Jacob Morgan's Blog, page 24

The Value of Participating in Trade Shows for a Local Enterprise

What are some ways that you may advertise your small business to hundreds of people who might become new customers? Where can you make new connections with other people and find new service suppliers for your growing business? Exhibiting at a trade show is one of the most effective marketing tactics for a developing company to use in order to advertise their products and services to a broad and specific set of potential clients. There are thousands of trade exhibitions held all throughout the United States every year, and these shows provide an opportunity for buyers and sellers to interact face to face. The benefit of attending a trade show is that it enables you to showcase your product or service to an audience that has been specifically chosen, all while gathering intelligence about your competitors and forming connections with potential new clients.

The Cost of Exhibiting at a Trade Show Can Be Considerable.

A significant number of proprietors of small businesses have discovered that attending trade exhibitions may be a costly form of promotion. An estimate of the cost of the trade show should be determined before making this investment.
The following 5 actions might be helpful in ensuring that your participation in a trade show is fruitful, provided that the costs involved are within the limits of the marketing budget you have set for yourself:

1. You should first settle on some objectives.

To what end are you attending this trade show? Is it to make connections, make sales, or build a mailing list of addresses and email addresses? Which service or good do you intend to market? When deciding which trade fair to attend, it is important to first establish your objectives.

Is the trade show suitable for your needs?

Find out if the trade fair is frequented by people in your target demographic. Find out from the event organizers whether or not the trade show will help you achieve your objectives. If so, how many trade exhibitions have they participated in, and how successful were they? Try to get in touch with former attendees of the trade show to get their take on the event’s success (or lack thereof).

2. tell your clientele about the event.

Even if you plan on heavily advertising the trade show, the event will be more successful if you personally invite your most valuable clients and prospects. Sending out a postcard or flyer to your clientele is a low-key yet effective approach to drum up business. Postcards and mailers are often provided free of charge by the trade fair, which can significantly reduce marketing costs. To entice clients to visit your booth, you may host a demo or host a special event, or you could offer them a free present.

3. Try to get some coverage in the press.

Quite a few news organizations will often be present during a trade event. Planning ahead and arranging interviews with influential editors in your field will help you get your name out there and build lasting relationships with influential media members. Reporters will appreciate it if you provide them your story and any supporting materials (such as press releases, media kits, client testimonials, etc.) in advance. Prepare a member of your staff for interviews and have all relevant documentation ready on the day of the event.

 

4. Get your booth set up and ready to go with all the necessary materials.

The professionalism and quality of your goods and services should be reflected in your booth or display table. Compare prices from a few different trade show booth development firms before settling on one. The booth needs to be noticeable from at least 15 to 20 feet away. Your booth’s credibility can be boosted by displaying samples of your work, photographs, letters of recommendation, press clippings, etc. While the cost of the booth will likely be the highest of any component, it will also be one of the most crucial.

Don’t forget to stock up on promotional materials to hand out to potential buyers. Since many people at a trade show will take anything from whatever booth they visit, even if they aren’t interested, it’s a good idea to have a low-priced item out for everyone who wants it, and a higher-priced brochure hidden behind the counter for serious customers.

5. get your team ready.

Plan out in advance what your personnel will say to passers-by at the booth. Employees should be able to quickly and confidently explain the company’s mission, the services it provides, and the benefits of the promoted product or service. Start with a single, well-thought-out qualifying question that your team may use to determine whether or not the person they are interacting with is a potential customer. The next step is to draft a script that will serve as a guide for staff members as they field customer inquiries.

Conclusion

Exhibiting at a trade show can be a great way to market your products and services to a wide variety of potential clients. By doing your research, setting clear objectives, and preparing your booth ahead of time, you can increase the chances of success for your trade show venture. With the right strategies and tactics, you can maximize your trade show experience and leave with a wealth of new customers and business contacts.

 

Some Effective Local Business Marketing Strategies

To succeed in business and expand your company, you need to invest in web marketing.

Marketing should be viewed as an investment, not a cost. There is a return on investment that makes the initial outlay of cash worthwhile.

There are a lot of opportunities to spread the word about your company on the web, but some of them will cost you money or take a lot of your time.

You should know that your business won’t start making money or expanding rapidly right away. It’s important to get the basics right before you dive into promoting your business.

1. Understanding your target market

Before you even begin developing your product, you need to do some serious research into who you expect to buy it.

