Start Your Own Business (87 page)

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Authors: Inc The Staff of Entrepreneur Media

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Talking to the Media
 
Once you reach the reporter on the telephone, remember that he or she is extremely busy and probably on deadline. Be courteous, and ask if he or she has time to talk. If not, offer to call back at a more convenient time. If the reporter can talk to you, keep your initial pitch to 20 seconds; afterward, offer to send written information to support your story ideas.
The following tips will boost your chances of success:
• If a reporter rejects your idea, ask if he or she can recommend someone else who might be interested.
• Know exactly what you’re going to say before you telephone the reporter. Have it written down in front of you—it’s easier, and you’ll feel more confident.
• Everyone likes a compliment. If you’ve read a story you particularly enjoyed by the reporter you’re contacting, let him or her know. This will also show that you’re familiar with the reporter’s work.
• Be persistent. Remember, not everyone will be interested. If your story idea is turned down, try to find out why and use that information to improve your next pitch. Just keep going, and don’t give up. You will succeed eventually.
• Don’t be a pest. You can easily be persistent without being annoying. Use your instincts; if the reporter sounds rushed, offer to call back.
• Be helpful and become a resource by providing reporters with information. Remember, they need your story ideas. There are only so many they can come up with on their own.
• Always remember that assistants get promoted. Be nice to everyone you speak with, no matter how low they are on the totem pole. After you establish a connection, keep in touch; you never know where people will end up.
 
AHA!
 
Capitalize on old-fashioned publicity stunts. No, you don’t have to swallow goldfish or sit atop a telephone pole, but consider the landscaping company whose precision lawn-mowing team shows off its fancy footwork while marching in local parades.
• Say thank you. When you succeed in getting publicity for your business, always write a thank-you note to the reporter who worked on it with you. You’d be surprised how much a note means.
Plan your publicity efforts just as carefully as you plan the rest of your business. You’ll be glad you made the effort when you see your company featured in the news—and when you see the results in your bottom line.
Special Events
 
Ever since the first Wild West Show was staged to sell “Doctor Winthrop’s Miracle Elixir,” businesspeople have understood the value of promotional events. Even the most obscure product or service takes on new cachet when accompanied by a dash of showmanship. From “fun runs” to fashion shows, contests to concerts, businesses have learned it pays to be associated with special events.
In fact, special events are one of the fastest-growing areas of marketing today. And while large corporations shell out billions each year to host events, small companies, too, can use promotions to reach their market in a way no conventional method could.
No matter how spectacular an event is, however, it can’t stand alone. You can use advertising or public relations without doing a special event, but you need both advertising and public relations to make your event work. How do you put together the right mix to make your event successful?
First, you must know what you want to accomplish. The desired outcome of event marketing is no different from that of any other marketing effort: You want to draw attention to your product or service, create greater awareness of it and increase sales.
While the number of special event ideas is infinite, some general categories exist. Following are some of the most popular.
Grand Openings
 
You’re excited about opening your new business. Everyone else will be, too ... right? Wrong. You have to create the excitement, and a knockout grand opening celebration is the way to do it. From start to finish, your event has to scream “We’re here. We’re open. We’re ready to go.
SOCIAL GRACES
 
D
oes your business use recycled paper products or donate to a homeless shelter? Today, many consumers consider such factors when deciding whether to patronize your business. A business’s “social responsibility” quotient can make a difference in its bottom line.
 
 
If you think getting involved in social causes would work for your business, here are some things to consider. First and foremost, customers can smell “phony” social responsibility a mile away, so unless you’re really committed to a cause, don’t try to exploit customers’ concerns to make a profit.
 
