Marketing on a Shoestring Budget

• Background• Apple, Google and Zappos• 101 Low Cost and No Cost

Marketing Ideas• Leveraging Social Media• Q & A

Background

Jason Piasecki

• Graphic Design and Marketing Degrees

• Central Michigan University• Entrepreneur Since 1998• Qonverge, CEO• Community Involvement• Personal

About Qonverge

• Marketing and Communication Firm

• Web, Video and Print • Founded in 2006• Offices in Muskegon and Grand

Rapids• 10 Employees

Apple, Google and Zappos

Zappos

• World’s largest online shoe store• Established in 1999• 1,500 employees worldwide• Annual sales of $1 billion• Deliver WOW Through Service

Zappos Story

Delivering WOW!

• When is the last time you WOWED your customers?

Google

• Established in 1998• Founded by Larry Page and Sergey

Brin while students at Stanford University

• 19,000 employees worldwide• Annual sales of $21 billion• Free time fosters innovation

Google’s 20-Percent Time

• Offers engineers “20-percent time” so that they’re free to work on what they’re really passionate about

• Google Suggest, AdSense for Content and Google News are among the many products of this perk

Not a New Concept

• 3M developed a 15% time rule in the 1950s

• Innovations included masking tape and Post-it notes

Happy Campers

• Google has been repeatedly named Fortune Magazine's Number One Best Place to Work

Your Time, In Practice

• Daniel Pink – “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us”

• Atlassian “FedEx Days”

Apple

• Established in 1976 as Apple Computer, Inc.

• Dropped the word "Computer" in 2007• 35,000 employees worldwide• Annual sales of $32 billion• Relentless commitment to product

design

Steve Jobs

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how

it works.”

Apple Design

Apple Design

Apple Design

Apple Design

Apple Design

Apple Design

Apple Design

Bringing It Home

• Example of this in Muskegon

101 Low Cost and No Cost Marketing Ideas

Fab 5 (+3)

1) Make it Easy to Do Business with You

2) Become an Expert3) Facebook4) Guerilla Marketing5) Testimonials

Make It Easy…

• 24 Hour Rule• 800#• Answer Your Phone• Educate Your

Customers• Give Referrals• Invite Customers

to Lunch and Pick up the Tab

• Talk to Your Customers

• Teach a Class• Training• Video – Product

Demonstrations• Your Time

Become an Expert

• Blog• Forum• Interviews• Learn from the

Pros• LinkedIn –

Answers• Mentor• Message Boards

• Peer Groups• Podcast• Public Speaking• Seminars• Teach a Class• Write a Book• Write Articles

Guerilla Marketing

Guerilla Marketing

Social Media

Leveraging Social Media

Social Media

• Social media is a customer engagement tool, not a marketing tool

• Listen before your speak• Make it part of your routine• Have fun!

Getting Social

1) Facebook2) Twitter3) LinkedIn

Facebook

• “Facebook helps you connect and share with the people in your life.”

• More than 300 million active users• More than 100 million users log on

daily• Growth is 228% in the US• Fastest growing segment is 35 years

and older

Why Use Facebook?

• Communicate with customers, peers• Build relationships • Provide information• Raise visibility• Develop your brand• Your competition is there • Low cost, high return on investment

Twitter

• “What are you doing?”• Short text messages 140 characters in

length, called "tweets• More than 10 million active users• Twitter use up 1382% • Fastest growing segment is 35 and

older• Accessible via computer and phone

Why Use Twitter?

• It’s Informative• Simple• Quick• Immediate Feedback• Expert Opinions• Resource• Expand Audience

LinkedIn

• “Professionals use LinkedIn to exchange information, ideas and opportunities.”

• 47 million members • Traffic is up in the recession adding

members at a rate of about one member per second

• 49% of LinkedIn users are age 35-49• Executives from all Fortune 500

companies are LinkedIn members

Why Use LinkedIn?

• Networking• Recommendations• Answers• Introductions• Check out the competition

Create a Plan

Create a Plan

• Define Goals• Determine Your Voice• Set the Rules of Engagement• Determine Metrics• Set a Policy• Execute• Rinse and Repeat

Marketing on a Shoestring Budget

• Overview• What Apple, Google and Zappos

Do• 101 Low Cost and No Cost

Marketing Ideas• Leveraging Social Media• Q & A

Thank You

• Questions• Answers• jason@qonverge.com• qonverge.com/jason• facebook.com/jasonpiasecki• twitter.com/jasonpiasecki