Are You Looking for an online mirror of American economic woes? Check out the professional social networking site LinkedIn, where activity from Lehman Brothers employees and ex-workers spiked 315% from August to September of last year, when the bank was going through bankruptcy proceedings. LinkedIn's fastest growing region? Detroit.
Unlike the job seekers (and those fearing unemployment) that troll its jobs boards, LinkedIn is thriving in the recession: Overall, traffic has more than doubled to 6.9 million users in February from 3.3 million a year earlier.
For a short time it seemed LinkedIn's best days were behind it. After a big initial splash, especially with the professional set, LinkedIn seemed to lose buzz to fresher, jazzier sites such as Facebook, which has started to gain traction among Baby Boomers. (Facebook today has 175 million-plus members). But it has something the Facebooks and Twitters of the world do not: profits. For the past two years, it has been in the black, according to remarks that founder Reid Hoffman made at the World Economic Forum in Davos last January. With a billion dollar valuation, the company has raised close to $100 million so far. Hoffman told TechCrunch's Michael Arrington most of that cash has not yet been spent. "We can go public anytime we want to," he said.
The site's value comes from its network. With the number of job seekers far surpassing the available jobs in most professions, it's not enough to simply submit resumes to human resource departments. Those who find jobs must be aggressive about getting a foot in the door. "The number one way you find a job is through referral and LinkedIn is the biggest referral network out there,"said Charlene Li, founder of the research outfit Altimeter Group.
This worked well for Seema Kumar. Kumar, 31, began a job search on LinkedIn last summer while working as a product manager at software company VMWare. The site helped her connect to people from prior jobs with whom she'd lost touch. "I looked at Craigslist for postings, but LinkedIn had a different caliber or quality of posting," she said. "It offered a more comprehensive way for me to look for opportunities." In November she began work as a product manager at social application maker Slide.com, a job she found on LinkedIn.
Employers also increasingly rely on LinkedIn to recruit and vet their potential hires. Drew Patterson, vice president of marketing for Kayak.com, used the site to find two of the five employees he hired last year, paying $195 to list his job posts for 60 days. In addition to his fellow Harvard alumni, and his former Columbia Business School classmates, Patterson considers LinkedIn among his most useful job networks. "LinkedIn is great because you have some sense of where this person is and how they fit into your world," he said.
To capitalize on the enthusiam, the company recently installed a new management team. Founder Reid Hoffman became CEO and chairman. Jeff Weiner, who left Yahoo last year, took over as interim president. And former Google director Deep Nishar joined the site to lead product management in December.
This team will experiment with new ways to make the site both more relevant and more profitable. Unlike many traditional boards, which receive revenue from job postings and thus lose money when companies are hiring fewer people, LinkedIn has many ways to make money. In addition to job postings and traditional advertising, it has built a healthy business out of licensing its software to companies for internal recruiting. In addition, individuals can pay for premium subscriptions.
Not everyone believes that LinkedIn will be able to distinguish itself from other social networking sites over time. "How sustainable is it given that a lot of Facebook use is for professional interaction?" asks Gartner analyst Ray Valdes.
Indeed frustrated job seeker Cheryl Dowling, 33, from Charlotte, NC says she has made more potential job connections on LiveJournal and Facebook than LinkedIn, explaining, "The people that I have friended in LJ and Facebook are actual friends that seem more interested in helping one another out, and are more likely to take that extra few minutes to pass on information when they hear it."
But LinkedIn has never billed itself as a place friends go to connect. It's about professional presentation. And with one member signing up for the site every second, it's growing increasingly useful to employers and employees alike.
NEW YORK (Fortune)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
"Does Your Business Have It's Niche?"
One of the first things you must do for your business is define your target market. I hear business owners tell me all the time that “anyone can use their products,” or “they don’t want to narrow down their customer base by excluding groups of people.” I understand that there is fear around excluding a portion of the population – you feel it’s money walking out the door. But, do you really want to try and be all things to all people? When you narrow your focus and choose a target market, you will be able to market your business more effectively.
