The Marketing Mix | official blog of the Marketing Mentor community

How to find out their budget – even if they “don’t have one”

Have you ever asked a client what their budget is – only to discover – they “don’t have one”?

The truth is they probably do have one. And if you use the right language, you have a good chance of finding out what it is.

In my webinar for RDG Ontario this Wednesday, December 1st, I’m going to discuss how to talk numbers with clients, both before and during a project, and what language you should use to get their budget.

This webinar is open to the public, free for RGD members, and $30 for non-members.

Wed, Dec 1st, 2010, 12-1PM ET
Talking Money with Clients
www.rgdontario.com/viewEvent.asp?ID=874

Other webinars in the series include:

Proposals (Dec 8th, 2010, 12-1PM ET): Learn how to develop criteria to qualify prospects and opportunities for proposals, and learn how to present a proposal that will win you the job.
www.rgdontario.com/viewEvent.asp?ID=877

Thought Leadership (Dec 15th, 2010, 12-1PM ET): Learn how you can position yourself or your firm as an "expert" to your target market by writing case studies and articles and speaking on your areas of expertise.
www.rgdontario.com/viewEvent.asp?ID=878

How one creative firm found its positioning

We’ve been doing short interviews where you can hear what other creative business owners are doing and learn from their experience – and people are really enjoying them! They have said that it’s energizing and inspiring to hear the voices of other creatives – a very necessary part of keeping the marketing going! So, here’s the next dose of inspiration…

In our recent interview, I asked Beth Brodovsky from Iris Creative two big questions:

1. How did you come to pinpoint your target market? She talks about how she (and her staff) worked together to find their target market, membership organizations, after being generalists for many years.

2. Which tools do you use to promote your services? She describes how they geographically narrowed their search, paid extra attention to job titles, use postcards productively, use speaking programs to get new prospects (even if they don’t attend!) and more…

Listen to the interview on the Marketing Mentor Podcast.

If you are a “larger” firm (if it’s more than just you!), and you need guidance, we have an Advanced Marketing Group starting the week of November 15th.

And, if you want all your Advanced marketing tasks laid out for you – check out the 2011 Marketing Mentor eCalendar.

 

Marketing, Money, Client Relations and Work/Life Balance

Have you noticed how much "content" there is to read and watch and digest every single day? I don't know how we're supposed to do it. I am too busy creating content to be ingesting someone else's.But that seems to be the way things are right now. So I'll keep creating and curating....which brings me to today's post.

If you haven't seen the Creative Freelancer Blog lately, come on over and check out a full month's worth of multiple bloggers, both freelancers and experts on the four main business topics: marketing (of course), money, client relations and everyone seems to love Dyana Valentine's charming videos in the work/life balance category.

We're looking for freelancers who want to blog so check out the guidelines here.

 

 

The fruits of the Marketing Group – Part 1: Target Market

We talk about the Marketing Group a lot on the blog.

But last week, somebody asked me, “Exactly what do you get? What do you come out with?”

Well, this week, I’m going to look at exactly what marketing materials one creative created in the Beginner Marketing Group, from her online marketing (website, social media, e-newsletter), to her one-sheet, branding, business cards and more…

Here is the story of recent Marketing Group graduate, Ana Carini. 

Graphic designer, Ana Carini, joined the Marketing Group after deciding to pursue self-employment as a designer -- shortly after leaving her career in branding for a Fortune 500 company.

As you might know, the first step in the Marketing Group is to choose your target market. This is so everything else we create in the group can be specifically geared to that market, making it more effective – and more useful in getting the kind of work you want.

Ana had experience in technology and new media, but when it came to choosing her market, she felt it was important to feel excited about it.

With the help of worksheets, lessons, and group input, Ana chose to specialize in fashion, beauty and lifestyle brands, working directly with boutiques, fashion designers, agents, sales representatives, P.R. & Marketing agencies, and event companies.

Ana had always felt a magnetic pull to the fashion and beauty industry – and this market excited her, for sure.

This week, see which marketing tools Ana created and implemented, for this market, in the Beginner Marketing Plan Group.

Tomorrow, you’ll see the tools Ana created for networking: both online and off.

If you’re ready to create some marketing materials of your own, for the target market that will give you the jobs you want, a new Beginner Marketing Group starts the week of September 27th. Details here or fill out this form.

Are you "excited" about your target market?

In my Beginner Marketing Group, one of the first steps is choosing a target market.

In my group call today, we got into a very interesting discussion about whether a market (like healthcare, renewable energy or financial services) needs to be "exciting" to you in order to pursue it as a target market.

Listen to this clip from the call. (1:45)

What do you think? Does your target market need to be “exciting”?

P.S. If you need to pinpoint your target market (and get your marketing rolling) the next Beginner Marketing Group starts the week of Sept 27th. Details here or fill out this form.

Proposals, Pricing and Positioning You as an Expert

That's what we will focus on in the new Advanced Marketing Group we are launching for Fall 2010 (first one starts the week of Sept. 27).

This small group process -- the sequel to the Marketing Plan Group -- is a 12-lesson program led by me, Ilise Benun and designed for business owners with basic marketing tools in place who are ready to get serious and take the business up to the next level.

