Avoiding Marketing Communications Disasters

With all the current headlines of GM's bankruptcy, it reminds me of the marketing communications disaster when Chevy introduced the "Nova" and then wondered why it tanked in the Hispanic market. The reason for the flop is not in the design, production, capabilities or pricepoint of the car; it is in bad marketing communications.

You see, "No va" means "Doesn't Go" in Spanish. Who wants a car that doesn't even go? No one. How many millions did that oversight cost the auto industry?

My business friend, although you mean well, don't be your own worst enemy by unprofessional corporate messaging. Often these kinds of disasters come from trying to say something that is clear in your mind and simply doing an awful job of translating it into a message that your audience can appreciate or even understand. Worse, the mistake is not realized until it is too late.

This presents a great example of why getting an outside professional marketing communications perspective on your advertising is not just a good idea, but a necessity in times where you don't have the budget to dig your way out of a marketing disaster.

But frequently companies fail to get that outside expert opinion for a number of different reasons. Here's the shoddy thinking that, while intended to benefit the company, actually sets it up for innefective marketing or even a bankrupsy:

1 • "Our company can't afford the time/money to get a real professional to look at it."
I don't know how much your time and effort is worth, but few companies have the surplus funds it costs to keep missing the ball. Your advertising dollars can be wasted on inefficient marketing without the company's leadership even knowing it. Like trying to saw down a tree with an old, rusty saw -- the time and expense to get the ideal saw is minute compared to the benefits your receive. Likewise, it is the ideal marketing STRATEGY that makes your marketing communication go further and produce more.

2 • "Our company does not need an outside firm to review our work."
Sadly, we see this attitude from time-to-time and it's such a destructive approach. Smart communicators realize that they come from a certain perspective, experience and bias and as a result, know that it's critical to make sure that when they speak or write that what they communicate can resonate with the target audience. It's not an admission of weakness; in fact, it's an act of wisdom to accept that you're not all-knowing.

After all, you are not marketing to yourself; you are marketing to them. So doesn't it make just to ensure that you are effectively reaching them with all your promotions?

3 • "We just didn't think of it that way."
This is the most common reason a well-indended marketing campaign turns into a waste of time and dollars. But why not enjoy the benefit of "hindsight" ahead of time through outsourcing your marketing strategy to a firm like Covenant Designs?

Today, you and I are in the happy circumstance of having the opportunity to benefit from someone else's painful experience. At Promise Productions, we specialize in creating ideal marketing campaigns for optimum results.

That means effectively targeting and communicating with your prospects. It means motivating them into your desired action. Come, see the difference professional marketing in any advertising media can make for your company's profits. Call 972-822-3587.

10 Deadly Sins That Are Killing Your Direct Mail Profits

Direct mail is still a great way to generate positive cash flow for all kinds of businesses. It puts your message right into their hands. But is it the right message?

Direct mail must avoid these 10 pitfalls in order to produce significant profits. A smart direct mail marketing communications strategy will produce loyal customers who are ready to buy your products and services. At Covenant Designs, we have been doing direct mail and postcard campaigns for 17 years and typically product 3-6% response rates with some responses even higher than 10%.

As we have all experienced, lots of sales letters are regarded as junk mail these days. When was the last time you opened a sales letter in the mail and actually read it? Why not? Because the letter did not entice you, didn't speak to you – didn't give you a reason to care.

Remedying these 10 deadly sins will release thousands and thousands of dollars that are otherwise missing from your direct mail and marketing campaigns.

#1. Vague Targeting
Your letter doesn't speak to anybody in particular.

 Have you identified your ideal customer and made sure your mailing list targets them? Companies fail to get to know their market, and it undermines, not just their sales letters, but their marketing as a whole.

Take some time to study your target audience - what makes them tick? What problems do they face? What are their values? What motivates them? Only then can you send a sales letter that speaks directly to their wants and desires.



#2. Missing or Poor headline.


Sales letters need to attract the eye – to grab you. Without a headline, a sales letter is just a chunk of words that can easily be ignored. Just look at the headline of this post: it speaks directly to YOU, doesn't it? It speaks in the present tense, and it implies that there is information in this article that you need to read now (true). That's a big reason why you are reading this, isn't it? So do the same – motivate your readers to keep reading!

#3. Failed to Focus on BENEFITS and are bogged down in Features
If you do not understand the distinction between benefits and features in marketing, then you will experience frustration and struggle in your marketing. 

This is the biggest, most common mistake that companies make in their sales letters.

If you get a letter that says, "Hey! Look at what we've got! Look what we've done! Aren't we great?!?", you're going to throw it away in a heartbeat, right? 

What do people want to hear about? Themselves. It's simple human nature – our focus is on our present needs.

Instead, your direct mail needs to talk about them: "Hey! You know that problem you have? This is how we can help you out..."

 If you are writing about your business, you are writing a FEATURE. That's not what you're supposed to be writing. If you are writing about the consumer, you are writing a BENEFIT. That's what people want to hear about - what's in it for me?



#4. Failure To Motivate A Response

If your response rates are down, you may not be giving your market enough of a reason to contact you. Where's the offer? Give them a discount or some form of special offer for responding to the letter. If the consumer reads your entire sales letter, but they are not motivated to take action IMMEDIATELY, you did it wrong. 

(Tip: pinpointing the exact benefits that matter most to your prospects is essential to motivating a response)

#5. Assuming they'll simply take your word for it.


Face it, you need proof. That means statistics that show it works. That means testimonials from people who have enjoyed the benefits. People won't just listen to you based on what you say - show them what others are saying.



