One of the primary marketing tools of a business in an urban environment is its exterior presentation. Unlike in the burbs, where one may have to travel a distance before reaching a new store—and then will most likely go in even if it looks beat since they have gone through the trouble of getting there—in urban areas, foot traffic is high and a nice looking presentation or something that grabs attention will be remembered. Of that exterior presentation, signs are one of the most important pieces of this puzzle (aside from what can be seen in the windows if there are any).
In Rome and its surrounding environs, great care is taken to make the signage feel custom, have an impact and are made with artisan care. In many instances, this is achieved through the use of local artisans painting tiles or hand lettering the business name. In the instances where the signs were made in more of an American style, with structural lettering, impact was created by using a material that contrasts with the building façade or by raising it off the surface and putting a spotlight on it to create a shadow or lighting effect that was really striking. The most conspicuous absence however was the use of neon or signs with interior illumination.
The number of businesses that used signs with integrated lighting—that flickered and winked at you in the night, that had letters “go out” changing the store name to a dirty word—were surprisingly few. Perhaps it is due to a difference in cultural sensibilities, it could be the result of strict zoning rules or the Italians may have noticed that the added cost of electric for their signs is not offset by a proportionate increase in business. Whatever the reason, the Romans have mastered the art of standing out without glowing in the dark.
~ben
Archive for the ‘Noted’ Category
Noted :: Say Ciao to Neon Signs
Noted :: Where to Start: Building Your Brand Online Through Social Media
Building an online presence should be a marketing priority for any business – if you want to begin building your business online, you first need to grow your brand by creating a social media strategy. Creating and maintaining an online presence builds recognition but more importantly, starts a two-way dialog with your customers.
Source: artprize.org via Gayle on Pinterest
Before creating a detailed social media strategy, remember one simple statement —you can’t measure if you don’t plan. Planning your social media strategy through achievable, agreed upon, goals and measurable objectives will help determine your success and highlight areas that may need improvement. Where to begin? Start with the basics:
Identify
Social Media has done the impossible – it has given us the ability to quickly reach even the most specific target audiences. Before you begin creating content for any Social Media platform, you must first identify your target audience but it still requires effort on your part. Knowing your target audience make clear the type of content your customers want and that will be used on your Social Media platforms.
Source: Uploaded by user via Smart on Pinterest
Identifying your target audience also goes hand-in-hand with deciding the tone of voice and direction you can take on social media platforms. The voice should be that of your product service – will it be authoritative and direct? Entertaining and fun? Or inspiring and community building? Whatever your voice is, your target audience should directly correlate your tone with your brand. And more importantly, you should always, always be authentic. In doing so, you’ll build trust with your customers and they will want to further invest their time into your brand. Your ultimate goal should be to create “brand loyalists.” Once you’ve identified these core issues it’s time to…
Listen
Every successful social media strategy must start with a “listening phase.” This phase should last approximately two to three months and happen before you begin any social media efforts. During this phase, you’ll discover who is talking about your brand, what are they saying and where are they saying it. Why is this important? By listening and identifying what customers are saying about your brand, and even about your competitors, it will help gain understanding of their needs and wants – and in the long-run – strengthen your relationship with them. Identifying the conversations that customers are having – and figuring out what is important to them – it helps you develop targeted content to drive sales and encourage further consumer engagement.
There are many free ways to “listen”. Basic search engines will only take you so far – try setting up Google Alerts and try using the Technorati blog search or Twitter/Facebook searches. Using a system such as Tweetbeep will allow you to monitor conversations that mention your business with minimal cost. There are also services like Meltwater Buzz or Radian 6 that require some financial commitment, but will essentially do the listening for you. It’s important to note that while you’re listening, don’t just search for your companies name; try searching for keywords or phrases that are associated with your business, your brand and even your competitors.
Overall, listening will tells you what the customers actually wants—not just what you think they want. Although the listening phase should begin at the start of your social media strategy, never stop listening! It is the key to the success of any social media strategy.
Develop
You’ve identified and listened to your audience – now it’s time to develop your strategy. There are a few key ingredients to any effective social media strategy – identifying your core team, creating policies, (who has the ability to post and on what levels must be established upfront), determining your goals and measurable objectives and devising a plan for content.
Source: imgfave.com via Elaine on Pinterest
First identify you’re team. Your team should know their roles and what they’ll be contributing. Social Media Policies should be created for every business – if you think you don’t need one, think again. Just as you have an employee code of conduct for the workplace, one must be established for your company’s digital presence. This is something we could write, however, we always suggest running the final policy by your legal representative.
