Evaluating Advertising Opportunities

Many of my clients ask if they should advertise in the Yellow Pages or other phone directories.  Typically, the cost to participate is quite high compared to other publications so many business owners look for guidance to make this decision.  They feel obligated to advertise, but don't really want to.  

Here are a few things to consider when evaluating any advertising opportunity: 

• Your target market - Who are they, how do they find out about you, what are their habits when it comes to media?
• Your sales strategy - How are you attracting new customers / clients?  What tactics are already in place?
• Past advertising results - Have you advertised in phone directories in the past?  Did it generate new business?
• Your online strategy - Do you have a website?  Is your website optimized so that search engines can find you?   
• Your marketing budget - Have you planned to advertise in phone directories?  Do you have the budget to participate?

As a business owner, you are continually bombarded with advertising and promotional opportunities.  Without a plan, these decisions can be pretty tough, especially when you are already busy running your business! 

Here are a few red flags to watch out for:

• Feeling that you don't want to miss out.
• Choosing to participate because your competition is participating.

Keep in mind that just because other businesses are there, doesn't mean it works!  If you need assistance with your marketing strategy,  please give me a call. 

Business Book Review: The 4-Hour Workweek

I take part in a Mentor Network through Lighthouse Visionary Strategies in Whistler.  My group is made up of some fabulous women who are all champions of their own businesses.  We get together to share ideas and expertise and to support each other through the challenges associated with entrepreneurship.  One of the requirements of the program was to read and review for our group, a business book of our choosing.  With all the great business books out there, this has been a great way to get the inside scoop and fine-tune my own reading list.  So, I’m going to pay it forward and share my review.

The 4-Hour Workweekby Timothy Ferris

I approached this book with cautious curiosity.  As nice as a 4-hour workweek sounds, that’s not really what I’m looking for.  What I wanted to know, and found, was insight into how to work more efficiently and make my business more profitable. 

For those ready to make drastic changes in their work / life, this book provides step-by-step guidance to make it happen and join the ranks of the “New Rich”. 

“The New Rich (NR) are those who abandon the deferred-life plan and create luxury lifestyles in the present using the currency of the New Rich: time and mobility.”

Through real-life examples Ferris outlines how to design your life in such a way that you can enjoy it now AND continue to earn an income.   

Starting with identifying what you want, and ultimately what this will cost, Ferris provides tools (most available free on his blog) to help plan how to get there.  The book then goes on to explore steps to put the plan into action.  The book explores topics such as time management, outsourcing, automation, technology / tools, working remotely and even how to identify and work with the big idea that will allow you to break free.  

As I read the book, I found myself thinking about my work and my life differently.  I’m now thinking about building my business for the long term, so that it can continue to be productive and generate revenue when I’m not personally working (or doing revenue generating work).  I’m starting to leverage other people’s time and resources in a way that meets the needs of my clients and allows me the flexibility that I was looking for when I started my own business 4 1/2 years ago.  I’m also doing my best to introduce productivity measures to make the most of the time that I am working.

Some of the key questions that got me thinking:

-       Am I being productive or just active?

-       Am I inventing things to do to avoid the important?

-       What tasks can I remove from my workday that won’t have any impact in my bottom line?

-       What / who are the 20% of people / projects that produce 80% of my enjoyment / contribute to achieving my goals?  What / who are the 80% that detract from this?

This book was worth the read – especially if working 4 hours a week is your goal.  Even if you’re not, you will find something of value that you can apply to your own situation.

Find out more about the book on Tim Ferris's Blog or through Amazon.

Holiday Schedule and news for the New Year...

The holidays are fast approaching and the team at Betsy Linnell Marketing Management will be taking a short break to enjoy the season with friends and family.

We will be working reduced hours the week of December 19th to 23rd. We won't be accepting new projects at this time and will do our best to respond to any urgent needs.
We will be closed from Monday December 26th until Tuesday January 3rd.

As we look forward to the New Year, Betsy Linnell Marketing Management is preparing for some exciting changes. My recent clients have been part of the evolution so things won't be changing much... Stay tuned for a new company name, and expanded service offerings to better serve you!

Name Power

Case Study: Mile One Eating House, Pemberton, BC.

We all do it, shorten names to a quick, easy to say sound bite. We rarely use full, proper names when we speak. This is an important consideration when naming your business. Equally important is making sure that your proper “given-name” represents your business, your brand and your product or service.

Mile One Eating House in Pemberton, BC discovered this first hand and made a quick, strategic change to harness the potential power of their name.

Commonly referred to as “Mile One”, the new Pemberton restaurant originally opened with the name “Mile One Roadside Café and Basecamp”. The name was decided on to describe the location at the main intersection of highway 99 in Pemberton, to convey a casual tone and reference the outdoorsy, adventurous spirit of the area. One small problem; it confused the customers they were trying to attract. The word “café” in itself is problematic in the restaurant world. Mile One doesn’t have an Espresso machine, a strategic decision to not interfere with neighbouring Mount Currie Coffee Co and Black Bird Bakery. Unfortunately, customers didn’t understand this and routinely walked in looking for coffee. Further, “Basecamp” didn’t inform customers about what kind of food to expect.

