Lima Lerch Marketing Consulting

Lima Lerch Consulting Behind EcoLogicalMom.com

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:52:00 +0000

Lima Lerch Consulting is excited to support eco-friendly parents by  providing information through EcoLogicalMom.com. 

Brookfield, WI – October 3, 2009 – Lima Lerch Consulting, a Strategic  Marketing Consulting company based in Wisconsin, is launching a  website for eco-friendly parents. The site provides information and  share experiences from multiple sources about raising kids with an Eco and Logical mindset.  From homemade food recipes, travel information, active lifestyle and  product information, it reflects a journey to a healthy and meaningful  lifestyle. All with an eco-friendly twist.  “We are very excited to work with the EcoLogicalMom editors. Eco- friendly parents can play a big role in supporting our environment by  raising their kids with an eco-friendly mindset", said Renata Lerch,  Managing Director at Lima Lerch Consulting.  The site URL is www.ecologicalmom.com. Readers can also access information through www.facebook.com/EcoLogicalmom, and follow tweets on www.twitter.com/EcoLogicalMom.

Lima Lerch Consulting develops customized programs for large and small  organizations, coaching clients in the US and Latin America to develop  strategic thinking and effective implementation processes. Services  provided include development of comprehensive marketing plans,  communications, advertising and promotion strategies, strategic alliances  and partnerships, international expansions and representation.  

For more information, please visit www.limalerchconsulting.com, e-mail renata@limalerchconsulting.com, or call (414) 243-0192.  

Contact: Renata L.Lerch (414) 243-0192 renata@limalerchconsulting.com

Press Release: Lima Lerch Consult Supporting Local Latino Business

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:50:00 +0000

Lima Lerch Consulting is excited to support the Hispanic Community of
Small Business Owners in the Greater Milwaukee area.
Brookfield, WI – March 3, 2008 – Lima Lerch Consulting, a Strategic
Marketing Consulting company based in Wisconsin, is offering free
strategic marketing counseling to Hispanic Small Business Owners that
are members of the Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee
(HPGM).

HPGM members now will be able to count on very experienced
marketing consultants to take their small businesses to the next level.
Lima Lerch Consulting professionals have 16 years of strategic marketing
experience in the US and Latin America, developing and executing a
wide range of marketing and sales strategies designed to establish
market presence and increase profitability.

“We are very excited to work with HPGM, supporting Hispanic
entrepreneurs with their business initiatives. Lima Lerch Consulting has
very strong ties with the Latin American community, and is eager to
help members in Wisconsin achieve strategic precision”, said Renata
Lerch, Managing Director at Lima Lerch Consulting.

This offer is valid from now to August, 30, 2008. For more details,
terms and conditions please logon towww.limalerchconsulting.com/hpgm, or www.hpgm.org, under “What’s
going on” section.

Lima Lerch Consulting develops customized programs for large and small
organizations, coaching clients in the US and Latin America to develop
strategic thinking and effective implementation processes. Services
provided include development of comprehensive marketing plans,
communications, advertising and promotion strategies, strategic alliances
and partnerships, international expansions and representation.

For more information, please visit www.limalerchconsulting.com, e-mail
renata@limalerchconsulting.com, or call (414) 243-0192.

Contact: Renata L.Lerch
(414) 243-0192
renata@limalerchconsulting.com

Social Media Explosion: A Guide

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:02:00 +0000

Editorial and Cover, Home Business Magazine, June 2011

There are many ways to promote your business online, even when your budget is tight. However, the options you pick should be based on your audience’s behavior. From social media and online retail stores, to group buying sites and public relations, make sure you take advantage of most, if not all fifteen opportunities mentioned in this article. But before you begin your online efforts to market your business, focus on your own website, as it is imperative that your website is search-friendly

1. Your Own Website  Your website is your company’s virtual face — a perfect location to promote your business. It is quite surprising how many business managers don’t pay much attention to such an important aspect of their company’s brand. Visitors often react negatively when they see poor quality content and clutter. A well-designed website provides content with the least amount of clicks and unnecessary pages. It also motivates visitors to learn more about what you offer as they navigate through the site. Make sure the content is relevant, clear, and direct to the point, as customers should be able to get their answers effortlessly.  Products and services should have specific landing pages featuring photos, quality descriptions, and videos. Landing pages should be coded for search, including keyword-rich copy, header text, title tags, a unique URL, and Meta information that describes the product.  For more information, read the article, How to Spring Clean Your Website: Freshen Up Your Site and Bring New Life and New Customers to Your Online Business, in this issue. 

2-8 Social Media and Online Networks  Social media is an amazing way to promote your business and receive immediate feedback from potential customers. It is perfect for small and mid-size companies as it facilitates your communication with thousands of targeted people easily, effectively, and quite inexpensively. It is a great investment to dedicate at least an hour a day to send appropriate messages, ideas, and comments of interest to your audience. They will get hooked on your postings, opening a key line of direct dialogue. It is a communication channel that allows you to develop branding and promotions. Social media applications give merchants opportunities not only to learn about their customers, but to connect with them in real time.  Start with social media channels your audience is likely to use:

2. Facebook  If your customers are composed of direct consumers, there is a good chance that most of them are Facebook users. Creating a business page on Facebook is a tremendous opportunity to announce promotions, product launches, and general information about your products and services. Research shows that promotions are one of the top reasons why people become fans of (a.k.a. Like) business pages. It is also a valuable tool to receive feedback. Because of Facebook’s informal environment, readers tend to react to postings, and their comments can give very important feedback to your company. You can manipulate your postings to receive specific insights. It is a perfect tool to develop relationships with potential customers and business partners.

3. Twitter  Twitter is another excellent channel to connect with customers and followers, offering quick messages (maximum 140 characters) on product announcements and promotions. It is also ideal to develop business relationships with your followers and the people that you follow. What’s more, Twitter allows you to track industry leaders and stay current with the latest trends.  In addition to creating your own stream of followers, connecting with social media influencers can be a very useful strategy. Find them easily by searching key Twitter players in your industry through applications such as twittergrader.com. Influencers already have a targeted group of followers that respect their opinions. Developing relationships with them may land you a recommendation. Actually, even a simple mention of your product or service may generate high quality exposure to potential buyers and business partners.

4. LinkedIn  Are you maximizing your profile on LinkedIn? As a business owner or manager, you can take advantage of LinkedIn for your personal and business connections. In order to grow your network, search for people you know. Don’t be shy to ask customers and associates to post testimonials. It can be very valuable for networking and future connections. Use LinkedIn as an imaginary trade show. Update your status like you do with Facebook and Twitter. You may benefit from keeping your network up-to-date on your business progress. Your new products or services may be a solution for their personal or business needs. There are several forums and groups posting questions that your business may help answer. Post your comments and answers to business needs. Search on LinkedIn for industry-related groups and become a member to be aware of trends and questions from your business audience. It is your chance to post answers and promote your business.  For more information, read the article, LinkedIn Profile Secrets: The #1 Reason Why Your LinkedIn Profile Fails to Attract More, in this issue.

5. YouTube  YouTube is an exceptional channel to visually promote your business, and it doesn’t require expensive equipment. A simple camera will do it, along with well-planned content and production. You can create several short videos teaching how to fix or build things, or for product demonstrations. Develop a strategy with objectives. Create a channel with a series of episodes connected by themes. Viewers should be able to understand your message by watching just one video, but embed some sort of hook at the end of each episode to induce the audience to want to watch the next one. It is a great way to position your brand and build loyalty. If your videos are good enough on YouTube, viewers most likely will distribute them virally, multiplying the exposure without any extra cost.  Take advantage of YouTube’s versatility by posting your videos on websites, blogs, newsletters, press releases, and social media.