Your audience consists of potential buyers. Customers, thus, are the most crucial individuals, and their feedback is the most weighted consideration.

Age, race, gender and demographics in general can all be used to narrow down who you’re trying to reach.

You can learn more about their interests, personalities, and preferred social media sites by going deeper. Having this knowledge makes it much simpler to zero in on them as a target.

Running ads on a professional platform like LinkedIn, for instance, will be a catastrophic disaster if your product is aimed at teens who spend nearly all of their waking hours on Instagram.

Conducting online surveys is one method of gathering feedback on your content from your target audience.

Have them be forthright with the info you need. You should, however, make sure that the questions you ask will actually help your brand.

Focus groups are another great way to get real-world feedback on your product.

2. Breaking down your objectives into manageable chunks

There are likely several targets you’d like to hit as a small firm.

There are both large and little ones, as well as both immediate and distant targets. It is recommended by professionals that you begin at the bottom and work your way up.

Dissect your lofty objectives into manageable chunks. Each subtask is completed before moving on to the next.

As you move forward, momentum will develop. Also, get the simple stuff out of the way first. Starting with the difficult ones can slow you down and make you lose motivation.

Keeping tabs on your objectives may seem like too much work, so you may want to check out the goal tracker in Google Analytics.

3. Plan out how you will promote your company

Last but not least, compile all of your novel approaches to advertising and develop a sound plan before you launch your small business.

A marketing plan is beneficial because, first, it helps you map out a specific course of action to take in order to achieve your objectives, and, second, it allows you to anticipate what will and will not work.

You can foresee problems and eliminate them before they arise.

If you want to avoid spending more money than you have on marketing, a marketing strategy is a must.

The next step involves intensive research to determine which of the 101 marketing strategies for small businesses is the most effective.

Wrap up

In conclusion, to succeed in business and expand your company, you need to invest in effective local business marketing strategies.

Understanding your target market, breaking down your objectives into manageable chunks, and planning out how you will promote your company is just a few of the many strategies you can use to effectively market your local business.

With the right strategy and implementation, you can reach your target audience and maximize your ROI.

I hope you found the article helpful, please share it with your friends, thank you.

Some Effective Local Business Marketing Strategies?

To succeed in business and expand your company, you need to invest in web marketing. Marketing should be viewed as an investment, not a cost. There is a return on investment that makes the initial outlay of cash worthwhile.

There are a lot of opportunities to spread the word about your company on the web, but some of them will cost you money or take a lot of your time. You should know that your business won’t start making money or expanding rapidly right away. It’s important to get the basics right before you dive into promoting your business.

1. Understanding Your Target Market

Before you even begin developing your product, you need to do some serious research into who you expect to buy it. Your audience consists of potential buyers. Customers, thus, are the most crucial individuals, and their feedback is the most weighted consideration.

Age, race, gender, demographics, and ethnicity can all be used to narrow down who you’re trying to reach. You can learn more about their interests, personalities, and preferred social media sites by going deeper. Having this knowledge makes it much simpler to zero in on them as a target.

Running ads on a professional platform like LinkedIn, for instance, will be a catastrophic disaster if your product is aimed at teens who spend nearly all of their waking hours on Instagram.

Conducting online surveys is one method of gathering feedback on your content from your target audience. Have them be forthright with the info you need. You should, however, make sure that the questions you ask will actually help your brand. Focus groups are another great way to get real-world feedback on your product.

2. Breaking down your objectives into manageable chunks

There are likely several targets you’d like to hit as a small firm. There are both large and little ones, as well as both immediate and distant targets. It is recommended by professionals that you begin at the bottom and work your way up.
Dissect your lofty objectives into manageable chunks. Each subtask is completed before moving on to the next. As you move forward, momentum will develop. Also, get the simple stuff out of the way first. Starting with the difficult ones can slow you down and make you lose motivation. Keeping tabs on your objectives may seem like too much work, so you may want to check out the goal tracker in Google Analytics.

Thirdly, plan out how you will promote your company.

Last but not least, compile all of your novel approaches to advertising and develop a sound plan before you launch your small business. A marketing plan is beneficial because, first, it helps you map out a specific course of action to take in order to achieve your objectives, and, second, it allows you to anticipate what will and will not work. You can foresee problems and eliminate them before they arise.

If you want to avoid spending more money than you have to on marketing, a marketing strategy is a must. The next step involves intensive research to determine which of the 101 marketing strategies for small businesses is the most effective.

