The time you spend on public relations and marketing should pay for itself in new customers. You won't know if your efforts are paying off, however, unless you keep a record of how your customers are hearing about you. Was it from an article about you? Was it from your Yellow Pages advertising? Did they hear you speak somewhere? Did they hear about you from a friend? Did they get your mailer? Asking these questions, and recording the answers, is called tracking.
With conscientious tracking, you can increase your number of successes and reduce the amount of time and money wasted.
An author I worked with, a best-selling self-help author, began tracking his book and product sales and realized his sales spiked immediately after he made a personal appearance somewhere. This may seem obvious but he had so many marketing programs going on simultaneously that he'd never sat down before and looked at where the actual sales were coming from. By asking for feedback from customers and noting the places and dates where his products were selling, he was able to cut back on some of the wasted advertising and focus those resources into the promotion of his public appearances.
One of my favorite communications tactics and tracking tools is an opt-in email campaign and list management tool called Constant Contact (www.constantcontact.com). When you send out a newsletter using Constant Contact, the software allows you to generate reports that show you exactly how many people opened the email, who clicked through to your site and other valuable metrics to help you evaluate the effectiveness of your marketing.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Definitions
ADVERTISING
Advertising is promotion you pay for. Its most important function is to boost sales. With an ad, you can control your message, its frequency, and in some cases, the placement of your ad. Beware! Your ads compete with hundreds of others for your prospect's attention. You must be willing to run your ad several times until it begins to work. Select advertising media that your audience is likely to read, see or hear on a regular basis, because it is highly likely your prospect will not notice your ad the first time, or even the second.
DATABASE
A database is a collection of information you store in your computer. With a good customer database, you can manipulate the data to create meaningful reports and lists. The most successful businesses keep detailed customer databases and spend a great deal of time and resources to keep their databases up to date. This information can help you:
Advertising is promotion you pay for. Its most important function is to boost sales. With an ad, you can control your message, its frequency, and in some cases, the placement of your ad. Beware! Your ads compete with hundreds of others for your prospect's attention. You must be willing to run your ad several times until it begins to work. Select advertising media that your audience is likely to read, see or hear on a regular basis, because it is highly likely your prospect will not notice your ad the first time, or even the second.
DATABASE
A database is a collection of information you store in your computer. With a good customer database, you can manipulate the data to create meaningful reports and lists. The most successful businesses keep detailed customer databases and spend a great deal of time and resources to keep their databases up to date. This information can help you:
- print address lists for mailings
- send email or faxes
- determine who your best customers are
- know who bought which products or services, when, how often and at what price
- reminds you when to contact certain customers for various reasons (sending birthday cards, follow-up on leads, etc.)
A good database is essential for your media relations efforts, and for customer retention purposes.
I remember reading an article about a men's clothing store that used its customer database in the most wonderful way. When a customer bought a suit, for example, the salesperson recorded the color of the suit, style, price and other details. When, say, the store received a shipment of new ties, the salesperson would notify the customer that she had a new tie in stock that would beautifully complement the customer's suit.
I wish my hair salon would use its database to more advantage, the way a veterinarian reminds customers of when the next pet vaccination is due. I'm not saying my hair isn't naturally blonde, but let's just say for the sake of argument that if my hairdresser were to send me a note six weeks after each visit reminding me that I'm due to have my hair "done" again, I'm not only more likely to make an appointment, but also return to the same salon. It's a simple process, but I'm surprised at how many business owners lose touch with their customers when it's so easy not to.
DIRECT MARKETING
Small businesses with a specialized focus and community-based businesses should focus on direct and personal marketing strategies. Approaches include direct mail (flyers, catalogs, solicitation letters, contests, etc.); telemarketing, client calls, networking, special events and other such approaches.
MARKETING
Marketing involves all activities related to making a product or service available to the public, from the initial spark of an idea to years after the sale. More simply, marketing is the process of finding, and keeping, customers.
PERSONAL MARKETING
Personal marketing is building your business by getting known by circulating at parties, networking, joining clubs, public speaking and handing out business cards.
PUBLIC RELATIONS
Public relations is the management of information between an organization and its publics. It involves creating positive relationships with the media to encourage them to print your news releases, to show stories about you on television, or send reporters to your events. It involves your organization's positive relationship with key publics (prospects, customers, shareholders, industry analysts, community leaders, etc.).
PROMOTION
Promotion is the use of mass media, direct mail or other marketing options to reach your audience.
