Ready for Einstein-Style Brain Sweat?

If you are dedicated to your marketing, you must exercise your thinking. Einstein was a great marketer. Although it was not his vocation, in many ways he was one of the best marketers ever. After all, we have all heard of him, and he was quite effective at selling his ideas to the world. If you think it was easy, just try marketing theoretical physics and see if you can make a household name for yourself. Some of Einstein’s greatest struggles were in bridging the gap between his thinking and the conventional wisdom around him. He had to look at things from other peoples’ perspective in order to understand how to best explain his thoughts to them, and thus “sell” his ideas. The cost to Einstein was that he was criticized by many and became a bit “crazy” by some standards. Brain sweat does that to a person. It is a huge challenge to carry such divergent thoughts of both the producer and the consumer and know how to package them and sell them. In my estimation, this is the greatest challenge of marketing.

The best marketers I have ever met are all just a bit “crazy”. I think most marketers prefer the term “eccentric” over “crazy”. Trying to think like other people is tough. It was tough for Einstein to try and think like others around him enough to get his ideas through to them, and it is similarly challenging for many people trying to market their product or service. It tends to stretch a person’s imagination. It is like a rigorous brain exercise, and like any exercise, it makes you stronger with repetition.

I have often been called “eccentric”, but if you ask me, I am crazier than a shithouse squirrel (I wanted to say “shithouse rat” but my editor asked me to change it). I push myself just a little closer to insanity every time I try to understand people and how to most effectively market something to them. It is my job, and I quite enjoy it. They say there is a fine line between higher thinking and insanity. Personally, I try my best to straddle that line with one foot on either side. It beats being bored. It does not mean that I am calling myself smarter than others, it just means that I use what brain I have, and I push it to an uncomfortable limit where the competition is not willing or able to go. That is often what it takes to create the best marketing.

Einstein kept pushing forward even when other scientists were not on his side. He knew his product, and he persevered against the odds. Einstein was fortunate to have much assistance to see him through his research, but most businesses (and most other theoretical physicists) are not so fortunate. Albert Einstein’s marketing was often just good enough to receive his next round of funding and to continue his work. Most businesses only have one shot to get it right, and to achieve enough market penetration to sustain them through to the next higher level.

Are You Feeling Brilliant Yet?

The process of learning how to produce great marketing is long and hard. It would be great if I could just hand you a “brilliant switch” that you could turn on and instantly start thinking like your customers. I don’t have a learning course to sell, and although I say that I am for hire, I say “no” to the vast majority of the people who try to hire my services (largely because I am not cheap). What I can offer is a pretty sizable blog archive of marketing articles that may help jump start your thinking about your customers and how to address the challenges of marketing what you offer. I hope that it will help you.

If you are not ready to think more like your customers and dedicate more of your mind to your marketing, it is best to leave it to the people who do it for a living. Otherwise, you risk regurgitating the same old junk that has become so commonplace on the Internet. It does not work the way many people may lead you to believe, and it comes at a much higher risk of failure.

How To Sell Paper Clips: A Closer Look at Marketing

Think about paper clips for a moment. They are about the most basic thing you will find in your desk drawer. When you consider your marketing, try to imagine selling paper clips. You probably do not think much about what brand you are buying when you need to replenish your paper clip supply. This is likely true of your product or service, too. Unless people have a good reason to remember you, it will be a lot harder to grow your paper clip market share and to become more prosperous.

If you challenged multiple companies with a truckload of paper clips to sell, somebody would sell out sooner than the rest. One would almost surely hit their stride and empty that truckload of paper clips before the others, and there must be a reason.

A basic essential of marketing is to get people to talk about you in a positive way. When other people talk about your brand, it is far more valuable than when you talk about your brand. This is proven every day, and in many markets. Just think about the ones you remember and why you remember them.

In order to emphasize the point, I have created this short video to show you how to sell more paper clips. I hope that you will enjoy it.

