Stand Out From The Crowd

In challenging business climates such as the one we are in right now history often tells us that the companies who find an edge, a certain point of differentiation, will typically emerge victorious over those who keep doing the same thing.  Now this may appear obvious, but at the end of the day I ask any business owner out there “What are you doing differently this year?”

Those who are just trying to stay afloat often miss the bigger picture, which is when times are tough pressing down on the gas can be a good thing because when times get better your competition will be well behind you in the race.  Much of “stepping on the gas,” so to speak, can be attributed to getting the word out on who you are and what your business is all about.

So how can a business owner, striving to gain an edge, put his or her foot on the gas without breaking the bank?

When working with clients I find that, with a little creativity, we can drum up some business more quickly than one would expect.  Ask yourself a few questions to start out with to get the ball rolling:

• Who is my target audience I am trying to reach?  If you don’t have that answer then you have a lot more work to do
• Once I know this audience, how do I reach them…and not just through traditional advertising?
• How can I make an impact on my business and it’s perception with the public with a plan for the long-term?

These are just a few of the questions I ask my clients every day, because you can’t know what road to go down if you don’t have a destination in sight.  A few suggestions I find myself making when reviewing an overall strategy:

Link up with a non-profit

Times are tough these days, and the organizations in our community who need us most are suffering even more because of it.  If you are seeking an avenue of publicity for your company and want to make a difference at the same time, consider sponsoring or playing a role in a non-profit effort, organization, or cause.  The dividends will pay out not only in knowing you have helped others in need, but also in connecting with quality citizens in your community (who could be customers or clients of yours), gaining publicity for your company, and provide potential tax-savings during this time of year.  Non-profit links not only help those in need but also build a strong halo effect for your brand, giving your audience positive feelings about your organization.

Oftentimes I find myself in new business meetings with executives who will take a magazine, open it up, and point to a feature story on their chief competitor and say, “We want this.”  Usually this is followed by the aforementioned executive giving an elaborate explanation of how they are doing the same thing but better, or a list of all the things they are doing that this competitor is not doing yet.

These articles, as you would imagine, can do wonders for a professional’s reputation since potential customers and industry colleagues are the ones who read them. But as an insider I will let you in on a great little secret.   Most of these articles are the handiwork of highly skilled PR people across America doing incredible work in their industry.  These professionals are providing solid, newsworthy information on their clients to news writers hungry for relevant stories to feed their readers.  However, where some confusion lies is when that same executive sitting across the conference table from me asks the question: “Did they pay for this article?” In the case of most reputable, relevant publications these days, the answer is no.  But in some cases, and many people don’t know this, the answer is yes.

So how do you know the difference?

Have you ever picked up a magazine and noticed that each article you read about a company that is shining or doing something really innovative is followed by a large ad for the same company?  Paid for.  Or have you noticed those publications that only seem to cover the companies that advertise within their golden pages?  Paid for. How about you read a cover story that features XYZ company, then a week later when you are at a conference sponsored by the media company that owns that publication and the entire auditorium is splattered with XYZ company sponsorship logos? Paid for.

“Pay for play” is commonplace among all media formats these days, and can indeed be beneficial if you are seeking a “fluff” article or story in just one outlet.  However, the true value of a solid Public Relations campaign is that the newsworthy information you are sending to the media is sent to multiple outlets in a way that blankets your audience with news from viable, credible sources.

So how can you work with your PR person to secure an honest-to-goodness article, written by an unbiased reporter who actually thinks you are doing something worth talking about?  DO SOMETHING WORTH TALKING ABOUT.  Or at least make sure the release makes it sound like you are doing something worth talking about.

True, legitimate news can be hard to come by in an age where anyone thinks they can write an announcement and send it to the media.  Releases are an art form, using words that don’t sell, writing facts that contain all necessary details, and thinking one step ahead to help the media write their story by adding information to the questions they will follow up to ask you.

Simple for a PR pro? Yes.  Stumped? That’s why you are here on our website.  Take the plunge and discover the art of PR and how it can help your company grow.  You never know when you will actually be surprised at the outcome.

JustRED it here.

“Make it simple. Make it memorable. Make it inviting to look at. Make it fun to read.” – Leo Burnett

How to develop a focused strategy that will win new customers

Making yourself, your services or your company relevant to your target market can certainly be challenging in today’s economy.   With all of the messages flying at people every day, it is important now more than ever for organizations to focus on offering something that meets someone’s specific needs or wants.  When something that you do equals something that someone wants, you have now become relevant.

“Relevance is used to describe how pertinent, connected or applicable something is to a given matter.  A thing is relevant if it serves as a means to a given purpose.”

