Join Free Webinar! Branding – What Can it Offer for High-Tech companies?

For high-tech SME’s it is important to allocate resources to finding the means to compete and succeed. Many high-tech SME companies lack marketing experts and operate with insufficient knowledge to commercialize their technology.

The aim of the webinar is to provide more understanding of branding in high-tech SME’s. In the discussion the special needs of high-tech companies are highlighted which helps them to develop their marketing and branding practices. Moreover, some recommendations of the role of public organisations are provided.

• Title: Branding – what can it offer for high-tech companies?
• Speaker: Heidi Neuvonen, JAMK
• Moderator: Murat Akpinar, JAMK
• Date: September 24, 2012

Time: 14.00 – 14.45 (30 minutes dialogue between speaker and moderator + 15 minutes for answering questions from the audience. Audience should write their questions during the first 30 minutes into the “Chat” area)

You can participate by signing-in as guest (no password required) at https://connect.jamk.fi/webinars/

 

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What Makes a Great Brochure?

by Ann Fottler-Pierce
Source: http://www.xtremebrandmakeover.com/brochure-design-tips.html

There is hardly a company out there that couldn’t make excellent use of a good product or service brochure. In fact, a well designed, informative brochure is often the cornerstone of a company’s marketing effort. They can be used for a single purpose, such as a leave-behind piece for sales calls, or for multiple uses. They can be mailed to prospects to spark interest, handed out at events and trade shows, mailed to fill information requests and more. A really good brochure can do a lot of heavy lifting for marketing and sales, the operative word being GOOD.

A marketing piece as important as this will be viewed carefully and will reflect the quality and value of your company’s products and services in the recipient’s mind. It can establish your credibility and professionalism, or destroy it. It can make the big sale, or break it. So, when it’s time for your company to produce a new brochure, make it a top priority to get it right the first time.

What goes into the design of a high-quality brochure?

A quality brochure will use a combination of design, visuals, text and layout to create a look and feel that emphasizes your marketing objectives – introducing a new product, selling a service, creating brand awareness or soliciting donations. The objectives can vary as widely as the designs, what matters is that your brochure communicates effectively to your target audience. Often, having an outside firm write and design your brochure will help you avoid the trap of using industry jargon and acronyms. They will help you to view things from the prospect’s point of view instead of a salesperson’s.

When starting your brochure project begin by identifying your target audience. Who is this brochure aimed at? CEOs, housewives, human resources managers, affluent males over 50? Know your audience and speak to it, specifically. You may find that you have more than one distinct target audience you need to engage, such as a CEO and an IT manager. These two individuals would have very different concerns and levels of technical expertise. In that case think seriously about creating more than one brochure to appeal to each audience and address their specific questions and concerns. Remember, you need this heavy-hitting brochure to be effective. Creating more than one version may get you a higher ROI than producing just one, all-purpose brochure.

When you’ve determined who you are talking to select the most valuable benefit they derive from your product or service. You may want to do research here with past customers to determine that benefit, it’s not always what you think it will be. Your product may help a busy executive stay organized, but the real benefit to the customer may be the time your product saves him, or the freedom that organization gives him. If you take the time to identify why past customers bought your product it will pay off with new prospects. Then your new brochure can make use of text, pictures, colors and design to emphasize what that benefit will mean to them.

In the initial design process be sure to involve any high-level decision makers right from the start to get the buy-in you’ll need for approval. This will help you avoid costly redesigns and other changes at the end of a project when they are the most expensive and time consuming to make.

As we said in the beginning your brochure will do some heavy lifting for your sales and marketing departments, so don’t strain it too much. Avoid the temptation to overload your brochure with every fact, feature and detail of your offering. Give prospects the information they need to get excited about your product and persuade them to take the next step in your sales process. That could be calling to place an order, visiting a web site, setting up a sales appointment, or visiting a store location. Whatever your sales cycle calls for, make sure your brochure prominently asks your prospect to move forward – this is a Call To Action. That’s what you’re really after, so be sure to ask for it.

A brochure allows you to leave a lasting impression on your prospects. That means a poorly executed brochure will actually do more harm than good, costing your company much more than the price of producing a high-quality piece in the first place. Be sure to check out the materials of the competition. The idea here is not to copy them, you always what to differentiate your company, but to make sure that your materials are as good or better than theirs. You will get the best ROI by using professional designers, photographers, copy writers, proofreaders and printers for your project. Help them gather all the information they need about your company, brand and product, then with guidance from you, let them do their stuff! The next time a prospect asks you for more information, you’ll be proud to present them with your impressive new brochure and you’ll know your well on your way to a new sale.

Ann Fottler-Pierce is founder and creative director of Xtreme Brand Makeover and its parent company, Piercing Communications.

The Use of Digital Marketing and Social Media in Its Infancy in Finnish Industrial Enterprises

Traditionally, Finland has been regarded as one of the top users of Internet technology. Alarmingly enough, certain recent research results  do not seem to support this notion. In autumn 2011, the DIMAR research   project funded by the Tekes (the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation) explored the current state of digital marketing and social media in the Finnish industry. According to the survey, every 10^th industrial enterprise in Finland makes no use of digital media. Still fewer enterprises make use of social media. As much as 50% of the enterprises participating in the survey said that they were not utilizing social media at all.

Accordingly, the views the enterprises have of the manifestations of social media vary depending on the medium in question. Quite surprisingly, the tools of social media were considered the least important: almost half the enterprises participating in the survey thought that they are unimportant. On the other hand, the enterprises react more positively to customer magazines, newsletters, email and SMS marketing and sales support material. Approximately every 10^th enterprise utilizes the potential offered by e-commerce with only every second enterprise using online advertising (banners). Neither have the roles of search engine advertising and optimization been established in the marketing operations of industrial enterprises. A customer magazine, newsletter and sales support material are considered familiar and safe media, which can contribute to successful business.

