Find freelance programmers at ScriptLance.com - Search worldwide

Sunday, September 28, 2008

The Case for Case Studies

Every time I recommend that a client put together a case study, they groan. Why? Too much work for too little result. Hard to argue with that. But, argue I will.

Here are the top six reasons why companies should develop case studies:

1. They are basic story-telling elements. The more complex your product or service, the more valuable a case study can be. Having case studies allows you to provide examples of how your product or service solved a compelling business problem. Let's say you are putting together a Power Point. You need examples of what you've done. Dust off the case study and voila! instant Power Point.

2. Case studies force you to consider your company's value proposition at a very tactical level. A simple case study describes a challenge, a solution and a result. Considering these three issues more critically allows leaders to make adjustments in tactics and strategy.

3. Case studies provide a window into how the author views the company's value proposition. Assigning a case study can help staff work through issues they need to master. The simple framework gives leaders a more clear understanding of how their staff addresses problems and challenges.

4. The Web demands fresh content. In meeting after meeting, clients are searching for ways to keep their Website content fresh. Case studies fit this bill and can be useful tools for search engine optimization, competitor differentiation and prospect education, among other things. Key words can be linked to products or services in other parts of a company's site or linked to partner or supplier sites.

5. Continuous learning is a good thing. Case studies are among the simplest way to get to the root of an issue not only for successes, but also failures. They're also inexpensive requiring an a couple of hours at most.

6. Nothing bad can happen as a result of creating a case study. They are like the oatmeal of corporate communications. They force you to chew on your approaches and they clean out clogged creativity. Yeah. Yeah. The metaphor's kinda lame. I still think it works, though.

In addition, to these, case studies can be used as attachments in correspondence to prospects to show them what you or your organization is capable of or as supporting material for proposals.
Media also like case studies as they define your "brand in action."

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Email Newsletters for People Who Don't Want to Produce an Email Newsletter

So, you think you want to create an email newsletter. Excellent. (Deciding is the easy party.)

Now, you need to get organized. But, you don't need to do everything. Following our AMP process (trademark pending), you can get started on your own then call some professionals in to take over the rest.


A stands for Audience...

1. Do you have a list of contacts with their email addresses? If so, do you love your list? If not, who does?

2. Do these contacts want to receive news, tips, ideas, musings, instructions, advice, promotions, publicity and the like from you about 6 to 12 times per year or more?


M stands for Message...

3. Do you have a content plan? By that we mean, do you have a set of story ideas?


P stands for Process...

4. Who is going to write your newsletter and keep the ideas fresh? No body likes a boring newsletter.

5. Do you have a Website? If so, can visitors “subscribe” to your newsletter there?


With AMP out of the way, here’s what we can do:

1.We help you learn what we mean when we ask if you “love your list.”*

2.We help you build your newsletter - providing you with template editorial calendars to keep your communication interesting, lively, topical, useful - and above else, pithy.

3.We help you decide upon the optimal time and date to send the newsletter to your list.

4.We tell you how many people opened your newsletter, read it, forwarded it to a friend or clicked through to your Website. We can tell you some other cool things too.

5.We give you a piece of code that you can add to your Website so visitors can easily subscribe to your newsletter. (Don’t worry, we know how to put it on your Website.)

Here’s what we charge.

A one time set up fee: $250.

Plus

$50 per month on an annual contract. $75 per month on a quartlerly contract.

........................................................................

We accept checks and Visa and Mastercard through PayPal.

........................................................................

Don’t have a Website, we’ll help you set up a host-free Weblog/Website for $499.

Don’t want to write your own newsletter? We can do a “three-story” edition for $399 per edition. (1,000 word maximum; 50 cents a word after that).

Want to know how Oregon's Best Companies become even better? Xenium.

Take the First Step to Becoming an XPowered™ Employer:

Request a Free Employer Risk Assessment
It all begins with a diagnosis of your concerns and areas of improvement as an employer. A Xenium professional will meet with you in person. Contact us for an appointment today at Xpower@XeniumHR.com.

Get a Quote for HR Select or Integrated Services from Xenium
While Xenium’s approach is consultative and services are customized to each employer, the preliminary data below will help us begin this process with you to assess your specific needs, expectations and budget: XeniumHR.com

Or, learn about HR best practices at the XeniumHR Weblog.

