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| A Quarterly Publication of the Raleigh Regional Association of REALTORS® |
May-June 2009 Issue
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About Us November Dates to Remember
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"Feed your business and your business will feed you!" In recent years this cliché has come to mean feeding your business a balanced diet from the four business food groups:
Most business owners see these four groups as two spending categories. However, these MUST be four spending accounts in your ledger or you'll have an empty calendar and an empty bank account. In the past year, a fifth business food group has emerged, social media. Let's take a quick look at the traditional four and how they relate to the latest addition. Education How much should you spend on education? Three to five percent of your gross business income. If you are still in the first two to three years of a new business, double that! If you are still operating off your business loan or investment funds, six to 10 percent of total yearly expenses should be budgeted to education. Public
Relations, Marketing & Advertising Public relations is the establishment of you and your company as the recognized expert within a specific demographic, geographic and/or professional group. This is also known as "branding." So, public relations is the process of branding. At this stage, it’s almost irrelevant what your PR says as long as it positions you as the expert's expert. Marketing is association of your established brand with products and or services in the mind of a particular person, demographic, geographic and/or professional group. A "market" is that identifiable person, demographic, geographic and/or professional group. While public relations is the process of branding, marketing is the process of "establishing the brand." Advertising is the establishment of a sense of need for a product or service in the mind of your market. Even if your market knows your name (brand) and your products/services, if they do not know that they need your products or services, they will never buy! On the other hand, if they "feel the need" and you have established your brand, they will seek you out. So how much should you spend on PR, marketing and advertising? The answer reflects the progressive nature of this process. In this case, one sum of money should be allocated for the entire process of PR, marketing and advertising. At first, the entire amount will be spent on PR, with little marketing or advertising. Your target market needs to know you are the expert. As you become the recognized expert, spending on marketing increases and spending on PR decreases. Finally, you will be established as the expert and your brand will be established in your market by your marketing. This is when you will begin to shift spending to advertising. But, don't expect to spend much on advertising until at least one year after you begin a well-planned PR program and at least six months after you begin a highly targeted marketing plan. How much should you spend on PR, marketing and advertising? If you want success, spend 10 percent to 20 percent of gross revenue. Again, if you are a start-up still operating on loans or investment capital, budget 20 percent of that money per year for this process. Social media
Those who emphasize the word network seek to promote and expand their business. Those who emphasize the word social seek to promote and expand their Christmas card list. Social media marketing is the systematic approach to using social networks and other Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 technologies as part of an all-inclusive marketing plan. In less than six months, through social media efforts alone, one business: 1. Secured two book contracts
with mainstream publishers. All this for the investment of an hour a day and NO MONEY! If you want to increase your profits, just remember to feed your business and your business will feed you! (Ramirez is a professional
speaker and founder of the consulting firm High Alert LLC. He assists companies
to align business continuity plans with personnel and customer behavior
during adversity. Board certified in multiple specialties, Ramirez serves
on expert panels for pandemic preparedness and healthcare surge planning.
He is founding chair of the American
Board of Disaster Medicine and a senior physician-federal medical officer.)
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One more thing you can
do to get more business
| Raleigh
Regional Association of REALTORS® | Phone:
919.654.5400 Fax: 919-654.5401 |