Integrated Marketing Welcomes A New Client!

          Integrated Marketing Welcomes Victoria Park Valley Golf Club into our family of clients!!! Victoria Park Valley opened it's doors officially on May 18th, 2012!  On hand cutting the ribbon, was John DeCorso, Carmine DeCorso, Ted DeCorso, Puslinch Mayor Dennis Lever, David DeCorso, and Louise DeCorso!   

A Great Sponsorship Opportunity!

Don't Miss Out!

          Check out the great sponsorship opportunities that are available for each of the 27 hole yardage and description signs.  Each agreement includes 4-18 hole golf passes annually.  Our design team created the following, to help get this message across!  If  you are interested, just contact Gary at groberts (at) integratedmarketing (dot) ca    And don't forget to head on over to their Integrated Marketing designed Website, to get the full scoop on this great Company! You can find them right HERE

Does the Small and Mid-Sized Business NEED An Advertising/Marketing Agency?

Let’s look at the smart thing to do!

You have failing health, and you immediately cancel any an all health care?

You suffer failing sight, and you consider the smart thing to do is to destroy your glasses.

Your business is suffering financially, the first thing that you decide to do is cancel your advertising and marketing!

What’s wrong with this picture?

Advertising and marketing is the first thing to go, when smaller and mid-size businesses begin to experience downturns. That is a fact! As a matter of fact, one of the reasons that many Advertising/Marketing Agencies don’t go after small and mid-size business is because of the dollars spent. They tend to spend fewer dollars, and they tend to question whatever is spent on marketing and advertising.

We end up with a number of smaller and mid-sized companies not utilizing enough advertising and marketing campaigns to allow for the growth they should otherwise enjoy. In other words, Advertising/Marketing Agencies are not going after their business, or putting enough effort into showcasing how they can help them. As a result, the businesses are not being taught by the experts on what they need to do to to succeed.

Sure, they can grow and succeed by themselves. But they will not be able to do what they could, had they been advertising and marketing themselves or their product in a cost-effective way. And there are ways to do this, regardless of your company size. This reminds me of the patient the doctor doesn’t bother to tell that they are sick, or if they are well, they aren’t taught how to grow stronger and better.

They consider money spent on something they can’t see, as good as being tossed away. Marketing is intangible. Small and mid-size businesses tend to consider their money best spent on tangibles.

It’s no secret that those business who manage growth or even steadiness, in times of slowdown, tend to be the strongest. They are also able to take over the lost business from those companies who don’t make it.

The larger companies are going after a large number of people. The smaller company needs to go after their buyer… otherwise known as the vetted prospect. The smaller company must utilize less expensive means of advertising, and that’s not always the popular way to go, for Agencies. The less money being spent, the less money the Agency is earning. Large Agencies require much more money to operate. They have a large number of staff to pay. You, the client, must help pay for that staff, whether you need them working for you, or not. They also require a more costly appearance, such as the fancier offices, nicer artwork, glitzier boardrooms, etc. All of these bells and whistles cost money.

As a smaller sized Agency, Integrated Marketing understands the smaller to mid-sized business. They ‘Get It!’. Our staff represents our Company, as much as your staff represents yours. We understand building relationships with our client, because we base our own growth on those relationships. Unlike the larger Agencies, where dealing with the President is either unlikely, or only for those ritziest of clients who are spending the most money, every one of our clients is as important as the next. The President and Vice-President are a large part of the company. They understand the needs of the small to mid-size Company, and utilize their experience to assist in bringing about positive change and growth. Large companies build recognition, but smaller companies build recognition and relationships. You ARE your business. You have the ability to market your business in a way that sets you apart, and even ahead of your larger sized competition. We will talk more about the ways to advertise and market a smaller to mid-size business, in the next few days.

by Sandie McCarthy-Roberts

Is Blogging a necessary part of your marketing campaign?

by Sandie McCarthy-Roberts

Opinions are like names. There are so many diverse ones out there, take your pick on which one sounds good to you. My advice is to listen to those with the most experience, and make your decision based on that.

