The way that we market our business has changed a lot even in the past year, let alone over the last few years, and in 2015 we’re seeing a lot of “different” thinking.

There’s more competition out there – but the good news is – there are more options to get your message in front of your target audience.

Why not surprise your audience with something interesting and new?

Here are a few of the least conventional methods we have seen in marketing recently:

Know Where Your Customers Are.
Knowing where your clientele frequents can help you figure out how to best position your marketing. Where are they going? What are they reading? What are they watching? What are they listening to?

If you can answer these questions you can find them and communicate your message to them there.

Develop Personal Connections
Coke has capitalized on it with their “Share a Coke” campaign. Consider personalizing the products that you market or arranging to have them personalized for your customers. This simple gesture goes a long way toward establishing a more personal connection.

Say Thanks In A Special Way
TD Canada Trust utilized this in their “TD Thanks You” campaign, which saw them sharing over 300,000 twenty-dollar gift certificates for their clients. You don’t have to go that big, but thanking someone by giving something back to them resonates in a special way with customers. It can be as simple as a gift-code, or a VIP program that gives reward points that eventually convert into gift certificates.

Don’t Underestimate the Power of the Internet
Have you ever seen a flash mob? It’s easily arranged and gets a lot of social media attention. Banco Sabadell is producer of one of the more famous flash mobs using Beethoven’s Ode to Joy with a complete orchestra and a background of onlookers. Internet shares have made their name pretty recognizable to many people who otherwise would not have known who they were.

Try Some Info-graphic Marketing
Though everyone is trying info-graphics, it’s important to use them correctly. Words aren’t nearly as effective as they used to be, and multimedia communication is on the rise. Info-graphics are an excellent way to explain a topic or provide information in a fun and interesting way. They also have the potential to spread like wildfire on the web via social media shares, media outlet exposure, and info-graphic directories.

Launch an Affiliate or Referral Program
Affiliate marketing is an excellent way to drive sales to your business. Try offering a referral fee to people in your locality for qualified leads. Entire companies have built huge businesses out of creating referral programs for online companies. Don’t just say “thanks” – actually give them something in return for their referral.

People Hate Ads – Unless They’re Creative
People remember when something is unique, Think & be creative – leave a lasting impression so you will not be forgotten.

Contact Debbie @ Radsick Ad Group if you are ready to think outside the box for your next marketing project or campaign – you will be one step ahead of the competition!

Learning the basics of branding can help improve communication with your customers and help separate your business from the competition.

Branding creates an emotional connection between your business and the consumer.

If you don’t tell your customers who or what you are, you are giving them the opportunity to form their own opinion.

The obvious risk here is that their conclusion might not be what you want them to think.

A brand strategy communicates the story you want to tell.

Below is a list of some common and often critical mistakes many businesses make:

Are you confusing your customer?
Your customers must know what to expect when engaging with your business. This applies to everything you are doing at your business – from the moment your customer visits your website or enters your business. From the initial first impression to when they leave & of course everything else in between.

Do you understand your customer?
It’s likely that decisions you made about your business were based on what you thought sounded or looked good. Beware – you may risk creating something that is so personal that other people won’t connect. At Radsick Ad Group we will help you make decisions based on market data – not personal preference.

Why do I need research?
Research gives your business the best opportunity for success. Research everything – the competition, your customers, your marketplace and your business model. Knowing what your brand is up against and how to properly position it can save you valuable time and costly dollars down the road.

Should I copy my competition?
Remember – you are trying to differentiate yourself from your competition – not match them. If you can’t tell customers how you’re different from the competitor, the consumer will go with the most convenient option. Give them a reason to choose you.

How are my employees valuable to my bottom line?
Hiring and training employees that are passionate and knowledgeable about your business and what you are offering or selling is key to your business success. Develop their strengths and engage their feedback. Your employees are your #1 asset – investing in them engenders their loyalty and pays back in customer loyalty.

Should everyone in my company have a say?
Inviting everyone in the company to share an opinion may delay the branding or re-branding process and diffuse the focus needed to achieve ROI. Keep those with critical approval authority to an efficient shortlist. Assemble the smallest, most essential team possible. Be sure to include a mix of levels – not just executive.

