When was the last time you gave something to someone without the thought of getting something in return? How did it make you feel?  Pretty good, right?  Imagine giving your business services or products to your customers.

Retail stores learned long ago about the power of the “loss leader”, a product that is sold at a greatly reduced price in order to encourage other sales or visits to the store.  Although the product was not given away, the lower price attracted additional customers.

We all know how the current economy has affected businesses, making ongoing advertising and marketing efforts challenging. Maybe now is a perfect time to start giving.  Here are “3 FREE Tips To Help Your Business Grow”:

1. Give your knowledge: Establish yourself as an expert in your field by writing articles, blogs, ezines, newsletters, and by participating in forums.  If writing isn’t your strong point, work with a virtual marketing assistant who can take your ideas and put them on paper.  Always proofread!
2. Give your time: I know it’s difficult to run a small business and have any time left over for others, but try to find a way to participate in your community, through local business associations  and volunteer organizations. You may be able to provide help in your area of expertise, further establishing your credential, or you may find that your volunteer efforts are warmly received by a whole social network.  Find activities that you enjoy and don’t look for what you may “get” out of your participation. Concentrate on what you can give.
3. Give your services or products: Everyone likes to get something for FREE!  A free energy-saving lightbulb with a new lamp purchase, buy one-get one free, free fill-up with every 5  oil changes.  Giving away items or services builds excitement, promotes product awareness and encourages customer loyalty.

Make a practive of giving – you will find that good things happen when you least expect them to.

In my previous “What’s Happened To Craigslist?” post, I began to wonder why Gmail was the preferred email for the spam I received in response to my  post in the marketing area.  In one week, I have received over 45 responses to my post — all but two have used gmail accounts.

I reported this to Google, hoping that they would thank me for my help in canning spam, and they sent a very nice note saying that they appreciated my feedback and would “take action” against such vile acts.  The job offers are still pouring in….

The ability to stay organized while working with multiple clients, prioritizing the workload, while meeting deadlines is always a challenge.  I’m generally pretty good at it, probably helped by years as a magazine editor/publisher.

As I work with new clients who have asked me to help them with their marketing efforts, I am often drawn from the marketing task at hand to help them organize their office systems.  I have seen databases consisting of boxes of invoices stacked neatly in a closet, heard clients begging me to hook up my old fax machine (in the basement for 5 years) so they can send me important stuff, and witnessed countless computer issues due to human error. One area where the lack of organization takes on new meaning is the dreaded INBOX.

A business owner came to me recently in a panic.  He was worried that his email program was “running out of room”, as he put it. A quick look at his INBOX revealed the problem – he had over 2,500 emails, over 300 of which he had never opened.  When I asked him why he kept them all, his reply was, “I thought I might need the information later.” Not only did he save everything, he really didn’t know how to retrieve what he might need later.

MY TASK: Organize the INBOX, a collection of important business and personal messages from people I didn’t know, as well as identify and destroy spam along the way and cut down the time it would take him to read and reply to his mail each day.

I began by sorting the mail alphabetically by the sender in order to identify frequency.  I was then able to delete obvious spam, Google messages, and come up with a list of contacts that needed clarification.  I set up some standard folders and sub-folders including associations, personal, customers, vendors, social networks, and key contacts.  After adjusting his spam filters and giving him a short lesson in how to check his junk mail folder and delete unwanted files, he was back on track.  I left him with the task of reviewing his new folders, starting with the most important folders first, opening mail that he’d forgotten and deleting old messages.  Our next meeting will include determining what folders are necessary and what new ones, if any, we need to add.  We will have monthly checkups from now on just to make sure the system stays in place and all mail gets sorted and dealt with quickly.

The look on his face when we were done –priceless!  It’a amazing what a little organization can do to relieve a lot of stress.

Craigslist has been getting a lot of bad press lately.  I used to recommend CL for my for-sale-by-owner advertisers when it first expanded to W. Mass and it seemed fine then – at least in the real estate for sale category.

Over time the scams started appearing, the warnings became more frequent and real estate agents found a way to take over the category.  I eventually lost interest at that point.

