Online Press Room: One Stop Shop for Media

Last week I talked about the importance of SEO not just for your website but also your press releases (and distributing them online).  I will reiterate why this is important – so that people, especially journalists, can find you online! Remember this one thing, which I want to re-enforce, and I’m sure that Chris Nastav, a contributor, will back me up here – People, even media, don’t know they’re looking for you until they find you!

This leads me to the next important element for your PR….your online press room.    If you don’t have one on your website, you need to create navigation for it today.   An online press room is an essential element for your website for many reasons, but mostly so that when media come to your site they can easily find your business’ latest news and contact information for an interview.  Your story isn’t going to necessarily just tell itself with the basic information on your website.   Unless you paint it on your homepage, media aren’t going to know that you’ve finalized a merger, introduced a new product and more!  Besides, the practice of having an online press room is becoming a mainstream practice and a necessity.

Here are some of the elements to include on your press room:

• All press releases – be sure to archive anything over six months old
• Photos – product shots, CEO/president, interior of retail stores, etc
• Company backgrounder
• CEO/president bio
• Video clips – you can easily make them on your own and post them.  It gives broadcast media a chance to see how you speak and get a feel for how you’d perform in an interview
• Product or company fact sheets
• Any media you’ve received
• Contact information – this is the person a journalist should contact about a query.  It should be someone who can, without a doubt, get back to the journalist in a very timely manner (you don’t want to miss any opportunity.  Finally, you’d be amazed at how many people fail to include contact information on press releases, let alone their online press room

An online press room reflects professionalism, credibility and more importantly an understanding and respect of how media work.  There isn’t one major corporation that doesn’t have an online press room in today’s Web-driven environment for news and sources.  I suggest looking at some of them to get a feel for how you want to design your press room and what you need to include as it relates to your business and meeting journalists’ needs.

This is just another way of achieving positive PR for your business because some media may go to the press room, get what they need, download approved graphics and photos and run a story or mention without even contacting you.   And this is why you need to take time each week to search your business online to see if there are any stories that have run, blog mentions or comments about your business on various boards, like Yelp.com.

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com

Follow me on Twitter for daily SMB PR Tips @SmallBizPRXpert

Top 10 Reasons To Start Your Business In A Down Economy

1. Everything is cheaper – From raw materials to real estate, these are the lowest prices you’ll see.
2. You can hire more and better-qualified people – Obviously…
3. People are looking to change suppliers if they can find one offering a better product or service for a lower price.
4. Ownership equals tax incentives related to business deductions not available to individuals.
5. Family and friends don’t want to invest more money into the stock or real estate markets – they might find your offering more secure.
6. Suppliers are giving better credit.
7. You can get good PR by showing you are going against the trend – it’s a great story.
8. You can buy everything you need at auction.
9. You can find great “no money” down deals.
10. You’ve lost your job, and unemployment benefits are running out – why not go for that dream.

Michael Slapiro, Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.

How the Internet Can Up Your Chances of Generating PR

The Internet has done great things for our lives.  Seriously, think about waking up tomorrow without it!  Not only has it allowed us the opportunity to find news and information, resources and more, it’s given little stores across the world the chance to have customers around the world.  We’re no longer tied to doing business in our local regions, but we have the opportunity to expand and grow our businesses in a way that’s never really been available before.

It is also giving small businesses the opportunity to attract the attention of media….that’s if they can find you.

This brings me to the key connection between SEO (search engine optimization) and generating public relations.  PR strategy has always focused on the “traditional” with press releases and press kits being sent directly to journalists, follow up calls and emails sent and a proactive approach to results.  Today, the Internet is giving journalists a new way to search and find small businesses, new products and companies, experts to use as story sources…but that’s only if they can find you.

Remember: When using the Internet to market your business, most people don’t know they’re looking for you and your business until they find you!

This is why SEO becomes a critical part of the marketing mix for your business, and to further your chances of generating positive PR for your business.  It’s not enough to have a great website, you also need to make sure that it is built specifically for search – meaning what would the average person search for, or what terms would they use to find you?  The same goes for how you write your press release and distribute it online.  Like anything else, if you utilize your key search terms in your press release, the odds improve that a journalist, or new potential partner or vendor, will find you.

