Sales Performance by Effective Marketing

Effective marketing strategies and campaigns are the key to improving or generating sales of any product, service or company label. A thorough understanding of what is sold, to whom and the appeal of products or services being sold are the elements of exploration in formulating the best marketing mix. The basic PMDG ‘Total Brand’ philosophy dovetails with the concept of marketing products as opposed to merely selling them.

But make no mistake - high performance marketing and branding campaigns are designed to generate, grow and maintain sales performance, not just make a company look good. The best looking companies on the planet are worthless if the products or services don’t sell or are unappealing to the marketplace.

Media Relations
For most companies the maintenance of a relationship with media outlets is unnecessary and prohibitively expensive. But what happens when a company wants to roll out a new product to a large degree of fanfare? That’s where PMDG can assist in creating an atmosphere of anticipation. In short, we maintain media relationships for you so when the time comes for a press conference or product introduction you’ll get the ink and video time necessary to give your marketing efforts a generous boost.

Advertising
PMDG creates advertising concepts for use in all forms of media including new media outlets. Product and company ads are designed to work effectively within the construct of the overall brand strategy. New advertising channels, from local cable to click-per-view web traffic, continue to gain in popularity and usefulness providing advertisers with cost-effective ways to maintain brands and disseminate new messages.

PMDG seeks to build an advertising mix enabling companies to fully understand the power and effectiveness of marketing dollars spent in advertising. Instant online tracking, pay-per-view, pay-per-click and pay-per-lead generated techniques are now standard in an industry that once played on the ‘mysteries’ of advertising. Nowadays we know why buyers access company and product information and we’re able to specifically target market niches to generate higher sales and greater profitability.

Ads created by PMDG utilize thematic branding techniques to build a connection with the reader, viewer or mouse pilot. Using humor, drama and emotional prompts creates a greater sense of awareness about a company’s brand or product features and entrenches these ideas in the mind of the consumer.

Guerilla Marketing
Marketing creativity is often best expressed through Guerilla Marketing techniques and strategies where ideas and concepts are presented through non-traditional vehicles. There are numerous opportunities in the marketplace to foster sales and brand recognition through such channels and they are often less expensive than typical media-centric campaigns.

PMDG looks for various Guerilla Marketing avenues of approach in the context of the overall campaign. However, the agency takes great care to participate only in non-traditional campaigns that don’t create misunderstandings such as bomb scares or viewed as a threat to the community. PMDG seeks to show products and companies in the best light possible…innovative and energetic.

Direct Mail
Direct Mail strategies are a tried and true element of the marketing mix. PMDG is expert in creating direct mail pieces and campaigns that edge toward the higher end of rather stable statistics. Although Direct Mail campaigns don’t typically make or break a brand or product they are a useful and cost-effective addition to comprehensive marketing plans.

Here again PMDG utilizes thematic branding techniques to set Direct Mail items apart from other pieces sent through the mails. Dynamic and colorful pieces tend to create immediate interest and push response rates higher. Clear and concise messages coupled with well constructed ideas provide the reader with a ‘billboard in the hand’ where instant decisions are made.

Style Formulation
Companies and products are often known for the styles they use in the marketplace to convey ideas. A company style is so much more than the logo or sign on the door. Everything the public or market sees, hears, feels or touches in regard to a company or product creates an impression about the brand. Once such styles are ingrained in the public consciousness a sense of familiarity gives the product or company an advantage in making the sale.

PMDG helps you make the critical choices necessary to go forward in the marketplace with style formulations that present your company and products in a manner most likely to comfort and familiarize the customer. The ultimate goal is sales but along the way to profitability is also company and product integrity, a sense of value to the community and a statement of professionalism that keeps consumers and customers coming back time and again.

Core Values Development
Every company has at its core a value system where judgments about the marketplace and the company itself are formulated and expressed. Often these values are either not expressed to the marketplace or they are presented poorly and reflect negatively in the company. And yet a company or product core value, such as high quality, fair pricing, integrity, great product support, reliability or a host of other significant terms can be a powerful marketing tool if presented correctly.

Market Evaluation Programs

Product Evaluation – Retail
Bringing new products to market or repositioning a product is increasingly difficult as retail channels continue to undergo wildly swinging and unpredictable changes. PMDG brings a thorough knowledge of Retail Channel marketing as well as decades of experience in evaluating consumer tastes and habits. We evaluate new products by examining the totality of the marketplace and the expected position and role for the new product. We consider price, aesthetics, ergonomic design, functionality and consumer benefit to design the best possible market strategy.

Many products are well-suited for sales in retail stores and mass merchant outlets, but some are better targeted toward online sales and distribution models. PMDG weighs the manufacturer’s capacities as well as online feasibilities to determine the most effective placement for the product. In some cases manufacturers can realize greater profits and higher brand recognition by offering their products strictly through online Channels.

In addition PMDG uses its trademark ‘WOW Factor’ evaluation method to cross-reference the new product against competitive offerings and position the new product favorably. The overall effect of a PMDG report is to create a marketing concept that appeals to both the retailer and the consumer, thus providing the manufacturer or distributor with the highest chances for market success.

Product Evaluation – Channel
Channel distribution and roll out of new products is an entirely different ball of wax as compared to marketing at the retail level. Although many of the same factors exist, the most important aspects such as usability and field functionality create marketing challenges. Such challenges can derail or completely destroy success for new products targeted at Channel distribution. PMDG evaluates the usefulness of a given product within specifically targeted Channels.

Where such products feature high technologies it is important to evaluate field use reliability, distribution capabilities of the manufacturer, product technology support and whether the product functions in the manner intended. PMDG evaluates a product’s general acceptability amongst VARs, Channel Distributors, Install Professionals as well as large-scale user targets such as hospitals, government agencies and service companies.

 Service Evaluation – Retail/Channel
Service products, whether offered through retail channels or other Channel distribution, create another set of marketing needs. Here customer convenience to access, pay for and use the service is the primary driver for sales. PMDG evaluates not only the functionality of the service itself, but also its distribution methodology and convenience load to the customer. Many services are offered through an online interface but delivered by other means such as employment agency services or home health care.

PMDG considers each service product in a comprehensive manner, evaluating the connection between the online experience of a particular service and its connection or disconnection from the physical delivery of the service. Back-end service and support is also considered during this process to effectively build the best possible overall product.

Industry/Market Position
One of the most significant factors for sales success in any industry or Channel is the proper positioning of products and services. PMDG's extensive knowledge base in consumer habits aids in creating effective strategies in terms of pricing, market targeting, niche market development, store placement, marketing dollars spent and a host of other considerations.

Even some highly saturated markets are ripe for exploitation with a properly positioned and marketed product. Conversely, a great new product positioned out of its natural market space and marketed ineffectively may never get moving.

Market Data Value
PMDG views market data and statistics as a vital cog in the overall marketing mix but almost never the primary driver in the potential success of a product or service. Our approach to effective marketing does not rely on focus groups and rich data sets as the complete determinative factor in evaluating products and services or creating marketing strategies.

It is often said, “There are lies, damned lies and statistics.” The truth is, despite its empirical nature market data is highly subjective and open to widely diverse interpretations. PMDG uses market data to help in defining effective marketing paths as pointers to possible routes. In the end though, our approach couples innovative creativity with common sense. Will a product or service work in the marketplace, and can we make it look great doing so?

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