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The June issue of the Environmental Marketer Newsletter written by Paul Cochrane, of Cochrane and Associates, asks -“If a Natural Disaster Occurred Tomorrow, Would Your Environmental Business Be Ready to Help?”  Considering 2011 has been a historic year for natural disasters, we’ve seen everything from flooding, tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires, and tsunamis.  With hurricane season just starting and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicting this season as being above average with as many as 10 hurricanes.  Is your business prepared to help is an appropriate question.
Unfortunately, when tragedy hits for some people,it leads to opportunities for others.  This article discusses how these opportunities will only come your way if your business is prepared.  In defining prepared, this article is not talking about logistics of handling work but rather what are you doing to market yourself and make sure you are the one being called upon to provide the services or products needed.
So how do you position an environmental or IAQ business for something that hasn’t even happened? Here are a few marketing and public relations concepts, from Mr. Cochrane, that can help:

• Online content – Develop information for the company website for dealing with various natural disasters.  
• Online videos – Similar to the concept above, create and post on the company website, as well as on YouTube, online videos about preventing and managing natural disasters.
• Marketing Collateral – Have materials ready and available to hand out that deal with all the natural disasters found in the areas your company services.