Interview with Laurel Cavalluzzo on small business marketing communications

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Meet LaurelBackground:● Grew up interested in communication

and PR● Was Marketing Director for Speedpass

Network● Founded Madison Marketing

Communications (MMC) in 2005Focus:● Strategic side of marketing● Create brand and messaging platforms● Ensure marketing is measurable and

supports overall business goals

Our interview with Laurel

We recently interviewed Laurel on small business marketing communications. The following slides summarize the great content she shared with us.

Basic approach to helping small business with marketing communications

“Everyone wants to jump right into execution and start making a splash. But first, the marketing basics need to be in place.”

Basic approach to helping small business with marketing communicationsStart with the fundamentals:● Do you know what your positioning is in the market place?● Why should someone even care about the business?

○ What is your story to tell to make someone care?● Do you know who your target audience is?● How do you best reach your audience?● How can you best allocate your marketing resources?

○ Manpower○ Money

In 20 years of marketing experience, what’s the biggest marketing takeaway?

“As much as you want to skip over the basics and fundamentals of marketing, you cannot…. Before any executions take place, you simply have to know who you are, and why you matter to your target audience.”

Don’t know exactly why you are doing the marketing you are doing - don’t do it.

What marketing opportunities are small businesses missing out on?

● Be smarter on how you use your dollars● Modify, test, and measure● If it’s not working - cut or majorly modify it

Why integrate new media with traditional marketing channels?

“Marketing integration. It sounds fancy and complex, but it isn’t.”

Use consistent:● Tone● Messaging● Calls to action

Why integrate new media with traditional marketing channels?

Don’t forget social media. Areas of marketing like PR are now apart of social media. You cannot separate the two and have effective communications efforts.

Any new, exciting tools small businesses should check out?

Be careful with new tools:● Limited resources should be spent on tried and true

methods● Many tools fade away quickly● See what “big boys” in your industry are doing. If it’s working

for them, it might be worth checking out.Monitoring tool:A tool like www.socialmention.com is amazing for small businesses who have somewhat of a brand presence online.

What’s your favorite social network?

“Quite honestly, it changes by what I am trying to do and the successes I have.”

Social media for B2B:● Linkedin● Twitter

These are two excellent ways to position someone as a thought leader and industry expert.

Can you share a brand/business that was especially fun to work for?

All the businesses are so interesting and different – they are all so enjoyable to work with whether they marketing a profit or service, or even if they are a non-profit.

When I worked with the Speedpass project on a test pilot in the Chicagoland area, I had the opportunity to jointly work with two powerhouse brands – McDonald’s and ExxonMobil – and a newly emerging umbrella brand that tied the two powerhouses together, Speedpass.

Thanks Laurel!Contact infoLaurel Cavalluzzo

Madison Marketing Communications

laurel@madisonmc.com

www.madisonmc.com

Twitter: www.twitter.com/LaurelinMadison

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/laurelcalvalluzzo

Facebook: www.facebook.com/MadisonMarketing