China continues to be a seemingly never-ending source of products and/or materials resulting in the need for recalls by manufacturers and retailers worldwide. Operational and communications response to the need for a recall can dramatically affect an organization's reputation, for better or worse. Here are some experience-based tips for effective product recalls:

1. Remember that rapid response to a known product problem minimizes damage. The time to examine the systems you have in place for recall is now, not when you already have a product needing recall.

2. Have a product recall plan ready to use anytime, one that covers the operational, legal and public relations (internal and external) components of making a recall. Hint: 'We'll wing it' is not a product recall plan.

3. Have the core members of a product recall team identified and trained in advance. It may be necessary to have one team at a corporate level to direct recall activities overall, and individual teams more focused on the operational aspects of product recall at the sales/marketing and/or manufacturing levels. And you'd be amazed at how some people you think will be cool in a crisis actually aren't, and vice versa - behavior that often is identified through training that includes simulating a recall.

4. Have back-ups for critical people and recall systems. Assume that some recall-related lead personnel will not be available when you need them. Assume that the computer system where you maintain your stakeholder contact lists has crashed. Assume other similar worst-case scenarios and make your back-up plans accordingly.

5. Have contact lists for all stakeholders set up on automated notification systems. This is particularly important for end-users and distributors of your products. You can't rely on the media alone to reach them.

6. Consider the use of virtual incident management. There are a number of Internet-centered systems that allow recall team members to exchange real-time information, access current communications documents, and keep team leaders updated even if the team is geographically scattered.

7. Make recall-related decisions that are based on protecting your brand/reputation and not just on your legal risks. The infamous Bridgestone-Firestone recall started far too late because the company's leadership was considering risks other than the most important one -- the risk of aggravating the court of public opinion.

8. Communicate internally and externally. Remember that every employee and, often, dedicated contractors are public relations representatives and crisis managers for your organization, whether you want them to be or not. You must empower them with reassuring messages about the recall suitable for use at their respective levels of the company, and you don't want them to learn of the recall from external sources before they hear about it from you.

9. Don't wait for the CPSC, FDA, USDA or other regulatory agencies to protect your reputation. While each regulatory agency that can get involved in product recalls has its own process to follow, that process can often delay how much time passes before product consumers and distributors are notified -- a delay which, in worst-case scenarios, can cause injuries or deaths. In that event, the court of public opinion may react very negatively to both your organization and the regulator -- but you're the one whose revenue and reputation will be most impacted.

10. Focus special communications on highly disgruntled customers and distributors. In this Age of the Internet, and in a litigious society, a few angry people can make waves completely disproportionate to their numbers or even to the injury suffered (if any). The recall process should include an 'Escalated Cases' team to focus on such complaints when they're received.

CEOs need to remember that the public expects them to do what's right, not just what's required. There are a lot of companies whose leadership learned that the hard way - don't let it happen to you.

Author: Jonathan Bernstein

About the author:
Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. (BCM), http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com, providing crisis prevention, response, planning and training services. The BCM website has more than 500 articles on crisis management available free to visitors.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

Team have emerged as a powerful management tool, because it involve and empower employees. Teams can cut across organizations in unusual ways. Hence, workers are more satisfied and high productivity and product quality typically result. Work team effectiveness is based on two sources- productive output and personal satisfaction. Satisfaction relates to the terms ability to met the personal needs of its members and hence maintain their membership and commitment, Productive output relates to the quality and quantity of task output as defined by term goals.

This include structure, strategy, environment, culture and reward system. Manager must decide when to create permanent terms with in the formal structure and when to use a temporary team. Leader must understand and manage stage of development, norms, and conflict in order to establish an effective team.

Vertical team composed of a manager and his or her employees in the organization formal chain of command. Horizontal team, composed employees from about the same level but different areas of expertise. When there Is problem in organization, manager should build a problem solving teams, which consist 5-12 people in same department who team together and discuss the ways to improve quality, efficiency and work environment. For example BHP, adapt this and knows that the quality takes a team effort. Self-directed teams consisted multi-skilled workers who product the entire produces, Federal Express have boosted productivity up to 40% by doing that. Virtual teams

For a team to be successful over long run, it must structure so as both to maintain its members social well-being and to accomplish its task. People who play the task specific role spend time and energy helping the team reach its goal. They offer propose new solutions to team problem, offer opinions on task solution, ask for task relevant facts, stimulate the team into action when interest drop. People who adopt a socio-emotional role support team members emotional needs and help strengthen the social entity. They are ware and receptive to others ideas, reconcile group conflict, tell jokes to reduce tension, go along with team, agree to other team members idea and shift own opinions to maintain team harmony.

Manger should focus on team interaction, the greater the amount of contract among team members and the more time spend together, the more cohesive the team. They are encouraged to share goals, if team member agree on goals, they will be more cohesive. Team has personal attraction attached to it, meaning that members have similar attitude and values and enjoy being together. When there is presence of competition, when team is in moderate competition with other teams, its cohesiveness increases as it strives to win. Team success and favorable evaluation of the term by outsiders add to cohesiveness which increase the commitment to their team.

It is informal, they are not written down. But they are valuable because they define boundaries of acceptable behavior. It identifies clear value, clarify expectation, and facilitate team survival. However, there may be some conflict between individual to block the goal of the teams. There is concept called superordinate goal, which large mission that cannot be attained by a single party. To the extent that people can be focused on team or organization goals, the conflict will decrease because they see the big picture and realize they must work together to achieve it. Mediation, in which using high- level manager to settle a dispute, they can discuss the conflict with each party and work toward a solution. Manager should facilitate communication to ensure that conflicting parties hold accurate perceptions. Manager should keep team discussion focused on issues, not personalities, by having multiple alternatives to consider concentrates team members energy on solving problem. Manager should balance the power, they should accept the teams decision as fair, even if they do not agree with it and never force a consensus.