#6. Unattractive Design.


How is your communication formed? Is it just a mass of words? Then forget it. You may as well have mailed them a letter in Chinese. At least put in some sub-headlines or lists. Photos are even better! They need something they can easily scan to get the gist of the letter beforehand. It will encourage them to read, to understand the benefits, and to respond.

#7. You didn't Break Down the Barriers.


This is a biggie. Barriers are things that keep prospects from doing business with you. Usually RISK is their barrier – they worry that they are investing their time or money in something that won't work. You need to guarantee them that it will be worth it. Offer them a 30-day, money-back guarantee. Give them a reason to take the plunge, risk-free, and there's a good chance they will.



#8. You don't have a "P.S." at the end.


The "P.S." is a great way to hit the last few skimmers - people who aren't reading. Sum up your biggest benefit, combine it with your offer, and throw it in as the last line in your letter. Then watch those response rates soar!

For example:

"P.S. Stop wasting your time resharpening old kitchen knives! Order your complete set of Mighty Sharpy Steak Knives and use them for 60 days at no cost!"



#9. Nothing makes you stand out.


Who are you targeting and why? You need to position yourself as something unique. Differentiate yourself from the competition. What's your advantage? If you are just like the others, why should anyone choose to do business with you?



#10. They're not even opening the envelope.


If your letter comes in a plain white envelope, you're going to lose. One way around this is to use oversides postcards with color printing on both sides. We've had great success with these.

But for letters in an envelope, print your strong headline on the outside of the envelope. Consider hand-addressed envelopes. Make it distinctive in color, size or shape. Or, as many companies do, take advantage of the "lumpy mailer", where you put something in the envelope that makes it feel bulky - so people will tear it open – intrigued just to find their free gift. Your visual presentation needs to stand out from the rest of the mail. How is your sales letter standing out?

P.S. For professional results from your direct mail or postcard campaign let the experienced marketing communication experts at Promise Productions position you for massive success. Call 972-822-3587

Strategic Blogging & Social Media for Business Profits

Social Media is all the buzz today because nearly everyone online today uses it in some form or other. It is growing and developing rapidly and the excitement is warranted. Did you ever wonder if you could harness this giant wave to some degree to benefit your business? This blog post is about just that!

Social Media Grows Up
To start with, blogging and social media was not originally created as a means to advertising. (but it can be used for that purpose.... keep reading) Social Media originated as a place where the average Joe could share what he was passionate about and inasmuch as that included a product, service or company, he gave his personal "thumbs up" as it were.

The enormous mass of individuals now doing this daily, has given rise to serious attention by Web Site Developers, Search Engine Marketers, Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Optimizers.

In fact, more progressive Marketing Communication firms such as Covenant Designs, now include Social Media and Strategic Blogging in their skillsets.

In short, Social Media means that word-of-mouth has firmly moved online. Individuals now consult the "community wisdom" of other people who have already experienced a product, company or service before they commit to action. Studies prove again and again that the opinions and messages on the Internet are the decisive determining factor over friends, coworkers and traditional authority figures. The idea is that this is a pool of unbiased individuals, and that many people "can't be wrong."

Although unassuming in concept, Social Media does something tremendous and priceless -- it bridges the TRUST GAP, thereby paving the way for prospects to sample YOUR product or service.

(for more about successfully bridging the confidence gap in your marketing, click here)

Businesses have an increasingly vested interest in promoting themselves in a cost-effective manner in this lean economy. Businesses should all be very aware and very concerned about managing their image -- their PR on the web.

You see, your official company web site is a formal presentation of your company. Your company blog, on the other hand, is where you get down on your customer's level to interact, share, and listen to THEM. Customers like that and will reward you with business for being EXTRA responsive to their needs. And we all know that no business will survive long without serving their customers where THEY live.

This does not mean that any old blog will do. It all revolves around smart strategy to setup, produce content and distribute your blog around cyberspace. That is where Promise Productions Strategic Blogging Services come in.

Social Media Strategy Tip:
Social Media can cut both ways -- customers can complain or endorse you -- fairly or unfairly, and now their opinion has a forum and a life of its own that spreads its influence. Just think, a rant on RipOffReport will hang around for 10 years even if you ended up making that customer happy later on.

It has become danerously easy for an individual to sling mud at your company for any reason and you not to even know it is hurting your sales! Obviously it pays more than ever to provide great customer service.

What a smart business does is implement a social media strategy for all kinds of GOOD PR to be spread around the Internet, and have that overwhelm any NEGATIVE PR that threatens to soil your company's image.

We market your business to make our best prospects like doing business with you and give you their thumbs up! Want to know more? Contact Promise Productions at 972-822-3587.

Marketing's 3 Year Rule

As a rule of thumb, each year a typical business looses 1/3 of its clients. Change happens, regardless of your level of service or customer support.

As a result, if you are not replacing OVER 1/3 of your clients each year, within 3 years you will completely be out of business. A daunting task you say?

Yes it is nearly impossible, IF you are still relying on 20th century marketing and advertising methods in a 21st century world.

Promise Productions was formed to cause your ideal growth and profitability. Our visual marketing communications geniuses practically live to craft your image to appeal to your best prospects, while also giving you the right visibility at the right time to attract the most profitable jobs your way.

How Do We Get Such Great Results?
We are Marketing 2.0 savvy. It is an Internet world, a video world and a social media world. These days even word-of-mouth has been eclipsed by the Internet's ability to connect customers to products and services. Over 90% of your prospects are ONLY looking online to find you -- even if you are a mere 1 mile down the road from them.

