by tradesmeninsights | Jan 23, 2014 | Public Relations, Uncategorized
Today we have a blog post from Rosemarie Ascherl, PR Foreman at Sonnhalter, discussing factory tours and how they reflect your company’s brand image.
Last month, Sonnhalter employees had the opportunity to get their hands dirty with a visit to a local manufacturer, Lincoln Electric, that designs, develops and manufactures arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, fume extraction equipment and plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment.
We were greeted by our contact, given “VIP” badges and ushered into a comfortable lecture room where each employee’s name was on a placard alongside a packet containing Lincoln Electric information, safety glasses and headsets. After a short greeting by our host, our group was invited to snacks and beverages while watching a short video that covered a history and overview of the company and safety rules for our tour. After the video, we were turned over to our tour guide, a long-time employee, who regularly conducts tours.
Sonnhalter’s experience at Lincoln Electric was a terrific impression reflecting professionalism, pride, friendliness and openness that ultimately mirrors the Lincoln brand.
Does your company have a factory tour policy? Is it an open-door policy? Or is your company one that refuses visitors for fear of losing carefully guarded company secrets?
How your company handles the requests for factory visits, whether it is by an interested community member or a potential customer, is a reflection of your brand.
And once you decide to let visitors in your doors, how you handle their experience is another reflection of your brand.
Suggestions for creating a positive experience:
1. Select knowledgeable, experienced, personable people as tour guides.
2. While tours should be flexible based on your audiences’ needs, provide consistency in the messaging that is being revealed.
3. Establish rules that management or ownership is comfortable with, i.e. no photos, no cell phones.
4. Remember safety at all times.
5. Be friendly.
Having a policy on factory tours is important, and how the tours are handled ultimately affects your company’s brand image. Make it positive!
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 22, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Traditional Marketing
I get so frustrated sometimes, both internally and externally, with emails going back and forth a million times to answer questions or get the proper information that I could scream!
PICK UP THE PHONE! Sometimes we get so caught up in things that we forgot about some of the basics in selling and communicating techniques. Emails are great for getting info and normal communications, but it’s difficult to build a relationship with them. Same holds true for texting.
Those of you that are older than 40 can remember back in the day when you actually talked to customers on the phone and even went and saw them face-to-face sometimes and maybe even had lunch with them. Now I know times have changed, and I’m not trying to downplay the importance of tools like email, but don’t you agree that it’s nice now and again to actually talk to another human?
Here’s a suggestion. Take your top 10 customers and try to have a conversation with them a few times a year. Here’s a novel approach, call them up and thank them for their business and for the long-standing relationship you’ve had over the years. Ask about what keeps them up at night and if you can help resolve some of their business issues.
Don’t you think that might get more mileage than sending them an email? If nothing else, I’ll bet you’ll feel better after talking with them.
There are studies out there and I’ve seen it first hand that the under-30 crowd would rather text than talk. What happened to interpersonal relationships? How are they going to make it in the business world?
We need to keep the basic communication tools as we move down that super internet highway.
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 21, 2014 | Marketing Trends, Social Marketing, Traditional Marketing
Content marketing is becoming more of a focus with all of us, and for it to be effective like any other tool, you need to have a plan and strategy.
Content can be developed in many forms and this can be an overwhelming task, all the more reason to have a plan.
I recently read a post by Heidi Cohen, 2014 Content Marketing Predictions that I thought was interesting and wanted to share some of the highlights of her 7 points:
- Content Marketing should be part of an integrated program – content needs to be created in different formats as people take in information in various ways and we need to make sure we’re touching them several times.
- Content Marketing expands to all corporate communications – it’s no longer limited to marketing.
- Managing Content Marketing assets – track and maintain assets identifying those that need updating and those that need to be created.
- Track Results to sales – start by nudging readers to some call-to-action to start an engagement and then follow it through to a sale.
What kinds of actions are you taking in 2014 to improve your content marketing?
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 15, 2014 | Marketing Trends, Traditional Marketing
I know for most of us, 2013 was a positive experience. Most of our clients and the folks I talk to in the industry had good growth this past year and are expecting the same this year.
According to a recent article in eMarketer.com, 80% of small business are forecasting a better 2014. Here’s what they are saying they will be concentrating on in 2014.
While the small business owners are optimistic about 2014, economic uncertainty and government policies are still on their mind.
So what is your outlook for the new year and where are your challenges? Do any of them match up with what the survey indicates?
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 14, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
From a B-to-B perspective, LinkedIn is one of the better networking tools. I like it because it’s strictly for business. You can also join groups that focus on various industries or topics. As you build your network, it’s important to know the do’s and don’ts.
I recently read an article by Melonie Dodaro in Social Media Examiner, 6 Ways to Grow Your LinkedIn Connections, that give you some practical tips on growing your connections. Here are some highlights:
- Profile image – make sure you have a good, professional shot. Remember this is their first impression of you and you only get one chance.
- Keyword optimization – keep it to 3-4 top words you want to be associated with. Don’t stuff your keywords or people will pass you by.
- Personalize your connection request – let them know how you got their name. Whether it was from a common business associate, a group you both belong to, or maybe they do a blog that you follow.
- Ask for endorsements – From people you know, don’t be afraid to ask. If they know, like and trust you, they would be happy to do you a favor. You should also reciprocate and endorse skills of folks you know.
- Treat recommendations like references – you want to be sure those who are recommending you have a good reputation. Rule of thumb, never accept a recommendation from someone you don’t know.
Hopefully these tips will help you grow within LinkedIn.
by tradesmeninsights | Jan 8, 2014 | Marketing Tips, Social Marketing
I think most marketers realize that social isn’t going away and they need to plan to incorporate it into their overall marketing strategy. Marketers also know that adding social means more work for their existing staffs.
One of the biggest issues is push back from others within the organization. While marketing may be in charge of social media, it doesn’t mean they have to carry the entire load. I recently read an article by Stephanie Shkolnik in Social Media Examiner that outlines suggestions on why to get employees involved. Here are some highlights:
- Define the end goal – like any other initiative, we need to define objectives on what we’re trying to accomplish and how we are going to measure its success.
- Create a task force – whether you’re a one-man band marketing department or have a big staff, you need to get others involved and they can and should come from other departments. Tap into sales, customer service, engineering, R&D and general management to be part of the process.
- Develop a strategy – that will involve the whole company.
- Be consistent – hold regular meetings with the team and track your progress.
If you get others involved and explain what the goal is, it will become easier to get others on board and share the responsibility.
Last month, Sonnhalter employees had the opportunity to get their hands dirty with a visit to a local manufacturer, Lincoln Electric, that designs, develops and manufactures arc welding products, robotic arc welding systems, fume extraction equipment and plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment.