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Opportunity is all around you. Be the company that takes action to look for it, find it and grasp it ... instead of the doomsayer who thinks 'nothing of substance is going to happen this year'.
Expect to be successful and you will be. Prepare yourself for the turnaround and you'll be well ahead of the pack by the time they see it coming. Raising your visibility has never been more accessible, attainable or affordable. Act now to Be Visible and Get Found ... online and off. We'll show you how. Read on ... |
| Optimizing (and Leveraging!) Your Media Appearances |
 Sure, you should work hard to make the most of every media opportunity. Be prepared with specific goals for each interview, including points you would like to make, key words that you want to work in and quotable quotes that you hope will become sound bites on the evening news.
But don't stop there. You can't assume that everyone (or even anyone) will see your story, hear your interview or watch your broadcast on the day that it airs. Media habits are far too fragmented these days. Capture the coverage you earn and put it in front of more people by using digital media and social networking tools that make it easy to share and leverage information.
Use social networks like twitter, facebook, digg and del.icio.us ... media sharing networks like youtube, 12seconds and flickr ... your blog (you have one, right?) ... and your permission-based electronic newsletter to make sure that customers, contacts and prospects see (and hear about) your 'buzz' and potentially pass it on.
All of these strategies raise your visibility even further, which increases the chances that you and your company will be found ... and that the media will come calling ... to interview you and provide you with new opportunities ... to leverage the content ... and increase your visibility even further. It's a cyclical, self-feeding process that you control ... if you make the effort to be proactive and start it.
Need help getting on the radar? Lori Martinek has worn the hats of reporter, PR consultant, coach to CEOs and candidates, and corporate spokesperson. She knows what it takes to be found by the media, and by the people who matter even more: your target customers. Call her at (623) 537-0888 or email pplusonline@cox.net. |
| Taking It On The Road ... |
 INTO THE NEW YEAR .....
Lori Martinek kicked off a busy new year by speaking on Optimizing (and Leveraging!) Your Media Appearances at the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Leadership Summit in Tempe, AZ. She has submitted a proposal to present an expanded version at the IEDC's 2009 Annual Conference in Reno this fall ...
Creating a Winning Online Brand! was a featured workshop at the Women Entrepreneur's Small Business Bootcamp in Scottsdale this weekend. Nearly 300 new and established women business owners came together at the one-day conference to network, learn and share. Catch up on the event at ...
In the planning stages for this year: Speaking at a regional social media conference in Illinois in May sponsored by Lake Land Community College, a member of the weTRaIN Network ... a CEO breakfast in Harvard in April ... and our ongoing efforts to reach out to women, minority and Veteran-owned businesses. We're working to help make something happen for the aspiring business owners who need it most. Let us know if you share that vision ....
The photo above shows Lori and her Unleash the Entrepreneur Within! workshop partner Mary Trost, following their presentation at WomenVenture in Minneapolis last November. |
| Make Your Business Shine! |
 Listen to Lori Martinek on StartUp Nation Radio. Her Chicago interview was rebroadcast in January to help entrepreneurs get off to a fast start in the new year ... and to help all businesses keep moving forward in a tough economy. The interview was taped at the national ASBDC conference, where Lori presented Create A Winning Online Brand to an audience of SBDC directors and counselors from across the U.S. Listen here ... |
| What We're Excited About .... |
 A rebranding project for a new client: W Production Group, a top drawer provider of state-of-the-art staging, tents and structures for corporate and sporting events, concerts, festivals, hotel openings and private parties. Our role? To develop an updated brand, a new identity and an all-new website that will put WPG's stellar project portfolio front and center ....
A new assignment from developer client Fritz Duda Company, which includes developing a site plan and website design for the upscale Arbors on Preston Shopping Center in Dallas, TX ... and a series of marketing communications that will build relationships with Arbors shoppers.
The debut of the weTRaIN network e-newsletter, The Advisor, which we manage, write, produce and deliver electronically to 49 Illinois community college  members. The first issue will be distributed in mid-March ...
Working with the Arizona Small Business Development Center Network (www.azsbdc.net) to develop an umbrella brand and corporate identity standards that unite and market Arizona's 12 SBDC locations and their satellites under one high visibility brand ...
 The website for Herlife Publishing, which will debut in late February, just in time to promote the release of Lori's first book, Be the Bulb! The site will offer online book sales, an interactive calendar of upcoming events and host Be The Bulb, The Blog ... beginning in March.
