Penny Pincher, CFO of Mature Market Industries was alarmed. With Sarbanes Oxley requirements, raw materials rising, office supplies costs escalating, and shipping costs skyrocketing, were all taking a negative toll on her and the balance sheet. Tired of hearing her purchasing agent say they were bidding everything every year yet year over year costs still rose, frustrated over their transportation manager say they were doing their best but transportation costs year over year continued to climb, the office manager said they were getting great rates from their suppliers. But then, how did she really know as there was no data to support these claims?

Penny’s concerns heightened when she kept seeing various vendor advertising specialties around her business in hats, calendars, pens, not to mention the constant stream of lunch offers, race car event entertainments and year after year the same provider loyalties remained. She checked the company Code of Conduct still posted but buried around the EOE, Safety and other postings on the bulletin board…clearly this nor meetings/memos on the need for costs savings were having any impact. Her hunch was these communications were in name only that the diligence of employees may well be impacted by the salesmanship and schmoozing of vendors with a false sense of accomplishment by bidding or simply renegotiating their business every year to the same group of providers.

If her company books had to comply with Sarbanes scrutiny, and their financial consultant insisted on audits, why shouldn’t transportation, office/plant supplies and raw materials also have a yearly audit to determine cost effectiveness, a benchmarking of how they compare to similar size companies? Having read about scandals in transportation management at similar size companies involving collusion, kick backs and host of other improprieties, this would be the area to start…not to mention transportation was not a core competency, costs were rising more dramatically than any other area and other than anecdotal stories, there was no hard accounting evidence to demonstrate the effectiveness of their spend or deliverable values.

The traffic manager was highly agitated when told to develop costs savings ideas and the criteria their business needed in deliverable values of a transportation provider. He tried asking customer service their needs as well as shipping/receiving and purchasing: they all said they either loved or hated the same providers, transit times critical but to balance value with cost in provider selections by client needs. Confused he turned to his favorite transportation provider sales rep who was happy to create a model that not surprisingly favored their capabilities and easily copied and pasted into a company memo. These efforts coupled with showing he re-bid their business every year…but curiously always landed with pretty much the same providers with year over year costs higher on similar tonnage numbers, was the end result. Penny sensed her lacking transportation knowledge could be a good thing in questions seeking a different approach with better results.

Penny called a counterpart at a non related but similar size industry and asked how they approached controlling transportation costs. She learned that they had determined that bids only got the best of a mediocre bunch, a thorough review of available options and best practices was not practical and that transportation simply was not a core competency, so they turned to a transportation management business process outsource provider. Having outsourced their transportation management two years prior, they were able to report a year over year hard 10% savings, but the pleasant surprise value was the added technology provided that created supply chain visibility/reporting with dedicated account support, all at no cost! A new breed of transportation management providers were leveraging their buying power to make their money from the asset providers and pass the savings on to their shipping clients.

Penny got the contact name and number of the transportation management company and in less than a week, placed a non disclosure agreement and obtained at no cost or obligation, an audit of their small package, less than truckload, truckload and international transportation spend. Utilizing tier 1 transportation providers and gaining supply chain technology their company could not afford, a guaranteed offer of over 10% year over transportation spend savings was presented.

The transportation manager when presented these results said it would not work as they tried something similar before, that internal customers would not like changing carriers, and a host of other anecdotal excuses from over the years. However the hard data of six figure dollars falling directly to the bottom line of the balance sheet was too compelling for Penny.

The smooth transition/implementation took less than 6 weeks and the savings were demonstrated immediately. The previous asset providers howled but in the end offered to lower their now clearly premium rates for mediocre services… Penny declined both on the principle of clearly not being treated as a partner and she still had better savings and value with the new transportation management company. Internal influencers in finance, inventory management, customer service and sales were delighted with the new supply chain visibility and improved shipping reliabilities. The Code of Conduct is more prominent now along with the new earnings report that sparkles center stage in posted results and Penny’s success story featured in the company newsletter. The Purchasing department is the next audit target but will be managed by the new CFO as Penny has been promoted to CEO and is driven to focusing on their core competencies as her new CFO is charged with leveraging additional business process outsourcing successes.

Penny learned that employee’s self preservation can be a greater motivator than a Code of Conduct, that company goals for cost savings are relative when balanced against what’s in it for the department head, and that the greater good of the employer is not as great a good as perks legal and potentially illegal to those who feel entitled. Penny learned to take charge and saved big, enhancing her position and financial health of her company.

