Focus on Marketing blog has moved!

http://blog.advertisingandpr.com/

Mixing tactics is vital in business promotion

Have you made a commitment to making new business opportunities? If you go to just two networking events a year, buy some ads in journals and wait for the phone to ring, the answer is no.

If you want to grow a business in this challenging economy, you need to create awareness about your company and what you do.

In order to be successful, you must promote to your potential customers at multiple touch points. That means more than mailing a letter once a year. It needs to be a combination of initiatives so that you are the person or company that they think of when needing your product or service.

Looking for likely contacts

Networking with the right groups is your ground war. Since time is precious, be selective. Meeting people in industries likely to do business with you is the key.

Many people often look in the wrong places. Usually, business-to-business groups, like chambers of commerce, are best for business networking. But hopefully, you'll find time to join a local volunteer organization, too.

The personal approach is key

Networking that makes it rain for your business also means not working a potential customer over at an event. People are usually taken back by networkers being too aggressive at functions.
Use good etiquette: share what you do, learn about what they do, exchange cards and follow up. Most of all, here's your opportunity to make a personal connection with a prospect. Try doing that over the phone — it's not as easy.

Creating multiple touch points means providing your networking and sales efforts with air cover. Get some advertising out there, along with targeted direct mail. Write press releases to attain third-party news stories which will give your message credibility.

The level of awareness that you raise will soften your knock at a prospect's door.

If you are too busy running your business, or want to enhance the professionalism of your effort, consider hiring a professional marketing agency or employee dedicated to sales. Making this commitment will ensure that somebody is thinking about new business development for you — all the time.

How often have you been buried with work for weeks and nobody in your organization is out there trying to make the phone ring? If you want success, make marketing and sales a priority.
Your ground war is networking and sales. Advertising and publicity is your air cover. You need both to win.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

GM takes its image issue head-on in new campaign

General Motors knows it has an image issue. The company has long been embattled with perceptions about reliability when compared to imports, and until recently, has been below the curve on fuel efficiency. The recent bankruptcy headlines haven't helped, either.

When you have a crisis or image issue, the last thing you want to do is pretend it doesn't exist, especially when consumers, in general, are very skeptical by nature.

GM's marketing team gets it, and is not pretending that the big elephant in the room (poor consumer perceptions of GM) doesn't exist. In the company's latest TV spot, Ed Whitacre, GM's new chairman, admits he "had some doubts" about the company before recently taking the job. That's a good move and helps Whitacre immediately connect with viewers.

Then Whitacre, as the TV spot's narrator, rolls out the automaker's most innovative program to date: Buy a new Chevy, Buick, GMC or Cadillac, and, if you're not 100 percent happy, GM will take it back within 60 days, as long as vehicle has less than 4,000 miles on it.

Wow. GM's new 60-day satisfaction guarantee is the company putting its money where its mouth is. Whitacre says in the spot that he knows that if you get in one of his cars "you'll like what you see," especially when compared to the competition.

Talk about overcoming image issues; remember when everyone thought a Hyundai was an unreliable piece of junk? It was actually a very unfair perception. Hyundai needed to step up and back up its cars if the quality was as good as the automaker knew it was. In 1998, Hyundai announced an industry-leading 100,000-mile factory warranty at a time when you were lucky to get 36,000 miles from its domestic competitors. For Hyundai, it worked, and revolutionized its market share. The warranty was enough to soothe any concerns of consumers. Now you see
Hyundai vehicles everywhere.

Now GM's campaign takes its image issues head-on. The company says it's rebuilding from the ground up. This includes more fuel-efficient vehicles and simply reinventing itself (although not so simple a task). GM knows its cars are good, and when it says may the best car win, it is putting a lot on the table to woo back customers.

In a crisis or dealing with poor image issues, most circumstances call for dealing with it head-on and countering the negatives. In some cases, it could backfire and further spread a virus that was not as prevalent as you might have thought. In GM's case, may the best car win.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Networking media helps to get your message out

One thing is for certain: You can't be at every networking event or meet all the right people you need to succeed without a little help. But you can leverage social media to meet and stay connected with the right people.

In addition to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn are the largest social media outlets making networking for businesspeople easier.

LinkedIn, for example, allows professionals, via the social network, to make connections with people they know directly and indirectly through connection requests or mutual friend introductions.

LinkedIn is your hype-man

LinkedIn is your personal hype-man. The Web site puts your work experience, current projects and desire for future opportunities all at the click of a mouse for your connections. Many members get recommendations from their LinkedIn connections that are posted to their profiles. What better endorsement than adding reputable third parties to your online profile that share their high opinion of you. These endorsements are a great way to build buzz about your professionalism and enhance your company's reputation. Since the network also allows you to see who your friends are connected to, it is a fantastic vehicle to meet new people.

Facebook is one of the most visited Web sites in the world and the reigning king of social media. You might be surprised who is on the network. In fact, one of Facebook's fastest-growing segments is adults 50 and older — a lot of the people who are decision-makers at businesses.
Facebook allows you to create a profile, share video and photos and provide status updates to your friends throughout the day, among many other capabilities. Facebook makes it easy to connect with family and friends, and yes, keep tabs on your business contacts. While Facebook is loaded with settings to protect privacy and control who sees what on your Facebook profile page, many professionals have a friends and family profile, and then a business profile. While your friends might get a kick out of seeing photos of you in compromising positions, you might not want to share your night out on the town with your head outside the sunroof of a limo to the people you are trying to do business with. So having a business-connection-only profile, or just making a rule to keep everything rated PG, are good practices to choose from for the professional.

In the end, you have to get out of the office and network, but social media is a terrific method to show off your work, share ideas and make new connections. Most of all, LinkedIn and Facebook help you stay top of mind with the business people you want to have remember you.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Now's the perfect time to expand marketing

Yes, it seems like the worst is over. Experts say we're climbing out of the recession and better days are ahead.

Although I predicted that companies who kept up their marketing heat during the recession would make the most gains when the economy turned around, here's a column for those companies that crawled into the fetal position.

You know who you are. Times get tough, and the first thing you cut is marketing. It's OK; no judgment here.

But things are getting better, and most of the talking heads on TV say we're almost out of the recession. So I hope you are getting back into the game.

The first thing to do when launching a renewed marketing program: evaluate who you want to market to and how to best reach them.

But do this with a fresh perspective. Dead air with your marketing program for an extended period of time is an excuse to hit the reset button.

Don't just go back to running ads in the same papers or on the same radio stations where you used to advertise. In addition, which market segments offer the most growth and profitability?
Do your research and leverage the data in your decision process.

Explain who you are, what you do

Your options are many. Newspapers, trade magazines, business sections and journals, radio, direct mail and pay-per-click advertising are just a handful of ways to market your company. Plan your advertising buys around media which most efficiently reaches the consumers you want.

If your advertising has been silent, remind your target audiences you're still here.
Branding ads that creatively grab attention, while outlining your company's core competencies, are on message with a re-launch of advertising.

Explain who you are and what you do. That message needs to be conveyed over and above any pretty pictures or designs (although that helps, too).

