Article by Apryl Duncan (www.about.com)
How much junk mail do you receive each day? Do you read it? Toss it?
Now put yourself in the shoes of your direct mail recipients. Avoid direct mail deadly mistakes or your materials will end up in the trash too.
Know Your Audience
Before you even begin to put your direct mail campaign together, you’ve got to know who your target market is. Are they women? Parents? Young? Old? Understand what motivates them. What are their likes and dislikes? Write as if you’re talking to them. And even use terms these types of people would use.
Build A Good Mail List
All the fancy graphics and the most beautifully created sentences in the world won’t do you a bit of good if you don’t carefully select the people on your mailing list. If you’re selling adult diapers, you want to target senior citizens…not 23-year-olds.
Tighten your mailing list as much as possible to be sure it’s tailored to your needs. It’s tough to make people believe they need your product and even harder to convince them they need it now. But if you’ve researched your list, you have a higher chance of hitting potential customers instead of the trash can.
Define Your Objectives
You’ve made your list and checked it twice, so-to-speak. It’s the perfect list. Now it’s time to write. Define your objectives before you start writing. Stay focused and hit the points of your objective. If you get off track, your reader is going to stop reading.
The Headline
Spend a lot of time on your headline. Just remember how you feel when reading mail that comes to you. After you read that headline, do you keep reading? The headline can make or break your direct mail campaign.
Reel Them In
Does price really matter? Not unless you know what you’re getting for that price. Hook your reader with all of the product or service benefits. By the time they get to the end, they should be saying, “I can’t live without that!”
Disclose The Price
And then you let them in on the price. Even if the price is extremely low, you have to tell potential customers about the product first.
Disclosing this price shouldn’t put people into shock. Is your product priced according to the market? If you’re selling a new teddy bear, it should be priced within reason. Not many people will pay $90 for a tiny teddy bear, right? Truth is, a lot of direct mail goes unanswered because the products are unreasonably priced.
Success! Your potential customer read all the way through your mailing. Now what?
A Call To Action
Did you tell the reader what you want them to do? You can’t sell if you don’t tell. Your readers need a call to action. Tell them to send in the card, call you, etc. Then tell them again.
Once your direct mail is ready to go, test several smaller mailings before sending out a huge chunk. Test each of these mailings by changing a few items when you send them out. Have two or more sales letters you test against each other. By testing, you will find out which of those mailings are bringing in more responses and – hopefully – more orders. Stick with the clear winners. Remember the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Hire A Designer
Finally, unless you are a graphic designer… do NOT design the mail piece yourself. Leave it to a professional. A graphic designer can help ensure that your direct mail piece is eye-catching, concise, and “speaks” to your target audience — all essential attributes to an effective piece that stands out from the clutter.
Direct mail is a waste of money for a lot of people. But it doesn’t have to be for you. Understanding direct mail deadly mistakes — and avoiding them — will lead you to sales success!
Call us now for help with your direct mail piece.
Call Creative Instinct now at 615-945-9296 to discuss design of your next direct mail piece, email marketing ad or newsletter. Or, send an email to Gwen Canfield: gwen@creative-instinct.net. To see samples of our work, visit www.creativeinstinct.biz. Postcard at top of article designed by Creative Instinct for Fifty Forward senior center in Madison, TN.
Marketing isn’t about using one medium. It’s about getting and keeping customers. Yes, Internet marketing can help you can do that but only if you use it in conjunction with other tactical tools. In addition there are thousands of potential customers that are extremely cautious about placing important business or buying an expensive item from an unknown online vendor. That’s one of the reasons why, in order to succeed, EVERY online company must have brochures and other forms of printed sales literature to hand out to customers and prospects. An online company needs printed sales literature for two reasons:
- Credibility: People expect a “real” company to have printed sales literature. It’s easy to afford spending $60 on business cards, letterhead etc. and call yourself a corporation. But if you want to look like you mean business, you need a brochure of some sort.
- Time-saving. People want printed material to take home and read at their leisure. Yes, you can direct them to your Web site, but a brochure adds a personal touch, tells your prospect what the product or service can do for them and why they should buy from you. Brochures also support other advertising, direct mail, online promotions, and can be used as a sales tool by distributors. In short, a good brochure sells.
