Are you talking to your customers?

If you’re not talking to your customers, they won’t talk to you … and by talk, we mean, visit your store or website and buy your goods and services.

So, when the budget gets tight and tough decisions are made, keep in mind that reducing the dollars spent to communicate with your consumers further reduces your ability to sustain (let alone grow) your business.

We recognize some cutbacks may be necessary. But too often, the marketing budget is slashed, resulting in the loss of the main tools driving customers to the door. With a diminished presence in the marketplace, business continue to drop (and can’t be contributed solely to a slower economy).

Whether times are good or bad, customers still have to know you exist. People are still buying. And you have to be in front of them to sustain awareness,. Now, more than ever, you need your customers to think of you first.

In fact, it's the time for you to grow your business and gain some strides over your competitors. Because others are marketing less, you have the chance to showcase your products without as much competitive interference. The opportunity to develop greater brand awareness is greatest at a time of economic strife. Ultimately, you are also able to create a new customer base that will likely increase their spending with you as the economy rebounds, leaving you with a larger market share than you had before.

Now, as at any time, it is vital to evaluate marketing options and make decisions based on most cost effectively impacting your goals while staying within your budget.

YP Softball - Game 1 Winners

The YP Softball Team made its debut Tuesday night with a win!
Final score of 6 to 1.

Although Konny was worried about her performance, having not played in years, she got on base twice and played right field with no errors.

It took a few innings to shake off the rust and start making throws and batting well. The first three innings were plagued with errors for both teams. But we survived and in the end brought it together for a win.

The strangest part of Co-Ed Rec Softball is its collection of strange rules. For instance, when you walk up to the plate you start with one ball and one strike. It is done to speed up the game, since each game has an hour time limit. They also have different sized softballs for the women and men. The men use a larger ball, which has more weight and is harder to hit out of the park. But of course another twist is that a great hit over the fence will result in an out, not a home run. Another rule for co-ed softball is that if you walk a man, the woman behind him has the option of walking too, making a walk to a man very costly. Sure cuts down on the intentional walks.

But life is full of strange rules, even in the advertising business. It is how you learn the rules and take advantage of them that determines how well you succeed. Catalyst Creative Services, having been in the business for over 35 years, knows the advertising rules by heart and continually keeps on top of the ever changing world of advertising.

Let Catalyst help you hit a home run with your next campaign through strategic planning and great execution.

Put me in, Coach - I'm ready to play? Today?

Yum, the smell of hotdogs on the grill, chips and pop. This will be my first tailgate and I am so excited. Ed and I have joined the Young Professionals (YP) Softball team. Our first game is at 9:30 tonight at Fun Valley Sports and at least two of us at Catalyst will be there ready to win.

Now, we are not pros by any means and just to let everyone know – we have yet to practice. I don’t think I’ve swung a bat since high school. Ed on the other hand has played softball for a while now and I am told he can play. I am just worried about me…..

I am hoping a few people on our team have taken time this past weekend to practice, other than that we are winging it. I think this game will be great fun and besides we are on the recreational “fun” league instead of the competitive league. Since this is almost a completely new team from last year, we will have to find out, through trial and error, who our pitcher, catcher, 1st baseman, and so on will be.

Joining YP and being active in their activities, like softball, is a great way to get to know other professionals in Reno County. Invite your friends to the game and meet the team. Nothing wrong with cheerleaders!

We’ll keep you posted on how the game went.

We eat our veggies...and enjoy them even more now.

We recently began working with Smith’s Market. You might have already seen traces of what we’re doing for this legendary produce market. But we’ll talk, and brag, more about that at a later date when there’s greater evidence of our creativity. We’re just getting started!

This is about the fact we were already Smith’s Market fans. Of course, each of us have our special reasons. In case you’re interested, here’s what the Catalyst crew particularly favors:

Judy -- “I always go to Smith’s Market for their oranges. I can’t believe how many times I have bought oranges at other grocery stores and they look so good, but when you peel them and dig in, they have no flavor. What a disappointment! I have never gotten one bad orange at Smith’s. They’re always delicious.

During the holidays I go there for candy. They have special kinds of Christmas candy that you can’t find anywhere else here in Hutchinson.”

Ed -- “My favorite item from Smith’s Market is their large variety of snack trail mixes. No matter what food mood I am in, they have the taste that quenches my craving.”

Konny -- “I absolutely love their ruby red grapefruit. Buying grapefruit is usually hit-and-miss, but all six of the ones I purchased - on special - at Smith’s Market were wonderfully sweet and sour. I had my last one earlier today and I bought them three weeks ago!”

Jill -- “All the produce is always just gorgeous. And so reasonably priced. It makes preparing meals fun and satisfying. I feel good serving my family healthy veggies!

You can also find the amazing Zing Zang Bloody Mary Mix at Smith's Market. The absolute best!”

Travis -- “Smith's Market apples are sweet and delicious. Red apples are the best kind.”

As for me, and it probably says something about my personality, I am particularly fond of onions. Really good onions. So I appreciate the variety and quality I can always find at Smith’s Market. Plus I really like the wide assortment of dried fruits they consistently keep in stock (unlike some places). And...I agree with Ed about the trail mixes.

So...if you’re not a regular already, we suggest you discover how enjoyable it is to shop at Smith’s Market. It’s been a popular spot since 1933. We just want to make it even more popular!

A treasured Hutchinson tradition

Among the many things that add vitality to Hutchinson, the National Junior College Basketball Tournament certainly ranks right up there. For 61 years it has brought teams and their fans here from all across the country each March. Not only do they experience a great sporting event, they experience a great community and give us the opportunity to showcase our qualities.

The amazing thing is: this highly successful tournament is accomplished entirely by volunteers — hundreds of local people giving their time and talent to make it happen. And they’ve been doing it for 61 years! That says a lot about Hutchinson. It says even more about the spirit of our people and their willingness to contribute to the continued exceptional aspects of our community.

Now it’s about time to once again savor the results of all their efforts. Let’s all gather March 17 – 22 at the Sports Arena to celebrate The Tournament and what it means to Hutchinson. (In the process, you’ll enjoy some pretty darn good basketball, too!)

Catalyst welcomes Konny!

Since we already have her on our web site, I’m a little tardy with this. But, we still need to roll out the official blog red carpet for Konny Mork. She’s our project coordinator -- a job that at times will make her feel as if she’s trying to herd cats. Konny is responsible for the scheduling and timely flow of jobs through the agency.

A 2008 graduate of Western Michigan University, Konny has a BBA in advertising and promotion from the university’s Haworth College of Business. We’re proud of the fact she earned Cum Laude recognition, even prouder that she was a Habit for Humanity volunteer while in college.

In spite of the fact she chose to major in advertising and promotion, Konny ranks Andalusian Spain, Greek History, and Sculpture as her favorite classes. (Some day when she’s not too busy herding cats, I’m going to have her enlighten me on Andalusian Spain.) Now that she’s out of college and has time for hobbies, Konny’s adopted four of them: pottery, painting, visiting art galleries, and cooking. The last is probably one of the reasons she wants to travel around the world to learn different cultures and eat their foods. She also aspires to work on an American Red Cross disaster relief team.

We’re glad Konny stopped off at Catalyst on her way around the world -- and hope she doesn’t consider her tenure here as training for serving on a disaster relief team!