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The Marketing Plan is a valuable road map in helping companies and organizations succeed in achieving their business goals. Marketing planning is an ongoing business activity not just a page in the business plan.
Objectives of Marketing Planning
- Get all personnel working toward the achievement of common goals.
- Develop an understanding of the organization’s competitive position and opportunities.
- Establish a master plan to achieve business goals though marketing strategies and tactics.
In order to create a marketing plan that is a truly useful tool, it is important to give careful consideration to a number of topics relevant to your specific company and market. Connection Group has developed marketing planning guides for small, medium and large companies.
Marketing planning guides include:
- Business Descriptions
- Products and Services Details
- Target Market Identification
- Competition Review
- SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
- Business Goals
- Current Situation in the Industry (potential market)
Clear identification of this information helps to determine where a companies’ marketing efforts and budget should be focused. Instead of blowing your entire annual marketing budget on a Super bowl ad in Sunday’s game, a more strategic plan could keep you in front of your target audience with more frequency and less money!
Another example is the number of inquiries from customers about setting up online advertising, specifically Google Adwords. Typically these inquiries are from existing customers who have hired us to design company websites, logos and / or print marketing items. In the same way dedicating your full marketing and advertising budget on a Super Bowl ad may not be the best approach, Google Adwords may not be the first step for some companies to begin their marketing and advertising efforts.
Adwords offers a variety of products that can provide valuable online exposure but many companies just aren’t ready before they do a complete evaluation of current brand and marketing channels. One of our first questions to these customers is what they want their internet advertising to achieve:
- increase brand exposure
- increase website visits
- increase online sales
- increase offline sales
- increase readers/members/customers
- build database
Based on the answer different strategies can be applied. Additional work may be required prior to running the ads, or in some cases another advertising medium or marketing tactic may be a better fit for their product, service or budget. When customers complete the marketing planning guide Connection Group can develop a comprehensive marketing plan that will identify where and how marketing efforts and budgets are best allocated.
Marketing plans can be developed at any time during the year but starting at the beginning of a calendar year is best if that is when your fiscal year begins. If you are interested in having Connection Group put together a marketing plan for your company for 2014, or if you have any questions, please give us a call today.
A long time customer, The Salvage Yard Antiques in Grand Ledge, Michigan is expanding and has contracted Connection Group for web and print brand design.
The Salvage Yard official website launched earlier this month:
- a responsive website design that formats to the size of a smart phone, tablet tablet or other computer screen
- simple, clean designed for the photos to pop
- easy for the customer to update on their own
Brand Print Items: Updated business cards and new postcards incorporate the same brand images. Keeping colors and visuals consistent help build a recognizable visual brand – plus saves money on design fees! Connection Group printed a larger quantity of postcards than needed to promote the upcoming open house. Keeping the information generic without dates adds the flexibility to be used throughout the year for multiple purposes: future promotions, new product announcements, thank you notes, and more!
Congratulations to The Salvage Yard Antiques on your expansion! For those in the Lansing and Mid-Michigan area be sure to stop in for the opening. For those out of state this is a destination shop not to be missed when you are in Michigan!
The Salvage Yard Grand Opening on February 22nd
Special hours 7:00am – 7:00pm. www.thesalvageyardantiques.com
Great Tidings Comfort and Joyful Holidays
As the year comes to an end with holiday festivities, it is our hope that you will enjoy time with family and friends – work will be here when you return. Wishing you peace, love and happiness during the holidays and always.
How Can a Marketing Consultation Help Business?
I remember during my stints in the corporate world when the executive offices shared that they were bringing in a business consultant, there was a chorus of groans in every department. Truthfully there were times when a better solution would have been to survey staff, vendors and customers to get a clear picture and new direction to meet the company goals. In other situations however, an outside view that is qualified in a specific area can provide valuable insight to the functioning of individual departments and the company as a whole, large or small. read more on the blog.
