EBAYERS 2010

Archive for July, 2010

Leveraging different ways to market your business is important to keep your name and service offerings on top of your target audience’s mind.  It also helps you diversify your marketing portfolio and measure the results of your activities to determine which methods work best for your business.

One way to market your business is by sharing your expertise through public speaking.  By sharing your knowledge and experience with others, you are helping your target audience solve problems they desperately want answers to, and at the same time, you are establishing yourself as the “go to” expert.  Once your target audience sees how knowledgeable you are, they will likely want more information from you because they see you as the best service provider for the job.

Round conference tableIf you are shy or not quite ready to be front and center on stage, consider joining a panel of experts.  By participating in a panel at a networking event, workshop or seminar you will have a chance to speak to your target audience without having to prepare a formal presentation and have “all eyes on you”.  Panels offer you the chance to answer questions and share your point of view with the other participants; yet still showcase your expertise.

For example, we have an annual home and garden show in the Bay Area.  If you haven’t been to one of these shows, there is typically one major project where many companies can participate.  This project is usually a model home built in the event arena.  So this showcases the builders, interior designers, alarm installation companies, landscapers and home theatre stores (just to name a few).

During the event, visitors can tour the home and there are business cards placed throughout the exhibit.  Then, on the last day, there is usually a Q and A session with the participants about the home they built, the materials they used, the cost, etc.  With everyone joining in on the panel, it’s a great way to educate the audience on the project and their expertise.   Additionally, this gives the panelists a way to interact directly with their target audience and find out what their challenges are by listening to the questions they ask.

I’ve had the opportunity to participate on a number of panels and have really enjoyed the experience.  It’s a great way to connect with complimentary service professionals and create “Power Partner” relationships.  (“Power Partners” is a concept taught by BNI that entails complementary service providers partnering together to serve each other’s clients).  In addition, each event has created great exposure for my business, allowing me to further build my subscriber list and attract new clients for my programs and private coaching services.

Put forth the effort to seek out panel opportunities either in your local area, via online radio shows or industry events.  Let those in your network know that you’re available to contribute to a panel.  And reach out to event/meeting planners at industry events to offer your support.  You may also suggest ideas for a panel presentation that you know would be of value to the audience and then assist in inviting other professionals to participate.

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About the Author:
Sydni Craig-Hart, The Smart Simple Marketing Coach, teaches solo service professionals how to attract more clients, create more money and work less in their business. Known for her simple, integrated approach to marketing, she also has the unique ability to find untapped profit centers in her client’s businesses so they can increase their revenue NOW.  Visit www.SmartSimpleMarketing.com  for your F.R.E.E. marketing tools and to schedule your F.R.E.E. “Profit Breakthrough” session with Sydni!
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I’ve said this before, but evaluating a PR campaign based on sales or rate of return isn’t the proper way to measure whether your campaign and efforts are a success or not. PR doesn’t work like that; it’s a long-term investment and — when done right — will increase awareness of your product, service, book or expertise, to your target audience. This doesn’t mean skyrocketing sales right away.

Let’s look at ad equivalency. Say you land a placement in a popular newsstand magazine. You may have paid a publicist or spent your own time scoring this placement, but you didn’t pay the magazine to feature you in its pages. But what if you had? How much would it have cost you to buy an ad in the same magazine?

It wouldn’t have been cheap and it wouldn’t have the same effect as the placement either. Why? Well, what PR does that no ad can do, is build your credibility. It’s basically an implied endorsement from the media outlet that you have the goods and their readers should take notice. A placement is worth 3 to 10 times that of an ad because of the credibility factor!

So what about the bottom line? Well, PR isn’t directly about increasing sales or profit. It’s about the increasing the intangibles — the credibility, awareness, word of mouth and buzz — that combine with all your other efforts to help take your business to the next level. So if you sit down and figure out what you’re committed to achieving and how you can utilize PR to help you reach your goals, you’ll quickly learn how valuable   — and vital — PR will be to you and your endeavors.

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About the Author:
L. Drew Gerber is CEO of www.PublicityResults.com and creator of www.PitchRate.com, a free media connection service for journalists, experts, and publicists.  Sign up now for free publicity advice including a free online marketing course. Gerber’s business practices and staffing innovations have been revered by PR Week, Good Morning America and the Christian Science Monitor. His companies handle international PR campaigns and his staff develops online press kits for authors, speakers and companies with Online PressKit 24/7, a technology he developed (www.PressKit247.com). Contact L. Drew Gerber at: AskDrew@PublicityResults.com or call him at 828-749-3548.
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“We see consumers as the ultimate experts on brand prestige and this year they are voting on the entire perceived price/value equation of the brand as well as prestige,” said Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. Brand, quality, value, rarity all play a role in how we valuate prestige products and experiences. As everyone derives value differently, there are three main criteria that help us decide whether a luxury product or service is worth it:

Price Value – Deal-seekers

There is always a risk to integrity whenever a prestige brand discounts, says Milton Pedraza, CEO of the Luxury Institute. A discount suggests the original perceived value was too high and essentially, you were getting ripped off. Despite Pedraza’s foreboding, Guilt Groupe has grown by leaps and bounds by offering daily flash sales to its “exclusive” 2 million invite-only members. Gilt expects to pull in $500 million in revenue in 2010 and in 2009, just two years after its launch, it posted revenues of $170 million. To counter Pedraza’s point, even a 10 percent discount on $1,150 Jimmy Choo shoes ($1,035) is still not accessible for most.

Enduring Value – Artisan Craftsmanship

The economic recession has the luxury industry returning to its core: enduring quality. Hermes and Louis Vuitton have flourished amid harsh economic storms, while other, trendier fashion houses such as Christian Lacroix have gone belly-up. Hermès managed to increase sales by 8.5 percent, including an 11 percent bump in the final quarter and an astonishing 20 percent gain in the Americas. In fact, Louis Vuitton held an event called “The Art of Craftsmanship,” to educate young designers on the importance of old-fashioned values such as artisanship and the mastery of traditional skills at New York City’s Fashion Week.

Exclusive Value – Uniqueness

By economic standards, value is derived from supply, demand and barrier to entry. Short supply, high demand and high barrier to entry drives the luxury market. Accordingly, only a select few high net worth individuals can afford to buy a $1.42 million Lamborghini Reventon or even a $170 Gucci key ring. In fact, only 20 individuals own the Reventon, as they are so rare. Uniqueness not only applies to products, but experiences as well. Quintessentially and Artisans of Leisure Travel design custom vacation packages ranging from Indiana Jones-inspired adventure or an immersion in Turkey and Israeli cultures. For those high net worth individuals seeking exclusive value, very short supply weighs heavier…

To read more about the value of luxury, go to Sparxoo.com.

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About the Author:
Sparxoo is a business blog that inspires breakthrough by tomorrow’s leaders. We are a strategy consulting firm with a pulse on marketing, branding, and development.
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