 

Wrap up

In conclusion, to succeed in business and expand your company, you need to invest in effective local business marketing strategies. Understanding your target market, breaking down your objectives into manageable chunks and planning out how you will promote your company are just a few of the many strategies you can use to effectively market your local business. With the right strategy and implementation, you can reach your target audience and maximize your ROI.

I hope you found the article helpful, please share it with your friends,thank you.

The Role of Digital PR in Brand Development

It is of the utmost importance to promote your brand in the appropriate environment. Since people’s involvement in the digital world has increased in recent years, many companies have shifted their advertising efforts to the internet.

As a result of this shift, digital public relations has emerged as one of the most expedient techniques that brands are swiftly adopting in order to increase awareness and engagement.

In addition to increasing brand engagement and exposure, the appropriate digital public relations approach produces even more effects that are beneficial to the brand-building process.

What Exactly Is Digital PR?

The majority of businesses associate this kind of work with influencers, bloggers, and journalists. Digital public relations is a method for strengthening an organization’s online visibility, and businesses are increasingly adopting this technique.

These agencies network with one another and distribute online news releases in order to increase the amount of backlinks they have, improve their SEO, and see an increase in the number of times they are mentioned on social media.

The goal of digital public relations is to secure backlinks of a high caliber from various online media and websites. In addition to this, the emphasis is placed on accumulating more reviews from customers. You need to focus your marketing efforts on the websites, podcasts, and social media accounts that are often visited and enjoyed by the people in your target demographic.

If you adopt the appropriate plan for digital public relations, you may even find that customers on Google, Amazon or any other website have given your company a perfect 5-star rating.

Exactly how Can Digital PR Help Your Company’s Image?

Hopefully your understanding of Digital PR has improved now. Through digital PR, you may give your brand more depth and character.

One of the most successful methods of gaining credibility and brand recognition in today’s competitive market is through the use of digital public relations.

It’s a genuine and trustworthy approach to tell your brand’s story to consumers.

As the term “Digital PR” is now recognizable to you, we will quickly explain how it can benefit your company.

1. it helps spread the word about the brand

With the appropriate approach to digital public relations, you may attract the attention of media outlets on a local, national, and even international scale. When more people read your content, you open yourself up to a wider audience of potential readers and buyers.

Backlinks from this content will boost your website’s authority and visibility in search engines, as well as the volume of visitors. Your chances of making a sale to someone who lands on your website are increased.

2. The second benefit is that it increases brand credibility.

Providing useful information to your customers is a direct result of publishing SEO-friendly material on other sites. People can be contacted and asked for their opinions on your brand. Brand reputation can be bolstered by positive feedback from satisfied customers.

People who read the information will form a favorable opinion of your company. People will begin to have faith in your brand if they read informative and entertaining content related to it.

People are more likely to engage with your brand in many ways once they have faith in it. This includes becoming followers, site visitors, and newsletter subscribers. By now, more individuals are familiar with your company and you can actively solicit their business.

3. Helps draw in the right people

You can’t keep a firm afloat without satisfied customers. Your company will not succeed to new heights without your customers’ support.

Understanding your ideal clientele is crucial if you want to attract them as consumers. Identifying your ideal customers is the first step. After you’ve figured out who you want to read your content, it’s time to start talking to them.

Digital public relations is a powerful tool for raising brand visibility and encouraging audience participation. Getting your brand out there and interacting with your target audience can help them learn to know and trust you.

When this is complete, your intended audience will begin to convert into consumers, providing vitality to your business.

PR for Local Businesses – What you Need to Know?

Local businesses are the backbone of the economy, and having a strong public relations (PR) strategy is essential for their success. However, many small business owners find it difficult to know where to start when it comes to crafting their PR strategy.
In this article, we will cover the basics of PR for local businesses, from setting goals and objectives to creating an effective communication plan. We will also discuss the importance of building relationships with local media and other influencers, and how to measure the success of your PR efforts. With the right approach, you can make sure your local business reaches its full potential.

How can PR help you as a Local Business Owner?

Public relations (PR) is an important tool for local businesses to promote their products and services, build their reputation, and connect with their target audiences. Local businesses can use PR to reach potential customers and build relationships with them through traditional and digital media channels. PR involves developing a strategy that includes writing press releases, building relationships with local media outlets, utilizing social media, and creating content for the company’s website.