Social facilitation, refers to the tendency for the presence of other to enhance an individual motivation and performance. Team work increase employees felling of dignity and self-worth because the whole person is employed. Team work empowers employees to bring greater knowledge and ability to the task. It increase organizational flexibility, team can exchange jobs and share resource easily and increase the responsive to rapidly changing customer needs. However, there is some costs of teams, when organization form shop workers into teams, the major losers are low- and middle- level manager. These manager are reluctant to give up power. When team are successful, fewer supervisor are needed. Free rider may occur, when team member who attains benefit from team membership but does not do a proportionate share of the work. The time and energy to coordinate the activities of a group to enable it to perform its task is called coordination cost. Some manager feels that they could do the same project by themselves in less time.

Author: Tom Feinberg

About the author:
Tom Feinberg has spent more than 15 years working as a professor at the University of Maine. Now he spends most of his time with his family and shares his experience about dissertation writing. Tom Feinberg is a right person to ask about dissertation abstract.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

The Treasure Hunters Roadshow rolls into town to help many people like Jerry Stockton.
His comments, 'I came in just to find out how much my dagger was worth, I had an idea and they were in the ball park with a good offer, so I decided to sell it! This has been a cold winter, utilities have been high, and money has been low so I decided my family could use the money.'

Stories like Jerry's were the norm for the day. With today's troubled economy the Treasure Hunter's Roadshow has created an avenue for people to cash in on those coins, broken gold, silver or platinum jewelry items you have lying in your jewelry box.

While talking with many of the other attendees, I asked why they chose this avenue as opposed to sending their items thru the mail to other gold companies. Sheryl Koker explains, 'I didn't trust those advertisements on TV, I was afraid they were a rip off , what if they sent me a check and it bounced, then I would be out my gold and the money.' Melvin Herely states, 'I liked the idea of being able to bring in more than just my gold or coins, I have several items that I've kept thru the years, and they were able to tell me what it was worth. It was fun, informative, I got to sit and visit with folks I haven't seen in a very long time and see what things other people were bringing in, I would definitely come back again.'

The Treasure Hunters Roadshow hosts yet another successful event.

Author: Patricia Patton

About the author:
PMC News

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

There are two main ways to increase revenue, even in a recession:
SEO marketing
Good Customer Service

By giving consumers the best customer service you can beat out the larger corporations who are also your competitors. When customers are satitisfied, you retain customers and increase your companys bottom line.

Could better customer service mean more sales for your company? Of course.

Customer expectations are continuously increasing, and lets be honest. Bad customer service is everywhere these days. Delivering excellent customer service is paramount to any business's long-term success. Customers seek out products and services that are best able to satisfy their requirements: Filling a need, good customer service and price.

Customer loyalty is a major contributor to sustainable profit growth. To achieve success, you must make superior service second nature of your organization. A seamless integration of all components in the service-profit chain - employee satisfaction, value creation, customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and profit and growth - links all the critical dynamics of top customer service.

The fact is, companies that have been around for a while often forget the very thing that made them successful in the first place: their customers. They often lose focus on the customer and start focusing on the numbers and profits. They look for ways to cut costs or increase revenues, often at the expense of the customer. Hands down, one of the single most important aspects of a successful business is good customer service.

Great customer service is a key selling point that can set you apart from your competition, so making it convenient and easy for customers to do business with you can lead to new business and profitability.
Large companies tend to forget that satisfying customer needs and continuous value is the only path to sustainable growth. This creates opportunities for new, smaller companies to emulate and improve upon what made their bigger competitors successful in the first place and pull those customers their way.

Lets face it, the whole purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. If a business successfully creates and keeps customers in a cost-effective way, it will make a profit while continuing to survive and thrive, even in a recession. If, for any reason, a business fails to attract or sustain a sufficient number of customers, it will experience losses. Too many losses will lead to closing your business down.

In speaking with doing business in a recession, good customer service is even more vital as consumers patience tend to decrease during stressful periods such as in a slow or bad economy. Although there is a direct correlation between good customer service and higher sales, consistence is key.

Customers Are Your Bread and Butter, So Treat Them Right.

Studies have proven that effective customer service complaint handling is one of the top five drivers of brand loyalty. And yet for all the money spent on trying to understand customers and make them happy, an increasing number of people report being extremely upset about the way their complaints were handled. When bigcorporations get even bigger, many tend to place good customer service further down the priority list. This is a great opportunity for smaller businesses to step in.

Customer Care Measurement and Consulting in Virginia, together with Arizona State University, conducted the National Customer Rage Survey in 2004.

The researchers referenced a 1976 study conducted for the White House by the Technical Assistance Research Program (TARP) as their benchmark. In the TARP study, 32 % of those surveyed indicated that they had experienced a serious problem during the past year. In the 2004 study, this number rose to 43%.

This is clearly a jump in the wrong direction, even more remarkable in light of all the investments made in automated telephone response systems and call centres over the last three decades. North American companies have spent as much as $1.75 billion in software to help manage relationships with their customers.

All this begs the question, 'Why do we have more problems today than in 1976?' You might suspect quality problems but, as the researchers discovered, both product and service quality have improved.