Does my company need a brand change?  (It worked before)
Today’s customers are changing faster than ever and have more choices than ever. Re-branding well means staying relevant. Assumptions made when the brand was established may no longer hold true. Analyze changes in target markets – your current model may be missing an entire market that didn’t exist the last time around.

Are you guilty of making any of the above branding or re-branding mistakes?

Not every company needs a total branding overhaul, but working with Radsick Ad Group to create a brand or re-branding strategy can help you create a consistent experience to your target audience. Contact Debbie Radsick – debbie@radsickadgroup.com

If you want to be guaranteed that you will hit your target audience then a direct mail campaign may just be your best choice of marketing tools.

Start with an accurate, current targeted list & an appealing, memorable message that “speaks” to your audience.

This will maximize response rates and increase your ROI.

Here are just few statistics:
62% of people actually enjoy checking their mailbox
59% are happy to receive mail about a new business, product or service
40% open and read their direct mail
85% of customers look for special offers, coupons or incentives
75% of your customers are likely to renew their relationship with your business
57% of recipients are more likely to remember your message compared to other marketing media

Let Radsick Ad Group help you determine if a targeted, customized direct mail campaign might be the best solution to target more customers and grow your business.

2015 holds a lot of promise for companies that are looking to improve their trade show marketing strategies and reach new customers. If you’re feeling a little behind or overwhelmed when trying to map out your 2015 marketing strategies, consider using some of these tips. While this doesn’t cover everything you should be doing, these four tips can help you jump start your marketing plan.

Mobile Users
While desktop and laptop computers still have their places in today’s business world, more and more people are working off mobile devices such as tablets and smart phones. Many of these mobile devices can handle a great deal of tasks that a regular computer can and companies are realizing the benefit of mobile devices in the work place. This means that if you’re not focusing at least some of your efforts on engaging with customers through mobile technology, you could be missing out on valuable leads. Consider adding QR codes to your exhibits or handouts so that mobile users can easily access information about your company.

Entertainment Strategies
You’ll be fighting other exhibitors throughout the hall for the attention of attendees, so it’s imperative to incorporate a trade show attraction to make your booth stand out. While there are a few different ways to do this, there are some proven methods to consider starting with.

Booth attractions such as prize wheels, games, prize give-aways or popcorn machines have proven to be successful at capturing attention and luring trade show visitors to your booth. Visitors will be clamoring around for a chance to spin a wheel or drop a Plinko puck down a board to win a prize.

Hybrid Events
While most people think of a trade show or marketing event as an in-person only event, hybrid events are gaining in popularity throughout a number of industries. Hold a webcast before you attend an in-person event and invite your customers and potential customers to attend. However, in order to be successful, you need to be prepared. If your webcast seems disorganized, your customers will think the same thing about your company and may not be so eager to visit your booth at the upcoming in-person show. Make sure to run through your webcast a few times to ensure that you’re prepared for any questions that could potentially come up during the presentation.

Big Data
It’s easier than ever for companies to collect customer data, but this doesn’t mean that they know what to do with the data once it’s been collected. Companies have the opportunity to analyze response rates to a number of different marketing initiatives, including text messages, email blasts, webcasts, interactions with sales staff, event attractions, and any other pre-, post- and at-show marketing techniques used. Use this ‘big data’ information to determine what the best way to connect with your customers is so that you can further tailor your message and trade show marketing strategies to increase your sales.

Before you move forward with show marketing in 2015, make sure that you have your plan mapped out. When you have a comprehensive strategy using some of today’s proven techniques, you’re more likely to be successful.

Brands across the globe, large and small, utilize social media to attract and engage their customers while generating a dialog surrounding their products and services. But if companies aren’t employing social media intelligence to decipher those interactions, what benefit are they receiving?

Social media intelligence takes a deeper dive into the conversations that exist online, going beyond ‘likes’ for a real glimpse into how consumers perceive a company or brand. So, how exactly can marketers utilize social intelligence to accelerate their marketing strategy and ultimately drive success?