Nathaniel Clevenger Bio

Nathaniel “Than” Clevenger, Principal/CEO
503.449.1029 (USA), email:than@why3.com, Skype: nathaniel.clevenger

Than Clevenger is a twenty-year veteran marketing and communications strategist with significant experience in developing communications and marketing programs in the construction, commercial finance and real estate development industries. Than has held senior positions for two of the largest marketing and communications agencies in the world, Hill and Knowlton Public Affairs Worldwide Company and Fleishman Hillard. He has created, developed and launched award-winning consumer and B2B brands in global markets and has expertise in promoting construction technologies, residential and commercial development projects, and consumer goods and services.

He has served as an outsource Chief Marketing Officer (CMO)and/or strategic marketing advisor to commercial and residential real estate projects throughout the U.S. and Canada One of his projects, a $250 million commercial development, was named as one of the top ten projects in the nation in 2005. The project was constructed by one of the oldest design/build contractors in North America. He is currently serving as CMO for what will be one of the first LEED-ND communities in the world. He is also serving as the consulting CMO to the fastest concrete batch plant productions system company in the world based in Nova Scotia, Canada. During the mid-90's Than co-founded what became one of the largest real estate finance companies in the Mid-Atlantic U.S.

Relevant recent clients include Opus Development (Minneapolis), Swinteron Builders (San Francisco), Vidabode Group (Amherst, Nova Scotia), Thimble Creek Development Corporation (Oregon City, Oregon) and Housing Northwest, an affordable housing non-profit with $200 million under management.

Than formed 3 after leaving Fleishman Hillard—currently the largest public relations firm in the world—as a vice president and co-chair of one of Fleishman’s global vertical marketing teams. Prior to joining Fleishman Hillard, A seasoned manager and leader, Than served in senior staff positions with The Democratic National Committee (52nd Presidential Inaugural Committee), The Canzeri Company (the Rockefeller Family's public relations and public affairs firm) and Hill and Knowlton Public Affairs Worldwide Company (currently the second largest public relations and public affairs firm in the world) in both the D.C. and New York offices. In his early 20’s, he worked for the legendary public relations strategist, Frank Mankiewicz; former Nancy Reagan press secretary, Elaine Crispin; and Reagan advance man, Joe Canzeri. He also worked with and for Marilyn Funderburk, a former White House deputy social secretary.

Current and former clients include CEO's and senior executives in large, privately-held corporations, Fortune 500 and multinational corporations, foreign heads of state, trade association directors and senior executives at large non-profit foundations. Organizations, companies and leaders with whom Than has worked include: Sir Robert Maxwell, The Honorable Clark Clifford, Jerry Tarkanian, The White House Chief of Protocol, the last Miss U.S.S.R., the Emir and Royal Family of Kuwait, the former heads of state of Morocco, Finland, Brazil, The Republic of Turkey, North Yemen and the current head of state of Angola; as well as the CEO's of Gulfstream Aerospace, NBC, Lockheed Martin, The American Red Cross, The American Task Force for Bosnia, UNICEF, The United States Olympic Committee, Reading is Fundamental, the Recording Industry Association of America, Deloitte and Touche, Enterprise Ireland (the seed capital investment agency of the Republic of Ireland), Preston Gates and Ellis, Swinerton Builders and responDesign (an interactive video game publisher) to name a few.

He has written speeches and or correspondence for a variety of leaders including former President Bill Clinton; former President George H.W. Bush; IMF Chairman, Michel Camdessus; comedian, Bill Cosby; former District of Columbia Mayor's, Sharon Pratt Kelley and Marion Barry Jr.; various U.S. Olympians and U.S. Olympic officials, including gold medal skater, Bonnie Blair and gold medal boxer, Riddick Bowe as well as sports commentators Bob Costas and Greg Gumbel. He also served as protocol and event manager for the opening ceremonies of the Korean War Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C., and as a spokesperson for one of Washington, D.C.'s mayoral inauguration events.

Than is an advisor to several Northwest-based non-profits and was recently listed in Strathmore's Who's Who in American Business, 2004 Edition, He is a member of the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland, Oregon, and is a native of the Hampton Roads area of southeastern Virginia (formerly and historically known as Tidewater) Given the time, Than enjoys competitive sailing, painting, and military history. He is a graduate of George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, and currently resides in Portland, Oregon with his wife, Sydney, a Portland native and writer, and their three children, Jack, Steele Elizabeth and Gus Henry.

For more information on Than, please visit his personal website at www.why3.com.