We position you for maximum success with:

1 • The Right Website that is both visually engaging, full of value and designed to get a positive response.

2 • Social Media and Strategic Blogging gives business a powerful edge today to leverage word of mouth and search engine popularity in the online arena.

3 • The Right Internet Visibility. That means marketing your web site, being found in the search engines and found with positive PR in this era of increasing scams and decreasing trust.

And Now For the "Secret Sauce": (drumroll...)
The big secret is that we apply marketing-savvy video in all 3 areas. Your customers want to be given an experience of your product or service -- its lifestyle and benefits. Nothing comes close to video's power to do just that. Video amplifies your results (when done right) by 50% to a whopping 200%!

Combine that with our tested design and visibility techniques and voila -- the recipe for sweet success in any market!

Contact Promise Productions Visual Marketing Communications at 972-822-3587 to secure your fair market share.

Dallas Marketing For Optimized Profits

In this economy, it's more important than ever to understand how to make certain that your creative and marketing efforts are fully on-target, and that every dollar invested brings a solid return on investment.

This is only possible with a smart marketing strategy. That requires knowing your customer's motivations and the ways that today's Marketing Opportunities -- including Video Production and Business Blogging -- are transforming the landscape of connecting prospects with companies.

In 2009 your company's' web site design and it's search engine optimization are just 2 of a handful of areas you need to be integrated in your overall Marketing Communications Plan.

In this time of rapid change, let Promise Productions Marketing Communications put the best of design and advertising to work for you using the latest Internet strategies. Call 972-822-3587 to join the ranks of companies who are now getting their fair market share! Get A Quote

Top 10 Business Relationship Traits

In keeping with my last post about the quality of your Business Relationships determining the quality of your success in 2009, there could be no better way to launch the new business year than with a quick grounding in the Top 10 Traits of successful business relationships and business networking.

Networking is more than just shaking hands and passing out business cards. Remember, successful business rests on the foundation of successful relationships. What follows are the Top Traits to build and maintain good business relationships:

These relationships are forged in value and trust. Those who only fleece their customers like sheep without shepherding them, soon lose them.

1. Follow Up On Referrals. Every successful networker does this. Because personableness will make you stand out, online videos and phone calls are often more effective relationship-building tools than a voicemail or text or email. Those who do not follow up on communication lost the momentum of their first impression and your prospects will stop wasting their time trying to deal with you for greener pastures.

2. Positive Attitude. No one likes to be brought down. Negativity drives away referrals but a positive attitude makes people want to associate and cooperate with you. Positive business professionals are like magnets. Others want to be around them and will send their friends, family and associates to them. This is more than an inauthentic smile and chipper platitudes, a truly positive way of being comes from the inside out.

3. Enthusiasm / Motivation. This follows on the heels of the above success attitude. When you think about it, you can see that people who show the most motivation, close the most deals and get the most referrals. When you truly want to serve your customer, your customer gets excited about being served and wants to do business with you. Give what you want to get -- it's the timeless golden rule.

4. Trustworthy. When you refer one person to another, you’re putting your reputation on the line. You have to be able to trust your referral partner and be trusted in return. Neither you nor anyone else will refer a contact or valuable information to someone who can’t be trusted to handle it well. Likewise, when you commit to doing business, large or small, with someone, the other party has a large say in how it goes and you need trust to make the outcome a smooth success. Trust has to be repeatedly demonstrated. A business relationship is not a thing like a pencil you can leave sitting on a shelf for months and expect it to be right where you left it; it is a living organism that requires nurturance.

5. Good listening skills. Listening shows you care -- its that simple. Our success in business depends on how well we can listen and learn. The faster you and your customer learn what you need to know about each other, the faster you’ll establish a valuable relationship. Communicate well, and listen well.

6. Continuous improvement. Those at the top of their game, like Michael Jordan, are never too good to practice the basics. Always look for areas to improve and the customers you will want the most will appreciate where you go the extra mile for them.

7. Thanksgiving & Appreciation. Gratitude is sorely lacking in today’s business world. Expressing gratitude to business associates and clients is just another building block in the cultivation of relationships that will lead to increased referrals. People like to refer others to business professionals that go above and beyond. Thanking others at every opportunity will help you stand out from the crowd.

8. Enjoy helping. Desire the best for your customer in tangible ways. That is called "service." Helping others can be done in a variety of ways, from literally showing up to help with an office move to clipping a helpful and interesting article and mailing it to an associate or client. Those who have mastered good business relationship maintenance keep their eyes and ears open for opportunities to advance other people’s interests whenever they can.

9. Be Sincere. Insincerity is like sand in your salad. You can offer the help, the thanks, the listening ear, but if you aren’t sincerely interested in the other person, they’ll know it! Sincerity comes from the heart. Those who have developed successful networking skills convey their sincerity at every turn. One of the best ways to develop this trait is to give the individual with whom you’re developing a referral relationship your undivided attention. That leads to authentic appreciation.

10. Work your network. The word "work" is in network; master networkers don’t let any opportunity to work their networks pass them by. They manage their contacts with contact management software, organize their e-mail address files and carry their referral partners’ business cards as well as their own. Don't wait for the other party to follow up with you. Set up appointments to get better acquainted with new contacts so that they can learn as much about them as possible so that they can truly become part of each other’s networks.

What is the common thread in successful business relationships and in profitable networking? It is to value long-term relationship building as opposed to making a quick buck and then dropping them.

Are you serving or using your customers? Do you want to be served or to be used? Businesspeople who take the time to build their social capital are the ones who will have new business referred to them over and over. The key is to build mutually beneficial business relationships.

