Marketing Matters for you
June 26th, 2009 by Mike Knutson
For those who didn’t already know it, the importance of a strong marketing effort was driven home at the 7th Annual Economic Gardening Conference. If you heard the message and want to strengthen your marketing efforts, I’d encourage you to check out the following free webinars by the Small Business Administration in South Dakota.
Titled “Marketing Matters,” the training is divided into 4 one-hour training sessions that you can access from your home or office.
- July 9: Roadmap to Marketing Success: Simple Steps to Writing a Successful Marketing Plan. This session will discuss how to bring advertising, communication and public relations together into one cohesive strategy.
- July 16: Google Matters: How Does Your Web Site Measure Up? Learn how to provide content that your customers want and increase traffic to your site.
- July 23: The First Impression: Building a Positive Customer Experience. Stand apart from your competition, increase sales, build loyalty and improve your reputation without spending more on advertising.
- July 30: Social Media Marketing: How to Start Your Online Conversation. This seminar is an introductory discussion about conversational marketing in a digital world.
If you are interested, check out the following link and learn how you can sign up. Learn more here.
Note: Although it’s free, phone lines are limited to first-come-first-serve basis.
Tags: branding, entrepreneurship, marketing, social media
Posted in Economic Development, In the News, Rural | Comments (
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June 27th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
The South Dakota district office of the Small Business Administration, and its affiliated Small Business Development Centers across the state, are excellent resources for communities and individuals. Looking at the emphasis here on technology, I was reminded of the current hit movie, “The Proposal.” In it Meg Ryan’s character, a New Yorker, can’t find a computer in Sitka, Alaska. Finally she drops coins into a public pay phone connected to a computer — a ridiculous prop, played for comic effect, with dial-up modem sounds. Though just part of a summer comedy, the message the scene conveys is that you won’t find quality technology in rural places.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:22 pm
That’s a good point Paul. I was at a conference in Orlando, FL once and was asked by a serious person from Connecticut if, among other things, we had internet access. She about fell off her chair when I informed her that yes, flushing toilets, cars, and high-speed wireless satellite internet had made it to small town South Dakota. But then again, she also thought South Dakota was in the middle of the tundra and asked me how I managed to get so tan.