Enjoy Your Engagement….

May 14th, 2008 JuhlinYoulein Posted in Marriage | No Comments »

Weddings are usually the most joyous time of a person’s life. So if this even is typically the most memorable and important, shouldn’t it always be remembered?

Yes, it should always be remembered. So how do you do this? Why with a Professional Photographer and a Professional Videographer of course. This will solve all of your memorabilia necessities.

First, Professional Photographers. Professional Photographers are very handy in the sense that they are extremely valuable to capture an moment of time by holding it still.

And especially now days photos are awesome to have of moments. Cameras are ten times better than they used to be and now days you can blow up the picture to be huge and have crystal clear images. So having top quality photos of your Wedding is so awesome because of the clarity fact and so many other facts such as beautiful coloring and making your photos amazing! People, both family and friends will be able to enjoy those picture for years and years to come.

Next, Professional Videographers. Wedding Videographers are quite new to the Wedding industry but are quickly becoming the most sought after vendors to have at a Wedding. As many have found, Wedding Videographers are important because they are able to capture moments at your Wedding like an eye is seeing it. Dancing and laughter, you can see movement and hear voices. Its like that time will never grow old like we do.

I really love Weddings. Sometime when I’m at a Hotel and I see a Wedding is going on in one of the Ballrooms at the Hotel I always have to have a little peek in to see the decorations, to hear the music and to just see everything cool that is going on. For me, that is so fun.

So are you planning your Wedding right now? This is such a fun time. Look around you… look around at the world. Get ideas wherever you go about your Wedding. Looking at colors when your at the mall, tastes and recognize when you eat good foods when you go out with your friends, etc. to give you ideas of what you want to have at your Wedding.

The world is full of so many ideas. So watch this beautiful world that surrounds you to get ideas. You will be surprised on how many ideas you get just from taking this advise.

The last and most important thing I want to say to you is this, “Relax and enjoy” hopefully… this will only happen once. A lot of Women that I know and that I have seen getting ready for their Wedding, during those few months before really stress out. That’s not fun for you, its not fun for your health, and is defiantly not fun for your future spouse. So just try and enjoy the process of your Engagement. Remember, even the most planned out organized brides have something little happen that did not go as planned. So don’t sweat the small stuff and enjoy this time. The memories of this occasion and event will be implanted in your mind forever.

wedding photographer scottsdale

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Narrowcasting Networks – Dedicated TV Arrays In Financial Institutions Build Customer Loyalty And Sales

May 14th, 2008 BarryJames Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Financial institutions face many challenges today in an increasingly competitive and innovative marketplace. Offering new or improved financial products and services that distinguish you from your competitor is one means of capturing and holding onto your market share in this hyper-competitive and crowded financial marketplace. Developing loyalty to the products, services and the people that assist consumers of financial products – be it banking, real estate or insurance – is another way of building and retaining market share. In marketing parlance, this is “branding”.

Consider:

- There is stiff and increasing competition for financial products and services, like mortgages, investment advice and financial planning services.

- With the basic products underlying the services being virtually the same everywhere – loans, mortgages, investments, insurance contracts etc. - it is increasingly difficult for banks or other financial institutions to clearly differentiate themselves.

- With Internet banking, there are fewer reasons for clients to visit a branch, making it harder for banks and other financial institutions to market to their customers and build consumer loyalty through branding.

For these and other reasons, financial institutions (perhaps the epitome of the old “bricks and mortar” economy) have started borrowing marketing ideas, techniques and technologies from the retail and online sectors of the “new economy. In an effort to improve their marketing capabilities, many financial institutions have turned to digital signage, in-house narrowcasting TV channels, monitors and large plasma displays that hover overhead delivering marketing and branding messages while the customer waits for the teller on the occasions the customer does ago to his or her local bank branch.

Why Narrowcasting TV is Good for Financial Institutions

Products like loans, mortgages and credit cards do not vary significantly between financial institutions, making it harder for one bank to stand out and differentiate itself form the rest of the pack. For many financial institutions, branding is the only way to set themselves apart and distinguish themselves from their competitors.

Narrowcasting is the act of marketing to a narrow, focused audience through the use of digital signage and integrated arrays of video displays, monitors and plasma displays. It is an eye-catching option for the brand building that financial institutions must do today to remain competitive.

