Storm Dawg Marketing

Every small business knows that Facebook is the most popular social networking site on the planet. Every SMART small business knows that if they’re not on Facebook yet, they’re missing out on a huge opportunity to connect with customers and grow their business.

What small business owners may NOT know is that they need to get started RIGHT NOW.

Ireland’s LaCucina Limerick has a simple recipe for success that any small business can replicate to get their business on Facebook TODAY and start seeing results TOMORROW! The Simply Zesty blog featured them because they were able to use Facebook to:

• Connect with 2,000 people, the majority of which were local and their best prospective customers
• Ask questions, post pictures, and p interact with her customers and prospects (a simple status update of “Pineapple on pizza?” got more than 60 comments)
• Leverage the popularity of restaurant frequenters, such as the Munster rugby team, by posting stories and pictures and helping the team’s fans become their own
• And have fun with their products with a great give-away – “Tag the Pizza” (they post a picture of their pizza, ask fans to “tag” themselves in the photo for a chance at a freebie, spreading pictures of their food throughout their fans’ friends)
• (Click here to learn more about how they’re using Facebook.)

You cannot afford to wait any longer for success like this. If you don’t get your business on Facebook RIGHT NOW, then your customers won’t be talking about your business at all…or worse…they’ll be talking with your competitors.

Click here to get your business on Facebook RIGHT NOW. Then, leave us a comment below with your business’s name and a link to your page. (We want to become your fan, too! )

Does your business already have a page on Facebook? Leave us a link as a comment below and share your success!

We’ll follow up next week with some great tips on what to do with your page, and who knows…we might just feature YOUR BUSINESS!

Bryan D. Jennewein

ABC News reported in their article, “Neb. Small-Business Owners Say They Get No Help,” that Small business owners gathered in Omaha Tuesday to discuss what they feel is a lack of help from government stimulus programs and banks. Some of the business owners interviewed recount tales of home foreclosures, lending struggles and land devaluations – all things that significantly impact the small businesses that Omaha representative Lee Terry describes as the backbone of the U.S. economy.

If this article (and the 50 small business owners that gathered in Omaha) indicates anything, it’s that the recession is far from over, small businesses are STILL struggling, and many are having difficulty finding the help they “need.”  … or was it “want?”

We blogged a while back about a few great resources for small business: The SBA, SCORE, local banks to name a few. Now it’s not always easy… handouts (bailouts?) are easy. These are more like hand-ups. Our free marketing contest has even helped-up a few hundred small businesses drum up new customers and breath life into some marketing practices. (For those of you waiting to enter again… February we’re opening the contest back up, and it’s going to be BETTER THAN EVER!)

With all of the cries of small businesses these days, I’m reminded of a saying from another one of our blog authors, Christina Kudym: “Mom said no… … … Da-a-a-a-d!!!”  (She’s hilarious; follow her on Twitter @ChristinaKudym.)

With all the “bail outs” going on for larger industries, are we losing site of our own responsibilities? Do we “need” help or “want” help? Or to say it differently, are we just whining too much? Is there an opportunity to take even more pride from owning a business if you can steer it successfully with whatever resources are made available to you?

Or… does the government have a responsibility to the backbone of the U.S. economy to step in and help when times get tough?

Or further still… is there a risk to the greater economy without greater intervention?

Would love to hear your thoughts on this evolving discussion.

Bryan D. Jennewein

Have you been thinking about starting your own business or going out on your own? Very soon (in two days in fact) it will be a new year… is this the year for a new you or your new business?

The AMEX Open Forum featured a fantastic article about seven truths everyone should know before going out on their own. Check out the article here: “Don’t Quit Your Cozy Corporate Job and Go Out on Your Own Until You Master These Seven Truths.”

One in particular struck me as a really good piece of advice:

Focus is the solitary suggestor of success. Spraying is the enemy. Focus is mobilizing. Therefore: Take your index finger, cover up the tip of the hose, and shoot out a frozen rope of focused effort. Otherwise you’ll spread yourself too thin, the result of which will be a diffusion of energy investment. This is not good. Your challenge is to constantly ask yourself questions like: “Is what I’m doing RIGHT NOW consistent with my #1 goal?” and “What consuming my time but doesn’t make me any money?” Remember: William James was right when he said, “The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.” How much time are you spending on things that diffuse your focus and hamper your goals?