Addendum: After comments from Jim Rudnick at Canuck SEO (JVRudnick) both below and on social networks, I picked up the phone to call and thank him. We chatted and he told me of a remarkable story about a man who traded a paper clip for a house. If you doubt the value of good marketing and how to build value in something as simple as a paper clip, you should see the story of Tyler Wright.Thanks for sharing, Jim!

Infographic: Internet Marketing Challenge Solved

As a kid, I recall many times when good thinking would elude me. Those were the times when my father would say, “Do I have to draw you a picture?” Dad got pretty good at drawing when I was a kid. Now that I am a dad, I often find myself drawing pictures, too. These days, we call this kind of picture an “infographic” (informational graphic). I drew one for you, plus an alternate just in case.

Why the Infographic?

There is a constant challenge for marketers to explain the process of social media marketing and search engine optimization. The many various Internet marketing methods and tools which we use cannot be summed up in just one infographic. However, I believe that the infographic below provides an explanation of the job sufficient for most clients, while not overwhelming them with information.

OK, so here you go … Internet Marketing Challenges Solved (click for larger version):

Murnahan’s Alternate Infographic

Of course, as every marketer knows, there are all levels of cognizant thinking and some people have a harder time using their heads than others. If the infographic above does not make the point clear enough, I offer “Murnahan’s Alternate Infographic”. It is a simple red dot. Print it out and paste it on the wall. Then swing your head at it until it hurts really bad.

DISCLAIMER: Just in case you really do not have a sense of humor, please be aware that I will not be accepting any liability for the use of “Murnahan’s Alternate Infographic”. Any use of the red dot will be solely at your own risk. “Murnahan’s Alternate Infographic” may cause severe bleeding, headache, runny eyes, and an overwhelming need to scream obscenities. Results may vary. Consult your physician if you have any doubts or concerns about using this alternate infographic.

Your Recession is Yours, My Recession is Mine

I talk to a lot of people. I have some amazing friends, with amazing perspective. The wise ones are not afraid to talk about recession, and brainstorm ways to improve their respective place in this recession.

You are a bit scared, right? I hope so, because you should be. If you have just consumed a small fraction of reality over the past couple years, you have certainly noticed something different about people’s spending habits. Lines at restaurants are shorter, and lines at homeless shelters are longer. Let’s not sugar-coat it. Shit hit the fan and business is harder to come by these days.

One of my long time close friends is a well-informed Magna Cum Laude Princeton University graduate of economics with his MBA and a bunch of letters at the end of his name. He is a top-level economist and one that many other number-crunchers rely on to evaluate major business decisions. He is about as scared as it comes. Me, I lost squillions since recession started in 2007, and I got sick of being scared. Instead, I made a plan, and I continually work with my plan.

Improve the Future You’ve Got

This is not an uplifting “rah rah, go get ’em” sermon I am here to give you, but rather the cold hard truth of where things stand, and ideas to improve the future you’ve got. Ahh, but there is the key! If you note that I said “the future you’ve got” I mean that the future is something you already have. It is not some unrealistic thing that lives in some other dimension and never comes to pass. Time keeps marching on, and every day marks another day into your future. You do have a future, and if you are too freaked out about today, the future gets pretty blurry. In any case, your future will get here, and you are the one who makes all the tough decisions on how it will look.

I understand that it gets harder to envision your future when you are still fighting today. I have seen the future become blurred, too, but I have made a plan. I made a flexible plan, and one that can be amended as needed. I keep my eyes moving, and I always look in all directions. It is tricky and requires constant attention, but without a plan, results would be pretty bleak. Don’t you think?

If you feel like you are alone in the recession, stop feeling that way. Not just because I said “stop feeling that way”, but because you know it is true. You see it all around you. There are two divergent ideologies on the topic. One says the sky is falling and we are all doomed, and the other talks in ambiguous Wall Street phrases about improved economic indicators and tries to influence a stronger market by helping people feel safer to spend money. Reality is somewhere in the middle, and your economic reality will come from the actions you take.