As branding tools, however, digital signs can do more than convey messages about bank services and products. They can enhance the customer experience with “feel-good” images and messages about the effects their products can bring – new parents in a new house, young people graduating from school, retirees traveling the globe etc. These images create a positive brand identity that customers are likely to remember. They also give customers something to do while waiting in line, reducing their perceived wait time and enhancing their customer experience.

Cross-selling is another advantage of digital signs. Consider the typical customer interaction in a bank branch. Customers are in a hurry. They are there for a short time and are thinking only about completing the task at hand, not larger issues of financial planning. In the effort to get their attention, digital signs can be invaluable and the most effective way to address financial concerns and options that customers may have or may not be aware of, but which they are not focused upon at that time.

The compelling images and concise, meaningful messages on digital signs and displays have been proven to engage customers. Seeing a promotion and hearing about the advantage and benefits of a product or service can engage the customer in a way that traditional print marketing cannot – that is, if traditional signs or pamphlets are read. Narrowcasting and video signage can then prompt customers to immediate action, encouraging them to follow up by asking a teller about the message they saw.

The role of the teller is therefore also important. Because they are on the front lines, they need to be informed about promotions and taught how to cross-sell. While the messages on digital signs can serve as reminders to staff about new products, digital media networks are also ideal for training presentations that can occur before or after opening hours. With digital content that is available at multiple locations, there can be good assurance that all employees are receiving the necessary training in new products and service.

How FIs Are Using Narrowcasting TV

Financial institutions have found success with narrowcasting TV by adhering to a few simple ABC’s:

A. Make sure the messages that are being broadcast are short, conveying their full meaning in a minute or two. Audience attention wanes over time, even with more visually appealing digital formats.

B. Use creative content that speaks to target markets. Digital media allow for what is called “dayparting” – the ability to switch messages in response to time of day or demographic changes. Banks that take advantage of this capability have more response to their digital messages.

C. Keep content fresh. Make sure content loops are not likely to show the same information too often so customers do not get bored.

With integrated narrowcasting TV networks, arrays of display monitors and digital signage, financial institutions have an effective branding and marketing tool that can help them differentiate themselves from their competition. But remember your ABC’s, above. Content, the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and sales pitch, is what drives market revenue and helps a company’s branding efforts win customer support and loyalty. The best digital signage suppliers can meet their clients’ needs in terms of both hardware – the displays, monitors and narrowcast network itself – but also the digital advertising software, the all-important digital capabilities that make the system run and, most importantly, the digital content of the financial institution’s marketing message.

EK3 Technologies Inc. is a leader in digital signage, narrowcasting and digital advertising software. Visit EK3’s website at www.ek3.com or call 1-866-353-8324 for business solutions and services that capture your audience and deliver your message.

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Is There A Warrant For My Arrest? Learn How To Check For Arrest Warrants

May 14th, 2008 SteveGee Posted in Legal | No Comments »

If you learn what an arrest warrant is and how to find out if you have one then you might just stay out of trouble with the police.

It’s easier than you might think to end up with warrants for your arrest. Sometimes you don’t know that you’ve done anything wrong and it’s even possible to get an arrest warrant for something you haven’t done. If you do have a warrant then sooner or later the cops will come and arrest you. Checking for arrest warrants regularly could buy you enough valuable time to allow you to do something about it before you get arrested.

I’m going to go over some of the ways that you can end up with a warrant for your arrest and tell you how you can easily find out if you have one.

Have you been exceeding the speed limit or failed to pay a fine?

You might have forgotten to turn up in court when you should have done or you were late paying a fine. If you have done either of these then you could have an arrest warrant. Have you done any community service that was ordered by a court but you haven’t told them that you’ve done it. You might simply have picked up a fine for speeding and forgotten to pay it.

If you’re wondering exactly what an arrest warrant is then you should read this article before continuing http://www.howdo-i.com/backgroundcheck/whatisanarrestwarrant.php The article covers both arrest warrants and bench warrants.

You might be forgiven for thinking that you must have committed a crime of some sort to have a warrant out on you but this isn’t always the case. You can be a model citizen and still have the cops knock on your door in the middle of the night. The police only have to think that you’re responsible for some wrongdoing and if they have anything that looks like evidence then they can get a warrant for your arrest.