If you want a business relationship with Promise Productions and our profitability strategies to go to work for your business, call us today at 972-822-3587.

Related Information:
• How To Make Your Customers Want To Do Business With You
• Strategic Blogging Service For Trust-Based Business Visibility
• Promise Productions' Commitment to You

The SOCIAL in Social Media

Why Relationships will Make or Break your business in 2009

The unique part of social media is the "social" part, which is about creating connections and relationship based on something in common. Many businesses are only a fraction as successful as they could be today because they have neglected the "relationship" in their business relationships.

Many businesses do not understand marketing and end up only TALKING AT "Consumers" instead of really seeking to understand and provide value for their customers. Conversely, business that master marketing as the art of GIVING, can create both loyalty and millions in revenue.

Even a company like AT&T that deals with masses of customers and cannot be individual with them still lives or dies based on successfully meeting their client's needs. While that is simple, it is profound. No company is too big or too successful that they do not live or die apart from SERVING.

Enlightened self-interest initiates positive business relationships. Unenlightened self-interest in business is looking to not have to serve, but only be served. That does not work. There is a direct link between the stocks that are up or down and the companies that successfully serve. Your value equals the amount of service your business provide.

Current Example: Starbucks started humble and provided a service: quick, high-quality coffee in a SOCIAL environment. They got cocky started pushing what THEY wanted instead of what the customer wanted. Service suffered in every sense of the business word and they are now being humbled and struggling to stay afloat. The customer need change, the price-points changed, their service attitude changed -- but they did not and they quickly found themselves on their way to being passed by. Only by revamping their service, and their attitude towards service are they holding what market share they have left.

Enter Social Media
2008 has witnessed the maturity of social media for both personal and business interests. A whirlwind of advancements and features have taken social media from its infancy to a force to be reckoned with.

In 2008, advertising agencies were the first to lead the way with the business use of social media by mining sites like MySpace, Facebook and Linkedin for demographic information. Others had some initial success at mining email addresses for spam.

While these activities were grey at best, they underscored a vital truth: any online area where people reveal their age, gender, likes and dislikes is a gold mine for presenting a marketing message to the right audience.

Because of social media, Word-of-Mouth was moving online.

In the last half of 2008, MySpace became the preferred arena of 12-24 year old's whereas Facebook became the #1 adult social media site.

Imagine the transformation: a core human need was suddenly being addressed with new media -- the impersonal online world suddenly had "friends". Friends that would listen to you. Friends that would read your blog. Friends that would welcome you. Friends that liked what you liked.

Friends that would affirm and contribute -- sharing back in a relevant way. Masses flocked to get this need met in astounding numbers, proving yet again that if you meet a real need, the power is profound.

The business side of this phenomena is equally compelling. How many big business deals were actually conducted off the phone and outside the conference room from the golf course, to the gym locker room, to the steak dinner etc in a SOCIAL setting.

Social Settings, from Starbucks to a business lunch provide a VITAL VITAL ingredient -- TRUST from a more authentic conversation -- one with less "agenda" and push to it. Time is invested to listen and understand -- demonstrating that the relationship is valued.

Personableness and authenticity is what humans require in order to trust. How we feel about a thing determines our actions, and as a buyer, that applies to everything across the board from whether we pick tea or coke at a restaurant to whether we buy Ford or Honda. When we don't trust, we are unable to listen, and cannot hear value or opportunity -- killing action and killing relationships.

It becomes clear that your business needs a marketing agency like Promise Productions that understands this and is poised to harness it in a way that benefits your clients and your bottom line alike.

Social Medial provides connections. Shared interests. An easy way to both broadcast and tune in to what you like and are about. Connections form relationships. Business relationships are likewise built on providing the most benefits.


Who's Your Friend?
What is the "take away" from the ongoing evolution of social media to Your interest in success, in clients, in profits?

Let me answer that by first asking what is a real friend? One that will go out of his/her way to be and do FOR you. The opportunity in 2009 is to harness social media to develop MEANINGFUL relationships. Businesses LIVE AND BREATHE meaningful relationships.

Businesses who are not affirming their customer's needs and going out of their way to supply them will whither away. In today's online world, websites and blogs must be developed as integrated marketing communications pieces to show that your business understands your prospect and offers meaningful value. Neglect this and your business will whither away.

Since you are reading this, congratulations, it shows you are willing to give service in order to get market-share and profits. You are now primed for rewarding business relationships!

You have to GIVE to get. While the bottomfeeders spend most of their time looking for the magic shortcut to not really have to give and still scam their way into getting, the true successes of 2009 will be those who realize:

• You can't love everybody meaningfully so you have to define/target your audience.

• The most valuable business relationships are based on understanding, listening to and responding with communication that demonstrates a real solution to your prospect's needs.


How we apply this to your business in 2009: Promise Productions offers:

• Market analysis to identify your ideal customer and the way to use, not just traditional media but also web sites, blogs and social media to present your value to them.

• Web Site Analysis, what is right and wrong with your current approach and how the message targeting, the visual presentation and the programming needs to change to catch the market share you deserve

• Strategic Blogging provides meaningful content, useful content along with links back to your site where its search engine visibility improves and a relationship can be formed.

• Professional visuals: in today's image-dominated world you have to have the right look to be taken seriously and even listened to. We do just that with graphic design, digital photography, and professional video.

Enjoy the rewards of positive business relationship, call Promise Productions at 972-822-3587. Get a Quote

The Strategy in Strategic Marketing

People ask us all the time, exactly what we mean by "Strategic."

