Consider branching into international markets to increase your bottom line

By Mona Pearl

Need an antidote for shrinking domestic markets? Consider international markets. They offer unparalleled opportunity for growth, increased sales, diversified markets and increased profit for successful businesses.

Unfortunately, many U.S. companies gaze with trepidation at the process and surrender to fear before making an earnest effort. The main problem is simply a mindset, which contributes to a lack of experience, talent and confidence on behalf of U.S. business people to navigate emerging global markets. Smaller countries around the world, however, have operated globally with success for generations.

Are you ready to go global?

Unlike smaller countries that think globally from the beginning of a product’s life cycle, U.S companies typically consider global expansion only after achieving domestic success.

In this scenario, a well marketed product or service already exists, but new markets are needed to continue upward profitability. Before starting the new market search, however, businesses must administer an honest self-assessment to include commitments, budgets, human capital, international expertise, and global objectives.

Given the assessment results, the precise time may not be right; but, being aware of the risks as well as the opportunities is important. In today’s economic climate, no rock can be left unturned in search for new opportunities.

The million dollar question is the same: “What markets will generate the greatest success for my company?” While there is no “one size fits all” solution, in-depth research and expert advice can attempt to answer this critical question. Too often, the lack of adequate market knowledge leads to failure.

Secondary market research consists of information collected from published sources such as books, newspapers, market reports, studies and the Internet. Primary market research fills in any gaps through direct personal contact with local industry experts, customers, trade commissioners and other local persons with the requisite knowledge to assist. It’s also important for businesses to tap into resources such as local trade associations, lawyers, experts in the field of global expansion, accountants and potential partners.

While in-depth research may seem tedious, it ultimately saves time, money and other valued resources. Without a solid base of research, businesses will be unable to anticipate issues and answer difficult questions such as:

•Where in the world should I go?

•What is the best global direction for my business / specific products?

•What paths lead to sustainable growth?

•How can ROI projections be fully realized?

Effective research allows these difficult decisions to be driven by evidence-based data.

Selecting a market

Choosing a target market(s) starts with knowing the product/service and what range of functionality it can offer the global community. Then, scan the markets suitable for that product. Another excellent starting point in evaluating potential countries/regions is gauging the U.S. government’s attitude toward them.

For example: Does the U.S. government maintain a line of credit with the country? Are there export controls? How is the country ranked internationally? These broad questions will narrow down the list of potential target countries to consider.

The next step of research involves a more detailed analysis of risks and opportunities for those markets that emerged as potentially good targets given the product/service under consideration.

You will want to look at these key issues:

•Legal environment

•Ethics

•Attitude towards foreign investment and R&D

•Economic/political stability

After a country/region is selected, it’s important to further identify their strengths and weaknesses relative to your product and business. This process will prepare you to anticipate potential surprises and be equipped with a carefully planned response instead of a hasty reaction when, not if, they occur.

Product adaptation—“know” the target audience

Various international audiences have different needs, unique preferences and diverse ways/nuances of conducting business. This includes, but is not limited to, learning their culture, traditions, practices, philosophy, preferences and their way of conducting both life and business. Only with a thorough understanding of the target market can you make wise and sustainable economic decisions about product adaptation and, ultimately, success.

Each product, in every respect, needs to be tailored to suit the local tastes, customs and preferences. This includes packaging, branding, pricing and after-sale servicing. Become thoroughly familiar with the local people; it may avert an expensive, and potentially embarrassing, mistake.

Market entry: a “dynamic” actionable plan

While there are many important decisions to make when launching into a new international market, two are particularly critical. First, decide whether to enter the market alone or seek alliances with existing local businesses. Secondly, choose an appropriate distribution channel.

In both of these, there are tradeoffs in terms of financial commitment and control over the product as it reaches the end customer, as well as general cultural and other integration issues. Due diligence is important as the perception of any foreign organization is filtered through whom they partner with locally—team up with the wrong partner and failure can strike before any business is conducted.

A local partner can also provide insight, contacts and expertise. A strategic alliance also provides more effective market access, resulting in higher foreign sales in less time. Not surprisingly, as the pressure to rapidly exploit new technology and products has increased, so have the options for businesses interested in franchising, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions or other strategic alliances. While the flip-side is less control, it forces cooperation with local business which can be a recipe for success.

Secondly, distribution is one of the most crucial decisions in a global expansion strategy. It represents a significant overhead cost and lies at the heart of the connection between what the market wants and what the market gets.

Ultimately, both decisions will be guided by the international business community, the type of market for the product (mass market or limited), available capital, sales volume and access to information technology.

Access to talent—a limiting factor

One emerging trend to watch is a shrinking pool of talent. This promises to be a major obstacle for organizations looking to expand globally. In fact, several companies report “the only thing limiting growth abroad is that we cannot find enough people—engineers, sales staff, and marketing—who are bilingual, globally orientated and willing to live abroad.”

The U.S., more than ever before, lacks professionals with the global experience necessary to bridge cross-border operations.

Focus on opportunities, not obstacles

As international leaders in innovation, it is important for U.S. businesses to look at the world from a fresh angle with a new perspective. “A global mindset is the opposite of economic isolationism. We are part of the globe, and should stop looking inward, but look out,” commented Carlos Gutierrez, former Secretary of Commerce.

It’s time for U.S. businesses to take the next step internationally through the development of a winning expansion strategy—a practical approach that eliminates surprises and gets it right the first time. After all, there is no challenge too great for a country that has proven itself over and over again. So, let’s start the journey.

Mona Pearl is an author, a global strategic business development expert as well as the founder and COO of Beyond A Strategy Inc., a company providing expertise to plan and implement cost-effective and sustainable global growth that improves a company’s bottom line and helps realize seamless international operations. She can be reached through www.monapearl.com.

***Includes excerpts from “Grow Globally: Opportunities for Your Middle-Market Company Around the World.” Copyright (c) 2011 by Mona Pearl.  Reprinted with permission of John Wiley & Sons, Inc.***

How to conduct business on the golf course

While there are many ways to conduct business, the golf course is definitely at the top of many lists—but there is a certain art to it.

