Referrals! Many times we don’t think that referrals really matter and were missing out on a big part of the game. Referrals are the meat and potatoes and they make a big difference. Let’s take an example here. We are a risk manager somewhere in a big organization, let’s say something like a school district. [...]
Today, I want to talk about PR milestones. These are little things that we only detract know how good of a job are doing with our advertising in our public relations plan. This can be done very easily by simply tracking things such as mentions in newspapers newsletters magazines websites things like that. There are [...]
Our next topic is one that’s always fun. Public relations. Here’s where we deal with the media. Since this series is based on micro marketing, we would typically focus on the media that our company generates for its employees, such as: newsletters, invitations and the like. But what we need to do here is think [...]
Great, so now you have a whole list of all the places that you can advertise. what we need start to do now is think about all the milestones that we need to achieve in order to reach her goal. For example, we can’t place an ad in the newspaper without first designing the ad. [...]
Okay folks, were going to jump into a new subject. Don’t worry, we just finished up a very short section on product service innovation and pricing, which we really didn’t get too much into the pricing. Not so much that it doesn’t matter but is simply not something that we are highly concerned with in [...]
Great, so now we have started to think about all the products and services that we have to offer. Now let’s look at how we are going to break those services out to our customers (employees). See, we can’t take a skeptical employee and immediately give him/her the annual safety award and we can’t take [...]
Ah, the good news is that we are now going to sink our teeth into some meat and potatoes. It’s time to talk turkey. Products & Services. We really need to step back and start to think in terms of what we offer. We have to remember that we are not selling outside the company, [...]
Fonts – like anything else, convey messages about your department. Fonts can be masculine, feminine, bold, meek, elegant, goofy and many more things. What font are you using? What is your current font saying about your department. Is it conveying the right message? In addition to your font choice, you need to consider the spacing [...]
Logos. This is most likely out of your control if you work for a larger company, but if you are starting out, then you have to opportunity to put some thought into this. Picking a logo needs to convey many traits – gender, stability, complexity, brightness, luxury, classic vs modern, and so on. The best [...]
Colors and more colors. Are topic for today is Colors. If you are just starting out then this topic will apply to you, but otherwise, this is most likely set in stone by the larger company that you work for. But, just so you know, do some research on the colors that your company has [...]
Our next step is to define the core branding elements – or more appropriately, the physical and electronic items that can carry our brand. Think about that FedEx blue and orange box that you get in the mail. Or the brown UPS envelope… Got the idea – simple, yet effective. So, what are your core [...]
Great, now we have some of the basics down, but how are we going to measure our success? Let’s look at some key indicators that can help us. Each orgnization is different in what they want to measure, but remember what the famed Terri Norris of ASSE says – “what get’s measured, get’s done”. Your [...]
Hope you didn’t eat to much candy yesterday. Did you get a chance to think about your internal statement? Good, now it’s time to put the polish on and buff this mutha out. Let’s go PC for awhile. We need to write a tagline and short phrase that says it all, all while conveying your [...]
Happy Valentine’s Day folks. Now let’s get to work on a new area – messaging or core strategy. First, let’s look at an internal statement that only you and your department staff are our going to use, know and never reveal to the outside world. This is the statement that makes you get up in [...]
Now it’s time to wrap up all that remarkable differentiators stuff into a compact, to-the-point statement about what makes your department different. Need a little help? We offer a 24 hour turn-around service on all contract reviews and we guarantee our information to be correct are your money back…
Okay, let’s look at your actual differentiators. These are items that make you different – things that you stand out on, lead the crowd, etc… These may actually be things that you want to do that you don’t currently do. What makes you different? Is it your expert knowledge – your fast turnaround time? Is [...]
Okay, now let’s look at your model competitors. These are the folks that do everything that you wish you could do and they do it better, faster and with more frills than you can imagine. You don’t have to look far nor wide. Just right there. Heck, some of these competitors may even be some [...]
Sorry folks, we had to take Superbowl Sunday off. I think you understand. But, let’s get back to it now. We are still trying to figure out our Remarkable Difference here. To do that, we need to look at some indirect competition. These are the folks who don’t necessarily do what we do, but our [...]
So, now we know a little bit about our competitors – at least who they are. But do we really know them? Have you ever stopped to think about why our customers like our competitors? Let’s dive in a little deeper with some competitive analysis. In this section we are going to try to size [...]
Now we are going to move into the next section – your remarkable difference. Let’s start by looking at our competition. Do we have competition in our own company – you betcha. You also have competition outside your company. Let’s say you are a community college or university or even a school district. Your are [...]