Writing press releases that are newsworthy is one of the most important aspects of local PR. A press release should include all the necessary details such as who, what, when, and where. It should also include a strong headline and a few quotes from the business owner or a key representative. Businesses should also include contact information and a link to the website in the release.

Using social media to promote a local business is also an important part of PR. It is a great way to reach potential customers, interact with them, and build relationships. Businesses should create a presence on the major social media platforms and post regularly to keep their followers engaged. They should also use social media to share news, events, and promotions. Additionally, businesses should use social media to monitor conversations and respond to customer feedback.

How to measure the success of your PR efforts

Measuring the success of PR efforts is an important task for any business. It enables businesses to understand the effectiveness of their campaigns and helps them to make more informed decisions in the future. There are several ways to measure the success of PR efforts, including tracking media coverage, measuring website traffic, monitoring customer feedback and surveying target audiences.

Tracking media coverage is a great way to measure the success of PR efforts. This includes tracking the number of print, digital, and broadcast media outlets that mention the business or its products and services. It is also important to monitor the quality and tone of the coverage, as this can give a good indication of how the public perceives the business.

Measuring website traffic is another effective way to measure the success of PR efforts. This includes tracking the number of visits to the website and the amount of time visitors spend on it. By tracking this data, businesses can gain a better understanding of how their PR efforts are influencing visitors to their website. Additionally, businesses can track the number of leads and sales generated through their website to measure the success of their PR efforts.

Final word

Small businesses have just as much to gain as large ones by engaging in public relations activities. Seventy percent of editors say they are willing to be pitched, but only if the pitch is relevant to their beat.
PR is an essential tool for local businesses to promote their products and services and build relationships with their target audience. It involves creating a strategy that includes writing press releases, building relationships with local media outlets, and utilizing social media. PR is also a great way for local businesses to monitor customer feedback and respond to it in an appropriate manner.

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Why You Should be Paying Attention to “Wearables”

Wearable devices are making their way into our professional and personal lives. Fitness trackers (Fitbit, Jawbone, Nike), eyewear (Google Glass, Microsoft Hololens, MetaPro), smart watches (Pebble, Fitbit Surge, Apple Smartwatch) , clothing with sensors (Athos smart pants, AiQ), and the like, are all examples of wearable devices. Gartner predicts that by 2016 we will see around 100 million wearable devices sold and some estimates see this number being much higher. In the latest episode of The Future in 5 I explore how and why wearables are making such a big impact in our lives. The cost of technology is decreasing, sensors are becoming smaller and cheaper, wearable devices are becoming more fashionable, and the internet of things is allowing all of these devices to connect to each other and to us. All of these trends are helping propel the popularity and utility of wearable devices in our personal and professional lives.

I’m a bit of a fitness nut and love gadgets so I also spend a few minutes reviewing the new Fitbit Surge “super watch” which the folks at Fitbit were kind enough to send over to me. Check out the latest episode of the The Future in 5 to learn more about wearable devices and the new Fitbit Surge.

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Turning the Ship Around–Breaking Traditions to Redefine Leadership at Work

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http://traffic.libsyn.com/futureofworkpodcast/David_Marquet_Podcast_Done.mp3

The one stat you need to know

The spirit of leadership is often misjudged as a gainful way of exercising control, leading to chaos. In essence, it should be recognized as a model that gives more weight to “Giving Control” over “Taking Control”.

What this episode is about and why you should care

David Marquet, a former submarine captain and author of “Turn the Ship Around!” unlocks a new angle in redefining leadership. In this podcast, he goes into retrospect and relates his journey as the newly appointed captain of nuclear-powered submarine, “USS Santa Fe”. During his active days, he sought measures to counteract all odds to fight the low self-esteem of his crew. As a captain, David fought against his instincts and explored newer ways of unifying his workforce, breaking accepted norms of leadership. For a corporate environment, the Santa Fe episode presents a stunning example of effective leadership that acts as a harbinger towards making every employee a leader.

What you will learn in this episode

“Ladder of leadership”– Re-defining decisions in an organizational framework
What is driving companies to rethink on their management model?
Why building decision making capacity in your organization is important?
How clarity helps to build a unifying workforce? How to achieve “greatness” as a mechanism?
Trust and Competence – How do you differentiate?
How “Smart Hierarchy” will change the way companies operate?
How leaders are going to change the work environment in the future?

