Archive for the ‘Small Business’ Category
Phoenix Marketing Associates Client, Yogurtology Teams up with the Phoenix Fire Department for Annual Smoke Alarm Walk
Local Yogurtology franchisees takes cause to heart; provide incentive to community to replace old smoke alarms.
Phoenix, AZ—October 7, 2011— Jim and Mindi Osborn, owners of three Valley Yogurtology locations and long time supporters of the Phoenix Fire Department’s annual smoke alarm walk have announced a program which incentivizes the community to change out their old smoke alarm while catering to sweet tooths everywhere.
This Saturday, October 8th, bring your old smoke detector to the participating Kierland Village Center, Shea Scottsdale Center and Scottsdale Fashion Square locations along with your receipt of a newly purchased smoke alarm and receive a free cup of Yogurtology frozen yogurt. Offer good at these locations only.
The annual smoke alarm walk has been very close to the hearts of the Osborn’s since 2005 when they tragically lost their son, T.J. in an apartment fire. The senseless loss was due to the lack of a working smoke alarm in the apartment which also claimed the lives of two other individuals.
The event at the three Yogurtology locations coincides with the Phoenix Fire Department’s efforts this Saturday where uniformed firemen and volunteers will walk door to door through Valley neighborhoods educating residents on the dangers of fire and installing new smoke alarms free of charge. To date, the collective efforts of the Phoenix Fire Department and the Osborn’s have resulted in nearly 8,000 new smoke alarm installations.
“We’re very grateful to be partnering with the Osborn’s and Yogurtology for this important event–their efforts will truly raise awareness within the community which is key to the success of our annual smoke alarm walk,” explained Captain Lisa Jones of the Phoenix Fire Department.
“We’re honored to have worked with Mayor Gordon’s office and the Phoenix Fire Department for six years now and hope our efforts pay dividends in raising awareness of the importance of replacing old smoke alarms,” explained Jim Osborn.
Residents wishing to participate are encouraged to visit the following locations on October 8th:
Yogurtology                                                                Yogurtology
Kierland Village Center                                            Shea Scottsdale Center
6501 E. Greenway Parkway, #150Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 10749 N. Scottsdale Road, #103
Scottsdale, AZÂ 85254Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Yogurtology
Scottsdale Fashion Square
7014 E. Camelback Road, #545
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
Phoenix Marketing Associates currently manages social media marketing, PR and email marketing campaigns for the three Scottsdale Yogurtology locations.
About Phoenix Marketing Associates:
Phoenix Marketing Associates works with small to medium sized businesses across North America to provide targeted and results driven marketing solutions on a contract basis within any budget. Their consultative approach allows for a thorough needs analysis which translates into an effective marketing and online PR strategy that saves their clients time and money while providing maximum exposure.
By assigning a team of qualified professionals to each individual situation and utilizing the most current communication and online demand generation technologies, Phoenix Marketing Associates enables businesses to achieve Fortune 500 results on an entrepreneurial budget. For additional information, please visit http://www.PhoenixMarketingAssociates.com
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Media contact:
Jason W. Jantzen
Phoenix Marketing Associates
602-282-0202
Using Coupons in Social Media and The Power of Suggestion
Our social media specialists are at it again! In this example, we demonstrate how we use coupons to incentivize Facebook “likes” through Twitter in this example of our Salt Lake City based client, Thaifoon Taste of Asia.
The interaction on Twitter begins when our social media specialist spots this Tweet:
@brianKlepper: Eating hot food on a hot day is not such a hot idea. 10:40am, Jul 19 from Plume
Knowing that our client, Thaifoon – Taste of Asia, offers a variety of salads, our social media specialist selects one that sounds particularly yummy and responds to @brianKlepper by Tweeting:
@thaifoonutah: @brianklepper You need this! AHI TUNA SALAD- ahi w/ greens, carrots, tomatoes, red peppers, cilantro, ginger, miso-ginger vinaigrette. 10:49am, Jul 19 from HootSuite
This enticing description of the Ahi Tuna Salad catches brianklepper’s eye, so he Tweets back
@brianKlepper: @thaifoonutah sounds nice, refreshing and light for a summer day. Thanks! 10:56am, Jul 19 from Plume
Sensing an opportunity, our social media specialist takes it a step further. She knows that Phoenix Marketing Associates has developed a “like-only” campaign for Thaifoon which involved designing this graphic to increase Facebook likes:
The graphic appears to people who go to Thaifoon’s Facebook page but are not yet fans of the  page.  Once they click “like”, they get this coupon:
Since brianKlepper has already shown interest in one of Thaifoon’s dishes, our social media  specialist decides to try to entice him to come in to try the salad she mentioned earlier by offering him an incentive.
