Questions about this issue of The Intentional? Email us at newsletter@showyourintention.com.

Tip of the Month: Word of Mouth Marketing

Word of Mouth, or WOM, is getting more and more attention from marketers these days. As a matter of fact, it has become a science. There is even a Word of Mouth Marketing Association (http://www.womma.org/ ) for marketers focused solely on building word-of-mouth strategies for their companies -- many of them Fortune-ranked.

Fortune-ranked companies are hiring experts to focus on developing WOM programs because they are seeing a great return on investment. Small business owners should follow the trend. The right kind of talk doesn't always come cheap, but a marketer can certainly help out. If you're looking for a great WOM tactic, here's one:

Marketing to Influencers. Most communities contain people who know the latest about every trend, from technology to fashion and everything in between. They know what is new and exciting in the business and they are happy to tell their friends and peers about what they know and what they like.

Want to learn how to market to influencers? Call us at 703-216-6361!

Effective Advertising: Are You Using All 12 Cs?

Duane Sprague, a marketing author, did a fantastic job listing the essentials of effective advertising. Similar to the 4 Cs of selecting a diamond (Cut, Clarity, Color, and Caret), he presented the industry with the12 Cs of advertising. When all elements work in harmony, the end result is impressive. In this issue, we're covering the first 4 Cs, taken directly from Sprague's book, Power Advertising with a Branding Campaign:

1. Cut. First and foremost, you need to cut through the competitive clutter and get noticed and remembered in a positive way. You need to stand out, and offer something stunning that people want. Like exceptionally friendly and personable service, super convenient location, huge variety and product selection, value-added services, etc.
2. Clarity. Your message, offer, and Unique Selling Proposition must be clear, concise, easy to understand quickly. Keep it simple, powerful and clean, both in design execution and message.
3. Color. Use only full color ads. Color increases credibility, enhances communication, and cuts through the sea of non-color ads. Use colors in your logo and color schemes that fit your image and message. Use them consistently. In a two color ad (often more viable for emerging businesses), the most powerful attention grabbing color combinations are red copy on a solid yellow background (Kodak logo), yellow copy on a red background (McDonald's logo), or black copy on yellow background.
4. Carrot. You need a hook, a carrot, or an offer that is going to motivate the viewer to act now. You need a Call to Action, like "come in today and receive a free.." Or "Visit our website and download a free..". This is one of THE most essential elements in your ad!

To be continued in the next issue of The Intentional.

What We're Reading

Guerrilla Marketing: Secrets for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business, by Jay Conrad Levinson

Why do we recommend it? It was simply the genius of Jay Levinson to come up with a 'take-no-prisoners' approach to finding clients that hooked us. His ideas work -- and are easy to implement! First printed in 1983, the completely revised and extended 3rd edition is even better than the first. He presents new, fresh ideas and weapons for small business owners, including lessons on how to best leverage the Internet. It is truly a must read!

In the next issue:

• Insight from a recent study on print advertising. A study reveals non-traditional inserts are capturing reader's attention and creating great impact.
• Company Identity: the incredible difference it makes when done right.
• The continuation of the 12Cs of Advertising.