PR and Marketing???

[winton50]

I notice there's a few of the above mentioned guys on here and I would appreciate a bit of help on the subject.

We are a small florist business and want to increase our profile (and sales).

what can PR/marketing guys do for us and how much does it cost?

Has any non marketing businesses successfully used these services?

 

[10Yetis]

Well well well... would you take a look at a post like that.. how can I resist.

First off, Winton, if you have a look at some of my posts elsewhere, hopefully you will see that I do try to help as much as possible and try to be as honest as possible in my answers.

Anyway, I nearly fell over myself in my attempt to reply in a speedy manner...

Err, I do PR, I do Marketing (hopefully others here would vouch for this).

I have waxed lyrical elsewhere on this site about people needing to remember that PR essentially is a way in which a business can raise sales through increasing its profile, and you have identified this already in your post. yey!

As for what does it costs well, it costs as much or as little as you want it to, don't be pressured into spending money. SME's are often put off from using a marketing or pr company (see how avoided using the word 'agency'... don't get me started) because people think it will be v expensive. It should only cost what you want it to.

You come to me and say, "Right Andy, you big bag of ideas, I have £x pounds to spend on a campaign and I want to increase sales on the back of it" I reply, "Well, that sounds great, for the figure you mention I suggest you do this that and the other, bish bosh bang... whadda you reckon". This way I don't come to you with a load of outlandish ideas that cost the earth. We both know where we are at, and I don't stop until the campaign does its job!

And off we go.

Please please please... someone from this forum say that they have used a marketing service, and found it useful! Help me out...

Send me a private E for more info... go on, I dare ya!

 

[daveashton]

Winton

As a business that has a local catchments a website is great but in your case would be further down my list of things to look at.

Having just finished our 2nd project for a retail outlet some of the things you might wish to look at are:

leaflet drop ( Royal mail is less than £50,00 per thousand and can drop on areas or postcodes i.e. very local people)

Look at local events and use this as a showcase. We did the local rose queen event and offered a discount for free publicity

Sales Database. My client offers a free reminder service which enables people to get an email re key events in the year i.e. wedding anniversaries , birthdays etc.

Referral Program This again has had a big take up and is very cheap to get up and running.

Hope this helps.

 

[winton50]

Thanks for the replies guys.

10 Yetis I spoke with a few marketing gurus at some networking events and the general attitude I got was - 'we wouldn't get out of bed for less than 5 grand' which is frankly so far out of the question as to be laughable

The thing is what would a marketing guy do that I don't or would he do it so much better than me that it makes it worthwhile. (I'm not being clever here this really is a genuine question!)

daveashton On the subject of websites we have found that it is terriffic for our business as we get a lot of overseas sales from it for our area and have spent very little time and money on it making it very cost effective. Leaflet drops have never worked for me - What am I doing wrong?!

 

[10Yetis]

Winton,

I laughed myself when I read your comment about marketing people saying they would not get out of bed for les than £5k! This is the type of rubbish that some marketing people spout that I find myself fighting against*.

I genuinely want to help people and what is more I enjoy marketing and PR so I would run a £2 campaign if it meant i got to test my skills and help someone out doing something I enjoy... (if I had a goat, it would be up by now).

I want to earn a living from this, yes I admit it, but I don't want to suggest stupid size campaign to those who won't really benefit from it, or cannot afford it in the first place.

Moving on to your second question; "what would a marketing person do that you cannot do yourself", well... to be honest (marketing people will kill me)...nothing, but hopefully what we do, is better than the average person with no or little marketing experience, more effective beacause of our years of experience of running campaigns that work and that can be adapted to work for your business, and better because we are passionate about what we do... personally, I won't stop until the campaign reaches its goals.

Anyway, enough warbling from me...

*yes it is a crusade... PR &Marketiers for Justice

 

[kyber]

Stuart,

PR and Marketing are professional skills the best examplers of which are usually passionate about the subject and focused on providing geniune value for money. Like most skills, reasonably intelligent people can learn the basics but without the "knack" and passion will rarely be as effective, efficient or innovative as the best.

For some small businesses, DIY marketing/PR is fit-for-purpose, is good enough, is valuable learning. Often though it is better to fully exploit the skills that led you into business in the first place and focus on delivery around that (or in managing others to do it right) than trying to spread energies a little too wide.

If you can cope with the success of good marketing/PR, get someone to do it well for you. Someone who does not know the answer before they speak to you, that does not offer you something completely inappropriate, that does not focus on their bottom line rather than your success.

Just as is the case for any poorly recognised skill, there are plenty of cowboy PR and Marketing people around (giving the skill a bad name in many cases) and also a good number who have an expectation (deserved or not) of what the market owes them. They may well not want to get out of bed for less than £5000. At your next garthering, ask them about their attitude to risk/reward deals and their own track record of payment by results.

Stuart

 

[gj]

My experience of using a marketing guy in another of my businesses, (who I must say has a similar attitude to 10yetis) is that much of what he came up with, we had thought about - BUT HAD NEVER DONE ANYTHING ABOUT!

Now we have a clear marketing plan, matched to our desires for the future of the business, with ideas on costs and which I firmly believe will enable us to achieve our goals.

Our guy has a very sensible attitude to what is practical for us to commit to. I think you should be able to get someone to give you an initial cosultation free of charge. That would enable you to get a feel for he persons approach and whether you could work with them.

Also, does your Association not provide any guidance on marketing?


Regards


Graham