Harry Gorden, President, Transportation Management Services, Inc, a transportation management agency with over 35 years sales experience, providing consulting to the equity, capital management and supply chain communities as well as no cost referrals for manufacturers/distributors seeking the right fit transportation management support.

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Tags: dilemma, ethics, customer, advertising, publicity

Are you continuing to say “Yes” to the kind of business you want to be, and the kind of service you want to give?

Most importantly are your customers and the people you want to become customers the sort of people you want to be with?

The more you market your business to the right prospects, and hang out with the right customers, the more your business will be fulfilling. The more clearly you express what is important for you in your marketing, the more likely you are to get the right customers.

By getting clear on your values you will know:

* The kind of work that you enjoy and perform well
* The kind of customers you prefer
* How you like to treat your customers
* How you like to be treated
* The satisfaction of knowing the difference your business can make

Who is right for you

Business is never just about the money. There are far too many potential customers out there is the wide world. You can’t work with them all. Better by far to have an excellent reputation with the right ones.

If your marketing clearly expresses what is important to you, and what the right customers can gain from working with you, you make it easier for them to find you. Expressing your values in the world, and making a difference one customer at a time makes it all more enjoyable and – best of all – gives you a competitive edge.

Who is wrong for you

Some of the people who want to work with you may simply be wrong for you. You could take their money but it may not feel right.

Next time you hear that small voice telling you that a customer is not right for you, stop and listen. After all, you probably know a lot of people in your field, and the customer who is wrong for you may be perfect for one of your competitors.

Don’t leave yourself out of your business. Be yourself. No one else can do it, so make the most of it – it’s what makes you special!

Jean Wolfe has created an easy-to-follow 30 day e-course “Spark into marketing! Stop and Think” which helps small business owners get clearer about their business and personal values so they can enjoy marketing. See this site

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Tags: ethics, confidentiality, business, customer, marketing

If we start out with this question, what comes to mind? Where does this come from? Kind of like, which came first the chicken or the egg? I really believe that the person that holds the purse strings is one of controls the situation. So where do bad contractors fit in?

A possible scenario of events that cause a client to distrust contractors or say that contractors are no good, starts with the client wanting a job done, and through whatever means calls several contractors in order to obtain estimates for their job. The customer then asks for a price for painting their house. Let’s say there are three contractors, these three contractors individually meet the client. The client then asks each contractor as much information as they think they can get. As soon as these contractors leave the client forgets which contractor said what. The contractors then estimate the job. The client then asks the contractors to e-mail, fax, mail or drop off their pricing estimate. The client then takes the estimates and lays them out on the table. The majority of painting contractors estimates are not very detailed, so the client focuses on one thing – .Price.

Whatever little bit of benefits and features each individual contractor was able to give the client was lost in the jumble of the three measure calls. The client completely forgot, who said what. And they don’t care, because all their friends tell them they have to get the lowest bid. So they take the lowest bid. Most successful contractors know, this technique of choosing, is really not the best way to choose.

The method of choosing the lowest price does not guarantee a good job. For the most part, the low bidder will not be qualified to do the best job. There’s a good chance that the low bidder either doesn’t know how to estimate, or is so desperate for work that they will give it away. Being desperate for work, only tells me one thing, they are very new, or very bad contractors. The other two contractors may or may not have provided a good job. However this method of choice guarantees a bad job. Why? If the job was bid so low, then the contractor may find halfway through the job that if he were to finish the job, he would be working for minimum wage or less. And so he leaves the job in the middle, unfinished.

Now of course the client is in a bind, embarrassed, angry and puts the blame entirely on the contractor. Hopefully, the client doesn’t generalize. The problem is when the client talks to his or her friend; they need to justify their position in this mess. So it becomes all contractors are bad. The first mistake was blindly taking the low bidder.

Their second mistake was not admitting their role in the screw-up. I have heard this story so many times, and wondered so much about how the contractor gets a bad name. And I thought about this, and know that this is the way that it happens, a lot of the time. But what it boils down to be that the client was in complete control of the money creates their own mess. And the most stupid part of the whole thing is that nothing seems to change. Oh yes I know, some people really do know how to choose the right contractor for the job. And I do know that there really are bad contractors. I believe these bad contractors are new and inexperienced, because bad contractors do not last. But I think smart customers and bad contractors are the minority. The majority of customers, unless educated to what makes a good job will always pick the lowest price and guarantee that they will get the worst contractor.

Do you want to make more money and have the freedom to enjoy your life?
Download this: Freedom and Money Patrick Cavanaugh has been coaching painting contractors and running a successful painting business for 30 years.