To achieve just the right verbiage and look for your brochure – one that “speaks” to your audience in the most effective manner – we suggest that you hire an expert. A professional copy writer and graphic designer will partner with you to ensure that your brochure contains the following key components for success:
- Know What Your Reader Wants
You must write your brochure or leaflet from the reader’s point of view. That means the information must unfold in the right order. Begin by analyzing what your reader wants to know. An easy way to do this is by assessing the order in which your reader’s questions will flow. For example, imagine you own a medical spa facility offering Botox and other anti-aging treatments. You are interested in encouraging your readers to make an appointment for a consultation and/or schedule a treatment. Now, given the nature of your business, your reader will have a lot of questions they’ll want answered before they’ll consider making an appointment. Your brochure should answer their questions in a logical sequence following the reader’s train of thought. A good way to organize your points is to write down the questions you think a potential customer might have, and the answers your brochure might supply. - Motivate your reader to look inside
The first page your reader will see is the front cover. Get it wrong and you’ve as good as lost the sale. Don’t make the common mistake of couching your services in technical jargon. Think benefits or thought-provoking statements that motivate the reader to pick up the brochure and open it. Add a flash that tells the reader there’s something inside that will interest them – an exclusive invitation, a free report, special discount or advance notice of sales. Don’t be tempted to put only your company logo or product name on the front. It won’t work. - Contents Page – What’s in it
In brochures of eight pages or more, a list of contents is useful. Make your list in bold and separate it from the rest of your text. Use the contents to sell the brochure. Don’t use mind-numbing words like “Introduction” or “Model No A848DHGT”. Pick out your most important sales point and use that in your heading. - Describe Your Product
- Make it a Keeper
Putting helpful information in your brochure will encourage the reader to keep it, refer to it often or pass it on to other people. If you’re selling paint you can provide hints on color schemes, painting how-to information, tips from the pros etc. If you’re selling skin care products you can give your readers tips on how to combat pimples, dry skin, fine lines and wrinkles. - Alter the Shape
Who says a brochure has to be A4? Selling sandwiches? You can design a brochure in the shape of a sandwich. Season tickets to soccer matches? Design it in the shape of a soccer ball. Using your imagination when designing your brochure can produce better than average results. According to Direct Magazine, a recent mailing by CSi, a company that conducts customer satisfaction surveys for automobile insurance firms and repair shops, got a 15% response rate with a brochure delivered in a 32-ounce squeeze sport water bottle. The headline read, “Thirsty for more repair orders?” Try tall and slim, square, oblong. Whatever you like. The only limitation is your imagination, and, of course, your budget.
To help you describe your product draw up a list of product features (facts about your product) and add the words “which means that…” after each point. For example, “The cake is made from an original recipe, which means that…it tastes better.” Or, “The car has a 300 horse-power engine, which means that…it goes faster.” Remember that the purchaser of your product is not always the user so there may be more than one benefit for each feature.
- Make it Personal
An experienced speaker talking to a large audience will pick out a face in the crowd, and talk to that face. This connection with one person allows the speaker to make his talk more personal than if he were merely addressing a mass of faces. In a similar fashion, the words in your brochure should use this technique and zero in on one imaginary single person. Why? Because writing in a direct “I’m-talking-only-to-you” style will increase response. - Add Atmosphere
Don’t let your brochure sound aloof. Let your reader share your feelings. There’s no reason why a brochure about a wood burning stove has to go into the ins and outs of how the stove works. Tell your reader about rain swept winter evenings and snow-bound afternoons. Let your words show them how warm and snug and they’ll be when they purchase one of your stoves. - Get Selling…Fast
Remember, not everyone wants to be educated on every aspect of your product or service. Nor does everyone want to know the manufacturing details of your widget. Don’t waste their time telling them about things that don’t convey a benefit. - Talk about your reader’s needs
Don’t get carried away with your own interests. Talk about your reader, not yourself. Here are the first words in a brochure from a company selling insurance: “Insurance is a complicated business. Our company was formed in 1975 to help our clients deal with the process of finding the right insurance to suit their needs. In the last 20 years we have been selling insurance to a wide range of customers from many different walks of life. Our company’s reputation is unsurpassed in the industry…” Yawn…This is the bar room bore in print. Instead of telling you how the company can help solve your problems, it’s more interested in telling you about itself. - Give Directions
Every brochure should be organized so the reader can flip through the pages and easily find what they want. Provide clear signposts or headlines throughout the brochure and make sure each one says: “Hey, pay attention to me!” - Ask for Action
Regardless of how you organize your brochure, there’s only one way to end it. Ask for action. If you want your reader to respond include an 800 number, reply card, or some form of response mechanism. In fact, to increase your brochure’s selling power you should include your offer and a response mechanism on every page.
Need some help with your company brochure or other marketing collateral? Call Creative Instinct at 615-945-9296 to arrange for a free consultation. Not only can we create an appealing page-turning design for your brochure, we can bring in an experienced and talented copywriter to craft the perfect verbiage. Email Gwen Canfield: gwen@creative-instinct.net. To see brochure designs we’ve created for our clients, visit www.creativeinstinct.biz. (Brochure pictured at top of article was designed by Creative Instinct for Jackson & Dodd Valet Trash Removal Service.)
