Viewing Your Company Like Your Customers provides insight into how best to market to them and meet their wants and needs. It is very important to garner trust and respect from your customers using good communication, as it helps to understand them well when marketing. A disconnect between customers and a business can lead to a waste of resources, more mistakes, and customers getting frustrated. Therefore, understanding your customers can be crucial to marketing well to them. This can also help ensure that you provide the best possible services and products your company can provide.
Put yourself in their shoes! Try to identify what your customer demographic might be interested in or what might resonate with them the most. Once you have some ideas of what might work, test them out and listen for honest feedback and data. Focus on what works best and improve on it. Furthermore, listen to what your customers are saying. Don't simply assume you always know what your customers want, but be ready to work with them to understand what they want better.
In addition to placing yourself in their shoes, you should always be ready to admit to mistakes and quickly fix them. In times of crisis, customers want to know that things will be fixed. A business that avoids or fails to respond quickly and efficiently is far more likely to frustrate customers. Communication is key in times of crisis and when developing your marketing plan.
To summarize, looking at things from a customer's perspective means:
Need a little help to get started or would you like use to train your people? Contact Poole Communications at 573-221-3635... or email us at info@poolecommunications.com.
©2025 Poole Communications
Marketing in a fast-paced world can seem like a lot of never-ending work. In this current world of rapid-fire content and a seemingly constant demand for attention, marketing can feel stressful, and it can be easy to feel like things are going way too fast. Between keeping up with the latest trends, social media, and the increase of AI and algorithmic-powered advertising, sometimes businesses find themselves fumbling to keep up. This calls into question the best approach to marketing in this day and age.
Oddly enough, the answer is simply to slow down! This, of course, does not mean you need to halt regular and consistent posting or start ignoring trends, but rather, it means that marketing must be done with intention and consideration. Slowing down to combat a fast-paced world involves planning, working to learn and develop, and learning more about what will capture your target audience's attention best.
Going too fast in planning can lead to problems like:
The trick is to slow down to go fast. It is important to be adaptive, plan, and make an impact in today's fast-paced world. Keep yourself informed about trends and world/local events that might affect your campaign and plan. As you plan, always be learning and developing your skills in the marketing world. A marketing team that is always learning and growing will be far more ready to adapt to rapid changes in the field.
In marketing, you always want to be consistent. Plan your campaigns for a fast-paced world by:
Gearing your campaigns to educate, inspire, and/or entertain
Making them interesting and worth the consumer's time
Being intentional in your campaigning approach
Figuring out what does/doesn't work and adapting accordingly
Using these guidelines, you can work to plan out an adaptable campaign that will be more consistent, high in quality, and able to stand out in the world of rapid-fire content. Don't just react to the constant changes but intentionally plan for and adapt to them!
For less than the cost of one full-time employee, you can have a complete marketing team to help build your company. Interested? Contact Poole Communications at 573-221-3635... or email us at info@poolecommunications.com.
©2025 Poole Communications
Networking is an useful tool for promoting your company. Hannibal has two great networking events coming up: the Chamber's Annual Meeting on Friday, February 7th and the Hannibal Chamber Women's Network on Thursday, February 27th. Using networking, you can seek out those who need what your business has to offer. Networking and relationship-building allows for clients to get to know you better and trust your business more.
When networking, it is important to go out of your way to meet new people! While stepping out of your comfort zone to connect to people can be tough, using icebreakers and being friendly can help get conversations started. Try not to be pushy in these conversations, but instead be an active listener and a service to the people you meet.
Some ideas for icebreakers might include:
Use and give referrals to expand your network. When building relationships with customers and clients, giving and receiving referrals can help strength your relationships. Customers with positive reviews and testimonials about your business or services can be essential to growing clientele. Referrals are a networking heavy approach to advertising, where your existing clients and customers positively recommend your company. You want your clients to refer you based on the experiences they have with your business, the reputation your business upholds, and the area your business specializes in.
A good place to network as well as give and get referrals are the Show Me Business Builders meetings. These meeting occur every Wednesday at 7am at Logues Restaurant in Hannibal, Missouri. We would be happy to see your business join!
Need a little help to get started or would you like use to train your people? Contact Poole Communications at 573-221-3635... or email us at info@poolecommunications.com.
©2025 Poole Communications
This Thanksgiving season, we at Poole Communications wanted to let you know how thankful we are for your business and friendship with us. As people all over are showing gratitude for the things they have, we also wanted to emphasize the importance of giving your all to your customers and community.
