Marketing Matters

MARKETING MATTERS: BUILDING A MARKETING PLAN?

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

October 1, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) –  Yes, it's that time of year again - the time to review what did and didn't work in your marketing plan in 2014 and to start building your new plan for 2015.

Here are five steps to building a strategic marketing plan for 2015:


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MARKETING MATTERS: BRANDING—WHO DECIDES WHAT YOUR BRAND IS?

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

July 1, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) –  Establishing a business, getting the word out, becoming a recognizable entity in the community/area/region/nation/world -  that's how a business becomes successful. In a word - branding.

How exactly, though, do you define a "brand"?


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE POWER OF PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

April 1, 2014 (San Diego’s East County) –  Ever think that of a promotional product as just a "tchatchke," "swag," or "stuff"? Think that they can't possibly be useful marketing tools? Well, my friend, you would be wrong!

First of all, the dare: I dare you to look in your desk, pockets, purse/briefcase/backpack, or car and not find at least one promotional product.

OK, you've looked - how many were there? Two? Three? Five? More?


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MARKETING MATTERS: A SLOW FOURTH QUARTER IS A GREAT WAY TO KICK OFF THE FIRST QUARTER

 

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

October 3, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – For many businesses outside the retail sector, the fourth quarter is the slowest one of the year. Budgets have been spent, people are on vacation or in a holiday frame of mind, and new projects are being put off until after the first of the year. It can seem like a great time to just kick back a bit, or a time to worry about how to make ends meet until things pick back up.

Ideally, though, the fourth quarter should be the time when you evaluate the past year and plan out your business and marketing plans for the coming year. Even if the fourth quarter is a busy time for you, it's important to do this now so that you can get a jumpstart on the new year.


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MARKETING MATTERS: 5 TIPS FOR A GREAT 30-SECOND COMMERCIAL (AKA ELEVATOR PITCH)

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

May 1, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) – One of the workshops I am asked to present most often is "Developing Your 30-Second Commercial." Anyone who has ever attended a networking event knows that a concise, effective 30-second commercial (AKA elevator pitch) is critical. The hard part is putting one together that is concise, effective and doesn't sound like a scripted speech.


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MARKETING MATTERS: WHY ARE WE FOLLOWERS WHEN IT COMES TO MARKETING?

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

April 18, 2013 (San Diego’s East County) –  Good marketing is all about making you stand out from the others - building a brand that is recognizable, unique and compelling. Why, then do so many business owners insist on doing what someone or everyone else is doing?

For instance, how many times have you watched a commercial on TV and thought that it must have been written by, or stolen from, the same people who did an ad for a different company. You know, what I mean - it had the same feel, flow and concept as an ad you'd seen at least a month ago for a totally different product. Did it make you remember the new product being advertised, or simply recall the ad it seemed to be based on?


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MARKETING MATTERS: REVIEW AND REGROUP FOR 2013

Tips and Tricks for Business Success and Growth

By Rama Beerfas

November 3, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – As we approach the end of 2012, it is time to review the year's business successes, challenges and (dare I say it?) failures. If we want to make a difference to the growth opportunities we have available in 2013, then it is critical that we evaluate what worked, what didn't, and where we didn't pursue opportunities that we should have. From that assessment, we can develop a more informed plan for the coming year that will be more likely to succeed than a plan made from hopes, dreams and wishes.


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MARKETING MATTERS: TARGET MARKET VS. REFERRAL SOURCE

Tips and tricks for business marketing success

By Rama Beerfas

October 2, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) – This is the season for me to be developing marketing plans for many of my existing clients. What I have noticed over the many years I've been doing this is that there is often confusion between the terms "target market" and "referral source." In order to market correctly, these two terms must be clearly understood, so here goes...


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MARKETING MATTERS: TAKING THE SUMMER OFF?

 
Tips and tricks for business success and growth
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
July 6, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  It's summer once again and it's easy to be distracted by the idea of beaches, poolside lounging, picnics and long vacations. After all, if the kids can do it, why can't we?
Well, we can. In fact, we should. Some time away from work can renew your perspective, recharge your willingness to work on the business, and give you some new insights as you involve yourself with things outside the scope of your usual workday.

