Posts Tagged ‘Marketing’

8 Ways To Motivate & Improve Staff Performance

Digital or traditional, the basics of marketing have not changed since Oog and Ogg crawled out of their cave and began dickering over a stone ax-head. Here are some of the rules for marketing success in any age.

WII-FM

That’s everybody’s favorite radio station – What’s In It for Me. Benefits (that’s in it for me) are the basis of all marketing. Benefits are why people buy. They’re the difference in their life that buying from you will make.

Benefits are not features. Those are characteristics of your product, service or company.

Benefits are not applications. That’s how people use whatever you sell them.

Benefits are the difference in their life that happens because they purchase something from you. Tell people how they will benefit and they will from you. It’s nearly that simple.

The Law of Horn Tooting

No matter how much you wish it were so, people do not just automatically wake up one morning and decide to buy from you. They have to hear about you first. They have to know what you do and how buying from you will benefit them.

No matter how much you wish it were so, the only person you can count on to tell your story is you. Sure, your customers might say good things about you, but you count on that.

No if your horn is going to get tooted, it’s to figure that you will be doing the tooting. That’s the Law of Horn Tooting: Toot thine own horn for thou canst not count on another to toot thy horn for thee.

The Magic Stone of Marketing

There may be magic in a young girl’s heart, but very magic in marketing. Despite how consultants and motivational speakers may make it seem, you’re just going to have to work at it. There’s no one, or even two, easy things that will suddenly, completely, and permanently make your marketing effective.

No, if there is a magic stone of marketing it is this: do the basics with unremitting diligence. And what are those basics, I hear you cry.

You must get your message out so that people recognize your name and associate it with what you do and with what makes you different.

You must identify prospects and convert a goodly number of them into buyers.

You must tell folks about the benefits of buying from you. This is all folks, customers and prospects alike. Remember the Law of Horn Tooting. Don’t figure that just because you’ve given folks good service, they’ll remember the next time ready to buy.

You must deliver on your promises. If you do this, nothing else really matters much.

You must stay in touch. If you are not talking to your best customers and prospects you won’t know what their really are. You will not know when they have a issue with your products or company. And you be able to tell them about the neat new product or service that’s perfect for them.

There are other things you should do, like having special programs to get that critical second order, making things increasingly simple for customers and prospects, and paying attention to your most valuable customers. None of these things, alas, is magic.

Riley’s Rule

When he was a National Basketball Association coach, Pat Riley used to have a saying: “No rebounds, no rings.” In other words, if you do not do the important work, you will not be a winner. We can translate that into business terms.

No marketing, no money. Marketing is not a campaign, initiative or program that you get done with. It’s the way you do business. Every day. Every week. Every month. Forever.

KISS Principle I

You know this one. It’s been a staple of motivational speakers and sales trainers for years. Keep It Simple, Silly. You may alternative the S word of your choice for the final word in that sentence.

Keep it easy because complexity makes you work harder for the same results. When I was starting out in business, the company I was with made us chant 8-4-2 until it bubbled up from our subconscious unbidden.

The chant meant this. Make eight sales calls every business day. A call was where you actually talked to the customer, not just left your card. Demonstrate the product four times a day. Close two sales a day.

Simple, eh? It is. But it kept us focused on the basics. And people who followed the rule tended to be successful.

KISS Principle II

This one is Keep It Smart, Silly. Play the odds.

Pay attention to the customers and the best prospects. Pareto is still right; you’re going to eighty percent or so of your results from around twenty percent of your customers and prospects.

If you done it already, make up an A-B-C of customers and prospects. Then work that list, paying attention to the customers and prospects with the most potential.

And do it right. Make sure you call on your best prospects and customers enough to get the business you need from them.

In the early Twentieth Century, writer Ring Lardner put it this way: “The race may not always be to the swift, nor victory to the strong. But the way to bet.”

Kiss Principle III

This principle is a different. This principle is not an acronym. This principle is about real kisses.

Answer this question. Where are you most likely to get your next kiss? Will it be from a random sample of people you meet on the street? Or will it be where you got your last kiss?

Odds are that your next kiss will come from the place you got your last kiss. Now replace the word “kiss” with the word “sale.”

People who’ve bought from you before are the most likely to from you again. Even more, selling to them is more efficient. It costs five times less in terms of money, time and effort to get a sale from an existing customer than it does to create a new customer.

And it gets better. Existing customers are likely to purchase more and more profitable items the longer they remain customers.

So romance those current customers. Show them how much you love them.

The Iron Law of Responsibility

It’s up to you. You’re responsible. If your customer makes a bad decision and buys from the competition, it’s your fault.