Here are three reasons a target market will help your business operate more effectively.
1. Spend your advertising dollars wisely
Your ad must be seen at least 7 times before it even registers with a potential customer. If you market to “everyone,” where are you going to place your ad to ensure that enough people see it 7 times? That is, enough people who are then willing to try your products or services. That’s a lot of advertising dollars spent for simply guessing where to put your ad.
If you have defined a target market, you can identify what publications they are likely to read, or what web sites they are likely to visit and you can advertise accordingly.
2. Know your customers
Customers also want to know “what’s in it for me?” How do your products and services benefit them? By knowing your target market, you can determine what to talk about with potential customers. You will be able to discuss specifically why potential customers will be interested in your products or services.
3. Hear it from the source and meet their needs
Once you choose your target market, do some research to determine what other interests the people in your niche have. Find out where they like to hang out online and offline. Start hanging out in those places too and get to know the people. For example, if your product appeals to moms, join a few mom’s groups. When you connect with them, ask what their needs and concerns are. This is a great way to conduct your research – nothing like getting information directly from the source. You can then use that information to further develop products and services for your business.
Truth be told, I was terrified to choose a target market. I felt that I would be limiting myself. I was afraid that I would lose out on income. The truth is, because I chose a target market, I was more successful and actually gained more business. My advertising efforts were focused, and I positioned myself as someone my target market could trust with their needs. Having a target market has helped me work smarter and more effectively in my business.
Jenn Givler
Here are three reasons a target market will help your business operate more effectively.
1. Spend your advertising dollars wisely
Your ad must be seen at least 7 times before it even registers with a potential customer. If you market to “everyone,” where are you going to place your ad to ensure that enough people see it 7 times? That is, enough people who are then willing to try your products or services. That’s a lot of advertising dollars spent for simply guessing where to put your ad.
If you have defined a target market, you can identify what publications they are likely to read, or what web sites they are likely to visit and you can advertise accordingly.
2. Know your customers
Customers also want to know “what’s in it for me?” How do your products and services benefit them? By knowing your target market, you can determine what to talk about with potential customers. You will be able to discuss specifically why potential customers will be interested in your products or services.
3. Hear it from the source and meet their needs
Once you choose your target market, do some research to determine what other interests the people in your niche have. Find out where they like to hang out online and offline. Start hanging out in those places too and get to know the people. For example, if your product appeals to moms, join a few mom’s groups. When you connect with them, ask what their needs and concerns are. This is a great way to conduct your research – nothing like getting information directly from the source. You can then use that information to further develop products and services for your business.
Truth be told, I was terrified to choose a target market. I felt that I would be limiting myself. I was afraid that I would lose out on income. The truth is, because I chose a target market, I was more successful and actually gained more business. My advertising efforts were focused, and I positioned myself as someone my target market could trust with their needs. Having a target market has helped me work smarter and more effectively in my business.
Jenn Givler
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Get Creative to Attract Potential Clients & Customers
You MUST Be Visible...
Have you ever noticed how visible large corporations are? Take Coca-Cola®, Nike® and McDonalds®. They are everywhere. Just ask anyone what comes to mind when he/she hears the words soft drink, running shoes or quick burgers. More often than not, you’ll hear these brand names immediately.
We’ve been exposed to these companies so much that it’s natural to think of them immediately. We recognize them as experts in their specific industries.
What’s the lesson here? Visibility.
As a small business owner, you MUST be visible. If your business isn’t visible to potential clients and customers, then you might as well close the doors.
Visibility is proactively marketing your business in order to effectively attract new customers. Sure, you may have a somewhat consistent client base, but resting on your laurels or just relying on your current client base as your only source of revenue carries an incredibly high risk, one that has been the detriment to countless small businesses.
Visibility is one of the MOST crucial determining factors in the success of your small business. People can’t do business with you if they don’t know you exist.
How can you proactively be visible?
First, remember you are the number one asset of your small business. More than just getting your name out there, you have to get your face out there in the marketplace. Prospects can turn up in some of the unlikeliest places and when they do, it’s your face they need to see in order to consider doing business with you.
