Using text messaging (SMS) in your marketing

And why not? Nearly everyone has a cell phone and I would be hard pressed to find anyone who wouldn't at least take note of a specialized text message sent to your cell phone encouraging you to take part in a poll or visit a website to win a prize.

The trick is learning some of the rules of etiquette involved in this emerging marketing method. It's also crucial to grasp the most appropriate uses of the technology. Among the common possibilities most experimented with, SMS is becoming popular to accomplish a number of objectives:

1. SMS advertising,
   
2. SMS competitions,
   
3. SMS polls,
   
4. Product/service branding,
   
5. Promotion of specials and offers,
   
6. Customer loyalty initiatives
   
7. Chat engines to encourage immediate feedback on a recent company initiative
   
8. Bulk distribution of SMS messages to your existing lists
   

Mobile marketing provides retailers the opportunity to reach customers with a reminder or incentive anytime, anywhere. More often than not, it is outside of the home, which allows for the opportunity to impact customers while they are out making shopping decisions or in transit.

Text messaging is a very targeted, private medium. Because a cell phone number is a unique identification number associated with an individual person, marketers must be respectful of the privacy and preferences of users. In essence, when a person gives someone their cell phone number they are providing an opportunity to be contacted on a device that is carried in a purse or pocket, which makes for a very direct, personal communication channel.

In the example of CollegeRecruiter.com , SMS messaging was even used to a targeted list of graduating university students. An article in Media Life Magazine has described how a Minnesota-based Campus Media Group is helping its clients target the college population by sending advertisements and other text messages to the cell phones of those students. Click here to see the article.

If you're up for something that will set you apart from the rest, SMS is sure to be a technology to watch.
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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR & marketing tips newsletter by visiting www.actionstrategies.ca and dropping down the newsletter menu.

What to Say When You're on the Phone with the Press

Getting the media's attention and developing a great story is one thing. However, when you have but only 30 seconds in the best of times to convince a journalist of the value of your story, you've got to get your message right. Just as a telemarketer or sales person invests time in writing down the essentials of their sales pitch, you've got to do the same in your media pitch.

Start first with a very brief introduction of yourself. Forget telling them right off the bat why you're calling (you haven't got time!). Instead, jump right into the exciting aspect of your story. For example, 'did you know that xyz product prices have jumped in price by 50% in just the last two weeks?''

Next, it's essential you get into exactly why this little factoid is so important to their readers/viewers/listeners. This is where your advance research into the beats covered by your targeted media comes in.

It's only there and then that IF you've captured their interest, you can get into some of the other specifics such as your credentials.

Make sure ever word you deliver counts! To give you an idea of what I mean, here's a successful example script I delivered to a targeted media list:

Hi, is _________ there? This is Mark Buzan, I'm calling you tofollow upp on an interesting trend that seems to be happening in _______ (small business, HR, internet) nowadays.

More and more, people are going online to bid for the services of freelancers. This is really interesting because it means people starting out a business have a real shot at quickly accessing a clientele base. For those looking for an economical way of meeting their needs, they now have the opportunity to have people from all over the world bid on their project but in the inverse way of Ebay.
http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.spell.gif
Did you get the release from FUGUS.com?

They're new and Canadian taking on the bigger established business of elance.com.

Is this something of interest? I could arrange an interview with Chad Karroum - a Canadian, the innovator of this site who has launched two other successfulul online ventures.


Have any comments or questions? I'd love to hear them!
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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR & marketing tips newsletter by visiting www.actionstrategies.ca and dropping down the newsletter menu.

Taking Your Lobbying to the Provinces

Most important in your government relations the further way you get from lobbying Ottawa and closer to local levels is one simple rule.

Think locally--before you act globally. As an advocate for a cause or a business, you can most likely have the best leverage with your own legislator, then with legislators representing other ridings in your province. Normally, if you want a bill sponsored or amendments made, you would go through your own legislator. Try getting municipal (and school board members if applicable) leaders on board. Because municipal leaders most often have a closer link to provincial legislators, they may provide a useful link in getting your agenda pushed one step further.

