Industrialmarketingtalk issue 30

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INDUSTRIALMARKETINGTALK
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A monthly newsletter for industrial marketing managers, from Pro-Talk,
publishers of:

Buildingtalk - Electronicstalk - Engineeringtalk
Laboratorytalk - Marketingservicestalk
Manufacturingtalk - Printingtalk - Processingtalk
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Pro-Talk - harnessing the power of the internet for business
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Issue 30: 27 June 2008
Published from the UK
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Industrialmarketingtalk online :
http://www.industrialmarketingtalk.com
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IN THIS ISSUE:
Jackie's message
[1] Back to Basics - FAQ's: Do you publish everything?
[2] The Long View: using Podcasts in your marketing
[3] Striped Media for all your sound and video requirements
[4] The Online Lead Generation Blog
[5] Looking for a technical illustrator?
[6] Shaving your marketing budget?
[7] Winning ways to make enemies in the press.
[8] Customer Retention Summit
[9] Marketing vacancies
[10] Competition: win something useful?
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Hello!

Here at Pro-Talk towers we're all extremely busy working towards the
launch of our site redesigns - it's such an exciting time for us, as this
will be the first make-over since Chris, Andy and the team launched
the very first Pro-Talk site (Engineeringtalk) eight years ago -
doesn't time fly!

The current designs have stood the test of time and have certainly
worked hard for those of you who use them to both advertise and post
your company news, but like all things they've served us all well and
now deserve a bit of a face-lift. I'll let you know next month how our
plans are progressing. So watch this space.

In the meantime, we continue to monitor the circulations and web
visitors, and there's certainly no let-up in either of those
stats so far this year, for May the figures are below:

+ Website visitors:
Buildingtalk 386,365
Electronicstalk 434,401
Engineeringtalk 580,445
Laboratorytalk 241,727
Manufacturingtalk 514,977
Marketingservicestalk 93,839
Printingtalk 132,913
Processingtalk 241,129

+ Newsletter circulations:
Buildingtalk 16,300
Electronicstalk 22,000
Engineeringtalk 53,300
Laboratorytalk 18,400
Manufacturingtalk 42,000
Marketingservicestalk 14,600
Printingtalk 8,800
Processingtalk 14,000

We're proud of our products and what they can achieve for contributing
companies - however, also like many of you we tend, sometimes, to be
too focused that we assume (a bad thing, I know) that everyone
understands how the sites work in their simplest of offerings.
Therefore, each month in this newsletter I'll be including a Back to
Basics FAQ section. Now, those of you who are 'old hands' with the
Talk sites won't want to go over this ground - but from feedback from
the team there's still a little confusion from new contributors. So,
first up this issue, Lyndon White our managing editor is answering
that old chestnut "Do you publish everything?" (Old hands please move
swiftly to Item 2 - the latest Long View from Andy Long - this month on
Podcasting).

Earlier I mentioned Chris (Rand) - bet you've all been wondering what
he's been getting up to - well, wonder no longer, go to Item 4 and all
will be revealed!

Hope you find this issue useful - all comments welcome, and don't
forget to enter the competition!

With kind regards,
Jackie
mailto:jackie.west@pro-talk.com

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[1] Back to Basics - FAQ's: Do you publish everything?
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From the desk of Lyndon White, Pro-Talk's managing editor:
New contributors often ask us if we continue to publish everything
that we are sent. The short answer is no - with the rider that we
still intend to publish much, much more than a conventional
hardcopy magazine.

Our inboxes are often full of material that is simply not relevant to
the subject matter of various sites. So, there is a certain amount of
material that falls away at the first sift. If a release has no
relevance to what we cover then there is little point in putting
such material on our sites.

After the first sift, we prioritise new product and service stories,
application stories and technical background articles (if they are
'exclusive' to our sites, so much the better). That's what our readers
are interested in, so we try and cover as much of this as possible.
Sometimes we might be overloaded with releases and this might mean
that releases are either not published or put back to a later date.

We also get a fair amount of material that can be classed as 'company
news': contract wins, personnel appointments, relocations, new
websites and so on. Sometimes we do feature such material. However,
this is not a priority for us. Such material doesn't garner a large
audience and, in reality, is often more suitable for a company's
particular website.