12 Small Steps to Make Big Connections in 2014
In our customer 2014 calendar design we included an offer to assist companies with some of those nagging brand marketing pieces that all small businesses know they need to do but can’t find the time to complete. If you are not in business to be handling marketing, give yourself a break and let us help you. We have structured them so you could order a few from each category, one task each month, address one focus for each quarter of 2014 or have us work on it all right away. We can set up everything and turn it over to you to take over or we can build it and maintain it all for you – what ever YOU prefer.
- Do-it-yourselfers: choose the specific marketing service you’ve wanted to complete all year but just haven’t found the time and cross it off your already over-full to-do list!
- Please-get-us-started: choose the entire package or a custom package designed to fit your immediate goals and future growth. We can tackle one task per month or complete the entire plan in one quarter.
Affordable Design and Marketing Services
1. Planning and Consultation:
- 1 hour consultation with written report.
- editorial calendar (content)
- marketing plan – 5 page plan
2. Web / In-Bound Marketing
- blog design and development
- e-mail newsletter template
- landing page creation
3. Content Creation
- Biography – Management or Business
- Fact Sheet / Blog Article
- E-book creation
4. Social Media Marketing
- social media profile creation
- integrate social media, maps on website
- directory listings
Connect with us by January 30, 2014
Receive $100.00 off! Purchase one of the 4 options below ($500.00 value) and save $100.00 off of the standard price.
A Beautiful and Inspiring 2014
Our 2014 calendars have been handed out to a few local customers and we have received a great response from recipients. Mail arrival by January 1, 2014 for those who have signed up to receive one. If you missed signing up to receive a free promotional one, please order yours today and we will get one in the mail to you as soon as possible. There are limited quantities remaining so please respond quickly. If you miss out on the Connection Group promotion calendars there may be some product calendars still available for sale that do not include service listing and are purely for decoration. Prices are reduced for the new year. We would love it if you could share the link in your social media channels for those who may be interested, thank you!
We hope you will stay connected with us throughout the year.
Connect with us on social media: 
These are the go-to-places to pick up tools, trends and tips to stay on the leading edge with your business. Enjoy inspiring design, website usability, marketing strategy and business resources nestled with fun, discounts and free downloads. Please stay connected!
As time goes by and updates continue to roll out, more and more marketers are finding out that Facebook truly is a great social networking site to invest in for a return and overall brand growth. Now, it’s definitely not the only site around to put stock in; Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram and other social networks do quite well also. For features, functionality and fans, Facebook can be the way to go.
Being such an expansive and innovative presence, there are multiple ways to effectively target your audience on Facebook and develop new fans and customers. One of the best ways is to use an app to create a Facebook quiz. In this instance, we’re speaking about personality tests.
What is a Facebook Personality Test?
A personality test is basically just a Facebook quiz. You create it by using the site’s app to construct a quiz-like feature which will ask users a question; e.g. “Which Dukes of Hazzard Character Are You Most Like?” Answers may include: “Boss Hog,” “Luke,” “Bo,” “Daisy,” “Rosco P. Coltrane,” and perhaps even the “General Lee.”
The interactive nature of a personality test definitely gets people interested. You can imagine the types of topics to come out. Which celebrity do you look like? Which billionaire are you like? Which scary monster would you become? And the list goes on indefinitely.
You can customize the app with different text and photos to make it fit your purpose, and you can run it like any other promotion on the site.
How to Use a Personality Test to Gain More Followers
1: Create an Original Test
The first step to this process is to create an original personality test. This is going to require a bit of comprehensive work on your part. For instance, you’ll have to completely fill out all the different legs of the personality profile with detailed information, and then find a way to tie it back. For example, when someone answers A + B + C it must come out to D and function properly.
A lot of marketers attempting to do these quizzes don’t put much thought into them, and people performing the quiz find that the answers are basically meaningless. Put more thought into it. Create a wholly unique test with an original subject, cool personality traits, some cool imagery, and make sure it comes out to an option that people earn by entering their traits.
2: Develop a Campaign Plan
The next step here is to develop a marketing plan. You can find some great relief via some Facebook marketing software, such as third-party ad-management apps, data hubs, and other pieces of software. But from initially visualizing your project to launching and operating it, you should have a plan in place.
