67: Eight Lessons From the Rear View Mirror
Normally, AdverRyting posts are reserved for singularly-focused articles related to small business marketing. But it just so happens that today is the eighth anniversary of the day biplane productions opened its doors (in the guest bedroom of a second-floor apartment), designing advertising for an auction in Central Michigan. It seems like forever and somehow yesterday—maybe because of all the all-nighters I’ve pulled that blur the days.
I’ve learned a lot about life & people, business management & customer relations, accounting & planning, faith & government, efficiency & profitability, auctions & media. I couldn’t sum all of that in a book, let alone an email. So, I decided to tell you eight of the top things I’ve learned about auction marketing.
Marketing Without Measurement Is a Gamble
If you can’t prove why you do/don’t use specific media in your marketing mix (and in the proportion that you do), why should your sellers trust your “experience”? When budgets are tight, you will benefit from knowing which media are the most efficient at getting bidders to your sales.
Advertising Mixes Will Be Constantly in Flux
There will always be new ways to reach prospective buyers, because the makeup of communities and the media landscape changes faster than a Cirque de Soleil performer between sets. Auction budgets will regularly be adding line item expenditures, even if the bottom lines remain similar.
Consistency Trumps Creativity
Every advertising piece you produce is telling the marketplace either that you work with precision—and thereby reliability—or that you’re too cheap to deliver predictable service and/or quality product. Creativity gets short-term attention; consistency builds long-term brands.
If You Want to Compete With the Big Boys, Brand Like They Do
Small companies trust their name. Fortune 500 companies trust their branding. Look at the national industry leaders. It’s not an accident they grew larger and more quickly than you, when their advertising looks better than yours. Perception trumps reality in our culture.
Social Media Is For Conversations, Not Broadcasting
Join the conversation, or be considered the annoying, interrupting commercial. Be interesting; but even more so, be interested in those in those environments. Put the “interact” in “interactive media.” Build relationships, and you’ll build a following.
Photography Is the Barometer of Your Marketing
While I enhance a large percentage of the images sent to me for media, there is a ceiling for dark, cluttered, blurred, and haphazard images. Low-resolution images snagged from the Internet will handcuff your designer—and the attractiveness of what you’re selling. Professional design will put your images in their best light; professional images will put what you’re selling in its best light.
Advertising is For the Buyer, Not the Auctioneer
You only have a few seconds to hook a buyer. Lead your advertising with what’s important to them: the asset and the benefit of that asset. Sales method and date and directions are secondary or tertiary information. Estate names are for the fine print, unless people will buy their items predominantly because of who owned them.
Auctions Can Be Made or Broken Before the Opening Bid
If the right people aren’t in the seats, your auction will not achieve its highest potential. Work on honing your marketing prowess more than your chant and crowd management. Sometimes, it takes partnering with someone from another company (or network of companies) to give your client the best marketing.
I look forward to learning and growing—with you—in this next year. I would love to hear from you the top things you’ve learned in your career!