Category Archives: Publicity

How Should We Promote Our Boutique’s 30th Anniversary?

Products, Publicity

We’re a small boutique located in the downtown of a city of 115,000. We sell business fashion to both men and women, and our average customer’s age is between 35 and 55. We rely very heavily on word-of-mouth and have a number of loyal customers who have been coming back for 20 years.

We’re nearing our 30th anniversary of the store’s opening (in about a year). This is a great milestone that we wish to leverage. We have two post-secondary institutions in our city and have ran a few seminars for the business classes on how to dress in the workplace. We’d like to target a younger audience and are searching for other ways to market to them. Our budget is not yet defined however I would greatly appreciate ANY suggestions on how to make the most of our upcoming anniversary!!

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Jay’s Answer: Ultimately, workplace dress is mostly about success, not to make a fashion statement (for most businesses). Therefore, teach how purchasing clothing from you is really a financial investment. Conduct surveys (or find them) that show how better dressed people in the workplace get more job offers, better job offers, better pay, better professional networking, etc.

Go to where your target demographic hangs out – whether it be the local gyms, coffee shops, library, or sports arena. Connect with them there. For example, co-market with the local gyms. If people care enough to work on their body, then how much better would they look with the right business clothes?

How Can I Create A Compelling Trade Show Brochure?

Publicity, Services

I have a trade show in less than 3 weeks and am trying to develop a brochure that clearly communicates the benefits of our service in a compelling fashion.

I would like help with the messaging as well as the best approach to getting it across within the context of a brochure.

Our service aims to give franchise owners more buying power and expertise in cash management. We set up cooperative cash management groups that enable franchise owners to get better financing, investments, and banking.

The problem is it’s a completely new concept that has not been done before. What can be a complex service offering must be broken down very simply. One thing that helps is that many franchisees already work together in cooperatives for other supplies and services.

My first thought is to layout of a table with Needs and our Solutions as column headers.

Any help with messaging and its layout within a brochure is very appreciated.

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Jay’s Answer: You need a plan to get their attention, especially since you claim you have to educate them on this new idea.

First, focus on your key benefit to them and distill it down into a headline, such as:

  • Increase Your Franchise Buying Power
  • Boost Your Franchise Bottom Line
  • Our Franchise Bank Invests In You

If the title doesn’t immediately grab them, your brochure goes into the recycle pile (i.e., "doesn’t stick")

The purpose of the brochure is to get them to contact you. You don’t need to overwhelm them with tons of text/hype. Strictly talk to their pain, and how you solve it. Make sure you have a call to action – call us for a free report/evaluation/consultation/white paper/etc.

How Can I Get More Business For My Tutoring Company?

Publicity, Services

I own a small company that provides tutoring and other supports for children with special needs. I have been running my butt off for months going from place to place, but have seen little in the way of real business. I know from the feedback that I get from every professional in my industry that my business will be amazing "at some point" – unfortunately my funds are making that some point someone else’s point. I need to drum up business, but obviously am having no success. I have 7 employees who cover the gamut of services for special needs and we provide services in the home & at our (really expensive & really empty- sigh) office. I have visited guidance counselors at schools, administrators, local organizations and networking groups. In addition, I work very hard to make sure my clients are happy & that they know that we hope that if they like our services they will pass our name. I guess I am just tapped and getting frustrated with running all over town and getting no results. Any advice would really be appreciated!

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Jay’s Answer: It’s time to listen to what people need, not just push what you’re selling.

If I were in need of your services, who would tell me about you? Do you have competitors? If so, why would I choose you over them? What are the strengths of your competitors (you need to perform a SWOT analysis)? Has the school system itself provided similar services to yours in-house? Do you take any forms of insurance to ease the cost of your services?

Are there fewer numbers of special-needs children in your area?

Do you have great stories to share about children who "graduated", and the results of their learning (both for them and their family)?

Would your services be appropriate for non-special needs children as well (i.e., general tutoring)? Why or why not?

How Should I Organize A Regional Event?

