1. Five Marketing Nuggets No One Else Will Tell You About

• Even if your company has hundreds of Facebook fans, the true value of a Facebook fan is actually zero until that fan buys something from you.
• Discounting is the penalty you pay for not differentiating your business with a customer experience that’s memorable and results in return visits and purchases.
• The best loyalty “card” will be those businesses that have smartphone apps on consumers’ iPhones and Blackberrys. Without one, in the minds of the consumers, you’ll cease to exist.
• Research shows that customers who complain and are satisfied with how the complaint was resolved are up to 8 percent more loyal than if they had no complaint at all.
• One of the best and most effective ways to promote your business on the Internet and get great visibility on Google is through “Article Marketing.” Check out the number of press release and article distribution websites available at no charge.

2. The Best Research On Social Media May Come From Your Own Family

• What the self-professed millions of social media gurus say about the virtues of various social media channels may be entirely opposite of what’s happening in reality. Just ask your family members how they use Facebook — if they’d ever follow a company and, if so, what they’d expect from that company.
• What you will learn by asking them may be worth more than what any other expert out there is preaching, or even worth more than that $397 workshop you were thinking of attending.

2. The Best Research On Social Media May Come From Your Own Family

• I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “Failing to plan is like planning to fail.” Most companies don’t have a sales-building plan because creating one is hard work and they don’t know what to write. There is also the misconception that for a plan to be relevant, it has to be a 150-page binder, when in fact it doesn’t.
• Southwest Airlines was planned out on a cocktail napkin. It doesn’t matter how big or small your plan is as long as you’re able to put your thoughts into writing.
• With the 2010 homestretch just around the corner, are your plans in place to end the year with record sales then enter 2011? Unfortunately, time doesn’t slow down to afford you the luxury to write a sales-building marketing plan at your leisure.
• If you need help planning for your success, call us. We can show you how to get there … now much faster than ever.

Best Wishes,
Jason Mudd, APR
AXIA
(866) 999-AXIA

When Technomic surveyed consumers, the data revealed an increase in plans to eat out at least once a week by restaurant type as follows.

• Full service restaurant 16% (10% increase from last year)
• Quick serve restaurant 32% (21% increase from last  year)
• Fast casual restaurant  12% (9% increase from last  year)

During the recession, restaurant operators were forced to promote special deals and discounts to bring diners through the door. While consumers may still be focused on meal value, they are not always basing their dining decisions on deals and promotions. Here are the numbers of consumers who will visit a full service restaurant for dinner despite the lack of deals:

• Very likely 46%
• Somewhat likely 40%
• Not very likely 12%
• Not at all likely 2%

Technomic analysts suggest that restaurant operators may be able to build traffic once again by promoting new menu offerings. Ad campaigns that show healthful foods, locally-sourced foods or items that are unique or international may tempt  consumers to go out for a meal.

[Source: Consumers’ Resistance to Spending Starts to Ebb. American Express MarketBriefing. June 2010. Web. 19 Jul. 2010]

* Family style restaurants are favored by 2/3′s of consumers who want to take their children out to eat once a month.
* Restaurants are emphasizing sustainability, locally sourced foods and nutrition when marketing to consumers in 2010.
* Fast casual operators are differentiating themselves by offering a variety of adult beverages. Up to 40% of the Top 100 Chains now offer alcoholic beverages.

Contact us to learn more.

1. 10 Critical Questions To Crack The Code

• Does your company have a unique “story” to tell that makes you stand out?
• Does your company offer a product, a service or an experience that is of value, and is memorable enough to break through advertising clutter?
• Does your company employ a team of goodwill ambassadors, passionate for your culture, your philosophy and the product?
• Does your company team truly understand what business you are in?
• Do your company and team understand the lifetime value of a customer and the exorbitant costs of gaining new customers? Do you have a retention strategy?
• Who your best customers? Do you know them by first name? How are you rewarding them for their continued and valued loyalty?
• Do your company and team have an intimate knowledge of your product and service as well as an understanding of what’s most profitable — not in terms of percentages, but in real dollars and cents?
• Do your company and team of goodwill ambassadors strive in making a difference in your community, where your customers live and work?
• Does your company have a “face” — a personality, a CEO, a President or an owner to which customers can relate and readily access? Everyone loves to know the owner.
• What do your company and team do to leave an everlasting final impression that creates conversation among friends and families and encourages a repeat visit?

2. Look Who’s Talking — Not The Movie

• New search engine Kurrently, www.Kurrently.com, provides an instant and reliable way for you to find out who’s talking about you or your company on Facebook or Twitter.
• Try sending out a tweet, going to Kurrently and doing a search for a keyword in that tweet. Presto, you’ll be found. Now, test it with other keywords relevant to your business. It’s possible that people are talking about your product without your knowing.

3. The 60-Second Close: Is It Time For “Retro” Marketing?

• Incorporating TV, radio, print, direct mail and billboards into your advertising plan seems “retro” because no one talks about it anymore.
• However, when targeted properly, “retro marketing” still works — even more so once you’ve cracked the all-important marketing code.
• Crack the code. Build the plan. Need help? We can show you how to get there … faster than ever.

