Archive for the 'Public Relations' Category

Dec 01 2011

BUSINESS STARTUP

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Anger/Conflict,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Communication,Community Support,Contacts/Networking,Creative Thinking,Customer Service (CRM),Decision Making,Delegation,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Goals,INTERNET Marketing,Leadership,Life Plans,Lifestyle,Management,Marketing,Motivation,Objectives,Observations,Overcoming Objections,People Management,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Productivity,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Relationships,Reputation,Retailing,Sales,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Strategic Planning,Stress Management,Tactics,Time Management,Trust,Writing

Startup Fever

 

Channeling startup energy wisely is certainly a paradox. In fact, channeling startup energy wisely is an almost impossible task because the heat of the moment tends to override the rationality of the brain. Emotions, in other words, pack more punch than objectivity and a measured approach. Hmmm, remind you of dating days?

Isn’t this also the reason successful marketers always direct their sales messages to trigger emotional buying motives instead of rational ones? Benefits, not features. I mean, do you really care what’s under the hood if it gets you where you want to go, doesn’t break down, is snazzy, and you think it makes you look good driving it?

If a car turns the neighbor’s head every time you pull into the driveway, and jumpstarts your brain into dreaming of being a big-name, cross-country race car driver just as a result of you buckling up and adjusting the mirrors, you buy it. You may offer 101 other more rational, logical reasons, but that’s just a justification cover!

When an entrepreneur starts a business, she 0r he is typically filled with emotions that seem to run at cross-purposes. Money. Where will it come from? Where will I get the money I need? Will it be enough? Workspace. How much do I need now? Later? Where? What’s the deal? Insurance? Yikes! Equipment? Furnishings? Accountant? Lawyer? Advisory board? Employees? Benefit plans? Strategic plans? Business Plans? Hours of operation? Website? Pricing? What? Huh? Packaging? Promotions? PR? Advertising? Sales? Phone System? Reception? Presentations? Partners? Investors? Lenders? Logo?Suppliers? Branding?Memberships? Networks? Jeeze! Maintenance? Distribution? Referrers? Community? Titles? Whoa! Signage? Name? Mission statement? Elevator speech? Professional or industry relations? Goals? Target markets? And on and on . . .

                                         

According to the most recent SBA studies I could muster (the WH doesn’t want to publicize new small business data), 9 out of every 11 new businesses reportedly fail within the first 10 years, and it takes an average of 6 years just to break even financially. Pretty miserable odds for all that emotional and financial expenditure.

But —considering that your idea and your support systems are great, and the alternative is a secure go-nowhere job with the braindead government or some big corporate shabang position with nothing but ladders to climb before you sleep– entrepreneuring at least gives you adventure, challenge, opportunity, freedom, and fun.

So the answer IS: Channel all that explosive chain-reaction energy. (Try increased attention to deep breathing, yoga, exercise, power walks, eating and sleeping right.) Channel the energy into filling the gaps of business needs that you lack, so you can concentrate on what you like and do best, which will maximize your performance.

You’re lousy at writing or marketing or managing others? Hire someone with a proven track-record to step in and free you up. Sometimes just one or two people can fill all three of these for-example roles. See where and how to consolidate tasks and functions that you can pass along. (But remember responsibility cannot be delegated.)      

The point is that startup entrepreneurs need to jet down and focus their total energy on the “here-and-now” of what they’re doing: find the needs, determine the costs, fill the needs. Shop around for services. Be a detective. Line up at least 10 times the amount of money you think you’ll need. 10? Yup! Guaranteed! 

 

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Hal@Businessworks.US

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Nov 28 2011

CREATIVITY WAKE-UP CALL!

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Communication,Contacts/Networking,Creative Thinking,Decision Making,Economy,Entrepreneurship,Family Business,Gestalt Therapy,Life Plans,Lifestyle,Literary Pursuits,Motivation,Observations,Personal Growth,Poems/Essays,Problems=Opportunities,Productivity,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Reputation,Retailing,Sales,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Strategies,Tactics,Time Management,Trust,Writing

Are you taking your music to the grave?!

