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The
Internet Is Quicky Becoming One of The Most Powerful Marketing
Tools For Businesses Of All Sizes According To Two Local
Marketing & Communication Professionals |
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| Robert Kirwan, Publisher of the Valley East
Today Online Magazine & Newpaper and Dawn Larsen, a local
marketing & communication consultant who works with
businesses, professionals and individuals, spent almost two
hours on THE LEARNING CLINIC radio show discussing how the
internet is going to be taking on more and more importance in
the near future when it comes to marketing and public
relations. The show was held on Monday, February 15, 2010. To
find out how you can listen to the show if you missed it, you
can go to the following link and download the program onto
your computer in an mp3 format. Click
Here>>>>>
"Statistics show that the vast majority of people go
to the internet and check out a store's web site before they
go shopping," Dawn stated. "If the store doesn't
have a web site, or if the web site is not informative, they
don't even go to the store."
The two agreed that the internet is a great equalizer when
it comes to marketing. According to Kirwan, "Even a small
store can build a very impressive web site that is quite
comparable in quality to some of their larger competitors. And
when a person is shopping for a new stereo, they will check
out what is available at a large store such as Future Shop as
well as at the local store in the mall called 'Joe's Stereo'.
Therefore, if Joe's has what the person is looking for at the
same price or competitive to Future Shop, there is a chance
that Joe may make the sale. However, if Joe doesn't have a web
site, then the shopper won't even give him consideration.
That's just the way it is today."
Dawn explained, "When I work with a client I show her
how we can not only set up a very useful web site, but we can
also track a lot about who came to visit the site, such as
when they came, how long they were on the site, where they
live, etc. All of this information is important to the store
owner and will allow her to make changes that will be more
suited to the needs of the consumer.
They also talked about how Facebook is becoming a necessity
for small businesses. If you want to communicate with your
customers, you must develop a relationship with them on the
social network system, like Facebook. This is becoming one of
the most effective methods of communication, especially with
the younger generations.
Both agreed that the high cost of traditional advertising
is actually forcing small business owners to give more
consideration to the internet, which can be used very
effectively for a fraction of what it would cost in print,
radio or television. There is really no excuse for a business
not having a web site today, and with over 80% of all
households claiming to have access to the internet today, it
is a communication tool that is here to stay.
Larsen, who is the President of the local chapter of the Business &
Professional Women's Club of Greater Sudbury, spent some
time discussing the role of the international organization and
how it has helped so many women develop their full potential
is their chosen fields. According to the Mission statement on
their web site: "The
Business and Professional Women’s Club of Greater Sudbury (BPW
Greater Sudbury) develops the professional and leadership
potential of women in Sudbury and the region through
education, awareness, advocacy and mentoring within a
supportive network." Their Vision is "To achieve a
just and equal status of women in all levels and areas of
society where decisions are taken in true partnership with
men, based on mutual respect, for a more balanced and peaceful
world." If you are interested in finding out more
about the Business & Professional Woman's Club of Greater
Sudbury, you are invited to visit their web site at: www.bpwgreatersudbury.com
Dawn Larsen has several web sites and Facebook sites that
she publishes. If you go to www.dawnlarsen.ca
you will be able to access most of them.
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| Mother of Two Young Children
Decides To Venture Forth Into The World of Business In Search of a
More Balanced Lifestyle |
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 Melanie
Giroux, a mother of two young children, Caleb (4) and Noah (6 months) has
been working for almost ten years. She graduated with a diploma in Social
Work from Collage Boreal and subsequently worked in that field for a
couple of years. For the past seven years she has been working as an
Educational Assistant for one of the local school boards. During that
time, her and her husband, Dan, have enjoyed life raising their two
children in Valley East, where both her and Dan were born and raised.
Now, Melanie and Dan want more from life. They want to enjoy their
children and long for a more balanced lifestyle. Hence, Melanie has
decided to explore some options for starting a home-based business so that
she can help contribute to the family income and still be available for
her children as they grow up.
On January 30, 2010, Melanie set up a display at the Hanmer Valley
Shopping Centre to see if there is a need for a Party Planning Service in
Valley East. Her party planning services would involve all aspects of
planning a party from invitations to decorations to entertainment. Types
of parties planned would include birthday parties, theme parties,
anniversaries, Christmas parties, baptism/christening, graduations, etc.
She would also plan children's parties that would include invitations,
loot bags, balloons, cutlery and plates, napkins, games and/or craft
projects.
As part of her survey, Melanie interviewed shoppers to find out if such
a business venture would be viable and to determine how much people would
pay for these services. Whether Melanie starts up the party planning
service or not will be decided by the feedback she receives from her
surveys. However, what Melanie has decided is that she definitely wants to
start her own business. She just needs to decide what that business will
involve. You can download a copy of the survey by clicking
here>>>>.
