Everybody has to get dressed each morning. Jason Sadler is no exception. But what makes Jason Sadler different from everyone else is that he gets paid to get dressed. Sadler is the head honcho—CEO and founder, if you will—of iwearyourshirt.com, a company that can best be described as a walking, talking social-media billboard business.

The business is simple, Sadler told a group at a recent Knowledge Is Power workshop, presented by Jacksonville Small Business Advantage and sponsored by Venture Plex (www.usventureplex.com). “Basically iwearyourshirt is this: You buy a day; I wear your shirt for that day; and I promote it via social media. I take photos and put them on Flickr. I make a video and put it on YouTube. I do a live video show every day on Ustream. I share it all with my Facebook and Twitter friends. I put it up on my Web site. That’s my business.”

And business is good. He started as a one-man walking billboard in September of 2008 and then sold all but one day of 2009. “I actually sold every day, but one company was going out of business and asked for its money back, so I took a day off,” he told the group.

His pricing structure is as simple as his business model: In , on January 1, 2009, a company paid $1 for Sadler to wear its shirt—and to promote its brand. The price increased a dollar a day; the company that bought December 31 paid $365—2009’s top price. In 2010, Sadler raised his price to $2 on January 1, with an increase of $2 a day thereafter. But, for the extra cost, buyers get extra exposure: Sadler’s buddy in California, Evan White, wears the same shirt and does the same type of social-media promotions as he does.

The uniqueness of his business model has caught the attention of major news outlets, such as ABC News with Charles Gibson, CBS News with Katie Couric, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune, and the L.A. Times, to name just a few. What is extraordinary about his success is that he has never advertised nor has he ever hired a publicist. He has become famous in the world of entrepreneurship just by doing one thing— using social media.

“Using social media the right way is very easy,” says Sadler. “All you have to do is join the conversation; find the right platform; and—most important—be yourself.” He gave the group seven tips on how they could work social media to their advantage, just as he has done for iwearyourshirt.com.

1. Choose the social media sites that are best for you. Select the ones your audience visits, and make sure they are a good fit for your business. “A lot of people try to find new and interesting social media sites. There are thousands of them. The point is to find things that work best for your industry,” he says.

2. Adapt to your audience. Sadler says you can’t just push messages out on the various social media. “My friends on Facebook are very different from my Twitter followers. I’ve got 21,000 Twitter followers; I’ve got over 4,000 friends on Facebook. I get many more clicks from things I put on Facebook because they are my friends, and I’ve met maybe 30% of them, and I adapt what I say to them.”

3. Consider before you commit. If you are not using Twitter, which Sadler says is an extremely powerful tool (“I would never have been successful without Twitter,” he says), don’t just jump on it. Consider the people you are trying to reach; think about how you can tie Twitter into your whole marketing strategy. He suggests, “If you send out a flyer about an event, put on it, ‘Follow us on Twitter.’ Then give updates on Twitter.”

4. Interact with your friends. More than 75 million people have Twitter accounts, he says. “I have 21,000 followers on Twitter. I try to interact with everybody. Don’t just spit out messages; talk to people. The more you believe you are ‘high and mighty’ and everyone wants to hear what you have to say, the less people will want to hear about you. They want to be involved in the conversation.

Sadler emphasized the importance of interactivity by pointing out a company that gets 5 million unique views a day on its Web site, but only has 12,000 followers on Twitter. Why the discrepancy? “All they do is put RSS news feeds on Twitter,” he says. “They never talk to anybody.”

5. Attend to content, but don’t forget context. “Content is king,” says Sadler. “My business model is based on content, all of which is optimized for search engines. People can always find it, and it will live on the Internet forever.” What Sadler posts to the Web is also contextual. He explains, “I give the content a voice. I give it my own personality. People come to listen to me talk about it and to watch videos of me doing fun stuff. That’s what my followers want.”

6. Make the most of pictures. “I’ve taken over 1,600 photos for Flickr,” says Sadler. “People like looking at photos. It’s an easy thing to do.” Put them in your blog, Facebook, Twitter, in your e-mails.

7. Create videos. “I think video content is the wave of the future, the way businesses are going to grow audiences,” he says. To demonstrate its effectiveness, Sadler said a video he posted a week before already had 16,000 views. “I recommend that if you are thinking about creating video, just make it good. A good video has a change to go viral.”

Social media by itself will not do the job, however. “You have to put in the time,” says Sadler. “I work 10 to 12 hours a day. I try to answer every one of the hundreds of e-mails I get. …I have a highly engaged, focused community, and I know that on a moment’s notice I can ask people to do things for me because I deal with them every day.”

Jason Sadler, a Jacksonville native, can be reached through his Web site, www.iwearyourshirt.com.

A focus group can give you insights about your products and services

Businesses often declare in their mission statement they will “meet or exceed customer expectations.” But, how do businesses know if they are accomplishing what they have set out to do?

It’s all a matter of understanding your customer, says Nancy Ulrich, owner of Ulrich Research Services, Inc. And that understanding comes from getting in touch with customers.

“There are a number of ways to do that,” she says. One of them is through focus groups.”

A focus group is a small group (usually from eight to 10) of selected individuals that explores potential issues and opportunities or tests concepts before a product or service is fully launched. “Whereas a quantitative study—such as a survey—tells you what people are likely to do or how many feel a particular way,” says Ulrich, “findings from qualitative research often explain why people do what they do. The ‘why’ may include motivating factors such as personal experiences, emotional insights, cultural influences, or even peer pressure.”

Qualitative research includes individual in-depth interviews and small group (two or three individuals) interviews as well as focus groups led by a moderator.

Although findings from a focus group are not considered statistically reliable nor can they be projected to represent the entire market, they are helpful to business owners because they provide insights into customer behavior.

Convening a focus group

Engaging an independent outside consultant to do the research has its benefits (it provides anonymity and encourages people to speak more openly), but a business owner or manager can do the research in-house by using internal resources. The key is proper research structure, including:

• Goals and objectives. This is the most critical step. “We tell our clients, ‘Do not do research just for the sake of doing research.’ Have your goals and objectives clearly defined,” says Ulrich.

