Getting The Maximum Marketing Mileage Out Of Your Nametag

Writen by Scott Ginsberg

As a small business owner, you must always explore creative ways to promote your products or services. One of the most effective yet underappreciated tools you can use to keep your company "on stage" is your nametag. Especially when you attend meetings, events or if you're out in the field representing your company, your nametag is your best friend. Not only will it remind people of your name (who will forget your name 10 seconds after they shake your hand anyway), but it will advertise your business.

Think of your nametag as your own personal billboard. And with that in mind, follow these steps get the maximum marketing mileage out of your nametag.

Create a Custom Nametag
If you're a small business owner or entrepreneur and you don't have your own custom nametag, you are missing out. Imagine you attend your Chamber of Commerce meeting and you get stuck wearing the obligatory, computerized, faded-font, barely-sticks-onto-my-lapel Avery piece of junk. You will not stand out. You will not promote your business. And other members will not know who you are or how you can give them value. Try this: at your next meeting, sit by someone in real estate – those people know how to wear nametags!

If you want a professional nametag that will effectively brand you and your business, consider a small investment in custom engraving. I once started a conversation and made friends with a lady at a meeting of the National Speaker's Association because she had the biggest, most beautiful…nametag…that I had ever seen! She then told me the name of the St. Peters company who customized her nametag – and I drove out to their shop that day! For more information, go to Incredible Engravings at www.engravings.com.

Stay "On Duty" All the Time
What frustrates you more? Someone whose name you've forgotten or someone whose nametag isn't available to help you remember their name? People have a tendency to remove their nametags when they eat, smoke, use the bathroom, go to break out sessions or attend pre/post show activities. Don't. Leave your nametag on for the entire meeting. You never know when there will be a new member in attendance who doesn't know who you are. Remember, as the great sales trainer Jeffery Gitomer says, "It's not who you know, it's who knows you."

Think of yourself as a taxi driver. If you cruise down the street and you want to attract customers, don't shut off your "on duty" lights. Be available at all times for the people who need your services. Because you never know around which corner your next customer will be standing!

Your Nametag is Your Brand
All billboards for McDonald's have similar components: the golden arches, the food, the lifestyle images, the slogans, etc. They are consistent because effective advertising campaigns coordinate their branding efforts between mediums. Therefore, since your nametag is just like your own billboard, the font, color, logo and company information that appears on your nametag should be consistent with the existing brand of your business. As a result, when people meet you, look into your eyes and then look at your nametag, everything will synergize together as one valuable entity.

A great example of someone who uses a nametag as a branding tool is my friend Tom Terrific. Tom is a speaker, trainer and coach whose company is called "Terrific Presentations." Not only do his name, company and programming revolve around the word "terrific," but his nametag simply says, "Tom Terrific." And nobody ever seems to forget Tom. Why? Because he's terrific – and he has the nametag to prove it!

Be an Ambassador
Your nametag will immediately identify you as an ambassador of your company. As such, it will hold you accountable for your behavior while you wear it. Your nametag is like a logo shirt – it should be the personification of your company's culture. So wear it proudly. It will help you maintain a consistency between your performance and the mission of your business.

My friend Bob, who is a Financial Representative for Northwestern Mutual, wears his shiny, sleek, silver nametag on the lapel of his elegant suit every day. It looks professional and meticulous. And just like his nametag, Bob is professional and meticulous. Bob is elegant. Now that is an example of how to be an ambassador.

Silly Is As Silly Does
I know, I know - nametags are silly and annoying. They ruin your clothes. They diminish your anonymity. They draw unwanted attention to certain areas of your body.

But, what if you wore a beautiful, customized nametag that differentiated you?

What if…your nametag offered a small amount of personal information that made you more approachable?

And what if everyone knew you and how you could help them?

Then, the only people who would look silly would be those who weren't connecting and engaging with each other – the people who weren't getting the maximum marketing mileage out of their nametags.

LET ME ASK YA THIS...
What's the best personalized nametag you've ever seen?

LET ME SUGGEST THIS...
Take a picture of your company's (awesome) personalized nametag, email it to me and I'll post it on my blog!

© 2006 All Rights Reserved.

