“marketing tools”

You are currently browsing articles tagged “marketing tools”.

Marketing During Economic Downturn

November 5, 2008 in Marketing by Jill at Omni | 1 comment

Marketing during economic downturn

When Economic Fears Press In, Marketing Can Shine , By Jill Schuller

Show me a business that is thriving without any anxiety in this current economy, and you will find a goldmine of eager investors at the door. The truth is every industry – retail, service, commercial, manufacturing – has been impacted in some form over the past several months. Whether you believe the reactions are fear-based or real is irrelevant. What is real is that we have decision-makers reluctant to make changes or move forward into the unknown because their customers are reacting to the economic fears.

We can all admit that the downturn brings thoughts of doom and gloom to our dreams at night. However, as in any downturn – yes, even the Great Depression – there are positive changes and inspiring ideas afoot.  

Fear creates only two responses (c’mon! remember 5th grade science?) – “fight” or “flight”.  While a business owner can bemoan the dollars lost by ignoring the problems for so long, they should instead look at the reality of the moment, and address the necessary corrections now.  For those still in the game that are fighting, the economy by now should have polarized your strategy, brought incredible clarity to what is important, and what is fluff in your business. 

Read the rest of this entry »

  • Share/Bookmark

Marketing Communication Twice Removed

July 10, 2008 in Client Services, Marketing by Jill at Omni | No comments

Jill Schuller, Omni Communications GroupMarketing Communication Twice Removed, By Jill Schuller

The name of my marketing firm has the word “communications” in it. Why? Because while considering our role and mission, it boiled down to the fact that marketing is just an exercise in communicating with an audience. All businesses communicate their strengths, benefits, and their compelling reasons to choose their company or product over a similar one. Communication is external and internal, and it affects every facet of every organization.

 

For marketing, we focus on communicating a message that resonates with the end customer. But the key to unlocking that effective message is more complex than filling out a few answers on an intake form: it relies on understanding what problems a company has to overcome, interpreting those problems, having clarity about their target audience’s needs, matching the problem up to a solution, and then finding the best vehicle to drive the message to the buyer and the buyer to the client’s door.

 

In years past, face-to-face meetings to do ‘discovery’ to develop an understanding, as well as to review creative strategies and solutions, were the only way we did business. Now because so many companies have clients well outside of a quick driving distance, we use teleconferencing and emails and text messages and ftp sites. We have a whole slew of communication tools to make things more convenient and timely, but sometimes go too far and remove us from the face-to-face contact between client and provider.

 

Which raises a conundrum: Are all the latest communication tools improving communication or complicating it? Is there any business person out there who has not, at least once, expended triple their time trying to re-explain an email to someone that may have misinterpreted the intended message?

Read the rest of this entry »

  • Share/Bookmark