Publicity, Services, Starting Out

I’m making a 10 minute presentation to answer the brief: “You have a £5,000 budget to activate your own regional event (Small Fire). What is your event concept, your implementation plan and how would you leverage it?” I’d like to know what points i should think about, what should the money be spent on, methods of promoting it, a good implementation plan and any other helpful points to make it an excellent presentation.

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Jay’s Answer: Once you have the product/service idea, focus on the marketing strategy. Who are you trying to sell it to? How does your product/service solve a problem of theirs? How much better is your product? Why should they trust you?

Once you have the strategy, figure out how to attract your target audience. It might be anything from a talk (10 ways to reduce your taxes), to a party (new moms night out), etc. The key is to match your activity with your target demographic & their needs.

How Can We Increase Shopping Mall Store Traffic?

Publicity

Like most retailers, we, a small lifestyle retailer selling premium home decor products, also rely on shopping centers. Being small, we lack bargain power. A few of our stores are buried in those big shopping centers and customers complaining it hard to find us. We have some marketing initiatives to increase store traffic, but center management won’t support saying they have a center to look after not just one particular store. Being small again, we have a tight budget. What suggestions would give us to bring more people to our shops.

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Jay’s Answer: Co-market with your fellow hidden mall gems. Instead of approaching the center management individually, approach them as a team with your smaller gems. The goal is to get people to see the mall as containing more than the "usual" offerings.

If you don’t have a budget, then consider some guerrilla techniques in the mall itself. For example, get some friends to dress to get noticed carrying bags around (or their entourage) that has your store name clearly printed LARGE on the bags with gift wrapped items.

Create in-store seminars for how to dress or find gifts for the holiday season (etc) and send out free press releases.

Just because you don’t have a big budget doesn’t mean you can’t achieve big things. It just takes a bit more creativity.

Fundraising For Social Change

Book Reviews, Clubs + Associations, Publicity, Starting Out, ,

Buy This Book If you work for (or with) a non-profit, this book is a must-read. Kim Klein (the editor) focuses on key problem all non-profits face: acquiring, retaining, and upgrading donors.

Acquiring is the process of getting new people to donate to your organization. Typically this is done with direct mail, web site asks, and some special events. The goal is to create an impulse donation.

Retaining is the strategy of converting an impulse donation into a habit.

Upgrading converts the “regulars” to give more than they have before. Typically this is done via a personal call, letter, or special “insider” event.

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Finding Donors. Did you know that in 2004, 75.6% of contributions came from individuals (11.6% of foundations, 8% bequests, and 4.8% corporations)? Or, 7 out of 10 adults in the US and Canada give away money?

Asking For Money. What’s the #1 way to get donations? Ask for them! You need to identify people who: are able to make a gift, believe in your organization, and can be contacted. Formally, you ask for letter first with a letter detailing your organization and a request for monies for a specific need, following up with a phone call, and ending with a face-to-face meeting. Informally, a phone call followed by a letter would suffice.

Special Events. A special event is a two-fer: a fund-raising opportunity plus increased publicity. During the event, there must be a pitch to let people know now is the time to donate. Consider having some friends of your organization purposely start the donation process to break the ice.

Direct Mail. Use direct mail to: get someone to give for the first time, get donors to repeat their gift, and get donors to renew their gift. On a direct mail piece, expect less than 1% response (higher quality lists produce greater response) – so you’ll need to play the numbers game. Before starting a direct mail campaign, calculate the cost of the mailing vs. the likely result of the donation to arrive at a net income per donor. There a lot of information in the book about crafting the copy of the mail piece.

This book is a gold-mine of non-profit fundraising strategy. If you work with non-profits, read it often.

How Can I Market A University Athletics Team’s Merchandise?

Clubs + Associations, Products, Publicity

I am looking to develop a merchandising strategy for a University Athletics team. Currently there is a limited selection of merchandise available, however I am looking for a method to build interest in the items already there, not develop a new product line. The challenge is the University’s teams are not very good, and as such, the attendance and participation at the games by student is still fairly small. Any thoughts… ?

