When your red truck matches their red truck, make yours feel better.
18 April, 2008 16:23
If you’re the only red car dealership in a town where all your competitors sell only black cars, then it’s easy to differentiate yourself in your marketing. But what if everyone in town sells red cars?
Try these simple marketing moves:
Personalize: Customer profiles are great. They tell people that youy customers are willing to put their faces and reputations out there promoting you. Day-in-the-life narratives, and even brief biographies can introduce the sympathetic element that allows prospects to project themselves into the experience you provide
Illustrate: Bullet points won't do the job if they're the same bullet points your competitor uses. Instead, use evocative terms. For example: “We have so many sporty red cars that the Indy 500 is jealous.”
Demonstrate: Let the world see how solid your company is. Use your website to give people information on your company that will answer every question or concern. Try videos, employee profiles, documents of certifications, etc.
Finally! Touch your customers’ heart. When the product features between what you sell and what your competitor sell don’t differ, make how they feel about you prod the buying decision…in your favour!
Mary Genge, Creative Director
Hughes Advertising Agency
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Hughes celebrates New Beginnings at Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours
04 April, 2008 16:31
Hughes Advertising invites you to our new office as we open our doors and host April’s Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours. With so many changes over the last year, we thought the most suiting theme would be NEW BEGINNINGS…which also suits the beautiful month of April, too, don’t you think?
Part of our new beginnings at Hughes is our new location at 43 Victoria Avenue. The office we now call home holds great character and has a “storey” or two after many hours of renovations and adding our own Hughes touch. (We’re still under renovation outside, so please be understanding!)
We also welcome two new staff members: Stan Krysac and Sheila Emidio. The event will be a great opportunity for Stan and Sheila to meet members of the business community as well as some of our clients for the first time.
Business After Hours “New Beginnings” will take place Wednesday, April 16th from 5pm-7pm at 43 Victoria Ave., Chatham. Food and drinks by Brownie’s Catering and Smith and Wilson Wines. Please park at the Chatham Christian Reform Church across the street.
Note: Because this is a Chamber event, there is a $5 admission fee.
For more information, call or email us at Hughes Advertising, 519-354-1232 or info@hughesadvertising.ca.
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Master Your Domain
04 April, 2008 16:10
Let’s say you’re about to develop your first website for your company. Perfect Pancakes. You ask your web developer if PerfectPancakes.ca is available. She says it is. You buy it. Makes sense, right? You buy one website address for one website. But is that as far as you should go?
In December, Hollywood learned that the AMPTP—which represents movie/t.v. producers in their negotiations with striking writers—hadn't covered its online bases. The organization owned www.amptp.org, but it didn't control www.amptp.com. A pair of TV writers with time on their hands used this oversight as an opportunity to make jokes at AMPTP's expense. The comments made were "We are heartbroken to report that despite our best efforts, including sending them a muffin basket, making them a mix CD, and standing outside their window with a boombox blasting Peter Gabriel songs, our talks with the WGA have broken down. Quite frankly, we're puzzled as to why this happened."
The comedy writers only rented www.amptp.com for a few weeks, so their site didn't last long. But it forced the producers to spend energy counteracting it rather than promoting their own cause.
y Point? When it comes to buying a domain address, don't be cheap. Buy all the relevant domains you can. They’re only $30-$50 each. Even buy some common misspellings of your domain. This can prevent you from being sidelined unnecessarily, whether at the hands of merry pranksters or malevolent competitors. After all, you don’t want competitors telling the world that Perfect Pancakes sales have gone flat.
Mike Genge, Marketing and Sales Manager
Hughes Advertising Agency
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Domain-Name-Switch Scam
20 February, 2008 10:31
Att: Hughes Advertising Website Clients
Subject: Domain-Name-Switch Scam
Dear Clients:
As a value-added service to our clients who have their web site hosted with Hughes Advertising, we monitor your domain name to ensure that is protected. This guarantees that you will never lose your domain name due to renewal issues. Should you be contacted by a third party representative requesting that you renew your domain with them, we recommend that you decline the invitation. This is a scam! If you are solicited, please contact Hughes Advertising immediately. We will resolve the issue and answer any questions you may have.
What is the Domain-Name-Switch Scam?
A company called “Domain Registry of Canada” will aggressively “request” that you transfer your domain name because it is coming up for renewal in the near future. The transfer request may come in the form of a letter or email. (Click here to see an example of the letter.) Please note that this company is not a regulatory body of any kind, they are only a domain registrar. You should disregard any correspondence they may send: your domain is secure with Hughes.
If you have any questions regarding this or any other web issue, please contact Hughes Advertising at (519) 354-1232 or e-mail me directly at ajackman@hughesadvertising.ca
April Jackman
Manager, Internet Marketing & Web Develpment
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Would anyone care if you went out of business?
05 February, 2008 15:16
To find out how strong a company is out in the marketplace, John Moore of Brand Autopsy surveys people and asks a very blunt question: "If [company name here] went out of business tomorrow, would anyone care?" Subjects have ranged from Sears to Subaru.
When Moore asked about the Eddie Bauer clothing store chain, he received a range of answers that hinted at the struggling clothier's strengths and weakness. Interestingly, readers who said they would miss Eddie Bauer tended to cite: “They stock tall size in shirts and pants that fit off the shelf. Very few places meet that need.” A contrary view said: "EB is a mall-bound pretend-outdoors brand containing items that look vaguely rugged, but wouldn't last an hour in the wild."
How should Eddie Bauer respond to such comments?
So are you prepared to ask that question about your company? Would you survive the harsh glare of self-examination?
How do you make sure your customers would say they’d miss you if you were gone?
- Make sure your marketing and sales offer a unique product or service that customers would be sad to see go.
- Forge emotional connections with your customers that another company can’t duplicate.
- Make sure your employees can’t find an employer that treats them as well as your company.
So, would your business be missed by your customers?
If you have to honestly admit “No” then it’s time to work on what makes you valuable to your customers and make sure they know you’re getting better.