Crafting your story for SEO:

• Write your press release
• Write out a list of all the key search terms someone might use to locate your business
• Cut this list down to the Top 10
• Now compare your press release to this list.  Where are these search terms?  Are they located in the headline, sub headline or lead paragraph?  Well, they should be.

This can become tricky though as the lead paragraph of your press release needs to be kept down to three-four to the point sentences.  I know…tricky.  If it seems impossible, then you might consider writing two kinds of press releases – one for media and one for search.  Then make sure all of this is also available in your online press room, which I’ll talk about next week.

This one thing, if done correctly, will open new doors for you on the web.  Whether it’s getting the attention of a journalist or finding a new partner in business offering a mutually beneficial relationship.  It’s definitely worth giving it a go and seeing what happens.  Use some the free release distribution sites, see what kind of return you get and then make changes in future releases.

However, the most important part of your press release, the point of it really, should never be overlooked.  It’s about your story….something really, truly newsworthy.  It’s not about writing a release every week and spamming it across social media networks and free distribution sites.  It’s better to send them out when you really have news or something to share every now and again than each week.  If the content is not valuable, after awhile, people will just ignore everything you distribute.  It’s called…..crying wolf and when you do have huge news to share no one will be there to listen.

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com

Follow me on Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert or join our new group on LinkedIn My Source for Stories – where we connect small businesses with the media

Twitter and the Bottom Line for a Service Business

Hey folks, cynical Sam here. Still looking for a answer to a question that has yet to yield a simple answer.

Q. Can I use Twitter or any online social media to improve the bottom line of my “Local Service” business?

A. So far as I can discern, no one has positive proof that I can.

What is happening, is every social media consulting company in the world (and there’s thousands of them now) are blaring at the top of their lungs how you have to be using Twitter and all the other social media tools that are out there, otherwise you’re going to be left in the business dust. And not only should you be using those tools, but because it’s so insanely complicated, you should be paying them to help you use all these social networking tools.

Now this is fine, because there’s a lot of consultants out there who know what they they’re doing in these tools. But here’s the kicker, they are all touting sucesses for non-service based businesses.

Where are the positive ROI success stories and examples for: plumbers, doctors, HR consultants, lawyers, liquor store owners, chiropractors, Web developers, graphic artists, jewelry sales reps, life insurance reps, day spas, stained glass restorers, auto body repair shops, carpet cleaners, dog walkers, foundation repairers, driveway sealers, gutter cleaners and the thousands of other home based and small service businesses?

I propose that those success stories don’t exist because service based industries have yet to figure out how to monetize social networking to their benefit, AND may never come up with a way.

So my questions to the world are these….

Are you a LOCAL home based or small service business? If yes! Are you using social networking and has it increased your bottom line? How much time are you spending on it per week? How can other LOCAL service based businesses repeat your example?

Time is money, and if you’re Twittering, Linked-Ining(sp?), FaceBooking, MySpacing, Plaxoing and the dozens of other social networking tools out there. If you’re using these, please provide some positive local service based business examples of how this social networking explosion has helped your business. How did you do it?

Thanks,

Chris Nastav, KC Web Specialists, LLC. www.kcwebspecialists.com
Experts in how business gets done on the Internet (913) 908.5642

How to Know You Need a Better Way to Manage Customer Information

In my last post I discussed ways that small businesses can utilise technology solutions to enhance their customer experience.  One of those enhancements was around storing and tracking your customer information.  I see lots of small businesses using Excel spreadsheets or their basic accounting system, like MYOB or Quickbooks, as the main database for customer information.  Sometimes this works, but often it doesn’t.  Here are some signs that indicate you might need a better solution for managing customer information.

