Question, What do you want your target audience to feel, think, and do when they encounter your brand?

Starting with the end result is an effective planning strategy and strategic foundation. What you want your target audience to feel, think and do when they encounter your brand is paramount to building your brand image and marketing strategies.

“Your brand identity is how you want the consumer to perceive your brand. Your brand image is how the consumer perceives your brand.” –Laura Lake

Before the name, before the tagline, before the logo, What do you want your target audience to feel, think, and do when they encounter your brand? The answers will help you determine:

• what colors to use (logo, website, ads, etc)
• what verbiage; what keywords to use (tagline, advertisements; website content, brochure, commercials, etc)
• identify your target audience; who thinks this way, who feels or likes to feel this way; who does what we want our audience to do
• where to find your target audience; where are these businesses, people, etc who think, feel, and do or like to think, feel, and do
• how to penetrate your target audience; what marketing activities and techniques will our target audience be most receptive to AND will allow us to showcase our unique brand; this is where you become creative and innovative.

Now, you are ready to establish or evaluate your brand identity. Next, if you do not have a marketing plan, use this data to help you develop a strategic marketing plan. Keep in mind part of your objective is to implement marketing activities and strategies that articulate your brand in a manner in which your target audience will be most receptive to receiving, retaining, and acting upon. You don’t want to approach your marketing, as Cedric The Entertainer would say, “all willy nilly.” You want to be strategic in order to produce the outcomes you desire.

What do you want your target audience to think, feel, and do when they encounter your brand?

This question is not just for the start of a project or business. This is an ongoing question to review periodically to ensure that your marketing activities align with your established brand identity, to evaluate whether your brand identity has or needs to evolve, and help ensure your brand identity is equal to your brand image. Remember, your marketing activities must align with, reinforce, and support your bran, cultivate and convert leads, and ultimately, make sales.

Question, What do you want your target audience to feel, think, and do when they encounter your brand?

As an entrepreneur, business owner, business professional, I’m sure you have heard time and time again, “Know your target audience.” Focus groups are a great market research tool to help you identify your target audience, how they feel, their values, what they feel may be the problems and attributes of your product, service, and/or circumstances that impact your product/service.

Focus group is a technique, a powerful form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. The open-ended interaction of focus groups leads to stimulation of thoughts and emotions and the revelation of material which is not ordinarily forthcoming in an individual interview. The average size is 6-10 people at the same time in the same group.

The better you understand the true motivations, like, dislikes, wants, and needs of your consumer, the better you can develop your product and/or service to meet your target audience needs.

Now, it’s truly a science developing and moderating quality focus groups. You can conduct a focus group yourself or solicit the services of a marketing research firm or consultant who specializes in this area. Whether you do it yourself or hire a company, you must understand what it takes to produce a focus group that will bear quality outcomes.

Five key areas: (note: relevance – your objectives, your brand, your product/services, the information you are seeking all shape your entire focus group process)

1. Preparation
2. Question Strategy
3. Planning the Session
4. Facilitating Session
5. Immediately After Session

Today we will focus on two areas of preparation, identifying the major objective and focus group modes.

“Put a lot of creative energy into the topic. Nothing effects the acceptance rates, the show-up rates and the involvement of the participants as much as the topic of the group and how it is stated to the participants. The idea is to find a truthful topic which is of great interest to the participants and encompasses the research objectives, but does not bias the group or tell them more than is appropriate, given the research objectives. I routinely see acceptance rates double and triple as I change the topic and subtopics slightly… For example, imagine that you were being invited to a focus group. Which group would you like to attend? “Research Methods” or “New Advances in Research Methods,” or “How to Conduct Research which is Cheaper, Better and Faster,” or “Ways People Have Found for Getting Beneath the Surface Responses.” It makes a difference, doesn’t it?” –George Silverman, http://mnav.com/focus-group-center/bensurf-htm/

There are three major modes of focus groups: face-to-face, telephone, and online. The key consideration in developing the focus group experience is creating an atmosphere to receive the richest expression and greatest number of cues for interpretation (body language, voice inflection, etc). In this context, of course, face-to-face is ideal. But in situations where respondents are geographically far apart, hard to recruit, when you prefer people to be in their own natural environment, telephone focus groups are much more ideal. A texting / typing based online focus group takes away from non-verbal communication such as body language and voice inflection. Now, the combination of telephone and online (like many webinars are done) can provide the comfort of a level of anonymity while still allowing for stimulus material and the cost savings of renting of a facility.

