2.) Make a list of topics for future press releases to use during the year and go beyond sending them to just the newspaper.  Pitch them to a radio or TV station and self-promote them on-line with social media.

3.) Have regular brainstorm sessions on new products and services; advertising concepts; taglines; social campaigns for on-line marketing; contest ideas and sales promotions; and review of what your competitors are doing and what you offer that is different from them!           [note: if you do not have anyone to brainstorm with be sure to consider hiring a marketing coach like Purple Diamond!]

4.) Set-up strategic alliances and partnerships.

5.) Set stretch goals and action items to achieve them for each month, quarter, year, 5 year and beyond.  Be sure you create an overall marketing plan, but be organized and disciplined to have a weekly plan of meetings and action items written down prior to the start of your week! PLAN for success!

6.) Update website on a regular basis and maintain an on-line strong social media campaign to drive traffic to your site. Consider launching a thoughtful email marketing campaign that draws attention and offers useful information so that you have a greater open click rate.

7.) Be sure to THANK your customers and offer excellent customer support. Consider having a special customer service fun event to invite your clients and top prospects to as a way to show them that they are appreciated! If your budget is small and does not allow for this be sure to at least take the time to send a hand-written note thanking them for their business.

8.) Attend networking groups, join the local chamber and participate in charitable organizations that give back to the community that your business belongs to.

9.) Know your numbers, measure results and ASK other business owners what they have used that has had a significant impact on their business.

10.) Work with a Marketing Coach who understands your market and what challenges you face and how to get you the results you need today!

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

So, how do you know if you are using your tagline effectively? First, check your website,

Purple Diamond Tagline

email signature, business cards, letterhead, creative ads, and all other marketing material and see which ones have your slogan or tagline.  Is the line listed 100% on all materials or is it MIA [missing-in-action]?  Next, when you are doing a 30 second elevator pitch do you end your pitch with the tagline for your business or slogan for the product you are promoting? This is another way of knowing how effective your tagline is. You should be comfortable saying the line and using it consistently.  Finally, do all your clients and many of your prospects know your tagline?  If not, you are missing one of the key ways to help your target market identify with your business with a simple phrase.

And, if you are still someone who is not sure of the importance of having a tagline for your company and wonder if it will have a great impact on marketing your business consider the lines you  have heard from local businesses and from national ad campaigns that use theirs consistently.  “Melts in your mouth, not in your hands” for M&M’s ,”Just do it” for Nike, “You’re in good hands with Allstate” for Allstate Insurance are just a couple of taglines that  I quickly remember.  My own tagline for Purple Diamond, “Success wears the Purple Diamond!”, tells my clients that our brand is “success” and that when they choose to work with Purple Diamond either as an advertising agency or marketing coach we are committed to helping their business achieve greater success!

All my best to your success!

Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Not all business owners like to have the spotlight shined on them, but they do know that in today’s competitive market your business depends on having creative marketing that gets you noticed in a positive way.  If you were the person in high school who rarely raised your hand in class and always wanted to blend in with the crowd, you will have to hire a top marketing specialist or work with a consultant to help your business get noticed in a positive way that leads to exceptional sales.   You will also need to be ready to listen to their ideas and empower them to take actions on behalf of your business.  “Original” marketing is called that because it is not something that your competitors are currently doing so it requires stepping outside your comfort zone and trying new ideas that may feel strange and awkward.   The key to success is to do something extraordinary and if you never try anything new with your business you will not discover what real potential your business has.

Beyond hiring specialists in the field of marketing, another tip to help you on your way to having effective marketing and advertising is to spend an hour a day reading marketing books, articles,  and blogs and attending seminars that will help you to stay current on what the trends are now and what forecasters are seeing for the future in your field.  Knowledge has always been key and one of the many reasons why the most successful companies require employees to attend educational trainings every year in their field so that they remain current in the tools and technology available to them.  Start the New Year off with a great marketing team that will help you create the most original marketing campaigns  and achieve the success you need right now!

All my best to your success~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Thanksgiving is over and businesses are in the home stretch for additional sales to end the year with their best effort for 2010, but this is also the time you need to review your marketing and advertising efforts and consider what you need to change and what efforts will be repeated and or improved.  Do you know your numbers? Have you looked closely at your existing client list and determined which ones are your top 20% key accounts? Do you know which clients are using up the most man hours with the least gain? Have you created a strong marketing strategy for the New Year which will assist you in reaching at least 50% of your 2011 annual sales goals by April 1st?

A successful year in sales depends on you  knowing where you have been, what worked or didn’t work, who your key accounts are, and what plan you need to launch to get you to the goal you desire.  This task is easy if you have kept detailed records of your business with active and inactive client accounts, detailed records of your marketing and advertising costs and performance, and continued to read blogs and published white papers about your industry and where it is trending towards.  If you are not using a business CRM system to help you keep this essential sales information for your business up to date and easily accessible, it is time to invest in the tools to help you be successful with your business.  And, if you are constantly losing files or wasting time looking for things in your office consider hiring a professional organizer to get your office space ready for the New Year!

