The Name Game...got yours yet?

Have you been struggling with what to call your business?  Or maybe you have a name, but you're not quite happy with it?  Does it portray everything you want?

What's in a name? 

Selecting a name for your new business is not easy. A name does more than identify your company. It tells customers who you are, what you do, and more than a little about how you do it. Your name differentiates you from your peers, peaks customer interest, and invites further investigation -- if you do it right.

 

I didn’t do it right. At least, not at first.

This is what Susan Friedman of the Trade Show Coach has to say...read the rest of the article here.

Julie Nott, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC

Up-Sell!

If you take a phone order for a product, politely suggest another product that complements the customer’s purchase. Apply this same principle in your online shopping cart. (Amazon is especially good at this.) Your customers may not even be aware of all your other products and will be grateful to hear of the other wonderful resources you have available.

You can also up-sell by running a special that is dependant on the amount ordered. For example, if you know your average order is $100 and you’d like to increase that, run a special for a FREE gift or a percentage off on all orders of $120 or more. You’ll start to see customers increase their orders just to get the free gift. Don't have the resources to give a free gift? Try partnering up with another homeschool company. It will cost you little and provide good advertising for the other company.

So, get out there and up-sell, up-sell, up-sell!

Laura Fox

Marketing Director

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

www.TheHomeschoolMagazine.com

The First Marketing Book You Should Read in 2006!

Last year I won a contest during TOS' PR & Marketing online class.  For the prize Gena sent me a copy of The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout.  She raved about how wonderful it was and said that anyone who wanted to market anything should read it.

Well let me tell you, I think she was right!  It is a small, easy-to-read, and powerful book.  The authors spent over 25 years studying what worked and what didn't in marketing.  Using fascinating examples that you will recognize immediately (Coca Cola, Fed Ex, Nike, McDonalds, etc...) they have focused in on what works and what doesn't.  They know what they're talking about.  You've got to read this book.

Their first law of marketing is The Law of Leadership:  It's better to be first than it is to be better.  Basically marketers have to realize that it's easier to establish yourself in someone's mind first, rather than try to prove to someone that you are better than the product or service already established in the customer's mind.  Part of that is due to the simple fact that the first name in the field often becomes the generic.  Have you ever heard someone say, "Can you Xerox this for me?", "Please pass me a Kleenex.", "Do you have a Band-Aid?" or "Would you like some Jello?"  All of those are brand names that have become the generic for their markets.  Maybe other brands have come on the market that are better, but they will be hard pressed to ever overcome the presence that these name brands have in our minds. 

Wouldn't 2006 be a great year for you to get started or further develop your business?  While you are waiting to perfect your product or service, it could be that someone else is going to follow the Law of Leadership and establish themselves as the first in your market.  Don't let that happen.  Seize the day and get your name in front of people. 

But what if someone else is already first in your market?  Does this mean that you should just throw in the towel?  Certainly not!  There are 21 other Laws of Marketing outlined by Ries & Trout which can give you success in the marketplace.   I'll be sharing more of them in the coming days.  Get a book and follow along.

~Nancy Carter

Public Relations Assistant

The Old Schoolhouse, LLC

Marketing Monday: Motivation

As you know, business can be cyclical.  Depending on the main focus of your company's efforts, the amount of effort put out and the income generated by it can vary throughout the year.  Those of you who provide products and resources, such as curriculum, to the education market, have seen this in action.  Frequently based on the cycles of the traditional school year, business can go up near the end of the summer and the end of the calendar year, when teachers gear up for the new school year, and when they step back to review the first portion of the year and prepare for the second, over the holidays.

While homeschoolers are not bound as tightly by the traditional school year, it is still prevalent to market to these cycles.  "Burn out" appears to happen easily during December, and this time can often be the peak season to try to reflect on the past few months' schooling and attempt to change direction or adjust for the upcoming months' work.  Remaining motivated is a task that each teacher and business person is charged with, in order to best benefit the students and company, respectively.

Add to this that the home educator will often use gift-giving occassions as a time to make purchases that are not only fun but educational, and you can see where this cycle remains in effect.  Being a homeschooler myself, I'm acquainted with plenty of folks who use Christmas gift-giving as an opportunity to justify stretching the budget a bit for that educational toy or game versus "plain old textbooks".  (Okay, so I did it myself!)

These cycles lead to an opportunity for the homeschool marketer.  Helping parents remain motivated, or lifting them up by helping them get motivated again to face the rest of the school year, can be a daunting but fulfilling task.  If you are just dipping your "toes" into the marketplace that is homeschooling, don't lose sight of the main star...supporting and encouraging the community you are joining.  Home educators are parents first and foremost, no matter whether they work as professional educators, business people, or homemakers.  Remember why they do what they do, and take the time to reflect on it yourself.  By placing their families first, they strive to provide an excellent education and a quality family experience. 

By helping to motivate them, and by remaining motivated yourself through the cycles of the educational business, you will provide excellent customer service and hopefully receive the referrals and business profits that come of it.  There is no better feeling than that customer comment that rolls in saying, "You (or your company) always seem to know just what product/seminar/lesson I need at just the right time.  Thank you!"

Take the time to learn the cycles and prepare for them, whether by bulking up on fulfillment staff during the holidays and the school year rushes, or by sending out encouraging notes mid-year with each order.  It can, and will, come back to you.

~Melonie Murray

Director of Public Relations

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC

Marketing Mondays: Have You Seen These Links?

Happy Monday, folks!  Are you almost ready for Christmas and the beginning of the new year? 

As you've already seen, the PRMama blog has a new look.  Now there's more!  Look to the righthand sidebar for some fantastic marketing and PR links.  We've got plenty here to keep you busy.  If you visit a site that you really enjoy, be sure to pop back by and let us know.  And let the site owner know where you heard about them.  As you already know, networking is key to building your business.  We here at The Old Schoolhouse Magazine sure appreciate it when you pass on the word about PRMama and our publication! 

There's more exciting news in the works...be sure to come visit tomorrow for some FANTASTIC news on Team Building Tuesday!

~Melonie K. Murray

Director of Public Relations

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC