Posts by Steve Stroum
Venmark Client featured on Jay Leno’s Garage
According to Dennis Aikman, Sales Manager of Alvin Products, a division of Dampney Company, Everett, MA, Jay Leno featured their innovative metal putty Lab-Metal on “Jay Leno’s Garage,” which was described by the editor of “Skinned Knuckles” magazine after reading Venmark’s publicity article.
Read MoreProducts Don’t Have to be New to be Newsworthy
Exploding the myth that products have to be new to be newsworthy is the following full page in this June/July 2014 issue of Fabricating & Metalworking magazine. Featured are four different press releases prepared by Venmark International for ESCO Tool who has been publicizing products consistently for over 37 years! This news also appears online…
Read MoreThe Alternative to Growth is Death
I’ve had many small business owners tell me that they like being small and don’t want to grow. Sound familiar? I understand. I own a small business too. But, businesses are organic. Like animals, plants, and people, the alternative to growth is death! It is as simple as that. Several years ago, I had…
Read MoreWhy Work With Small Companies?
I was introduced to a young man who was starting a company. In the process of our initial conversation, he let me know that he graduated Carnegie Melon with an engineering degree. Therefore, I assumed he was smart. That said, he went on to ask me, “If I was so good at what I do,…
Read MoreIgnite Interest in Your Products
The squeaky wheel gets the grease and the internet is getting the most lubrication today for good reasons. Obviously, when people recognize they have a need for a product or service, they search for it online. But, what about those folks who don’t recognize they have a problem? There are lots of them. As Henry…
Read MorePublicity for Commodity Created Tool Kit Sales
It amazes me how many companies are losing out on terrific sales opportunities because they assume there is a linear relationship between what they publicize and what people purchase. A great client, Malcom Company sells a line of plastic welding tool kits and I’ve been preparing innovative news releases about the kits for many…
Read MoreThe 22 Immutable Laws of Branding
In his book, “The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding,” co-author, Al Ries pointed out “The publicity message has credibility because it comes from a presumably unbiased source. Furthermore, you expect the media to tell you about things you’ve never heard of. That is what news is all about.” When prospective customers read news about…
Read MoreVenmark International Introduces Product Videos
Developed to let companies take advantage of our expertise at communication through images, Venmark International has introduced a new standard product video service. Each product video is approximately 30 seconds and communicates the key attributes of a product very clearly in order to pique viewer interest and generate meaningful sales inquiries. The genesis of…
Read MoreHave You Ever Anointed an Employee?
I had a client who took advantage of technology and bought his assistant, Susan a beautiful Nikon camera. It had every bell and whistle you could imagine. Ironically, she was intimidated by it! My client, an engineer who “didn’t know what he didn’t know” was looking to save money on the cost of product photography. …
Read MoreSEO is Only Part of the Marketing Mix
In marketing today, “Search” gets a lot of attention. And it should. However, there is a huge implicit assumption which is: your prospective customer knows what they need and then search for it. Henry Ford said, “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” In other words, without a…
Read More“The Profit” on CNBC Validated my Observation
There are clearly two types of owners in small businesses, those with big egos who need to be in control and those who have learned how to delegate and empower the people who work for them. Knowing what you don’t know can be a huge problem for bright entrepreneurs who believe they can learn…
Read MoreA Great Way to Stretch Your Marketing Budget
Even though we specialize in using product publicity for product marketing, branding, and new business development, we encourage our clients to use the content we create for their website, e-mail campaigns, trade show booths, product literature, applications notes, post cards, and more. We want to see them leverage our work and get the best marketing…
Read MoreAre You Fundamentally Unemployable?
I love LinkedIn and appreciate its value. However, I read too many questions about starting businesses that are much too academic. Maybe because of entrepreneurship studies at universities? For many entrepreneurs, starting a business was a visceral need. My wife and I started our business from a spare room and worked eight and a half months without a day…
Read MoreDo You Know the 3 Most Important Factors in B2B Marketing?