 Melanie
was also be the special guest on THE LEARNING CLINIC, a live
talk radio show that is hosted by Robert Kirwan on CKLU 96.7 FM every
Monday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. THE LEARNING CLINIC is a show that
deals with education and career development. Melanie appeared on the show
on Monday, February 1, 2010 from about 6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. She shared her
story about how people her age are now beginning to consider small
business start-ups as a viable option to working as an employee for the
rest of their life. She moved to Valley East from Timmins at the age of 2
and plans on raising her children her as well. After graduating from Ecole
Secondaire Catholique l'Horizon in Val Caron, Melanie obtained a Diploma
in Social Work from Collage Boreal and a Youth and Child Worker Diploma
afterwards. She has spent the past six or seven years working as an
Education Assistant and will continue to do so after her maternity leave
ends. Her goal is to set up a home-based business on a part-time basis and
eventually build it up to the point where she may be able to work
part-time or devote full-time to the business. If you happen to miss the live broadcast of the show,
you can go to the web site at www.thelearningclinic.ca
and find out how you can download the entire show onto your own
computer.
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| Stimulating
The Local Economy Will Become A Top Priority For Valley East in 2010 |
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![C:\Users\Bob\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.IE5\T9EX2TH9\MPj04003670000[1].jpg](2010fe2.jpg) The
effects of the strike at Vale Inco and the uncertainty of the future
by other mining services in the Greater Sudbury Area are taking a
huge toll on employees across the entire region. Retail workers are
seeing their hours reduced as businesses try to survive the downturn
which arrived with the global economic recession and was made worse
with the strike. Even people who have good jobs have changed their
buying habits and have adopted a philosophy of purchasing only what
they “need” instead of buying whatever they “wanted”. The
good times seem to have ended and everyone is going to have to
adjust their way of life to adapt to a new future.
Valley
East
is
fortunate to be considered one of the fastest growing communities in
the Greater Sudbury Area. This means that as new people move into
the region,
Valley East
will
continue to be one of the preferred locations for anyone coming here
to work or retire. It is important that local residents and business
owners do everything we can to make sure that the image of
Valley East
remains
strong and positive. If we can maintain our steady population growth
all of the existing businesses in
Valley East
will have a
better chance of successfully overcoming the challenges of the slow
economy. If you are looking for work, or if you would like to hire
someone to work for you, please contact Valley East Today to see how
we can help you get your message out to the community.
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| Businesses
& Professionals Discover That Using The Internet Is An
Effective
Way
Of Reaching Their Primary Market in
Valley
East |
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Find
out how you can buy all of your flooring products at the
lowest prices around. 897-3567 |
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| Ron
Pedneault for example, owns Fantastic Floors in Val Caron. He
has used all kinds of advertising venues, but he still likes
to post his web site and profile on www.valleyeasttoday.ca
This way people can see all of the photos showing the inside
of his store before they come for a visit. The weekly online
newsletter that is sent out to over 2500 individual email
addresses ensures that people will be reminded of Fantastic
Floors every week. |
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Take
a photo tour of all four locations.
897-4006 |
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| Ron
Brunette and Andrea Guinard have worked hard to grow their
business from its humble beginnings in Val Caron. Now their
Norm’s Plaza location is one of four tanning salons they own
across
Sudbury
.
Ron and Andrea have used the internet to promote their monthly
specials and have also posted an album of photos that show
people what their facilities are like.
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For all of your internet solutions,
contact www.vccnet.ca
or phone:
(705) 479-5017 |
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| Edgar Lajambe is a local
business owner who can provide just about every service you
can think of when it comes to technology. VCCNET.ca offers
internet services as well as long-distance phone plans. You
will find his plans convenient, effective and most
importantly, affordable. If you have any questions about your
computer or network system, give Edgar a call. He provides
service to both residential and commercial. |
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The
high cost of advertising is taking a huge toll on local businesses
and professional service providers. On the one hand we are all aware
that it is important to promote your goods and services to your
primary market; on the other hand it is becoming almost impossible
for small business owners to afford to buy traditional advertising
in newspapers, on radio and on television. Flyers are extremely
expensive and usually only larger national chains can afford them.
With the end of
The Vision Paper, one of the most important marketing tools
available to
Valley
East
businesses has disappeared. Many of the business owners are now
being forced to seriously consider promoting themselves through the
internet and what they are discovering is that Valley East Today is
one of the most effective and cost-efficient options available to
them. |
| Survey
Confirms Importance of Internet In Daily Lives Of People |
| A recent survey done by a major advertising
company found that the effectiveness of television ads has
diminished greatly. In fact it was found that the internet is
coming on strong as a communication vehicle for businesses
today. For example, half of Canadians under the age of 34
spend at least two hours a day on the internet. However, 83%
of Canadians stated that the internet is "essential"
to their daily living, citing high speed internet as their
single most important entertainment device. Also, the survey
found that just over half of all Canadians are on Facebook. |
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