From the daily onslaught of email spams and newsletters filling inboxes, you would think that email marketing is losing its punch. Email marketing is not dead, but a thriving medium for business today.
Business today is finding email marketing attractive for several reasons:
The cost of sending a direct mail piece by postal service runs over a dollar, email marketing can cost pennies.
A one percent response rate from direct mail is considered terrific. An email marketing campaign can have a five to ten percent response rate.
According to DoubleClick’s Email Consumer Study, over 78% of online shoppers have purchased because of permission-based emails and 59% of email recipients have bought in a retail store as a result of a merchant email.
The benefits of email marketing range from increased sales and lead generation to stronger brand awareness and improved customer relationships.
Instruments of Email Marketing
Email marketing is immediately associated with personalized bulk mailings, and possibly newsletters. A complete email marketing strategy can consist of more marketing instruments, however:
- Individual replies to customer requests
- Newsletters (both with original content and supporting a Web site)
- Personalized mailings
- Public mailing lists (for market research, support, etc.)
- Autoresponders
- Networking (participating in forums, discussion lists, fairs,…)
- Web site
Of course, all email activities should also be in line with the overall marketing strategy.
Create A Clear “Call To Action”
Sometimes, I get newsletters and marketing messages via email that have everything except a clear call to action. They’re beautifully designed, a joy to read, and they get me in the mood to do something — if only I knew what the sender expects me to do. I don’t know where to click, what link to follow, where to order.
One of the crucial elements of an email marketing campaign is a clear call to action.
- Lay out exactly what you want the recipients of your message to do, and
- Design the message to make that path clear for the recipient, and easy to follow.
Don’t distract with too many links or offers, and make not only the call to action clear but also what recipients can expect when they click through. This can be as simple as “Click here for a 20% discount on your next weekend trip.”
Frequency
How often is too often? How often is not often enough? Your subscribers know best how frequently they want to hear from you. They’ll let you know by means of unsubscribing. To prevent that, consider asking them for a perfect frequency, test heavily, and maybe ask those who unsubscribe for their reason.
To get started, consider this rule of thumb, though:
- Everything less often than at least every other month is not often enough. People will forget about you, and the surprise of an email from you showing up after a year will probably result in a surprise unsubscription.
- Everything more often than once a week is too often unless your subscribers specifically agreed more frequent mailings. People will get tired and annoyed by your emails, and unsubscribe even if they like your content.
Reflect Your Corporate Design
Your email marketing strategy as a whole must be an integrate part of the overall marketing strategy. Similarly, the design (and the content) of your newsletter or email marketing campaign should reflect your corporate design. Your business “corporate design” or your business “brand” is the look and feel of all your marketing materials (print & online).
Ensuring that your emails reflect your corporate design ensures that recipients can make a connection between the emails and the sender’s other marketing collateral (even if it’s only a Web site). The company image and the image created by the email marketing efforts can interact and maybe strengthen each other.
If the email marketing does not reflect the corporate design, this can have a bad effect not only on the success of the email campaign, but also on the image of the company as a whole. In the subconscious minds of your audience, design consistency in your marketing materials = professionalism and trustworthiness.
Need some help with your email marketing?
Creative Instinct provides a powerful email marketing tool called KeyMail. KeyMail allows you to send e-mail “blasts” and newsletters to hundreds or thousands of customers with speed and ease. It also provides statistical analysis allowing you to view detailed breakdowns of your email campaigns’ effectiveness.
KeyMail allows you to create and send your own email campaigns using a professionally designed “stationery” that we create for you (includes header and footer banners with your logo). Don’t have the time to create an email ad or newsletter? — Leave it to us. Creative Instinct can access your KeyMail account, design a custom email campaign, and then deploy it for you.
Monthly packages or “pay as you go” plans are available. For more information, call Creative Instinct at 615-945-9296. Or, send an email to Gwen Canfield: gwen@creative-instinct.net. To learn more about Creative Instinct, visit our website at www.creativeinstinct.biz.
Ever wonder what the difference is between advertising and publicity?
Simply put, publicity is free. Advertising costs money.
In other words, if a newspaper writes a news article about you (but doesn’t charge you), that’s publicity. If the newspaper charges you for the space (even if it is in article format), then the message just became advertising.
Wouldn’t we all like a little publicity – or “free press” – now and then…just to “get our name out there” a bit…help build reputation and recognition…and attract prospective clients?
Sounds easy enough…nice payoff…so where to start?
