Design Ideas Guaranteed to Get People to Your Site

Marketing Sherpa posted an interesting piece listing the most effective things you can do to increase response ratings on your site. The number one thing was to include a photo of a person, the number two thing...read more.

Save the date: 2008 Art Studio Views

It's official. The maps are printed and everything is ready to go for the 2008 Inaugural Art Studio views of the Rhinebeck and Red Hook areas. Saturday 10-18 and Sunday 10-19 from 11-5 each day. Visit artsnortherndutchess.org for more information or download the map. Come and see our table across from the bandstand at Hardscrabble Day in Red Hook this Saturday 9/20. Send the link to your friends, art lovers and especially collectors ;)

Special thanks to our Art Studio View sponsors:
Rhinebeck Savings Bank
Rhinecliff Hotel
Keller Williams, Suzanne Stevens
Namaro Graphic Designs
Cross River Fine Art
Rising Tide Communications

Special thanks to everyone else. Now the hard work begins!!!

Diana Ayton-Shenker
Doris Cultraro
Nadine Robbins
Elizabeth Watt
Joel Weisbrod
Joanne Klein
Clive Jacobson
France Menk
All the Artists
Susie Linn
Dutchess County Arts Council
Rhinebeck Area Chamber of Commerce

Creating a brand helps create a plan: Suzanne Stevens, Keller Williams Realty

Suzanne Stevens, a real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty in Rhinebeck, NY was inspired by our June blog: Don’t slash the budget. Market smarter!

Smart she is! Suzanne decided to use her time constructively during the economic downturn. She hired Namaro to upgrade her corporate brand and create a master plan. Not only is she going to be more visible than the competition that is down scaling, but she’ll be ready when the market picks up with a plan that will save her money and time.

First, we developed a tagline that was simple, direct and friendly by using a phrase that is common and expanding on it. “Just Listed, Just Sold, Just Suzanne”.

Second, we reviewed all her advertising and developed a plan.

Third, we designed a corporate brand that was first “Suzanne Stevens” and second Keller Williams. The fonts, shapes and colors complimented both “brands” yet differentiated them.

Fourth, we designed and produced templates in Microsoft Publisher, PowerPoint and Word, so Suzanne could work with the templates on her own whenever she needed them. Her corporate communications brand won’t be compromised, and she’ll be able to easily handle the job in-house.

Fifth, we created an Excel file with calendar columns next to each of the templates. Suzanne can create a plan for each piece of her brand and when she needs it.

Things change constantly in the real estate market. New ads are required. A presentation is created for every new listing, open house, and sale. This brand is easy to use, update and will most definitely make “Suzanne Stevens” stand out now and in 2009-2010.

The lighter side: You know you're not organized when

1. You show up a day early to your any appointment.
2. You can’t see the surface of your desk.
3. You open the silverware drawer and find straws.
4. Your boss buys you an organizer.
5. Your filing system is a two-foot stack on the kitchen counter.
6. The electricity turns off.
7. You can’t find your to-do list.
8. You forget your anniversary.
9. You give your boss a blank stare.
10. You can’t read your own handwriting.

A check list of marketing tools

• Creativity: If you don’t have it, then you can’t stand out from your competition.
• Print/Web advertising: The right mix will help you succeed.
• eNewsletters: Target a small subscribed list like your existing contacts and new ones from networking.
• Publicity: Distribute a press release about anything happening at your company.
• Word-of-mouth: Clients are the best leads for more work.
• Viral marketing: If done right, it's one of the best ways to reach a huge audience.
• Corporate blog: Sounds scary to lawyers, but if your CEO or sales people each have one, your customers feel personally connected.
• Incentives, Discounts and Give-aways: Is a discount on what you're selling creating the right image to gain new customers? Incentives work better than giving it away and keep your bottom line up.
• SEO: We can't stress it enough, if you're selling products.
• Off-site, storefront and trade shows displays: Being creative will capture your audience quickly.
• Networking and sponsorships: Getting out there is the best way to increase sales, lists, press, word-of-mouth, etc…
• Hi-tech: youtube.com and secondlife.com come to mind.
• Or create your own networking site: check out ning.com.

Answer these questions before you start your 2009-2010 marketing plan

• What are your company’s goals for 2009-2010?
• Did you do a SWOT analysis?
• What are your customer needs?
• What is the competition doing?
• What marketing tools proved effective/ineffective in the past?
• What are developing trends that may impact your company?
• What is your 2009-2010 budget?
• What economic/social/technical factors will affect your company in 2009-2010?
• Have you reviewed your vendor qualifications and can you do better?

Stressed out? Don't forget to breath & get software

If you’re responsible for multiple projects and clients, consider buying a software package to keep track of everything. Create visual schedules of who’s responsible for what and when they’re supposed to do it. Your team enters hours worked and record milestones. Status reports are quickly created, alerting managers to potential problems. Schedules, estimates, budgets. You name it, these programs have got it. Breathe.

Microsoft Project, Apple Streamtime Job Bag Software and Filemaker are popular programs. There are cheaper versions out there like TwiddleBit’s Plan for Windows, too. Third-party companies sell templates customized for different industries and save you the headache of initial set-up. We use a program called Fast Track on our Macs.

Get your free excel file!

Don't have specific software you can use? We created this quick start marketing plan guide in Excel for you to use. Start planning now by clicking here to download the file. It's safe. It was created on a mac. :)

FREE

Keep an eye out for the next newsletter. It will have lots of Free information.