C Notes Newsletter Issue 1

Advertising In A Slow Economy

When the economy is in a downturn, it is only natural for a company to attempt to rescue its bottom line. The two time-honored methods for achieving this are cutting costs and increasing revenues. Unfortunately, in the rush to gain immediate results, a company’s efforts to attain the former very often directly impacts the latter.

A perfect illustration of this lies in marketing and advertising. All too often in a slow economy, advertising budgets are the first to be slashed. But is this short-term solution really the best–especially when we consider that it directly effects a company’s ability to reach new customers precisely when it needs them most?

A challenging economy tends to eliminate the weakest competition, leaving a vacuum in the market that is open to development by stronger companies.

Other competitors will be cutting back their marketing and advertising initiatives, making it that much easier to dominate the field.

As a result of the dearth of advertising, print and broadcast buys can often be had for reduced rates.

Even in a slow economy, consumers still require goods and services. Scarcer dollars means they will make their buying decisions in a more informed manner, which means in turn that they will be more attentive than ever to advertising. And, a stagnant economy does not impact exposure to advertising messages; the average American family still watches 26-35 hours of television per week; 26% of radio listeners stay tuned in throughout commercial interruptions; and 35% of adults read all direct mail solicitations.

So what is a slow economy? For the savvy marketer, it’s an opportunity to out think the competition, invest cost-effective media dollars, and to use the advantages of a soft market to turn prospects into buyers.

Business Communications Forum

Our Diverse Source Of Business Advisors

Caler & Company has enlisted a high-powered team of advisors to contribute to our recently formed Business Communications Forum. The BCF, as it is familiarly called, consists of financial institutions, manufacturers, engineering firms and non-profit organizations. It was originally formed as an advisory council to help us utilize quality assurance, customer service, emerging technologies and ideas to better serve our clients. According to CEO and president Steve Caler, BCF has become considerably more. Our Business Communications Forum, which is scheduled to meet quarterly but can convene more often if the business climate dictates, has evolved into a mutually supportive roundtable for business and operational solutions,” Steve says. “We’ve found that every member of BCF, along with their companies and organizations, benefits from the input and observations of the others.”

Steve points out that members of BCF offer a wide variety of perspectives. “BCF is comprised of CEOs, business owners, entrepreneurs, non-profit organization executives, attorneys, IT consultants and accountants. The result is a very effective ‘cross-pollination’ of outlook and experience. The mix of personalities was somewhat experimental, but in practice it’s been very positive. We have a group of people who are passionate about business, enjoy each others’ company, and value each others’ opinions.”

Has this diverse group had any difficulty in finding common ground? Steve says no. There are very timely, very relevant issues that concern all members of BCF and, indeed, all businesses and organizations. For example, at our first meeting, late last year, nearly every member of BCF identified the issue of finding and retaining good employees as one of their most challenging. BCF provides a forum to identify issues like this, and a variety of perspectives to help formulate practical as well as unconventional solutions.”

The Business Communications Forum is one of the many tools used by Caler& Company to stay ahead of market trends, on top of new technology, and to pass the dividends of such knowledge and experience on to our clients.

Writing: Weave Your Website With Well Written Words

A website can be one of the most cost-effective marketing options available for your company. It can generate inquiries, streamline customer service and facilitate sales, all while having the potential to reach a vastly greater audience than any of your marketing initiatives that have ever come before.

As you interview the inevitable parade of web designers who will vie to build your site, it is easy indeed to overlook one of the most important aspects that will impact the site’s effectiveness: the writing. After all, Flash and frames and rollovers make your site visually compelling, but it is the written content that provides information on your products and services, and drives these nascent customers to further action. Writing your web content, then, should be of the highest priority throughout this project-and therefore held to the highest standards.

Your chosen designers may wish to “scan” existing material, or offer to write new content. Though they may be technologically impeccable, carefully weigh whether or not they understand your business enough to write your web content. As for scanning in an existing brochure, remind yourself that your web launch is a new, exciting endeavor with nearly unlimited marketing potential. Is old, possibly outdated material really the best option?

Engaging a creative marketing communications firm with experience in your industry is one way to guarantee persuasive web copy. Conversely, you may opt to write your web content yourself. If you go this route, a few simple tips can help make your web content stand out from the rest.

First, avoid the temptation to make your entire website an overt selling tool. Some general information on the industry, and even some helpful guidance, will go a long way toward building the on line relationships you seek. Your audience wants to learn more about your company, so include a company history, philosophy, vision and even principals’ bios. Bear in mind, though, that everything you post is just as available to your competition as it is to your customers.

As you compose your content, remember that poor grammar and spelling degrade your message and do not cast your company in the light you desire. Your word processor’s spell check is a valuable tool, but not an infallible one. It cannot, for instance, help with the common “friend vs. fiend” dilemma. As for grammar, you’d do well to consult one of the common style manuals: Strunk and White’s Elements of Style is an excellent choice; as is The Chicago Manual of Style and The AP Style Manual. If nothing else, dig out your old college English style book. A few quick refreshers in punctuation and sentence structure might make the difference between an amateurish site, and one that gets the attention it deserves.

Finally, proofread your work mercilessly. Read it silently, then aloud. Then read it again. Have everyone in your office read it. If there are sentences or phrases that you consistently stumble over, then there is probably something incorrect or unclear. Frequent proofreading by many eyes helps guarantee that the content you post live to the world is the best it can be.

A meticulous approach to your web content may delay the project just a bit, but it is well worth it. Even a cursory surf through the World Wide Web reveals a host of business sites that were not built with this care, and suffer because of it. If you seek to differentiate your site–and thus your company–from the garbled messages wrought by bad web copy, a little preparation and a lot of proofreading can make all the difference in the world.