Second, do your homework. To be an effective voice you need to know where policymakers stand on specific bills or even particular funding programs. In some provinces such as Quebec, MNAs (Members of the National Assembly) even have specifically set aside budgets for various non-profit and infrastructure programes. If you are aware of where they have stood on these issues, you will be a step ahead of the gaqme.

Through your efforts, you'll identify key advocates, with a variety of viewpoints, who work in the public eye and behind the scenes.

To learn more about the policymakers and their positions,

* keep track of what officials say in the media;
* attend meetings and hearings (or obtain copies of transcripts or summaries if necessary);
* directly request a policymaker's statement of position; and
* learn the names and numbers of appropriate bills, their sponsors, and the rationale for support or opposition;
* check the World Wide Web pages many legislators now maintain.

Third, just as at the federal level, make sure you've registered your activites with the appropriate provincial lobbyist registration commission. Here are the links to a few of Canada's lobbyist registration agents:


Ontario
Office of the Integrity Commissioner

Nova Scotia
Registry of Lobbyists

British Columbia
Office of the Lobbyists Registrar


Newfoundland and Labrador
Registry of Lobbyists

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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly public affairs newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the newsletter menu.

Using Video & Great Photos for your PR

There is little doubt that a well thought out story is what makes most assignment editors' lips chop at breaking a new angle. However, in the years that I have been in the industry of PR and marketing communications, I have seen many potentially great client stories passed up for one simple reason:

The story was not backed up with great visuals. Unless you are looking to pitch your story to radio, this is often the forgotten and second most important aspect to consider.

Let's take the example of newspapers or magazines (or even many online publications). If your organization has a pressing story to tell about its product or a crying issue that needs the public's attention, do you have any professionally developed photos? Providing a professionalphoto of the CEO may be one option. If you're using a current affairs angle to launch your issue into greater publicity, can you suggest a great photo angle that in itself tells a story? More often than not, journalists will be either accompanied by a photographer or send one to your location after interviewing you over the phone.

In the case of television, this point is even more important. Because television stints need to be compacted into such short periods of time, assignment editors are looking for video cuts that stimulate the eyes and ears of the viewer. For example, would a television news cut on a local car accident be the same without a camera crew on site filming? Of course not!

In developing your press releases and especially your media kits, be cogniscent of these important aspects. A little attention to these forgotten details can score you some big coverage of television and in the major written publications.
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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR & marketing tips newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the “newsletter” menu.

Using Craigslist in your Internet Marketing

Cold calling is not only one of the most difficult things to do, it also takes too much of your time, time which can be better spent in front of prospects.

So what do you do? There is still a need for cold calling, but it should only be part of your overall prospecting equation. Until you make business contacts and connections and have a wide business network, try some free online resources which can help you. The following is my list of online marketing methods which you can try. None of these on its own will generate enough business for you, but taken together it could give you a good start. Best of all, all these suggestions are free. So take a half day and try these:

1. Post a free classifieds ad on craigslist.org. Craigslist is ranked the 41st biggest website in the world (by alexa.com). What this means is that millions of people visit the site every month; that is, millions of potential clients. So if you’re a lawyer, a financial consultant, an insurance broker, a real estate broker, a contractor, or you sell anything at all, there is category for you to post a free classifieds ad. Classifieds ads posted on craigslist.org stay there for 45 days, so you only need to post once every month and a half. But even better is that these classifieds ads find there way into Google search results. So, even people that are not specifically searching for your product or service on the actual Craigslist site may be coming across your ad through search engines.

2. Create a free profile on trade-pals.com. TradePals is a directory of business professionals, entrepreneurs, sales people, and trades people across the U.S. and Canada. It is categorized by city and business category. The website provides sales leads to its members. Basically, you create a profile and place it in the proper city and category. So let’s say that you are an engineering consultant in Miami. You create a profile and place it in the engineering category in that city. If someone from Miami is searching for an engineering consultant and sees your profile they can contact you by filling in a contact form and you will be notified by email that someone wants to do business with you. TradePals allows you to post a photo of yourself. Take advantage of this option as profiles with photos are viewed more often.