While accountants, attorneys and other types of professional services should probably avoid doing catchy offers, like buy one hour, get the second free (for obvious reasons) — many businesses, in particular those in retail, can maximize the impact of a new rolled-out advertising campaign with discounts and offers.

As long as the offer is easy to understand and provides real value, this tactic will increase sales and help you track your advertising's effectiveness.

If you have been sitting by the sidelines, now's the time to get back into the marketing game. Be targeted with your resources, be on message, and even throw in an offer to get people talking about you again. These steps will get you back into people's minds.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. Reach him at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Make the most of your budget for marketing

No matter who you are, no business has unlimited resources to spend on advertising. That's why you've got to make every dollar count to get noticed.

There's always the one philosophy that some businesses try — at least the ones with deep pockets: throw a bunch of crap on the wall and see what sticks (I think there is another way of saying it — but we're PG-rated here). But for most of us, we've got limited resources. So we have to make our marketing dollars really work hard for us.

Pinpoint your audience

The first step in making your advertising budget count is to know your audience.
You would be surprised to learn that many companies struggle trying to figure out who they want to sell to and which customers we give the greatest return on investment. That makes sales efforts unfocused.

Common-sense questions to guide your decision process:

• Who are the customers you want?
• What is the most targeted way to reach these new customers?

For example, if you're a business-to-business company or mostly sell to targeted industries, the best likely dollars spent are with trade magazines, business sections or publications, and direct mail. While there are exceptions, I am willing to bet that cable TV to general audiences would probably not make sense.

Or what if you are running a sports complex geared toward teens and families? Your best chance in driving trips is to talk to the teens directly.

Plus, let's not forget who most research points to as family decision-makers — the moms. Selecting from advertising on the local Top 40 radio station, parent and lifestyle magazines and a handful of the cable TV networks can pay big dividends with the right audiences.

When you select which media will work best, ensure that your message is compelling. When being forced to compete with so many other messages, make your advertising stand out. Many companies leverage the idea and creative capital of professional advertising agencies or marketing consultants of the various media outlets.

In the end, nobody knows your business like you do. But always ask yourself: Who do I want as customers, and what is the most efficient way to communicate with them? Then you'll be well on your way to effective use of your advertising resources.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Use newspapers, cable to reach 55-plus crowd

Here's a dirty little secret: While there are exceptions, most broadcast stations don't program for the age 55-and-older crowd. The 25-54-years-old demographic is the most lucrative consumer spending group. Thus, it's understandable that most radio and broadcast TV stations program to that audience so as to be attractive to advertisers seeking that demographic.

It's nothing personal. It's just that statistics point to people doing most of their spending in the years before 55. So advertisers want the 25-54 segment as customers, and media wants those advertisers as clients. That's why one of the only places you can hear a Frank Sinatra song is on your iPod or subscription-based satellite receiver.

By the way, I'm 34 and love Frank!

What about the 55-plus crowd? Let's face it, 70 is the new 60. We're living longer and are more active than ever. Plus, talk about being savvy. If you are older than 55, you're part of one of the fastest-growing demographics plugging into online and social media like Facebook.

Where do casinos, health-care organizations and political campaigns — examples of advertisers whose models depend a lot on the 55-plus demographic — advertise if most broadcast outlets are programming toward younger demographics?

Newspapers' broad audience

Newspapers are the most widely used vehicles to market to adults over 55. That's where you'll find hospitals, senior communities, estate lawyers, banks and specialty medical practices spending much of their advertising budgets. While newspapers are dealing with the challenges brought on by technology, there still remains no better place to reach large and broad demographics, including persons 55 and older. Oftentimes, it's a daily newspaper in a market that trumps the other media with the biggest single audience for advertisers.

While broadcast has its limits, there is no shortage of varied programming on cable television, enabling advertisers to supertarget audiences by age and many social-economic aspects. Many of the stations are big wins in marketing to the 55 and older crowd. If you make a media buy on CNN, Fox News and the History Channel, just to name a few, you'll get some nice penetration with mature audiences. Cable television offers the biggest menu in demographic targeting opportunities, particularly when going after the 55-plus group.

As a former broadcaster, radio is one of my favorite mediums. Regardless that most stations program for audiences younger than 55, many radio outlets still do very well with the more mature demographics. The genres of rock, classic hits and adult contemporary often perform very well. If you are interested in marketing to the 55-plus crowd with radio advertising, ask a radio station sales representative for ratings of persons 35-64, to get a barometer of performance.

The 55-and-older audience matters, and for advertisers who don't pay a lot of attention to them, they should. While online advertising to them is viable, radio can work, but the best money spent, depending on your product and goals, is likely in print and television.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Incentives can assist in motivating your staff

In tough times, many companies make the mistake of curling up into the fetal position rather than marketing hard to survive and position for future growth. As advised on a weekly basis in this column, the companies that keep their commitment to marketing will come out on top when this economy turns around. But during a financial crisis, you have to make your entire marketing budget count. While every marketing dollar should be measured for effectiveness in good and bad times, one of your best use of resources, and one that will bring you a positive return on investment, is giving employees incentives.

Continue to look for growth

A lot of small-business owners put off looking for new business. It's not that they don't want to grow, but it's easy for managers to get distracted simply running the day-to-day responsibilities.
On the other hand, many companies have staff directly responsible for sales and business development. These companies are constantly thinking about development of new business. A dedicated person for increasing business opportunities is a smart strategy. Furthermore, paying some or all of the business development team's salary by commission joins the success or failure of the effort between the sales staff and management.

In addition to committing to having a person or team focused on business development, providing incentives to other employees, with non-sales responsibilities, can pay big dividends.

Don't forget your non-sales staff

For example, if an administrative assistant or member of the company customer service staff recommended your company to a new client, is that worth something? Of course it is. Why not encourage that type of business development? If the employee doesn't bring in a new client, it costs the company nothing. But if he or she does attract someone new for your company, you make money. Share the wealth with your nontraditional sales force with cash or other perks. It will likely happen again by that employee. Plus, others in the company will be motivated by the incentive program. Now that's return on investment for your company's bottom line and employee satisfaction.

Rewarding employees for new business they bring in builds morale or product quality. An extra incentive paid to employees is always a motivator. What's more, if employees refer your company or product to a friend or associate, they will want your company to deliver. It's now their reputation, too. If the employee's name is on the referral, the employee will make sure your company provides outstanding quality.

A company that makes the commitment to provide incentive to its employees for referrals grows cash flow, gains happier staff and assures quality and success.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Wintertime's right time for plugging allergy relief

All week long I haven't been able to get the 1950's song "Lollipop" out of my head thanks to it being featured in Dell's latest TV campaign promoting the colorful options of the company's Inspiron laptops.

Dell's TV spot has been on the air since late June for good reason. September's back-to-school time signals heavy sales volume for laptop computers.

So why kick off a campaign early, right after school gets out, rather than start the ads a week or two before Labor Day when back to school sales are likely to be highest?

It takes time for advertising messages to sink in and make an impact.

Start early to drive sales

For most of us, we need to be hit over the head by an advertisement multiple times for the product or service to become top of mind. While most businesses should have a sustained branding presence, companies selling products that are seasonal or have naturally heavier sales periods should start advertising early to build demand and drive sales during the buying season.