It has long been said, “In the real estate business the three most important factors when selling a property are location, location, and location.” For B2B marketers, the three most important factors are: repetition, repetition, and repetition. Why? Because repetition puts your products in front of prospective customers when their need arises and repetition reinforces…
Read MoreProduct Publicity Identified the Right Customers
While driving his expensive motor home during the winter in New England, his windshield wipers kept collecting ice. Aggravated that he had to lean out his window while driving this $250,000.00 vehicle and bang the ice and snow off of the wipers, endangering himself and other drivers, he decided to invent a heated windshield wiper. …
Read MoreBe a Fan for Your Kid, Not an Advocate
I met a professional woman who coached a basketball team of 12 year old girls. That wasn’t her primary job, of course, but it was clearly a labor of love. A self-confessed jock and the first girl to infiltrate her little league syndicate as a young female who could pitch a ferocious fastball, this woman…
Read MoreNews Releases Drive Prospects into the Sales Process
Regardless of how effective a salesperson you are, you have no control over the events that stimulate a prospect’s buying behavior. If they don’t have or perceive a need for your product or service, you will never “sell” them. Your challenge, therefore, is to get prospects to think about your company when an external event…
Read MoreBusiness Models do Matter
Not too long ago, I watched a TV program about COSTCO which explained why the company was so successful. It revealed several of their “secrets of success” such as no signs on their aisles, store layout to create maximum impulse sales, and most importantly, the preparation that entered into their apparent simplicity.
Read MoreWhy Don’t we Hear More About Corporate Philanthropy?
The short answer is because it doesn’t fit the Obama administration narrative about corporate greed and income inequality. Moreover, it doesn’t have the appeal of a good old fashioned Wall Street scandal featuring the latest greedy scumbag being walked out of his office in handcuffs to get media attention. The real answer is that…
Read MoreCreate Your B2B Brand with Product Publicity
Al Ries, noted author who coined the term “positioning” in the landmark book he co-authored with Jack Trout, Positioning: The Battle for your Mind, an industry standard on the topic, wrote “It’s not enough to have a better product or service. It’s not enough to have a better price. To be successful today you need…
Read MoreProduct Marketing Give You a Headache?
Aspirin has been referred to as the wonder drug because of its versatility. It provides headache and pain relief and has many positive effects for cardiovascular health.
Read MoreInternational Marketing with Product Publicity
Media outlets (magazines, websites, and blogs) all over the world are anxious to receive news from American companies. They realize that our companies are newsworthy
Read MoreProduct Publicity Reinforces Rex-Cut Brand
A consistent product publicity campaign reinforces your company brand by illustrating how your products solve problems.
Read MoreBoston Red Sox, World Champions
Last year the Red Sox top management micromanaged and hired Bobby Valentine as manager over the objection of Ben Cherington. By the second week of spring training Valentine alienated virtually every player on the team.
Read MoreNiche Marketing with Publicity
Venmark International has a rich tradition of niche marketing and we have tremendous experience which we employ today better than ever. We know how to help your company get maximum product visibility online and in-print.
Read MoreWIRE DRAHT Features Anomet Composite Clad Wire
There are many reasons why composite clad wire is more effective than solid wire. Among the chief reasons, is because it is much less expensive than solid wire.
Read MoreWebsite Publicity is a No Brainer
Any company that creates a new website and doesn’t prepare a news release to inform their customers and prospective customers about it is missing a fabulous opportunity to get exposure in leading media outlets, loads of website traffic, and quality links that result in better organic search results.
Read MoreNew Business Development Using Product Publicity
Stafford Manufacturing Corp. is a leading manufacturer of shaft collars, couplings, and specialized mechanical drive and structural components. In fact, the company is well recognized as a single source for all types of shaft collars and couplings. When I began working with Arthur Stafford back in 1977, the company was a three man machine shop.
Read MoreInternet Changes Everything… and Nothing
Bill Gates said, “A fundamental new rule for business is that the Internet changes everything.” There’s no doubt about that!
Read MorePress Release Creates Unexpected Sales Volume
Malcom Company sells a line of plastic welding tool kits and I’ve been preparing innovative news releases about the kits for about 20 years. The tools combine heated air and pressure to weld plastic and can be used for repairing tanks and vessels, automotive bumpers, personal watercraft, canoes, snow mobiles, you name it. Virtually anything…
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