HAPPY NEW YEAR

We wish all of our readers a very happy and prosperous New Year. Thank you for all your support this past year. We thank you for your loyalty. Please provide us some feedback so that we can make this blog even better in 2010.

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Adaptability, Flexibility, and Evolvement

Is your company stuck in a rut? Are you adverse to change? Do you have the attitude ... we've always done it that way? Well, you're not alone. Many established companies are not nimble enough to take their marketing to the next level. But, what I'm really surprised about is that many start-up companies also are not taking advantage of some of the latest marketing tools available.

Yes, as you know, I am an advocate of planning and actually putting a marketing plan into writing. But, some companies feel this is only an annual task and then put their plan in a drawer only to revisit it the following year. A marketing plan needs to evolve during the year. You need to be able to react to your competition. If a great opportunity is presented to you, you should take the challenge and rework your budget and plan to take advantage of a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I'm also quite stunned to see how many companies still have not embraced social media or even public relations. I think there is a fear that someone might say something "bad" about their company. Chances are people are already making negative statements somewhere. But, I would rather know about it and be able to control it and nip it in the bud. Some of your worst critics can turn into your best supporters if you handle the situation properly and in an expedient timeframe. Social media is one of the best ways to keep abreast of what your customers are saying about your company.

Marketing is all about adapting your message, flexing your plan, and evolving your products to meet the market needs. If you don't evaluate where you are and you don't have a plan for the future, you'll be like a boat without a rudder and will be spinning out of control.

Getting the Most out of Your PowerPoint Presentations

Do you often have to make presentations to a crowd or even to an individual during a sales meeting? And do you mostly use PowerPoint slides during your presentations? But, did you know there are a few right and wrong ways to use PowerPoint slides? Here are few tips to help you make your next presentation successful:

• Don't place everything including the kitchen sink on one slide. Too many people use 8 pt. type and have written a novel on one page. Your audience will be too busy reading your slides and won't be paying attention to your presentation. Keep your slides down to a title, maybe a subtitle, and 3-4 bullets maximum. Your goal is to have your slides reference what you are discussing. So, you need to know your presentation cold and not refer to your PowerPoint slides as your cheat sheet. If you need help remembering your presentation points, by all means, use index cards that you hold in your hands.

• Use a maximum of 2 slides per every 5 minutes for a 30 minute presentation. And, that includes your title slide, agenda slide, and a closing slide. So, that's about 12 slides per 30 minutes. So, how do you engage your audience to keep them interested in the topic being presented?

• If you have an Internet connection, you can easily switch back and forth from your PowerPoint presentation to a page on your Website or blog. Consider showing a short video, if that refers to your presentation. Give your audience a way to interact with your presentations rather than have you do all of the talking and they do all of the listening. Webinars have figured this out by offering audience participation with comments and questions.

• Don't use too many pictures, charts or other illustrations in your PowerPoint presentations. Only use them if they really help explain a concept. Too much clutter just makes your audience concentrate on your pretty pictures and not on the content of your presentation. In other words, keep your slides, neat, clean, tidy, and to the point.

• Even though PowerPoint has a lot of bells and whistles your job is not to convince the audience you have expertise in manipulating the PowerPoint software. Your job is to make a sale, persuade someone in your company about a certain topic, or communicate some new technology. So, keep your template simple. Don't use too many font sizes or font styles. Use all of the typical graphic design guidelines you would use for a brochure or other printed literature.

Here's to your next presentation.

Wondering What To Do About Your 2010 Marketing Plan?

Are you even developing a marketing plan for next year? I certainly hope so. Even the smallest of businesses should have a marketing plan, including marketing services agencies. I see so many small marketing firms so busy doing work for clients that they ignore their own needs for marketing. What typically happens is that they scramble to market themselves during the down times and skip the marketing during the busy times. But, marketing is all about consistency. Consistency of message ... consistency of timing ... consistency in the distribution of that message. This is regardless of what size company you own or work with. It's a constant battle for any entrepreneurial business. So, here are a few tips to help you develop next year's plan.

• Start out by making some marketing goals for your company as well as some sales revenue targets and company goals. What do you want to be when you grow up, so to speak? Create a mission statement and develop and overall company philosophy of how you want to run your business.

• Decide how you want to meet your goals. What types of marketing activities will you have to do in order to meet those targets? Will you need to expand your product line? Will you need to focus on new applications? Is your customer base shifting? Will you need to look for customers in another industry?

• Analyze your competition. I know most small businesses think they don't have any competition and that's where they make a big mistake. We all have competition from someone or something. It could even be a new technology that will replace the need for your product or services.

• Truly analyze your strengths and weaknesses. Be brutally honest about what you do right and what you do wrong. Even canvass some of your customers or vendor partners to get a third party to comment.

• And, don't forget the four P's of marketing: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Does your product name intimate what it does. Should you rename it, reposition it, repackage it, or upgrade the quality of your product? Is the price right for your market. Have you priced yourself out of the market or underpriced yourself? Are there any price barriers in your market? Are there any external regulations that may affect your pricing strategy?

• How do you distribute your products? Do you have a sales force? Or are you a one man show? Do you need to hire an account executive to help you get new business or are you the principal and your name and image is the image of the company?

• And last, but not least, how can you promote your products? Many small companies have a tendency to skip this part because they feel it is too expensive to advertise or use other methods to promote their products or services. Don't have the view that "if I build it ... they will come" because your product is so terrific that everyone will be scrambling for one. You'll find out that no one knows you, and no one cares, either. So, spend some money on advertising. With social media, the barriers to promotion are almost nil.

You need a marketing strategy and a plan. Analyze your successes and failures this past year and put a plan in writing. Having a guide to follow, will pay many dividends.