The advertising campaigns by drug companies of seasonal allergy relief products are shining examples of getting out in front of your natural sales periods. Every winter, I find myself watching a movie in my living room, in January with snow outside, viewing a TV ad for products like Claritin and Zyrtec. It always catches me off guard. I'm not even thinking of the hay fever that's going to hit me in April. But mid-winter is the time for drug companies to start influencing potential consumers and to make a case for switching to their allergy relief product.

Start the discussion early with consumers. If you want their business, they need to hear about you lots of times from multiple touch points to achieve a critical mass of brand awareness.
If you have a landscaping or paving business, running aggressive advertising campaigns in January and February will make it a good chance that you'll have heavier call volume in March.

Other examples include oil and propane companies starting communications with new and existing customers in the late summer. Snow plow dealers should kick off advertising campaigns in September or October.

Advertising takes time to work. It also is an investment that means commitment and needs strategic planning. Don't start talking to your customers at the bell; make sure they know your name well in advance.

Palin's media blunders reveal what not to do

Last September, Republican loyalists, and a lot of folks in the middle, were excited. Sarah Palin had just rocked the Republican Convention.

She may have been a surprise pick, but she instantly gave McCain a spring in his step.
But that's before going off script. Palin was solid with a teleprompter when she was rolled out as McCain's running mate. However, she fell apart in the clutch.

I remember wanting to crawl under the couch watching the Couric interview on CBS. Palin fumbled lots of times; including rambling, complete confusion on the auto industry bailout and likening her state's proximity to Russia as foreign policy experience.

I felt bad for her. Palin was in over her head, or, at least, not yet ready for the job.

Inevitably, Sarah Palin will be back. She's got lots of fans, those who believe in her and those who find her goofs and mannerisms entertaining.

Look for Palin definitely as a GOP fundraiser, national leader on conservative issues, and even a presidential candidate.

Stay friendly with the media

In order to have any chance of future success on a national platform, Palin will need to change her adversarial relationship with the media. A political candidate, or any business or organization in the public eye, that conducts constant war with the news media only loses.

In Palin's case, you can't fumble time after time in interviews and be taken seriously by the American people. In particular, Palin can't blame the media for her self-inflicted image and credibility woes, as she just did last week in her final speech as governor of Alaska.

Here's something all political candidates should know that Palin doesn't get: you need the media. They will write the story with or without your help. Throwing your arms up and hiding behind Facebook announcements limits your reach and allows others to define you without your input.
In the end, you get more flies with honey. Rather than Palin continuing to insult the media, she needs to stop spinning her goofs and demonstrate she now has a handle on foreign policy and economic issues if she wants credibility.

If she is better prepared, I think a lot of voters will be drawn to her. But to be effective, Palin must re-engage with the news media in a more competent way. The last way to do that is to insult the microphone (the media). Palin will need the media and their interviews. Just hope she isn't asked if Africa is a country or continent.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

TV and radio ads create memorable connections

Many marketing experts agree that the electronic mediums of radio and television are the best outlets to use when establishing memorable brands.

While a mix of advertising mediums, including print and Web, are essential when establishing your brand and awareness in the marketplace, brands that invest in television and radio stack the deck in becoming memorable.

Without looking too far down the page, see if you can connect the slogan with the brand:

It takes a licking and keeps on ticking.

Be all that you can be.

Melts in your mouth, not in your hands.

Good to the last drop.

The brands, connected to the above slogans, are as follows: Timex, United States Army, M&Ms and Maxwell House coffee. How do you recall first seeing or hearing these slogans? Most likely, you remember them from radio or TV advertisements.

Electronic not for everyone

Let's face it, radio and TV ads aren't for a lot of businesses. This is especially true for companies that sell business-to-business products or serve limited geographic areas. For many of those businesses, nothing beats the targeted circulation zones of newspapers or the captive audiences of trade magazines.

By way of example, a company selling restaurant equipment would best leverage its budget with direct mail to food venues, and an accounting firm would likely find its best dollar spent advertising in newspaper business sections or trade publications. While these broad generalizations of strategies have many exceptions, electronic media doesn't make sense for everyone.

But for many companies and products, electronic advertising that reaches the right groups can be an outstanding vehicle.

There is no denying the power of radio and TV and the compelling connections they can create with audiences.

Do you remember hearing a radio commercial that pulled on your heartstrings and brought a tear to your eye, but then you realized you were crying over a commercial for insurance?
How often have you felt patriotic while watching a TV ad for a politician where a narrator talks about the candidate while showing images like people in front of pickup trucks in a cornfield, a business owner standing proud in front of a Main Street shop and a fireman with a Dalmatian, washing a fire truck?

Don't feel gullible if ads like these ignited an emotion for you. Electronic media has the ability to touch your senses in the right places. Well-crafted radio and TV advertisements are designed to create an emotional connection between you and a product.

Evaluate if your business is a good candidate for radio or TV. Ask yourself: is it an efficient use of financial resources to cover your bases, or will it market to too broad of an audience for the narrow consumer group you are looking to attract?

If advertising on radio or TV can reach your targeted audiences, their power of creating emotional connections and memorable brands will serve you well.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com, or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Targeted networking will help you get ahead

There is no denying it: It's who you know.

Yes, it's true: Having connections can give you a leg up in this world. As it applies to professional opportunities, knowing the right network of people who can refer your product or service can open doors for you.

Many professionals and businesses have made their success by word-of-mouth endorsements. Some businesses will testify that they have made their fortune mostly by leads generated by referrals.

Just as your advertisements must deliver on your promises to be credible, your reputation should do the same. So the obvious first step in getting referrals is to be worthy. Before you can expect to generate business from any network or relationship, make sure the quality of your product or service is something people will gladly refer.

Did you ever make a business referral and then your recommendation did not come through for your friend? Bet it made you look bad, or at least you regretted making the suggestion. It has happened to everyone, so most people are careful before sticking their necks out to make a referral. The lesson for the business professional: While you always should go the extra mile when someone refers you, go even further when someone else's reputation is on the line.

If your product or service does indeed deliver with quality, don't just network with anybody; invest your valuable time with groups that will potentially help you generate business leads. If "it's who you know," stack the deck in your favor by getting to know the right people.

You should invest significant resources marketing yourself to this targeted network. Send these contacts e-mail updates or mailed newsletters about your latest news and products. Catch up with them at mixers and events and support their causes. As a rule, focused messaging to the right 300 sources for referrals is far better than marketing to the wrong 3,000 people.

Chances are that the people you seek close ties with would likely benefit from your referrals as well. So it's a two-way street. Refer people in business who will make you look good and deliver for your friends. What's more, if your product is strong, hopefully they will do the same for you.

There's nothing more admirable than knocking on the front door and earning your opportunities, but what's wrong with a little help from your friends?

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

To be a leading brand, you must always deliver

Your customers and the customers you hope to get have choices. What's more, the marketplace is crowded with lots of advertising noise, making it a challenge to get noticed through the clutter.
How do you stand out? A powerful brand is a core necessity.

Your brand goes well beyond your logo and slogan.

