Michelle Suter of Frisco, Texas writes:
“Our company, Administaff, is a professional employer organization that serves as that serves as a full-time human resources department for small and medium-sized businesses.
“We have had a great deal of national advertising, yet my best clients are small business owners in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who have from seven to 50 employees. How do I take our ‘big’ PR and marketing message and localize it so my prospects get our message in a way they can relate to?
“I feel as though they don’t understand that ‘Small Business is Good for America, and Administaff is Good for Small Business.'”
Howdy, fellow DFWer (I’m in Plano). Sign up for a neighborsgo.com account, if you haven’t already and post events, blog entries, and stories on it. If they find your story compelling, they will publish it in the Dallas Morning News local edition. Plus, you reach other people from the DFW area.
Hi Michelle,
Our company has a great number of HR products and our biggest success have come via the SHRM Annual Conference as well as the state/local chapter conferences that are held annual throughout the company. Perhaps attending some of these smaller events will allow you to localize your message in different areas. It’s less overwhelming than the large SHRM show and you’re reaching organizations more within your target (7-50 employees) as these organizations can afford travel to conferences within their state versus halfway across the country. Good luck!
Outsourcing is a hot topic these days. So pitch different angles to different business reporters in your area.
Because of the bad economy, companies are laying off full-time employees and outsourcing their work.
What trends are you noticing among your clients? What kinds of tasks are most frequently outsourced? What about unusual tasks that many companies should stay in-house? Can you do those, too?
Be ready to talk about problems your company has experienced and how you have overcome them. Reporters–and readers–LOVE that stuff.
Don’t forget about targeting local bloggers.