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A Tale of Two Professionals
On a beautiful spring afternoon, ten years ago, two young professionals graduated from the same university. Both of these professionals were very much alike. They were close friends who had grown up together in the same small town, they both graduated at the top of their class, and they were both personable and held ambitious dreams for their future.
Recently, these two professionals returned to their alma mater for their 10th reunion. They were still very much alike, but they had lost touch with each other over the past several years. They were both happily married and had beautiful families. And both, as it turns out, setup remarkably similar businesses in very similar locations right after graduation.
But there was a difference between them. One spent all of their time working on and promoting their business and had just managed to add a second location. The other had grown the business they began into a national franchise, and had more time and money available than they initially thought possible.
If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail
Now, I am not assuming that everyone wants to own and operate a national enterprise. As I’ve said before, everyone has there own vision of success. And, it’s your vision that we promise to remain committed to! But, have you ever wondered, like I have, what makes this kind of difference in people’s lives? It isn’t always a native intelligence or talent or dedication. It isn’t that one person wants success more than the other. And it isn’t because one person reads the Wall Street Journal! The difference lies in what each person knows and how they make use of that knowledge. The difference lies not in how much you want success, but in planning to succeed!
You must plan for your business to succeed in order for it to do so! And marketing strategy(ies) are a critical part of planning for your business success. Your promotional strategies must be prominent early in planning and throughout the operation of your business. An effective promotional campaign never involves only a single effort, strategy, or technique. It is an ongoing process that should involve multiple promotional vehicles. Successful marketing does not happen quickly or on a once-and-for-all basis. You will need to analyze, implement, research effects, have some trial and error, reformulate, and so on and so on... This is not to say it has to be difficult. Having a partner like Kethyr Solutions can make all the difference in the world!
Theory vs. Practice
We are committed to educating you about your options, as well as assisting you with the choices you need to make to succeed. Now, I could begin a lengthy discussion of various marketing strategies and theories, such as push vs. pull or direct vs. indirect marketing, attraction or magnetic marketing, etc. However, many times these various marketing theories are designed and employed simply to market marketing!
In practice, most forms of marketing can be used to successfully promote products and services! And most types of marketing can serve a multitude of functions and are applicable and effective in varying situations for different reasons. You will need to make specific choices regarding your marketing strategy as you develop your plan. But these choices need to be based on research and facts, not on perceptions or connotations.
At Your Service
Many professionals often have difficulty accepting the idea that marketing their organization or services is more similar to than different from product marketing. There are differences, to be sure:
- Services are the most intimately linked to delivery of satisfaction.
- More than assembling parts for delivery, services represent a mix of physical facilities and mental and physical labor.
- Consumption of services is most dependent on the consumer’s judgment.
- Services are evaluated during consumption, while products are evaluated afterward.
- Services cannot be inventoried, and service marketers must match demand levels to capacity.
- Services typically lack physical distribution channels; instead, they emphasize scheduling or service delivery (more than locations or facilities)
- Service businesses face their greatest challenge in determining their fixed and operating costs.
- It is more difficult for a service to obtain data on competitive performance.
However, the similarities between product and service marketing far outweigh the differences. No matter what your goals are, your marketing should give away information and demonstrate your expertise in order to build trusting relationships with existing and potential clients.
And when it comes to building successful relationships, Kethyr Solutions is always at your service! Marketing services is our specialty! However, this is not to say we don’t readily employ product-oriented marketing tools when they are most effective. We know building trust, confidence, and connection are prerequisites for any successful relationship! And we will use any and all tools at our disposal to guarantee your success!
What Do You Need To Do?
To put it simply, you must create a plan that you can remain committed to! We can help you create and implement your plan... But your plan will not succeed without your commitment. And, your commitment is not the only requirement...
Because your promotional campaign must continue throughout the operation of your business, its course may need to be altered when necessary to maximize the campaign’s benefits. However, you must be patient with your plan for it to succeed! There is no such thing as an overnight success. Opportunity comes to those who make themselves available to it! Are you ready to create your own opportunities?
That’s what’s required of you... And, I don’t want to belittle it! To be honest, there is very little we can do to help you succeed without your commitment and patience in achieving your goals!
So What Can Kethyr Solutions Do For You?
Since there are usually various types of promotional communications, they form what is known as the promotional mix — a composite of informational and strategic ideas, methods and techniques — which is designed to create in the minds of targeted consumers the reasons why they should come to you for your particular product or service. Using a variety of promotional communications, Kethyr Solutions can:
- Transform your intangible services into tangible objects, such as through the use of a Website, brochures, reports, written documents, and so on.
