Whether in times of prosperity or economic downturn, one business imperative is to continually communicate. Even if a company’s services exceed the competition’s abilities or products are positioned to better meet customer needs than anyone else’s, actual success can be elusive if the right audiences are not aware of your services and their key attributes. Thus, the communications challenge: Whom to communicate to and how?
On Thursday, May 3 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. the 2018 “Small Business Workshop” in TechTown will focus on “Attracting and Retaining Customers.” The Lee Group, led by media personality and marketing consultant Mark S. Lee, is the presenter, with Tanner Friedman a sponsor and workshop participant (As you may have heard on “Small Talk with Mark S. Lee” on April 15).
This year, the Conference focuses on answering questions about how small businesses can better communicate with their customers, and reach new ones, to build and enhance customer relationships. This will be the fourth year the conference has served as a valuable resource for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Southeast Michigan.
From a public relations standpoint, in our workshop “Reaching Customers via Effective and Targeted Communications Approaches,” we’ll be talking about the fundamentals every business needs to consider in launching an effective communications plan: the company brand, business goals, audience identification and the communications platforms from which to launch your marketing, messaging and overall customer outreach.
Knowing who you are, what makes you different and who needs to hear about it serves as the foundation for determining what communications methods and channels should be utilized to effectively target communications. Too often we see companies choose a communications avenue because it’s the latest and greatest tool “everyone else is using.” However, especially as companies need to be more efficient, effective and nimble, this tactic should not serve as the “end all be all.” Indeed, what you are saying – your key messages – is as important if not more so.
From traditional media to social media, we’re looking forward to helping small businesses identify and create the most effective communications paths for themselves on May 3.