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Tags: business, legal, law, rules, customer

Success in business comes as a result of getting the right things done, in the right way, by the right people, all the time. If our business structure supports this kind of effort, then we will be the proud owner of a business that very quickly achieves outstanding and lasting results.

All good business relationships are based in trust. The higher the trust levels are within a business, and between the business and its customers and partners, the more rapidly the results will be achieved.

When people trust us, business deals are done very quickly and often on the basis of a handshake. High trust and high ethical standards produce high performance. Trust is one of the highest valued attributes and qualities of good leadership.

The organizational architecture of the value-based business shapes the creation of meaning and purpose, in the first instance, and informs all actions.

Clarity about our Mission, Vision and Values and living by these elements creates trust in our business. It does this because our espoused belief system gives us a benchmark against which all of our behavior can be measured. Strategy and leadership are then grounded in and informed by always doing that which is right.

A clearly articulated Mission, Vision, Values, and a list of the expected behaviors that flow from these elements, form the basis of our employment contract with all of the people involved in our business.

By consistently carrying out our small business plan in light of these elements, we build exponential value into our business.

These elements inform all the activities of our business, from policy development, planning, leadership skill development, information and communication flow, through to our systems and processes that ensure compliance with standards, measures and benchmarks.

Being clear in the first instance about the meaning and purpose of the business delivers excellence as a natural outcome of putting the right principles in play.

In the value-based business, standards and compliance are never seen as an imposition. They simply represent that which the business is already and naturally pursuing. This approach leads in turn to even higher levels of performance and excellence.

The high trust, value-based business is integrated and aligned by these critically important foundational elements.

The four keys to getting this right are:

* Know what you are in business for
* Align your thinking to this value base
* Integrate and align all activities
* Create a never-ending cycle of reinforcement.

We Must Know What We Are in Business For

Our Mission embodies and spells out for everyone the reason we exist as a business. To this end, we must think it through at a very deep level and align all our business activities with the sense of meaning that we have created for our business.

It naturally follows that all the people we deal with, at whatever level, are watching and testing us against this stated meaning. We must be “”centered”" in this meaning and hold ourselves accountable to a high standard of personal behavior, responsibility and accountability. We must examine ourselves daily to ensure that we are adhering faithfully to the Mission and Vision that we have articulated.

To have an ethical business, we must be straight forward in all of our dealings with others, within our business, within our industry and within our community. When we make a mistake, we must admit it, learn from it and move on. To build trust, we must trust ourselves and trust the people around us.

All of Our Thinking Must Be Aligned to Our Value Base

All effective decision making is bounded by the belief system we have established for ourselves in our business by way of Mission and Vision.

Our list of Values creates a code of expected behavior that we hold ourselves and each other accountable to on a daily basis.

When we do this, we create clarity, coherence and consistency. The result is a high-trust culture, where everyone is on the same page.

All of Our Activities Are Aligned and Integrated

The power of having the foundational elements right in our business means that we can consistently align all of our business activities with our value base.

By having our proper foundation in place, we create the high-trust, ethical environment, where the expected behaviors are clearly spelled out and understood by everyone involved in the business.

This environment becomes trustworthy because there is a clearly understood business philosophy, mindset, common shared frameworks, and tools and processes that build competency and capability that are used uniformly throughout the business.

Create a Never-Ending Cycle of Reinforcement

These elements must be consistently reinforced at every level of the business and within all business activities. Everyone must know his or her particular role and how to carry it out. This understanding must be reviewed on a regular basis as part of the performance management process.

Alignment, integration and continuous improvement are parts of a never-ending cycle that drives the whole business to even higher levels of performance and speed in achieving its objectives.

Peter McLean is a highly experienced Coach, Senior Manager, Consultant, Business Owner and Company Director. He successfully coaches top Executives in some of Australia’s leading multi-national companies. One such Senior Executive recently won an International Award for Excellence within his particular field. In addition, Peter works extensively in the Public, Private, Commercial and Not-for-Profit sectors, delivering outstanding results for his clients.

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Tags: ethical, training, business, customer, code

It is completely amazing all the scams out there in the world, many feed of people’s egos and some folks would say; it serves them right! Well, maybe they have it coming to them for their shear arrogance, but a scam is a scam and these folks for whatever reason are victims and the scam artists, well they are unethical practitioners if not outright criminals.

