Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Why Custom Presentation Folders Are a Valuable Asset to Your Company

I think you'll be surprised at just how many different ways there are in which you can use custom presentation folders. If your company isn't currently using these, and you're wondering why you should go to the trouble and expense of having custom presentation folders made for your business, take a moment to read through these different ideas and learn how versatile a tool they can be.

The most obvious use for custom presentation folders is within the sales or marketing field. Simply assemble an informative and useful collection of papers and leaflets and put them neatly inside your beautifully designed folder. This gives a professional impression to your potential customer in an instant, and ensures your marketing material is easy for them to find later on once the initial sales meeting is over.

Real estate agents use custom presentation folders to great effect when sending details of a property to a potential buyer. Not only does it show that the real estate company itself is extremely professional as a business but it also ensures that the buyer can easily locate and access the relevant information when it's needed.

Perhaps your business is planning to launch a new product or service and you're working on drumming up some media interest? There is no better way to catch the attention of journalists than to send them the relevant information contained within a folder.

You're probably beginning to see the essential advantage of custom presentation folders by now. You are able to mix and match different literature, along with photographs, price lists and other relevant information, into a package which is absolutely suitable for the occasion. You can change the mix of documentation as many times as you like, yet everything is still neatly presented within your folder. Your company's name and logo are on the cover, and the whole package is clearly identifiable as coming from you.

Companies who provide staff training will find custom presentation folders immensely useful. Each delegate who attends the training can be supplied with all the relevant handouts and follow-up information, conveniently presented within a folder. This ensures that everything stays together, and that it's kept in good condition for future use and reference. It's very frustrating for an individual to attend an important training course only to lose the reference material soon afterwards!

Choose your printing company with care and make sure you obtain the very best value for money as well as excellent quality.

People Do Business With People

No matter what business you're in, your clientele is a vital element to your success and development. Not only are they your source of income, they are also a source of information that allows you to grow, improve products, services, and even affect the structure and function of your business.

Through Customer Relationship Management, businesses are able to deliver to their customer with a unique connection. Keep in mind that a customer database is comprised of individuals. Each individual is seeks to do business with another individual.

Companies, small and large, while comprised of a group of individuals are always represented and associated with the "one person" who interacts most with the company.

Today our many digital tools, made to simplify the relationship between a business and their clients, often are the very items that make the interaction impersonal. Even with social media, you must have a specific focus of creating a relationship with your client or you can fall into the practice of merely broadcasting to the masses in your social platforms.

Your personal brand and customer relationship management

In a recent conversation with J.P. Narowski, CEO of KarmaCRM - a web-based small business customer relationship management system, he shared that part of the reason he developed KarmaCRM was because of the impersonal nature of customer relationship management (CRM ) systems:

"For about six months I tried every software package out there because like most developers I resisted the urge to reinvent the wheel. I was looking for a simple, fast tool that would allow me and my sales guy to work on projects together. All of the packages seemed to fall short."

In our discussion, he revealed that the reason he named the business KarmaCRM was:

"Because I wanted to bring some harmony and balance back to the CRM world. I also think the best sales people are not just selling their product but helping out their customer in a number of ways because they want to. Therefore the customer is more comfortable with them and their services, and it comes back around in business. Do good to others and treat the right and your business will grow (karma) type of thing" explained Narowski.

Small businesses let your personal brand shine through

If a business spends time getting to know their clients and customers they can better serve their needs. As you become better acquainted with individuals, you can prepare for trends and evolve with the demands of your audience.

It also give you "space and time" to let your personal brand shine through.

In the hustle and flurry of activity that we do every day, it's often too easy to fall into becoming disconnected from our connections and even disconnected, in their mind, from the very personal brand that brought them to the table.

What I appreciated with my discussion with J.P. Narwoski, is that he focuses on growing slow so he doesn't lose the focus of creating good karma which is really the unique promise of value for his brand.