Audience Segmentation
Part of social intelligence means that text can be scanned and interpreted by emotion, sentiment and levels of passion, whether positive or negative. This allows social users to be broken down by more than just surface value demographics like age or gender, into focus groups for the ability to tap into exactly the right audience. For marketers, this can help to create highly targeted marketing, advertising and social media campaigns, pushing them out to the right people.

Competitive Intelligence
Sure, there are ways of keeping tabs on competitors. Marketing pros can run a simple Google news search every morning, see what they’re up to on Twitter, etc. Or they could employ a social intelligence platform that provides real-time comparisons of things like consumer awareness, perception and overall sentiment across multiple organizations, brands and even product lines, making it easier than ever to know how they stack up against the competition.

Trend Analysis
Keeping an eye out for developing trends in the industry is key to creating products that people will be interested in, and marketing those products to drive sales. Social intelligence enables users to stay up-to-date on what’s happening today to develop a better understanding of changing perceptions and how trends come and go – and more importantly, why.

Customer Retention
One of the downsides associated with social marketing, is the consistently changing nature of most common and popular social media platforms. Just because a brand composes and posts a great tweet, doesn’t always ensure that their followers are able to retain the information they’ve made an effort to put out there. That’s where social intelligence can help, by providing insight into customer pain-points surrounding specific brands and products, in order to create effective retention strategies.

Identifying Influencers
The beauty of social media is that it brings users into direct contact with whomever they’re trying to impact, and offers a unique marketing opportunity for brands to reach out to and interact with their most influential followers. But how do businesses go about finding these individuals? Social intelligence platforms can help brands to determine who the loudest and most influential voices are in the online conversations surrounding their industry in order to reach out directly to those social advocates.

Brand Analysis
Marketing teams are always doing what they can to understand their place in the industry, develop new strategies for standing out in the crowd, and discern where they stand among current and potential customers alike. Brand analysis through social intelligence offers marketing teams real-time information and their brand health, while monitoring the share-of-voice within the global sphere of conversation. Social intelligence has the ability to bring marketing to the next level. Through in-depth analytics, a true understanding of emotions conveyed online, and the ability to monitor trends, both past and present, marketing professionals are able to tailor messages and understand results like never before.​
Justin Graves

Every website should be easy to use and update, should be built with SEO in mind, and should be able to grow as your business and online strategy grow.

There are numerous technology platforms that may fit the bill, so which one should you choose?

Well that will depend on what your online needs are.

This article should help you understand the choices and is designed for small and medium business.

Those with budgets in the tens of thousands typically have a few additional choices, so this is aimed typically at those in the $2000 to $10,000 price range.

Broadly, the platforms can be categorized into two groups:
Open Source and Proprietary.

Open Source Systems:
Are built and maintained by groups of interested people all over the world.
While there is typically one controlling body, they belong to no one.

Make the source code available to all.
Anyone with the skills and time can extend and modify the code and create new functionality as required.

Can be hosted anywhere.
You can host an open source web site with just about any ISP or hosting company on their servers or your own.

Are typically free – or at least the software itself is.
Customization, design, and hosting are not.

Proprietary Systems:
Are built and maintained by a single company.
Typically do not allow access to the source code, although the best of them provide an open framework (or API) that means they can be extended by others.

Are typically hosted by the company that created them, although some can be hosted elsewhere.

Typically require a license fee of some sort, although it is often built into the hosting charges.

There are pros and cons for each, and which is best for you will depend on your requirements.

Open Source:
There are a number of popular open source platforms, including WordPress, Joomla, Drupal, DotNetNuke, Mambo and many more.

Which one is best will typically depend on who you ask; every web developer has a favorite and all will tell you theirs is the most complete, easiest to use and most cost effective!

The only thing for sure at the moment is that WordPress is by far the most popular and is rapidly becoming the default standard.

If starting fresh with an open source solution you would need to have a very good reason not to choose WordPress.

