Do You Buy Your Meat From Whole Foods or Walmart? And Does it Matter?

DO YOU BUY YOUR MEAT FROM WHOLE FOODS OR WALMART?

AND DOES IT MATTER?

Let's face it; we humans need to eat to live. If we want to build our bodies and stay healthy, regardless of budget, making the right choices is most important. Just like in your business, your choices will sustain you or cause malnutrition and eventually a slow death. When the economy takes a nose dive, your marketing shouldn't be ignored just because you think you can't afford filet mignon. After all, marketing is the lifeblood of your business. A balanced diet and a planned marketing menu each will give you or your company the strength it needs to compete. If you can't afford the most expensive cut of meat, there are other options just as nutritious. This is the same for your marketing recipe. Some of the healthiest ingredients actually cost less. Everyone knows that the most efficient grocery store visit requires being prepared with a well-thought-out shopping list. Plan ahead, create a balanced diet, don't spend more than you can afford and stick to the plan. Spending too much and not getting anything for it makes both of us sick.

At Lippi & Co., we believe that we can deliver a wholesome plan at a reasonable budget by planning well and mixing targeted media with a strategic message. We build energy by assuring a shopping list that "Builds Strong Bones". Remember, you are what you eat. Being Italian, I love to eat. Being a seasoned advertising guy, I love preparing successful marketing. Buon Appetito

How to Boost Your Holiday Sales

HOW TO BOOST YOUR HOLIDAY SALES

From employee training to the customer checkout, there are many ways to increase your sales during the holiday shopping season. We are going to go over a few tips to help you generate strategies and tactics to support an increase in sales this holiday season.

First things first, your employees are your most important tool. Most employees have already been through training of some sort. Make sure employees are trained on the basis of demonstrations, add-ons and upselling, customer service and product knowledge. Demonstrations can have a huge impact on a customer's buying habits. If the demonstration is done correctly, the customer is more likely to make a purchase. Add-ons and up-sales are essential during the holiday season. Offering an incentive for your employees to have the most add-ons or up-sales within a certain time frame brings about competition that ends in your favor.

Of course customer service should be a top priority, not only during the holiday season, but all year long. Your employees need to be excited about coming to work each day because they love their work environment and the products and services they sell. Knowledge about your products and services and bringing that excitement to your customer, allows the employees to generate more sales at the end of the day.

The appearance of your location should differentiate you from the others in your area. Use a color scheme or signage to make your store stand out from the rest. Choose a color scheme that is noticeable, distinctive and relates to your product or service in some way. Get rid of any handwritten signs (shocking I know). Be proud of any signage you use and make sure it is professionally designed and printed. Lastly, make sure your store is arranged for the customers. People like to buy from stores that are easy to shop. Make sure your store is "shopable". Meaning signage is clear and concise and merchandise is well displayed and easily accessible.

Make sure you collect data from your customers. Not only are you capturing data about who your customers are, but this will help with future emails or direct mail promotions. For the holiday season, focus on your most-likely buyers. By gauging their habits you will be able to direct your marketing efforts in the most efficient and effective way.

Best of luck this holiday season! For more information or if there is anything that we can help with, just give us a ring!

Four Great Steps to Creating An Effective Sales Promotion

FOUR GREAT STEPS TO CREATING AN EFFECTIVE SALES PROMOTION

How does a Sales Promotion differ from General Advertising? Sales Promotions entice your potential or existing customer to purchase your product and/or service immediately, whereas advertising is used to affect your customers' long-term buying behavior.

So, how do you come up with an effective sales promotion? First, determine the overall goals of your sales promotion. What do you hope to achieve? Some examples of goals that companies usually look to accomplish are an immediate increase in sales, new customers to purchase from you, gather information from new and existing customers and/or developing leads.

Once you have determined the goals for your sales promotion, you can now develop a selling strategy. Start by identifying your target customers. Where are they geographically? What can you offer them that will entice them to buy from you? Once you have gathered this information, you can then develop the best method to achieve those initial goals.

Finally, you can now establish the offer, the message and the timeliness of your promotion. A number of companies use similar strategies and offers as one another to attract customers, so Be Creative, Be Bold and Be Different!

To Block or Not To Block...That is the Question

TO BLOCK OR NOT TO BLOCK... THAT IS THE QUESTION

Roughly 31% of companies are blocking their employees from all social media outlets according to ragan.com. So, what are the Pros and Cons in blocking social media for the day-to-day operations of a business? There are many ways to use social media to your advantage, but it can also be a distraction to employees on the job. Let's check out both sides of the argument!

Pros of Blocking Social Media Sites

• Blocking social media sites allows a company to have one streaming idea or vision portrayed to your target audience. Too many voices and company profiles can create a loss of Brand and Professionalism. It may confuse potential customers. By preventing employees from accessing social networks from their desks, the employer keeps them from easily speaking for the company.