Don’t ignore a warrant for arrest because it’s so much better to give yourself up

It doesn’t matter how you get a warrant. It won’t change the fact that you will end up in court and when you do what do you think that the judge will think if the police had to chase you down and arrest you? I think that you might expect to get treated much more sympathetically if you’ve handed yourself in voluntarily. If you learn about the warrant early enough then you will have time to engage a lawyer which will also be much better for you in the long run.

Has someone stolen your identity?

If you’ve the unknowing victim of identity theft then you could have many arrest warrants out on you in all sorts of places. Identity theft seems to be getting more and more common and noone is immune from it. The worst part about it is that it might be a long time before you figure out that you’re a victim during which time you could have had money stolen from your bank accounts or your impersonator may have committed crimes against someone else. If they did it in your name then it’s you who gets the warrant. Sad but true.

You can find out if you have arrest warrants in less than 5 minutes

The best way to check for arrest warrants is to use an online service that uses public data from hundreds if not thousands of online and offline sources. Using one of these web sites means that you don’t need to try and guess where the warrants might be because all the information is in one place. It’s easy, convenient, 100% confidential and a search can often be done in less than 5 minutes. Give it a try now.

Start checking for arrest warrants now at Court Records It will take you less than 5 minutes and it’s 100% confidential. Learn more about how to find an arrest warrant here http://www.howdo-i.com/backgroundcheck/howdoicheckforarrestwarrants.php

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Landscape Design Marketing

May 14th, 2008 DavidLedoux Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Did it ever occur to you that landscape design marketing was something that was essential to your business as are a good aesthetic sense and a knowledge of horticulture? Chances are, if you are someone who puts a lot of time and love into their work, you’ve never really thought about why you need to think about marketing. Shouldn’t your work speak for itself? Shouldn’t people be able to look at your design and figure out why your work is the best? The problem is, the answer is a most emphatic “NO!” With plenty of friends in the business and with an eye towards helping them make money, I’ve seen a lot when it comes to this business, and one of the first things I noticed is how few people are making the most out of their marketing opportunities.When you are thinking of landscape design marketing, you’ll find that the first and foremost thing that you need to do is think about how people are going to find your work. Think about your web presence.

More and more people are searching online for all of their landscaping needs, and because of this, you’ll find that if you aren’t online, plenty of people will never find you. If you’ve never put together a website before, and aren’t sure what makes a good one, it’s time to talk to a website designer. If this is your business page, you don’t want to leave it to amateurs; hey, you wouldn’t let a kid with a weed whacker remodel your lawn, right? One of the nicest things I ever saw a landscaping firm do was send a thank you note to my neighbor after she had her lawn professionally landscaped. It was a very charming gesture, and they happened to include a cute little flower magnet as well, which just happened to have their name and number printed on it. If I think about it, I can still see her magnet on the refrigerator, and you can bet that when she wants to recommend landscaping to someone that she’ll just read off the name and number on the magnet. Have you done anything to make yourself that accessible to newer customers and older ones?

If you are interested in landscape design marketing, take some time to get some pictures of what you have done. Take some pictures immediately after you finish your work and ask the people you did it for if you can use it in a brochure or on a website. You’ll find that nothing attracts people like pictures of what their lawn could look like, so make sure that you can give them an idea. Remember that you should always explain what you have done and why; this is when a good website will come in handy.

Take some time to really think about what you can do when it comes to getting customers to your site. Don’t be one of more than 75% of landscaping companies that don’t have a marketing plan; this is the way to to go, so make sure that you get started!

David Ledoux is an author, speaker, trainer and mentor to entrepreneurs. His newest report The Small Business Death Sentence can be downloaded for free at http://bigmoneyfreetime.com

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Marketing Tips For Small Law Firms

May 14th, 2008 DavidLedoux Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

After a number of years of watching law firms fail and succeed, it is easy to see that there are definitely some do’s and don’t’s that come with this business. There are a lot of jokes about lawyers being cutthroat in the courtroom, but what so many lawyers aren’t aware of is how early this needs to start. If you are a small firm, I believe that you need to hustle twice as hard to get somewhere as the firms that are larger, but you’ll find that you also have quite a few advantages as well. When you are looking marketing tips for small law firms, you’ll find that there are a few things that you should remember.

First, keep in mind that your small size is going to be an asset in some very real ways. People see the larger firms and they see something that is large, doesn’t have their best interests in mind and will end up charging them an arm and a leg just for being in the office. On the other hand, when they look at you, they’ll see a small family setting. Even if you and your associates are not related at all, you’ll find that you give an air of approachability.