                                                                           

 STOP HIDING

                                   

 YOUR ACORNS!

 

You are not a squirrel. Stop saving up your best-effort production, creation, plan or idea for “the right moment!” With a deader-than-doornail economy getting deader every day, there’s no time like the present to get that great creative genius product of yours out of the closet or back of the drawer, dust it off, and make it work!

To make it work, first means freeing it from the imaginary chains you’ve wrapped around it and the hiding place in your home, office, truck, notebook, recording, harddrive, or your mind. It will never achieve what you hoped for it if it’s locked away. Put it into your daily work schedule. Treat it as if it was a key client or customer project.

TRUST YOURSELF. Give yourself a chance. What’s the worst thing could happen? It gets rejected? You think maybe there’s only one person or audience for your special creation? The odds for fame and appreciation will be better after you’re dead? Regardless of your skills and calling, that’s not likely. And it’s a choice.  

Try to look at it this way: Posthumous success is failure to achieve what’s been rightfully earned in life during that lifetime. Most of us agree that of course the dead are to be honored in some fashion. Military courage and sacrifice certainly count the most. I’m not attempting to strip that love, respect, gratitude and reverence away.

The point is that posthumous recognition doesn’t accomplish anything. It fails to provide you the incentive and opportunity to do even greater work because it affords you a springboard for awakening other talents of yours and for inspiring others who will enjoy and benefit by and emulate your efforts.

Oh, and perhaps it’s blatantly obvious, but I believe it’s still worth mentioning just to raise consciousness: we only go around once in this life. We get only one “here and now” every passing minute. Do you truly want to take your music to your grave? It’s a choice to never make a choice.

An action step you take today can pay you back tomorrow. Action you never take hasn’t even a chance of being worthy of your talents and authenticity. And action you keep making excuses not to take is actually a step backwards. If you’re not a squirrel, stop hiding your treasures. If you have “yes, buts” — contact me. If you think you’re losing your mind, try this! And you still have doubts, here’s one of my favorite quotes to pin on your wall:

 

Remember time waits for no one.

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.

That’s why it’s called the present.”

— B. Olatunji     

                                                             

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Hal@Businessworks.US   302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Nov 21 2011

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”Z”

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Choosing Behavior,Communication,Community Support,Contacts/Networking,Customer Service (CRM),Decision Making,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Feedback,Leadership,Lifestyle,Listening,Management,Motivation,Observations,People Management,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Productivity,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Relationships,Reputation,Retailing,Sales,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Strategic Planning,Strategies,Tactics,Teamwork,Trust

The final subject of this, the world’s first BIZ ALPHABET Series of blog posts! (Check out “A” – “Y”)

                                            

“Z”…ZEST

                              

ZEST (not the soap) refers to you and your business . . . ardor, élan, gusto, joie de vivre, lust, oomph, passion, pep, pizzazz, tang, vitality, energy, zing,  zoom, zip,  zap . . . either you’ve got it or you don’t.

