Marketing lesson and going out of business

A VOIP telecom company in Wisconsin is now out of business because they were too cheap to hire my marketing firm (or another marketing firm) to help them with marketing and advertising. I will not say their name to protect them but their cheapness and lack of respect for the vital importance of quality marketing and advertising put them out of business. Now their employees are out of jobs and there are probably many vendors they owed money to who will no be paid. And the money investors put into the company is now lost... all because they didn't think marketing was that important and they would figure it out themselves.

I had personally created a marketing strategy plan (localized internet advertising and local direct mail to their niche market) for them that was within their budget and would have brought them new clients and kept them in business and growing. But, they did not want to spend the money to hire my firm. And we are not talking about millions of dollars here. I think I offered to create and manage their marketing program for 6 months for about $20,000 (about the cost of a secretary). What is saddest of all is they said YES we can easily afford to hire you. But, their board decided to go the cheap route and try and do it themselves even though none of them was an experienced marketing professional. Dumb, dumb, dumb...

Here is the most important business tip you will ever learn. NOTHING is more important in business than marketing. Marketing is the life blood of a business. It is the heart of a business. It is the soul of the business. Without marketing, your business is nothing. Without marketing, you do not have a business.

To your business success!

Peter Geisheker, CEO
The Geisheker Group marketing companies
http://www.geisheker.com
(920) 471-1638
"We don't help you compete, we help you dominate!"

B2B appointment setter wanted

My marketing firm is seeking a master B2B appointment setter to work from their home as a 1099 contractor to cold call CEOs to schedule appointments with our President.

You must have 5+ years of experience in B2B appointment setting and the ability to get CEOs on the telephone to schedule appointments. You must love cold calling and playing the game of getting past the gatekeeper so you can talk to the CEO. Please do not contact unless you are an absolute master at cold calling to get appointments and you can prove it. We only care about results.

If you are a master at cold calling and getting appointments, send your resume ASAP to peter@geisheker.com. Also, include a cover letter explaining why you are the world's best appointment setter and how we will not be wasting our time or money if we hire you.

Peter Geisheker, CEO
The Geisheker Group Marketing Firm

Celebrity Endorsements and marketing

My professional opinion about using celebrities to endorse a product or service is that it can be a smart business decision (i.e. lucrative) as long as the celebrity is popular and believable among your target market. Does your target market view the celebrity as somebody they admire? Do they trust the celebrity? Also, does your target market honestly believe the celebrity would use your product or service? Believability and trust are key.

You also want to choose a celebrity you can work with over several years. Repetition is key to advertising success, and having a celebrity pitch your product for only a short period of time (a year or less) is not a good idea. People want familiarity and a business only achieves that through repetition over time.

To your business success!

Peter Geisheker, CEO
The Geisheker Group marketing companies
http://www.geisheker.com
(920) 471-1638
"We don't help you compete, we help you dominate!"

How I use Twitter to market my business

I use Twitter to market my marketing firm by Tweeting on "how to" tips where I write a short "how to" article on my blog (which you are reading right now) and then I link to it from the Tweet message I post in Twitter.

I also Tweet on marketing projects I am working on and sometimes I will ask for feedback on what people think of ideas I have for a project. I also use Twitter to announce new products and services my clients are offering. As a social networking tool, Twitter works best when you use it to help others by providing useful information.

Why not hook up with me on Twitter now. I am at http://twitter.com/geisheker

To your business success!

Peter Geisheker, CEO
The Geisheker Group marketing firm
http://www.geisheker.com
(920) 471-1638
"We don't help you compete, we help you dominate!"

top 3 social media marketing blunders

Here are the top 3 social media blunders I see being made by mid-to-large companies:

1. Talking using cold dull boring business language that sounds like it was written by an attorney. Businesses need to loosen up and using communication that reads as if you are talking to your best friend. Give your social media communications some personality and show you are a real live person instead of the legal department.

2. Selling too hard! Social media is for conversations and building relationships - NOT hard sales.

3. Not giving information that is of value. To increase social networking results, give people a reason to talk about your company and refer others to you. Give helpful tips, resources, etc. Show the social networking world that you are a giver instead of just trying to promote your products/services. If you want to get more, learn to give more.

To your business success!

Peter Geisheker, CEO
The Geisheker Group marketing firm
http://www.geisheker.com
(920) 471-1638
"We don't help you compete, we help you dominate!"