• Questions. If you employ a researcher, the two of you will work together to develop questions based on your objectives for the group to discuss.

• Selection criteria. Your goals and objectives help identify who should be in the focus group—for example, current customers, lost or former customers, prospects, or customers of competitors. Other criteria you might consider include gender, age, number of children in the household, income bracket, level of education, type of work or job position, or even marital status. “You don’t want to blend too many criteria into one session,” cautions Ulrich, “or you may lose the ability to segment your audience or findings effectively.”

• Recruitment. If you engage a market research firm, you will work with the consultant to design a questionnaire that will help the recruiter screen potential participants to make sure they are placed in the right group. For example, you would not necessarily want to mix current customers with former customers.

• Compensation. It is not unusual to compensate participants for their time, says Ulrich. Typically, consumers are paid from $60 to $100 for a two-hour session. Small business owners usually received $125 or more; corporate executives, $150+; and specialty groups such as physicians, $250 or more. “Sometimes small business owners offer something in lieu of cash, such as a coupon to their restaurant, a free hour of legal advice, or something else that has a universal appeal to the targeted audience,” explains Ulrich.

• Venue. A research company that specializes in focus groups will have a facility with specially designed room having a one-way mirror and audio and video technology to record the session. However, a focus group can be convened at your place of business or at an outside facility, such as a restaurant or country club. A word of caution: If you convene your own focus group, never try to use it make a sales presentation or solicitation.

• Use of a moderator. Whether you conduct research yourself or hire a research consultant, the moderator should have training in how to facilitate a group without influencing individuals in their discussion. “Impartiality is important if you want to get honest opinions from the group,” says Ulrich. “The moderator has to remain unbiased.”

Format of the group

When the group is convened, the moderator welcomes them, asks for brief introductions, and then outlines the structure and time frame of the meeting. He or she also alerts the group if it is being observed and recorded.

Results

A focus group will give a small business owner a lot of food for thought, but qualitative findings should be considered directional, says Ulrich. “They are not necessarily definitive. They provide insights into the emotional side of the customer. Entrepreneurs often solicit feedback from friends and family. Unfortunately, those are the people most likely to kill a great idea or encourage a bad one! Focus groups conducted by a professional trained consultant bring independent objectivity to the scene.”

Whatever a business owner learns from a focus group should be considered a first step, says Ulrich. “If important issues and opportunities surface, the next step might be to test or measure them quantitatively. Just because a good idea does not play well with a particular audience does not mean it will not work in another geographic market or with another demographic. Keep exploring and be willing to change and modify. Don’t be afraid to try different approaches.”

Nancy Ulrich is president of Ulrich Research Services, Inc., (www.ulrichresearch.com) located in Orange Park, Fla. She can be reached at 904-264-5578.

SIDEBAR 1

Other ways to get customer feedback

Qualitative research, such as convening a focus group or doing individual or small-group in-depth interviews, is one way to get customer feedback, but it is not the only way. Consider:

• Customer comment cards. Put them in easily accessible locations.

• Postpaid comment cards. Mail them to customers after a transaction or service.

• Online surveys. Solicit input and suggestions.

• Telephone calls or short telephone surveys.

But don’t neglect the obvious: Talk to your customers! Ask them about your products or services. Ask your sales reps to conduct a brief survey after giving a presentation. And when you lose a customer, conduct a brief exit interview to find out what you could be doing better.

SIDEBAR 2

The Advantage experience

The value of facilitated focus groups has long been established, so Jacksonville Small Business Advantage decided to experience the process itself.

“We knew focus groups provided great feedback,” said Brian Barquilla, publisher of the magazine and Web site, “so, we decided to find out if we were on the right track with our magazine.”

The process

Before the focus group could be convened and facilitated, Barquilla worked with the facilitator to understand:

• Advantage’s goals in conducting the group—how small business owners perceive the magazine, broken down into specific areas, such as design and content;

• The intended readership of the magazine;

• Who should be included in the focus group—current readers or those who had never seen the magazine before?

Once the information was collected, the facilitator worked with Barquilla to develop questions and activities based on the magazine’s goals. The staff then recruited small business owners for the focus group, which was convened at her company’s location, to take advantage of the facility’s one-way mirror and recording capabilities.

In one of the research activities participants were asked to select from a pile of local and national magazines a business magazine that appealed to them. “Watching them make their selections was more stressful than I thought it would be,” said Barquilla. “I kept thinking, ‘What if they don’t select Jacksonville Small Business Advantage?’ But, a number of them did. I felt like cheering!”

Later, each member of the group was provided copies of the magazine and asked specific questions about the design and content. “That was very telling,” said Barquilla. “The facilitator gave them a minute to look over the magazine before guiding a discussion. We were able to watch facial expressions and body language. It was interesting to see the response of individuals as well as to listen to their suggestions and comments.”

Barquilla considered the overall experience: “Anyone who does this has to be prepared to hear negatives. Not everything said will be good. But it was a good experience. We learned some things and are considering some changes to better meet the needs of our readers. I would definitely recommend the process to anyone in business.”

Mirrored room used for focus groups

Observation room for focus groups

By Dawn Josephson    

Most salespeople have great ideas, but when it comes to putting those ideas on paper for their prospects, they ramble on for pages and quickly lose their readers’ interest.

But with the proliferation of e-mail and sales-oriented web sites, writing skills are of paramount importance in today’s business landscape. In fact, when your written documents get to the point quickly and effectively, you will turn more prospects into clients, thus increasing your bottom line.

Here are the five rules of written sales communications that all salespeople need to know. Master them and watch your sales figures soar.

1. Know the specifics of your audience. Just as you would tailor your message depending on whether it was going to employees versus prospects, you also need to tailor your message to your clients’ demographics.

