GrowNOLA is a daylong marketing seminar coordinated by RPM & CO, a New Orleans-based growth strategy and marketing consulting firm. The inaugural event will take place next Thursday, April 4th, 2013 at NOLA Spaces.
Attendees will hear from industry experts through a series of presentations about the tools they need to grow businesses. Speakers will provide practical insights into brand and performance marketing tactics in addition to walking attendees through the process of developing an integrated marketing plan.
“New Orleans is home to many beloved local businesses with a rich history, as well as a new generation of start-up companies,” said Richard Mumby, founder of RPM & CO. “For both of these groups, more customers and more sales mean more local jobs and a stronger local economy. “
GrowNOLA speakers include: Richard Mumby, RPM & CO; John Deveney, Deveney Communication; Blake Haney, Canary Collective; Michael Mothner, WPromote; McKenzie Coco, FSC Interactive; and Chris Schultz, Launch Pad.
“We are especially enthusiastic to support this great initiative”, says Rodrick Miller, President and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance. “New Orleans is taking a holistic approach to preparing our businesses for the demands of the global economy. We have to keep them healthy, happy and here.”
Agenda:
9:00AM Welcome
9:20AM Strategic Planning for Effective Customer Marketing – Richard Mumby, RPM & CO
Overview of marketing opportunities
- Growing your customer base
- Expanding beyond New Orleans
- Deepening existing client relationships
Marketing tactics
- Setting goals & tracking impact
- Balancing brand & performance marketing
- Marketing strategy: What you need to consider before diving into tactics
- High-level overview of relative merits of various tactics
10:00AM Targeting your Audience – Richard Mumby, RPM & CO
Understanding and prioritizing customer segments
- Assessing and addressing consumer wants & needs
- Establishing competitive positioning to meet consumer needs
- Defining & communicating your business’s core value proposition
11:00AM Building your Brand Identity – Blake Haney, Canary Collective
- Building a unique, compelling brand
- Expressing your identity through visual branding and brand Language
11:45AM Public Relations – John Deveney, Deveney Communications
- Best practices in Public Relations strategy
- How to manage Public Relations internally for maximum impact
- Exploring non-traditional PR opportunities
12:30PM Lunch & Breakout Groups
Launching a Product: Don’t fall victim to the Field of Dreams Gap – Chris Schultz, Launch Pad
- Building online awareness of your product
- Understanding how to reach customers who are most likely to be interested in your product, and how to earn their trust
- Tracking the metrics that matter for online product growth
- Developing scalable, repeatable strategies to drive viral adoption
Scaling your Business: Amplify Distribution through Partnerships and OpenPlatforms – Gerard Cox, Second Line Ventures
- Leveraging external partnerships and open platforms to expand organizational ability to meet growth goals
- Using partnerships and open platforms to accelerate customer acquisitions, amplify brand, and reduce costs.
1:30 Demand Creation – Michael Mothner, WPromote
- The basics of SEO and PPC: pros and cons of both, and how to maximize results by successfully integrating both.
- Building a holistic strategy of search engine marketing and online media
- A dive into SEO: the mix or site architecture, content and link-building to raise rankings, traffic and grow your business with no media cost
2:30 Social Media for Direct Impact – McKenzie Coco, FSC Interactive
- Leveraging social platforms to meet the needs of your business and drive direct results
- Integration of social media with other components of online marketing
3:15 Break
3:30 Customer engagement – Richard Mumby, RPM & CO
- Leveraging content marketing to increase site traffic and build consumer engagement with your brand
- Implementing best practices in email collection & email marketing to increase first-time and repeat sales
4:30PM Getting started, tracking results & maximizing impact – Richard Mumby, RPM & CO
- Improving conversion rate through targeted landing pages
- E-Commerce best practices
- Selecting the brand marketing and demand creation tactics that are best for your business
- Establishing the frameworks & analysis you need to evaluate the performance of your marketing initiatives
- Investing in growth: expected return on investment
5:15PM Networking Happy Hour
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We’d like to thank our March sponsors: Federated Sample and Search Influence. Want to be a sponsor? Email Julia@SiliconBayouNews.com!
