This presentation teaches entrepreneurs and small businesses how to strategically market their company or organization from how to use the basic tools of marketing, to how to identify, create messages for, and deliver messages to target markets. Presented by Ellen Didier of Red Sage Communications, to the FastTrac class at Women's Business Center of North Alabama.

1. Reaching
the
Market

2. What We’ll Cover Today
1.
How
to
develop
clear
brand
messages
2.
How
to
do
the
basics
of
marke<ng
3.
How
to
further
define
target
markets
4.
How
to
be
strategic
with
your
marke<ng
5.
What
it
looks
like
in
ac<on

3. What We’ll Cover Today
1.
How
to
develop
clear
brand
messages
2.
How
to
do
the
basics
of
marke<ng
3.
How
to
further
define
target
markets
4.
How
to
be
strategic
with
your
marke<ng
5.
What
it
looks
like
in
ac<on

4. Define your brand identity. Get
beyond your services list to what
makes you different – an elevator
pitch could capture this.

5. Spy on your competitors:
What do they say about themselves?
How are you different?

6. Focus on talking about WHY
you are a better choice
 We can help you grow your business
 We can help you streamline operations
 We can help you expand your capabilities
 We can help you make better products
 We have the best customer service
 We have the most experience
 We have the lowest price (be careful with this)
 We are local

7. GET BEYOND THE SERVICE LIST!
Paid marketing won’t work if you
haven’t clearly spelled out why people
should consider your company.
Developing clear brand messages
SECTION REVIEW

8. What We’ll Cover Today
1.
How
to
develop
clear
brand
messages
2.
How
to
do
the
basics
of
marke<ng
3.
How
to
further
define
target
markets
4.
How
to
be
strategic
with
your
marke<ng
5.
What
it
looks
like
in
ac<on

9. Have a professional website
 This will serve as the central hub providing the
most complete information about your
company and directing people to social media
channels.
 Make sure it conveys your brand and
messaging
 Is it on par with or better than your competitors
in terms of design and quality of content?

10. Make sure your website
clearly presents brand
messages and services
 Don’t let your uncle’s neighbor’s son’s
girlfriend do it – you have options!
 Ad Agencies/Web Development
companies/Freelancers
(will they be there for you after it is built?)
 You!

11. Low budget?
Build your own website
 smallbusiness.yahoo.com, GoDaddy.com,
Homestead.com, squarespace.com
 Big Commerce, 3dCart, or Volusion for
ecommerce sites
 Benefit: low cost and can include
applications like photo galleries
 Drawback: depends on your time and
writing skills, cookie-cutter design

12. Make your site Mobile friendly
Building a site with Responsive Design is now an option - or
build a separate mobile website that can detect access by
mobile phones

14. Create a professional handout
 People don’t read
 Business cards or rack cards may be
enough if you have a good website –
primary purpose of many print materials
today is to drive to web or social media
 Include testimonials, if room permits
 Use low cost VistaPrint.com templates

15. Hundreds of designs by industry

16. Hundreds of designs by industry

17. Network! Network! Network!

18. The 3 Rules of Networking
Don’t heavy sell
It is like dating - ask questions
about them! (But watch for openings
to share info about yourself and your
business)
Don’t worry about how many people
you talk to, just make sure they are
good conversations

19. Send out Press Releases
 Search “How to write a press
release” online
 Has to be newsworthy – launch
new products, announce
events, new staff, new account,
big project, awards
 A few times per year, if you are
lucky

20. Use Social Media

21. What can you talk about?
 Company announcements
 New customers or completed projects
 New staff or staff stories
 Awards or achievements
 Customer stories
 Related business or community news
 Unsure? look at what others in your industry
are doing

22. It is about ENGAGEMENT (and SEO)
WOW!
DID YOU
HEAR?
AWESOME!
COOL!

23. Cross share
content (and
have your
employees
share too) to
make it all
work!

24. CAUTION: Don’t start anything
you won’t continue long term

25.  Great free (or inexpensive) tools
for this:
• CrowdBooster.com
• TweetDeck
• HootSuite.com
• My new favorite: www.bufferapp.com
Schedule ahead:

26. NutshellMail.com

27. Make your existing
customers feel special
 Quarterly phone calls or
e-newsletters
 Welcome notes, thank you notes,
holiday cards
 Purchase level recognition with
gifts
 Customer of the quarter gift cards

28. It costs
to get a new customer
vs. keep an existing
2%
10%
Customer
Reten<on
Costs
Customer profitability tends
to increase over the life of
a retained customer

29. Ask for Referrals

30. Ask for
testimonials

31. Have a professional website and a
professional handout
Drive traffic and awareness through
networking, press releases & social media
Nurture your existing customers
Doing the basics of marketing
SECTION REVIEW

32. What We’ll Cover Today
1.
How
to
develop
clear
brand
messages
2.
How
to
do
the
basics
of
marke<ng
3.
How
to
further
define
target
markets
4.
How
to
be
strategic
with
your
marke<ng
5.
What
it
looks
like
in
ac<on

33. Identify & prioritize your
target markets
They can look very different and need different marketing
approaches and messages to reach effectively.
Good marketing is not one size fits all.