6. Geolocation  Geolocation services are becoming powerful marketing tools. If you have a physical location for walk-in customers, utilize geolocation tools like foursquare.com. Offer special deals for your business’s mayors, and promotions for your best customers. It goes a long way in creating buzz for your new offerings and locations.  Geolocation locally engages people by distributing rewards and combining friends and city guide elements with game mechanics. When they use the application within a few blocks from your business, a special offer can pop up on their mobile phones. Location-based services offer customer-relationship tools, rewards programs, social networks, games, business directories, city guides, and review sites. Other geolocation services include gowalla.com and loopt.com. Scvngr.com’s platform offers a quite flexible rewards program allowing you to reward customers for specific action such as posting a picture, checking in, etc. Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and Google are developing location-based functions as well.

7. Blogging Many businesses can greatly benefit from blogging. You can write about your industry, your products, and your services. Blogging is a unique channel for branding, and to personally position you as an industry expert. Blogs can also be part of your website, giving it a dynamic flare. As visitors read your postings regularly, they will visit your website more often, resulting in more exposure to your line of products. There are cleverly designed free platforms such as blogger.com and wordpress.com available in the market, and you don’t need any programming skills to use them.  Like Twitter, some bloggers can be hugely influential. They have thousands of followers that read their postings every day. Having your product or service reviewed or mentioned by these bloggers can be very valuable to your brand. Finding them is very easy by using online search engines such as Google and Yahoo. Make sure you have a good understanding of their editorial policies, styles, audience, and content before submitting your product or service. Your goal is to have them review and make a positive recommendation. Also, pay close attention to their feedback. It may be very insightful to your product development team.

8. Online Forums and Industry News Portals  Forums and portals are great channels to get your brand and yourself involved in relevant discussions. You can unlock deals by posting solutions to business managers’ problems. You may also be able to visualize business opportunities or partnerships. What’s more, by placing your message and links to your website in comment strings, you will get additional significance in search engine rankings. Maximize your exposure, but make sure your comments are relevant. Follow at least the top two or three industry news websites on a daily basis.

9. e-Newsletters  Another direct way to connect with customers and solidify your brand is through your own electronic newsletter. It is inexpensive (or even free depending on the size of your database), and you will be able to present first-hand your new products, service announcements, and a handful of useful information to your customers. E-mail platforms such as mailchimp.com and constantcontact.com are very user-friendly.  Consider offering a sneak peek of your new product or service, exclusive only to e-mail recipients, or before it is available to non-subscribers. Rewarding your database will help you add and maintain subscriptions. Distribute your newsletter issues periodically, but do not spam your subscribers. Make sure your design is professional, and that your editorial follows some sort of guidelines with objectives. Your e-newsletter design and content should reflect your brand personality, which will help build your brand awareness.

10. Press Releases  Issuing press releases is an important component of any effective communications plan. Embedding multimedia into your releases will enhance the reader’s brand perception and recall, and increase your chances to be picked up by mainstream media. There are multiple options of public relations services available for small and mid-size businesses. You can hire a service to write and/or distribute it online, or you can write it yourself and distribute it to your local media. Your distribution choices should reflect the geography of your audience. If it is a local business, distributing to your local media is as simple as sending your press releases to industry reporters’ addresses listed in the publications’ websites, via social media, and e-mail. Be creative and send journalists to customized landing pages. Embed YouTube videos with the announcements and demonstrations. The overall content should be succinct, avoiding wordy and long messages. If your audience is spread nationwide or internationally, it may make sense to hire a public relations agency. For text-only and multimedia options, you can use services such as prnewswire.com, prweb.com, or mindtouch.com. Less expensive services include freepressrelease.com and prlog.org.

11. Online Advertising  Keyword search programs such as Google Adwords and other pay-per-click services are valuable tools for promoting products and services for a wider group of people. These targeted groups are composed of web users actively looking for your category of products but are not necessarily familiar or connected to your brand. It is a great tool for brand awareness, and perfect for small and mid-size businesses due to its flexibility to manage daily changes with limited budget. Other online advertising services that should not be overlooked include social media platforms such as Facebook. While the audience may not be actively looking for a product or service, social media paid advertising allows you to target users by location, age, gender, and specific areas of interest.  All online ads should be clickable and linked to a high-quality landing page on your website or blog. Landing pages should have specific information about your product offerings, including description, prices, and instructions for making a purchase. Don’t expect visitors to navigate many pages of your website to search for information, because they won’t.  For more information, read the article, Expand Your Ideas Using Google: Six Steps for New Product or Service Development, in this issue.

12. Group Buying Sites  People are becoming ever more connected to group buying sites, attracted by their great deals. They are valuable tools for brand awareness, or to eliminate extra inventory while promoting your business. The audience is quite targeted, which means that they opted in to receive daily deals for a particular location and product category. Users sign up to receive daily deals. Since group buying sites allow you to target a group by location, they open up great marketing prospects for brand awareness, and customized geographical reach. You can benefit by providing aggressive offers to specific markets while keeping mature regions away from low margin deals. Group buying websites include groupon.com, dealon.com, and livingsocial.com.

13. Online Retail Sites and Aggregators  Big online retail websites offer a range of services that small and mid-size businesses can tap into. By selling your products through websites such as amazon.com, ebay.com, and etsy.com, you can reach nationwide customers that are already engaged in the search and purchase processes. You can also take advantage of their payment, fulfillment, and shipping programs, and benefit from their popular customer reviews. When using those services, you are providing peace of mind to potential customers that already trust these reputable online retailers or aggregators.

14. Quick Response Codes  Depending on your audience, your company can hugely benefit from using QR codes in store windows, and product packages, posters, ads, and displays. A QR code is a matrix bar code with data and/or a URL encoded. Customers can access information by scanning the code with their smartphones. This technology opens up a wide range of customized promotional opportunities for brands. Basically, you can have a sign to guide customers to scan the code to access coupons, and product or contact information. It will be linked to a landing page with all promotional or demonstration details.  Because QR codes are fairly new technology, you may need to help customers understand what they have to do to access them. For example, you can say something as easy as “Scan this code now using your smartphone to access…” Customers can download the scanner software for their phones’ cameras at i–nigma.com and scanlife.com. The software is free, and it only takes a couple of minutes to download. Since users will read your code’s landing page using their smartphones, it is important to create a mobile-friendly site.

15. Article Publications  Lastly, as an industry expert, try to build your professional reputation by publishing articles online. You can indirectly increase your company’s brand awareness by adding to the credits a link to your website. Make sure readers can easily contact you to request authorization for syndication, and to obtain information about your company. Articles are an efficient way to spread your message and promote your company. Expert articles may vary from one to three thousand words, depending on hosting requirements and topic. Try to publish at least three or four articles a year to build your expert status and increase your company’s search engine rankings. Free portals include ezinearticles.com and associatedcontent.com. You can also submit articles to industry magazines. Look for their editorial calendar — your topic may fit their needs.

Your Core Message  Now that you are aware of the value of many inexpensive opportunities to maximize your business exposure, it is important to think about the core message you want to communicate. Elaborate on the concept and sentiment you want associated with your brand. All communications through all media channels should reflect that core message. You have to take the lead on how your brand is perceived. Once you have established your objectives, you can decide which channels are best suited to your business.

