August 3, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

Why do we only talk about trends at the end of one year and the beginning of the next?  At the rate of market and technology changes we’re living through, we should at least reflect on what’s trending somewhere in the middle of the year – when we can actually make some judgements on what trends were right and what trends were wrong.  Perhaps some trends were called before their time? (more…)

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July 27, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

In today’s tweet chat we’re talking about word-of-mouth marketing. It’s fantastic when the stars align and word-of-mouth comes naturally, but you don’t have to wait for that magical chemistry to get word of mouth to work for you. (more…)

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July 20, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

In this particular conversation, we were talking about working a structured referral strategy. What I mean by structured is that you are actively “working” referral relationships and NOT to makeing them this wonderful surprise! Referrals are a result of your customers and contacts selling for you. Read more…

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July 13, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

I’ve been working with some clients recently on trade show and event marketing strategies.  I have to admit that it’s been a while since I’ve ordered pens and mouse-pads for shows – but I have to think that there HAS to be something better out there than the traditional pens and sticky notes!  Don’t YOU?

Today we’re chatting about how promotional items can build your brand and we’re trying to collect your tips and ideas on how you’ve successfully used a wide variety of promo items.

Our guest guru today is @Bruce Felber, Felber and Felber Marketing.  While they do all kinds of traditional marketing stuff – my FAVORITE way to think of these guys is 3-D marketing!  That means they are brilliant at direct marketing and using 3-dimensional items (promo items) to get their prospects to choose YOU.

Q1.  What’s the difference between a promo item and a premium?

ScottBradley: @DIYMKTchat When I think of schwag I think about the stuff you pick up on the tables at career fairs #DIYMKT

BruceFelber: #diymkt Promotional items given away w/no strings attached. Premiums require either a purchase or or some form of buy in.

BruceFelber: #diymkt Price of the item is NOT the determining factor.

ScottBradley: @DIYMKTchat When I think of a promo item I think about an “add on” to a specific purchase #DIYMKT

mabynshingleton: Promo items are giveaways to promote a cause, service or business. They are always at trade shows. #diymkt

mabynshingleton: Stuff We All Get (S.W.A.G.) … #diymkt

Q2. What’s your favorite kind of promo item to use and why?

ScottBradley: @DIYMKTchat Pens are always fun, or the squishy stress balls! #DIYMKT

BruceFelber: #diymkt A good video to explain why promotional items work. http://tinyurl.com/lpjg2u

mabynshingleton: @DIYMKTchat Q2. favorite kind of promo item = useful items…and here it all depends on budget. #DIYMKT

burkonsconsult: Q2 – Cloth carry bags w/logos – esp in today’s green world. #DIYMKT

helpitcrashed: @DIYMKTchat I always go with pens or magnetic business cards that I leave for clients I visit/meet #DIYMKT

BruceFelber: #diymkt So many items today that are green, But be aware of ‘green washing’ and do it right.

Q3.  What’s your process of figuring out what kind of item you’re going to choose?

BruceFelber: #diymkt See this recent blog entry, Cost effective at many budgets. http://tinyurl.com/kr6dln

BruceFelber: #diymkt Using promotions as part of your direct mail campaign will yield higher results. Permanent advertising works when you can’t.

helpitcrashed: @DIYMKTchat Budget is key for me as I have none, leaving pens in restaurants and bank lobbies always works for local exposure#DIYMKT

BruceFelber: #diymkt look at the message you need to get out there; look at how many people you need to reach; then the budget to reach that audience.

BruceFelber: #diymkt Make sure you always have some “call to action” on any piece unless an award or impact campaign.

BruceFelber: #diymkt Here is an example of promotional items as part of a PR campaign. http://tinyurl.com/mdrssr

Q4. Is it better to pick products that are “permanent” or products that disappear (food)

burkonsconsult: For me, the need is generally in the future, so I need products that are permanent or used often. When the need arises, there I am. #DIYMKT

mabynshingleton: I think you have to decide what your objectives are. For the St. Patrick’s Day parade here, we throw green logoed cups to the crowd. #DIYMKT

BruceFelber: #diymkt Food items are very effective if the message and delivery method is on target. Consider the carrier of the food item.

BruceFelber: #diymkt Ebroidered and screened apparel is 40% of all promotional items today. See http://tinyurl.com/nkufdc

BruceFelber: #diymkt Try this liink on wearing apparel http://tinyurl.com/dj8dwz

BruceFelber: #diymkt Consider family and business reunions, open houses and special events. Wearing apparel can be used to brand an event.

Q5. What’s the benefit of using a promo consultant or firm?

burkonsconsult: Q5 – not having to do it yourself and letting a professional do it. #DIYMKT

Q6. Share a promo item success.  Why did it rock?

BruceFelber: #diymkt I once used apples with an imprint (yes food safe ink) for a Johnny Appleseed promotion.