PUBLICITY
Publicity is free promotion that you get from the mass media -- newspapers, radio and television. When you attract the attention of large amounts of potential customers, you are getting publicity. Unlike advertising, there are no guarantees that an editor will publish your story, and you cannot control where your story is placed in the publication. However, if you do receive positive coverage on a regular basis, your efforts can be very rewarding in the form of business growth and positive public regard. Generally, people believe what they read or see on television if the message is delivered by a credible source.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Never Stop Promoting Your Business
Sometimes a business owner gets so busy with the day-to-day operations of the business, or runs into a temporary business upswing, that the task of promoting the business is neglected. This is why a lot of businesses get into trouble -- they have neglected the "promotion" element of their marketing plan, or let too much time elapse between efforts, and then, when the business needs the revenues, there are no customers to be found and few prospects. While you're in the office drinking your own Koolade, the market has forgotten you and moved on to your competitor, who hasn't neglected his promotion. With this in mind, consider the following reasons to keep promoting your business:
1. The marketplace is very crowded and competitive, suggesting it is risky not to constantly promote yourself. You need to actively spread the word about your business so that you can:
1. The marketplace is very crowded and competitive, suggesting it is risky not to constantly promote yourself. You need to actively spread the word about your business so that you can:
- keep customers aware of your existence
- overcome customer confusion or indifference
- help establish a position in the minds of those you wish to serve
2. Before customers can buy from you, they have to know about you. The techniques used to create this awareness differ from business to business, but there are time-tested ways to reach every customer. Find what works for you, and stick with it.
3. It is a fact: Good marketing results in sales revenue increases. The only time this is a problem is if you bring in more business than you can service.
4. Your success depends on doing everything you can to reach the minds of your prospects and existing customers so that they have an easy time remembering you.
Promoting your business doesn't have to be difficult or expensive. There is a direct correlation between the amount of energy you put into your marketing and the level of your success. Persistence and discipline are more important than anything.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Press Kit
I unearthed a pile of old portfolios and found work I'd done 150 years ago (in the 80s.) In it are samples of my work -- article clips, newsletters, bylines, brochures -- and an "old" press kit.
Back in the day, press kit contents were housed in lovely, embossed, die-cut pocket folders with 8x10 black and white glossy photographs and a well-chosen selection of printed documents: press release(s), fact sheet, company overview, FAQs and other printed information that I, as the PR rep, believed were good and useful resources for my media contacts.
We used to send these press kit folders via U.S. mail to all the pertinent media outlets, at great cost when you consider printing, postage, 10 x 13 envelopes and labor. At the receiving end were reporters, editors and producers with stacks and stacks of folders received from the hundreds of people and organizations who were promoting something, each of these stuffed with paper and photographs, many of which ended up in the circular file.
As far as I know, almost no one uses these kinds of printed press kits anymore. Today, the press kit is fully electronic, downloadable from the web site as PDFs or Word docs. Since most media correspondence is now done via email, the media are fully accustomed to receiving press kit documents as attachments. That's great for us -- the economies created by the digital age are substantial when it comes to the practice of public relations.
Back in the day, press kit contents were housed in lovely, embossed, die-cut pocket folders with 8x10 black and white glossy photographs and a well-chosen selection of printed documents: press release(s), fact sheet, company overview, FAQs and other printed information that I, as the PR rep, believed were good and useful resources for my media contacts.
We used to send these press kit folders via U.S. mail to all the pertinent media outlets, at great cost when you consider printing, postage, 10 x 13 envelopes and labor. At the receiving end were reporters, editors and producers with stacks and stacks of folders received from the hundreds of people and organizations who were promoting something, each of these stuffed with paper and photographs, many of which ended up in the circular file.
As far as I know, almost no one uses these kinds of printed press kits anymore. Today, the press kit is fully electronic, downloadable from the web site as PDFs or Word docs. Since most media correspondence is now done via email, the media are fully accustomed to receiving press kit documents as attachments. That's great for us -- the economies created by the digital age are substantial when it comes to the practice of public relations.
Monday, February 19, 2007
The Plan's the Thing
Many entrepreneurs and small business owners have come to me and said, "Help! I need customers now! Can you help me get some PR?"
The urgency in their voices always intrigues me, and I'm always glad to help however I can. Usually, within the first 20 minutes of our first meeting, I realize the person does not have an accurate idea of what "PR" is. I also often discover they do not have a written marketing plan. They had a great idea for a business, and believed whole-heartedly that, "if I build it, they will come." They leased space, printed up business cards, forms and invoices, maybe ran an ad or sent out a letter, and called everyone they could think of.
