The Hathaway Group

Knowledge, Relationships, Results.

The Hathaway Group is a local Marketing and Advertising Agency. Our services are targeted toward small and medium sized businesses in the Dayton area. We can help you develop a comprehensive plan to build your business, your customer base and reach your sales goals.

We understand that your budget is pre-determined and that no one likes to waste their hard-earned dollars. We make the puzzling process of marketing and advertising easy to understand, cost effective and simple!

LinkedIn is all about talent: How Deep is your People Pool?

Mon Jan 31st 2:24 PM

Preliminary data reveals that 22.2% of those who are regular or occasional visitors to employment websites such as Monster.com or Careerbuilder.com have visited LinkedIn within the past month. The preliminary report, based on 25,000 surveys nationwide, offers an early glimpse of the website's reach and demographic makeup, as well as duplication with other media. According to the data, LinkedIn now reaches 11.3% of all U.S. adults 18 years and older in a typical month, or slightly more than 14 million visitors. LinkedIn is one of several social media websites now measured by various research tools. The site has a distinct demographic makeup. Among the website's unique monthly visitors, 60% are male, with 55.2% earning more than $75,000 in annual household income and 40.3% who earn $100,000 or more. Furthermore, when compared to other social media websites, the site can boast the largest percentage of its visitors who are proprietors and managers - 38.1%, and the largest percentage of visitors who are business owners, partners or corporate officers - 13.2%. The study also reveals that LinkedIn visitors are very educated. Among those who visit LinkedIn, 43.1% have a college degree, a figure that is 83% higher when compared to the general population. Furthermore, LinkedIn visitors are more than twice as likely to have an advanced college degree. So the question to ask yourself is: Are you using Social Media to the benefit of your employment pool or are you using only traditional methods to fill open seats. Social Media isn't just for "advertising" your product. Social Media is way to connect with your customers, build relationships and solicit the best talent. Contact us for more ideas on building your "people pool".

Nich it....

Mon Jan 3rd 3:47 PM

Small businesses must find a niche that they can own and focus their resources and attention on that niche exclusively. This will serve to offer customers a focused idea of what it is in particular that you are selling. The average customer is easily confused. Mostly people nod agreement, then ignore this advice. But why? The Gimmie Mentality: Every business owner wants every piece of business they can get in the beginning and they forget that building and maintaining the right customer base is the best recipe for future success. Loyalty is important but that loyalty should come in the form of consistent cash flow. Most home improvement contractors would prefer to renovate every room in someone's house instead of fixing leaky windows... if spend too much time taking any "leaky window" job you can get, you're bound to miss out on that $50,000 basement. Immediate cash is not the medicine that heals all wounds. Patience...is only for doctors: If at first it doesn't succeed... dump it and never ever use it again...right? Wrong. Consider that it might not be the medium, it might be the frequency. If you run one coupon, one time and only 2% return you'll probably be upset; when you should really be dancing on the table! If you run a few radio spots and you only get a few inquiries you may think your spots didn't really run...when this type of return is pretty fantastic. Make sure you ask all the right questions up front and that you manage your own internal expectations when you begin your marketing efforts. Nothing works immediately and independently of other efforts. Keep your message consistent across all mediums you use and make sure your message in front of your customers frequently...you never know when they may need a new bathroom, a new credit union or a caterer. There is no such thing as a money tree. Consistency and frequency are still the best methods to achieve results. If you focus upon a specific market segment, fashion your product/service, your brand and your message to meet needs in that segment, you can build a brand and a business that will thrive long-term because it “means something” to your customers and to those they will refer to you. Selecting the market segment(s) you will serve may be tricky. There are many criteria that you can use to evaluate the ability of a segment. Here are a few: 1. Is it large enough to accommodate your business? 2. Are the members of the segment willing and able to buy what you’re selling? 3. Can you readily identify those populating the segment - demographically, behaviorally & geographically? It’s worth exploring niche marketing as a major strategy. Just be patient and avoid getting frustrated. A good brainstorming session with staff, a marketing agency or friends can be great tools to help you reach your segmenting goals. -excerpts taken from "the branding blog". www.thebrandingblog.com

Relevance...the key to advertising

Wed Jan 6th 11:26 AM

We can talk all day and night about who our target market is and how to reach them. Have we really stopped to think about whether we are relevant to them? No matter what you sell or what you are trying to achieve with your marketing dollars, they are all wasted if you are not meeting your target customer with a relevant message. Are you giving your customers something to entice them individually...or are you treating them all alike? No two customers are alike, and therefore no two marketing offers should be alike. Take a moment to think about your customers and group them into similar "segments". Would one group like what the other one likes? Probably not. So don't try to lure a cheeseburger lover with a deal on fish...offer him a BOGO on ground chuck.

The Awareness Scale....

Mon Dec 7th 3:41 PM

The Awareness Scale is a new term in the world of marketing. It refers to the way the way that Social Media, Public Relations and Advertising work together for the benefit of driving business. Have you considered how your website, social media (facebook, linkedin, etc), electronic media (TV, Radio, etc) are all working together? Or are they? There are great ways to get the most out of everything you do! No media stands alone...no one watches one channel, drives on only one street, or eats only one kind of potato chips! Don't let your business get caught viewing all your marketing pieces separately. The biggest bank for you buck is to use them as a collective hand driving new & repeat business. Drive traffic back and forth between them...your customers are doing research on you. Are they learning the same thing everywhere they look...or are you sending mixed messages?

Cold calling or Referrals...what's your preference???

Fri Sep 11th 7:24 AM

Referrals are everyone's favorite sale. It feels great to get a call from someone new who says.... "my neighbor/sister/aunt/friend said you were the greatest (insert specialty here). Could we meet?". Ahhhh...we all know the possibility to close the sale has increased! Recently, I've seen some pretty creative referrals programs in the marketplace and I'm here to tell you it is essential in ANY business! Ask yourself these questions - 1.Do you have a referral "bonus" program? 2. Are you using it consistently? 3.Are you going far enough for these leads? 4. Do you have a good partner company to help you with your referrals? I'm sure you have some pretty big fans out there. Are they marketing your business for you? This is the "cheapest" form of advertising out there! There is a referral idea for EVERY business... what's yours?

Facebooking...is this really a verb?

Mon Aug 17th 8:52 AM

In this day and age, special attention must be paid to social networking sites. Even though you might be well established and have an incredible website...you should NOT overlook the social networking opportunities that are available. Now...I'm not telling you to re-connect with all your old high school buddies! I'm telling you that there is a "Brave New World" out there! You can use these sites to get information and referrals. Have I peaked your interest? We can help!

Getting our Blog on....

Mon Aug 10th 3:34 PM

As a local company (and a local marketing company to boot) we see the value in the "little things" you can do to market your company for free! This is your stop for all those little tidbits that can make you successful. We like to think of them as the THG Tidbits. Get it? Drop by every week or so and we'll offer a new idea, a new way to look at marketing or a local media outlet. We're looking forward to the opportunity to be YOUR resource...we hope you enjoy the information we post!