Do Sweat the Small Stuff 

Marketing ADvisor, Carl Nixon of AM 580 WDBO, is joined by special guest Captain Jeff Thompson of Thompson Aire, to discuss the importance of all the small details.  

In marketing, sometimes you do need to sweat the small stuff. The small details are very important no matter if you're talking about television commercials, radio commercials, billboards, Internet, or direct mail.

Television:

• Is the program a right fit?
• Know your target demographic; Who you want to reach
• The message is important: Present your product or service in the best possible light and to as many people as possible

Billboards:

• Thompason Aire hot air balloons are "flying billboards"
• Billboards are excellent for branding
• Message should be clear and to-the-point
• The message has to be absorbed in a small amount of time
• At most, 4 words total (some say 7 words)
• Unless it means something (Ex: Burger King, The King), no need for a picture
• No call to action on billboards (except maybe a divorce attorney); Mainly for branding

Internet:

Big thing: As a business, if the answer to the question "Do you have a website?" is "No," then you need to re-think what it is you're doing.

• People are time starved, so having a website is imperitive
• Check your spelling and grammar!  If every word isn't spelled correctly, that's a small detail that would raise concern to website visitors
• ThompsonAire.com is a great example of a well-designed website.  It has movie clips, graphics, calendar of flights, cost of rides, and contact information
• Thompson Aire's website is very interactive, which is great
• 4 seconds is the average time people either decide to leave a website or keep looking; You want to make sure they are excited and you don't lose the vistor's attention
• Organization and ease of navigation are key elements to a great website
• #1 error: Improfessional language/misspellings
• You, the business owner, set the standard.  Take advice from Thompson Aire's motto: "Perfection is not our goal.  Perfection is our standard."
• Websites are helpful for those businesses without a storefront.  The website acts as the storefront for a business such as Thompson Aire.

Direct Mail:

• It's very difficult to have your message reach someone because many people don't always open their mail
• When you get your coupon/flier into someone's hand, make sure it has an exciting offer on it!
• For example, Thompson Aire offers children 9 & under a free hot hair balloon ride with a paying adult.  "Junior adults," ages 10-15, are offered a reduced rate, as well.

Example of someone who did not take care of all the small details:

• A pilot of a hot air balloon didn't take care of small things (those that would only take 5 minutes to fix) and ended up having to land unexpectedly in the forest.  It's a series of small details that you let go and get out of hand that end up hurting you.

Contact the Marketing ADvisors at 321-281-2011 or email the MarketingADvisors@WDBO.com to receive free advertising, marketing, and promotion advice.