Scott Ginsberg is a professional speaker and the author of HELLO my name is Scott, The Power of Approachability and How To Be That Guy. He helps people MAXIMIZE their personal and professional approachability - one conversation at a time. To book Scott for your next association meeting, conference or corporate event, contact Front Porch Productions at 314/256-1800 or email scott@hellomynameisscott.com

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Friend Or Foe Who Are You Competing With In The Global Market

Writen by Dina Giolitto

Everybody's talking about the competition. "Find out what the competition's doing." "Don't let the competition elbow you out." Exactly who is this invisible enemy and how can you wipe said foe off the selling map as everyone would suggest you do?

In the topsy-turvy world of internet marketing, are your friends your enemies, and your enemies your friends? It would seem so. Perhaps we should refer to such people as our "frenemies."

Let's talk about the word competition. The American Heritage Dictionary defines competition in several ways, two relevent ones being:

1. n. A business relation in which two parties compete to gain customers.

2. n. Rivalry between two or more businesses striving for the same customer or market.

The first definition depicts competition as an event, and the second one portrays it as a state of being. Either way, in both cases the two parties are working against each other, dipping from the same bucket. The proverbial bucket is really your target customer pool.

So: how to figure out if a colleague is your ally or competition? The easiest way to do this is to define your target customer, and then define theirs. Define it in the way that all the true-blue old-school marketers would; isolate the key demographics and psychographics.

That means:

Gender/age
Income bracket
Location
Lifestyle
Core values
Fears and emotional needs

Do you share the same identical audience AND same product offering as someone who you're worried might be a competitor? Or is there a subtle shade of difference between what each of you is peddling?

Think about that web surfer. If he visits "the other guy" at his website, and then visits yours, can he make a distinction between what each of you sells? If he can't, then you're looking square into the Eyes of the Enemy. Okay, maybe "enemy" is a bit harsh. We're all friends in this big, happy marketing world, right? Well... not always.

The truth is, you may find it difficult to forge any sort of relationship with someone whose product offering mirrors yours. Yes, instead of getting all palsy-walsy with said person, you may find yourself skulking about his website, gleaning coveted tricks and then fleeing in the hopes that he doesn't collect IP addresses. Which he probably does, if he's anyone important.

An example of clear-cut competition: GoDaddy.com and Earthlink.net. Nope, there's no way those two arch enemies are forming an alliance anytime soon... unless someone puts some money up and one gets bought out, from whence they become one and the same to the outside world.

But what about when you and the other person are pandering to the same audience but selling two different things? What if they offer a product, and you offer a service?

Suppose you're a dietician offering services and consultations, and JackandtheBeanSprout.com is not a dietician, but they offer health-related books and products on their website. So: are they your competitor, or no?

This dilemma requires a case-by-case comparison. In the case of the broadheading of your two businesses, no you're not *exactly* competition. But there may come a time when the two of you are pushing books about exercise equipment to the same gosh darned target audience for more or less the same price.

In that instance, you may temporarily take opposing sides of the same marketing coin and become competitors... but that's just in one instance. In another instance, JackandtheBeanSprout.com may choose to chase the population of old geezers with offers for exercise equipment. Meanwhile, you're pitching a new service to health practitioners. Suddenly, you're friends again.

Is there a way to capitalize on your relations with a businessperson who shares your general niche? Why, sure there is. Form an alliance. Become their affiliate. If the new exercise equipment the other guy is selling to seniors works nicely as a side dish to your own crop of offerings, why not cut a deal with old Jack? There, now everyone gets a slice of the pie. Not bad for a couple of rivals, huh.

At times you may keep your tongue firmly planted in the side of your face as you spout off glorious words on your marketing rival/friend's behalf to your own audience, but it's all part of the Opportunist Game. If you want to run with the big marketing dogs, you must learn the rules. And you must keep a cool head!

There is no *real* loyalty in the selling world. Business associates are fair-weather friends, at least in the business context... and there is a price tag attached to what they can do for you. So if they officially become your competition on Sunday, just ride it out for however long the fever takes to die down over what they're offering... and in the interim, plot your next move.

Your next move in the market will of course depend on the outcome of the buzz that they created. In what direction is the audience headed? Is technology remolding the average consumer mindset and making your product or service obsolete? If so, then you must move with the times. Move, grow, evolve, acquire, change, merge, switch directions, switch tactics. Remember that you're not leading your audience; they're really leading YOU.

