While working with several new clients (item creators) whose main thrust was to maintain the creative posture of their business and have others sell their products, I found the root of their problem, a bad presentation. In developing this blog I researched firms that were service providers and found that they also had a need for a presentation process. While there is not “one way” to put together an effective presentation, there has to be a worthwhile presentation to obtain the new … [Read more...]
The social media button…a must for small businesses
May 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Last week we looked at how to brand your business; the many different options should help you create a brand that now can be marketed. Today we will focus on a magic window that can project your brand and story to everyone in the world. Keeping track of a small business, the production part, is such a major undertaking that names such as Facebook, Twitter, linkedin, e-newletters, and blogging seem like a playground for young people of the high tech generation. Few people thought that it … [Read more...]
Strengths and Weaknesses, a ncessary evaluation in forming a small business plan
May 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In the development of our Strategic Focus Plan an important exercise is assessing the strengths and weaknesses of the owner(s) or management team. (Both individual and business strengths and weaknesses are to be included in the formation of the list). I ask the participants to be honest with me and with themselves when creating this list. Once the list is complete, the next step is to prioritize both the strengths and weaknesses. The strengths are prioritized based upon their importance to the … [Read more...]
Yes, Marketing Plans do exist and are essential for the small business owner
May 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Once a Strategic focus Plan is developed, then the focus should turn to the development of a Strategic Focus Marketing Plan. In some cases, our clients want only a marketing plan developed so we have structured a Strategic Focus Marketing Plan patterned after our overall business plan. We include the same fundamentals in both plans and a lot of the discovery process is the same. The following is an outline of our Strategic Focus Marketing Plan: What is the business currently doing in the … [Read more...]
Branding the small business … continued
May 9, 2012 By Leave a Comment
If you are building a brand, there are a set of tools that you can use to strengthen and project the brand. “Strong brands typically exhibit an owned word, a slogan, a color, a symbol, and a set of stories” Slogan: a slogan or tag line added to the company name or brand and used in all its marketing efforts is a very powerful “message sender”. Selecting the right slogan requires a lot of thought and patience but once selected, it can help grow the positive image in the minds of … [Read more...]
Branding the small business
May 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Many small business owners tell me that they want to “build a brand name”, or “we are building a brand name”. First, let’s answer the questions, why brand? The main advantaging of “branding” is to have your products enjoy a higher profit margin and greater customer loyalty than similar products of the same type. There are many components to the branding process, one is as follows: “ images loaded with sensory stimulation and the potential for emotional associations are the key … [Read more...]
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