We’re all familiar with how this works in a contractor scenario. But what about in a more traditional office environment? There are intrapreneurs – those who incubate new business within an established business; more subtly, though, there are those who approach their jobs with creativity and an eye toward business development. These people are every bit the entrepreneur, even if they’re not out there hustling for their new startup.

At Actio, we’re all about the Intrapreneur. You’re out looking for new information, so that you can stay competitive. You’re creating opportunities and selling into them. You’re an innovator who makes change. Whether you’re working for yourself or working to make your organization stronger, you’re realizing the benefits of the entrepreneurial approach.

Communicating with the intrapreneur is of primary importance to today’s businesses – franchise organizations speaking to their franchisees and technology companies speaking to their users both need to especially understand the new landscape.

Intrapraneurs and entrepreneurs essentially want the same thing – to hear and see what works, what’s innovative (but proven to work), where the advantages are most abundant, and to see things from their peers’ perspective. Content – rich, focused, fresh content – is money in the bank to these individuals. It is money in the bank to the organization as well.

One of the best ways to provide that content is through live conferences. Even with the investment in live events most companies make, the energy created in bringing a group of entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs together cannot be duplicated through any form of direct marketing, webinar, or even in office training. Why? Because this growing sector of our economy (and arguably the sector that can return it to stability and resurgence) thrives on their connection to their fellows. They share ideas, successes and failures, new approaches, new sources for resources of all kinds, and they are addicted to growth.

Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs are a resilliant lot who will not settle for surviving when they could be thriving. Organzations that know how to feed them what they are most hungry for will benefit equally by generating their loyalty and leveraging their passion.

I recently read an article exploring how psychology and consumer behavior studies have influenced the restaurant industry, particularly menus. Essentially, the restaurant business is a commodity market – customers are making choices based on how those commodities are prepared and presented, and their experience as a customer. As I made my way through the article, I considered how these tactics could be applied to an array of industries, from franchises to event marketing.

Most of us are familiar with pricing with 5 or 9 as a way to get consumers to round down; but have you noticed that many menus (especially at higher-end restaurants) no longer include a dollar sign beside its items? A simple $ literally indicates the cost, right? Its absence can soften the pricing, which can lead to a greater spend by diners. This simple method can be applied to not only to menus, but to hang tags, pricing sheets, proposals, and so on, particularly when selling higher-priced products or services.

Another menu design choice is related to placement, or anchoring. Buyers are sensitive to contrast, so a high-dollar (low-volume) item may be placed next to a (still high but) lower priced item, which makes it look like a value in comparison. The power of anchoring is visible in everything from plaintiffs’ lawyers demanding outrageous sums for pain and suffering to stock market bubbles to the four-figure ice cream sundae. Pair anchoring with well-written descriptions of your offerings, and your customers will respond accordingly.

Lastly, bundling. High-end restaurants offer prix fixe menus; fast food joint have combo meals. This concept translates across industries so easily: goods and services are often bundled so that customers can quickly select the most frequently paired offerings. By bundling, you can recoup on lower-margin items by packaging them with those that have higher margins. Without line item pricing, your customer needn’t worry about the particulars – decision-making is simplified.

Let’s take this a step farther: it’s not just about the price, it’s about the value. So, in a commoditized market, how do we proclaim our value? We differentiate ourselves with exemplary customer service. We’re proactive. We demonstrate thought leadership. We share how we’ve delivered outstanding ROI for our customers/clients. We also package our products and services so that those most frequently selected are easily found and chosen by our customers. We make it easy. And if a customer wants to unbundle, we price accordingly.

This is as true for our technology and retail customers as it is for Actio.

Pricing is a richer subject than you might imagine. You may be surprised how many parallels you see with your own pricing strategies, and how many innovative practices you can learn from restaurateurs. It makes sense to sell with a focus on the value, benefit and ROI of the products delivered… and certainly side-by-side comparisons don’t hurt.

In fact, “I’m starting to feel the overwhelm,” is a phrase repeated over and over among many attendees. This is an inevitable part of the large convention experience, and IFA is no exception. This year’s registrations also exceeded recent years’ numbers noticeably (and unexpectedly), and since IFA follows best practices of booking space years in advance to get better deals, they also have the challenge of having blocked into space that isn’t quite large enough for the crowd they have attracted.

This was very apparent when Dr. Condoleezza Rice spoke at yesterday’s luncheon, and a handful of attendees, who opted not to stand in the line up to an hour before the event doors were opened, found themselves watching from a satellite screen in the public space. However attendees took it all in stride – and almost seemed to relish the crowd.

IFA does a number of things to help attendees navigate the crowd effectively – but it is up to the attendees to take advantage of these options. IFA provides more intimate, smaller, local meetings throughout the year, as many large organizations do with regional meetings. This is where attendees can plug into their local community and really build relationships that large conventions are not designed to create (even though they can foster them after they are formed).

IFA has also created an IFA-specific social community, aptly named “FranSocial” where attendees can be visible and connect in a more individualized manner.

However, many exhibitors privately confess they see little or no business from exhibiting at the national convention. They do so in order to be visible (the price of poker, as they say in Vegas) and support the organization at the national level, while working their local community and participating in committees to build real relationships.