++ Next month: "Tell me what you would class as a story? I've got
technical documents that we have written in the past, would they do?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> To contact Lyndon:
Email: mailto:lyndon.white@pro-talk.com
Direct line: 0207 970 4920

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[2] The Long View: using Podcasts in your marketing
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Andrew Long writes: Podcasting is a phenomenon of the Internet age
that has already reached tremendous heights in journalism, online
radio broadcasting, and more recently online marketing. Although
podcasting was originally seen as a communications tool for "geeks"
only, it is now becoming so widespread and relevant to many people
across a number of different industries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Continue reading Andrew's article at:
http://tinyurl.com/4fsaxj

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[3] Striped Media for all your sound and video requirements
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Looking for recorded sound, live sound and video - including
exhibition video production - dvd authoring, video dubbing?
Ben Weston of Striped Media can offer you all these things and more...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Visit the Striped Media website for further information and samples:
http://www.stripedmedia.eu
Call: 01908 526334
Email: mailto:ben@stripedmedia.eu
Striped Media additional background at:
http://tinyurl.com/6zo2j7

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[4] The Online Lead Generation Blog
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Former Engineeringtalk editor Chris Rand, who's doing a bit of
consultancy work nowadays, is writing a daily blog which we've become
huge fans of here at Industrialmarketingtalk. Chris is an avid reader
of the many people writing about online marketing, and each day in
"The Online Lead Generation Blog" he highlights the article which he
thinks would be of most interest to us as industrial marketers. In
effect, he's presenting us with something to make us think each day,
and it's really worth a read. Here's an example of the sort of a
typical day's entry:
http://www.bmon.co.uk/leadgeneration/2008/06/the-word-on-the-street/
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> You can visit the blog at http://www.bmon.co.uk/leadgeneration or
you can sign-up to get each day's entry sent to you by email (well
worth it!) at:
http://www.bmon.co.uk/leadgeneration/get-new-articles-by-email/

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[5] Looking for a technical illustrator?
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Trevor Rabey is a technical illustrator based in mid Cornwall, and
after many years of working for large organisations within the
aircraft and mineral extraction sectors he has recently set-up as a
freelance technical illustrator.

Trevor offers excellent quality work including technical
illustrations, information graphics, location maps, schematic
diagrams, flow diagrams, company logos etc. at a realistic price and
tailored to each client's individual needs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> View examples of Trevor's work:
http://www.studio9kc.co.uk/samples/samples.html
> Contact Trevor at:
mailto:trevor.rabey@tiscali.co.uk
> Visit website to find out more:
http://www.studio9kc.co.uk

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[6] Shaving your marketing budget?
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Richenda Wilson, editor, writes: in the face of tough economic times,
many companies are tempted to see their marketing budgets as an easy
place to shave costs, but this is short-sighted in the extreme. As
competition becomes fiercer and potential customers have less cash to
spend, retaining clients becomes more important then ever...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Continue reading this article at:
http://tinyurl.com/3k2ax9

Editorial taken from the Marketingservicestalk email newsletter -
delivered to desktops on the first Monday of every month.
Sign-up to receive your free copy at:
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/register/front.html

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[7] Winning ways to make enemies in the press.
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When a company is just starting out, it will do 'almost' anything to
get press coverage. As the company matures, senior people are less
available, and have less time for editors and reporters.

Without working too hard, management and its representatives can
cultivate a cadre of enemies within the press. In order to do the task
well, however, you should follow a set of simple guidelines...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Continue reading Andy Marken's article:
http://tinyurl.com/6hyyzy

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[8] Customer Retention Summit
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"Statistics are constantly reminding us that acquiring a new customer
is more expensive than maintaining an existing one. As the economic
climate becomes a little more unstable it is more important than ever
for organisations to ensure their customer retention strategies are
effective and robust," says the organisers of the Customer Retention
Summit being held at the Hilton London Kensington, from Tuesday 9
September to Thursday 11 September.
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> For more information visit:
http://tinyurl.com/4xhjd7
or
http://www.centaurconferences.co.uk/brands/marketingweek/events/customerretentionsummit/overview.aspx

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[9] Marketing vacancies
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*Marketing Manager - Midlands
Super opportunity to make a significant impact with this fast growing,
award-winning, b2b lighting specialist. To be successful, you will
have first rate direct marketing skills with the ability to plan,
implement and measure effectively. You will need strong catalogue
production and mailing experience as well as a good understanding of
e-commerce, including SEO and PPC.
http://tinyurl.com/5rdphl

*Interim Marketing & Comms Manager - London
Unusual and exciting opportunity for bright, well-organised strategic
and creative thinker to get involved in the world of education -
developing and executing communications activity for a not-for-profit
organisation. As part of a small but highly capable team you will be
delivering compelling on and off-line comms from PR campaigns, events
and keynote briefings, conferences, promotional collateral and
audio-visual material to different audiences. You will work closely
with agencies and have the ability to build relationships at all
levels of this dynamic organisation. Initial contract 6 months with
possibility of an extension
http://tinyurl.com/6goh85
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> Search for more jobs:
http://tinyurl.com/yazvnd

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[10] COMPETITION: win something useful?
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This month I decided that the first four correct entries would win the
prize - 'The Joy of Work' Dilbert's guide to finding happiness
at the expense of your co-workers, by Scott Adams.