After the ribbon-cutting, when their doors are open and the customer's don't come, at least, not quickly enough to allay fears of failure or bankruptcy, they call me and say, "Help me NOW!"
Like I said, that's cool. I'm happy to say I can usually get such clients attracting new business within a couple of months. But they could have saved themselves weeks, even months, of agony, if they'd created a marketing plan BEFORE their doors were open. Shakespeare said, "The play's the thing, wherein we'll catch the conscience of the king." I say, "The plan's the thing, wherein we'll catch the attention of your customers."
One of the most important items a new business must have before opening its doors is a written marketing plan. This document identifies the "four P's" of your business:
1) Product. What makes your product or service unique? How big is the market? Who are your competitors? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What opportunities and threats exist for you in the marketplace? Who is going to buy from you?
2) Packaging. What does your product look like, or how is your service delivered? What are your messages? What is your value proposition?
3) Pricing. What is your pricing strategy? Are you competitively priced?
4) Promotion. How are you going to tell the world that you exist? There are literally hundreds of marketing tactics that you can employ to promote yourself or your business, as well as hundreds of business books that describe these tactics in detail. (You'll need a logo, web site and business cards for sure.) This is the section where you spell out how you will use public relations to promote your business.
But just having a marketing plan in hand before you start your business doesn't guarantee your strategy will succeed. That's okay. The marketing plan is only a blueprint -- subject to constant adjustment. When you find something that works well, stick with it. If it doesn't work, ditch it.
If marketing isn't your core competency, it's well worth your while to show your plan to a marketing professional. He/she can make adjustments, ask you the hard questions and recommend strategies and tactics that will work within your budget. Of course, if you're well capitalized, it's extremely wise to hire a marketing pro to draft the plan for you. Don't have a marketing plan? Make one -- it's important.
Of course, there are plenty of ways to attract attention to yourself now. Running naked through city hall is one way to get massive publicity, but I don't think you'll like the kind of attention you'll get. Some businesses hire people to dress as chickens and stand on busy corners with big signs. That might not work for you, either.
The urgency in their voices always intrigues me, and I'm always glad to help however I can. Usually, within the first 20 minutes of our first meeting, I realize the person does not have an accurate idea of what "PR" is. I also often discover they do not have a written marketing plan. They had a great idea for a business, and believed whole-heartedly that, "if I build it, they will come." They leased space, printed up business cards, forms and invoices, maybe ran an ad or sent out a letter, and called everyone they could think of.
After the ribbon-cutting, when their doors are open and the customer's don't come, at least, not quickly enough to allay fears of failure or bankruptcy, they call me and say, "Help me NOW!"
Like I said, that's cool. I'm happy to say I can usually get such clients attracting new business within a couple of months. But they could have saved themselves weeks, even months, of agony, if they'd created a marketing plan BEFORE their doors were open. Shakespeare said, "The play's the thing, wherein we'll catch the conscience of the king." I say, "The plan's the thing, wherein we'll catch the attention of your customers."
One of the most important items a new business must have before opening its doors is a written marketing plan. This document identifies the "four P's" of your business:
1) Product. What makes your product or service unique? How big is the market? Who are your competitors? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What opportunities and threats exist for you in the marketplace? Who is going to buy from you?
2) Packaging. What does your product look like, or how is your service delivered? What are your messages? What is your value proposition?
3) Pricing. What is your pricing strategy? Are you competitively priced?
4) Promotion. How are you going to tell the world that you exist? There are literally hundreds of marketing tactics that you can employ to promote yourself or your business, as well as hundreds of business books that describe these tactics in detail. (You'll need a logo, web site and business cards for sure.) This is the section where you spell out how you will use public relations to promote your business.
But just having a marketing plan in hand before you start your business doesn't guarantee your strategy will succeed. That's okay. The marketing plan is only a blueprint -- subject to constant adjustment. When you find something that works well, stick with it. If it doesn't work, ditch it.
If marketing isn't your core competency, it's well worth your while to show your plan to a marketing professional. He/she can make adjustments, ask you the hard questions and recommend strategies and tactics that will work within your budget. Of course, if you're well capitalized, it's extremely wise to hire a marketing pro to draft the plan for you. Don't have a marketing plan? Make one -- it's important.