The following are three tips to making your company relevant:

1.  Find out to whom your business is relevant. This can be achieved through online surveys, market research, focus groups, social media and internal meetings to determine if your audience has shifted over the past several years.

2. Tailor your message to your target audience, and make sure they understand what you do and what you are trying to get them to buy or use.

Many companies often tailor their messages to their competitors or use industry language that is hard to understand.  They are missing the mark on how to make their business relevant to those who are interested.  A public relations professional can help you tailor your message to make relevance a reality and to help you achieve your goals.

3.  Make sure your firm hones in on its core strengths, and uses them to their full advantage.  Don’t try to be all things to everyone.  Also realize some audiences are more relevant and useful to you than others.  Focus your efforts on the most beneficial audience and speak directly to them, finding out what they want and making yourself relevant to them.

And here’s one more tip, it’s one that I have written about before but believe is so crucial today – be visible so your audience can find you.  Have an effective website that displays your key messages and exactly what you do, have an up-to-date LinkedIn profile so people searching your firm can find you and make sure all your marketing materials and PR outreach speak to who you are trying to reach, not those that work within your company.

JustRED it here.

“Existence is no more than the precarious attainment of relevance in an intensely mobile flux of past, present and future.” – Susan Sontag

I have received several questions recently on business relationships – building them, maintaining them and the best way to maximize them.

Take a moment to think of all the key business relationships in your life.    They might include your accountant, your lawyer, current clients, etc.  Do you have deep connections with these people?  Do they refer you business?  Do you take any time to nurture these relationships?

The one key to making business relationships worthwhile and fulfilling is to give, but don’t expect anything in return.  The more you give, the more you will get in the end.

When you meet someone for the first time, do you immediately try to sell him or her your services?  This is the wrong tactic.  Give them something useful and relevant.  This can be information, a key lead or something helpful.  Then you can build on that.

When you haven’t heard from a client or potential client in a while, figure out ways to bring yourself to the top of mind with that particular person.  You can also try to bring useful leave-behind materials when attending a networking event that might help that person in some way.  Months or years down the road, these small giving items have had much greater rewards then expected.

Next time you are thinking about that business relationship and wondering how you can nurture it, give them something useful.  The key is not to expect anything in return.  You will soon receive responses and returns that you never knew were possible.

JustRED it here.

“Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us everyday.” – Sally Koch

California has been experiencing a lot of shakes lately…of the seismic variety.  The second major earthquake hit near the border of San Diego this week, causing a ripple that was felt up as far as the Los Angeles area.  All of these sudden and quite unexpected tremors got me thinking about a lot of things near and dear to my heart:  Family…friends…my beloved pet Golden Retriever…marketing.

Marketing?  Yes, marketing.

I am often asked when is the right time to “shake up” your branding or put some spice into your PR campaign.  Or better yet, when do I take the social media leap?  Changing something that has been consistent and comfortable for your firm takes courage, as well as a great partner.

My advice on determining when the best time to shake up your marketing is if you are experiencing one or more of the following:

1)   You and your employees are bored with your branding, or you can’t even remember when your last brochure was designed.

2)   You have not updated anything or tried anything new for the past 10 years, and simply run the same marketing program year after year.

3)   Your brand no longer matches what your company’s strengths are currently.

You can also try this trick:  Take your company’s last two ads, your business card, a marketing brochure and the main page of your website.  If none of these materials match each other and you can’t tell each piece belongs to the same company, it is your year to embark on a re-branding adventure.  One of the major aspects of marketing I discussed previously is the importance of consistency.

Will 2010 be the year you stand out from the clutter and change your image?  Before the phone starts ringing off the hook, products start flying off the shelf, and work life gets too busy for you to even think about the basics, take time to develop a plan that creates a rumble in your industry both far and wide.  Your image is one seismic event that can be predicted

JustRED it here.

“What great changes have not been ambitious?” – Melinda Gates

When communicating to your organization’s audience, whether it be customers, prospects, members or colleagues, you should always consider who they are and what language they speak.  No, I am not talking about learning French to talk to your customers from Quebec (although that probably wouldn’t hurt).

Remembering your target audience when developing a blog, press release, brochure, email blast or any other marketing materials may seem obvious but is often forgotten.  Keep the language consistent (like your marketing) and relevant to your targets to ensure the message is as effective as possible.

For example, if you are a commercial tenant rep broker and your target audience is small business owners looking for industrial space, you should not speak in real estate terms while trying to reach them.  You must remember these professionals are outside your industry and need to understand what you are trying to offer and what makes you different.  Otherwise, what you are saying is just noise.

