Creating Your PR Image to Bring Your Dreams to Reality 

January 7, 2011 Leave a Comment

Your business is unique because you’re the one who is rerunning it and you’re the only you that there is.  How can your business reflect your uniqueness? By integrating who you are with what you do. To accomplish this, you need to understand how to capitalize on your unique abilities and perspective in order to organically grow your business and differentiate it from your competitors.

Often businesses are arbitrarily put together. Someone comes up with an idea, starts a company and a business is born.  The downside is that without some thought, planning and guidance, a company can grow on its own without a focus or direction.  It grows wild, untended.  That’s not the approach you want to take.  View your business as a living, breathing entity. You gave it life and it needs guidance and structure. Determine where you want the business to go, how you want it to look, feel and grow; start defining your business, as opposed to simply letting the business wander aimlessly. Do you want to attract as wide a market as possible, or appeal to a more limited, special niche market?  How do you want your business to be viewed or perceived?  What do you see as your brand?

Define your company, your image, and what makes your business specifically yours.  An effective image does not just happen; it has to be conceived, designed and worked. Review all aspects of your business. If you have a storefront, is it inviting? Does it welcome customers? If you’ve grown to the point that you have a staff, do they know your values? Do they make clients or customers feel welcome and comfortable, both in person and on the phone?

If you sell a product, is your packaging and sales material clear and attractive? Again, does the look and feel reflect both you and your business? Do you and your staff inspire confidence? Does the way you dress and carry yourself reflect your image?  Is the business an organic extension of you and your vision?

Many businesses need only minor makeovers; essentially some fine-tuning. But you’d be surprised at the difference those slight changes can make.  They can give your business a whole new lease on life. Real success comes when you integrate yourself with your business, when you and your company, product or service are moving in one unified direction.

Take some time to define your business and your message. Scrutinize it from top to bottom.  If it’s time for a new look, create one. Give you and your business a makeover. Once you’ve accomplished those objectives, you’ll be ready for center stage; ready to take your story to the public and bring your dreams fully to reality.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

 

Filed under business, Media Relations, Public Relations, publicity, small business, social media Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The DOs and DON’Ts Of A Successful Interview

September 17, 2010 Leave a Comment

Whether you’re presenting a product, a company, your artwork or yourself, the words you chose, your tone, your delivery and how you carry yourself all play a part in how your message will be received.  Although an interview on CNN or the Wall Street Journal is different than an interview for a new job, in essence the basics of effective communication remain the same.  The following are some dos and don’ts to keep in mind before going on any interview:

Know your message and how to articulate it.  Plan this.  You might have the best product or service; you could be the number one expert in your field, or you could be the perfect candidate for a particular job, but if you don’t know how to articulate your message, you’re in trouble.

Learning effective interview skills is not only important for business owners who are trying to effectively present their company to the public via TV, print and radio interview;  it’s also a necessary skill for anyone who is going on a job interview, or hoping to move up the ladder within a company.

DON’T decide to go to an interview and wing it.  DO: Prepare.  Review two or three primary points that you want to get across during the interview and practice your delivery.

DON’T anticipate questions.   DO: Wait until the question is asked and then respond.

DON’T approach an interview as a string of facts.  DO: Listen.

DON’T try and force the information.   DO: Weave your main points into the interview.  Make it a conversation, not a monologue

DON’T slouch. DO be aware of how you are sitting or standing.

DON’T wait to bring up important information.  DO:  Lead with your most important information.  Job interviews and media interviews can both be very short.  If you don’t lead with what’s truly important, you could miss your chance.

DON’T tense up.  DO:  Relax; smile; breathe. People have a tendency to hold their breath when nervous; so remember to breathe.

DON’T answer a question you don’t understand.  DO INSTEAD:  ask an interviewer to clarify a question if you’re unsure about what’s been asked.  The last thing you want to do is give an answer to a question you don’t fully understand.

DON’T ramble and get off point.  DO:  Keep your information short, concise, and to the point.

Whether you’re going on a media interview, or trying to land that perfect job, keep these points in mind, prepare, relax, have fun – and nail it.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

Filed under business, Marketing, Media, news, PR, PR Campaign, Public Relations Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How To Create A Niche Market For Your Business

September 8, 2010 1 Comment

It’s tempting to think that your product is perfect for… everyone.  Now, there is a broad market sector.  Generally when a company markets to everyone it’s listened to by no one.

Not only that, if you want to market to everyone, that means your marketing has to be everywhere, which generally means you need to invest millions in your campaign.

There are times where your product or service will define your market for you.  For example, if you produce golf clubs you have a pretty good idea of who to market to, although even within such a defined market you can generally drill down quite a bit and define a variety of different markets within the overall target audience.  Let’s get a little more general, let’s say you develop a line of lipstick.  You’re primary market is female, that is somewhat safe to say, but that still leaves you a rather large terrain.  Is your primary market teenage girls, women in their 20s to early 30s, women over 40?  Are you focusing on women who shop at Wal-Mart, Nordstrom’s, or trendy boutiques? These are just a few of the questions that you’d need to answer before you launched your line of lipstick.

Let’s broaden the scope even more.  Let’s say you’re selling a new brand of bottled water. Everyone drinks water.  Your market is infinite, right?  Wrong.  What you need to discover is who drinks your brand of bottled water.  Are you targeting men, women, teens, seniors, athletes, moms, who are your customers?

Finding a niche market does not mean that you will only focus in that arena, it means you will create a following a loyal group of buyers who know and trust your product or service.  Once you establish yourself in a niche market, you can then branch out and develop customers in other arenas.  By targeting your approach, your odds of success are also much greater and your risks are reduced.

But how do you know what your market is?  First and foremost know your product or service.  What does it offer? What problems does it solve? Whose life does it make easier?  If you truly know and understand your business it will lead you to your customers.  Be honest with yourself. Don’t develop a product that is perfect for college students that are on a budget and then market it to private jet owners.  That is an exaggeration, but I’ve seen companies who refuse to see their true customer base because they had a preconceived idea of the market they wanted to capture.

To start, you need to be sold on and passionate about your product or service.  If you don’t believe in it, don’t expect anyone else to.  Know your business.  As I mentioned, if you truly know your product or service it will help define your market for you.  Take some time to research that there is a need for your product.  Don’t create a business solely because it interests you.  A hobby is not always a business.  In some cases it can be, but make sure you have researched the need and demand for your business.

Now if the demand is there, you’re onto something.  Create the best product or service that you can and go forward.  Figure out exactly who your potential customers are.  Where do they buy?  What magazines or newspapers do they read?  What TV shows do they watch? What sites would they visit on the internet? Once you have that information, you have your direction.

If you’re working on a limited budget start with a targeted PR campaign combined with a social media/blogging campaign.  If you have the funds hire a public relations firm, otherwise, do some homework, learn the basics and start by launching your own targeted niche marketing campaign.  You can broaden your scope and target other markets as you grow, but to start, find a niche, develop your marketing and media relations campaign and grow your business.

Copyright © Anthony Mora 2010

Filed under business, internet marketing, Marketing, Media, PR, PR Campaign Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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