We built an IMS (Integrated Marketing System) for a client with 15 distributors. The distributors pay a monthly subscription and divide the leads evenly amongst themselves. The system is producing over 90 sales leads per day.
Website:
http://www.powertraindirect.com

• Traffic is driven to the website. All leads derive from there. There are four kinds of leads.
1. Web leads – distributed in a round robin fashion from the website’s back end lead generation system.
2. Phone calls – distributed in a round robin fashion through our telephone lead distribution software. Example:
http://goo.gl/jw8eK
All phone calls are recorded for sales training purposes.
3. Chat leads
4. Outbound call center leads. Geo targeted. Niche targeted.

• Various pay-for-performance strategies are being used.

• A content team adds about 20 pages of optimized content to the website each month.

• A full-time organic search engine marketing team is also working to drive organic traffic to the site. The site is new and gets almost no organic traffic. This means there is lots of up side available.

• The system also includes social media marketing as well.
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Powertraindirectcom/448155418601255
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/EnginesEngines
Google +:
https://plus.google.com/107247829618192377082/posts

• Email marketing is also included. Example:
http://goo.gl/dpN0Q

• Note: The system is producing over 90 sales leads per day with only about one third optimization (it’s one month old).

Proposal for The Encompass Group (and colleagues)

• Build a similar system that pools marketing resources from TEG’s allied companies.
• Available domains (already in our control):
human-resources-online.com (and .net)
human-resources-information.com
human-resources.us
humanresourcesolutions.net
• Make it a third party lead generation site.
Perhaps “human-resources-online.com” (see sample logo):
http://goo.gl/5tm8K
Message would be along the lines of:
“Get free HR quotes from companies that meet our 37-point quality checklist.”
• Utilize the strategies and technologies above.
• Encompass “pays” to build the system and invites colleagues to join and subscribe.
• If we get enough budget partners rounded up, Encompass could get free leads (no monthly costs).
• Projected lead costs could be as little as $10 per lead or as much as $200 per lead. Monthly budget should ideally be between $15,000 and $30,000 to start.

We’ve done thousands of different projects – over 5,000 at last count. That’s a lot of work. In that vast sea of persuasion are there any projects that stand out? Any favorites? You bet. Here’s our list (in no particular order) of our top ten favorite projects of all time.

1. Video shoot for Israel Tourism

Our very first client was the Israel Government Tourist Office for the southern U.S. As a devoted Christian, I was, of course, very excited to work with Israel to promote the Holy Land. The association we had with IGTO was very successful (so successful, in fact that they appear later on this list as a client 17 years after our original work for them). My favorite project of all time was the eleven-day video shoot we did on location in Israel for the tourism office. We followed a tour group for eleven days and shot video of their tour. Then, the Israel Government gave us a van, a driver, a translator, and a letter granting us access to any location we wanted to visit and we went back to our favorites spots and shot motion picture film. What an incredible experience. You can see a small clip of some of the work on our television commercials page. I could write a book about the experience and if we ever meet in person, ask me. I’ll tell you a few amazing stories.

2. Radio commercials for Roundstreet Microwave Pizza

The thing I like about producing radio commercials is it is true “theater of the mind.” You can do things with a radio commercial that would be cost prohibitive in any other media. That’s because you are borrowing people’s imaginations as the screen for your story. A case in point is our radio commercial for Roundstreet Microwave Pizza. Only on radio could you have a guy juggling Persian cats and chain saws while eating pizza. Very funny. Actually, as I look over the list of radio spots on our radio commercials page, any of them could have made this list. I love radio.

3. TV commercials for CiCi’s Pizza

Back when we were first getting started with CiCi’s Pizza (before we helped them triple in size and things got considerably more complicated), the powers that be were open to making their brand stand apart by using some really fun creative. Several of our television commercials for that original campaign can be found here. The various special effects used in the campaign were fun to execute and the result was a message that stood apart from the rest of the QSR “me too” world. And did I mention we helped them triple in size?