3. Create a free profile on MySpace.com and join in on the discussions in some of the business groups on that website. Myspace is populated mostly by teens and younger adults, so the audience may not be your target market, but there are some mature people using the site too so it’s worth a shot. The good thing is that this website is ranked #28 in the world (by alexa.com) so a lot of people find there way to this site.

4. Create a free profile on ziggs.com. Ziggs allows for a comprehensive profile and also places it into categories. But instead of a directory style approach, it uses a search option. For example, you can search a keyword “lawyer” in New York, and you’ll be shown all the results of lawyers in New York that have created a profile.

5. Create a profile in business discussion forums and join in on the discussions. By adding your 2 cents into these discussions people will see you as an expert in your given field. Include you business phone number in your profile so that people that want to contact you can easily do so. Two of the best online forums that I have found are small-business-forum.com and smallbizgeeks.com.

These five suggestions can get you started and get your name out there as a business professional. Together, these websites receive millions of visitors a day. Each of these visitors is a potential client. Building your own website costs money and advertising it will cost even more. Take advantage of websites that are already there for you to use. In addition to these, there are dozens of other websites that offer free advertising, from press release websites, like pr.com, to business networking websites, like linkedin.com. See what works best for you and use the services that they offer. So, while you are cold calling and prospecting in the traditional sense, these websites will be working for you and advertising your services 24 hours a day.

Tino Buntic's B2B sales career ranges from selling copiers to selling insurance. Currently, he is running his newly launched website, http://www.trade-pals.com

Using the Senate in Your Lobbying

One of the great ways to cover all your government relations 'bases' is considering the Senate. With a current minority parliament in place, not every piece of legislation passed in the House of Commons is guaranteed the safe passage it may have had in the past.

With pressure coming from the Prime Minister to reform the Upper Chamber and limit the stays of the Senior House, some senators are saying that the reforms may make the institution more powerful.

Here's an exert from a recent article in the Hill Times:



The Hill Times, June 5th, 2006
NEWS STORY
By Simon Doyle

Harper could create 'the most powerful Senate in the world': Joyal

PM Stephen Harper hopes to see Senatorial ballots in the next election, but Senators warn they'd be far more powerful than the MPs.
In a week when Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he hopes to move ahead quickly with Senatorial elections, Senators warn that the plan would overturn the Red Chamber's delicate balance with the House of Commons, creating a radically different Upper Chamber that would be partisan, more powerful than the House of Commons and over-represented by central Canada.

"We would be the most powerful Senate, probably, in the world," Liberal Quebec Sen. Serge Joyal told The Hill Times in an interview. "You have to see the overall operation of the institution and its full powers before you say, 'Oh, we'll just elect the Senators and it's going to function smoothly. As I mention to you, it's the law of unintended consequences. You do something that may seem small but you trigger a whole chain reaction in the system."

Last week, Prime Minister Harper (Calgary Southwest, Alta.) made a first step toward Senate reform, introducing a bill in the Senate to limit Senators' terms to eight years. Senators are currently appointed by the Prime Minister and serve until age 75.

Mr. Harper's move toward reform follows on the Conservatives' 2006 election platform, which promised to create a process by which the Prime Minister would appoint Senators elected in the provinces or territories. The campaign platform also promised to "propose further reforms to make the Senate an effective, independent, and democratically elected body" that equitably represents all regions of Canada.

But after the government tabled its bill for eight-year Senate terms, critics quickly pointed out that Mr. Harper was holding back on the comprehensive Senate reform promised in the campaign, but in an interview last week with CTV, Mr. Harper committed to moving ahead with the 'consultative' Senatorial elections as early as the next federal election...
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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly public affairs newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the newsletter menu.

What's Hot in IT Services? New Procurement Opportunties!

Government IT managers and department heads have made it certain in no 'uncertain' terms that they are looking for means of simplifying the process of shared services. With so many different protocols (over 2400 mentioned in Treasury Board alone), the time to integrate them has come. Treasury Board officials responsible for purchasing IT services want to bring their current 64 servers down into the single digits.

