How are customers like E.F. Hutton?

How much does your brand stand out?

Does your brand’s marketing start a conversation or do you preach to your customers? Do you ask them what they think, what they want and what they like? Do you offer them a forum where they can share their thoughts with you? When they speak, do you listen? And conversely, when you speak to they pay attention?

There’s a classic commercial campaign for EF Hutton that dramatically makes the point. Two individuals are discussing investments. One asks the other what his broker advises and when the response is, “Well, my broker is EF Hutton…and EF Hutton says,” the entire room (or plane of passengers in this instance) stops, leans out to hear what it is that EF Hutton advises. The ad’s voice over pronounces, “When E.F. Hutton talks…people listen.” All the surrounding people in each ad stop, turn, or come closer to hear what pearls of wisdom are about to be spilled. It ought to be the case for your firm as well. Our reputations ought to be so trusted, so well respected that when people speak the name of our business, people stop, turn and pay attention.

Why to do you want to be an authority?

Developing authority so you and your firm are considered sources for information is a critical component of your public relations and marketing activity. When you and your team are authorities on topics, you may serve as sources to help the news media and to position the brand in a manner that is distinctive. Every company has a niche. It is up to you to comprehend what makes your services or good better than your competitors. When setting your brand apart, these advantages must be constantly called out so that potential customers pay attention and recall them when they have a need for the services you provide. However, besides pointing out your differences and distinctiveness, you also need to listen to your customers.

Why do you want to listen to your customers?

Ignoring your customers’ point of view is to ignore the best source of marketing research you can have. In order to develop authority, one must listen to one’s customers. Paying attention to their needs, wants, objections and issues informs the way you provide services, develop products and solve issues. If you’re not listening to your customers, you’re missing a key opportunity to understand what they expect.

Find out how to grow from listening to your customers.

What should you know about working with a PR and marketing communications firm?

Posted by Cheryl Smithem

What does a marketing communications / PR firm do?

A marketing and PR firm helps you define and refine your brand presentation to align with your company DNA and position in the marketplace. We work with you to ensure that your marketing aligns with and supports your business goals.

From there, we help you refine your key messages and presentation of them so that they help increase awareness, pull your ideal customers to you and support every aspect of your brand.

We design marketing materials such as flyers, brochures, social media messaging materials, blog content, website content). We also recommend appropriate channels in which to communicate. These channels can be Owned (your website, your social media channels and blog); Earned (media mentions, earned media, shared and comments on posts on social and on your website); Paid (paid social media advertising, print advertising, digital advertising such as pay per click, etc.)

When should I work with a marketing communications / PR firm?

You should work with a marketing communications and PR firm when your efforts to market your company, services and present yourself to the world are not achieving the goals you expect.

If your business is growing and your time is limited or you know that your marketing is not hitting the mark, it’s time to consult a professional.

If you feel you do not know what to do to market your company, you may wish to consider working with a marketing consultant.

Many entrepreneurs can work on their own to promote their businesses. In fact, many entrepreneurs enjoy the challenges of marketing their services. However, even these very involved individuals may need some mentoring and support to be certain their marketing goals align with their wishes. In such cases, a professional may be the perfect individual to guide you, allowing you to do the actual implementation.

What are the best ways to increase awareness of my business?

There is no one best way to increase awareness of your business. Methods used to promote it are determined based on your customers and their needs.

When working with a professional to figure out the best ways to market your business, you can expect to answer a lot of questions to help us understand your product, services and when and how people need and use them. Only after we have these insights can we properly provide guidance.

Amanda Milligan of Fractl, authored a blog post for MOZ on the topic of marketing tactics and wrote,

“It’s critical to analyze the attitudes and behaviors of your current and potential clients/customers in order to best communicate with them in the methods they prefer.”

Fractl’s survey, which is cited in her article, notes that for most business leaders, being found in search results is critical to success.

: Image Credit: Fractl graph from MOZ blog post.

She also noted that very few tactics die out. We’re always hearing about the end of some (formerly highly utilized) ad type which is at risk for imminent death. The truth is that there are fads and phases in advertising, marketing and PR.

Today’s influencers are yesterday’s local celebs. Instagram TV is today’s version of local access TV.

However, with this being true, there are some ways of getting out in front of your potential customers that are better received than others. One of these which showed up as better liked is blogging.

: Image Credit: Fractl via Moz blog post

We also learned from the Fractl survey that most people who seek new products or services utilize the Internet to find or identify what they need.

Given these findings, making certain that your company ranks well and shows up is critical. In order to make this happen, a carefully crafted content plan and tactical strategy is required as is ongoing commitment to publicizing your existing content.

If you need assistance identifying your potential customers, or how to gain awareness or increase your potential customers, get a complimentary marketing analysis. We would be pleased to offer you an initial conversation at no cost.

Photo by You X Ventures on Unsplash

PR not always about your products, events

Posted by Cheryl Smithem

Note: This article originally appeared on our blog in 2009. We have updated it and re-published it.

Companies that care about their communities and strive to become integral in them gain positive feelings and more engaged employees. They also cultivate a more positive brand.

In an article in Entrepreneur Syed Balkhi writes, “Letting consumers see the people behind the business is a powerful way to humanize your brand. If consumers are looking at just your logo all the time, they might not see your brand as human. So, put your team members in the spotlight.”

Additionally, according to Entrepreneur, “numerous studies show that the higher a company’s CSR score (the more it is committed to volunteerism), the more pride employees have in their organization — and in their job — and the happier and more satisfied they are with their job and company.” Such positive feelings are important to individual and company perceptions.

Go beyond earned media

Many people fall into the mindset that PR is only about gaining earned media placement for a company’s products or news and events. Public relations go so far beyond simply getting an outlet to carry your news. The best PR tells a story. It intrigues. It inspires. It elevates.

There is other side of publicity sharing information about your leaders and staff to humanize your company.

Create depth and dimension with unique stories

As an example, a local video production company has a photographer who is interested in documenting a small social business which is taking medical supplies to Ghana. Supporting the project and assisting her in obtaining donations, or shipping them or storing them demonstrates a real commitment to a cause created by the team member. Sharing information about the photographer’s search for funding and the skills that he will use to document the project can support the cause and expand the image of the company in the minds of consumers.

I’m not suggesting that you exploit your staff or their good works, but that you seek opportunities to offer information that really opens up what people think of your team and your firm. Being in business means being a part of a larger community. Demonstrating how you and your associates do that gives depth to your individual and personal brands as well as lifts the perception of your firm.

Gaining earned media is more than just telling us that you’ve just hired a new Director of Marketing. Give your staff opportunity to volunteer and be involved. Identify causes the company wishes to support. Then go out and do good works.

We are all more than just our titles and functions. We are the people who make up the company, not the human resources. So, share the interesting information about those who are the life of the company.

Photo credit: Photo by rawpixel on Unsplash