If you’ve got it, you can make it better. Start here now. If you don’t have it, you can get it ignited here, now. Free. No strings attached. No gimmicks! Just you and your business, and me.

~~~~~~~ 

Sounds good, you say, but who cares? Uh, your customers, your employees, your suppliers, your investors, your lenders, your community . . . and your family. Does that work for an answer? This is not just another lecture on motivation. It’s about operating your business with a competitive edge.

Let’s get to it: When did you last ask a few customers why they do business with you instead of with __________ (fill in the name of a leading competitor)? Oh, you did a survey? Well, that’s great, but there’s nothin’ like the real thing, Baby, goes the old song, and there’s nothing like straight eyeball-to-eyeball answers.

Whatever you hear back, by the way, accept and be appreciative. Do not criticize. Do not “Yes, But.” Do not argue or dismiss. There’s a reason for everything. Take it in. Write it down. Smile and say thank you. Go off and think. Odds are pretty good that the answers you’ll get will have something to do with your attitude and approach.

In other words, HOW you deal with customers, employees, and others around you is what determines more than anything else why your customers are your customers. And it’s that reputation that attracts other customers. So, if these assumption about how you deal with others is even just half right, you already have a competitive edge.

It may simply need –like the holiday carving knife– a little sharpening. Start by asking yourself if you and/or someone else who works with you have been partly or largely responsible for positive customer feedback. Do you appropriately reward that behavior when it comes from others. Rewarding positives breeds more positives.

If you get feedback that attributes your business strength to other factors –price, quality, convenience, etc.–you need to giddy-yap over to your customer service counter/person/policy/strategy/whatever, to fix it or make it better.

Why? Because in this lousy economy, it is frankly not a good sign that anything other than your outstanding service should be the #1 factor quoted by customers. You cannot any longer compete on price or packaging or quality or convenience or sustainability. Anyone with the know-how and gumption can beat you on those points. 

But no one else can be you!

                                                                       

No one else can treat people exactly the same as you, and therein lies your single greatest and unique competitive edge — it’s the differential that you, exclusively, can offer. Have you ever by-passed others and gone out of your way to deal with a particular business because you relate better to the source? Of course you have.

We all seek individuals and entities we feel offer more integrity, more authenticity, a better reputation, provide more extras. So your customers are different? What’s keeping you from adjusting, over-hauling, boosting or perking up your business approaches and attitude NOW? Aren’t roadblocks, after all, a matter of choice?

Choose more of what works. Put a little spice in your spirit! And remember what you put out and how you come across — your spirit — is yours alone. No one else has or can use your strengths. 

                                                       

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Nov 15 2011

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”V”

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Advertising,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Communication,Customer Service (CRM),Decision Making,Delegation,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Innovation,Leadership,Life Plans,Lifestyle,Management,Marketing,Motivation,Objectives,Observations,Personal Growth,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Reputation,Retailing,Sales,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Small Business,Strategic Planning,Tactics

Welcome to the world’s first SMALL BIZ Alphabet Series of blog posts!

“V”…VOLUME

 

As in “Turn it up!” or “Turn it down!”?  A book? Number of patient visits? Amount of sales? Number of decibels your message uses? The major dial on the 4-wheeled boombox next to you at the traffic light? Depends. Are you an entrepreneur?       

~~~~~~~

As an entrepreneur, you may periodically plunk all or nearly all into your brain’s search window for updates. Sure, the muscle beach teeny-bopper with his car audio base vibrating 3 blocks away can be annoying, especially when you’re on your cell with a major client, a lawyer or your mother (sometimes indistinguishable!).

And keeping the volume turned up isn’t limited to rap stars, hard rockers, QVC, and your grandfather. Did you ever see or hear a soft-spoken, low volume car dealership commercial?

(Okay, maybe –maybe– for something like the 1931 Bugatti Royale Kellner Coupe, which was sold for $8,700,000 in 1987, where we can figure that anybody with a gazillion dollars to spend on a car probably won’t respond well to shouts, y’think?)  

But it’s important to remind your marketing and/or salesperson or team (and yourself, anytime you give a presentation) that in the same type of “actions speak louder than words” context, w~h~i~s~p~e~r~s can speak louder than SHOUTS!  They serve to seize the moment! Sales stage presentations are famous for this technique.

It’s all about getting prospects, customers, audiences to sit up on the edges of their seats and listen hard.

Applied to packaging, I once discovered that every brand product in a particular section of the supermarket has a red and gold package–every one. I succeeded in talking my smaller, lesser known client into whispering with black and white packaging, which in a sea of red and gold, visually popped off the shelf into big-time POP sales.

Volume, then, is also visual, and it includes appearance when you’re in sales (and who isn’t?). Dressing conservatively helps salespeople keep prospect’s attention on the goods or services. Flamboyant clothing, jewelry, hair and makeup styles distract from the message. Save the Hawaiian shirt for weekends on your yacht.

Now, since doctors are a different breed of entrepreneurial animal altogether, it’s no wonder that their primary business focus is on growing patient volume. After all, doctors have no inventory, no one else (besides perhaps other doctor partners) they can pass patients off to for diagnostics and treatment (except referrals).