Before someone starts wordsmithing a quick news release from the top of their head, this quest does not begin with you or your business – at least not yet. The first and most important insight is that getting the publicity that you want – good, effective publicity – depends entirely on being able to help the news media get what they want.
In other words, your story has to be newsworthy and relevant to your target media outlets’ readers, viewers and/or listeners.
Keep in mind that “free publicity” is a bit of a misnomer. It’s seldom easy, never automatic, and the required investment will be careful and thoughtful research, plus a healthy pinch of creativity. What’s more, if you really want to maximize your chances of getting proper exposure, you may need to hire a professional publicist to get your message out, and publicists are definitely not free.
Begin with two important inventory steps. Make two lists…and the match between the first list and the second list is where you’ll find (or make) opportunity for publicity.
#1 MEDIA INVENTORY
Chart all possible media that touch the people you want to reach. Start by brainstorming to find relevant media. In addition to the obvious local daily newspaper, magazine and/or broadcast outlets, include community weeklies, ethnic or special interest publications, regional, monthly or quarterly magazines, industry newsletters, etc.
In this process, also identify appropriate sub-categories. For example, a newspaper or magazine may have a designated section, editor, reporter or periodic edition for your industry. Look at several editions to recognize what each media outlet favors and whose name is on the “by-line” or section. Identify as many people as possible by category, section, topic or interest.
It’s no secret that the purpose of any commercial media is to attract an audience – and it’s these readers or viewers that the advertisers want to target. So, if the media appeals to an “up-scale” audience, or a “Smallville/Main Street” audience, your best chance of successful publicity will be to tap into their goal.
#2 PERSONAL INVENTORY & POSSIBLE “HOOK” IDEAS
Now look for ideas that help the media. Take an inventory of your own strengths, special knowledge or other ideas that might be of interest to the media’s audience.
You may or may not personally be part of this audience, so focus on their point of view. Look beyond the obvious, be inventive (within reason) and create a list of possible “hooks” or “angles.” What might be attention-getting or unusual? Consider:
- What is legitimately the first, newest, latest or unique?
- Do you have a new way to solve a problem?
- An insight to an emerging trend or something of benefit to a large number of people.
- A story that is truly heart-warming, tear-jerking or emotionally compelling.
- Is there a celebrity angle? …a “hero” angle? …an unusual hobby angle?
- Can you provide expert commentary about a timely topic?
- Do you know a local angle to a national item?
- Are you an expert, author, inventor or credentialed authority?
- Can you create a newsworthy event?
#3 CROSS REFERENCE “WHAT THEY WANT” WITH “WHAT YOU’VE GOT”
Brainstorm many possible topics…narrow to several…and refine the best two or three possibilities. The refinement step will also take into consideration the needs and interests of the specific reporter, editor or producer. And that’s the person to whom you will make your pitch.
It’s likely that you’ll find a match, but you may have to drill down and be a bit inventive to carefully make the match between what they want and what you’ve got. And when you do, that’s where your opportunity for free publicity begins.
That’s how the game starts. But there’s much more to winning publicity as well as planning, public relations, advertising, promotion, strategic thinking and effective execution for practice development.
Winning at the publicity game is challenging. Give us a call today at (615) 945-9296 and we’ll be happy to help you grow your organization. Creative Instinct partners with some of the best PR strategists in the business, and can assist you with public relations planning, advertising, promotion, strategic thinking and effective execution. To learn more about Creative Instinct, and view our portfolio, visit www.creativeinstinct.biz.
We firmly believe that the best thing small businesses and organizations can do to become more successful is to embrace and implement a focused brand development strategy. Unfortunately, there are too many businesses and organizations that either don’t understand branding, undervalue branding, or have misconceptions about how branding can help their specific situation.
We find many times, when discussing creative needs with a client, that these misconceptions about branding are some of the first hurdles we need to address. Because unless you understand the importance, value, and return associated with a solid branding strategy, you’re never going to tap the power of branding to its full potential.
So here are three common misconceptions that we hear frequently from clients and potential clients, and hopefully some helpful responses…
1. I think branding is over rated…I need to focus on my products and services.
Your products and services are very important – after all, these make up the engine of your organization. But what happens when the engine has no fuel to run? Your brand is both the fuel, and the spark that starts your organization’s engine, and keeps it running. You can have the best engine in the world, but without fuel, you’ll never go anywhere.
Remember, consumers don’t make decisions based on specific products or services like they did 50 – 60 years ago. Consumers make decisions primarily based on the emotional attachment and gut feeling they have about your brand. When I walk in an Apple store, I’m captivated by the brand, not necessarily about the computer. Sure the computer meets a need, but my decision to buy an Apple versus a Compaq is based on the brand surrounding it.