The format is almost exclusively group discussion with no more than 4 fellow creative professionals. The centerpiece is a 60-minute conference call every other week during which you will get the rare opportunity to share actual proposals with each other and compare prices on sample projects. At the end of the 12 lessons, you will have:

1. A process to qualify prospects before you do proposals you’ll never win
2. A cheat sheet of questions to qualify prospects
3. A revamped and improved proposal document template
4. A better handle on your pricing structure and insight into how other creatives think about pricing their projects
5. Thought Leadership Tools in place: articles, presentations and the places to approach with them
6. A template to write case studies to include in proposals and publish on your web site
7. Metrics. You’ll know how many proposals you need to do to make your monthly financial goal.

The first group starts the week of September 27.
If that sounds like exactly what your business needs this Fall, find more details here or fill out this form.

Ever wonder what other creative businesses charge?

Do you want to know how your pricing stacks up to the competition? Or how much real clients are really paying for things like brochures, web design, identity programs, speechwriting, annual reports and ad campaigns?

It’s all divulged in the report, “How Much Would You Charge?” from one of our favorite resources, Creative Business.
 
In this report, you'll see exact, client accepted, estimates for each detailed project. And when it comes to project pricing, we’re not talking about crazy wide-ranging figures for hypothetical projects…

Cameron Foote, Editor of Creative Business, says:

Rather than presenting the hypothetical, we decided to share pricing of actual, client accepted jobs.

Further, we decided to select examples only from mid- to-high level freelancers and shops. We decided, in other words, to provide examples of typical pricing of first-class work, done by first-class operations, for first class clients—actual examples, which we modified only to ensure anonymity.

The intention is to provide you with benchmarks to use in determining realistic prices for similar work. Obviously, your prices may be more or less depending on your level of experience and talent, and the sophistication and needs of your clients.

See which projects are covered in the report in my latest Quick Tip, or buy it here.

The BONUS has been extended: If you download "How Much Would You Charge?" by Friday, August 27th, you will also get Options for Pricing Your Services. This article is a special preview of my new book, "The Creative Professional's Guide to Money," which will be released in Spring 2011.

How should I structure retainers?

Retainers can be one of the best ways to keep money flowing on a regular basis. But the rules can be tricky. If you’ve ever wondered how retainers should be structured, Sharon Bending of Bending Design graciously shared some information on how she handles them. Here’s what she said:

I have three clients on retainer currently and it can be a very nice thing. Some things to note about how I do them:

• the client must commit to a minimum of 6 months
• they get charged an hourly rate which is a benefit because normally I charge by the project
• we agree to a set number of hours ahead of time and they pay that full amount before the month begins (reasoning is I have to set  aside the hours)
• I have a certain number of hours that is a minimum I do a retainer for (10 hours a month is the smallest I will do. Less than that is hard to get anything accomplished and you'll spend more time checking your time than getting anything done.)
• They get a report of the hours including descriptions at month's end so they can evaluate if they need more. I don't even think my clients read this but they feel better knowing you are doing it. Helps them to be comfortable.
• If we are running close on hours I let them know and I always get their permission before going over.
• If we go over on hours they're billed at a higher hourly rate.

Sharon got her agreement from the Creative Business article on retainers and tweaked it slightly. Retainers--Replying to Discount Requests by Offering Them is a four-page article that explains why "volume discounts" are uneconomic for a creative firm (lack of scale economies), and suggests a retainer instead. The article includes retainer pros and cons, for both creative firm and client, and a sample retainer agreement. Get it here.

It's 3rd quarter. Time to do a mid-year check in.

We're half way through 2010. What are you doing for your mid-year check in?

I took some time over the long weekend to make sure my bookkeeping is up to date and to review my year-to-date income and expenses. I now have a good idea where the bulk of the work is coming from, which marketing tools are working best and which messages are most effective. That info tells me how to focus my efforts for the next 6 months to reach my goals.

I would say I'm pleased with my progress so far but, as always, have more work to do.

How are you doing? Are you half way to your goals? If not, what's getting in your way? Have your goals changed in the past 6 months?

Need real-world advice for marketing design services?

If you're in the Northeast, this is a "can't miss." Cameron Foote, from Creative Business, is presenting his popular one-day design seminar in Boston on June 11th.

Marketing Design Services has a practical, real-world approach that's ideal for anyone who is unsure about his or her marketing ability, has had difficulty prospecting for new clients, needs to know more about hiring and motivating sales personnel, wants to explore the use of new social media in creative firm marketing, or has been less than successful in converting presentations into projects.

What you will learn:

• Strategies and tactics: The benefits of marketing that go beyond the obvious... defining your firm's positioning... developing the right marketing mix for your firm... acceptable time and expense ratios and return on investment... short- vs long-term strategies... defining strategies and tactics to meet your sales objectives.
• Prospecting and contacting: Setting realistic expectations and goals... which promotions work best in which situations... building contact lists... the expanding role of social and new media... hiring and compensating new business development (sales) personnel... qualifying prospects... getting appointments... focusing on relationship building.
• Presenting and closing: Developing effective presentations... countering pricing and other objections... closing the sale... principals' involvement in client relations... measuring success... the importance of follow-up.

More details and sign up here.