Member You - Business

Business Presentations and Stage Fright
We have one person in our office that must have been born with the skills, talent, and ability to be a total extrovert and give a speech or presentation at the drop of a hat. However, according to a human resource survey reported in 2005, approximately 15% of employed persons are highly apprehensive about communicating orally in organizational settings. Practically everyone – about 85% of the population, in fact – experiences "stage fright" when they give a speech.Another person in our office, we’ll have to call him “Joe,” was pretty near the bottom of that 85%. He was probably one of the 5% of us who have an excessive and debilitating fear of speaking in public.Realizing this could affect his career from moving forward, he decided he needed to do something. Shakespeare wrote, “All the world’s a stage. And all the men and wome

Innovolve (http://www.innovolve.com), is a Canadian conference, event, and association management company specializing in sustainable business growth.

Hibiscus Florals

Hibiscus Florals co-owner Mark Morkowski has been an extremely busy man during the last few weeks. "Many of our brides begin preparations for their weddings just after the holiday season," says Mark. "This means that the first three months of a new year are a peak season for our silk wedding flowers, and it is crucial that we are prepared to both attract and accept the potential business that can be gen

Customers Are Like Vampires
No, customers aren't bloodsuckers (well, maybe a few are!) and they don't come out only at night. According to legend, vampires don't come in until they are invited. And that's true of customers, too.You may think you've invited your customers. After all, you put up signs identifying your store, got a web site, placed ads, sent press releases, networked, put out fliers, etc.Those things can let your customers know you exist, but to be effective they should include invitations to customers. That doesn't mean sending actual invitations, it means creating a reason for them to come, and communicating that reason to them. We're talking about giving customers a 'call to action'.First, make sure you know what you want them to do. Do you want them to contact you for more information, pay a visit, make a first purchase, make la

Why Worry About January During the Holiday Season?

Over the first couple of weeks of December, I have been in meetings and had telephone discussions with clients who have no interest in targeting their promotional efforts for the holiday season. They have, instead, chosen to focus their efforts on promoting websites during the month of January.

At first, I found the logic very confusing based on a common misconception. Why market during the month of January? Most people tend to have a "post-holiday hangover". They've spent hundreds, and in many cases thousands, of dollars on presents. They've spent time with their loved ones. The parties have come and gone.

Upon thinking about the logic from a different angle, a unique opportunity for the savvy North American marketer revealed itself.

The month of January presents a unique opportunity for intelligent entrepreneurs. Because of the increase in business that the holiday season provides, most businesses tend to neglect or reduce their marketing efforts throughout the winter months, electing to focus their energy on the spring and summer months instead.

Many companies will launch new campaigns during the Super Bowl in order to take advantage of the international mass exposure created by the annual NFL football climax. However, this is a highly expensive proposition and as a result of the budgetary constraints and risk such advertising presents, these companies will often elect to minimize or halt all other advertising efforts until the Super Bowl itself.

Since the Super Bowl occurs on either the final Sunday in January or the first Sunday in February, a huge 4-week marketing gap occurs for a company that chooses to take advantage of it.

Companies with business-to-business products and services can take advantage of the month of January to release these products and services as well. Many companies and organizations, such as school boards and some manufacturing plants, give their employees a paid 2-week Christmas vacation. As a result, these employees return to work rested, alert, and more receptive to new ideas and ways to better improve efficiency. In fact, many companies use the winter months for the purposes of making their operations more efficient and profitable.

This article will focus on two companies as case studies. The first company, Hibiscus Florals (http://www.hibiscusflorals.com), is an online silk wedding florist targeting North American brides-to-be. The second, Innovolve (http://www.innovolve.com), is a Canadian conference, event, and association management company specializing in sustainable business growth.

Hibiscus Florals

Guerrilla PR- Chapter One
THE NATURE OF MEDIAThirty years ago, Marshall McCluhan, the father of modern communications, wrote the immortal words, “The medium is the message.” Today I would amend that to, “The medium is the media.” Our civilization is utterly dominated by the force of media. After our own families, no influence holds greater sway in shaping the text of our being than do the media that cloak us like an electronic membrane.We all think of ourselves as unique, unlike any person past or present. Indeed, what gives human life its divine spark is the distinct quality of every individual. Yet in many ways we are all the same. The task of market analysts, pollsters, and demographers is to identify those characteristics we share, and group us accordingly. If you are in your early forties, male, Cauca

ved ones. The parties have come and gone.

Upon thinking about the logic from a different angle, a unique opportunity for the savvy North American marketer revealed itself.

Since the Super Bowl occurs on either the final Sunday in January or the first Sunday in February, a huge 4-week marketing gap occurs for a company that chooses to take advantage of it.

