Atlanta's Marketing Center

Social Media as a Game

Here's an event I think would be interesting to attend.  Trevelino Keller, an Atlanta public relations firm, is hosting a breakfast seminar on Wednesday, November 12th around introducing companies to social media.

They've designed a platform called SocialStatus, which takes a game board approach of educating on the ins and outs of this emerging topic.  They've assembled several partners around the social media concept including public relations, social surveys, digital media, and social media advertising.

Social media is upon us and I believe will play a big role in commerce going forward.  I think this game concept is a easy, fun way to learn more about it and recommend you attend.  The cost to attend is $25. More details on the event are below.  To register, contact Robert Clarke, rclarke@trevelinokeller.com.

Date:	Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Time:	8:00am - 10:30am
Location:	The View at Kingplow Arts Center
Street:	955 West Marietta Street, Entrance #7
City/Town:	Atlanta, GA

Take Me to Sonoma! Deadline today.

 I wanted to give you a very quick heads-up on a great marketing opportunity.  John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing wants to help you create your marketing plan in person...and in one of the most beautiful places - the Sonoma County region of California!

The event includes two transformative days with him and the folks at E-Myth Worldwide Thursday, November 13 and Friday, November 14 to develop the marketing and lead generation systems that will take your business to the next level.

The problem is that the discounts for this event end today, yes, today.  Sorry about that.  But if you register Today for the Marketing Intensive Seminar, you'll get 25% off the regular price (a savings of over $373 that can help cover your travel costs). The seminar price includes a delightful Sonoma County Winery Dinner experience on November 13.

Use special purchase code EBMK1108 by midnight tonight (October 27th) to receive your 25% discount. That's $1121.25 per person ($1495 regular price). Act Now!  http://www.e-myth.com/seminars/ducttapemarketing

PS - All participants also receive a copy of the new software Marketing Plan Pro powered by Duct Tape Marketing

The Killer Proposal

The really great proposal seems to have largely gone by the wayside for many small businesses. And this is a shame because for businesses that sell custom, higher-ticket items (such as services), the advantage of delivering a good proposal and a poor one or none at all typically means getting the business or not.

A good proposal leads the prospect from the problem to a recommendation in a logical and orderly manner. It signals to the prospect that you’re a professional who cares and has taken the time to think through their issue and deliver a solution.

The secret many professionals and companies don’t realize is that proposals are really easy to develop now. You can get a proposal template online, customize it with your logo, include general information about the company, then save and simply alter the prospect’s situation in each for all future proposals.

The key to a good proposal is the “Statement of the Customer’s Concerns”. By simply restating the issues that the customer is having along with their most important criteria in selecting a vendor (which you need to inquire), your conversion rate will increase substantially.

Consider the impact of good proposals in your sales conversion ratios. If you typically close 4 out of 10 prospects and you could close 5 out of 10 through the use of a good proposal template, how much more money would you be making from that one success?

Acquiring a good proposal template is easy and there are many options. Microsoft offers a couple of free ones through their online center. I also suggest looking at the Siebert Group (www.persuasionselling.com). They offer RFP software as well as a simple template package. The template package costs just $20 and is easy to use and set up. I highly recommend that you include effective proposals in your marketing/sales process for greater returns.

Getting Found on the Internet

It used to be (just a few years ago) that you could put a website, add the name to Yahoo and be able to be found pretty easily. 

Not any more.  Now you have to know how to be found using search engine optimization techniques.  "Search Engine Optimization" and the folks who now make a pretty nice living off of just that are skilled at being able to make your site visible to those you want to see you (your target market). 

I've found costs range anywhere from about $1000 for 'setup' and $100/mo to tens of thousands for upfront and $5000/mo for larger corporations.  If you don't have the time to do it on your own, I suggest that you find a good search engine partner to help you bring prospects to your site.

The bottom line is that search engine optimization is getting to be a more and more important for small businesses.  After the work is completed, it still takes a little while for the directories to accept the changes.  Even then, there's no guarantee that you'll see the traffic you desire.  (Although at this moment, there is a good opportunity at the local level to be seen and be found.)

For those that have more time or have an internal resource, there are a couple of great books on the subject.  One is by Dan Thies called the Search Engine Marketing Kit for $197.  Another is Aaron Wall's SEO Book for $79.  Additionally, there are online training courses that are a little more pricey such as Robin Nobles and John Alexander's Search Engine Workshops that range from $995-$1295 and Kalena Jordan's Search Engine College.

Whatever you choose, I encourage you to invest in this because just having a site up without driving traffic to it minimizes your reach greatly.   There's no way around optimizing your site.

Investing in your Business, Investing in Yourself

I typically find that the goals of business owners are one in the same with their personal goals.  That is, if the business does well, then the business owner does well.

I have a couple of thoughts on that.  The first is that as business owners, we all need something else in our lives...a family, a hobby, etc. which really enhances our productivity.  I suggest that it would be wise to compartmentalize your goals into five areas of life... vocation, financial, relationship, health and spiritual.  Just like a portfolio, you can evaluate and monitor each without one flowing negatively effecting the other, yet enhances when positive.

But let's face it, the fact that our business does well impacts us to a great extent.  And taken further, I believe that the ultimate leveraging tool for the success of your business is effective marketing.  By taking an objective, goal-setting vision of the business and using marketing as the tool for getting you there, you achieve your vision.

I've heard stated many times by business owners that nothing they have ever done has provided the return on investment anywhere near as good as investing in their own business.  Why is this?  It's because you know your business inside and out.  You know who your target audience is and what their needs are.  And you know how to do what you do.  By spending the money with an intelligent marketing approach, the returns on those dollars will outperform other vehicles.

The question is this... are you investing in your business?  Are you putting money into the ultimate leveraging area of the business, marketing? 

How has your business done as compared to other investment vehicles?  Do you have a marketing budget?  What percentage is it of your total revenue?

Architecture Marketing

One of the best books for Architecture Marketing I've found is Harold Linton's appropriate titled Marketing for Architects and Designers.  Linton understands and welcomes the change in marketing within the architectural field from the older tactics to new, multi-media approaches.

While both in the same "building sector", architecture and construction marketing are worlds apart.  Construction marketing deals to a large degree with positioning and networking, whereas marketing in the architectural and interior design areas have a lot to do with branding.  Architecture has a lot to do with the visual element, so the marketing materials need to reflect that elegance and sophistication.

The book is not so much a how-to as it is a guide of what established architect firms have used to generate business.  He includes dozens of examples of direct mail pieces, websites, and print ads.

Interestingly, the tactics Linton suggests follow closely with the Duct Tape methodology of developing a corporate identity package (Duct Tape's "marketing kit"), then using that as a basis for ensuing tactics.  And the tactics that architectural firms have used to become successful include direct mail, website/digital media, email marketing, and print ads.

Are you with an architecture firm?  What are the most effective tactics to drive business for you?  What is the challenge?