Links from the episode

Turn the Ship Around

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Evolution �of the Organization Pt. 1

This concept a~d visual was taken from my new book, The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders, and Create a Competitive Organization.

A few weeks ago I introduced the concept of The 14 Principles of the Future Organization which outlines the crucial characteristics that organizations must have in order to succeed in the new business landscape that we are seeing emerge. For quite a while now I have been writing about and exploring how employees, managers, and organizations are evolving. To specifically show how organizations are evolving from past to future I wanted to create an image that depicts the “Evolution of the Organization.” This follows the same theme as: The Evolution of the Employee and The Evolution of the Manager

This is part 1 of the image:

Teams

Jeff Bezos has the “two pizza rule,” meaning that any team should be able to be fed by just two pizzas; if not, then the team is too large. We are seeing a big shift away from large structured centrally located teams to smaller more globally distributed teams which are held together by technology. As long as team members can access to the internet it doesn’t matter where they are located.

Workforce

I may sound like a broken record when I say this, but the future of work is absolutely about breaking down barriers between teams and geographies. Sales should be speaking with product development, marketing should be speaking with customer service and support, and engineering should be speaking solution delivery teams. The traditional model saw only people in the same team or physical location share and collaborate; no more. The organization of the future is a connected organization where information, collaboration and communication happens without boundaries.

Operational Model

There’s a reason why large organizations are stereotyped as being slow-moving, bureaucratic, old-fashioned, and simply outdated…because many of them are. Larger organizations are at a high risk for being disrupted (just take a lo

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Evolution of the Organization Pt. 1

This concept and visual was taken from my new book, The Future of Work: Attract New Talent, Build Better Leaders, and Create a Competitive Organization.

A few weeks ago I introduced the concept of The 14 Principles of the Future Organization which outlines the crucial characteristics that organizations must have in order to succeed in the new business landscape that we are seeing emerge. For quite a while now I have been writing about and exploring how employees, managers, and organizations are evolving. To specifically show how organizations are evolving from past to future I wanted to create an image that depicts the “Evolution of the Organization.” This follows the same theme as: The Evolution of the Employee and The Evolution of the Manager

This is part 1 of the image:

Teams

Jeff Bezos has the “two pizza rule,” meaning that any team should be able to be fed by just two pizzas; if not, then the team is too large. We are seeing a big shift away from large structured centrally located teams to smaller more globally distributed teams which are held together by technology. As long as team members can access to the internet it doesn’t matter where they are located.

Workforce

I may sound like a broken record when I say this, but the future of work is absolutely about breaking down barriers between teams and geographies. Sales should be speaking with product development, marketing should be speaking with customer service and support, and engineering should be speaking solution delivery teams. The traditional model saw only people in the same team or physical location share and collaborate; no more. The organization of the future is a connected organization where information, collaboration and communication happens without boundaries.

Operational Model

There’s a reason why large organizations are stereotyped as being slow-moving, bureaucratic, old-fashioned, and simply outdated…because many of them are. Larger organizations are at a high risk for being disrupted (just take a look at what’s happening with IBM) which means they need to learn how to operate like smaller companies. However, a paradox exists. As organizations grow so does their complexity which results in more sluggishness. However, these same organizations also want more profits which means they have to grow. So, they are stuck with trying to find a way to grow while becoming less complex. I talk about this much more in my book including exploring a few possible scenarios.

Organizational Focus 

Organizations around the world have been making a various dangerous assumption; assuming that employees would work there because they needed to. Years ago this was definitely the case as there was really only one way to make a living. However as Dan Pink rightly commented, “today talented people need organizations less than organizations need talented people.” This means that organizations have to shift their focus from creating a place where they assume people NEED to work there to creating an environment where people WANT to work there.

Adaptation

Going forward “late adopter” means “out of business.” Years ago organizations had the luxury of seeing what their competitors were doing and then quickly following on their heels. Today that is no longer true. Organizations must adapt quicker and more aggressively if they wish to thrive in this new rapidly changing business world.

Innovation and Ecosystems

Innovation was something that used to be done only by a specific department within an organization. Today we are seeing a completely new model of innovation opening up based on ecosystems which includes employees, customers, partners, the general public, and yes, even competitors. Organizations that create these ecosystems will thrive.

Part 2 of this image will be released in the next few days and I will explore these topics in more detail here in blogs, videos, and podcasts interviews. But for now I hope this gives you some food for thought!

 

 

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