• You communicate with customers via many different methods:  Some businesses are simple and have only one touch with a client during a buying cycle.  Others have much longer sales cycles and require many touches with the client via different mediums such as the phone, direct mail and email.  If you are the latter, then a CRM system will really help in organising and tracking your communications to clients.
• You have more than a couple of sales people:  Once you have a small team of sales people, it becomes hard for them all to know what the others are doing or have already done.  There’s nothing more off-putting  for a customer than having a sales rep call them one day, only to have another sales rep from the same company call them the next day!  CRM helps manage customer accounts and sales tasks and allows the sales team to have visibility of activities in any particular customer account.
• The types of customers you have vary:  If all your customers are in the same vertical market and around the same size, it’s easier to manage them.  For businesses that deal with all sorts of different customers from mixed industries and different market segments, managing marketing and sales efforts is a whole different ball game.  A CRM system can easily manage the demographics of your customers allowing you to customise different marketing and sales strategies at targeted groups or similar businesses.
• Your customers are repeat buyers: This point really depends on what you sell.  If you sell widgets that last for 20 years and need no attention, then you probably don’t have too much trouble tracking what your customers buy.  But if you sell widgets that have lots of different options, that require ongoing servicing, or that are quickly superseded by newer widgets then your customers probably have many more transactions with you which become complex to track.  Using a CRM system can simplify this for you and, even more importantly, provide you with terrific sales data with regards to cross-sell and up-sell opportunities.  This in itself is often how I prove to a small business that the investment in a CRM system will pay for itself in a very short amount of time due to all the additional sales opportunities it can create.

So there’s some points to think about if you’re wondering whether a CRM system is right for you.  And a final word of advice:  Don’t rush in to purchasing a CRM system.  Trial several to see which fits your needs best and, I think most importantly, which integrates with your existing software tools.  You can buy the biggest and best CRM system out there, but if it doesn’t integrate well with your existing tools then your staff aren’t going to use it.  Most small businesses tend to use the Microsoft Office suite as one of their main productivity tools (Outlook, Word, Excel etc) so looking for a CRM that integrates with these, such as Microsoft CRM, would be a wise choice.

Clayton Moulynox – Evolve IT Australia
We fix business problems, not computer problems -  Develop, Solve, Evolve.
Follow me on Twitter: @claytonhm

Top 10 Ways to Show Your Employees You Know They Exist…

Try these to show your employees you know they exist…

1. Know their name – as well as their spouse or partner and kids.
2. Say “Good morning …” and “Goodbye…” when you pass them in the hall or by their desk.
3. Compliment an employee on a job well done and tell them what made it so.
4. Know your employee’s hobby or outside interest.
5. Invite them out for coffee or lunch and only talk about work a part of the time.
6. Know your employee’s birthday. – HR has it – and acknowledge it.
7. Offer some additional outside training such as a workshop or class.
8. Send out an internal newsletter or e-mail giving credit for a job done exceptionally well.
9. Know what your employee’s career goals are and if possible, provide a career path that tracks it.
10. Ask your employee(s) for input. You may not utilize it but simply having asked goes a long way.

Your employees are one of your most valuable, and difficult to replace assets. Making some of these examples part of your culture will help communicate, authentically, that you value them. Any by the way, only one of the above items costs any money.

Michael Shapiro,  Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.

How’s Your EI

There are five components to emotional intelligence: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skill.

Self-management skills

1. Self-awareness. Emotional intelligence begins with this trait. People with a high degree of self-awareness know their weaknesses and aren’t afraid to talk about them. Someone who understands that she works poorly under tight deadlines, for example, will work hard to plan her time carefully, and will let her colleagues know why. Many executives looking for potential leaders mistake such candor for  “wimpiness.”

2. Self-regulation. This attribute flows from self-awareness, but runs in a different direction. People with this trait are able to control their impulses or even channel them for good purposes.

3. Motivation. A passion for achievement for its own sake—not simply the ability to respond to whatever incentives a company offers—is the kind of motivation that is essential for leadership.

The ability to relate to others

4. Empathy. In addition to self-management skills, emotional intelligence requires a facility for  dealing with others. And that starts with empathy—taking into account the feelings of others when making decisions—as opposed to taking on everyone’s troubles.

