By Janelle, on June 16th, 2010
Networking is a word full of hidden meaning – most of them negative. A typical image of networking brings to mind a glad-handing sales type, stuffing business cards into the hands of …well, everyone.
To the contrary, networking when done well is the one of the best ways to grow small business. Ideally, every small business owner or entrepreneur should be networking every chance she gets. Terry Bean, author of The Universal Guide To Business Networking agrees and is so confident that he wrote a book about.
“It’s about you, it’s about me and it’s about our businesses – in that order”, says Terry Bean in The Universal Laws. Networking, at its core, should be other focused. And all networking is relationship building. When presented from that perspective, the pressure is off because you don’t have to feel your needs will only be met if you leave with a lead or sale. You get to be the good guy- all the time!
The Universal Laws of Business Networking is full of great tips for better ways to extend your business contacts and how to navigate on-line networking too. Benefits of networking include increasing your business acumen, developing a ready board of advisors, and gaining a better understanding of local happenings.
This book is worth the read. You might find yourself headed out the door to that next networking event sooner rather than later.
By Janelle, on April 19th, 2010
 Marketing in 2010 is a new and tricky business. The rules on how to market are changing at breakneck pace. We no longer push marketing messages out to the consuming public, hoping they will buy. Gone are the days of convincing people to plunk down their cash for our products and services. We have to pull customers so they will choose us when they are ready to buy.
That only happens for three reasons, in this order: they know us, they care about us and they want to do business with us. Building that trust factor is huge.
Which means your business presence has to be present, available and believable.
- Are you present?
- Are you represented in the market(s) most significance to your business?
- Is your presence known and more importantly, trusted, by the buying public in your market?
Those questions are worth thinking about given the new paradigm we’re all subject to. The answers, or lack of answers, will help to drive you in the right direction to compete in today’s market.
By Janelle, on April 8th, 2010
I’m not a huge fan of Subway sub sandwiches. They’re just OK in my culinary book. (In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll take a bag of greasy McDonalds’ french fries over a healthy sub any day.)
 But don’t listen to me. According to Advertising Age, Subway will soon surpass McDonalds as the most prolific fast food purveyor in the world. By end of year, Subway outlets will outnumber McDonald’s in worldwide locations with over 32,000 shops.Who would have thought anyone, let alone a sandwich with processed American cheese and shredded iceburg, would overtake the king of french fries for #1 spot in the bellies of the world? Then again, we’re talking about fast food replacing fast food.
On another front, in a truly tall marketing coup, Subway has landed the contract to build a skytop restaurant for thousands of steel workers high atop the soon to be tallest office building in the US – Freedom Tower. Subway at the top of the work site, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, will keep workers from wasting valuable work time riding up and down three elevators to get to ground floor services.
This is a company thinking and acting out of the box, literally. Subway welded together 36 shipping containers and painted them yellow to create the new restaurant. Lifted atop the structure with a crane, Freedom Tower Subway will rise with the structure and provide countless meals in the process. Both Subway workers and steel workers believe they are a part of something historic. Subway has gone right to the heart of tribe building by creating an experience for workers every time they unwrap a sandwich.
By Janelle, on March 10th, 2010
Word of mouth is the best advertiser, right? Yes, of course. But not only yes.  Yesterday, I met Larry Wilcox, a web developer who wants to grow his business. Larry said word of mouth has been his best advertiser so far.
Larry works with not for profits and churches mostly, creating WordPress and Joomla web sites. He has a great idea for a simple template that gets organizations started at a relatively low cost, then lets them customize as their budget allows. Simple.
Then I asked Larry how he targets new customers. His face glazed-over.
Small business owners rely on former customers to keep their business going. But new customers have to be found. Targeting a niche audience (do you say ‘nitch’ or do you say ‘neesh’?) to market to keeps the revenue river flowing. It doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. In Larry’s case, we talked about a simple postcard campaign. Something like this -
1. Choose a geographic area.
2. Create a list of 50-150 organizations you’d like to do business with. Find them on the web.
3. Create a card with a friendly introductory message and offer.
4. Print and mail the card.
5. Make follow up phone calls to encourage action.
It’s pretty simple. But doing things differently isn’t always easy to see.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” replied Larry. “Great idea. I think I’ll try it.”
Very little cost is involved, and just a bit of effort make this a standard part of marketing plans for any small business owner. If you’re a B2C business, you might have to seek out a neighborhood or community based mailing list. Just do something. You’ll be glad you did.
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