Craig Rentmeester's Blog

Announcement

I'll be writing for Personal Branding magazine. It is a publication that is printed quarterly. It costs $12.95 and is distributed electronically. All proceeds go to benefit the American Cancer Society.

If only; Publicity is for Business not for the sake of getting Publicity

If only we were on the cover of _____________ (<---- Insert Popular Publication Name -- The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, etc. ).

Many people, both high and low in organizations, will say if only we could do something, then most of our problems will be solved.

In the case of public relations, my question is twofold.
1). Do your stakeholders care if you're on the cover of a large, popular publication?
2). What resources do have available for the media?

Journalists have tough jobs. From finding sources, to getting interviews, to fact-checking research, to meeting strict deadlines, journalists do not have it easy. Thus, catering to their needs is essential.

Some companies could learn a thing or two from Dan Schawbel. Not only does he have a blog, a mini TV series and a personal Web site, but he also has a full-blown press kit available on his Web site. If a journalist or blogger wanted to do story on him, it'd be rather easy. (Fast Company already did). His online news room is better than some Fortune 500 companies and many small/medium sized organizations.

I think a lot of criticism of public relations professionals stems from the opening line of this post, "if only we were". It is my opinion that some PR professionals look to make a name for themselves by gaining placement in the large popular publications. This is not the best strategy for driving business, nor a career. Brand awareness is important, but only if it helps drive sales in the long run.

When planning your media strategy for a client, try to gain placement where it counts the most for them.If your plan succeeds, you'll keep the account and drive their business. Rather than being able to sell your services better, you'll already have a client to service. You won't need to rely on a well-known brand (The Wall Street Journal), in future pitches to prospective clients.

Customer Service in action; Print Place shines

Late Friday afternoon (3:30 - 4:00pm) I was ordering brochures. I placed the order online and then submitted my artwork to the Web site by uploading the files.

Then comes the curveball.

Rather than being able to view my proofs online, both front and back, I was only able to see one side. So, I called a customer service representative. I actually spoke with this same representative beforehand, to ask about the ordering and artwork submission process. During my second call, she mentioned that they were having problems with the electronic proofs.

She assured me that the problem would be resolved, but she didn't know when. Since I could wait until Monday, I stopped worrying about the problem, trusting that it would be corrected by then. It turns out, not only did the problem get corrected, but the same customer service representative followed up via e-mail on Saturday afternoon. So, if I did need the brochures soon, I could have quickly reviewed the proofs and sent them to press.

I'd like to give a tip of my hat to the customer service team at PrintPlace.

Many companies would have sent out a mass e-mail to everyone that had ordered after a certain time. Not this employee, nor this company. She took it upon herself to follow through, with a personalized e-mail, to a customer with whom she'd work with earlier. As a display of gratitude, I sent her a personal e-mail saying thanks.

Now, I have a relationship with her and her company. The next time I need printing done, there is no choice. It's already made.

If you need printing done, I'd recommend PrintPlace. There prices are the lowest I have seen, they don't gauge you on shipping and they have, in my eyes, great customer service. If you're worried about quality, request a sample pack. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

B2B sales. What are you selling? Features or Benefits

In most situations, you have a limited window of time to make a first impression. It may be grabbing an audience's attention, representing a brand through personal appearance, or displaying confidence with good, firm handshake at an interview. Once this initial moment has passed, it's time to sell. Whether it's a product, service or yourself, you need to be selling. The approach may change, but the goal stays the same, for the most part.

When doing sales or marketing B2B, the sales approach is slightly different than with consumer products. Most consumer products to gain distribution, do creative, reach people willing to hear the message and repeat. (obviously there is more to it than that, but  I didn't want to drag on).   

When dealing with other businesses, using general business benefits (lower costs, more stability, faster time to market) to sell a product or service is a good start. However, it can be even more effective when catered to a particular business' needs. It shows an understanding of their business, thereby building credibility and trust.

My suggestion is to target your best customers and cater presentations, sales literature and leave behinds specifically for those companies. It may be time consuming, but the business will likely take you more seriously and feel comfortable working with you, even though your price isn't the lowest and your customer service isn't as good as it could be. 

Using the same sales brochures for every customer shows that your fiscally responsible and consider every potential customer to be on the same playing field. That is not the case. Large contracts, purchases and agreements, take large effort.

The Fine Line of Self Promotion and Personal Branding

The ability, and need, for personal branding has taken off more than ever, because of the Internet. This has happened because it's free. Start a blog, make a LinkedIn profile, etc. The cost to promote yourself has reached a price that everyone can afford.

With personal branding comes the question of personal ethics. Do you exaggerate accomplishments by a group that you were part of, when you didn't play a role in the actual forming or executing of the idea? Do you say expert in Microsoft Excel when you don't know how to do anything except enter numbers into a spreadsheet?

In terms of getting exposure, how far do you or an organization you work for go to get exposure, build links and increase page rankings? Do you go as far as to create a Wikipedia page about yourself? Do you start a journal (blog) that is written to be read by you, just to help out the "googlability" of your name?

My Take
I think personal branding is important, in limited ways. Overextending yourself can be harmful, especially if the information posted about you is incorrect. Plus, the more exposure you get online, the more work it is to keep up to date.

If you like reading blogs, I would suggest starting one yourself. It's a great experiment. You'll learn about widgets, googlability, and the power of linking, among many other things.

In terms of blogging, I would recommend focusing on something you enjoy reading and writing about, but necessarily a passion of yours. If you really enjoy skiing, it may not be wise to start a blog about it, because it may start to feel like a job. For me, the last thing I would want to do is have a hobby that I love start to feel like work.