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MARKETING MATTERS: SOLID INFRASTRUCTURE IS CRUCIAL TO SUCCESSFUL MARKETING

 

 
Tips and tricks for business success
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
June 5, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  I've been working with several start-ups recently who are looking to put together a marketing plan. Their goals are lofty, but they have the willingness to work to achieve those goals. The problem is that they are not yet ready for the type of strategic marketing plan that will actively attract prospects.

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: MARKETING WITH EVENTS

 
Tips and Tricks for Business Success and Growth
 
by Rama Beerfas
 
May 4, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  A powerful marketing tool that can elicit tremendous results when planned correctly, or can cause unexpectedly bad ramifications, is event marketing. This can be anything from an open house to a party to a sponsored stage event to a pop-up sampling and more.

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MARKETING MATTERS: WHEN MORE IS NOT MERRIER

 
Tips and tricks for business success and growth
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
March 30, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  I know a few business owners and sales people out there who seem to be addicted to the "expert" marketing or sales guru. They have made almost a religion out of following several different coaches or consultants through personal interaction and/or seminar attendance and/or reading of their books. Every piece of advice these experts dole out is absorbed like a sponge. While I applaud the enthusiasm behind this adulation, I have to wonder if these businesspeople are getting any positive benefit out of this approach. It seems to me that this is another case of too many cooks spoil the broth syndrome. 

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MARKETING MATTERS: THE POWER OF PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS IN MARKETING

 
Tips and tricks for business marketing success
 
By Rama Beerfas
 
March 3, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  Marketing is any activity that furthers the cause of your business. Pretty much everything you do in business is either impacted by your marketing actions and/or has an impact on them.

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MARKETING MATTERS: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

What Is a SWOT Analysis?
 
by Rama Beerfas
 
February 23, 2012 (San Diego’s East County) –  'Tis the season for developing marketing plans. Well, really that season was about four months ago, at the latest. That fact notwithstanding, I am still working with some of my procrastinating clients to put together their marketing plans for 2012. Because of this, I've been looking at a lot of SWOT analyses for the last few months.

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: ARE YOU READY FOR HOLIDAY SEASON?

Tips and tricks for business success and growth
 
by Rama Beerfas
 
October 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) –  For some companies, the holiday season is the busiest one of the year - it can even be the make or break time. Other businesses experience a lull that they could nap to during the last quarter.
In either case, preparing and executing a well thought-out marketing plan will help make the most out of the last quarter and may even spark an up-tick in first quarter revenues.

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MARKETING MATTERS: BUSINESS PLANNING—MORE CRITICAL THAN EVER

 

Tips and tricks for business success and growth
 
 
 
 
by Rama Beerfas
 
August 27, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) –  As I write this, the stock market is up.... sorry it's down... oops, I mean up.... no, it's down..... Yup, we are once again on that wacky roller coaster ride called, "The Economy."
While many businesses see this rock 'n' roll economy as a reason to cut back or eliminate marketing, I contend that is a knee-jerk response which will probably cause more problems than add to the bottom line.
 

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MARKETING MATTERS: FIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF A MARKETABLE LOGO

 Tips and tricks for business success

 
by Rama Beerfas
 
 
 
July 13, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) –  Whether you are opening a new business or it’s just time to freshen the look of your existing branded image, a new/revised logo may be the way to go. If you are in the position to be creating or revamping a logo, keep these tips in mind for a logo that will work for all your branding needs:
 
 

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MARKETING MATTERS: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

Marketing for a Reason

 

By Rama Beerfas 

June 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – Most companies that have a marketing plan tend to market on a similar type of schedule every year – perhaps they have a winter campaign to kick off the new year, a summer campaign to boost business during the slow season, and a holiday campaign to maximize their share of consumers’ holiday spending.

All that notwithstanding, how about marketing for a different reason altogether? There are thousands of designated observances, commemorations and celebratory days that are just asking to be used as an excuse for marketing.


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MARKETING MATTERS: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

Is Marketing an Expense or an Investment?

