Gina Mote and her husband Kevin Mote have been working in different areas of advertising and marketing for the past 20 years. Kevin’s advertising career is highly decorated and has worked for large corporations as well as received notable awards. His work is geared towards communicating messages clearly, entertainingly, memorably, and consistently but felt his wife Gina would be better suited for this interview. Gina is the Vice President/Media Director for The Barber Shop Marketing in Dallas, Texas and specifically caters to businesses that need marketing assistance. Her clients include established businesses as well as start-up companies.
Currently, I am in the process of receiving my Master’s Degree in Entrepreneurship and have only fantasized about running my very own business. I conveyed my business plan to Gina and then asked her to give me some marketing tips to put my ideas into reality.
First and foremost, Gina recommended identifying the competition and figure out what they are doing to market that business. She mentioned a service, media monitors, that can project the company’s spending information through television, newsprint, and radio advertisements. By gathering this kind of data, one can strategize a unique plan that will set apart from the competitors.
Once the competition is established, it becomes critical to know the target market. My business plan targets young athletes and even their parents are fairly young, therefore, Gina highly recommended a digital or social media approach. She talked about the importance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and taking advantage of free or “organic” options like a website. Customers constantly stay connected through social media, thus the website must be accessible on a mobile device and easy to navigate. Gina suggested posting a relevant article to enforce a “like” or “share” which in turn will promote the service and create positive talk or “buzz” about the brand.
In regards to advertising, Gina advises a small business spend 10% of revenue in advertising. Although this can be tough especially for a start-up business, there are plenty of ways to establish the company for free. Gina talked about the benefits of Grass Roots Marketing (local events at little to no cost), which includes Gorilla Marketing (ex. placing flyers on cars) and presence at a function (passing out branded promotional items such as a magnet, cup, or t-shirt) to gain social capital. A great way to build social support for a local business is to attend and connect with the community. Every city hosts 5K’s, festivals, a local farmer’s market, as well as possesses a community newspaper, making it easy to campaign.
Gina also offered some other forms of marketing although these would require some sort of cost. She recommended Pandora because you are guaranteed impressions and cannot skip the advertisements. The application can cater the advertisements to target market stations and playing frequency. The business can also purchase a database of the target market that will send out an email blast to all recipients or hire someone in public relations to write articles in order to push for a rise in awareness.
I felt I received some great options and advice but wanted to ask if she discouraged a particular marketing route. Every business is different but over the years, Gina observed most companies struggle because they either do not have a website up and running or are spending too much money for marketing efforts. Television, radio, and newsprint advertisements are effective but usually not for the price. You can get a lot accomplished just by “keeping a presence at all times on social media”. Establish a website and be recognized in the local community.
In conclusion, I am greatly appreciative of the interview I had with Gina. She is a very knowledgeable woman who knows successful marketing campaigns generate a successful business. I plan to take her advice and hopefully open a business in the near future.