DIYMKTchat: @BruceFelber I’ve seen people with different colored shirts at family reunions to designate which “child” or which generation – fun #DIYMKT

BruceFelber: #diymkt another effect use is to put kits or packages together for special events, meetings etc. Education use is highly effective.

BruceFelber: #diymkt This was a very successful campaign using promotional items to open the door. http://tinyurl.com/npddgn

BruceFelber: #diymkt Consider the Co-op campaigsn where several companies share the cost and outcome. See http://tinyurl.com/nret5f

Q7. What’s the one thing we all should do when thinking about promo items?

helpitcrashed: @DIYMKTchat remember that Call to Action!! #DIYMKT

BruceFelber: #diymkt Don’t give up on trade show marketing. Still great way to reach many. http://tinyurl.com/ar9s5j

BruceFelber: #diymkt q7 – consider the recipient and expected outcome. Are we branding, informing, promoting an event, thanking a client or employee?

BruceFelber: RT @helpitcrashed: @DIYMKTchat remember that Call to Action!! #DIYMKT Yes number one. Message, contact info etc.

BruceFelber: #diymkt One more link. http://tinyurl.com/mx3bsh

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• Alternative Wine Marketing is Now Edging Toward Becoming Traditional (wine-blog.org)

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July 6, 2009
11:00 am	to	12:00 pm

About fifteen years ago Meg Wheatley came out with a book called “Leadership and the New Science.” In it, she likened the upcoming trend in organizational structure to the shapes studied in quantum physics.  When you looked at them up close, they looked chaotic and without structure.  But when computer models worked out the algorithms these beautiful organic shapes appeared.  They not only had structure, but they had a rhythm and motion to them.

While I was in graduate school, we spent a lot of time talking about this organic structure.  We talked about how companies in the future will be organized.  We came up with this hub and spoke system that looked like a chemical strucutre.  Where people would be experts in and of themselves and then connect as needed with other experts in order to achieve a successful result on a project.  We decided that there wouldn’t be a need for “full time” employeees, that organizations could run lean and successful on the power of current expertise which was pulled from all directions.

Technology has made that possible.  Today we really are a “Free Agent Nation” and our organizations run like movie studios.  Projects get a green light and casting directors go out searching for the perfect team that will make it all happen.

But how do you organize this chaos to make it look like those beautiful shapes and figures drawn by the computer?

Today we’re reviewing some of the tools our DIYMarketers are using to collaborate, share and manage projects and schedules.  Some are free and others are paid-for services.  But all are reasonably priced depending on what you want to do.

Here are our questions for the conversation we’re having :

Q1. Are you currently working collaboratively online?

bradfordshimp: In some ways, online collaboration gives more access, more back and forth – don’t have to call meetings, interrupt work, etc. #diymkt

Q2.If you could only use one tool which would it be and why?

bradfordshimp: Other than my toothbrush, the one do-it-all tool would have to be Gmail. Email, chat, video, and who knows what else! #diymkt

scoblitz: @DIYMKTchat Q2: Impossible to answer, tools are complimentary and are selected by what they can contribute. One alone can’t do all. #diymkt

pmohara: #diymkt Q2 but I would also say Firefox (we like to rig it with extensions that connect different web apps nicely) and uhm, the Internet.

Q3. How are you managing those communications?

scoblitz: @DIYMKTchat I think situation determines best solution. We have standard apps we use but open for variation if needed.

Q4. What tools have you used to manage your projects and collaborations?

samuraivt: I’ve been looking at tokbox, tinychat, and dimdim. Anyone use these for collaboration? #DIYMKT

Q5. What is the one thing you’re looking for when you choose a tool?

robert_brady: Q5. Web-based so I can use it anywhere. Inexpensive and easy to use (synonymous with simple & clean). #DIYMKT

scoblitz: @DIYMKTchat I look at what it will contribute compared to $ / time to implement #diymkt

pmohara: @scoblitz Agreed! & answers #5- we only use tools w/open API (the socket that will let other apps feed/extract data for themselves) #diymkt

Q6. What is it that people forget that they shouldn’t

pmohara: #diymkt Q6 the thing we see people forgetting is data ownership. When you are sharing data across apps and teams – whose data is it?

Q7.  What’s your secret to success in managing virtual teams and projects?

robert_brady: @DIYMarketers Communicate expectations clearly at the start with metrics included. #DIYMKT

scoblitz: @DIYMKTchat Q7: The software is there to help people manage the process, it doesn’t replace them. #diymkt

scoblitz: @DIYMKTchat Q7: The software is there to help people manage the process, it doesn’t replace them. #diymkt

scoblitz: @DIYMKTchat Q7: Particularly with Projects. Having a PM app doesn’t negate the need for a Project Manager. #diymkt

pmohara: @DIYMKTchat Secret to success- definitely communications. Virtual collaboration is a new dynamic for most, so pay attention to people.