They recognize that in a world more centred around service, service managers and service management will be more valued than ever. To reach these objectives, the Treasury Board of Canada is seeking out five requirements from the private sector:

• Open development models
  
• Open Standards
  
• Real IM
  
• IT Security
  
• AND...Reference models
  

If your firm feels up to the challenge of delivering on this, the time to strike is now while the iron is hot! The Treasury Board is actively seeking input from the private sector and comments are welcome. Remember however, that this isn't just a sales opportunity. Selling to government requires an understanding of the political environment. Make certain to lay out your government relations plan in conjunction with a solid solution to your targeted department's needs.
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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly public affairs newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the newsletter menu.

Seeking input - PR & Public Affairs teleconferences

Blogs are a great tool. They allow professionals like myself to reach out and gage opinion. For sometime, I've been considering the launch of monthly teleseminars on publicity, PR, government relations, and public affairs. I would love to hear back from you all on what format would work best.

For example, would a fee of $75 for a limited group of 5 on a teleconference be something of worth? What would you need to feel you got your money's worth? My initial reactions would be that this format would allow one on one interaction in and amongst the group.

Other teleseminars I have participated in have been free but you ended up doing a lot of listening without much opportunity to participate actively in the discussion. Thoughts?

Using Surveys and Polls to Advance Your Marketing.

There are various forms of surveys you can use in marketing communications.

1. Communications Surveys- A key element to an organization's success is how well they communicate internally and externally. Miss the important link and employee/ customer satisfaction can plummet. When communication flows, an organization flousihes. Communications surveys or PR audits, provide benchmarks for how you would like to adjust attitudes or impressions.


2. Trade show surveys-If your company is like most, tradeshows are a large part of your marketing. How though do you measure their success? When used correctly, trade show surveys can help gather valuable feedback, attract new visitors, and gather information.


3. Market Research surveys-The most common form of surveys in marketing, these surveys form the first step of a marketing plan. They serve the purpose of finding the perceptions of your brand and service. They determine whether there is a demand and at what price the market is willing to pay.

Marketing surveys don't need to be expensive endeavours either. New internet applications like Survey Monkey and Web Surveyor allow even small business owners to develop an online application with invites sent by email.

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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR & marketing tips newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the “newsletter” menu.

Stuck on Story Ideas? Try Chases' Calendar of Events

Did you know May 26 is the birthday of John Wayne? If you own a movie theatre, it might've been great to hold a John Wayne Film festival. Undoubtedly, the entertainment media would lap this up with you as the expert.

Are you a professional business or personal coach? did you know May 31st is ''What You Think Upon Grows Day''? Seriously...it is! It's a day set aside to remind people of the power of positive thinking!

June happens to be ''Child Vision Awareness Month'' - a great opportunity for optomotrists. It also happens to be ''Do it Yourself Marketing'' Month for entrepreneurs!

What's the relevance in this? If you learn to leverage even the oddest holidays and memorials, there's a good chance you can leverage some very positive publicity. Where can you learn about these holidays and the thousands of other events celebrated year-round? Chases' Calendar of Events is where it's at!

Once you have this tool at your disposal however, you still need on the layout of pitching the idea to the media.
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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR & marketing tips newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the “newsletter” menu.

Gaining Free Publicity for Your Business

Recently, I was invited to address the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce on the subject of using public relations to build business profile. I was quite happy with the results and noticed many taking notes. For your review, I have taken the liberty of enclosing the text of my address. Please feel free to ask any questions you like as some points may not be self-evident without the benefit of the powerpoint slides used.

''If you’re looking to take your business to the next step, publicity and marketing are I’m sure – a consideration most of you reflect on regularly. We all know that those who are famous can leverage their notoriety for the benefit of a business or cause.

One only has to think of George Forman and his well known grills or Jerry Lewis and his well known telethons.

But for the rest of us, I’m reminded of a quote by a US historian, Daniel Boorstin:

‘’Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers.’’
My purpose here today is to get you thinking of your marketing and business in a different light.

