Congratulations to Eagle Soars Consulting Essay Contest Winners!

Eagle Soars Consulting, an Elite Sponsor of GOTR of WNC, gave current Girls on the Run participants an opportunity to compete in an Essay Contest. The purpose of the contest was to write an essay about who they chose as a Running Buddy for the GOTR 5K on May 18th at Fletcher Park.

Click here to see all the names of the contest winners and read the winning essay. We promise the essay is well worth taking the time to read.

Give Yourself the Competitive Edge by Forgetting about the Competition

Business owners are always wondering and worrying about what the competition is doing. When they develop their marketing, they see what the competition is saying and then they say it differently or they position their company differently...based on the competition.

There's a problem with that mindset.

Click here to read the entire article.

Your Company Brochure - What Should it Communicate?

A brochure is an integral piece of any well-developed marketing plan. It's a tangible item, and if well-written and designed, can provide a good way to summarize the benefits you offer your customers. Before you begin to create your brochure, there are a few items to consider.

Click here to read the entire article.

Designing a logo for your business

Designing a logo for your company is a very personal endeavor. If you know how to use graphic software, you may design your own logo, but it's usually best to work with a professional.

Before designing a logo, it's important to understand what a logo is meant to do and what it represents. A logo is not just a mark. A logo reflects your company's image and uses shapes, fonts, colors and images to get the point across. A logo is used to inspire trust and recognition for your company.

Click HERE to read the entire post.

Top-of-the-Mind Awareness with Jingles, Voice-Overs and/or Original Music Scores

When it comes to making sure your business is noticed, the name of the game is "branding." One of the most effective forms of advertising is the use of a jingle. Just think about the jingles you've heard over the years that still remain in your mind...jingles like Coca Cola's "It's the Real Thing" or Oscar Mayer's "I Wish I was an Oscar Mayer Weiner." I bet just at the mention of those jingles, you're singing one of them right now.  Those companies used this powerful and effective method to bring awareness and recognition to their products and services and you can, too!

Click HERE to read more...

Affordable, Powerful, & Professional Websites

A well-designed website is one of the most powerful marketing tools you can use to promote your business. Today's consumer likes to do their research on-line before making a purchase decision. When comparing two different companies, these consumers are more likely to select the one that has a professional website.

The key to building your brand image on-line is a professionally-designed website. We're always told that first impressions count. You can design a site yourself or you can work with "quickie" website design companies. If you promote your site the right way, you'll get visitors. But will they stay? Will they purchase from you?

Click here to read the entire article.

7 Ways to Advertise On-Line for Free

Your company's marketing budget doesn't have to be huge for you to effectively market your business. As you will hear us say time and time again, to be effective in your marketing efforts, you need a plan and you must "work" that plan frequently and consistently. Everyone likes to hear the word "free." Employing a nice mix of paid and free marketing strategies can help you accomplish a lot to bring greater visibility to your business.

Here are seven ways you can advertise your business on-line for free.

Writing Good Copy

What is good copywriting? Obviously, it calls for a style that fits the subject, and in most cases, it's a natural-sounding and conversational style. Good copywriting should "speak" directly to the reader, listener, or viewer. Most importantly, it is focused on "you" (your prospect) and not "we" (which is known as "brag and boast copy"). Good copywriting is simple and it certainly doesn't include cliches like, "We go the extra mile" or "We know plumbing."

Sometimes you just need someone to tell your story for you. Whether it's for Search Engine Optimization, brochure creation, article or press release writing, we can write copy that makes sense and gets results. At the start of every copywriting project, you give us the details of the message you want to tell. From there, we craft copy that matches your corporate personality.

Click here to learn how you can utilize the expertise of copywriting professionals at Eagle Soars Consulting.

The Rights and Wrongs of Advertising

If you want your business to succeed, advertising is not an option, it's a necessity. If that's true (and it is), why do many business owners ignore advertising within their marketing strategies? The problem is that most business owners don't have a written marketing plan so they haven't created an advertising campaign that reaches their target audience. Even more, they don't advertise consistently, and when they do, they are placing ads in the wrong media. In the end, they become frustrated and think advertising doesn't work so they don't do it.