Does the brand Harley-Davidson carry a loyal following? Ask anyone who owns a Harley if they would ever own a similarly-styled Yamaha motorcycle.

Does BMW live up to being the ultimate driving machine? Take an M6 on a test drive and you'll agree.

All brands make promises in the media, corporate brochures and advertising, but successful brands deliver on their promises with service and product quality.

In order to become a leading brand, a product must be credible. That means delivering each and every time on your promise.

To illustrate, imagine if your favorite lunch venue that promotes itself as having the "thickest and tastiest heroes" started making your sandwiches thinner. Bad move. Even if the joint is trying to reduce expenses because of the economy, it's not worth it. Never ever stop delivering on your promise.

It is just as bad if the sandwich shop had varied hero thicknesses based on which employee made it. Keep your product quality consistent.

Creating and maintaining a successful brand also means providing a superior product. If the sandwich shop was not making heroes with quality meats, that will never allow the shop's claim of the "tastiest heroes" to be credible with customers.

I recently purchased a few televisions for my new office. I already made up my mind to buy Sony-brand flat-screens. But one of my friends took me to the local electronics store and helped me compare the Sony product with brand B. I couldn't tell if there was a picture quality difference and the specs on paper were very close. The Sonys, however, were hundreds of dollars more.

I ended up buying the Sony televisions anyway. The years of Sony advertising and articles touting the company's cutting edge quality made the brand strong enough for me to pay more for it. I'm not alone out there. In fact, Sony positions itself as a superior electronics maker and consistently delivers — giving the company one of the most successful brands in the world.
If you have your brand promise and execution aligned, get the word out to key audiences and continue to keep delivering on what you say.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Zicam warning a lesson in crisis communications

Matrixx Initiatives, maker of 19 Zicam-branded products that tackle colds, coughs and allergies, is in the midst of a public relations nightmare. Last week, the FDA advised the public to discontinue use of over-the-counter Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel and Zicam Cold Remedy Gel Swabs. The FDA warns that 130 users of the products reported anosmia (loss of the sense of smell). The warning is particularly intriguing since Matrixx paid $12 million in a 2006 settlement to more than 300 Zicam users who made the same claim.

An FDA warning to discontinue use of a company's product is normally a shot through the heart, but Matrixx is playing this hand of crisis management very well. After all, Matrixx's Zicam brand has broad shoulders with almost 20 products bearing that name.

Matrixx's first good move is not picking a fight with a very well-regarded government entity. The FDA's credibility far surpasses that of any private company. So Matrixx, which claims it was surprised by the FDA's announcement, says it wants to work with the agency, including sharing its 10 years of scientific data on the products. Rather than taking on city hall right now, Matrixx is simply saying it disagrees with the FDA and wants to show them the facts. That's a good start.
Then Matrixx pulls the two Zicam products in question off the shelves and offers consumers full refunds. The FDA does not have the authority to recall Zicam, but Matrixx does so demonstrating goodwill for public safety.

In addition to the company's use of traditional PR blitzes on the airwaves and next day-full page ads in newspapers like USA Today; Matrixx is also handling this crisis with social media. The Zicam PR team updates followers on Twitter and provides its over 400 friends on Facebook with key information about the recall.

Matrixx has also overhauled the Zicam Web site with a video message from their CEO, wearing a button down shirt minus the jacket and tie, fully disclosing the FDA warning and telling their side of the story. The Web site also contains a frequently asked questions section about the warning and recall and also includes testimonials from customers who rely on Zicam for everyday living.

Matrixx is not pulling a David Letterman during the Sarah Palin battle of earlier this month and allowing two days to pass before addressing the issue. The company is proactively protecting its brand and company credibility, to the best of its ability, during this very public set back.
Crisis management starts immediately, assesses how to be credible to the public, is truthful and leverages all available communications channels.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

How to create an awesome trade-show presentation

If you've walked through any type of trade show, you know that if someone is going to get your attention, his booth must either dazzle your senses or really have something specific you need.
Most of the time, companies are selling products or services that consumers don't necessarily know they need. When preparing to promote your business at a trade show, be prepared to put your best foot forward.

The last thing you want to do at an expo is show up with just some business cards and sit at your table, hoping someone will come to talk to you.

The first step in creating a compelling trade-show presentation is signage and displays that will get you noticed. Make sure if people just breeze by your booth, they know your name and exactly what you do. So, less is more.

But design your signage and displays so that they grab the show attendees' attention. While keeping within your company's brand, trade booth displays that are highly creative and well-designed are the ones that will be most effective and memorable. There are many choices in buying easy-to-set-up, high-impact displays that act as a powerful backdrop to your booth.
Many companies that display at trade shows leverage multi-media to stand out. Showcasing your products and portfolio on a flat screen monitor or projector always adds to the sophistication of your presentation.

If you sell a product, try to have it at the show. If you sell hot tubs, have some hot tubs there. If you are a restaurant, provide some free samples. Tasting and touching your product is a better sell than even the most convincing salesperson.

Giveaways are also a great way to draw traffic to your booth. Often times, companies ask show guests to drop in a business card for a free gift drawing. For the cost of an iPod or free service or product from your company, you will get a lot of contacts and traffic to your booth with a simple raffle.

Finally, give visitors to your booth a bit of collateral to take with them. A brochure, flier or informational kit will continue your selling. Collateral handouts at trade show events that are well-done also add credibility to your pitch.

Just like the rest of your advertising, a solid presentation at trade shows should be a priority.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com.

Look beyond boundaries

What are the boundaries of your business? Is your business limited by geographic boundaries? Do you direct your company's sales efforts toward only a few industries or markets?

Who would think a Middletown company known for professional garment cleaning would send a van every day to places as far north as Roscoe or some 50 miles south to Saddle River, N.J.?
Gilman's Cleaners has been doing its road show of pickup and delivery for three generations. Martin Dlugatz, the company's president, says his grandfather rolled out the free service when he opened the business in 1923.

Their business model is admirable and is something other businesses can strive to accomplish: Be innovative to grow outside your natural boundaries.

Quite frankly, there's no lack of choices in selecting a dry cleaner. Consumers in every major town have multiple options. Some cleaners are content with growing solely by walk-in business from their convenient location, but in the case of Gilman's, a steady-drum beat of print advertising promotes their pickup and delivery service to potential customers not in proximity of their Dolson Avenue location.

It's not just the ads selling Gilman's mobile service. Dlugatz leverages his pickup and delivery drivers as a commission-based sales force.

"We actually have eight vehicles picking up and dropping off clothes every work day," Dlugatz said. "This makes our business very diversified and has been a big part of how we're beating the recession."

The Internet is a huge asset for companies looking to sell products or services outside their natural markets.

ReStore in Newburgh, a furniture, lighting and building materials recycling facility supporting Habitat for Humanity's Greater Newburgh chapter, regularly leverages the Internet to sell items outside its traditional boundaries. Most would assume that ReStore's biggest customers come from Newburgh's surrounding areas, but many donated items are resold to far-away customers found on places like Craigslist.

ReStore manager Chris Knasiak said, "We could just focus all our attention on marketing to the local population, as they do make up most of our sales. But many times, we find out-of-the-area buyers willing to pay top dollar for hard-to-find items. Doing so with a free listing on the Internet is a great way to expand our market — for free."

