Category: Paying It Forward

Advertisement Ideas: Banging For Business!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Banging For Business!!!

This is an open door that leads to opportunity. I have learned over the years that if you bang on enough doors and you say persistent in your pursuit you will develop customers/clients and thus you will continue to have success in all you do. When was the last time you went out into the community and sought people to share your product  or services with so as to generate leads and keep an active pipeline going?  One of the best things I have done in working with non-profit entities as well as with for profit businesses has been to include going door to door as part of the strategic marketing plan. In going business to business to solicit donations for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life over the last 16 years I have raised over $35,000. I have also been able to secure more teams for Relays in the communities where I live, work, and play. As a representative of several companies I have found going business to business with brochures to be very effective as it helps to build name recognition and gives you a distinct advantage when you follow-up. If you are not banging for business you need to incorporate this practice into your 2016 plans.

When you bang for business it is important to utilize your phone and to make calls to set up appointments with people so that you can have the opportunity to show them how you can be of service and value to them. You phone can be a great tool to bang for business as you can post photos to social media from it, make videos and share them across all social media platforms, text message potential customers/clients with special offers, set up an application to interact with existing clients/customers and potential clients/customers.   Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Banging For Business!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Having Relations!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Having Relations!!!

 As I went about my business today I began to think don’t people in service positions understand the importance of having relations? I went to a Walgreen’s on University Drive and McNab road in Tamarac, FL to get my blood pressure checked. I was told we don’t so that and I answered since when then the pharmacist said the machine didn’t work and that  she could get another machine and I would have to have a seat and wait. I told her I don’t have to do anything and a better way to have answered would have been sir I can help you shortly please have a seat and I will do my best to accommodate you. She said okay and I waited and guess what the machine didn’t work. I told her that is okay I will be by another Walgreen’s later and will try them. As I left I thought no wonder sales may be down at this location bad customer service. I started to think how is Walgreen’s training their people and are they aware that they are losing sales because of bad customer service or do they think they are so big that they can recoup losses that easy.  It all comes down to good customer relations. One the opposite end of the spectrum is The Walgreen’s on University Drive and Oakland Park Boulevard I am greeted and most of the employees now know me by my moniker JDOGG.  It is amazing how two stores in the same chain can have such different levels of  customer service. I support Walgreen’s and shop there because they are a National Corporate Partner of The American Cancer Society Relay For Life. This leads me to the point of the importance of good community relations.

I have encountered many businesses that just do not understand the importance of community relations and as a result wonder why they struggle. People like to do business with people they perceive to be giving back to the community. I know from a personal stand point that if your business supports my efforts with Relay For Life chances are I will use your product or services when a need arises and I will recommend others to do the same. Think about community relations as an adjunct to your marketing and the value it has. I support Starbucks because they support Relay For Life and they also support many other charities in the community. I support many businesses and promote others who have supported Relay For Life. I usually do not go to California Pizza Kitchen however they were doing a give back night for The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of Sunrise, FL so I went and had dinner. By California Pizza Kitchen doing this they picked up business that they normally would not have had on a Tuesday night. If your business is not tied into the community this could explain why your sales are off.  When you are seeking to build your brand and increase your cash flow remember that it is important to have relations with the community.  When you do something for the community make sure you are sending it out to the media. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Having Relations!!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Time To Represent!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Time To Represent!!!

In marketing, media relations, public relations, and advertising it is important to remember to walk your walk and talk your talk and represent who you are and what you do and give people a reason to use your services or buy your products. Sometimes it is necessary to have some swag and walk it out. It is important to look at how you are going to represent. Ask yourself when you walk into a room the three things you want to be seen as and then seek ways to bring these three things to the top of the mind of the people you are interacting with? Ask yourself how am I showing up and how am I resonating with the target audience I am seeking?  Think of ways you can best represent your product or services. Ask yourself how many places are there where you can represent your product or services and where your target audience will see you. I have  found that many people lose out on opportunities because they do not make marketing and advertising a priority or they don’t spend money on getting their name in front of their target audience.

