Everybody Loves Raymond....You Should Too!

Popular TV Series Provides a Powerful Marketing Lesson

Small Business owners spend a great deal of mental effort and time trying to dream up the next big marketing idea for their business. I'm all for that. It's a good time investment for any small business owner to think about ways to promote their business. While you're thinking, keep in mind that some of the most successful ideas aren't new at all. Just ask Ray Romano.

Romano is the creator and star of the hit series Everybody Loves Raymond?. The show is a ratings winner for CBS, and is generally regarded as one of the best sitcoms on TV. Is it funny? You bet. Was it created using a completely new and unique concept? Not at all.

Everybody Loves Raymond is a sitcom about one family's life in a New York suburb. The twist in the show is that Ray's annoying parents live right across the road, and his mother's constant meddling in Ray's affairs is a primary source of the show's laughs. It's a formula that has been used in countless sitcoms dating back at least 30 years. (Remember how Fred Flintstone used to dread his mother-in-law's visits?)

When creating the concept for the show, Romano didn't try to reinvent the wheel. He took a tried and true concept and then fine-tuned the details to come up with a hit. He created a cast of characters that were believable and interacted with each other in humorous ways. He added the element of his parents living across the road. But he never strayed too far from the family sitcom formula that had worked for so many shows in the past.

Small Business owners could learn a thing or two from Romano's approach. When working on your next marketing idea, you don't have to dream up a new, out-of-this-world concept. Find a proven marketing approach and then tinker with the fine details to come up with a plan that works for your business. Here are some examples of situations in which you can apply this philosophy:

Advertising: Small business owners have all been burned at one time or another by an expensive ad that didn't pan out. There were plenty of family sitcoms that didn't pan out over the years, but that doesn't mean the concept is a poor one. Don't shy away from advertising because of a bad experience. Instead, revisit the basic advertising mantra of targeting the right audience with the right message at the right time. Then make a few adjustments. Perhaps instead of one large ad you would benefit from 4 smaller ads in a variety of publications. Perhaps you could strike a deal with another small business to share your ad space and together run twice as many ads as you had planned. Giving up on advertising altogether would be a mistake. Fine tuning your approach could make all the difference.

Publicity: Most attempts to garner "free press" by small businesses result in failure. Writing a good news release is hard work, and getting the attention of the right journalist is also no easy task. However, the upside to garnering some publicity for your business can be huge which means you simply can't afford to walk away from your PR work due to discouragement. Take a look at your news releases, or better yet ask someone else to do it for you. Analyze why they didn't generate any interest from the media. Take that critical feedback and build another news release, but this time make some changes to your approach.

Did you go for a controversial angle and fail last time? Perhaps this time you should focus on an emerging trend in your business without putting as much focus on possible controversy. Or perhaps you could use the same news release you previously created but this time with a different method of distribution. If you used a newswire previously, how about sending the news release personally to a targeted list of journalists, one at a time. It may be that a customized approach will net you a greater result this time around.

Just like the hit show Everybody Loves Raymond, your marketing can be very successful when based on traditional marketing formula involving advertising and generating publicity. Sometimes it's not the idea itself that brings you success, but rather it's what you do with an existing idea that counts.

Article contents © 2004 by marketingyoursmallbusiness.com

?"Everybody Loves Raymond" is a trademark of Worldwide Pants Inc.

About The Author

Will Dylan is the Author of "Small Business,Big Marketing" a powerful e-book for small businesses available at no charge through his website www.marketingyoursmallbusiness.com. Will also offers affordable news release writing services.

---

Insiders Secret to Selling Mailing Lists

If you've got a mailing list of at least a... Read More

When, Why, and How to Use Mailing Lists

Mailing lists may be the cause of more heartbreaks than... Read More

Nine Must-Do Positioning Steps

Every professional or consultant knows that clients typically hire people... Read More

Marketing Strategy - Spell Out Your Unique Value

I attended a "Sales Focus" seminar a few years back... Read More

Have You Sold Your Internal Customers?

You can make the sale. You know your core message.... Read More

Rising Postal Rates? Don?t Cut Down the Direct Mail

The United States Post Office in the past had some... Read More

Direct Mail Strategy - Brand Identity Guru

1. Know your purpose: What do you want your direct... Read More

Why Instant Gratification Marketing Condemns Businesses To Losing 90% Of Their Potential Customers

Most businesses target only people "ready-to-buy". These hot prospects are... Read More

More Scams! Do you Really Believe It?

Quit spreading those chain letters, nothing is going to happen... Read More

4 Alternative Ways To Gain Lifetime Customers

You will always have more people that turn down your... Read More

Loan Officer Marketing ? How to Target the Right Agents

Once there was a loan officer, who marketed his services... Read More

Private Practice Marketing: 3 Secrets I Wish I Knew When I First Started Out

I don't know about you, but I am still waiting... Read More

Sales and Marketing: Can One Exist Without the Other?

Simply put the marketing people and the sales people depend... Read More

5 Steps for Developing a Marketing Tag Line for Your Product, Business, or Website

A marketing tag line is the one or two line... Read More

Limited Time Only (Shh! Its A Secret)

Under normal circumstances, you'd shout it from the rooftops. After... Read More

Effective Tips For Telemarketers

I had a telemarketer call me recently. Here's a rough... Read More

50 Unbelievable Benefits Of Joint Venture Marketing

What Is A Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More

Word of Mouth Marketing

'Word of Mouth' is still one of the most effectivemarketing... Read More

Joint Venture: 50 Power Secrets Of Joint Venture Marketing, Exposed

What is a Joint Venture?A joint venture is an agreement... Read More

The Bare-Bones Basics Of Multi-Level Marketing

Multi-level marketing is the biggest growth industry in the 1980's.... Read More

Everybody Loves Raymond....You Should Too!

Popular TV Series Provides a Powerful Marketing LessonSmall Business owners... Read More

The Real Path To Big Bucks On The Internet!

"Instead Of Wasting Time Trying To Hit The Lottery Of... Read More

To All Internet Marketers - How To Get My Business?

More and more people are realizing that the Internet offers... Read More

Promotions for Mobile Detailers

Mobile businesses are quite unique in the way they must... Read More

The Building Blocks to Effective Marketing

The Building Blocks to Successful MarketingIt's More than Sales and... Read More

People Do Business with People They Like

People do business... Read More

Judge Rules in Consultant?s Favor with 80-20 Rule

I opened the registered letter and was shocked. My best... Read More

Marketing Hat for Graphic Designers or Wannabe?s

Many people think that the quality of any graphic design... Read More

Three Alternative Methods On Getting Quality Testimonials with Bonus

Here are three alternatives to increase your testimonial numbers or... Read More

Marketing Gurus : Do You Need One?

Its become fashionable to bash marketing "gurus" nowadays.There are some... Read More

Meaning and Marketing - The Hurricane

I step outside my back door and look at some... Read More

Ten Tips for Creating a Winning Proposal ? Part 2

Part 1 of this series described five critical components for... Read More

Think Creatively While Reinventing Your Marketing and Selling -- Its For Your Survival!

We live in a world that for many has become... Read More