Of course, there are plenty of ways to attract attention to yourself now. Running naked through city hall is one way to get massive publicity, but I don't think you'll like the kind of attention you'll get. Some businesses hire people to dress as chickens and stand on busy corners with big signs. That might not work for you, either.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Five Things You Do and Don't Want From Your PR Consultant
As a young person in business, I was in awe of public relations and the people that worked in the field. I saw people my age getting regular access to senior executives and imagined that they were more important than the rest of us. They seemed surer of themselves and dressed better. They dealt with journalists. I didn’t even know any. I’ll admit that I found the whole discipline a little intimidating.
Eons passed. I earned my bachelor's degree in journalism, spent a brief amount of time as a reporter, and eventually landed my first public relations job. After paying dues as a junior account exec, I became craggy and cynical enough to be put in charge of some things. My outlook no longer had much in common with the one I had as a young person.
It came to pass that I became a corporate marketing communications executive and I found myself dealing with PR consultants and explaining the process to the other members of the senior management team. Many outsourced PR practitioners are competent and professional. There were parallels to other processes in companies that the non-PR management team respected and understood, and good PR people share many of the qualities that we all look for in the people we work with. Still, there were some issues that arose more often in PR than in other areas. Excellent PR consultants almost never had these issues. When I came across a PR consultant that was a little less than excellent, they delivered things the management team didn’t want.
The five things management didn't want:
Audience - Most executives started out in business with a healthy ego. As they have progressed through the ranks they manage to maintain their sense of self worth in the face of an occasional battering from adversity. My CEO friends know that they are witty, urbane, and nattily dressed. They don’t need a PR guy or gal to continually tell them what they and the rest of the world can plainly see. Any sales person can fall into this kind of slap-you-on-the-back approach, yet I see it most often from PR consultants. I don't know why. All I can tell you is that the PR professional that approaches you with substance rather than adulation will do a better job.
"Yes" people - This one is about ideas. I’m fortunate, because I am an executive who's well trained in public relations. But I’ve learned that many executives that find themselves dealing with PR firms are not trained in the discipline. My friend Brian, a CEO, put it this way: "Although I know my business and the market very well, some of my PR thoughts may be ill advised. I want a PR consultant that will say so! I’ll argue. I might even come up with a worse idea just to show that I can. In the end, my company is paying the PR consultant for results. If my ideas are not going to lead to results, the PR counselor needs to have the guts to tell me."
Mush - As a corporate executive, I've had to measure how my company and my vendors are doing in the Public Relations arena. Every executive does. That’s just a fact. First-rate PR consultants understand that. They provide all kinds of tracking and measurement and reports. They help you to do your job. When I deal with a less than competent vendor I can’t get anything but mush. I know that PR can be difficult to quantify but, good firms figure out things to track and report back to their customers. Bad firms don’t track anything.
Magic - When I take on a project I need a plan. I don’t need magic. I want to see what we are going to do, who is going to do it, what results would be acceptable, and how much it is going to cost. One account representative, unaware of my extensive PR background, told me that PR is like sausage – you don’t want to see how it’s made. We didn’t do business.
Surprise - I have had more billing surprises dealing with PR firms than any other vendors. I don’t know why. I insist on contracts that require prior authorization to go over our agreed upon monthly amount but, I still get overages. Nobody is happy when this happens. Good vendors do their planning and reporting and get authorization before going over budget.
I wouldn’t argue that PR firms are any better or worse than companies in other lines of work. Some are good and some are not so good. When selecting a firm or PR consultant, try to find out if they are going to give you any of the five things that you don’t want. When you check references, ask about the five things. Also, look for industry certifications. The professional certification process and test administered by the Public Relations Society of America is particularly rigorous. Try to meet with the firm several times in the selection process and determine if they can give you the five things you do want.
The Other five things:
Orientation –Does the PR consultant know how business gets done? Do they understand your industry? Have they learned enough to understand your specific company?
Courage – Most of the CEOs I've worked with like a firm that will admit a mistake or two. You can bet that they have made them. Will they tell you the truth and risk offending you? Will they try to convince you of an idea rather giving up and changing their position?
Consistency – Does their pitch stay the same from meeting to meeting? It should evolve some, but not change completely.
Substance – You can’t expect any vendor to drop all of their ideas on you for free in the sales process but, you need to convince yourself that the ideas are really there. If they are it usually shows.
Connection – Beware of anyone that tries to sell you anything based on their contact list. Planning and discipline will win over socializing every time. That being said, a PR firm should have the know-how of contacting journalists, editors and others who can present your message to the world.