The most important reason for dissatisfaction is linked to increased customer expectations. What customers really want is to be treated fairly. This doesn't seem unreasonable. Yet participants in the 2004 survey said it took an average of 4.3 interactions with a company to get a problem resolved. Researchers call this phenomenon 'ping-ponging.'

And let's face it, if you have to contact a company four or more times, how happy are you likely to be when the problem finally gets resolved?

In some cases, ping-ponging can be avoided. No one likes to disappoint a customer, but if you know the answer is going to be 'No,' it's better to say it right up front. Don't drag it out and make the customer get back to you while you 'check into it.'

According to the survery, respondents also cited the time it took to resolve complaints. Only 11% were resolved within 24 hours, 15% took one to seven days, 19% took more than 28 days and 46% of complainants said their problems were still outstanding months later. For situations that were resolved, 56% of respondents felt they got nothing as a result of their complaint.

In all likelihood, even if the company did give them something, if it takes 4.3 interactions over a month, customers probably feel as if they get nothing.

The study also found that most complainants didn't want free products or services as compensation. What they really wanted was an explanation (23% of respondents), an apology (25%), a chance to vent their frustrations (38%), and some assurance that the problem won't happen again (17%).

All of these things cost your company nothing, something any business can afford to do.

Whether you are a large corporation, or a small business owner, customers all want to same thing. Good customer service. Effective complaint handling practices produce brand loyalty, higher ROI's and increased profitability, yet many complaints are still poorly handled.
Perhaps companies that fail in this area are overcomplicating matters with unnecessary policies and procedures when a fair approach and a simple apology would suffice. No matter how your company approaches customer service, one thing is clear - the moral of the 2004 National Customer Rage Study is 'Do it right or don't do it.'

Being helpful, professional and friendly can build customer loyalty, and if missing, can drive them to a competitor.

Here are some tips to help you improve your customer service:
Be youself, Not a Script -LISTEN to what the customer is saying and respond to what's really going on.

Following through - Companies should take advantage of communication they are already having with their customers to find out how things are going by following-up.

(Phone) Add a smile to your voice. It's true, customers can detect your demeanor without even seeing your face. When you physically smile when taking a call, your customer can 'see' it in your voice.
Acknowledge the customer's issue by relaying it back to them to make sure you understand they're asking. It validates the customer and ensures that you understand the issue.

Return all emails promptly. Each email you receive represents someone who may be interested in doing business with you, or is awaiting an answer. Treat every email (or phone call) with the same sense of urgency you'd show if that person was standing in front of you.

Take ownership. When customers complain to you, it is your responsibility to find a solution. If you can't solve the situation yourself, bring the customer together with someone who can.

Make it Personal - When someone emails you with an inquiry or request, always respond by using their name in the e-mail and thanking them first and foremost for their interest/business.

Be specific. Rather than telling the customer you will provide an answer 'sometime next week,' put yourself on the line with a deadline. 'I'll have an answer to you no later than noon on Tuesday.'
Listen to customers: The temptation is to always be in selling mode, but try to tone down the sales pitch and deal with the situation at hand. Let your customers talk, actually listen to them and show that you are listening to them, and you will be able to accurately fulfill their particular needs.

Don't pass from pillar to post: If possible, deal with customer complaints / queries at their first point of contact. Nothing alienates customers faster than shuffling them to several different people to handle a simple matter.

Author: Nic Soto

About the author:
Niccolinas Soto is a founder and the CEO of PRDepotChicago.com, www.prdepotchicago.com, a U.S. based marketing firm whose innovative Search Engine Optimization services, and online PR campaigns help small and new businesses increase their visibility, traffic and sales. Employing a staff of 8, the firm's business comes from around the world, with clients from every industry. Offering inexpensive rates to small business owners.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

The holiday season is around the season. There are lots of cards and gifts being exchanged, with lots of money being spent in the air. This is the season to be jolly, and also to make others jolly through greeting cards and phone calls.

When the holiday season comes, one starts deciding on whom to send business greeting cards to, and on whom not to send cards to. Then comes the decision of what kind of business greeting card to choose, and how to address the envelope. The main reasons business greeting cards are exchanged are to attract new customers to your business, enhance your current business relationships with people, to show appreciation to all your supportive clients and to remind old clients that you are still existing! Whatever the reason, proper business greeting card etiquette has to be exercised as a well meaning gesture may offend the person you tend to impress, if not done properly.

When sending business greeting cards, it is important that you buy and send good quality greeting cards. It is better to start with a good quality business greeting card to show the value you hold of your clients and colleagues. If you do skimp in your selection, it may be interpreted in a number of ways, to thus lead to misunderstandings like that the business is not doing good or that the clients aren’t worth a little investment. Even though you may have preprinted information on the business greeting card, it is important that you add your own handwritten signature on the card. Even the most elegant of business cards should have your personal signature and a handwritten message to give that personal touch to the business greeting card. The recipient is sure to feel happy at seeing your personal signature on the card. Before starting on sending business greeting cards, it is important that your list is up-to-date with correct names and addresses. It will be easier if you do this on a regular basis, to avoid it becoming a dreaded holiday chore. Change changed addresses periodically to avoid embarrassing yourself by sending the card to the old address!