Think about different aspects of your campaign plan, such as:
- Targeting the correct demographic to ensure that those who complete the test and offer their emails are interested in your brand
- Marketing your personality test through the use of tested and targeted ads, such as Sponsored Stories and Promoted Posts
- Asking for people to share the test so that it makes the rounds through different friends’ News Feeds and on their pages
- Promoting the test through the use of consistent hashtags, status updates, and even off-site; i.e. your main site, Instagram, Twitter, and perhaps even promo video clips on YouTube
The ultimate idea here is to reach out to as many interested people as possible. You’re going to draw a lot of attention from people who really aren’t planning to stay fans or to become customers, but those are just numbers that you’re going to have to live with. You want to gain as many followers as possible through wide and detailed promotion of this test.
3: Go Over Your Resources
Next up on the list, you should cycle through your resources to make sure that you’re ready for the big push. You might not realize it yet, but it’s going to be a lot of work on your end. Not only in creating the initial test, but in handling the traffic flow. You’re going to be inundated with new leads if your promotion is successful, and you’ll have to respond to them all and ensure that they’re all heading to a predetermined location which is ready to handle them.
Go over your resources and prepare. Make sure you have your ducks in a row:
- Have an auto-response ready that thanks people for their participation
- Have your mass mailer set up and ready to handle the new leads that you acquire
- Make sure that your landing destination is ready to receive traffic
- Troubleshoot your entire sales system to ensure that people can easily navigate your site and purchase products
- Carve out the time to test for any snags and to address any issue you may find
- Look into different money-saving aspects, such as a Facebook ad coupon, to ensure you can save money in the promotion of the test
4: Deliver the Goods
Some people might take the test just because they think it’s cool to see which object or person their personality aligns them with. But that particular demographic is rather slim. What you really want is to incentivize your test so that people are more inclined to take it. They take the test, which is just a way for you to get their email address, and in return they receive some type of gift.
Now, you have to be careful here with the gift you give out. It’s rather risky. If you’re offering something that’s unrelated to your niche and is valuable, you’re going to attract people who only want to participate in order to receive a gift. They won’t become customers, and they won’t stay fans. You want to attract people who really want to become and stay fans.
Here are some different things you can try:
- Offer a monetary prize in the form of a contest: 1 winner
- Offer a prize that’s very niche-specific, such as an informational eBook
- Offer deep discounts on your products and services
- Reward fan and customer loyalty by giving the best prize after a purchase
You want to add incentive, but you want to keep it aimed at attracting true fans from your niche.
Overall, a personality test is something that appeals to a very broad range of people. If you decide to just target random people, you’ll ultimately be able to attract a lot of new fans. However, you always have to be cognizant of the fact that fans on Facebook aren’t always going to stick around. It’s much better to pick up 500 loyal fans than it is to pick up 5,000 flash-in-the-pan fans who will never return.
So when creating your quiz, keep in mind the fact that you want to attract real fans who will hopefully turn out to be loyal, repeat customers.
Author’s Bio: Craig Robinson is a professional writer for Qwaya, a technology company specializing in Facebook marketing. If you have more social media marketing questions, feel free to ask Craig on Twitter.
I remember during my stints in the corporate world when the executive offices shared that they were bringing in a business consultant, there was a chorus of groans in every department. Truthfully there were times when a better solution would have been to survey staff, vendors and customers to get a clear picture and new direction to meet the company goals. In other situations however, an outside view that is qualified in a specific area can provide valuable insight to the functioning of individual departments and the company as a whole, large or small.
How can a business consultant know more about my small business than I do?
Bringing in someone who is not involved personally, who didn’t toil and burn the midnight oil to meet that first big order is difficult for some business owners. There can also be a fear that although a consultant is impartial, their discoveries may be difficult to hear, let alone implement. A private consultation for your small business can help you take a step back from the day to day operations many business owners are mired in and address areas of concern that have been missed and can be improved upon.
How can I find a business consultant who can help my small business?
It’s true there are some consultants who never actually worked in the careers they are posing to be experts in! It is important that you hire a seasoned professional who is fairly priced and can help your company. Look at each prospects credentials, previous employment, website testimonials or reviews and of course ask around your network for recommendations.