After you have gathered all your information it is time to put it on paper so that it is easier to map-out a strategy for the New Year. Consider the core values and beliefs of your company and list these at the top of the  paper so that you do not lose the focus of why you are in business.   After that, start with a SWOT analysis. List 3-5 of your businesses strengths, weaknesses, opportunities  and threats in 2010? After that, list your client accounts based on revenue generated starting from the top key account to the ones that produce very little return, but require the most time invested to service. Finally, look at the marketing efforts and actions your company employed in 2010 and list which months these were applied and rate each on a scale of 1-10 with 10 being the highest in terms of generating results that led to sales.  After you have everything down on paper spend a few days really with your marketing and sales team analyzing what worked and didn’t work in 2010 and if the time you spent with lower level clients might have been better served with your key accounts.  Creating a successful strategic plan for  2011 will be easier after you have completed this annual review and really have a complete knowledge of what you did right and what could have changed in 2010.  Do you need to add a blog or expand your social media marketing? Have you considered if it is time to spend more of your advertising budget with a visual form of advertising like TV or the use of video on your website and on YouTube? Are you being seen as a leader in your field and getting regular speaking engagements to talk about your industry? Are you offering the best customer service to your clients and getting regular referrals from them?  Have you considered additional revenue sources that could come from adding additional products or services?  Do you have strong strategic alliances in place that will bring you growth in the future? And, have you hired a marketing coach or advertising agency to help your business get the best ROI.  Make sure that by the New Year your business is positioned for success!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

How about businesses that do not have products or services that could be used as holiday gifts?  Can these businesses ignore the 4th quarter for sales?  Of course not….if your business does not  sell a product or service that can be sold to the holiday consumer market then your efforts to close business must be increased 100% to be heard over the noise of the holiday season.  If you sell computer services, financial services, personnel services, legal services, medical services or even products that just don’t often sell during the next 3 months, then I suggest you create incentives for businesses or consumers to do business with you now.  You might wish to offer an added bonus or a discount during this time or an extended warranty. The key is to get businesses or consumers to see the merit in hiring your company now.

Finally, be sure to use the next 3 months to connect with your key accounts. The new year is often a time when businesses reflect on what is working and what needs to be changed.  In years where the economy is sluggish or sales are not as strong as in past years, business owners are quick to make changes of vendors and alter the way they do business.  Do not hesitate to connect with your clients face-to-face and do your own review with them about your service.  Often even a client who was thinking of dropping your service could be saved with the face-to-face meeting that allows them the opportunity to be heard and positive changes made to improve your offerings.

Yes, the holidays are coming and the end of 2010 is less than 90 days away. Are you ready? If you need help please consider calling Purple Diamond!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

Often businesses will have promotional products with their company name and logo imprinted on them to hand-out, but this is just s small part of building a relationship with your key accounts and top prospects.  Standing out from the crowd and being the contact that is elevated from vendor status to friend is what often separates the businesses that just survive in today’s market  or thrive.  Do your top clients or potential “A” list prospects connect with you regularly on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter?  Do they read your blog or even know that you have one? If they were out tonight at a business function and someone asked them about who they most enjoy working with would you be one of the first people they mention? Do their spouses and family know you?  Have you ever been invited socially to go out with them when it wasn’t just business?

Relationship building and personal marketing has to be part of what you do as a business owner.  Consider doing something out of the ordinary for your key accounts and prospects and extend that personal touch. Don’t just wait til the holidays to send a card or gift.  Take the time throughout the year to build a personal relationship with the people you do business with!

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

The order that I see these 3 components is the following: marketing, advertising and then sales.  Though there are numerous definitions to these key terms, my definition for “Marketing” is the process of creating an interest for your product or service by defining  who is  your potential customer  and what value does your product or service offer to the client and what sets you apart from your competition.  “Advertising”, often paid,  is the process of communicating a persuasive message to a large group of people or audience to purchase your goods or services. The advertising should be in-line with your marketing message and strategy so that it will help to support the brand of your business.  Finally, the last component is sales. “Sales” is simply whatever it takes to close the deal or get a contract with a signature on it.  Some organizations create a team approach to selling and some decide that they prefer the one on one process that might have a commission incentive attached, but either way it is when you engage with a potential client on a more personal level.

Having a strong background in all 3 of these areas of expertise  is why Purple Diamond continues to offer their own brand of success for business owners north of Boston and beyond.  Whether you are a sole proprietorship or the CEO of a large corporation, consider the benefit of working with a company that understands the entire process of how to get you more sales and can easily identify where you need the most help and offer you a strategy that works within your budget.  Even if you have a marketing director and a sales manager in your employ this does not mean that you have all 3 areas covered effectively.  Often I have seen large organizations have a breakdown between the marketing and sales departments and it has cost them potential clients.  Bringing in an outside agency as a consultant who specializes in this area will improve the performance of your business and help you to close sales and improve the working relationship between departments.