So the goal is to keep pushing for increased “volume” (in case you’ve wondered about that sitting in a healthcare waiting room with 20 other people waiting to see one doctor for 12 minutes!). Doctors have gotten better at delegating but there is a magic breaking point where reimbursements don’t cover added staff services.

Oh, and sales volume? A good thing, generally, but not always a good thing. Depends on the nature of your business. Ask your accountant about this. Too much volume can overwhelm ability to deliver the goods, and distract from the focal point of your business or marketing strategy.

Yes, and Volumes have been written about how to reach out and grab a customer, a prospect, but the bottom line is that if your marketing messages fail, your business fails. Take a hard look at the words you’re using. Decide whether your ads grab, win, lurk or suck? Do they just win a lot of meaningless awards, instead of sales?

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Nov 14 2011

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”U”

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Advertising,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Communication,Corporate Management,Creative Thinking,Customer Service (CRM),Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Innovation,Lifestyle,Management,Marketing,Motivation,Observations,Personal Growth,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Reputation,Retailing,Sales,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Special People/Special Occasions

Welcome to the world’s first SMALL BIZ Alphabet Series of blog posts!

“U”…UNIQUENESS

 

You already know that you’re different, or you’d be watching TV right now. Isn’t that so? People who enjoy being the same, work for big organizations where they can get lost in the waves instead of having  to make them, and they don’t surf blog posts about being unique because even though they are, they don’t believe they are.

You, on the other hand, are unique and know it. At various times in your life, you’ve been called weird, odd, a know-it-all, an opportunist, a hustler, a misfit, a trouble-maker, an instigator, an oddball, and one who marches to his or her own drum. You’re an entrepreneur. You own and/or run a business. You live for your idea to succeed. 

Now, what about your business? Do you think your business must be unique too? Odds are it’s not. In fact, the more unique your products or services are, the less likely your business is to survive. Investors and lenders like substantial, tangible businesses run by people with substantial, tangible, directly-related experience.

Customers are gun-shy about trying new products and services. They are also deathly afraid of buying technology that will be obsolete before they finish making payments. What does that leave? Pizza? Chickens? Cardboard? Dishwasher maintenance contracts? Delivery services?  Toothpaste? Cemetery Recycling?

Ah, so the trick isn’t necessarily (or even often) having a unique business. What then? Isn’t it more like being able to use your personal and instinctive uniqueness to design or develop or produce a unique perspective of what you have to sell? A competitive advantage? A single differential? Maybe. Maybe it’s just something that seems unique. 

It’s true, isn’t it, that uniqueness can be created with the stroke of a pen or keypad? Nike’s SWOOSH for example? And how about the 1, 2, and 3-word brandings that stick in our minds… the ones that sell?

  • 1-word example:  UNcola (for 7-Up when Coke and Pepsi were under the dark caffeine drink health destruction PR axe)
  • 2-word example:  “Got Milk?” (hard to top that message)
  • 3-word example:  “I’m Lovin’ It!” (even if you hate burgers and fries!)

In other words, BRANDING is what is responsible (my guess: 99% of the time) for UNIQUENESS. What we perceive, remember, is what we believe. Stated another way: Perceptions are facts! Does this imply that anything cute, different, or smashing, will create uniqueness which will create sales. Not a chance. Only substance succeeds.

BRANDING, then is about using unique ways to paint a picture of a business that delivers substance. And not unlike the old Marshall Mcluhan enlightenment that “The medium is the message,” could it also be that “Uniqueness is the message”? So it’s HOW we market that’s more important than what it is that we actually take to market?

Well, if these thoughts are even only partly correct, YOU have a distinct advantage in being able to present your business venture and offerings as unique, because you already are to start with. (We established that in the first sentence of this post.) And that which is unique rarely breeds that which is routine. Ask any spotted owl. 

 

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Nov 07 2011

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”P”

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Advertising,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Communication,Community Support,Contacts/Networking,Creative Thinking,Customer Service (CRM),Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Feedback,INTERNET Marketing,Lifestyle,Listening,Management,Marketing,Media,Observations,People Management,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Relationships,Reputation,Sales,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Social Media,Special People/Special Occasions,Strategic Planning,Tactics,Trust

Welcome to the world’s first SMALL BIZ Alphabet Series of blog posts!

