AJ Ross Creative Media has put together a new email marketing template for Tarshis Catania Liberth Mahon & Milligram. View the email newsletter here.
AJ Ross Creative Media has put together a new email marketing template for Tarshis Catania Liberth Mahon & Milligram. View the email newsletter here.
Advertising and Marketing
When Your Business Needs Fresh Ideas
By Allan Ross
If this recession has taught me anything it is the value of employees, colleagues, and friends who think outside the box. They believe, like I do, that businesses cannot survive the current economic challenges by sticking their heads in the sand and doing nothing. Maintaining the status quo is not the answer.
Instead, businesses must take advantage of the vacuum that now exists and market their services not only to the local market, but globally as well. As the economy starts to show signs of recovery, the window of opportunity is beginning to close for those who choose the forward-thinking strategy to aggressively seek out new customers and new markets through targeted advertising, marketing, and Public Relations campaigns.
Advertising during a bad economy clearly creates a competitive advantage by creating “Brand Assurance,” thus establishing confidence in your demographic by consistently being in the public eye. People don’t stay loyal to products or companies based on the memory of advertisements viewed months or years ago in rosier economic times.
With more than 20 years experience managing advertising, marketing and Public Relations for clients across the country, I’ve never been more convinced about what my business needs to do to compete locally and nationally. Some of my clients, with the guidance of AJ Ross Creative Media, have employed similar game plans that have reaped prodigious results.
What to Look For Before You Choose
If you are looking for a firm to help you in your advertising, marketing, and Public Relations efforts, here are a few pointers:
1) Contact a number of prospective firms that have good reputations and have them provide you with their background, list of accomplishments, key personnel, etc.
2) Make sure the firm you select has experience and first-hand knowledge of your industry.
3) Have them show you some examples of their recent work. See if their ads, marketing materials are in step with your core beliefs, values, and goals.
4) Stay clear of the firm that spends more time showing you the ads and marketing pieces promoting their services and little with campaigns they conducted for their clients.
5) Sit down with the company’s principals or key staff prior to making a selection. The people you choose will have the future growth and prosperity of your business in their hands. You want a company that has experienced writers, designers, and marketing professionals who have the talent and imagination to take your company to the next step.
6) Select a firm that has broad and well-rounded experience in all aspects of advertising including web design, marketing, media placement and Public Relations. More times than not, a company has talent in one area, but only dabbles in the others. That is a recipe for disaster.
These are just some of the things you should look for in an advertising, marketing, and Public Relations company. Hire the firm that best fits your needs and your budget so that you get your message out ASAP that your business is alive, well and ready to grow. Good luck!
Allan Ross is President of AJ Ross Creative Media, a full-service global advertising, marketing and Public Relations agency celebrating their 20 th year in business located in Chester, NY. A former NYC session musician, jingle writer and producer, Ross parlayed that experience into the development of a full-service strategic marketing agency. AJ Ross offers Brand development, Print, Radio, and TV advertising production, graphic design, Website development, and Public Relations. Some of AJ Ross’s accounts include Orange County Tourism, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union, Finkelstein and Partners, Jacoby and Meyers amongst others. To learn more about AJ Ross Creative Media, visit www.ajross.com, call 800-723-4644, or email info@ajross.com .
No matter what business you’re in, it’s always about expectations, isn’t it? It’s about meeting expectations or exceeding them. There are no other options.
If you play things by the book, meeting expectations isn’t really that difficult.
Exceeding expectations is another matter entirely and it’s never easy. Because this is where hard work, dedication, and a passion for doing things better become paramount. This is where people who only make promises are separated from the people who actually fulfill them and then surpass them.
At A.J. Ross Creative a full-service Advertising, Marketing and Web Design Company, has been in business for nearly 20 years. And in this “here today and gone tomorrow” world nobody lasts that long by merely meeting expectations.
So, what are your expectations? In terms of creative work and service, what is it you really want? This could be a very productive exchange. And while we’re learning what you expect and want, we’d like you to see how we’ve taken many clients to places they never expected to go.
Who Is AJ Ross Creative Media?
AJ Ross Creative Media opened its doors in 1991 and that’s exactly how you’ll still find them today: open. Open to new ideas, open to new ways to reach people, new technologies, open to all the things that can help our clients be more successful.
Of course, you can’t do anything without the right people, and we’ve been very fortunate to work with many of the best people in the communications industry. Our real and “virtual” staff includes writers and art directors who’ve occupied positions of leadership in such major agencies as Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey Advertising, and Young & Rubicam.