All my best to your success! ~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

So, what does a small or medium size business do when they do not have the budget to have their product appear in a new hit movie or popular TV show and they need to find a new way to get their message out?  Create a bigger than life splash with the target market you are trying to reach using the resources you do have. Make sure your website looks great, comes up high on SEO rankings and that you are creating current blog content and using the popular social media marketing sites like Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin.  Be sure to look for ways your product or service can align itself with larger corporations that already have strong brand recognition.  If your business is B2B in the local area, seek out the most successful businesses in your network and make them part of your inner circle of businesses that you attend events with, “friend” on Facebook and sign-up for their email newsletter.  If you’re trying to extend beyond the local market, take the time to join targeted networking groups on-line and be aggressive on Twitter and other sites for promoting your own blog so that you start to develop a loyal following.  There are many ways to use the technology of today to enhance your business and it will keep changing so be sure to work with a marketing specialist that will help you to understand what you need to do right now to help your business grow. Don’t ignore how much today’s technology has impacted the way your clients shop!

All my best to your success~
Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

A cookie cutter approach to one of the most essential parts of your business with the belief that it will bring you instant paying customers is just like buying a lottery ticket today with the belief that you will win and have the money that week for your mortgage. The answers that were given to this question on Linkedin ranged from: email marketing, SMS Text Messaging, YouTube postings, social media marketing with Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter, SEO [Search Engine Optimization]for your website, Cold Calling, Press Releases, Chamber Memberships and Business Groups, Creative Marketing Message that stands out, Cross Media Marketing, Ad Targeting, Get Bank Loan and Invest in Real Advertising, Blogs and Contributing to On-Line Discussion Groups,  Ad Swaps, Direct Mail, mail Articles to Prospects, no one tool works/target marketing is key, Analysis and Tracking with a good CRM system, Business Card, and Branding Your Business consistently with a clear message. [Note: some of the suggestions offered were from people who sold that one product so Purple Diamond has posted the list as what were offered and not what we believe you need to do.  Purple Diamond believes in a one on one approach in which your business is seen as unique and deserves your own marketing coach/consultant.]  There were even more suggestions than all the ones I have posted here, but what was clear from all the responses were that even the experts have their own thoughts about what is the best low cost method to market your business.  So, if there are so many different views from marketing professionals, how does a business owner who has never worked as a marketing professional know what is best for his business? My first response is to call in an affordable consultant, like Purple Diamond,  to help YOUR business that does not have ties to any one product and has knowledge to what is working in your area and for your industry.  But, if you are not comfortable with hiring a marketing coach, then please look to free services in your area like SCORE or ask key people in your circle of business friends to help you brainstorm ideas.  In my own area there are CEO groups that many of the local business owners have joined that give them direct insight in to what local business owners have tried and found useful.  Please do not leave marketing up to chance.  Today’s economy is one that requires skillful analysis and creative ideas that get results!

All my best to your success!

~ Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”

The first thing I recommend is that if you have not had a vacation and you are working 12 hour days, 7 days a week, you really need to take a week at the beginning of the summer and RELAX and ENERGIZE yourself!  Think back to when you were in college cramming for finals and trying to exist on 2-3 hours of sleep a night.  Let’s face it, you became a walking zombie who only got through the week of hell because you knew that there was an end date to exam week and then a vacation break directly after.  As a business owner, learning to recognize the signs of “burn-out” is key to your success and longevity in the industry.  Stepping away from your business and in to a week or two of fun and relaxation will have you refreshed and ready to make the most of working the remaining days of summer with new ideas and a vitality that could be missing right now.

The second thing I recommend to do during the quieter months of summer is to prospect for new business.  Attend business networking groups that are outside your local area, go to workshops and seminars that attract businesses that could be potential clients, and spend time taking key clients that may still be working hard like you out to lunch or for a day of golf as a way of thanking them for their business. Use this time to  reach out to your customers with cards or emails during the slower months which will help with retention and possibly expand your business if you add a “refer-a-friend” program in the newsletter.

Finally, the summer is a great time to meet and do planning for your marketing for the remaining year and in to 2011.  One of the biggest problems that small businesses have is that they are always putting out fires and often do not have time for real planning or creating a strategy for their marketing.  Their websites never get updated, they still struggle with understanding how to position social on-line networking as a way to market their business and they seldom analyze what the ROI is for the advertisements that they are currently running.   The hit or miss type of marketing they have done all year often is a result of being hurried and the summer months allows the time to organize, regroup and make a successful plan.

In addition to these three things, summer is a great time to do an office make-over or have a professional organizer help you to set-up systems that work for your business.  Move your desk,  paint the walls, add a few plants and have an organizer help you to get rid of the piles of paper and watch how fast your sales improve when your work space is one that you are happier working in!

All my best to your success!

~Charlene

“Success wears the Purple Diamond!”