ating, lighting, indoor and outdoor signs, and other promotional elements that create a positive impression on customers at your place of business. If one of your employees wears a clown suit, stands at the curb, and gestures for cars to turn into your parking lot-that's merchandising too. Some businesses fail to differentiate between merchandising and advertising. "Why aren't you advertising?" one storeowner was asked. "I am advertising!" he replied. "That electronic sign out front costs me $1,500 a month. I pay for it out of my advertising budget." The electronic sign is merchandising, not advertising. Many a business has failed after slashing its advertising budget in favor of costly on-premise merchandising.

Price and Value

The price and value of a product or service are obvious selling functions. The

The Marketing Bridge

Marketing is the process of attracting and keeping customers. Howard J. Morgens, chairman emeritus of Procter & Gamble, called advertising "only a part of the total selling effort." Because advertising is in the foreground, he said, "It is often thought of as an entity, separate and complete in itself. It is not. It is a combination of selling functions that provides the motive power." That combination-which attracts and keeps customers and builds the consumer franchise-I call the marketing bridge. Examine every selling function of your marketing bridge from the customer's point of view to ensure customer satisfaction. Your bridge must be attractive and inviting. The journey across must be easy, pleasant, and satisfying.

Advertising

Advertising, one of the selling functions that make up the marketing bridge, is usually the first communication you have with a prospective customer. Effective advertising requires that you know your customer and that your compelling messages reach this customer with frequency and consistency. While advertising is critical to the success of any enterprise, it is only part of the total marketing, or selling, effort.

Personal Selling

Everything done with and for customers after they enter or call your business is a personal selling activity. Besides the salespeople on the showroom floor-the delivery driver, the sacker, the cashier, and the receptionist are all in personal selling. I've seen enterprises spend millions to attract customers and then run them off with a surly dockworker or a temperamental technician. Your responsibility is to ensure that every business associate or employee who has contact with a customer understands the part he or she plays in the marketing process. Each associate is an extension of you. Each customer contact communicates your attitude toward the importance of the customer. When your advertising brings prospects to your showroom, can your sales associates convert them to long-term customers? Will your after-the-sale attention and service earn customer loyalty? One of my earliest advertising clients was an owner of a small appliance shop. On my initial sales call, I listened to the owner working with a customer.

A real pro, the owner pleasantly answered every question to the customer's satisfaction and ended up with a sale. My first words to him were, "Would I love to advertise for you!" He asked why, and I told him truthfully, "Because if my advertising sends in ten prospective customers, you will sell all ten." The personal-selling element of his marketing bridge would make the cost of advertising an investment rather than an expense. An owner of a chain of retail stores once pointed out that if the number of customers is high and the average sale is low, the advertising is working but the store isn't. When the number of customers is low and the average sale is high, the store is working but the advertising isn't. The two components-effective advertising and effective personal selling-must work together for an enterprise to succeed and prosper. That's what the marketing bridge is all about.

Merchandising

The way you present your product and your establishment is a vital selling function. Merchandising includes product displays, decorating, lighting, indoor and outdoor signs, and other promotional elements that create a positive impression on customers at your place of business. If one of your employees wears a clown suit, stands at the curb, and gestures for cars to turn into your parking lot-that's merchandising too. Some businesses fail to differentiate between merchandising and advertising. "Why aren't you advertising?" one storeowner was asked. "I am advertising!" he replied. "That electronic sign out front costs me $1,500 a month. I pay for it out of my advertising budget." The electronic sign is merchandising, not advertising. Many a business has failed after slashing its advertising budget in favor of costly on-premise merchandising.

Price and Value

The price and value of a product or service are obvious selling functions. The c

make up the marketing bridge, is usually the first communication you have with a prospective customer. Effective advertising requires that you know your customer and that your compelling messages reach this customer with frequency and consistency. While advertising is critical to the success of any enterprise, it is only part of the total marketing, or selling, effort.

Personal Selling

Everything done with and for customers after they enter or call your business is a personal selling activity. Besides the salespeople on the showroom floor-the delivery driver, the sacker, the cashier, and the receptionist are all in personal selling. I've seen enterprises spend millions to attract customers and then run them off with a surly dockworker or a temperamental technician. Your responsibility is to ensure that every business associate or employee who has contact with a customer understands the part he or she plays in the marketing process. Each associate is an extension of you. Each customer contact communicates your attitude toward the importance of the customer. When your advertising brings prospects to your showroom, can your sales associates convert them to long-term customers? Will your after-the-sale attention and service earn customer loyalty? One of my earliest advertising clients was an owner of a small appliance shop. On my initial sales call, I listened to the owner working with a customer.

A real pro, the owner pleasantly answered every question to the customer's satisfaction and ended up with a sale. My first words to him were, "Would I love to advertise for you!" He asked why, and I told him truthfully, "Because if my advertising sends in ten prospective customers, you will sell all ten." The personal-selling element of his marketing bridge would make the cost of advertising an investment rather than an expense. An owner of a chain of retail stores once pointed out that if the number of customers is high and the average sale is low, the advertising is working but the store isn't. When the number of customers is low and the average sale is high, the store is working but the advertising isn't. The two components-effective advertising and effective personal selling-must work together for an enterprise to succeed and prosper. That's what the marketing bridge is all about.