 “P”…PUBLIC

 

First off, as an entrepreneur, small business or professional practice owner, operator, or manager, you have a public persona, or image —a brand, if you will– that communicates your reputation to others in your Private-Public and in your Public-Public. You do, indeed, have both! Ignore either at your peril.

Your Public-Public (or EXternal customers) is what most often comes to mind when we talk about sales and markets. But every business also has INternal customers (family, friends, partners, investors, referrers, lenders, employees, agents, consultants, and suppliers). These are your reliable supporters, your Private-Public.

Many successful businesses build their Public-Public customer / client / patient base as an offshoot of their Private-Public resources because –sorry, marketing, advertising, PR, SEO, and social media experts— NOTHING sells like personal recommendations.

Often overlooked in this mix of supportive and prospective recommenders are FORMER family, friends, partners, investors, referrers, employees, lenders, agents, consultants, and suppliers who you are still on good terms with. Some older mid-sized companies actually foster employee alumni associations and reunions.

Not only can your Private-Public become a loyal customer base and serve to refer Public-Public purchases, they can also often suggest new business approaches, technology, and revenue streams… IF they are properly motivated and encouraged AND (and here’s the biggy) IF they are carefully solicited and attentively listened to.

Lest there be any doubts , I am not suggesting abandonment of marketing functions (sales, PR, promotion, packaging, pricing, SEO and SM applications, etc.). I am simply pointing out that day-to-day, many of us have a tendancy to overlook the obvious, spend more than we need to,  and  not tap into our best resources.

Traditional Public Relations is rapidly becoming an ineffective tool for building brands and brand awareness. With increased use of Internet sites, webinars, digital marketing and social media, the odds for stimulating Public-Public purchasing and Private-Public referrals, only the flexible, cyberspace-savvy PR firms are surviving.

A similar assessment surfaces for traditionally-invested advertising, sales, and marketing firms. This doesn’t mean “always and everywhere.” It does mean that small businesses can no longer rely on successful past media, creative, financial and market development  strategies to survive today’s onslaught of instant communications.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Remember too that YOU, personally, are always on stage. Someone is always watching and listening. You are always being sized up by someone, even when you least suspect it. The bottom line is that in addition to your business having public concerns, awareness’s, and opportunities, so do you!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Making the most of what you have means being, as Thoreau once urged, forever on the alert! 

                                 

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Hal@Businessworks.US

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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Nov 06 2011

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”O”

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Advertising,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Calendar,Change,Choosing Behavior,Communication,Corporate Management,Creative Thinking,Decision Making,Delegation,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Feedback,Innovation,Leadership,Lifestyle,Management,Marketing,Motivation,Objectives/Strategies/Tactics,Observations,People Management,Personal Growth,Productivity,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Relationships,Reputation,Retailing,Sales,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Small Business,Strategic Planning,Stress Management,Teamwork,Time Management,Writing

Welcome to the world’s first SMALL BIZ Alphabet Series of blog posts!

 “O”…ORGANIZATION 

 