Social Media is so new that some of what we rely on is opinions. Experience is limited, but it is there. The trick is a mix of the two. Be smart. Don’t put all your eggs In one basket. That’s the biggest issue with Social Media. People rely completely on Twitter, or on Blogs, or on Facebook, etc… and that is as much a mistake as using no social media is.

The way that I look at Social Media is simple. They all get your message out. They all work nicely together. So why would we choose one or another, and ignore the rest? It makes no sense. Twitter, for example, is a great way to engage in conversation and share information, Blogging, on the other hand, is a way to tell your story. It’s more personal. You are inviting people and businesses into your personal space. You are sharing a part of who and what you are and do with them. You see, the smart person knows that marketing is about building relationships as much as anything else. How much is anyone going to listen to a sales pitch alone? We would all be using spam, if that was the case.

For that reason, you need to ensure your blog is used properly. Don’t look at your blog article after article that must be written. Instead, think of your favourite magazine. They build a relationship with their readers. That’s what you must do with your blog. It must be used as PART of your social media, to build a relationship with your client. Like any relationship, the more time and effort you put into it, the more return you are likely to get. That doesn’t mean, of course, that by virtue of writing a blog post, you will garner success. Again, it’s about relationships. You need to get people to read that blog.

How do you do that? You begin by reading other blogs, and commenting on them. You post your blog post on twitter, to draw your audience to the article. You post on Facebook and grab onto that audience. If this sounds very time-intensive, it’s because it is… but not as much as you think. There are ways to have your blog posts simultaneously put onto Facebook, for example. There are ways to minimize what you need to do. We’ll get into those specifics in another article.

In the meantime, give blogging a try… but only as part of your entire social media mix. Blogging, like social media in general, is not about creating a monolgue. It’s about creating a dialogue with your customer, client, or prospect. It’s about telling them what you stand for, and what your values are. It’s about getting to know them, approaching them about your business or product or service. And it’s about growing as a presence and then as a business.

Is blogging necessary to your business? Probably not. However, it is one more way of growing and sustaining your business. Why on earth would you shut that out of your marketing mix?

Why Agencies are good for your small business

By Gary Roberts

“Well actually Gary, I have a friend who can do that for us”.

Geez if I have heard that once, I have heard it a thousand times! Everyone has a “guy”… that incredible person with experience in Web Design, Marketing, Consulting, and Media Buying. Where is this magical person? Heck… I have been in this business for over 25 years, and I have not found him! Why have I not found this paragon of all that is Advertising and Marketing? That is because this “magical guy” does not exist!

Sure we all have friends! And sure, we are all looking for a way to save a buck when it comes to marketing and advertising. But sure as shootin, the “guy”finishes the job he is asked to do, and whether successful or not, he then disappears to parts unknown, leaving you to deal with the follow through and the follow UP. Then of course, when we need updates, mistakes have been made, corrections need to be done in order for the updates to take place, and he or she still cannot be found. Or they can, but they don’t know how to do what now needs to be done, handled, or fixed.

Meanwhile, your business moves forward and continues to grow. The amazing “guy”, who is nowhere around or who is unable to handle the chore, continues to be missing or continues to give you a song and a dance about what he’s done already, and you are now in the old...”yikes what do i do now!!??” zone.

This is why it is important to work with a credible experienced Agency that can strive to understand your business! They certainly understand theirs! Marketing and Advertising is all they do! It’s who they are! This Agency will be there for you in periods of growth and during the inevitable slow periods, as well…. A company that you can call on to strategize with you, and a company that is in the business of providing marketing and advertising solutions, as well as Web updates, a new division or if you need a corporate branding statement, they will offer the solutions that only an Advertising agency can provide for you.

It is very easy to look at the Advertising/Marketing portion of your balance sheet and cut from this area during the tight times, but this will only lead to tighter times! It is during these leaner times that you would be forgetting to remind your customer that you are still in business, and able to provide a product or service to them.

It is important for you to work with an Agency, as they are in the business of providing solutions to you. That is what they do! Plus, as they continue to concentrate on doing what is necessary to promote your business, brand and/or product, they are also freeing up your time to do what you do best... manage your business!