Mile One offers a fine dining approach to comfort food classics using quality ingredients sourced regionally. Features include the Pemberton Meadows Natural Beef Burger Collection and Gourmet Mac & Cheese.

Chef / Owner Randy Jones hired Betsy Linnell Marketing Management to help develop a marketing strategy for the restaurant. Issues around the name were identified and a project team was assembled to develop a brand strategy for Mile One including a new name, revised logo as well as the creation of a tag line, key messages and advertising copy. Local graphic designer Brigit Sirota-Goldammer and writer Lisa Richardson along with Betsy Linnell formed the trio to address the opportunity. The result, “Mile One Eating House” was born. A tag line was also created to further support the name and let customers know what to expect. “Get Well Fed”, is now used in addition to the logo.

“Eating House” is straightforward and clear. Confident and playful. “Get Well Fed” is an active statement that assumes that the customer is in need of a good meal. This tag line helps to position the quality of the food and provides a direct benefit to the customer who will be well nourished and taken care of.

Local patrons still say “Meet you at Mile One”, but visually, the name change helps to market the restaurant to those not already in the know. Located on the corner as you turn into town, potential customers are clearly aware that they can eat here. It’s a casual spot with good food. The design of the logo further supports this. Styled like a trail marker the logo references the outdoor, adventure nature of the area and the clientele.

Two days after the name changed on the sign, Randy Jones reports that the shortened name and new sign are more visible and clearly communicate the food message. “I’m really happy with the revised name and sign. I’m sure we’ve already attracted some driving travelers because of it.”

Tourism Pemberton: Adventure Begins Here. Now On Video!

In July 2010, Tourism Pemberton hired Betsy Linnell Marketing Management (BLMM) to provide Project Management for two exciting projects to market Pemberton & area as a tourism destination and to promote Tourism Pemberton members. These projects included the development of a Promotional Video as well the implementation of a comprehensive Internet Marketing Campaign.

Made possible by funding obtained through the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and the Arts Community Tourism Opportunities (CTO) program and the Pemberton Economic Development Commission, BLMM was challenged to provide the greatest marketing value possible with these funds.

BLMM defined and documented the project objectives, developed a detailed creative brief and RFP documents and managed the project to completion on time and on budget.

Promotional Video Development

Randy Lincks Custom Photography in conjunction with local writer Lisa Richardson and Whistler based editor Darryl Palmer were contracted to write, direct and produce the video portion of the project. This included the development of one 6-minute feature video, one 1-minute summer vignette and one 1-minute winter vignette. Associated with the project Tourism Pemberton developed intro and extro segments for each piece and now has a stock of B-Roll footage to maximize future media opportunities.

These video segments will be used for the ongoing promotion of Pemberton as a tourist destination. They will be used on tourismpembertonbc.ca as well as in the Visitor Info Centre here in Pemberton. Copies will be distributed to our tourism partners and made available to Tourism Pemberton members for additional promotional use. To footage will allow for the maximization of many future promotional and media opportunities.

Internet Marketing Campaign

Custom Fit Communications Group of Pemberton were contracted to manage the Internet marketing portion of the campaign. Targeting late summer and winter visits, the campaign was developed to drive traffic to tourismpembertonbc.com and increase engagement levels through the use of social media. Key components of this campaign included pay per click advertising, ongoing social media activities, link building, content development, data collection and e-mail marketing. Overall, the Internet Marketing campaign resulted in an increase in total website traffic to tourismpembertonbc.com of 32% over the same period last year.

See for yourself why Adventure Begins in Pemberton.

Feature Video: “The Ultimate Destination”

Vignette: Pemberton Summer Magic

Vignette: Pemberton Winter Thrills

Hope to see you here soon!

Choose Squamish: A new brand and website for Realtor Lisa Ames

A move to a new town means change all around. For Realtor Lisa Ames, that meant evolving her brand.

When Pemberton resident and Realtor Lisa Ames decided to move her family and business to Squamish, she contracted Betsy Linnell Marketing Management to help her evolve her brand and launch her business in this new market. The project included brand strategy development, logo development and website design.

As a successful Realtor, Lisa has lots to offer her clients. Having lived and worked in the Sea to Sky corridor for over 24 years, she has a demonstrated commitment to the region, experience, a wealth of knowledge and professional resources in the Sea to Sky community and a proven track record of delivering results to her clients. The challenge was how to best leverage all these strengths and deliver a benefit to her new clients. "Choose Squamish. Choose Lisa Ames." is the result.

The logo, developed in conjunction with Sumire Design works towards building brand awareness for Lisa in the Squamish Market. The tag line demonstrates her choice to make Squamish her home too.

ChooseSquamish.com was the ideal url to communicate Lisa’s new brand. Designed by Sumire Design, the new website design incorporates brand elements with new graphic standards. The resulting website is strong, professional and easy for potential clients to navigate.

Holiday Happiness from Betsy Linnell Marketing Management

Free digital slideshow generated with Smilebox