Say what you want about The Florida Marlins they do get one thing right and that is the marketing of their product. Now you may not have the budget to hire Pitbull to do a theme song for you but you may have the budget to make videos and put them on YouTube and other social media outlets. The key is to remember to represent your product and service wherever and whenever possible. I have witnessed many business people turn down affordable opportunities only to stay stagnant in the market place. If you are to truly represent you must evolve and differentiate yourself from everyone else. It is when you are relevant, entertaining, and resonating that you will have the most success. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Time To Represent!!!

Advertisement Ideas: The Full Monty!!!

Advertisement Ideas: The Full Monty!!!

Today’s post was inspired by The Show, The Full Monty, where the cast is definitely maximum exposed. As I reflected on the idea of maximum exposure I realized just how many business people are under exposed with their marketing and media relations and how many do not even have a strategic marketing plan. It is important to put yourself out there and remember that you are your brand and how important it is to figuratively give people The Full Monty. It is imperative that you continuously are out in the community promoting yourself and the products or services you offer and how you are different from others doing what you do. It is also a priority to show people how you are of service and value and why they should be doing business with you. Many people go into business and they do not have a written plan about their marketing and media relations and then wonder why they are not being as successful as the envisioned. If you are going to exceed in business you need to have a plan and work your plan.

Advertisement Ideas: The Full Monty Formula!!!

 Know who you want to do business with and know where they get their information and what other businesses they frequent. In knowing where your audience is it will make it easier for you to build your following.

Set up a budget to print and distribute collateral material. Have a budget to do on-line marketing.  Have a budget to do video marketing. Remember that marketing is not an expense it is an investment.

There are may things that happen in your business that are newsworthy so having a strategy to get the information out to the news outlets that your target audience is watching, reading, and listening to will play a major role in strengthening your brand and increasing your revenue. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: The Full Monty!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Go Fund Yourself!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Go Fund Yourself!!!

Many people want to be entrepreneurs but they forget the one fundamental principle needed to succeed and that is you must have funding for all aspects of you business. So many people open the doors and don’t have a marketing plan and then wonder why they have no traffic to their brick and mortar business. Part of the reason is that they didn’t adhere to the idea of funding themselves.  I have watched countless businesses open only to close their doors with 3-5 months of opening. Those that closed all shared one common thread they did not set aside funds for marketing and advertising. Yes people there is a difference Marketing is primarily done to build brand recognition to put your brand on the top of the consumer’s mind while advertising is done to not only build your brand but to also drive traffic to your business. It is important to fund yourself so that you can have a solid marketing/advertising mix so that you don’t end up shuttering your doors.  The key is to set aside money strictly to fund your marketing and advertising campaigns.

As someone who has been involved in some form of advertising and marketing for over 30 years I can tell you that I am always amazed when a business owner tells me they do not advertise and I ask what to you do to let people know who you are, what you do, and why they should use your products or services. I usually hear oh I do word of mouth. Word of mouth is  a good start but should not be the form of advertising you do. If you are a local business you should be involved with activities in the community that attract your target demographic. It is important to fund yourself to reach your desired target audience as you do not want to be dog walker advertising in a cat magazine though some cat owners do own dogs.  I asked a shoe store owner who his desired audience was and his answer was anyone who needs shoes. My answer was that this is to broad of a statement and that perhaps finding his niche market and planning to fund himself to reach that niche market might be helpful. I remember working for Footlocker and knowing the lay of land of the Wellington area and the surrounding communities. I asked the district manager if my store could have funding for 144 white tall tees in XL and XXL because one of the biggest football games of the year was being played in the area, The Muck Bowl, and the kids from both high schools shopped at The Footlocker where I was an assistant manager and had a tradition of decorating their own shirts. At first he hesitated and made excuses why not to do it and then I said well as a district manager you can fund yourself and he said what and I said you have a district marketing budget why not take the expense for the 144 shirts from there and make a sign for the window Prepare For the Muck Bowl Tall Tees available here. He finally agreed and my store received the 144 tee-shirts and in 2 days sold out. The key is know your audience and deliver what they want and to always find a way to fund yourself. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Go Fund Yourself!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Get With The Program!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Get With The Program!!!