How do I know what type of business consultant can help my small business?
There are industry specific consultants you may find who can greatly benefit your business. A publishing consultant who has written, promoted, and published their own successful books who has client references could provide valuable insight to a self-published author for instance. If you are a manufacturer you may seek an expert in international trade or a new realtor could learn a lot from a consultant who specializes in real estate business consulting. There are also service specific consultants that can hone in on specific business practices. For instance, Connection Group offers marketing consultations and brand consultations. With over 20 years in the advertising, graphic design and digital marketing industries my staff and I have hands on experience with marketing and brand strategies. When companies need a brand consultant or marketing consultation we can evaluate current efforts and identify new approaches. The variety and types of consulting available are virtually endless, there are IT consultants, Corporate Finance consulting, Human Resources Consulting, and a full gamut of specialists for every aspect of your company.
How do I know if my small business needs a marketing consultation?
Maybe you have been in business for 15 years and your business has evolved to include more products or services than you originally planned. If your marketing and brand efforts have not evolved along with your company you may not be capturing the target market you would like to serve now. Or, are you a start up company who isn’t clear on how to position your company in the market? A marketing and brand consultant can ask key questions, review current products or services, clientele, staff, visuals, messages, packaging and other print and digital design collateral and hone in on a clear and targeted message to funnel into strategic points of customer contact. If you believe a marketing and brand consultation will help you reach your business goals please connect with us today. We provide online marketing consultations by evaluating your digital branding, visual imagery, brand message, website, blog, social media, reviews and in-bound links, etc. We also provide consultations for brick and mortar shops. We can evaluate your branding, environment, decor, signage, product placement and provide suggestions for driving local foot traffic or increasing online efforts to increase sales and exposure.
Why not end the year with pre-planning for success in 2014? If you know your product or service is top notch, your customer service is caring and timely but your company is not experiencing the growth and sales for the level of quality you are providing, you could benefit from a brand and marketing consultation. Give us a call today, we’re passionate about this business of branding and we love to serve and see our customers grow.
Stay connected!
Happy Thanksgiving!
It is a time for gratitude, for sharing and for remembering the special people in our lives. We are grateful to be a part of your life, however it is that we serve you. Wishing you peace, love and happiness on Thanksgiving and always.
Building Relationships with Customers
Providing a strong product or service is fairly simple, as is the ability to advertise your company through conventional means, but long term business relationships require effort.Creating true connection with customers requires an entirely different skill set to keep you in their radar.
Fear not! … we have four helpful tips that will get you going in the right direction to build strong, lasting customer connections… read more on the blog.
Business Cards Say More Than You Think!
When representing your company at various events and situations, one of the most important aspects is the ability to stand out. Business cards are a great way to stand out and be remembered but you want to be remembered for the right reasons. Cheap and sometimes free business card packs are everywhere but they can be limiting and even make you appear careless about quality.
Business Card Basics:
- Cover it – Don’t hold back, make sure you include what you do and the best way for prospects to contact you.
- Stand out – Color helps cards pop, as do logos and graphics. If you are in a service industry include a personal picture for people who remember faces better than names.
- Show off – Being humble is an important quality, but a business card has no room to be humble. Get to the point and make a connection.
- Look Closely – Believe it or not, some people have forgotten to put their phone number or email addresses on their business card. Make sure you don’t miss anything!
- Finish strong – Uncoated, Gloss, and UV-coated, cover stocks last infinitely longer than desktop ink-jet prints. They also scan cleaner and don’t smear.
Receive 15% off business card printing and design now through December 31, 2013. Already have a design? Call use today for print only pricing. 517-645-4387.
Time is of the Essence
We are excited about our new 12 month calendar design for 2014! Thank you to those who have already reserved their copy. If you are interested in a complimentary 12 month calendar we will be mailing them in the next couple of weeks. Reserve yours today. You will also receive access to exclusive downloads.
These calendars will be available for sale in some of your favorite mid-Michigan shops for gift giving this holiday season for suggested retail of $7.00. Please watch the Facebook page for announcements of specific locations, limited quantities available.