34. Target market examples
 Existing customers
 Board members/stakeholders
 Homeowners
 Retirees
 Small business
 Government contractors
 Women

35. Then drill down even more
 Small businesses within a 30 mile radius,
at least 3 employees, preferably in the
following types of industries, chamber
members
 Women, age 25 – 50, in the workforce

36. Adjust your message
for each market

37. Define different targets and
develop customized
messages for each.
Further defining target markets
SECTION REVIEW

38. What We’ll Cover Today
1.
How
to
develop
clear
brand
messages
2.
How
to
do
the
basics
of
marke<ng
3.
How
to
further
define
target
markets
4.
How
to
be
strategic
with
your
marke<ng
5.
What
it
looks
like
in
ac<on

39. AUDIENCE
PRODUCT/SERVICE
MESSAGE
BEST
WAY
TO
REACH
General
Business
Branding,
print
design,
web
design,
marke5ng
&
social
media
consul5ng
We
can
help
you
be
more
strategic
with
your
marke5ng
so
you
get
results
Networking,
public
speaking,
sales
reps,
referral
program,
social
media
Economic
&
Community
Development
Organiza5ons
Web
design,
retail
recruitment
guides,
presenta5on
materials
We
can
help
your
community
aDract
the
aDen5on
of
site
selectors
and
retailers
Industry
Tradeshows,
sponsorships,
referral
program,
e-­‐
newsleDers,
blog
Exis5ng
Customers
All
services
–
with
a
focus
on
new
services
Don’t
forget
we
can
help
you
with
a
wide
range
of
services
Direct
mail,
referral
programs,
e-­‐
newsleDers,
calls
List each
Audience…
…and the service/
product you want to
provide each
…and the
message you
want to tell each
…and the
best ways to
reach each
Build your marketing strategy

40. What are your options?
 Associations and advertising opportunities
 Sponsorships
 Newspapers and local magazine ads
 Trade magazine ads
 Online advertising
 Networking – Chamber, WBCNA,
HASBAT, etc.

41. What are your options?
 Radio
 TV
 Billboard
 Social media
 Blogging
 Direct Mail
 Press Releases
 E-newsletters
 Speaking
engagements
 Promotional
products
 Etc. etc.

42. How do you choose?
 What can you consistently deliver? Is a
monthly e-newsletter realistic?
 What can you afford?
 Biggest rule: Have a presence in as
many places as possible within your
budget: a small ad four times is better than
a big ad once
 Spread out your visibility over time

43. Develop your 12 month plan and budget
Do date/pricing research for print ads, events. Then plug in around those.

45. Determine the best approaches
to deliver your message to
each target market, multiple
times throughout the year,
within your budget
Being strategic with your marketing
SECTION REVIEW

46. What We’ll Cover Today
1.
How
to
develop
clear
brand
messages
2.
How
to
do
the
basics
of
marke<ng
3.
How
to
further
define
target
markets
4.
How
to
be
strategic
with
your
marke<ng
5.
What
it
looks
like
in
ac<on

47. Red Sage Strategy for Economic
Development Market
 Association membership in EDAA, NAIDA, and SEDC
 Three to four conferences per year
 Booth and sponsorships at conferences, be a speaker
whenever possible
 Rack cards – one for web, one for marketing
 Direct mail – database from association
 LinkedIn participation
 Quarterly E-newsletters
 CommunityResults.com

48. Materials for Economic
Development

51. Red Sage Strategy for
Small Business Market
 WBCNA, HASBAT, Energy Huntsville & Chamber
participation in Decatur and Huntsville – regular networking
 Public speaking
 Ad in Decatur Chamber newsletter
 Weekly blog, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
 Commitment to update website and SEO
 Press Releases
 Award entries

52. Materials for Small Business

54. How do you know
if your marketing is
working?

55. Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted,
and the problem is I don't know which half.
- Lord Leverhulme (British founder of Unilever)

56. Ways to track results
 Train your staff to ask all new callers – how
did you hear of us
 Traditional advertising (radio, print ads,
direct mail) tie in a trackable offer – bring
this in for a discount, mention this ad etc.
 Google Analytics, social media metrics, e-
newsletter metrics
 How many people tell you they saw your ad
 Sales volume or inbound calls volume

57.  Be consistent with your elevator pitch
and core messages
 Do the basics well and consistently
 Be strategic with target markets
 Spread out your efforts with a variety
of activities over time
FINAL REVIEW

58. Bottom Line:
You don’t have to be perfect.
You just have to be better
than your competitors.

59. WE ARE DONE!
1.
How
to
develop
clear
brand
messages
2.
How
to
do
the
basics
of
marke<ng
3.
How
to
further
define
target
markets
4.
How
to
be
strategic
with
your
marke<ng
5.
What
it
looks
like
in
ac<on

60. Download this presentation at
www.slideshare.net/ellendid4
Please connect with me!
www.RedSageOnline.com
twitter.com/ellendidier
twitter.com/RedSageAL
facebook.com/redsage linkedin.com/in/
ellendidier

61. Facebook = personal and
friendly

62. LinkedIn – your online resume
and business network

63. Ask for testimonials

64. Search for and actively participate in
industry groups locally, nationally,
internationally

65. LinkedIn groups are a great way to
monitor buzz and trends – and
contribute content

66. Create a page for your business

67.  Rapidly growing in importance
 Gen-Y and tech savvy participants
 Some industries more than others
 Search Twitter and “research” what
people are thinking about things (or
saying about your brand) – great
focus group
 Post daily or multiple times per day
Twitter

68. Using # and @ to
increase visibility
 Use @ to mention an organization or individual
by name – this shows up in their feed (and is
very desirable) @RedSageAL
 Use # to highlight topics to show up in searches
such as #PromDress #Marketing #Huntsville
 Create your own #hashtag for an event or
promotion such as #RiverFest2012 or
#SageAdvice – use to create buzz at an event

69. # and @ in action

70.  Small (but growing) audience
 At a minimum, duplicate the posts you
are posting to Facebook or Twitter – but
best to build out like microsite – allows
photo galleries, videos, services pages,
more information than Facebook
 For some local businesses – may be
best way to show up on page 1 of
Google!
 Populate with positive reviews!
Google+

73. YouTube – seriously consider!

74. Blogging