Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Advertising: Don’t abandon what works!
This is going to seem like a very strange post from me considering my experience and success as a web developer, but it has to be said!
When people look to the internet to market their business, it seems that many times they abandon everything they’ve ever learned about marketing, branding and quantifying results. A business who has invested thousands of dollars in branding and marketing their business in traditional methods of advertising will sometimes forget the hard learned lessons because the internet is something new and special.
A buddy of mine owns a local telephone directory / yellow pages, we engage in some very heated arguments about the usefulness of the internet and local directories. I must admit that his product, as a whole, is better than online directories because people use the print version. (period)
The internet has its place and should not be overlooked when considering the overall strategy, but please do not abandon what has worked for you in the past.
My yellow page buddy sent me a link to a great website about yellow page advertising. It’s www.ypcommando.com. There is a blog there that I MUST quote from today.
Advertiser expectation and patience for results from online advertising are difficult to meet because the Internet does not bypass human nature of procrastinating, building trust, qualifying, deciding and taking action.
It’s important for traditional advertisers to NOT abandon their terrestrial publications, rather embrace change as a restaurant owner embraces trends.
The bottom line in my opinion is that people should consider the internet as a possible way to enhance their “terrestrial publications.” You will never be more disappointed than when you shift all of your marketing dollars from methods that have worked to the internet only to see sales fall.
My Advice? Mix the internet in with other methods that have been working for you. Use the lessons of product, price, placement and promotions that are the foundations of your marketing plan and then find ways to integrate them into online use. Stay consistent with your corporate branding and identity online and find ways that will bring all of the efforts under one plan, hopefully a plan that works.
I realize that some may find this strange advice from someone who has made his living building and hosting websites for more than 10 years. Truth be known, I have never suggested that the internet is the end all – be all of marketing and advertising. I would even argue with my own clients who would make such a suggestion. There are many ways to leverage the power of the internet to increase sales, loyalty and market reach, but those should be used in concert with traditional marketing and advertising efforts.
Labels: Advertising, branding, marketing, small business
Sunday, January 06, 2008
Preparing to be Productive
I recently read that any well organized person is a person obsessed with lists. It makes sense and I do my fair share of listing, though my lists are not very well thought out. A list is great if you know where to find it... ya think?
As I enter into the first full week of the year, I find myself overwhelmed with the number of things I need to get done. From writing letters to making sales calls, the next two weeks are going to be very busy. Throw in a couple of websites and getting my truck back from the body shop, I’m feeling a little overwhelmed.
A lesson I learned many years ago was to write down a complete list of everything that needs to be done as you think of it and in no particular order. Once you have the master list, take a sheet of paper and draw a big plus sign from top to bottom and side to side. The top left box is for those items that must be done now and above all else, this is the important and urgent box. The box below this one is the urgent not important. Then on the right top, list those items that are important but not urgent, and yes, you guessed that the bottom right box is for items that are not urgent and not important.
Note: At 5:00 A.M. on Sunday morning, writing a blog is not urgent and not important but something I just want to do. This brings up another good point, this method of organizing priorities can also be broken into “roles and goals.” It tends to complicate the process but basically, there are personal, business and other categories that can be created and items can be listed there.
Oh; I do recall that the Urgent/Important concept came from Franklin Planner training (yes I went to a class) and the Roles and Goals concept came from 7 Habits training (yes I went to a class) that I received many years ago.
I have a plan to reach several hundred businesses in the next two weeks, with that in mind, I must prepare to be organized or I will lose control of the information streaming in. Taking time (making time) to consider the day before it starts as well as the day as it ends will help me keep track of all of the new items that will invade my to-do grid.
Another tool that I like to use is a “contact card.” It is something that I have used in the past and it works for me quite well. Basically, I take a stack of 4x6 index cards and run them through my printer. Simple lines for date, time, names, places and a block to staple a business card is all I need. The main areas are for notes and follow ups.
Using the contact cards allow me to physically sort the contacts that need attention, or to put them in follow up piles for later reference. It provides me some assurance that I won’t forget a contact while allowing me to forget them for now so I can concentrate on the urgent/important and new items on my list.
As an experienced application developer, I have been working on a contact manager that would accomplish much of the same tasks but having the pile of cards seems to be more manageable than an obscure database of information.
No matter how you decide to organize your priorities or required tasks, discovering a method that works for you that will allow you be more productive and can bring you more peace, more time and more money.
Labels: planning, small business, tips and tricks
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Another Incentive to Blog More Often
So far so good for the year; I’ve posted one blog per week. Okay, it’s only the first week and time will tell if I live up to my commitment but I have received more incentive to blog more frequently. I received an invitation to join the Forbes Business and Financial Blog Network from the membership manager herself.