For example, if you’re writing promotional materials for your product or service, and the majority of the people who do business with you are older, well-established professionals, you’ll want to highlight the product or service’s safety features, reliability record, or guarantee. However, if your main clientele is primarily younger Gen Y types, you’ll want to emphasize your product or service’s trendy image, quick results, or easy to use and understand features.

Do a survey of your most loyal customers to determine which demographic gives you the most business. Also, keep track of those who visit or call your business, even if they don’t buy from you. Really get to know who walks through your doors, find out what’s important to them, and then tailor your message appropriately.

2. Organize your material according to the way your reader thinks about the subject. Not everyone thinks like you. So, just because you want your message to be organized one way does not mean your customers would have it that way.

For example, one company created a free informational booklet about its product and organized it so that the product’s most popular features appeared first. When customers still asked questions that were clearly answered in the text, the company was stumped. Why weren’t its customers reading the booklet?

After interviewing some of their customers, company managers discovered that their customers found the booklet’s organization confusing; they wanted to see the features explained alphabetically, not in the order of most popular.

The better you know who your clientele is, the better you can organize your information to meet their needs. Get inside their heads and discover how they think about your product. Do they typically want to know bottom line price first, and then want to know the features and benefits? Do they tend to think testimonials are more important than facts? When you understand how your customers think about your product, you can more easily present your information in a way that’s logical to them.

3. Write to express, not to impress. The more successful a salesperson is, the more often he or she thinks that big words and long documents impress people. In reality, just the opposite is true. People who try to write with the hope of impressing others with their knowledge accomplish only one thing—they lose the reader!

Examine each marketing piece you write and distill its core message or purpose down to one or two sentence. If you can’t do that, then your piece is not focused. If that’s the case, then go back to each paragraph within the piece and try to condense each down to one or two sentences. String those new sentences together, and then pinpoint your marketing piece’s purposes. That’s the core message you want to express! Rewrite the piece with the core message in mind, using common, everyday language. Remember: True genius happens when you can explain your idea in such a way that a five-year-old child can understand it.

4. In messages containing both good and bad news, give the bad news first. At some point, every salesperson will have to deliver bad news to a customer. Whether a particular feature isn’t available in their favorite product or the customer’s interest rate will be higher than expected, occasional bad news is a fact of life. Whenever you communicate bad news in writing, state it first, and then counter it with a bit of good news.

For example, in a follow-up email to a prospect you could write, “After checking with our warehouse, I discovered that the Widget 2000 doesn’t come in red. It does, however, come in the larger size you requested and you can have it delivered by Friday.” By ending with the good news, you take the sting off the bad news and leave your reader with a positive image.

5. Write colloquially when appropriate. People like to read documents that sound as if the message is coming from a real person, not a formally trained Ivy League scholar. If you write too formally, you’ll quickly lose your reader. Have you ever reread your own writing and said, “It sounds all wrong!”? That’s because the tone of your writing was likely wrong. Determining your tone is important, because a follow-up letter should not have the same tone as web copy.

Most salespeople try to use an excessively formal tone in all their writing as a way to show their expertise. But realize that excessive formality often comes from a writer who is insecure with his or her authority. By using an overly formal tone—complete with many large words, long sentences, and technical terms—the writer attempts to mask his or her insecurities. Most prospects don’t want to do business with someone who is insecure, so keep the tone of your writing colloquial and approachable.

The more effectively you write, the more business you’ll gain. So no matter what you’re writing—whether it’s a sales letter or a brochure—always keep the five rules for effective written sales communication in mind. Your ability to write clearly and succinctly will make your sales pieces stand out and will enable you to win the deal.

Dawn Josephson, the Master Writing Coach (www.masterwritingcoach.com) has been helping business leaders write better to earn more since 1998. She is the author of Write It Right: The Ground Rules for Self-Editing Like the Pros and Putting It On Paper: The Ground Rules for Creating Promotional Pieces that Sell Books. Contact her at dawn@masterwritingcoach.com].[/private

By Mary Fisher    

When times get tough, the tough start marketing. That’s especially true in challenging economic times. If you don’t market now, the sad truth is that you may be out of business. But, marketing costs money, so it is critical to do it strategically by focusing on tactics that will strengthen your competitive advantage.

Here are 20 few tips to achieve that goal:

1. Create a simple marketing plan. Use the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid!) so that it is manageable. At the same time, make sure it targets your audience, fits your budget, and includes a method to measure results.

The key to great marketing (on a budget or not) is to communicate the benefits of your products and services effectively. Put some fresh bait on your advertising hook and explore every avenue — advertising, public relations, brochures and other print marketing material, the Internet and all its possibilities, social networking, billboards and other outside media.

A wise move would be to hire a professional to help you. (You are an expert in your business; you aren’t expected to be a marketer—just as you aren’t expected to be a CPA or an attorney, unless that’s your profession.) But, if you cannot afford to hire a marketing professional, then do one for yourself. You can find marketing-plan templates online. Look at your calendar, determine the slow times, and market to fill those slow times at least a month in advance. Fill every week with some type of marketing effort.

Remember: You don’t have to do everything in the plan all at once and, in many cases, you can implement some of the tactics yourself, at no cost

2. Communicate with your existing client base. Find out how your customers are doing and see what you can do to help them stay on course. Ask how you can help, and ask for a testimonial.

3. Ask for specials from your local advertising avenues. These include newspapers, magazines, radio, television, billboards).

4. Advertise consistently and frequently. In print advertising, run a minimum of three to four ads consecutively. If you cannot afford three large ads, run one larger ad and scale down the size for the others. Instead of running every issue, run every other issue.

5. Update your Web site. Add timely articles. Consider adding a blog. Keep your site current. Making small changes to your Web site will help bring it up higher on the search engines.

6. Do search engine optimization (SEO). How does your Web site rank online? If it is not ranking well, hire a professional to bring it up higher. This is not an expense that will break the bank. Successful optimization will bring in more business without the need to hire additional salespeople.