In their shoes

I focus on small business owners and entrepreneurs who are in a unique state of transition. They have a personal brand and its one strong enough that they know their unique promise of value; it's expressed in everything that they do, touch and say; and the expression of it is evolving. Why? Because they are beginning to grow and develop their business to a point where it becomes more than just "them" interacting with their customers and the successful extension of their brand is where the struggle lies.

And, that's why I'm always on the lookout for good tools. From Hootsuite to manage your social media interactions and tracking, to Do.com to measure your projects or from KarmaCRM to manage your customer data to WhenIsGood.net to managing your meeting scheduling - every tool I use focuses on automating the process but not the relationship.

The relationship and connection is very personal and need to remain so.

What do you to keep things personal in your business?

Important Ways To Keep Your Staff At Their Best While Manning Your Business Trade Show Stand

Every veteran convention participant recognizes that, when it comes to successfully working the trade show display circuit, there are two critical components that come into play. What's the first factor to consider when striving to achieve a positive return on investment? Unquestionably, this falls on the business' trade show stand itself.

It's no secret that garnering the attention of the wandering masses at these industry functions is of paramount importance. In order to effectively entice and inform the consuming crowds, each attending organization needs to have a trade show stand that delivers something distinctive that the competition just doesn't offer. Whether utilizing an elaborate stand replete with several attention grabbing features, or opting for simple banner stands that visually compel the wandering crowd, having a unique display is an important piece of the achievement equation.

Beyond The Trade Show Stand: Consider Your Most Valuable Asset

However, beyond the stand design, businesses truly looking to capitalize on the many opportunities presented at these events also need to consider what should be their most valuable asset: their employees. It is vital to never underestimate the importance of staff members manning the trade show display in the overall success of the event. Once visiting guests stop into the stand, it is completely up to your team to connect with and, hopefully, convert each person into a viable lead for your organization. Just like your business' stand, you need your staff to stand out from the competition. They not only need to consistently be dynamic as they engage with the attendees, they also need to embody a professional and polished representation of your organization.

Key Methods To Help Your Staff Shine At Every Trade show Display

Want to make sure your staff makes as big of an impact as your trade show display? Employing a few simple techniques can help ensure that your team is always the one to watch at every event. Always consider:

Trade show display training: Professional training can make a huge difference in your team's polish and performance. Even offering a few onsite sessions can make a major impact.

Customized stand flooring: Most events can stretch on for hours, leaving your staff on their feet all day long. Partner with a reputable design firm that offers customized (aka padded!) flooring. An experienced provider will offer various options that meet a range of price points to ensure you get an ideal complement to your already existing trade show display.

Wardrobe requirements: Beyond flooring options, always consider other ways to help keep your team feeling energized and comfortable. Wardrobe is a great way to help ensure that your employees are ready for the long day of standing they have ahead of them. While looking professional is always a must, always encourage them to wear their most comfortable shoes while manning the exhibits.

Scheduling needs: If you want your employees to always look refreshed, offer scheduled breaks throughout the event. The hours manning the stands can prove grueling. In order to keep their energy levels high, create a specific outline of breaks that allows staff members to get away from the stand, but still maintains adequate coverage at all times.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Keeping Your Business's Expansion Steady

Building a successful business is a challenging ordeal all the way through - some people might tell you that it's difficult to get started, others will assure you that the real challenge starts once you've really hit it big, but the truth is that the whole procedure is riddled with challenges all the way through. It's important to know how to handle those problems in a responsible and thoughtful way, as this will ensure that you'll be able to keep up with the growth of your operations.

The most common problem people seem to encounter is coping with the sudden surge in their progress. At some point, sooner or later your business is going to bloom dramatically - it might be just random luck that you've struck it big with a specific product, but you never know if that expansion is going to happen over a prolonged period of time, or literally overnight. This makes it important to be prepared for when that moment happens, and know exactly what you need to do to avoid going under because you're unable to handle all the extra challenges that have suddenly come up.

Remember that keeping yourself well connected is very important - even if you're not using those connections at the moment, you never know when you might need a certain service later on. If a supplier offers you good rates but they only work with larger shipments than the ones you're ordering regularly, don't just throw away their business card - keep it for moments like this one exactly. Because when you suddenly need to fill in an extra supply channel that also happens to be quite wide, you can't just go around looking for the first company to come under your sights and hire them - you'll need to make an informed decision, ideally knowing in advance who you'll work with.