Also, consider using a Google Plus Circle to find qualified participants or to screen your participants. Take it one step further by adding a telephone conference number to conduct a small (5-6 people) focus group using Google+. (check out guest post by Srinivas Rao on Socialmouths, How To Create A Focus Group Using Google Plus)

Again, your objectives, subject matter, and participants will help you determine which mode will work best. Remember, a focus group requires interaction between participants and should be comfortable and safe enough for people to open up. Participants must feel psychologically and physically safe.

Coming Soon PART 2 – Invite, Screen, Confirm

Content Marketing is the creation and sharing of content for the purpose of promoting a product or service. Increase awareness of and demand for an entire industry. To be effective, you cannot just focus on the benefits of your product or service, but instead share your expertise as well as the benefits of employing best practices in your industry. Companies that successfully use content marketing will improve their credibility among customers and prospects and will be able to claim a larger share of the available market than competitors. The goal is to build trust and rapport with prospects and customers, making it easier for them to justify purchasing your product and/or service.

“You build and market a website and fill it with FREE information that has real value to your prospective clients, whilst offering them the opportunity to purchase goods, services (or both), which are closely linked to the information you give away.” –Jim Connolly

There basically are 3 groups of people, who will read your Content Marketing; i.e. blog posts, newsletters and social networking updates etc:

1. The first group is small. They are what I call serial freebie seekers. These people never ever pay for professional help. They were never prospective clients, so you lose nothing.
2. The second group is the largest. These people will try to do something themselves, but will hire professional help if they are not getting the results they need. They value genuine expertise.
3. The third group is the smallest. These are the rare people, who value their time and ‘get’ that by hiring an expert to do something correctly for them, it works out a lot less expensive, the results are better and things happen faster.

Am I really supposed to be thinking about Christmas in July?

Consumers are doing their holiday searching and shopping earlier than ever. According to ecommerce and internet marketing expert Lisa Suttora, “Starting on July 2nd, with the kick-off of the back-to-school shopping season, the countdown begins to 2012 holiday sales. There are almost 9 weeks from July 1st to September 1st, when 38% of online shoppers will begin their holiday shopping.”

Time is of the essence during the holidays and having focused attention on your business is the BEST way to achieve your seasonal selling goals. The longer you wait to prepare for Christmas the more you’ll spend.

Now, we’ve covered what content marketing is and ways to use it to market your business. Now, we will begin to incorporate these strategies into your holiday strategy via TaylorAdams Marketing & MgMt’s Christmas In July Plan To Profit B2B Series.

FYI: We asked designer Rebekah Jenkins to present what she feels is TaylorAdams based on our working relationship over the past four years. We also shared the color scheme of our new upcoming website.

Click on image for enlarged view

* When you make a comment and post a reputable website, we will be diligent to visit the site and thank you on twitter (if your twitter info is on your website)

1. SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE2 (Verizon Wireless)
2. DROID INCREDIBLE 2 by HTC – Red (Verizon Wireless)
3. DROID X2 by MOTOROLA (Verizon Wireless)
4. HTC WILDFIRE – White (T-Mobile)
5. SAMSUNG Galaxy S® II – (Sprint)
6. HTC EVO Design 4G (Sprint)
7. LG ESTEEM(Metro PCS – no contract required)

1. TRIUMPH by MOTOROLA (Virgin Mobile – no contract required)
2. BLACKBERRY TORCH 9810 (T-Mobile)
3. HTC REZOUND – 4G (Verizon Wireless)
4. SAMSUNG CONQUER 4G (Sprint)
5. HUAWEI (Metro PCS – no contract)
6. SAMSUNG GALAXY S III (T-Mobile)

What’s On Your List?

The value of consultation.

Have you ever went to purchase a product or service for your business, say like a website, and ended up with more questions than before you started the shopping process? Many times we as entrepreneurs, small businesses, and grassroots organizations have a tendency to purchase business and marketing products and services outside of our plan.

