Year to year, firms consistently report their number one problem is in attracting and retaining quality staff. As your firm enters 2007, do you have this problem and other major business decisions?

How can I be creative with my marketing budget? What if I don’t have the resources to advertise? How can I grow or sustain my firm? How can I attract new clients and customers? How can I stay competitive? How can I build a great website? How can I drive traffic to my existing website? How can I continue to build equity in my firm so that there will be value in it when I decide to retire? Frequent recognition of your business through press releases can be the answer.

Here are the top 15 reasons you need to be creating press right now.

1. To attract and retain top staffing talent
2. To attract and retain high quality clients
3. To grow your firm strategically
4. To enter new geographic or other markets
5. To differentiate your firm and beat competitors
6. To build equity in your firm – for selling, or planning your ultimate exit strategy
7. To dramatically increase search engine placement and create internet presence
8. To create interest for feature stories on your firm, projects, products and services
9. To create direct mail inserts to send to clients and potential clients
10. To use as brochures or brochure content
11. To build dynamic website content for your site and on the internet
12. To use as case studies and content for internal and external newsletters
13. To assemble as presentation packets, project information and leave-behind pieces
14. To use in marketing campaigns, press packets and as marketing material 15. To use as teaming packets, and as examples of credentials and project experience

While 62% of firms have a mailing list, only 26% send out press releases at least quarterly. Is this you? You have no idea what is newsworthy or what will attract the attention of your clients, customers or the media. You are so busy working in the firm you are spending no time working on it.

Lack of recognition is costly. Without recognition, your clients and customers will not know what you offer, or any of your accomplishments. Recognition includes your people, projects, services and products. Without recognition, your firm cannot be positioned to attract top quality employees. Without recognition, your firm will eventually lose the top staff you already have. Productivity suffers, and products, service, quality and projects evaporate. Your clients and customers are soon to follow.

Remember these rules:

Establish a regular marketing program and stick to it. 95% of marketing is pulling the trigger on a regular basis, watching what works and repeating it.

Recognize when you do not have the in-house time or talent to issue regular releases. Issuing two press releases a year is not a media campaign, it is a media void.

Outsource to a professional who knows your industry, demonstrates compelling content and headlines, has excellent relationships with the media and contacts in the publications your audience reads.

McKerns Development creates, writes and places press specifically promoting your goals for your business, writing feature stories generating high readership and interest in magazines and the press and promoting mutually identified goals. McKerns Development utilizes Media contacts and relationships with editors and writers in major publications, local and national, and to-the-industry specific publications. Press Releases, PR and feature stories are both written and placed, and publication is secured. McKerns Development offers Strategic Business Development with services delivered in packages, so that the business owner can see deliverables, cost and benefits of each. http://www.freewebs.com/mckernsdevelopment