How do such scams work? Well, they call you up and tell you that you have won an award and then they tell you to get your prize send them money. Pretty interesting isn’t it, worse it works, people actually send in money for a plaque, trophy, certificate or a listing in a book. Of course, the book is $50 or more and the only reason they are in it, is because they bought the book, or trophy or plaque or high-priced certificate. Amazing!

This is a common scam – we’ve seen this for years. It actually works very well. You can tell by the number of consultants and “business coaches” that display pictures of these awards on their websites and include such awards in their resumes. Once you realize and notice this, you have to laugh at all the vanity, ego, and kudos generation going on these days. And isn’t it a lot like folks purchasing fake degrees through mail order or online? Our society is rapidly becoming a group of cheaters from kids in college cheating on tests, athletes using steroids and politicians playing us and the media for fools.

It is my contention and realize I get at least one of these types of emails per week, that these types of scams and email offers will go on. Many of these types of groups are also calling blocks of business cell phone numbers as well. Their story sounds compelling and they are very good at ego stroking to get the orders. Think on this.

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Tags: customer, ethics, product, problems, issues

“What business owner hasn’t been subjected to a brazen “”The customer is always right!”" thrown their way during the course of their working days? Whether you’re in retail, mail order or are Internet-based, and regardless of what you sell, you are going to hear this more often than you’d like to. So how do you deal with it? Do you cave each time something unrealistic or outside of your policy is demanded of you?

Here’s the deal: Every human on earth shares a lot of behavioral traits, which is why when things are good or bad to any degree, we can make a pretty safe assumption on how someone will act. When things are good, it’s universal to smile, right? Yelling and shouting are behaviors that pretty much guarantee something’s not going well. Sure, we all have variations and that’s what makes us special and different — but overall, we can’t escape the fact that we’re pretty predictable in a lot of ways.

Back to business. All of us business owners have also been customers, so the first thing to do when confronted with a belligerent or upset customer is to throw yourself into their shoes and forget that you’re the business owner. Listen to their complaint IN FULL, even if the first few minutes are grating your nerves because they’re overly emotional and attacking your character (which will happen when people act out of emotion.) Focus on the facts: Did they order something from you that was never sent, even after 2 weeks of waiting, when your policy is to ship within 48 hours? Did they send something back for a refund and have proof it was sent, but 3 months later their credit card still hasn’t been credited by you? Or were they confronted with an obnoxious salesperson who refused to help them in your store and instead was glued to the phone? In the grand picture of life, none of this is grounds for a public beheading — but, at that moment the customer is feeling taken advantage of by YOU. Mistakes happen every day, but sometimes one mistake will happen to catch a live wire, so to speak. And now you have to figure out what to do.

If what happened really and truly was an oversight, just fess up. You’re human and your customer will appreciate hearing it. Let them know you’re sorry, there was a shipping/billing/clerical error and you would like to fix it for them. Tell them first what you are going to do. Then, ask them what else you can do to make it better. Chances are, the only thing they really want is what should be coming to them — maybe a refund, or the product they already paid money for, or some basic customer service from the sales staff. Most people feel guilty even asking for extras they didn’t rightfully earn. But then you can over-deliver for them to make up for it; simply let them know you’ll be happy to overnight the missing course to them at no extra cost, and to make up for the trouble you’d like to throw in a special bonus trinket (this depends on what you sell, of course). Or even though you got the item back a day or two late, you’ll credit them because they’ve purchased from you before. Or you’d like to assign a special sales member to cater to only them and an extra 20% off if they come back to your store this Saturday. These things are all most likely outside of your standard policy, and that’s exactly what will help smooth any hard feelings over with the customer — if they were really acting on good intentions.

Believe it or not, if you run a reputable company you will rarely encounter a vicious, nasty thief only wanting to bleed your company dry. Those are easy to spot, because nothing you offer to do (short of handing a blank check to them and asking them to fill out how much they want) will appease them. Unjustified accusations, threats, and bullying are not standard customer behaviors — and because of that, you shouldn’t reward those types of people by accommodating them. You’ll be paving the way for others just like them to target your company because you’ll develop a reputation for being ‘scam-able’ — and they’ll spread the word to everyone. You would be amazed at how many blogs and forums exist with people who spend months on end just learning how to scam businesses… and looking for their next target.

So is the customer always right? Somebody who takes a chance on your company with their hard-earned money deserves the benefit of the doubt. If they prove otherwise, you reserve the right not to do business with them anymore. Again, you’ll be surprisingly pleased at how easy it is to maintain good customer relations as long as you’re running your company legally and ethically. The ‘bad seeds’ will come around every so often, but your good, solid customers more than make up for those.