So focus on developing your products and services as much as possible. But don’t forget that without a surrounding brand strategy that effectively aligns with your business strategy, you’ll never get off the ground.
2. I already have a logo
Good for you! But a logo is not a brand. Your logo is just a piece of the proverbial pie, not the pie itself. Your brand actually has nothing to do with you. It has everything to do with your customers. It’s not about what you think about your products, services, or business. It’s about what they think.
A logo is simply the face of your organization – it’s the ambassador that hopefully reflects what you want your customers to think and feel about who you are as an organization. Your logo is a branding element, that helps direct your customers’ perspective about how they should view your products or services. But you must have a brand in place so you know how and where to direct them.
Furthermore, you should be concerned if all you have is a logo. It’s rare that you can encompass all aspects of your brand into your logo, so you want to make sure you are utilizing other branding elements to support and carry your brand message. If you brand is the foundation of your organization, you should build upon it with a variety of branding elements based on your specific needs, target markets, and goals. These can include a web presence, new media initiatives, experience development (office space, brand environments), and even how your staff operates.
If you have a logo that is unique, creative, and reflects your brand idea then you’re on the right track – but you haven’t reached your destination yet – because your brand is much more than your logo.
3. We just don’t have the marketing budget right now.
Then you have your priorities reversed. Your brand strategy and branding initiatives shouldn’t be dependent on your marketing – your marketing should be dependent on your overall brand strategy. And let me ask you this, do you put a limit on the development of your products and services? How about a limit on your goals and aspirations for your organization?
Then why limit the fuel that will drive your organization to meet those goals by restricting your brand strategy with your budget limitations? I’ve covered the difference between viewing branding as a cost or an investment in another article, but those principles apply here. If you limit your brand development by how much of a marketing budget you have, you’ll never get anywhere – primarily because the marketing budget is the last money in, and usually the first money to get cut out when times get tight.
For the record, I’m not saying have a limitless financial strategy when it comes to your branding. What I am saying is you need to have a larger view of your brand – don’t limit the possibilities. Thing big. Think creatively. And then orient your marketing plan, your branding plan, and even your business plan around those thoughts and ideas.
Call us now and we’ll build your brand.
When you create a powerful business brand, you’ll attract the clients, projects, and referrals that you want. Deliver your branding message consistently, and your reward will be consistent profit growth.
Call Creative Instinct now at 615-945-9296 for a free quote on branding, brochures, logos, website design and more. Or, send an email to Gwen Canfield: gwen@creative-instinct.net. To see samples of our work, visit www.creativeinstinct.biz.
If we told you that microcontent was the most important part of your e-newsletters, what would you say?
“Micro-what?”
Microcontent is a phrase that catches your eye and is often viewed out of context, like an article headline displayed on a search result page or the subject line of your emails.
Good microcontent grabs your supporters’ attention and keeps them reading. Bad microcontent is generic, drab or missing entirely.
Every email has four key pieces of microcontent:
- The Subject Line
- The From Line
- The Headings and Subheadings
- The Next Step or Call to Action
Good microcontent tells the reader what’s in it for them.
The busier your supporters are, the more likely they are to look at your email subject line and nothing else before deciding whether to read it or delete it. This is your first chance at grabbing their attention. Make it good.
- Your “From” field should stay the same with every message. For most nonprofits, this will be your organization’s name or a well-known campaign or initiative.
- Descriptive headlines and subheads with active verbs and vivid nouns will grab your supporters’ attention and nudge them into actually reading the text. Headlines and subheadings that make people think “This is useful” or “This is timely” or “This is about me” will always work.
- Your call to action tells them what they can do next, including donate, volunteer, or simply learn more.
Want to give your supporters a little nudge to actually read what you’ve written in your e-newsletter? Great microcontent is how it’s done.
Want help constructing an effective newsletter or email campaign? Call us at 615-945-9296, or send an email to Gwen Canfield. To see samples of our design work – visit our website at www.creativeinstinct.biz. (Promotional email pictured at top of article designed Creative Instinct.)
You know your company does great work. Your employees and clients know it, too. But until you start telling your story—and sharing your successes—with wider audiences, you’re likely to remain the proverbial “best-kept secret.”
Enter public relations, or PR for short. PR can help a company reach new audiences, achieve top-of-mind awareness, establish a leadership position and enhance image. In fact, some say the only difference between the no-name shops and the big-name companies is PR.
If you aren’t already doing PR, you should be. And if you aren’t sure where to begin, read on. This article walks you through the step-by-step process of identifying potential resources, selecting the right consultant and building an effective relationship.