Promise Productions provides strategic marketing. Where the strategy comes in is in marketing SMARTER by taking maximum advantage of New Media to augment traditional marketing channels.

Strategy is communicating in words, pictures and video from purpose. Our strategy comes from effectively answering these questions:

· Who is your ideal customer?
· Why should they want to do business with you?
· What are the key mediums relevant to your market to get your messages out there (for example newspapers, tv, internet, radio, direct mail, email, blogs, cell phones, podcasts, etc.)?
· What specific results will we measure to keep you on top?

In Web Site Design, strategic means we analyze everything from color scheme to button placement to exact phrases best appeal to the kind of Image your business needs to attract the best customers. It means generating, not merely hits of traffic, but new profits.

In Postcard Direct Mail, strategic means dozens of design tips that give you the advantage when it comes to responses. It also means connecting the direct mail to an online web site campaign. The direct mail is a teaser and the feature presentation on the web deepens the relationship.

In Social Media, Strategic marketing means serving first in order to be served. It means knowing the right places to be seen. It measures, not meaningless "friends" and popularity, but cultivating a reciprocal exchange of value in action.

In Blogging, Strategic means we write about the subjects that matter to your prospects, in a way that gets your business noticed at the right place and time. Strategic blogging also involves spreading the info on your blog in key places that both promote good links good followings and good visibility.

There are more areas we could talk about to be sure. The thing is, we are sad to see so much haphazard advertising by amateurs and the big agency boys alike. Your budget is not a toy to have fun with to us -- your budget is an investment of trust in our marketing strategy that seeks the optimum return.

If you have money to throw away, don't call us. We can't bear to waste anything. Just as a farmer sows good seed in a good soil, we apply strategy to craft your message and apply it in the right "soil" of audiences where your Value Proposition will take root and your business enjoys the fruits.

There are no gimmicks or free lunches. What we offer is know-how for seeing to it that your effort is a wise one. Call is "value" if you will. Our marketing strategy is there to position you for the results you want.

Learn more by calling Promise Productions with the results you want at 972-822-3578

Equipped for Success in 2009

The core value that Promise Productions offers as a visual marketing communications firm is our skil sets that equip you for success in 2009 and beyond.

Sure, we do websites, brochures, logos, blogging, photography and video. But the key is that these services are all purpose-driven. They are strategic services from a responsive marketing mindset. Each of these tools is there to quip your business for profits.

We are not just designers, artists, creatives and programmers. We understand marketing and that makes all the difference.

Equipped for Change
We understand your needs change, your market changes, the economy changes, and technology changes. We are poised to adapt quickly to changes and opportunities for your business. We have multiple skill sets we can bring to bear to achieve your goals in a dynamic marketplace.

Equipped for Value
Our visuals, copy writing and presentation skills are geared to present your Value Proposition to your prospects. In other words, WHY they should WANT to do business with you.

We communicate your value to those most interested in your and those you are most interested in. That is bigger than any single marketing action or "patch" to momentary cash flow needs. When your prospect grasps your value, responses are tremendous and profits flow naturally.

Equipped for New Media
Promise Productions is savvy on how to use the new media to expand your audience and target your ideal prospects. Traditional media (Radio, TV, Newspaper, Print, Yellowpages) has largely collapsed in the face of the ability of New Media to reach, persuade and make your message alive and personal. Technology makes New Media as accessible as your phone or computer screen. Let us show you how to take advantage of it!

• Web Design and Web Site Marketing
• Blogging
• Search Engine Visibility
• SMS Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Podcasting
• and last but not least - VIDEO to all these marketing channels

Equipped For Success
Promise Productions offers multiple strategies to dynamically reach your buyer. We help you get more results with less struggle. We call that "value" and our 16 year track record of success is the platform of experience that can look to the future with confidence.

We invite you to call Covenant Designs at 972-822-3587 to join the ranks of those who enjoy higher profitability from superior marketing strategy.

Word of Mouth Has Moved Online

If you've read our other entries, you see that Promise Productions offers multifaceted ways with the right visuals and right exposure to connect you with your best prospects for optimum growth.

Recently we've expanded our marketing communications with Strategic Blogging, and for good reasons:

1 • Strategic Blogging puts your products and services in front of a world of bloggers already interesting in learning about the categories and topics you deal in.

2 • Strategic Blogging the less formal presentation of useful information to customers increases your trust factor – paving the way for positive business relationships.

3 • Strategic Blogging is a powerful new tool for Search Engine Optimization as relevant links for key terms point back to your web site -- effectively raising its page rank.

4 • Strategic Blogging is designed to be Shared. Comments, blog directories and RSS feeds find their way to your prospects in places your website cannot access.

Now here's the 5th reason: Word Of Mouth Has Moved Online.

Everyone knows that a timely endorsement by a trusted source makes all the difference in which company your prospect chooses to get their business needs fulfilled. That is why, Social Media – of which Blogging is a key component – needs to be utilized in your company's marketing plan.

Blog readers learn about your business and other Bloggers spread it FOR you. That's right, engage a volunteer army of word-of-mouth through
(1) comments on blogs, and
(2) other bloggers responding to and point to your business' blog.

OK, that part about an "army" is an exaggeration -- UNLESS your blog is professionally promoted by a service like ours.

Your prospects want someone to speak their language. That is what they hear, trust and respond to.

