Create Your Marketing Roadmap to Success

You wouldn’t take a vacation without a plan, would you?  There may be airline tickets to buy, perhaps a car to get tuned up for a road trip, hotel reservations to make, someone to watch the kids or the dog, check on the house, pick up the mail….

That vital time away takes some advance thought and planning! The same is true of your 2012 Marketing Plan.

We create marketing plans for many of our clients because they find they’re spending thousands of dollars, but not seeing the results they’d like.  Part of the reason is that they don’t have a long-term plan with a consistent message and branding.

A marketing plan that defines your vision, mission, unique selling proposition (what sets you apart from your competitors), your goals, the tactics to reach those goals, a budget, and a plan of action/timetable, can help you spend your money wisely and reach your goals!

Putting the plan together should take some time and research. For example:

• Should you do a radio campaign or a three- or four-part postcard campaign?
• What media reach your target audience?
• What does each cost?
• If you have more than one target audience, what is your message to each audience?
• What social media should you use to reach your target customers and complement your traditional marketing?

Be sure to include an action plan/timetable that defines:

• What are you going to do
• When are you going to do it
• Who is responsible for getting it done?
• Include an editorial schedule for your blog and Facebook to stay on track with regular postings

Having your “Marketing Roadmap” in place early in the year gives you a much greater chance of keeping your sales on track and bringing your business up to the next level!  If we can help in any way, give us a call!

Is Your Marketing Plan Ready for 2012?

Have you updated your business and marketing plans for 2012? It’s not uncommon to wait until January of a new year to decide “this is the year I’ll plan for success and FOLLOW that plan!” But sometimes January turns into February, March, summer, fall…

Planning pays off because it maximizes your limited marketing budget! All too often we see clients spending money on various, unrelated campaigns — and feeling they’re not getting the results they should for the thousands of dollars they’ve spent.

Setting goals, doing your research, and creating a plan of action and timetable are the key to consistent results.

If we can help you create your business or marketing plan for 2012, give us a call!

And best wishes for a Happy Holiday and successful 2012!

Diane, Linda, Mary Ellen, Mary Ann, Katie and Natalie

Diane DeMarco Presents at the Maryland Women’s Conference

Diane DeMarco was one of the speakers at the Maryland Women’s Conference on Nov. 18.  “My Life My Future” was the theme of the conference, which focussed on financial issues for women, and included seminars on business and marketing.

Here’s a brief video of Diane’s presentation on “Social Media + Traditional Marketing = Top Results!”  http://bit.ly/tfGmzK.

Her presentation also covered marketing basics that are vital for both traditional and social media marketing programs.  These included:

• Understanding who & where your ideal customers are, how you can meet their needs, how to reach them
• Clearly stating your unique selling proposition
• Identifying your vision, mission, and goals (growth, quality, net revenue,  etc.)
• And then making strategic decisions about your marketing plan and HOW you will execute it – whether through traditional or social media.

For more information or a free consultation on how you could integrate traditional and social media marketing, call 301-696-8886 or email Diane at ddemarco2@comcast.net.

Branding is Critical, No Matter Your Size

Whether you’re the largest business in town or a one or two person operation, branding your business is critical to marketing success. Branding is far more than your logo, slogan or use of colors. It’s a partnership between your company and your customers to deliver a specific product or service in a specific way.

Defining that partnership with your customers is key to articulating your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). Your USP should clearly communicate the benefits you bring to your customers and why they should want your products or services above your competitors.

For example, one of our clients, Klaar College Consulting, has as their slogan and USP – Guiding You to College Success. http://www.cklaar.com/

That’s what Charlotte Klaar offers, and what she has delivered for 16 years!.

Your company’s branding is communicated in every interaction, from the receptionist to the technician to the company owner. So it’s important that employees understand how to treat customers all of the time.

Your branding and USP also need to be communicated on your website, in your ads and brochures, in your social media messages – everywhere you meet your customers!

10 Dollar-Wi$e Marketing Practices for 2012

Are you making the most of you marketing dollars?  In our experiences in helping clients maximize their limited marketing dollars, we find that far too often they don’t have a complete year-long marketing plan and budget.  Advertising choices are sometime made on the basis of how persuasive the salesperson is, or how sales were last month.