I must admit, I was highly skeptical and replied to the invitations twice to make sure it was for real. I also searched her name and phone number just to get a “warm fuzzy.” Forbes was patient and replied to me both times assuring me that it was on the up and up. So here I am! I filled out the paperwork and am waiting for marching orders.
So what’s next? This new membership plus my own commitment to the small business community puts my plan to upgrade this blog in overdrive. I will be importing the old blogs and categorizing them in a new custom solution. This may take some time and I will do my best not to break the existing pages, but it will allow me to read each post, choose to revise it, remove it or include it with some categorization and keyword tagging.
I’m shooting for a minimum of one blog per week to be published on Mondays though I’ve had several ideas for blogs since I posted this week. The third week of the month will be the most difficult because that is when I go to press with my print magazine.
The plan: Move this domain to a new server and change the blog engine I use to post. I will put all current pages on the new server and redirect as each is moved to the ASP.NET system. What’s most difficult about this process is the changed page names (from .asp to .aspx). This is all very technical but it underscores my opinion that when moving an existing website to a different system, every effort should be made to keep from breaking links. It’s very similar to filing an address change form when moving to another office. This is not the technology blog so I won’t bore you with the details.
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
A Safe Productive and Profitable 2008
Starting the New Year off right!
I probably should have wrote this last month as I was preparing for the new year, but I didn’t and now I am. There are a few things I’m doing this week to try to make 2008 a little safer, a little more organized and a lot more profitable. Here are a few things I’m looking at very closely this week...
#1 - The business plan! I’m reading through it and seeing where I’m at. Are my predictions on track? Are there changes that need to be made in my operational, accounting or marketing strategies? Are there any new or unexpected influences on my forecasts that need to be addressed? For all three of my companies the answers are no, yes-yes-yes, and yes.
Taking a quick look at the plan and forecasts, I can see areas that need to be adjusted, revised or completely abandoned. Many things about my business are different and the start of the fiscal year is a great time to make the necessary changes.
#2 - Financial management. Another thing I’m looking at is my financial management. Not just my bank accounts or accounting methods, but also my accounts payable and receivable process. I’m looking for the things that need to be addressed that will improve my cash management with the intent to improve my cash flow. As I prepare to meet my tax guy, I will also be taking a very close look at where I spent my money in 2007 and look for ways to save in 2008.
#3 – Technology. I have been doing a technology review for the past 8 weeks actually and frankly, this is something that should be constantly monitored and reviewed for security reasons. I am fortunate to have the experience and training to do this myself, but for those who do not, I would recommend a consultation with a professional. (Write for recommendation) What I am looking at is everything from the software I’m using to the computers I’m using them on. Here is a short (incomplete) list of the biggies...
- Check every single computer in the office for current patches to the software installed. Windows and Mac do have an automatic mode but even still, I take the time to click the update now link just to see the results for myself. I also open all software that is installed (used) and see if there are patches, updates or upgrades that are needed for security. There are some software packages available to do this (Check with Yahoo), but I just take the time. For me, this is a monthly process but for many, it is one of those things that are pushed aside.
- Update the virus scanning software. Make sure it is the latest version and it has the latest updates from the vendor. Here is an interesting tidbit. Even if you have the software installed, updated and scheduled properly, if your employee turns off their computer at night or clicks out of the scanning process to speed up the computer, you may be at risk. I suggest that business owners go to each machine, update the software and then run it manually to be sure.
- Update (or install) a Spyware package. I have found that Spyware is more prevalent than viruses, at least in 2007. I use a free program called SpyBot. There are many to chose from and your antivirus program may already include it. My opinion is that small business people should make the effort to ensure the anti-spyware software is installed, updated and operating properly to protect themselves and their client information.
- Overall condition of the computer. Maybe this should have been first, but if the computer is more than 3 years old, you should make sure it has enough power to be productive. Case in point, I have a wonderful hard working research assistant who knows little about computers. She would mention that the computer is slow once in a while but for the most part she just kept on working. I had to do some work on her computer and I could not believe how antiquated it was. I purchased her a new PC with the latest minimum requirements for CPU speed and RAM installed and she not only became much more productive, but much much happier overall. Which is good because she is also my wife and when she’s happy... everyone is happy. (grin)
There are many more things that I am looking at but this should get you started. One thing to note, you may not be able to fix everything all at once. To speed things up, just make a list of your discoveries as well as a checklist of sorts of the things that need to be done. Then, when you have time you can tick off the list one by one. Even if you don’t have a business plan to review, add that to your list and start building it. Doing so will allow you to take some measurements and discoveries next year at this time.