“A lot of people think you don’t get to know a person until you get on that golf course and you’re playing,” says Mary Hafeman, president and owner of Fore in One Golf Services, former LPGA Tour player, and speaker at the Knowledge is Power workshop, “The art of business on the golf course: Building better relationships one hole at a time,” presented by Comcast Business Class. “And it’s not about how well you play; it’s really about looking at the other person and seeing how they really are and how they react to different situations—are they playing fair and calm, or are they cheating, yelling, and throwing their clubs?” she jokes.

According to Hafeman, golf and business really mix on multiple levels. “The best aspects of playing golf with clients is how it promotes relationship and career building and helps with your networking because you already share a common interest,” says Hafeman. And because it is outside of the office setting, you have four to six hours with your client or boss without any distractions.

The basics

“You don’t have to be a super fantastic player to conduct business on the golf course, but you should know some proper golf etiquette,” says Hafeman, who recommends that before you play, you know the dress code and who goes first on the tees. “You have to look like you know what’s going on and how to get around a course and clubhouse. The easiest way to learn proper golf etiquette is to ask friends who are knowledgeable in golf or golf pro at the club.”

You also have to know the basic rules. “While there are only 32 rules in the game of golf, the perception of what the rules are differ because the decisions book is huge,” says Hafeman. She recommends you at least know the six main rules, such as where do you start, which tees, not teeing up in front of the tee markers, what to do about a lost ball, who should go first, and what the red stakes are such as water hazards and positioning.

“Social golf is different than competitive golf, so basically if you can’t figure out what the rule is, do what’s fair,” says Hafeman. As far as equipment goes, Hafeman says you need to know what you need to play, such as clubs, shoes, proper clothes, gloves, hats, golf balls, etc., but watch out as perception is reality and you don’t want to “upstage” your client or boss. “It’s all in knowing who you are playing with and at what level,” advises Hafeman.

Ready to play

Now you are ready to play, but what are some of the logistics? Prior to playing, you need to figure out who to ask to play. Not everyone will be a golfer, so you have to know who of your clients play and at what ability or skill set. Once you establish that, choose a course, scope it out to set up expectations, and arrange tee times.

“It is also helpful to find out what that course’s dress code is so you can prepare yourself as well as your client or boss as different courses allow different attire. A little pre-course planning will go a long way when it comes to conducting business on the course,” says Hafeman.

When you are on the course, Hafeman recommends you establish upfront who is teeing off first and what the game entails, such as will there be betting. “When it comes to the rest of the game, basically you want to follow general rules of etiquette regarding the beverage cart and determining who pays for what and when you should start talking business,” says Hafeman.

“After you play 18 holes, you should come in to the clubhouse and do the traditional have lunch or a drink or settle the betting of the game if there was any,” says Hafeman. “And it is OK to purchase a little something as a memento in the pro shop for your client, if you so desire.”

Golf and business

“Remain friendly and calm, and you will develop relationships and have fun with the game and experience,” says Hafeman. Golf and business do mix perfectly together, and by knowing basic golf etiquette, the rules of golf, your required equipment, and a little preplanning, you can be getting to the green in more ways than one.

Mary Hafeman

Mary Hafeman can be reached at 904-233-0989, mhafe@aol.com, or through www.maryhafemangolf.com.

What you need to know to conduct powerful sales meetings

By John R. Treace

Designing a powerful sales meeting is not an easy task, but it is one of the most importantaspects of building and maintaining a high-velocity sales organization. The objective of all sales meetings should be to increase sales—period. That’s why we call them sales meetings. Entertaining the participants and having them leave full of enthusiasm is a good thing, but it should never overshadow the need to produce sales.

It is the sales management’s responsibility to be a good shepherd of corporate resources, so spending money without expecting a measurable return is not good business. Every high-performing salesperson who attends a meeting will be thinking, “Is this meeting making me money, or is my time being wasted?”

Mixed messages

A company’s high performers will usually produce at least 60% of the company’s revenues, so when you waste top salespeople’s time with poorly designed meetings, it sends several negative messages:

1. You are not considerate of employees’ time (high performers know that time is money), and

2. You do not understand the business, do not know what needs to be done to increase sales, and are wasting corporate resources.

If the sales team begins to suspect that you don’t know how to increase sales, morale will be negatively affected and team members will question their choice of employers. Additionally, salespeople are conscious of the way you spend company money, so seeing waste during ineffective meetings degrades their confidence in the company and makes them less considerate of protecting the corporate resources under their control.

Unproductive meetings also signal that you are not committed to excellence—and powerful salespeople don’t want to work for companies like that. They want to make money, want to focus their attention on that goal, and want to work for managers who are committed to being the best.

Develop a statement

With so much at stake in a sales meeting, how can you ensure that the meeting will bring value to the sales team and produce sales? The answer is simple, but the implementation is not: You need to develop a statement of strategic intent for the meeting, along with defined, time-sensitive metrics that will be used to measure the meeting’s success.

For example: You might say that the strategic intent of your meeting is to train representatives to sell X product, with the goal of 80% of them exceeding quota within 30 days of the meeting and maintaining that performance through the end of the year.

The challenge in developing a statement of strategic intent is in knowing what needs to be accomplished in the meeting to reach the required performance goal. The specifics must be laid out, and an aggressive but realistic performance goal must be defined. Carrying out this process takes a deep understanding of the business, the sales force, and the competition.

Powerful sales meetings driven by statements of strategic intent and clear objectives are at the core of powerful companies. Management teams that hold them regularly will always stay on top.

Five common afflictions

There are five common afflictions that affect many sales teams, each of which reduces morale and sales performance. They can be found to some degree in most almost every organization. Smart management teams are aware of these afflictions and work to avoid their potentially destructive impact.

Any one occurrence of these problems will not necessary hurt the sales effort, but if allowed to progress to extremes, or if multiple conditions exist at once, they can be extremely harmful.

•Affliction 1: Wasting sales representatives’ time. One prime affliction of sales teams is forcing them to spend time on non-sales tasks, such as making accounts receivable collections, managing product recalls, or filling out reports that do not directly relate to the sales process.

If you, for instance, divert 5% of a sales team’s time to managing customer collections, you effectively reduce the number of feet on the ground by the same amount—and the reverse is true as well.

Sometimes it’s necessary to assign non-sales tasks to salespeople, but before you do,  audit your sales process to determine whether the tasks could be assigned elsewhere. Finding as many ways as possible to remove unnecessary tasks from the sales team’s shoulders will result in sales increases that will more than pay for the adjustments in duties.

