Public
Relations - PR
If you have absolutely no marketing budget
at all there is no better place to start
than Public
Relations. Research shows that
consumers are much more likely to act on
something they have read in an editorial
article than in an advert as journalists
are seen as a more credible, neutral source
of information.
Contact your local or regional media journalists
and get a feel for the kind of stories they
are looking for. Don’t forget some journalists may be
receiving scores of press releases or phone calls at their desk every day,
so what story do you have that is going to make your business stand out from
the crowd?
Perhaps you would like to offer a familiarisation
trip for a journalist or organise a photo
call if you have a new addition to your business
that you want customers to know about? Remember,
you can ask to see what they have written
before it goes to print.
If you are writing a press release never
forget the 4 “W’s” – What,
Where, When, Why – in your information to ensure you cover the salient
points.
If you have a story of national importance,
you can work with the Michael
Associates PR team who are experts at getting stories
out to national journalists.
Don’t forget – PR is not just what you see in print. Why not fix
a slot to be interviewed on local radio or TV? Online media outlets, such as
Times Online or Guardian Unlimited now have huge coverage too.
Decide on your USP
Some of the more successful businesses
focus on a specialism that helps them stand
out from the crowd. In marketing jargon,
this is often referred to as the ‘unique
selling point (USP)’.
Too many businesses try to be all things
to all people but often end up with ‘the
lowest common denominator’. With lots
of competitors, why should a customer come
to you?
Some examples of USP’s may be a mechanic
who specialises in servicing Range Rovers
or a retail store that specialises in unique
hand-made children’s gifts.
It is generally good marketing
practice to target market sectors – If for example
you are a hotel you may want to achieve a
40/60 split between business and personal
visitors. Try not to just use the traditional
marketing descriptions of age and socio-economic
background – it’s easier if you
can think of your customers by lifestyle
type – real people with real needs
that you can meet.
Try writing a brief description of your
preferred target markets will save you time
later and make your marketing sharper. It
may also make you think about tweaking your
product to appeal to these customers e.g.
sustainable
products for ‘green’ customers.
Remember - each target audience will need
a personalised
marketing approach.
Adding Value
The little touches can make all the difference
to your customer. These can take time to
implement but are very often worth doing
for the sake of satisfing your customers,
receiving positive comments on your web
site and those all-important word-of-mouth recommendations
that can help attract future customers. Have
a brainstorming session with your team, or
ask family and friends to find out what extras
would make your customers experience better.
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Making Advertising
Work Harder
When budgets are limited you need to make
every penny work. Find out as much as you
can about your current customers and what
they read. For example, if many customers
come from a similar area of the country it
might be worth advertising in their regional
newspaper. Directories and some publications have a very long shelf life and are often
consulted as reference tools, so can offer
very good value, but think carefully about
what sections you want to be listed in. Niche
and special interest magazines can be better
value than more mainstream publications.
Identify your customers’ aspirations
- for example if you’re an estate agent,
and your customers are mainly city dwellers
who aspire to the country way of life magazines
like Country Living are ideal places to advertise.
Think about the USP’s you have pinpointed
(see above) and relevant publications that
target these audiences…excel in food?...BBC
Good Food Magazine; family friendly?...Family
Magazine; upmarket travellers?...Condé Nast
Traveller; gay customers?...The Pink Paper.
Ads need to catch your eye and have a clear ‘call
to action’ for your web site or other
contact details. Sometimes less is more – the
old adage that a strong picture is worth
a thousand words can be very true when it
comes to advertising.
Always make sure you negotiate a good rate
and remember to track effectiveness! Make
sure you find out how customers came to find
out about your business and work out conversion
rates from your advertising. If you have
a web site you could even set up separate
web entry points to track effectiveness e.g.
yourbusiness.com/fm if you were to advertise
in Family Magazine for example.
Website
It has never been more important for businesses
to ensure they have their own web
site. With
71% of Brits now searching out information
on the Web – it is no longer an optional
extra. Entice and engage your visitors by
promoting your special offers or new products.
Use all the web tools available to you, blogs,
podcast, video streaming, pay per click advertising
and most importantly search engine optimisation.
Your website is a great way to save money
in the long term, it can help you to generate
contacts, leads and even make those all important
sales.
Events
Why should customers return to your business
throughout the year? Often events will provide
that extra trigger to spur them on to come
back to you. Arrange a product demonstration
or hold an open day so your customers can
explore all your products and services. Promote
the event through the use of your website,
or send an invite through an e:mail
service like our SendMail programme – it is
cheaper than sending hundreds of invites
in the post. Our sister company Buddha
Events are able to give you great deals on event
management – leaving you free to run
your business while they organise the event
They can run your event as well, so you can
get on with the job of talking to your customer.
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