It’s not your customer’s fault. They made the best decision they could in their situation with they knowledge they had available. If they have the right information, you should have told them. If they needed to decide right away, you should have been available to help.

It’s not the world’s fault, or the market’s fault, or your competitor’s fault. You are the only one responsible for the results of your marketing.

It’s up to you to share the benefits, toot your horn, and keep after the basics of marketing day after day. It’s up to you to keep it easy and smart. It’s up to you to romance your customers. It’s simple, really, but it’s not easy, and it hasn’t changed for centuries.

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8 Ways To Motivate & Improve Staff Performance A stronger economy means more opportunities for you, and your staff. How do you keep them from looking for greener grass? Provide staff assistance, opportunities for enrichment, and an environment that increases enthusiasm. The processes of involvement, observation, interaction, and feedback build the foundation necessary for staff engagement, involvement, and motivation. The key is to create a staff-keeping environment now. Here are 8 key steps to take:

1. What you do vs. what you say.
You are the company compass and barometer. What you say, indicate, espouse, or demand of others must match what you do. Being an involved, observant, available, and caring manager or owner sets the standard of behavior for others.
2. Share goals
If you hate to be on the outside looking in, don’t you think others might feel the same? Bring staff in by sharing departmental or company goals. The journey you have in mind may be one that creates excitement and enthusiasm in them too.
3. Solicit feedback
They say two heads can be better than one. Sometimes we can be too close to a situation to see it from multiple angles. Soliciting feedback can offer different perspectives. It also provides staff with an opportunity to actively participate in company planning and changes, and allows you to experience different aspects of them, and vice versa.
4. Observe
“A picture is worth a thousand words.” What you see when staff are working, relaxed, celebrating, or operating to meet a deadline are the scenes that truly describe how your organization works. The ways in which people act (and interact), speaks volumes about an organization. Observing, allows you to see what’s working, and where change may be needed.
5. Cross-training
Walking a mile in someone’s shoes not only allows you to experience what they experience, but it can be the root of empathy. A cross-training program allows workers to experience other responsibilities and departments within the organization. It also prepares the organization for staff shortages, and allows workers to take a break from the routine of their regular tasks.
6. Relate to individual goals
Organizational goals can often be in alignment with the goals of individuals within the organization. Support individuals toward attaining their goals. The direction they are headed, may be exactly where you have a current or future need
7. Open communication
It is important for staff to feel they can communicate their suggestions, concerns, successes, and misses, without fear of retribution. Assure staff they will be heard, acknowledged, and supported. Then, make sure you do exactly that.
8. The Final Piece
In a recent study conducted by Nelson Motivation Inc, “78 percent of employees indicated that it was “very” or “extremely” important to them to be recognized by their managers when they do good work, and 73 percent said they expected that recognition to occur either “immediately” or “soon thereafter.” Of the top 10 recognition factors staff ranked as important when they did good work, 4 were types of praise – personal, written, electronic, public – generated by those they hold in high esteem.”

Kennette Reed is the principal consultant with Kennette Reed & Associates. Her firm provides nationwide customer and staff retention, performance improvement, and executive coaching solutions. For more info, visit the company website at or or phone 510-352-2121.

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February 16th, 2012 Posted in youth media | No Comments »

Comprehensive Marketing Details Not Found in Beginner Books

If this is the first marketing article you are reading, go find some other more basic articles that I have written and then come back. This data is for the intermediate to advanced marketers.

I want to go over a three-step outline for your marketing which are:

1)Surveys

2)Getting Attention

3)Postage

Marketing surveys save you from flying blind in your business marketing strategies and are the best way to find out what you should be offering, to whom and how. When you don’t really know what to put in your direct mail marketing it’s because you done your research.

In order to get the response you would like on your direct mail marketing campaign, one area you need to look at is whether or not you are using a survey to find out what to state to your public. You may immediately answer “No – I do not survey.” But truthfully, it’s very possible you do and just do not realize it….read on.

You know your market quite well because you already sell to them. You’re unwittingly surveying all the time. Take this example:

An optometrist has an optical boutique. He knows that the biggest market for his eyewear are women from the ages of 40 to 65 years old. How does he know that? His women’s frame inventory is constantly being restocked fives times more than his men’s frame stock or even children’s. And the types of women’s frames are ones compatible with no-line bifocals. Interesting! Let’s look at what else this optometrist knows. He knows that these women pay a higher price point for their eyewear because the products he keeps reordering are from the more upscale designers so these women probably have more discretionary income. That is what I mean by surveying unwittingly.

