Always Be Prepared to Market

Originally printed in a condensed version for the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce VOICE.

“Be Prepared,” that's the motto of the Boy Scouts of America. "Be prepared for what?" someone once asked Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, "Why, for any old thing." said Baden-Powell. As a young man I took the motto of the Boy Scouts of America to heart. And I suggest that in sales and marketing you do the same.

Now I’m not advocating some high-pressured “Always be closing, always” type of philosophy. What I’m talking about is a thoughtful and prepared approach to any sales and marketing situation. “Being Prepared” in marketing is having the tools and strategy in place to not miss the opportunity or be caught off guard in a business situation.

The first step in preparedness is your business card. It’s not enough to just have a nicely designed card with all the important information, but you need to have a supply of cards available with you. That means having a small stack of cards in your jacket pocket, purse, wallet, briefcase, car, etc. You never want to be caught having “just given out your last card” and expecting a scrap of paper or the back of someone else’s card to suffice. The exchange of business cards is the most basic of business interactions and says a lot about your professionalism and interest in doing business with someone. You should also be prepared for what you are going to do with those cards when you get them, but that’s a different subject altogether.

The next thing to consider in your marketing preparedness kit is having a good understanding of what it is you are marketing and how someone might take advantage of your product or service. Many experts might advocate a polished “elevator” or “30 second” speech here, but I would suggest you get to the point where you are so comfortable talking about what you are marketing that you can tailor the message on the fly to any length or situation.

You should also have a selection of marketing support materials available to you should you need them. Flyers, brochures, and other print materials should at least be easily accessible from your car if not in your bag or briefcase. That also includes DVD’s and PowerPoint’s that should be kept handy incase your asked to give an impromptu presentation. Email and other “nurture marketing” techniques should also be planned for, but again that’s a different topic for another article.

Having a marketing plan and marketing budget in place will also help you to plan for those inevitable “advertising opportunities” and will help you to keep from overspending and being “sold” on the next new thing. Remember that your marketing plan encompasses more than just your advertising plans, but is the backbone to all of the interaction you have with potential customers.

You Can Shoot Video With Your Still Camera (if you know what you're doing)

Check out this article about the pros & cons of using a digital stills camera to shoot HD video.





Seismic Shift: Why DSLRs Are Changing the Game | Studio Monthly

Are You Maximizing Your Lobby Space?

Ever wonder why grocery stores place candy and tabloid magazines at their check out counters? These are called impulse items and most people are probably familiar with the term and tactic. These businesses know that you will be waiting in line for some time, and that crazy headline will probably catch your attention.

Well, just because you don't own a grocery store doesn't mean you can't use the same tactics to entice your own customers. If you have a showroom or client waiting area this is prime area for using promotional video to entertain, inform, and up sell your current and potential customers.

What is the return on investment for all those magazines sitting in waiting rooms? Wouldn't a video explaining new sales, products, procedures, or simply thanking customers for spending their money with you have a better return? Why not make them comfortable with testimonial videos form happy clients or profile videos of your friendly and talented staff?

If you'd like to take advantage of your captive audience and produce a promotional video give Pardiman Productions a call.

360-259-6672
www.pardimanproductions.com

Using Everyday Email as a Marketing Tool

How many emails do you send you a day?

Ever wonder if those emails could be used to help promote your business, products, and services?

An often overlooked source of email promotions is your email signature. You can add a link in your signature to a video about you, your company, a new product, or a customer testimonial.

This free promotional opportunity is there every time you send out an email. If you would like to learn more, give me a call.

Corey Lopardi
Owner
Pardiman Productions

To contact me or learn more:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FEk2JuoWGI
P 360.259.6672
www.pardimanproductions.com

EDC Awards Video for Olympia Orthopeadics Association

This video was produced as part of the Thurston County Economic Development Council's award's ceremony. Olympia Orthopeadics Association received the award for best corporate business.

EDC Award Video for Great Wolf Lodge

This video was produced as part of the Thurston County Economic Development Council's award's ceremony. The Great Wolf Lodge received the award for best new business.

What Would I Do With A Video?

Last week a potential customer I met at a networking event mentioned to me that she wasn’t sure if her business could benefit from our Promotional and Marketing videos. She runs a small service business, and she had no idea what she would do with a video if we produced one.

Here are some of the ideas that I came up with for her.

WEBSITE –
Microsoft did a survey and found that 91% of people check out a companies website before they buy. Your video should be placed prominently on your homepage. On average visitors spend less than 10 seconds to decide if they are interested in a site or not. The key is to keep people on your website as long as you can. Video does this. People will stay on a site for 2-3 minutes on average if there is video.

VIDEO SHARING SITES-
If someone has never heard of you how do they find your website? Place your videos on other video sharing websites like youtube, vimeo, google video and more. You can take one video and place it on a number of video sharing websites. I do not care how they find you, just that they do.

SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES-
Videos should be put on your social networking sites (facebook, myspace etc) – show your friends. This way your video gets spread around, and you’d be surprised where your next warm lead will come from because they saw your video.

ASSOCIATION PRESENTATIONS-
Are you a member of groups or associations? See if you can sponsor an event or give a presentation about your business. Then make sure to let your video do the talking. They a say a picture tells a thousand words. Well, what about 5,400,000 words? That’s what you get with a 3-minute video. (For the math inquisitive it’s 3x60x30x1000=5.4 million)

DVD’s-
These are ideal for trade show booths, lobby screens, handing out to prospects, and direct mailing to potential customers. The cost of duplicating the DVD’s is comparable to a full color tri-fold brochure.

MOBILE DEVICES-
Laptops, iPhones, iPods, and PDA’s all have the ability to show video in a compact device. Why not use it at your next sales presentation or client meeting.

So as you can see, one video, so many uses. Lets not forget that on-line you have a 24/7 sales presence. Contact me today 360-259-6672. Your business needs video.

New Tool For Networking

I attend lots of networking events every week as I spread the word about the promotional and marketing services that Pardiman Productions has to offer. If you've ever attended a leads group or chamber of commerce event then you know that at each event I have to give a :30 synopsis of what we do.

I usually feel okay about my pitch, but sometimes I wonder if I could be doing a better job getting my message across to people.

Today I came across an online tool that was built just for that purpose. The Harvard Business School Elevator Pitch Builder. It's an online form that offers hints and advice on your pitch created by The Harvard Business School.

If you have to give a pitch at the next event you attend, you might want to check this out.

10 Tips to a Better Profile Video - #5 Sound Tips

Tip #5 – Sound Tips

Part of a 10 part series based on the presentation given on June 1st 2009.

There are many aspects of a profile video that viewers will make accommodations for, but poor sound quality is not one of them. There are a few simple tips that can make a big difference in how your profile video sounds.

The first thing you want to do is find a quiet place to shoot. Now this may sound a bit obvious, but a noisy shooting area can make a profile video almost unbearable to watch. Music in the background, loud air ducts or machinery, phone conversations from coworkers can all make your important message hard to hear.

The next thing you can do to make your profile video sound better is use an external microphone. A built in camera mic is designed to pick up a wide pattern of sound. This means that not only will it pick up what you're saying, but also that clock ticking on the wall, your computer humming, and your foot tapping nervously on the floor. Many external microphone options are available, from ones you would put on a stand to lavaliere mics that clip to your clothing. Just make sure that the mic has a narrow pick-up pattern, and you position it close to the person speaking.

Also, you always want to monitor your audio with headphones when recording to catch and noises or sound glitches that your mic might catch that your ears don't. Not monitoring the audio can also lead to accidentally recording no audio at all.

Lastly, if your camera has a visual meter to monitor audio you should make sure to set your audio level before recording to make sure the audio is not too low, or too high. Usually the meeter will tell you it is too high by a visual meeter with a red zone. Going into the red every once and a while is okay, but if the sound stays there it will sound bad on your profile video

Check back for "10 Tips to a Better Profile Video - #6 Camera Tips

Ribbon Cutting Video for Local Company

We recently produced a video for Tumwater based Warren Business Services

They are a great new computer monitoring and repair shop.



This video highlights there recent ribbon cutting event.

TV Commercial for Local Fireplace & Spa Retailer

This TV commercial was produced by Pardiman Productions for Olympia Fireplace & Spa to run on Comcast.

This spot consisted of a half day shoot, and follow up voice over recording to produce 4 spots for broadcast.

EDC Awards Video for Olympia's Express Employment Professionals

This video was produced as part of the Thurston County Economic Development Council's award's ceremony. Express Employment Professionals received the award for best small business.

EDC Awards Video for Olympia's Hands On Children's Museum

This video was produced as part of the Thurston County Economic Development Council's award's ceremony. Hands On Children's Museum received the award for best non-profit.

Add Video to Your Website!

Add Video to your website. Studies have shown that video on your website will keep visitors at the site longer. Of course the content of the video has to be relevant. For an example go to Paprika's website.

10 Reasons to Use Promtional Video

1. Video on your website keeps a prospect on your site longer and gives you more time to inform, educate and sell your product and services.

2. In a short 30-90 seconds a well produced video informs/sells the visitor on who you are and what you do.

3. Testimonials in your video can help to build customer trust and loyalty.

4. Video can sell for you when your not available 24/7/365.

5. Promotional video is not only your 24/7 salesperson online. It can also be turned into a DVD that can be used by sales people, send out to prospects and shown at trade shows. It is even broadcast quality and can be used on network and cable TV.

6. It's a great referral tool. When people see your video they will tell others.

7. More than still photos or paragraphs of text, video can put "motion" into your promotion.

8. By placing your video on YouTube and other social networks you become the expert in your field. Thus driving a whole new market of customers to your website.

9. For some products and services a video can show the hard to explain.

10. Promotional video from Pardiman Productions is affordable.