Do not list your Web site on paid “link farms;” this will hurt your rankings. Google looks for an unnatural number of back links to your site. Too many at once will ban you from Google. Page titles, subheads, bulleted lists, and keyword-rich copy are most important.

7. Do social Internet marketing. This has become increasingly important. It is free. Establish a few online accounts for your business, including Linkedin.com, Plaxo.com, Facebook.com, Merchantcircle.com, YouTube.com, Twitter.

Put your Web site on each source. (This will help your search engine ranking.) Reach out and touch old customers and friends through these sources. Ask a colleague to “make an introduction” through LinkedIn. Ask clients to post a recommendation for you or your business. Business people are closing sales with social marketing.

8. Focus on your niche market, instead of every market. People like to buy from specialty providers, and you can actually have several niche markets.

9. Network at professional organizations. Get involved and volunteer to give presentations. Groups such as the Small Business Center, Women Business Owners of North Florida, Beaver Street Enterprise Center, Small Business Development Center at the University of North Florida, Rotary Club, and the Chamber of Commerce are always looking for good speakers with interesting topics.

10. Enhance your image. Use your storefront to draw attention to your business. Update your signage or add a bright flag or something distinctive outside your business.

11. Send HTML-rich e-mail blasts. Use this inexpensive, quick marketing tool to send short, easy-to-read messages that offer specials and other items of interest.

12. Update your telephone on-hold script. You have a captive audience. Use it to inform your customers of new services or products.

13. Send press releases to the media. The news media is begging for stories. Look in the newspaper and magazines and determine which writer is suited for your type of story.

If you are not a writer, rough out a story and have a writing professional finish the work for you. Then send your press release to your clients as well as the media, by snail mail, regular e-mail, or as an e-mail blast. And add it to your Web site.

14. Offer an easy payment plan. Let your clients pay over several months or pay the invoice on a credit card. If you don’t take credit cards, and don’t want to pay a monthly fee, consider taking credit cards through Google Checkout or PayPal. You can send an invoice with either system. You will pay the service about 3%, but don’t have a recurring monthly fee that most merchant service accounts charge.

15. Build a large database of prospects on your Web site. Run promotions, sales, or discounts, or give away important downloadable information on your Web site. But ask the recipient for a little information to get it: Name, e-mail address, and phone number. Then use this information to do an e-mail blast, or follow up with a phone call.

A word of caution: Be selective with your mass e-mails. Only send to people who would have interest in your product, or they may opt out.

16. Barter your services. You may find a business partner who is willing to trade services or products for yours. Even a partial trade and partial cash payment is still a nice incentive.

17. Ask for referrals from business associates. Tell them, “I need your help.” Be specific about your needs to make sure get the right referrals.

18. Pay a commission for referrals. Consider paying a commission to related businesses for referrals. A 5% to 10% commission is a good incentive.

19. Choose a mentor. Find an individual who is successful and well connected who can help you, and you can help him or her. Ask for help.

20. Fish in your own pond. Locally-owned businesses produce local jobs, tax receipts, and charitable donations for your community. If you find something online at a better price, ask your local vendor to match the price. For every $100 spent in a chain store, $14 goes back into the local economy. For a locally owned business, $45 goes back into the economy.

Remember, in times like these, it pays to sharpen your image. Bait your advertising hook with a multitude of clever marketing techniques, and get ready to reel in the big ones.

Mary Fisher is owner of Mary Fisher Design, www.maryfisherdesign.com, which provides comprehensive advertising, graphic design, public relations, and sales and marketing solutions to a wide range of companies. She can be reached at mary@maryfisherdesign.com or 904-398-3699.

Collaborating with another business can benefit both of you    

By Paul Arrington    

When Jacksonville consultant and motivational speaker Zelda Greenberg wanted a venue to launch her latest book, The Art of Bouncing Back, she approached Kris Chislette at The Grape, an establishment known for its wines and gourmet bistro. Together they developed a cross-promotional marketing strategy that resulted in a mutually successful book-signing and wine-tasting event. 

Cross-promoting allowed them to tap into each other’s databases and collectively reach potential customers beyond what would have been possible through separate marketing efforts.

Cross-promotional marketing belongs in the toolkit of—and can be successfully applied by— just about every small business. Although many smart owners have responded to current economic challenges by adopting good business practices such as closely monitoring margins, keeping on top of receivables, trimming expenses, reducing payroll hours, and tightly managing inventory, they continue to underutilize cross-promotional marketing as an efficient way to grow their businesses—especially during a soft economy.  

A win-win strategy

So, what is cross-promotional marketing, and how can it improve your bottom line? Cross promotional marketing is the creation of win-win results through increased visibility, good will, and cost savings that are possible when enterprises share resources to target a common market.

Big companies cross promote all the time. Consider these examples:

• Redbox video rentals. The video-rental company places its “boxes” outside of fast-food and drugstore outlets;  

• Shell–Winn Dixie partnership. The grocery chain is offering fuel rewards for shopping in its stores;

• Smart phones and wireless companies. Wireless carriers promote specific cell phones to attract users; and

• Fast food chains in travel centers and superstores. Stop for gas along the Interstate and grab a burger of fried chicken from your favorite fast-food chain, or stop for a snack while shopping in a big-box store.

Although these large ventures are capital-intensive and therefore cost-prohibitive to small businesses, small businesses can find great success through creative cross marketing. Essentially, good cross promoting requires following three steps:

1. Understand your customers. Do an intensive analysis of who they really are and what makes them tick.

Consider: What are their ages, gender, income levels, marital status and addresses? What are their values? What do they read and how do they get their information? What leisure activities interest them? Where do they spend their money when they are not with you? What products or services do they need that are related to what you provide? 

To find the answers to these questions, use surveys and focus groups to research customer trends in your industry, including possible trade association reports.

2. Identify businesses that target similar customers. Make a list of businesses whose customers share some of the same characteristics as your customer base. Be creative. For example, a health club might find a restaurant offering a health conscious menu and serving a similar income level of clientele to be an ideal potential cross-promotional partner.