•Affliction 2: Poor sales meetings. Another affliction of sales teams is poor or boring sales meetings. Powerful salespeople are self-motivated, and they intuitively know if their time is being wasted. Again, the simple way to ensure effective sales meetings is to develop a statement of strategic intent that includes clear success metrics and defines in specific terms what needs to be accomplished and the metrics needed to determine whether the goals set in the meeting were accomplished. The bottom line is that powerful sales meetings produce sales and keep morale high.

•Affliction 3: Poor strategy. Ineffective marketing or sales strategies will always negatively impact the sales team. The sales team will recognize ineffective strategy and will lose faith in the managers who developed it. If the players on a sports team lose faith in the coaching, the path to winning will be difficult, if not impossible; the same is true with sales teams.

Don’t let lackluster or nonexistent strategy cause this lack of faith. A successful sales effort hinges on good strategy, and companies that fail in this regard severely handicap their sales teams.

•Affliction 4: Capping or reducing income. Powerful companies have managers who do not get envious when large paychecks go to the sales force. Managers who are resentful of this often respond to rising sales income by reducing commissions, capping earnings, reducing territories, or removing products. These are all practices to be avoided, as they destroy morale, which hurts sales.

When it is absolutely necessary to cap or reduce reps’ earnings, it must be done carefully. If it’s done carelessly, you will send the message that future earnings for the sales team have been limited.

Powerful salespeople want to leverage today’s efforts into greater sales and income for tomorrow. If their commissions are reduced, earnings capped, or territory removed, they will feel like that ability has been taken away, and the high performers will quickly look for employment elsewhere.

•Affliction 5: Favoritism. Everyone has favorites in life and that’s normal, but playing favorites with individuals on a sales team is very destructive. Salespeople want to work for companies that keep the playing field level for all. If select salespeople are given extra incentives, special attention, benefits, or favors not afforded others, you are sending a clear message that there is a privileged class within the team.

And that is one of the best ways to lessen team spirit, as reps will spend their time trying to move into that special class and not trying to close sales. You can’t buy the loyalty of a team by strengthening a small political power base within a company. Playing favorites within a sales team causes problems for all team members (even the favored ones), but keeping the playing field level will pay big dividends.

Wasting time, poor sales meetings, poor strategy, capping income, and playing favorites are, with few exceptions, situations to be avoided. They are destructive to morale and they lead to poor performance. Effective managers will be careful to avoid these situations, and astute salespeople will bring these practices to the attention of management for correction.

John R. Treace

John R. Treace has over 30 years’ experience as a sales executive in the medical products industry and in 2010 founded JR Treace & Associates, a sales management consulting business. He spent over 10 years specializing in the restructuring of sales departments of companies that were either bankrupt or failing. Investor groups and venture capital firms hired him to manage turnarounds of pre-IPO companies. He can be reached at 904-314-1442, john@treaceconsulting.com, or through www.treaceconsulting.com.

How to better negotiate with your vendors

“The current state of the economy is quite a challenge and it’s hard to drive top-line sales growth,” says Tony Lego, entrepreneur and franchise owner of Expense Reduction Consulting (ERC) and presenter at the Knowledge is Power workshop sponsored by Bushnell & Company.

“More revenue that doesn’t increase profit is not the answer. You are not going to make up a negative with more volume,” Lego continues. “Selling your items or providing your services at a loss, are you going to be in business long? No.”

Lego says that with just a 20% cost reduction in your indirect/overhead costs can provide you a 30% net profit improvement. “This just shows how businesses need to focus both on top line growth and bottom line, back-end frugality, if you will,” says Lego.

Some of indirect/overhead items slipping through the cracks include travel lodging, printing, equipment maintenance, UPS FedEx, employee health benefits, freight, general business insurance, merchant card processing, office products, packaging, telecommunications, temporary labor, and waste management.

“For a smaller to mid-size business, one of these may not add up to a lot of money, but if you take three or four and start adding them up, its 10, 20, or 50 thousand dollars a year,” says Lego. “These are opportunities that are definitely out there.”

Areas to focus on

Lowering supply costs can be accomplished by having a focus on several areas:

•Center lead supply purchasing. Assign one person to conduct purchasing activities and monitor inventories because they can develop expertise in procurement and negotiations, help to lower supply costs over time and evaluate suppliers, and reduce duplicate efforts within organization. Be sure you balance the associate cost to the purchasing savings/value.

•Internet shopping. The Internet brings the supply industry to the desktop and can be a great source for product research and pricing because in some cases, you can deal directly with the manufacturer or authorized distributor and you can conduct product and price comparisons.

Just be sure you determine which supplies to source over the Internet, as you do not need to buy all of your supplies there; you structure your Internet shopping efforts as it can be time-consuming; you are dealing with a safe and secure website, on that displays the Secure Socket Layer (SSL) logo and you are not providing any personal information.

•Employee compensation program. A basic incentive program to share a small percentage of the savings can yield big rewards to your bottom line and it provides your employees a reason to look out for profit improvement. Ensure you clearly define the program by establishing minimums and maximums, and you communicate and show how saving impact company health/profit

•Inventory control. As important as supply price/value is the amount of inventory that is carried of supply items. This is important because your company’s cash is used to purchase and hold any excess inventories and it reduces cash available for other activities such as advertising, payroll, etc.

To save on inventory, you can leverage suppliers or distributors systems capabilities, use A, B, C, inventory classifications and supply variability, calculate your inventory carrying cost and set targets, and assign the same person that does the purchasing to manage inventory and hold them accountable.

•Strategic sourcing Use a robust and holistic purchasing process to ensure the lowest cost of ownership is achieved to ensure the best price/value combination is achieved and maintained. You can accomplish this by establishing a defined process and monitor compliance to the process, resourcing this process in accordance with its business value, investing in training and supply market intelligence, assigning supply categories responsibilities and setting reduction targets, and providing finance support

•Focus on the vital few costs. Limited resources should be applied based on the 80/20 rule to get the maximum value. To achieve this, look at the dollars you spend by category and pareto, apply your employees to conduct the strategic sourcing process according to the pareto, and develop an approach to harvest savings from the 20% of the none addressed spend.