It was going to be “O” for “Operations” but a few years back the world’s surgeons decided that “Procedures” would be a gentler, less-threatening sounding  word to use in describing what happens when they take a scalpel to your body.  And as businesses became more specialized, “Operations” began to dissolve from usage in the business community too.  So with all that phasing out activity, I came back to one of the most important multi-purpose “O” words for life and small business success: ORGANIZATION.

~~~~~~~

There are 30 million of us (small business owners and entrepreneurs) kicking around out there, somewhere between Hawaii, Florida, Maine, and Alaska (Whew! A lot of kicking!), and —artistic, creative types not withstanding– those among us with the strongest sense of organization will generally prevail in the success arena.

“Organization” is both the dynamics of the people you’re involved with — what’s the business “chemistry”?– AND how effective are your planning and doing (action) skills? “Team chemistry” wins in sports (Just re-live World Series Game 6 a few days ago), but it also –like people and task organizing skills– wins in business.

There are of course, entire books, courses, and training programs devoted to OD (Organizational Development), so don’t expect a 700-word crash course here, but you can expect to have your cage rattled. After all, who else is going to risk being in your face and telling you to get your act together better than you have been? Right. Read on.

Now, most of what I do is write, design, create, sell, email, meet, and talk on the phone, so I’m not exactly the world’s most organized guy, but –thanks to Kathy– most all of the organizational chores associated with running a business are taken care of by her capable hands and organized brain. She actually excels at it. (Thank heaven!)

So one important rule of thumb is that if organization skills escape you, or you don’t want to justify the time it takes to sort out, prioritize, plan, and execute tasks, find someone you can trust and rely on (almost always, by the way, a spouse, because no one else really shares your values) to do the scheduling, paperwork, computer tasks, etc.

And since you probably have two thumbs, another important rule is to give up one hour every Monday to meet with your organization person or team to review progress and problems, and get the ducks in a row. (Monday, because issues can be dealt with during the week; issues raised on Thursday or Friday never get done). 

I read somewhere that a famous sales guru I’ve always admired, made a dumb statement. He said It’s not time you need to manage; it’s your attitude. I understand the intent, but in reality, all entrepreneurs, by definition, have a positive attitude. Managing time is the challenge because we have only a limited amount of it available.

Not to belabor the point, but there are just so many seconds in a minute, so many minutes in an hour, so many hours in a day, so many days in a week, so many weeks in a month, so many months in a year . . . and just so many years in a lifetime, assuming you’re not from outer space just because you might act it! (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) 

There are at least 3 zillion magic formulas for managing your emails. If you limit phone call message returns from 11:30am until noon, and from 4:30pm until 5pm, you will be more productive. People do not want to talk too much when they’re thinking about lunch or heading home.

When you make to-do lists, date them and chunk them up into small parts of big tasks. Prioritize item urgency. Cross the done deeds off with a highlighter so you can look back to see what was accomplished. If you really must use other than pen and pad because you are laptop or handheld-addicted, it’s not great, but better than nothing.

In short, experiment, but do whatever works best for you. Whatever you do– don’t ignore or avoid focusing on the getting-ready-to-act parts of your business before you charge headlong into them. Not being organized is a common entrepreneurial ailment that can crush a venture before it ever gets off the ground. Ready? Set? Go!

                                                                                               

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone!

No responses yet

Oct 16 2011

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”C”

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Advertising,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Communication,Creative Thinking,Customer Service (CRM),Decision Making,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Feedback,Innovation,Leadership,Lifestyle,Listening,Management,Marketing,Motivation,Objectives,Observations,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Relationships,Retailing,Sales,Sales Process,Special People/Special Occasions,Strategic Planning,Tactics

Welcome to the world’s first

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES of blog posts

 

“C”…

                                

CUSTOMERS/CONSUMERS

 

                      

CUSTOMERS and CONSUMERS. These are sometimes, but not always, one in the same.

You buy a can of beans; you cook and eat the beans; you are both the customer and the consumer. But, If I am 6-years-old and badger you to buy me Chocolate Tsunami Cookies because “They Make Waves When Dunked in Milk,” and you buy them and I eat them — then you are the customer and I am the consumer.

In that situation, we are very different people indeed, but the bottom line to the Chocolate Tsunami Cookie Company marketing people is that I, the consumer, have influenced your customer purchase.

The monster corporations out there have monster R&D departments bursting at the seams with monster (3, 6, 9, and 12-month long)  research projects, and are busily preparing monster evaluations, assessments, analyses, executive summaries, and follow-up surveys and studies to support the research findings.

Many of these undertakings are aimed at identifying (in the case of the Chocolate Tsunami brand) which 6-year-olds in which towns are watching which TV shows, and who are most likely to influence their parents (or the most lenient or susceptable parent) to purchase the cookie brand on the next shopping trip.

Oh, and do they have the parent’s email address?

                                                        

Small business owners know better

than to waste such time and expense.

                                                                   

They make the cookies, sell the cookies, gather feedback from some kids and parents, adjust the manufacturing (or pricing, packaging, promotion) and sell them again. All the while the monsters have no product. They are still doing statistical analysis of adolescent sugar intake.

But too often small business owners direct their marketing messages to the buying customers when actual purchase decisions are being made by the ultimate consumers and/or other influencers. [Women, for example, purchase more wine, but men are almost always the ones who specify what type and brand to buy.]

Small business owners often overlook that different messages need to be directed to different market targets. Parents buying cookies that they are pleaded with to get by their children may require a bit more rationality attached to the emotional appeal that’s focused on persuading the children.

“Making Waves When Dunked in Milk” may be a cute line for something named Chocolate Tsunami Cookies. It could probably attract attention and create interest for any age.

While a child may, however, simply buy into the slogan– Mom or Dad need to know that the chocolate and flour used are organic, or that every purchase comes with free quart of milk or roll of paper towels . . . or that they will be the talk of the neighborhood because their kids are the only ones who can’t “make waves.” 

The bottom line is that by focusing marketing efforts on customers alone risks losing potential business that’s generated by ultimate consumers.

Using the same message in the same ways doesn’t do it. 

KEEP your branding theme and slogan, but address different interests with different language in different media whenever your customers and consumers are different in age or attitude or responsibility or capability.

                                                      

A handicapped senior may have primary concerns about the safety and ease of use for a stair-lift, while the family making the arrangements may be more focused on price, insurance coverage, and service warranty. The best way to cover all your bases is to ask customers and consumers questions, and keep asking. And Listening!

                                             

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Hal@Businessworks.US     302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone

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Oct 13 2011

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES…”B”

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Advertising,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Choosing Behavior,Communication,Contacts/Networking,Customer Service (CRM),Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Leadership,Lifestyle,Listening,Management,Marketing,Motivation,Observations,People Management,Personal Growth,Productivity,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Relationships,Reputation,Self-Confidence,Small Business,Strategic Planning,Tactics,Trust

Welcome to the world’s first

BIZ ALPHABET SERIES of blog posts

 

“B”…BRANDING

 

 Besides that you’ll find tips galore by clicking here or on the “BRANDING” tab at the top of this blog’s homepage, here are some seldom discussed points you may want to review that can put a new light on the subject. Here you go:

