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Marketing Information
Attracting Clients With Ease
Whether you are already running your own business, or still thinking about starting your own business, I suspect that deep down you know you have gifts and talents that can really make a difference to others. In an ideal world, you'd spend the majority of time doing the work you love to do, with a steady stream of clients knocking at your door as and when you want them. The reality, however, can be somewhat different, and the whole process of finding new business can be a time consuming challenge full of uncertainty.
Website Promotion Strategies For Targeted Web Site Traffic
If you're looking to drive more targeted traffic to your web site, you'll want to pay close attention to the website promotion strategies presented in this article.
Measuring the Return on Your Direct Mail Investment
In direct mail lore, there's a rule stating that you can measure the success of your efforts by a minimum response rate of 1-2%. In other words, if you send out 10,000 pieces, you'll have a successful mailing if at least 100 recipients respond to your offer. (One percent of 10,000 is 100.)That's one view of direct mailing success. Permit me to offer a different perspective: one from the small business world. Specifically, I'm referring to those small business people who work by and for themselves. Call them "One-Man Bands," "Working Soloists," "Free Agents," or whatever you'd like.To help you remember these two perspectives, let's give them a couple of catchy names:1. The "Playing the Percentages" Perspective. This is the "industry standard 1-2% response rate on your mailings" perspective you've heard so much about. This is the yardstick favored by businesses that are sending large quantities of direct mail to sell mass market products.For example, if I own a pizza parlor, and I'm doing a "use this card for 10% off on your next order" mailing to all residences within a three-mile radius of my business, I might have a mailing list of 10,000 names. You'd better believe that I'm going to watch the overall response rate like a hawk, and I'm going to be looking at precisely where those hungry customers are coming from. If most of them are coming from a handful of apartment complexes next to a college campus, I'll know to send my future mailings to those complexes. 2. The "You Only Need A Few" Perspective. This is the one for those One-Man (or One-Woman) Bands who are selling services that take a fair amount of time to provide. Like marketing consulting, public relations services, graphic design, or customized computer software applications. For these folks, a handful of new or repeat clients from a promotional mailing is quite enough. After all, as the owner of a one-woman graphic design studio told me once, "I don't want to be a victim of my own [direct mail] success."
Postcards: Awareness Tool or Selling Tool?
Are postcards better for building awareness or for selling?In my opinion, the answer to the above question is, "They can do both jobs. It depends on what type of business you're in."My own perspective is that of the Web and graphic designer who must distinguish herself from the hordes of other designers out there. I do this by keeping my name in front of my clients and prospects with postcards. Over the years, this approach has brought me quite a bit of repeat business from my longtime clientele, and new business from the prospects on my list.Since many businesses do nothing to stay in touch with their market, and spend their precious time and resources chasing after new customers, I think that the awareness approach has merit. After all, it costs six times less to sell to an existing customer than it does to sell to a new customer. This has been proven through numerous studies.Now, let's move on to the selling approach. Let's say you're new in town, and, by golly, you need some clients pronto-pronto. Which means that you're not going to send out postcards to build awareness. Rather, you're going to send something that gets new clients ringing your phone and setting up appointments where you sell your design services.In short, different strokes for different folks. And postcards are versatile enough to serve 'em all.
Heres A Robust, Turnkey, Interactive. Best of Breed, Mission-Critical Solution to Kill Buzzwords
Fellow Publicity Insiders, what does this phrase mean?
"We envision a center of excellence where our accelerated changeagents can maximize their core competencies."
Huh? - or - "The company is a global leader in pressure-sensitivetechnology and innovative self-adhesive solutions for consumerproducts and label materials."
Clue: they make stickers.
Pity the poor reporters who have to dig through this pile ofdrivel to find a news story. Free help is here. Bullfighter, anaptly-named software program from Deloitte Consulting, works likea spelling checker program to spot questionable words and phrasesin Microsoft Word and PowerPoint documents. Bullfighter can bedownloaded at:
http://www.dc.com/insights/bullfighter/
For a humorous & irreverent look at buzzword bashing thatincludes real-life, buzz-laden press releases and pitch letters,go to:
http://www.buzzkiller.net/default.htm
Have a seamless, win-win day!
