Friedrich_Communications

10 Green Tips for Small Business

Businesses large and small can all take steps to support a healthier planet.

Perhaps there is no better time than this week -- in recognition of Earth Day -- to consider environmentally friendly alternatives within our businesses. Whether looking at marketing plans or day-to-day office operations, practical solutions abound that also benefit the planet.

Here are ten green ideas, several which can help small business owners save money as we work to keep Mother Earth healthy!

1. Save e-mails and other documents digitally, printing only when necessary. Today many copiers allow you to save electronic files in pdf format, perfect for archiving.
2. When paper is required, print office and marketing materials on recycled paper.
3. Down-size your printed collateral. (Done correctly, less can be more!)
4. For sell sheets and similar marketing pieces, use pre-printed “shells” which reduce waste by allowing businesses to create hand-outs "on-demand."
5. When having new material professionally printed, ask your provider about non-toxic inks and off-set alternatives.
6. Utilize more electronic media including Web sites, banner advertising and e-mail to get your message out.
7. For major communications campaigns, opt for targeted direct-mail lists.
8. Plan ahead to avoid air and rush shipping which ultimately result in higher costs and fuel expenditure.
9. Also save fuel as you expand your social network online.
10. Lastly, recycle old office equipment or donate it to local schools. Don't relinquish these cast-offs to our already over-burdened landfills.

For more information regarding these or other green tips, contact me today. Or, to learn more about Earth Day and how you can make a difference, visit EarthDay.net.

About the author. Brenda Friedrich is a communications specialist based in Des Moines, Iowa. For a complete listing of her services, visit her Web site, BrendaFriedrich.com.

Evaluating Your Marketing Efforts

How do you get the word out about your small business? Are your marketing efforts effective?

If you're unsure how to answer these questions, you might want to consider a quick visit to the SCORE Web site. If you're not familiar with the organization, SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to educating entrepreneurs. Among their many online resources, you'll find an easy 5-question quiz designed to help you re-evaluate how you publicize your goods and services. You'll also receive tips on how to reach a larger audience with little or no cost!

SCORE and other business experts agree that "periodic reviews and audits are the best way to make sure you're getting the most out of your marketing dollar." So, even if you've relied on a set mix of marketing materials in the past, don't assume it's still the best bet for the money. You might be missing out on newer, cost-effective ways of reaching your audience!

About the author. Brenda Friedrich is a communications specialist based in Des Moines, Iowa. For a complete listing of her services, visit her Web site, BrendaFriedrich.com.

Three Tips for Getting it Right … the First Time

Don’t repeat some of the biggest mistakes business owners make when creating Web sites, brochures or other communications pieces.

Getting it right the first time saves incalculable time and money!

Avoid these top culprits:

Lack of planning. Before you start any communications piece, there are two things you should understand. First, know your target audience! Plan your site around their needs and purchase habits. Second, know yourself, your business or organization! What is your Unique Selling Proposition? What makes you different? Understanding these aspects of your market and your business is key to all your communications efforts!

Choosing style over substance. We all want Web sites, documents and presentations with a professional look and feel. And we should insist on them! But every component — each word and every graphic — should have a purpose. In combination, they should help convey a clear message or reinforce your brand. Don’t settle for fancy fonts that hinder readability. Don’t wedge pictures into every nook and cranny! Remember that visual clutter only distracts from your message.

Going it alone. You can’t do it all by yourself. Just as you rely on professional advice with your taxes, delivering the message about your business or organization should not be left to chance. Choose a provider who can guide you through the steps toward effective communications with Web sites, presentations and printed material that convey the right message and reinforce the strength of your brand.

About the author. Brenda Friedrich is a communications specialist based in Des Moines, Iowa. For a complete listing of her services, visit her Web site, BrendaFriedrich.com.

What Makes Marketing Materials Memorable?

Scientists continue to unlock the secrets of memory at an ever-increasing rate. Researchers in Israel, for example, have been studying octopi for clues on how human brains may store and recall information. Meanwhile teams of psychologists in Indiana are working with college students to unravel the key to information retrieval in relation to study habits. But how do these findings translate into knowledge we can use in creating marketing materials that customers will remember?

Many of the answers are already at our fingertips, including these three critical components.

Observation.

Before your advertising message, your brand or your clever tagline makes its way into our memory centers, it must first be observed. And by observed, I don't mean that your audience caught a split-second glance of it as they scanned a page of ads while flipping through the back pages of a magazine! When I use the term, "observed," I mean that it caught the reader's attention and held it for at least three seconds. So the first rule of thumb for gaining that long-lasting impression you want to want is, get the audience's attention!

Association.

Memory also requires association. In other words, to remember any new information, we must associate it with other information that has already made it into our memory banks. One way to ensure that association occurs is to make your message relevant to the concerns of your potential customers. Address needs that he or she already knows exist.

Visualisation.

Finally, strong memories tend have color and form, even motion. These memories are visual. So, pair your message with appropriate graphics, ones that illustrate or reinforce your key points and add greater impact to your message.

Give your potential audiences something they can remember ... when you address these three areas for impacting memory.

About the author. Brenda Friedrich is a communications specialist based in Des Moines, Iowa. For a complete listing of her services, visit her Web site, BrendaFriedrich.com.