For example, take Donald Trump. Whether you admire him or despise him, he’s everywhere. Two years ago, who would have thought that he would be hosting one of the most acclaimed network series on television? Who would have thought that he would have a brand new bestselling book? Even while experiencing financial uncertainty in his primary business enterprise, Trump is still going strong. Why? Visibility?
I hear you say, “But, I’m just a small business…I don’t have the same endless budgets to be as visible as all those corporate types.” As a small business owner, you don’t have to have a big budget to be visible.
The secret to small business visibility lies in tapping into the solid gold value of networking. Networking is the high performance vehicle by which small business owners can drive their exposure towards a successful finish.
But the caveat is…it’s up to you to take advantage of the opportunities that you do have for networking and to also create your own new opportunities.
Networking is all about people. It gives you the chance to meet new people, make new contacts, exchange ideas and interact with others. This can seem particularly challenging for small business owners who run their businesses from home. It can also seem challenging for those who don’t live in larger cities, but rather in smaller towns. But, there are several ways of navigating these challenges. Consider the valuable networking opportunities with each of these ideas.
One last thing about networking…its not net-sit, net-eat, net-drink or net-hide-in-the-corner-and-don’t-talk-to-anyone. It is netWORK.
Chambers of Commerce
Even the smallest of towns has a local chamber group. Membership fees are typically based upon the annual revenue or number of employees of a business.
If you are a brand new business with limited funds, consider opting for an individual membership at a minimal fee. This will still give you the opportunity to participate in chamber events and meet other people in the business community. It will also give you the opportunity to determine whether your area chamber offers the networking opportunities for which you are looking.
Professional/Industry-Related Associations
Do you belong to a group or organization relevant to your area of expertise? If so, when was the last time you attended one of its meetings or functions? Do you even know what it’s doing these days?
Sure, you may be a member of such a group, but are you an active member? Simply paying your annual dues and not participating is not only a waste of money, but also a waste of a valuable networking and visibility opportunity.
I hear you say, “I don’t have time. That’s like consorting with the enemy. They’re my competition.” Rest assured that the time you don’t take to make the most of this opportunity to network is time that your competition is taking to maximize its networking opportunities.
Look at it this way...what potential value can you offer one of your competitors that might result in a mutually beneficial situation? How can you benefit from working together? One of your competitors may be able to provide you with a solution to a problem while you can offer a solution to one of his/her problems.
Unless you network, you’ll never know. It would be a shame to miss such a valuable opportunity simply because you decide that you don’t have time or don’t want to face the competition.
The Internet
Whether you run your business from a small town or even from home in an isolated rural area, the Internet has made networking a worldwide possibility. If you don’t have a business web site, then you are missing your absolute best potential for visibility.
Maximize your marketing potential by investing in a business web site. The exposure it generates for you will produce a valuable return of your investment.
However, it is vital that your web site presents your business in a professional light.
If you design your web site yourself, but are not a professional designer…if you scrimp and try to develop a site on the cheap…and if your expertise is not in knowing what content to include in a web site to attract clients…you are presenting yourself to potential clients and customers as an amateur or fly-by-night operation.
This is the LAST thing that you want. Sure, you’d be visible—in a VERY bad way.
In addition to having your own web site, the Internet offers other opportunities for increasing your visibility through networking. Search for professional and/or industry-related web sites in your area of expertise. Post comments or suggestions on industry-related discussion groups or blogs.
Dig a little and you will find valuable resources such as industry-specific forums that offer countless networking opportunities.
Remember, if people don’t know you exist, they can’t consider doing business with you. Although this sounds like simple common sense, I regularly see small business owners who have no concept of the visibility factor.
You MUST Be Visible.
When it comes to being visible, they mistakenly think that they “don’t have time”, “can’t make time”, “can’t afford the investment”, “can just hide in their offices and expect the phone to ring” or any other flimsy excuses that gets them nowhere.
The time to drop that rock is now and BE VISIBLE.
By Jeanna Pool
©2008 CATALYST creative, inc.