In fact, this morning, I want you thinking of your 2006 – 2007 plans for publicity.

I’m asking you this because I’m making an assumption. I’m assuming you’re all interested at one level or another in growing your business.

Many of you are equally aware of the importance of building credibility and a reputation. You know that somewhere down the line, this impacts on your success.

GOOD MARKETING AND PUBLICITY IS WHAT CREATES BUYERS AND SOMETIMES EVEN CLOSES SALES.

Especially, in industries where sales cycles are longer or reputation closes the deal.

Yet, despite what seems the obvious, I’ve heard stats saying that as few as 10% entrepreneurs in Canada feel they have an effective brand strategy.

This tells me that there’s a lot needing to be done in educating entrepreneurs on the path of unknown quantity to glowing success.

Today, I’m going to lay out three important arguments for your consideration.

First, most of you have heard of sales funnels. Today, I’m going to speak to you about marketing funnels. They are essentially what eventually make sales funnels possible.

Second, I’m going to explain why public relations should be an integral part of your business.

Third, I’ll detail some of the ways you can draw greater public attention to the great work you do.


The latter is why I like to call myself a magnifier. I’ve made it my mission to magnify the talents of under appreciated professionals in the eyes of their market.

Regrettably, very few businesses, organizations or even charities take the first necessary steps towards setting themselves apart.

In other words, building a longstanding and well-known brand. As I mentioned earlier, only 10% of entrepreneurs take an active role in the branding process.

But a brand is only the first step in converting prospects!

Many confuse marketing with sales as they do with marketing and publicity.

In fact, they are all very different and require a separate strategy for each.

(bring up pyramid slide)



(this slide was used to describe where PR fits into converting the general public into buying customers)

To often, I’ve seen potentially successful people give up to soon or continue in a single direction without a plan. In truth, if they had simply viewed these blocks as the key to their long-term growth, they would be much further ahead.
Virgin CEO Richard Branson stated once, "Branding is important. If you get your face and your name out there enough, people will start to recognize you.

Many people know the Virgin brand better than the names of the individual companies within the group. A young girl once came up to me and told me I could be famous because I looked just like Richard Branson!"

But you see there is something prophetic in this.

Once you have decided on the brand you’re looking to put forward, you have got to take the necessary steps to make in known.

For purposes of this session, we’ll focus on publicity or better known as public relations.

Many have asked me: ‘‘what is Public Relations?’’ Others ask, ‘‘why would I use it?’’

(bring out reasons slide)

Well, here’s ten possible reasons…

Still not convinced? How many here have heard of KPMG?

For those who haven’t, KPMG provides audit, tax and advisory services.

Their success depends on the quality of the consultants they are able to recruit. As such, it should be of no surprise that one of their main branding objectives is to be recognized as an employer of choice.

All their marketing backs up this message but what is interesting to note is that they also have an aggressive PR campaign to compliment the message.

They strategically pick the trade shows at which they present and work with polling companies to release interesting human resources stories to the media.

They link their strategy from the top down.

Both Westjet and Starbucks are known for getting to the position they are in not necessarily just from advertising but rather good public relations.

In the case of Starbucks, they long ago got onto the bandwagon of fair trade coffee.

Ladies and Gentlemen, these are very successful organizations.

Now at this point, I’m going to ask many of you to drop the regular shyness most have in terms in front of large groups.

I’m going to do a quick poll.

How many of you have a business plan? From this group, how many of you have a marketing plan? (asking to keep hands up)

How many of you have a publicity or Public Relations plan?

This is not surprising!

Yet, without a roadmap, how will you know where you’re going and if you’ve achieved any benchmarks?

More importantly, how will you know if the publicity you’re receiving fits in with your marketing objectives?

So, the first thing to do is set to work on a communications plan.

Here are the essential elements (break out next slide):

Think of your plan according to the RACE formula

RESEARCH – what’s going on in your industry?

• Think of every possible story angle from which you could pitch story ideas to the media
• Research your target market. What is it about them that’s interesting?