The cyber world is quite dynamic, so promoting your business online requires daily maintenance. You must keep your basis fresh by posting content daily, answering questions, connecting to followers, learning industry trends, and developing relationships. Don’t just post your content on social networks and walk away. There are many tools available to help you manage multiple social media such as hootsuite.com or socialoomph.com.  Your master plan should be revisited at a minimum once a month. Your competitors change directions periodically, and you need to be alert to any movement. Realigning your strategies will allow you to maximize your marketing efforts. HBM

© Lima Lerch Consulting 2006-2011. All Rights Reserved. Renata L. Lerch is a recognized authority on strategic marketing and communications. She is the founder of Lima Lerch Consulting, and has worked with strategic marketing for over 18 years. Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering the US, European and Latin American markets. Renata has developed and executed strategic consumer and trade marketing and sales plans across multiple channels, including communications, branding, market research, promotions, social media, online/offline advertising, partnerships and PR. Renata also has extensive experience with customer service. Lima Lerch Consulting (www.limalerchconsulting.com) provides leading marketing consulting services to small and mid-size companies in the US and Latin America. Contact us at customerservice@limalerchconsulting.com, or logon to limalerchconsulting.com. Renata’s direct e-mail address is renata@limalerchconsulting.com

Biografia

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:06:00 +0000

Renata B.L.Lerch, fundadora da Lima Lerch Consulting, trabalha com  marketing há mais de 17 anos. Antes de fundar a Lima Lerch Consulting,  ela gerenciou as áreas de marketing e desenvolvimento de negócios em  grandes empresas multinacionais, nos mercados dos Estados Unidos,  América Latina e Europa.  Renata desenvolve e implementa programas de vendas e marketing  estratégico para consumidores e Business-to-Business. Sua área de  atuação abrange planejamento de canais de distribuição,  estabelecimento de metas internacionais, desenvolvimento de  estratégias de comunicação, pesquisa de mercado, promoções de  vendas, campanhas de publicidade online/offline, estabelecimento de  parcerias, e RP. Renata também possui longa experiência com Serviços  de Atendimento à Clientes.  Ela escreveu artigos sobre marketing estratégico, tem 2 MBAs, e fala  português, inglês e espanhol. Renata participa do conselho de diretores  de algumas organizações nos Estados Unidos.

Serviços

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:04:00 +0000

Desenvolvemos programas internacionais customizados para pequenas,

médias e grandes empresas. Nossos serviços incluem:

Desenvolvimento e implementação de programas internacionais de

marketing e vendas:

• Planejamento e implementação de estratégias de marketing e  vendas.

• Pesquisa de mercado: análise competitiva, identificação de  oportunidades de negócios e canais de distribuição de vendas.

• Desenvolvimento de estratégias de comunicação, promoção e  propaganda.

• Recomendações de estratégias de entrada em mercados  internacionais.

• Reestruturação e revitalização de divisões de vendas e marketing.

Implementação e gerenciamento de alianças estratégicas e parcerias

internacionais:

• Representação internacional.

• Processos de globalização.

• B2B matchmaking.

• Organização de missões comerciais, representações ou  acompanhamentos em feiras internacionais.

• Agendamento de visitas comerciais internacionais.

• Assessoria na obtenção de registros de produtos, relações  públicas e imprensa, assistência juríídica, tradução de  documentos.

• Budgeting e análise de resultados.

Ajudar nossos clientes a atingir precisão estratégica é a nossa missão.

Para mais informações, ou para conversar com nossos consultores, por

favor entre em contato.

Quem Somos

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 16:02:00 +0000

Com 20 anos de experiência em gestão de empresas na  América Latina, Estados Unidos e Europa, nossos consultores têm  conhecimento e experiência em diversas áreas de negócios, nos  permitindo ampla atuação em mercados locais e internacionais.  Trabalhamos junto a nossos clientes no desenvolvimento e  implementação de uma variedade de estratégias de marketing e  vendas, com o objetivo de estabelecer presença de mercado e  maximizar resultados financeiros, resultando em um crescimento  sustentado.  Nosso time trabalha de forma colaborativa, com empresas de  pequeno, médio e grande porte. Nossos consultores, brasileiros e de  outras nacionalidades, combinam a experiência comercial local à vasta  vivência mercadológica internacional, gerando excelentes resultados  em expansões internacionais.   Clique aqui para mais informações sobre nossos serviços, ou entre contato.

Leia a biografia de nossa fundadora

Reaching Out to your Audience: Creating an Efficient Marketing Communications Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:44:00 +0000

Article published by Home Business Magazine

Communication is a key element of marketing in any type of business organization. From small or large businesses, profit or not-for-

profit, in all segments; it is an essential part of business planning.

Organizing objectives and how to accomplish them allows business leaders and their teams to stick to the plan, resulting in

strategy continuity.

Make sure your communications plan is clear and straight to the point, including the following items.

1. Communications Objectives

Use this section to nurture general actions that will deliver your positioning, and the information needs of your audience. List a

minimum of two but no more than four or five key objectives for the period. Be specific, and try to make your goals measurable.

Some examples are:

•“Effectively reach key targeted audience.”

•“Cultivate a long-term relationship with targeted audience to gain credibility.”

•“Position the business as a niche leader.”

2. Audience Profile

Define your targeted audience and be as specific as possible. Learn where your audience is located, and how they live, their

standards and beliefs, what, how and when they use your product or similar, what they like or dislike. Is there a primary and

secondary audience? List them in order of importance, and identify who and what influences that audience. Focus on the

audience-related data that is important to your organization. Understanding consumer behavior is critical in order to successfully

build your strategies and action plan.

3. Key Messages

Think about the concept you want associated with your brand. These messages will deliver your objectives, positioning your

brand through all media and points of contact with customers, such as brochures, advertising, website, call center, locations,

press releases, etc.

Here are some examples:

•“We deliver customized services.”

•“We provide the fastest service in its niche.”

•“Professional development courses at reasonable costs.”

4. Main Communication Channels

Identify the most important and credible channels for your audience, the ones that are popular and would best deliver your

message. Take into consideration your objectives and budget. You want to maximize your dollars and exposure, reaching out to

your current and potential customers at the right timing, and with significance. Make sure the channels you choose are in line

with your objectives, and that they reach a very targeted audience. Don’t waste money delivering your message to unqualified

customers.

5. Key Strategies and Programs

Strategy is how resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics are important to make the

strategies action-oriented. List no more than 5 top strategies, and underneath each one, align programs in support. Keep them

organized with time schedules.

For example:

Strategy 1: Utilize Press Releases to increase visibility to corporate organizations.

Programs:

•Develop monthly publicity actions on appealing topics to maximize the exposure of the services or products you offer. The

information should be released by approaching journalists and/or issuing press releases to trade publications. Press releases are

normally issued a minimum of 2 months prior to the program/event.

•Combine the schedule of topics with marketing activities.

6. Budget

Prepare a detailed budget chart, breaking it down by activities. Prepare year-over-year comparisons to evaluate results and

calculate ROI.

7. Evaluation Plan

In addition to the numeric targets, it is important to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your activities.

Establish standards of performance to use as a benchmark, which will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your strategies

along the year.

Examples:

•Increase in volume of contacts and inquiries after key communications.

•PR exposure and ROI by type of publication.