•Hire a purchasing partner. A purchasing partner provides external experience, supply category sourcing best practices, and detailed supplier and pricing understanding to optimize your value, but don’t assume your partner’s interest is aligned with your companies. Be sure to conduct a background review and leverage partner to create value.

Immediate short-term actions

1. Take advantage of association discounts. Many professional associations have already negotiated discounts on things such as office supplies and etc.

2. When you negotiate pricing, provide as much information about your usage to determine the best price based on real numbers.

3. Don’t allow auto-renewal clauses in contracts.

4. Partner with your suppliers to see what you can do to help them lower their costs (e.g., change delivery schedule, order process, product specifications).

5. Don’t be afraid to renegotiate an agreement in the middle. If costs for the suppliers have dropped, they often will negotiate.

6. Take your top 10 expenses from last year, put them in a spreadsheet, and graph the monthly and unit cost. You will quickly see pricing issues.

7. Look at shipping habits. Does that package have to be there using the fastest delivery method?

Tony Lego can be contacted at 904-401-1235, TLego@ERCsaves.com, or through www.ERCsaves.com/TLego.

EXTRA! To see the entire workshop presentation, visit http://advantagebizmag.com/events/videos, sign in, and learn.

Confidentiality agreements can protect the idea behind your product or service

By Howard A. Caplan

Partnering with a larger company can be a powerful way to positively exploit acommercial product or service, but you must take care to protect the idea behind the product or service. Premature or non-protected disclosure can allow the “partner” to proceed without you.

Limited disclosure of ideas or information occurs in a number of business areas. One of the more common is protecting your idea when pitching it to another party. Your goal is to sell or license the idea, which may be a product or service provided by you or your company.

Licensing is more common because of the difficulty of determining a realistic value before the idea is commercialized. Another common circumstance is when a prospective buyer of a business wants information from the seller. The buyer is doing his due diligence investigation. The seller wants to protect the buyer from using the confidential information if there is no sale.

In either case, you would use a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement to protect against the improper use of your information. This agreement is only a prelude to the ultimate contract you will enter into for the actual commercialization of your idea or the sale of your business.

Protecting your pitch

How do you protect your idea when pitching it to a company that could use the idea in a commercially viable manner?

Perhaps the most important thing to remember when you have an idea that you think is valuable is that your amazing idea may only be amazing to you. Approaching companies with ideas can be extremely difficult. Many companies, more so larger companies do not readily accept ideas from outsiders or have strict rules about how outside ideas are received.

For example: Your lawyer speaks with the head of U.S. research and development for a large pharmaceutical company about presenting your idea. The director seemed to express an interest though he never gave your lawyer an address to send a confidentiality agreement to.

Yet suppose he had given your lawyer the address. Then your lawyer would have sent him an agreement that would provide for the limited disclosure of your idea, but would not contain the idea. The agreement is often called a confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement (CNDA).

The CNDA is how you protect yourself from unauthorized use of your idea by the other party. Some companies that accept outside ideas will accept your CNDA. Others will modify it, and others will use theirs.

Many companies that do accept outside ideas will only do so from your attorney or certain other professionals. Companies have many reasons for this limitation. One is protection if they are working on a similar idea. Another is the expectation of dealing with a non-impassioned party if discussion ensues. And another is avoiding infringement claims.

The approach

Depending upon the nature of the idea and the company you are approaching, you may be better served by a one- or two-step approach. If the company is interested in using your idea then you will enter into a sale or licensing agreement.

Some important points to consider in either a one- or two-step approach are:

•How to disclose enough information about your idea for the company to decide if it has an interest in your proposal;

•If the company is interested, then when and how much more of your idea will you disclose. If appropriate, when will you provide product samples;

•How long does the company have to let you know if it is interested in pursuing your idea, not pursuing your idea, or advise you that it has already been pursuing a similar idea;

•Limitations on the company’s use of your information to assess the idea;

•Protecting you if the company claims no interest or that it is pursuing a similar idea, yet actually uses your idea;

•The next step or steps if the company is interested in your idea;

•The application of patent, copyright, or trademark laws to your idea;

•What state’s law will apply if a dispute arises and where that dispute can be addressed; and

•If you need to agree to keep confidential any information from the company.

Prepare a contract

Whether you sell or license your idea is less important at this stage then getting your foot in the door. If the company is interested in using your idea, it is paramount to have a solid, well-drafted contract to protect your rights.

Success can be measured in two ways: one is contracting for the positive commercial exploitation of your idea, the second is if the idea is a commercial success. But a commercial success alone may be of little comfort.

There are many instances when a successful product did not bring success to the person with the idea. A good contract is crucial.

For example: In two high-profile instances, the person who sold or licensed the idea to the company (or the persons later owning the licensee rights) prevailed in court because they had well-drafted agreements.

In one case, Peter Roberts was wrongly told by a Sears Craftsman Tool Division officer that his quick release ratchet would be a side line. Mr. Roberts sued Sears and won over $8 million. In another case, the licensee of Listerine won the right to continue receiving royalties even though the trade secret formula had become public knowledge.

The right deal

For every high-profile case there are many modest cases, and for each of these cases there are many successful ongoing license agreements. This last point merits attention. You can sell your idea for a set fee. Or perhaps the idea is such that you can sell a product or service to the company. You can license your idea and receive an on-going royalty.

The royalty can be for a specified time or perpetual, as in the case of Listerine. Or you can both sell the idea and receive a royalty. Again, for every successful Slinky or disc operating system there are hundreds of marginally profitable deals.

In conclusion, the only certain way to protect your idea is to have restraints on the party whom you expose the idea to. The best method of placing restrictions is a CNDA that sets the boundaries for when and what you will disclose, the scope of investigation by the other party to assess interest in your idea, next steps if there is an interest, and remedies if the other party uses your idea without authorization.

Howard A. Caplan is a solo law practitioner of the Caplan Law Firm, P.A. He can be reached at 904-256-3333, info@caplawfirm.com, or through www.caplawfirm.com.

Six steps you need to know to successfully have an online business

By Ronnie Soud

When it comes to developing an online business, there are six things you need to consider for it to be a success. You need to form your business idea, do your online market research, create a business and marketing strategy, develop a website, perform online marketing, and then test, expand, and refine your online business.