As mentioned above, determining your goals and measurable objectives is vital to any social media strategy. It’s important to note that goals and objectives are two separate items. For example, your goal could be to increase your company’s brand awareness through social media. The objective – or result – would need to be a measurable factor such as establishing a Facebook page and getting 100 fans within 1 month, or increasing your blog traffic by 20% within 6 months. Establish and measure both. Continue to monitor and adjust as needed.
Content is key! Through listening to and establishing your target audience and tone of voice – creating a content plan shouldn’t be as daunting. For example, we recently developed a social media plan for a staffing agency – through listening and determining their target audience, we decided their content should include general information about their company including locations, contact information etc., job postings, blog posts, and candidate. We also included general news about the job market and industry trends that the company specializes in. Posting information such as new office locations, employee announcements and holidays messages should also be included and will “humanize” and authenticate the business. Action-oriented content is also key. By a hosting contest, offering promotions, and asking questions, customers will engage more in your conversation. Engagement is the key.
Establishing a Presence
Once you’ve developed your social media plan, you’ll need to create and setup your social media platforms – start a blog, create a Facebook page, Twitter account, or Linkedin Profile (we advise a mix depending on your business or service). It’s important to keep your target audience in mind when you’re building these platforms and always be focusing on your goal and objectives.
Once you’ve decided upon the type of content you’d like to include on your social media platform, developing a content calendar is a great way to stay on track. We rely on them! Mapping content out in advance – on a weekly or monthly basis – will help you provide a consistent, strategically planned stream of information that will engage your target audience. Consistency is so important in any social media platform – staying consistent will help you stay relevant. Some of our clients retain us to help them plan and provide content so decide if you need help or have the staff power to stay relevant and consistent. If not, you either need to re-evaluate your goals and scale back, or get help from your marketing communications agency.
Source: radian6.com via Aaron on Pinterest
Actively Engage
Be sure the content you are using is actively engaging the consumer. Always leave your target audience wanting to come back for more. Don’t post items they can already get on their website – give them a reason to click on your social media site – and stay on it. The rewards are many!
~Allyson
Noted:: Jump Start Your Sales!
Looking for turnkey creative initiatives to boost sales or jumpstart your next marketing initiative? The process can be daunting if you get bogged down in the details. Here are a few quick tips to help make your job a little easier…
Refresh Your Online Presence
Be sure your website is updated and attractive. Make it work for you! You only have a few seconds to capture a consumers’ attention – strong marketing messages and enticing value propositions will go a long way!
Benefits – Why Is This Good For Me?
Marketing materials should focus on the benefits for the customer, first. Zig Ziglar, a world famous sales consultant states, “emotions drive buying decisions”. While the consumer wants to feel like they are using logic to make their purchase decisions, the trend is proving they truly go with their gut. Present consumers with benefits that make them feel good both about their purchase and about themselves.
Renew, Reuse, Recycle
Take the opportunity to revamp outdated marketing materials, update sales collateral and refresh your message. No need to start from scratch – it is ok to reuse when appropriate. Rule of thumb – if you are going to recycle be sure to check your marketing materials for updated campaigns, taglines, images or communication. You don’t want to confuse your consumer message in an effort to be budget conscious.
Alternative Communication Methods
It can be very costly to design, develop and print collateral material for brick and mortar outlets. Consider communicating an offer or message via online, Social media, e-blast etc. This will save on production and labor costs, which might allow you to increase the incentive for the consumer.
Non-Profit
Customers truly like to support those who give back. Companies seem to be trending away from non-profit initiatives in light of this difficult economy, however, be different, set the bar and do what is right. Keep in mind – a company is only as strong as their customer base and those that surround and support it. Because nonprofit organizations are large contributors to strong communities, when consumers see a company is supporting a non-profit, it provides an unspoken peace of mind. It makes a consumer feel good to know that they have done something for someone else.
Happy Selling!
~Tracy
Noted :: Pick a Network, Any Network
With social media platforms constantly growing and changing, business need to adapt quickly to decide which types of new media will be the most beneficial to their social media strategies. So, how does an organization choose which social media platform works best for their company? Before creating a detailed social media strategy, remember one simple statement —you can’t measure if you don’t plan. Social media strategies often fail because companies do not create achievable and agreed upon, goals and measurable objectives – these will help determine your company’s strategy and success. Without establishing goals and objectives, it is nearly impossible to determine which social media platforms your company needs to establish a presence in.