 When I was kid I would here this phrase quite often as many of the activities that I was involved in were very structured. As I got older and started to venture into the world of marketing, advertising, media relations, and public relations I began to realize that many business people did not understand the importance of these areas and as a result struggled and eventually closed their doors because they did not get with the program. Today as I present opportunities to businesses and non-profit I hear many programmed responses like I don’t have  a budget or I am not interested. There have been many times that I wanted to reach through the phone grab the person on the other end and simply yell GET WITH THE PROGRAM!!!  I have encountered many people in positions of authority who simply do not get it and then wonder why their sales are down. Such was the case yesterday as I called the sales manager at Lou Bachrodt Chevrolet in Coconut Creek who I had been leaving messages for about The South Florida Gold, a professional basketball team that plays in The American Basketball Association. When I left messages I explained the relationship I had with the dealership and he didn’t return the call. He picked up the phone yesterday and after I introduced myself his answer was I am not interested. I replied sorry to hear that I can really be of service and value to you and I have been a customer of Lou Bachrodt for many years. He then said I don’t have a budget as I allocated all my advertising dollars. I replied I just want to meet with you to see how we can be of service and value to one another. His reply was I told you I don’t have a budget.I said okay I’ll call someone else.   Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Get With The Program!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Spread ‘Em Wide!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Spread ‘Em Wide!!!

 When you read the headline of this entry what was your first thought? Many probably went right to the image of the police officer getting ready to put the cuffs on someone and pat them down. Most conjured up this image as we have been programmed to react in a certain way through media manipulation and the repetition of many so-called norms of our society.  When I think of  the headline spread ’em wide I think about marketing a frequent and consistent message so that when someone thinks of me they know who I am and what I do and feel comfortable about doing business with me. just as this phrase spread ’em wide conjures up a certain image or picture ask yourself what image or picture does my brand conjure up when people see it or hear it.

 Well established brands like McDonald’s and Allstate share one common thread and that is a frequent and consistent presence in the marketplace. A few years back Allstate partnered with The NCAA to sponsor the goal post nets that are put up for field goals and extra points and as a result has increased their brand awareness while also donating to scholarship funds thus creating a picture that they area company that cares about the community.  McDonald’s has sponsored many sporting events including The Olympics.

Now you may not have the budget of a McDonald’s or Allstate but you should have a budget to spread your message wide. How many times have you been approached with an opportunity to spread your message and you have found all the reason why not to take advantage of the opportunity and the you see your competition did. As a result clients/consumers may be going to the competition.  Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Spread ‘Em Wide!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Stop The Madness!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Stop The Madness!!!

While American Citizens worried about this flag our government managed to fast track The Trans Pacific Partnership, which makes The North America Free Trade Agreement look tame. While Walmart banned the selling of this flag they didn’t stop importing goods from China. This is ironic for if you are going to stand against slavery and hatred but not stop using what is considered slave labor used to make the goods you are importing from China you are part of the problem and contributing to the madness. Now municipalities  are taking down statues, renaming schools, and digging up graves in an attempt to rewrite history. So many of our American Citizens have become sheep and are being driven by the controversy of the day instead of  looking at the real issues and understanding you can take down as many flags and statues but until you stop the madness brought on by the hate that is in some people’s hearts the real issues  will not be resolved.  It is time to stop the madness and stop majoring in the minor.

 Another ironic twist is that while amazon and other e-commerce sites were busy banning The Confederate Battle Flag they were still selling Nazi Flags and Isis Flags. Heck a Walmart employee refused to make a Confederate Flag Decorated Cake but gladly made an ISIS Flag Cake, a great example of just how uneducated our workers in America truly are.

Now the question is how do we STOP THE MADNESS. The answer is  simple educate the working population and train them so that they can be an asset to your business.  The idea is to bring back a manufacturing and agricultural base to America and to eliminate the greed factor that is hurting our country. We must also eliminate the entitlement mentality and get back to the concept of hard work and being of service and value. If you have a talent you must find a way to utilize it and monetize it and to take action to build your personal brand so it attracts the people who you want to do business with so that you can thrive.  How about you do a campaign that say we serve all people with our products and services. Instead of using the concept of I am (an insert nationality here) –  American just start to say I am an American with a business designed to help my clients/customers who can benefit from my products and services. Then make it a point not to judge people when they come to your business.  I have learned that we may not be able to attract everyone to our business but those that resonate with our message will choose to do business with us.