All rights reserved.
Have you ever noticed how visible large corporations are? Take Coca-Cola®, Nike® and McDonalds®. They are everywhere. Just ask anyone what comes to mind when he/she hears the words soft drink, running shoes or quick burgers. More often than not, you’ll hear these brand names immediately.
We’ve been exposed to these companies so much that it’s natural to think of them immediately. We recognize them as experts in their specific industries.
What’s the lesson here? Visibility.
As a small business owner, you MUST be visible. If your business isn’t visible to potential clients and customers, then you might as well close the doors.
Visibility is proactively marketing your business in order to effectively attract new customers. Sure, you may have a somewhat consistent client base, but resting on your laurels or just relying on your current client base as your only source of revenue carries an incredibly high risk, one that has been the detriment to countless small businesses.
Visibility is one of the MOST crucial determining factors in the success of your small business. People can’t do business with you if they don’t know you exist.
How can you proactively be visible?
First, remember you are the number one asset of your small business. More than just getting your name out there, you have to get your face out there in the marketplace. Prospects can turn up in some of the unlikeliest places and when they do, it’s your face they need to see in order to consider doing business with you.
For example, take Donald Trump. Whether you admire him or despise him, he’s everywhere. Two years ago, who would have thought that he would be hosting one of the most acclaimed network series on television? Who would have thought that he would have a brand new bestselling book? Even while experiencing financial uncertainty in his primary business enterprise, Trump is still going strong. Why? Visibility?
I hear you say, “But, I’m just a small business…I don’t have the same endless budgets to be as visible as all those corporate types.” As a small business owner, you don’t have to have a big budget to be visible.
The secret to small business visibility lies in tapping into the solid gold value of networking. Networking is the high performance vehicle by which small business owners can drive their exposure towards a successful finish.
But the caveat is…it’s up to you to take advantage of the opportunities that you do have for networking and to also create your own new opportunities.
Networking is all about people. It gives you the chance to meet new people, make new contacts, exchange ideas and interact with others. This can seem particularly challenging for small business owners who run their businesses from home. It can also seem challenging for those who don’t live in larger cities, but rather in smaller towns. But, there are several ways of navigating these challenges. Consider the valuable networking opportunities with each of these ideas.
One last thing about networking…its not net-sit, net-eat, net-drink or net-hide-in-the-corner-and-don’t-talk-to-anyone. It is netWORK.
Chambers of Commerce
Even the smallest of towns has a local chamber group. Membership fees are typically based upon the annual revenue or number of employees of a business.
If you are a brand new business with limited funds, consider opting for an individual membership at a minimal fee. This will still give you the opportunity to participate in chamber events and meet other people in the business community. It will also give you the opportunity to determine whether your area chamber offers the networking opportunities for which you are looking.
Professional/Industry-Related Associations
Do you belong to a group or organization relevant to your area of expertise? If so, when was the last time you attended one of its meetings or functions? Do you even know what it’s doing these days?
Sure, you may be a member of such a group, but are you an active member? Simply paying your annual dues and not participating is not only a waste of money, but also a waste of a valuable networking and visibility opportunity.
I hear you say, “I don’t have time. That’s like consorting with the enemy. They’re my competition.” Rest assured that the time you don’t take to make the most of this opportunity to network is time that your competition is taking to maximize its networking opportunities.
Look at it this way...what potential value can you offer one of your competitors that might result in a mutually beneficial situation? How can you benefit from working together? One of your competitors may be able to provide you with a solution to a problem while you can offer a solution to one of his/her problems.
Unless you network, you’ll never know. It would be a shame to miss such a valuable opportunity simply because you decide that you don’t have time or don’t want to face the competition.
The Internet
Whether you run your business from a small town or even from home in an isolated rural area, the Internet has made networking a worldwide possibility. If you don’t have a business web site, then you are missing your absolute best potential for visibility.
Maximize your marketing potential by investing in a business web site. The exposure it generates for you will produce a valuable return of your investment.
However, it is vital that your web site presents your business in a professional light.
