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Succeeding, Not Just Surviving
We were having lunch with a friend a few days ago. She is an old friend in every sense of the word, as we have been friends for a long time, and she is now retired after a long and extremely successful career building, running, and ultimately selling, a crisis management firm in D.C.
Our friend has successfully navigated her business through every economic downturn since Jimmy Carter was president; always emerging from recession even stronger than when it began. As she put it: "Succeeding is not just surviving."
What we took away from our lunch is this: when external conditions are tough, when consumer confidence is ebbing, it is absolutely imperative to "reach out and touch" customers and clients. It is vitally important to connect, listen, and most importantly, express appreciation.
For many companies it's equally important to incent corporate sales teams and product resellers. It is crucial that the sales force understand and articulate the value propositions of their goods and services, and that they are motivated, now more than ever, to put themselves and their teams into overdrive.
Call it what you will: "face time" or the "personal touch," it is essential...and it works. There are many ways to connect with key internal or external constituents - clients, customers, sales managers or strategic partners. Here are a few:
1. Pick up the phone. The simple act of "calling for no good reason" can be very significant. "I was just thinking about you and how much I appreciate your business (or hard work, if it is an internal person) and your friendship. Tell me how things are going."
2. "How about lunch?" Lunch, coffee or a cocktail after work is tried and true. You might want to consider a variation of this theme: bring lunch with you. Senior executives are busier than ever these days, so visit your customer and bring a light lunch with you. It's quick, it's convenient and it demonstrates your appreciation.
3. The philanthropic event season is about to be in full swing. Invite your customer to join you at your table, or as a guest at an informal reception. It's a terrific way to connect, demonstrate your commitment to the community and help your customer develop a broader network.
For larger companies with national and international constituencies, an event - stand-alone or as part of a corporate incentive program - is the most efficient and effective way to secure that all-important face time and show corporate appreciation to customers and motivate sales teams. The WPO Foundation and the Event Marketing Institute recently released a survey of companies with over $1 billion in revenue, and reported that well over 50 percent of the respondents chose event marketing as the communications discipline that "best accelerates and deepens relationships with target audiences."
To be effective, events do not have to be lavish. They do, however, have to be tasteful, strategic and professionally managed.
There is another very good reason to consider planning an event in today's economic environment - value. At The Castle Group, we are both planning and managing corporate events nationally and around the world, and we are negotiating some of the best deals we have seen in twenty years.
So whether you invite your customer for a cocktail after work or to a corporate event across the country, reach out, get face time, and you will not only survive the recession, you will succeed.
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Best,
Principal/Co-founder Principal/Co-founder
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Luck vs. Science
March Madness has arrived. Whether your desk is piled high with names, statistics and brackets, or you are utterly amazed (or appalled) at the competitive intensity this season brings, March Madness is a time to celebrate, and gives us something to root for. Read on for a few Castle predictions, and may the best man (or woman) win!
Scott: I predict that no matter how much time I spend painstakingly filling out my bracket, someone who picked the winners based on something completely arbitrary, like the colors of the uniforms, will win.
Linda: I think the Vols are going to take it to the house!
Peter: I predict that a school from the rust belt - Ohio, Michigan, Illinois or Indiana - will win. I grew up in the Midwest; times are tough there now, but they are good people who know how to have fun and they're due for some good karma.
Wendy: After Providence upset # 1 Pittsburgh, I expect this one-time underdog to take it all.
Mark: One of the purest feelings one can have is to look at a completed, pristine NCAA tournament grid. After the first day, however, my grid especially begins to look quite messy. Lesson: purity does not last forever.
Hilary: I'll go with whatever Mark predicts.
Kelly: I always participate in a pool, but since I went to a Division 3 College I tend to pick schools where friends have attended. Go Stanford, UConn and UNC!
Stacy: I hope University of Cincinnati takes the title! I can do the cheer and fight song and everything.
Mike: This year's Cinderella story -- my very own Siena College Saints. If you haven't heard of them yet, you will. Take it to the bank.
Sandy: I know it's a long shot now, but as a UMass alumna married to a UMass alumnus, I ALWAYS have to root for UMass. GO MINUTEMEN!
Whitney: I had to Google "March Madness" since I was too embarrassed to ask if it was college or pro basketball. That feels good to admit.
Kristi: Same as last year: Celtics vs. Lakers (Evidently Kristi didn't Google).
Ian: I wish that I had signed up for Bracketology 101 during my college days! My prediction is for UConn to win it all.
Sarah: I usually have numerous brackets and randomly fill them out with predictions that are not my own. I'm still hoping that someday URI will make it toward the center of one of my brackets.
Danielle: I do not know much about college basketball, but am fan of the sport, so I will be rooting for the hometown teams. Go Boston!
Dana: I'm a huge Syracuse fan, and I don't want to brag, but I won my pool last year, so I'm feeling pretty confident. | |
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Castle News
Castle is Growing
We are pleased to welcome Peter Miller to the Castle Team. As a principal, Peter will work on business development and corporate strategy. Peter has a long history in the communications field. His most notable success was the founding of Massachusetts Communications College, which he developed and then successfully sold to a public company. Since then, Peter has run an investment firm. Peter is a long-time friend and shares Castle's passion for great communications, and we look forward to achieving new successes together. |
New Media Minute
Pew Research estimates 11 percent of online Americans have "Twittered." Have you? It's an easy, and for now, free way to build and interact with a community of like-minded people through a tool that is part chat, part blog. Let us help you with your Twitter strategy. Also, we recommend Twilerts as a great way to track Twitter mentions of your company or industry.
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In February, Sir Richard Branson was in town for two big Virgin Group announcements. Castle led Virgin Money's news about its entrance into the wholesale mortgage industry, and the hip Virgin America started flights out of Boston's Logan Airport. See the legendary entrepreneur in action at WBZ's Boston Business Breakfast.
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Baseball in January?
Red Sox MVP Dustin Pedroia (center) flanked by the Castle team at Salem Five's new kids' savings program launch. Castle created a press conference run and attended by kids to kick-off the campaign.
We caught a rare winter glimpse of Red Sox star Dustin Pedroia at the launch of Salem Five Saving's Bank's new children's Gold Star Saver Account at the bank's Congress Street location. Castle arranged for two young sportscasters to run a press conference and interview Dustin about sports, savings and Salem Five. This new Castle client has a long history of serving young savers and created the Goldstar Saver Account to help teach kids about financial literacy and responsibility.
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Good Values, Good Chocolate
Q.bel Foods, a new premium candy bar company, launching nationally at Whole Foods, has retained Castle for PR services. Q.bel chocolate bars are made without artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated oils (trans fat). DailyCandy recently described Q.bel products as, "Unbelievably delicious dark and milk chocolate treats." The Candy Blog added, "I hope Q.bel becomes a standard in the confectionary industry."
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Small Can Be Big
Looking for ways to directly help someone in need in your local community? Visit SmallCanBeBig.org and learn how. This new online charitable-giving venture created by Boathouse Group president John Connors connects people with a little extra with those without enough. Connors said: "This is the new way for people to directly help local families on the edge, by using the Internet to harness the power of small donations, of which 100 percent goes directly to support a family's needs."
More Ways to get Involved
Castle Client The Center for Women & Enterprise helps women from a wide variety of racial, ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds start and grow their own businesses. Save April 4, and attend their Annual Auction and Gala Dinner, co-chaired this year by Sandy Lish and featuring Keynote Speaker Jeannette Walls, MSNBC contributor and author of New York Times Bestseller "The Glass Castle."
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