PRstore of Lake Norman

Floating Thru The Holidays

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." - Aesop

__________________________________________________________________________

How We Discovered Grassroots Giving

So, if you haven't noticed, in the last week the economy has either hit rock bottom or else the nearing Holidays have made us all painfully aware of just how different the economic situation is this year. Maybe it's both. Most of us aren't used to choosing between paying bills and giving gifts. And it's making us grumpy, cranky, impatient and just downright rude to each other. Scrooge would be proud.

PRstore worked off-site on Friday after a long week of the aforesaid grumpy exchanges with clients and vendors.  The North Mecklenburg Christmas Parade was Saturday and we had lots to do to be ready. I had decided last year that starting in '08 PRstore should be a permanent participant in the parade - Grassroots at its finest. It was a ton of work to build our own float though and coming on the heels of a rough week, there wasn't much hop in our step.

Saturday morning was filled with rushing around, re-gluing pieces that had fallen during the night and figuring out how to transport the float 10 miles without losing the entire thing along the way. Whew! More than once I questioned why in the world we were even doing this. Bah Humbug!

Then we were finally there, finally all ready and finally lined-up in our designated spot. And an amazing thing happened. As the procession began and we started to pass the people lined-up to see the parade, I noticed how sad so many of them looked. They probably had a rough week too - many much worse than mine. So we started smiling and waving. Making eye contact. And simply saying "Merry Christmas!" "Happy Holidays!"

The reaction was instant and always the same. Faces lit up. Smiles overturned frowns. They waved back and wished us the same. It was inspiring. After the worst economic year in recent history. After so much fear and uncertainty. The power of a smile and a Holiday Wish is still more powerful than all the bad stuff. The human spirit is ever hopeful, ever optimistic. Lying right under the surface, is our desire to rise up, try again, beat the odds and surge forward. 

And so my Grassroots Marketing idea to have a PRstore float in the Holiday Parade - for my company to have community exposure - turned out to be about Grassroots Giving instead. We didn't give much, just our energy to build the float and then brave the 40 degree weather, a smile and a Holiday Wish. But judging by how good it made us feel and by how many smiles we received in return, I have to believe that good 'ole Aesop was right. Even small acts of kindness can turn around someone's day.

So Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Wishing you joy, peace and hope during the coming week! No more Scrooge for PRstore - we're back in Santa's Camp and loving it!- CSR

If Churchhill Were A Marketer . . .

"Never, Never, Never Give Up."

"If you're going through hell, keep going."

- Winston Churchhill

_________________________________________________________

November 30th is Winston Churchhill's birthday!  Churchhill lived and survived during much darker days than we are currently experiencing. He was a master at "Grassroots" tactics and a strong advocate that the pen is often mightier than the sword. He wasn't afraid to employ strong actions, but his words of wisdom were a big part of winning a great war.

If Churchhill were a Marketer, he would have been a master at Grassroots Marketing. He would definitely be a fan of LinkedIn and FaceBook - what an amazing way to connect with anyone and everyone you want and need to know. And it doesn't hurt that it is a free way to get your message out to a large audience instantly.

Many say that Obama won the election at the local level by having a million people "on the ground." But he also knew how to harness the power of social media to captivate an entire generation of new voters. It's brilliant really - Grassroots Marketing at its finest.

Grassroots Marketing costs little to no monetary investment. It's all about finding your target market, engaging them and getting them "fired up" about your message. Then you just have to give them the tools and the motivation to spread the word. You have to "touch" them on a daily or at least weekly basis.

FaceBook is a great way to do that with their Updates Tool. Philosophy.com does this really well - they know I'm a fan, so they keep me updated every week with new products, specials, new store openings, etc. They make me feel valued and part of their "family." In return, I talk about their products, I join their FaceBook Group, I tell my friends about the company, I marvel at how cool their brand is - and I buy more of their stuff. It's powerful - and I even know what they're doing. But I just can't help myself.

This week as we approach the end of the year and start to evaluate our '09 Marketing budgets, I encourage you to take some time to think about Grassroots Marketing for your business.If you absolutely have to reduce your Marketing investment in '09, then put together a strategy to replace part of your monetary investment with your time. What networking groups can you join - both physical and virtual? What type of social media campaign can you launch to stay in front of your customers and top prospects?  What expert knowledge can you share with editors from your industry's top publications - and as a result with their readers - your target market.

When the economy does recover, the companies that "Never Gave Up" will still have very strong brands and a healthy market share. You absolutely should Harness the power of technology to help your business "Keep Going."

So, get out there and make Winston proud. Your bottom line will be glad you did!- CSR

Web 2.0 For The Rest Of Us

"If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space." - Lou Whitaker

_________________________________________________________________________

These days, keeping up with cutting edge technology is a full-time job. As a business owner or manager, keeping up is imperative for job security & ongoing success.

For anyone that isn't sure where to start & who might not have heard of Web 2.0 yet, here's a brief run down of the tools that should be on your radar for 2009.

Web 2.0 was defined in 2004 as the 2nd generation of Internet-based sites that allow people to collaborate & share information online in new ways. With Web 2.0 you can make connections that otherwise would take years - or even be impossible to create. And as we all know, connections are everything in the business world. It is who you know and how well you know them. And now you can quickly make meaningful connections with just about anyone in the world you need to know.

Here's how:

www.Facebook.com - social networking & business applications. great way to reconnect with classmates & colleagues.

www.LinkedIn.com - the absolute best way to create a business network. Think the "6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon."

www.MySpace.com - social networking & business applications, great for artists & musicians.

www.Twitter.com - share what you're doing right now.

www.Flickr.com - share pictures of what you're doing right now.

www.YouTube.com - share your baby's first steps & your kick-butt business presentation.

And you can pull all of these sites together with one amazing site - www.iGoogle.com

iGoogle allows you to create a customized Homepage that pulls in RSS feeds or "gadgets" for the above sites - plus hundreds of other sites. You can get local weather, a joke or positive quote of the day, the latest news & sports - all from your favorite sites - and all in one place. Pretty neat stuff!

Enjoy staying on the cutting edge of your world! - CSR