Having a Plan

When a task is presented, I am one of those people who can't function until I have at least two lists (okay maybe more than two) outlining everything that needs to happen.

So the task for this week: Ready yourself to create an entire marketing strategy.
End result: Four lists and a plan of action.

After a frenzied morning spent trying to pull together a plant of act for a marketing strategy, I had to share my plan for my plan because I can't lie when all was said and done I felt pretty good about it!

1. Discuss Company
2. Establish Goals
1. Scale
2. Timeline
3. Budget
3. Understand Strategic Elements
1. Branding strategy

i. Frame of reference

ii. Points of parity

iii. Points of difference

iv. Purpose

v. Promise

vi. Proof

vii. Personality

viii. Core identity

ix. Extended identity

x. Brand promise

xi. Positioning statement

xii. Brand personality

2. Marketing strategy

i. Unique selling position

ii. Target market

iii. Benefits of services

iv. Positioning

v. Marketing methods

4. Marketing Strategy Developed & Presented
   
5. Branding Concept Developed & Presented
   
1. Name
2. Logo
3. Brand promise
4. Overall concept for corporate materials
6. Confirm Target Market
7. New Company’s Goals (Short-Term & Long-Term) Confirmed
   
1. Buzz creation
2. Increase awareness
3. Drive trial
4. Educate
5. Improve image
6. Drive loyalty
7. Build credibility
8. Develop Promotional Methods (based on desired results)
9. Develop Marketing Plan (how we are going to get the desired results)
   
10. Implementation of Marketing Strategy

Print v. E-Media 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know

Here's a sneak peak of our upcoming Marketing Advisor article:

Print v. E-Media 10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know

Printing usually gets a pretty bad environmental rap. Printing is all about paper and thus all about killing trees and electronic devices don’t use paper so they must be green . . . RIGHT?!

Like everything in life, it just isn’t that simple. Here are some of the facts about e-media and print that Heidi Tolliver-Nigro put forth in a recent issue of Print Solutions.

E-Media

1. 62 trillion spam emails are sent every year. The greenhouse gas emissions from these emails are the same as using 2 billion gallons of gas.

2. The energy used by the average data center would power 25,000 households.

3. Unlike paper, computer components do not lend themselves well to recycling and reuse.

4. In the U.S., a primary driver of deforestation is electrical energy demand and the use of mountaintop coal removal.

5. Data center energy consumption doubled between 2000 & 2006 and could double again by the end of this year.

Print

1. More than half of all paper in the U.S. is recycled.

2. In the U.S., deforestation is not caused by the harvesting of tree fiber.

3. 2.5 billion trees are planted in the U.S. each year and we now have more acres under forest than we did in 1940.

4. The forest industry plants more trees than it harvests.

5. Many print manufacturers and commercial printers are investing in environmentally responsible manufacturing. (See what Flottman is doing at flottmanco.com/responsibly)

This doesn’t that print is the perfect solution and obviously we use plenty of electronics here at Flottman. What it does mean is that BOTH print and e-media have pros and cons when it comes to the sustainability debate and that the real issue is making both even more sustainable.

Thanks for the great articles, Heidi!

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro. "Educate your Customers: Print is Green." Print Solutions. March 2011. Volume 49, Number 3.

Heidi Tolliver-Nigro. "Print vs. Electronic Media: Which Is Greener?" Print Solutions. March 2011. Volume 49, Number 3.

Seeing Green

In honor of Earth Day and Flottman's 90th Anniversary campaign, 90 Years, Plant 900 Trees, we have declared April Green Month.

Here are my top 6 ways to stay green at home and at work.

Home:
1. Reusable shopping bags - I have completely fallen in love with reusable shopping bags. Not only do they cut down on waste, but they also make it easier for me to carry my groceries up to my third floor apartment. Here are the ones I use and love - RuMe

2. No bottled water - All those plastic bottles spell big trouble for the environment and seem rather unnecessary. I have a Brita pitcher, which gives me tasty filtered water that is always nice and cold.

3. Farmer's Markets - There is nothing not to love about a Farmer's Market. You get delicious fruits and veggies, support local agriculture and usually at great prices. Luckily for me there is one in walking distance of my apartment every Sunday and I am sure there is one near you.

Work:
1. Recycle - Simple enough right? We have huge bins for paper recycling, so sometimes I have to remind myself to take waste paper out to the plant. But a little walk around the building won't hurt me!

2. Clean Waste Computer-to-Plate System - Huh? That's the machine that takes the stuff you design on your computer, makes plates of it, so our press can print it. They don't let me make plates (for good reason!) but I love walking by knowing the water waste coming from the machine is drinkable!

Home & Work:
6. Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) - You know the spirally ones. Look at all they can do: they can save more than $40 in electricity costs over their lifetime, they use about 75% less energy than standard incandescent bulbs and last up to 10 times longer and they produces about 75% less heat, so it's safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home cooling.(energystar.gov) Duke Energy shipped me a whole box for free! (duke-energy.com)

Why not try doing what you say you are going to do?

Guest Blogger - Cathie Pike, Estimator

I too recently had an experience with less than perfect customer service and it landed one of our group in the hospital. For years our church women gather at a large hotel in Lexington very close to Keeneland as a matter of fact. Last year a young lady went and having an extreme allergy to feathers was taken ill with a severe asthma attack requiring hospitalization.

This year well prior to the event this same hotel was notified in writing of this issue and was told on numerous occasions and through various venues to be sure the room assigned to this person was well cleaned and all feather containing articles removed. Guess what. Oh yes it did

Most of the group arrived early and it was addressed but not to the extent it needed to be. The staff came in and removed the feathered items… period. They did not clean the room. Guess what. Oh yes it did. She had another attack, had to go back to the emergency room and after all that had to cancel her vacation plans for the following week.

Of course, not all bad customer service can lead to a life or death situation and this is an extreme case. It’s a matter of paying attention to the details no matter the setting… a hotel, a restaurant, a printing business. We must all pay attention to the details and usually it's as easy as doing what you promised you would. (Of course you could always go above and beyond!)