Getting Started
The Internet offers numerous listings of PR resources, including O’Dwyer’s online directory. Another avenue is going right to editors of target publications. They see a wide variety of PR presentations and communications styles and are in an excellent position to point you toward an agency located in your area and with knowledge of your specialty. But editors are only one potential source of sound recommendations. Todd Hays, owner of Pasadena, CA-based TODD PR, recommends networking with peers who have had success with PR. Ask those principals who they’re using—and why.
However you end up identifying potential resources, make sure they understand your industry. “It’s true to some extent that a good publicist can promote anything,” Hays says. “But a publicist who is experienced in your specific area will be able to do it better.”
Whether you follow an initial “gut” feeling or engage in a lengthier selection process, chemistry is likely to play a role in your choice of PR consultant. “A PR consultant should become an integral part of your team—someone who you’ll trust, be comfortable with and enjoy working with,” says Judy Kalvin, principal of Kalvin Public Relations Inc. in New York City. To that end, most small businesses are likely to prefer working with a small PR agency or sole practitioner in a principal-to-principal relationship. Large PR agencies—while ideal for huge corporations—are unlikely to deliver the level of service you need.
“If the budget is there, a large agency may be able to provide resources a smaller one cannot,” Hays says. “The trade-off will be the quality and experience you get. Generally, what a design firm is able to afford from a monthly retainer standpoint is going to be a very small client in a very large PR firm. There’s no way the smallest client will get the most senior people.”
Arranging the Terms
As with any service, there are various ways of contracting for PR consulting. Most agencies and consultants recommend that clients pay a monthly retainer. Of course, you also have the option of hiring them on a project basis with an hourly billing structure.
If you choose a consultant with a retainer, expect to pay $2,000–$5,000 per month. Before you sign a contract, be sure to inquire about what services are included in your monthly fee. Kalvin PR, for example, offers a flexible pricing structure that depends on each firm’s needs. The monthly retainer fee is established upfront and is based on exactly what a client requires.
“Clients can choose from a menu of options and tools, from the most basic, such as media relations, press releases and bylined articles, to more advanced services, such as seminar development, press conferences and special events. What they need determines the fee,” Kalvin explains. Each client’s contract is reviewed annually and adjusted as needed.
Whatever pricing structure you choose, it might be wise to begin with a six- to 12-month commitment. TODD PR starts all relationships with a six-month contract; at the end of that period, either party can cancel. “Ultimately, I want a relationship that will last the rest of the life of my firm and my client’s firm,” Hays says. “I don’t want to get stuck working with someone, or have someone get stuck working with me, if we don’t really get along. Until you start the process, you don’t really know.”
Setting PR Goals
Once you begin your relationship with your PR consultant, it’s important to have realistic expectations. For starters, don’t expect overnight success. It will take a bit of time for the consultant to become intimately familiar with your company and to build or update an arsenal of basic tools, such as your background, fact sheet and bios. And keep in mind that many publications are monthly or bimonthly and have very long lead times. So even if your consultant makes contact quickly, it will likely take three to six months before you see any results from her efforts.
Above all, experts advise against expecting to garner a certain type of coverage in a particular publication. Stein’s agency, Visibility PR, was recently contacted by a company whose principal was interested in its services—but only if the agency could open doors at two particular magazines. “Such limited targets severely mitigate against the potential of a PR program and maximize the possibility of failure,” Stein says. “It wasn’t a good way to begin a relationship. We declined.”
Rather than creating such limiting goals, focus on building a workable plan that will guide your activities and provide metrics for measuring your success. “If a plan is put into place that provides a consistent approach and is strategically focused, goals will be met,” Kalvin notes. “The results you get will be equal to the amount of time and effort that’s put into it. A consistent stream of pitches, press releases and meetings with the media will produce the best results.”
Maintaining Momentum
Even after the initial excitement wears off, you’ll need to continually re-energize your commitment to your PR program. That will require frequent, consistent communication with your consultant. “PR cannot be conducted successfully in a vacuum,” Kalvin says. “It requires a time commitment from the principal to work with the PR consultant, share what’s going on with the company and actively participate in the process. A PR consultant should become an integral part of the team and be viewed as an investment in the future of the company.”
In other words, “Treat your PR effort as you would your most important client,” Hays says. “The more attention you give it, the more satisfied you’ll be with the results.”
Need some assistance with PR? Creative Instinct partners with some fantastic PR professionals in Middle Tennessee. Contact us to arrange a consultation. Call 615-945-9296, or email gwen@creative-instinct.net.
Your website can, and should be, one of the top ways you attract new business. That can be a pretty bold statement for someone who doesn’t use the internet very much or doesn’t get ANY new business from the internet.