Recently, however, after national attention was once again focused on Craigslist (after a Boston murder) I became curious and decided to check CL to see how things were going.

My Big Craigslist Experiment…..

I wanted to test the effectiveness of CL relating to my marketing services and to see if it might be an option for my clients.  I located 3 recent posts in the Jobs category under “marketing” in which the employer advertised for marketing help. The titles were “Marketing Assistant/recent grad”, “Event Planner”, and  “Marketing Help Needed”.  All were “blind” ads, with an anonymous email reply, no website listed, no local phone number, etc.  I replied to each, giving a link to my website and a Vflyer bio created especially for CL.

Within an hour I had responses from each ad:

From junie Day <wlfgfbcnllpl@gmail.com>”Hello there, how is it going? do u need cash?”

And from jamey lass <jameylass027@gmail.com>” Hey, I came across your Resume in the  westernmass section on CL and I think this article about Google’s Work From Home Program will interest you. http://www.jobs.businessgazette.net  ~All the best.”

Another Google account…tamerabogard759@gmail.com  “Hey, saw your post on craigslist regarding looking for a job. I have a job offer for you in your area right now. Go to the link below, to get more details. It will get you a job you are looking for in your area right away.  http://seekyourjobonline.yy.vc.  If you have any concerns just read our website. Regards,  Will”

And yet another Google account…maybe I’m onto something here - chesca <narrating28941@gmail.com>  “Hi. Good Day.  We would like to inform you that we have Reviewed your resume we got hold of on Craigslist. Our establishment handles a vast directory of job opportunities in your region. We are absolutely keen in hiring a qualified person such as yourself for a variety of jobs we recommend. We merely ask you to finish an IQ analysis to complete the employment procedure. The IQ check can be accessed in this page: http://ID071209.webs.com/IQ-Test-ID-08.html – After finishing the examination you will be contacted via electronic mail with your work schedule/benefits/insurance/pay schedule/etc. We appreciate for your time. We are looking forward working with you.  Sincerely,  Stephen Hall Human Resources Director”

Allright, now I’m convinced the Google Mail is a plot…

Here’s one from ambercardosovn82@gmail.com “Good evening. I  thought you were asking for work on CL. Finding Job can be hard at these times and i hope you don’t have to ask for it long.  While people are out of job, that often means also their income is low. While looking for new job you could make extra money.  Paul Have taught many people to make decent income online and best thing hes coaching program is  completely free.  If you wish make extra money while looking for job this is your chance. Check out his website at http://eetoal.notlong.com/”

Just when I thought it was all a Google threat, here comesRob Boss <rob@redbikemarketing.com>  “Hello, I just took a quick review of your resume posted on Craigslist.  If you’re still available and serious about making a change right now, email me back and I’ll get you some more information.  Most people we contact on here don’t even respond back, so no worries.  If I don’t hear back from you within 24 hours I’ll just assume you are happy where you are and I’ll make sure you aren’t emailed again.  Sincerely,  Rob Boss”

Today, when I checked Craiglist Job board once again, I found many more marketing jobs available — AWESOME, except this time they all mentioned very specific qualifications (all which I have, I might add).  Looks like the job market is really opening up in Western Mass – or maybe not.  Too bad about Craigslist.  I feel like washing my hands, no really – YUCK!

As a virtual marketing assistant for small businesses and a business owner myself, I am used to working with highly energized, passionate entrepreneurs who understand that owning a business requires wearing many hats, working long hours and balancing many tasks in order to develop and grow their vision.  Usually, I am called on to perform a specific task to start…like create an online newsletter, or redesign documents, etc.  It’s during this time that I  am able to see areas where a basic lack of organization is to blame for lost production, missed opportunities for growth and added stress.

How does this happen?  It’s hard to tell — sometimes systems are never put in place to start, or they become unmanageable as the business grows and the pile of hats become difficult to juggle.  Many times the owner relies on help from unskilled workers (family members, office help, etc.) who want to do a good job, but who really don’t have a head for marketing. In some cases, the business owner is not very comfortable with changing technology and tries to compensate until it becomes to difficult to keep up.