• Depending on the industries in which companies work, social media sites can be detrimental to both parties. Employees that are not trained to handle social media carefully may unintentionally release information by comments or remarks on their social media site of choice without realizing the potential effects. Keeping employees off these and other social media sites is the best way to limit this disclosure of information.

Cons of Blocking Social Media Sites

• Loyal customers are few and far between. Taking their social media voice away puts a stop to these customers' online networking, promotion and lead generation. Social media sites are just a few ways that loyal customers can voice their opinions and have others really take consider what is being said about your product or service.

• All social media sites can be a benefit to the business world. For example, Twitter can boost your public relations with potential media placements and keep a constant flow of information between a company and it's clients, LinkedIn questions can generate lead opportunities for your sales staff, and Facebook allows for communicating information about your company, post presentations and can even help fill a job opening.
  

Questions you need to ask and analyze on the basis of your business values are: What can we gain from social media? How can we use it efficiently and effectively? And how much time do we have to put toward social sites? So, to block or not to block...that is the question.

BE FOUND. BE CHOSEN.

Creating a Logo That Works

Creating a Logo That Works

Everyone, in this day and age of communication, understands the importance of an easily recognixable and memorable company logo. Unfortunately not everyone knows the necessary steps to creating one. In its simplest form a logo needs to represent the image a company wants to project ot the viewer. Years back when most people were illiterate, a shoemaker would hang a sign with a boot on it or a blacksmith would have an anvil on his. Today, weve all become a bit more sophisticated. This means our imagery has to project an image as well as a depiction of your products or services.

That image needs to be driven by the target audience you are trying to reach. Too often an icon is created which may look attractive, yet has no relevance to a potential customer. Confusing them is not a good thing.

Remember that your logo is not going to be seen as an isolated graphic. It will mostly be competing for attention in a much cluttered environment. As an advertising agency, we always look at the overall marketing perception we are translating into the design, message and colors of logos we design. Speaking of which, look at your logo design as it will appear across many applications—Does your logo look as good on a truck, a golf shirt, an ad as it does on your letterhead. We always present new logos in as many applications as we know our clients will be using.

Think for a minute about some of the most memorable logos that come to you. What makes them unique? Then try to emulate those factors into your logo.

Email Marketing and Social Networking in 2011

Email Marketing and Social Networking in 2011

In today's economy, it is all about networking and connecting with others. How do email marketing and social media help businesses? Well, it's simple. Networking. Put yourself in the shoes of your consumers. What do they do in the mornings before their day really gets going? Log into Facebook and check their emails. Using these tools to gain the attention of your consumer is vital in today's world of technology.


Email marketing, to most, may seem to be too invasive, but in reality, it's the very essence of putting yourself in fron of new and existing consumers. To make an email marketing program work, you have to involve the consumer. Get them excited about reading the next issue and keep them interactive in the program. If you currently have an email marketing program that is successful, don't be smug. There are always way to increase your following. Consumers can get tired of the same old campaigns and promotions. Get the results—who is engaging, following, and opting out—and find ways to target those specific consumers better. Don't assume these results are the big picture. Your weakest point may not be what you think.


Social networking is something businesses of all sizes are getting into. Merging social networking with your email marketing program is also essential. It creates a complete view of what your consumers are looking for. Email marketing programs are vital to gain and keep the attention of consumers in 2011. With the majority of your consumers owning a smartphone, you can gain attention of your target wherever they are. Results from these programs allow you to take a closer look into your target market and how to continue to satisfy their needs and wants. These programs give you the opportunity to have fun and get creative.

Get Personal With Your Website

GET PERSONAL WITH YOUR WEBSITE

In today's economy, creating a website is one of the most important marketing tools for businesses. People use the Internet like they used to use the phone book. You must remember, however, that people who are searching for businesses may find every other business but yours. While creating a website can seem to be a tedious job, the end result gives your business a selling platform as well as legitimacy. People expect a business to have a website, so spend the time and whatever you can afford to create the most effective one possible.

Combining various techniques to create an easy-to-navigate site and increase viewership allows you to ultimately generate consumer data and sales leads.

You can collect various kinds of data from the viewers of your website and use that data to your advantage. Leveraging data to grow customer loyalty is a mandatory goal when evaluating your website and its growth. We all know how important it is to embrace your consumer data and use it to your company's advantage. Collaborating across all departments including IT, customer service, sales, etc. can provide a significant increase in your overall result. This ensures user-friendliness and the interactivity of the site, which is critical for success.

Developing your website can be complicated and confusing if you're not familiar with all the ramifications. It is a good idea to get an outside prospective on how you should plan, develop and integrate your website.

In addition, developing a new website must include SEO (search engine optimization). This increases your ability to get seen first. This takes more than just an IT person writing code. Having a third party help you with your site is worth the investment, as it ensures a quality site that will serve you and your company well for quite a while.

BE FOUND. BE CHOSEN.