Sonja Vukas for Platinum Acquisitions, INC

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Ever watch morning TV and think, “Hey, I can do that!” Well the truth is that if you have a book, product or service to promote to consumers, there is absolutely no reason why you can’t appear as a guest on TV!

But what does it take to be a good guest? Here are 5 simple tips to get you started and help you capitalize on the valuable air-time at your disposal:

1) Don’t overdo the makeup ladies…and gentlemen? Yes, both women and men are repeat offenders in this category. There’s no need to go to the station with a full face of make-up. You’ll find most producers are prepared to give you a quick once-over when you arrive so that you look good for the cameras. Shallow as it may sound, it’s hard for viewers to take you seriously if they’re too busy zeroing in on a face that’s overly made-up.

2) Check your props. As TV is all about visuals (no matter what your topic is) it’s likely you’ll have some kind of props for your interview. Take stock of them before the interview to make sure they’re in good shape with all parts intact. For example, if you’re conducting a “how-to” demonstration, ensure your equipment and tools are clean and at the ready. If you’ll be using the station’s stove for a cooking segment – make sure it works. If your prop is your book, hold it on your lap with an un-tattered front cover facing the audience.

3) Stay seated! When your interview draws to a close and it appears that the camera has stopped focusing on you, don’t stand up and take off your mic! It’s the job of the floor manager to remove the mic for you and give you the all-clear to leave. By leaving prematurely you could run the risk of ruining a perfectly good camera shot and coming off as an unprofessional guest.

4) Speak in a conversational manner. When people get nervous about being on camera, they tend to speak too fast and sometimes tense up – which can be very distracting for the audience. To relieve the nervous tension, you first need to get comfortable. Look around and get familiar with the studio and set. Introduce yourself to the host, producer and camera crew. Locate where you’ll be seated during the interview. Then, when the interview starts, you’ll feel less like you’re in a strange environment. You’ll look more at ease and feel like the ultimate pro!

5) No arguing! Unless you are on a show that thrives on arguing, being combative on a show is not suggested. Your goal as a guest is to win over the audience; something that can be tricky if a question makes you feel angry or combative. If you’ve been ambushed with a nasty question, remain dignified and answer calmly. Losing your temper won’t boost your credibility; plus, it makes you look defensive which is definitely not the best position to be in when trying to promote your message.

So there you have it! A good solid start in making the most of your time on the air!

Marsha Friedman, CEO of publicity firm EMSI, is a radio personality, speaker and publicity expert. If you would like to receive a free copy of her EBOOK “50 Tips To Becoming a Great Guest On Talk Radio” please visit this site.

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Tags: pr, services, service, customer, professional

When looking into the press release distribution for your business, you might be overwhelmed with the options. In addition to traditional wires, there are many new web-based services. Choosing the right one for your business sometimes requires trial and error. The following press release provide a similar service, but they all have differences in how they present information, and how effective they are especially in the area of search engine optimization.

By looking at the facts and combining the opinions of Christine Slocumb, the owner and founder of an internet marketing firm with 17 years of experience, and Dena Boutsikakis, someone who is just starting in the marketing business, we hope to help narrow your decision as to which wire service is best suited for you.

Marketwire

Upon first seeing the Marketwire (marketwire.com) website, its bold color choice makes it stand out more than the other websites. The layout is very simple and very clean in its appearance. It has very few tabs, but once you start clicking on the tabs, it leads you to other links, which easily navigates you through the website. Marketwire speaks to the busy person that does not have a lot of time, with which most business owners and employees identify. However, you are not able to look at packages or other information about the service you will get until you have opened an account with them.

Dena: The first thing I noticed was the color choice of this website. It was different than all the rest, so it stood out in my mind. In addition, the way it was set up was different then the rest of the press release service websites. I had to navigate through many different tabs to find what I wanted. In addition, the wording of the website was also different from what I was reading before. However, on many pages it does say for further questions to contact them, but for a busy person, everything should be clear and straight forward.

Christine: We’ve recently switched to using Marketwire almost exclusively for technology companies. You’ll find many of the progressive tech companies in Silicon Valley use this service which speaks volumes They have very competitive rates compared to PR Newswire and BusinessWire.