Hibiscus Florals

10 Incredible Ways To Sell Your Products Now
1. Make your reader visualize they have already bought your product in your ad. Tell them what results they have gotten and how it makes them feel. They'll already become emotionally attached before they buy.2. Turn your ad into an article. It could be a story, or how-to article. This will lead them into your ad without them knowing it's an ad. They'll already be interested when they get to your sales pitch.3. Make sure you show your reader that they are getting a bargain. Tell them the usual price you sell your product for is $99. Then tell them if they order today they can buy it for $69.95.4. Direct your ad headline to your target audience. Your readers will feel important and belong to a select group of people who buy your product. For example; "Attention! Accountants, Discover A New Way To Increase Yo

he annual NFL football climax. However, this is a highly expensive proposition and as a result of the budgetary constraints and risk such advertising presents, these companies will often elect to minimize or halt all other advertising efforts until the Super Bowl itself.

Since the Super Bowl occurs on either the final Sunday in January or the first Sunday in February, a huge 4-week marketing gap occurs for a company that chooses to take advantage of it.

Hibiscus Florals

Mobile Car Wash in Dayton OH
Dayton, OH needs a really serious mobile car wash business. Everyone is into their cars there and it is like a mini automobile capital of the World. In fact I understand that GM holds the SUV assembly record in Dayton, average of 28 hours or something like that? I was talking with some General Motors at Starbucks there in Dayton's Southern Suburb area about it.Unfortunately many workers were getting axed with the lay offs. Well at least every one can get the same employee discount as everyone else now? I hope that does boost sales in the industry, like they say; "What is good for GM, is good for America?" The people of Dayton OH are into their auto industry, which make it a great market for a mobile carwash business. I believe the area in Dayton is good for this type of business:http://ezinearticles.com/?Dayton,-OH;-Why-your-

tions, such as school boards and some manufacturing plants, give their employees a paid 2-week Christmas vacation. As a result, these employees return to work rested, alert, and more receptive to new ideas and ways to better improve efficiency. In fact, many companies use the winter months for the purposes of making their operations more efficient and profitable.

Hibiscus Florals

While Waiting at the Airport
One week after the recent announcement of heightened airport security I had to take a flight. I heard about long waits going through security so I arrived at the airport two hours before my flight. Naturally, when one arrives with plenty of time, there is no one in line but if you arrive late it seems as if everyone in the world is going somewhere that day. I whisked through security and had plenty of time to sit and observe. As much as everyone likes to complain about air travel I’m always in wonder that something as complex as an airport let alone the entire air travel industry, actually works as well as it does.So there I was, observing a microcosm of the air travel industry. A little while after I arrived, two crewmembers arrived. Little by little, other crew arrived. They introduced themselves to each other. It was appar

Innovolve (http://www.innovolve.com), is a Canadian conference, event, and association management company specializing in sustainable business growth.

Hibiscus Florals

"The month of December is being used exclusively to prepare for the New Year."

Some of the things Hibiscus Florals are doing to prepare include:

1. Online marketing and promotion. "We're doing everything in our power to make sure our website is visible in as many ways as possible," says Mark. "Our market has such a large geographic base that we cannot possibly reach all of them via conventional offline means."

"We have customers from all over Canada and the United States, from Hawaii to Newfoundland, and our website and email marketing efforts are crucial to our overall business plan."

2. New products. "We're in the final stages of preparing some unique new collections for our brides. We've decided to create more silk flower wedding packages, based on the feedback we have received and some commonalities among customer requests."

3. Visiting suppliers. "Many of our suppliers have beautiful new products that are now available to us, and we need to stock up as much as possible to ensure that we have enough supply to service our customer needs over the next few months."

4. Updating prices. "Fluctuations in the base cost of our products, such as the rising costs of natural resources and transportation, have led to the need to adjust our prices for the 2006 year."

5. A Christmas vacation. "We want to be well-rested and alert for the New Year, so we're going to take some time off ourselves to recuperate our minds and bodies and be better able to serve our customers."

"A rest at Christmas time isn't always for businesses to recover from their holiday rush. It's for businesses to prepare for a rush as well."

It looks like Hibiscus Florals will be very well-prepared for January.

Innovolve

Dr. Anthony Watanabe is the president of Innovolve, a progressive young conference management agency. The month of December is being used as a reorganization and preparation month for Innovolve, in order for the company to be prepared for their upcoming conferences and other projects.

What types of things are Anthony and Innovolve doing to prepare for January?

1. Rebranding. "We're redoing all of our marketing materials, such as our logo and website, to ensure that our image and core beliefs as a company are accurately reflected. We look forward to the launch of our new-look corporate image in 2006, and we believe our target market will be very receptive to our message."

2. Finishing of exist

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