Archive for August, 2009
Advertising: New Market, Fresh Ideas
For many business owners, advertising is like a second language, which is why marketing companies have been so successful in the past. But as things change, like the marketing budget for instance, so do businesses.
While change is a scary monster to some, it is unavoidable and must be faced or you may risk falling behind; and playing catch up isn’t a fun game to play in the business world.
Ok, let’s do it, let’s change! Right? But the key to making the right change lies within the minds of one group of people: Your Customers!
-What do they want? Why do they want it?
-What do they need? Why do they need it?
-How do they perceive your company?
-What do they think of your products and services?
-What do they think of your competition?
-How do they distinguish between you and your competition?
All of these things and more need to be considered when making the right changes in your company. In business, the need for change is controlled by the customer. In fact, it is demanded by the customer because they will take their business and money elsewhere if their needs can’t be met.
So, how do we tell our customers that we’ve heard their voices? Through advertising! You must promote your business in a way that highlights the best and brightest aspects of your company in order to keep customers coming back and bring new customers in.
There are many ways to advertise and multiple mediums through which to do so. You must research to figure out which form of advertising is best for your company; that will reach your customers, highlight your qualities and express your unique selling advantage in an efficient and effective way.
Click Here, Magazines Turn to New Strategies for Revenue, to read about advertising companies making changes in order to fit an always changing market.
Small Business Owner Asks President Obama About Gov. Health Care
The stories about the legislation in front of Congress concerning the Health Insurance Reform have filled newspapers, television, websites and feed readers across America. Many of these stories contain the same information as previous stories, but some are addressing the question on many business owners minds, “How will this effect MY small business?”
At this point, no one knows. The intricacies of this legislation are being changed and tweaked as needed and the details are ambiguous at best. But, this in no way alleviates the need to know how this will effect businesses and one business owner got the opportunity to seek answers.
Patty Brigulio and President Obama courtesy of Stephen Crowley/NYTimes
Above is a shot of business owner Patty Brigulio and President Obama sharing words over the question she was able to ask at one of the many open forum town hall style meetings that President Obama is holding across the United States to talk about health insurance reform.
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Obama Meets the Businesswoman: The Story Behind the Photo
It turns out The Agenda is not alone in thinking President Obama may have a public relations problem with small business. Patty Briguglio, who can be seen above, and on the front page of today’s Times, exchanging a wagging finger with the President, agrees and she should know: She runs a public relations firm, MMI Associates, in Raleigh, N.C. She’s also a small-business owner.
Ms. Briguglio pays for much of her 19 employees’ health insurance, though she doesn’t offer a group plan. Because her staff is so young, it is cheaper to simply provide an allowance for them to purchase individual policies. The President was in town to talk up health care, and earlier at the town hall event, he called on Ms. Briguglio. She asked, “What current long-term social program created and run by the government should we look to as a model of success and one that we as taxpayers should be confident that a new government-run health care system would be better than the current system in place?”
The President suggested both Medicare and V.A. hospitals, which, he said, “have very high satisfaction rates.” Further, he added, “Medicare costs have gone up more slowly than private sector health care costs.” The answer didn’t fully satisfy Ms. Briguglio. “I’ve never associated any government program with ‘cost-effective’ or ‘efficient,’” she said in an interview today. “I don’t believe that the government will be a better steward of the money that I set aside for health care for my employees than I will be.”
This was only one of several questions she hoped to ask the President. Of even greater concern, she says, is the tax hit she will take. And that’s the story behind the photo. At that moment, as the President made his exit, Ms. Briguglio pressed him on the issue and got a response: “He said to me, ‘The tax credits would more than offset any tax increases,’ ” she recounted. “And I said, ‘I’m holding you to that.’ And he laughed and said, ‘O.K.’ And I said, ‘No, I mean it — I expect you to keep your word on this.’”
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Read the full article by Robb Mandelbaum at NYTimes.com
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