8. Attachments

Attach a calendar of activities and the timeline.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renata B.L.Lerch is a recognized authority on strategic marketing. She is the founder and managing director of Lima Lerch

Consulting, and has worked with strategic marketing for over 17 years. Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed

marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering the US, European and Latin American markets.

Lima Lerch Consulting (www.limalerchconsulting.com) provides leading marketing consulting services to companies in the US and

Latin America.

Renata’s direct e-mail address is renata@limalerchconsulting.com

Effective & Easy Marketing Plan Template for Small and Mid-Size Businesses

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:41:00 +0000

A marketing plan can be a very simple document with key elements to keep your growth strategy in perspective. It is a very

important tool for your organization, serving as a reference for all individuals working with the service or product.

Keep in mind that the content should be very dynamic. Updating the document when significant changes are made is key,

incorporating important learning along the product or service development.

Here is a basic and effective template:

I. Overview

1. Situation

1.1 Trends/Key Changes in the macro environment: economic and social facts that affect your industry and audience.

1.2 Customer profile.

2. Strengths and Weaknesses of your company and top competitors.

3. External Threats and Opportunities for your company during the designated period of time.

II. Targets: revenue and volume for the time frame. Break it down by shorter periods, if your business involves seasonal variances,

and by sales channel, online, offline, etc. That will allow you to track results closely. In addition to numeric targets, try to establish

parameters to measure the effectiveness of your programs. Determine what to evaluate, and establish standards of

performance. That will allow you to take periodic corrective action.

III. Key Objectives: list here the broad actions that will lead your company to reach your numeric targets. List a minimum of three

but no more than six or seven key objectives for the period. Be aggressive but realistic.

As an example of a Key Objective, “Increase your online sales within the channel mix.”

IV. Strategies: now it is time to start planning how you will apply resources to implement and achieve those Objectives.

As an example of a Strategy related to the Key Objective above, “Increase unique visitors to your website.”

V. Tactics: list the programs that will turn your strategies action oriented.

As an example for the Strategy above, “Optimize the use of keyword search on top search engines.”

IV. Attachments: Add to this section your communications schedule, funds allocation chart, and any other charts that will help

your team visualize and compare results.

When building your Marketing Plan, make sure you include your team members in the process, and pay close attention to what

competitors are doing. Try to look at your brand, services, strategies and programs with the eyes of your audience.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renata L.Lerch, founder and managing director of Lima Lerch Consulting, has worked with strategic marketing for over 16

years. Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering

the US, European and Latin American markets. She holds 2 MBAs

Lima Lerch Consulting (www.limalerchconsulting.com) provides leading marketing consulting services to companies in the US

and Latin America.

Recomendações Preliminares de Atendimento de Serviços Internacionais: Empresas Brasileiras Prestando Serviços a Organizações Norte-Americanas.

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:39:00 +0000

1. Atendimento telefônico

É altamente recomendável que a prestadora de services no Brasil disponibilize uma linha telefônica com um número nos Estados

Unidos. Este telefone deve sempre ser atendido por uma pessoa que fale inglês fluênte, e que já atenda as ligações em inglês.

Isto é importante para que não haja confusão na hora do atendimento, passando uma primeira impressão de estrutura

despreparado e amadora. Quando um cliente internacional entra em contato com uma empresa em outro país, ele já vem com

uma carga grande de ansiedade, e encontra-se fora de sua zona de conforto com relação ao idioma e cultura, sendo fundamental

remover qualquer barreira entre a prestadora de serviços e o potencial cliente.

O sistema telefônico deve ter uma gravação em excelente inglês durante os horários em que o escritório estiver fechado.

Tais ligações deverão ser retornadas o mais rápido possível, dentro de no máximo 24 horas. Preferencialmente, quando a ligação

for recebida na noite anterior, o retorno deve ser feito na manhã seguinte, e quando for recebida durante o dia, o retorno deve

ser imediato.

2. E-mails

Quando a prestadora de serviços no Brasil receber e-mails ou contatos de solicitações de serviços internacionais, seria ideal

respondê-los imediatamente. Se a empresa não tiver estrutura para responder rapidamente, é recomendável a instalação de uma

“auto-resposta” para confirmar o recebimento do e-mail.

A “auto-resposta” pode conter um texto genérico, tal como:

“Thanks for contacting XYZ International.

We received your message, and will contact you within the next 24 hours.

Thank you,

XYZ International Team”

A mensagem do e-mail original deverá ser respondida dentro de no máximo 24 horas.

3. Follow-up

O acompanhamento proativo (follow-up) eficaz é um dos mais importantes fatores no sucesso do relacionamento com clientes.

Torna-se ainda mais importante no serviço internacional, pois confirma ao cliente que a diferença cultural não vai impactar

negativamente no resultado da parceria.

Empresas americanas estão acostumadas com atendimento rápido e organizado. A falta de follow-up durante todo o projeto traz

insegurança ao cliente com relação a qualidade da comunicação e a capacidade da empresa contratada entregar seus produtos e

serviços.

Portanto, recomenda-se o envio de relatórios semanais ao cliente para a organização da conta. Estes devem conter informações

sobre o andamento do projeto, próximos passos, e materiais/informações que a E-Open espera que o cliente envie para que os

prazos sejam cumpridos.

4. Proposta de Serviços

Para eliminar todas as incertezas e preocupações da empresa internacional contratante com relação ao serviço contratado, é

necessário que a proposta formal da prestadora de serviços seja bastante completa. Deve-se itemizar todos os serviços

contratados, prazos, preços, termos e condições, identificando nomes de gerentes de projeto e formas de contato, e deixando

claras as expectativas das partes.

Normalmente as empresas nos Estados Unidos também esperam cláusulas de confidencialidade, protegendo seus segredos

empresariais.

A proposta deve conter as assinaturas de ambas empresas e a data de contratação.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renata L.Lerch, founder and managing director of Lima Lerch Consulting, has worked with strategic marketing for over 16

years. Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering

the US, European and Latin American markets. She holds 2 MBAs

Lima Lerch Consulting (www.limalerchconsulting.com) provides leading marketing consulting services to companies in the US

and Latin America.

International Marketing Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:58:00 +0000

Article published by Home Business Magazine

Expanding your business in international markets involves risks that should be meticulously calculated. It requires additional steps

to your planning process, but the results can be very rewarding!

Having solid operations at home is usually a first step to a successful international expansion. Mastering the production, and the

overall business experience, will give you the initial confidence to attract strategic partners.

Begin with a thorough marketing plan, which will serve as a reference to all individuals involved with the business. The document

should include all aspects of the product or service life, from complete research to launch, implementation and execution. This

will be key for your business plan.

Starting with a comprehensive research plan

A detailed research plan will help you make informative decisions on the objectives and strategies. It will also help you decide how

to enter that market, whether by finding a local partner to distribute your goods, or by opening sales offices and importing your

products, or by building facilities to produce your goods in the new market.

The analysis of the macro environment is one of the most important steps of international planning. This involves a clear

understanding of the political, social and economic climate of the target market. Search for trends and forecasts of variables like

the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment rate, purchasing power, import barriers and tariffs, and important socio-political

events. You need to understand what affects your audience and the industry in general. These issues will hugely impact your

operations, and your business model should make provisions for them.