Best Wishes,
Jason Mudd, APR
AXIA
(866) 999-AXIA

Audubon to receive $2,000 donation; Fan to receive “Free Beer for a Year” contest if  “Caught with a Vortex”

WHAT:

Thursday, Miller Lite and retired Gators/NFL quarterback Shane Matthews join forces to raise awareness and funds for the Gulf oil spill disaster relief with a series of Jacksonville events promoting Miller Lite’s new summer Vortex bottle.

Jacksonville residents will get an opportunity to help save wildlife affected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill crisis.

Miller Lite will donate to the Audubon organization $1 for every autograph Matthews signs and $2 for every person the Miller Lite promo team spots drinking a Vortex bottle, for a total guaranteed donation of $2,000.

Armed with Vortex bottles, Miller Lite’s “Street Team” will join Matthews in visiting local retail stores and Ale House Restaurants. The entourage will buy Miller Lite for fans, so they can taste, sample and experience the new Miller Lite Vortex bottle for FREE.

WHO:

Miller Lite is introducing Jacksonville beer lovers to the Vortex bottle that is specially designed with interior grooves to allow the great pilsner taste of Miller Lite to flow right out.

INTERVIEWS/VISUALS:

1. Good opportunity to interview consumers about their reasons for attending the event, the oil spill and their opinions about the spill’s impact on Florida.

2. Matthews can speak about the Gulf oil spill’s impact on Florida, plus the upcoming football season and football news.

3. Local Audubon representatives will be available for interviews.

4. The new Miller Lite Vortex bottle is the best beer bottle innovation since the twist-off cap.

WHEN & WHERE:

1. Noon to 12:45 p.m. – Hodges Walmart (1172)
13490 Beach Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32224, 904-223-0772

2. 1:10-1:55 p.m. – Total Wine (St. Johns Town Center)
4413 Town Center Parkway, Jacksonville, FL 32246, 904-998-1740

3. 2:20-3 p.m. – San Jose Walmart (1082)
10991-1 San Jose Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32223, 904-260-4402

4. 6-6:45 p.m. – Orange Park Ale House
1756 Wells Rd. #A, Orange Park, FL 32073, 904-278-4600

5. 7:45-8:30 p.m. – Southside Ale House
9711 Deer Lake Ct., Jacksonville, FL 32246, 904-565-2882

6. 9-9:45 p.m. – Hodges Ale House
3238 Hodges Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32224, 904-821-5687

MORE INFO:

About Shane Matthews

Matthews played football at Pascagoula High School in Pascagoula, Miss. Pascagoula is a major Gulf Coast industrial city whose community depends on the oil and fishing industries living harmoniously. A former American college and professional football player, Matthews was an NFL quarterback for 14 seasons. He was also inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a “Gator Great.”

About Audubon

The Duval Audubon Society serves Clay, Duval and Nassau Counties. Its mission is to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds and other wildlife, for the benefit of humanity and the earth’s biological diversity. Audubon personnel across Florida are marshalling resources to respond to the looming disaster by preparing for impacts on birds, wildlife and important habitats as the spill makes landfall.

About Miller Lite Vortex Bottle

The breakthrough Miller Lite Vortex bottle provides a noticeably different drinking experience as the great pilsner taste flows right out. On “Vortex Day,” consumers around Jacksonville will be encouraged to “Get Caught with a Miller Lite Vortex Bottle.”

The Vortex bottle features specially designed grooves along the neck interior that “create a vortex as you’re pouring the beer,” according to Miller Lite executives. The brand’s goal is to create excitement and give consumers another reason to choose Miller. The bottle is 100 percent recyclable.

Fan can follow the event on Twitter @vortexjax, www.twitter.com/vortexjax.

NEWS CONTACTS:

AXIA at 904-425-6652, ext. 700

– VORTEX –

Chief Executive magazine’s CEO Confidence Index, the nation’s only monthly CEO Confidence Index, rose in May. The CEO Confidence Index rose 15.6 points to 109.9 – a gain of 14.2%.

The Current Confidence Index had the largest percentage gain, rising 24.4% to 86.9. Nearly 60% of CEOs forecast slow, continual growth in the economy. “We generally feel that the overall recovery will be gradual with some sectors growing faster than others, mostly dependent on government actions”, one CEO told Chief Executive.

The Employment Confidence Index rose 21.5 to 104.1, a gain of 20.7%. The gains in the employment confidence index show a decrease in pessimism, not an increase in optimism. CEOs rating employment conditions as “bad” decreased from 90.6% in April to 76.5% in May, while CEOs rating the employment conditions “normal” rose from 5.1% in April to 18.2% in May.

The Business Condition Index gained 13.2%, rising to 119.2. The gain in this index reflects less pessimism, not an improvement in business conditions – 55.6% of CEOs rated business conditions as “bad”, an improvement from 74.5% in April. Only 10.5% of CEOs rated current conditions as “good” while 33.8% rated current conditions “normal”.

The Investment Confidence Index rose to 106.2, gaining 10.5%. Some CEOs are seizing the moment with strategic acquisitions; one CEO commented, “We still believe that the hobbled U.S. economy makes this an excellent time to acquire additional companies. We are negotiating for another acquisition right now.” <Read more>