Closer and closer to Emerald City!

The October release of No Place Like Home Services by Wizard of Ads Partners Ray Seggern and Monica Ballard is imminent.

It’s a helpful “how-to”, and we’re in the meaty middle of the section titled, Good Things Come in Threes. Let’s continue with the next part: Air, Land & Sea.

Air, Land & Sea

Imagine your company is divided into 3 branches of the military: you have an Army, a Navy, and an Air Force. When we speak of Air, Land, and Sea in marketing terms, we mean that the Air is your “Air Force,” as in “on the air”—mass media, radio, and TV. Your Army is your Land, your “boots on the ground” efforts. And Sea? That’s your Navy, going where the surfing happens—in this case, web surfing.

Here are some mobilizing strategies for each branch of your “armed forces.”

Air

To make yourself a household name, never sacrifice frequency for more reach. In a typical market, reach only those viewers or listeners you can afford to reach 2-3 times per week every week. The stations will provide you with the reach and frequency along with a price to buy. As an all-else-being-equal-general-rule-of- thumb, a good investment should be no more than $1 per person per year. In other words, reaching 100,000 people three times per week every week of the year should cost no more than $100,000 for the year. However, rarely is all else equal. Buying media can be tricky, frustrating, and expensive, but we’ve just given you the best possible place to start.

Make sure that the signal pattern of the media you are buying matches but does not exceed your service area. Otherwise, you’ll be paying to reach people you cannot serve. As much as you might like to reach all the people listening to that 100,000-watt radio station, bragging rights can turn into trouble when you can’t realistically serve all the potential prospects in the signal pattern. Same with TV, where you can define who you want to reach through the cable zones.

The impact of your on-air campaign relies on the strength of your message. As we repeatedly emphasize in this book: If you don’t have anything original to say, FIND something.

Land

These are the many ways customers encounter your brand other than mass media or the web. Make sure your brand is consistent at every turn — that your slogan, lettering, colors, and catch-phrases are the same—so there is no mistaking your company’s identity.

Boots-on-the-ground efforts also include points of contact such as outbound calling, sponsorship of local events, and appearances in parades, festivals, or home shows. If your company has a favorite charity, document your involvement with photos. Does your company have a mascot? If so, is the mascot throwing out the first pitch at a baseball game or helping Santa hand out gifts when the big factory in town has their Christmas party? From festivals to farmers’ markets, find opportunities—not to sell anyone anything, but to be present, show support, and help out where you can.

Again, consistency is key. Make sure every contact with customers or prospects is an opportunity to build trust, communicate who you are, and share why you need to be their “go-to guys” when need arises.

Sea

Your “Navy” handles everything online, such as PPC, SEO, social media, digital newsletters, blogs, vlogs, and email campaigns.

Review your website content and make sure it contains phrases and words that are uniquely yours. If you can read your home page or “About Us” and replace your name with a competitor’s, and it still rings true, it’s time to dive into a rewrite! Start thinking of your website as your 24/7 brand ambassador, telling your company’s success stories. Day or night, your site anticipates customers’ questions and answers them with ease.

YouTube channels and social media videos are often underutilized by service companies. If you’re documenting being out in the community, that is “social proof” that you are good stewards of the causes you believe in. Go pro or go guerilla with those videos. Just go make them and post them! Anything is better than nothing. Keep 80% of your postings “light” and well, social. Don’t make all your videos about offers and reaching for their wallets. Save that for 20% of the time. Recognize employee work anniversaries and birthdays, team accomplishments, or awards. Sometimes, just being silly with a dance, joke, or blooper reel will create the impression that you’re a fun place to work and to do business with.

Your marketing budget should be divided towards each of these branches. The percentages you divert to each branch may vary. It may be an even split of 33%, or this may be the year you adjust the percentages: if it’s time to revamp that website, your percentage breakdown may be 20% Air, 20% Land, and 60% Sea. Efforts toward in-house training will pull more dollars into your Land budget. Let the new percentages reflect the strength of your forces, how powerful your opponents (i.e., competitors) are, and what you want to accomplish by next year. Divide and conquer!

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