Yankee PR Counsels Central Jersey NARI Members To Consider Whether They Are Marketing Too Much

Nov. 29, 2012 - PRLog -- PITTSTOWN, N.J. – Yankee Public Relations President Fred Feiner addressed a recent meeting of the Central Jersey Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) and asked members, “Are you marketing too much?”

“Small business marketing is all about being selective and being sure you are measuring Return on Investment (ROI),” said Feiner, an Alexandria Township resident with more than 25 years of communications experience. “Small business owners are wearing many hats and marketing can be so overwhelming that some literally don’t know how much money they are spending, what kind of ROI they are getting or even how much is in their marketing budget. It’s a recipe for small business failure.”

Central Jersey NARI President Patrick Chrustinsky, a Bridgewater resident, asked Feiner to provide the group with an overview of small business marketing because of the challenging market facing businesses in construction and remodeling.

“It’s important to keep your marketing focused and consistent with your strategy and approach,” said Chrustinsky, who owns Perfect Connections Security Systems of Somerville. “Fred has extensive experience in our industry so he brought a valuable perspective. There are so many marketing choices out there today, it’s easy to become scattered and ineffective.”

Feiner emphasized with the group that it is important to have a marketing plan, even if their marketing resources are minimal.

“Business owners need to have something on paper that measures their goals so they can hold themselves and vendors accountable,” said Feiner. “Make it a 90-day plan, six-months or a year – whatever you are comfortable with – but force yourself to revisit it at least every 90 days. Be realistic with your goals and expectations; choose to execute a few strategies well rather than trying to do everything and having a poor result.”

Some of the suggestions Feiner offered attendees included:

● Be flexible. Be open-minded. Constantly look for new ways to influence your target market. Even if you are extremely successful, don’t be afraid to try something new and different.

● Be an expert. Be the person that people talk about when they need your expertise. Give presentations, write articles, publish press releases and take leadership roles in professional organizations.

● Get social. Love it or hate it, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are here to stay. The key to social media success is building a following. Actively educate your online community about your industry and expertise to gain exposure.

● Get traffic. Online advertising is not an option; it’s a necessity. If you want to be on page 1 of Google, you need to be utilizing Google Ad Words. Drive traffic to your website, which should be updated regularly.

“Small businesses need to recognize that marketing is an investment in their future,” said Feiner. “Market your business even when you don’t really need the business, because you are planting seeds that will grow in the future. But if your marketing task list continues to grow and you can’t trace results to the bottom line, it’s probably time to consider a new approach.”

About Yankee Public Relations
Yankee Public Relations of Pittstown is a boutique marketing communications firm serving clients in a wide range of industries, including banking, pharmaceutical, development and higher education, as well as many small businesses. For more information, please visit www.yankeepr.com or call 800-YPR-1910. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/yankeepublicrelations or Twitter at www.twitter.com/yankeepr.

Photo:
https://www.prlog.org/12029830/2