Next, compile information about the audience you want to reach: gender, average age and income, geography, preferences,

decision and purchasing process, etc. Based on cultural background, consumers in other markets have a different perception of

products, brands and related services. This will dictate the level of adjustment required to your line of products and how you will

promote it to that audience. The importance of understanding diversity cannot be overemphasized. A common mistake that

many companies make is to lump many countries together into regions. Each country on every continent has very individualized

habits and traditions that you should take into consideration.

Another important element of your research should be the accessibility of local expertise to support your operations. Search for

partners that can complement your business model in areas such as sales, operations, supply chain, legal, accounting and

distribution. Also investigate the availability of local talent to manage and run your operations. Allowing for a fast and dynamic

local decision-making process is vital for a successful expansion.

Then you should examine the competitive environment using the “SWOT” analysis technique. At this time, investigate all public

information available about your top competitors, and get a clear knowledge of their Strengths and Weaknesses. Find out the

barriers for entrants, be aware of your limitations as a new player, and know potential cultural pre-concepts that may affect you

as a foreign brand. With this information in hand you will be able to compare and elaborate on your Opportunities and Threats.

You want this section to be very objective, with clear bullet point lists.

Setting the basis

The next step is to quantify your targets. This should include your transaction volume and revenue targets; most multinational

companies use the US dollar as the official currency for revenue reports. Due to exchange rate fluctuations, it is recommended to

track results in both local currency and the US dollar. Create multiple columns with targets for the year, and also broken down by

quarter. On a separate chart, break it down further by distribution channel such as intermediaries, in store, online, etc. Detailed

reports will help you understand market seasonality and channels.

After conducting thorough research and setting your targets, you are ready to develop your key marketing objectives. Use this

opportunity to figure out the macro course of actions that will enable your company to reach its numeric targets. Be realistic;

think through objectives that are both aggressive and achievable. Some important objectives at this stage usually involve

branding, product development and distribution channel mix. List a minimum of three but no more than six or seven key

marketing objectives for the year. Consider hiring your local manager before or during this stage; the involvement of this

professional in the planning process can be very valuable for the success of your international expansion.

Next, work on the strategies and activities in support, which are the means to realize your objectives. Start with the

‘communications message’, the sentiment you want associated with your brand. Use in-country assistance to consolidate a single

powerful message that should be reflected in all points of contact with customers such as brochures, advertising, website, stores,

press releases, etc. Sometimes a message that is successfully communicated at home is translatable, but in most cases it will

require adjustments to the native culture, which is why the use of local assistance is vital.

Then, develop the key marketing strategies, supported by tactics and programs to execute them. In essence, strategy is how

resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics and programs are important to make the strategies

action-oriented.

As you work through your six or seven strategies, focus on delivering distinctive value to your customers through your programs.

You don’t have to limit the number of programs and tactics under each strategy. Keep them focused, with clear implementation

facts and time schedules. All should be visually organized, so your team can envision how the tactics and programs relate to each

strategy, and how all strategies will contribute to the overall objectives. Bear in mind the resources and marketing funds available

for the year.

Finish your plan with a detailed budget chart, breaking it down by activities and costs, in both currencies. In the future, a year-

over-year comparison will be helpful to evaluate the results and calculate return on investment.

A marketing plan is not a static document. Revisions should be made at least quarterly, as your team becomes more

knowledgeable about the new market. In addition to the numeric targets, it is useful to establish parameters to measure the

effectiveness of your strategies, tactics and programs. Determine what to evaluate, and establish standards of performance, but

be careful with misleading comparisons between different markets. This exercise will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting

your marketing strategies to be more competitive during the year.

These are the basics of effective international marketing planning. Once implementation is in place, have your mind set for future

expansions, developing a business model that can be recreated in other countries, with proper adjustments. And finally, be sure

to involve your team throughout the process, and make allowances for cultural distinction in management style!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renata L.Lerch, founder and managing director of Lima Lerch Consulting, has worked with strategic marketing for over 16 years.

Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering the US,

European and Latin American markets. She holds 2 MBAs

Lima Lerch Consulting (www.limalerchconsulting.com) provides leading marketing consulting services to companies in the US

and Latin America.

Renata’s direct e-mail address is renata@limalerchconsulting.com

Key Elements of a Successful Marketing Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:56:00 +0000

Article published by Home Business Magazine

During my almost two-decade career in strategic marketing I’ve seen numerous marketing cases involving different products and

services. A common element in all successful marketing stories has been an organized and effective marketing plan, which serves

as the backbone for the product or service life cycle.

A marketing plan should be a reference for all individuals involved with the project, including both employees and contractors. It

should contain the core elements that keep launch and implementation in synch with the strategy. Obviously, it is not a static

document. Revisions should be made at a minimum on a quarterly basis to incorporate key learnings during the process.

Starting with a good research plan

The “OVERVIEW” of your plan should include trends and key changes in the macro environment, from the economic and social

aspects affecting your audience to important industry information. Find useful estimates and forecasts that will help you make

decisions. Next, compile key information about the audience you want to reach: gender, average age and income, geography,

preferences, decision and purchasing process, etc. Your entire team should be familiar with the details of your target clients.

The analysis of the competitive environment, or “SWOT”, should be worked subsequently. At this time, investigate all public

information available about your top competitors, and get a clear understanding of their Strengths and Weaknesses. With this

information in hand you will be able to compare and elaborate on your Opportunities and Threats. You want this section to be

clear and objective, with straight bullet point lists.

Bringing it all together

The next step is your numeric “TARGETS”. Include in this page your target revenue and transaction volume for the year, and

broken down by quarter, especially if your product involves seasonal variances. If possible, also break it down by distribution

channel such as online, in store, through intermediaries, etc. Make a comparative chart with columns for the previous year and

the year in question.

After completing the research you are ready to develop the “KEY OBJECTIVES”. Use this opportunity to think through the

macro course of actions that will lead your company to reach your numeric targets. Maybe you want to nurture differentiation

through superior services, increase online sales in the channel mix, or enlarge your geographic coverage. List a minimum of three

but no more than six or seven key objectives for the year, which should be aggressive but achievable.

The “STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT” are the means to realize your objectives. Start with the “communications

message”, the sentiment you want associated with your brand. This should be reflected in all points of contact with customers

such as brochures, advertising, website, call center, locations, press releases, etc. Brainstorm with your team and consolidate it in

a single powerful message, related to your objectives.

Then, develop the “key strategies”, supported by tactics and programs to execute them. In essence, strategy is how resources

are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics and programs are important to make the strategies action-

oriented.

Envision it as an umbrella:

Main Objectives:

-Key Message related to the Objectives

-Key Strategy 1 to achieve the Objectives:

Tactics and Programs to execute Key Strategy 1

-Key Strategy 2 to achieve the Objectives:

Tactics and Programs to execute Key Strategy 2

As you work through your six or seven strategies, focus on delivering distinctive value to your customers through your programs.

You don’t have to limit the number of programs and tactics under each strategy. Keep them focused and well organized, with

implementation facts and time schedules. Bear in mind the resources and marketing funds available throughout the year.

Finish your plan with a detailed “BUDGET” chart, breaking it down by activities and costs. A year-over-year comparison is always

helpful to evaluate the results and calculate return on investment.

As the competitive environment evolves, so should your set of strategies. Revisions are necessary periodically. In addition to the

numeric targets, it is important to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your tactics and programs. Determine

what to evaluate, and establish standards of performance. That will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your strategies

along the year.