Avoid using computer generated labels when addressing the envelopes as these are impersonal and make your holiday wishes seem like mass mailing. If you don’t have the time to write the addresses, at least have someone else address the envelope for you. Make sure you use titles of Mr. or Mrs. when addressing the envelope to an individual or couple as a sign of respect to the customer or client. If you know the small business owner around the corner, mailing the business greeting card to the home produces better and happier effects on the recipient’s part. If married, include the spouse’s name on the envelope as it is not always that you find both the husband and wife working at the same establishment. Be sensitive with traditions. Find out if the recipient follows Christmas, Deposal or Hanukah, and then find out if the message is appropriate for the individual. Or else, you may go in for a card which will not offend anyone like “Season’s Greetings”.

It is best to avoid the mail rush by mailing the business greeting cards way before the actual festival. This is because around the festival time there will be a mad rush of cards for the postal department to sort out, and that in turn may that take lots of time. If needed, you could also think of inserting a business card along with the business greeting card to remind the recipient of the services or product you excel in. It is actually a good idea of getting next year’s Boxer Day cards a few days after this year’s Boxer Day. This saves a lot in terms of time and money! Not only can you send clients and friends business greeting cards; in fact, you can also send them to employee for employee motivation. As everyone enjoys being recognized, you could build team spirit by having everyone to sign on a colleague’s holiday greeting card. Avoid having corporate logos printed on the business greeting card; else it may look like it has been pulled off the company stationery shelf.

The best time to send business greeting cards are went the recipient least expects it. Perhaps you could send it during the customer’s birthday or something. So whatever business greeting card you do send, and for whatever reason it may be, make sure you use the right etiquette when sending greeting cards for the holiday season, or birthday!

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

Some business owners really do believe that their competitors are luckier than they are when it comes to getting their press releases or story placements into the right, targeted publications. If there is one sure and certain thing in the changing, evolving practice of public relations, it is that 'luck' is never a component (at least not a stated one) of any successful PR effort.

If your competitors are successful at story placements and getting their press releases picked up by print and web periodicals, it is simply because they have learned how to work with reporters and editors. They have also, at least tacitly, agreed to respect the rules of the game as determined by the media.

Print publications and websites with local, regional, national and international reach receive thousands of faxed and emailed press releases every single day. No publication has enough editors to read every drop of this flood of information, and much of it is self-serving, barely masked advertising, not newsworthy or so poorly written as to defy belief. Here are 10 tips for improving public relations within your industry, divided into five general 'Rules' of a successful PR strategy and five specific 'Actions' you should consider taking.

Five general 'Rules' of PR
Rule 1: Don't 'sell' your product or service

Pitch a unique story instead, to your industry's particular journals or websites. All media pros know a sales job when they hear one, and many resent the treatment. Come up with an idea (or three) about how your company or product dovetails with a current topic of local or national interest.

Rule 2: Get help if you need it (and most do)
Some 90% of all press releases suffer from poor grammar, spelling mistakes and a total lack of proper formatting and presentation. This causes an immediate negative response on the part of the reader and destroys your credibility immediately. Any 'luck' of getting a story just went in the trash along with your press release. If you are not able to write as good a press release as you just read in the Wall Street Journal or other big-city paper, get help, even if you have to pay for it. Are you worth it or not?

Rule 3: Business plan first, marketing plan second, PR plan third

The goal of the PR plan is to bring attention to your firm. If your website, marketing collateral and overall image is not in first-rate shape, you will be drawing attention to negatives instead of positives. Before your PR plan is developed, your business plan needs to have led to the development and use of a good company logo and corporate image. Following that, your marketing plan needs to have resulted in effective and consistent 'brand ID.' Working to get press coverage before your marketing plan is firing on all cylinders is a recipe for disaster. Your website and your 'marcomm' must be in total harmony with the verbiage and image presented in your press release.

Rule 4: Develop relationships in the media

Take local reporters out to lunch or coffee. Writers and editors can be most interesting people and most enjoy discovering new and different things. If they like what you tell them, and how you do it, you may just have an 'in' with their publication.

Rule 5: Be a professional at all times

Effective PR people are already well versed in the rules of the press game, and stay abreast of new technologies and practices in publishing. Be a professional in your primary area, of course, but extend that professionalism to the way you interact with media pros. You will gain tremendous credibility, which always helps when it comes to pitching a new PR story.

Five specific PR 'Actions'
Effective PR has many elements that must work together. When you need some new ideas for improving public relations within your industry, you can try the following specific actions, always tailoring them to the tone and personality of your business. Your first efforts, of course, should target the specific publications read by your industry's movers and shakers.

Just remember that, in addition to industry-specific journals and newsletters and websites, there are general business publications and websites that reach your colleagues and competitors, too. Make sure to 'spin' and 'spec' the following Actions to the people in your industry first, then to a more generalized audience as you deem necessary.

Action 1: Create and promote a special event
It may be a company tour, or something related to a local school play - it can be just about anything. Just ensure that any charitable efforts result in your offering the proceeds to the appropriate charities. An event that is tailored to something in your own industry, of course, is ideal.

Action 2: Use a current news event to frame your release
If your financial planning firm specializes in tax preparation, use the news about possible new taxes to inform the rest of your industry about your specialty. In any industry there can be multiple focuses and sub-categories, so take every opportunity to let your industry cohorts know exactly what you are doing.

Action 3: Host a seminar
In tandem with your press release, announce a free seminar to your industry, particularly if you have a product or service that can be used by other firms. You can prepare take-away (or 'leave behind') materials that can further leverage this action, by disseminating your marketing message beyond the event itself.

Action 4: Announce the results of a new, relevant study
Depending on the specifics, you can range widely in the news section to learn of studies and reports that deal with major or minor aspects of your company's product or service. If you can find a recent study that makes a compelling point about your company's offering, by all means use it.