Many small business owners tell us that most of their clients come from referrals. That is exactly how it should be – word of mouth referrals should be your number one way to attract new clients. Your website should be number two. No matter what industry you are in, the fact is that most consumers are searching for information online about services and products that interest them. Is your business reaching this online consumer? If you’re not sure, here’s where you start…
The first step is to have a professional website that meets some of the basics for attracting clients.
- Your contact information is readily accessible from all pages.
- Your website has a professional look and feel, with a logo/brand that prospects & clients will remember.
- You clearly educate visitors on who you are and what you do… the basics.
After fulfilling “the basic” needs, your goal is to create ongoing methods for attracting visitors to your site. One easy way to do that is to have your site changing all the time. Search engines like Google are attracted to sites that change frequently rather than sites that are put up and then stay static for several years. So if someone with computer problems goes to Google and types in “computer repair Tennessee” your website will pop up. Here are five easy and inexpensive ways to make this happen:
1) Write short articles about “pains” your clients experience and how your services help them. Post each of these articles on your website with a short “about the author” section at the bottom. This section should have a short description about your business, a link to your website, and contact information. Also, consider putting your logo on the article somewhere. Post these articles on your website, creating a new web page each time.
2) Leverage the articles you’ve written by distributing them across the internet. Distribute them to strategic newsletters and websites that your target audience reads. You can also use subscriptions services that distribute to hundreds of online newsletters and portals such as www.submityourarticle.com.
3) Write press releases and post them through some of the free services online. You may be able to take some of the information from articles you’ve written and turn them into a press release. Some of the free or inexpensive places to post press releases include www.prweb.com, www.press-base.com, and www.express-press-release.com. Also post the press releases you write to a “press” page on your website.
4) Start a blog and have it be a part of your website. By doing this every time you post to your blog, you will show a change or an update to your site – which the search engines like to see. When you start a blog you may get the option to have a stand-alone blog or one that is a part of your website. Choose the one that is part of your website. We use www.wordpress.com, but there are several other options out there.
5) Leaving comments on other people’s blog is also a great way to bring visitors to your site. Similar to finding newsletters your target market reads, finding blogs your target audience participates in can be just as lucrative – if not more so. Leave professional comments on these blogs and be sure to link back to your website. It’s amazing how many people are nosey and will check to see who you are. We recommend setting aside a certain amount so time for blogging each week, it’s easy to get carried away and blog too much. We recommend no more than one hour.
These are just a few of the ways to bring traffic to your website. In reality your website should be an always changing, consistent source of information and education for visitors. Your site should allows them to get to know you and what you stand for without taking a big “risk” and giving out their personal information. Are you getting the most out of your website?
Let Creative Instinct help ensure you’re getting the most out of your website. Call us at 615-945-9296, or send an email to Gwen Canfield. To see websites we’ve designed for other small businesses in the Nashville and middle Tennessee area – visit our website at www.creativeinstinct.biz. (Website pictured at top of article: Rapport LLC in Madison, TN (www.rapportllc.net) designed Creative Instinct.)
Branding is your identity in the marketplace. Is yours saying what it should? Your company image is all about the appearance of your packaging. What is your company image saying to the marketplace?
It’s important to realize that packaging always either has a negative or positive influence on the purchaser. A negative impression can detour a potential customer, just as a positive reaction can influence a customer to buy. A time to pay special attention to your packaging is when you are in the launch of a “new” brand. If you’ve already built a strong brand that others recognize often people may not pay as close attention to the packaging.
How can you package your brand so that it is an integral part of your business and represents a strong identity? Keep in mind that I am not speaking of packaging has only a box that contains a product, but as a vehicle that reflects your company’s brand and image. Packaging can be judged and represented by the following common business tools:
- LOGO
- BUSINESS CARDS & STATIONERY
- BROCHURES & ADVERTISING
- WEBSITE
- ANSWERING SYSTEM
- EMAIL ADDRESS
What image are you putting across with these business tools that you use everyday? What are they saying about your company? Take a few moments and lets look at each one of these.
What are your business cards and stationery saying? Are they saying we are strong, we are confident, and we can succeed in helping you? Or does it reflect an image that says we are flimsy, our dynamics are minimal, and we will try but we cannot guarantee continuity?
What does your web site say about your company? Does it reflect professionalism, clarity, and show them that you respect and care about them? Or does your web site confuse viewers, project an untrustworthy image of your company and ultimately drive potential customers away?
What does your answering system and call return policy say about your company? Does it say we are here to help, eager for you business and will do what it takes? Or is it putting across the message that you are too busy to cater to new clientele, don’t care about their needs, and wish they would just quit calling?
What does your email address say about your company? Does it suggest your role in the company, is it easy to remember, and does it something about you and your business? Or does it project a meaningless or generic emptiness? If you are using the email address jdoe123@hotmail.com for your business dealings…..it’s time to change!
