Don, tell us about yourself, who are you and what experiences have you had that have led up to where you are at today?

I’ve come to believe that marketing is a “blue collar” profession. Sure, you plan. But over the years I’ve discovered a lot of activities succeed with sweat behind them.

I have a wide-ranging communication background from marketing small to medium-size businesses to building programs for non-profit organizations.

I’ve written across media including radio, newsletters, video and web.

My master’s degree in communication management gave me a framework for understanding how to promote to stakeholders within an organization as well as to target customers.

I also believe the first place to start is helping an organization understand its goals. When I created media for different entities nothing was more frustrating than thinking the business direction and process may change. Getting this clear is a foundation for following up with all forms of communication.

You have a blog; do you think they are necessity for a business to have?

A blog is helpful if it offers valuable information for the target customer or target audiences. A web site itself can have interactive components so a blog can be an effective add-on. A blog can be an extension of the business’ expertise and personality.

Do you have any tips for creating a successful business blog?

The same principles apply for all blogs: easy-to-follow design, compelling headlines and valuable content. A business needs to build “community” which may include giving a voice to select vendors, employee departments and customers.

If you start a blog, make a commitment to carry it out for a period of time like at least 9 months to 12 months. You can then compile select posts and create a report that can be downloaded from your corporate website.

What other forms of new media do you suggest a business utilize to promote their business?

Try print. Seriously, there are times when I want to get someone’s attention so I’ll snail-mail a letter to them or fax instead of use email.

I would start with asking: what does the business want to achieve? What is the problem it’s trying to solve or a need to address (that’s the heart of marketing)? Mini-web sites for product launches with interactive forums are one answer. Limited use of Flash to present a topic and package it on a usb drive is another angle. There are so many variations of media available. But before money is spent you have to ask yourself “what are you trying to achieve and who are you trying to reach? How will they best understand and respond to your message?” The answer is there’s more than one way. That’s why it’s important to pay attention to your “marketing mix.”

It seems like Public Relations is still the most misunderstood business communication discipline. Can you give a simple definition of what PR is and some baby steps for businesses to take to get started?

Public Relations can extend to your employees and vendors as well as your customers and the media. Small businesses can easily start their PR by responding to relevant news articles with letters to the editor. Participate in online forums that are of interest to your industry.

If a topic arises such as the price of gas, do you have the facts behind the issue that aren’t being reported by the media? If so, use print and online to get your message out. Sponsor a community event.

Marketing, and subsets like PR, is about testing and measuring results before finding what works. Try something consistently for a period of time as part of an overall strategy.

What projects are on the horizon for you? How can the readers of this blog get involved?

Right now, I’m conducting a direct mail and telemarketing campaign for a growing company that provides managed computer services to the insurance industry. I’ll be giving them an overall marketing strategy, too.

I’ll be meeting with a professional to see if I can help her package her expertise and boost her client base with a cost-effective marketing strategy.

I’d like to launch a regional marketing web site and blog filled with resources and real-life experiences. But I don’t want to do it by myself so if anyone wants to contribute it could be a great joint effort.

I think more companies can engage in partnerships and cross-promotional efforts. This is another form of PR.

If a business owner would like to contact you how would they get a hold of you?

My cell phone is 818-667-1789.

The office line to ask for me via the PR Store in Pasadena is 626-793-1411.

Email: simkovich@sbcglobal.net

Don’s Blog: Cash Flow Today

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Source: Wikipedia

Seth Godin is the author of 9 books that have been bestsellers around the world and have been translated into more than 20 languages. Permission Marketing was a New York Times bestseller, Unleashing the Ideavirus is the most popular ebook ever published, and Purple Cow is the bestselling marketing book of the decade.

Sean Parker is the co-founder and Chairman of “Project Agape,” a new network that aims to enable large-scale political and social activism on the Internet. Sean is also a Managing Partner at The Founders Fund, an early stage venture capital firm based in San Francisco. Previously, Sean was the co-founder of the category defining Web ventures Napster, Plaxo, and Facebook.

Jimmy Wales is the Internet entrepreneur best known for founding Wikipedia.org, as well as other wiki-related organizations, including the charitable organization Wikimedia Foundation, and the for-profit company Wikia, Inc., which operates Wikia.com.

Susan Sobbott is President & General Manager of OPEN from American Express, the division dedicated exclusively to the success of small business owners and their companies. OPEN is the fastest-growing proprietary business unit within American Express, and the nation’s largest credit and charge card issuer for small business. Daughter of the owner of a small trucking business, Susan returned to her small business roots when she joined the OPEN team in 2003 and was named its President in 2004.

The topics they cover include Web 2.0, radical transparency, blogging, viral marketing, building a community out of your clients, social networking and a bunch more. Here is a sample video:

Click here to checkout the site.

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We know you’re successful business people. (I mean, you’re reading StraightPassThrough.biz, right?) And this means you probably have a pretty good idea who your customers are.

But what if you could use your processing statement to really market to specific customer groups? What if your statement was a powerful sales analysis tool?

Wow.