Action 5: Find a first-person story about people using your product or service
From your letters, emails or customer service files, identify one or more positive instances of your product or service being used in a new or different way. People enjoy a good story, so don't forget to establish a good narrative with a challenge to overcome for the protagonist. When your product or service is framed as the answer to the challenge, you will generate goodwill as well as interest.

Author: Melissa McAfee

About the author:
PR in a Box.ca provides 10 simple modules that combine to create a comprehensive, effective and simple public relations kit. Visit us online today.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

Many organizations actively engage in 'Issues Management.' For most, this involves scanning the news, developing communications strategies around relevant issues and trends, and then communicating their messages back through the media.

However, effective communications is more than just managing issues through the media. Companies and organizations must also be aware of their external publics - the people and groups outside of an organization's sphere that affect, or are affected by, what that organization does.

This is known as 'Relationship Management.' It is the discipline of identifying key publics and establishing strategies for building and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships with those publics.

Identifying External Publics

Like most organizations, there is a good chance you are already using media monitoring to track the issues that affect your organization. This is Communications 101.

You may even be taking it one step further and conducting some kind of media analysis, including assigning tones like positive, negative or neutral to news stories. And if you're not, you should be. Without proper analysis and evaluation, your communications team is not doing its job properly.

But where it really gets interesting is when you take your existing monitoring and analysis and add another dimension to it. One of the best examples of this is tracking and analyzing quotes.

Tracking quotes helps you identify your key publics. You can see exactly what they are thinking, what they are saying, what they are doing.

And by taking further small steps, such as cross-referencing tone with quotes, you can easily identify the type of relationship that exists between your organization and its different key publics. You can get a picture of what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong, and, where necessary, develop a plan to change the relationship.

Obviously, the more positive the quote or article, the greater the chance that the person being quoted is an ally to issues favorable to your organization. Conversely, the more negative the quote or article, the greater the chance that the person being quoted is opposed to issues favorable to your organization.

Furthermore, the more times a person is quoted, the greater the chance he or she is an Opinion Leader - a person that knowingly or unknowingly influences opinion. It's important that your organization try to have an open and professional dialogue with Opinion Leaders no matter what their position is.

Dealing with Key Publics

A lot of people feel the media ultimately control public opinion. There's no denying they do have an enormous influence, but they are only one piece of the PR puzzle.

It's important that PR professionals not limit themselves to just the media. Sometimes it's best to communicate right to the source, if possible. Remember, as a professional communicator, your primary job is to disseminate information, not necessarily to deal with the media or write news releases. How you get the information to your publics is not what matters; what matters is that they get the information. Using the media and writing news releases are simply a means to an end.

According to Statistics Canada, 61 per cent of Canadians belong to a group or organization, including organizations unions, religious groups, professional associations, etc. Opinion Leaders are a very important component of these groups.

Once you have identified the groups and their Opinion Leaders, it's important to develop consistent messages that will clearly state your organization's position on key issues. Without that consistency, you run the risk of looking hypocritical or insincere. The last thing you want is to be communicating different messages regarding the same issue.

If you want people to trust you and your organization, consistency is a must. Trust is the first step in developing a relationship with the Opinion Leaders and your key publics.

Honesty is Always the Best Policy

Remember, when it comes to any type of communications, honesty is always the best policy. Trying to manipulate the media or the public is a dangerous game. If you're honest, people might not always like what you have to say, but at least they'll believe you and have a greater respect for you in the long run.

Monitoring the Media Helps Ensure Honesty Prevails

Monitoring the media allows organizations to ensure everyone is on message, helping to prevent misunderstandings through inadvertent contradictions or an overly aggressive spokesperson. Also, proactive media analysis can gauge how well key publics and other influencers, such as the media, are accepting your organization's position on an issue.

Media Analysis is a Powerful Tool, but...

Media analysis can help identify miscommunication, and can also help identify the underlying reason for that miscommunication. It's also an effective way of identifying key publics and opinion leaders, gauging where they stand on an issue and finding out what they are saying.

However, it's important to remember 'Relationship Management' is about dealing with people directly. Media analysis is just a tool to help ensure your organization is communicating honestly and effectively - the same way the media are just a vehicle for delivering your message.

But even if you have a top notch media analysis program in place, you should never stop communicating directly with your key publics to figure out where they stand on key issues and how they view your organization. After all, public relations and communications are all about communicating effectively, and nothing is more effective than getting your information straight from the source.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

To conduct a teleseminar you need three basic things. A telephone, the ability to talk on it and the ability to teach your listeners in such a way that they find you interesting, captivating and want to listen or read more of the message that you are giving.

Teleseminars have been around for a number of years and with the advent of free teleconferencing and voice over internet protocol and Skype they have become a sure- fire way to talk ,from the convenience and comfort of your desk or living room, to people who may be thousands of miles around the world and are eager to hear what you have to say.

The First T: Telephone

You can use a free teleconferencing service where you dial in to a teleconference bridge line from your telephone anywhere in the world. The best method is to use a stable land line telephone. It usually provides for the best voice quality for the teleseminar presenter, although your listeners could be on their cell phones, their landlines, or on a internet connection. Some good teleseminar services even allow the listeners to listen in on the internet over the World Wide Web at the same time as the telephone.

