Storm Dawg Marketing

The Small Business Administration (SBA) announced yesterday that is has run through all of the stimulus money allocated by Congress.  To catch you up, Congress gave the SBA $375 million to help back small business loans.  Typically, the SBA charges a lender for this type of guarantee and will only guarantee a small portion of the loan.  But since the stimulus took affect, the SBA has waived the fees and been guaranteeing up to 90% of the loan amount.

There is the possibility of Congress allocating more funds, but without them…what else can a small business do?  I have a few thoughts that might help:

1. Venture capital or investors. Do you have a proven-successful business, or are you starting up a business based on a proven-successful model?  If so, then venture capital and/or investors might be the way to go.  Remember, though, that what these investors care about most is getting a fast and plentiful return.  Be prepared with financial statements and forecasts that describe, in detail, what the investment will be used for and how quickly the investors will get their return.  Also, be wary of those who offer money only in exchange for equity.  You might just be financing the farm only to have to give it away later.
2. Traditional lending. Often overlooked because many people assume banks won’t lend right now.  Not true.  In fact, some smaller regional banks have actually increased their lending.  If you’re local and looking for a local solution, this is a great one to pursue, but have your ducks in a row.  The key is the details.  These banks will need to believe your business is secure, stable and profitable.
3. Ask for help. Don’t know where to turn?  Look for more seasoned professionals in your community.  Contact the local Chamber of Commerce.  Ask friends or other business owners.  Hop on LinkedIn and “Ask a Question.”  Throw a question up on Facebook.  Use all of your networking resources to find some advice or mentorship.  You might just be surprised by how many people, and who, are willing to help.

And speaking of asking for help… how about it, readers?  Do you have any advice for one another?  Or better yet, do you have a real story about how you successfully funded your business?  We’d love to hear about it and share it.

Bryan D. Jennewein

You keep hearing about people and businesses “going green”…  What does that mean to/for you?  Possibly another way to increase traffic to your business by way of new products and services?   Um…YES!

More and more people are feeling the urge to lessen their carbon footprint & want to buy the products that will help them accomplish that.  Can they buy them from you?  The green consumer base is growing, and where they want to be green, they also want to save green.  So offering products that are green and affordable is a goal you should add in 2010.

That being said I’ve attached some research from ORC Guideline that says by 2013, green product offerings will increase by 19% as well as some trends out there now.  See if you can take advantage of these trends.

As an added bonus, you are also doing your part to keep our planet healthy -small businesses are so numerous they can have a large impact on the environment by way of the green products and services they offer.

Until next week…

Christina Kudym

If you haven’t heard the news, here it is:

Social media is the word of mouth advertising for the 21st century.

What was once talked about with friends over dinner or a drink is now being blogged about, posted online, updated on Facebook, or tweeted. And the audience has transformed from one or two to one or two hundred (thousand?).

Steve Strauss discusses social media as the new word of mouth advertising in great length at the AMEX Open Forum.  Check out the article here.

I’m curious… has anyone else out there had any experience with social media as word of mouth advertising?

Bryan D. Jennewein

Consumers are taking penny-pinching to the max this holiday shopping season.  What are you doing to compensate?  Are you thinking of creative ways to get your name out there?  You should be.  Keeping less in stock so you don’t have to discount it later?  Maybe…

I mean…I’ll say it…how are you competing with Walmart and Target?  Marketing is going to play a bigger role this year than any other.  How are you getting your offers, deals and steals in front of people?  Do not cut back on your marketing – trust me, they (Walmart & Target) aren’t.

I received no fewer than 7 catalogs in the mail this week, and I looked at all 7…. of course I did…Christmas is coming!  If you are short on marketing $, consider joining forces with other small businesses in your area to put out a “combo catalog.”  Help one another out, for Pete’s sake!  Find a nearby store that sells something complementary to yours and share a marketing campaign.  Or join forces with everyone in your strip mall and coordinate your marketing efforts on mailers, emails and the like.  Why not?  And for heaven’s sake, get a Facebook ad.  Everyone and their mom is on Facebook.  Well….actually not my mom. I just showed her how to get an email address…no kidding.  She shops QVC; however, she’s not your demographic anyway…no worries.

Consumers plan to spend an average of $683 on holiday-related shopping this year. That is down 3.2% from last year’s $705.  How much do you think they plan on spending with you?

For some interesting holiday shopping stats,  take a look at the attached research from ORC Guideline.  If I didn’t motivate you to market, these stats might do the trick.

Do you have some marketing tips for this holiday season? Share!

Talk to you next Thursday,
Christina Kudym

Today, we’d like to give special thanks to all the men and women who have served or are currently serving in the United States Armed Forces.

If you know someone who has served or is currently serving, be sure to tell them thank you today.

Thanks, from all of us at infoGROUP.