So when is an open source solution best for you:

– You want a solution that is quick and cheap up front and don’t mind using a basic template design to get started. Recommended only for the smallest of businesses that just need a brochure to get started.
– You have the time and expertise to create your own website from one of the template sites (technically not quite open source – while they are typically based on WordPress they lock you in to a proprietary host).
– You have a unique idea and need to build custom functionality into your website.
– Your online presence is your business and you will be investing all of your time enhancing, tweaking and improving your website.
– Your blog is your business, in which case you really should use WordPress.
– You are comfortable making choices about technology including add-ons and enhancements and hosting. The great thing about open source is there are hundreds of companies making add-ons, the bad thing is at some point you will need to evaluate and choose.
– You (or your technology partner) have a plan to keep the software updated for bugs, security issues and enhancements.

Key issues with Open Source:
You get what you pay for.

Building a website on an open source solutions is not free, but basic template sites are very cheap. They also look cheap. Expect to pay well for a good, unique design.

Support for, and upgrades to the software are typically not included.

While there are thousands of developers in the open source community enhancing the software, none of them are working on your website.

Unless you have a support agreement with your developer, your website will remain on the version it was installed on, complete with any bugs and security issues.

If you want access to the latest enhancements you will typically have to pay your developer to install them.

While you have access to the source code, the design may not be yours.

Template websites in particular have this problem, and you often cannot move the design to another host and definitely not to another platform.

You also typically cannot use the design on printed material or elsewhere.

If you are getting custom design make sure you own it and not the designer/developer (applies equally to Proprietary).

The majority of web developers using open source solutions are not actually software developers.

While they may be experts at customizing the design and working with various modules, they will not be able to develop truly custom software or fix bugs and other shortcomings. They will be reliant on the community for that.

In theory you can move your website to another developer if unhappy.

In reality this can be difficult due to design ownership, customizations and modules, and because each developer has their own preference for and knowledge of the various systems and add-ons. Moves that do not involve a redesign and/or rebuild are rare.

Pick the wrong software and in 2-3 years time you might find the community have moved on and development has stalled (hence the recommendation above to choose WordPress which is unlikely to lose favor any time soon).

Proprietary Systems:
Like open source, proprietary systems come in many, many flavors.

A decade ago just about every software developer that did web design created their own CMS (Content Management System). Most of these have disappeared over the years as the open source solutions have improved.

The key issue with proprietary systems is that you must be comfortable with the company behind them.

They must have the size and expertise to not only keep your website running, but be able to invest in the continual development of the product.

You also need to understand that you probably can’t move your website elsewhere, so at least make sure you have ownership over the design and content (a tip that applies equally to open source solutions).

A Proprietary solution will be best for you if:
– Your online presence is important to you, but not necessarily your whole business.
– Your online presence is your business, but you just need to focus on the content not the technology and your functional needs are met by the software.
– You do not require custom development other than a great design.
– You have no interest in the technology behind it and just want to take care of the content (and the rest of your business).
– You don’t want to deal with updates, bugs and security issues and want a full service hosting plan.
– You don’t want to deal with decisions on which modules may be best, or deal with issues like upgrading the platform and finding that 3 of the 16 add-ons you use also require an upgrade to continue to function.
– You want to just pick a solution and a partner and have it tick away in the background for the next several years, but also have the technology stay up to date.

Key issues with Proprietary solutions include:
Companies and software solutions come and go.

You must have confidence in the company offering the solution and that they will both be around and able to continually invest in the product.

You need to ensure you have ownership and access to the content and design should you decide to move on for any reason (applies equally to open source solutions). Many companies will not provide this by default.

You may have little option for software enhancements or customizations or they may be very expensive.

You are likely to be limited to the standard modules and functionality available, so make sure the solution is comprehensive and developing (even if you don’t need all of it now a comprehensive product suite is a good sign for the future.).

Many of the proprietary platforms have simply not kept up with changes like social networking and Google’s many updates to search algorithms.

Many of them are simply woefully inadequate and/or difficult to use – solutions aimed at vertical markets (like real estate or plant and machinery) are often in this bucket as they made a grab for market share early on and then simply stopped developing.

Again, make sure your technology partner continues to invest.