The Second T: Talk

You have something to say and you talk to people about that subject. The best teleseminar presenters are those that engage their audience in a dialogue and get a two-way flow of information going on. As we are used to taking to friends and family on the telephone we are more comfortable and the experience allows for customer intimacy , while allowing the space that comes from the telephone. Talking on the telephone or internet also allows the process to be cost effective and save on travel to some central location. It allows allows you to plan your teleseminar ahead of time and send your talking notes to people so they can follow along with something visual in front of them. This kind of agenda or tele-content presentation allows you a voice and visual method of communication. You can even ask them before the teleseminar what their most pressing questiions are about your subject. They will respond and you can then talk to them with just what they want to know.

The Final T: Teach

People that are calling in to your teleseminar either know you or want to get to know you and hear whay you have to say or teach. You must teach and provide true value so that they want to come back for more of the information you are presenting . This gives you the opportunity to build a relationship where they know you, they like you and they trust you. When this occurs you will be able to talk more to them, and develop a customer base that will stick.

So now that you have the three T's of Teleseminars you can go out and listen to some teleseminars to get some tips. You can always listen to top teleseminar teachers such as Alex Mandossian or Kathleen Gage who both offer great programs and trainng about this powerful marketing methodoolgy. It could change your life and spread your reach.

Author: Rob Metras

About the author:
I invite you and encourage you to get a free report on how you can learn how to master this media at The Truth About Making Money with Teleseminars.Teleseminars can be an effective part of your marketing mix that will generate great results.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

Workplace Languages offers customized Survival Spanish seminars, classes (or other languages) to management in a variety of industries. We also teach a very functional workplace English to those employees with limited English proficiency. Our classes and seminars are always taught on-site at the company 24/7.

All classes, English and Spanish seminars are taught on-site at your place of business and the curriculum is always customized to meet the needs of your company. All information is practical and no grammar is taught. Classes & seminars are upbeat; nobody is put on the spot and we understand that you only want enough Spanish, Chinese, French � whatever language it is - to communicate immediately, easily & effectively. We understand that you don't want to be a language major. You just want to get your point across.

Workplace Languages offer a large number of bilingual training tools to a variety of industries. They are all ultra easy-to-use and are all customizable with content and we can even add your company's logo. What's nice about our bilingual training tools is that there is nothing to retain, no classes to attend and no huge time or financial commitment. We have pocket-sized 'survival language booklets' that come with a pronunciation guide. And our 24 X 36' color laminated poster has both Survival English for the Spanish speakers and also Survival Spanish for the non Spanish-speaking managers & supervisors.

Successful communication has always been the key to good management. Now, with an ever increasing need to connect with workers from other cultures, the need is even greater for both managers and employees to educate themselves in each others' ways of acting, speaking, learning foreign languages using as method English or Spanish seminars. The rewards are potentially great if the methods that both parties use to educate themselves are appropriate. Success doesn't necessarily take a great deal of time, it takes the right training.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

Helping a nearby university will have added benefits for the community. Most do not consider the real benefit of having a prominent and successful college or university in their community. From a higher demand for rental property to an overall boost to the local economy, helping a university succeed will prove advantageous to the community in general. College Works Painting is a company committed to helping their communities and allowing college students the opportunity to succeed within their company.

Boosting the local economy is always helpful to those living in the community. More jobs are one of the most obvious results of having a thriving local economy. The more students that are in the area, the more money they will spend on living expenses such as groceries, books for school or pleasure, movies and other social events and eating out at restaurants. This means higher gains for shop owners and a boost in the number of employees these shop owners and larger corporations can afford to hire. The more work in the community, the better off everybody will be as everybody benefits from a thriving economy.

College Works Painting gives students the chance to thrive in their own lives while putting themselves through school. Learning real life skills that will prove helpful to them after graduation and for the rest of their lives, students can also pay their tuition bills and earn their college degree. By hiring College Works Painting students, clients are giving these students a boost in their academic lives and giving them the chance to develop as individuals and potential employees.

Working with socially responsible companies committed to helping the community, clients can help boost the revenue of a nearby university. With more students able to attend as they have found a reliable source of income, the university will have the funds to admit more students and the community in general will benefit. With more jobs created by a larger student body, those living in the community will see the added benefits of a thriving university.

Higher demand for rental property will mean that the large student population in the community will help property owners find success in real estate endeavors. Renting their property to college students, landlords will ensure that their apartments or houses are filled with tenants year round. Helping local college students can be a shot in the arm for the community. College Works Painting allows students the opportunity to earn money for tuition while gaining some real world experience at the same time.

Author: Justin DiMateo

About the author:
Justin recommends contacting College Works Painting a long established and professional company for more information on the correct paint used for exteriors or to simply schedule a painting job with College Works visit them online today.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

Impressions, as we all know, are blurry ideas in which confidences are given. Marketing materials such as business cards, posters, postcards, flyers, brochures and catalogs must satisfy the customer's confidences even at the very first sight of the material.

Catalogs, for instance, must leave a lasting and positive first impression. Before they can encourage potential readers to read on, they must entice them first to come closer and take a look at them. They must have fascinating design and facade to lure the would-be receivers.

To complete the marketing formula, the company or its marketer must entrust the potential masterpieces to a master in catalogs printing. If you have hesitations and worries regarding the printing process, the colors and materials like paper and ink to be used, ask the pool of experts that surround the printing company. They will help you seek solutions to your catalogs printing dilemmas.

Catalogs are made to have easy access on your products and service. You do not have to bring them with you. With catalogs around, there is no need to present the literal product or demonstrate the services that your company is offering. All it takes is an effective modern catalog.

In the production of catalogs, areas of concentration must be established and considered. One area is the product or service. Some product need not be included in the catalog while some are indispensable. Choosing which are to be incorporated from which are not must be carefully done.