Now let’s take an example where you are sure you have no data:

You are a mortgage broker and you know what to state to people to get them to refinance their property, yet this is the area you specialize in. You assume that the deal will attract more customers. You conduct a marketing survey, or get a marketing survey conducted for you that asks people indirectly for their attitudes and emotions concerning refinancing and what would be the advantages and disadvantages. You find the majority of people would like to refinance but think it is a very complicated procedure and so they never try. From this information you are able to determine what the tone and message of your advertising should take.

So, what should your promotion say? How about “We’ll take the hassle out of refinancing for you. Find out how.” You will get a response. You could send out thousands of promotional pieces telling your prospects that you can get them the lowest rate, but that is not their concern. Their concern is that it’s too complicated. Do you see how you could miss? A survey is the answer.

It is smart business to design a survey (or have one designed) to send out to your past customers that will keep you in the know, and not in the dark.

Now let’s go into the next logical sequence of how to break the first barrier of getting attention, so the “button” you found from your survey hits them before they throw away your promotion before ever even reading it.

Ditch the Envelopes!

The most common question that is asked when dealing with direct mail is “How do I get their attention?” This is a major because, no matter what you do to them, most envelopes look basically the same. Print on them in color, make a window, stamp it urgent – your customers have seen all these tricks before. They get thrown away before they’re even opened. They can tell from the outside that it is a sales pitch and they just get rid of it. This causes you to lose sales because of assumptions made before you even try to get your message across, when if you had the chance to let the customer know what you were offering they might have gone for it. Plain and simple, the easiest way to get around this is by using postcards.

Not only does the full color aspect of postcards attract more attention than all of the envelopes in any given day’s stack of mail, but it will grant you to get your message across while recipients are making the decision of what to read and what to throw away.

Let’s use this example:

You are sitting on the subway and the guy next to you leans over and says “I have something I would like to sell you and it’s under my trench coat, are you interested?” So as any sane person would do, you move to the furthest seat from him so not to be bothered.

As you now sit in the farthest seat from the untrustworthy freak in the trench coat you are approached by a smiling tiny Girl Scout who holds out a box of cookies and says “Would you like to buy a box of cookies? Everyone adores the Thin-Mints!” So this time you pull out your wallet and plunk down the $3 for a box of delicious cholesterol and sugar.

See the difference? Don’t hide your message behind a trench coat. For all we know the “untrustworthy freak”, as I have affectionately named him, could have had a box of Thin-Mints under there.

We may never know, and neither will your customers if you stop stuffing your promo into bland looking envelopes.

Now, make the final step simple and take out the hassle of direct mail.

It’s one thing to get postcards designed and printed. It’s another to get them into the hands of the recipients rapidly, efficiently, as inexpensively as possible and without too much hassle. You have the choice of doing it yourself in house or getting someone to do it for you.

The apparent advantage of doing it yourself is that you pay someone else what they charge to do it for you. The disadvantage of doing it yourself is that it’s going to cost you more in the long run.

Why?

Normally your postage for a 4.25 x 6″ postcard is 23�. Direct mail companies can lease special software from the USPS which reads the addresses and barcodes them. The post office gives a significant discount for bar-coded mail. Updating this software often (every three months) ensures that the addresses you are mailing to are good. If the person is no longer at that address then it’s a waste of your money to mail to them.

Because of the high tech equipment and software direct mail companies use, you can sometimes save as much as .04 cents per card. And you do not have all the hassle of getting the mailing out yourself.

I call it a no-brainer: a technical term for saving cash and hassle by getting someone else to do your mailing for you. If you have been doing it the hard way, switch over to a direct mail marketing company. I am sure they will be glad to help you save money, time and trouble.

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January 23rd, 2012 Posted in youth media | No Comments »