Your business idea

Every business starts with an idea, but in today’s world; most business ideas need some refinement. Often times, the best strategy is to create a unique business that appeals to a niche market. Center on the unique features your product or service offers versus the competition, or how your product or service solves a unique problem within a particular market. This makes marketing and growing your business easier because it allows you to concentrate your product, service, and sales/marketing materials to a well-defined market.

Conduct online market research

Online market research determines target audience and online competition within your market. Online marketing research will identify:

•Top competing websites and what each is offering;

•The top search terms entered to find information about your topic/product/service;

•The competing websites that rank for those search terms; and

•The cost of gaining visibility on these related keyword searches.

Keyword research sets the foundation for online marketing strategy and initiatives, which include website design, content creation, search engine optimization (SEO), pay per click (PPC), blogging/article strategy, and social media. A few keyword research tools available include Google AdWords, Wordtracker, and WordSteam.

In addition to keyword research, you should do an online competitive analysis. It looks to answer such questions as:

•How many pages does each competitor have on their website?

•What type of content do they have?

•Are they offering special/exclusive products and deals online?

•What keywords are they targeting?

•What special Web design elements are they using?

Conduct a search for your target keyword phrases and note the sites that show up for those searches. Visit each website looking for answers to the above questions.

Create the strategy

Once a thorough review of the online market and competition is done, create a business and marketing strategy by defining audience demographics, website traffic and sales goals, and an online budget.

A clearly defined market helps develop targeted website messaging, content, and design. Figure out your audiences’ age, gender, ethnicity, geographic location, income level, interests, etc.

You also need clearly defined goals to keep the marketing process on track and well organized. Define short- and long-term goals for your website.

Use the information from the keyword research and online competition analysis to develop a professional looking website and an online marketing strategy. Some areas to consider include website content/copy, SEO, PPC, e-mail marketing, and landing page development.

Develop a website

Now design and develop the business logo, website, and website copy. Market research, keyword research, and the competitive analysis will help define the creative marketing elements and messaging that needs to be incorporated in the creative/branding elements.

Don’t forget who you’re trying to target—make sure you focus your copy and messaging on that audience, and don’t offer website functionality that that particular market segment doesn’t understand. Keep it simple. Keep it targeted.

You will need to develop a unique message, copy, and logo. Your message needs to be about what makes you, your product, and your service unique within the market. Be as descriptive as possible.

Make sure the logo is unique amongst the competition and get a good quality logo because it will be used to make all of your sales, marketing, and advertising materials for years to come.

Your website is your online storefront, and is often the first impression your potential customers have of your business. Make it easy for them to use, read, and buy/contact. Don’t get carried away with flashy design elements—keep it simple.

You also want to get as many visitors as you can to perform some type of action on your website, whether it’s entering their e-mail for more info, deals, coupons, and new arrivals or they leave a comment on a blog, photo, or video. This way, even if they don’t buy during that visit, they have given you information about themselves, their interest, or buying habits. You can then use this information to make edits/additions to your website.

Also, make sure your website will be easy to expand when the time is right. You will want/need to add new pages, photos, and videos; possibly even a blog, forum, online contest, etc., as you grow.

Perform online marketing

If you are concerned about getting traffic from search engines, then SEO and PPC are two areas to pay careful attention to during the initial research and strategy phrases.

SEO techniques are separated into two different areas: On-site optimization and off-site optimization.

On-site optimization is the foundation for all further SEO efforts. On-site optimization factors include keyword research, website content structure, custom title tags, meta description tags and H1/2/3 tags for each page, and internal page linking structure.

Off-site SEO factors help the site gain more visibility through a variety of methods, such as link building, online press releases, and writing articles/blog posts/photo/video on major online publications such as News4Jax.com or Jacksonville.com.

PPC allows advertisers to bid on specific keywords relevant to their products, services, and target audience. The advertiser has full control over which keywords they want to upload, how much they want to bid on each keyword phrase, and full control over the content of their ads.

E-mail marketing is still one of the most powerful online marketing channels. When users submit their e-mail address,  they are giving you permission to advertise to them. Take advantage of this opportunity, but don’t abuse it. Do two or three e-mail blasts per month.

Today, communication on the Web moves faster than ever. It’s quicker and easier to reach a large amount of people than ever before. Most of the speed of online communication can be attributed to social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. Ensure you are among the social communities as well.

Test, expand, and refine

A website is a work in progress. Set up website analytics so you can monitor your site growth each week. Analytics gives you great insights to how visitors are finding and using your site, the keywords that are bringing in the most visitors, which search engines are giving you the most visibility, etc. All of which allows you to make any necessary changes to the website in order to boost user engagement levels.

Google Analytics (www.google.com/analytics) is a free website stats tracking system. Sign up for a free Google Analytics account, and Google gives you a code to place on every page of your site. Once that code is placed, you will start tracking your website visitors.

Once visitors are on your site, it’s important to monitor how many pages they visit on average, how long they stay, and what are the most popular/visited pages. From this monitoring, you can refine your website content. Pay attention to pages with high-bounce rates as those rates are an indication that users are not happy with the content or credibility of the page. You can add more relevant/detailed content or images or graphics to the page to help clarify your points.

Websites need to expand their content offerings in order to grow. Continue to add content that your audience will find useful, such as articles or a blog that focuses on “how to” articles, FAQ’s section, or start a forum or online discussion group to connect like-minded users and share information.

Final thoughts

Users choose to interact with online businesses that are a trusted and good source of information (read: they educate the user). Remember, positive credibility and reputation go a long way online. Be the company that educates the most and you will be the company that sells the most.

Ronnie Soud is the Marketing Director for Evision Worldwide. He can be reached at 888-957-0002 or through www.evisionworldwide.com.

How to have your employees fit and keep your healthcare costs down

It has been said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away. That adage can also ring true for small business owners. By making small changes and adding a wellness program, you, too, can keep the doctor away, your healthcare costs down, and create a high-performing workplace.

With healthcare costs and premiums increasing 15% to 30% a year and 50% of the population obese and hypertensive, many companies are looking for alternative solutions. A wellness program or a wellness-type approach for your business may be just what the doctor ordered.