~~~~~~~

 

BRANDING is rarely thought of by many business owners and, it seems, by most of the general public, as being what it really is. Branding is a composite of all things related to a business product, service, or idea (or a cause or individual), and those who represent these saleables. All things? All things.

If you’re a business owner, manager, operator, partner, investor, or entrepreneur, YOU are the brand as much as any product, service, idea or platform you offer.

Simply stated, your actions, inactions, initiatives, attitude, behavior, beliefs, decisions, appearances –the WAYS you treat others every day– are as integrally woven into the fabric of your brand as your logo, theme, slogan, color scheme, marketing message, and “packaging.”

Like it or not — as head honcho, you have created or are carrying forward a specific parental posture that is constantly being evaluated and looked to for setting examples, offering advice, citing experience, expressing empathy, and fostering every conceivable aspect of effective leadership.

The problem is that you probably never counted on having to be both mother and father to assistants, associates, work teams, employees, consultants, partners . . . and carry your personal life family role along with you in your travels.

So how can you bring your maternal or paternal (or both) leadership role up to snuff when you really don’t care about nurturing other people’s idiosyncrasies? Well, here;s the bad news: The responsibility comes with the territory.

You cannot run any business bigger than a one-man-band with any measure of sustained success without exercising both passion (for what you represent) and compassion (for those you’re in contact with each day).

Does this mean you need to be a shrink, therapist, counselor? No, but you do need to be the parent because the business is your baby!

No one else (other than perhaps a spouse who shares the same values as you) can ever do the same justice to your enterprise that you can. No one else can sell your business message as effectively as you. No one else (other than –again– a spouse, and of course any investors) really cares about your bottom line.