Tip: If you're looking to get hired in the near future, I'd recommend starting a blog with your name in the URL. I had multiple employers search my name during my job search and comment about this blog.

By the way, you shouldn't even list the group if you didn't play a role, and you're not an Excel expert.

Landing a job online; Job hunting tips and resources

Most job hunters these days use the Internet to find job openings. Guy Kawasaki had an interesting post today about his experience posting and filling a job opening on Craigslist.

Since I recently completed the post-college job search, I thought that I'd share a few tips and resources.

For local jobs
Apply online and then stop in their office either the same day or the following day. This works well if you know the contact person for the job opening. It allows you to hand in a paper copy of you resume, cover letter, work examples, transcripts, etc. Also, it allows you to see the company's culture by the dress, decor and the way the company presents itself to visitors.

For out of area or out of state jobs
Set up interviews, meetings, or even informational interviews prior to your visit or relocation. Also, try to include both a permanent and temporary (local) address. Or, just provide a local address. A company may be looking to hire someone locally and disregard out-of-state candidates; it's less coordination, hassle, and expense on their end.

You should always
Dress at least one "level" more formal than the employees at the company. For example, if employees wear jeans on Fridays, you should wear slacks. If the employees wear collared, button down shirts with no ties, wear a tie. And so on and so on. There are exceptions to this rule, but this is a good general rule to follow.

Write a thank you or follow up e-mail whenever someone contacts you. Not only does this help establish rapport, it also helps to let them know you're serious about the position.

Job sites to consider using

College recruiting office or Web site - Very targeted for recent graduates, seniors and juniors. Not a lot of weeding through jobs that require 3-5 years experience.
Craigslist - A lot of junk postings to weed through, but there are some hidden gems.
Local Newspaper(s) - usually free access online. Targeted locally. Great starting point for out for out of state jobs.
Yahoo! Hot Jobs - Large, but not as many jobs as CareerBuilder or Monster.
Monster - Huge. A lot of third-party recruiters.
CareerBuilder - Very Large. Basically the same as Monster.
LinkedIn - mostly intended for people at the middle management level. Create a profile. It's free and helps to build your personal brand.
Doostang - Invite only social network. You must be a member with 20+ friends. E-mail me for an invitation. Functions similarly to LinkedIn once you're a member.
Indeed - jobs from more than 5,000 sources and provides RSS feeds for any job search query.

Thanks to Jason for submitting Indeed.

I recommend setting up RSS feeds for any job site possible. Then, aggregate them to a service like Google Reader, or use live bookmarks. This saves time entering the same criteria day after day.

If anyone has any other job sites that they found to be useful, please post them to the comments and I will surely add them to the list.

Using pictures in Marketing

Many marketers know that, if used properly, pictures can create an image more than words. The hard part is finding great pictres to use in advertisements, on Web sites, in collateral and for slide shows.

Often times, I'll find a great picture, but it isn't at print quality. Even a great library like Adobe Stock Photos has many that aren't at 300 dpi (pixels per inch).

With that in mind, I'd like to share a resource that I found; Stock xchng. This site has loads of free pictures that are all at print quality, free and most can be used commercially.

Conversation and Talk; Dissecting the Powerball

In everyday life people talk about a lot things. During these instances, poeple often spread news around to friends, family and coworkers.

A marketer's job is to create enough excitement that people will entertain and spread your ideas. With the Powerball being so high right now, $164 million, I thought I'd share a link to something I read on the Powerball site sometime ago.

The part I'd like you to notice is very close to the bottom, with the title: "I HAVE A GAME IDEA;  YOU SHOULD GIVE 200 PEOPLE $1 MILLION EACH."

The Powerball doesn't do it because they tried it and sales declined.

I would argure that happened because people didn't talk enough to make it as profitable as having one large jackpot. Which is liekly the obvious answer. However, I think this principle applies to many other things than just the Powerball.

When creating a memo, brochure, trade show booth, powerpoint presentation, are looking for examples and templates? If so, you're likely to be lumped together with other unoriginal things that aren't worth mentioning.

When having a promotion, are you giving away a giftcard? When doing a client appreciation event, do you have a one day golf outing every summer?

Study shows McDonald's marketing power

Here is link to an article that I found quite intriguing.

Here is a quote from the article that is rather interesting,

"You see a McDonald's label and kids start salivating," said Diane Levin, a childhood development specialist who campaigns against advertising to kids.

The study tested children ages 3 to 5 and provided them samples of the same food. One serving was packaged in McDonald's wrappers while the other had plain packaging.

While it may not be great for society that companies with unhealthy food choices can influence children so dramtically, it does show McDonald's marketing strength.

Tip of the Hat to Minneapolis-St. Paul Workers and Spokespeople

In case you haven't seen the news, national or local, the 35-W bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed. If need the full story, here are some links: (CNN)  (Bloomberg)

From a communications standpoint, this is a crisis.

The local authorities and government did many great things to handle this situation.

1). Response time. Witness accounts on CNN, Kare 11 and Fox News, all said that emergency teams responded quickly to the accident.
2). Limited speculation. Rather than forecasting death tolls and injury reports, local officials waited until they verified information before saying an official death toll.
    This is great protocol for a variety of reasons:
        * It provides accurate information.
        * It alerts families of victims what they should be prepared for.
        * Forecasted numbers do not mean much to the general public, unless it is a more fatal tragedy.
3). Periodic updates. The mayor, governor, Red Cross spokesperson and various other people gave updated information roughly every 45 minutes. The information was not only about the accident scene, but also travel information, an issue affecting many people around the metro area.

All in all, I think the local authorities did a great job with an unusual crisis situation.