While their SEO console is not as polished as PR Web’s reports, we get excellent media pickup. Marketwire’s ability to keep anchor text link intact when displaying on MSNBC.com and Yahoo! News is impressive. We also recommend Marketwire for local market releases that need SEO on a budget. For example, you can get regional wire coverage plus SEO features such as reporting and anchor text links starting at $220, significantly below PR Web’s $249 entry-level SEO package. Plus even state-only distributions are often picked up on MSNBC.com, CNN Money and similar sites.

In addition, we get great friendly support from our Account Representatives and their client support team. We tweeted some results in comparing Marketwire to PRWeb and our account rep called a day later to thank us for the mention.

PR Newswire

PR Newswire (prnewswire.com) is one of the first press release wire services, with a large client base, because of its efficient and professional setting. It is a very helpful website, because of its mass amounts of information. When clicking on a tab or a link, there is always information that explains its function to the viewer; proving its helpfulness and ease. In addition, there are also many spots within the website that allow for the consumer to add their feedback. There are also many interesting features that one can use to enhance their service. They offer a eWatch service that monitors and tracks your press release. It automatically emails you with any changes. In addition, PR Newswire offers MEDIatlas which distributes your press releases 24/7 automatically to over 460,000 contacts. There is also a free service called ProfNet, which connects you to many experts in each field. These features are all optional but according to PR Newswire are very useful. However, one thing to keep in mind is that sending a press release through them is very expensive, thus for starting businesses it might not be in your best interest to spend the extra money.

Dena: I was very impressed with this websites appearance. It was very clear and organized, while giving the user a large amount of information. In addition, I also felt that as a consumer of their service, I mattered, because of their feedback option. As stated before PR Newswire, also has a lot of features that make it easy for the small business owner to track his/her release, like the eWatch option. However, I do wonder if all these things are necessary, or if they are just another ploy to collect money. Nevertheless, if they are as good as they say they are it might be worth it for those really newsworthy releases.

Christine: When I first started issuing press releases, this was THE wire service everyone used. It’s the oldest, largest, and most expensive newswire service. However, their delay in adopting new SEO technology was a big mistake. Also, the Account Managers assigned to us were not helpful and turned over frequently. We rarely use this service anymore unless it’s a co-release with a large corporation that requires we use this wire. The online pickup of releases is quite good, but no better than BusinessWire. Friendliness and helpfulness of account reps varies across the country.

BusinessWire

BusinessWire (businesswire.com) has a similar feel to it as PR Newswire. They provide all the basic information about sending press releases, but also offer a little more. They have a section that will actually help you write a press release, for those who are not sure how. In addition it clearly shows the distribution of where your press release will go, and who will view it. Another helpful tool is that the website comes in five different languages. This can be very helpful if you are doing business with companies overseas, or simply for people whose first language is not English.

Dena: When first seeing this website I was impressed with the ability to change languages, even though they only had five from which to choose. I also thought that this was a fairly easy website to navigate through. However, upon first glance I did think it was a little to plain with just text, it did not make me want to explore it more. It is a decent website that has helpful information; I would say it was average.

Christine: BusinessWire is large but progressive. It’s just about as expensive as PR Newswire for a wire release. As of March 2009, you can no longer get the combination BusinessWire/PRWeb package. Instead BusinessWire launched EON by BusinessWire (eonbusinesswire.com) as a online distribution service starting at $295 per release. We have not used this service yet, however, there seem to be problems with sites picking up anchor text links which is an issue for search engine optimization of the release. If your linked text does not show up on Yahoo! News and similar sites, it’s a big negative.

PRWeb

PRWeb (prweb.com) has a wealth of information and is user friendly. It is an online distribution service and not a wire service which is an important distinction. On the homepage it has the most recent press releases within fourteen days, rated by “importance” which depends on how much the sender paid for the release. One helpful feature is their “release features” tab, which will tell you everything you need to know about your press release. They have broken it down to four packages. Each package states what it offers and how much it costs. This lets the business or agency know what they are going to be offered right away, while also keeping in mind budget. In addition, if you are not clear as to why you should use a press release wire service, PRWeb has a YouTube” video which plainly and cleverly describes why, by showing the benefits. Along with the video, there are many picture and descriptions throughout the website that further guide you. In addition, PRWeb also has helpful tips and samples on how to write a press release, making sure your best work is distributed.

Dena: Personally, I feel as though this is the easiest to navigate through, and the most inviting. It still looks very professional, but makes press release writing and distributing seem very simple. They even state that all you have to do are follow their three easy steps. I also liked how everything was laid out for me, and I did not have to make an account to see pricing and features. However, the one thing that impressed me the most was the YouTube” video. Being that I am just starting in this business, I found it very helpful. In addition, PRWeb’s pricing seemed to be reasonable; basically you get what you pay for.