Example: you want to know which of the many new video cameras to buy. Well you cannot just call up Sony itself and get a response. But all too often the local brick and mortar shop does not carry that exact model or your questions are about an upcoming model not on the shelves. The big box stores carry too many items to be an expert on any one of them. The big manufacturer does not talk to the individual customer one-on-one -- too bad for both parties.

Enter Social Media
With Social Media you can search for the inside scoop: the Blogs, a YouTube video, a enthusiast interested in the same thing, user groups, etc.. Now this arena of information provides two vital elements (and wait till we link this back to marketing!) --

(1) an individual in-the-know who will respond one-on-one to your specific needs

(2) a frank conversation without a salesy agenda getting in the way to spin the facts

OK, back to the speak-your-prospects-language part and how that turns into business GOLD...
Social Media is the new word-of-mouth with answers to just about anything. A person's physical network of friends, colleagues, associates and experts could NEVER be as big or well-informed as this.

Face it, your customers are turning in ever increasing numbers to Social Media to get a trusted answer on the product or service they want. These days, the casual word from an equal online who speaks their language is more trustworthy and powerful than the overly-expensive and overly-slick presentation from an ad agency or manufacturer.

Buyers are sick of being patronized. Today's customer is saying, "value my needs enough to tell me something REAL instead of something you think will make yourself a quick buck. When I see that you value me, I will value you enough to buy."

Blogging can do that – with honesty, integrity and strategy. The successful company in 2009's marketplace is responsive enough to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the individual customer because it understands that to value the customer is to value itself.

Want your quality product and service to receive its fair share of today's marketplace? Have something great that just needs the right visibility? Then call 972-822-3587 and ask how you can start a profitable business relationship with Promises Production.

Too Big To Fail

Can you believe it, there are companies out there who still embrace the notion that future security is tied to being too big to fail.

The dinosaurs were big. They failed to adapt and became, well, dinosaurs. Extinct.

If you look, you will find that ancient history and modern examples alike you will hear a similar story:

The Titanic ...
The Hindenberg ...
The USSR ...
General Motors ...

There is a common thread here: each of these was TOO big to respond fast enough to its environment.

One component of the scientific definition of life is responding to its environment. That applies to today's companies too. To fail to respond = corporate death.

Small is Beautiful
Let me say that better, RESPONSIVE is beautiful. Too many companies fail to interact with their customers and the unspoken message is that they are too important to live in their customer's worlds. I have news for you, there's no room in today's marketplace for a snooty aristocracy. The buyer has the power and wise companies seek to better serve their customers.

That goes way beyond a friendly voice at the front desk. It means communicating in the language of your best prospects in a marketing-savvy way. It means keeping your brand from becoming a dinosaur. It means responding to cost-effective Internet visibility strategies.

At Promise Productions, we have multiple strategies for re-engaging with your customers so they will WANT to engage with you. Call 972-822-3587 to learn more.

The Six Cs of Marketing

Traditional marketing courses tell about the "Four P's" of marketing: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. As a seasoned Dallas Marketing and Advertising Agency professional, I am here to share about the Promotion element through the Six C's.

(1) CUSTOMER

Today, your company's marketing strategy needs to be customer-focused. It is all about service the customer. We believe that value only exists when we deliver measurable benefit to our customers.

To benefit the customer, first we have to understand your values, wants, needs and motivations. Not "understand" them as demographics or psychographics, but rather understand them as real people.

We have to understand why customers do what they do (or don't do) when they do it. Such knowledge is vital in marketing since having a strong understanding of buyer behavior will shed light on what is important to the customer. We focus on the your target customer first and then reverse engineer the most effective branding strategies.

It is crazy for a business to think they can attract prospects without understanding them. It's vital that companies have mindshare before market share can be gained.

(2) CONSISTENCY

Companies need to maintain consistency in their message; a practice called integrated marketing communications - from packaging and advertising to sales promotion and publicity. This will maintain and reinforce a brand's personality and image in a real life contex.

(3) CREATIVITY

Creativity is imperative to attract the right attention in a world cluttered with thousands of messages. Creativity adds impact through imagination - making your message memorable, compelling and effective.

Creativity lays aside the overly-familiar rules, and embraces out-of-box thinking so that marketers can reach beyond logic and structure and attract using a much more powerful force -- imagination.

* Creativity Informs: Marketing's responsibility to inform is amplified via creativity. Creativity makes marketing more vivid, and many researchers believe vividness attracts attention, maintains interest, and stimulates consumers' thinking.

* Creativity Persuades: Today's marketers are making creative storytelling aids: new myths, heroes and symbols like Ronald McDonald, the "Can You Hear Me Now" guy from Verizon, and more recently the Gecko from Geico Insurance.

* Creativity Reminds: It reinforces the brand with a unique flair. Imagine using the same invitation, without any creativity, to remind people to try a particular product everyday for a month. The invitation would become stale very quickly. Only creativity can transform boring reminders into interesting, entertaining marketing communications.

Nike is proof. Several commercials in a Nike campaign never mention the company name or even spelled it out on the screen. Each communication told a story. Each story evoked an emotion, created a possibility and an opportunity. And, the only on-screen cue identifying the sponsor was a single "swoosh" logo inscribed on the final branding scene.

(4) CULTURE

We understand that your business has to speak the CUSTOMER'S language to reach them in their world. All marketing communications needs cross-cultural research to be able to succeed. It's foolish to only see things from your own perspective, assuming that everyone else in the world thinks exactly like you and should understand what's so great about your product or service.

As David Ogilvy, the Father of Advertising, states, "If you are trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language in which they think".

(5) COMMUNICATION

Consumers don't want to be "sold to". Rather, they want to be "communicated with." Communication ties right into the tips about Culture above.

