Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
You don't have to be a Ben or Jerry to capitalize oncommunity outreach. In fact, "civic marketing" can serveas a low-cost, high-impact marketing tool for almost anybusiness.
Take Boston pawnshop Empire Loans, for example. Owner MichaelGoldstein contributes to a variety of causes, including a nearbyhomeless shelter, a shelter for battered women and a localperforming arts school.
Goldstein's motives are sincerely altruistic--and savvy."Doing our part makes us a good neighbor and helps our imagein the community," he says.
Concord, Massachusetts, marketing coach Nancy Michaels says thatcivic marketing can offer a host of benefits, including:
- raising community awareness of your business
- building customer and employee loyalty
- differentiating your business from competitors
- positioning your business as a leader
All this for minimum expense. "In fact," saysMichaels, "you can donate your time or resources, or payemployees to volunteer on community-oriented projects, withoutinvolving [much] money at all."
To maximize your efforts, Michaels recommends selecting causescarefully. "Look for [causes] that are meaningful to yourtarget market." Leverage your involvement with press coverage,promotional signs or in-store displays.
If your business doesn't draw from a geographical community,make a splash in your industry. New York City entrepreneur TerriEdelman, owner of advertising, marketing and design firm TheEdelman Group, sponsors a $3,000 scholarship for students of herformer high school who wish to study advertising and design.
Not only did Edelman win recognition in the trade publicationsread by her clients, but she strengthened key client relationshipsby asking clients to participate in the judging.
Tricks of the Trade
Show-Off Graphics
As a trade show exhibitor, you've got about five seconds tocatch an attendee's eye before he or she passes your booth.Five seconds. With this kind of attention span, making the most ofthe graphics at your exhibit is not just smart marketing--it'sdo or die.
"There's [intense] competition for the eyeball at tradeshows,' says Dr. Jerry Cahn, CEO of New York City-basedBrilliant Image, a supplier of trade show graphics. The days ofsimply tacking up a sign with your company name on it are over."That kind of display is fine if you're as recognizable asNordstrom,' says Cahn. "But if you're MagnetProducts Inc., for example, you'd better be prepared to tellpeople who you are and what you do.'
Cahn's suggestions for perking up your trade showgraphics:
- Develop a unique proposition, and use it as a headline.Example: "Sales automation software that increases sellingtime by 25 percent.'
- Make your graphics bold and attractive so they commandattention even from a distance.
- Make sure your display addresses the commonly asked questions:"What does your company do?" and "What are youshowing here?"
- Build brand identity by coordinating display graphics withsales literature, including pre-show promotions and follow-upmailings.
Also, be sure to keep up with the latest technology in tradeshow displays. Computer-generated graphics and reusable, portabledisplays can improve your image and save you money.
New York City software company Financial TechnologiesInternational recently switched from rented booths to a custom-mademodel with a computer-generated display. Marketing manager DianeWukitsch reports that the new booth is more eye-catching."People have commented that they could see it from across theroom,' she says. And it's less expensive than the old,rented models. "We were paying $7,000 to $10,000 per use forthe rentals,' Wukitsch says. "The new booth, which iscompletely reusable, cost us only $8,000.'
Gayle Sato Stodder covers entrepreneurship for variouspublications. She lives and works in Redondo Beach, California.
Contact Sources
The Edelman Group, 420 Lexington Ave., #1706, New York,NY 10170, (212) 490-4800
Empire Loans, (800) 375-PAWN, fax: (617) 423-5579
Impression Impact, (508) 287-0718, fax: (508)287-0410
Joe Vitale Agency/Awareness Publications,(281) 999-1110,http://www.mrfire.com
Private Label News, (215) 230-4400, plabelnews@aol.com
Sweet Charlottes, 1395 El Camino Real, Millbrae, CA94030, (800) SWT-CHAR