So, can a new business avoid organizational meltdown?  Absolutely.  Today we start with organizing your email.

5 Steps To Improve Your Email Communication

1. Use folders to organize your messages. For example, I have folders set up for clients, vendors, social networks, web hosting, media, associations, and news articles. As emails arrive, I slide them easily into the folder that corresponds with the message.  By grouping emails together I can retrieve messages, passwords, product vendors, etc. easily.
2. Set filters to weed out most junk mail. Is your in-box overloaded with spam? Don’t waste valuable time sifting through mail you never requested.  Change your security settings and request help from your email host if necessary, but can the spam!
3. Empty your trash frequently. There’s no need to save everything forever.  I set a schedule to have my trash deleted automatically.  Once per year clean out folders.
   
4. Write quality emails. Part of organizing your email starts with knowing what your messages contain.  When writing, choose subject lines that are precise.  Avoid grouping several subjects together in the body of your message.  It makes it difficult trace a reply later.  Encourage others to do the same when writing to you.  It’s better to receive five emails, one per subject, than one huge email with a long “to do” list.  Trust me on this one.
5. Use a professional signature. Make sure your signature includes your business name, address, phone, fax, email and website. If possible, use an email address that refers to your website, ie. johnq@mybusiness.com.  Your signature can also be a great marketing device.

Part II – Organizing your desktop (coming soon!)

It never surprises me to see how often companies fail to focus on their customer in their marketing messages.  Take, for example, the real estate agent whose ad campaign starts with “WE NEED LISTINGS – LIST WITH US”.  Who cares?

Quite frankly, if I am thinking of selling my home, do I look for the agent who “needs  my listing” or the agent who can sell the house?   Should I feel sorry for the agent who needs my listing to put food on the table for her family, or send her kids to private school?  Will the agent who has lots of listings work harder or smarter to sell my home, or just be able to brag to other agents about how many listings she has acquired?

Feature-oriented marketing is used to describe what a particular product or service includes while benefit-oriented marketing tells the consumer why they need it.  Examples:  turbo-charged engine vs. gets you where you’re going fast;  comes in five colors vs. with a color to satisfy every member of the family;  security system installation vs. never worry about your family’s safety again.

So, how do you incorporate benefit-oriented marketing for your business?   I’ll help by providing some examples using a few of my own business services.  The first are feature-oriented.

• Online newsletter design and maintenance
• Photo editing
• Database development

Here is the same list defined as “benefit-oriented”.

• Online newsletters that provide instant and ongoing customer communication without costing an arm and a leg
• Photo editing designed for fast uploading to the internet will make your property outshine the competition
• Database development to help you identify your customers and be able to seamlessly mail any marketing piece.

Using benefit-oriented marketing as part of your overall marketing strategy will help you to continue to put your customer’s needs first.

I am not ashamed to say that my teenage daughters have more of a handle on the realm of social networking than I will probably ever hope to have, and they definitely have “two thumb” texting down to a science.  We baby-boomers often lurk on the fringes of new technology, hoping that it will somehow seep into us by osmosis.  If you don’t know your “Technocrati” from your Tweets and you certainly don’t Digg It, don’t despair.

As  a business owner, you wear many hats.  If you’re lucky, you have “people” who can figure all this stuff out for you and determine where you need to place your business in the expanding world of the Internet.  If you are like many small business owners, you may be hyperventilating right now, wondering how you will ever catch up to the amazing speed of technology in order to keep your business name in front of potential customers.

I spend a fair amount of time researching how small businesses are using aspects of technology in their marketing and what I see clearly defines the competition. At the top of the heap are companies who really understand their marketing message. They brand every aspect of their business: their products, services, marketing materials and messages. Does your business utilize social networking well?

Here are some Internet mistakes that can HURT your business:

1. No  website. This is a no-brainer.  An internet address is mandatory in today’s climate.
2. Poor website.  This is not the time to ask your geeky son or brother-in-law to design a “freebie”.  This is your business card!
3. Website that can’t be found.  You’ve paid money to design a website that no one sees.  How bad is that?
4. Website O.K. but how is it marketed?  A website is a tool to help you gather interest in your products and services.  You MUST market it.
5. Blogs, social networking sites, etc. – You must commit to posting regularly.  Outdated posts, abandoned content will HURT you.

