If you’ve walked through any type of trade show, you know that if someone is going to get your attention, his booth must either dazzle your senses or really have something specific you need. Most of the time, companies are selling products or services that consumers don’t necessarily know they need. When preparing to promote … Continue reading “How to create an awesome trade-show presentation”
Focus News
Look beyond boundaries
What are the boundaries of your business? Is your business limited by geographic boundaries? Do you direct your company’s sales efforts toward only a few industries or markets? Who would think a Middletown company known for professional garment cleaning would send a van every day to places as far north as Roscoe or some 50 … Continue reading “Look beyond boundaries”
Use professional pizazz to promote your business
When choosing one company over another to engage in some type of purchase or service, you will likely weigh the potential vendor’s substance, qualifications, reputation and ability to provide the right product at a fair value. But sometimes the best companies make the costly mistake of not creating compelling presentations and proposals to help their … Continue reading “Use professional pizazz to promote your business”
Auto-dealer group crafts instructive p.r. campaign
There’s no doubt about it. The days of a GM and Chrysler dealer in every major town are over. The elimination of 1,000 GM and 789 Chrysler dealerships over the past week is just the beginning, as many more cuts are expected. There are lots of good reasons why moving quickly to change the business … Continue reading “Auto-dealer group crafts instructive p.r. campaign”
Customers’ testimonials good tool for credibility
Since starting this column in March, I’ve spent a lot of time promoting the virtues of third-party credentialing by attaining news-story placements in the media. But for most businesses, earned media alone is not enough. When developing paid advertising campaigns, the use of testimonials also brings desirable third-party credibility to your marketing messages. Any business … Continue reading “Customers’ testimonials good tool for credibility”
With training, staff can be your best marketers
Last summer, I took my wife and two daughters to Disney World to celebrate the July Fourth holiday. Yes, I was crazy enough to brave the almost 100 degree weather with kids that were just 3 and 1 years old. It’s was a lot different since I last saw Mickey and Donald as a kid. … Continue reading “With training, staff can be your best marketers”
Be smart with resources when sponsoring events
I receive almost a hundred event-sponsorship invitations a year from not-for-profit organizations asking my firm to sponsor everything from galas to golf tournaments. I’m sure this sounds familiar to most company heads and business owners. Sponsorship levels include placements like golf-course tee sponsorships, journal ads, special listings on invitations and even big-ticket opportunities costing up … Continue reading “Be smart with resources when sponsoring events”
Enlist grass-roots support early
There were merits to the New York Regional Interconnect project recently abandoned by its sponsors. It was the first serious project put forth since the blackout of 2003 to prevent one from happening again. It was a blackout that crippled New York City, the Hudson Valley, and the Northeast and left 55 million people without … Continue reading “Enlist grass-roots support early”
GM ads seek to soothe public’s fear of buying
So if you’re selling popsicles in a snow storm, nobody is going to want to buy any. Right now, in the midst of a recession blizzard, consumers have turned a cold shoulder to buying new cars. It’s no big secret. American consumers are mostly afraid of taking on new car payments and then losing their … Continue reading “GM ads seek to soothe public’s fear of buying”
Give everyone reasons to return to your site
You are interested in doing business with a local company. So you check out their website. This company’s website design was clearly a creation from the late 1990’s, looks amateurish and is so generic you can’t tell what services the company actually provides or if the owner is in China. Game over. It is a … Continue reading “Give everyone reasons to return to your site”