Selling points from the pros: marketing, ad experts share top tips.

• Author: Schwab, Robert

MARKETING AND ADVERTISING ARE ALWAYS FINANCIAL AND operational hurdles for the business owner, mostly because owners tend to focus more on delivering their products and services than on connecting with prospective buyers.

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But selling those products and services requires strategic communication, not to mention identifying the target audience, and that makes marketing and advertising essential to the enterprise.

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Small-business owners make up about 55 percent of the ColoradoBiz and cobizmag.com reading audience, so we asked marketing and advertising professionals to give readers some choice tips on how to improve their own marketing and advertising, a critical route to increased sales.

Here is a compilation of their best ideas, both practical and conceptual. Our tip: Read on. You'll find at least one nugget you can implement immediately to improve your results in 2005.

1. You can learn a lot about an agency from its branding efforts. A firm's logo, website and advertising, marketing and collateral materials should emotionally connect with you, and foster a positive, meaningful, customer experience. Additionally, branding components should differentiate and position a firm in its industry and--more importantly--in your mind. If an agency has failed to brand itself, is it the most prudent choice for your investment?

   THERESA LC FOGLE, PRINCIPAL AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, EDGE COMMUNICATION BY DESIGN, FORT COLLINS

2. The success of building a brand through advertising, direct mail or online is greatly influenced by making certain every employee in every position in your business understands the brand promise and how to do his/her job in a way that supports that. If, for example, your branding positions your company as the one that smiles, you need to be certain everyone is smiling, that HR is training people to smile, incentives are awarded based on smiles, etc. When the brand is supported by the culture, the customer becomes a believer.

   BILL OBERMEIER, CHAIRMAN, STRATECOM, BOULDER

3. Know your customer ... I mean really know your customer. See what it emotionally feels like to be them. Try hanging out where they do, wear what they wear, think like they think. Then and only then, decide what would appeal to them from a marketing communications standpoint.

   LORA LEDERMANN, CREATIVE CHARACTER, SCREAM AGENCY LLC, DENVER

4. Don't build your marketing program on a wobbly brand foundation. First, before you ever develop another ad, brochure, website or news release, decide what your brand stands for and promises to deliver. Gather your management together (and not just marketing people) and answer this question: What, if anything, makes your company or product demonstrably unique in a way that is relevant and persuasive to your chosen market? Then build your entire operation--not just your marketing efforts--around that promise and make sure you deliver on it.

   DAN CHRISTOPHERSON, CHRISTOPHERSON & CO., DENVER

5. Organizations must consider the rule of 4 and 6. It is important to "touch" existing clients at least four times per year and potential clients at least six times per year. A client "touch" can be defined as a direct-mail piece, hand-written note, personal telephone call, event invitation, special offer, thank-you gift or other direct marketing effort. It is important to remember that a company often considers changing service providers when the need arises or a situation dictates it. If your company has a consistent message and is consistently in front of the prospects, top of mind awareness is garnered and the company is likely to consider your services.

   SHEILA STEWART, CEO, MARKETING SOLUTIONS & RESULTS, ENGLEWOOD

6. Don't waste your money on ads. Ads say don't read me. Don't watch me. Tune me out. Powerfully relevant and unexpected communication founded on true human insight says exactly the opposite. So while advertising may be what your company needs, make sure it looks and feels like anything but.

   MIKE DRAZEN, MANAGING PARTNER, THOMAS TABER & DRAZEN

7. Businesses whose communications are based on complex, intangible and often esoteric concepts--engineers, accountants, attorneys, etc.--face a...