Emily Porter Gives Marketing & PR Tips and Tricks at Women's Association

BASIC MARKETING TIPS & TRICKS
Emily Porter Presents to Association of Women Business Owners

NOVEMBER 11, 2007, Richmond, VA – Emily Porter, Principal of Porter Positioning, today presented marketing and public relations tips and tricks for entrepreneurs to the Richmond Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners.

“There are plenty of low-cost ways to gain publicity for your company, products and services,” Porter explained. “Of course, most activities require time, experience and expertise, so consider outsourcing initiatives that you aren’t ready to handle. Do your research first to understand your strategic objectives and develop practical tactical plans that can be honed as you gain insight into their performance.”

Below are a few tips, as well as a strategic and methodology diagram.

Loyalty-Building Tools

eNewsletter: Send eNewsletters to customers and prospects with brief, insightful information. Include a call to action. Don’t overdo the frequency or you will train people to not read your materials.
Loyalty Specials/Referrals: Give your best clients a “deal.” Reward them for their business and for giving you referrals.
Events: Arrange get-togethers for customers, contacts and partners.

Public Relations

Press Releases: Create opportunistic newsworthy releases that speak to seasonality and trends.
Content: Link to or create articles for your website.
Speaking Opportunities: Participate in events such as trade shows, professional organization meetings, clubs.

Social Media

Blogs: Contribute to blogs as a commentator. Look for blogs that are relevant for your geography (Yelp, Yellowpages.com), industry (vertical & horizontal) and topics of interest your customers (Eons, ThirdAge).
Professional Communities: Create profiles on LinkedIn and ZoomInfo.
Get Creative: Flickr & YouTube for photos & videos

Live, In-Person Networking

Remember, anyone can be a prospect or know a prospect!
Join professional organizations, like NAWBO).
Join a charitable board… or two. Customers want to do business with companies that reflect their values.

Ensure Brand Experience Consistency

Review all touchpoints and make sure your brand is integrated and reflected in the total customer experience, from the way your hire and train to your product packaging, website messaging and service delivery. Below is a chart to develop a customer-focused business plan.

Customer/Market-Driven Plan with Sense & Respond Approach

Market Analysis

Quantitive Analysis

Strategy

Planning

Program Devt

Sales Support

Implement

Evaluate

Differentiators

Market / Customer Research

Competitive Analysis

Challenges

Customer Profiles

Market Sizing

Prod/Service Performance

Operational Metrics

Win/Loss Analysis

Business Case
& Innovation
Brand Devt & Positioning
Prod/Service Portfolio
Pricing
Distribution Channels

Road Map

Customer Profiles & Use Scenarios

Sales Process

Market Requirements

Set Milestones & Goals

Marketing Plan:

Lead Generation

Customer Acquisition

Customer Retention

Launch Plan

PR/Events Plan

Sales Training

Service Training

Success Stories

Presentations, Collateral & Sales Tools

Lead Capture & Follow-up process

Execute on plan

Document processes

Ensure brand consistency

Review milestones

Evaluate market /
customer response
Assess need for changes
Evolve & Adapt