If you stop thinking of your business competition in black and white terms and start thinking categorically and multi-directionally, you may find yourself traveling side roads to riches that you never thought possible. So, is that other guy your competitor? Yes... and... no.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

Liked this article? Have more of the same emailed to your inbox each month. Sign up for the Copywriting and Marketing Ezine from Dina at Wordfeeder.com and learn to write search engine friendly web copy and market your web based business for free.

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European Regulatory Language Requirements

Writen by Shy Avni

Sustaining competitive advantage within the medical device industry involves a global product strategy that recognizes the European market's substantial global market share. Estimated at 30% of the global medical device market, the European community poses increasing regulatory challenges for medical device manufacturers. Regulations controlling the manufacturing, marketing and usage of medical devices in the EU are forcing manufacturers to incorporate language translation and localization into global development strategies as individual Member States demand product information in the language of the local user.

An exigent regulatory hurdle facing the medical device industry is the European Union's IVDD 98/79/EC directive which went into effect December 7, 2003. Formulated five years ago, the IVDD 98/79/EC dictates that as of the December date, all new in vitro medical devices must bear CE Marks or face refusal into the European market or regulatory, criminal or product/civil liability.

What is the guiding principle behind the new directive?

The IVDD Directive virtually eliminates the costly regulations imposed by individual member states. Manufacturers who comply with the Directive will be able to apply the CE mark to their products and market them freely within member states of the EU. The IVDD (In Vitro Diagnostic Devices Directive) is one of three associated directives issued by the European Union, which together cover all forms of medical equipment with the intent to ensure that only safe and effective products are sold in the European market. The directives clearly outline regulations regarding manufacturing, importing, and marketing of such devices. The IVDD specifically involves in vitro ( in an artificial environment outside the living organism ) medical devices that examine human fluids or tissue samples to identify, diagnose, and monitor medical conditions. The IVDD 98/79/EC brings in vitro devices in line with other medical devices already regulated by the EU, the MDD (Medical Devices Directive) and the AIMDD (Active Implantable Medical Devices Directive).

The IVDD and it sibling directives apply progressive regulatory requirements to medical devices and their accessories depending on the classified risk they present to the user, defined in the directive as Class I through III. Unless the classified product is a low-risk Class I device that does not contain any sterile packaging or a measuring function, manufacturers require a third-party Notified Body to independently certify the device's compliance to the Directive's Essential Requirements (a.k.a. Annex I)-good faith is not enough. Additionally, in a new twist within the Directive, the authorized representative shown on the device label for Class I devices manufactured outside the EU may be required to produce the technical file, including copies of all translated materials. Any incorrect labeling or instructions for use may lead to regulatory criminal or product/civil liability in the EU.

Any medical device manufacturer wishing to market its products in the European Union is fully responsible for complying with the corresponding safety and administrative Essential Requirements and must display the CE mark of conformity as stated in Article 16 of the IVDD 98/79/EC . If that's not a red flag, consider the next regulatory deadline facing in vitro device manufacturers: By December 7, 2005, the European Union will not only require a CE mark to legally market a product, but will require a CE mark to legally put a medical device into service—a requirement much more critical to the revenue of manufacturers and healthcare!

CE Mark: A passport to the European Union
An abbreviation of a French phase "Conformite Europeene," the CE mark indicates that the medical device manufacturer has conformed to all the obligations set forth by the Directive 98/79/EC of the European Parliament. Affixing this multinational standardized mark to a product will allow any global manufacturer a "passport" to freely distribute their products within the European Union without additional quality testing or approvals. Reflective of the 1946 Treaty of Rome, the CE mark is a conformity tool that is intended to further promote the establishment of a single market where the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital are ensured. Fundamentally, the CE mark and the medical device directives remove many regulatory hurdles while providing stronger regulations for smaller countries; however, it also creates critical language compliance issues that may prove to be costly for manufacturers. Regardless of the intended global harmonization, participating countries are preserving their national cultures and languages by requiring product information in their own local languages.