To identify those businesses, consider: Are many of your customers movie goers? Do they frequent art galleries? Engage in outdoor sports? Support charitable causes?

3. Find benefits for everyone involved. When you discuss cross-promotional marketing with a potential partner, make sure that there will be something there for everybody. For example: Begin with a contest, using each other’s products or services as the prizes. Each business would benefit from the contact list generated from those who enter the drawing.

Other suggestions: A “this week only” promotion or discount coupons for products and services of both companies; display space in each other’s stores;, back links to each other’s Web sites; joint advertising; and giving customer loyalty rewards using your partner’s products or services. 

For many businesses a cross-promotional social networking strategy can be highly rewarding. Chislette of The Grape believes that a Facebook strategy promoting The Grape as well as Greenberg’s book contributed significantly to the success of their effort.

Paul Arrington is a Certified Business Analyst and Micro Enterprise Development Director at the University of North Florida’s Small Business Development Center in Jacksonville. He can be reached at p.arrington@unf.edu or through the SBDC Web site, www.sbdc.unf.edu.

SIDEBAR

Partnering with nonprofits

Partnership with a nonprofit organization can be a great way to address a societal need while also satisfying the key purposes of cross-promotional marketing—increased visibility, good will, and cost savings. Here are some tips:  

• Make a good ‘customer’ match. Most nonprofits have multiple key stakeholders or “customers,” which may include their cause recipients, their members, and their individual and institutional donors. Apply the same rules to find a nonprofit partner as you would a for-profit partner.

• Find a good values match. Research the mission and reputation of a potential nonprofit partner: Is it a good match for your values and the message you want to send?  

• Consider in-kind methods of partnering. Think of whether donating employee hours, a percentage of receipts, space for an event, or products or your services might work better for your business promotionally rather than donating cash.

• Go all out. When making an in-kind donation to a nonprofit, do it well, or not at all. A contribution of a less than impressive bouquet by a florist or a skimpy food platter by a catering firm may well do more harm than good when it comes to developing good will with a nonprofit’s stakeholders.[/private]

Here’s a quick guide to preparing a marketing plan    

By Maxine McBride    

January is the start of a new fiscal year for most businesses—and that means a new annual budget that forecasts revenues and expenses.

Take a look at yours: Did you include a detailed marketing plan and budget? Unfortunately, many companies don’t. Instead, they fly by the seat of their pants, succumbing to the whim of ad reps and placing ads or TV spots without an inkling of a long-term plan or goal.

It’s not too late: With thoughtful consideration and consistent monitoring, you can implement a marketing plan that will positively impact your bottom line. Here’s a quick guide to get you started.

What’s in the piggy bank?

Before scheduling a single ad or writing a press release, you need to know how much money is in your overall budget for marketing. This may be a percentage of projected gross sales or another formula that your company uses. Once you have this number, you are off to a good start.

The “plan” part of the plan and budget is simply a timeline. It’s most effective to have marketing tasks slotted into months. This helps you know how much to budget per month and spreads items out so you’re not hit too hard in any one month.

The perfect plan

For your 2010 marketing plan and budget, consider the following items:

• Key dates. Start by planning your key dates, such as tradeshows, conferences, peak sales times, corporatewide events, product launches, and local community events. Determine what is important and what you must do for the upcoming year. Knowing the dates will help guide your budget for the year.

• Research. Budget for surveys, focus groups, competitor research, and any other information gathering. Continual research is critical to remain on-point with your product, advertising, and branding. Don’t overlook this important element of your marketing plan. Just because you like your product doesn’t mean your customers do.

• Public relations (PR). You should be working with a PR firm that charges a monthly, set fee for its scope of work. PR is important because it provides third party credibility and tells your story in a way that paid advertising, a beautiful Web site, and a flashy brochure can’t. Your PR firm should provide accountability for their work, which includes an Advertising Value Equivalency and Return on Investment monthly report. PR should be one of the most straightforward numbers to budget and measure.

• Advertising placement. Take the time to research publications in which you have advertised in the past: Are they still a good fit? What about new publications that have come out? Consider every media sector, including print, online, social media, radio, TV, billboards, and signage. Know your market, know your demographic, and do your research before you plan your advertising budget—it can get expensive fast.

• Direct mail. While the world is becoming more and more digital, direct mail is a familiar, comfortable marketing tool many companies still utilize. If you’re going to implement a direct mail campaign, don’t lump all mailings into one line item. Separate them and indicate the timing as well as the cost. The cost should include design, printing, cost of mailing lists (if you need to purchase them), and postage.

• Online marketing. It’s inescapable: Online marketing is a must in your marketing plan and budget. Having a Web site isn’t enough. Include all hosting costs and budget for blogging, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Web site updates. This is where you should also include any e-mail campaigns.

• Social media. Social media are Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter that provide a way for people to communicate with each other. Facebook offers exceptional, low cost marketing opportunities for businesses. Your basic strategy for Facebook should be to have a Business Fan Page, which lets people register as a “fan” and expands the presence of your business. Twitter is also a free outlet businesses are using to create buzz. Once your account is secured, search for your company name to see if anyone has tweeted about you or the services you offer. Once your social media accounts are established send out a brief e-mail to your clients and prospects letting them know you are now on Facebook or Twitter. Be sure to include the link so they can immediately log-on and become a friend or follower.

• Community marketing. This is the use of grass roots, face-to-face efforts to reach your target market. This means taking your message to reach people where they live, work, and play. Some examples of community marketing include hosting events at your location, sponsoring a local soccer team, or finding other companies that reach your target market and cross promoting your businesses.

• Events. Many people think every key date, such as a product launch or new location, needs a huge over-the-top event. Wrong! This will kill your budget. There are three keys to a successful event: a solid purpose, a strategic invitation list, and a strong registration system and follow up plan. With these items in place, you can have a well-attended event at a moderate budget.