As a result, marketing dollars are often used ineffectively, or even waste!. This is the first in a series on getting the most out of your
marketing. Here’s what it will cover:

1.  Why branding is critical

2.  Creating a Marketing Plan of action/ timetable

3. Having a professional website

4. Leveraging up your offline & online marketing

5.  Staying in touch with your customers with quality information

6.  Be a wise networker

7.  Market to current customers

8. Guerilla marketer tips for big results with a small budget

9.  Don’t overlook the story-telling opportunities of news releases

10. Track, track, track

If you’d like more information right away, please contact us! Diane

Get Your Emails Opened

We all get way too many emails, and take every opportunity to hit the DELETE key!
But every once in a while you stop, and, driven by curiosity, you have to open
an email. Most likely the reason was an irresistible subject line.

Research shows that the subject line is one of the most crucial aspects of your email.
But far too often, people using boring subject lines like “Our Monthly
Newsletter.” Take as much time on your subject line as you do for the rest
of your e-newsletter or email. Give it a title that offers to solve a critical
problem for your audience, promises a serious discount on a product or service
they want or need, or offers easy-to-follow advice on improving their marketing
or lowering their taxes.

If possible, you can also test several different subject lines on a limited list
and see which one gets the most opens.

For help writing compelling subject lines (or copy), give us a call!

Dr. Donald Kress Offers Help for Hardened Breast Implants

Dr. Donald Kress, a client of Marketing @ Work, is featured in the Frederick County Times for his innovative new treatment of breast implants.  The article, titled “Frederick Physician is a Leader in Providing a Non-surgical Treatment for Hard, Wrinkled and Uncomfortable Breast Implants,” explains how “The New Aspen After Surgery Non-Surgical Treatment Program” helps with the condition.  http://bit.ly/nPjPiO

Dr. Kress has treated approximately 40 women from all over the East Coast.

“We’ve had extremely good success rates for all but the most severe (level four) cases of Capsular Contracture,” said Dr. Kress. He added that even for those severe cases,

“The New Aspen After Surgery Non-Surgical Treatment Program” does provide some relief from the discomfort.

Intern Shares Real Life PR & Marketing Ventures

Below is a guest blog by Natalie Buyny, who is entering her senior year at Penn State University, with a major in public relations.  Natalie was our summer intern, and did a great job!  She’ll continue her internship during the coming school year, as time allows.

When I first found out that I would be interning with Marketing @ Work for the summer, I was excited to actually apply what I had learned in the classroom to the real world. I would always learn about writing press releases and making media plans, and even practiced writing them in my
classes, but writing them in the real world was different. It was great to actually write a news release for an event that was really happening and send it out to the media. I was also able to get experience in researching and calling media to update media lists for clients.

One of the clients I was doing work for was Terry Mahoney and his campaign, “Walking for Those Who Can’t” to raise money for the Sentinels of Freedom. Mahoney is completing a series of hikes, and we were able to get media coverage and had an article written about him in the Baltimore
Sun.

That was probably one the best parts of my summer internship, knowing that something that I helped write and put together was well-received by the media!

Another lesson I learned in my classes was how to incorporate social media into a company’s marketing and public relations plan.  I think social media is a great, inexpensive tool to use in getting coverage for your client or organization. I opened up a new Twitter account and help manage a Facebook account for Terry as well.

It is important for companies to integrate social media with traditional media to maximize their exposure. Almost every news source has a Facebook and Twitter account, so not only can you send a news release to the news directly but you can pitch it to them through their social media accounts.

All of the things that I learned this summer were very beneficial to me. I think any student should do an internship if they have the opportunity. I was confident in myself starting this internship, but now I am confident knowing that I can apply my knowledge to the real world.  When I graduate next spring I hope to pursue a career in marketing or public relations, and to be confident that I know how
to complete every task, given the experiences I had this summer.

“Walking For Those Who Can’t” Flag Day Hike

Terry was blessed with a beautiful day for his Flag Day hike of all of the key points in Baltimore, and thankfully there were some media people on hand to help illuminate the reasons why this hike and others of the “Walking For Those Who Can’t” campaign are so important!

First, check out the excellent article by Caroline Hailey in the Carroll County Times http://bit.ly/mR2Xzq.  This details Terry & Karlos’ route, and gives a preview of his Virginia hike June 22 – 24.

In addition:

• Fox 45 interviewed Terry and will be doing a short segment on the 5 p.m. news and a longer story at 10 p.m.
• Sherry Elliker of WBAL Radio http://www.wbal.com/ will be running an interview she did with Terry from 3 – 6 p.m. on her afternoon program today.
• And ABC2 News http://www.abc2news.com/  will be featuring Terry and the “Walking for Those Who Can’t” during their 9 a.m. Good Morning Maryland program tomorrow morning.  As Terry’s pro bono PR person, I know Terry isn’t seeking any glory for himself, but he is very passionate about raising money for Sentinels of Freedom, and this coverage will help to spread the work and hopefully cause more companies, individuals, groups and organizations to donate to reach thet $60,000 mark – enough to fund one life scholarship – by the time Terry & Karlos finish their final 185-mile trek in November.