At the end of the day, good advertising can allow you to gain new customers, and also build relationships and business with customers you already have. Whether you are a large or small business, there is a benefit to providing your customers with support, service, and product. Not only that, but having good, honest communication between you, your customers, and your employees can create long-lasting partnerships and clients.
Good advertising is not just about bringing the customer in, but making an impact on the customer you are trying to reach. When your customers have a need for a product or service that you can provide, you want them to think of you first. Building relationships and partnerships involves a lot of thankfulness and generosity from both customers and businesses. Use good communication, honest marketing, and quality generous service.
When working for your customers, try and consider:
We hope this Thanksgiving, you will not only give thanks, but give more towards building partnerships and relationships as you consider these questions.
Interested in learning more about how giving can help your business? This small book, The Go-Giver by Bob Burg and John David Mann gives you great ideas and the logic behind giving.
“Most people just laugh when they hear that the secret to success is giving...Then again, most people are nowhere near as successful as they wish they were.”
Want help with marketing ideas like this one or would you like us to train your people? Contact Poole Communications at 573-221-3635
©2024 Poole Communications
Using AI in business is going to become an everyday event. Use it wisely—and start now.
I predict that most programs you use will have a ChatGPT option in the near future (in less than a year). Even though ChatGPT has a Microsoft AI driver, even Apple's SIRI is going to be using it soon. So how can you best use ChatGPT in your business? Here are a few ideas:
*OK, the emotional support idea needs clarification. While ChatGPT cannot take the place of a licensed counselor, therapist or psychologist, it can provide you with "someone to talk to". Being an introvert, I cannot imagine needing that, but some folks could use a friend.
One of the first forms of entertainment on my first Mac, was a therapist program called Eliza that would talk with you and seemed to answer your questions - even asking questions of her own. It seemed like the first form of artificial intelligence, but ended up repeating itself frequently. Today, you'll get a more varied, creative, and entertaining response.
AI based language translation has improved. One of my translator friends recently told me that ChatGPT is putting many translators out of business. AI is talented with obscure regional dialects and accuracy.
Finally, please note that I did not suggest using ChatGPT to help you with writing your company brochure or blog. We've been experimenting with AI for quite some time and the writing it produces (even when you ask for it to be in a certain style or voice) is painful. It uses cliched phrasing, puff-speak, is overly sales oriented, and produces poor writing.
I guess that makes sense since most of our population writes and reads at a fourth-grade level. I do not recommend ChatGPT to fill your need for a writer.
Need help with other marketing ideas customized for your business? Give us a call: 573-221-3635.
©2024 Poole Communications
What are Google Ads? I don’t know, Google it! The majority of consumers find themselves doing research online before purchasing a specific product. The benefits of an optimized Google Ad campaign compared to a newspaper or Radio ad is that it can target a wider demographic and the specific target audience for your business. According to Google, “Google Ads makes it easy to show the world what’s unique about your business, so you can reach customers searching for what you offer.”
One of the advantages to Google Ads, compared to other advertising options, is Google’s flexible marketing platform. This means that it is suitable for all sizes of businesses. You can set your budget based on business type and zip code. The budget is based on how many estimated client clicks your ad will receive based on the budget you have for the ad.
One of the key factors of a Google Ad is keyword themes. When someone searches for a keyword or phrase related to your business, your ad will show up in their search. When you create your ad, you will select a few relevant keyword themes that will help increase your advertisement reach.
In order for your ad to reach the correct audience, Google lets you choose the location where your ad will appear in relation to your business. You can target potential customers from within walking distance to even the whole country. The possibilities for your Google Ad are endless.
Google Ads specifically targets and selects the potential client for you. It has something for any size of business with different budgets, goals and target audiences. This is why if you are wanting an Ad that will reach your target audience, Google Ads are the way to go. If you need help with your Google Ad, give us a call and we will get you set up for success!
“Never let a good crisis go to waste.” – Sir Winston Churchill
The COVID crisis will position every business for the "Next Normal". Will the position be positive, status quo, or negative? Visionary companies will use specific strategies to use any crisis to their advantage. According to research by global leaders like IBM, Deloitte, and McKinsey & Company, businesses that turn COVID into a (non-virus) positive will approach the future in these five ways:
1. Purposefully
A crisis is a magnifying glass. The people, products, processes, and relationships that are essential come into sharp focus. So do gaps in service and opportunities that may have been overlooked before. Businesses should enhance and elevate the “essentials” and find ways to:
2. Virtually
It’s no secret that COVID has accelerated the use of digital or virtual channels and products. Companies positioned to advance will expand these opportunities, specifically after reviewing data on how and when they can increase efficiency and links to customers. This analysis, combined with anecdotal feedback will determine when to dial back on digital expediency and when to tune in to more authentic, in-person methods.