Don't go crazy on expanding your workforce - this is another common issue faced by people who're trying to handle with the expansion of their businesses. It might seem right now that you suddenly need tons of extra people to handle all the additional workload, but think straight for a second - is this perhaps some temporary state? Maybe the recent hit you made on the market is going to die down in a week or two, leaving you with people who suddenly don't have any purpose in your company? Only hire as many extra helping hands as you truly need, and ideally try to take on some extra work yourself to help out everyone around you.

The main point here is - don't go over your head. You might get inspired to try out all sorts of creative things once you've gotten a taste of success, but keep your head straight and keep thinking realistically. Save your income and invest it properly, and keep the expansion of your company steady and smooth. Sooner or later you'll stabilize and you'll start handling the new situation just as easily as you coped with the previous state of your company!



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Why You Should Consider Outsourcing Your Telemarketing To Specialized Providers

Although telemarketing may get a bad wrap at times, it is still an effective way to market products to individuals. Most companies try to hire an inhouse telemarketing team, and that may not always be the best option available to them. I would recommend to most, that they look to outsource to a telemarketing company that has all of the resources, staff, and experience available to help them to be as profitable as possible in their marketing efforts. A few reasons why you should look into outsourcing your telemarketing services to a provider include some of the following;

They Have The Experience

A solid telemarketing company will have pre-trained employees that have all been trained in the art of selling through speech. It would take a lot of time to train your own employees on how to sell through the telephone, and you could save a lot of money on startup costs, especially in training, by hiring a telemarketing company to do so for you. Since these individuals are already trained, there will be minimal startup time. This can be beneficial because if you are looking for telemarketing services, you are more than likely looking to start the marketing quickly. Individuals that work for a telemarketing company and provide telemarketing services have already been trained, and know how to handle the customer service end of the transaction.

Reach More Consumers

Telemarketing is great because it will allow you to reach a large number of consumers. Marketing through the telephone is much easier than doing business-to-business marketing in a physical environment, and allows you to get more bang for your buck. The ability to reach more customers, means that you will, in all likelihood, be able to make more sales. A good telemarketing company can give you an idea of the returns that you can expect in the conversion rate that they may or may not be able to provide.

Build Brand Awareness

With a number of solid leads, telemarketing can also be a great way for your company to build brand awareness. By getting your company name in front of large amounts of people, you can have a solid brand building marketing campaign. By marketing the individuals that are already interested in your product, you can be certain that you will be able to generate some sales, or least make more consumers familiar with what you provide. This is a great long-term marketing strategy, and definitely put your business in the minds of hundreds, if not thousands of potential consumers.

Telemarketing can be very beneficial for large businesses and small businesses alike. The ability to market your products, quickly, over the phone can help you to generate sales, leads, or build brand awareness over time. As stated earlier, I would recommend that you always look into outsourcing to a telemarketing services provider, that already has experience in space and is able to provide you with an excellent marketing plan for capitalizing on your investment. Although many consider it to be a marketing method of the past, telemarketing can be a great way for you to be able to effectively market your products at a marginal cost.



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Sunday, July 8, 2012

Marketing Is a Lot Different Today In the Information Age

Most new entrepreneurs think they know a whole lot about marketing, but really they don't. Oh sure, they might be able to garner lots of friends on Facebook, social networks, or use trickery tactics like SEO strategies to beat out more legitimate companies online, but how much of that can they really convert to sales, aka; hits don't equal revenue conundrum. Okay so, let's talk because I come from the old school.

You see, when I started my company there was no internet, no fax machines, and portable phones were only for the top executives in corporations or the military, so, you had to do it all in the real world, where it really counts. Now then, recently I read an interesting book, it was written back in 2000, but it foretold much of what we see today, namely that "everything" had changed "forever" and it would never be the same again when it came to marketing.