A Quick Guide To Finding Reciprocal Links
Trading reciprocal links is one of the best ways to build traffic at your website. A reciprocal link is where two websites agree to host a link to each other on their websites. These usually are placed on a special, 'links page', but sometimes in articles or other areas.
The Silver Bullet For Success: Revealed
Looking for the magic formula or the whiz-bang approach that will unlock your
business success? Are you willing to pay hundreds for it? How about thousands?
Your Marketing Message
Your message is first among your weapons in the battle of perceptions.
Target Your Market
Your market is not everybody, as so many small businesses assume. It is the
people/organizations who need, want, have the money--and the willingness--to
pay for what you are offering. Identifying them can be complicated and expensive,
or it can be relatively painless and cheap.
Nice Guys Finish First
Volunteering your services can be an excellent way to form new business
relationships and raise your business?s profile while lending a hand to a good cause.
However, unless you take care, it can also become all-consuming, with little return
(besides creating good karma).
Getting Paid to Promote Yourself
We all know we can pay a magazine or a newspaper to run ads for us. Businesses do
it all the time. In many cases, you're obliged to advertise to survive. But wouldn't
you rather promote yourself and your company in a number of publications, and get
paid for it?
Good News Travels Fast
This newsletter is full of opportunities staring you in the face. If you don't believe
me, write and tell me so--and by doing that you'd be proving me right.
At the Speed of Light
How many times has someone you've called said, "Why don't you send me some
information on your company"?
The Real Marketing Genius
I spend a lot of my time reading books and listening to tapes about business and marketing. I guess that's understandable.
Avoid the Duds: 10 Strategies for Selecting The Perfect Speaker
Today, more than ever, the success of meetings relies heavily on the strength of program content and presentation. Nothing can spoil a meeting more than hiring the wrong speaker. That?s because speakers do more than just convey the overall meeting message. You look to them to provide insights, awareness, and cutting-edge information in an energetic, motivational, entertaining, and professional manner. What more could you ask for? Well, the right speaker can emphasize an important message, offer inspiration, help people cope with new assignments, and lead the way towards change.
Selecting the right speaker for your event is one of the most important, yet daunting elements for creating a successful meeting. Your speaker can often make or break the event. If he bombs, your reputation not only takes a severe nose-dive, but you also have the pleasure of dealing with the barrage of complaints from a disappointed audience. Yet, if he does well, you can walk away with many of the accolades, compliments, and of course, the rave reviews. By now, you probably realize that this massive responsibility is not to be taken lightly.
Raise Your Expectations
The skill to selecting a great speaker is determining what combination of education, motivation, and entertainment best fits your function. Then set out to find a perfect match. But keep your expectations high, since nothing can spoil a meeting faster than booking the wrong speaker. The following 10 guidelines should help you keep your focus and also keep you away from the ?duds.?
1. Know the program objectives. Before you can start looking for the right speaker, you must know the program objectives. Begin with the end in mind. What are you looking to achieve? Is this an annual meeting, a training program, an incentive get-together, an awards celebration, or another type of event? This will probably be a committee or management decision, rather than one you will have to make. But you may have to make an intangible concept tangible.
2. Understand the audience?s needs. Along with the program objectives, consider the needs of your audience. Does your group need industry-specific or technical information? Will a mix of motivation and entertainment serve your group?s purpose? Today?s audiences are generally younger, more educated, more diverse, and more sophisticated than in the past. They want content. They want to learn, but they also want it to be fun, so consider the audience needs and exactly what they expect. Consider surveying your audience. Ask them what they want or what skills would most help them in their jobs. For example, sales people may ask for advanced selling skills, but managers may request teambuilding programs.
3. Check for reputation. With countless speakers out there vying for your business, how can you possibly determine which one best meets your needs? Many speakers produce highly professional or glitzy marketing materials to help sell their services. You must look deeper than simply scanning a few brochures and ask pointed questions to find the right fit, such as What experience does this speaker have? How familiar is this speaker with this industry? and, Who else has used this person?
