Category Archives: Marketing

How to Use Case Studies in B2B Marketing

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Business to business (B2B) marketing poses some challenges that are absent in business to consumer (B2C) marketing. For one thing, the products are not as sexy (industrial lathes vs. a designer wood bookcase or sewing cotton vs. haute couture). For another, the audience is extremely knowledgeable and extremely demanding and not even remotely easily won over.

Your products, services and professionalism play a role in their success. If you sell them malfunctioning lathes, they can’t produce their products on time. If your plumbing service doesn’t fix their pipes first time round, work continues to be disrupted. If you are late meeting a deadline, they are late for theirs.

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How to Make the Most of Your Window Displays

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Does your store have a window display? And by window display we don’t mean the dusty product offerings that have been forgotten on the window sill for the past five years. We mean a creative, eye-catching display that is changed regularly so that passers-by can’t wait to see what you’ll do next; a display that makes people want to come into your store and spend all of their lovely lolly.

What makes a good display?

  • A theme

Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween – they’re obvious themes, aren’t they? But they’re very broad and are open to generic (read boring) interpretation. Jane Porter (entrepreneur.com) quotes Noelle Nicks, who says that you need to narrow your theme if you want to make it stand out, especially on major holidays.

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6 Great (and Affordable) Restaurant Marketing Tips

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Running a restaurant is hard work. The hours are long, the competition is fierce and the chances of success are relatively slim. Restaurateurs open with big plans and close with shattered dreams, usually within a short space of time. The reason restaurants fail is a lack of customers and one of the biggest reasons customers are lacking is because owners haven’t put enough effort into marketing.

You can have the greatest food this side of a three-star Michelin restaurant, but unless people know that you exist, you’re pretty much doomed. Many people think that marketing has to involve wildly expensive tactics, like TV campaigns; but there are plenty of effective and affordable ideas that will help expand your customer base and increase customer loyalty.

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Will a Conference Boost Your Business?

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Conferences are recognised as important events, but why is this exactly? When should you hold a conference and how do you host one successfully?

First of all, what is a conference?

Conference has several definitions, but the overriding theme is one of discussion. For example, Dictionary.com defines conference as:

Noun

  1. Meeting for consultation or discussion: a conference between a student and his adviser.
  2. The act of conferring or consulting together; consultation, especially on an important or serious matter.
  3. Government: A meeting, as of various committees, to settle disagreements between the two ranches of the legislature.

There are other definitions, of course, but these are the most applicable.

Secondly, why would you hold a conference?

One doesn’t just decide to hold a conference because one feels like a get-together. There has to be a reason. Possible reasons include:

  • Publicise research and development.
  • Boost professional standing.
  • Establish relationships and forge partnerships.
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Issues Management in PR

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There is a very important difference between issues management and crisis management in public relations. Issues management is an entirely proactive approach that identifies potential problems and then monitors and manages them so that they don’t develop into real problems or crises. Crisis management is a mostly reactive approach that has to put out fires once the fan starts spraying muck.

According to a paper by Parker, Wayne & Kent, there are seven states in issues management:

1)     Monitoring: constantly looking out for emerging issues and changes to known issues. This doesn’t just look at the internal business environment but also includes potential issues with investors, boards of directors, committee members and other stakeholders, as well as managing media relations.

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Bad News for Mobile Advertisers? Not Really

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Mobile phone users (i.e., nearly everyone on the planet) will soon have the option to block the various ads that come their way. This is potentially bad news for mobile advertisers, especially considering the predictions for major mobile ad spend that are currently doing the rounds. Advertisers needn’t worry too much yet, because the app, Adblock Plus (which is available on desktops), will be for Android phones only. Still, it could be cause for concern if it proves tremendously popular and other enterprising developers put their own spin on the application. The fact that Android is growing in popularity is also something to consider.

But, for many advertisers the possibility having their efforts thwarted is neither here nor there. The important thing, the really important thing, is that they keep trying to unlock the major potential offered by the always-on, always-available mobile market.

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Exhibition Trends Come and Go

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Exhibitions stands: they’re not something you would ordinarily think of as trendy. But they are. It’s not that surprising when you think about it, really. After all, what are exhibits if they’re not the business equivalent of a fashion show or an art gallery?

Business exhibitions are a lot more than a table with some pamphlets and a pin board. They are kind of like mini interior design projects in that you have to consider layout, lighting, colour, accessories, entertainment and materials. And everything, from layout to materials, is affected by changes in technology and aesthetics.

Think about the 80s. It’s not a decade known for its style, elegance or class. You couldn’t very well take the crass and kitschy trends from 1985 and plonk them in 2012, could you? Not unless it was for a retro theme.

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Why Would You Want to Host an Art Exhibition Fundraiser?

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Several reasons, actually. Here are three:

1)     It’s a great way to raise money for a good cause.

2)     It’s a great way to increase brand awareness.

3)     It’s a great way to build positive public relations.

How do you go about hosting an art exhibition?

There are two very obvious, very critical requirements:

1)     A venue

2)     Art

Venue

You have two options when it comes to the venue: you can use your own office space or you can hire a hall. If you have very good contacts you might be able to swing an exhibition at a real life art gallery, but don’t pin all your hopes on it.

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Is Public Relations, By Any Other Name, Brand Journalism?

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We see a lot of buzzwords floating around the digital media sphere and it seems as though new terms are coined every week; one of these is brand journalism. What is brand journalism, exactly? Well, it’s an awful lot like public relations. For one thing, it’s about promoting a particular brand and keeping it in the public eye. For another, it’s about keeping brand noise positive.

You know advertorials, those press releases that disguise themselves as articles? Brand journalism is kind of like living in an advertorial world, except that it gives brands a more detailed back story; a bigger platform and a louder megaphone.

Is it legit?

Meh, as modern, abbreviated parlance would have it.

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Centre of Attention

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There are many ways to attract attention. And some people are better at attracting attention than others.

  • To attract tourist attention, Tourism Queensland placed an advert to recruit an “island caretaker” willing to spend six months exploring the land and waters around the Great Barrier Reef for £70,000. The post, labeled the “the best job in the world” would involve the successful applicant moving to a rent-free three-bedroom villa, complete with pool, on Hamilton Island.
  • Tiger Woods took part in the Dubai Desert Golf Classic and, to launch the event, organisers had him practice his tee-shot from the helipad of the world’s tallest free-standing hotel, the Burj Al Arab.
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