Most people have a hard time figuring out what to do with punctuation that comes within something that is in quotation marks. Here’s how it works… Commas and periods are always placed before the closing quotation mark. Question marks, exclamation points, and dashes are put before the closing quotation mark when the punctuation applies to the quotation itself, and after when the punctuation applies to the whole sentence.
 

• “I wonder,” she thought to herself, “when the cherry blossoms will bloom.”

 

• Eleanor screamed in exasperation, “I want to go home!”

 

• Do you agree with the saying, “A penny saved is a penny earned”?

​Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com. 

Many businesspeople make the mistake of focusing on their product’s featuresinstead of its benefits. What’s the difference? A feature is a fact about the product, while a benefit explains or demonstrates how the product will benefit the customer. For example, “made of heavy-duty plastic” is a feature; “guaranteed unbreakable” is a benefit (in this case, the benefit of it being made of heavy-duty plastic).

​Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com. 

Your business’ marketing plan is your roadmap for success. Regardless of the plan’s length, here are the key elements that it should contain:

• Business/financial objectives – Your business’ overall goals.
• Market overview – Description of your market, product and competition.
• Marketing objectives – What you hope to accomplish with your marketing program.
• Target audience definitions – Who are you marketing to?
• Key creative, media and promotional strategies and tactics – The “guts” of your marketing plan.
• Infrastructure issues – Known issues your company faces that may impact your ability to reach your goals.

Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com. 

One way to generate publicity for your firm is to become known as the “go to” expert in your field. What can you do to establish yourself as an expert? Try some of the following tactics:

• Give talks to community and business groups.
• Write an informative newsletter or blog.
• Become a published author by turning a collection of your articles into a book.

Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com. 

Do you get confused trying to determine when to use a semicolon and when to use a colon? Semicolons are used either between two independent clauses (i.e. groups of words that can stand alone as a sentence) or to separate long or complicated items in a series that already use commas. Colons are primarily used to introduce explanations, examples, series, lists, or quotations. Think of semicolons as “separators” and colons as “announcers.” 

• Gerald arrived at the office just after dawn and stayed until well past the dinner hour; by the time he got home, he was exhausted. 
• There are three things that Dawn loves to cook: lasagna, pasta salad and chocolate chip cookies.

Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com. 

Your Unique Selling Proposition, or USP, is what clearly answers the question, “Why should I do business with you instead of your competitors?” Often translated into a tagline, the USP should be the basis for all your company’s marketing efforts. Remember, when people are deciding whether they should do business with you, there’s a good chance they’re also evaluating your competitors’ offerings. Be sure to give them a good reason to pick you!

​Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com. 

Get out all your company’s printed materials – your business cards, letterhead, brochures, fliers, ads, newsletters, etc., as well as a printout of your website’s home page – and spread them out on your desk. Is it visually obvious that all these items are from the same company? If not, you’ve got a problem! It’s time to create a “look” for use across all your marketing materials, so that customers and potential customers can immediately recognize that a message is from your company. 

Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com. ​

​During the sales process, always remember that people do not buy “things.” They buy what things can do for them. For example, people who buy food allergy cookbooks aren’t just buying recipes. They’re buying a way to feed delicious food to their entire family, including a family member who is on a restricted diet. Likewise, people who order “printed brochures” are not just buying brochures – they are making an investment in the increased sales that they believe these brochures will bring. 

Contributed by Linda Coss, owner of Plumtree Marketing, Inc. To learn more about her services, please visit www.PlumtreeMarketingInc.com.