A special thanks to others who helped with the Baltimore PR effort — Marketing @ Work intern Natalie Buyny, and Maria Young, owner of Outside the Box Creative Media Services.

Social Media + Traditional Marketing = Greater Impact

Here’s an article that recently appeared in the online publication MD Entrepreneur Quarterly

http://www.bizmonthly.com/social-media-traditional-marketing-greater-impact/

by Diane DeMarco

These days, those little Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other icons for social media sites are everywhere. And while two or three years ago they were less frequently seen on web sites, much less in print and other forms of advertising, these days savvy companies know they better be on board with social media or they’re going to miss out on a big chunk of business — especially among Gen X and Gen Y consumers and businesspeople.

But wait a minute — does that mean traditional marketing is dying? Not exactly. A phone and Internet survey of 2,502 U.S. adults conducted for the Newspaper Association of America found that 52% of those surveyed identified newspapers as the more important medium in making purchase decisions, and 79% recalled taking some kind of action in response to newspaper advertising in the previous month.

That survey points out the new marketing paradigm: that the best approach is one that integrates the strengths of traditional marketing, which attempts to create a want or need in the mind of consumers or businesses, with social media, which puts the voice and power in the hands of consumers and customers.

By taking advantage of the strengths of each medium, you can better tell your company’s story, enhance your reputation and boost your bottom line. Here are five strategies to consider as you create your integrated marketing plan.

1. Define your goals.

Traditional marketing programs or campaigns typically are built around return on investment: how many people responded; how many sales resulted; and how much profit was made.

Social media, on the other hand, is about building relationships with your target clients and fostering positive conversations about your company, products or services. Although consumers are influenced by advertising, a 2007 Nielsen Report also showed that 78% trusted — either completely or somewhat — the recommendations of other consumers.

2. Think outside the box.

For a great example of a brick and mortar store using social media to gain fans, consider DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse, which blends its traditional retail ads with social media. Its web site includes links to its Facebook Fan Page and Twitter account, where it holds contests to give away shoes and gift certificates. These types of promotions have drawn 137,721 Facebook fans and 20,412 followers, who routinely sign in to compete and then post extensively about their wins or losses, their DSW shopping experiences, their new shoes and more.

Or, let’s say you own a restaurant, and newspaper ads with coupons have been successful for you. Ramp up that success by also inviting customers to visit you on Facebook, where you post about daily specials or new entrées, and direct customers to your web site and or blog where you have printable coupons and perhaps additional incentives.

Keep in mind that your social media should not be purely promotional, but also should start conversations and showcase your restaurant’s personality. You might write about your green activities or a new supplier that offers amazing fresh produce, for instance.

Social media is also an excellent way to build and promote your business’s community involvement. For instance, banks frequently sponsor nonprofit events and can seamlessly blend traditional and social media to:

• Include information about an event sponsorship in a traditional print or electronic ad, and invite people to visit the bank’s page on Facebook or its blog for more details about the event. Use the additional space afforded by a blog to extend your message of commitment to the community you serve.

• Tweet about the upcoming event; direct followers to the nonprofit’s web site as well as its own Facebook page and/or blog.

3. Maximize PR’s natural ‘socialization.’

News releases long have been one of the best ways for companies and nonprofits to bring their full message to the marketplace. Now, social media news releases (SNRs) can extend the traditional reach. Target your releases to both traditional markets and influential bloggers, and imbed photos, podcasts and videos into your SNRs.

4. Include an action plan and timetable.

This is one of the most valuable tools for planning a comprehensive marketing program. It should include three crucial elements: what you are going to do, when you are going to do it and who is responsible for getting it done. Also include an editorial schedule for your blog and Facebook to stay on track with regular postings.

5. Track how it’s working for you.

As you move forward with your integrated plan, assess whether you’re meeting the goals you set. Are visits to your web site increasing? Are visitors contacting you? Are more people visiting/commenting on your blog and Facebook? Are sales goals being met?

As your business becomes more comfortable with the integration of traditional and social media strategies, and as social media evolves, you’ll likely find new and interesting ways to maximize the potential of both.

Find links to our Facebook page at www.dianedemarcomarketing.com.