If you design your web site yourself, but are not a professional designer…if you scrimp and try to develop a site on the cheap…and if your expertise is not in knowing what content to include in a web site to attract clients…you are presenting yourself to potential clients and customers as an amateur or fly-by-night operation.
This is the LAST thing that you want. Sure, you’d be visible—in a VERY bad way.
In addition to having your own web site, the Internet offers other opportunities for increasing your visibility through networking. Search for professional and/or industry-related web sites in your area of expertise. Post comments or suggestions on industry-related discussion groups or blogs.
Dig a little and you will find valuable resources such as industry-specific forums that offer countless networking opportunities.
Remember, if people don’t know you exist, they can’t consider doing business with you. Although this sounds like simple common sense, I regularly see small business owners who have no concept of the visibility factor.
You MUST Be Visible.
When it comes to being visible, they mistakenly think that they “don’t have time”, “can’t make time”, “can’t afford the investment”, “can just hide in their offices and expect the phone to ring” or any other flimsy excuses that gets them nowhere.
The time to drop that rock is now and BE VISIBLE.
By Jeanna Pool
©2008 CATALYST creative, inc.
All rights reserved.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Gain Your Prospect's Attention In 10-30 seconds
On a cold call you have approximately 10-30 seconds to grab your prospect's attention--and you won't get a second chance. Read on to discover how to gain your prospect's attention....
I was eating lunch. The phone rang and thinking it might be a client calling (and also, let's face it--I'm a little compulsive) I bolted to my desk and grabbed the receiver.
Instead of my client, on the other end of the line was a perky person telling me that their company provides high-speed internet access in my area. This was not exciting news. I live in New York City, we have a multitude of options and high-speed Internet access is a given. (An aside: New Yorkers don't usually respond well to perky.)
I said what I usually say to such callers. I told the caller she needed help with her cold calling and suggested that she visit my web site, then I went back to my luch.
Believe it or not, your prospects are not sitting by the phone waiting for your call. (And they are all not as complusive as I am about answering the telephone.) At the moment that you call, all of your prospects are doing something else. All of them. The way that you introduce yourself must get their attetion.
So what's wrong with the introduction, "We now provide high speed Internet access in your area?"
This introuduction makes "high speed Internet access" into a commodity. It's a thing. Most of this caller's prospects probably already have high-speed Internet access. They already have that thing. They don't need another.
Whatever you are selling, if you make it into a commodity, (I'm a printer..." "I'm a financial advisor..." "We sell home furnishings..") more than likely your prospect has one (or some) and sees no reason to have a conversation.
While you do want to be clear about what you do, more importantly you want your prospect to understand the value that you offer. How do you make your customers' lives better, easier, safer, more productive...? That's what will get your prospect's attention and that's what will enable you to have a good conversation.
One way to get a prospect's attention is to lead with price. Saving money will always be high on a prospect's wish list so if you truly are able to save your customers money, prospect's will pay attention. The caller above could have introduced herself by saying the company saves customers money (giving a specific dollar amount or percentage makes this even stronger) on their high speed Internet access.
The problem, however, with leading with price is that there will always be someone who can give your customers a better price. Leading with the price does not insure customer loyalty. It almost guarantees that you will have to keep cutting your prices or lose customers to the next caller who comes along offering a savings.
So now we're back to value. Using the above example, how could the caller have tweaked her approach so that she'd have a better chance of having good conversations with prospects? Here's an idea:
Perhaps the company she represented was really excellent at taking care of their customers, for example, maybe they didn't make you wait for a week to get a service call in the event of a problem. Or perhaps they had live human beings answering their phones 24/7 rather than those automated systmes that make you dial numbers to get into the right queue and then tell you the wait time will be 45 minutes. (I know, wishful thinking here.)
Anyway, the potential of avoiding of annoyance and aggravation because of superior customer service could catch a prospect's attention.
The point is that you need to get into your customer's heads and figure outl what differentiates you (your company/products/services) from the competition and why your customers buy from you. Then in your cold call opening, lead with that differentiator and/or that reason. Once you are able to stop making your offering into a commodity and instead focus on the value, your prospects will respond better.