Fact 1: A website is a reflection of your marketing plan

Unfortunately, 90% or more of clients TaylorAdams Marketing & MgMt [TAMM] has engaged have built their website outside of their marketing plan. The best aspect of a business and marketing plan is it forces you to think about your business holistically, playing out various scenarios from best case to worst case, evaluating strategies, which colors, which sales and distribution channels, numbers from break-even point to profit margin, and more. Why are these factors so important? Your business decisions should be based on your intended outcomes. If you have not specifically defined your expected outcomes how do you know if the products and services you are acquiring are the best for your needs?

In this economy, cost is the driving factor in business purchases, but keep in mind it can be extremely more expensive compensating for poor planning. Your first line of consideration should be, “does the product or service help me reach my goals in the most efficient manner”, then from those options you may choose the best price.

Check out our new Support and Website Development pages.

TAMM service is based on the foundation of consultation. We’re here to help you develop a plan and strategies built on your intended outcomes and maximize your existing resources. We provide a free 30 minute consultation when purchasing business and marketing services and products from us.

Relevant Reading: Start With The End: Building Your Marketing Strategy

In this article, you’ll learn…

• How to use subject lines, buttons, and language to craft better calls to action
• What to include in your calls to action to make them interesting and compelling

Think of the elusive call to action as a lead-generation gateway. Creating a great call to action can be tricky. Clearly identifying what you offer and how you want to convey that offer requires thoughtful consideration and good timing.

Here are 12 tips for optimizing your calls to action to ensure they compel potential customers to act.

1. Create concise subject lines
Online readers are expert skimmers, so create short, effective email subject lines that contain clear benefit, and be sure to instantly answer the question, “What’s in it for me?” Make the message personal, and speak in “human,” not jargon.

The three most popular types of subject lines that get subscribers reading emails are those featuring discount offers, free product offers, and familiar brand names.

According to a study by Experian Marketing Services (PDF), the use of the words “you” and “your” in subject lines has increased 3.7% since 2008, appearing in 20.9% of email subject lines. The use of the word “free” has decreased, showing up in only 12.4% of email subject lines, compared with 16.9% in 2008.

2. Test the subject line
Experiment. Test which subject lines get click-throughs. Try new things. Are you subscribed to a company email list? What gets you clicking? Again, refer to your analytics to see what content is inspiring your subscribers.

3. Consider using buttons
Sometimes, you may want to use a button as part of your call to action. Choosing the right button is critical to getting visitors to click. The goal is to create a subtle, easy-to-use image. Experiment with button shapes. Contrast the colors of buttons to make them pop, and use clear and bold text. And keep it simple! The simplest calls to action are almost always the most successful.

Notice the design of Facebook and Twitter buttons. Each has only two colors and one letter. Overly complex buttons may confuse and mislead. You can never go wrong if you keep your calls to action clean, simple, and to the point.

4. Get the language right
Your calls to action should tell readers exactly what’s in it for them. Use confident language. Be bold and assertive, but don’t stray from your brand’s style and tone.

• Brevity: Say what you need to in as few words as possible.

5. Make it urgent
Creating a sense of urgency will motivate the reader to click through to the page. Use words such as “today” and “now.” Use wording that provides incentive to the reader to click right then and there. Urgent, action-oriented words are more successful than words such as “free” in inspiring your subscribers to take action.

6. Remove distractions
Keep your message clear. Do not litter your email with busy distracting designs, too many colors, or multiple fonts. Remember—keep the message in your calls to action simple and to the point.

• Color: Use color wisely to make sure that your call to action stands out from the other information on the page. Use a color wheel to help you decide on contrasting colors

7. Use numbers when possible
When people search online, they are looking for specifics. Numbers convey at least the impression of a clear, specific message. Therefore, find ways to incorporate statistics and other numbers to share based on the overall goal of your call to action. If your goal is to promote an event, for example, use numbers to show the specifics (e.g., dates, prices, attendees, specials).

(CTA): relates to conversion CTA is a specific message/graphic urging the user act. CTA Design is the art of moving visitors from one page to the next, and finally persuading them to take an expected, predetermined action. www.acromediainc.com/glossary_interactive_web_development

8. Make it newsworthy
Research news pertaining to your industry, sign up for RSS feeds, and visit Google Alerts for daily ideas on spinning news into a creative call to action.

9. Ask questions
Asking a question is a great attention-grabbing tactic to motivate reader follow-through. Make questions compelling, personal, and irresistible.