IVDD, MDD & AIMD…more languages!
Depending on device classification, to legally display the CE mark, the IVDD, MDD, and AIMD all mandate that manufacturers provide all labeling, information for usage, documentation, and marketing materials in the official language(s) of the end-user's Member State, taking into account the training and knowledge of the potential users as stated in Article 4, Paragraph 4, IVDD 98/79/EC .

Documentation Translation Requirements — Conformity Assessment Procedures Manufacturers are required to translate the documentation relating to the production, testing and quality processes in the official language(s) of the Member State in which the procedures are carried out as stated in Article 9, Paragraph 11 of the IVDD 98/79/EC. Depending on device classification, these documents must include a number of required disclosures dependent on the product classification. Depending on marketing and distribution objectives, some products may require up to 12 languages, creating complicated multilingual product labeling and IFU challenges. There can be over 20 information pieces required for each product label of IFU, depending on the classification as detailed in Annex I, Part B, Section 8 of the Directive.

Table I Official Language(s) of EU Member States

Member State Official language(s)

Austria - German

Belgium - Dutch, French & German

Denmark - Danish

Finland - Finnish

France - French

Germany - German

Greece - Greek

Ireland - English

Italy - Italian

Luxembourg - French, German, Luxembourgish

Netherlands - Dutch

Portugal - Portuguese

Spain - Spanish

Sweden - Swedish

United Kingdom - English

Table II
Official Language(s) of EFTA Member States
Member State Official language(s)

Iceland - Icelandic

Liechtenstein - German

Norway - Norwegian

Switzerland - German, French & Italian

( Switzerland is not a EFTA member but requires translation)

Table III
Official Language(s) of Member States Applying For EU Membership
Member State Official language(s)

Bulgaria - Bulgarian

Cyprus - Greek

Czech Republic - Czech

Estonia - Estonian

Hungary - Hungarian

Latvia - Latvian

Lithuania - Lithuanian

Malta - English & Maltese

Poland - Polish

Romania - Romanian

Slovakia - Slovak

Slovenia - Slovenian

Turkey - Turkish

EU Member State Official Languages
Depending on the extent of the product's presence in the European Union, there are currently up to 12 languages required for the labeling, IFUs, documentation, and marketing materials in accordance with the IVDD and MDD necessary for CE mark as displayed in TABLE I .

As the EU continues to grow and the trading barriers dissolve, prospective Member States are actively transitioning regulations to meet the CE mark criteria, requiring new languages. A midday regulatory shadow to the EU, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are aggressively enforcing the CE mark, shown in TABLE II . Although not a member of the EFTA, Switzerland is also enforcing medical device CE mark.

In addition to the EFTA, 13 more countries have applied for membership in the European Union. Performing a parallel migration to the European Union's regulatory requirements, several of these future Member States are actively adopting the CE Mark to ensure goods can freely move throughout the European Union, including Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Turkey, see

TABLE III .
Global Harmonization and International Quality Standards In 1998, the United States and the European Union introduced the New Transatlantic Agreement (NTA) to improve economic cooperation between the two economic powers. In this landmark accord resides the Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) that acknowledges the regulatory standards of the respective economic bodies-an area of transition that affects the medical device industry. The European Union medical device directives refer to ISO 9001 as the series of quality management standards and the US refers to FDA's Quality System Requirements and all corresponding good manufacturing (GMP) practices regulations. Benefiting medical and pharmaceutical companies, both quality systems have made considerable efforts to synchronize their requirements further increasing the common ground between quality systems in North America and Europe.

ISO (International Organization for Standardization) Adding to the pressure the current ISO 9000:1994 standard is transitioning to a new ISO: 9000:2000 series effective December 14th of this year. However, as of May 15, 2003, only 19.5% of the total ISO registered North American companies had completed their registration process. This is essential in the entire chain of requirements. The new standard is a consolidation of ISO 9001 and 9002, and has more of a customer satisfaction and continuous improvement focus not present in previous versions.

GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices)
In December 1978, the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Regulation became effective, establishing Quality System Requirements for products regulated under the FDA, including medical devices. In 1990, the Safe Medical Devices Act (SMDA) expanded the GMP to include design, manufacturing, packaging, labeling, storage, installation and servicing of all finished medical devices.