Consider these steps for making social responsibility work for you—and your community:
•
Set goals
. What do you want to achieve? What do you want your company to achieve? Do you want to enter a new market? Introduce a new product? Enhance your business’s image?
•
Decide what cause you want to align yourself with
. This may be your toughest decision, considering all the options out there: children, the environment, senior citizens, homeless people, people with disabilities—the list goes on. Consider a cause that fits in with your products or services; for example, a manufacturer of women’s clothing could get involved in funding breast cancer research. Another way to narrow the field is by considering not only causes you feel strongly about, but also those that your customers consider significant.
•
Choose a nonprofit or other organization to partner with
. Get to know the group, and make sure it’s sound, upstanding, geographically convenient and willing to cooperate with you in developing a partnership.
•
Design a program, and propose it to the nonprofit group
. Besides laying out what you plan to accomplish, also include indicators that will measure the program’s success in tangible terms.
•
Negotiate an agreement with the organization
. Know what they want before you sit down, and try to address their concerns upfront.
•
Involve employees
. Unless you get employees involved from the beginning, they won’t be able to communicate the real caring involved in the campaign to customers.
•
Involve customers
. Don’t just do something good and tell your customers about it later. Get customers involved, too. A sporting goods store could have customers bring in used equipment for a children’s shelter, then give them a 15 percent discount on new purchases. Make it easy for customers to do good; then reward them for doing it.
We’re better than, different from and more eager to serve you than our competitors. We want to get to know you and have you do business with us.”
A grand opening is one of the best reasons to stage a special event. No one thinks twice about why you’re blowing your own horn. What you want people to think about is what a great time they had at your event.
That means no run-of-the-mill, garden-variety ribbon-cutting. Be original. If you own an electronics store, open your doors via remote control. If you are opening a yarn store, unravel a huge knitted ribbon. If you sell sporting goods, reel in both ends of an enormous bow until the ribbon is untied. Whatever your specialty, do something unusual, entertaining and memorable.
Also give thought to what other activities go along with your grand opening. Design a terrific invitation, do plenty of publicizing, provide quality refreshments and entertainment, select a giveaway that promotes your business (and draws people into the store to get it), and incorporate some way of tracking who attended your event (contest entry forms, coupons, free newsletter subscriptions, birthday club signups and so on).
 
AHA!
 
Whenever possible, tie your business to a current event or trend. Does your product or service somehow relate to the Olympics, the presidential election, the environment, or the hot movie of the moment? Whether you’re planning a special event or just sending out a press release, you can gain publicity by association.
Entertainment and Novelty Attractions
 
Time, space and popular appeal are three things to consider if and when you host or sponsor a one-time special attraction. If space permits and a beach motif fits your business, having a huge sand castle built in your parking lot might draw attention and business for the entire time it takes to construct it.
Just keep in mind that the novelties and entertainment shouldn’t last so long or be so distracting that no one finds the time or inclination to do business with you. Think of these events as the appetizer, with your product or service as the main course.
Holidays and Seasons
 
Some of the most common and easily developed special events are based on holidays or times of year. For example, during the Christmas season, Santa’s Workshop can be found in thousands of communities, not just the North Pole. Or kick off the summer season with a Beach Boys music marathon.
Again, when planning an event tied to a holiday or season, make originality your motto. If the average December temperature in your city is a balmy 76 degrees, then don’t dredge up icicles and fake snow for the store. Take a cue from your locale: Put antlers on pink flamingos and dress Santa in shorts and sunglasses.
YOU’RE THE EXPERT
 
A
s an entrepreneur, it’s your responsibility to get your business noticed—which means you’ve got to toot your own horn. You need to do whatever it takes to let others know you exist and that you are an expert source of information or advice about your industry.
 
 
Being regarded as an industry expert can do wonders for your business. How can you get your expertise known?
• Start by making sure you know everything you can about your business, product and industry.
• Contact experts in the field and ask them how they became experts.
• Talk to as many groups as possible. (If public speaking strikes fear in your heart, you’d better get over it. This is one skill you’re going to need as an entrepreneur.) Volunteer to talk to key organizations, service clubs, business groups ... whomever might be interested in what you have to say. Do it free of charge, of course, and keep it fun, interesting and timely.
• Contact industry trade publications and volunteer to write articles, opinion pieces or columns. (If you can’t do that, write a letter to the editor.)
• Offer seminars or demonstrations related to your business (a caterer could explain how to cook Thai food, for instance).
• Host (or guest on) a local radio or TV talk show.
Do all this, and by the time you contact media people and present yourself as an expert, you’ll have plenty of credentials.

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