Posts in the ‘Merrily’s Items of Interest’ Category
Marketing from Down Under
Having just returned from a wonderful trip to Australia, I can report that it is more than one could imagine in its beauty, it’s wilderness, the sophistication of its urban centers, the edginess of its art and advertising. Although English is spoken there, it is a different kind of language, with many more nuances and a lot of allowance for cheekiness.
Two examples I’d like to share. One is a new software website we just completed for Procura, which can also be accessed in Australian and Canadian. Subtle differences in messaging and targeting, but using the web for all it is worth by understanding the differences in marketing to specific nationalities.
The next is one that I would use caution about viewing for those who might find it a bit cheeky, or in poor taste. However, it is a perfect example of how one nationality and its acceptance levels can differ from another. You would never see a prostate cancer organization fundraising ad like this in the US. However, it is run in a variety of locations in Australia and is a huge hit with its targets and message.
If you pay attention to the commercials and the print ads when you travel, you can really learn a lot about a culture.
So, G’Day, mate and hope it is a good one for you.
Make the Right Marketing Impression
When planning corporate messaging, it’s crucial to consider the impression that will result from your marketing. The article from HealthLeaders Media titled, “Gut-Grabbing Messages: What Makes an Impression?” pinpoints positive ways to navigate successful marketing in health-related fields. From experience, I know home care is a tough service to market using traditional tactics—which is why I developed a unique monthly marketing program called MOST. The program is designed to surmount the challenges of promoting home health care services through education about the issues of chronic disease. Specifically, MOST positions clients as the top resource on in-home care in their local market and leaves a responsible and reliable impression.
The article warns about using emotion appropriately. With healthcare, it’s easy to want to lean on scare tactics to equip an audience with the grim facts. But, if you overdo it, you risk sending your listeners running for the hills and tuning everything out. On the opposite spectrum, if messaging is too positive, it may not seem serious enough for treating patients—unrealistic. A clear understanding of the desired impression is needed to determine an appropriate marketing tone. Educating your audience in a positive way communicates confidence and assurance.
Stand above the crowded field by using robust and resource-rich content. Using MOST gives you web-based instant access to a library full of themed sales, recruitment, design, and advertising materials created by home health experts. Spanning all types of sales and marketing communications, such as print, web and email, as well as services such as social media, blogs, search engine optimization and public relations, MOST lets you choose what fits your agency best.
As you consider revisiting your marketing strategy, remember the advice spelled out in the article mentioned above—and remember the ever-expanding library of resources you can use with the MOST program.
home care marketing, monthly communications, monthly marketing
Planning before Implementation: the Key to Success
An old Chinese proverb “Dig the well before you are thirsty” sums it up. And, in these volatile economic and emotional times, thinking about the future may be preferable to living in the present. At least PLANNING for the future can be done at no better time than today. And, it might even ease the pain of living today and watching as the financial markets swing wildly.
The first – and most common –action when economic things are scary to a business is to cut the marketing budget. It makes sense, after all. When you have less income coming in, it’s best to cut expenses where you can and marketing is the easiest function to slash without affecting day-to-day business operations. Or so it may seem.
The other option is the choice the wises business person makes, and that is to focus on marketing, and start with planning how best to reach the right people with the right message so they will take action, even in tough times. In a downturn, when money is tight and consumers are making tough choices, marketing is more important than ever before. This presents a great opportunity when others are cutting marketing to get in front of your target audience and show the consumer why your products or services deserve their dollars. Customers who may have been in the bag when the economy is riding high suddenly need some extra convincing. They need to hear your message. That’s where strategic marketing comes into play.
In an classic interview with BNET, Dr. Gary Lilien, author of “Turning adversity into advantage: Does proactive marketing during a recession pay off?” a report by Penn State’s Smeal College of Business, pointed to three factors that should be considered before determining whether a marketing endeavor is worth the expense:
• Do you already have a marketing infrastructure in place? If not, it’s going to be difficult in this economy to launch a brand new marketing arm from scratch.
• Does your company have “the guts” to throw down the marketing dollars during a recession?
• Does your company have the budget to spend the money without damaging normal business operations?
“Companies that have been looking at marketing as an investment, and not an expense, and have been running their business through customer knowledge are the ones that are going to come out of this [recession] really, really well,” the article quotes Lilien as saying.
It’s important as well to make certain that your marketing efforts are reaching consumers through venues that they frequent. It’s pointless to spend money on distributing a message that no one will ever see.
Using a variety of media, including the traditional as well as e-mail and social media- outbound and inbound efforts makes it more likely to reach both an older market as well as younger consumers.
No one knows right now what the economy is going to do. If expenses have to be cut, however, choose – but choose wisely. If you abandon your marketing efforts completely, you may soon find that your revenue is going the way of the stock market when it is dipping down.
Come to corecubed for help. We have strategic marketing services that can fit any budget, a talented team that understands how to get business to come a knocking, even when financial times are tricky.
Talented Team at corecubed
Still reveling in the positive results of our team corecubed Asheville meeting this week. Thought the proverbial photo that is worth a thousand words would suffice!
Our talents and skill sets compliment each other, and our systems keep us all working efficiently. Our client successes speak for themselves. I am SO proud of the work we do and the challenges we face and conquer.
Working in/under the Cloud(s)
corecubed staff in-under the cloud(s)
Teamwork, talent and trying new things. Just finished a corecubed staff meeting in Asheville, and our award winning team has some lofty goals to implement immediately and in the upcoming months. As a business, corecubed remains ahead of the curve in many aspects. We have been working and playing in the cloud for several years, and while in Asheville we played Under the clouds with an off road segway tour on the Biltmore Estate.
Look for increased talent and emphasis in SEO and inbound marketing with the addition of Don Makoviney to the team. He brings incredible depth of experience in web development, SEO strategy and implementation, as well as a great sense of humor and a “charger” personality.
Jeanette Mangels is also a new addition, and her bubbly personality and aggressive pursuit of excellence are also a great fit for this well balanced and talented team.
Back to real work today, and armed with some renewed energy that we will deliver to our clients!