These are the basics of an effective marketing plan. Make sure you involve your team through the process; it is a very rewarding

exercise!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renata L.Lerch, founder and managing director of Lima Lerch Consulting, has worked with strategic marketing for over 16

years. Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering

the US, European and Latin American markets. She holds 2 MBAs

Lima Lerch Consulting (www.limalerchconsulting.com) provides leading marketing consulting services to companies in the US

and Latin America.

Biography

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:49:00 +0000

Renata B.L.Lerch, founder of Lima Lerch Consulting, has worked with  marketing for over 18 years.  Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and  business development in large multinationals, covering the US,  European and Latin American markets.  Renata has developed and executed strategic consumer and trade  marketing and sales plans across multiple channels, including  establishing targets, communications strategy, market research and  analysis, sales promotions, online/offline advertising, partnership and  PR. Renata also has extensive experience with customer service, and  has published articles in online and printed business publications.  She serves on the Board of Directors of a few organizations, holds 2  MBAs and speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Press

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:47:00 +0000

Lima Lerch Consulting Supports Local Latino Small Busines Owners. (March 3, 2008)

Lima Lerch Consulting Behind Launch of EcoLogicalMom.com (October 3, 2009)

Fact Sheet Lima Lerch Consulting (English)

Fact Sheet Lima Lerch Consulting (Portuguese)

Home Business Magazine August 2007 - "Key Elements of a  Successful Marketing Plan" 

Home Business Magazine February 2009 - "International  Marketing Planning" 

Effective and Easy Marketing Plan Template for Small and Mid-SizeBusinesses

Home Business Magazine, June 2010 - "Reaching Out to your  Audience: Creating an Efficient Marketing Communications Plan" 

Editorial Cover, Home Business Magazine, June 2011, "Social Media Explosion"

Associated Content Article, October 2010

Associated Content Article, November 2010

The Marketing Executives Group International, November 2010

Testimonials

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:46:00 +0000

"Renata L. Lerch is one of the best marketing professionals I've met  during my career. She is always precise in her observations and in the  way she plans and executes marketing strategies. Renata made a great  contribution to our company during the period she provided consulting  services. Her focus is always on the delivery of the best services to customers, and incremental revenue to our operations."
Flavia Vicentini, Marketing Manager, Hertz Rent a Car, Brazil

"Working with Renata Lerch has been a very enriching experience. She’s  always ready to respond to our requests with the flexibility and  confidence required in global markets. One of Renata's best qualities is  that she will not always agree with your opinion, just to please you, the  client. Renata will act on what is best for the project, and if required,  will drastically change the course of actions for best results. Her  extensive experience with international markets allows her company to  provide strong partnership and means for a sustainable growth,  regardless of the size of your business. My experience has been very productive, Renata understands our  needs and available resources to build our business. This is a unique  skill; she can provide great insights to both small and large companies,  taking into consideration their individual culture, pace and resources.  The results of her work are rapidly noticeable. Dynamic and sustainable  results are key to the current business environment. I’m sure that our partnership will continue to grow along E-Open’s business phases."

Andre Escudero, President, E-Open International

"Renata has brought tremendous strategic insight into our business.  We've developed a platform for viral marketing, and Renata has been  involved from the very early stages. We needed someone with broad  marketing experience and specific knowledge of the relationship  between ad agencies and advertisers. Renata helped us identify the  key components that had to be provided by our platform in order to  fully satisfy the client needs. Renata is a very thoughtful individual.  She is driven by a desire to understand. Her approach is to ask  questions, the right questions. It is exactly this question and answer  conversation that helped us see things clearly and formulate our  marketing strategy. As we started to acquire clients, I am happy to  report, that she was right on the mark. What I like about Renata is  that she leads you along a path toward a solution rather than spit out ready answers and pre-digested recipes. She is a solid marketing professional with great work ethic and lot's of smarts.  Last but not least, she takes ownership of a project as if it were her  own company. I am a strong believer that taking ownership is the  single most important predictor of the success of any professional relationship."

Val Popov, uVizz Media, Founder and Managing Partner

"Renata is one of the most highly respected marketing consultants. She  has provided outstanding services to our international business development"

Loris Tedeschi, Sales Director, Interep Representações

"Renata has been instrumental in helping our growing not-for-profit organization reach its branding and marketing potential. The first month Renata joined the Board she asked all the right questions and created  our very first Marketing Strategy Plan. With Renata's leadership, we are  well on our way in positioning ourselves as the premier Hispanic  Professionals organization in the 7 county region. It has been an honor to work with such a talented, strategic, admirable individual."

Yvonne Brodsky, Executive Director Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee

“Renata Lima Lerch is one of those rare individuals who can take an  abstract concept or theory and turn it into an extraordinary reality. Her  understanding of the basics of marketing and its electronic tools will find  few equals. Renata is great leader and visionary web entrepreneur with  ability to change face internet and social web technologies for  businesses and consumer solutions. Renata is working on social media  strategy and design for Fonseca Andrade Law Firm.’s Facebook and Renata Andrade’s blog."

Renata Andrade, licensed lawyer in Brazil and USA,  Attorney partner at Fonseca Andrade Advocacia, Sao Paulo, Brazil

“Renata has catapulted my business in a very short period of time with her suggestions, expertise and technical skills in the social networking world. In just a few short weeks, I am being sought for my advice, skills and expertise by people through out the United States and England! I never imagined I would be in this position in such a short time. I am looking forward to continued exposure and ultimately building a business internationally! I would highly recommend Renata if you are thinking of building or expanding your business, but hold onto your hat it will be a whirlwind-exciting-ride!”

June Rydberg, Ladders to the Puzzle, Sussex, WI

Resources

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:44:00 +0000

Key Elements for a Successful Marketing Plan

International Marketing Planning

Recomendações Preliminares de Atendimento de Serviços Internacionais: Empresas Brasileiras Prestando Serviços a Organizações Norte-Americanas.

Effective and Easy Marketing Plan Template for Small and Mid-Size Businesses

Reaching Out to your Audience: Creating an Efficient Marketing Communications Plan

Social Media Explosion: Promoting your Business Online

Fifteen Highly Effective and Inexpensive Channels  

Contact

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:43:00 +0000

For more information, or to discuss how we can assist your organization, please contact us.

Ph: +1 (414) 243-0192
Skype: limalerch

Renata L. Lerch

Founder, Managing Director

e-mail: renata@limalerchconsulting.com

Services

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:41:00 +0000

Our marketing team is distinguished by our functional, creative and  technical expertise in online and offline marketing communications. We  bring a proactive, fresh and innovative approach to your organization,  understanding your needs and limited resources. Our goal is to exceed  the expectations of every client by offering outstanding personal  service, increased flexibility, and greater value.  Our core strengths include:

• Comprehensive Strategic Marketing Communications Planning

• Blog Development and Management

• Copywriting and Editing

• E-mail Marketing and Electronic Communications

• Internet Marketing

• Public Relations

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

• Customer Service

• Social Media Development and Management

• Website and Graphic Design

• Online Advertising

• Market Research

• Sales Channels Identification

• International Marketing

• ...And More

  Our mission is to help clients achieve strategic precision and optimal  implementation.For more information, or to discuss how we can assist your  organization, please contact us.

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:39:00 +0000

Excellence in Communications Strategy

Functional, Creative and Technical Expertise

Your Overhead Low and Productivity High

We Bring Solutions

We Understand Your Limited Resources

Over 20 Years of Global Marketing Experience

Who We Are

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:19:00 +0000

Lima Lerch Consulting professionals have 20 years of strategic marketing experience in the US and Latin America.