5. Social skill. All the preceding traits culminate in this fifth one: the ability to build rapport with others, to get them to cooperate, to move them in a direction you desire. Managers who simply try to be sociable— while lacking the other components of emotional intelligence—are likely to fail. Social skill, by contrast, is friendliness with a purpose.

Example:

Consider two division Directors at a company forced to make layoffs. One Director gave a hard-hitting speech emphasizing the number of people who would be fired. The other Director, while not hiding the bad news, took into account his people’s anxieties. He promised to keep them informed and to treat everyone fairly. Many executives would have refrained from such a show of consideration, lest they appear to lack toughness. But the tough Director demoralized his talented people—most of whom ended up leaving his division voluntarily.

Can you boost your emotional intelligence?

Absolutely—but not with traditional training programs that target the rational part of the brain. Extended practice, feedback from colleagues, and your own enthusiasm for making the change are essential to becoming an effective leader.

Michael Shapiro, Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.

Why You Can DIY PR

There’s a reason why I’m in business and that’s because I can offer extremely affordable PR strategies for small businesses, and this is how I’ve grown over the years.  It’s also led me to other business ventures.  However, as much as the economy appears to be on the up entrepreneurs and small business owners are still looking for ways to save money to ensure the longevity of their business during this time.

I’m here to tell you that you can do PR yourself for your business!!

The trick is finding a resource to really teach you how to do PR, what it is and how it works.  There are a number of books and e-books out there and that might be a great fit for you, but I highly recommend researching the product before buying or seeing if a free trial is available.   I also suggest researching the expert behind the product to make sure they really know what they’re talking about.  Some books and e-books can simply be 200-pages that become overwhelming.

Trust me, there are a lot of people out there who think they know how to do PR.  Chances are they got thrown into PR at some point and had some success and have now come up with an idea to sell you their “so called expertise” at an unwarranted high price.  What you need is an affordable option from an expert you feel you trust.

This might be shameless promotion, but this is why I launched SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com.  I saw what was out there and realized there was nothing like what I wanted to do – 52-week course, if you will, that provides members with every bit of information I have, experience, templates, tips and advice along with interviews with media all for $37 a month.  Plus you can ask questions and get a consulting package to walk you through.  It’s like an angel on your shoulder.  You couldn’t get a professional like me for that total price for a month!

The real keys to your success at achieving PR on your own is not just educating yourself but making the commitment to public relations.  Marketing your business takes a lot of time.  To do it successfully you really have to dedicate time each day to focus on it.  That’s another reason why I suggest finding a program that doesn’t overwhelm you.   Instead you need to find a tool that offers you some support so you don’t feel like you’re out there on your own.

Believe it or not, once you really gain a solid understanding of PR you can do it yourself, you will be motivated and excited to make it happen, especially once you get that first media story on your business!!

Here are some things to consider about DIY PR:

• Make a commitment to learn all you can about public relations
• Dedicate time each day to focus on PR and marketing
• Find a program, book, e-book, etc. that you feel 100% confident will give you the support you need
• Make sure the program you choose teaches you how to write a press release (develop your press kit materials) in AP Style
• Write out your story ideas, or stories – opportunities and angles you foresee will attract media attention
• i – Read, watch and listen to locate opportunities for your business.  This is where you should make your first splash, building relationships with local media that might come back to you as a valued resource resulting in additional PR opportunities.  Once you do this then you can begin looking at national media
• Remember that achieving public relations for your business requires patience, perseverance and persistence. PR doesn’t necessarily happen overnight.  Most DIYers fail/stop because they become frustrated with this reality and lose opportunities altogether.

If you are pursuing DIY PR, email me your questions and I will answer them for you here.

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com, Follow me on Twitter for daily tips and advice @SmallBizPRXpert

What’s Your Style?

Most effective leaders have several leadership or management styles they use, based on the situation. Daniel Goleman, the prolific writer on Emotional Intelligence, has looked closely at the various styles over the years. His research found that leaders use six styles, each springing from different components of emotional intelligence.

Here is a summary of the styles, their origin, when they work best, and their impact on an organization’s climate and thus its performance.

Coercive

The leader’s modus operandi: Demands immediate compliance

The style in a phrase: “Do what I tell you.”

Underlying emotional intelligence competencies: Drive to achieve, initiative, self-control

When the style works best: In a crisis, to kick start a turnaround, or with problem employees

Overall impact on climate: Negative

Authoritative

The leader’s modus operandi: Mobilizes people toward a vision

The style in a phrase: “Come with me.”

Underlying emotional intelligence competencies: Self-confidence, empathy, change catalyst

When the style works best: When changes require a new vision, or when a clear direction is needed.

Overall impact on climate: Most strongly positive

Affiliative

The leader’s modus operandi: Creates harmony and builds emotional bonds

The style in a phrase: “People come first.”

Underlying emotional intelligence competencies: Empathy, building relationships, communication

When the style works best: To heal rifts in a team or to motivate people during stressful circumstances

Overall impact on climate: Positive

Democratic

The leader’s modus operandi: Forges consensus through participation

The style in a phrase: “What do you think?”

Underlying emotional intelligence competencies: Collaboration, team leadership, communication

When the style works best: To build buy-in or consensus, or to get input from valuable employees

Overall impact on climate: Positive

Pacesetting

The leader’s modus operandi: Sets high standards for performance

The style in a phrase: “Do as I do, now.”

Underlying emotional intelligence competencies: Conscientiousness, drive to achieve, initiative

When the style works best: To get quick results from a highly motivated and competent team

Overall impact on climate: Negative

Coaching

The leader’s modus operandi: Develops people for the future

The style in a phrase: “Try this.”

Underlying emotional intelligence competencies: Developing others, empathy, self-awareness

When the style works best: To help an employee improve performance or develop long-term strengths

Overall impact on climate: Positive

What styles do you use?

Michael Shapiro, Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.

Marketing Failing? Rethink How You Deliver Company Messages

It seems that lately I’ve been talking to a lot of people about their marketing and it’s failure for a company.  Marketing is a science and one that every small business owner must really, truly understand before pursuing.  The reason that people like me actually get a degree in this stuff is so that we can learn how it all works.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  What you say is as important as how and where you say it.

Most people I speak to about their “marketing failures” all come down to this one important fact above.  The reasons why most small business fail in their marketing are these:

1. You fail to define your audience (and maybe you have more than one) in writing – a full description of your demographic.  I’m talking all the way down to what how they live their lives and what’s important to them.  If you own a retail women’s high-end boutique why would you advertise in a pub or website for fisherman?   (you think this is crazy but people make huge mistakes like this everyday)
2. You don’t consider where your audience(s) get their news and information.  Instead you choose to advertise in publications/websites where your audience “isn’t”
3. Your message is unclear:  I often tell clients to test their marketing with publications.  This is a great way to measure the return on initial ad campaigns.  Most importantly it will give you a clearer idea of how you should be communicating with your audience/customer – that you may not have considered.   Sometimes business owners get caught up in what they want to say and not what they should be saying to attract customers.  I’m a big believer in this one saying “Say what you mean, mean what you say” and the all-time marketing favorite K.I.S.S. – keep it simple, stupid!  Which leads me to….
4. You fail to be concise using buzz words to catch your audience’s attention. So many small businesses want to make the most of their marketing/ads so they fill it with copy that no one actually has time to read.  Your marketing, especially advertising needs to be concise message, great presentation and strong branding statements that: A. get people’s attention, B. create an emotional need or draw the customer in by describing why they need you or what need you fill and C. Prompts them to take action.
5. Other tactics that help are promotions (discounts and couponing, especially in this economy), images and testimonials.

If you don’t have a marketing plan, the above is just one of the many reasons why you need one.  Today, small   businesses don’t have money to just “throw around”.  If you want to be effective with a small budget and have no “marketing regrets” then be smart, plan ahead and really think through your marketing campaigns, including public relations.

