Storm Dawg Marketing

In my last story I told you about how my parents successfully rebranded their business.  It worked for them…but would it work for you?

To continue my short series on small businesses and rebranding, I wanted to talk about some reasons for rebranding,  and about why rebranding might not always be a good idea. 

There are a few reasons that would have you deciding to change how you are seen by the public.  One reason is that some businesses want to be classified differently so they are seen in different sections of the Yellow Pages or Yellow Pages look-up and search services. 

For Example: Exterminators vs Pest Control vs Pest Management Services.  You would think these are pretty much the same thing, but each title/classification gets searched for differently and with more or less frequency than the other.  By changing your name to the title/classification that gets searched or looked up more often, you are increasing your chances of being noticed.

Another reason to change might be that your business is expanding its products or services.  Offering more is always a good way to get more customers and to keep existing ones.  But unless you are changing your name to reflect those additional products or services, what is the point?

Another reason for a name change might be that your company has been sold.  Here’s a little story about that… 

A friend of mine works at a company that had a well-known brand and a good service to offer.  At the beginning of the year another company took note of their “reputation” and “offerings” and decided to acquire her company and roll their service and products into their suite of offerings. 

Apparently, that created quite a good combination because within 4 months of the initial purchase, that company was sold and she again had to email us her new contact info.  

Her signature line on her email to me last week read: 

Friends Name
at Blank Company (previously Blank Company & Blank Company)

Ha!  Seriously??  Obviously, there is value in the previous company names if you are still using it in your corporate signature line…so why change the name?  Letting acquisitions operate under their own name is not a bad idea if they have a strong brand. 

Don’t get me wrong, I understand why you would change it…but don’t advertise your identity crisis in your email signature on outward communications.  I wonder if any of her customers have moved on because they feel there is a lack of stability in the company?  Would you? 

Have a fantastic New Year!
Check in next week for the next installment in my rebranding series! 

Christina Kudym

As you know, most small-businesses owners have barely enough time to complete their day-to-day tasks, so planning for the future…past next month…is probably not something that most of them can achieve.  But seriously, you really REALLY need to.

Think about it, as a business owner what would happen to your business tomorrow if you were hit by a bus today?  Would your staff be able to run the business without you?  Ego might have you saying “no”…but if that is true, will you have a business when you get out of the hospital?  That is where one type of succession plan comes into play.  Make sure at least one person knows how to do what you do.

Another scenario involves the “family” business.  Who in your family is going to take over the business so you can retire someday?  Are you waiting for one of your children to take the initiative?  Don’t wait too long.  Hiring outside the family to have someone manage your business is always an option!  Keeping the business going doesn’t mean keeping it “all” in the family.

Attached is some great resarch from our friends at ORC Guideline on succession planning.  There is some great information here I think that you really need to check out.   Let me know if you have anything to add to this, especially your own experiences!

Christina Kudym

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

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

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

Is your business protected from an online invasion?  As a business, you need to be aware of three major online threats you can face today: spam, viruses and phishing.  You have the ability to protect yourself from these things but are you?

Whether it be by online subscription services such as McAfee or SpyWare, there are many resources out there.  If you want to know about other resources, go to the National Cyber Security Alliance.  Their site offers useful information on how to protect your business.   You can also check out SpikedSecurity.com, a blog by infoGROUP’s Kevin Russell. Do some research on what solution best fits your needs.

Spending the time and money up front will save you much more in the end.  Please check out this research from our friends at ORC Guideline about how small businesses are protecting themselves & their customers and the fines that could apply if they don’t.

Thanks and like StormDawg would say, “Don’t work too hard!”

Christina Kudym, StormDawg S.W.A.T. Team

Small businesses are large contributors to charities and their local communities.  I am sure this is not a surprise to some of you, but did you know that small businesses donate in excess of $40 billion in cash, products, services and time?  That is incredible!

Despite the current economic situation and the fact that small businesses are getting hit hard, they are still out there lending a hand.  Wow!  In fact, according to a survey from our friends at ORC Guideline, small businesses feel they can do even more! Are you one of them?  If so, what are you donating?  Would you rather donate products and services instead of cash? Read the attached research and see what businesses like yours are giving away.

Thanks, and as StormDawg would say, “Don’t work too hard!”

Christina Kudym, StormDawg S.W.A.T. Team

It is imperative that business owners pay attention to what is going on in their communities and around the country. 

Before you open that second location, hire extra staff or remodel an existing location, you might want to take a look at a few key things.  Job growth, consumer confidence and weekly retail sales numbers are some things to you may want to keep your eye on.  Consumers feel at ease when the job market is expanding… as it usually means they are not in fear of losing their own jobs and are willing to go out for dinner, buy nice things and take a vacation. 

Did you know that consumer confidence hit historical highs last summer but the index has been falling ever since?   The Census Bureau reports on all retail sales numbers monthly; retailers plan on 5% growth year-to-year, but those numbers have been falling just short lately.  How does this affect you?  Take a look at the attached research from ORC Guideline and you will find some interesting information.

Christina Kudym – StormDawg S.W.A.T. Team