4. Illustration for Cochran Undersea Technology

Our illustration project for Cochran Undersea Technology was fun, that’s all. It also was a great finished product. The final image took a photo shoot and a couple weeks of compositing by an excellent illustrator. The resulting image lasted for years as the cornerstone image for the company.

5. Photo shoot for Circle “S” Ranch

It was seven miles from the front gate to the back fence, a true Texas ranch. Everything about the place was authentic – from the deer, turkey and other wildlife to the real-live cowboys who worked the place. The end result was a nice little direct mail campaign but the two-day photo shoot is what I will always remember.

6. TV campaign for Consumer Credit Counseling Service

“I hate money. It’s like a monster…” If you’ve ever seen the TV spot we created as part of a campaign for Consumer Credit Counseling Service, you’re probably as haunted as we are by the big brown eyes of the spot’s eight-year old star. She was magnificent. Response to the commercial doubled the company’s leads in the first month of the campaign.

7. Trade show campaign for AER Manufacturing

When I first met with this company, they were needing a brochure designed and printed. As we delved deeper into that project we ended up doing a great deal more, including a very creative and successful trade show campaign that included booth design, collateral material design and promotional support. The new division we helped launch for the company through these and other efforts quickly grew to a $50 million part of their business. It couldn’t have happened to nicer people.

8. Website for Coats Orthodontics

We’ve developed many websites. One of my favorites was the one we created for my kids’ orthodontist, Dr, Matthew J. Coats. Dr. Coats was willing to hire a photographer to shoot his very unique facility (it resembled a cross between a soda fountain and Disney World) and he also gave us a great deal of creative freedom in creating the website for his business. The site included animated (and interactive) soda bubbles on the home page and a special arcade game page just for kids. Very fun.

9. Catalog for DX Electric

We do a great deal of graphic design – brochures, direct marketing, catalogs, etc. One of my favorite projects in this category was a catalog we did for DX Electric company, an electrical component wholesaler here in Dallas. The piece ended up very nice but the fact that it took almost two years to complete and that it was a line in the sand in my own personal life in terms of integrity will make it stand out for me forever. Ask me about it. It’s a great story about turning lemons into lemonade.

10. Israel Toursim, part 2

17 years after we first did work for the Israel Government Tourist office, they recently hired us again. This time we are helping them promote tourism in the UK. The campaign so far has included television, radio, print advertising and a the design of a website.

We quickly found out this wasn’t just any toy story. This was Hamleys. The store is known as the finest toy store in the world. And it was celebrating its anniversary. It’s 250th anniversary.

I was standing in a toy store that was older than the United States of America.

That’s right. 16 years before the American Revolution William Hamley launched his dream. He wanted to have the best toy store in the world. He opened his shop (called “Noah’s Ark” back then) and sold rag dolls, tin soldiers – and everything else. His passion for toys and relentless pursuit of the best things to play with launched a company that would last for more than two and a half centuries.

Why? I wondered. Why did this particular brand last so long? What makes a company last for two-and-a-half centuries, anyway? I did a little looking into the company’s history when I got back home and I think there are five reasons Hamleys and its brand has lasted for such an incredibly long time.

Success According to Hamleys (or)

Five Qualities That Can Build A Brand That Lasts For Centuries

1. Passion

Willam Hamley loved toys. Really loved toys. He loved what he did and it was a consuming passion. This passion meant he had a toy store everyone wanted to visit. It also meant his customers kept coming back to see what new joys he had managed to find to sell to them. There is no substitute for passion like this in a business – and it always seems to start at the top.

2. Perseverance

Every business has its setbacks. In Hamleys case, the Great Depression and being bombed five times during The Blitz in WWII slowed the company down quite a bit. I am sure there were many other successful businesses that allowed issues such as these to stop them. But Hamleys kept on going. And going. And going. This perseverance built their brand. Perseverance like that also comes from the top as well.

3. Consistency

The customer experience at Hamleys was consistent over time. That’s why Queen Elizabeth II was a fan of Hamleys. Her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, introduced her to the toy store when she was a little girl. The store she loved as a little girl was the store she also shared with her children. For generation after generation Hamleys delivered the magic to great and small alike. Consistency like that doesn’t happen by accident. Generations of leaders focused on making the toy store the same excellent experience over and over again. Now that’s branding.

