Category: Portland advertising

How to Fire Your Advertising Agency

An Oregon ad agency called Citrus — out for business just like the rest of us — has helpfully volunteered to write the “You’re Fired” letter to your current agency. Just fill in a few simple boxes, and the web site magically takes care of the rest.

I don’t know these guys, have no idea how long this has been around (I just stumbled on it tonight) and am in no position to vouch for their work. But I like their style.

You’ll find the “Dear Agency” site here.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

To Portland’s Dave Ramsey EntreLeadership Attendees

In my capacity as a representative of the station, I worked the KEX Radio table at the beginning of Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership seminar on Friday at the Oregon Convention Center. I brought 25 copies of my white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them, and figured that would be plenty to take care of anyone interested in reading it.

What I didn’t expect was that Dave himself would pick up a copy before the seminar began. He flipped through it and seemed to like what he saw. A couple of hours later, apparently, he started talking about it while on stage, said some nice things about the paper and me, and told everyone to stop by the KEX table and get a copy.

By this time, my shift was over and I’d gone elsewhere on a sales call. And, of course, the 24 remaining copies weren’t nearly enough to take care of the demand.

So if you were at the EntreLeadership program and didn’t get a copy, please accept my apologies. If you click on this link, you can input your name and email address and get your own copy now.

And thank you, Dave Ramsey, for the kind words.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Today’s Advertising Reminder: Check the Phone Number

In a previous post, I mentioned a jewelry story that had put an incorrect phone number on its web site. In that case, calls went nowhere — the line was disconnected. I called the client and he made the change. It undoubtedly cost the store some money, but that was it.

The Michigan Democratic Party recently made a similar error, resulting in unwanted nationwide attention.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Smarter Advertising in a Downturn

If you’re like most of my customers (and most of your customers), you’re probably taking a look at all of your expenses — including your marketing budget. A couple of years ago, perhaps, you could afford to spend money on things that might not work. Now, every dollar is precious.

In a time when belt-tightening is on everyone’s to-do list, here are five steps you can take to make sure your marketing dollars come back with friends attached:

1. Take a good, hard, look at your advertising copy. Does it give your prospects a good reason to contact you now? If not, you need to change it.

This is true even if your advertising used to work really well, because your customers’ problems may be different now than they were before. A good copywriter will help you focus your message on the things your prospects need today. Call me if you need one — I may know a guy.

2. If you need to cut back, reduce the number of places you advertise. Marketing guru Jim Doyle calls it the Principle of Focus: the smaller your budget, the tighter your focus needs to be. You may not be able to afford to talk to everyone — make sure that the people who hear or see your sales message hear or see it a lot.

3. EVERY SINGLE LEAD COUNTS. Make sure you have systems in place to convert every inquiry into a lead. This means that you get contact information from each one.

What actually happens when a customer responds to your ad? Your front line staff needs to know what you’re advertising, and what’s expected of them when the phone rings or someone walks in.

You are likely to be getting fewer leads than in the past, and each one has new reasons to hesitate. Have a plan in place to follow up on inquiries that don’t result in immediate sales — by phone, by email, by direct mail.

4. Test your systems. Don’t assume anything. Not long ago, I tried to call a jewelry store using the phone number on their web site. It was the wrong number, with two digits transposed. That little mistake may have cost them thousands of dollars.

5. Recognize that in an environment where consumers are hesitant and sales cycles are longer, consistency pays off.

There are two local car dealers who offer similar products at similar price points.

* Dealer One has been advertising on the same radio stations all year — three weeks a month, every month. Dealer Two has moved around from radio to TV to print and back again.

* Dealer One has been using the same overall theme with the same voices all year long. Dealer Two has had commercials written, produced and voiced by different people all over town.

* As the economic outlook got tougher this month, Dealer One stuck to his radio plan. Dealer Two launched a radio campaign, and then cancelled after a week.

* Dealer One is having a very good October.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Why Gary Keller Doesn’t Carry Business Cards

The first rule of selling, I was taught, is “Always carry business cards”. You never know when you might run into a prospect. Over the years, I’ve had occasion to hand people my card at the grocery store, on a light rail train, even (forgive me) at a funeral.

So it was interest that I read the following passage in Gary Keller’s book “Shift: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times”:

When someone asks me for my card, my reply (as I smile, pull out my pen, and poise to write) is: ‘Thanks for asking. I’m sorry I don’t have one with me, but what is your name and address and I’ll get one to you.’ … Remember, you’re in the capture business.

His point is that it’s more important for a seller to get the prospect’s contact information than vice versa.

I’m inclined to think that in my world of business-to-business advertising sales, it’s still a good idea for the seller to have a card — the prospect likely also has one, and generally cards can be exchanged. In Keller’s world of residential real estate, however, his approach makes a great deal of sense, since the homeowner or potential buyer may not have a card.

Portland Real Estate Agent Craig Reger offers tours of foreclosures, short sales and bank-owned properties on the “Real Estate Investment Bus.” There’s basic information about the concept on his web site, but he doesn’t post the tour schedule. If you’re interested in knowing when it runs, he’ll be happy to tell you — once you fill out the contact information form.

In any sales environment, the principle is a good one. A lead isn’t a real lead unless you know who the prospect is and how to make contact.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.