ReStore's success in selling rare items to broader audiences is a great example of tapping into a demand that exceeds your geographic boundaries.

Strategize on what demands you can meet outside your natural markets. Can you take your product to customer's doorsteps like Gilman's? Do you provide or sell a specialty service or product like ReStore that you can offer outside your current boundaries?

Ask these questions now, and continue to ask them, so as to always be thinking of new sectors of growth.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303.

Use professional pizazz to promote your business

When choosing one company over another to engage in some type of purchase or service, you will likely weigh the potential vendor's substance, qualifications, reputation and ability to provide the right product at a fair value. But sometimes the best companies make the costly mistake of not creating compelling presentations and proposals to help their sales over the finish line.

Imagine hiring a landscaper to build a retaining wall. You meet with two companies and ask for proposals to be dropped off for your review.

Company A provides a one-page estimate with quantity of materials, number of man hours and a final cost.

In contrast, Company B provides you with a cover-page letter, a color printout of other retaining walls they've built in recent years, references and an estimate.

If the prices were the same, you would likely hire Company B. Even if Company B was 10 percent to 15 percent more expensive, my bet is that you would still select Company B anyway.
A good presentation says that you are real and demonstrates an outward pride about your company or product.

It also adds essential credibility to your product or service, especially when a homeowner wants to sleep at night not wondering if his or her retaining wall will collapse.

Keep your Web site updated

When you write a proposal, be specific to the client you are hoping to gain. Avoid generic language. Demonstrate that you understand where they want to go and how you can take them there.

Whether you're selling IT services or accounting counsel, a one-page letter agreement will not stand up to a competitor's outline and narratives that include a situational analysis, program elements, tactics and scope of work.

Making compelling proposals means creating quality collateral materials to accompany your bids. Providing an overview about your company with a brochure or cut sheet touting your competencies or portfolio helps do the selling — even when you're not there.

Make no mistake; the first place a potential customer will go to check you out is your Web site. If you have been saying it's under construction for the past 3 years or are constantly making excuses that it's out of date, waste no further time and fix it now. Besides you, your Web site is your most important external touch point.

In today's tough marketplace, don't be held back by lackluster presentations.
Create proposals that will be representative of how you want to earn and maintain the business of potential customers.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

Auto-dealer group crafts instructive p.r. campaign

There's no doubt about it. The days of a GM and Chrysler dealer in every major town are over. The elimination of 1,000 GM and 789 Chrysler dealerships over the past week is just the beginning, as many more cuts are expected.

There are lots of good reasons why moving quickly to change the business model is a good idea and necessary to strategically make the viable dealerships stronger. What's more, most experts agree the manufacturers are within their rights to terminate the relationships — although I'm sure it will play out in a lot of courtrooms. Even most auto dealers acknowledge that Detroit has been broken and bloated for too long and that consolidation and a change of the existing model is a must.

But many stakeholders, including NADA, the National Automobile Dealers Association (www.nada.org), believe Obama's Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry has had a lead foot on the accelerator, pressuring Detroit to shed dealers from their networks too quickly.
NADA, an organization boasting close to 20,000 new car and truck dealers in its membership, has launched a high-profile public relations and advocacy campaign against these cuts.
NADA understands two simple, yet critical, elements to a public relations campaign: know your audience and craft compelling messages to get their attention.

NADA knows its audience

NADA certainly knows its audience. While GM and Chrysler are putting pen to paper and making the tough decisions on what dealerships to cut, NADA is going for the purse strings. If members of the Obama administration are pushing an aggressive timetable for dealer cuts, NADA is smart to focus its campaign on the task force members' boss. Elected officials, even President Obama, who is enjoying popularity levels rarely seen in our country, are not immune to public opinion.

Recent ads in newspapers around the country clearly identify NADA's campaign target. The ads, which feature a photo of the president, contain the headline, "Mr. President, you said you would stand with America's auto dealers."

The ads give reasons why dealer cuts are a bad idea: the loss of over 100,000 jobs and less convenience and price competition for consumers. Additionally, the ads say fewer dealers mean deeper financial losses for auto makers and less tax revenue for state and local governments.

These ads, and media interviews with car dealers across the country, are hitting the target. President Obama needs to deliver with an economic turnaround, and these messages raise rational discussion points of the dealership cuts being counterproductive. At a time when every job counts, NADA's refusal to sit silently will make the next set of dealership cuts much more difficult.

Huge rally might be impressive

With many more dealerships on the chopping block, this public relations campaign is just ramping up.

Some public relations advice for NADA: Imagine all the dealerships that were closed, plus all the other auto dealerships across the country whose fate is unknown, plus the hundreds of thousands of employees and their families of the dealerships, plus all the businesses and vendors that benefit from the dealerships, banding together in Washington, D.C. for a rally to save Main Street jobs at America's car dealerships.

Now, that might get some attention.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com.

Customers' testimonials good tool for credibility

Since starting this column in March, I've spent a lot of time promoting the virtues of third-party credentialing by attaining news-story placements in the media. But for most businesses, earned media alone is not enough.

When developing paid advertising campaigns, the use of testimonials also brings desirable third-party credibility to your marketing messages. Any business can claim to have the best product or service in its ads, but that is simply viewed by the public as a claim by the sponsor of the ad.
While some industries, like legal and accounting, avoid disclosing clients as a best practice, many companies are smart to leverage testimonials from their customers in advertisements.

Oftentimes, when I advise clients to reach out to select customers for a testimonial, they "don't want to rock the boat," as one told me this week. In this economy, I can certainly appreciate that, even when the relationship has had a good record.

But this could be a great opportunity to facilitate discussion and ask a client for feedback. How is the level of service and quality you are providing? If all seems well, why not ask for the testimonial?

Share theme information

There are many end uses for testimonials.

In a paid ad, get where you want to go. After determining your customer is happy with your services and is willing to assist, tell him or her where you are going with the ad. Don't complicate things by not outlining the advertising campaign's theme. If the client is really a fan, they'll likely work with you.

For example, if you want to tout your service in the ad, ask your client if they are willing to provide comment about your quality of service, rather than not being specific and asking for an open-ended endorsement. There is nothing unethical about guiding the process, as long as the participant believes in what will be represented. Don't be surprised if your client asks you to write up a quote. As long as they get sign-off and an opportunity to make edits, this is frequently done. It allows you to craft words that fit perfectly into your theme.

For sales materials, it's always impressive to carry copies of letters from happy customers. Your ultimate sales collateral, the company Web site, is also a terrific spot to have clients tout your service and products in reference letters and quotes. Interested parties can do a more in-depth review of your company offerings on your Web site. Testimonials there are powerful reinforcements.

Testimonials in paid advertising works. When appropriate, find touch points to use this method of adding the credibility of third-party endorsements to your messages.

With training, staff can be your best marketers

Last summer, I took my wife and two daughters to Disney World to celebrate the July Fourth holiday. Yes, I was crazy enough to brave the almost 100 degree weather with kids that were just 3 and 1 years old.