Therefore, congratulations to:

Kathy Wilkinson of Wilkinson Pr,
Dr Richard Harrison of Alfa Aesar,
Jon Morris of ifm,
and,
Bridget Summers of Footprint

Thanks to everyone who entered the competition - don't give up, have
another go - I'm repeating the prize of four copies of the Dilibert
book...so have a go!

And the question:
"What does Trevor Rabey do for a living?"

Answers via email, by 15 July, please.
Winner to be announced next issue.
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Email competition entries to mailto:jackie.west@pro-talk.com
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Next issue of Industrialmarketingtalk: 25 July 2008
Want to contribute? mailto:jackie.west@pro-talk.com
Deadlines for contributions: 15 July 2008
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Have you seen our other newsletters?
Industrialmarketingtalk is one of a number of free email newsletters
for technical professionals. See what else we have to offer, and sign
up today: http://www.pro-talk.com/more/15293/
=============================================================
Pro-Talk is part of Centaur Media plc:
http://www.centaur.co.uk
Pro-Talk Ltd. 50 Poland St, London W1F 7AX. United Kingdom
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About Striped Media

Ben Weston was trained in Music Technology at Lancaster University and before becoming self-employed he worked as a technical engineer at Sanctuary Post in Soho.

Below is a basic outline of the key services my company offers:

Recorded Sound
I can create and record sound/music for any application; website, video, presentation, ambience etc. I have recording facilities that are ideal for voiceover, singing and sound design, however my equipment is totally portable so I can also record conferences, concerts and live performances on location.

Live Sound and Video
I am an experienced live sound/video engineer working in live music, theatre and conferencing. I have a selection of PA equipment and affiliations with various conference equipment hire companies, so I can arrange, install and operate all technical aspects of your meetings, conferences and performances.

Exhibition Video Production
I offer video production services geared towards marketing videos for web and exhibition purposes. I provide a cost effective method of showing off all of your products/services in a way that demands the attention of passing trade.

DVD Authoring/Video Dubbing
Another of my operations which generally draws more attention from consumers than corporations is creating DVDs. My transfer service offers a high quality, cost effective way of transferring VHS and Cinefilm (and any other old Video formats) to DVD. Ideal for getting those home movies onto a format that will last forever (and where you don't have to setup a projector!).

For more information and work samples please visit http://www.stripedmedia.eu

Call: 01908 526334
Email: mailto:ben@stripedmedia.eu

Looking for a technical illustrator?

Trevor Rabey is a technical illustrator based in mid Cornwall and after many years of working for large organisations within the aircraft and mineral extraction sectors he has recently set-up as a freelance technical illustrator.

Trevor offers excellent quality work including technical illustrations, information graphics, maps, company logos etc. at a realistic price and tailored to each client's individual needs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> View examples of Trevor's work:
http://www.studio9kc.co.uk/samples/samples.html
> Contact Trevor without any obligation at:
mailto:trevor.rabey@tiscali.co.uk
> Visit his website to find out more:
http://www.studio9kc.co.uk

Retaining customers, motivational workshops, and refresh those products....

In the face of tough economic times, many companies are tempted to see their marketing budgets as an easy place to shave costs, but this is short-sighted in the extreme. As competition becomes fiercer and potential customers have less cash to spend, retaining clients becomes more important then ever.

The Ideal Marketing Company has some great tips on how to focus your marketing efforts to retain and even grow business in a recession. These include making customers feel valued by rewarding loyalty and keeping in regular contact through email newsletters and the like. CustomerMinds.com is offering a free guide on email marketing that can help here. http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/news/ida/ida100.html
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/news/cus/cus100.html

Customers will also respond well if you give them something useful - and this need not cost you very much. Ideal Managing Director Alastair Campbell suggests this could be special reports, insider information and free talks or tips booklets - anything that may be useful to the prospect. "It should be cheap to produce but will be of value to the recipient," says Campbell. "In addition to establishing you as an expert in your field, your prospect now feels an unspoken obligation to give you something in return - hopefully their business." It could also take the form of an item that will remain on their desk and remind them of your name, such as the Hexapop from Whitney Woods, a pop-up polyhedron made up of 12 triangular panels that can be printed to your specifications. http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/news/whn/whn100.html