This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave.
Elmer Davis Quotes

How social are you and your business? Do you make it a point to get out there and make people aware of who you are and what your business is all about? Or, do you sit back and pray that someone does business with you today? Are you running out of ideas as to how to market your business? Take a moment and honestly answer these questions, then continue reading below about SOCIAL MEDIA.

This morning I read an article by Jeffrey Gitomer, What’s so social about social media? How social are you? As I read the article I realized that social media is the “new machine” that one can either embrace and capitalize on or continue to ignore and watch your competitors embrace the “machine” called social media and witness their exponential growth compared to your dwindling numbers. It’s up to you but for now I highly encourage you to click on the following link to read Jeffrey’s article. Afterwards I would love to hear back from you! Share your story…who knows your story may help another.

Mike Shults

A few years ago, I took a trip to Greece and Turkey. It was part of a large group, and my friends and I received a pretty good deal. We had a tremendously fun time and learned quite a bit about local and historical culture. The one thing we never had to think about was the travel arrangements. Everything from our airfare to our hotels to even the small plan that flew us from Istanbul to Asia Minor was taken care of by the travel company. In truth, I don’t even remember how we were connected with the travel company or how that company marketed itself.

Today, I’d like to talk about one of the contestants from last month’s contest, a travel company by the name of American Adven-Tours Inc. The company is owned by M.J. Starky, but it was her daughter Miranda who wrote in:

I am writing this on behalf of my mother and her new company. Less than a year ago, my mom decided to make a HUGE career decision. On her own, but with over 10 years of previous experience working for another company, she decided to open her own group travel company. [...] She tries very hard to get her name out there, but she is in need for some help in that area. My mom works alone; doing tedious office tasks from dusk until dawn, and then has to travel with her groups often. Her office is located in West Virginia, which makes it even harder to advertise, then to say New York or Miami where there are a lot more people. Currently for marketing, my mom has reached out to previous clients that she has worked with. She uses the good ole “word of mouth” technique, which kind of pays off because she is so good at what she does. Other than that, she has made some phone calls and trips looking for new clients. She has also paid someone to make her a website. I feel that this company has everything it needs to be very successful except for help in marketing.
The company’s info is below:
American Adven-Tours, Inc.
304-931-4739
Owner: Marilyn “M.J.” Starkey

This company wasn’t our winner last month, but infoGROUP will definitely be reaching out to help. It sounds like word-of-mouth marketing is effective, but difficult to accomplish. Maybe there’s some opportunity for American Adven-Tours to explore social media, taking their word-of-mouth digital?

What do you think? What advice would you give M.J.? Let’s work together this week and see what kind of help we can drum up for M.J.

Bryan D Jennewein

What types of benefits do you offer to your employees?  Discounts on your products and services perhaps?  If so you are ahead of the curve.  The majority of small businesses out there do not offer benefits to their employees, healthcare or otherwise.  For the most part benefits are too much of a drain on their business and they just cannot afford to offer them.  For the small businesses who offer some type of benefits for employees it is usually only offerred to employees who have been with them for longer periods of time, but that is where they seem to draw the line.

The number of very small firms offering healthcare benefits has steadily declined over the last 10 years, by as much as 10% says the Kaiser Foundation.  But could smaller firms like yours find better talent if you were to offer benefits packages?  Larger companies are finding that wooing and keeping talented employees can be done by offering competitive benefits packages.  It works for them…why not for you.  Please see the attached research from ORC Guideline to get a better picture.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Christina

Do you need help knowing how your product or service is perceived by consumers, how much to charge, how your company operates or how it should operate?

Before investing your resources in hiring a consulting firm, look no further than your computer. Ask consumers for their input on the Internet by creating a blog, Twitter account, or an online community. This is a great alternative since it doesn’t come with a large price tag and you’re getting information directly from the horse’s mouth.

Check out this article in The Wall Street Journal, “The Customer Knows Best“, which offers ideas, stories, and a word of caution for those about to recruit consumer’s feedback.

Agents & brokers alike are jumping on the social media train.  It is abundantly clear that in this economy it is important to get more exposure in social networks if you are a small business.   Realtors have figured this out and are learning quickly the advantages.  A survey conducted by the NAR found that 84% of it’s agents use SMS (Social Media Sites) for business purposes.  I’m sure that you may have seen this at one time or another and not realized it…  Your friend telling you on Facebook that their home is for sale…and inserting a link to their realtor’s site.   It’s Social Media at it’s best.  Word of mouth Social.  So not only are realtors doing it…their clients are as well.  Imagine how much faster you can sell a house when you put it on your facebook wall….your clients puts it on theirs and between the two of you, you have 300 friends.  Those friends then share it with their friends…and so on.  Well now you’ve just gone viral with your listing and it didn’t cost you a thing.  Please see the attached research from our friends at ORC Guideline.  There are some great stats that you should see.

If you have any questions or stories about using Social Media Sites to get word out about your business please write in and share them!  I’d love to see what you are doing.

Have a great week!
Christina