It’s your job to be the leader and show people the way to feel empowered and rewarded for doing quality work on your behalf. You must bridge the gap. You must lead by example. People will rally to your mission and vision when you pull instead of push, when you show sincerity and honesty in all your dealings.

 Others are always watching what you do,

and listening to what you say,

measuring your integrity.

                                                 

“All the world’s a stage,” said Shakespeare. Your spotlights are on and your curtain is up. Make the most of your business debut and all of your curtain-calls, along with every opportunity to polish your act. Have a great run!

                                        

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Hal@Businessworks.US    302.933.0116

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone!

No responses yet

Oct 10 2011

“Business As Usual” Spells Failure

Published by under "Here & Now" Focus,Advertising,Attitude,Best Practices,BRANDING,Business Growth,Business Life,Change,Communication,Community Support,Contacts/Networking,Creative Thinking,Decision Making,Delegation,Economy,Entrepreneurship,Experience,Family Business,Feedback,Innovation,INTERNET Marketing,Leadership,Life Plans,Lifestyle,Listening,Management,Marketing,Media,Motivation,Observations,People Management,Personal Growth,Problems=Opportunities,Professional Practices,Public Relations,Reality,Relationships,Retailing,Sales Process,Self-Confidence,Self-Esteem,Small Business,Social Media,Tactics

If you’re not rattling cages,

                              

reserve your business

                        

headstone now!

                          

                 ~ ~ ~                  

                                          

C’mon, Hal, the Halloween season gettin’ to you?

Waiting with tricks instead of treats?

Not me. I rattle cages.

 

But what about you? Are you depending on others to scare up some new business? Maybe you’ve seen too many stun-gunned tongues (say that five times fast!) and zombie axe murderers on late night TV? Too many ghoulish retail displays? Maybe you almost died?

If every chainsaw you see reminds you of a massacre, maybe you’re running on (or from?) fear? No? Well if you’re not shaking up your business every week, it may be that you’re running on ambivalence and, in turn, leading the county coroner to your business doorstep.

Investing in the status quo with your business is a no-action action that –depending on how secure your finances are– will either provoke a knife plunge into the heart of your enterprise or cause business death by potato peeler. If 2015 means continued business life, it must also mean continuing dramatic action at every level.

If it ain’t broke, fix it anyway.

                                                              

Stop being afraid of stirring up the competition. The most successful retail businesses are those located in the same geographical areas as their competitors. Competition stimulates consume traffic. Your website’s not up to snuff? Bite the bullet; get some cash out from under the mattress, and pay a professional to polish up your act!

Can’t afford the advertising you want? Stop advertising. Go to (free) Twitter and Facebook and LinkedIn instead. Start doing (free) public relations instead — newsworthy news releases, captioned newsworthy photos, special events (e.g., charity-based, combined with other businesses, educational programs).

Are your employees, suppliers, referrers, investors, community supporters challenged enough? Are you putting out strong motivational incentives to get the (free) word-of-mouth going? Are you running contests that provoke fun and prompt action? (Hint: No need for elaborate or expensive prizes if enough imagination is exercised).

Shake it up!

                                                           

Have you given presentations at local colleges, high schools, community centers, and then promoted them and followed up with news releases and unusual photos? Have you compiled a media “hit list” of appropriate editors and writers and publishers who would have a natural interest in your business and business pursuits?

Do you have an “elevator speech”? Do you carry business cards and a notepad with you at all times? Do you ask questions 20% of the time and listen to answers (and jot them in your notebook) 80% of the time? Have you collected email addresses everyplace you go? Are you using them to send worthwhile info out?

“Business As Usual” means inactivity, nothing changing, no excitement, no hustle. It will take you straight to the business burial grounds up in the sky (or somewhere?) and you might want to stop off at your lawyer and accountants’ offices on the way to fill out bankruptcy papers. This economy has no mercy.

If you’ve got guts and gumption, nurture them. Stimulate them. Ignite them. Explode them. Make them work for you.

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Hal@Businessworks.US   931.854.0474

Open  Minds  Open  Doors

Many thanks for your visit and God Bless You.

 Make today a GREAT day for someone!

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