Smart Marketing on a Shoestring Budget
Part I: An Introduction
By Dana W. Todd

Small manufacturers often do not have trained internal staff to manage marketing and public relations initiatives. This can create a competitive disadvantage when rolling out new products or services, or trying to reposition your company in the marketplace. Under the usual budgetary restrictions, how can a facility ensure that it is planning strategically and using effective marketing tactics to create "top of mind" visibility for its company?

Why get involved with marketing in the first place? What do all the marketing buzzwords really mean? How do you begin an effective marketing strategy - and then implement it to see results?

First, let's define some terms. You often hear the term "public relations" batted around the board room table. But what does it mean? Public relations, or PR, is a profession that focuses on building relationships with key communities that are important to your business, such as current customers, media outlets, investors, and potential customers. What's the purpose of PR? It's mainly a method of advancing the purposes of your company and its mission, a method of two-way communication that enables your publics to give feedback about what you've been saying to them in the marketplace.

There are many different areas of PR and marketing:

* Media relations
* Crisis management
* Internal/employee communications
* Investor relations
* Product/service marketing
* Strategic marketing communications
* Corporate philanthropy
* Community relations
* Financial analyst relations
* Industry analyst relations
* Direct marketing
* Lobbying/special interest PR
* Issues management
* Event planning.

And then there's advertising, or paid promotion by and about your company and its mission in the marketplace. Advertising can be purchased on broadcast stations (TV and radio), in print media (newspapers, magazines, and other periodicals), and the internet (often called banner ads). Costs vary depending on the type of publication and its range of circulation.

In this article, I'm mainly going to address product and service marketing and explain how you can add both PR and advertising elements to your plan.

In just these two general areas of marketing - PR and advertising - there are a myriad of choices on which to spend your time and money to attract attention in the marketplace. Press releases, radio or TV ads, industry analyst reports, bylined magazine articles, media interviews, press kits, internet advertising, direct email, newspaper or magazine ads, advertorials...the list goes on and on. So what is right for you? And what can you afford to do? How do you maximize exposure on a limited budget?

The best way to approach the publicity process is to think logically through the process before you actually take any action.

1. Write down your goals. Be specific and quantify them when at all possible. Are your goals local, regional, national, or international? Your marketing goals should always directly relate back to your general business goals. After all, if an action is not achieving or moving you further toward achieving one of your business goals, why do it? Then decide what is the best marketing tactic to achieve each goal. For example, if letting the nation know about your new product that revolutionizes the industry is of the greatest importance, it makes sense to call editors of national trade magazines that your customers read and convince writers to review and write about your product in their next issue.

2. Pinpoint your target audience. Again, be as specific as possible about who is going to buy your product or service. Where are they geographically located? What level are you selling to (if you're selling to another company) - the CEO, CFO, or plant manager? Then determine the best way to reach this market and implement that tactic. If you're selling to consumers, apply the same general questions to ascertain exactly who they are. It will help you understand how best to reach out to them later in the marketing process.

3. Create a targeted (and short) message. Explain in one written paragraph exactly what you want your target audience(s) to learn, do, or believe about your product, service, and company. Make it simple and devoid of industry jargon. The more understandable your message, the better. This succinct message is the one you want to replay in every marketing vehicle - advertisement or PR tactic - that your potential customers will see and hear. It is what your company is all about.

The next agenda item is to take action!  After you've answered all of the above questions in a strategic brainstorming session, it's time to implement goals using the best marketing methodology possible. Prioritize actions. After all, you cannot achieve all your goals simultaneously. Which one is the most important? Which one will speed you fastest to your sales goal? Hire consultants as needed. They are usually affordable and will save you lots of time and money because they know exactly what to do and how to implement initiatives in the most time-conscious manner. Consultants are especially useful in designing ads that work and in media relations, or setting up media interviews for your company executives and then training them on how to best conduct the interviews. Small advertising agencies, small public relations agencies, and free-lance consultants all work well in a small manufacturing setting.

Lastly, measure your progress. You'll need to set up a benchmarking system at the beginning of each process to see if people are responding to your marketing tactics. For example, use a special toll-free number in ads or track incoming customer calls by asking customers in which publication they read about your company. Tie results to the bottom line, i.e., tactic X increased sales by 15 percent.

Above all, remember marketing is relationship building. And strong relationships (with your customers and with the media) equal a strong brand. Developing these relationships through marketing tactics gives you a chance to tell your story.

Dana Todd is a marketing and public relations consultant and can be reached at danatodd@scmep.org.