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Jay’s Answer: If you want an edgy approach: have contests to modify the apparel to convey the feeling of the team by the students.

Have an anonymous student daily find someone wearing the team’s clothing, take a picture of them (for the school paper), and give them a gift certificate (for food, iTunes, etc.). This ongoing contest might stimulate new purchases if the promotion got some school-wide coverage.

Sell to alumni. They might remember the “glory days” of the teams. Offer them as part of a package for reunions.

Give them as gifts to prospective freshmen, or have a special area that tours take prospects to to get their college shirt.

How Can I Get Hotel Referrals For Local Small Businesses?

Products, Publicity

We are a small retail company that sells locally made products, souvenirs, and gift baskets. We have opened a new downtown location in a mid-size city with multiple hotels in close proximity. We have been brainstorming ideas about how to develop a rewards program for the hotels to encourage them to refer their guests to our store.

So far the only good idea we have is to give the hotels business cards with our info and possibly a discount or some sort for the customer. The card would also have the hotel name on it and when the guest comes to the store, they would give us the card and we track how many referrals have been given from that hotel.

This idea is the only functional one we have come up with. Please give any input on this idea, positive or negative or a completely different idea. I am very new to the industry and would appreciate any advice!

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Jay’s Answer: Focus on the reason for someone who’s staying at a nearby hotel to come to your store. Is it for a souvenir of their stay or a last-minute gift?

If you have attractive gift baskets, then see if there’s a public space (ideally, behind glass) in the hotel lobby that you could put your baskets in with your card.

A rewards program is just too hard to manage in your case. When someone new purchases from you, ask them if they’re staying at a local hotel, and if so, which one (and/or “How Did You Hear About Us?”). Then call the hotel (or write) to thank them for their referrals at the end of the month. If you want to make the referral tangible, gift the front desk & concierge with something you sell or a gift card for them to use (and visit your store).

Likewise, ask the local hotels for brochures of theirs to leave in your store. You can put them in a book (“Where To Stay”), etc.

Where Should I Advertise My Non-Fiction DVDs?

Products, Publicity, Starting Out

We are a small production studio that just released a series of non fiction DVDs. Our target audience is guys and girls ages 17 to 26. I am currently thinking of possible advertising avenues to place our product in front of our target audience — any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Our advertising budget is quite small at the moment, so the best strategy for us would be to start with inexpensive advertising and use the profits to move on to reach more people in more expensive mediums.

This is the current list I am considering:

  • Nightclub/Bar Bathroom Ads
  • Direct Response Infomercials, Radio Ads
  • Print Ads
  • Mall Kiosks
  • Banner ads on social networking sites

Are we on the right track here? Are there any other possible ways to advertise in malls or nightclubs? What other ways can we reach 17 to 26 year old guys and girls?

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Jay’s Answer: I’m assuming you’ll also have a website.

If your business is local/regional, the local nightclubs, malls, etc. make sense (don’t forget movie houses). But if you’re not limited, then the internet. Don’t forget free things like press releases (if you have something newsworthy/useful), sending press kits to key media influencers, and video teasers (on video sites – make sure your teasers have your website clearly listed).

How Can I Sell Advertising In Tourist-Visited Grocery Stores?

Publicity, Services, Starting Out

I sell advertising in a tourist destination area at grocery stores.Trying to get info or research to show locale business in this area it will benefit them to advertise locally and just not out of the area.

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Jay’s Answer: It sounds like the goal is to have a location in the grocery store to advertise local businesses for tourists.

First, what’s the competition for getting food & snacks in the area? You’re competing with grocery stores, vending machines, hotels, etc.

Second, the location in the store – will it be visible? How do you know?

Lastly, what other locations are advertising hubs for tourists. These are also your competition.

The best measure of effectiveness is actual testimonials. Are you existing advertisers getting business from the display? How much more business? That’s what prospective advertisers care about.