 

The best way to solve these issue sis to adopt Don Miguel Ruiz’s Four Agreements and do your best to adhere to them. The Four Agreements are….

If you can convey this is your advertising you will begin to create more brand awareness and recognition while also creating a buzz about your business and thus helping to stop the madness.  The key is to create customer loyalty by being of service and value by enhancing the customer experience by looking at solutions for the real issues and making sure you become a problem solver.

The issues mentioned above affect us all because there will be  current customers and potential customers that will not agree with the principles we stand for and may get offended so we must do our best to target customers who will resonate with our message. The nest way to stop the madness is to remember some will, some won’t, so what, some waiting, next.  The greatest thing we can hope for is that our business will help to unify a community instead of divide the community.  If we are truly going to stop the madness we must tackle the real issues and walk in our truth and thus have a message that is relevant and resonates with our desired target audience.  It is time for you to become a problem solver and ask how are my opinions on these issues affecting my business.

By now you have heard of the couple who refused to bake a same sex wedding cake and how they have been sued and ordered to pay damages. My take is that this story only led to more madness. It is their right to refuse business from anyone and I am sure the couple ordering the cake could have found another bakery. This is another example of the media choosing to create madness and division. Personally of it were my company I would have made the cake taken great care of the couple as money on my pocket is better that in someone else’s pocket. The cake company owners stated it was against their moral values and that it went against the teachings of Jesus. Hello, wasn’t it Jesus who was teaching us to be kind to all people and not to sit in judgement.  It is your right to refuse a customer and it is my right as a customer to go elsewhere.  Again it is time to stop the madness.

Sometimes it is not about being right or wrong it is about doing the right thing so stop the madness.

 

 

 

 

Advertisement Ideas: Leveraging Relationships!!!

Advertisement Ideas: Leveraging Relationships!!!

 

It was a few Tuesday’s ago when I was at Tijuana Flats and I met a group of business men from the Oakley Vault and they made me an offer to come to one of their stores and pick out a pair of sunglasses for consideration of promotion by me. Today (7/3/2015) I went to the store and picked out the glasses seen in this video. This had me thinking about how important it is to leverage relationships. I have learned in all my  years in marketing, advertising, public relations, and media relations that the key is to make it a win-win situation. In this case The Oakley Vault had a product I could use and I had a platform that they could use. The key is to see how you can be of value and service and how the person you are dealing with can be of service and value to you. I began leveraging relationships at a very young age as I hosted my very first special event, A Backyard Carnival to benefit The Muscular Dystrophy Association, at age 11. I went to all the places where I spent money and asked for their support. It was at that time that I learned if you return the favor and give something of value you will obtain either monetary or in kind donations. The key is to make the introduction and then find ways that everyone can benefit. I have used the idea of leveraging relationships for many years and the examples I can give are numerous just like the one in the video.

You may be wondering what oracle cards have to do with leveraging your relationships. Well there is a story behind these cards that illustrate a great point of leveraging your relationships and having a purpose in mind. I am very involved with The American Cancer Society Relay For Life of West Boca Raton,FL and I have been the leading fundraiser for this relay for several years. In 2015 I raised $2726.90, the webpage http://main.acsevents.org/goto/jdogg2 will be up until 8/31/2015.  One way I was able to do this is by leveraging relationships. I was on Facebook one day and I wrote to both Doreen Virtue and Sonia Choquette who I had been interacting with  on Facebook for a while and I asked them for items to use in chance drawings and they sent me oracle cards and other items and in return I am promoting them to my followers. When you have something that can benefit the person you are asking for support be it in business or in your charitable endeavors you can better leverage your relationship.  I have always believed that the worst someone who you have built a relationship with will say is no and no today does not mean no forever. Think of what you have to offer that will help you to leverage a relationship so as to strengthen your brand and increase your revenue. Continue reading Advertisement Ideas: Leveraging Relationships!!!