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

May 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) –  There’s an old saying that 50% of  a business’ marketing expense is wasted. The question is, which 50% is it?

Admittedly, it can be difficult to track the success of a marketing campaign; even more so given the fact that most micro to mid-size businesses don’t set a specific goal, don’t put a definite call to action and/or don’t develop a metric that will allow them to measure the ROI and/or ROO on a given campaign.
 


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MARKETING MATTERS: ARE YOU RESPONDING QUICKLY TO THEIR MARKETING APPLICATIONS?

 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

March 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – This is a QR code:
 

You’ve probably seen them on postal packages, in print ads and catalogs, even on an iPad commercial; but do you know what a QR code is and how it can benefit your business?

 

A QR (Quick Response) code is a two-dimensional matrix barcode that can be decoded (“read”) by smartphones that have a QR decoder app installed. Created in Japan by a subsidiary of Toyota in 1994, these codes have been commonly used there and in Europe for over ten years for a variety of purposes. In 2010, they started appearing in the US in marketing applications.


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE POST-SHOW FOLLOWUP

 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

February 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve identified the three components of a successful trade show marketing plan:

 

• Have a system in place for attracting potential customers to the exhibit.
• Qualify those people who visited the booth.
• Follow up with those visitors who left contact information.

Last month, we looked at some methods to qualify the people who visit your booth as legitimate prospects. This month, we’ll explore the most critical part of the trade show process: the post-show follow-up.


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MARKETING MATTERS: QUALIFYING YOUR EXHIBIT VISITORS

 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR MARKETING SUCCESS

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

January 1, 2011 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve identified the three components of a successful trade show marketing plan:


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE PRE-TRADE SHOW PLAN

 TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

 

By Rama Beerfas

 

December 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – We’ve identified the three components of a successful trade show marketing plan:

• Have a system in place for attracting potential customers to the exhibit.
• Qualify those people who visited the booth.
• Follow up with those visitors who left contact information.
 

The fact is that exhibiting successfully at a trade show means developing good pre-show plan to ensure that the people with whom you would most like to make contact know you will be there and have a reason to come visit your booth.


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MARKETING MATTERS: THE #1 REASON BUSINESSES DON'T BENEFIT FROM EXHIBITING AT TRADE SHOWS

 

Tips and Tricks for Business Success and Growth

By Rama Beerfas

 

November 1, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – It’s a sad, sad story and one that I have heard many times: A company spends anywhere from a few hundred dollars for a local tabletop show to tens of thousands of dollars for a national trade show and ends up with little or nothing to show for it – not even a breakeven on expenses.


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MARKETING MATTERS: NOW IS THE TIME TO DEVELOP YOUR MARKETING PLAN FOR 2011


Tips and Tricks for Business Success and Growth

By Rama Beerfas

 

October 2, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – I recently had a conversation with a contact who told me, “I need to meet with you to discuss my marketing plan for next year. I am just so busy that I don’t think I’ll have time to do it until things slow down in late December.” Of course, once “late December” rolls around, he’ll probably be too busy with holiday plans to give his 2011 marketing plan any thought either.


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MARKETING MATTERS: IS GIVING HOLIDAY BUSINESS GIFTS A NECESSITY?

 

Tips and tricks for business success and growth

By Rama Beerfas

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: IS SOCIAL NETWORKING A SUCCESSFUL MARKETING TOOL?

 

 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

By Rama Beerfas

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: DIRECT MAIL VS. INTERNET MARKETING PART 3--TRACKING RESULTS FOR INTERNET MARKETING

 

 

TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS

 

By Rama Beerfas

 


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MARKETING MATTERS: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

Direct Mail vs. Internet Marketing Part 2: Defining Internet Marketing

By Rama Beerfas

 

June 18, 2010 (San Diego’s East County) – Last column, we defined “direct mail.” This time, we will touch on the various avenues available for marketing through the internet, both paid and free.


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MARKETING MATTERS: TIPS AND TRICKS FOR BUSINESS SUCCESS AND GROWTH

 

Direct Mail vs. Internet Marketing Part 1: Defining Internet Marketing

By Rama Beerfas
 


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