These little myths went to market — and came back debunked.

Utah Valley BusinessQ solicited the help of some local marketing mavens to debunk those pesky myths that have been circling about.

Find out what they had to say — and what your marketing needs to do.

UNIQUE CREATIVE DRIVES RESULTS
By Ben Borchert, creative director at Kim Brown & Associates
Many clients think they must have an “out of the box” idea that is unique or highly creative, and if they don’t, it won’t work — their message won’t stand out. Though creative messaging can help prospective customers remember the message, there has to be the right balance between creativity and value for the customer. Novelty alone is not a prescription for success. The art of persuasion is paradoxical. As national sales guru Ron Willingham said, “The more we attempt to persuade people, the more they tend to resist us. But the more we attempt to understand them and create value for them, the more they tend to persuade themselves.”

COMPANIES CONTROL THEIR OWN BRAND
By Stephen A. Hales, CEO of Stephen Hales Creative, Inc. in Provo
A company’s brand is owned and controlled by its customers — not by the company itself. You can’t really create your company’s brand. About the best you can do is influence it.

Your company’s brand lives in the heart of your customer. It’s based on all the things your customer has heard and seen about you, the way he’s treated when he deals with you, his experience with your products and service, and how he feels when he calls or comes in for a visit. For good or ill, when a group of customers have the same feeling about you, you have a brand.
Because brands are built from the “outside in,” sometimes it’s tough for people inside the company to really know what their brand experience is like. They live with the company every day, which often blinds them to the way the company is experienced by newcomers. That’s why an outside advertising firm can be helpful in getting your customers to have a positive brand experience with your company. They understand your goals and know your company, but their main job is to see things from the customer side of the world. A good advertising agency is an effective brand gatekeeper, making sure your messages in all their forms are positive, professional and consistent. Pick one of the brands you love, and you’ll no doubt find a company that’s working with a smart advertising partner. There’s a lesson in that.

DESIGN DOESN’T MATTER
By Alan Wilson, creative director at Eli Kirk
All design matters, but good design matters most. Be it branding, creating a Web site or product packaging, the need for design and its impact on business is unavoidable. Think of it as a first impression: It can be good, it can be bad, but no matter what, a first impression always counts.

To evaluate just how design is a benefit (or liability), we have to understand how it is measured. Measuring such a subjective field may seem like a daunting task, but the first — and most important — step in evaluating design is to determine its purpose. Good design serves a purpose. And by defining an objective or problem to solve, we set a benchmark against which we can measure success. Good design will solve problems and open doors. Bad design won’t.

In addition to serving as a building block for a strong, recognizable and respected brand (think Apple, Nike or Target), design can achieve less concrete business goals. Design can communicate the intangibles like credibility, personality and value. Good design can improve your bottom-line; it can enhance customer, client or user experience.

In addition to helping you make that all-important first impression, good design will give you control over a memorable professional image.

ANY PUBLICITY IS GOOD PUBLICITY
By Tanya Vea, senior account executive at Kim Brown & Associates in Sandy
While it’s true getting your name out there is rarely a bad thing, there are certainly cases where you don’t want your business associated with something awful that is being said about it. Case in point: In the recent Domino’s disaster, which went viral online, a video was posted on YouTube that featured two workers in one of the company’s stores doing disgusting things to the food they were preparing. It was dubbed “Domino’s Boogergate;” and although the video received nearly 1 million views before it was finally taken down, this is certainly not the kind of exposure that fits with the “any publicity is good publicity” mantra.

This scenario is a marketing nightmare. On the one hand, the offending video was exploding online and doing significant damage to the brand; on the other, it was not really making a splash anywhere else. How do you handle something like this? As a business it is critical to get into the conversation where the conversation is happening. In this case — online.

With the recent surge in popularity of sites like Twitter and Facebook, the business of public relations is being forced to change rapidly. Marketers must understand the importance of online communication and how it can change your business — literally overnight. Any publicity is good publicity — but only if you know how to strategically get yourself out of a potentially bad situation.

WORD OF MOUTH IS THE ONLY VOICE YOU NEED
By Roxanne Bennett, ad manager of Bennett Enterprises
There’s no doubt that “word of mouth” is the most desired form of advertising. Someone has a good experience with your product, and then they tell a friend, who tells another friend, who tells another friend … etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. But if you’re planning to sit around and wait for word-of-mouth marketing to happen, you’ll be waiting for a long time.
Smart marketers start the discussion. Word of mouth rarely happens on its own, so you need to put your ideas in the minds of consumers with traditional forms of advertising.
Go ahead. Put words in people’s mouths.