Good marketing communication creates value with target customers, speaks in their language and tells your story. It's about building long term, trustworthy, and profitable relationships with your customers.

Communication is not persuasive if it is "salesy", rather real communication is authentic and authenticity fosters trust and opens the doors for agreement.

(6) CHANGE

Marketing is not just a business function, but a process. There is a beginning, middle, but there is never an end. Successful must constantly CHANGE with the times. It is a conversation with your customers and potential customers that evolves right alongside them. As their needs, goals and desires change, our marketing keeps pace.

Marketing needs to be an evolving process that considers change in the world, economy, market, consumers; as well as internal change within the organization.

Promise Productions' advertising and marketing solutions for growing companies begins with targeted, measurable marketing plans and implement with break-through creative and the most up-to-date and innovative marketing communications. Our award-winning design and broadcast team is able to provide the marketing expertise, media planning, and production for any campaign.

Our proven ability to deliver elegant solutions for success in a complex world is your answer to more profit in 2009.

Let the results begin by contacting Promise Productions 972-822-3587.

Roadmap For 2009 Success

Think about it -- do you just want results or do you want PROFESSIONAL results? What level of results do you want? What caliber of customer do you want to attract? What level of presentation do you need to attract THAT customer?

At Promise Productions , we are not just graphic designers, web site programmers, digital photographers and videographers – those services are means to an end. We are MARKETING-SAVVY communicators. Our designs, writing and visual creativity is geared to one thing – producing the level of results your business would be thrilled to enjoy.

You see, whether it is a direct mail piece, a logo, a video, or search engine optimization, ALL our services are here to forward Your marketing goals. As we are fond of pointing out, Marketing MAKES money. Creativity and Innovation MAKE money. The rest is your expenses.

(1) The best thing, my friend, you can do for your business to position if for success is to get clear on what your IDEAL customer is. If you need professional assistance, we are a phone call away.

(2) Once you know the kind of client you enjoy doing business with, the kind that offers the best financial return for your efforts and the kind that likes doing business with you, you need marketing strategy to best attract them.

(3) Successful marketing first understands your audience so it can speak directly to them. It is communication that persuades them on your value.

We believe that true business success does not come from simply having the most leads and the most traffic; it comes from having the RIGHT customers. Face it, you don't have to be in business very long to experience that some customers are a joy to serve and others are just the opposite.

Given that you probably charge both kinds the same rates, which ones would you rather do business with?

Why We Get Professional Results:
In a word, Marketing. Everything we do is from marketing-savvy strategies to build optimum profits from ideal customers.

If we are speaking to you, go ahead and take the next step to a prosperous business relationship. Call Promise Productions at 972-822-3587.

Related Information:
• How we cause your prospects to Want to do business with you
• Dominate Your market through an Unfair Advantage
• Promise Productions' Commitment to You

Make Things Unequal

All things being equal, customers will always buy at the lowest price. So what are you doing to make things... unequal?

These days we see lots of areas losing personalness, losing meaning – becoming commodities. Sadly, this can even apply to vital marketing communications cornerstones such as logo design and web design.

These days even important things to you, like your bank account, you deal with a new bank teller every other month or so. These days businesses are starved for meaningful value personally to them. Provide THAT and you make things unequal, giving your cashflow an unfair advantage. So how do you communicate your business' value in a meaningful way? Keep reading...

UNEQUAL AWARENESS
If you blend in, if you do not distinguish yourself, you are another option in the crowded sea of products and services. If your customers see what you provide as a commodity, they will have zero loyalty -- often regardless of the customer service you offer. At this level, what you offer is merely equal to the next business that comes along and the determining factor becomes price. WalMart became America's largest employer on this principle of lower price for consumer commodities.

But for YOUR business, we focus on distinguishing you through what many businesses are starving for whether they know it or not – TRUST and AWARENESS.

Promise Productions works with good companies to make them better, more profitable, because we cause your client to WANT to do business with you. How do we do that? Well, as a Dallas marketing firm we use visuals to communicate your Value Proposition. What's more, we seek to do it in as personal a way as possible.

UNEQUAL TRUST
Each business has a relationship with both its current and prospective clients. Our Marketing Communications services are about managing and fostering these relationships for optimum success. Your goals are our command.

Cause your products and services to have personal meaning to your audience by

Listening... Understanding... & Appealing To

your ideal audience and the struggle to succeed just got a whole lot easier.

Start a prosperous business relationship with Promise Productions, call us at 972-822-3587.

Related Information:
• How we cause your prospects to Want to do business with you
• Dominate Your market through an Unfair Advantage
• Promise Productions' Commitment to You

Dallas Marketing Advertising Firm

When you think about it, only two things in business actually make money -- marketing & innovation. Everything else is an expense. Promise Productions,  a Dallas Advertising agency, provides innovative marketing services put you in the best light to attract your ideal clients for optimum profits.

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  We craft your message for maximum effectiveness.
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  We use technology to efficiently broadcast your message to the optimum target (integrating your Web Site with Blogging and Direct Mail).
• We provide the right image and communications to tell your story in a compelling way.

Professional Dallas Marketing and Branding Services
Get Found. Get Recognized. Get Results. Get Value.

Our Marketing, Advertising and Branding strategies are integrated so all your activities are infused with power. Each medium we present your business in (on-line, in print, etc.) has a complimentary look and feel and conveys a consistent message that both potential customers and current clients immediately recognize and identify with.

Brand identity must consistently be infused into all marketing messages, advertisements and corporate communications to sustain and grow your market share. In 2008's crowded and competitive marketplace, this is the key to optimum profits.