Does Your Small to Mid-Size Business Need An Agency?

by Sandie McCarthy-Roberts

With the onset of the world wide internet, our need and want for instant gratification has been very actively fulfilled. With this Internet-laden population, opinion is rampant, and with very little worry for expertise and truth often. If you have a question, instead of going to an expert, we often type in it google or yahoo! And voila! We have an equally instant and diverse answer! However…

Come on… you knew there was HAD to be a however right? What’s missing in the google and yahoo search? YOU are! That’s what. You can’t get a marketing or advertising answer that takes YOUR business into account, without the one answering your question, taking your company into perspective. That’s just a fact.

Now, large businesses either have an inhouse person doing their marketing, or they hire an Advertising/Marketing Agency to do their work for them. They wouldn’t consider not bringing an expert into the mix. The same can be said for most, if not all, mid-size businesses. After all, they want to grow. They want to reach who they need to reach. They know that in order to do that, they need to have someone who knows exactly how to do that. Of course… there’s one more thing they require, other than an agency or firm that does this. They also need someone with experience! Yes, in this IT youth-oriented culture, we often mistake the young-progressive mind, for the progressive, creative, and innovative mind. All great attributes! However…

Again.. that word! But it fits, I promise you! You cannot replace experience. Experience has seen the innovative, and watched it sputter and die, or move forward towards success. Experience has seen times change… time and time again. They don’t mistake the current for the only. They don’t think in terms of *This is the cool way, ergo … the ONLY way. They don’t make the same mistakes. So, yes we do want the young mind… tempered by the experienced one. That’s why agencies are so helpful. They have the experienced people and the youthful element. They are forward thinkers, yet they are tempered by years of seeing what works and what doesn’t.

It’s true that small and mid-sized businesses tend to watch their money a bit more closely, but it’s also true that money well spent, is money spent well. If you are guessing at how and where to spend your money on marketing and advertising, you are clearly taking a big risk.You are more than likely wasting much of your time and money, unless you have the education and experience to back up each of your decisions. And experience and education does not come from watching television commercials, or being exposed to radio and newspaper campaigns. Unless you, yourself, have designed those campaigns, they don’t count as your experience. That’s like saying someone who watches all of those doctor shows, are qualified to give you medical advice. Sounds silly, yes?

So, if you are a small to mid-size business, you clearly do need the assistance of an Advertising/Marketing Agency, if you want to succeed and grow. You do not, however, need to gravitate to the same large and expensive agency that large businesses use! In fact, you are better off with a smaller agency. They have the same experience, and the same youthful element, but they have something the larger agency full of big business, and national accounts doesn’t always have. They have a hunger for your business. They know how to make a smaller business succeed, and they are not spending the bulk of their time and attention on the bulk of their business. They will help you to succeed. And you will tell your friends. And they will look at that Agency as well. THAT is how the agency grows. They don’t want your bad publicity. If you succeed, they succeed.

Give an Agency a call. See what they have to say. It costs nothing to sit down and ask some questions. Ask who their current clients are. Ask those clients what they are like to deal with. Coming up, I will give some examples of what questions you may want to ask during an introductory meeting with an Advertising/Marketing Agency. So, stay tuned!

Victoria Park Valley Golf Course!!

New Trifold ... Tells a great story!

Just in time for Spring! This is a fun one, that we, at Integrated Marketing are working on! New branding and all marketing materials for the NEW Victoria Park Valley Golf Course in Guelph! As well, we are providing marketing and design services for the well-established Victoria Park East Golf Course! From what we hear and see, the NEW Victoria Park Valley Golf Course (OPENING IN APRIL)... has the feel and appearance of a course that has been there for DECADES!!! Truly outstanding design. Twenty-seven holes and driving facilities!

What's Spring, without a GREAT game of Golf???!!!

We'll see you there!

Keep An Eye On.....

Pioneer Craftsmen!!!

Integrated Marketing Inc. is about to design an entirely new Website for Pioneer! We are creating new branding along with the Website! Pioneer Craftsmen has an amazing reputation in the industry! Top of the line Renovators, with their finger on the pulse of all of the latest and greatest technology, the wonderful people of Pioneer Craftsmen have won several Awards and Accolades. They are also recognized for their volunteer work in their Community, and around the world. Head on over to Pioneer Craftsmen today, and see what they are all about! Check out their renovation pictures while you're there!