Strategic PR Tips:

September 2011
TOUCHPOINTS
How to get attention

Always look for "touchpoint" opportunities. What reason or even excuse can you use to communicate with your customers, your stakeholders, even your own employees? You want to keep your "brand" top of mind, so it is essential that you stay "in touch."

In this viral world, it's also important to make it simple for customers and the curious to give you feedback, ask you questions, find out more about your company.

There are so many relatively new ways you can do this, and some old tried-and-true ones as well.

QR - It's new, maybe a fad, but for now it stimulates curiosity. It's "Quick Response", a symbol you can put on printed materials, business cards, and advertisements that can carry a link to your contact information, your website, or even special deals you are offering. It can be a link to a video. It can be new developments in your products or in your industry that you want people to see on your website. People can get a QR app on their smartphone for free, and they can "read" your QR whenever they see it. I can help you create the funny-looking square code. You see it in local materials, national magazines, on business cards, etc. In fact, you can just make it your business card information that gets transferred with one click to a customer's smartphone without the need to key it all in. Think of all the work that saves you for keeping track of business leads.

Social media - Facebook, Twitter, blogging - the newest way to keep a channel of communication going not just FROM your business TO your customers, but more importantly TO your business FROM your customers. Takes time to monitor, send, and respond, but it creates a terrific "touchpoint."

E-newsletters - Some say email is becoming passe´, but this is still the way many like to receive information. There are several companies out there who make it so simple. You just have to write the copy and create the email list. You get lots of analytics back as to how much it is opened, clicked through, etc.

Direct Mail - And for some, the hard copy mailed to them still works. Especially if it is only part of the "mix" of ways you communicate with them. Remember that not all of your audience is ready for all the "high tech" developments. Invitations to a special event are an example of a direct mail piece because of the peripatetic "place on the fridge" that helps couples keep each other posted about events they plan to attend. I would also include letters of appreciation and thanks in direct mail. They need to be sent "snail mail." Of course, you could always include a "QR" in your direct mail as well!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS
You know the saying... You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

How good is your organization at making that first impression? Here are the opportunities:

• Answering the phone
  
• Greeting someone coming in the front door
  
• The tidiness of the path to your front door
  
• The look of materials you mail or put on Facebook or YouTube
  
• Your yellow page ad
  
• Your listing in the Chamber directory or the 211 directory
  
  
  These are all points of first contact with your company or organization. Make sure they are the very best you can muster - and keep them current!
  

ELEVATOR SPEECHES...Short and Sweet

I had an opportunity recently to give an "elevator speech" about my company and my profession.

Someone asked me what an "elevator speech" was. Was it something that "elevated" people or made them feel good or cheered them up?

I said no, it was a speech that you could give in the space of time you had to interact with someone on an elevator before the door opened to your destination. In other words, it was a short and sweet statement.

In the case of my opportunity, it was to tell in 15-30 seconds what my company does and how it can be of benefit to the listener.

I chose to say this: My company, Toni James & Associates Strategic Public Relations, repairs, strengthens, and build bridges for your business. (It was only a one floor ride on the elevator!).

If I had been traveling on the elevator with someone all the way up to the top of the Empire State Building, I might have added that we listen, we research, we measure, we connect, we evaluate, and we produce results. We use consequential thinking to analyze the situation and consider the consequences of possible actions before advising on strategies and actions. We are primarily a public relations consulting firm, but we also assist in implementing strategic actions.

Be ready with your own "elevator speech." When you just have the time in an elevator, you need to be short and sweet!


July 2011
“What Joe Maddon taught me”
We're all in a hurry to get results. Here are a few reasons why I think patience is a virtue.
I'm a big fan of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, and they teach me many lessons. They present an example of the integration of short term and long term investment which I think has meaning for any business.

Short term - Obviously, winning a ball game is the short term goal. That has to come first.
Long term - Sustaining a successful team over more than a year is a long term goal.

Joe Maddon, the Rays' fantastic manager, sometimes does something that as a fan I wish he wouldn't. He leaves a pitcher in after it's clear that the pitcher doesn't have his "stuff" that day. I, as a fan, want the pitcher replaced - now. But Joe sees the bigger picture and sometimes risks getting further behind in the game in order to show the pitcher that he doesn't get off that easy; he has to "tough it out" or work through it. In the long term, that makes the pitcher stronger. Joe's strategy is longer term.

Businesses have a similar situation. Short term you have to have money coming in. Long term you must invest in on-going training of your people, replacement and upgrading equipment, leveraging cash flow, discovering new products and services, and building strategic alliances.

Public relations is all about long term strategy. It's about building bridges, strategic alliances, before they are needed, not when the dam is about to burst. Businesses must plant the seeds before reaping the harvest, to use another metaphor. Demonstrate honesty, integrity by the way you treat your customers, the way you give back to your community, the way you offer quality work. Then, as author Ken Blanchard says, you'll have "raving fans." Blanchard says satisfied customers are not good enough. They must be so satisfied that they become an extension of your sales staff, telling everyone of their good experience.

My public relations emphasis is on the "why" of the work, not the "how." Why do you want that brochure or flyer or news release? How is it a part of a longer term strategy to build a strong foundation for your business? Maybe the better strategy to build awareness is a project with a charity. Or maybe it's a membership in a good networking organization. If you have important news, what can be done to give the news release "legs", or longer-lasting results? Have you chosen the right audience for your news? Or the appropriate news medium?

The Rays' management is always looking way down the road for player recruitment and development. There's always the possibility of losing a key player to injury with a long rehab. And of course players get older each year. So they constantly have to be scouting in the high schools and colleges for new talent and at other teams for trades.

