Dave Voracek opened
The
Marketing
Department in 1982 to help companies plan their promotional efforts in an organized way. He also offers the "ad agency" services needed to implement the plans. In 1992 he invented The Brochure Doctor, and that's when business took off.
Dave can be reached by phone at 703-824-8787.
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David Voracek
The Marketing Department
President of a marketing and advertising consulting firm
"If you're a consultant, the product you are selling is YOU. Making personal contacts in the local business community is the only way to market your consulting services. Ads, direct mail, or yellow page listings really don't work. Business owners prefer to meet you in person, or through referrals.
Thus, I needed to get out and see and be seen. 'Getting known' and recognized and remembered were my marketing goals. Attending networking functions such as Chamber of Commerce mixers was my strategy. But I soon realized I faced two obstacles. First, most people's eyes glazed over when I told them I was a marketing consultant. I could see they didn't understand what I had to offer. And second, as just another guy in a blue suit and a white shirt, I blended into the sea of other 'suits' at networking functions. The challenge...how to
STAND OUT.
So I invented The Brochure Doctor, since a company brochure seems to be the basic marketing tool most firms understand and know they need. Then I bought a white lab coat and an authentic doctor's stethoscope, and started attending networking events in my new persona...The Brochure Doctor.
The white lab coat certainly stands out. Now people come up and ask me 'What kind of doctor are you?' When I tell them who I am, they smile and immediately start relating the latest tale of the brochure they recently struggled with for their company.
So the costume becomes a conversation starter and a way to stand out in a crowded markting venue. The persona or character of The Brochure Doctor becomes a memory device for people to recognize me at future networking events. In just four years as 'the doctor', I've built a higher business profile than the previous 10 years as the guy-in-a-blue-suit marketing consultant from The Marketing Department.
This marketing strategy takes guts...you have to be willing to really stand out in a crowd, and confident in yourself to be able to make people laugh when they meet you. Networking is a proven promotional technique. But it does not work if you just blend into the wallpaper at every business function.
So consider a costume...or wearing an unusual hat that relates to your business or industry. Or, create an unusual handout that relates to your ad theme. I know a utility consultant who keeps that from being a real yawn by giving out small bags of peanuts when she networks, stressing that she is 'nutty' about finding every way possible to slash costs for her clients. Now when we appear at the same Chamber events, people know that The Brochure Doctor and The Peanut Lady are in the room.
Becoming 'known' for your particular skill also leads to speaking invitations, and chances to lead seminars about your area of expertise...in person, or in the chat rooms on the Net. Jump at these opportunities for added exposure. They establish you as the number one source to contact when people want what it is you offer."
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