• Networking and relationships. Building relationships and networking are the only sure ways to generate new business these days. You or your company executives need to be networking, prospecting, securing new business, and following up with potential customers. This is mostly an investment of time, but those $30 fees for attending luncheons or formal networking events can add up quickly.

• Oops! Okay, you have been thoughtful, thorough, and strategic, and planned for everything. If we lived in a world where there were no unknowns, you could put this plan and budget to bed and call it a day. But there are unknowns — ad costs change unexpectedly; a perfect sponsorship opportunity comes up at the 11th hour that you have to jump on; or there’s a new social media site that fits your target market. Once you’ve created your plan and budget, tack on an additional 10% of the total for these “contingency” items.

That’s it. A fabulous marketing plan and budget. You are ready to work steadily through the plan throughout 2010. Do not be tempted by shiny new things. When unexpected opportunities arise that will cost you severely, simply repeat this saying, “It’s not in our plan and budget; call me about this next year.” With few exceptions (see above), you have to trust the plan you’ve created and work the plan. Strategic, planned marketing always wins out over impulsive marketing any day.

Maxine McBride is the president of Clockwork Marketing Services, Inc.(www.clockworkmarketing.com), a full-service marketing firm that has provided its premier services to clients throughout the United States for more than 15 years. For information about Clockwork Marketing Services, visit the Web site or call 904-280-7960.

By Maxine McBride   

With the current economy, many business owners are re-evaluating their marketing budget and are asking: Is public relations worth the cost?

The short answer: Absolutely! Now more than ever, it is important for your company to be as visible as possible.

The long answer: For years it has been evident that dollar-for-dollar, public relations expenditures generate greater long-term awareness than advertising and have a higher return on investment (ROI). Instead of thinking of PR as a cost, think of it as an investment.

How can you measure public relations and its effects on consumers?

If you are working with an agency, the impact of public relations efforts may be measured in many ways, including advertising value equivalency.

Advertising value equivalency (AVE) is a statistical measurement tool and an industry standard that takes the subjectivity out of public relations. It makes public relations quantifiable by assigning a dollar value to non-paid media coverage, including press clippings and broadcast media. AVE is calculated by measuring the column inches (in the case of print) or seconds (in the case of broadcast media) and multiplying these figures by the respective medium’s advertising rates (per column inch or per second). This final dollar amount is what it would have cost to place the same size advertisement in the same medium.

Generally speaking, the final dollar amount is usually almost ten times more than out of pocket costs.

Another way to measure the impact of your public relations efforts is to discover how your company’s information is reaching your target audience. When potential clients meet with you, ask how they heard about the company. You may prompt them with current campaign initiatives or common outlets such as newspapers, magazines, or online media sources. Evaluating their responses and comparing your best resources will help determine your ROI.

Review your press coverage monthly. Tally how many times your company was mentioned or featured in newspapers, online news sources, magazines, and trade publications. Are your key messages being communicated? Are your press releases being picked-up? While quantity isn’t always equivalent to quality, it is important that your media message is on-target, positive and creating awareness.

Lastly, request reports from your public relations agency showing its monthly results. These reports should detail press releases that were sent to the media, newspaper, or magazine features, media interviews, and media pitches. Savvy marketing professionals track their activities and can generate reports for your review. Use these reports to discuss how to move forward and/or change your marketing campaign.

A process of checks and balances is important in every area of business and public relations is no exception. Using these simple indicators will help to assess and reaffirm that your investment in public relations is well worth it.

Maxine McBride is the president of Clockwork Marketing Services, Inc., a full-service marketing firm that has provided its premier services to clients in Northeast Florida and throughout the United States for more than 15 years. For information about Clockwork Marketing Services, visit www.clockworkmarketing.comor call 904-280-7960.

By Felicia Wright                

When you see the names Nike, Apple Computer, Publix, and Target, you get an instant image. But, that image didn’t come about overnight. The name recognition of these companies is the result of a lengthy process of trial-and-error, as well as countless hours of strategic marketing efforts to develop them into a brand name.

Branding is not a process limited to only big companies. Small businesses can—and should—brand, also. As you consider developing a brand for your business, remember that a brand image is a created perception, consisting of all the information and expectations associated with a product or service. It is not just a company logo. It is the essence of your company’s image. A brand sets the tone for the type of clients your company wants to attract.

So, what perception or expectation do your clients have when they think of your company? Often, business owners think they are creating a great brand; but unfortunately, the way they see their company or product isn’t necessarily how others see it. It’s important, as a starting place, to focus on the value of what you offer—as appreciated by your customers. Know that value and nurture it. Over time, the brand you create will not only be recognized, but trusted.

Here are 11 tips to help you create a reputable and memorable brand:

1. Think ‘unique.’ Your company name should be unique—“the one and only.” Finding the right name is the first step in distinguishing your company from a competitor.

2. Keep it simple. Just because the name is unique, doesn’t mean it needs to be complicated. If it takes someone more than a few seconds to understand what you do, you may need to find a better way to communicate your message. Simple is always better.

3. Trademark. Now that you have a unique name, get it trademarked. Don’t let another company profit off of your hard work and creativity. Make sure your company’s brand is protected.

4. Choose colors carefully. Most companies don’t consider colors to be a big deal. However, colors project an image and are associated with various emotions. Be careful when selecting a color to represent your company. For example, a janitorial company wanted to use the color brown in its logo, because it was the owner’s favorite color. Do you think of “clean” when you see the color brown? When that was pointed out to the owner, he changed his mind.

The choice of color becomes even more important if you do business internationally or work with an international company, because colors take on different meanings in different cultures. Research the colors you use for marketing to make sure you will not offend clients because of a poor choice. 

5. Select an appropriate font. The fonts—a style of typeface—you choose for printed material and your logo also influence the image your company projects, so take care in selecting them. The first rule in choosing a font is legibility. Make sure the fonts are legible, whether they are used on your business cards or on a billboard. And choose a font that mirrors your company’s brand. For example, if you own a daycare center, you should choose a fun, playful font, and if you own a legal firm, you should choose one that is more formal.