There are several ways that you can emphasize this aspect. Make sure that you have someone who will visit with your clients looking for feedback. When you are a small firm, you can afford to give your clients a lot of one on one interaction, and you’ll find that this goes a long way. The personal touch still counts for a lot, so make sure that you make the most of it. Ive seen firms that will do things like hold barbecues or cocktail parties and answer all of their clients questions in a very friendly and personable space.

When you are looking for marketing tips for small law firms, make sure that you capitalize on the fact that you are small and that you are fluid. If your client has needs that you usually don’t cover, try to find a way to cover them. Make sure that you network with other small firms and that you can do referrals with ease and grace. You’ll also find that a certain amount of your time needs to be spent “rainmaking,” or developing new customers. I’ve seen firms that will only work on rainmaking when they are painfully aware that they need it. If you are in a situation where you really need customers, you have done something wrong, so make sure that you don’t get to this point

As a small law firm, there are simply somethings that you can’t do. You can’t handle every legal need that your client may need handled, but remember that your attitude should be that you want to help them get their problem solved. Take some time to make sure that you are in a good position to take advantage of these marketing tips for small law firms and make sure that you use them!

David Ledoux is an author, speaker, trainer and mentor to entrepreneurs. His newest report The Small Business Death Sentence can be downloaded for free at http://bigmoneyfreetime.com

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How Much To Budget : Marketing Sales Leads Vs. Data Base Campaigns

May 14th, 2008 MacH Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

So, what is the correct amount to spend on an image enhancement, awareness campaign, and a sales lead generation program, and what is the correct amount to spend on a data base marketing strategic campaign? This is a good question. Both aspects are important to a successful marketing program, and they work even better in tandem.

Usually, most business to business marketers appear to spend about ninety or ninety-five percent of their marketing budgets on image enhancement, awareness campaigns, and sales lead generation programs. These same marketers will spend only about five to ten percent of their marketing budgets on data base marketing. This is a bad approach which will not lead to maximum success.

Instead, if you are just getting into data base marketing, consider spending about seventy to seventy-five percent of the entire marketing budget on image awareness and programs which enhance sales lead generation. Then, spend about fifteen to twenty percent of your budget to fund data base marketing programs that are designed to help nurture hot prospects until they reach maturity and and ready to make a purchase. You should spend the remaining five to ten percent in programs which target your existing customers, to keep them and increase your sales relationships with them by offering other products, services, add ons, and upgrades.

Business which currently employ mature data base marketing programs often end up with a strategy that budgets less than fifty percent of their funding toward image enhancement, awareness campaigns, and sales lead generation programs. This is particularly true of those companies which have been successfully able to track and measure these events, and the increase in sales that have resulted from implementing marketing programs aimed at the people in their current data bases.

Why is this the case? The primary reason is that these businesses are realizing that they don’t actually need to spend quite so much on the former objectives when they are also implementing a solid data base marketing program which allows them to speak directly to a variety of subsets within their overall market. These mature data base marketers designate the other fifty percent or more of the budget in order to fund marketing communications programs that are aimed directly at their data bases of prospects, customers, and solid leads. These targeted, repetitive, and well orchestrated campaigns are in fact designed to identify and develop the hot prospects and communicate directly with their current customers to maximize the sales opportunities which exist for a business.

It is wise to consider that even though the above is true, it must be understood that image enhancement, awareness campaigns, and sales lead generation programs all have a strong role within a top marketing department; but those sales lead generation programs that perform at their best along a strong and consistent data base marketing program are event better. Both of these aspects are quite important in order to have a top performance direct marketing solution, and striking the best balance between them is the goal of the savvy and effective marketer.

M. H. “Mac” McIntosh is described by many as one of America’s leading B2B sales and marketing consultants and an expert on sales lead generation. See: http://www.sales-lead-experts.com for more info.

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Advertising Your Business - Response Or Brand Advertising?

May 14th, 2008 NazDaud Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Marketing your business properly is one of the most fundamental skills required to achieve success. In order to have a successful, established business, it’s important to be sure you are advertising your business in an effective, value for money way that’s likely to generate a return on investment. Not all advertising works, and where some advertising campaigns may turn out to be incredibly successful, others will have minimum or only short term effect.