To read this article in its entirety, click HERE.

The Marketing Plan

Are you actively using a marketing plan to get the word out on the great products/services offered by your business? If you are, KUDOs to you! You're also in the minority. That's right. Many business owners don't have a plan. As a result, they end up running marketing/advertising campaigns haphazardly. They spend money unnecessarily and then they try to save where they should be spending...on professional services (like marketing, accounting, etc.). This year, make the commitment to plan for your business success. And if you need to use a professional to assist you in the process, do it right away.

Read this article in its entirety by clicking HERE.

Adding a Personal Touch to a Cold Web World

How well is your website performing for your company? Once someone finds you on the web, are you able to convert them into customers?

The world wide web can be a cold and impersonal place to do business. At the same time, people are doing their research on the web before they make a purchase decision. As such, your website must be easy to navigate, provide valuable information, and make it simple for someone to contact you. The more personalized you can make it to your prospects' needs, the better.

We recently found a solution that allows business owners to begin developing relationships with their prospects earlier in the sales process...workface. As they so aptly mention, "Workface empowers your sales force to dramatically increase their visibility and engagement potential with clients and prospects. It's our unique way of making Internet commerce a lot more human."

To learn more, go to their website (www.workface.com) and take a look at how their service can help engage your prospects to convert them into customers. They'll even be happy to give you a demo on how their service works and will let you know if it's right for your business.

Thriving in a Competitive Business Environment

Nationwide business owners are either working harder to thrive or they are cutting back to survive. Increased competition and economic uncertainties, often trigger business owners to cut back on their investment in marketing and advertising. While it may seem like a good idea in the short-term, this is a decision that can end up being quite costly...even deadly to your business.

Instead of cutting back, keen business owners are using the tight economy as an opportunity to re-think and re-work their product and service offerings. One of the most important things these business owners are doing is saturating every marketing and advertising venue with their message. After all, what better time to get the word out when other businesses are cutting back?

Slow and steady wins the race. And little actions over time add up to give you a big impact. When figuring out what you want to do with your company next year, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Develop a plan. It is always surprising how many small companies neglect to do any kind of business or marketing planning. Figure out where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Then write the plan down and update it periodically.
2. View marketing as an investment. The more you strategically market to the people who need your product or service, the more customers you will attract.
3. Evaluate what you are currently doing to make sure the money you are spending on building your business is working for you. Don’t use strategies just because they are part of a traditional marketing program. Focus your efforts on a program that will get you the best results.
4. Stop using strategies that are not working, and always remember to test and measure so you know whether you are effectively reaching your target audience.
5. Review your marketing message. You want to be certain it clearly and concisely demonstrates “What’s in it for me?”.
6. Don’t forget to have fun. If you love what you do and have fun doing it, you will have no choice but to succeed.
   

The Power of a Unique Positioning Statement

There's a lot of competition in the small business world. Knowing what sets you apart from your competition is what will help "position" you in the marketplace. There's power in identifying and incorporating a unique positioning statement into your marketing materials. It helps bring greater awareness and identification to your company. So how do you identify your company's unique positioning statement?

Click HERE to read this entire article.

Building Customer Loyalty

When you capture the loyalty of your customers, not only will they continue to purchase from your business, they'll be more than willing to refer their family and friends. Here are a few tips on how to build customer loyalty.

1. The most important character your business needs to portray is integrity. There are no compromises when it comes to integrity. It starts with you, the business owner, and filters down to every employee.
2. Remember that marketing and customer relations is all about building trust and developing relationships.
3. You've got to listen to your customers and their needs and then create a product or service that exceeds customer expectations.
   
4. Identify and build your brand image. Think about what you'd like your customers to say about your business when they refer you to others and work to develop that image.
5. Take a genuine interest in your customers as you focus on their needs.
   
6. Never take customer loyalty for granted. There's plenty of competition out there, and your customers can very easily go somewhere else, but they choose to purchase from your business. Let them know you appreciate them and their business.