New Ideas for the New Year

With 2010 less than two weeks away, many companies are shifting their focus to plans on how they can be bigger and better for the next year. This may involve the introduction of new ideas, new products, new services and most importantly, new brands. During all of the exciting planning sessions filled with innovative ideas that you have probably had in mind for awhile, don’t forget to inform your customers and target audience of your changes.

Imagine getting ready to order your favorite meal at your favorite restaurant only to find that it is not there anymore. Or even worse, if you were to walk into your favorite store and everything has been rearranged. You would probably feel frustrated and a little out of the loop. Basically, people are not excited over changes unless they are informed about the change and how it benefits them. This idea certainly carries over into the business world. The reputation that your company has with the public should be one of the most treasured relationships of your business. Informing them of company changes is essential to your marketing strategy. If implemented correctly, your customers and target audience will feel that they are of great value to your company, which they should be.

If changes are ongoing, be sure to update them on progress through newsletters and blogs. If there is a major change, press releases are great ways to communicate the details and show how the changes will benefit customers just as much as they benefit the business. Often times, companies may choose to remove a product or service to make room for improvements. Make sure that that customers are aware of this removal while simultaneously informing them about how great the new products and services may benefit them.

Before you begin to inform customers about changes, make sure you have done some reflecting and solid assessing of the past year. Business strategist, Rick Meekins offers four great suggestions on how to approach the New Year:

1. Start with thinking about what you are thankful for.
2. Look at what you planned to accomplish last year versus what happened last year. This will help you to be able to make a good assessment.
3. Use the results as a baseline to start planning. Spend the next month or so collecting and writing down thoughts and ideas for the next year such as; where you’d like to speak, who you'd like to meet, new services or partnerships, etc.
4. Next, do a business assessment. This will include a SWOT analysis, a competitive analysis and a gap analysis. You need to know where your business sits and what changes or additions you must make.

Adhering to these suggestions will help you gain the confidence and motivation you need to discuss your new plans with business partners and customers alike. To read more on Rick Meekin’s New Year suggestions, be sure to visit his blog at:

http://www.aepiphanni.com/Stroke_of_Brilliance/Stroke_of_Brilliance_1109.aspx

So as you enter the New Year, be sure to spend the right amount of time on yourself, your business, and continue keep your customers informed. After all they are the ones that help to drive your business and your brand!

Give your small business a gift for the new year!

Purchase a marketing service package from our new KAI Express Menu for Small Businesses, starting as low as $225, for a limited time only.

Call us today to schedule your Discovery Session, and click here to see your menu choices!

It's Time to Deck the Halls

Well, it is still the beginning of Fall, and stores are already putting out Christmas decorations. Yes, it's hard to believe that the holidays are just around the corner. And, if you haven't already started planning your holiday marketing campaign, now is the time.


But, before you run out and deck the halls with marketing messages remember: holiday campaigns must be integrated with your overall marketing strategy. They must have clear goals, objectives, target audience, and must stay consistent with your overall brand promise. A focused plan can help your company generate sales, increase awareness about your product/service, and show appreciation to your existing customers, employees and partners.


If your campaign will rely on heavy email-marketing, the right time to start will depend on what product or service you are offering, to whom, and when they are likely to buy it. Restaurants may want to begin now in promoting holiday parties and gift cards, while last-minute gift retailers should wait until the beginning of December. Internet marketing expert Paula Skaper encourages that your email campaigns allow enough time for readers to receive the promotion, respond and receive delivery of their products/serivces on time for Christmas (click here for full article).

In her article 10 Tips for Designing Your Holiday Email Campaign, Karen Scharf further suggests to segment your merchandise and mailing lists to make shopping easier, such as Gifts for Men, Gifts for Children, etc. Or if you are a service-based company, segment by market--Specials for Retailers, Specials for B2B Companies. "There is so much competition for the in basket at this time of year, don't waste your customers' time with promotions that are irrelevant to their shopping habits."

Because I'm big on the personal touch, consider investing in a small postage budget and mail a gift card or coupon to selected loyal clients and customers. It's a good way to say "thank you" and generate business.

Bottom line: start planning now for happy holidays. Waiting until Thanksgiving will be a little late and will have you and your team scrambling at the last minute--and there is nothing happy about that.

Click here for more holiday marketing tips.

New Name, New Services, Same Great Company

KAI Marketing.Advertising.Consulting is now KAI Strategic Marketing Group.

As our company directs its focus toward corporate strategic marketing, we are changing our company name to reflect this direction. But, our committment to excellent, personalized service remains the same.

Click here for full press release: http://www.prlog.org/10364516-kai-strategic-marketing-group-launches-new-name-new-service-and-new-direction.html

What Do You Need to Get Back to?