- Show you how to engineer free publicity! Public service messages, human-interest or welfare pieces, etc.
- Help you use the single best promotional approach there is! Build a strong professional and personal image in the community that contains your targeted market.
- Enable you to use your competition in a constructive non-hostile manner. In fact, for risk-management purposes, it is better to stay in the good graces of competitors by promoting an exchange of information than to avoid contact with them.
- Expand your market! Rather than fight competitors for the same pool of customers, concentrate on finding new customers, for example by introducing something new and distinct if not unique.
- Attract and retain your past and present clients and motivate them to speak positively of your product or service in their contacts with others! We can show you how a succinct and mutually-beneficial questionnaire, as well as polite follow-up efforts, can increase your business even without finding new customers or advertising!
And, unlike most organizations, Kethyr Solutions is not only available to work on specific aspects of your promotional campaign. We can help you design and implement a marketing plan for a fraction of the cost that most others charge — if they offer these services at all. Many design companies focus on one aspect of the promotional mix and leave you to determine how their service fits into your overall strategy. Or, you may find full-service marketing firms, which can provide anything you could ever need. However, they often charge you for every service they offer regardless of your needs!
Kethyr Solutions caters to professionals, small businesses and non-profit organizations. Our clients do not have endless budgets... They are cost conscious. And they want the best results they can get for the time and money they invest. Kethyr Solutions provides every tool at our disposal, every secret we know, so you may confidently develop a marketing plan that leads to your success! Your plan will include detailed ideas about sales, promotion, and delivery. We will help you to determine schedules and costs, and assist in anticipating critical events. We will help you define a marketing plan that furthers efficacious business operations, promotes short- and long-term benefits, honors the role professionalism plays in your industry, and helps you realize your unique vision!
And we won’t suggest, or charge you for, any services you don’t need! In fact, if we know of a service provider who offers comparable or better services than ours for less, we will gladly point you in their direction! We want you to confidently develop a marketing plan that you feel comfortable with. Then your commitment and patience will come easily, and opportunity will find you!
How the Process Works
As with all of our service offerings, a free, no-obligation consultation of up to one hour in length, is provided at the outset! This is so you can get to know us better and we can determine whether or not Kethyr Solutions can adequately meet your needs. However, this initial consultation is never more necessary than if you are contemplating starting a business — or already have a business, but have not done much in the way of marketing — and are trying to figure out where to begin. Even if you have a long-standing business, but want to evaluate and possibly revise your marketing plans, an in-depth consultation is critical. If we are to develop a marketing plan for your business together, you will need to feel comfortable with us, and we need to understand your unique vision and goals. Only then will we be able to determine your needs — and determine together whether or not Kethyr Soltuions can be your answer and help turn your vision into reality!
Once we have decided to work together on your marketing strategies, Kethyr Solutions will work with you to acquire the market information necessary to make informed decisions. The person with whom you had your initial consultation will then “interview” you to help you determine your target market(s), specifics about your industry and your business, how much time and money you want to invest in your campaign, etc. Next, we will help you determine effective promotional vehicles for reaching your market(s) as well as determine schedules and costs. In order to anticipate critical events and focus on long-term goals, our marketing plans use a ten- or twenty-year time horizon — occasionally five, but never less. Of course the further out in time, the less specific the plan will be, as adaptability is a pre-requisite. However, always keep in mind that your business and marketing plan takes patience and commitment! You need to prepare for the future if you are going to take part in creating it!
Upon finalizing your plans and strategies, we will present you a professional documentation of your plan and campaign strategies so you have it to refer to throughout the life of your business. We can then help you procure specific promotional services from other vendors — or supply them to you ourselves! Are you ready to plan the future you’ve been envisioning? We are ready to start when you are! Why are you waiting? Contact us today!
Pricing
Strategic marketing and communications consultation starts at $30.00 per hour. However, the rate may vary depending on the complexity of the project. Consultation regarding particular marketing strategies or communications pieces might be billed at $30.00 per hour. Whereas designing complete marketing campaigns, or determining and implementing strategic planning may be billed at $40.00 per hour. We will work with your budget and determine the hourly rate with you during our initial consultation. Contact us for a free estimate today!
(Click here to view a complete listing of our prices.)
Before you make any decisions, we are available to answer all of your questions. Let us help you make the best choice for your situation. Contact us for a free estimate and no-obligation consultation. If you're located in the San Francisco Bay Area, we will be happy to meet with you in person. For our other customers around the globe, we are only a phone call away! Click here to contact us for a free estimate.
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Thank you for visiting Kethyr Solutions. Please let us know how we may serve you better!
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