The statement, when you are receiving some form of SPT, is probably the most overlooked marketing and analysis tool. Imagine the following scenario:

Let’s say your average sale is $150. Now, for this example, you look at your statement and realize that a large percentage of your customers are using Rewards/Enhanced cards (the cards that give cash back or airline miles or whatever). On a whim, you divide the $ volume of Rewards/Enhanced transactions by their # volume.

Omigosh! That average ticket is only $75! That’s only half your total average ticket! From a marketing or positioning point of view, this would be a disaster. You see, most people who get Rewards and Enhanced card offers are usually good credit risks and more affluent than the average card holder. They should be spending more money, not less.

In this instance, you may create a campaign to push a few higher ticket items, or create some package deals to entice this audience to spend more with your company.

This is a simplistic example, but a powerful one. An SPT statement can also be used to make sure you are aiming your goods/services at the correct audience in the first place…or successfully doing so. You’d be surprised how many companies believe their credit card business is B2B when their statements claim it’s B2Consumer. And vice versa.

So pull out that statement and see who your customers are and if you’ve positioned yourself to best service them! And then keep looking to see how well you’re pulling it off. You might find this is the best marketing and sales analysis tool you’ve got.

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I randomly came across this blog radio interview with VerticalResponse CEO Janine Popick where she talks technology and how small business can level the playing field with large corporations as well as e-mail marketing. I thought the interview interesting for several reasons:

1. Most of my clients will benefit from listening to this short radio interview (really, I am not posting this because I am getting paid for it, this really is a good interview.)

2. In the interview, Janine mentions her company has 800 winery clients. So it sounds like we share a key niche market. Janine even talks about the best day for wineries to send out their e-mail newsletters.

3. This technology of “blog radio” is interesting to check out. The question is how could you use this service to expand your business.

Check out Janine’s blog post about this interview – click here.

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1. Woot.com – “one deal, one day” this company sells t-shirts, wine and electronics. Each day they list a product available at an incredible price that is only available for that day.
2. Hollywood Bowl - If you have ever been, you know why I think this place is cool. For some reason they sell there own tickets, so I am going after them.
3. The Spaghetti Factory - If you live in the western U.S. you probably have eaten here. This place is cool because they have architectural salvage to decorate their restaurants. Whichever location you eat feels like you are sitting in a mansion built around the turn of the century. Here is a link to a virtual tour of one location near my home.
4. B&B Old Mills Sales – They sell flooring, counter tops and rugs. Doesn’t sound too cool? Well guess who owns this business – former Anaheim Angel (and Phillies) catcher, Bob Boone. With me being a life long Angle fan this business is very cool to me (See also).
5. Roger Dunn Golf Shops – They have been the best golf shop in the west since I started playing golf at age 12. In fact my parents bought my first golf clubs there. They have twenty one locations and are growing. What golf isn’t cool? Have you ever heard of Tiger Woods?

So there are my top five; do you know of any other cool companies I should go after? Please let me know by commenting below. Also, what cool clients do you have?

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I am always looking for ways to help my clients make more money and I just came accross this blog entry from Janine Popick, the President and CEO – Founder of Verticle Response, a leading self-service direct marketing provider. Check it out even if you are not working for a winery:

Great Wine Blogs & Why Wineries Should Blog

I’ve talked about blogging in general here, but how is it that wineries can benefit from blogging? What does “blogging” mean for a winery? Here are 4 great examples of blogs in the wine industry. Maybe you can get some ideas from these.

Mountain Spirit Winery

Great blog, but why they moved from their original blog site is a mystery to me. You can still have a blog on Typepad and use your own domain. In fact a primary reason for you to do that is so you’ll have more traffic to your domain and you’ll rise in the search rankings. Who knows maybe a relative owns the agency. Great blog though.

Goosecross Vineyards

Love that Goosecross has taken it upon themselves to be the community for the wineries. These guys have taken it to another level! They highlight other wineries and the wine lifestyle. They podcast calling it Napa Valley Wine Radio, clever! I’m listening to a podcast about Cheese right now. They’ve got forums for you to post to, and even an “Ask the Educator” section. Great job at getting closer to your customers!

Farella Vineyards

Tom Farella posts often. Most winery blogs I’ve found post monthly which is good but could be better. This site posts weekly and very informative. also lends to some personality with pix of the family, etc.

Dover Canyon Winery

Talk about updates! Mary goes blog-crazy and the updates are so relevant. I love the set up of this blog and the content. She’s got books about wine, recipes and more. Oh, and she was up for a wine blog award, great job!!

So there are a few examples of what a winery can do with the blog. Now for the benefits:

• Gives your followers a place to comment to start a conversation with you or your readers.
• Drives more traffic to your site whether you host the blog or it’s hosted on popular blog products like TypePad or Blogger. Make sure you include links back to your home page of your site.
• Sells more product with links back to your wine site or store.
• Gives your Winery a voice or personality!

VerticalResponse isn’t in the blog business other than we obviously blog ourselves, but we’ve had such great experiences with it we think you should give it a go! Talk to your design team or just try one for yourself, it’s really simple. Then use email marketing to drive your customers to your blog to get even a closer experience with your business.

If you would like to read this blog on Janine Popick’s blog click here.

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