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 Photo: St. Petersburg Times We’re roughly a month away from the official grand opening of the 600 Block / Crislip Arcade, and our new neighbors are making it look fantasic! The St. Pete Times has noticed and is continuing to follow the progress. Here is the latest story: Crislip Arcade revitalization rooted in art
I wasn’t surprised when she left to start her own successful PR firm. I was shocked when she gave that up to start a cupcake bakery! However, it is no surprise that she’s made that venture a success as well. Read more about Nicole and The Cupcake Spot on Examiner.
“The AIA understands the unique challenges that face firm owners, and marketing is an area of consistent concern for many of them,” said Reichl. “A recent study indicates that the industry is showing signs of recovery, so it is important that firms prepare to contend in what will be an increasingly competitive marketplace.” Building the Brand: Tools for Marketing Your Architecture Firm AIA Tampa Bay Headquarters Date: Friday, February 27, 2010 Register at http://www.aiatampabay.com or by calling 813-229-3411. Pinstripe Marketing is a Keystone Partner and Allied Member of The American Institute of Architects.
A friend shared a newsletter from Reach Personal Branding that reinforced many of the concepts I include in my presentations. On their site, I saw the link for the Online Identity Calculator - an interesting little tool that collects self-reported data from Google and maps your placement on a quadrant chart. Mine? Here is the description: “Congratulations. You are digitally distinct! This is the nirvana of online identity. A search of your name yields lots of results about you, and most, if not all, reinforce your unique personal brand. Keep up the good work, and remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather in New England. So, regularly monitor your online identity. That way, if something negative, such as an anonymous ad hominem attack on your character on a blog, crops up, you can address it quickly, before it gets out of hand. Read Chapter 11 of Career Distinction: Stand Out by Building Your Brand for more ideas on how to continue to build your brand online.” So I’m digitally distinct. Are you?
While I’ve always been generally aware of SPCA, I got to know a lot more about them when we selected the agency as one of our pro bono clients last year. We created a great campaign for them, and through it, became more impressed with the work they do for our community. A lot more work than they’re given credit for. I was honored when they inquired about my interest in becoming a board member. After doing an in-depth tour of the impressive facilities (including the farm - my new happy place!) and talking with several current board members, I knew it was something that I would be passionate about - enough to dedicate the time to be effective. Yoda approves, too. For more information about SPCA Tampa Bay, visit www.spcatampabay.org.
And business growth is often predicated on marketing. While promoting a company can’t overcome a bad product or poor service (at least not in the long term), a well-devised marketing strategy can go a long way toward leveling the playing field within a competitive space. Effective marketing requires a carefully conceived plan based on a consistent, coherent message being frequently presented to the proper audience. However, it’s not enough to simply know what points to cover and then check the boxes. Just as you wouldn’t burp a baby who hasn’t been fed, or give her a bath before she plays in a sand box, timing is important for every promotional activity. A good plan conforms to the cycles of a business market. What do your customers want and when? For a few professional service providers there are some easy examples — tax services in the late winter and early spring for accountants, or flu shots in the late fall for medical offices. In such circumstances, one should obviously plan marketing initiatives in preparation for seasonal spikes. Even though professionals may think it “goes without saying” that they offer certain services, advertising is — at a minimum — a good defensive move that may pre-empt existing customers from trying out a competitor. Yet doing what everyone else is doing doesn’t go very far when trying to grow a business. Transcend basic care to see your customer base thrive. Think of marketing as spending “quality time” with your clientele. You need to periodically interact with your customers and fortify your relationship throughout the year via your marketing communications. Realistically, how often you can do so depends on your resources. Yet the times you miss out on reaching existing and potential customers represent real opportunity costs. Would you want your customers to go longer than three months without your business once crossing their minds? How many periods of top of mind awareness do you think would be a minimum objective? Come up with a number and add to it any “seasonally mandated” advertising. This is the number of promotional cycles you want during the year. Keep this number in the back of your mind for a moment. Next, determine how many people you need to reach to achieve the growth you want. How often will they need to see your message before you reach a point of diminishing returns on your advertising investment? Decide which media are best to carry your message. What level of work is required to produce the messaging you need? Now, what kind of investment will all this necessitate? This is how much a quality marketing cycle will require of your marketing budget. Once you’ve gone through the costing exercise, you may decide that you don’t really need that much quality — Little Timmy (your customer) can just “amuse” himself. Unfortunately he will… and he won’t be giving your business a second thought. But let’s assume your budget will cover effective initiatives equal to that minimal number of desired cycles. Simply space them out equally over the course of the year. From this time frame, you can plan your associated marketing activities throughout the upcoming twelve months. If by some chance you find yourself with more than enough money to do the minimum, determine whether your goals would be better served by enhancing each cycle or if you’d be better off with one or more additional marketing initiatives. Keep in mind that each individual activity within every cycle should always support your brand identity to re-enforce your value proposition in the minds of your customers and prospects. This will add to the overall effectiveness of your marketing and your new year will grow up strong.
We had a quick meeting this afternoon to welcome some of our new neighbors to the block! I haven’t posted anything about the Crislip in a while, but the progress has been fantastic. What started as a simple exterior clean up project to make the block look better has developed into an amazing redevelopment initiative. The owner has invested in new facades for several of the shops, improvements to the arcade, and many much needed repairs to the building. The result? New neighbors! The 600 Block has a few art studios and galleries that have already moved in, and several more due to open by the end of March. It is impossible for me to express my excitement about this progress. During the meeting, we discussed the re-branding effort for the area. Ideas included The Central Arcade District, Central Artery, Vibe, Arts District and others. We’re looking forward to the grand opening!
The Florida Bar has thrown a monkey wrench into legal marketing once again. Web sites have been treated as ‘information upon request’ for years, but the Supreme Court has decided that they must now comply with the advertising rules. Recognizing some of the confusion the new rule has caused, the Bar requested a six month moratorium on enforcement. So what does it mean? For most firms, it simply means that any statements about results or client testimonials must either be removed, or put in an area where a visitor must read a page or pop-up that explains the type of information they’ll be viewing. If it includes verdicts or testimonials, the page must include a ‘past results are not necessarily representative of future results’ disclaimer. To help with the transition, the bar has prepared these guidelines and a sample disclaimer. Thank goodness the public is now safe from reading information that might actually help them select a good attorney.
Providers of professional services are unique in the level of intimacy they have with their clients. That’s why confidentiality is so prominent in their codes of ethics. Doctors literally know their patients inside and out. Accountants are fully aware of their clients’ financial situations. A person can tell his or her lawyer something that they can’t be compelled to tell even the highest judge in the land. Now that’s intimacy! Read the rest of this article at Examiner.com
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Copyright © 2010 Ginger Reichl - All Rights Reserved |
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Pinstripe Marketing president, Ginger Reichl, is the first presenter in a series of roundtable workshops for firm principals hosted by the Tampa Bay chapter of The 
I am so excited to learn that I was elected to the board of directors for 
Imagery of the passing year as a weary old man, and the coming 12 months as a smiling toddler, are common. For businesses, the symbolism is especially appropriate. As a healthy child should develop into maturity, business owners hope each new year brings growth to their companies.
As the holidays approach, we usually think about special connections with other people. We commonly think of friends and family first, but other relationships — even those of a commercial nature — may be very important as well.