Wendy Weiss
www.wendyweiss.com
wendy@wendyweiss.com
I was eating lunch. The phone rang and thinking it might be a client calling (and also, let's face it--I'm a little compulsive) I bolted to my desk and grabbed the receiver.
Instead of my client, on the other end of the line was a perky person telling me that their company provides high-speed internet access in my area. This was not exciting news. I live in New York City, we have a multitude of options and high-speed Internet access is a given. (An aside: New Yorkers don't usually respond well to perky.)
I said what I usually say to such callers. I told the caller she needed help with her cold calling and suggested that she visit my web site, then I went back to my luch.
Believe it or not, your prospects are not sitting by the phone waiting for your call. (And they are all not as complusive as I am about answering the telephone.) At the moment that you call, all of your prospects are doing something else. All of them. The way that you introduce yourself must get their attetion.
So what's wrong with the introduction, "We now provide high speed Internet access in your area?"
This introuduction makes "high speed Internet access" into a commodity. It's a thing. Most of this caller's prospects probably already have high-speed Internet access. They already have that thing. They don't need another.
Whatever you are selling, if you make it into a commodity, (I'm a printer..." "I'm a financial advisor..." "We sell home furnishings..") more than likely your prospect has one (or some) and sees no reason to have a conversation.
While you do want to be clear about what you do, more importantly you want your prospect to understand the value that you offer. How do you make your customers' lives better, easier, safer, more productive...? That's what will get your prospect's attention and that's what will enable you to have a good conversation.
One way to get a prospect's attention is to lead with price. Saving money will always be high on a prospect's wish list so if you truly are able to save your customers money, prospect's will pay attention. The caller above could have introduced herself by saying the company saves customers money (giving a specific dollar amount or percentage makes this even stronger) on their high speed Internet access.
The problem, however, with leading with price is that there will always be someone who can give your customers a better price. Leading with the price does not insure customer loyalty. It almost guarantees that you will have to keep cutting your prices or lose customers to the next caller who comes along offering a savings.
So now we're back to value. Using the above example, how could the caller have tweaked her approach so that she'd have a better chance of having good conversations with prospects? Here's an idea:
Perhaps the company she represented was really excellent at taking care of their customers, for example, maybe they didn't make you wait for a week to get a service call in the event of a problem. Or perhaps they had live human beings answering their phones 24/7 rather than those automated systmes that make you dial numbers to get into the right queue and then tell you the wait time will be 45 minutes. (I know, wishful thinking here.)
Anyway, the potential of avoiding of annoyance and aggravation because of superior customer service could catch a prospect's attention.
The point is that you need to get into your customer's heads and figure outl what differentiates you (your company/products/services) from the competition and why your customers buy from you. Then in your cold call opening, lead with that differentiator and/or that reason. Once you are able to stop making your offering into a commodity and instead focus on the value, your prospects will respond better.
Wendy Weiss
www.wendyweiss.com
wendy@wendyweiss.com
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Benefits of a Logo!!!
Whether you're just starting your business or your business is well underway, this question has more than likely popped into your head: Should I have a logo?
The answer to this is really internal. You know your market, your customers and your plans for your business better than anyone. So before deciding whether or not to get a logo created, ask yourself these questions:
• Would the addition of a logo benefit my brand? In other words, would a logo amplify, enhance or highlight my overall purpose?
• Does it make sense for me to have a logo? For example, if you have a clothing line, a logo could make brand recognition that much easier and thereby customers could recognize you just on your image alone. The reverse would be, for instance, if you ran a small accounting company out of your home & and are not interested in recruiting new clients…well, investing in a logo might not make a whole lot of sense.
• What do my competitors do? Now, of course, you want to set yourself apart from your competitors but you also want to be consistent within your industry.
If after answering these questions, you're still not sure, consider these three benefits a logo offers to your business:
1. Helps make a generic name unique: If your name is merely descriptive and/or geographic, the addition of a logo could add to the uniqueness factor of your entire brand. That uniqueness factor is what most every business should strive for – setting yourself apart from others in your industry.