Christine: This is probably the most well-known online distribution service although the backlink quality is not always the best. We do get amazing results on this wire for special interest B2C press releases such as travel and tourism offers. They also have great offers every once in awhile such as the free Podcast interviews when they first introduced the Podcast service.

PressZoom

PressZoom is a budget friendly way to distribute your press release. The look of the website is very modern and clean, with no pictures and a lot of writing. PressZoom does give a lot of helpful tips about press release writing. For example, how not to make your press release look like an advertisement, thus making it susceptible to go into spam mail. Basic distribution is nineteen dollars, but you have an option of a free XML feed. There is also an option of premium distribution that is only forty-seven dollars, that guarantees a wide variety of options. In addition, there is no account making necessary, and if you use the premium distribution option your press release will go out quickly.

Dena: At first glance I was not very impressed with the website. I thought it too simple and boring. There seems to be little information on the website. However, if you do want something simple and quick it might be a viable option.

Press Media Wire

Press Media Wire is very similar to the other websites that offer press release wire services. It is helpful in the fact that it offers a simple FAQ sectional that gets questions you might have answered quickly. In addition, it also has three press release packages laid out with all the options that each one offers. You are able to submit a press release from twenty dollars to one hundred dollars, each has an option of two day or three day distribution. Press Media Wire also shows where your press release will be distributed, proving helpful if you want a specific category. Another important feature is that Press Media Wire offers free press release, for those who quickly want to get their news out.

Dena: I thought that Press Media Wire was very helpful, by laying out all their information. I like to know what options I am getting before I waste time making an account. I also thought the fact that they offer free distribution is cleaver, because they are going to get more people to access their website, and maybe later start paying for it.

Emailwire

Emialwire has no annual fees when making an account. Also, unlimited amounts of press releases can be sent for a flat rate. In addition, there are no fees if your press release goes over their wanted length, and also for any videos or images. Your news is delivered through other major wire services, allowing your release to reach more people. In addition to these options Emailwire offers EmailWireClip” for free. This allows you to view your press release on online news sites, newswires, databases and search engines.

Dena: I thought that the appearance of this website was dull, but its options were not. It seems to be user friendly by offering all of these options for free. However, one thing that I found distracting was all the advertisements on the side. Some advertisements were inappropriate for a press release wire service website which might make some users leave the site.

Eworldwire

One interesting thing Eworldwire shows that most other press release wire services do not are the features of their competing websites. On their homepage, Eworldwire compares their features with those of other websites, showing why their service is better. In addition, Eworldwire prides itself in meeting the needs of their users. Eworldwire makes sure your press release goes to the webpages that will most benefit you. In addition, the most basic press release distribution service only costs seventy-five dollars. However, they do have a large variety of other distribution options that offer everything from podcasts to University Press Newslines. Eworldwire also gives advice about what will catch a journalist’s attention in only 2.7 seconds, because that is how much time it takes to see if a press release is interesting.

Dena: I like how this website has a lot of different options for distributing your press release, and how it also tells you the cost of each. It is also interesting that they put the price in US dollars and in British pounds, showing their business with other countries.

24-7 Press Release

24-7 Press Release is a fairly new and affordable press release service that offers forty-eight hour submission approval, to over four hundred channels. 24-7 Press Release also has a helpful FAQ section that shows you exactly how a press release on their website will look. They have an option to send your press release free over the web, or to pay as little as fifty dollars for basic distribution. However, they do have other packages that allow for much faster and better quality distribution, which is priced around $349. They also offer a featured press release option that puts your press release on the top three of that day. This will guarantee more hits and easier access for viewers.

Dena: I was impressed with the layout of this website. I thought it was very professional and very easy to navigate. It had information for the publisher, journalist and advertiser, which many other websites do not show upfront. I also found it very helpful because of the package information was upfront, and there was a useful FAQ page.

PR Free

Although the word “Free” is in the title, there is nothing free about this site. The minimum “contribution” to distribute a press release is thirty dollars. Even though this is not a large amount, PR Free does not state how much it will cost until you have entered in your press release and are about to click “Submit.” Nevertheless, this website is the only press release distribution service that is backed by “a true wire service, Eworldwire.” It also states that it is the only press release service that actually has copywriters and people with journalistic experience working for them. PR Free also gives hints about what a good press rerelease is. In addition, it gives ten most common “blunders” that can make your press release be ignored.