Businesses must always be on the lookout for new talent and for changing environments. How many people saw the recent recession coming? Now is the time for those well-planted seeds of loyal customers, strategic alliances, and general good will to bear fruit. No business can "live off the shelf" for long. Some effort must be made to replenish the cupboard. Public relations strategies, planned and implemented in good times, will provide the needed cushion in tough times.

I hope this has given you some ideas for your business. Please don't hesitate to let me know if I can help put them into practice for you.


March 2011
“Trust...a Measurable Factor”
Did you ever think that trust can have different speeds?

The most important part of any relationship is trust, and "public relations" is really "personal relationships" writ large. I'm reading a terrific book by Stephen M.R. Covey called "The Speed of Trust." In it he boils down trust to dividends or expense. He says that the larger amounts of trust, the more profit or gain, and the smaller amounts of trust, the more cost is added to your product or service. The more trust, the faster good things can happen. You can complete transactions with customers more quickly, and hence cut down on costs.

Distrust bogs down the accomplishment of effective service or product delivery, adds to the cost, and slows down results. Hence, the "speed" of trust. Solid trust in a relationship eliminates the need for all kinds of protective mechanisms and safeguards, and speeds the delivery or accomplishment. Investing in building trust on the front end of a relationship or business deal pays dividends, Covey says.

It can take years to restore trust that is damaged by a thoughtless act or statement, so it's important to take pro-active steps.

January 2011
“What is "Strategic Public Relations?”
Many years ago there was a radio show called "Truth or Consequences." In it the contestants either told the truth or suffered the consequences.

How true that is in life today. However, even telling the truth doesn't relieve us of the consequences. A business contemplating a change should explore the consequences before acting. I like to compare that situation to Sir Isaac Newton's theory of the Laws of Motion. Paraphrased, any action creates a reaction. It could be damaging or it could be productive, but it is essential to anticipate possible consequences and make sure that the business has the ability to handle it either way.

This is my business philosophy: "Strategic Public Relations -- consequential thinking before you launch." It could be that a major customer was left out or insulted by a new approach and threatens to cancel doing business. But it could also be unanticipated high demand for the new product or service that the business was not prepared to supply in large quantities.

Even if you think your proposed action is the greatest since sliced bread, others with whom your business has a relationship may not see it that way. Or you may think a small change won't cause much of a reaction. A skilled public relations professional can help you "get a read" on this before you spend valuable resources in a way that may be counter-productive.

Why not give us a call (no commitment) and see what our firm might be able to do for you! It never hurts to ask!
Credits: Relationship Matters

August 2010
“Consequential thinking – before you launch”
Summer is morphing into fall, which means the tempo of our lives picks up. With the hope that the economy will pick up as well, are you contemplating changes to your business strategy? Although change can be good, it may also cause havoc if not thought through for the consequences.
Change may be the best thing you ever did because:

It attracts attention
It gives you a reason to connect with your customers
It helps you revisit your old assumptions
It forces you to think outside the box

BUT...

Be sure to consider all the ramifications or consequences of change. Newton’s Laws of Motion come to mind. In business terms, a) be ready to deal with new business you ask for, and b) also be ready to deal with a pushback from some quarters. In other words, to every action there is ALWAYS a consequence – sometimes positive, sometimes negative. You must be ready for both.

I’d love to help you plan your changes with the public relations implications in mind. As you consider the changes you want to make, my firm can help you maximize the positive energy you create and minimize the pushback or negative energy that may occur – both before you “launch”.

April 2010
“Getting your business top-of-mind”
Ocala and Marion County’s azaleas tell the story – life springs anew. The warm sunshine symbolizes hope for our struggling economy. Leaves are bursting out on the trees and the winter landscape is being transformed into a whole new look.

As many customers and clients begin to take advantage of a loosening of the purse strings and have the desire to begin expanding again, you must make sure that you’re not overtaken by a competitor who captures their attention. Advertising is NOT the only way to get attention – there are many ways to put a spotlight on your business without buying advertising. And if you don’t have “retail” customers, you surely have someone who buys your product or service. Competitors will work hard to get their business. Make sure you catch the big wave that will carry you forward.

I’d love to help you brainstorm the ways to get on top of the wave of a reinvigorated economy.

February 2010
“Freshen your look”
As Ocala and Marion County begins to see spring at the end of this cold winter, perhaps we can see a thaw in the business environment. Even if we can’t quite glimpse it yet, there are some things we can be doing now to position ourselves for that time.

How long has it been since you’ve given your entryway a facelift with a pretty plant or a new coat of paint? How about rearranging the furniture in your lobby? And what about your logo, your letterhead, and your website?

I’ve taken my own advice and on this stationery and the enclosed business card I sport a new logo design, and I’ve done a total re-do of my website www.tonijamesandassociates.com. You can do the same, and I can help.

November 2009
“Maintaining relationships with customers”
Staying in touch with customers keeps you “top of mind” with them. Have you thanked them for their business recently? Or told them of a new product or service you’ve added? Or asked them if you can help with a challenge they’re having? Absence really doesn’t “make the heart grow fonder.” You have to create “touchpoints” with customers to remind them that you value their business and to keep them from looking elsewhere.

Holiday time presents an excellent opportunity to say “thank you for your business” in a very special way. It can be a carefully selected greeting card, or a locally made box of chocolates or cookies, or even Florida citrus (“Buy Local,” of course). Or a discount on some product or service. But doing it is important. And the expense is an investment in keeping a customer happy. We all know that keeping a good customer is much cheaper than finding a new one.

We can help you find the perfect way to say thank you this holiday season.