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Frequently Asked
Questions
The Savvy Marketers
The Course
Enrollment
Tuition & Payment
Technology
Have a question not addressed
below?
Give us a shout at 415.992.7854 or send us an
email.
THE SAVVY MARKETERS
Who are The Savvy Marketers?
Tim Hart and Kathleen Hart have a combined 40 years of executive-level
experience with leading advertising and public relations agencies as well as nonprofit organizations and small businesses. As your lead
instructors, this brother-and-sister team has combined their experience with Big Business
process, planning and management skills with a Small Business agility and
sensibility to create a training program for teaching sound marketing practices.
Tim has served clients in a wide variety of industries as an executive with global agencies including Ketchum, Golin/Harris and
Weber-Shandwick, as well as with the American Cancer Society. In 2005 he
launched his own firm, Hart Communicatins, and in 2008 launched The Savvy
Marketers. Kathleen is a
former Senior executive at global ad agencies J. Walter Thompson and Young & Rubicam. Their complementary skills uniquely combine to relate the best, industry-standard practices to small businesses
in an affordable, user-friendly format.
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Why do you focus on small business?
We're passionate about small business. We're small business owners. We believe
that small business is the engine of our economy -- responsible for more than
half the jobs in the United States. However, small businesses are often
"oversold" -- marketed to by everyone from telephone conglomerates to
computer makers to magazines
-- but are "underserved" by the same companies whose offerings or customer
service are ultimately not a fit for real small businesses. When it comes to
marketing, we've found the most important and affordable way to compete as a
small business is to arm yourself with knowledge -- knowledge of how marketing
can work, which options are out there for you, and how
to make informed choices so you can avoid expensive mistakes.
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THE
COURSES
How do your coursed work?
Our Basic to Brilliant course runs for 90 days: one hour per class, one
class per week, for 12 consecutive weeks. Our single-session seminars run for
one hour each on a single, focused topic. We meet with you and other students in
a virtual group setting in a Webinar format – you participate on a conference
phone while watching our presentation on your computer, regardless of your
location or time zone. In addition, we’ll hold
a separate weekly “Office Hours” conference call that’s a virtual drop-in center
where students can ask questions, test ideas, get advice, etc. in an open,
voluntary drop-in forum (remember popping in to see your professor after class?)
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How can I learn more before I enroll -- can I talk to the instructors?
Absolutely. We regularly schedule free preview calls where we can introduce you
to the program and you can ask questions of Tim and Kathleen to help determine
if our program is right for you. Or, call us anytime -- we're happy to chat with
you.
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What's unique about small business marketing?
Small businesses often are run on a bootstrap basis -- people putting their
own limited funds into getting the business off the ground. Marketing sometimes can feel
like an "extra" that will fit into the budget "someday." However,
developing and keeping a local audience is key to business success and small
businesses have to be just as aggressive as big ones in getting the word out.
Additionally, we've found that
small businesses often have to be more "scrappy" in their marketing -- ingenuity
and creativity may have to fill in where dollars may be lacking. But that means
that as a local business you can also have more fun with your marketing -- necessity
is indeed the mother of invention. Remember it's not always about the dollars --
but about being Savvy!
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You say I can learn to market like the "big guys" what do you mean?
As we often say, armed with the proper skills, tools and techniques, the only
difference between your business and Apple or any other Fortune 100 company when it comes to marketing
is budget. The principals and practices for large and small businesses are
essentially the same and we want to show you industry-standard thinking and
methods that can help you compete in ways that fit your company and your budget.
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How will these courses help my
business?
We believe that developing
skills and insights about marketing practices and principles will be helpful for
the lifespan of your business -- helping guide your message, your outreach and
your methods. We've made it a priority to provide you with easy-to-use tools and
templates -- such as calendars, budget worksheets, creative briefs and more --
that you can put to work today. From the first day of class you will be using
these tools to better define your goals and plan your year-round activities and
spend so that they are appropriate and realistic for your business.
ENROLLMENT
How do I enroll in the courses?
Easy. Just select a class and contact us by
phone or email. Enter your
information and credit card in the secure payment page and you will receive a
confirmation almost immediately. From there we will send you a link to your
special Savvy Marketers student Web page, which is where you will find
information, documents, templates, etc that you will use in the course. As a
confirmed student you will
need to enter the password we give you to enter this
page. This password will expire at the end of your course.
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What if I have a small group at
work – can we take the courses together?
Absolutely. In fact we encourage small businesses to share this training with
their employees -- it spreads the skills efficiently, and fosters a team
motivation for new business building. It’s easy to gather your group around a
conference call. We do recommend that you limit the number in your group to
three, and make sure each person can see the computer monitor clearly to get the
most from the presentation.
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TUITION
How much does the Basic to Brilliant in 90 Days course cost?
Our updated tuition schedule will be announced soon.
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Can I pay in installments?
Yes. You have the choice of paying either the entire tuition at once or in 3
monthly installments. When you inform us you want to enroll we'll send you to a
secure PayPal link; any payment method accepted by PayPal is accepted.
In either case you will only have to enter your
information once on this secure page..
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How much do the one-hour single-subject seminars cost?
Our updated tuition schedule will be announced soon.
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I'm on a tight budget. Can I afford these courses?
At
The Savvy Marketers, we understand the anxiety of belt-tightening a small
business suffers -- especially in these tough economic times. We believe our
marketing courses provide a good value.
Priced below other training programs, Savvy Tuition is an investment today
that can yield big results for you down the road. And,
to help you stretch your company's dollars even further, we encourage you to
share this class with your employees. If you can comfortably gather up to 3
people around the same computer and speaker phone, you'll multiply
your employees' skills and marketing power -- all for the price of ONE paid
tuition.
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What about the privacy of my information?
We use PayPal, which handles all of the transactions for The Savvy Marketers.
Click here to view PayPal's privacy policy.
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What is your cancellation policy?
We of course hope you stay with us through the course but understand if you find
you need to change your plans. You may cancel for a full refund up to 48 hours
prior to the start of your course. After that we cannot refund your tuition. We're
happy to discuss rescheduling you for a future session.
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TECHNOLOGY
What is a
Webinar and how does it work?
A Webinar is a type of Web conference, where you participate simultaneously on
a phone conference call while you watch a presentation being delivered on your computer. The technology allows phone meetings to come to life and add an
important visual element to the learning experience. When you enroll in the
course we will email you simple instructions on how to participate in the Webinar.
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What if I can't make it work on my computer?
When we send you your confirmation as an attendee we will also provide you with
a troubleshooting number to ask for help. We recommend that you test your
computer for compatibility with our conference software as soon as you get your
confirmation -- a free and automatic service that takes just a few minutes.
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