Campbell also recommends harnessing the power of the web. To rate in search engines, sites must be regularly updated with press releases, articles and reports. Creating a blog and referencing articles from other sites of interest to prospects will dramatically increase your Google ranking. NeonDrum has launched a free book on online PR, while Netemic's iFeed allows you to monitor other people's blogs to find out what customers are saying about you.
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/news/ned/ned100.html
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/news/nem/nem101.html

And if your business is lacklustre and your employees are feeling uninspired, why not try a motivational workshop? The Right Address's Afterburner offers a team of dynamic fighter pilots who can provide keynote speeches, team days, planning workshops and bespoke activities developed for each individual client.
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/news/tpd/tpd101.html

If it is your product look that needs refreshing, many tips on the latest moves in packaging design will be discussed at Packaging Summit Europe 2008, which takes place on 1-2 July in Amsterdam. It offers a full and informative conference programme on topics including the retailer's role in driving forward sustainable packaging, package reduction and efficient ways of recycling; new management systems for production of sustainable product packaging; waste management and its control mechanisms; and product rebranding.
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/news/tas/tas100.html

Richenda Wilson, Editor
Marketingservicestalk
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com

Sign up for Richenda's monthly email newsletter at:
http://www.marketingservicestalk.com/register/front.html

Links added 1 July 2008.

The Long View: using Podcasts in your marketing and communication efforts

Podcasting is a phenomenon of the Internet age that has already reached tremendous heights in journalism, online radio broadcasting, and more recently online marketing. Although podcasting was originally seen as a communications tool for "geeks" only, it is now becoming so widespread and relevant to many people across a number of different industries.

Podcasting may be used as a kind of "audio blog" or as a way to store previously broadcast Internet radio shows or information. Podcasts can also be created via offline audio technology and then placed online for viewing or downloading later. According to the Computer Desktop Encyclopaedia, a podcast is short for "iPod Broadcast" and it is "An audio broadcast that has been converted to an MP3 file or other audio file format for playback in a digital music player or computer." The 'pod' in podcast was coined from 'iPod', the prominent and portable, digital music player, and although podcasts are mostly verbal, they may also contain music."

Since they are usually downloadable or accessible for free, podcasts make an ideal marketing device. Podcasts can be used by online marketers in the same way that highly successful online e-newsletter campaigns have been used, except podcasts can open up many more dynamic possibilities than the e-newsletters can do on their own. Podcasts can be stored on a marketer's online home page or landing page, where there is an offer of a free subscription to the periodic podcast.

Using the dynamics of audio and high storage ability, and taking advantage of the portable information devices that are ubiquitous in the modern world, podcasts can be highly creative, informative, and able to unobtrusively reach an interested target audience (I.E. those who have signed up to receive the podcast). People who choose to listen to the podcast can feel like they are receiving free entertainment, free information, or both together. The dynamic format makes a podcast ideal for grabbing and holding the attention of listeners.

Podcasts need to contain dynamic, interesting, and above all up-to-date information and programs so that the business is perceived as being in touch with the current state of affairs and, therefore, is always seen as being relevant to the needs and desires of the listening audience. This creates a captivated and regular listener - something we all want!

Finally, Podcasts must contain a call to action for the listener to hear and be able to respond to. By using dynamic podcasts for marketing, businesses can allow potential buyers to feel as if they are making the choice to buy instead of being pushed into it. By making marketing campaigns more artful and interactive, a more sustained interest from potential customers can certainly be achieved.

To find out how to set up a podcast, take a look at this article:
http://www.be-technical.com/website-podcast.htm

Andrew Long
June 2008

Andrew Long is a freelance advertising sales manager for Pro-Talk and also offers advertising advice to clients around the world at http://www.myadbase.com and
http://www.selling-advertising.com

Winning ways to make enemies in the press…

What a world of difference there is in the way ‘organisations’ handle problems when they are caught with their hands in the cookie jar.

While usually relatively minor, from a national media standpoint, almost every organisation encounters major or minor problems each year as they have ‘run-ins’ with the media.

When a company is just starting out, it will do ‘almost’ anything to get press coverage. As the company matures, senior people are less available to, and have less time for, editors and reporters.

Without working too hard, management and its representatives can cultivate a cadre of enemies within the press. In order to do the task well; however, you should follow a set of simple guidelines that will ensure that you alienate many, or most, of the Fourth Estate.

Please be assured that this is not intended to be a definitive list. With a little imagination you can add your own guidelines.