The research results are alarming in that enterprises may not understand the importance of the media of digital marketing familiar to the ever growing number of customers, particularly young people. Enterprises have to know where to find their customers. “Even if some enterprises must have understood this, the results of statistical surveys do not confirm that assumption”, says Mr. Jorma Kananen, Principal Lecturer of Business Operations Research and Development at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences.
Some of the worst barriers to the utilization of digital marketing in enterprises seem to be lack of resources, and a limited amount of time and know how available including difficulties with content production. Technical difficulties or shortage of money are only regarded as minor obstacles. Therefore, lack of resources may be interpreted to be equivalent to lack of experts of marketing. The staffs at enterprises keep working as before without recognizing the need for change. As Kananen goes on to say, “a skills gap in the utilization of the current marketing tools and media seems to be the greatest obstacle to successful business activities.

In order to make the use of digital marketing more effective, enterprises do not, necessarily, have to increase their marketing budgets but instead, re-organize them. This also calls for new kind of contemplation on the relationship between enterprise and customer and their mutual communication. Instead of gigantic investments, digital marketing will generate cost savings. Customers may participate in product design, and it will be possible to solve claims within the customer community. Furthermore, real time discourse with customers will make business activities more effective. The utilization of the nearly free tools of social media will save costs.” However, in order to achieve this, the enterprise has to take digital marketing and the new technology into account in its strategic planning. It is high time to question the traditional way of marketing, in which an enterprise approaches the target group chosen through a marketing communications campaign”, Kananen points out.

(Some background information of the survey: The participants were 150 industrial enterprises. Thus, the results are only suggestive.  There will be a further study in spring 2012 with SMEs in Central Finland as the target group. http://www.dimar.fi/)

Further information:
Mr. Jorma Kananen, Principal Lecturer of Business Operations Research and Development at Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences, Business and Services Management, jorma.kananen(at)jamk.fi, tel. +358 40 732 8742

Mashable Is Hiring…

If you’re a fan of social media and tech blogs, Mashable is doing some pretty aggressive hiring.  They’re growing and looking to expand their roster of employees.  If you are interested, you can check out a list of their open positions here. [Source: Mashable]

http://mashable.com/2012/02/20/mashable-hiring-jobs/

Internet Marketing Campaign – Is It Right For You?

If you think your products and services are worth a buy across the globe, then an internet marketing campaign is the solution you’re looking for. This will enable you to reach out to anyone on the planet. Whether it’s managing customer information, launching a public relations campaign or building sales.

If you’re thinking that this sounds like a lot of blah, read on.

An internet marketing campaign has, you guessed it, everything to do with the internet! It helps you use the internet to advertise or sell goods and services. There are lots of creative ways you can do that, some of the most popular being:

• Pay per click advertising
• Banner advertisements
• Email marketing
• Search engine marketing
• Blog marketing
• Article marketing

Each of these has its advantages, and what you choose to use depends a lot on your business goals. For the moment, let’s look at the benefits of pursuing an internet marketing strategy in general:

24×7 visibility – Customers around the globe are relying on the internet as a primary source of knowledge, so you need to be right there.

Zero in – Internet technology can help you identify your target, like no other. Web analytics (which is jargon for understanding the behavior of visitors on your site) has the ability to identify and track potential customers, and saves you the bother of a wild goose chase.

Cut costs – It’s no secret that it would cost you an arm and a leg to run a full-blown campaign on TV or other media. The internet is an extremely cost-effective medium in comparison, and therefore gives you the chance to pass on some of those savings to your customers.

Seize the moment – You never know when there’s somebody with a need that your product can satisfy – an internet marketing strategy enables you to be in the customers’ face at all times. When the impulse to buy seizes your customer, you need to be there, pushing your wares.

Give them what they want – If you’re a reseller, an internet marketing strategy will allow you to understand your customers’ needs better, and then customize the product offering to their needs. For example, online sellers of music could create a personalized compilation of favorite tracks. This will help secure customer loyalty and build favorable word of mouth.

Build a buzz – By allowing customers to interact with each other you can create a loyal community. Take eBay for example.

If you’re thinking there’s got to be a catch somewhere, well, you’re dead right! While deciding on your internet marketing campaign, it’s useful to bear some things in mind.

Information overload – With all the information available online, it’s not surprising that most customers are either comparing prices or worse, are confused! So you need to be creative while deciding your internet marketing campaign, to make sure you stand out among the crowd.

Fear of fraud – The internet is not without its share of rogues, and that could make prospective customers feel vulnerable. You need to reassure them about the safety of doing business with you. Reputed online sellers will ensure that they link up with secure payment gateways. eBay even gives useful advice about trading safely.

No touchy-feely – most people still think of the internet as a place to gather information, but would rather purchase at a store where they can experience the product. You can actually do something about this – for example http://www.amazon.com allows prospective book buyers to read selective pages before they decide to buy. Alternatively, you could frame an attractive exchange policy or money back guarantee.

A problem of image – You’ll find that a lot of rival websites have queered the pitch with their slow response rates and laughable customer service policies! You’ll need to work that much harder to undo the damage.

As with any business decision, you need to think carefully about your internet marketing campaign. While you’re the best judge, there are professionals like http://www.wilsonweb.com, http://www.web-source.net and http://www.marketingtips.com that could help you make that call.

via Internet Marketing Campaign – Is It Right For You?.