4. ?Test drive? your prospects. If you don?t have the opportunity to preview a speaker in person, then the next best thing is to request a video or audio recording of a previous presentation. A session that was recorded before a live audience gives you a better sense of a person?s real ability.Watch or listen carefully to how the speaker builds rapport and interacts with the audience. Ask yourself if this person would be right for your group. Is the combination of education, motivation, and entertainment appropriate for your needs? Does the speaker have a message that is appropriate, timely, and relevant to the theme or purpose of your event? Does it conform to your company?s philosophy and policy? Do you feel the speaker is genuine and has the expertise to deliver a solid presentation?
5. Don?t be star-struck. If you are considering celebrity speakers, make sure they can speak! TV personalities do a great job on the air, but sometimes have little public speaking expertise, and you should be aware that the skills needed for being on TV and for speaking live are very different. However, many well-known personalities make excellent speakers and can add enormous value and clout to your event. Politicians and sports, media, or entertainment celebrities often share life experiences, offer advice, or have an inspirational message to impart.
6. Be wary of grandiose claims. Speakers who claim to be all things to all people are probably desperate for work. Avoid them. True professional speakers, on the other hand, usually have certain areas or topics of expertise. They would much rather refer potential business to a true expert than jeopardize their reputation by trying to do a program outside of their knowledge zone. Also, beware of the charismatic and fluffy speaker as your audience wants good, solid take-away value.
7. Provide and ask for good information. Reputable speakers want to find out as much as possible about the meeting objectives, the audience, industry challenges, and so on in order to tailor their presentation to the group. Share information on your organization and audience to help the speaker design a program to fit your specific needs. provide them with newsletters, catalogs, or any other publications that highlight industry trends, key people, industry jargon or buzz words, and insider news and views.
Also include as much information as possible about the size and demographics of the audience such as age, gender, and positions.
8. Ask for an outline. Ask prospective speakers for an outline of the presentation to make sure they will be covering the material as you discussed. This will clearly lay out what?s expected as verbal communication is subject to being misunderstood or misinterpreted. Seeing exactly what speakers plan to cover in the sessions should help to ensure that the material is tailored to your specific needs.
9. Maximize opportunities. Look for ways to maximize opportunities with your speakers. Discuss different ways they can add extra value and be a significant resource to help improve your meeting?s success. Brainstorm ways that you feel they can assist you in planning, preparing, promoting, and presenting. Some suggestions include serving as an emcee, conducting special sessions or roundtable discussions about current issues for select groups such as company executives or the board of directors, and participating in a spouse program.
10. Trust your instincts. Through your communication with the speaker, you will quickly form an opinion or have a feeling about this person. First reactions count here. ?I like this person? or ?I don?t like this person,? or ?I feel comfortable or uncomfortable working with this person,? are strong indicators. These responses usually comes from your gut ? a very trustworthy organ. Have confidence in your instincts and trust that so-called sixth sense. If you experience any kind of negative feeling, think about looking for someone else or get another opinion from a colleague. You want to make sure that you can work with this person and that both of you are on the same wavelength.
The true objective of hiring a professional speaker hinges on establishing a partnership where a mutually beneficial relationship grows and flourishes. When this happens, you know you?ve chosen well.
The Perfect Match
Overwhelmed with the plethora of speakers to choose from? You may want to turn to a speaker?s bureau for advice and guidance. A good bureau should act as a consultant and partner to help your event succeed. Even though many hundreds of bureaus are out there, the numbers pale in comparison to the thousands of speakers. A bureau?s sole purpose is simply to make your job easier and provide you with solutions. They want to find the best possible match for your event within your price range. So, where do go looking for one of these bureaus? Here are a few places to start your search: the phone book, chambers of commerce, convention and visitors bureaus, the Internet, industry colleagues, and friends.
A Final Note:
Look for CSP (Certified Speaking Professional) or CPAE (Council of Peers Award for Excellence) designations. Both these are conferred by the National Speakers Association and are considered the speaking profession's international measure of professional platform skill (http://www.nsaspeaker.org).
Armed with these guidelines and resources, your search for the perfect speaker will be more fruitful. And with a little effort and some time, you will connect with a speaker who will fulfill your goals? one that will be both inform and enlighten. Your audience will thank you.
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