Businesses who delve into social networking without a clear plan and idea of the amount of time it takes to maintain websites, blogs, social networking sites and directories may become overwhelmed and the neglect will be visible.  Don’t let this happen to you.

It’s important to have a “master plan” for marketing which includes today’s Web 2.0 technology, but don’t bite off more than you can chew without help.

Man with target

My first job in sales and marketing was as a life insurance agent for Fidelity Union Life, a company based in Dallas, TX.  I knew nothing about life insurance and even less about selling but the idea  of making my own schedule and income based upon my abilities appealed to me.  Little did I know that my new employer was an innovator in a new marketing strategy and I was about to receive an education that would impact the entire insurance industry.  Fidelity Union Life whose founder, Carr P Collins, started the company in 1927 with a handful of employees rose to become one of the largest stock life-insurance companies in America in the 1990s.  In 1954, James Collins took over the operation from his father and developed a new market concept where members were grouped by similar insurance needs.  Advertising was carefully directed to these “target markets” which appealed to their interests.

Being a new college graduate, I was introduced to the “college market”.  My job was to talk to college seniors about the need for life insurance as being the base of their soon-to-be financial portfolio.   Other agents scoffed at the idea of working with college students.  After all, they didn’t have any money.  How would they pay a premium for the policy?  Not to worry, Fidelity Union Life had that part figured out.  The company would have the policyholder sign a promissory note for the first year’s premium and the student would pay it back after landing their first job.  Fidelity Union was looking ahead, seeing a college graduate with a good paying job who will later get married, have kids, buy a house, etc. etc.

As I learned the ropes of selling — cold calling, appointment setting, sales ratios and activity tracking, I began formulating my own target market within the college market.  Rather than randomly calling students listed in the directory, I decided that I would ONLY target students majoring in economics, business, accounting and computer science.  I later dropped the accounting group as being too analytical.  I also chose a college  where I felt that the students had the best opportunity to become hired, leaving the state school for the ivy league-ish college in the same community.  My results were excellent and years later my clients were in management positions with Proctor Gamble,  Arthur Anderson, Ernst & Young, Citibank and other top firms.  Predictably, they married, had kids, got a bigger house and bought more life insurance every time.

Small businesses, whose advertising dollars are stretched very thin today, should find that “targeting” a market segment may result in increased sales and overall growth.   Knowing who your customers are is critical to any business and assuming that everyone will buy your product or service is faulty thinking.  Keeping your eye on the “target” and customizing your advertising will help you focus your attention and produce results you can take to the bank.

Charles L. Grandey

I am the daughter of an entrepreneur.  I grew up on a farm in northern Vermont until age six, when my dad gave up farming to become an independent insurance agent.  We bought a big Victorian house  on Main Street in the village so that Dad’s office would have high visibility.  At the time I was heartbroken and missed life on the farm, but soon learned that the fast-paced village life could have its advantages, especially as I grew older.

Dad opened his insurance agency in 1960 and his business grew steadily.  I remember feeling that he must have known EVERYONE in town, as there seemed to be a steady stream of customers walking through the door.  Every morning Dad drove to a local restaurant for coffee and toast.  He bypassed the comfortable booths in order to sit in his favorite spot at the counter,  enjoying small talk with anyone who walked past.  He volunteered on town committees and became a member of the Soil Conservation Board (early eco-green) and was always available to his customers – nights and weekends if needed.

My first job was working in Dad’s office where I learned the fine art of customer service.  I filed, answered the phone, greeted customers and watched my dad work.  What did I learn from being the daughter of an entrepreneur in the early 1960s?  Well, at the time I didn’t think I learned very much, but looking back I can see that Dad really understood marketing and its importance to the survival of his small business.  Dad died in 1994 and I probably never thought to tell him thanks for all his help, just by being who he was.  I think he knows.