It's was a lot different since I last saw Mickey and Donald as a kid. Now that I am a professional marketer, my eyes were wide open to the thousands of messages about things to buy and do.
I was not most impressed by the slick theme park presentations, but moved by the marketing conducted by the people that work at Disney.

On my first day there, I was trying to find the right path to Epcot from my hotel and I stopped one of the gardeners mowing the lawn and asked for directions. He shut down his piece of machinery, took off his safety glasses and explained which way to walk to find Epcot. Surprisingly, he took the time to ask where I was from and if it was my first time there. Unsolicited, he then proceeded to tell me what attractions my kids would love most and the best places to eat at the park.

What pride this man had in the place he worked! That's not an accident. Disney spends an enormous amount of resources training and prepping employees for customer interaction, even the people mowing the immaculate lawns. Disney's staff members practice an unwavering religion of being the world's gold standard for customer service. Unless you go there to experience this never-never-land first-hand, words don't do justice to the customer service levels offered at their resorts.

Disney offers a powerful model and corporate value system for companies large and small: Your most important people are at the front lines. You can have the brightest CEO and executive team and the best advertising campaigns, but if you fail at the critical customer touch points, you lose the war.

Providing a positive customer experience is the biggest part of the game. That means providing your staff with comprehensive training in dealing with customers, education about all company products and services that can be cross-sold and in knowing what and what not to say to clients.
These areas of training need to be very specific and taught in a formalized program. Well-informed front-line team members are worth their weight in gold when they can educate your customers and provide a good customer experience.

A solid effort to organize and prep your work force to create positive customer experiences will result in your front-line becoming marketers you can rely on to advance your business.

Be smart with resources when sponsoring events

I receive almost a hundred event-sponsorship invitations a year from not-for-profit organizations asking my firm to sponsor everything from galas to golf tournaments. I'm sure this sounds familiar to most company heads and business owners.

Sponsorship levels include placements like golf-course tee sponsorships, journal ads, special listings on invitations and even big-ticket opportunities costing up to $25,000 to put your company name on an event.

Support what you believe in

All of these are worthy causes and deserve a close look. But many companies raid their resources set aside for marketing to support a friend who is on a not-for-profit's board or because they think it is a good cause.

These companies are not alone — I do it, too.

Part of owning a business is being a good corporate citizen and giving back to the right causes run by the right people making a difference in our community. But do so with the proper mind-set. If it is a cause you want to donate to because you believe in it — terrific — and we need more of you in this world.

Use discipline in your budget

The other part of this proper mind-set is to remember that each dollar spent supporting a cause could be leveraged on other types of marketing initiatives. Many companies allocate a certain percentage of their advertising budget specifically for corporate giving and sponsorships. This kind of budget discipline is the only way to keep marketing and sponsorship costs under control.
Allocating these resources in advance rather than buying sponsorships sporadically and without planning reduces the risk of cutting deep into the essential components of your overall marketing program.

Pick appropriate audiences

In addition to being prudent with your marketing dollars, it's critical to choose sponsorships which offer value, brand recognition and the right audiences. In today's economy, every dollar counts. So, if possible and done in a classy way, make your company's charitable giving a marketing resource.

For example, if you own a high-end salon and spa with mostly female clients, sponsoring auto racing at the local speedway is not smart use of your marketing dollars. But a spa becoming a sponsor of a professional women's organization event or breast cancer fundraiser makes a lot of sense.

It's all about being strategic when evaluating journal ad and event sponsorship opportunities. Smart decision-making, as you do with other advertising, will make these sponsorships reap positive returns on investment.

Then again, if you're just doing it for the cause, then that's the other mind-set I mentioned. Either way, giving back is a beautiful thing.

Enlist grass-roots support early

There were merits to the New York Regional Interconnect project recently abandoned by its sponsors.

It was the first serious project put forth since the blackout of 2003 to prevent one from happening again. It was a blackout that crippled New York City, the Hudson Valley, and the Northeast and left 55 million people without power for several days in the muggy heat of August.

It would have reduced electricity costs, generated hundreds of new jobs and millions of dollars in new property tax revenue in the affected communities.

There were also environmental reasons for the project including reduced dependence on fossil fuels and coal-generated electricity, cleaner air, greater use of renewable energy, reductions in greenhouse gases and new investments in renewable sources of energy.

It you were unaware of the benefits of the project, it isn't your fault. Few were. NYRI's sponsors invested comparatively little in a pro-active campaign to advertise its benefits, opting instead to cast its lot almost entirely with lawyers and lobbyists.

The result was completely predictable. From the moment the plans were announced and communities along its proposed route faced the prospect of 10-story-tall power lines in their backyard, grass-roots opposition ignited. Mayors, county executives, senators and congressmen quickly condemned the project, vowing to do all in their power to stop it.

To be sure, NYRI did finally hire a very capable New York City public relations firm, which made a valiant last-ditch effort to tout the merits of the project and enlist grass-roots support. But the firm was brought in long after the damage had been done, and was given too few resources to combat the din of forceful and vocal local opposition.

The lesson? There are several.

Public and community relations on any large or potentially controversial project should begin before the rollout with meetings and conferences with key players, stakeholders, public officials, community leaders and bloggers. They don't react well to reading about a project in their backyard if they have not first heard about it from the project's sponsors.

Natural allies of a project must be enlisted early and be willing to echo the merits of what is being proposed. If they are not, the message will never be validated. NYRI had natural allies that were never enlisted, allies that largely sat silently on the sidelines, unwilling or afraid to say anything positive. Think of the teachers who would have benefited from new money for schools, construction unions that would have benefited from the jobs, environmentalists who like clean fuel, business entities that need cheaper energy and property taxpayers who would have seen their tax rates cut thanks to NYRI's property tax payments.

The public matters — a lot. Regardless of the merits of a project, the jobs it will generate or the tax revenue it will produce, it matters not one whit if the project sponsors do not take proactive steps to inform the public through paid advertising and by building support at the grass-roots level. As NYRI's sponsors learned the hard way, regulatory agencies and commissions are not immune to public opinion. Neither are judges, planning boards, town boards, city councils or zoning board of appeals or any other body that includes those who face the voters or those who are appointed by politicians who answer to them. Not the Public Service Commission. Not even the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

NYRI's failure is a powerful public relations lesson to any developer putting forth a project with a level of controversy. Leverage proactive public relations to educate the stake-holders, enlist your allies and engage the public.

GM ads seek to soothe public's fear of buying

So if you're selling popsicles in a snow storm, nobody is going to want to buy any. Right now, in the midst of a recession blizzard, consumers have turned a cold shoulder to buying new cars. It's no big secret. American consumers are mostly afraid of taking on new car payments and then losing their jobs. This fear has caused auto buyers' confidence to plummet and is burying the auto industry, including America's top domestic manufacturer, GM.

Aim to boost confidence

As a self-proclaimed car enthusiast and Caddy owner, I want these guys to win. In fact, GM is a big part of making our economy go round and round. Everyone loves a comeback, and GM's latest campaign proclaims that it's time to put on our rally caps. This ad is part of the company's ambitious new marketing program themed the Total Confidence Plan (http://www.gmconfidence.com/).

