Leverage Raffles as a Marketing ToolWritten by Susan Franzen
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1.Is this best use of my marketing dollars? 2.What message do I want others to get about products and services I provide? 3.How might I leverage a “free” offer into revenue for my business? Once you’ve decided to offer a product or service as a raffle, here are some tips for ensuring success: 1.Choose event and what you will offer wisely. If people attending are not part of your target market, your name will fall on deaf ears. 2.Offer a product or service that won’t put you in poor house when it comes time to make good on that prize. Yes, some people will take “free” prize and never return, so don’t over-commit on what you can afford to offer. Offer something that’s not a one-shot deal so you have an opportunity for repeat business. 3.Whether you’ve donated a product or service, make it a point to attend raffle event and introduce yourself to prizewinner. Make it personal. 4.Assume that prizewinner will pay for your product or service next time if they have a solid, quality experience this time. At very least, you want them to tell others how great that experience was. 5.Ask questions and share information with them about other products or services you provide. They may not need one you raffled again, but what else might they need that you offer? 6.Listen. I mean, really listen. If they say they need a reminder from you to use your product or service again, offer it! 7.Ask for another appointment, another order, or a referral before they leave. 8.Follow up with prizewinner next day or week to see how product or service is working for them. 9.Ask for referrals, again. 10.Ask prizewinner to contact raffle coordinator and share their positive experience about your product or service. If you’ve donated to a monthly or weekly event, you’ll get a second round of exposure when prizewinner provides a testimonial about you. If it’s an annual or one-time event, you might get a listing in next newsletter or marketing communication to that group. Donating a raffle prize can be a key component to your marketing strategy with minimal expense and risk. Following 10 points above will keep you focused on leveraging those marketing dollars and reducing that risk. As for me, if anyone knows of a good stylist, I’m still looking…
Susan Franzen lives in Austin, Texas and is the founder of LifeU Coaching Services. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration, as well as a Training & Development Certificate from Boston University. Susan coaches individuals to align their activities with their vision. Visit her site at www.lifeu.com.
| | Halliburton Under Fire for Operations in IranWritten by Kirt Hill
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In closing he tells company, "We continue to expect Halliburton to honor its commitment, and to produce a full and complete report that includes Board's review of reputational risks of doing business with Iran." On January 25, 2004 William Thompson made his case on CBS program "60 Minutes". The title of segment was, "Doing Business with Enemy". 60 Minutes went to see Halliburton subsidiary in Cayman Islands and found no actual office there and no employees. When Halliburton explained that Cayman subsidiary is actually run out of Dubai, 60 Minutes again went to see. In Dubai, they found subsidiary sharing office space with a division of its U.S.-based parent company. This arrangement raised more legal questions about independence of subsidiary. If there is no agreement reached between now and annual meeting in May, there will be a proxy vote on resolution. When you own stock in a corporation you obtain right to vote on important matters concerning corporate policies and governance. When you invest in a mutual fund that holds stocks, you convey this important responsibility to your mutual fund manager. Last year (2003) SEC ruled that mutual funds must disclose how they vote proxies in corporate-governance shareholder fights. If resolution comes to a vote in May, many large mutual fund companies will be forced to vote either with company, or with angry shareholders. We will be following this story. SUPPORTING STATEMENT from form 8-K: According to U.S. State Department, Iranian government has actively supported and funded terrorist operations against innocent civilians outside its own borders. These activities led to imposition of government sanctions that provide that virtually all trade and investment activity with Iran by U.S. corporations, is prohibited. We believe that Halliburton's use of its Cayman Island subsidiary to establish operations in Tehran violates spirit, if not letter of law. It also exposes company to prospect of negative publicity, public protests, and a loss of consumer confidence, all of which can have a negative impact on shareholder value. The following is a list of top mutual fund holders of Halliburton reported as of 2003: Growth Fund of America Inc Van Kampen Comstock Fund Fundamental Investors inc Fidelity magellan fund inc Lord Abbett Mid Cap Value Fund Hartford Capital Appreciation Hls Fund, Inc Putnam Fund For Growth and Income Merrill Lynch Basic Value Fund Vanguard 500 Index Fund Washington Mutual Investors Fund If you are interested in purchasing a share if Halliburton (HAL)in order to vote on this resolution, click here, or copy and paste this link to FOLIOfn into your browser bar: http://www.foliofn.com/wsjsp/lp/lp.fsp?id=CPVLRS00010304N Please keep in mind that there is an ongoing dialogue between shareholders and company, and issue may be resolved before it comes to a vote in May.
Kirt Hill is a graduate of the University of Michigan. He founded his website, CapitaqlValues.com in 2004 to support socially responsible investing.
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