The all-new Harvard Economic Development Corporation  (HEDC) website that we designed and continue to expand. NEW features include online photos of the city's $2.4 million streetscape project, local financing resources, a member directory and, coming soon, the HEDC's Annual Report to the community ... Check it out here. |
| Here's the Big News! .... |
Lori's first book,  Be the Bulb! is at the printer and will be available for sale online at both Herlife Publishing and on Amazon.com beginning in late March. We are excited about the early buzz and hope to build on that momentum using many of the social networking and viral marketing tools that Lori travels the country to talk about!
Preview the Topic: Listen to Lori's interview on StartUp Nation and you'll get a pretty good idea of what the book is all about. The topic is Attraction Marketing, a concept that combines elements of target marketing, personal branding and a powerful way of putting energy into the marketplace to attract the people and opportunities that you, your company and your products need to be successful. Best of all? It works. Sign up to receive a debut announcement here. |
| What We're Reading Until Then .... |
5 Minds For the Future, by Howard Gardner, a professor at Harvard Business School. Before you go running in the other direction, know this: it's readable and interesting. Here's the premise:
A good education alone is no longer enough in today's world, according to Gardner, who states that a college grad who lacks 'multiple intelligences' will be in much the same boat as a dropout who is working for minimum wage. How can that be? Because information is expanding exponentially (and continually) making lifelong learning no longer a luxury, but a necessity. That diploma that you worked so hard for? That was then. This is now.
There are five 'minds' that we each need to cultivate, he explains: 1) The disciplined mind that knows how to learn (and master) multiple disciplines; 2) The synthesizing mind that can connect, understand and evaluate information from different sources; 3) The creating mind that enables you to break new ground; 4) The respectful mind that appreciates others for their worth; and 5) The ethical mind, which thinks beyond self-interest and for the benefit of all.
It's a call to action for how to survive (and thrive) in today's non-stop information age, and affirmation for all of us who believe that life should always be a work in progress anyway ....
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Reach For Your Ideal
Successful communicating involves four stages: achieving, Attention, Interest, Desire and Action. There are no exceptions to that rule. Really.
It will always be easier to capture the attention of people who are already inclined to be interested in you and your offering. It will always be easier to create awareness among people who have needs and desires that are well-matched to your brand and its benefit offering. It is also more likely that you will capture the interest of prospects when they find you (and you reach out to them) in an environment in which they feel comfortable.
If your message is clear, concise and on target, it is likely that their interest will evolve into Desire, which is the prelude to Action. You want them to want you and your products. You want them to want you and your brand. You want them to be drawn to your energy and move toward it. And you need to make it as easy as possible for this to happen.
Your Ideal Customer is someone who is inclined to be receptive to your message and your offering. A true Ideal Customer fits a profile that complements your brand and its offering AND has the access, the resources and the inclination to actively pursue, purchase and pay for your product. Think about that. An Ideal Customer doesn't just fit the profile, he or she also has the ability, and the willingness, to put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. They are active in the marketplace, searching for a product solution and are a ready, willing and able buyer. Your greatest potential for sales success lies with these prospects.
To know them is to sell them. Invest time identifying, describing and getting to know your Ideal Customers. Describe him, her or them in detailed words and in demographic categories such as age, sex, education, household income, marital status, home ownership and more. Seek to understand them. Are they early adopters, followers or late bloomers? Brand conscious buyers or savvy shoppers? Research and understand their media habits. What media do they use, online and off? How do they obtain their information and share it? How do they interact with others? Are they new media users or traditionalists? Are they tuned into trends or do they tend toward the safe and established? What are their priorities and drivers? What is important to them and why?
These are only a sampling of the questions that you should ask and answer to create a detailed profile of the Ideal Customers who were born to be attracted to your brand. Get to know them, intimately. They are your Target Audience.
We are business builders who provide strategic planning expertise that identifies key opportunities to target, communicate and sell. Call us at (623) 537-0888 today to find out how we can help you and your business shine during the coming year. We're confident that we can help you succeed.
--- Lori Martinek, Branding Expert, Author and Digital Consultant |
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The U.S. Small Business Administration has unveiled a website geared to the needs of the 50-plus entrepreneur, providing useful information, links and resources that are vital to starting, growing and expanding a small business. 
FAST FACT: According to the Kauffman Foundation, Americans aged 55 to 64 form small businesses at the highest rate of any age group -- 28% higher than the adult average. And ... It's a huge demographic that is getting bigger with every year. Think of the potential to affect an economic turnaround! 