What do YOU think makes great advice for anyone going out on their own?

Bryan D. Jennewein

Ever feel like there’s just too much to do? If you’re a small-business owner or entrepreneur, you’re answer is almost always “Yes.” In fact, you’re probably exclaiming, “Yes! Yes! All the time!”

Want a solution for calming the chaos? I came across a great article in the AMEX Open Forum website by the Behance Team titled, “5 Ways to Reduce Anxiety in 2010,” and I just knew these would be tips you’d love.

Check out the article here: http://bit.ly/5W1qFJ

The five tips were surprisingly simple:

1. Avoid reactionary workflow
2. Reduce your insecurity at work
3. Worry only about problems within your circle of influence
4. Practice saying “no”
5. Eat (I LOVE this tip!!)

Now… does anyone have any tips for DOING these things?

Bryan D. Jennewein

One of our earlier winners of our Free Marketing Contest, Texas Mountain Cedar, is seeing such great success, we thought we’d share it with all of you, and finish with an incredible offer… a 20-40% discount! Keep reading or click here for discount information!

Background of winner: Texas Mountain Cedar Designs is a family owned and operated business. With more than 18 years of experience working with Texas mountain cedar, the company has developed a unique artistry building pergolas, trellises, arbors, and fences from cedar.

Marketing plan: For this business, we selected a combination of direct mail marketing, email marketing and web site advertising. We designed a custom tri-fold brochure (click here to see it!) promoting their arbors, pergolas, trellises and the like. For email, we targeted both business and consumers, and repeated the message twice (click here to see it!). Finally, we promoted their website with Google AdWords (Paid Search) and a targeted landing page PLUS got them listed on Google Local. (They didn’t have business cards, so we printed those, too.)

Campaign details:

Direct mail marketing – Tri-Fold Brochures (click here to see it!)

The brochures are in the mail right now. The unique 800# we included will help us track how many calls come in.

Email – “Add Beauty to Your Landscape” email blast to businesses and consumers (2x) (click here to see it!)

We emailed a total of 1,294 recipients 27,356 recipients, including businesses and consumers. (You never know who will respond to your message and in what setting.) We targeted the email list to Texas Mountain Cedar’s best prospects, so we didn’t waste a dime mailing to the wrong audience. We saw an unbelievable 30% 38% open rate with business and 16% open rate with consumers, and the calls are starting to come in!

Local – Submission of main website to Google Local Search

We submitted the Texas Mountain Cedar to Google Local Search, so people could find them easily when searching for their products in the area. This tiny improvement has resulted in only one phone call lead for them.

SEM – Google Paid Search Marketing

We leveraged some of our strategic partnerships to sponsor some Google AdWords (Paid Search) for Texas Mountain. We tested eight variations of ads with a conservative budget to find the best one. Our tests alone yielded 2 calls and 5 web form leads, while these in combination with the website resulted in an additional 22 calls and 1 more web form lead.

Has it worked?

Overwhelmingly yes! 25 calls, 6 web form leads, and more than 926 unique visitors to their website. And this doesn’t even include their tri-fold mailer! (We’ll report on that soon.)

Here’s what Nancy, one of the owners, had to say recently about one of her successes:

“We are going to a home in Southlake on Sunday to look at a yard for a pergola to cover an area 15′x17′x30′. It’s the perfect neighborhood – high-dollar homes. Most everyone has a pool. […] I’m hoping for more inquiries after the brochures go out. Then I’ll start to follow up with the businesses, starting with the ones closest to us and work my way out. Lots of work ahead, but I’m loving every minute of it!”

It worked for Nancy and Texas Mountain Cedar, but will it work for you?

We believe it will! And we’re offering any reader a 20% discount on successful services just like these! Get your campaign started right now by calling 1-866-549-6811.  Call now, this offer won’t last!

Or, lock in your discount and get an additional 10-20% off! Just fan us on Facebook and tag us on your wall! Just follow these three easy steps.  Or call 1-866-549-6811.