thaifoonutah Jul 19, 12:24pm via HootSuite
@brianKlepper You bet! If you want free lettuce wraps & a $10 off coupon, “like” our FB pg then scroll to see coupon! http://ow.ly/5IncW
This is a win-win for our client and for brianKlepper. Our client has had an opportunity to build rapport with a potential customer and has gained a new Facebook fan. brianKlepper has been introduced to new a new restaurant that offers a dish that sounds appealing, gotten a coupon for free lettuce wraps and can even print out a coupon for an additional $10 off his visit!
Ah, the power of social media!
Social Media Restaurant Marketing with Twitter Delivers – Mini Case Study
Leverage is Key to Effective Social Media Marketing
When developing a social media presence, it’s important to put together a well thought out content creation strategy which will provide a road map for your social media campaign. Â Having your content strategy in place will allow you to pump out relevant and interesting content which we all know is important…but why? Â The answer is LEVERAGE.
Those who are most successful at marketing businesses on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or Foursquare truly understand the power of leverage and how important it is to build up your following. Â Having a large Twitter following or base of fans on Facebook is great, but it’s the content you put out there that will allow you to leverage your social media presence. Â Why? Â Because relevant and interesting content is much more likely to be “re-tweeted” on Twitter or shared on personal Facebook walls. What this means is that you now are not only posting and exposing your brand to your base of followers, but you have now leveraged the followers of that person who just shared your content.
For example, if your company only has a few hundred followers on Twitter, but you post an interesting tweet with a link back to your website which is re-tweeted by someone with several thousand followers, then your content and link to your site is potentially now in front of thousands of people. Â The more targeted followers you have, the greater the likelihood that this example of leverage will be actualized.
Let’s say you have a company Facebook account where you post savory pictures of your best restaurant dishes, you again have the ability to utilize leverage. Â This happens anytime someone “likes” your post, comments on it or at best, shares it on their wall. Â Now, people who may have never even heard of your business or brand are exposed to your product on their Facebook wall–if they like it, they may choose to share with their friends–and so it grows virally.
Foursquare is another great example of leverage at work. Â When someone checks-in to your location, they have the ability to either share with their Twitter base or with their Facebook friends. Â That post would say, “Tom just checked into your location” with a link that maps it out–this message is then shared and again to a completely new base of social media users who may have never been exposed to your brand.
Social Media Poll Shows Great User Insight
Great table below from Harris Interactive showing the amount of time typically spent on social media websites like facebook, twitter and blogs per week. Interesting to note that even the 55+ demo demonstrates a good percentage (79%) of at least some social media usage.
What I believe this table also demonstrates for those who use social media to communicate a message for their business or to drive targeted traffic to landing pages, is that it is it can be very difficult to do so given the amount of time the typical person spends on social media sites. This table shows the amount of time in aggregate users spent on social media with dozens and dozens of sites to take into account. Meaning that for any one time that you blast out your message through twitter, facebook, etc….the odds of the message or link being caught by your target audience’s eye are slim.
Let’s use Twitter for example, and say your target audience are 35-44 y.o. Their largest percentage of time spent on a social media site (and this doesn’t necessarily mean Twitter) is at less than one hour or 20%, the second highest is at six to ten hours per week or 13%. 
For argument’s sake, let’s say that the second statistic is actually the max at 10 hours per week and at 20% of all 35-44 y.o.’s.  This would mean that the typical 35-44 y.o. is on one of dozens of social media sites 1.4 hours per day–and not necessarily all at one time or even on Twitter–plus that’s only 20% of your target audience! This translates into the fact that you’ve got to have your bases covered and you should also not be afraid to promote more even if that’s not the popular “social media philosophy.”