6. Be consistent. Once you have selected your company’s name and logo, have a professional designer develop and create your marketing materials, including business stationery, cards, Web site, brochures, and any other medium. Consistently using the same image elements, fonts, and colors throughout your marketing executes repetition and promotes familiarity with your company’s brand.

(Note: Your printed marketing collateral should be complemented by quality printing. Choose a good printer.)

7. Communicate your message. Clear communication is essential to any business environment. Whether you are communicating with your employees, clients, or vendors, be open and honest. After all, these are strategic alliances and they will affect the way your company’s brand is perceived.

8. Provide good customer service. People buy brands they trust and rely on. Providing great customer service—especially if you have to correct a mistake— gives credibility to your company’s message and goals, while solidifying the value of your brand.

9. Think ‘investment.’ Think of creating your company’s brand as an investment and not an expense. If you are not investing in your company, why should your clients?

10. Consider quality. As you select a designer and printer for your branding materials, don’t choose on price alone. Consider the quality of work the individuals produce. You want your customers to choose you because of quality; likewise, make your selections on the same basis. 

11. Carry your brand with you. A small business’ brand is not confined to its marketing materials. You and your employees are walking brand images. Present yourself and your company in a professional manner. Always dress professionally when you attend meetings and networking events. You would be surprised at how many people underestimate the importance of this issue. Whether you are the CEO or a company representative, having a professional appearance always adds credibility to your company’s brand.

Felicia Wright is CEO and president of Mygani Design Studio, www.mygani.com, a certified minority, woman-owned brand consulting firm that provides creative marketing services to businesses. She can be reached at 904-860-8440 or fwright@mygani.com.

By Lori Wishard       

Engage. Entertain. Educate. Online videos convey meaningful messages in a memorable manner.

Because the Web offers so much, it takes Internet users on average less than six seconds to decide to stay on a site orcontinue searching. Six seconds isn’t much time, so companies that want to capture an audience have to give visitors a reason to stay. Well produced videos give them that reason.

ComScore Inc., a market-research company, reported that in April 2009, U.S. Internet users looked at 16.8 billion online videos, with YouTube.com accounting for almost all of the 6.8 billion views at Google Sites, the country’s most popular online video property.

The growing popularity of Web video is a strong argument for using it to your benefit, since you can improve your company’s exposure and increase sales when you create emotional connections with customers through online videos. But video’s popularity is also reason to “do it right” and make sure you have the best quality possible. As the number of viewing choices increases, Web surfers become more discerning.

Videos that have a defined purpose and strong campaign and are short, informative, and entertaining work best. Viewers won’t finish watching a video that doesn’t meet these criteria.

Here is how you can go about creating an effective Web video:

• Have a defined purpose. Is the video meant to be promotional, to sell, or to train?

Promotional videos are the fastest growing marketing tool. Their use is increasing at double-digit rates while use of traditional media declines. Promotional videos help brand your company or product.

Informational videos demonstrate your products and processes in detail or they tell viewers about fundraisers, events, or your organization. They capture sights, sounds, and emotions. One form of informational video is the training video. It shows customers how to use your products or services to get optimal value from them. Often companies use this type of video when they introduce a new type of product or service that is “foreign” to customers. Before customers buy, they have to be educated.

Videos that are made for the purpose of selling make an offer to viewers—often with a sense of urgency.

• Determine your budget. The amount of your budget will determine if you can produce the video in house or outsource it to professionals. Include in the budget not only film production costs but also cost of writing a script or customizing a syndicated script to your purposes.

• Consider your options. In-house or outsourced? If you have the talent in house to write and produce a video—go for it. But if you don’t, consider the benefits of a professionally produced video. The cost is often less than buying airtime or advertising space in other media or doing a direct-mail campaign. And once the video is produced, you can post it not only onto your own Web site but also to YouTube and other sites to drive traffic back to your Web site at no additional cost. In other words, you can get great mileage from your investment.

• Decide on the cast. Will you be the spokesperson? Or will you use a professional actor? Each has its benefits. Starring in the video yourself may lend credibility, but using a professional who is at ease with the camera can cause visitors to stop, look, and listen to what you are offering. If you decide to go “professional,” you can tap into the resources of a syndicate, which uses many different spokespeople and scripts that can be adapted to your purpose.

• Execute a quality project. Don’t underestimate the value of quality: The quality of the video reflects the quality of your business. Make sure images, which should be shot in high definition, are sharp. The sound should be crisp, clear, and easy to hear. Even the best-written messages get lost when garbled.

Good editing can take care of minor problems. Flubs, glares, and other miscues, no matter how trivial, can detract from the final product. Clean it up, before putting it up. And remember: Every minute of produced video takes an hour to edit.

• Promote. Once the video is edited, you can begin using it to promote your business. Post it to your Web site, and take advantage of Web 2.0 interactivity with your customers. [Editor’s note: For information on Web 2.0, go to “Web 2.0 and you,” http://advantagebizmag.com/archives/1024.]

By using social networking, you can quickly build trust and relationships with customers. Posting links to videos in LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace and other popular social media sites will bring users of those services to your company’s Web site. Then you can convert them to customers.

Remember, too, that video—good video— is viral. Viewers who like a video will share it with others. Singer Susan Boyle became an overnight success thanks to a Web video. When Carl’s Jr.’s posted a video advertising its mushroom burger, viewers responded with spoofs and their own versions of the burger and presumably an increase in demand for the burger. Nike felt the positive effects of the video showing basketball star Kobe Bryant jumping over a speeding car wearing its shoes. And Levi Strauss & Co. changed its plans for a back-to-school advertising blitz because of the success of its online video teaser.

In all of these cases, videos reached millions of people worldwide, promoting the products for pennies compared to traditional television advertising. 