10. Plan its design
Good tactics go into creating good calls to action. Getting the position of the call to action right largely depends on the design layout. Place your calls to action high up and centered on the page—right in the reader’s main area of interest.

Another way to make your call to action really pop is to leave a significant amount of white space around it. On the other hand, using an alternative and interesting color palette would also effectively draw attention to your call to action. Make your calls to action big. The bigger… the more noticeable.

Using all those various ideas correctly will effectively lead the reader to your call to action.

11. Focus on creating good content
Although great design is key to a successful call to action, the words you use and the way you use them are the most important. Start the call to action with a verb, followed by a subject, such as “Ask an expert.” Be bold and declarative.

Offer the reader something valuable. Use incentives such as coupons and special offers to keep the subscriber reading. Tease your “special offer” at the beginning of the email—and close with a hard sell.

Feature images of your product, or, better yet, use video to send a message. A study by GetResponse (PDF) found that more than “80% of respondents [planned] to use video emails in 2010, while in 2009 only 15.7% of responders used video in their email campaigns.”

Use alliteration, metaphor, and rhyme. Target your audience with dynamic content, and produce the dynamic content via list segmentation and the use of autoresponders. Find popular phrases and words related to your product or service, and use them in your copy to boost search engine optimization.

12. Choose an email service provider that offers simple email optimization features
For example, drag-and-drop email editors simplify content creation and allow you to send emails faster and more effectively. Other software features that enhance your calls to action are flexible and intuitive navigation; the ability to move, copy, or delete content blocks; and easy graphic-editing tools (so you don’t need to know HTML or CSS coding).

Plus, email personalization, social media integration, dynamic content, and RSS content capabilities will automate your campaigns, and make them more interactive.

Read more: http://www.marketingprofs.com/articles/2012/7884/12-ways-to-strengthen-your-call-to-action#ixzz1usEiO5oO

Without reinventing the wheel, we’ll simply revisit the exercise from EMINENT DOMAIN: Know Your Target Audience. Jan 15 thru March 15, 2012 step by step we’ll complete the exercise, post our findings and feedback here supporting one another through the process while gaining a new intimacy with our individual target audiences.

Excerpt from EMINENT DOMAIN: Know Your Target Audience:

“There must be an understanding of the customer and their needs. It is most important to understand the target audience. Essentially a marketing strategy is built around the core values, vision and objectives of the organization. In development of market strategy, one becomes aware that in order to have product, price, promotion or placement, the organization must have done its research on the market and the consumer need for its service. Without an understanding of the targeted audience, the organization cannot market at all. It is important to build the product, its price, distribution and promotion around the needs of the people and of course, from there, work to persuade segments of the segment into wanting the product.

What many business people starting out really do not understand about marketing and understanding the average consumer is that more that likely the target is open to finding information about your product or service… Still it is your job and the purpose of the marketing strategy to define who should be looking for you.

Knowing your target audience is also eminent in developing your website. The variables that define your target audience also shape your site and how the search engines will guide potential clients to your virtual door.

Ask yourself these questions to help you better understand who your business is working for; your target audience:

A Marketing Must: Know Your Target Audience

1. Who does your product appeal to, and what are their general characteristics? Start out broad. General attributes to consider are your target audience’s age, sex, location, income level, and marital status.

2. What is their motivation for buying your product or services? In short, what is your customer’s pain? Why do they so badly need you? The point is your product adds some sort of value to their lives. Figure out what that value is.

Is your product something they need or something they want? Does having your product elevate their social status somehow? Does it make them feel better about themselves? Or is it something that merely entertains them?

3. How does your target audience shop? To best market to your ideal customer, you need to figure out their purchasing habits.

• Do they tend to make impulse purchases, or are they more rational, logical consumers?
• Where do they shop? Online or in person?
• Are they loyal to particular brands or are they always susceptible to jump ship?

4. Where does your target audience congregate? In order to communicate with your target audience, you need to first know where they are. By knowing exactly where your target audience is, you can focus your marketing efforts into those areas so that you have a better chance of capturing their attention.

Figure out which social networks and other websites they frequent most. Which type of physical establishments do they hang out in? Which TV and radio stations do they tune into? Which magazines do they read?

January 15th here we come! Post your questions and feedback as comments below. You may also contact me, Jacqueline Taylor-Adams at (215) 774-1237 or email dobusiness@tayloradams4me.com.