When we combine our veterans with our young and dedicated staff members, we can put together teams that are current, experienced, energetic, and successful—qualities that we are certain generate the results that exceed your expectations.
A.J. Ross Creative Media, a full-service Advertising, Marketing and Web Design company located in Chester, NY. Some of AJ Ross’s accounts include Orange County Tourism, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union, Finkelstein and Partners, Jacoby and Meyers amongst others. For more information go to http://www.ajross.com or call 845-783-5770 783-5770.
When times are tough the first things businesses cut are their advertising and marketing budgets thinking they are saving money; what they’re really doing is cutting off their lifeline to profits in our current hard economy. If anything, advertising should be increased, and here are some of the reasons why:
The Competitive Advantage
Advertising during a bad economy clearly creates a competitive advantage by creating Brand Assurance. Brand Assurance establishes confidence in your demographic when you are consistently in the public eye. Most importantly, you’re at the top of buyers’ minds when purchase decisions are made. People don’t stay loyal to products or companies based on the memory of a strong campaign in rosier times. Memories are short and advertisements that bombard them today and every day are what will stick in their heads and make you a household name when they make a purchasing decision.
There are certain cost effective ways to market your company that you should pay strict attention to. Some of these include:
Website Content
Keep your Website fresh and current. Your Website has become one of your most important marketing tools. It’s the voice of your company 24 hours a day. It can offer customers your latest promotions or house an entire catalog of information. It allows you to deliver countless amounts of new information without printing or mailing expenses. You have the potential to connect with millions of people. Now it’s up to you to hook them and keep them interested with new information.
Email Campaigns – The New Way to Send Direct Mail
One of the best ways to reach your existing clients and new prospects is by sending out email campaigns. It could be an article, newsletter, or just new information of what‘s going on with your company. Your presentation of your email marketing campaign needs to be professional and well thought out. It might be a good idea to hire a professional like AJ Ross to design your initial template. As the old sayings go, “first impressions”and“you get what you pay for.”
You’ve established your Brand, built and maintained a strong Website, and sent out an email campaign …… so what’s next?
Can you be found on Google?
Another important factor in marketing your company is Search Engine Optimization (SEO). It is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to your Website. When SEO is done properly, it will place you high on search engine result pages with certain key phrases and terms (i.e. Real Estate, law firms, doctor, etc.). You should also hire a professional like AJRoss to help you with your SEO. With millions of people online daily, it is worth the investment.
The economy may be bad, but people are still spending money on products and services. Now is a great time to keep your market share and prove Brand Assurance particularly in these bad economic times. Consumers and companies alike will feel comfortable spending their money on the services your company provides. Make sure they know your name, increase their confidence in your staying power, and assure them you will be there tomorrow and in the years to come.
One of the best ways to reach your existing clients and new prospects is by sending out email campaigns.
Here are some tips on producing a good and effective campaign.
The Title or subject line is the most important part of the whole project. You have only about 40 characters to motivate your members to click and read on.
That’s why subject lines must be all about benefits. The best (if not the only) reason to open a message is to find a benefit within. The goal is to get people intrigued so that they’ll want to learn more. If you give them too much info or seem too aggressive, you risk pushing them away.
The recipient’s concern is literally, “What’s in it for me?”
Once your visitor does click onto to your mail one of the crucial elements of an email marketing campaign is a clear call to action. You want the reader to start reading and then, almost without thinking about it, scroll down and continue reading. Your copy needs to be concise and focused; it should be formatted with lots of white space so that it’s easy on the eye; and it should include a call to action with a link. Don’t distract with too many links or offers, and make not only the call to action clear but also what recipients can expect when they click through. This can be as simple as “Click here for a 20% discount on your next purchase.” You want them to go to your Website.
Your email marketing strategy as a whole must be an integrate part of the overall marketing strategy. Similarly, the design (and the content) of your newsletter or email marketing campaign should reflect your Corporate design.
Now you need a database list of people who give you permission to email them.
With a never-ending flow of spam on the Internet people are careful with every new message they receive. Some people immediately delete suspicious emails without opening them, others use anti-spam filters that block any email they consider as spam. Its great if you already have a list of subscribers, to which you are sending newsletters at a regular basis. People know who you are and most likely have your email address in their address books or whitelists, so your email is let through with no problems. As you meet new people at networking or other functions get their card and immediately add their email address to your database. Most everyone has their email address on their business card.
Finally, your presentation of your email marketing campaign needs to be professional and well thought out. It might be a good idea to hire a professional to design your initial template. You know the old saying “first impressions” and “you get what you pay for.”
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