Where to begin

One of the best places to begin adding a wellness program is to find out what the cost drivers are, which can be accomplished by having a health risk assessment performed. A health risk assessment generally includes a lifestyle questionnaire, health screening, and counseling/coaching.

At the end, the employee receives a report of their individual finings and the company receives a group report, which is a valuable tool for understanding the needs of their population, what risks they have, and what targeted interventions their population would most benefit from.

“As you recognize where the problems are and the more you’re educated on what your real cost drivers are, the more you recognize what the potential savings are by applying a wellness program,” says Aaron Marston, an expert in the fields of exercise science and athletic training, is the executive director of The HIT Center (www.thehitcenters.com) of Jacksonville LLC and Healthletix Management LLC.

The cost of wellness

“Studies have been done on the return on investment of wellness, and all of them come up with for every $1 invested in wellness there is a return on investment of $3 to $6,” says Ann Sabbag, MS, CEO and founder of HealthDesigns (www.healthdesigns.net), a leader in worksite wellness specializing in employee health assessments, biometric screenings, and face-to-face health coaching.

That is quite the return on investment when you consider that adding some sort of wellness program to your business doesn’t have to be expensive.

“There are a lot of changes a company can make within their company to really create a fit culture in their workforce,” says Marston. “Regardless of what you have for a budget to provide for your wellness program, you can always do something for your employees. It can be something as small as quarterly educational in-services, such as bringing in a dietician or lifestyle coach to speak to your employees, or what you purchase for your vending machine—these are all things that really don’t cost much of anything.”

“Employees, as well as the organization, benefit when employers provide the tools and education they need to help improve their health and make it easy for them to do so in a supportive environment,” adds Sabbag. “The greatest thing is that employees want to be healthy, they just need the right information and some support and believe they can be successful.”

Changing for the better

Does your kitchen or break room constantly stock donuts, cookies, and soda? When you order food in to the office, is it pizza and burgers?

“Companies really need to take a look at their work environment because if they want employees to improve their behaviors and make healthy choices, they need to make it easy for the employee to do so,” says Sabbag. “You don’t have to make elaborate changes; it’s the small things that make the big difference.”

Some easy-to-incorporate workplace wellness approaches include:

• Serving healthy foods at company sponsored events;

• Having healthier snacks on hand in your breakrooms and kitchens;

• Providing bottled water or a water cooler;

• Asking your vending machine vendor if it’s possible to change to healthier options;

• Seeing if you can have a section or area for healthy food,  such as a salad bar or fresh fruit, and entrees that are low fat, high protein, and high fiber in your company’s or building’s cafeteria;

• Starting an intramural kickball or softball team;

• Selecting healthier food choices for those working lunches;

• Picking an event per quarter that you and your staff will participate in, such as a walk for the cure or a charity 5K;

• Creating a challenge within your workforce where you have multiple teams working against each other and they get points per mile or minute walked or per pound of weight loss;

• Sponsoring a community walk or run, and then offering to pay half or all of the registration fee to any employees that form teams;

• Mapping out a one-mile walking course around your workplace or building;

• Encouraging your employees to use the stairs. You can even decorate the stairwells with artwork from employees’ children or local artists;

• Providing a small, non-elaborate fitness rooms or offering fitness equipment that can be checked out;

• Paying for gym membership if employees turn in a weekly log from when they attended the gym and worked out;

• Putting volleyball nets or basketball hoops or court in a small area or parking lot; and

• Encouraging employees to conduct walking meetings. It can be easily done with four to five people and the same amount of information can be covered and discussed in a more pleasant, active way.

The bottom line

“It needs to be an approach that they are going to be able to use consistently and it can’t seem like a punishment,” says Marston. “In order for it to be a long-term solution and for you to get the return on investment, it needs to be something the employees want to do.”

Sabbag sums it up by saying, “The bottom line is if we can get employees to be more physically active, eat fewer calories, manage stress, and not use tobacco, everything improves—cardiovascular health, diabetes, osteoporosis, weight, and cancer.”

“Health risks go down and health costs follow right after. People will have more energy spirit and vitality less health risks and wellness really can be the magic bullet when it comes to driving down healthcare costs.”

How going green can bring in business

Just what is an eco-aware consumer? Helen Rake, CFP, principal and financial advisor for Collins Capital Management Inc. and speaker at a recent Knowledge is Power workshop, states it is “a consumer that when given a choice, is choosing to spend their hard earned money on products that move the world toward to more sustainable or more energy-efficient tomorrow.”

One of the most recent forecasts on the state of green business, the economy, and its drivers conducted by Green Biz Intelligence Unit found that the economic downturn has taken a backseat to growing consumer requirements as the principal driver of corporate environmental strategy.

“What this means,” says Rake, “is even with the economic downturn that has happened, consumer requirements have picked up, which means the companies have had to answer regardless of what their economic situation is.”

Who are they?

Today’s eco-aware consumer is doing business with companies that embrace environmental preservation, treat employees well, and provide products that allow them to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. The eco-aware consumer also wants to ensure that their children will be able to live a healthier lifestyle.

There are two categories of the eco-aware consumer: the behavioral greens and the think greens.

•Behavioral greens—This is 62 million Americans that think and act green. They buy green products and believe companies should help consumers become more environmentally friendly.

•Think greens—These up and comers are still being convinced. They think green, but don’t always act green.

“Eco-aware consumers are not extremists nor are they impractical in their product and service demands,” says Rake. “Basically, the eco-aware consumer is really just a socially responsible buyer that wants to put their money where their conscience is. They want to feel good about what they are purchasing.”

Why you should care

Rake says you should care because for one, there are some basic economic principles at work:

1. Supply and demand. What is mainstream for consumers is mainstream for companies. Basically, whatever the consumer wants, the company should provide because when consumers demand and the company produces, consumers buy and companies profit.

2. Reduce costs equals increased profit. Adopting energy-saving green business practices has a positive effect on the company’s bottom line.

And for another, “Locally, your business has a fantastic opportunity to set itself apart from the crowd by putting practices, products, and services in place that will attract these eco-aware consumers that are willing to spend more for a better choice,” says Rake.

She also says those companies that embrace it, do it for the right reasons, want to provide something to the community that is sustainable, and want to provide to these consumers are the ones that will benefit.