After selection, the next area of concentration is categorization or grouping. There are products that can be grouped as one while there are products that need to be presented singly. Samples of these products are the feature for the month and the freshly released products. Same thing should be considered in marketing services. In this area, you have to master one thing and that is sorting.

Next to categorization is the process of creating descriptions. Descriptions must be exact or definite. You can begin by writing the name of the product or service followed by its features. Ideal number of words range from 30 to 60 words for every product or service.

Make a good impression by selecting clear pictures and crisp texts. Be reminded that the heart of every catalog is its overall appearance. Thus, superior artsy taste is a marketing edge.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

Business gifts have grown highly in popularity and they are now given out for various reasons such as Christmas gifts or birthday presents. They can be given out to both employees and clients to demonstrate a sense of appreciation for hard work and commitment.

By presenting business gifts to people you make them feel valued, which in turn spurs on motivation. So just what exactly constitutes as being a business gift? Well the answer to this question is a rather long one for the fact that there are now so many items on the market. The type of business gift that you opt for when representing your business/company depends on two factors; one your budget and two the intended audience of your business/company. For example a paperweight or organizer would be perfect for an office worker as they would allow them to keep everything in one place, but the same gift wouldn't be as helpful to someone who works in retail. So when you are choosing your gifts make sure you keep your target audience in mind.

Some of the most popular examples of business gifts are things such as clocks, pens, business card holders, gift baskets, desktop accessories, mugs and wine glasses. These are merely just a few examples but having so much choice in this situation is a good thing as it demonstrates that no matter what line of business you are in; you are bound to find something that is appropriate to demonstrate it.

Regardless of whatever gift you choose, keep in mind, any gift can be personalized by adding a photo to it or you could have them engraved to include your businesses name and/or logo. We also now have laser engraving so just about anything can be personalized. You also have the option of having a message engraved onto your gift; why is this so important? Well having a business gift personalized so that it is a representation and promotion of your business has so many advantages, for example:

� It promotes your business to people who otherwise may not know about it

� It is a cost effective way to increase the turnover of your business/company

� Can help you to generate more sales

� Increases brand awareness

� Helps to create additional interest in your business

� Your business/company is kept in the public eye

� It is a great way to advertise your business

By personalizing your business gifts you are adding that personal touch that will be appreciated and well received. It is defiantly a route you should explore when looking for business gifts.

You can pretty much get any business gift personalized either by getting it imprinted or engraved and this gives the impression that you took the extra time to bother to give a gift that really matters to both the giver and receiver. By having a gift imprinted or engraved, it also adds a touch of class to the gift. Basically anyway that you look at it, having a gift imprinted or engraved it defiantly the right way to go.

Personalized business gifts are elegant and impressive. They are already used by a wide range of businesses and organizations whose routes branch out across many different industries. The reason that they are so popular is they help to promote services by creating decent brand awareness. Also personalized business gifts can be used by businesses and companies of any size, including yours! So get your business out there through the use of personalized business gifts.

Author: Titus Hoskins

About the author:
For the latest corporate gift ideas try here: Personalized Business Gifts
For Timely Specials on Corporate Promotional Gifts...click here:
Corporate Promotional Gifts
Copyright � 2009 Titus Hoskins. This article may be
freely distributed if this resource box stays attached.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

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Author: Mike Jones

About the author:
Mike Jones is the Owner of Bayside Window Cleaning and pressure cleaning.
727-459-6864

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

You've just reviewed the final results of your last pro-active media campaign to launch that new product or service. The numbers look pretty good: media impressions were in the millions; coverage was evenly split between broadcast and print; and a leading national paper ran three stories on the launch-pretty impressive. But could it have been better?

Analyze this
Analyzing issues or campaigns is the first big step in truly understanding any communications success or failure. With busy schedules and/or tight client budgets, more often than not, media analysis isn't always carried out. A big investment is being made on gathering the media content, but not on measuring and analyzing the trends, successes, and areas for improvement. Stories are often filed away immediately or distributed to a limited group, never to be looked at again or analyzed at all.

If you're already conducting ongoing media analysis half the battle is won. But if not, you can bet your client or director will demand it soon. New analysis technologies combined with increased expectations to determine communications ROI (Return on Investment) are making analysis a must, not a should.

Once you've determined the need or importance of analysis, what's next? This is where the confusion can set in. As can be expected, everyone has their own definition of how media content should be analyzed based on their own experiences. And usually the issue of PR standards and formulas arise�and that is when things often can come to a stand-still.

But before you get into how you are going to analyze, you must first determine what you're interested in analyzing. Here are a few considerations:

Track success in key publications and mediums based on demographic suitability
Evaluate key message penetration in media stories
Track quality - not just quantity - of coverage
Determine success vs. competitors
Success of spokesperson pick-up
Determine campaign ROI
Measure advertising equivalency (if you must!)
Monitor regional penetration comparisons
Tabulate media impressions/audience numbers
Compare key issues and/or product penetration
Resulting editorial or other media commentary/letters to the editor

There are endless ways of analyzing and cross-referencing the information. But you should note that you can accomplish all of the above considerations without getting into confusing PR multipliers or complex formulas. The key is to determine what you're interested in evaluating and create benchmarks for future comparisons. And if you still want to add in PR multipliers you can, as long as you consistently keep to the same formula. So whether you're multiplying by a factor of 3, 5, or 10, the coverage is always being evaluated in a consistent fashion and can therefore be viewed as an unbiased and accurate portrayal.