YOU HAVE TO SPEND MONEY TO MAKE MONEY
By Michael Janda, founder of Rider Media in American Fork
When it comes to marketing, “spending money” does not always equal “making money.” While making your marketing plans, generate the ideas first, and then attach budgets second. Oftentimes, you will find there are cost-effective ways to execute a successful marketing campaign.

A great example of an economical marketing campaign is Orem-based Blendtec’s Web site and YouTube video campaign “Will it Blend” (willitblend.com). To promote their super-performance “Total Blender,” Blendtec created a series of videos using their blender to chew up everything from iPods to marbles. The videos are short, enjoyable to watch and spread by word of mouth. For example, the 1.5-minute video of their blender destroying an iPhone has been watched more than 7 million times! Traditional television marketing requires businesses to spend millions of dollars on commercials and infomercials in order to reach a national audience. Instead, Blendtec opted for a cost-conscious and undoubtedly more effective solution by creating a viral marketing campaign that is engaging and memorable. Obviously, Blendtec spent some money on this ingenious campaign — but at a cost considerably less than traditional television advertising.

As you begin brainstorming for your next marketing campaign, think outside the box. What is unique about your business? What type of marketing message can you create that will spread on its own? What types of channels can you use to share your message (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook)? Remember, when it comes to marketing, spending money may not always mean making money.

ADVERTISING WILL CREATE SALES
By Judy Copier, general manager of Kim Brown & Associates
Oh, if only it were that easy. Before any business begins to advertise, they need to take a step back and realize that advertising is only one step in the marketing process. The basic steps of marketing have been labeled as the four Ps: Product, Price, Promotion and Placement. Advertising should be the last to be considered. In going through these basic marketing concepts, these are the questions that need to be answered.

Product Do you have a product or service that consumers want or need? Have you established the right look and brand for your product? How can you best position your product/service to the consumer? How can you differentiate your product/service from your competitors?

Price Is your product or service competitively priced, or is it priced relative to its value? This doesn’t mean you are the cheapest in town (unless you are). This means for the service you provide, does the price reflect the value?

Promotion What is the value statement for your product or service? This has nothing to do with “On Sale Now” — this has to do with positioning why the consumer needs or wants your product/service now. In a repair service business, for example, the promotional statement might be “24-hour service” or “same-day service.”

Placement Finally, we get to the advertising part. There are so many advertising choices. It’s important to analyze what is the best medium for your particular product or service and for your budget. If your business covers the Wasatch Front, then you’ll want to choose a medium that effectively and efficiently covers the Wasatch Front. If you’re a local business with local customers, then you’ll want to choose a medium that specifically targets your trading area. If you’re a specialized business, then you’ll want to advertise in mediums that target those specific industries.

Advertising can create sales, but it’s the overall strategic positioning prior to advertising that will assure the successful results.

IF YOU BUILD A WEB SITE, THEY WILL COME
By Jonathan Sanderson, senior marketing manager for OrangeSoda
Your company’s Web site is finally finished, but now that you’re online, you’re asking the same question millions of other small businesses are asking: Where are my new customers?

Just spending the time and money to get your Web site on the Internet doesn’t mean you’ll get the customers and growth you’re expecting. Internet marketing consultants spend a lot of time resolving this misconception. In fact, building your Web site might have been the easiest part.

With the growing number of Web sites on the Internet today, major search engines like Google, Bing and Yahoo! won’t give your Web site the rank you want for a keyword just because your site is online now. It’s like opening a new restaurant in the desert without any roads nearby. You’ll need an array of marketing tools to let people know you’re open for business.
Marketing and advertising have always been associated with traditional methods like radio, TV and print. But not anymore. With a growing number of Internet users looking for products and services on the Web, it’s important you understand your online marketing options.

Pay per click advertising puts sponsored listings in prominent places on the major search engines. These ads appear when your customers search for a keyword you’ve targeted. Although it can take a few months to get your campaign optimized, you can begin seeing results in the first weeks. Search Engine Optimization is your best long-term choice for a positive return on investment. While it takes a little longer to see results, you’ll get higher quality and higher volumes of traffic when you do.

Online marketing is the future, but don’t feel overwhelmed. Most online marketing firms will offer reporting and tracking to make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Now that you’ve got your Web site up, it’s time to let your customers know.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE MAGAZINE ONLINE