Freebies: That strategy may be killing your business, advises Image Marketing Consultants

Those freebies used to be called “samples.”  In the specialty cheese store there was a tray of them.  If customers liked the taste, they could buy a pound of gouda and a half pound of chedder.  Today that kind of incentive to buy is called the “freemium.” And, as THE WALL STREET JOURNAL reports, it could push a business into bankruptcy.

We at Image Marketing Consultants are advising our clients, both in B2C and B2B, to think long and hard about the kinds of incentives they are using.  Yes, the marketplace has become very competitive.  However, leveraging free might not result in attracting new business.  The possible disappointing results are analogous to how small businesses quickly found out that discounting through Groupon didn’t bring in longer-term customers.

On a very limited basis, like the tiny pieces of cheese, freebies might pan out.  However, research and experience are showing that many businesses will have to return to the drawing board and come up with other ways to get prospects to pay attention to what they are selling.

Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations on Marketing, Advertising, Partnerships, Public Relations, Social Media, and Special Events.F

E-Books: How service companies can get the edge, advises Image Marketing Consultants

Books still are, as they say, “the price of entry” for service providers to be taken seriously.

Books showcase the author’s expertise in a way which is directly useful to the target markets.  In that sense, the book is a public service since it passes on knowledge.  Grateful readers, who can do their work better, become the author’s fans. Give a person a fish and that human being eats for a day.  Teach that person how to fish and that human being eats for lifetime.

Through book publishing, authors also gain a new edge getting the attention of media, booking agents for the speaking circuit, and influentials.

The good news is that the heads of service firms don’t have to spend a year or more of their professional lives writing the book.  Also they don’t have to wait for the tedious print publishing process to produce the book.  Given that usual time lag, the content may be out of date by time the book is distributed to clients, prospects, and the others on the firm’s network.

E-books, which can be a short as 25 or 35 pages, can be written or ghostwritten in days, designed and published on a computer, and copyrighted for a small fee through the Library of  Congress.  They can be free or a price assigned. One mode of distribution can be through downloads on the author’s website, blog, Facebook fan page, Google+, and Twitter account.  When delivering talks and participating in panels, the author can mention the URL or have print copies on hand.

Promotion can be done in just the same ways print books are.  In addition, reviewers no longer differentiate between print and e-books.  A fast way out of the gate is to produce video trailers and video interviews which can be posted on YouTube, sent to media, and attached on digital communications.

Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations on Marketing, Partnerships, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, and Special Events kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868

Facebook: Avoid this mistake, says Image Marketing Consultants

One reason major religions endure for centuries is that they are slow to introduce change.  Human life has always been uncertain.  Religion provides comfort and inspiration precisely because it provides a setting in which followers know what what to expect.

So, when we at Image Marketing Consultants noticed that Facebook was systematically making so much change in its features we viewed that as possibly a red flag in both its business model and operations. Human beings can handle just so much change.

That’s why we advise you to do whatever you need, ranging from branding to policies and procedures, “right the first time.”  Once you put it out there, your prospects, customers, and clients are likely not to welcome change.  Therefore, please take the time to think through and test out what seems to be the best practices for your business.

Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations on Marketing, Partnerships, Advertising, Public Relations, Social Media, and Special Events kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com,

Your Mission Statement: The 3 Ps, from Image Marketing Consultants

 Mission statements for your organization are important.  You may be running a business or operating a non-profit.

What’s in the mission statement captures why you exist, your goal and objectives, how you plan to achieve them, and why all this matters.  Through your mission statement you attract customers or clients, good workers, investment capital, media attention, and strategic alliances or partnerships.

That’s a lot riding on the mission statement.  However, it must be short.  That was always the situation.  It’s more so now in this era of Twitter or short form.  The average attention span keeps shrinking.

Here are the 3Ps, from Image Marketing Consultants:

Passion.  You reach into your heart.  You search for why you and many others should put their trust, time, and money into your organization.

Pragmatism.  Lofty ideals aren’t enough.  You must provide evidence that you can get from an abstraction to something which works.

Public Interest.  In what ways are you contributing to your little piece of the universe?  Are you making it easier for the disabled to navigate their residences?  Are you generating jobs?  Are you creating wealth for shareholders?

Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations for Mission Statements, Marketing, Advertising, Partnerships, Public Relations, Special Events, and Social media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.

Presidential Election Year: Piggybacking on Momentum, 4 Tips from Image Marketing Consultants

Every 4 years, we Americans get to decide what direction we want our country to embrace.   That means there is a lot of attention focused on values.   We participate in this debate at rallies for candidates, sending our comments to media articles, stating our point of view on our blogs, Facebook pages, and tweets, and chewing the fat with friends and family.  But it might not occur to us to leverage this momentum for our own businesses.  Please don’t waste that opportunity.

Here are 4 tips from Image Marketing Consultants:

* This period of flux provides just the right timing to ask customers and prospects what they want, what’s on their minds, and how your business can fit better with all that.  Contests are popular.  You might offer dining for 4 at your restaurant as the prize for the person who makes the most useful suggestion on how you can make the restaurant their favorite place.

* Bundle messages on values into all your promotional materials.  For example, on your Facebook fan page, you can post daily inspirational profiles of American leaders who built a political movement, nonprofit organization, or enterprise on certain values.

* Be creative in naming or renaming certain products or services according to election themes.  For example, the promotional special at your gym could be “Getting America in Shape 4 the next 4 years.”

* Enhance your network by volunteering in the campaigns for local and state candidates.  In addition to getting to know the movers and shakers, you will learn fresh skills in marketing, public relations, and partnerships.

Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations for Marketing, Advertising, Partnerships, Public Relations, Special Events, and Social Media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.