Go Electronic, Go Real-Time
Reviewing the success of a new product launch, the impact of a crisis on your organization, or a monthly comparison after-the-fact can provide valuable insight for future planning. But imagine the change you could make if you have real-time data available to you at your fingertips in an instant. Using real-time data you could monitor:

What regions are having the most success and which need attention
Misinformation being published so you can correct it
Which publications need another follow-up call
Which issues are getting the most attention
The quality and tone of the coverage
The impact on your organization
What tactics are working and which aren't
How you can piggy-back on recent media trends or competitors' tactics or success

The benefits of real-time analysis are endless and important. Knowing that you can have a timely affect on the final outcome of a new product launch is empowering and helps speak to the real power of PR.

A combination of real-time analysis and benchmarking will provide you with the tools to improve the results of a campaign mid-stream and properly analyze its success using a predetermined set of objectives and consistent criteria. So make 2005 the year you start benchmarking your analysis-an opportunity to learn more about the impact your communications strategies are having will pay dividends for years to come.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.

I see your lips moving, but all I hear is 'Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.' I know it's not what you want to hear, but quite simply, if you are a speaker, author, consultant or other 'expert' I see being interviewed by the news media, your expertise just isn't very interesting. Information is a dime-a-dozen and yours is no different.

So in this age of round-the-clock, on-demand, blue tooth, on line, high def., Wi-Fi, via satellite, news junky, at your fingertips world of information, what separates those messages that break through the clutter and the vast majority of expertise that goes un-tapped? The answer is very simple: It's the delivery!

Information, delivered by experts in a straightforward fashion, is too often reminiscent of a classroom lecture - Boring! However that same content, deliver with passion, purpose, urgency, spirit and conviction can move people to action and move you to the top of the news media's first call list.

The information stored in your brain is merely the entry fee. Your credentials to deliver that content is only the prerequisite. But your crusade is what truly makes you interesting. Your passion for the message is what makes you believable and its timely connection to some current or personal challenge is what makes it relevant.

Watch any national morning show, or cable news talk show and note who has the lion's share of camera time. In television news, the one who most deftly steers the conversation, wins. But all too often, experts who are invited to sit on the television set to comment on a story of national interest, merely answer the questions posed to them and provide informed analysis. They are graciously thanked for their time, but rarely asked back. Why? Because most media opportunities are a test in disguise. And most experts unknowingly fail the test.

But think for a moment about the experts that have been featured time and time again in the national news - some even being rewarded with their own show. What is the common denominator? Above all else, it is that they are fiercely opinionated. They know what they want to say and aren't afraid to say it. I'm not suggesting that you have to be a jerk to be newsworthy, only that you have to have the conviction that personifies a true thought leader.

Good radio talk show hosts, for example, don't bring up a topic and ask for your opinions. Instead they tell you what they think and invite you to agree or disagree. Who among us is inspired to follow, or be moved to action by a credible, yet straightforward, or 'dry' expert offering his or her expertise on a story of national or industry-specific interest?

To build your business, to attract clients or customer, to inspire others to hire you or buy your books or products, to engender loyalty and inspire true change, you must move beyond the realm of simply being smart and good at what you do. You must truly inspire.

And while we are all made up of the same composite materials, we are all wired a little differently. Being overly expressive and delivering content on the edge of your seat can be challenging for some, but it must be done. In working with the news media, we are playing in their sandbox and we must play by their rules, or we won't be asked to play again.

For any kind of high-profile sustainability, you've got to provide what television journalists call 'Good TV.' New, innovative, or provocative solutions to long-standing problems can be good TV. Either healthy exchanges or outright conflict among guests can both be good TV. Good TV means nothing more than being interesting and not blending in. Unfortunately, experts tend to be so immersed in their content that they believe it is the information that is interesting. In reality, it is the passion that brings about 'Good TV.'

The biggest misperception in working with the press is the false notion that when a reporter asks a question, it's because they want to know the answer. Unless it's some sort of news investigation, the purpose of their questions is in most cases, simply to give you a launch pad for your ideas, your input and perspective. I'm not suggesting that you don't answer the question, just use the answer as the springboard for your crusade.

Most reporters don't know the subject nearly as well as the guest and you can easily move past the often irrelevant, or less important question by simply employing transitional phrases such as: 'While I certainly agree, it's also important to remember that...,' 'That may be true, but the issue that really concerns me is...,' 'While that issue is making headlines, we can't forget that...,' 'people sometimes fail to recognize that...,' 'I find it fascinating that...' Then say what you came there to say, and do it with passion - regardless of the questions asked. Despite conventional wisdom, the reporter or interviewer will be very appreciative of your media savvy.

As most on-air interviews last no more than 90 seconds, I advised my clients to be crystal clear in their mind what they want to say, what they HAVE to say, what is crucial for them to impart to their audience for them to be successful in their business. Then they must make a solemn pledge to themselves (and to me) that they will not get out of that chair until they say it!

It's the quid pro quo of working with the press: We help them fill up their newspapers and newscasts with content, and in return, we get a platform to relay our ideas. Use it. Don't waste it. Don't be boring. Be opinionated. Be passionate, relevant, provocative, believable, timely, different, memorable and news-worthy.

This article is more than just my opinion and my expertise - it is my crusade. If I had begun this article with a simple admonition to be more animated in your interviews, do you think you'd still be reading? Or would you have turned the page long ago? Remember, there are hundreds of millions of TV remote controls and page-turning fingers out there. Don't be boring and they'll likely stick with you, turn to you and hopefully come back to you.

Article source: Free Public Relations Articles.