Merchandising

The way you present your product and your establishment is a vital selling function. Merchandising includes product displays, decorating, lighting, indoor and outdoor signs, and other promotional elements that create a positive impression on customers at your place of business. If one of your employees wears a clown suit, stands at the curb, and gestures for cars to turn into your parking lot-that's merchandising too. Some businesses fail to differentiate between merchandising and advertising. "Why aren't you advertising?" one storeowner was asked. "I am advertising!" he replied. "That electronic sign out front costs me $1,500 a month. I pay for it out of my advertising budget." The electronic sign is merchandising, not advertising. Many a business has failed after slashing its advertising budget in favor of costly on-premise merchandising.

Price and Value

The price and value of a product or service are obvious selling functions. The

y business associate or employee who has contact with a customer understands the part he or she plays in the marketing process. Each associate is an extension of you. Each customer contact communicates your attitude toward the importance of the customer. When your advertising brings prospects to your showroom, can your sales associates convert them to long-term customers? Will your after-the-sale attention and service earn customer loyalty? One of my earliest advertising clients was an owner of a small appliance shop. On my initial sales call, I listened to the owner working with a customer.

A real pro, the owner pleasantly answered every question to the customer's satisfaction and ended up with a sale. My first words to him were, "Would I love to advertise for you!" He asked why, and I told him truthfully, "Because if my advertising sends in ten prospective customers, you will sell all ten." The personal-selling element of his marketing bridge would make the cost of advertising an investment rather than an expense. An owner of a chain of retail stores once pointed out that if the number of customers is high and the average sale is low, the advertising is working but the store isn't. When the number of customers is low and the average sale is high, the store is working but the advertising isn't. The two components-effective advertising and effective personal selling-must work together for an enterprise to succeed and prosper. That's what the marketing bridge is all about.

Merchandising

The way you present your product and your establishment is a vital selling function. Merchandising includes product displays, decorating, lighting, indoor and outdoor signs, and other promotional elements that create a positive impression on customers at your place of business. If one of your employees wears a clown suit, stands at the curb, and gestures for cars to turn into your parking lot-that's merchandising too. Some businesses fail to differentiate between merchandising and advertising. "Why aren't you advertising?" one storeowner was asked. "I am advertising!" he replied. "That electronic sign out front costs me $1,500 a month. I pay for it out of my advertising budget." The electronic sign is merchandising, not advertising. Many a business has failed after slashing its advertising budget in favor of costly on-premise merchandising.

Price and Value

The price and value of a product or service are obvious selling functions. The

use if my advertising sends in ten prospective customers, you will sell all ten." The personal-selling element of his marketing bridge would make the cost of advertising an investment rather than an expense. An owner of a chain of retail stores once pointed out that if the number of customers is high and the average sale is low, the advertising is working but the store isn't. When the number of customers is low and the average sale is high, the store is working but the advertising isn't. The two components-effective advertising and effective personal selling-must work together for an enterprise to succeed and prosper. That's what the marketing bridge is all about.

Merchandising

The way you present your product and your establishment is a vital selling function. Merchandising includes product displays, decorating, lighting, indoor and outdoor signs, and other promotional elements that create a positive impression on customers at your place of business. If one of your employees wears a clown suit, stands at the curb, and gestures for cars to turn into your parking lot-that's merchandising too. Some businesses fail to differentiate between merchandising and advertising. "Why aren't you advertising?" one storeowner was asked. "I am advertising!" he replied. "That electronic sign out front costs me $1,500 a month. I pay for it out of my advertising budget." The electronic sign is merchandising, not advertising. Many a business has failed after slashing its advertising budget in favor of costly on-premise merchandising.

Price and Value

The price and value of a product or service are obvious selling functions. The

ating, lighting, indoor and outdoor signs, and other promotional elements that create a positive impression on customers at your place of business. If one of your employees wears a clown suit, stands at the curb, and gestures for cars to turn into your parking lot-that's merchandising too. Some businesses fail to differentiate between merchandising and advertising. "Why aren't you advertising?" one storeowner was asked. "I am advertising!" he replied. "That electronic sign out front costs me $1,500 a month. I pay for it out of my advertising budget." The electronic sign is merchandising, not advertising. Many a business has failed after slashing its advertising budget in favor of costly on-premise merchandising.

Price and Value

The price and value of a product or service are obvious selling functions. The cost of an item or service is its price; but value also includes its worth to the purchaser. This distinction is important in marketing. If you sell a commodity-a product or service with no perceived difference from the competition's-customers follow the lowest price. But if your product or service is proprietary-unusual or unique to your enterprise-you may charge more to the extent that the customer perceives greater value. Many proprietary enterprises believe that price is the only compelling factor among purchasers. This misunderstanding of the difference between price and value generally produces wasteful, ineffective advertising campaigns.

Your Business

The business itself is the foundation, the starting point for all marketing. What innovations, differences, competitive advantages, and unique strengths do you offer that are important and attractive to your customer? What customer satisfactions-reputation, guarantees, service, policies, and practices-do you offer that will keep a customer for a lifetime?

Business vitality may be your company's most important characteristic. A direct result of your leadership, it projects a vision of where your enterprise is going and what it can become. It inspires passion for serving the customer that goes beyond sales and profits. It energizes employee commitment and authentic customer service. Business vitality creates enthusiasm, enjoyment, and dedication, transforming enterprises into dynamic, personal, lively, one-of-a-kind creations.

The Marketing Bridge was developed by Norton Warner, author of the highly acclaimned marketing book, David Can Still Beat Goliath, in 1968 and is still used today by businesses and media around the world.

Jeff Dostal is the President of Warner Concept System. This DVD based system provides a step by step guide for the development and implementation of an effective marketing and advertising program that works for the small business owner. You can contact Warner Concept System by logging on to www.warnerconceptsystem.com or by emailing Jeff at jeff@warnerconceptsystem.com