1. Develop essential and non-essential media lists. In every industry there are target markets, secondary and tertiary publications. Set up your list, work only with the target market editors, and ignore inquiries from all other publications. Just because they’re interested in your organisation doesn’t mean that they can do you any good or that you should waste your time working with them.

2. Put up roadblocks. This is somewhat of an extension of guideline no.1. Establish a priority list of editors that you will talk with and those that your PR person should handle. Or, if an editor or reporter has a frivolous inquiry, have someone else in your organisation handle it for you. The key is to make certain that most of the requests or inquiries fall into the last category.

3. Return calls in due course. Regardless of whether the re-porter is on deadline, make it obvious that their time and effort couldn’t possibly be as important as yours. Return calls for information or input when you get around to it. If it’s a daily newspaper, 6pm is a good time. For weekly publications Friday at 2pm is ideal. For monthlies, five or six days after the initial inquiry should be sufficient.

For the clincher, respond with a “no comment,” or tell them that you don’t have the requested information available. Tell them you’ll get back to them.

4. Scream when a story isn’t 100% positive. Regardless of whether you and your company are right or wrong, expect every article to be a glowing report of the company, its products and its people. If a reporter has the audacity to print something negative, call his or her publisher and demand, at the least, a retraction. Better yet, demand that the reporter be fired. Follow up with a letter to the publisher, the editor and the reporter.

5. Strike back. Another excellent reaction to the problem encountered in guideline no. 4 is to place an embargo on the guilty publication. This can be as simple as not responding to inquiries, or for greater impact, pull your advertising from the publication since it is no longer a “good” publication for you to use in reaching your prospective customers.

6. Use one-syllable words with reporters. Make certain that the reporters know that you know more about your subject than they do. Talk down to them. Explain each point at least three times. Regardless of the question, make certain that they know how dumb you think the question is. For added impact, let them know that your time is much more valuable than theirs is.

7. Pick and choose your opportunities. If your organisation is going to get some immediate coverage, it is perfectly acceptable to work with and cooperate with, the press. However, if there’s a possibility that your assistance will develop open lines of communications and a strong long-term relationship, forget it.

8. Insist that everything be cleared. About half-way through an interview, remind the editor or reporter that, naturally, everything you’ve said will have to be cleared through public relations, or better yet, through your legal department, before it can be used. Oh yes, insist, ­nay, demand ­that, once the article is written, you have the opportunity (right) to review it before it is printed. In some instances the copy may be submitted for technical accuracy. When this happens, edit the copy freely, and hold it until just prior to the publication date.

9. Have all queries and responses screened. You pay PR people good money to develop and protect your image, as well as to promote the company and its products. Get the most out of them by making certain that all questions and answers go through them. In this way, they can coach your people on the proper answers, and they can clean up the responses so that they either show you in the best possible light or say absolutely nothing at all.

10. Give multiple exclusives. If you’ve got some really hot company or product announcement to make, negotiate with the best publication that you can think of in order to get the maximum editorial coverage and treatment possible. When you have firmly locked in, do the same thing with two or three other books. After all, your organisation (and its announcements) is so important that each should be thankful that you gave them the ‘opportunity’ to cover your announcement in such depth.

11. Torpedo the energetic reporter. There are times when you send out what seems to be a simple release, and for some reason, it strikes a responsive cord with a reporter. He or she wants to do something bigger than a three or four-line piece in their publication, so they work with you on some major coverage. In reality, it’s a great idea. In fact, it’s too good of an idea for that reporter alone, so call some other reporters and give them the same information. Or, an unsolicited inquiry may develop into a major piece. Again, call a number of publications to spread your wealth around.

12. Tie your weak stories to advertising. This is a variation of guideline no.5. We all know that money talks. If the piece that you want to place is very weak or just a puff-piece on the company, make it known to the reporter that you’re a big advertiser with their publication and expect the item to get major and immediate treatment. In order to improve your chances of top-quality treatment, send the story, along with your advertising insertion order, to your media representative and have him or her do the legwork for you.

13. Make certain that they send you clippings. Every time you send a news release to an editor or reporter, remind him that you need clippings of the article or piece when it is finally printed. After all, unless they send you the printed piece, how can you make certain that they’re doing a good job?

This baker’s dozen of guidelines for alienating the press should be followed explicitly by the novice. As you become more experienced, you can add some of your own.

Never violate these rules - you might end up helping someone in the media and perhaps winning some allies or, worse yet, friends.

G.A. “Andy” Marken

President

Marken Communications, Inc.

mailto:andy@markencom.com

June 2008