2. Gives your product or service a "personality": How can a product line or service have "personality?" Think of virtually any famous name and what it would lose if their logo did not exist. Imagine if McDonald's didn't have the 'golden arches' or Nike's ubiquitous 'swoosh' never existed? Would their brands be as strong today if that image wasn't imprinted on the minds of most consumers? Would those brands have the same "personality" based on name alone?
3. Establishes brand identity: One of the goals of establishing brand identity is to get customers to remember who you are and to come back to you time and time again. Hopefully, customers will remember you by name alone. But, without a doubt, images stick in people's minds a lot easier than mere words. By integrating a name and logo together, you're that much closer to getting that customer to remember you and to call you again.
Consider all of the above when it comes time to make a decision about a logo. If you do decide to use a logo, you'll want to ensure that no other party already owns rights to the same or similar logo. Then if research proves clear, you can decide if filing for a trademark is the next step.
Logos - the addition of one can become a valuable asset to your business!
Shannon Moore
The answer to this is really internal. You know your market, your customers and your plans for your business better than anyone. So before deciding whether or not to get a logo created, ask yourself these questions:
• Would the addition of a logo benefit my brand? In other words, would a logo amplify, enhance or highlight my overall purpose?
• Does it make sense for me to have a logo? For example, if you have a clothing line, a logo could make brand recognition that much easier and thereby customers could recognize you just on your image alone. The reverse would be, for instance, if you ran a small accounting company out of your home & and are not interested in recruiting new clients…well, investing in a logo might not make a whole lot of sense.
• What do my competitors do? Now, of course, you want to set yourself apart from your competitors but you also want to be consistent within your industry.
If after answering these questions, you're still not sure, consider these three benefits a logo offers to your business:
1. Helps make a generic name unique: If your name is merely descriptive and/or geographic, the addition of a logo could add to the uniqueness factor of your entire brand. That uniqueness factor is what most every business should strive for – setting yourself apart from others in your industry.
2. Gives your product or service a "personality": How can a product line or service have "personality?" Think of virtually any famous name and what it would lose if their logo did not exist. Imagine if McDonald's didn't have the 'golden arches' or Nike's ubiquitous 'swoosh' never existed? Would their brands be as strong today if that image wasn't imprinted on the minds of most consumers? Would those brands have the same "personality" based on name alone?
3. Establishes brand identity: One of the goals of establishing brand identity is to get customers to remember who you are and to come back to you time and time again. Hopefully, customers will remember you by name alone. But, without a doubt, images stick in people's minds a lot easier than mere words. By integrating a name and logo together, you're that much closer to getting that customer to remember you and to call you again.
Consider all of the above when it comes time to make a decision about a logo. If you do decide to use a logo, you'll want to ensure that no other party already owns rights to the same or similar logo. Then if research proves clear, you can decide if filing for a trademark is the next step.
Logos - the addition of one can become a valuable asset to your business!
Shannon Moore
Monday, November 2, 2009
Small Business: Building a Successful Marketing Plan
Every business, small or large, will be more successful with a business plan. And the key component of a business plan is the marketing plan. A good marketing plan summarizes the who, what, where, when, and how much questions of company marketing and sales activities for the planning year:
Who are our target buyers?
What sources of uniqueness or positioning in the market do we have?
Where will we implement our marketing spending plans?
When will marketing spending plans occur?
How much sales, spending, and profits will we achieve?
The financial projections contained in your business plan are based on the assumptions contained in your marketing plan. It is the marketing plan that details when expenditures will be made, what level of sales will be achieved, and how and when advertising and promotional expenditures will be made. Here are the major elements of a marketing plan:
The situation analysis describes the total marketing environment in which the company competes and the status of company products and distribution channels.
The opportunity and issue analysis analyzes the major external opportunities and threats to the company and the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company, along with a discussion of key issues facing the company.
The goals and objectives section outlines major company goals and the marketing and financial objectives.