So, while a large convention is great for networking and visibility, it is easy to get lost in the crowd if you aren’t already actively involved with existing relationships in the community where you play. IFA is one more example of this age-old truth that companies holding large national conferences and conventions would be wise to embrace and address.

Our first impression of IFA’s event engagement is extremely positive. The confirmation email directed us to the IFA Event APP, by Core-Apps, who also provides APPS for DragonCon and other large association conferences, including the International Association for Exhibitors and Events. The APP has its own sponsor, as well as banner ads which provide value for exhibitors. It contains a QR code reader, a place to connect with other attendees, Twitter handles, speaker roster, a place to build your own agenda, alerts, MGM maps (great for large venues) event documents, such as lists of attendees and companies present, and an RSS feed.

Event APPS are new technology, with wildly variable price tags, and customization options, which are still not needed for every event, but IFA is the perfect fit for an event APP, with its thousands of attendees and extensive schedule, in a large convention center space.

However, IFA also provides another “best practice” for its attendees, knowing not everyone will jump on the mobile bandwagon. In every badge is a fold-out agenda at a glance. This seems like a no-brainer, but in the no-man’s land where new technology is only partially adopted, information must live in multiple media still.

So, now we are off to explore content – meet our New Member Ambassador, and meet some new aquaintences, as well as catch up with clients and our fellow franchise fanatics.

ADTRAN
TRADE SHOW TOUCH SCREEN

Target Audience: Domestic and international Telcom/Broadband buyers

Objective:

• High-tech Approach to High-tech Product
• Ease of Demonstrating Integrated Solutions vs. Individual Products
• Ease of Information Updating
• Environmental Approach
• Reduce Booth Cost (Shipping, Printing, etc.)

Solution: Flash based navigation across 16 solution sets and multiple applications, including testimonial videos, white papers and product specifications.

Results: Faster engagement on tradeshow floor- easier for sales team to engage potential clients in integrated solution set. Easy to produce and adapt for domestic and international clients.

MOVING IN THE SPIRIT
ORGANIZATIONAL BRANDING

Audience: Potential Sponsors, Volunteers and Supporters

Objective:

• Explain the unique nature of the non-profit’s program
• Explain the benefits to children in the program and to the community at large
• Create a short overview of the program seen from many perspectives
• Reinforce the professionalism of the organization through consistent messaging and branding across mediums (logos, annual reports, print ads, video, etc.)

Solution:

• Logo
• annual report
• brochure
• ads
• presentation
• hi-definition 4-minute video including teacher, student, and board testimonials in the studio environment, backed by footage of both the learning process and performances.
• Consistency of messaging and visuals that reinforce MITS position as a successful, long standing program worthy of continued involvement.

Results: Funding, community visibility and donations continued to rise, even during down economy.

SITA
CLOUD OFFERING PRODUCT LAUNCH BROCHURE

Audience: IT Buyers in the Air Transportation Industry

Objective:

• Deliver a compelling message in a highly competitive market
• Include interactive component, driving traffic to website
• Ensure content worked in both email and print form

Solution: Brochure format, printable and email compatible, delivered in 5 days

UPS
MAIL INNOVATIONS DIRECT MAIL

Purpose:

• Reach key decision makers of targeted verticals already known to benefit from the Mail Innovations solutions set
• Deliver the piece in a UPS Mail Innovations Letter Pack, thereby personalizing the delivery and imbuing the piece with a high level of importance
• Address common business challenges, demonstrating the unique way UPS has to address them more effectively
• Drive traffic to micro site

Solution:

• Two separate interactive mailers
• Microsite design and implementation

Results: Sales exceeded expectations by 10% in markets where mailers were used.

OVERHEAD DOOR
NATIONAL DEALER MEETING

Audience: 350 Distributors and their spouses (approx. 600 attendees)

Purpose:

• Recognize top Distributors’ sales and marketing efforts
• Reinforcing relationship between Ribbons and Overhead Door
• Explore best practices
• Education
• Peer networking
• Vendor showcase

Solution:

• Sell product to Distributors
• Event theme
• 90th Anniversary logo
• Pre-event marketing
• Staging
• Script development for general session
• Inspirational keynote speaker (Sean Tuohy)
• National musical talent for evening party (Jo Dee Messina)
• Video
• Content development
• Graphics production
• Themed parties
• Group activities
• Educational sessions

Results: Product sales at the event were tallied at $2 million, where projections had been $500,000.

GEORGIA CHAPTER OF MEETING PROFESSIONALS INTERNATIONAL
ORGANIZATIONAL RE-BRAND

Audience: Meeting Professionals (Planners and Suppliers) in the Southeast

Objective:

• Promoting brand awareness among both Members and Non-Members
• Improve brand perception
• Create consistent brand platform and message in all areas of communication
• Increase membership and advertising revenue

Solution: Target Research Study, Brand Platform, Messaging, Website Redesign, Brochure Redesign, Email Newsletter Redesign, Presentation Redesign, Event and other sub-branding Redesign, Brand Style Guide, Event Site Redesign

Results: Brand launch just completed.