Dean told us all about the Music Resource Center, a free service to the city’s community of artists and musicians. It is a place where anyone can find equipment and space to work on their music.  The mission of the Music Foundation is to help foster young musicians, because if Memphis regained the amount of working musical talent that it had 40 years ago, that would bring an amazing $1 Billion into the local economy!

Take a look at the photos that Gary Baldwin with Office Headshots took for us:

PRSA is offering a lunch meeting with Katie, followed by a 90-minute workshop that will give you a one-on-one opportunity to discuss your social media strategy. This information is especially beneficial to non-profits, small businesses and government agencies.

Monthly Luncheon
May 12 from 11:45 a.m. to 1 p.m.
University of Memphis Holiday Inn
Members Free
Non-Members $25

Social Media Workshop
May 12 from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
University of Memphis Holiday Inn
Members: $25
Non-Members: $35

Register at www.prsamemphis.org

That was the message shared by author Ed Horrell of The Kindness Revolution today at the Sales and Marketing Society of the Mid-South luncheon.

“There are companies that get it and some that don’t,” Horrell said. “If you have to ask what ‘it’ is, you don’t get it.”

Horrell’s non-profit organization, The Kindness Revolution, is based on his best-selling book of the same name about companies that strive to eliminate the number one reason they lose customers.

Horrell cited research by American Society for Quality that found nearly 70 percent of people surveyed stopped doing business with a company because of an attitude of indifference on the part of one employee.

“Customers have choices,” Horrell said, pointing out that every company has competition. “Values such as kindness are important in the consumer’s decision about customer loyalty.”

Lori shared the secrets of why guerrilla marketing works and 10 types of guerrilla marketing that you may have never heard of in a recent SMS workshop. Attendees learned about proximity marketing, intrusive marketing, ambient marketing, and more. The presentation also included examples of brands using guerrilla marketing – some successfully and some not so much. Lori also outlined the six steps to creating your own winning guerrilla strategy.

We had a packed house for the workshop, so if you missed out then make sure you’re on our mailing list to find out about our great upcoming events! You can register on the homepage of our website at http://www.sms-midsouth.org

This was the message from Maria McLendon, a marketing and communications leader who shared her expertise in market segmentation, targeting and positioning with attendees of the Sales and Marketing Society of the Mid-South March luncheon. McLendon is a marketing and public relations consultant who is skilled in orchestrating internal and external resources in order to develop and implement effective advertising and sales promotion programs.

“Great ads and marketing can be lost if we are not fully aware of who is receiving the message,” McLendon said. “We have to know our customers inside and out. To have a successful campaign, we must identify our ideal customers, and then reach them when, where and how they want to be reached.”

“Maria’s presentation was timely and well received by our SMS audience,” said Lori Turner, Managing Partner, Red Rover Sales and Marketing. “As business owners and marketers, its easy to get excited about all of the new and exciting marketing delivery channels, thanks to the explosion of social media, but it’s critical that we don’t lose sight of the fundamentals — proper market segmentation, understanding the common traits of those segments and messaging accordingly.”

The Sales and Marketing Society of the Mid-South is a network providing continuing education to sales and marketing professionals with the intention of continually improving the standards for professional selling, sales management and marketing. Its primary goal is to provide educational events and services for sales and marketing professionals. In addition to being a source for education and information, SMS is also involved in sponsorship and scholarship programs for college students from the University of Memphis, Christian Brothers University and Southwest Tennessee Community College.

Check out the photos from the Luncheon, courtesy of Gary Baldwin:

She is the Co-Founder, Co-Chairman and President of Independent Bank in Memphis, Tennessee.  Established in 1998, Independent Bank is now an $800 million institution, the second largest bank headquartered in Shelby County.  One of the fastest growing financial institutions in Tennessee history, Independent Bank is also one of the top performing banks in the state and country in terms of earnings, margins and asset quality.

Prior to starting Independent Bank, she was Chairman, President and CEO of Boatmen’s Bank of Tennessee.  When named to the position in 1995, the 37-year-old Stephenson was the first female Chairman and CEO of a Tennessee bank.  Following their acquisition of Boatmen’s Bancshares, Nations Bank appointed her President of their Memphis/West Tennessee market.

She provided a thought-provoking lecture that was timely and interesting. We appreciate her spending time with our group.

Check out our sideshow, thanks to Merrick Photography.

Check out his slide show below. It has lots of great tips that will help you use Twitter successfully for your business!

We also want to thank Union University for the use of their facility, and Simply Fabulous Catering for the delicious lunches.

Don’t miss our February 17th luncheon, featuring Susan Stephenson. Sign up here. We’ll see you there!

Post | Why, What, When, How
Listen | Real-time searches and Monitoring Tools
Engage | Rules of Engagement, Best Practices
Track | Analytics, URLs, Phone numbers

Click here for more details and online registration for this event.  The cost is $10 for SMS members, $30 for non-members.  Ticket price includes lunch.