“I hate tyre kickers”. It’s a phrase we hear a lot. It comes from the act of car buying, when a  prospective purchaser, who does not know what he or she is looking for, makes the pointless gesture of kicking the tyres.

No-one likes having their time wasted by folks who have no intention of buying. When you are a start-up or small business wasted time is wasted money.

So, what can you do to avoid tyre kickers, or, even better – turn tyre kickers into customers?

1. Attract the type of customers you need. 

Do you know exactly the kind of customer you want and know exactly where to find them? If you are marketing to the wrong target audience then chances are, they may not be interested in your product or service. Profile your existing customers. Find out what their needs are, how to reach them and what they think of you.

2. Accept that customer relationships need to be developed.

Do you buy something from every shop you visit? No. You browse, you compare, you decide which shop/ brand you like the price or “feel” of. Customer relationships need to be developed. The higher the cost of your product or service the longer the sales cycle will take, as the bigger the decision. What is your customer service like? Are you helpful and friendly? Make sure your marketing literature gives them plenty of  clear information. Keep “wooing” your database. Old leads may well come back later on, or recommend you to a friend.

3. Are you dealing with the decision maker?

Years ago, I worked with a guy who had been cultivating a relationship for months with “Bill” at an exclusive hotel with a view to selling him some extremely high spec treadmills. He finally managed to book an appointment for the sales guy to go out. Turned out that “Bill”, was in fact the guy who cut the lawns and had absolutely no say in the fitness suite buying decisions. Moral of the story: make sure your database is up to date and make sure you ask the right questions!

4. Know your  features and benefits

Why should a customer buy from you? What’s in it for them? Why are you more attractive than your competitors? Be up front about this in your marketing material. Get your message across from the start.

5. Sales and marketing are two different animals. 

Many people think sales and marketing are the same thing. They aren’t. Sales guys drive to their customers’ businesses to sell. Marketing drives businesses that buy TO YOU.

Analyse where your system is falling down. Are you getting lots of enquiries through your website, turning them into appointments and then failing to make the sale? Do you need to look at your face to face sales skills? Or, is your website attracting the wrong type of customer with it’s messaging?

Has your marketing campaign generated lots of telephone enquiries and then you are failing to close the sale on the phone? Invest in some basic sales training. Learn how to negotiate and close deals. See point 3!

6. “I don’t have any money”

Find out if a customer has budget to spend. Can you find a product or service tailored to their budget? Prospects sometimes assume that if you have a service imparting knowledge (like a business consultant, or a lawyer or an accountant) that you will happily give advice for free.  Consider charging a small fee or offering a set time limit of free advice to demonstrate your abilities. Your time is valuable too. Have confidence in your service and knowledge.

6. Don’t get disillusioned.

Not many businesses have a 100% lead to sale conversion rate. Conversion rates vary from industry to industry. A company we worked with used the rule of thumb that one in three of their proposals would result in a sale. By improving their marketing targeting, we increased that to 1 in 2.  This doesn’t, however,  mean the other 50% were “tyre kickers”. Find out the reason prospects didn’t buy from you, stay in touch with them and they may well buy from you further down the line.

If you have any top tips for dealing with tyre kickers, then please leave a comment!

Are you starting to find that there are just not enough hours in the day when it comes to running your business?

To allow your business to grow you need to do regular marketing. If you are getting tied up with trying to do your own marketing, or delegating that task to a team member who is not an expert in that area, then you could be wasting money targeting the wrong customers, using incorrect communication channels, not getting the message right and well, not doing it in the best way possible really.

Are your skills better suited to another area of the business? Is marketing perhaps not your “thing”? That’s fine – we can’t put shelves up. We aren’t too proud to admit that.

We’ve created our Virtual Marketing packages due to clients asking for our help in the same way as they may require a Virtual Assistant to take on their administrative tasks.

A “Virtual” marketing team is one that works remotely. We are real, not holograms – as the term “Virtual” might suggest. We don’t take up valuable office space or eat all your biscuits, you don’t have to pay us National Insurance, PAYE or spend money recruiting and training us. We don’t ask for holiday or sick pay and we don’t surf the internet when we should be working. We simply charge for the hours we spend on your projects.

Emerald Frog Marketing has two “Virtual Marketing” packages to support businesses looking for ways to grow.

The “Virtual Marketing Manager” package is perfect for organisations requiring ongoing advice and marketing management. Perhaps you have an in-house marketing assistant who needs strategic direction? Or, maybe you require an interim marketing manager whilst you recruit or to cover a maternity leave?

The “Virtual Marketing Team” gives you an outsourced marketing department, includes copy writing (sales letters, email campaigns, blogs, brochures, press releases, website text, newsletters etc) and/or graphic design into a pre-defined number of hours per month. The Virtual Marketing team package is perfect for small businesses or consultants who wish to grow their business, but without the overhead costs of staff recruitment.

Extra hours can be added to help support you during your busiest months, or when you have particularly big projects to manage.