The first part of the plan has similar features to a recent and innovative Hyundai program. If you lose your job during the first two years of ownership, GM will cover your payments. There are some caveats to this deal including, that the coverage is up to $500 per month and for no longer than nine months.

Vehicle-value protection offered

Another new ground-breaking part of the Total Confidence Plan includes vehicle-value protection. This provides buyers with insurance should they be upside down with negative equity and decide to trade in their vehicle early.

These two new offerings are packaged with GM's 5-year or 100,000-mile warranty and one free year of OnStar. GM's plan is smart marketing. It's on message with what will likely move their sales needle. The program effectively addresses consumers' fears of losing their jobs. Giving payment protection for a buyer who becomes laid off will resonate with consumers. GM isn't the first to offer this program, but so what; Hyundai should be flattered.

GM is also on message taking on the perception, and sometimes fact when compared to many
imports, that domestic cars don't hold their value. This is especially true since, not long ago, consumers got stuck with undesirable, domestic SUVs when gas prices skyrocketed. So now GM is going to back the value of your new car should you trade it in early. This part of the program is refreshingly authentic and on-message advertising for the buying public. At this point, we don't know if GM's confidence program will help the company's sales rebound, but it is a good lesson in responding to market demands.

I'll bet on GM continuing this program past April 30, the current program end date. But that's just me wearing my rally cap.

Give everyone reasons to return to your site

You are interested in doing business with a local company. So you check out their Web site. This company's Web site design was clearly a creation from the late 1990's, looks amateurish and is so generic you can't tell what services the company actually provides or if the owner is in China.

Game over.

It is a very sad fact that you are better off not having a Web site than having a bad one. Your company's Web site is your front line and should demonstrate your company's level of sophistication.

Get right to the point. Visitors to your Web site should quickly understand who you are and what makes you different from the competition.

Provide a compelling introduction on the home page, outlining what you do and your firm's core values. Then develop throughout the site snapshots of your company's primary competencies and descriptions of the people behind the company.

If permissible in your industry, make your Web site a research tool with case studies or portfolio pieces. For example, a company that designs and constructs luxury homes can legitimize claims of being an imaginative and quality builder with a portfolio of completed homes right on its Web site. A consulting firm that provides crisis management can demonstrate its experience by providing anonymous client case studies detailing how it helped a client manage internal and external communications during a crisis.

You probably want to avoid hiring a non-professional to do your Web site design. Many companies in the region have horror stories of Web sites that never got finished or that can't be updated since the cousin's boyfriend who was hired skipped town. Your company Web site is simply too important to play games.

Since your Web site is often the first impression on a new customer, count on a quality Web developer to leverage tools like flash animation and design with rich images that create a visual medley to accompany the words that describe your company.

Finally, give visitors to your site reasons to come back.

Write a blog with useful tips and advice and post regularly on your site. Write news releases of company news and happenings and create a link to those stories on your home page. If you are in a retail-oriented business, post specials or offers on an ongoing basis and update those offers frequently.

Don't get caught having a Web site that hinders your growth. Make your Web site an asset.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com. His column appears Fridays.

To meet the right folks, choose the right groups

Effective networking is a critical tool in a marketing program, particularly for companies focused on business-to-business sales.

The most effective business people understand that if you don't put yourself out into circulation to meet lots of people, your odds of connecting with opportunities are slim. Smart business promoters make it a point to shake plenty of hands and get involved in the community.
Since no business owner or executive has unlimited time, choosing the right groups to meet the right people is vital. Determine which associations or events will get you in front of business leaders from the industries you want to service.

Fine-tune your networking

Chamber functions, annual corporate dinners and galas are usually good bets for meeting decision-makers.

There is also ample opportunity to target your networking further. For example, if you sell construction equipment or materials, you will likely find the right audiences at events held by builders associations or economic development agencies. If your company provides title insurance, networking with associations that serve bankers, Realtors or lawyers would be a strategic investment of your resources.

Socialize first, then get to work

In the end, you can schedule some type of networking event almost every day of the week. But who has that much time? Make your efforts count by networking with decision-makers who represent industries likely to do business with your company.

We've all been worked over by a salesman at an event who was too pushy and crossed the line of appropriate networking behavior. The last thing you want to do is put people's guard up.

While everyone has his or her own style, I have found significant success in making networking a very social experience. Try not to talk turkey in the first 10 seconds. When meeting other businesspeople, take an interest in their professional story and always make it a point to inquire. Then after listening, have your 20-second summary ready about who you are and what you do.

Making networking more casual, but still getting to an exchange about business, is a terrific way to meet potential customers and foster strong business relationships.

Now it's time to ramp it up

Finally, after you have a fruitful introduction with someone you would like to do business with, ramp up your efforts. Follow up with an e-mail within the next day saying it was nice to meet him or her and provide your company Web site. You may also have specific ideas to share in how your companies can do business together.

Leverage your networking efforts by following up more formally through an e-mail or phone call. This may reap significant rewards or plant seeds for the future.

Customer database key selling method

In a world where consumers have almost unlimited options for products and services, leveraging the power of consistent communication with your customer database will strengthen your client relationships and drive revenue. Whether you have 100 or 100,000 past, present and prospective customers, managing their contact information with a database is a valuable tool. Moreover, consistently marketing your company to that database is worth gold and can be a secret weapon in your marketing arsenal at a time when every dollar counts.

These days, another quote for your product or service is just a dot-com visit or 1-800 call away. Now, more than ever, companies must invest in ongoing communication with their database to have a stronger chance of maintaining those relationships and even selling those customers more products.

Create a newsletter to mail or e-mail to your database. Write articles to become your customers' trusted source and expert about your industry. Build loyalty and confidence by writing about staff promotions, continuing education and new certifications. As long as there are no confidentiality issues related to mentioning your existing customers, share compelling testimonials about how your company delivered for them.

One of the best uses of newsletters and other forms of direct mail is the opportunity to cross-sell your products. How often do customers tell you, "I didn't know you sold or did that." When you take the time to educate your customers about all of the products you offer, you are providing a cost-effective method in creating new opportunities for your company.

Cross-selling opportunities

As an example, many business owners use an insurance agent for personal needs and another agent for business coverage. A newsletter to an insurance agent's database will cross-sell products to both segments and create new opportunities with people who are already customers. In fact, this example of the insurance industry illustrates the biggest opportunity of all for companies: the opportunity to sell more products to existing clients. A newsletter is an effective tool to accomplish this cross-selling tactic and its return on investment results will likely tower over revenue brought to you by ads looking to attract people that are not already customers.

Communicating information and offers to your database regularly can make a big difference to your bottom line.

The casino gaming industry shines with some of the most advanced database marketing programs out there. Monticello Gaming & Raceway is one of my clients that brings in measurable revenue from its database marketing program. The raceway mails several specific pieces out to thousands of its best customers each month. Ron Dando, Monticello's director of marketing, an 18-year gambling-industry veteran, says that direct mail allows him to speak to each player on a one-to-one basis.

"Database marketing allows us to build customer loyalty by regularly sending specific offers, such as food discounts and free slot play via direct mail and e-mail," Dando said. "Casino marketers analyze their database and look at many pieces of information about their players, including their level of play at the casino. Individual and tailored offers are then sent to customers at reward levels that recognize their performance as a customer."