We hope you will stay connected with us throughout the year.
Connect with us on social media: 
These are the go-to-places to pick up tools, trends and tips to stay on the leading edge with your business. Enjoy inspiring design, website usability, marketing strategy and business resources nestled with fun, discounts and free downloads. Please stay connected!
“If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” – Henry Ford
Providing a strong product or service is fairly simple, as is the ability to advertise your company through conventional means, but long term business relationships require effort. Creating true connection with customers requires an entirely different skill set to keep you in their radar.
Fear not! … we have four helpful tips that will get you going in the right direction to build strong, lasting customer connections.
- Give Your Company Brand Value – Build your business around an ideal that demonstrates interest with customers. Give prospects something to identify with so the choice is obvious when they need something done. When we provide website design and development and services, we also offer website hosting, domain management and we train our customers how to update their websites. If they need anything in regard to the web – we come to mind first. As long as you focus all your efforts on fulfilling your promise in a specific area you should be fine.
- Keep Your Customers First – A bit more straight forward than the others but still just as important. At the end of the day, keep your customers informed on things you’re doing and be sure to keep them happy.
- Listen – Do you listen and respond to your customers as often as you can? Understanding your customers needs and problems will make them feel more welcome and trustworthy of your service and abilities. Remember, being listened to is the only way to avoid being ignored.
- Respect – There are two directions this can go. The customer is the first and this can be done by making sure you are on time with them and accommodating to their needs. The other is your employees since they work for you and they’d like to be appreciated as much as anyone else.
Twitter For Small Businesses
Ever since its origins in 2006, Twitter has been proven time and time again as a powerful resource for information and community outreach.
There are some important things to know when trying to grow your twitter business from the ground up.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter requires more of a commitment and active participation in the community. Here are somethings you will need to know… read more on the blog.
This Too Shall Pass
Ever since its origins in 2006, Twitter has been proven time and time again as a powerful resource for information and community outreach.
There are some important things to know when trying to grow your twitter business from the ground up.
Unlike Facebook, Twitter requires more of a commitment and active participation in the community. Here are somethings you will need to know… read more on the blog.
This Too Shall Pass
After over 13 years of connecting with you, our customers family and friends, we will be retiring our quarterly desktop calendars promotion for 2014.
For those who can’t bare the idea of a year without a Connection Group calendar, we have designed a solution… We are creating a 12 month calendar for 2014.
If you are interested in a 12 month calendar we will be printing them this fall and mailing in December, 2013. You can subscribe today at connectiongraphics.com/shop.
See a sample of the design when you subscribe and get access to exclusive downloads.
Our Facebook and Twitter are the go-to-place for customers to learn tools, trends and tips to keep them on the leading edge with their marketing.
Enjoy inspiring design, website usability, marketing strategy and business resources nestled with discounts and free downloads.
We invite you to join in the conversation.
Thank you for honoring us with your loyalty all these years. Please stay connected!
Give A Gal A Lift
It’s not too late to give back!
Connection Group is proud to be associated with WISE and the November 6, 2013 fundraiser for the YWCA. The YWCA works hard to house women (and men) who have experienced domestic violence. The YWCA has a long list of needs but one is particular are new bras for the women they welcome in.
If you are in the Grand Rapids area November 6, 2013, please attend the event to hear how “How Domestic Violence Affects the Workplace” and bring a new bra. If you are not in the area we hope to bring buckets of new bras and undergarments to the YWCA! Please consider sending a donation to Connection Group. Read more here.
Send donations of any size to: Connection Group – 6976 Windsor Hwy., Potterville, MI 48876
Post-it-Notes Are Great Leave Behind Client Gifts!
Save 15% on your next design and print order of post-it-notes now through the end of November, 2013. Costs in include shipping, full color ink, various sizes available. An inexpensive way to get your name in front of your customers – plus an overwhelming number of customers will use them and your company benefits from even more exposure!