Photography School Reviews

Six years ago, was broke and unemployed, with less than three weeks until the rent was due. I was desperate to find a job – all you would pay – and took a Greensheet because I could not even afford the Houston Chronicle. I browsed through the Office / Administrative section first, because I was hoping to find at least a temporary job as secretary, and when I called, I turned the page to the section on Marketing. At that time, I had no idea that marketing and sales were not the same thing. My mother always warned me against taking a job that paid by commission only, so it was even reluctant to call any of the positions listed. Most of the wealth that provides instant and incredible business opportunities – ads for jobs that I knew were scams – so I ignored the calls and an announcement of the marketing representatives Bush Intercontinental Airport. As it turns that was the best call I ever made. For more than a year, I worked as a marketing representative for marketing trendline, Inc. My job was to stand in a booth at the airport, talking to people and invite them to join the Continental Chase credit card. We offer free t-shirts and stuffed with planes, bonuses, and people business object traveled thousands of miles a year for their work. I paid $ 10.00 per hour, or $ 2.00 an application, which was higher. Most days, I averaged between 90 and 100 applications a day, which translated to $ 22.00 to $ 25.00 per hour. And all I had to do was sit in a booth! After that, I had the opportunity moving on to bigger and better things. The following year, I traveled with Nascar to thirty-two different cities, marketing Nascar MBNA Visa. The company paid for my airfare, my meals, my rental car, my hotel, and my gas. I made $ 1.50 per application, and an average of 1,300 applications per weekend. I was traveling for free, to live with very little expense, working two days a week, and pulling about $ 80,000 per year. It was amazing. The following year, I traveled with the PGA Champions Tour, and after that, I worked with Toys 'R' Us, Shell service stations and department stores Kohl. It was an amazing experience and I met hundreds of wonderful people. If you are afraid of marketing, and are unsure of their future when pay the fee, you may want to try the credit card marketing industry . Companies around the U.S. are looking for marketing representatives who have no trouble talking with people and have excellent communication skills. There is a large market for people who are bilingual, and people who have a very flexible schedule.

“Any good photography is a successful synthesis of technique and art.” – Andreas Feininger

This article will attempt to help you come to a clearer understanding of the photography schools and colleges available, what they can offer you in terms of photo and arts education, and guide you towards investigating more about specific schools and where you can find out more information.

Photography SchoolsPhotography is a wonderful choice when it comes to a career. Photography is a versatile path that allows you to specify within the degree, and move from different types of photography within your lifetime. From magazine covers to exotic locations to local newspapers, a career in photography will allow you to pick and choose exactly what you want to photograph. However, a career in photography doesn’t happen with well wishes and hopes…you have to work to get there! So where do you begin in your search for photography schools? Right here!

You’ll have to learn about the photography business, learn how to deal with copyright issues and information, manage your photo porfolio and how to work with others in the field. There are many courses in the field of photography taught at many of the schools, teaching you in a variety of areas including:

* Photographic equipment

* Photographic processes

* Photograph techniques

* Color theory

* Special skills

* Digital imaging and photo processing

There are many many more fields available when it comes to your career path in photography, the above were simply some examples.

If you’re passionate about photography and want to pursue this versatile career, it’s important that you take the time to learn from experienced professionals that can guide you in your efforts to pursue professional photography, motion picture and video photography, visual journalism, and thinks like visual communications. What’s great about attending photography schools nationwide is that you dont’ have to begin an expert, you begin a beginner! Many of you are pursuing this field because you have a natural eye for photography, and that’s great – but maybe you’re just developing one. That’s great too! What you probably didn’t know is that photography school will teach you much more than simply how to snap a few brief pictures and dip em in developer. They teach you the scientific processes of film, chemistry, optics, color theory, lighting rations, and digital and computer skills.

You’ll also find collegues and students at your school that share your passion, talents, and skill and want to join in mutual efforts to further your careers. Here are a few photography school frequently asked questions that might help you!

* What is the objective of many photography schools?

* What types of photography might I choose to go into?

* What type of school should I look for?

* What are some of the top schools in the US?

What is the objective of many photography schools?

The objective (or the objective I believe is crucial to selecting a school) of many is to develop photographers that are technically and professionally sound, enabling them to pursue any photographic field and compete in the job marketplace.

What types of photography might I choose to go into?

There are many different types of photography fields, including fasion photography, digital photography, advertising photography, editorial photography, documentary style, wedding photography, portrait photography, or photo technician style work. You’ll be prepared to do any of these with a solid education at a photo college or school.

What type of school should I look for?

My recommendation is a school that teaches nothing but photography! Obviously affordability is important, but a photo only institute is a great way to go!

What are some of the top schools in the US?

There are several wonderful photography schools, but some of ones we’ll choose to highlight are Brooks Institute of Photography and the Art Institute of Colorado. For a more detailed list of Photography schools and information, please click here or continue browsing this article.

Brooks is a world leader when it comes to visual arts and photographic education. You’ll want to find a photography school that helps to meet career oriented needs that you establish before you search. You’ll want one with experience in the field for a long period of time, not just a hokey internet college.

You want want that can offer you a chance to broaden your resume through internships and opportunities. The joy of this career is that you get to turn your photographic ambition into something that pays the bills and you love to do every single day! Who wouldn’t want that! I hope this article has proved even a little helpful, and that you’ll consider going into the wonderful field of photography!

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December 20th, 2011 Posted in youth media | No Comments »