ANALYZE – What kinds of activities are most likely to appeal to your identified market? What trends are likely to occur in the next 5 years?

• How will you approach them? Will it be through:

o Media?
o Tradeshows?
o Events?
o Articles?
o Sponsorships & Charities?
o Speaking Tours?
o Traditional advertising?
o Online PR and blogging?


This stage of the process is very important.

COMMUNICATE – once you’ve analyzed the environment, it’s only then that you get down to communicating.

• Who will speak for your organization and when?
• What procedures will you have in place with your staff when the press does come calling?

• What are some of the techniques you will use?

o (Pull out Chases Calendar of Events) Is there anything you can say about yourself that’s interesting? Use the media as a friend. Remember, the exchange is simple:
ß You give good story, they give you free publicity
ß Find an interesting anecdote on the calendar and pitch your expertise on the subject to the journalist responsible for a given beat
ß Keep tabs on the stories covered by every journalist you can and build relationships. Don’t be afraid to call them up if AND IF you think there is a genuine story. Don’t be afraid of bothering them and be patient
• (Point to Leo’s quote on slide)
• (Next- point to Mike) Just as in networking, it’s about building relationships
(Switch to RACE slide)
o Are there trade shows you can tour?
o Ever thought of getting involved in or sponsoring a charity? I am sure many of you do. But how many of you have a corporate giving strategy?

The bottom line is – GET CREATIVE!

EVALUATE:

So you’re getting publicity…

Is it working?

How will you know?

Develop your strategy to include focus groups, polling or even review if the natures of the clippings you’ve received are more or less positive than when you started the campaign.

Remember, your image is everything. Everything you do or say is public relations.

My message is essentially that as entrepreneurs and leaders in associations and organizations –

You need to think of marketing and publicity in separate lights. They are all essential and need to be done simultaneously

My most important message to you is that it is never too late to build a public relations plan. Put it into place for 2006-2007

The result will be a roadmap for your brand and your prosperity.

You notice an empty plate in front of you. It represents a clear slate for your reputation. In other words, a fresh opportunity to build a name for yourself

To do this, you need to be equipped with knowledge

By dropping your business card on this plate, I’m offering you a free subscription to my monthly newsletter on tips for building your marketing and PR efforts

Now imagine if after 12 months you were able to implement just 12 publicity ideas, where would your organization be positioned?''

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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs and marketing communication consultancy. He has developed stellar marketing plans for numerous clients. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR & Marcomm tips newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the newsletter menu.

New Challenges in Selling to Government

According to Ian Bennett, PWGSC’s A/Assistant Deputy Minister, Acquisitions, the GoCM will end the old, fragmented and costly system of purchasing where many items were bought on a “one-off” basis.

Apparently, through this process the department is looking to also save time by giving departments access to goods and services through electronic catalogues. The hope is that this government-wide enterprise system will ensure common adherence to purchasing policies and regulations.

The project is currently in the process of seeking approval from Treasury Board to implement the GoCM in partnering departments and agencies.

While this process may seem innocent in itself, my contacts in private industry have expressed concern. Namely, how will these services be qualified? With a greater concentration into an anonymous database, will small and medium size entrepreneurs have the same ability to set themselves out from the competition? Will they know who they are competing against?

The concern is especially coming from Ottawa SMEs in the hi-tech industries. Highly dependant on government purchases, grouping hi-tech services into one commodity may put them in the same field as IBM or Microsoft. A David vs. Goliath situation? Who knows? The truth is yet to come out as news from Minister Fortier and Minister Baird are still forthcoming.

Often, the path to trouble is paved in good intentions when it comes to government reforms.

My suggestion? Check out your nearest industry association group. Get them to seriously plough through the challenges these reforms will play. Make certain there is a concerted effort to identify the stakeholders and put your lobbying strategy to work immediately. Once reforms are put in place, it can take a long time before they're changed again.
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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly lobbying tips newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the “newsletter” menu.