“The opportunity is yours,” says Rake. “I think now is the best opportunity we’ve ever had in this area to do this, to pay attention to this, and act on it.”

How to market to the media

Julie Watkins, green reporter and meteorologist from Action News CBS 47/Fox30 and the second speaker at the event, says that news stations are always looking for story ideas, and stories that promote green practices are always good.

“If you provide press releases detailing visual live shots and stories, and the more compelling the story or active the video, the more likely it will get covered,” says Watkins.

When writing a press release, you should be sure to:

•Include who, what, when, where, why, and how;

•Keep it short;

•Highlight the visual aspects; and

•Provide contact information at the top and at the bottom.

With two types of news, hard news and soft news, Watkins says there are many opportunities for you to promote your green business or actions.

Hard news is generally what you see on the evening news with a live reporter. While not always good news, it is what people tend to pay closer attention to. For your green story to be considered hard news, it will most likely have to involve dangers and risks, or offer help during a disaster, is innovative to the consumer, is leading the city, is socially responsible, or has tie-ins to breaking news.

For example: A hair care product was found to have high amounts of formaldehyde. If you ran a hair salon that carried all-natural, green products, you could inform the news stations and get some recognition.

Soft news is more so what you see in the mornings or on weekends with in-house interviews and evening news “kickers.” These are generally the more fun packages. For your green story to be considered soft news, it will most likely be your community projects, sponsored local events, festivals and expos, fundraising efforts, or has ties-in to holidays.

For example: Your business will run a paper retriever drive in your community with it titled something like, “30 bins for 30 days.”

“One of the best things you can do to promote your green practices is to get to know your local news anchors and reporters,” says Watkins. While some anchors and reporters are more active in green movements than others, your morning or weekend reporters are most likely to cover your green events. “And if you can find a green reporter in your area, you’ve hit jackpot,” says Watkins.

To see a green office checklist, visit http://advantagebizmag.com/archives/5710 and click on the link.

Steps to a greener business model

When you remake and rebrand yourself as green, the more attractive you will be to the eco-aware consumer. Here are a few things you can do.

•Get an audit and act on the results. 

•Make small changes in phases and be transparent about it. Things such as using power strips, changing to energy-efficient light bulbs, and using leaner packaging are small things that can have a big ROI. 

•Brand yourself green. If you use a local printer who prints with soybean inks on recycled paper, tell people about it. 

•Promote your business through green business organization and online listings. 

•Track your results and report them. 

•Tout your stewardship. Send out press releases, print it on your business stationery, tell your customers, etc. 

•Be careful and be serious. You need to be sincere in your efforts and honest about the challenges you face when going green. Don’t be a “green washer.”

Is your business positioned to take advantage of the newly defined healthcare industry?

“When there is change, there is opportunity” was the overall message at the most recent KNOWLEDGE IS POWER workshop sponsored by BBVA Compass and the Small Business Resource Network (SBRN). And there is plenty of change coming down the way when it comes to healthcare.

Some changes are certain, others are not, but one thing is clear, relating the new healthcare legislation to your small business can be done—when you learn how to craft your own strategy to understand the new flow of money that is happening within healthcare.

“Healthcare is vast,” says keynote speaker Brian Klepper, PhD, principal in Health 2.0 Advisors and Healthcare Performance Inc. “It accounts for $2.6 trillion, one-sixth of all dollars in the economy and one-eleventh of jobs.”

So what type of things can succeed in such a vast area? According to Klepper, “anybody who can lower costs and risks while improving quality doing any one of a thousand things in healthcare” can succeed. In other words, to be successful, your venture must prove it can create new value or produce transactional streamline and reduce complexity risk and/or cost while improving quality/safety.

Where are the opportunities?

According to Klepper, the largest area for opportunities is in medical management He equates medical management to that of air traffic control, where it is a process that looks at the universe of processes that is going on in the system and says, “What can I do to make this more efficient and have better outcomes.”

The next area for opportunity is in scientific and medical advances, such as minimally invasive and laparoscopic surgeries. These types of surgeries are an opportunity because they offer a quicker return to work, smaller incisions, less pain, and lower costs. This area also includes all types of new devices and procedures.

“Anything that moves us from a client server to the Web reduces the transaction cost to one-fifth,” says Klepper, which is why this, also referred to transactional streamlining, is another area of opportunity.

The last area of opportunity is in consumerism—getting consumers engaged in prevention and wellness.

Creating growth

Marsha Proctor Killen Esq., CEO of Strategy Gen (www.StrategyGen.com) and second keynote speaker, believes that customers are the key to success to creating profitable and sustainable growth. “All successful strategies that are sustainable start with a customer focus and product focus,” says Killen.

Just who is impacted by Healthcare reform?

• All of us—patients, consumers, caregivers;

• Employers small and large;

• Hospitals, doctors, and clinicians;

• Health insurers; and

• Government, federal and state agencies.

Killen used the employer segment and a wellness program to provide an example as to how a small employer is impacted by healthcare reform, and then explained what the difference is in a product offer and a product-focused product offer.

 “As a small employer, you are going to have different requirements of what a wellness program may be than a large employer,” says Killen. “So always keep that in mind and why it is so important to understand your customer to be able to create sustainable profit program.”

7 “must haves”

Killen states that these are the seven most critical “must haves” for creating profitable and sustainable growth strategies. You must:

1. Have a market strategy. You need to have a strategy that extends beyond launching a new product, tweaking an existing product, or promoting your product.

2. Understand your emerging customer needs. You must know what your customers are going to need and understand how those needs are going to be under different healthcare reform scenarios.

3. Design to the needs. You need to design specific products and services based on who your targeted customers are.

4. Look at competitive pricing. Realize and know that the lowest price is not always the winner. Customers look at the most value for their dollars.

5. Have a communication strategy. Have a communication strategy and let customers and potential customers know you are out there. You will have to think about how to get them to the environments that you normally don’t participate in.

6. Create customer focused sales plans. Consider changing your sales model and go to customers in new and different ways. “Be sure you know how your customers want to buy your product and not just how you want to sell your product and services to your customer,” says Killen.

7. Identify your product. Identify what it is you are giving your customers because it is a customer experience once they purchase your products.

“The bottom line is you need to be able to define to these new customers of yours why your product or service? What’s the benefit to them? What problem does it solve?  Why are you different? Why your company? and What makes you better than your competitors?”