4. Successful Succession

Not only was Hamley’s passionate, long-suffering and consistent. The company was also adept at developing the next generation of leadership and handing the reins of the company over at the right time to the right leaders. Think about it. For 250 years one generation of company leadership has handed the baton to the next. And no one ever dropped it. Impressive. If you want your brand to stand the test of time, you are going to have to be a good leader. And a good developer of leaders.

5. Promotion

When Hamleys celebrated their 250th anniversary – the party itself – there were many celebrities present. And the press was there in force. That’s a lot of free advertising. By creating a culture of theater at the store itself (there’s always something going on at the store from toy demonstrations to new product roll outs, etc.), the store ended up being very skilled at promoting itself. Now, the brand has become such a powerful force the rich and famous stand in line to be associated with it.

Interestingly, four of the five qualities that built Hamleys into a 250-year old company come from the fountainhead of leadership. Good leaders build good companies. Really good leaders build really good companies.

Students in advertising school in college imagine that they will one day spend their careers thinking of amazing new things no one has ever thought of before. They imagine they will daily solve problems in new and amazing ways. They believe their sheer talent alone will make the difference for the businesses of their clients who will stand in line at their door to be blessed with their wisdom and creative power.

Similarly, when you started your own business, you probably had a few stars in your eyes as well.

The truth is a little less glamorous, isn’t it?

Actually (and a bit surprisingly), the ad business is (as Edison would say) one percent inspiration and 99% perspiration.

It’s the same way with growing your business.

Sure, the amazing bolt-out-of-the-blue, change-an-industry-forever ideas come. We’ve had a few of them ourselves. But the reality is that growing your business is usually a simpler proposition.

It’s hard work.

Although it’s not what people expect, there’s some comfort in this fact. If you do the right things at the right time in the right order, you’ll grow.

That’s where our experience can come in so handy for you.

We’ve done this before. Lots of times. We know what to do in what order and when. It may not always be glamorous (we save the glamour for our designs and copywriting) but it works.

Call us. Let’s talk it over. Our advice is worth a lot more than it will cost you (especially since it’s free).

Make them feel something.

Studies have shown (and it also makes sense) that the stronger the emotional response an advertising message elicits, the more it is remembered.

That’s why you remember the commercials that make you laugh (and cry) the most.

This fact of emotion and its persuasive effectiveness is not only limited to the verbal realm. Effective use of design produces visual emotion as well. Put the two together and you really have something.

The fact of emotional appeal and its necessity in advertising is the reason so many campaigns fail. They may be technically correct – containing all the proper information and all the right reasons to buy – but they are emotionally bereft.

That’s why they don’t work.

We like to think of the creative process as a two-sided equation. On the one side you have the elements of strategy, the unique selling propositions and all the “science” stuff that is crucial. On the other side, you have the “art” part — the development of a message that touches the target audience and gets remembered. This is the magic part.

If there was only one single argument for why you should employ the services of professionals to craft your advertising message this is it. The professionals — the really good ones — know how to tell the truth well, in such a way as to persuade and be memorable.

1. Buy a gun before the war starts

One of the most common mistakes companies make is to wait until the battle is well underway before they start arming themselves. In an attempt to “save” money, they spend none and then are forced to overspend to catch up later (if they can). A little money spent early on the right advertising and marketing strategies can stave off what could later become a major war with a competitor over market share. But don’t be discouraged. If you have already waited too long to get started, take comfort in this – we have a great deal of experience successfully fighting uphill.

2. Start small and test

Another wise and frugal method is to start small (a microsite maybe or a basic web marketing campaign) and learn what works for you and your target market. Then, when the road to success is clear, more costly strategies can be implemented (and the rewards commensurately increased).

3. Remember who the boss is

You are not the boss. Your customer is. To increase the effectiveness of your advertising and marketing spending, be sure you are looking at the marketing that comprises your business growth strategy from the point of view of your target audience, not yourself.