The Essential Elements of a Marketing Plan

The most effective marketing plans include:

1. Analysis of the Environment. This analysis should include a review of the competition in your market, what infrastructure you have in place and need, how will you deliver your value proposition, and most importantly...Who are your customers


2. Fundamental Marketing Strategies & Marketing Mix Strategies.


3. Implementation and Control means. The latter is particularly important in the evaluation phase of your marketing. Make sure your measuring efforts have a means of being isolated from external factors.


4. Financial Forecast. What kind of a budget have you established for your marketing campaign this year? What financial returns (if any) are you expecting on your marketing?

Take the time today to thoroughly think out what objectives you are seeking in your marketing. Understand that the principal reason you undertake marketing is to build brand recognition. Finally, make sure to consider the publicity you will need in conjogation with your marketing.

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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs and marketing communication consultancy. He has developed stellar marketing plans for numerous clients. You can subscribe now to his monthly PR & Marcomm tips newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the “newsletter” menu.

More on PR Evaluating

The most fundamental - and least costly media measurement - is to evaluate the impact of PR outputs - measuring the effectiveness of the work done.

Measurement of PR essentially falls into three categories:

* Outputs - measuring the effectiveness of the work done. Who did we reach? Did it convey the right messages? Was it done cost efficiently?
* Outcomes - measuring changes resulting from our communication. Did we create greater awareness? Did we change attitudes? Did our target audience change their behaviour?
* Business results - how did the PR help the organisation achieve its business objectives?

Measurement is currently a hot topic in the industry where there is a whole industry of individuals and firms selling measurement tools - and most of them relate to measurement of outputs.

Typically this measurement will cover:

* media reach - number of media, number of readers?
* message delivery - did the story deliver the pre-determined messages,
* what was the tone?

The advantage of this is that helps tell the organisation using PR whether the communication of their messages is reaching the desired target audiences. The disadvantage is that it is only measuring the organisation’s communication and taking no account of competitors.

The second level of media measurement is the equivalent of the traditional advertising ‘share of voice’ approach.

This tracks the organisation and its competitors. It provides the advantage of knowing how much media coverage and of what type it obtained relative to its competitors. It is more costly, and time consuming, than the first level, but not markedly so.

In a very competitive marketing environment, it’s essential for organisations serious about their PR. Combined with the first level it provides most organisations with a good evaluation tool.

Bottom line: investing in some form of evaluation diametrics makes sense! One source I've found interesting at a reasonable price is Survey Monkey.

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Mark Buzan is the owner of Action Strategies, a public affairs & marketing communications consultancy. You can subscribe now to his monthly lobbying tips newsletter by visiting www.action-strategies.ca and dropping down the “newsletter” menu.

Tying your agenda to the Budget & recent Throne Speech

...Obviously, take a quick synapsis and see how exactly your priorities fit in with those of the government. In the simple analysis of things, it goes without saying that if your goals fit in with the Conservatives' priorities, you stand a reasonable chance of success. Make sure your communications plan and subsequent efforts are in no uncertain terms, clear on the match your position takes with that of the five priorities.

Also, as the government is likely to take a focus of shorter term objectives, look into where your organization's priorities lie. Can you prioritize your own wish list? For example, is the solution you're offering one that could reasonably come about in a short period of time? In other words, one that could bring a swift result within at least a year or two? With the Conservative Party in a minority government position, their lifetime expectancy is no likely to be more than 18 months. Party operatives will be anxious to show Canadians that they accomplished a number of objectives.

If your priorities are not necessarily laid out in the budget or the Speech from the Throne, don't despair. Do your research. Look into past commitments from the Conservatives and remind them (tactfully and diplomtically) how following your agenda, will still keep them in line with their stated positions.

Put your emphasis on what aspects of your plan will most likely gain support from the opposition parties. The government will need their help to pass anything. Something that will pass the House easily is sure to be a winner for your cause.

Pay close attention to the agendas of ministers and their speaking engagements. In the case of Chuck Strahl, the agriculture minister, significant budgetary and policy commitments were made in the weeks leading up to the Throne Speech despite very little mention of agriculture issues in the party's priorities. These engagements can give indications of possible openings from which your organization can benefit.