Dena: At first I was impressed with this site, because it gives information about how to write and submit a press release. However, after I realized that it said it was free but then made you make a contribution to submit your press release, I felt deceived. Overall, it might be a good place to put your release but keep in mind that there might be better for free.

PR Leap

PR Leap is a fairly new company that was started in 2003 and is quickly growing. They have more than 30,000 organizations as of December 2007. PR Leap has discontinued their free service, but their paid service is not very expensive, only costing around fifty dollars. There is a small biography about the owners of PR Leap, and much more information about their company on the company blog. In addition, they have a very helpful question and answer page, where most questions about their services can be answered.

Dena: This website seems fairly simple, with basic information about the services. From looking at the blog I can tell that the owners really enjoy what they are doing, and seem to care about the user. They keep the user updated, by posting many articles on their blog. However, they did have some difficulties with their website last month because of “pay hold” bug, but the problem was fixed rather quickly.

FREE Press Release Wire Services

The Open Press

The Open Press is a very professional website that offers the distribution of press releases for free. The free press releases will only show the release with plain text and it will only be on The Open Press for six months. In addition, they reject about thirty percent of the press releases and do not allow you to fix your mistakes and repost. However, they do have another option, press release with stars, which puts your press release on The Open Press’ PRO PR section. This ranks it higher on other websites, allowing for more viewers. The minimum price for this option is ten dollars and if you would like more stars, which gives you more options, then it is around fifty dollars. Another perk is that your press release will stay on the website for a year rather than six months. The Open Press also provides you with email alerts about your press release, making it easier to track.

Dena: Overall it seems to be very professional. It is a very helpful website, with how to write a release, and how to send it. It also gives you most of your options upfront. However, for being a free press release site it does have a lot of rules. When posting your article, there is an extensive list of “don’ts.” One thing that I did find interesting is that there is no room to edit. If they do not like your article then they will not post it, and you do not have a chance to edit it; this is something that most other websites allow you to do.

Christine: Free postings to this site recently resulted in some great organic rankings on Google.

Newswire Today

There is no fee to make an account with Newswire Today, and also no fee to send out a press release. They offer the basic options for free press release distribution. For example, your submission is published in the order it was received, with third party advertisements. However, they do have a Premium option in which your press release is published the same day, with a company logo, statistics, and no third party advertisements. The Premium option can range from ninety-five dollars to four hundred dollars.

Dena: In comparison to the other free press release wire service websites, this one was the simplest to do. Even though I used their free option they published my press release rather quickly after I submitted it. One problem that I did come across was that the date of my press release was changed after I tried to resubmit. I tried to change it after editing, but it would not allow me to. However, there is a company number that you can call for all questions.

My Free PR

My Free PR offers free distribution of press releases. Its layout and navigation of this website is a little more complicated than the other sites. Every link that you click has another one that comes up, and then another one, and eventually you lose track of where you wanted to go. In addition, there is very little information about the actual website and what it can offer.

Dena: This website is confusing. Every time I wanted to see something on their site, it led me to another place. Also, when submitting a press release it does not have a place for keywords, making it harder for people to find your press release.

Beyond Wire Services

In addition to traditional PR sites, some trade and social media sites will let you post your release for free.

Pitchengine
We can’t say enough about this new social media PR site. Because it’s based on the Ning social media platform, Google indexed entries within a matter of hours. Releases posted on PitchEngine (pitchengine.com) often outrank wire service listings on search engine ranking pages. The site lets you create a newsroom for each company complete with graphics, logos and a description. Each release can contain photos, videos, and links to RSS feeds along with the release copy. It also provides social media forwarding icons and a shortened URL which you can use to pitch the media or on Twitter.

It’s currently free to post a release on Pitchengine. There is a fee if you want to create a newsroomor archive the releases after 30 days.

Pro-Talk

A set of sites that is especially interesting for technology company releases is the Pro-Talk family of sites (pro-talk.com) Releases posted on EngineeringTalk and LaboratoryTalk have brought significant amount of traffic to our clients’ websites in addition to a page rank=6 quality back link.

Hopefully these summaries will help you narrow down which press release wire service will be best suited for you. We will continue to update this list as more press release wire services come to our attention.

Christine Slocumb has 17 years of marketing, business development, and product management experience in Fortune 50 and startup firms. Christine has worked with technology firms on marketing strategy, business planning and marketing implementation. Clarity Quest is a leading technology marketing firm.

Dena Boutsikakis is a former marketing intern at Clarity Quest Marketing.

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