We build your brand one impression at a time by integrating Search Engine Positioning with targeted Direct Mail campaigns.

We show you how to leverage the benefits of Branding to shape how you communicate with your customers, and how your customers experience your business. Our branding strategies translate into marketing results.

Dallas Businesses and consumers are trying to do more in less time. That is where Promise Productions comes in. Because your clients and customers have less and less time to shop, they are relying on the heritage of the brands they know and trust to help make their buying decisions easier. Brands set the perceived value and quality. This in turn, determines the: sticker price, leasing price, resell price, and cost of operation. It is true from cars to can openers -- from builders to brokers.

Promise Productions' marketing and branding services also generates more repeat business by causing customers to remember and VALUE your products and services more.

Learn more, call 972-822-3587.

The New Language of Marketing 2.0

Why Your Business should utilize Social Media

Today's economy makes being up-to-date paramount. It makes responsiveness paramount. The companies that are failing today are doing so in part because they are too slow and bulky to adapt to what today's market and today's customer wants.

Whereas the company website tends to be more static, blogs are designed to be dynamic -- the latest scoop on what's new. Think of it like this:

• Your Web site makes a formal presentation of your product or service

• Your Blog is like they Q and A session after the presentation

Although the formal presentation is needed, it is not interactive in the way a blog can be. In reality, the Q and A portion is a vital way for your prospects learn more, get their questions and specific interests address and thereby -- get INVOLVED with your business.

Strategically used, a blog can promote your company's recent advancements, achievements, accomplishments and information in a way that is both less-formal and dynamic!

How Your Blog Can Make Marketing Proactive

(1) Blogs can receive immediate responses from your trade peers or prospects. Receiving both complaints and praise quickly can fine tune your sales cycle or your production cycle. Think of it like eavesdropping in on the water cooler discussion to know what people are really thinking.

Social Media is a new form of marketing communications to add to the mix.

In order to blog strategically, you need a marketing goal. Is your goal:
> to demonstrate customer responsiveness?
> to promote your website's page rank in Google and Yahoo?
> to inform on the latest and keep the company and your prospects aligned on the same page?

(2) Blogging allows you to be more personal. That creates a connectedness between any company and its clients. In a day of rare customer loyalty, blogging puts a more personal face on business for increased trust and repeat business. How important is that!

Marcus answers the top questions on utilizing Social Media for Marketing:

Q: What are the glaring No No's of a company blog?

(1) Not responding to comments. This undermines the very relatedness that your blog could have harnessed.

(2) Being inconsistent on posting. Blogs thrive on current information. Companies tend to get too wrapped up in the day-to-day and forget to blog, or worse, don't blog from a marketing context and the blog becomes aimless and haphazard.

Q: What is the easiest way to avoid those errors without investing a lot of precious time?

We encourage our clients to utilize a professional blogging service. After all, you want professional results don't you? Outsourcing your blog to Covenant Designs - a Marketing Communications firm - ensures that each blog entry serves your marketing goals. You get 4 blog entries per month, professionally written, like clockwork. (click here for more details on how this works)

You want your company blog to present your products and services in an interesting light. Take that one step further -- you want your blog to specifically revolve around the marketing terms and phrases that your customers are thinking about when they need products and services like yours. That way you are a natural fit to do business with.

Our marketing-savvy blog-for-you service does exactly that.

Q: What is the role of Social Media in The New Marketing?

Social Media (Blogging, Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, etc.) is here to stay. Selling is a conversation and blogs foster a no-pressure way to converse about products, services and the ideas behind them. I am glad you asked about Social Media's growing role because this gets to the heart of the matter:

Today the two keys to the steady inflow of new clients and profits to most any company are TRUST and AWARENESS.

Social Media, and blogging in particular, provides the keys to unlock these treasure chests. Regarding Trust: the public has been fooled too many times by an overly-slick presentation that is short on delivery. Just because some company pays an obscene amount of money to an advertising agency to make black look like white does not mean it is so.

Your prospects need to know you are real. When done the right way, blogging demonstrates authenticity. And that makes your information have the right impact.

Regarding Awareness: it is the nature of blogs to be shared. Blogs are like open letters; they allow you to promote what you are passionate about and stand for. Like any good marketing communication, they spread because they contain value. Blogs are built to spread -- they are easily shared by other blogs, they can be searched in blog directories, they are increasingly found in the Internet Search Engines.

Social Media is a vital tool today because of the awareness it can generate. Your blog can have an RSS feed that makes distributing your message all the easier. All this and more with a professional blog, without the massive expenses of traditional media. What's not to like!

These and other rapidly-growing ways to promote your company blog become ways to promote the company itself. In truth, this is the most expanding and exciting aspect of social media... and it is rapidly overtaking even word-of-mouth in its effectiveness.

CONCLUSION

Social Media is a powerful new sales channel. We don't blog for the sake of blogging. At Covenant Designs, we believe in blogging to serve your prospects, and thereby serve yourself. Effective blogging is about understanding your prospects and how you can immerse your company into their conversation.

We blog to foster trust and awareness in your company. Marketing is about communicating your features and benefits. Communication is about listening, expressing and understanding. Marketing Communications is about helping your ideal customer WANT to do business with you.

NEXT ACTION

Start A Business Relationship with Promise Productions: call 972-822-3587.

Outsource Your Blogging to Promise Productions: click here.

Learn About Covenant Designs Marketing Communications:
> Our Commitment To You
> Our Creative Process
> Our Marketing Communications Approach