However, in terms of direct contact with ministers offices, be mindful of the recent trend of very centralized communications coming out of PMO. Ministers and their staff may be more gunshy about publicly endorsing one position over the other without approval first coming from the Prime Minister's office. It may be fruitfull to simultaneously run your program by staff in PMO.

Throne speeches, new government & all that jazz

Well...big news from this end. Action strategies continues but for the next forseeable few months, I'll be working directly on Parliament Hill with a new backbencher MP, Pierre Lemieux. This time working from the government side of things, I'll be able to provide insight from a much different perspective on things. Continue looking for interesting commentary and insight on public affairs issues and PR practices.

No No's in Marketing

1. Exaggerate your claims: Sooner or later your hype will catch up with you. It’s bad for business to underestimate the intelligence of your potential customers and if you do sell them something that does not work then they will tell others and a bad reputation and demands for refunds will follow.
   
2. Not testing: Make sure that our ads are effective. Just think of the TV ads that are very memorable, but you can’t remember the product that was being advertised. Monitor the response from your ads and make changes as needed. If you are getting loads of traffic but no sales – that’s a message to you – your sales page is not working. If you have an ad or article that gets a lot of click thrus then find out why? What was different?
   
3. Expect immediate results: Responses to your ads increase the more they are seen. Many people will see your ad but not need your services at the time – but if you are consistent they will know where to look when they want you – provided that you ad is still there of course!
   
4. Not making the best use of unpaid advertising. Make yourself into an expert, provide press releases, write columns, offer advice in forums AND always, always leave your name and web link. These are all the essentials of public relations!
   

by Lee Lister

For these and other ideas, make sure to visit the Action Strategies website

Using Effective Public Relations to Attract Investors

Here are a few considerations to put in place so that potential and current investors are attracted to the natural value of your company:

1. Monitor online forums - Streamed all over the Internet to hundreds of potential investors, any savvy investor will be on the look out for the newest development or innovation that could catch on like what iTunes did for Apple. The forums you monitor should be archived, so the reach to the investment community is extended long beyond the date of any event or product lauch you hold.
   
2. Targeted your message(s) to a specific industry sector and present in-depth content from keynote speakers and corporate executives. In an environment saturated with information from the media you can grow your shareholder base by communicating your message directly to a live audience of investors by making a CEO's speech available on the company website.
   
3. Build relationships with reputable stockbrokers, venture capital and investment banking firms. In most major cities, angel investor associations are also an excellent group to reach out towards.
   
4. Make sure your corporate fact sheets are professionally written and designed. The Corporate Profile should become an integral part of your overall Investor Information Package.
   

Digg.com, a competitor to traditional news media?

Recently, I attended a ZONE5 event held through OCRI (www.ocri.ca). Presenting before the group was an expert in new techniques in electronic communications and marketing. What I found most interesting about the presentation was a mention of a new website: www.digg.com.

What is digg? With digg, users submit stories for review, but rather than allow an editor to decide which stories go on the homepage, the users do. The more readers ''digg'' what it is you have to say, the further up your story gains attention. Could this present a challenge to the traditional means of pitching stories? Who knows!? My guess is that this could form one other avenue for the practice of public relations and gaining publicity for professionals and companies.

The message is sure to get out over time. Action Strategies (www.action-strategies.ca) is sure to watch this and may even develop means of leveraging this kind of service for its clients. Stay tuned!

Canadian Subsidy Guides

One of the key features of interest to many non-profits, municipalities and associations with whom I have worked has been "Where and how can I get money from the government?"

Just with any lobbying effort, the challenges in this regard can be as steep as any GR effort. In fact, long gone are the days when provincial and federal governments were the cash cows of the 1980's. Nonetheless, there are tools out there that can help a municipality or non-profit move one step further to getting government assistance. One such tool I have come accross is the Canada Subsidy Guide (http://www.canadabooks.net/).

This guide and the many others I have used in the past have been enormously helpful. That being said, don't count on these books alone as your means to finding help. Once you've identified a source, there's no guarantee you'll get it. You will still need to develop your government networking skills to make it happen!