So here’s the features and benefits bit…

Why choose a monthly Virtual Marketing package from Emerald Frog Marketing?

• Save money and increase your return on investment with expert advice on any marketing you do in-house
• Save time and avoid hassle. We deal with all marketing suppliers (e.g. print, mailing, web design* etc) and have negotiated some cracking rates.
• No staff costs including holiday/sick pay, pension, PAYE or National Insurance.
• No recruitment or training costs.
• Flexible help when you need it most.
• Friendly Frogs who are a joy to deal with.
• Award winning marketing. What more can we say?

How much does it cost?

Our Virtual Marketing packages give you a flexible service. Hours can be spread throughout the month, as and when you need them. The more hours you choose the more you save.

Also, save money even more money! Pay as you go, or, we offer a 5% discount on 6 month contracts and 10% discount on 12 month contracts.

*Other marketing services available on request. Additional marketing services at extra cost.

So, if you need to be outsourcing your marketing for a few hours a month to concentrate on doing what  you do best, then contact us. And also check out our testimonials page!

But the other day, whilst shopping in Boots’, we came across this…

Bumpits. Bum pits. BUM PITS. Who came up with that brand name at JML HQ?? How did THAT one get signed off? BUM PITS?

So, what is a bum pit? Well, turns out it’s not the crease between the top of the thigh and the buttock, but in fact false hair pieces to “bump up” one’s own head of hair to create volume and bounce.

We’d have loved to have been flies on the wall at that brain-storming session!

Email us the title of the blog post our Easter Frog is hiding in, along with your name, company name and contact details to enter our prize draw. The winner will receive some marvellous Easter goodies from Emerald Frog Marketing!

Email your entries to findthefrog@emeraldfrog.co.uk

The winner will be announced on April 21st! Good luck!

Don’t forget….it’s the frog in the Easter egg you are looking for. He’s very small and looks like this:

(This is not the page you are looking for, by the way!)

Small print…

No purchase necessary. Judges’ decision is final. No correspondence may be entered into. Closing date 12noon April 21st 2011. Family and relatives of Emerald Frog Marketing, sorry but you can’t enter (well you can for fun, but you can’t win, sorry). Good luck everyone else!!

Searching for our entry in the listings, reading glasses just don’t do the job. Even one of our children had a go to try and find our entry…

Eventually, it was located (seriously, it’s that size!):

If you would like to get in contact with us then call 0845 519 5565. Alternatively, if you have a microscope, you can find us on page 769 of the Cambridge Yellow Pages.

We are really pleased to hear from one of our customers, Cameo Curtains Ltd, that they recently acquired boyband Boyzone as one of their customers!

We recently designed, optimised and launched Cameo Curtains Ltd’s new website last month. In addition, we rebranded and created all their marketing materials, so we are thrilled that already it’s attracting high profile customers for them!

Cameo Curtains Ltd manufacture theatre curtains and stage drapes, but were contacted out of the blue last week to help out with a rather unusual request!

Here’s the scoop from their press release…

CHATTERIS-based theatre drapes manufacturer Cameo Curtains Ltd were called upon at short notice to run-up some 24-foot long skirts for the backing singers at last Saturday’s Boyzone Concert at the O2 Arena.

Soames Springthorpe, Sales Director, said: “It was really exciting for our staff to know that they were helping to make a great concert, seen by thousands, even more spectacular.”

The shimmering skirts, made from silver lame, unfurled as the singers were lifted into the air on stage. Take a look at the stunning effect here!

Soames says they were contacted via their website after being found on Google by the Boyzone team. They created the skirts in two days and everyone is thrilled with the results. A real show – stopper!

Well done to Cameo Curtains Ltd and we are glad the new website is working hard for you

If there is one thing we Frogs love – it’s a nice cup of tea. To our horror, and then amusement, we found this photo on the internet after a recent conference. Any idea where the Emerald Frog Marketing delegation were sitting?

Don’t phone. It’s just for fun

—-Festive Greetings—-

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

In addition, please also accept our best wishes for a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2012, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make this country great (not to imply that this country is necessarily greater than any other country or area of choice), and without regard to the race, creed, colour, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual orientation of the wishers.

This wish is limited to the customary and usual good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first. ‘Holiday’ is not intended to, nor shall it be considered, limited to the usual Judeo-Christian celebrations or observances, or to such activities of any organized or ad hoc religious community, group, individual or belief (or lack thereof).

Note: By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher at any time, for any reason or for no reason at all.
This greeting is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. This greeting implies no promise by the wisher actually to implement any of the wishes for the wisher her/himself or others, or responsibility for the consequences which may arise from the implementation or non-implementation of it.

This greeting is void where prohibited by law.

We’d just like to wish all our customers, Frog Blog followers, Facebook fans, Twitter followers (and those that simply stumble upon this site whilst looking for something else) a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

See  you again in the New Year for more marketing tips and advice…but until then:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!