As you can see all these things speak volumes about your image and they either strengthen or weaken your brand. Your image is all in the packaging. Would potential clients take a second look or is your message getting lost? If you thought these things were not worth the investment or didn’t matter, you were wrong. Clients and customers will make assessments of your company based on these things and while not always conscious, that customer appraisal says much about your business, your attitude and your priorities.
Need some help with your brand? Call Creative Instinct at 615-945-9296 for a free quote on branding, brochures, logos, website design and more. Or, send an email to Gwen Canfield: gwen@creative-instinct.net. To see samples of our work, visit www.creativeinstinct.biz.
A lot of the clients we’ve worked with over the years were initially skeptical about the concept of branding, and that’s understandable. After all, when you get right down to it, a lot of marketing people are fuzzy about the concept.It turns out that many marketers are guilty of focusing solely on the communication aspect of branding, and forget entirely about the underlying product, which is more important. Even the slickest advertising won’t save bad products. (Remember all those funny ads a few Super Bowls ago when well-funded, and now defunct, Internet companies advertised products which no one needed?)
To add to the confusion, various authorities, such as marketing academia, consultants, and texts, all have slightly different definitions for branding. These include:
- “A singular idea or concept that you own inside the mind of a prospect.”
- “The primary focus of your brand message must be on how special you are. “
- “You’re just anybody without your identity.”
- “Customers must recognize that you stand for something.”
The two best ones we’ve seen are:
- “A brand is the total experience that a customer has with your product, service or company.”
- “A brand is delivering on a promise … consistently.”
The good news… and the really good news for business owners
Branding has long been pervasive in business, and it now extends to people (e.g., Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Seinfeld, Tiger Woods, Martha Stewart). These savvy individuals know they have to be different to stand out from the crowd. Surprisingly, a large percentage of businesses simply don’t use branding to establish and reinforce a specific reputation in their market.
So the good news is that many small business owners, including your competitors, are not trying to brand their practices. The even better news is that the business that successfully brands itself will take a head-and-shoulders, standout lead above the competition. Positive differentiation is the whole idea.
In service industries, effective branding is about the entire experience and relationship that clients have with you. When you communicate what makes you special, you are setting expectations – a direct or implied promise – that clients will get the benefit of your unique value each time they visit or call.
Critical brand-building points to consider:
Businesses (the seller) are likely to think in terms of equipment (technical sophistication, hardware) or quality (skill level, training, peer reputation). But the public (the buyer) values service (access, amenities, ease of doing business) and value-added items (product or service differentiation).
Effective branding communicates to the tastes, attitudes, and sensibilities of the buyer, not the seller. And the wants and needs of the buyer (client) are mainly rooted in results: more interest shown in their products and services, more hits on their website, increase in sales. Think benefits.
It’s important to identify a value-added edge over the competition. What is highly unique about your business that delivers value to the client over and above whatever else is available in the marketplace? Whatever issue we choose to compete upon, it needs to be the one thing that best characterizes the experience, and has to be the centerpiece for everything you do and say about your business.
Be willing to offend someone. By definition, your positioning must be unique; therefore, you cannot be everything to everyone. The challenge will be to appeal to many, while recognizing that your positioning cannot be universal. Being everything to everyone is not unique, and that’s the same as vanilla.
Guard your brand zealously within your office. Once you’ve created your brand, you should beware of the trap of carrying the message banner for others. For example, I recently looked up from the dental chair and noticed a poster on the ceiling advertising a national whitening treatment. Since the manufacturer’s less expensive over-the-counter version is available at every grocery store in town, we hope the manufacturer at least sends the dentist a thank you note.
Deliver a consistent client experience. People prefer consistent quality to nasty surprises, and a brand isn’t really a brand if the business doesn’t deliver a consistent, high quality experience. That’s why it’s easy to understand why budget-minded American students traveling through Europe often pass on local fare to eat at McDonald’s. Remember, just a few negative experiences can blow your brand credibility and betray the trust you’ve worked so hard to build.
Deliver consistent branded communications. In addition to delivering consistent client experiences, you must effectively communicate your brand message at every marketing opportunity. This means your Yellow Pages ad, website, brochures, etc… all with a consistent, professional look and feel.
Call us now and we’ll build your brand
When you create a powerful business brand, you’ll attract the clients, projects, and referrals that you want. Deliver your branding message consistently, and your reward will be consistent profit growth.
Call Creative Instinct now at 615-945-9296 for a free quote on branding, brochures, logos, website design and more. Or, send an email to Gwen Canfield: gwen@creative-instinct.net. To see samples of our work, visit www.creativeinstinct.biz.