Our team has a strong record of developing and executing a wide range of marketing communications strategies designed to establish market presence and increase revenues and profitability.We have broad consumer and B2B experience in the US, Latin America and Europe.

Our marketing team is composed of proven performers who move easily from vision and strategy to implementation and follow-through. We have the ideal tools to work with small and mid-size businesses, understanding your needs and limited resources.

Our mission is to help clients achieve strategic marketing precision and optimal implementation.

Click here to access the founder's biography.For more information, or to discuss how our team can assist yourorganization - in English, Portuguese or Spanish - please contact us.

The Many Faces of You

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 15:45:00 +0000

Great article about social media, and how it develops to reflect real life behavior. Check it out!
The Many Faces of You

Source: NYTimes

Key Elements for a Successful Marketing Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 22:08:00 +0000

This article has been published by a few publications, here is the full article.....

During my almost two-decade career in strategic marketing I’ve seen numerous marketing cases involving different products and services. A common element in all successful marketing stories has been an organized and effective marketing plan, which serves as the backbone for the product or service life cycle.

A marketing plan should be a reference for all individuals involved with the project, including both employees and contractors. It should contain the core elements that keep launch and implementation in synch with the strategy. Obviously, it is not a static document. Revisions should be made at a minimum on a quarterly basis to incorporate key learnings during the process.

Starting with a good research plan

The “OVERVIEW” of your plan should include trends and key changes in the macro environment, from the economic and social aspects affecting your audience to important industry information. Find useful estimates and forecasts that will help you make decisions. Next, compile key information about the audience you want to reach: gender, average age and income, geography, preferences, decision and purchasing process, etc. Your entire team should be familiar with the details of your target clients.

The analysis of the competitive environment, or “SWOT”, should be worked subsequently. At this time, investigate all public information available about your top competitors, and get a clear understanding of their Strengths and Weaknesses. With this information in hand you will be able to compare and elaborate on your Opportunities and Threats. You want this section to be clear and objective, with straight bullet point lists.

Bringing it all together

The next step is your numeric “TARGETS”. Include in this page your target revenue and transaction volume for the year, and broken down by quarter, especially if your product involves seasonal variances. If possible, also break it down by distribution channel such as online, in store, through intermediaries, etc. Make a comparative chart with columns for the previous year and the year in question.

After completing the research you are ready to develop the “KEY OBJECTIVES”. Use this opportunity to think through the macro course of actions that will lead your company to reach your numeric targets. Maybe you want to nurture differentiation through superior services, increase online sales in the channel mix, or enlarge your geographic coverage. List a minimum of three but no more than six or seven key objectives for the year, which should be aggressive but achievable.

The “STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES IN SUPPORT” are the means to realize your objectives. Start with the “communications message”, the sentiment you want associated with your brand. This should be reflected in all points of contact with customers such as brochures, advertising, website, call center, locations, press releases, etc. Brainstorm with your team and consolidate it in a single powerful message, related to your objectives.

Then, develop the “key strategies”, supported by tactics and programs to execute them. In essence, strategy is how resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics and programs are important to make the strategies action-oriented.

Envision it as an umbrella:

Main Objectives:

-Key Message related to the Objectives

-Key Strategy 1 to achieve the Objectives:

Tactics and Programs to execute Key Strategy 1

-Key Strategy 2 to achieve the Objectives:

Tactics and Programs to execute Key Strategy 2

As you work through your six or seven strategies, focus on delivering distinctive value to your customers through your programs. You don’t have to limit the number of programs and tactics under each strategy. Keep them focused and well organized, with implementation facts and time schedules. Bear in mind the resources and marketing funds available throughout the year.

Finish your plan with a detailed “BUDGET” chart, breaking it down by activities and costs. A year-over-year comparison is always helpful to evaluate the results and calculate return on investment.

As the competitive environment evolves, so should your set of strategies. Revisions are necessary periodically. In addition to the numeric targets, it is important to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your tactics and programs. Determine what to evaluate, and establish standards of performance. That will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your strategies along the year.

These are the basics of an effective marketing plan. Make sure you involve your team through the process; it is a very rewarding exercise!

Mompreneurs: Hire One if You Can

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:54:00 +0000

I'm fascinated by how some home-based-business moms manage to build magnificent empires with little time and basically no business background.

It's hard to focus on a business plan with so many interruptions during the day; not only from kids but also from family members, sometimes inconsiderate of mompreneurs business hours. Even with so many distractions, they still pull their usually limited resources to build their enterprises.

What is the driver? How do they get there? While some are lucky, others are very determined to succeed. It requires a lot of organization, discipline and persistence to juggle personal and professional tasks under the same roof. Immense self-motivation and intelligence distinguish them from the crowd.

Business executives, give these ladies a round of applause, and learn their Modus Operandi! Their ability to multitask is unprecedented, and their team-work skills, simply extraordinary!

Reaching Out to your Audience: Creating an Efficient Marketing Communications Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 20:15:00 +0000

Communication is a key element of marketing in any type of business organization. From small or large businesses, profit or not-for-profit, in all segments; it is an essential part of business planning.

Organizing objectives and how to accomplish them allows business leaders and their teams to stick to the plan, resulting in strategy continuity.

Make sure your communications plan is clear and straight to the point, including the following items:

1. Communications Objectives

Use this section to nurture general actions that will deliver your positioning, and the information needs of your audience. List a minimum of two but no more than four or five key objectives for the period. Be specific, and try to make your goals measurable. Some examples are:

"Effectively reach key targeted audience."
"Cultivate a long-term relationship with the audience to gain credibility."
"Position the business as a niche leader."

2. Audience Profile

Define your targeted audience and be as specific as possible. Learn where your audience is located, and how they live, their standards and beliefs, what, how and when they use your product or similar, what they like or dislike. Is there a primary and secondary audience? List them in order of importance, and identify who and what influences that audience. Focus on the audience-related data that is important to your organization. Understanding consumer behavior is critical in order to successfully build your strategies and action plan.

3. Key Messages

Think about the concept you want associated with your brand. These messages will deliver your objectives, positioning your brand through all media and points of contact with customers, such as brochures, advertising, website, call center, locations, press releases, etc.

Here are some examples:

"We deliver customized services."
"We provide the fastest service in its niche."
"Professional development courses at reasonable costs."

4. Main Communication Channels

Identify the most important and credible channels for your audience, the ones that are popular and would best deliver your message. Take into consideration your objectives and budget. You want to maximize your dollars and exposure, reaching out to your current and potential customers at the right timing, and with significance. Make sure the channels you choose are in line with your objectives, and that they reach a very targeted audience. Don't waste money delivering your message to unqualified customers.

5. Key Strategies and Programs

Strategy is how resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics are important to make the strategies action-oriented. List no more than 5 top strategies, and underneath each one, align programs in support. Keep them organized with time schedules.

For example:

Strategy 1:

Utilize Press Releases to increase visibility to corporate organizations.

Programs:

Combine the schedule of topics with marketing activities.

6. Budget

Prepare a detailed budget chart, breaking it down by activities. Prepare year-over-year comparisons to evaluate results and calculate ROI.

7. Evaluation Plan

In addition to the numeric targets, it is important to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your activities. Establish standards of performance to use as a benchmark, which will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your strategies along the year.

Examples:

Increase in volume of contacts and inquiries after key communications.
PR exposure and ROI by type of publication.