The voice of your blog should be consistent with those you hope to reach, and keep the language understandable, but not too elementary.  Explore many outlets to reach people, always keeping in the back of your mind who you are talking to.  Do not write for yourself or your company, but remember to always write for your clients.  They are the ones reading the information with the hopes of gaining something useful and innovative.  Provide this information and they will begin to seek you out as a trusted advisor or a preferred brand in your industry.

JustRed it here.

“You don’t need to buy Rosetta Stone to speak your customers’ language.” – Jen Olewinski

If your company is like many these days, it has spent some considerable time developing its brand.  Whether it is conveyed through logos, philosophies, or the values of your organization, the brand is the cornerstone of differentiation between you and your competitors.  While most would consider “consistency of message” obvious when developing marketing materials and websites, often times when companies delve into advertising or public relations campaigns the overall branding message can be lost.  This is tragic because a major goal of branding is to keep it consistent, no matter where your target audience sees you.

Think of Apple for example.  This brand has been innovative and creative since its launch nearly 30 years ago.  While ad campaigns have changed over the years (with the exception of recent efforts), Apple has always based its products and the message stemming from them, around life-changing innovation, ease of use, and logical application, all with a flair of style.  To top off this consistency is a line of products, and messages, that each syncs with each other in ways many companies would envy.

Think of this example when you begin developing your own campaigns.  The look and branding of each social media page, website, and advertisement must be consistent.  A customer or member of your targeted audience (link) should know they are on your company or product’s page no matter what site they are on.  If a customer lands on your facebook page, does the look and feel of the brand, message, and content mesh with what you have on your corporate website?  , If it doesn’t, you are not leveraging the power of your brand to its full potential.

Make sure the style of each component including the messages, language, background and photos are telling the same story and speaking the same message.  This makes all the difference when adding social media sites into your marketing plan.  Branding is key.

JustRed it here.

“Consistency is one of the most powerful usability principles: when things always behave the same, users don’t have to worry about what will happen.  Instead, they know what will happen based on earlier experience.” -Jakob Nielson

Every company should set goals for their communications outreach strategy.   Quite often small businesses, many of which already have a “marketing” plan, feel that this is already done.  However, without including public relations and a social media presence there are a lot of potential tools, and opportunities, being left on the table.

As a small business owner you may begin your outreach with a single-pronged approach, simply by paying for advertising, thinking public relations activities fall outside your budget.  Or perhaps you are not certain what public relations is and how it can help you.  Whatever the case there is always a time to start hitting the ground running, and that time is now.  And with many small agencies and consulting firms sprouting throughout the downturn, you have more affordable options than ever before.

Begin first by setting a goal.  If your company has never been featured in the newspaper or even sent out a news release, make that your first goal for 2010.  If social media outreach scares you but you are interested, discuss with a consultant about starting a Twitter or Facebook page.  They can assess the correct outlet for your targeted audience.

Secondly, set a realistic timeline to meet your goals.  Develop an obtainable plan built around the “news” your company is creating.  Are you expanding your business?  Do you plan to close a big contract soon?  You can’t send out six releases in one month if you have no news to announce, so gauge your media coverage expectations around what you feel is “newsworthy” about your company.  Does this process sound daunting?  Your PR professional, who handles these decisions on a daily basis, will be there to help.

Be patient with the process and realize consistency is the name of the game.  If you reach out to your targeted audience through multiple outlets whenever you actually have something interesting to say, you are slowly meeting your goals.

And remember to celebrate your success.  Your first story in print or 100 twitter followers is just the beginning, but something to be proud of.

JustRed it here.

“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.” – Jimmy Dean

The year 2010 is one of many possibilities. Despite the current state of this challenging business environment, there exist many new and exciting opportunities for those willing to take a risk and finally JUMP. After years of working for reputable agencies, I have learned many life and business lessons along the way. These experiences have given me the opportunity to make a difference for my clients through specialized public relations, marketing and social media services, all at a tremendous value.

Some of the amazing business relationships I have built over the years have made all the difference. Their unyielding support along this exciting new road has helped get Olewinski Group off to a very fast start. The success we have experienced thus far is astounding, and this is only the beginning.

Olewinski Group gives its clients the opportunity to communicate to the public in new, effective, and efficient ways never before thought possible. Your business has a story to tell, and we are here to help you tell that story.

There are countless companies that have sat on the sidelines waiting to make a big move. If you are one of them, then 2010 is your year to make that jump. When you do, be sure you choose a respected partner you can trust to take this jump with you. Choose Olewinski Group and you will be sure to land softly, and hit the ground running.
JustRED it here.

“To succeed, jump as quickly at opportunities as you do at conclusions.” – Benjamin Franklin