Ever since its origins in 2006, Twitter has been proven time and time again as a powerful resource for information and community outreach. There are some important things to know when working to grow your Twitter business brand from the 
ground up. Unlike Facebook, Twitter requires more of a commitment and active participation in the community. Here are some things you will need to know:
Acquaint Yourself with the Platform
Observe how other businesses send out information and when. Learn how to utilize hashtags (#hashtags) and see if there are any relevant ones that relate to your business. Follow some other people who have similar goals. And always be sure to check up on your account at least a couple times a day.
Make Sure Your Followers are up-to-date on Things
Twitter excels in terms of its ability to spread information very quickly. If you are running a special, be sure to post it. Possibly post it a few times, just to make sure anyone who is interested can stay informed. You can also use Twitters quickness factor for anything else that needs to go out immediately as well (such as events, schedule changes and so on).
Get Creative
Don’t be afraid to try things and go ahead and be creative with your tweets. Some of the more successful twitter campaigns emerged simply by experimenting and seeing what worked. Twitter is an open platform for anyone to spread work and share ideas, take the initiative and make your brand a part of that experience.
Hashtags are Your New Best Friend
The explosion of hashtags across media has made them even more powerful. To elaborate, hashtags are a number symbol followed by a word (ex. #TBT). Essentially, hashtags are used to promote specific products, events or days giving the twitter communities involvement and input on things going on.
For example, every Friday people are encouraged to promote other Twitter users in the hopes of them doing the same for you and making yourself more involved. This occurrence is known as “Follow Friday” and whenever someone tweets about someone they want you to follow the hashtag #FF is somewhere in the post.
Network, Network, Network
You never know when something or some person will come in handy. Always be sure to welcome an opportunity to exchange information with someone else on Twitter who is in a similar situation or industry as you. Together you might even be able to work together or advertise one another and increase the exposure for both of you exponentially!
Google Images Are Not Free Use… and Other Copyright Issues… 
A copyright is a form of Intellectual Property as are patents and trademarks. Copyrights are the most common form of we encounter in everyday business and personal use. We learned about copyright and plagiarism when compiling our first report for grade school. The same rules apply with internet content. You research multiple sources to gain an understanding of the subject or a clear visual and then interpret it in you own words or creation. When you add a direct quote or paraphrase content, seek permission and include the credit where it occurs and also at the end.
When you use photos or graphics do your best to contact the original creator to get permission for use and always name the artist underneath the image. We often have customers send us images they have found in Google Images. Unless you have permission to use these visuals from the original artist they are not legal for use in your digital or print marketing pieces. I know Google makes it really easy, one search and you find the most awesome artwork ever! But hands off unless you want to get slapped with a copyright infringement.
If hiring a photographer or a graphic design studio to create original images is not in your budget for small projects, there are other options online… read more on the blog.
On the Blog…
Can A Small Business Blog Increase Website Visits?
Absolutely! A corporate or small business blog is one of the best ways to share information about your products and services, current events and sales promotions or press your organization has received. A happy accident of sharing this information is that your company blog posts add relevant content to your website which offers a better chance of appearing in search engines such as Google and Yahoo. A third benefit is when you add scheduled corporate blog posts your small business website will get higher marks from the search engines because not only is the content relevant, it is current…Read more…
Giving Back
Give A Gal A Lift Promotion
Connection Group is proud to be associated with WISE and the upcoming event and fundraiser for the Grand Rapids, Michigan YWCA. The YWCA works hard to house women (and men) who have experienced domestic violence. The YWCA has a long list of needs but one is particular are new bras for the women they welcome in. Connection Group has developed the Give A Gal A Lift campaign. We designed the logo, printed flyers and posters and distributed a press release to get everyone involved – especially women who are attending the WISE event.
If you are in the Grand Rapids area November 6, 2013, please attend the event to hear how “How Domestic Violence Affects the Workplace” and bring a new bra. If you are not in the area we hope to bring buckets of new bras to the YWCA so please consider sending a donation to Connection Groups. If bins are overflowing the YWCA of Grand Rapids will donate extras to other YWCAs in need. Read more here.
Send donations of any size to: Connection Group – 6976 Windsor Hwy., Potterville, MI 48876
Save on Presentation Folder
Save 15% on your next design and print order of pocket folders used for press kits and sales kits.