Effective Marketing Plan Template for Entrepreneurs

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:07:00 +0000

A marketing plan can be a very simple document with key elements to keep your growth strategy in perspective. It is a very important tool for your organization, serving as a reference for all individuals working with the service or product.
Keep in mind that the content should be very dynamic. Updating the document when significant changes are made is key, incorporating important learning along the product or service development.

Here is a basic and effective template:

I. Overview
1. Situation
1.1 Trends/Key Changes in the macro environment: economic and social facts that affect your industry and audience.
1.2 Customer profile.

2. Strengths and Weaknesses of your company and top competitors.

3. External Threats and Opportunities for your company during the designated period of time.

II. Targets: revenue and volume for the time frame. Break it down by shorter periods, if your business involves seasonal variances, and by sales channel, online, offline, etc. That will allow you to track results closely. In addition to numeric targets, try to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your programs. Determine what to evaluate, and establish standards of performance. That will allow you to take periodic corrective action.

III. Key Objectives: list here the broad actions that will lead your company to reach your numeric targets. List a minimum of three but no more than six or seven key objectives for the period. Be aggressive but realistic.
As an example of a Key Objective, “Increase your online sales within the channel mix.”

IV. Strategies: now it is time to start planning how you will apply resources to implement and achieve those Objectives.
As an example of a Strategy related to the Key Objective above, “Increase unique visitors to your website.”

V. Tactics: list the programs that will turn your strategies action oriented.
As an example for the Strategy above, “Optimize the use of keyword search on top search engines.”

IV. Attachments: Add to this section your communications schedule, funds allocation chart, and any other charts that will help your team visualize and compare results.

When building your Marketing Plan, make sure you include your team members in the process, and pay close attention to what competitors are doing. Try to look at your brand, services, strategies and programs with the eyes of your audience.

© Lima Lerch Consulting 2006-2008. All Rights Reserved.

International Marketing Planning

noreply@blogger.com (Renata Lima Lerch) — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 14:51:00 +0000

By Renata L. Lerch

Expanding your business in international markets involves risks that should be meticulously calculated. It requires additional steps to your planning process, but the results can be very rewarding!

Having solid operations at home is usually a first step to a successful international expansion. Mastering the production, and the overall business experience, will give you the initial confidence to attract strategic partners.

Begin with a thorough marketing plan, which will serve as a reference to all individuals involved with the business. The document should include all aspects of the product or service life, from complete research to launch, implementation and execution. This will be key for your business plan.

Starting with a comprehensive research plan
A detailed research plan will help you make informative decisions on the objectives and strategies. It will also help you decide how to enter that market, whether by finding a local partner to distribute your goods, or by opening sales offices and importing your products, or by building facilities to produce your goods in the new market.

The analysis of the macro environment is one of the most important steps of international planning. This involves a clear understanding of the political, social and economic climate of the target market. Search for trends and forecasts of variables like the exchange rate, inflation, unemployment rate, purchasing power, import barriers and tariffs, and important socio-political events. You need to understand what affects your audience and the industry in general. These issues will hugely impact your operations, and your business model should make provisions for them.

Next, compile information about the audience you want to reach: gender, average age and income, geography, preferences, decision and purchasing process, etc. Based on cultural background, consumers in other markets have a different perception of products, brands and related services. This will dictate the level of adjustment required to your line of products and how you will promote it to that audience. The importance of understanding diversity cannot be overemphasized. A common mistake that many companies make is to lump many countries together into regions. Each country on every continent has very individualized habits and traditions that you should take into consideration.

Another important element of your research should be the accessibility of local expertise to support your operations. Search for partners that can complement your business model in areas such as sales, operations, supply chain, legal, accounting and distribution. Also investigate the availability of local talent to manage and run your operations. Allowing for a fast and dynamic local decision-making process is vital for a successful expansion.

Then you should examine the competitive environment using the “SWOT” analysis technique. At this time, investigate all public information available about your top competitors, and get a clear knowledge of their Strengths and Weaknesses. Find out the barriers for entrants, be aware of your limitations as a new player, and know potential cultural pre-concepts that may affect you as a foreign brand. With this information in hand you will be able to compare and elaborate on your Opportunities and Threats. You want this section to be very objective, with clear bullet point lists.

Setting the basis
The next step is to quantify your targets. This should include your transaction volume and revenue targets; most multinational companies use the US dollar as the official currency for revenue reports. Due to exchange rate fluctuations, it is recommended to track results in both local currency and the US dollar. Create multiple columns with targets for the year, and also broken down by quarter. On a separate chart, break it down further by distribution channel such as intermediaries, in store, online, etc. Detailed reports will help you understand market seasonality and channels.

After conducting thorough research and setting your targets, you are ready to develop your key marketing objectives. Use this opportunity to figure out the macro course of actions that will enable your company to reach its numeric targets. Be realistic; think through objectives that are both aggressive and achievable. Some important objectives at this stage usually involve branding, product development and distribution channel mix. List a minimum of three but no more than six or seven key marketing objectives for the year. Consider hiring your local manager before or during this stage; the involvement of this professional in the planning process can be very valuable for the success of your international expansion.

Next, work on the strategies and activities in support, which are the means to realize your objectives. Start with the ‘communications message’, the sentiment you want associated with your brand. Use in-country assistance to consolidate a single powerful message that should be reflected in all points of contact with customers such as brochures, advertising, website, stores, press releases, etc. Sometimes a message that is successfully communicated at home is translatable, but in most cases it will require adjustments to the native culture, which is why the use of local assistance is vital.

Then, develop the key marketing strategies, supported by tactics and programs to execute them. In essence, strategy is how resources are distributed and utilized to achieve your key objectives. Tactics and programs are important to make the strategies action-oriented.

As you work through your six or seven strategies, focus on delivering distinctive value to your customers through your programs. You don’t have to limit the number of programs and tactics under each strategy. Keep them focused, with clear implementation facts and time schedules. All should be visually organized, so your team can envision how the tactics and programs relate to each strategy, and how all strategies will contribute to the overall objectives. Bear in mind the resources and marketing funds available for the year.

Finish your plan with a detailed budget chart, breaking it down by activities and costs, in both currencies. In the future, a year-over-year comparison will be helpful to evaluate the results and calculate return on investment.

A marketing plan is not a static document. Revisions should be made at least quarterly, as your team becomes more knowledgeable about the new market. In addition to the numeric targets, it is useful to establish parameters to measure the effectiveness of your strategies, tactics and programs. Determine what to evaluate, and establish standards of performance, but be careful with misleading comparisons between different markets. This exercise will allow you to take corrective action, adjusting your marketing strategies to be more competitive during the year.

These are the basics of effective international marketing planning. Once implementation is in place, have your mind set for future expansions, developing a business model that can be recreated in other countries, with proper adjustments. And finally, be sure to involve your team throughout the process, and make allowances for cultural distinction in management style!

© Lima Lerch Consulting 2006-2008. All Rights Reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Renata B.L.Lerch, founder and managing director of Lima Lerch Consulting, has worked with strategic marketing for over 16 years. Before starting Lima Lerch Consulting, she managed marketing and business development in large multinationals, covering the US, European and Latin American markets. She holds 2 MBAs.

Lima Lerch Consulting (http://www.limalerchconsulting.com/) provides leading marketing consulting services to companies in the US and Latin America.

Contact us at customerservice@limalerchconsulting.com, or logon to limalerchconsulting.com.
Renata’s direct e-mail address is renata@limalerchconsulting.com