Crucial to learning to properly market your business is determining the difference between direct response advertising & brand advertising.

Direct response advertising is far more important, at least in the short term, to the success of your business. This is advertising that demands an action from the target. Examples could include details of a specific offer, a new promotion or launch of a new product. This is advertising designed to tug at the emotions of customers, prompting them into action, and it is this form of marketing that will boost sales and cash flow in the short term.

The alternative, and less effective for a new or small business is brand advertising. While this might be a successful technique in some niche markets, generally it is a more expensive way of building sales than employing direct response advertising techniques. By strategically promoting the brand and the underlying brand values, this form of advertising ultimately vicariously promotes the individual products and helps to build customer loyalty.

Deciding which route is most relevant for your business is the first step in ensuring that you are advertising your business properly and effectively.

Brand advertising is pretty effective for big businesses or a business in a particular small market niche which may find it profitable to appear to be a brand leader. However it does require much more significant investment, because of the lack of direct responses generated and the more subtle effect it has on bottom line sales. Thus for a new business on a start-up budget, it might be best to steer clear of brand advertising – at least, initially.

The next step is to find some way of tracking your return on investment (i.e. response) from each specific advertising campaign. This could be achieved by only advertising one offer through a particular medium, or by advertising with slightly different phone numbers to manually record the number of leads from two different advertising strategies. Also, remember to take account of the cost of different advertising campaigns. Work out overall which advertising strategies are most cost effective for your business.

Finally, advertising your business must be viewed as a cumulative process. To start with, going for direct offers is the best way to encourage first-time buyers, which could then hopefully translate into a loyal customer based. Continuing to grow your business through advertising of this nature is perfectly plausible, and over time it may even prove cost effective to switch to some brand advertising techniques.

It is important not to rush in to advertising in a big way until you have tried out some mini campaigns to evaluate the response.

Naz Daud - CityLocal Business & Franchises UK Business Directory & Internet Franchises Franchise Opportunity & Internet Business Opportunities Ireland Directory & Business Franchises Work from Home

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Marketing In Tough Times

May 14th, 2008 MacH Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Undoubtedly, these are tough economic times. As the marketing specialist at your company, you will need to find better ways to locate and influence those remaining active buyers and create more leads and sales, often with a reduced spending budget.

Keep programs which have the most affect on lead generation and short-term sales, cutting those projects which don’t perform as well or that are untested. Company image is critical, but now is not the time to try to reach a huge audience with an unspecific message. Focus on your targeted best prospects, better describing the benefits of your product or service. By asking your sales staff which methods have been most effective in generating sales and studying their responses, you’ll be able to make smarter budgeting allocations.

Direct Mail

Instead of broad mail-outs to purchased lists, increase the use of fax, email, and direct mail-outs to distribute targeted offerings to your known prospects. If your company doesn’t already have its own email list, you may consider putting advertisements in other targeted email newsletters as a quick way to reach your market and generate immediate response.

Public Relations

Writing articles for industry publications is a great way to benefit from inexpensive public relations opportunities. These articles could contain customer testimonials, success stories, and an article byline which highlights your expertise. The newsletter is another great method of staying at the forefront of your prospects’ minds. By asking subscribers to fill out a short survey with qualifying questions, you can enter the circulation information into the database and follow up with the appropriate prospects. Additionally, both the articles and the newsletter are easily repurposed for the website Another excellent tactic is promoting your company’s management as speakers at key conferences. By offering to send white papers of copies of the presentations to attendees in exchange for their business cards, these events could be helpful in generating leads.

Industry Publications & Trade Shows

An occasional presence in a large number of industry publications will likely be less effective than a greater presence in fewer publications. Take a careful look through the BPA statements, studying them to uncover the true percentage of readers who are part of your target market. In bad economic times, advertising sales often take a hit. This may be a good opportunity for your to negotiate reduced rates with publishers.

Trade shows are usually expensive, and eliminating some of the less valuable ones can help eliminate costs. For those shows where your exhibition has proved valuable in the past, think about getting a smaller booth. You can increase attendance by sending mail-outs in advance, and you may be able to find resellers and distributors willing to assist with staffing it.

Company Web Site

Increase the amount of links to your site by working with other organizations. By uploading case studies and article content to your site, you will have more pages to register with search engines. Proper keyword choices will help your site rank highly in searches made by your intended audience.