Managing and communicating with your database will provide your company with cross-selling opportunities, customer loyalty and results that drive predictive revenues and positive return on investment.

Accounting firm ad relevant for times

When working with clients on message development and creating advertising that cuts through the clutter, I always advise that the message needs to be relevant. This ad for Goldstein, Lieberman and Company, a new client and prominent Mahwah, N.J.-based accounting firm, connects the dots between the decisions a business must make and the sound direction an accountant can provide during these turbulent financial times.

Times Herald-Record column moving to Fridays

Effective next week, look for Focus On Marketing to appear Fridays in the Times Herald-Record. Many thanks to Business Editor George Spohr and the TH-R for the opportunity to promote smart and strategic marketing.

Business Column: Third-party messages build trust, credibility

While marketing each unique industry requires a custom approach, a thoughtful marketing plan combining paid advertising elements and public relations is a powerful combination. While most companies deploy some type of paid advertising campaign, many organizations make the mistake of not working to attain earned media through third-party news media placements.

A solid public relations campaign outshines paid advertisements in a very important area: credibility.

Targeting skeptics

Your business can always take out an ad that touts your products and company strengths, but that is what your business is claiming. However, if a newspaper or trade publication says you are the best in your field or an area of practice, that news story gives your marketing message third-party credibility.

PR can help overcome skeptical consumers.

Remember, the advertisers and slick ad men before us that made exaggerated claims about themselves or their products have created an enormous amount of skeptical consumers.
The biggest contributors in creating a weary public are politicians. Political campaigns have unfortunately made misleading and deceptive ads an art form. While running an effective campaign usually requires clear comparisons of candidate records and qualifications, many campaign consultants take this as a license to run misleading ads and distort with half-truths.

Third-party reviews invaluable

During last year's presidential campaign, Sen. John McCain did his share of leveraging campaign ads that left out critical parts of the story. The ads were designed to raise doubts about Barack Obama. Obama also worked to create skepticism with misleading advertising. Candidate Obama ran an ad which played a clip of John McCain saying "I don't believe we're headed into a recession" and "There's been great progress economically."

While in the end McCain was wrong, these clips were pulled from longer responses and took the comments out of context as McCain admitted the economy is struggling.

Politics and its campaign culture is a glaring example of why the public is skeptical of advertising — and why people actively seek credible, third-party sources and reviews.

Launching a proactive public relations program that seeks third-party credentialing will make a bigger impact with a potential new customer — and will create a brand for your business with added credibility. Energize your public relations effort by writing press releases and building relationships with local journalists and those at trade journals.

While paid ads should likely remain part of your overall strategy, a third-party telling your story gives your message trustworthiness and is a strong complement to your other marketing touch points.

Josh Sommers is president and CEO of Focus Media, a marketing and public relations firm serving the Hudson Valley. He can be reached at josh@advertisingandpr.com or 796-3342, ext. 303. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit www.advertisingandpr.com.

Business Column: Make your media buys by the numbers, not gut

As this recession brings big impacts to most sectors of the economy, business owners continue to hear the steady drum beat of marketers and salespeople telling them “this is the worst time to cut back on advertising.” While this advice is sound, businesses in today’s environment need to significantly sharpen their media buying process in order to make every dollar count.

A good lesson in making your advertising dollars go the distance: don’t buy media from gut and personal habits. Rather, use numbers and science when making decisions to fully leverage your advertising resources.

As an example, don’t simply buy ads on a radio station because you like the programming and listen to it. Ask a radio station representative for an unfiltered, third-party ranking of its listenership like reports from Arbitron Ratings, the gold standard for radio station rankings and demographic characteristics. If that station performs well with your target customer in key demographics like age, gender, income level and geographic area, those numbers are powerful pieces of information to guide your media buying process.

I recently worked with a client who has a product with broad appeal and spends significant advertising dollars in heavy circulation, daily newspapers in cities like New York and Boston. The business owner felt that smaller, weekly newspapers would provide more value than the larger dailies. The numbers told a different story. In order to equal the number of readers the one large daily paper offered, six smaller newspapers were needed to match the reach. Should this business choose to utilize the six smaller newspapers, it would spend three times more to reach the same size audience. While the smaller newspapers have many positive aspects, the larger daily newspaper provided a significantly lower cost per thousand readers.

Be committed to repetition.

If you are going to make your advertising dollars count, spreading your advertising dollars around too thin is a costly mistake. How many times do you need to see an ad before you notice it? Typically, several times more than one time. Advertising works with repetition, and if you have your eggs in too many baskets when making media buys, you won’t achieve the critical frequency needed per media outlet to have an impact with their audience.

It was the January 30, 2000 Super Bowl when 17 dot-com companies came up with at least $2 million each to run ads during the big game. Do you recall some of these companies like KForce.com, Epidemic.com, LifeMinders.com, or how about OurBeginning.com, a company that spent $5 million on Super Bowl ads and was worth less than half of that amount. Even then, in the year 2000, these companies bought Super Bowl ads out of gut and ego rather than making effective use of their media budgets to create memorable brands. Clear advertising strategy failures, but a powerful lesson that advertising works with repetition.

Businesses that research and implement their advertising media buys effectively need to be committed to an on-going program that utilizes repetition to achieve measureable success.

About the Columnist
Josh Sommers, president and CEO of Focus Media, serves as marketing and public relations guru for some of the Hudson Valley’s most prominent companies. He can be reached at (845)796-3342 X303 or josh@advertisingandpr.com. Read his blog at focusonmarketing.blogspot.com or visit advertisingandpr.com. Josh’s column appears Mondays.

New Times Herald-Record column starts Monday!

I'm proud to announce starting Monday, March 9, my new weekly column "Focus On Marketing" will start in the Times Herald-Record (www.th-record.com), a top 10 newspaper in New York State serving the Mid-Hudson Valley and Catskills.

Columns will also be published on this blog. I plan to share my ideas with businesses looking to market strategically in this challenging economy.

In Focus: sledgehammer follow up

Just thought I would share a funny call:

Friend, client and frequent ally on PR campaigns Todd Diorio, head of Laborers Local 17 and president of the Hudson Valley Building Trades Council, called to say nice pic of me with a sledgehammer, but he was "pretty sure that was the first time I held a sledge hammer."

He was wrong - but not far off.

Taking my own advice

I tell all my PR and marketing clients: double down on advertising in a bad economy to bring in new business and show the market place your confidence and relevance!

Today 6,000 glossy, magazine-style Focus Media newsletters (In Focus) hit targeted businesses across the Hudson Valley. This sledgehammer ad is a page of the newsletter, yes bold, but don't we have to be to get noticed in this economy.

My first blog ever, and my golden rule: if it is good for the clients you counsel - make sure you would do it yourself!

By the way, In Focus dedicated a full page announcing the mighty Jay Townsend as Focus Media's new COO. Jay is one of the most brilliant marketers I have ever met, and since joining us in December, has raised our "A-game" with enhanced critical thinking and strategies. In Focus can be downloaded at http://www.advertisingandpr.com/.

We're Live!

First blog coming soon!