KEY FINDING
Finding a balance between virtual and in-person operations may be the biggest way to succeed in the long term. According to April 2021 business findings by McKinsey Management company, 60% of companies said that remote sales operations were 30% more effective than traditional face-to-face methods.
3. Urgently
Companies that waste a crisis will slowly return to the status quo when it comes to operational pace and job descriptions. Businesses that refuse to return to life before COVID will:
McKinsey found that many leaders will check in more often with their teams to learn what is working and what is not. In a matter of hours, they will solve problems, pivot, and create new ways to deliver better service and more valuable products.
4. Nimbly
Many traditional processes and organizational charts are far from nimble. Even how companies match talent with tasks should shift to ensure a competitive advantage in the future. Deloitte, a global consulting group, shared that organizations are learning to connect the right employees to the toughest challenges, regardless of where they fall on the employee chart. According to both McKinsey and Deloitte research, successful leaders will:
5. With a Distinct Human Touch
If COVID taught us anything it is that we need thoughtful human connection. McKinsey and Deloitte share that progressive companies will use this lesson to focus on employees and customers. They will take the time to ask, consider, and review how employees perform best. In fact, 61 percent of CEOs in a 2021 Deloitte survey said they will re-imagine how employees work compared to just 29 percent the year before. People-centered companies will:
KEY FINDING
An IBM study showed that 80% of CEOs and 46% of employees shared that supporting the emotional and physical health of the workforce was important.
KEY FINDING
74% of leaders indicated to the IBM Institute for Business Value that they will invest in employees to help them learn the skills needed for the future of work.
To stay on the positive side of any crisis into the "Next Normal", it all comes down to perspective. Approaching the future in the five ways listed above will help any business turn any unforeseen circumstance into far-reaching and creative opportunities.
Need help planning for your future? Give Poole Communications a call. For less than 1 full time employee, we can handle all of your marketing needs. Let us be your Marketing Department and grow your business to the next level.
©2021 PooleCommunications.com
Sally just got done reading Manage Your Day-To-Day. The subtitle of this book is Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus and Sharpen Your Mind, edited by Jocelyn K. Glei. Here's some of the best business take-aways from the book:
If you find you've been working hard and hardly getting ahead, this book is for you. It focuses on how our work day and work world has changed. Too often we're reacting and not working on our daily to-do list. The first thing to do is schedule your creative work first and schedule it at a time when you work best. This may take a little time to find - but instinctively you may know this already. Set routines and stick to them. If a project isn't complete one day, calendar it and move it to the next day. Your capacity is limited. Schedule your renewal or "sharpen the saw" time. Stick to it. Schedule thinking time or alone time to plan. Plan blocks of time to work - calendar it and stick to it. Stop multi-tasking - it doesn't work. Work on one project at a time, focus and finish it. Understand your temptations and resist them. In other words stay off Facebook and quit texting. Keep your workspace organized. Protect your DO NOTHING time. Your brain needs some R&R. Send really short emails. There is magic in a six-word email. Schedule your social media time and use it effectively to promote your business. Sally does hers at the same time she's updating client posts. Sometimes your soul needs to rest - take a long break from being connected. Finally, stop thinking everything must be perfect. We are human. Only God is perfect.
Get the work done, do your very best and let it go.
"The difference between successful people and very successful people is that very successful people say 'no' to almost everything." – Warren Buffet
Here are some quick tips to get your press release published.
1. Make sure it's news worthy - if it's not it won't get published.
2. Take the time to develop a catchy headline that will attract attention.
3. Write in a concise, news-style with the most important information first and the least important information last. When editors cut an article, they cut from the bottom.
4. Find a photo that complements your release. It is much more likely to be printed with a photo.
5. Include your complete contact information: name, title, business, address, phone, email, website. The media needs to be able to get in touch with you to do a larger story if they have time and space. Make it easy for them.
6. Find the right person to send the press release to. You can usually find this on the media's website.
7. Send that person an email with the press release in the email and attach a PDF or WORD document of the release too.
8. Realize that you may have to send the press release more than once. Editors are busy people and your release will only be publicized if there is space or time. This week might be too full of news to print your release, but next week might be great.
If you need help writing and sending press releases, give Poole Communications a call at 800-900-3635. We'd be happy to help.