Affordable, engaging, and effective online video is well suited for small businesses. It drives up sales and makes employees more productive. Remember, though, that bad videos are just as memorable as good ones—only they could have the reverse effect on your business. If you do video, make sure you do it right.

Lori Wishard is president of Media Rapids Inc., a multi-media marketing firm in Ponte Vedra Beach. She can be reached at 904-249-0001 or Lori@mediarapids.com. You can get more information on online video at www.MediaRapids.com.

Sidebar

The latest revolution in the Internet evolution

• Visual ads or messages attract more interest than static text and images.

• Internet users would rather watch a five-minute video to learn about a product or service than to read three or four Web pages.

• Typically less than a single direct-mail campaign, the cost of an online video is affordable, even for a small business.

• Results are trackable and measurable.

The forecast songwriter Bob Dylan forecast made almost 50 years ago has come true in the business world. He wrote:

If your time to you

Is worth savin’

Then you better start swimmin’

Or you’ll sink like a stone

For the times they are a-changin’.

“Change affords opportunities,” Geoff Wilson, CEO of 352 Media told a group who gathered for a meeting of the Executive Advantage (www.theexecadvantage.com), a professional- and business-development group for Jacksonville-area CEOs that provides a forum for growth through coordinated discussion and exposure to expert speakers. In particular, Wilson elaborated on the rapid changes in Web technology, known as Web 2.0.

Wilson, who owns several Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stores in addition to running his Web design company, likened Web 2.0 to Ben & Jerry’s “Everything but the…” flavor.

“Web 2.0 has everything,” he explained. “It’s blogging—which is posting thoughts and ideas on your Web site or other people’s Web sites. It is Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn, social-networking sites. It is also Flickr, a photo-sharing Web site; and Twitter, which has become popular in a short period of time. It’s online video—YouTube and Hulu—and user-generated content, like cell phone videos of news events people witness and upload to news sites such as CNN. All of this is part of Web 2.0.”

Social media is about everyone having a voice, said Wilson. “People who are going on Facebook or MySpace or LinkedIn want to have a voice. They want to participate and have a conversation. These people want to form communities and be able to connect with like-minded people who are into the same products or services or who have the same interests.”

In a nutshell—from a business vantage— social media is about engaging customers. “All of these platforms give you as a business owner an opportunity to engage with customers,” he told the executives. The catch? “You can leverage these tools for free, but you have to put in the time to do so.”

So many selections

What is the best Web 2.0 tool—or tools—for a small business owner to use? “It’s not a simple answer,” said Wilson. “The answer depends on the demographic of your customers, because some customers will be “into” one type of social media, such as Twitter or Facebook, than others. He advised:

• Find out where your customers are. Identify their needs—what they are discussing.

• Enter their community. Help customers in ways in which they want to be helped.

• Don’t try to control the message. Just take part in the discussion.

• Don’t hard sell. “You cannot have a hard-sell mentality. You won’t be successful,” admonished Wilson. “Your customers are willing to embrace your business as part of the social interaction, but they don’t want to be sold to.”

• Accept the good along with the bad. If you give customers the opportunity to review your products or services on your Web site, for example, you have to accept the bad along with the good, said Wilson. “Many times, if you are very successful, the positive people will defend your company against the negatives. And they will do the best job of selling for you. That’s ultimately what you are trying to achieve.”

Geoff Wilson, CEO of 352 Media, was recognized as one of “America’s Top 30 Entrepreneurs Under 30” by INC Magazine in July, 2006. He can be contacted at 352-374-9657 or through his Web site at www.352media.com.

SIDEBAR

Use Facebook to promote your business

Web 2.0 includes a variety of social media, from blogs to YouTube. Choosing the best for your business depends on your customers and their needs, but one of the most effective of the social media is Facebook, says Geoff Wilson, CEO of the Web design company 352 Media.

Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are all types of social media in which to network. In all of them, users complete a profile and may join groups. They post short status updates and link to friends and acquaintances.

“A few years ago, MySpace was all the buzz,” said Wilson. Facebook, though, has outpaced MySpace and has become a more sophisticated cyber networking tool, he said. He noted that Facebook users generally visit their pages daily (or more often), while LinkedIn users usually only visit their pages weekly. Because Facebook offers more exposure, he recommends using it as a business-building tool.

He provided several tips for using Facebook to promote your business:

• Create a professional profile. “A lot of people use Facebook for social purposes,” he said. “I use it for more professional purposes.” His advice: Don’t post information about your private life on your Facebook page if you want to use Facebook to promote your business.

• Build a large network. Connect to people you know as well as people you meet and ask to be a “friend.”

• Post business-related information. Give updates about your business and your professional status.

• Post events. Facebook has an “events” tab in which you can create a special event and invite people to it. You can also announce the event as a status update on your “wall,” he said.

• Join groups related to your business. These groups are comprised of like-minded individuals.

•Set up fan or company pages. Companies cannot have profiles, but you can set up a special page that gives information on your company.

• Advertise. “Facebook has really good targeted advertising,” said Wilson. “You can target by city, age, gender, level of education—all of these things.” Consequently, your ads only show up on the pages of people who are likely to buy your product or service. And, ads are relatively inexpensive, he added.

SIDEBAR

Social networking links

Facebook, MySpace, and LinkedIn are social networking sites on which you post short status reports, join groups, and link to friends and acquaintances. Twitter is similar to Facebook, except that users can “tweet” on mobile devices. Tweets are limited to 140 characters.

YouTube allows you to post videos, which can also be an effective method to promote your business, according to Wilson. Flickr is a photo-sharing Web site

• Facebook, www.facebook.com

• MySpace, www.myspace.com

• LinkedIn, www.linkedin.com

• YouTube, www.youtube.com

• Flickr, www.flickr.com

• Twitter, www.twitter.com

SIDEBAR

Confused about social media?

If you are new to using social media as a way to promote your business, go to www.commoncraft.com/socialmedia, where you can watch a three-minute video that explains the basics of Web 2.0 for business promotion.