If you can avoid the five things that you don’t want in a PR consultant you are probably going to be OK. If you can ensure that you get the five things you do want in a PR consultant, you will have a successful relationship. What’s more, you will be able to define success and document it. You will get good value for your money and the best exposure possible for your company whether times are good or bad.
Eons passed. I earned my bachelor's degree in journalism, spent a brief amount of time as a reporter, and eventually landed my first public relations job. After paying dues as a junior account exec, I became craggy and cynical enough to be put in charge of some things. My outlook no longer had much in common with the one I had as a young person.
It came to pass that I became a corporate marketing communications executive and I found myself dealing with PR consultants and explaining the process to the other members of the senior management team. Many outsourced PR practitioners are competent and professional. There were parallels to other processes in companies that the non-PR management team respected and understood, and good PR people share many of the qualities that we all look for in the people we work with. Still, there were some issues that arose more often in PR than in other areas. Excellent PR consultants almost never had these issues. When I came across a PR consultant that was a little less than excellent, they delivered things the management team didn’t want.
The five things management didn't want:
Audience - Most executives started out in business with a healthy ego. As they have progressed through the ranks they manage to maintain their sense of self worth in the face of an occasional battering from adversity. My CEO friends know that they are witty, urbane, and nattily dressed. They don’t need a PR guy or gal to continually tell them what they and the rest of the world can plainly see. Any sales person can fall into this kind of slap-you-on-the-back approach, yet I see it most often from PR consultants. I don't know why. All I can tell you is that the PR professional that approaches you with substance rather than adulation will do a better job.
"Yes" people - This one is about ideas. I’m fortunate, because I am an executive who's well trained in public relations. But I’ve learned that many executives that find themselves dealing with PR firms are not trained in the discipline. My friend Brian, a CEO, put it this way: "Although I know my business and the market very well, some of my PR thoughts may be ill advised. I want a PR consultant that will say so! I’ll argue. I might even come up with a worse idea just to show that I can. In the end, my company is paying the PR consultant for results. If my ideas are not going to lead to results, the PR counselor needs to have the guts to tell me."
Mush - As a corporate executive, I've had to measure how my company and my vendors are doing in the Public Relations arena. Every executive does. That’s just a fact. First-rate PR consultants understand that. They provide all kinds of tracking and measurement and reports. They help you to do your job. When I deal with a less than competent vendor I can’t get anything but mush. I know that PR can be difficult to quantify but, good firms figure out things to track and report back to their customers. Bad firms don’t track anything.
Magic - When I take on a project I need a plan. I don’t need magic. I want to see what we are going to do, who is going to do it, what results would be acceptable, and how much it is going to cost. One account representative, unaware of my extensive PR background, told me that PR is like sausage – you don’t want to see how it’s made. We didn’t do business.
Surprise - I have had more billing surprises dealing with PR firms than any other vendors. I don’t know why. I insist on contracts that require prior authorization to go over our agreed upon monthly amount but, I still get overages. Nobody is happy when this happens. Good vendors do their planning and reporting and get authorization before going over budget.
I wouldn’t argue that PR firms are any better or worse than companies in other lines of work. Some are good and some are not so good. When selecting a firm or PR consultant, try to find out if they are going to give you any of the five things that you don’t want. When you check references, ask about the five things. Also, look for industry certifications. The professional certification process and test administered by the Public Relations Society of America is particularly rigorous. Try to meet with the firm several times in the selection process and determine if they can give you the five things you do want.
The Other five things:
Orientation –Does the PR consultant know how business gets done? Do they understand your industry? Have they learned enough to understand your specific company?
Courage – Most of the CEOs I've worked with like a firm that will admit a mistake or two. You can bet that they have made them. Will they tell you the truth and risk offending you? Will they try to convince you of an idea rather giving up and changing their position?
Consistency – Does their pitch stay the same from meeting to meeting? It should evolve some, but not change completely.
Substance – You can’t expect any vendor to drop all of their ideas on you for free in the sales process but, you need to convince yourself that the ideas are really there. If they are it usually shows.
Connection – Beware of anyone that tries to sell you anything based on their contact list. Planning and discipline will win over socializing every time. That being said, a PR firm should have the know-how of contacting journalists, editors and others who can present your message to the world.
If you can avoid the five things that you don’t want in a PR consultant you are probably going to be OK. If you can ensure that you get the five things you do want in a PR consultant, you will have a successful relationship. What’s more, you will be able to define success and document it. You will get good value for your money and the best exposure possible for your company whether times are good or bad.
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