Monthly archive for January 2014

January 2014

What Can A Marketing Plan Do For Your Business?
The Marketing Plan is a valuable road map in helping companies and organizations succeed in achieving their business goals. Marketing planning is an ongoing business activity not just a page in the business plan.
Objectives of Marketing Planning

  • Get all personnel working toward the achievement of common goals.
  • Develop an understanding of the organization’s competitive position and opportunities.
  • Establish a master plan to achieve business goals though marketing strategies and tactics.

In order to create a marketing plan that is a truly useful tool, it is important to give careful consideration to a number of topics relevant to your specific company and market. Connection Group has developed marketing planning guides for small, medium and large companies.Marketing planning guides include:

  • Business Descriptions
  • Products and Services Details
  • Target Market Identification
  • Competition Review
  • SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
  • Business Goals
  • Current Situation in the Industry (potential market)
Marketing plans can be developed at any time during the year but starting at the beginning of a calendar year is easiest especially if that is when your fiscal year begins. If you are interested in having Connection Group put together a marketing plan for your company for 2014, or if you have any questions, please give us a call today…. more on the blog…

Spotlight: Brand Image for The Salvage Yard Antiques
A long time customer, The Salvage Yard Antiques in Grand Ledge, Michigan is expanding and has contracted Connection Group for web and print brand design.
The Salvage Yard official website launched earlier this month:

  • a responsive design that formats to the size of a smart phone, tablet or other computer screen
  • simple, clean designed for the photos to pop
  • easy for the customer to update on their own

Brand Print Items: Updated business cards and new postcards incorporate the same brand images. Keeping colors and visuals consistent help build a recognizable visual brand – plus saves money on design fees! Connection Group printed a larger quantity of postcards than needed to promote the upcoming open house. Keeping the information generic without dates adds the flexibility to be used throughout the year for multiple purposes: future promotions, new product announcements, thank you notes, and more!
Congratulations to The Salvage Yard Antiques on your expansion! For those in the Mid-Michigan area be sure to stop in for the opening. For those out of state this is a destination shop not to be missed when you are in Michigan!
The Salvage Yard Grand Opening on February 22nd
Special hours 7:00am – 7:00pm. www.thesalvageyardantiques.com

We love design! Lately we have been having fun creating Facebook cover photos with a variety of funny topics and inspiring quotes. Please visit our Facebook page, click on the tab: Cover Photos. When you find a design you like, right click to download to you computer. Next go to your Facebook company or personal profile and update your cover photo with the graphic you downloaded. Like our Facebook page and come back frequently to find new designs!


Promotion: Pocket Folders Discounted through March 20th, 2014

Are you a small company who needs just a few folders at an affordable price? New equipment now offers the ability to provide professional branded pocket folders at a reasonable rate for quantity orders as few as 25! Costs range for one color, two color and four color. For those companies who use pocket folders for all their proposals 25% discounts on larger quantities too.
Call today for design and printing quotes for your project or visit our website.


We hope you will stay connected with us throughout the year.
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Project spotlight Direct Mail - postcards, brochures and flyers through the mailMonthly Print Promotions 15% off full color letterhead - original design and printing.

What Can A Marketing Plan Do For Your Business

Internet Marketing Plan and Strategy graphicThe Marketing Plan is a valuable road map in helping companies and organizations succeed in achieving their business goals. Marketing planning is an ongoing business activity not just a page in the business plan.
Objectives of Marketing Planning

  • Get all personnel working toward the achievement of common goals.
  • Develop an understanding of the organization’s competitive position and opportunities.
  • Establish a master plan to achieve business goals though marketing strategies and tactics.

In order to create a marketing plan that is a truly useful tool, it is important to give careful consideration to a number of topics relevant to your specific company and market. Connection Group has developed marketing planning guides for small, medium and large companies.
marketing-price-promotion-placement-productMarketing planning guides include:

  1. Business Descriptions
  2. Products and Services Details
  3. Target Market Identification
  4. Competition Review
  5. SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats)
  6. Business Goals
  7. Current Situation in the Industry (potential market)

Clear identification of this information helps to determine where a companies’ marketing efforts and budget should be focused. Instead of blowing your entire annual marketing budget on a Super bowl ad in Sunday’s game, a more strategic plan could keep you in front of your target audience with more frequency and less money!
Another example is the number of inquiries from customers about setting up online advertising, specifically Google Adwords. Typically these inquiries are from existing customers who have hired us to design company websites, logos and / or print marketing items. In the same way dedicating your full marketing and advertising budget on a Super Bowl ad may not be the best approach, Google Adwords may not be the first step for some companies to begin their marketing and advertising efforts.
Adwords offers a variety of products that can provide valuable online exposure but many companies just aren’t ready before they do a complete evaluation of current brand and marketing channels. One of our first questions to these customers is what they want their internet advertising to achieve:

  • increase brand exposure
  • increase website visits
  • increase online sales
  • increase offline sales
  • increase readers/members/customers
  • build database

Based on the answer different strategies can be applied. Additional work may be required prior to running the ads, or in some cases another advertising medium or marketing tactic may be a better fit for their product, service or budget. When customers complete the marketing planning guide Connection Group can develop a comprehensive marketing plan that will identify where and how marketing efforts and budgets are best allocated.
Marketing plans can be developed at any time during the year but starting at the beginning of a calendar year is best if that is when your fiscal year begins. If you are interested in having Connection Group put together a marketing plan for your company for 2014, or if you have any questions, please give us a call today.
 

Brand Image for The Salvage Yard Antiques

The salvage yard antiques visual brandingA long time customer, The Salvage Yard Antiques in Grand Ledge, Michigan is expanding and has contracted Connection Group for web and print brand design.
The Salvage Yard official website launched earlier this month:

  • a responsive website design that formats to the size of a smart phone, tablet tablet or other computer screen
  • simple, clean designed for the photos to pop
  • easy for the customer to update on their own

Brand Print Items: Updated business cards and new postcards incorporate the same brand images. Keeping colors and visuals consistent help build a recognizable visual brand – plus saves money on design fees! Connection Group printed a larger quantity of postcards than needed to promote the upcoming open house. Keeping the information generic without dates adds the flexibility to be used throughout the year for multiple purposes: future promotions, new product announcements, thank you notes, and more!
Congratulations to The Salvage Yard Antiques on your expansion! For those in the Lansing and Mid-Michigan area be sure to stop in for the opening. For those out of state this is a destination shop not to be missed when you are in Michigan!
The Salvage Yard Grand Opening on February 22nd
Special hours 7:00am – 7:00pmwww.thesalvageyardantiques.com