The above dovetail’s into my personal philosophy on Twitter and mind you, the numbers are not based on fact just a highly educated assumption and experience.
Let’s say that you’ve got 1,000 Twitter followers and you blast out a targeted message with a link at 1p.m. At any given time, maybe 10% or 100 of your 1,000 followers are on twitter at that exact moment–and I believe that to be generous. Of those 10%, they may be following a couple of thousand people, so perhaps 10% of them or 10 followers even saw your tweet as it scrolled through the dozens on their screen. Of those remaining 10, you’d be lucky if 10% or 1 person took action. In essence, you’re shooting at a moving target which represents 0.1% of your Twitter following.
Now, brace yourself, because the following runs counter to what most “guru’s” preach:Â Don’t be afraid to post your non-social or promotional message several times throughout the day and grow the heck out of your geo-targeted following–this will only increase your odds of hitting your target audience.
Believe me, one of our core principles is “keep the social in social media,” however I don’t buy the notion of letting your Twitter following grow organically or that a little promotion makes you a digital pariah. I do understand that it is a social medium, but let’s face it, if you’re a company and you’re using social media just to be chummy with the locals, then you’re wasting your time and whatever percentage of budget you have allocated. Deep down you know you also want to drive traffic, build buzz for new products, and make money.
Jason Jantzen is President of Phoenix Marketing Associates and a skilled marketer whose experience in growing small businesses is based on real world experience and proven, repeatable strategies. His company uses an integrated approach to online marketing by implementing Search Engine Optimization, Website Content Creation, PR and Social Media campaigns which has had a marked impact on his clients’ overall exposure to their target market.
You Don’t Own a Business, You’ve Bought Yourself a Job
The title of this article rings true for most small business owners—they just don’t realize it. Following their passion, many entrepreneurs quit their high paying, but boring jobs and choose to jump into debt and mortgage their future to purchase a franchise or dealership or start their own brand–all in the name of self employment and prosperity. 
Often times reminding themselves that “they can do it better” or “I’ve got a better product,” most are not prepared for the workload and change in personal lifestyle which lies ahead. Often, the impetus for jumping into entrepreneurship comes at the ill fated recommendations of friends or family who love your cooking, dig your artistic flair or appreciate the service you perform in your spare time. Inspiration can also be found out of complete frustration with where their personal career has taken them and that little voice in the back of their head reminding them of what could be.
As it turns out, they may end up being a better cook or a more skillful artisan, but at the end of the day, they have no idea how to run and grow a prosperous business. I believe there are several factors that contribute to failed businesses, but the one reason I see ignored most often is the failure to use LEVERAGE.
By failing to use leverage, most small business owners wind up in the quandary of believing they run a business, but in reality, your investment has only bought you a job. This is because small business owners end up being a slave to their company, working longer hours than their old job and for usually less personal income.
Believing that your most valuable role within the business is the lead craftsman, cook, designer, installer, etc…is completely false. Your number one role within your business is sales and marketing. Without it, your business will tread water for a couple of years, then die.
Most entrepreneurs get caught up within the catch-all role of operating the business, often times performing all of the work themselves or manning the shop for twelve hours per day. They’ll make the mistake of believing that “no one can do it better than me.”  Yes, you may be the best at what you do—but no matter what you believe, good people are trainable and you can train them to perform your duties. Doing so allows you the time to plan your marketing, establish relationships and truly grow your business.
The first reaction to this way of thinking is usually, “I can’t afford to hire someone.” Wrong—you can’t afford NOT to hire someone. If you hire a great employee to replace you and focus on sales and marketing, then you’ll have no problem affording that employee. Without implementing this philosophy in your business, you will undergo extreme peaks and valleys and at the first onset of an economic dip, your business will most likely die. Why? Because you haven’t spent your time filling up that sales pipeline with new accounts or potential customers.
Unless you make this shift, you’ll be so tied to your business that you’ll never be able to take a vacation because “who could do it better than you?”  And isn’t freedom and a better lifestyle the reason you got into business in the first place? Successful business owners choose to hire people who are smarter and more skilled than they are and understand that their role is to manage good talent.
Go out and find your replacement, bring them on part time initially if you have to and train them well—then focus on growing your business through sales and marketing and escape the mindset of having a job!