Exporting American Medical Devices
Any medical device in the US market may not be legally exported anywhere in the world without prior FDA notification or approval; however, for a device to be legally distributed in the US, the FDA requires: Registration of both the medical device and manufacturing site

- Authorization for commercial distribution through either a 510(k) pre-market notification or a Pre-market Approval (PMA) application depending upon the classification of the device

- Compliance with FDA labeling requirements

- Manufacturing compliance with the FDA's Good

Manufacturing Practices (GMP)

While the FDA does not place any restrictions on the export of these devices, certain countries require an Export Certificate that the manufacturer and its devices are indeed in compliance with FDA regulations. Medical devices that do not have a 510(k), PMA, or are solely manufactured for export may by approved for exportation by the FDA through Section 801(e)(1) of the FFDCA; however, the manufacturer may experience regulatory difficulties depending on the individual country's requirements of an FDA Export Certificate, which, as stated above, require a 510 (k) or a PMA.

Sorting through the regulations to achieve global product delivery The question facing medical device manufacturers in the current global market is how to meet all language requirements in the most cost-effective, regulatory compliant manner. Managing regulations and translations are among the most critical aspects of developing and marketing products for the life sciences industries. Any mistake, no matter how minor, can delay product approvals, launches, or cause widespread public relations disasters. Therefore, developing translation and localization processes has become a competitive advantage for global manufacturers of medical devices.

Working closely with a translation and localization vendor who specializes in medical language services is an important step in conquering the ever-changing international regulatory process. The choice of the translation provider is extremely important to ensure that translations are accurate, consistent and technically correct, as well as harmonious with the manufacturers' processes.

Medical language service providers should—at the very least—provide documented processes that involve native-speaking linguists that have expertise in both medical translation and the medical industry. To deliver consistency, quality and reduced costs, the language service provider should also implement terminology management tools and computer-assisted translation solutions in concert with the team of human translators.

Conclusion
Complex and ever-changing international regulations controlling the marketing and usage of medical devices are forcing manufacturers to incorporate language translation and localization into global development strategies. The European Union members currently require that all product information be in the official language of the local users and the diversity of this economic area is only growing to include more regulations and official languages. A simultaneous global release of medical devices involving up to 12 languages in Europe alone makes this issue as critical as the intended purpose of the medical device. Medical device manufacturers can cost-effectively market their products globally while satisfying international regulatory requirements by partnering with Net-Translators a qualified language service provider in the very early stages of product development. The right language partner can turn what may now appear as a chaos of regulatory requirements into a successful international product release.

Shy Avni Buisness Development Manager Net-Translators

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Marketing And Promotion Plan And Track Your Expenses

Writen by Joshua Feinberg

Marketing and promotion expenses are one of the bigger outflows that you need to contend with. From the start you should be thinking about putting aside cash for marketing and promotion expenses on a regular basis. If you manage it properly, your marketing and promotion expense is more of an investment than an expense.

When you start planning your marketing and promotion expense, you should think about tracking every dollar that you put in. Not every campaign you run will be a winner, but you should be able to track it nonetheless. That's the trick to managing your marketing and promotion expense.

The tracking is key because there is no one sure thing. There is no one thing that works 100% of the time. If you want a sure thing get a job. When it comes to marketing and promotion, you need to try a lot of different things.

When you think about your marketing and promotion plan you should aim to have three, four or five balls in the air at once. Have three, four or five different marketing vehicles going at the same time. Out of the five things that you do, one will wind up being a huge winner, one will be a complete failure and if you're lucky, three of the five things will be mediocre.

The key thing to think about when you are choosing your different marketing and promotion activities, is that not all five of them are going to be successful. Fortunately, it's also extremely unlikely that all five of them will be complete losers. It's like putting together your retirement account. You don't want to be all in one shop or all in one sector. Diversity is very important.

The Bottom Line on Marketing and Promotion

Marketing and promotion expenses will be big. You need to think smart about how to best use your cash. The key thing is tracking what you spend, and where you spend your marketing and promotion dollars. If you play the odds, something is bound to be a huge winner, one will likely be a dog, and the others will be somewhere in between. If you keep diligent track of your marketing and promotion expenses you'll know which is which.

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Joshua Feinberg can help you get more steady, high-paying computer consulting clients. You can learn how too. Sign-up now for Joshua's free audio training program on the Computer Consulting Blog.

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