Merry Christmas!

I don't have anything to add from a Marketing stand point today, I just wanted to say Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a great holiday with family and friends and enjoys sometime off from work. The NALS office will be closed beginning today and continuing through the New Year. I am sure I will still be doing some work from home over the break so if you have any questions or want some help, shoot me an email or post it as a comment to this post and I will be checking in.

Anyway, Happy Holidays!

See you in 08!

Jay

Know Your Product!

There will be a short article by our Marketing Director, Rose Carter, in the next Leading the Way set to be posted at the NALS website later this week about knowing your product. This is an essential part of the marketing mix and should be the foundation for all marketing efforts. You should know everything there is to know about your product and the benefits your product provides to its end user. When I say benefits I don't just mean the standard "education", "networking", and "development." I mean get to the REAL benefits such as feeling a part of something or belonging, making friends and forming relationships, or maybe finding a new or better job. It is all how you word things and "networking" does not sell a reception like "making the connection to land your dream job" does. You will need to know everything about your product so that you can develop some promotion that brings some emotional tie to it. This emotional tie will make it a can't-miss event and will have your members and guests excited!

Another aspect of knowing your product is knowing the competition. You need to evaluate competitive products or events and learn ways to differentiate your product from it. Use their good ideas and add to it your good ideas to create the ultimate product. Don't be afraid to use their good ideas...just don't create an exact replica.

I want to thank everyone that reads this blog and I look forward to seeing some new comments regarding these posts!

Jay