Hopefully that helps.

They key with open source solutions is to pick both the right technology, and the right partner to assist you with it.

At the moment the technology favorite is WordPress, and there is no shortage of companies working with it (some very good, and many that struggle). For those on a very tight budget or who need highly customized software we recommend WordPress.

…according to a couple handfuls of business experts!

A clear, comprehensive business plan is one of the most critical components of any business. But without an equally well-crafted elevator pitch, an entrepreneur may never get around to showing his or her business plan at all.
Whether you’re looking for investors or just trying to get people interested in your business, your ability to explain what makes your business unique and hook your listener in less than a minute could make or break your success. Entrepreneurs and business professionals shared their best tips for writing and delivering a great elevator pitch.

1. Start off strong
“Eighty percent of your success will depend on your opening line. It must snag your listener’s interest and make them want to know more. Do this right, and your prospects will follow you, wanting more.” – Bert Martinez, founder and president of Bert Martinez Communications

2. Be interesting, but authentic
“While creating interest and value is key, remember to be authentic and realistic. Making outlandish claims about your company will eventually be discovered, and your integrity will be diminished.” –
Ed Cederquist, CEO and co-founder of bistroMD

3. Prioritize your pitch
“Be specific, but use plain language when describing the problem your product or service solves. If it solves several problems, prioritize and stick with the most important one. Stick with what problem you are solving, who will benefit the most from your solution and why people should believe that you can do it.” – Andrey Mihailenko, vice president of marketing and sales at Targetprocess

4. Know your audience
“When crafting your elevator pitch, you first need to think about who you’ll be in the elevator with. A good pitch will shift depending on the audience you’re trying to reach. Lead with the information that the recipient will care most about, and the rest will follow.” – Andrew Cross, account director at Walker Sands Communications

5. Focus on what matters
“Avoid telling your listener that you have a ‘revolutionary idea.’ Whatever you’re pitching is not revolutionary. Words like that can automatically put investors off. Instead, explain why you are the person to do this and why you’re solving this problem [based on] your experiences.” – Ebong Eka, CPA and author of “Start Me Up!: The No-Business Plan Business Plan” (Career Press, 2014)

6. Keep it conversational
“You want to stand out and generate excitement. Don’t regurgitate a memorized pitch that sounds like a pharmaceutical ad. When I hear a pitch, I don’t necessarily want to feel like I am being pitched. I would rather have it be more conversational. Start with the problem you are trying to solve, the way the current alternatives are lacking; then, briefly describe your solution.” – John Torrens, assistant professor of entrepreneurial practice at Syracuse University’s Whitman School of Management

7. Think about your end goal
“You should build your exit strategy along with your business plan. Investors [hearing your pitch] want to know that you’ve evaluated the risk and have thought your plan through from soup to nuts.” – Summer Kramer, founder of SummerSkin

8. Make a connection
“An elevator speech is an important networking tool. It should serve as a verbal business card that provides a brief, compelling introduction to one’s company and intrigues new acquaintances to seek more information. At your earliest opportunity [after giving your pitch], express an interest in your new acquaintance and learn as much as you can about him or her. The information you gain will provide insight as you proceed with efforts to build a genuine, mutually beneficial relationship.” – Juana Hart, founder of J-Hart Communications

Bonus point: “Finish your pitch by asking the other person what they do. It starts an actual conversation and allows you to actually connect, even after the elevator ride is over.” – Stacey Hawley, founder of Credo

9. Tell, don’t sell
“A big part of your job is to motivate people to act, whether you’re trying to close funding, attract talent or acquire new customers. [To do this], you have to be prepared to tell a compelling and unforgettable story that draws your audience in. When it comes to pitching your startup, my advice is to tell, not sell your story.” – Sue McGill, co-founder and executive director of JOLT

10. Open the door to continue the conversation
“Your elevator pitch is simply an introduction to your company, not a sale you have to close. End by summarizing your top talking points and offering a way for the prospect to get in touch with you. Be sure to have your business card on hand.” — Alex Membrillo, founder and CEO of Cardinal Web Solutions