Teleconference

By hosting web events and teleconferences instead of costly workshops and seminars, you will reduce the need for staff to travel. In fact, many electronic events have good attendance rates for the same reason - attendees will not be required to leave the office in order to participate. This said, remember that in order to have a real impact, these electronic events will need to be promoted well and executed properly.

Printed Materials

You can reduce company printing and shipping costs by partnering with a quality literature fulfillment company. Although research shows that over a quarter of requesters would like to share materials with their bosses and customers, most of them would be content to print out web pages or download PDF documents from your website. You can reduce print material costs by avoiding expensive ink choices; also ask your printer about available discounts for over-stock paper selections.

Partnering

Partner with companies whose offerings compliment your own. Both parties may do better than they could alone by sharing resources. A good example would be a tandem mail-out, in which the costs are cut by sharing them, while the potential reach is increased for both. Yet another method is creating a referral program which rewards current customers for referring new prospects on to you.

ROI

By simply taking the time to sit back and think about things every so often, you may discover new ideas for eliminating the under-performing aspects of your marketing program. The best way to stand out as a valued contributor in tough times is to focus and show a superior return on investment.

M. H. “Mac” McIntosh is described by many as one of America’s leading B2B sales and marketing consultants and an expert on sales lead generation. See: http://www.sales-lead-experts.com for more info.

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Digital Signage: Building A Business Case For Overhead Display, Narrowcasting Networks And Electronic Billboards

May 14th, 2008 JamesBarry Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

Businesses are increasingly turning to electronic billboards, large plasma display screens and their own in-location narrowcasting networks (referred to in marketing as “digital signage”) to make their business case and sales pitch to customers and clients as a major part of their marketing efforts. It is estimated that the number of sites hosting narrowcasting networks that market for third parties – these are not the displays and digital signs where a retailer promotes his or her own products – are expected to grow from the roughly 210,000 sites currently hosted in the retail, hospitality, hospital and transportation sectors where digital signs are most predominant, to over 850,000 by 2011.

This statistic, if nothing else, makes it clear that the future of digital signage and electronic billboards has great potential. When building a business case for digital signage, you need to focus on the potential and address some of the challenges.

Unlocking the Potential of Electronic Billboards

When examining your business strategy and plan for deploying digital signage, be sure that you have defined the goals you have in mind for your digital signs. What do you want your digital signs or narrowcasting network to communicate? How do you want it to shape or influence the behaviour of your customers or clients? The most common goals cited for utilizing digital signage are the potentials for boosting sales, building brand and reducing perceived wait times. A few examples of the versatility of digital signs may be helpful.

- Retailers can use digital messaging to inform customers about specials in-store, lead them to other areas of the store, and communicate branding messages.

- Banks and other financial institutions can post interest rates and provide messaging that distracts customers from long waits.

- Narrowcast screens displayed above gasoline pumps can market additional services and products – oil, car washes, other auto accessories – or they can be used to generate additional revenue by marketing the products and services of third party retailers and companies.

- Digital menus at quick service restaurants entice customers to buy more items. They can also speed up the service line by helping customers make their purchase decisions faster.

Challenges of Electronic Billboards

When planning your business case for setting up a digital media network as part of your marketing efforts, don’t be blinded by the technological appeal and the potentials offered by increasingly sophisticated digital advertising software. Be sure to address the challenges as well. Here are some of the most common challenges retailers and others have faced in deploying, utilizing and optimizing their digital signs and narrowcast network systems:

- Cost is the most commonly cited challenge. The hardware is cheaper now and there is a range of options in type and size of screen that can help you control costs. You may have further expenses for content creation. Be sure to weigh these costs against savings in printing and paper. In doing so, note that digital signage allows immediate updates controlled from a central location, so there are no costly delays in getting new signs posted in stores.

- As it is for most marketing initiatives, content is one of the great challenges of digital signage. Messages need to catch people’s attention in a matter of seconds. Sound is not usually an option in a retail environment, so visuals are key. These factors make it very difficult to re-use existing marketing collateral, meaning that new content is required.

- If you have a large organization that places screens in several locations, varying screen dimensions may force you to tweak content to make sure it is effective on screens of different sizes.

- Working with a digital signage provider that can supply and maintain both the screens and displays – the hardware – as well as customize and update the content – the software that runs and is run on a company’s network - is a recommended strategy for meeting the challenges that arise as technologies improve.