Well, it seems hard to believe that students have already headed back to school. For many of us, "back to school" also means back to full time hours at the office, back to carpools, back to helping with homework, back to weekly or monthly community/organizational meetings, and back to daily treks as the home taxi service. To be sure, summertime offers many of us a quasi-break from some of the hustle and bustle of regular life, but if you are a business owner, you probably didn't get much of a break at all, leaving you to feel a bit tired and deflated. So, let's look at this season as a time to get back to doing some of the things that keep you motivated - listening to a positive recording once a week, reading 10 minutes of a leadership book every day, committing 1 hour/week to enriching or strengthening your skill sets, spending 1 hour/month with one of your mentors. Staying motivated is a key to staying in business. So, what do you need to get back to?

To Blog or Not to Blog? That is the Question.

Have you been wondering whether or not to blog?

Internet marketer Daniela Koutlis offers the following benefits for creating a business blog:

1. Increases your company's online presence. Search engines scan a blog quicker than a whole website.
2. Increases your credibility with potential clients. The more you write about your products and services, or industry-related subjects, the more you appear to be an expert in your field.
3. Creates a bridge between you and your customers. Customers are able to post comments or opinions about the topics your company has written, thus building an online community.
4. Allows for up-to-date information. You can communicate new information to your community of customers and partners immediately.
5. It's easy to get started. Blogging software is relatively easy to navigate on your own, and if you get stuck, there are many online forums to assist you.

What's the catch? Maintaining the blog can present a challenge to already-busy business owners. Therefore, here are a few tips to help you become a successful blogger:

1. Set an initial blog schedule that you can manage, such as once every other week, then work toward increasing the frequency.
2. Don't feel like you have to write a dissertation. Keep it short and simple, while providing value to your community.
3. Enlist your team members to assist with providing content.

Read the entire article by Daniela Koutlis at:
http://ezinearticles.com/?7-Reasons-to-Create-a-Blog-For-Your-Business!&id=2696273

Welcome to ThinkKAI

Ok, back in January our team had a brainstorming session to outline the purpose, audience, etc. for our new company blog. As a strategic marketer, I try to teach my clients to look at any and every tactic in relation to their overall marketing strategy. This is especially important for social media. So, I wanted to do the same for our company. Practice what we preach, as they say.

Well, our team came up with a very good blog approach so that we wouldn’t be guilty of regurgitating the same marketing information that’s already out in blogosphere. But I wasn’t completely confident that we had the company resources to keep it up. I was right. After my intern set up this blog account, she posted info about our first webinar (back in February), and that was all we could manage.

“No problem”, I thought. “We’re safe because we aren’t really promoting or sending traffic to the blog anyway. No matter that we are a cutting edge marketing firm, and we pride ourselves on staying ahead of the curve. Also, no matter that we are helping our clients launch their blogs, but ours wasn’t ready. ”

Well, recently one of my dear web developers posted the blog link on our home page, innocently assuming that we were ready to launch (we certainly should be by now). Ugh! What a way to put fire under our writing fingers.

So, it’s now August and we’re ready to re-launch our blog. Welcome back to

ThinkKAI! The Marketing Journal for Marketers and Do-It-Yourself-ers.

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What’s that last thing that put fire under your fingers?

Don’t miss a free webinar for executives and business leaders—“Focus…Plan…Reach: Moving Beyond Today’s Economic Climate”. www.focusplanreach.com

Free Webinar
“Success cannot come from standstill [people].
Methods change and [people] must change with them.”
James Cash Penney

Focus...Plan...Reach
Moving Beyond Today’s Economic Climate

Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 2:00 pm EST
Seats are limited. Reserve yours today



One truth we can always count on - things change. To be successful, we must remember that change represents opportunity - always. What that means to us is our decision. Decide NOW that the unprecedented change we all are experiencing in our world represents unprecedented opportunity for you - today.


This webinar will help executives and business leaders improve their ability to:
-- bring bold and unconventional leadership to their organizations
-- think strategically about their businesses and make proactive decisions
-- increase and maintain a presence with your target audiences

Featuring:
Candi Dugas – executive coach for leaders seeking innovation and change
candi dugas, llc

Rick Meekins – principal business strategist
Aepiphanni Business Solutions

Kimberlee Scott – lead SMB strategic marketer
KAI Marketing.Advertising.Consulting

www.focusplanreach.com

Free Webinar! Focus...Plan...Reach: Moving Beyond Today's Economic Climate

Focus...Plan...Reach
Moving Beyond Today’s Economic Climate

SAVE-THE-DATE
Free Webinar
Wednesday, February 25, 2009 at 2:00 pm EST
Duration: 1 hour
Seats are limited. Reserve yours today (http://www.focusplanreach.com/index.html)

Top speakers will help you:
- focus your strengths toward success
- plan with a strategic approach
- reach farther with your marketing efforts

Featuring:
Candi Dugas – executive coach for leaders seeking innovation and change
Rick Meekins – principal business strategist
Kimberlee Scott – lead SMB strategic marketer



Paragraph section
“Success cannot come from standstill [people].
Methods change and [people] must change with them.”
James Cash Penney

One truth we can always count on – things change.

To be successful, we must remember that change represents opportunity – always.
What that means to us is our decision.

Decide NOW that the unprecedented change we all are experiencing in our world represents unprecedented opportunity for you – today.