Owning Your Recession

Let’s face it, you own your recession, and the sooner you realize it, the better. Sure, it has affected most of the people you know, but there are still people thriving in a bad economy, and I will give you some reasons why. It starts with making good decisions, having confidence in your decisions, and taking action on your decisions. That is a lot of decision making, and many people are more comfortable making the decision to “wait and see what happens” and to follow the same course. Getting ahead means getting uncomfortable, and if you are in business, you must understand that fear affects success in more than logic.

I can own up to my recession, although it is not all my doing. I still know that my decisions have everything to do with where I am and where I go from here. I will give you an example. In 2007 and 2008 I watched some huge suppliers to my company kill thousands of jobs and shut down some of their operations. One of my suppliers of network services laid off 5,000 people in a single day. I knew my industry very well, and I knew in advance that I should have sold off or severely downsized one division of my company. Instead, I wanted to be a hero to my clients, so I took a “wait and see” approach. It was not long before the “wait and see” kicked me squarely in the ass.

You will not catch me seeking sympathy, but I saw my corporation’s annual accounts receivable drop by over half a million dollars in a single month during 2008. As the CEO, I knew that it would eventually hit my personal economy pretty hard, so I made sacrifices. I cleared out $250,000 worth of cars from my garage, I suspended a six figure per year auto racing budget, I downsized my home by over 3,000 fewer square feet, and I worked harder and for less money than I had in many years. It made sense to cut certain things that I did not require, and it made sense to kick myself back into gear. I made many sacrifices!

Making the Right Sacrifices

I write a lot to help people regain vision for their business and personal lives. In fact, I wrote three books last year and a whole lot of blogs. You surely cannot knock me for dedication. So much of what I write is aimed at helping others to grow their market and regain the market they once enjoyed. I know I make some people very uncomfortable, and I am pleased for that. If you are comfortable with how things are, you have less reason to do something brilliant. On the other hand, if you get sick of being scared, like I did, maybe you will come to make the right choices to build upon your own economy.

Maybe you never read any of my biographies or ever heard of me before, but from the time I dropped out of school at age 15, I have built multiple very successful companies. Something I have learned well is the value of sacrificing unnecessary comforts today in return for a better tomorrow. Sure, you can say that tomorrow never comes and that you should seize the day, but isn’t that the same thing your credit card issuers count on? If you work harder, try harder, create a solid strategy, and do more for your future, you are the one who collects the interest.

The Wrong Sacrifice

I could bang my drum and toot my horn all day and night, and you can still call it all “bullshit”. I can give you good ideas and direction, but you can still call me crazy. A lot of good thinking has been called crazy. Christopher Columbus was “crazy” for saying the world is round, and Albert Einstein said “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”

Crazy is relative to your own sense of reality. I was crazy to leave school at 15, but less crazy as I earned millions by 25. Something which cannot be denied and is based on solid math is that effective marketing will grow a business. Effective marketing can get you the job you want. Effective marketing and reaching the right people with the right message is what creates opportunities, from meeting the right spouse to becoming the head of a political party. So how can you possibly abuse and neglect your marketing when it is the one quantifiable thing which can lead you to your goals?

My Murnahanism for Today: “If you want something, it mostly requires asking the right people. You should place quality first, and quantity second, but success usually requires both. If you keep asking the wrong people, refine your efforts. When that fails, you probably need to ask more people.”

If you want a better economy for yourself, do something different. As I have said before, “Do Shit They Will Remember” and note that sometimes you must “Choose Logic Over Emotion“.

If you want more, market more, and market better. Of all the sacrifices I ever made in business, marketing has never been in the list. It has always been the one thing that mattered most. Recession is actually the best time to market your goods, because your competition is running scared, too.

I wrote of sacrifices I made to create millions of dollars in business from my 6th grade education (I left at 15, but I failed a few times first) in my book “Living in the Storm“. This is not my evil plot to shake you down for the huge $2 royalty I make per book, but if you have a hard time understanding the sacrifices it takes to grow a business, you should consider reading it.

Accepting your own recession and doing more to improve it does not mean everything will be amazing again. However, if you are not doing more to market yourself or your business, you are accepting what you have and that will become less as others keep moving forward.

Photo credit to Eric Pouhier via Wikipedia