The marketing strategy section provides the company's marketing strategy statement, summarizing the key target buyer description, competitive market segments the company will compete in, the unique positioning of the company and its products compared to the competition, the reasons why it is unique or compelling to buyers, price strategy versus the competition, marketing spending strategy with advertising and promotion, and possible R&D and market research expenditure strategies.
The sales and marketing plan outlines each specific marketing event or action plan to increase sales. For example, it may contain a summary of quarterly promotion and advertising plans, with spending, timing, and share or shipment goals for each program.
(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
Who are our target buyers?
What sources of uniqueness or positioning in the market do we have?
Where will we implement our marketing spending plans?
When will marketing spending plans occur?
How much sales, spending, and profits will we achieve?
The financial projections contained in your business plan are based on the assumptions contained in your marketing plan. It is the marketing plan that details when expenditures will be made, what level of sales will be achieved, and how and when advertising and promotional expenditures will be made. Here are the major elements of a marketing plan:
The situation analysis describes the total marketing environment in which the company competes and the status of company products and distribution channels.
The opportunity and issue analysis analyzes the major external opportunities and threats to the company and the internal strengths and weaknesses of the company, along with a discussion of key issues facing the company.
The goals and objectives section outlines major company goals and the marketing and financial objectives.
The marketing strategy section provides the company's marketing strategy statement, summarizing the key target buyer description, competitive market segments the company will compete in, the unique positioning of the company and its products compared to the competition, the reasons why it is unique or compelling to buyers, price strategy versus the competition, marketing spending strategy with advertising and promotion, and possible R&D and market research expenditure strategies.
The sales and marketing plan outlines each specific marketing event or action plan to increase sales. For example, it may contain a summary of quarterly promotion and advertising plans, with spending, timing, and share or shipment goals for each program.
(U.S. Chamber of Commerce)
Friday, October 30, 2009
Resourceful and Valuable Marketing tool (Internet)
As the Internet becomes a valuable marketing tool, There is no question that over time, ecommerce sales have continued to rise as more and more people turn to the internet for their shopping. It's much easier to take a quick commute to your computer, surf the net for a short while, and purchase what you are looking for than it is to go out to a store for the same thing. Because of this, the future of ecommerce sales is looking bright.
If you're the owner of a small service business, having a solid Internet marketing plan in place can both increase your name and brand recognition locally in your geographic area, as well as expose you to a whole new set of potential clients throughout the world.
To Maximize your website traffic through the search engines you need to focus on the BIG 3!
What or who are the Big3? They are Google. MSN and Yahoo search. This article will take you through these three search engines and what you can expect from them in terms of achieving results both in a short term, as well as a long term basis.
How can a business that is already successful in reaching their local market extend their marketing reach online? The good news is that the traditional offline marketing that has always worked so well will still work at least as effectively to promote your online presence. The other side of the coin is that to promote your business online, the old traditions need some updating to keep up with online marketing best practices.
1. Site Optimization
2. Linking and Indexing
3. Implement Online Marketing Partnerships with high-profile online businesses
4. Dabble in Paid Keyword Advertising
5. Involve an Internet Marketing Specialist
(David Malan, Internet & e-commerce expert)
If you're the owner of a small service business, having a solid Internet marketing plan in place can both increase your name and brand recognition locally in your geographic area, as well as expose you to a whole new set of potential clients throughout the world.
To Maximize your website traffic through the search engines you need to focus on the BIG 3!
What or who are the Big3? They are Google. MSN and Yahoo search. This article will take you through these three search engines and what you can expect from them in terms of achieving results both in a short term, as well as a long term basis.
How can a business that is already successful in reaching their local market extend their marketing reach online? The good news is that the traditional offline marketing that has always worked so well will still work at least as effectively to promote your online presence. The other side of the coin is that to promote your business online, the old traditions need some updating to keep up with online marketing best practices.
1. Site Optimization
2. Linking and Indexing
3. Implement Online Marketing Partnerships with high-profile online businesses
4. Dabble in Paid Keyword Advertising
5. Involve an Internet Marketing Specialist
(David Malan, Internet & e-commerce expert)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)