Jason Jantzen is President of Phoenix Marketing Associates and a skilled marketer whose experience in growing small businesses is based on real world experience and proven, repeatable strategies. His company uses an integrated approach to online marketing by implementing Search Engine Optimization, Website Content Creation, PR and Social Media campaigns which has had a marked impact on their overall exposure to their target market.
Small Business Websites Need a CMS
Marketing your small business online is a process which rewards the swift and penalizes the idle. If your small business can’t afford to have a skilled website developer on staff full time, then your website needs to be operating on a CMS (content management system) platform.
In its most basic sense, a Content Management System allows the everyday business owner to bypass the expense of paying a developer $100.00/hr every time they want to make minor changes to their website. A CMS platform enables individuals who do not know how to write HTML code to make changes and additions to their website at will through the use of WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) technology.
The majority of small business owners have no idea how to make changes or additions to their website—which is why most remain static and don’t do a good job at marketing their business and converting web traffic into customers. There are several CMS platforms available from the costly, one-off custom built to the little to no cost platforms like Joomla and WordPress.
Google’s recent introduction of Caffeine, their new search engine platform, now allows for the indexing of information at a much faster rate–meaning that Google’s search engine is constantly looking for and rewarding websites with the freshest and most relevant content. In essence, if you can’t add content to your website on a regular basis, you will disappear.
Through a CMS, you can also install plug-ins which allow for on-page optimization of your website from the page titles to the descriptions and keywords associated with a particular page. Complete the on-page process by adding keyword rich text on your home page with anchor text pointing to pages within your site.
A CMS also allows for the creation of additional web pages which feature new products, services or specials—things that are continually evolving for most small businesses. You can also create specific landing pages to drive targeted traffic which are hidden and non-navigable and whose only purpose is to promote a particular offer.
WordPress CMS platforms are especially useful for performing blogging functions. Blogging is a great way to add keyword rich content which should be promoted through social media and bookmarking websites to drive additional traffic. Remember, every additional page that is created is an additional page that will be indexed by Google Caffeine which helps move your website up the search engine results and in front of your target audience.
Post Recession Small Business Marketing and Survival
Times are tough. However, we are certainly seeing a bit of light at the end of the proverbial tunnel. Those of you who have made it through the worst of it, congratulations, you’re a survivor! But now what—is there room to grow your small business or are consumers too wary of another disaster?
Probably a little of both. Small business owners are more directly tied to end consumers and the general economy than anyone else, which means that the slightest shifts in economic trends can have a marked effect on a small business’ success or failure.
Retailers have enjoyed a traditional holiday spike in spending, but for the most part, no one is lighting the world on fire. Service businesses who provide services that we simply cannot live without like heating and A/C contractors (especially now) have realized steady, traditional sales volumes. But for those service businesses or retailers which provide a product or service that depends on disposable dollars, the term peaks and valleys has been an understatement.
If you truly want to grow your business in this economy, then this is no time to scale back on your marketing. For those with the wherewithal to commit to a solid plan and actually start to expand their marketing campaigns, then the overall market for their respective business is theirs for the taking.
There’s an old saying in business with several variations: If you see your competitor drowning, do you offer him a helping hand or shove a garden hose down his throat?
The point being is that for those who want to dominate their industry, the time is now to begin a full scale attack through the marketing of your small business. Marketing should always be viewed as an investment—an investment which will provide a return. Not an expense.
An increase in marketing does not necessarily mean a doubling or tripling in spend. Consider entering social media marketing or email marketing into the fold. Both mediums are fairly low cost and when executed correctly can have a huge impact on your brand’s reach and ability to stay top of mind with your past and potential customers.
If you’re a retailer that depends on localized traffic, then perhaps a geo-targeted pay per click campaign with a controlled daily budget would suit your needs—nothing like placing your company in front of potential customer at the exact moment they are looking for your product!
Traditional forms of advertising like print, radio and television certainly have their place, but remember—many times this is a branding effort and most small businesses just don’t have the kind of budget for branding-only campaigns. Don’t get caught up in the sex appeal and ego infusion of seeing your pretty face in a magazine or on a commercial–now is the time to be extremely targeted and smart with your marketing dollars which will help you not only survive, but dominate your competition.