Now for the million dollar question – do companies need to establish a presence in all social media networks? The answer is no. Companies should consider which social media platform would most benefit their strategy and objectives. Once these objectives have been clarified then the platforms that will be most effective should be chosen. Here is a short list of the most popular social media platforms and their benefits:
Facebook has become more “brand-centric” by creating its timeline pages. It’s also a great place to start for companies that are new to social media. Facebook is one of, if not the, most popular social media network for brands and companies. It can really jump start a companies social media initiative for a few reasons – with over 800 million users and growing, brands have a greater chance of establishing a following on social media. It’s also a great place to share content-which encourages user engagement and when a company is looking increase brand awareness, customer engagement is key. The new brand pages are easy to use and has new features that will help any brand including a new admin panel, where brands receive notifications when followers interact in their pages as well as see analytics for their page.
Many companies who have a Facebook page, also have a Twitter page. While Twitter and Facebook social media initiatives are generally lumped together in most companies – Twitter should be geared more towards news, announcements, events, special offers or promotions. For example, retailers benefit from using Twitter by announcing new products, discounts and exclusive events in real-time to their consumers. More people are getting their news from Twitter then from press releases and news websites, so it’s important to gear any Twitter campaign towards this angle. However, this could be changing within the coming months as Twitter will be rolling out it’s brand pages to additional companies – stay tuned!
Linkedin is a site that is used heavily for business networking as well as recruitment. Having a Linkedin company profile is beneficial to companies that have information to share specifically about their organization. For example, through a Linkedin company page a business has the ability to write status updates about company news, promotions, upload press releases and share articles on relevant industry news. Your company can target specific employees that meet your businesses needs and also target other companies that would be beneficial to work or partner with. Potential employees can also go to Linkedin to research companies that are hiring. Another key benefits is the testimonial section – clients, employees or vendors can write testimonials to your company for others to view.
Pinterest is a rapidly growing social network that many organizations have been starting to use within their social media campaigns. While Pinterest does provide mass appeal, their are certain types of organizations that would most benefit from creating a Pinterest account for their brand. I have fully explored the types of organizations that would benefits of using a Pinterest account within a previous blog post – including fashion retailers, home decor/home improvement, restaurants and specialty food stores, entertainment and media and design and marketing firms. These types of organizations would benefit from showcasing their products, photography and essentially providing visual inspiration through Pinterest.
Of course, there are many additional social media networks such as YouTube, Google +, Tout, MeetUp that are sprouting up each year. If you’re looking to maximize your social media campaign, look towards your goals and objectives of your social media plan and work from there. Or you can call Elements and we’ll help you get your social media strategy on track!
~Allyson
Noted :: Are You Ready for the Big Leagues?
Retailers, much like manufacturers, distributors and brokers all have one objective – to run a successful and profitable business. At the end of the day, every retailer needs to strategically stock products that are in high demand, will sell to their customer base and be profitable to the retailer’s bottom line. Most large retailers have category managers and buyers. This “team” is responsible for overseeing the purchasing of products, finding new products and maintaining stock on those items critical to their designated department.
Approaching these big retailers can be an intimidating process. Keep in mind that most retailers are looking for the next big thing – that unique new product that will be in high demand. In addition, many of these large retailers have a centralized buying division to streamline the process. This allows them the luxury of buying direct from distributors (DSD), which is a more cost effective approach to the buying process.
If you are a company with a new product and are looking to approach the big guys there are many steps along the way but the following will highlight a few key touchpoints:
1. Research, Research, Research!
As I mentioned in my blog post last week, you have to know your retailer and your category. In addition, you should take the time to carefully research your contact person. This can be done online initially to get you started but once you have identified your contact, a personal phone call should be made to the buyer in order to understand requirements, timing, schedule a meeting and review individual retailer mandates.
2. Sales Materials and Other Requirements
Most retailers will require you to send samples, sell sheets and a marketing plan ahead of scheduling an appointment. In addition, the larger retailers will require basics like: a business license, insurance, UPC codes for the products, case dimensions and more.
3. Product Placement & Slotting Fees
While the retailer will usually determine where a product will be placed on the shelf or in the freezer, there may be some flexibility where your product is concerned. In addition, there is something called a slotting fee that many retailers charge manufacturers in order to get placement at shelf. This fee is non-refundable and is usually charged per item/per store. The smaller outlets as a rule do not charge this fee, which makes it more affordable for a new product to enter more economically.
4. Pricing
Be sure you understand pricing and how it affects the retailer. Understand the category and have a business model that will be profitable for both you and the retailer.
5. Build Relationships
Communication is key! The relationship that you establish at the outset will be respected as you grow with the retailer. Follow-up after meetings, work with the retailer to develop or utilize promotion plans, consider in-store demos to bring people into the store and move your product out the door. Know your retailers – every store is different and it takes hard work and perseverance to maintain these relationships.
Remember – getting that initial order from the store is exciting but this is just the start to maintaining a long-term partnership. It is hard work but if you can get a “big box” to buy your product, the results can be very rewarding!
~Tracy