Great Ideas

We hear it time and time again...a business needs a quick, cheap, easy, effective way to reach out to customers. One solution is doing an email blast, or eblast, which is an email message that is sent to a mass recipient list. An eblast can be sent once-in-a-while or regularly, such as a monthly e-newsletter. We recommend doing eblasts via online email marketing companies, such as Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, or Vertical Response. These companies allow you to upload and maintain your contact list on their websites, and their programs have the ability to send your email to hundreds or thousands of people safely and effectively. In some cases, if an individual sent an email to a lengthy list of recipients from their own email account, their recipients email servers could automatically block the message as spam, or junk mail. With Constant Contact or Vertical Response, you can rest assured that all the hard work that you put in your email message was worth it and your email will get to your customer. Let's delve more into the reasons that eblasts are quick, cheap, easy and effective.
A few weeks ago, Fujita & Miura Public Relations celebrated its 10th anniversary. We can’t believe 10 years passed so quickly.  We’d like to extend a big mahalo to all of our clients, `ohana, friends, and mentors who helped us survive and thrive through the years. We’d also like to consider the PR opportunities that anniversaries offer.
The holidays are not only a time for food and festivities, but they also present excellent public relations (PR) opportunities for businesses. Now is the perfect time to focus on your business relationships with employees, customers, shareholders, vendors, legislators or other local businesses; thank those who've helped your company run smoothly throughout the year; and spread the holiday cheer. The following are a few ways to put a little PR spice into your business' holiday strategy:
You know that saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”? Well it’s not true. There’s a phrase that comes in handy for most any occasion or incident when something not-so-nice has been said: “Thank you.”  Here are a few examples.
We’ve all seen those promotions that companies use to try and attract new customers – gifts, cut rates, special offers, etc.  Those kinds of efforts are great and there is a place for recruiting new business, for sure. But what about your current customers, those folks that have stuck with you through all the economic ups and downs, those donors who give a little each year? They are your most valuable assets, and they deserve stewarding and attention.
We recently had the good fortune to attend a scholarship luncheon where we met scholarship recipients and their parents. It was interesting to hear the stories of how parents raised these achievers, and what the students’ future plans were.  We made some striking observations.
Sometimes in difficult situations, we don’t know what to say. We just don’t have the right words.  Thoughtful verbal discretion is an art, for sure, but it’s something we can all learn with some good examples and practice. So, as part of an ongoing series, we’re going to give you a scenario along with our recommended script.  One of these days, when you find yourself in an awkward situation, you just might be able to hearken back to one of these scripts and use the right words that will help smooth out the situation. After all, that’s the basis of public relations: having good relationships no matter what the scenario.  So here goes.