Public Relations: A Necessary Tool in Your Marketing Kit

Interviewing businessman or politician, press conferencePublic relations, by it’s most basic and simplistic definition, is using media contacts and exposure to make a person or business famous. It’s an important facet of any marketing strategy, and is, unfortunately, also one of the least practiced and understood.

So, what are public relations? Well, it’s basically an effort to influence the public or target demographic in some way. This could mean drafting a press release, pitching media or coordinating media outreach for an event.

The key to an effective PR campaign is understanding what IS a story and what is not a story. This can be a tricky task if you have no experience working with media. But there are a few guidelines that, if followed, may help you better how to navigate these muddy waters. Continue reading “Public Relations: A Necessary Tool in Your Marketing Kit”

Top Three Advantages of Video-Conferencing

Businessman video confrencing with colleguesThe business world thrives off of communication. In many instances, the failure of a business can be traced back to a lack of communication between its different divisions, and an inability to execute its mission effectively. Businesses, small or big, need to find an effective option when it comes to communicating with different levels of management. A popular format that many businesses are turning to is video-conferencing.

Video conferencing has been a staple of the corporate since the 1980s, and its use has slowly perfused into the small business across America. If you are convinced that video-conferencing is right for you, the reasons below will help persuade you to make the switch. Continue reading “Top Three Advantages of Video-Conferencing”

Which Key Elements Are Present in Every Small Business Success Story

People at a party talking to eachotherIt is the dream of most entrepreneurs to hear that their business has become the “next big thing” in the eyes of its customers. For most business owners, this is the single driving force behind everything that they do. All of the long work weeks, sleepless nights, stress-filled days, and agonizing decision-making are to make their dream become reality.

Unfortunately, reality does not typically work like that. In order to have your very own small business success story, one must put in a lot of effort, time, hard work, and dedication. However, you need to do so much more than that. A common element in small business success stories is that the owners did more than just put in long workweeks. There are key elements which play a very important role in helping one achieve their very own success story, and you would be doing yourself a disservice by disregarding them. Continue reading “Which Key Elements Are Present in Every Small Business Success Story”

Ten Keys to Customer Loyalty

Young couple agree to the dealThe goal when creating a customer is to give your customers an unexpectedly positive experience that keeps you and your product at the top of their mind.

Your goal is to have frequent interactions with the customer, so when the time arrives for them to purchase your product again, they will think about you and your business first.

By doing this you start to add value to them that your competitors aren’t doing. This value is often the point of difference that sets you apart and stops your competitors moving in on your key customers. Continue reading “Ten Keys to Customer Loyalty”