What is PR?

It is very common for people to confuse marketing with public relations. The term marketing is used broadly to define all the activities involved with reaching your target audience and converting them into sales. Public Relations is a form of marketing used to get exposure from various media outlets and/or events that cater to your target audience. Have you ever wondered how a local business got featured on the morning news show? Well, most likely they, or their publicist, sent a press release to the TV station and pitched a great story around that business. With PR, you typically do not pay to get the exposure unlike another form of marketing called advertising. Typical public relations activities include, getting articles written about you or your product in a publication or website, being asked to be an expert guest on a show, hosting an event, or sponsoring a non-profit organization.

As I mentioned, marketing involves various activities; for example, paying for advertising to promote your products, developing a website to increase sales and traffic to your store, establishing a customer loyalty program to retain existing customers, sales promotion on items, and sending surveys to get feedback on how your product is performing to name a few. To determine which activity is best for you think about the goal you want to achieve. Do you want people to be aware that your store exists, prompt people to take action and buy, or generate revenue? List your top three marketing goals for the holiday season and then review some of the marketing activities I mentioned. Determine which activities will help you achieve these goals. For example, if your goal is to generate revenue during the holiday season you might consider some advertising and sales promotion. If you want to get some free media attention you could set up an Angel Tree in your store and offer a discount to those who purchase an item from your store for the Angel Tree.

The challenges of finding the right mix of marketing activities can be overwhelming and confusing. Most business owners have questions about how to implement marketing programs, but can't find the answers they need without paying a consultant. Now, you have a chance to ask a marketing expert those burning marketing questions and receive free advice. The Marketing Lady provides her free expert advice and opinions for you. You can email your questions to tmarketinglady@yahoo.com or simply post them to this blog.

Self Promotion

Getting noticed among thousands of customers can be difficult when hundreds of competitors are going after the same target audience. But, some can make sure they stand out from the crowd by doing "self-promoting". Establishing a strong brand is the first step to making self-promotion a lot easier and more effective. Your brand consists of the key marketing message you want your target audience to hear and the image (logo, symbol, personal image) you want portrayed.

While creating a buzz for yourself through public speaking, your brand must be communicated effectively so that customers think of your products first when they need your type of service. You are promoting the fact that you can deliver an experience better than anyone else. When promoting by developing partnerships, they should know what your product stands for through your words, symbols, messages, or concepts. It makes it easier for them to refer business to you and spread the word about your products. During self-promotion, you should deliver a powerful message and shape the customer’s perception. Customers should be able to quickly identify with your brand. Tell them why your products and services are right for their needs.

Other ways to promote yourself is through your accomplishments. Be sure to list any awards or nominations you have received. If you have not received any, ask your best customer to nominate you when the time comes. List any success stories you can share on your website and newsletter; this helps to establish creditability and shows off your experience. Don't be afraid to call yourself an expert. If you have the knowledge, skills, and experience, you are an expert - so let everyone know. Establishing a strong brand for your company or product by communicating a clear message and image you want to promote is key to effective self-promotion.

The Marketing Lady offers more strategies on self-promoting and branding on her website at www.themarketinglady.com. Click on free resources and download a copy.

What's missing from your marketing?

I was recently speaking at a networking event in Dallas, TX when a small business owner approached me and asked, "what's missing from my marketing". This person owns a boutique women's clothing store that is not getting enough customer traffic into the store. I asked her what does she do in terms of marketing and promotions at the store. She responded with, a weekly coupon mailer, weekly newspaper ad and yellow pages listing.

My response:

If you are implementing marketing strategies on a monthly bases and not getting your expected results, it's time to do two things. First, start measuring the amount of customers your are getting from each activity to determine if you are getting a return on your investment. Do this by counting the number of coupons that customers bring in each month. It's hard to tell how many customers you are getting from your yellow page or newspaper ad unless you have a special phone number or coupon code.

Evaluate the number of households, location and other demographic information of your coupon mailer program. Be sure that the right type of customer is receiving the coupon. For example, if you sell clothing at a high price point, consider sending the coupons to households with women in high income brackets. In the weekly advertisement, add a statement to mention the ad and get a discount. What this does is provides an incentive for the viewer to come into your store and shop. It's also a way to track how well the program is doing. Evaluate your ad size and its location within the paper. Talk with your sales representative and let them know of your concerns about your ad with them. It is most likely, they will assist you in developing a more effective campaign.

The second thing you want to do is consider where your store is located. Are you in a strip mall, free standing building or a kiosks inside of a facility? What kind of customer traffic comes to that location? Are other retailers experiencing low traffic as well? Take an hour or so and evaluate your store's location. Evaluate the following areas:

• The stores next to you - being next to a store with steady customer traffic is best.
• General area traffic - if the overall traffic of your location is slow you might want to consider moving.
• Accessibility - can customers easily get to your store? is there adequate parking?
• General appearance of the area - your store might be in good shape but the shopping mall, parking lot, or surrounding buildings might not.

After re-evaluating these four areas, determine whether moving to a new location would help boost the sales and traffic you need. If all else fails, hire a marketing consultant to develop a marketing strategy to help you grow.

http://www.themarketinglady.com/

Marketing on a Tight Budget

Lack of funds to do marketing is a common one with small business owners. Marketing is a much needed expense, but when your funds are low it is difficult to find ways to promote your business. When I first started The Marketing Lady, I was on a really tight budget as well. I had to find creative ways to maximize my dollars. The most successful way for me has been Pay Per Click Search Engine Marketing. I budget an amount each month that I am willing to spend and each time someone searches Yahoo and Google with key terms related to my field, money is subtracted from my account with each click. While you may not have the budget for monthly radio, T.V. or print ads, there are several low cost to no cost ways you can promote your services.

Flyers and brochures are affordable and can be used as a direct mail piece, placed in your information packet, or used during a tradeshow. Creating a news release and sending it to the media when you have some news worthy information is a great way to get free publicity. Be careful though. The media only wants releases that have a clever angle or a hot topic. Networking is your opportunity to qualify prospective customers, build relationships, and promote what you have to offer; best of all it is Free!

An online directory is like the phone book, but online. It contains categories of topics with listings of products and services. Most directories are free and you can include a website link for an additional fee. An e-newsletter promoting your services is a very effective way to reach your target market as well as potential clients. You can choose to send the newsletter weekly, bi-weekly or monthly, but be sure to include any special offers or discounts that are available. Always get permission to send an email newsletter to a customer.

Well you have it. Several low to no cost ways you can promote your business. So if your budget is low or you’re just getting starting, consider some of these marketing tactics to get some exposure for your business.

The Marketing Lady welcomes all marketing related questions and comments. You can email your questions to tmarketinglady@yahoo.com. Your response will be posted here on this blog, so check back regularly to read your answer. Due to spam problems, The Marketing Lady recommends that you type Marketing Question in the subject line and begin your letter using the salutation Dear Marketing Lady. The Marketing Lady is a small business marketing coach and consultant. Her website is www.themarketinglady.com.