Benefits of Electronic Billboards

The technical benefits of electronic signage are well-documented. It is immediate and flexible. Updates are easy and messages can be quickly changed to respond to varying demographics.

Integrating the business case for digital signage into your overall business plan based on projected sales increases, deeper branding of your services or products, and estimating the savings from increased efficiencies through the use of digital signs is a little more challenging, but it can be done.

A 2008 Digital Signage Today guide on the current state of the digital signage industry describes how to gauge customer response to digital messaging by comparing point of sale (POS) data to the digital signage playlist. Here are two examples of how this is done:

- A retailer uses its digital signs to promote a loyalty program. Reviews of when the promo spots were played can be compared to the times people signed up for the program to see if the digital signs boosted signups.

- A quick service restaurant can put a “coupon” code in its digital signs. When customers cite that code to order a meal, that data is recorded in the POS system, providing a basis for evaluating the effectiveness of the digital signs.

By addressing the challenges and using the evaluation methods outlined above, and working with an experienced and innovative supplier of digital signage and digital advertising software and content to meet this technology’s challenges while fully reaping its potential, there is a strong business case for the deployment of digital signage, display screens and electronic billboards in many different sectors. The strong business model for utilizing digital signs and electronic billboards is evidenced by the strong predicted growth numbers for digital screens and narrowcasting networks in the retail, hospitality, hospital and transportation sectors where penetration by this innovative marketing technology is already greatest.

For more information on digital signage, narrowcasting or digital advertising software visit EK3 Technologies Inc, at www.ek3.com at 1-866-353-8324.

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The Role Of Crisis Communication In Public Relations

May 14th, 2008 AmyNutt Posted in Marketing | No Comments »

It is important for an organization to have one or more spokespeople who are experienced and can stay calm when communicating during a crisis. Crisis communication is how people know what is going on and it is very important when it comes to public relations. This is why it is important to have an adequate number of spokespeople for your organization because sometimes it isn’t sufficient enough to have just one person doing the talking. It looks better on the public relations side of things if you have more than one who are both on the same page and can effectively speak to the media and people on a face-to-face basis.

There are several things that must be done in crisis communication. It isn’t just a matter of looking at the situation and coming up with a response within five minutes. To give a proper response, it is important to evaluate the situation and follow a certain set of rules to make sure the public gets the adequate information. These steps are:

- Developing and delivering at least three key points about the situation. These messages must be relayed in such a way that everyone can understand what is being said. Sometimes these messages do not have to be anything extensive, depending on the situation. Such an example is when a company is going through a lawsuit. Most companies do not allow commenting on pending litigation, so the spokesperson may simply say, “no comment.”

- Make sure that all employees are up-to-date on what is going on. This creates consistency and allows for adequate response for various situations that may arise during a crisis. Many times this interaction should take place face-to-face instead of in a memo.

- Make sure you identify who can be trusted with information and who cannot be. These can be considered your unofficial spokespersons if they must be asked questions. These are the people who will adhere to what you tell them to say. In crisis communication, it is important to stay sensitive to various pieces of information that could cause an even bigger issue.

- A rumor-control system should be put in place. This means that the system must be up and running, allowing others to ask questions and get immediate answers before they begin communicating their speculations with others. What starts out as a question soon becomes fact when it is passed from person-to-person. This can cause a situation to become much more difficult. Rumors result in new issues that must be given attention. This can take attention away from the issue at hand.

Just make sure that those on the inside know exactly what is going on because they are just as important as those on the outside wanting to know what the crisis is, how it is going to impact them, and how to rectify the situation. It is even fair to develop key messages for employees, but to have key messages that are used for those on the outside as well. It is important to implement a system and a strategy that will not cause any type of mass panic, depending on the situation. Sometimes those situations are limited to a company and other times they can influence an entire population.

Just be sure to not jump the gun. Instead, develop strategies that will relay the message effectively. Both inside and outside communication go hand-in-hand in order for things to run smoothly. This shows that crisis communication in public relations is very important when ensuring the safety of people, their affairs, and of those directly involved with the situation.

Polaris Public Relations is a Toronto PR company having extensive experience in all areas of public relations in a variety of industry sectors. Core competencies include media relations, corporate communications, issues management, special event planning and execution, spokesperson training and more.

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