“Don’t assume healthcare is easy. Leverage your expertise and prove the concept,” says Klepper. “These kind of innovative things, things that can make us all work better—that is where the opportunity is.”

By Hal Rogers

The National Institute on Aging (NIA) says that after remaining constant for most of human history, life expectancy (the average number of years a person can expect to live) has nearly doubled in the last century. The maximum life span has increased spectacularly as well.

Although from 1996 through 2006, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on all items increased less than 3 percent, housing costs increased more than 30 percent, medical costs almost 50 percent, and gas prices — well, oil companies have taken us on a roller-coaster ride, and prices are inching up again. High energy prices, as you know, end up increasing the cost of almost everything else!

So, if Americans are living longer and things are costing more, there is a chance your money won’t last as long as you do once you decide to retire.

As you think about living in your retirement, consider: If you were to retire today, could you live on Social Security and distributions from your pension or 401(k)? Probably not — at least not in the style to which you are accustomed.

It stands to reason, then, that moderate increases in Social Security and income from a pension or 401(k) will probably not be sufficient for retirement. So, regardless of your current age, it makes sense to think about options for retirement, to assure that you won’t run out of money when you decide to stop practicing. Here are several to consider:

• Lifetime annuities. The conventional solution to making certain your income lasts as long as you do is to purchase an immediate lifetime annuity. In this type of plan, you give money to an insurance company; the insurance company gives you money for the rest of your life, even if you live to age 100 or older, and even if it pays you more than you gave them.

The downside to a lifetime annuity: Your income will not increase with inflation, and your heirs will not get any of that money when you die.

• Stock market investments. The growth potential of the stock market can increase your investment income over time. The more aggressively you invest the more potential you have for either gains or losses.

The downside to stocks: The market doesn’t’ provide any guarantees. If the market declines when you need to withdraw, you can lose.

• Insured variable annuity accounts. Insured accounts allow you to participate in the stock market while protecting your income and/or death benefits. While account values aren’t guaranteed, since you can’t guarantee that the stock market won’t go down, withdrawals and/or death benefits are guaranteed (subject to the claims-paying ability of the carrier.) These accounts, called variable annuities, help you sustain income during retirement.

With a variable annuity, your income amount may increase over time. With the right account, structured the right way, market performance can cause your income to go up, but it can’t make it go down.

The underlying investments in a variable annuity are sub-accounts, accounts that are similar to mutual funds, holding stocks, bonds, or money-market instruments. Therefore, the market value of the account is subject to the ups and downs of the market, but the insured benefits guarantee your income or lump-sum death benefit payout. Unlike lifetime annuities (which provide income but no survivor benefits), variable annuities also provide death benefits, typically at least the amount of your purchase payments, less withdrawals. Some companies and some products increase the guaranteed death benefit with market increases without lowering it in case of market declines.

Finally, like lifetime annuities, variable annuities are tax-deferred, which means that you do not pay any taxes on the income and investment gains until you withdraw it.

The downside to variable annuities: Many different types of variable-annuity accounts exist, and that means you and your financial advisor need to do a lot of homework to select the best for you. Even if an advisor makes a recommendation, request a list of all the companies included in your advisor’s research and read the fine print. Remember, the marketing piece giveth and the fine print taketh away! 

Because variable annuities are invested in the market, they are subject to market variations. Also, when you begin to take distributions from a variable annuity, you will be taxed on the earnings at ordinary income-tax rates instead of capital-gains rates, which are generally lower.

Costs are generally considered a downside to variable annuities; however, properly structured, variable annuities can allow you to participate in a more aggressive portfolio than you might without the insured benefits, since they can provide downside protection that mutual funds do not offer. However you should never invest more aggressively than the risk-tolerance with which you are comfortable.

• Indexed annuities. Indexed annuities, often erroneously marketed as stock market alternatives, are more appropriately considered bond alternatives because of their cap on upside performance, which is based on a calculation connected to an index, such as the Standard & Poor 500 Composite Stock Price Index. With their relationship to stock indices, they can give you a little more upside potential than you might generally expect from bonds.

The rate of return on indexed annuities is based on a calculation connected to an index, such as the Standard & Poor 500 Composite Stock Price Index, but generally subject to a cap.  Typically indexed annuities do not have internal costs; however, they almost always have severe, long-term early-surrender penalties.   

The downside to indexed annuities: The downside to indexed annuities is their performance limitations due to the caps, and the amount and term of their surrender penalties.

What to do

You want your money to last as long as you do. But, before buying any financial product:

• Do your homework. Consult a retirement strategist; obtain and review the prospectus; understand what you are buying.

• Understand costs and benefits. Read the annuity contract carefully and be sure you understand fees and charges, investment options, death benefits, and payout options.

• Compare. Carefully consider the benefits, drawbacks, and costs of all types of financial vehicles. Compare them side by side.

In addition to insuring that your money lasts as long as you do, make certain you address liquidity needs, tax planning, and asset protection issues. A dollar bill in your birthday card won’t be nearly as satisfying when you are age 100 as it was when you were six.

Hal Rogers, CFP, CSA is chief retirement strategist with Jacksonville-based Retirement Services, advisory services and securities offered through ProEquities, Inc., member of Financial Industry Regulatory Agency (FINRA) and Security Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). He can be reached at 888 720-0556 or at office@retserv.net.

DISCLAIMER: Information is for informational purposes and should not be construed to be specific tax, legal, or investment advice. Decisions regarding individual circumstances should include consultation with a professional who understands your situation. All investment purchases are to be preceded by a current investment prospectus.

SIDEBAR

Your best weapon: Retirement strategies

Perhaps the greatest weapon available in your battle to assure your money lasts longer than you do is retirement strategies. Proper structure and integration of specific financial products make those products work harder. 

As you move through the financial phases of your life, accumulation (saving and investing), distribution (taking income from your accounts), and transfer (leaving assets to your heirs), the effects of the tax laws reverse. 

For example: An IRA or a 401(k) account gives you tax advantages when you are in the accumulation phase, but results in taxation in the distribution phase and greater taxation in the transfer phase.

Strategic planning, which looks at your current financial state and your financial goals, can help you prevent the unnecessary negative effects of this reversal effect.