USPS is showing its age.

The United States Postal service has just announced that it doesn't know if it will be able to opperate in 2011 with the significant losses that is continues to endure. Check this article out: http://bit.ly/cKqQZr

If you ask me the USPS is too big to make changes fast enough to keep up with the advances in technology. Businesses are more apt to send articles through email and day to day coversations take place through the social medias. If the Post Office doesn't get on the ball in the coming months they will cease to exist as we know them. It's all about communication, communication, communication. The process by which we communicate has changed dramatically.

I still send packages to my customers and I still send out some billing via the postal service, but in the comming years that will change. In the, not too distant future you won't be able to send a simple letter in a day or 2 for 44 cents[note:What's really funny is I just googled the cost....WOW].

What's also pushing the out the USPS is how everyone is going green and paying bills through the web. Let's also look at commercial for the credit card companies. They make using cash an "old" way of making a transaction, never mind writing a check. So make sure your company is starting to pave the way into a new generation of communication. Twitter, Google, Facebook aren't about to move over anytime soon. Get going and make your marketing fun and inviting through the technology of TODAY!

The worst thing that anyone can say about your company is … nothing! Positive comments certainly reinforce your brand, but negative comments provide an opportunity for a company to turn the issue around and help the brand.The BUZZ for any company can be created through the content on the site. This content is then translated to articles that can be blogged and "TWEETED". This buzz can generate leads if the content is fresh and has pertinence in the field that it is written. Company websites have to be informative in that they introduce the customer to creative and factual solutions to that industry. Key word here is SOLUTIONS. Most people are searching the net for a solution to some challenge or problem. Today, the challenge is finding customers that will remain loyal to your brand. Price point is usually the focus in this economic climate. The solution to the "Price War" is knowledge. There needs to be enough information in any campaign to justify the higher price. We need to market to the value contious buyer today. They will still buyer a more expensive better product but the better informed buyer is your best friend. If they are confident of your expertise they will return, if for nothing else, saving time. I recently had to purchase auto parts as I am an enthusiast of sorts. I first went to the larger store "Checker Auto", They were great, really and they did the best they could with what they had. Now, in the past, they have been a great deal less expensive than the smaller locally owned auto store. On this day they failed to know everything that the "experienced" staff at Larry's Auto Parts knew. Now I will still go to both stores but when time is the over-all concern I wouldn't hesitate to go first to Larry's.

 

 

Search Campaigning? Plan for the long term and combine strategies.      

Include an e-mail sign-up on every search landing page, and make it very visible. This is an opportunity to find "opt-In" surfers that have an interest in what you so eloquently got them to click on in your search advertising and optimization.


Create Synergy in your search and e-mail marketing. The subject of this week’s e-newsletter reflect your paid search terms. If a current reader does a search for something they see in your newsletter and you’re the first paid link on the page, it will boost your credibility with prospective clients.

Post e-newsletter content on your website—in proper directory structure, of course—creates content that’s multipurpose and will be indexed by search engines. This is simple and increases your page ranking.

Don’t get lazy do not use the same landing page for an e-mail marketing campaign that you use for a paid search campaign. Develop enough collateral to be ready for all campaign needs. A separate piece will also allow you to track the productivity of a page or ad.
Lastly, the "surfer" or "searcher" that lands on your site probably has never been there before and the message that you convey better speak openly and to the point or you will lose them. Test your message with a focus group and see what will work best.

New Advertising Tactics

Business owners have to reevaluate their advertising tactics and decide whether or not they actually do justice to the brands they're trying to sell. Your Image/Brand willlay flat if the representation of your products is that of stock photos and generic looks. Throw out those stock photos on your Web site. The idea of having the perfect looking "perfect professionals" shaking hands across a board table is more and more being replaced with pictures that reflect the actual staff, culture and personality of your company. This adds to credibility and stability, especially when the economic environment is so unstable. Seeing the actual faces smiling through an image on your site shows the visitor that you are willing to garantee a great experience with your company through these people. Try getting some of your people together, hire a professional photographer, and shoot away.

A professional photographer will be able to get the right angle look from your staff. If you plan the shoot well enough the photographer will be able to shoot enough assets to last a few years of promotion. Make sure you let the photographer know that you plan to use the images to promote your organization and that you want full rights to the images before they shart clicking. This will save you a great deal of time and money. Remember the days of over paying for anything are over.

Distinctive Tag Lines

A tag line is a three to four word phrase that accompanies your logo. It expresses your company's most important benefits and or what you want your customers to remember about working with you. Think of it as the words you want to linger in your target customer's mind about you and what you have to offer. Great tag lines appear to be effortlessly created because they just seem to flow. In fact, creating and refining one takes time, just like designing a great logo. The benefits of taking the time to craft a great tag line lie with the tag line's stickiness. Great tag lines stick in your memory.

The Hallmark tag line, "When you care enough to send the very best," appeals to the human desire to be viewed as having good taste and an appreciation for luxury. If greeting cards are a commodity, then Hallmark has found a way to differentiate itself as the choice for quality.

The Hallmark company was founded by J. C. Hall, so the name Hallmark was a natural. It was also brilliant from a marketing standpoint. Hallmarks have been used for centuries as a stamp to denote quality, purity, and genuineness. Could there be a better way to attach the image of quality to a product? The tag line capitalizes on that image well with words that stick in the mind and exemplify good taste.

Creating a great logo and distinctive tag line are critical in creating a brand that provides the perfect image for your company and great ones just might be memorable enough to give your company the beach front property in the minds of your customers that leaves them thinking only of you.

Karen Saunders is the author of "Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools!" Hundreds of business owners have used her simple do-it-yourself design system to create stunning marketing materials that really SELL their products and services!