TSFsmallbus: @DIYMKTchat The secret to success is communication. Let everyone know your needs/expectations and how to meet them. #diymkt

ifull: @DIYMarketers Good people (to manage)….. closely followed by ‘active’ online CRM, what’s yours?

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June 22, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

Do you have customers that are virtually impossible to reach?  CEOs, doctors, lawyers — anyone who hides behind a virtual steel curtain of gatekeepers?

Well – have I got a marketing tool for YOU — MOBILE MARKETING!  Mobile — as in cell phones, PDA’s, iPhones, Blackberry’s — yeah those.

You’ve probably heard of mobile marketing, but just haven’t had the time to think it through and figure out how to make this tool work for you?  This is your chance!

Our DIYMKT tweet chat this week features Heidi Culbertson, one of the leading experts and trend setters on mobile marketing technology and applications to marketing strategies.  I met Heidi at a conference a few weeks ago and she literally blew my world wide open when she showed me how I could reach those impossible customers – and not because I’m badgering them – but because they asked for it.  They opt in asking for what you have to offer via their most private door — their cell phone.

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A couple of weeks ago, I was a presenter at the Office Space Co-Working BizCamp.  When I asked what they wanted to hear about, Kelly Brown’s answer was “Marketing Plans.”  At first I was excited.  This was a topic I had written about and spoken about a lot.  But then, my mood quickly deflated.  What can I say about Market Planning that hasn’t already been said and done?

This was when I started thinging about why I didn’t have a document called a “Marketing Plan.”  After all this was my JOB and I didn’t have one.  Then I started looking around my clients and other small business owners and discovered they didn’t have them either.  Notice I said “formal document” called a  marketing plan – not that they didn’t have a plan.

So what was it that held us back from having that killer plan?  I’ve come to the conclusion that it all has to do with focusing on the Marketing Plan and not on what the marketing plan is for – getting and keeping customers.

We often ignore the little voice inside our heads that tells us what we really want the plan to be about.  Say it’s being famous or well known.  That might seem a little egotistical or “wrong” to you, so you ignore it.  The secret is to acknowledge where you spend your money and your time and where your “dreams” really are.  This will clarify your true goals and have you naturallly working a plan that will get you there – because it’s what you really want.

The first secret to a naturally occuring marketing plan is to get yourself out of your “circle.”  You’re in the circle when you say something like “That’s not the way we do things.”   As soon as you feel uncomfortably and physically ill and afraid – that’s a sign that you’re at the wall of the circle and opportunity is around the corner.

They key is to be authentic and focus your actions on the things you really want and see for yourself and your customers.  You know you’re onto a great position when you have lots of wonderful ideas about what to do next and how to have fun with your business.

What the plan actually looks like – the format it takes – is so completely irrelelvant.  Pick a format that keeps you focused.  My plan is literally on a single page in a notebook!  It keeps me about as focused as anything I’ve ever done!

The video of this presentation will be coming shortly so stay tuned!

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May 11, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

I’ve been teaching a presentation class for years – but it’s very clear that how we communicate has changed.  Of course live presentations are still standard.  But now there are webinars and teleseminars and countless ways to involve an already multi-tasking audience.

Today we’re going to chat about all the different ways you present and have been presented to.

What’s you’re favorite presentation environment?

What’s your most challenging and why?

What latest presentation tools are you using?

#DIYMKT Tweet chats run Monday’s from 11:30am to 12:30pm EST.  Here’s how to join the conversation: http://www.diymarketers.com/diymktchat/

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April 27, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

This week the #DIYMKT chat is going on location to Office Space Co-Working in Akron.  I was a presenter at their first #BizCamp and it was not only a great experience, but I met some fantastic people that I wanted to share with you.

Noah St. John is not only a thought leader on success – but a thought breakthrough on success.

His latest book is called “The Secret Code of Success.” I’ve read a lot of success books, but the insight he gives here is amazing.  Here’s the thought breakthrough:  About 3% of the population is a “success.”  These “Three Percenters” as Noah calls them, do success behaviors naturally.  While they may be “natural” successes – they are NOT natural teachers.  And inside of that kernal of insight is where the book will take you  on a new success journey.

Staci J. Shelton is a social media expert who knows how to build and grow profitable relationships.  She’s going to be joining us on the #DIYMKT chat to talk about how to apply the success code to building and growing our business and those of your clients.

I hope you’ll join us for the entertaining and educational session.  Here’s how to join the tweet chat.

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May 4, 2009
11:30 am	to	12:30 pm

The biggest challenge any organization has is finding out what sets it apart from other alternatives; DIFFERENTIATION.

A great differentiator is a great profit generator.  But how do you figure that out?  If you haven’t read “Blue Ocean Strategy” then get your hands on that book right now and see if you can go through some of the differentiation discovery tools they offer.

How did you find your differentiator?

What strategies do you use to set yourself apart from others?

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