4. Find someone trustworthy who has done it before

There is nothing new under the sun. Really. Someone has done it before. When it comes to advertising, it was probably us. Over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of clients generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for their businesses. Chances are, we’ve seen the issues you are facing now before.

5. Don’t give up

So that pay-per-click campaign you did five years ago with your brother-in-law didn’t work for you and you haven’t tried anything since? We understand (we have brothers-in-law too). But don’t give up. The only way that money was truly wasted is if you didn’t learn from it. Was the message wrong? Did you have the right audience targeted? Did you differentiate your product successfully from your competition? Did the sales department really track the thing accurately? Sometimes platitudes are somewhat useful. Here are two: “The only way to lose is to quit;” AND “You can’t win if you don’t race.”

However, there are a few weaknesses these business leaders often share as well. These weaknesses, often correctible, stunt the growth of their businesses. Interestingly enough, these same weaknesses can be seen hampering the success of those responsible for major sales and marketing initiatives in larger companies as well.

In our experience, we’ve seen five weaknesses that stunt the growth of many entrepreneur-led businesses:

1. “What budget?”

It is surprising how many companies are run without an advertising and marketing budget. The number of companies that truly plan their advertising and marketing spending is surprisingly small by our count. This key element to sales success – and survival – is most often treated as an elective expenditure. The reasons for this are many. In entrepreneur-led companies, the fact that the business owner started the company themselves and likely had no talent or experience in this area (hey, you can’t do everything) eventually leads to an advertising/marketing-starved organization. In the initial going, the entrepreneur usually gets the sales the organization needs by sheer force of will. If the company succeeds and grows, the need for professional assistance in this key area is always eventually revealed. This revelation leads to stubbornness for the old “less wasteful” ways by the entrepreneur or the admission that the company has truly grown to the level where a professional image is crucial.

2. “What plan?”

As surprising as the fact that most companies are run without an advertising and marketing budget is, it is almost as surprising how many companies don’t actually have a marketing plan of any kind. This leads to waste in spending because the management of the company’s sales ends up being by “knee jerk” reaction. Knee jerk reactions are, by their very nature, a study in over compensating. Marketing plans need not be voluminous. But they need to be planned. The lack of planned execution separates the companies that grow and succeed from those who do not.

3. “Let’s do something new.”

There are two facets to this surprisingly destructive attitude. First, is the idea that any advertising funding should only be spent launching new products or initiatives. Under this “launch only” mentality, existing streams of solid revenue are left without support and the business will eventually suffer in most cases.

The second faulty attitude about “newness” is the persistent desire of many entrepreneurs to change horses too early in an advertising campaign. They figure that everyone is as “tired” of their ad message as they are and they demand it be changed. This flies in the face of the tried and true advertising principle of “frequency.” We once had a client who demanded we change their ad campaign because the business leader, and the company’s sales force, were tired of the old one. We successfully argued against the change. This campaign ran for more than two years unchanged. The client quadrupled in size. Was it the advertising that did it? Of course not! It was the sales force that was responsible for the success (we say this with tongue in cheek, of course).

4. “I want to be different – just like everyone else.”

When everyone agrees it is time to “do something” with the company’s image or advertising, etc., an interesting phenomenon occurs. Those in charge say they want “to stand out” from their competition. The agency obediently complies and produces a strategically-sound, compelling message – and scares the client to death. The client retreats into “sameness” and dulls the edge of differentiation crucial to successful advertising. It would be funny, if it didn’t happen so often.

This leads us to the final reason entrepreneurs often short change the growth of their businesses in the advertising and marketing arena.

5. “Because I’m the boss, that’s why.”

Take-charge entrepreneurs are used to being the boss. That’s good. That’s how they got where they are.

It’s too bad the customers of take-charge entrepreneurs don’t care if the entrepreneur is in charge.

They want what they want. And they listen to what they want to hear.

Often, the entrepreneur bases their decisions on advertising and marketing on their own personal tastes and preferences. This can work – but often it doesn’t.

The most successful business leaders listen to their target audiences first and then aren’t afraid to rely on professional communicators to reach them with a persuasive message.