I'd like to recommend this book to you because I think it is of value to all the old timers, and all the new kids that think they know everything, but don't seem to be making much money from their marketing efforts. The name of the book is;

"The End of Marketing As We Know It," by Sergio Zyman, Harper Business Press, NY, 2000, 272 pages, ISBN: 978-08873-09830-0.

This author also has real world experience, he was the head of marketing for a major soft drink company, until he started his own marketing firm. He saw the changes with the future of "new marketing" in the information age. He reminds the reader that "popularity online" and hits, or click-throughs is not "making money" because it's the conversion ratios that matter, that's the scoreboard. The clicks or hits are just sparks, so it remains the marketer's job to use those sparks to start a fire.

He admits the value in brand building online; that is getting people to want to buy what you are selling. Still, he points to the science of marketing, the metrics, the math, and the reality of achieving sales goals, not merely attaining traffic. He suggests that marketers online "fish where the fish are" and to target your potential clients online, that clicks are worthless, unless they lead to sales. Perhaps he was ahead of his time. He basically describes the rational for Big Data marketing mining, and how that changes the game completely.

You see, sometimes it pays to understand the cross-over of trends and how to unite the virtual world with the real one, that is if you want to make money and not just get lots of hits and play a popularity game online. Indeed, perhaps the philosophy here, and his arguments are of value even to the know-it-all so-called online marketing gurus. Please consider all this and think on it. I hope I didn't offend you, but if I did, realize you aren't my market, and I don't want or need your hits or clicks, see that point?

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Pub Marketing Using SMS

Pub marketing has become much more important in recent years due to the economic situation that we find ourselves in. Because of this, the pub trade has been heavily affected by the fact that people have less money to spend on luxury items and that they are going out to socialise on fewer occasions.

So, how do we get the message across to our customers to make them more aware of the fact that you are still there? You could use traditional marketing methods such as advertising in your local newspaper, handing out flyers in the street, or having posters in your establishment.

Let's quickly go through each of these:

Newspaper Advertising: This method has been proven to work to a small degree, however the simple fact of the matter is that most of us now when we're reading print media have become 'immune' to adverts and so tend to skip over them. Newspaper advertising is also slow moving, ie, you place the advert in the publication today, and it may not be printed for another 5 days. This is not the medium you need if you have a promotion or event you want people to know about tomorrow.

Street Flyers: You could spend a few hundred pounds to get a few thousand flyers printed off with drink promotions that you normally have running in order to hand them out in the street to passing people on a Friday night. The problem with this method is that roughly ninety to ninety-five per cent of people out walking in the street already know where they are going and will just discard the flyer and ignore it. So for the environmentally publican, knowing that they have essentially littered their local area with hundreds or thousand flyers does not always sit easy on the mind. Also, with the remaining five to ten percent of people who do not know where they are aiming for on a night out, you are only likely to capture a small amount of those to walk through your doors. So you have to decide, is it worth paying out to have these printed for a small handful of extra customers?

In-house Posters: These are great for when you already have the people inside your pub, but how will it get them into there in the first place?

An alternative marketing method for pubs is mobile marketing using SMS. This is an old technology used in a new way to get your message out to people and is very cost effective compared to other methods. The reason for this is that under UK law it is illegal to send out unsolicited text messages to people who have not opted in to receive them from you, so those that get them want to hear what offers, promotions and events you're running.

SMS marketing is also hugely responsive. If you suddenly book a band to play that evening, or you are having a particularly quiet night you can type up your message and have it in the palm of hundreds of people in seconds. There is no waiting for a newspaper to be published, no discarding of flyers you've had printed, it literally is instant marketing.

SMS messages also have a ninety-six per cent read rate, which dwarfs the average fifty-five per cent for street flyers, and the approximate ten percent of newspaper advertising.

So what's the advice? We don't suggest that you drop the other forms of advertising mentioned above in favour of SMS messages, however we do strongly suggest that you use mobile marketing in conjunction with other methods. How ever you decide to go about it, as we mentioned Pub Marketing is more important now than ever.



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