I had an interesting online interaction this morning that I feel compelled to share. So I am. I believe it touches on an issue that is at the heart of most successful small businesses: how we serve our customers.

First, let me catch you up to speed. A few weeks ago, we blogged about some new changes you were going to see on here. Part of that is a new design (shhh…don’t tell anyone). We’re also examining things such as software platforms, hosting providers, et cetera. We decided to stick with the WordPress platform since it’s widely used, easily supported, and growing with new plug-ins every day. For design, we’re looking at some agencies and freelance designers (anyone out there good with WordPress theme design and interested in a potential trade? We’ll happily promote you here and help you market in exchange for an awesome new design).

For hosting providers, we have the option to host through ourselves or use a provider. (This is what brings me to today’s post.) By chance I came across a company called FatCow. They were mentioned as the #1 hosting solution through a website called Hosting Review (www.hosting-review.com). My goal was to explore all of our options. And FatCow was rated number one, seemed the most inexpensive, and has support for WordPress. Even better…they pitch themselves as “green” and entirely wind-powered (with redundant backups… don’t worry… I bet your website will still work even if the wind stops blowing).

I poked around FatCow.com to find specific server configurations, supports, etc., mostly because in addition to being infoGROUP’s social media marketing guy, I’m also their social media technology nerd. When we set up some of our newest blogs, I install the software, design and/or theme it, and administrate it moving forward.

It was during my initial chat with a FatCow representative that I felt a familiar sense of entitlement wash over me. Their representative kept demanding that I send, via chat, the URL of the website where I clicked to initiate our chat from. This seemed to me…odd. In fact, the representative flat out refused to serve me or answer any of my questions until I answered his.  Again…odd. (See the full chat transcript below.)

It was then that I realized that “FatCow” was very likely one of the larger hosting companies simply pitching itself under this new name to grab a niche market.  Smart. In fact, we here at infoGROUP do that, too.  And it works.

So I dug a bit deeper. Turns out that FatCow hosts their own domain with themselves (duh)… but the company Hosting Review points its domains to ThePlanet.com, one of the bigger hosting providers. This makes me think that FatCow is likely owned by ThePlanet, and that the website Hosting-Review.com could potentially not be “non-partial” like they claim. I’ll keep digging to clarify this one and report back.

In this scenario, I felt like I was their customer, and I was entitled to an answer to my questions before I had to answer theirs… if they wanted my business.

I am their (potential) customer, and I am right. They should have answered my questions. Their biggest problem: They haven’t connected their diversification strategy with their online customer support. The chat representative probably didn’t have permission or authority to disclose what I asked him.  (Maybe they’ll rethink that transparency…or heck, maybe they’ll even come across this post?)

What do YOU think?  Is the customer always right?  Should I have gotten my answer before giving them mine?

Bryan D. Jennewein

Full Chat Transcript

Chat transcript with FatCow

Your palms are sweaty. You feel that gulp in your throat as you approach the mic. You find a focal point on the ground, darting a quick glace or two over the crowd.  Everyone’s waiting to hear what you have to say.  You open your mouth, and the words feel stuck in your throat.

Does this describe your worst nightmare at a speaking event?  And no, I’m not talking about karaoke night.  I mean a professional public speaking engagement.  If you have a fear (or natural avoidance) of such things, it may just be time to consider facing your fears. The benefits outweigh the costs.

In his article, “Why Public Speaking Is Good for Your Brand & How to Get Started,” Tony Bacigalupo tells us of the many advantages of professional speaking.  Among them are:

• Looking like an expert
• Learning something new
• Increasing visibility online and offline

Sharing what you know and creating dialogue in public events helps everyone reach a more mature perspective on issues and topics that are important to them.

Personally, I’ve had the opportunity to speak at several events recently.  And every time I was nervous (who wouldn’t be?). But I went prepared. I knew my subject matter, I knew my audience, and I took the time to practice.  When I delivered my presentation, it lead to some great discussions that left me with more questions…which made subsequent presentations even stronger.  Not only did I become a better speaker, but I’ve also helped grow our business through the people I’ve met.

What’s your experience with public speaking, and how has it helped your business?

Bryan D. Jennewein

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

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

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