If you had one chance to send a message in a bottle to get help wouldn’t you be as specific as possible so someone could find you?

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com, Twitter @SmallBizPRXpert

Getting started in your business…

Or Don’t Spend a Dollar When a Dime Will Do – Starting small is a slower path, but it’s also a safer way of building both a sustainable business and a long career as an entrepreneur. Plenty of well-known companies have started small. Space inside Kinko’s first store was reportedly so tight that founder Paul Orfalea had to roll the copier outside to make room for customers. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield delivered pints of their ice cream to local grocery stores in a beat-up VW Squareback wagon.

How Starting Small Can Help You Succeed -

1. It can limit the size of your mistakes.
2. Starting small will force you to learn resource frugality – preventing inefficiencies from entering your operation.
3. It can give you a competitive advantage.
4. Your lack of funds may force you to redirect your venture in a positive direction.
5. It allows you to maintain a higher percentage of ownership.
6. It will keep shut-down costs low.

You must convince yourself you can do more with less, be willing to scrounge, beg, barter or trade to get space, materials, equipment or services.

Getting Space: At the beginning, you should acquire prime real estate only when it’s essential to the business model – not to support your ego.

Getting Machinery and Equipment: Instead of buying new, see what you can find at a discounter, secondhand shop, flea market or rummage sale. Examine carefully whether you really need specific equipment, then decide whether to buy or lease.

Marketing: Many very successful Web sites have found nontraditional marketing approaches to be highly effective. If more traditional marketing is needed, try to cut expenses as much as possible. You should be constantly thinking about no-cost ways to market your company.

Controlling Expenses: Fly only coach, stay at budget hotels and rent only compact cars. Sam Walton controlled expenses by instituting a rule that expenses should never exceed one percent of the company’s purchases.

Finding Initial Capital: There are several rules to follow when gathering initial capital for your venture.

Here are three:

1. Dip only modestly into your nest egg.

2. Debt is a common source of capital for many companies.

3. If you need to borrow a small amount of money, try not to get it from friends or family members because there would be too much emotion tied up in the money.

Incorporate these concepts into your start-up and you’ll help improve the odds you’ll be around a year from now.

Michael Shapiro – Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.

Be Prepared for Anything When It Comes to Media Interviews

You’ve written the press release, pitched media your story and now a journalist wants to interview you.  The story could be a feature on you and your business or it could be a trend story a journalist is considering including you in.  Either way, much like you would for a job interview, you have to be prepared for anything when it comes to the media interview.

One great example of this is a client of mine Interview Angel founder Brent Peterson.  My firm recently secured him an interview opportunity with the Wall Street Journal.  The journalist had a job search/interview trend story in mind regarding crazy interview tactics (hoops candidates jump through for a job) that companies take to find the right candidate.   She had a specific angle that she wanted Brent to comment on and we pitched his response to her.  When she was ready to write the article she interviewed Brent who did discuss the things he’d initially responded with but also gave her another angle that was informational and generous on his behalf.

The angle Brent provided was about candidates volunteering their way to a job, which the journalist closed the article with.  What was so generous was that he provided a real life anecdote of someone he hired on a volunteer basis to help create and promote the Interview Angel Sweepstakes.  He not only promoted his business in the article but this young man and the sweepstakes all in one of the country’s top newspaper/online outlets.  Brent followed his conversation with the journalist carefully and found a unique opportunity for his business.

Did he take a risk by going off topic?  Maybe but not before making sure that he covered the specific angle the journalist was working on.  All in all it benefited her story and made it that much more interesting for job seekers.

Being prepared to handle anything in an interview means knowing your business, industry and journalist’s story angle inside and out.  It really truly is like interviewing for a job.  You have to take time to research and prepare before any kind of interview; to be able to speak wisely on your business and industry while communicating key messages,  other story angles that might be of interest and know the conversation can go in several directions.  Once you’ve met the journalist’s needs you can afford to go off topic.  After all, you’re just having a conversation with a journalist and as long as it’s related to the story it can go anywhere.

And practice makes perfect!  Print out what you want to say – story angles, key messages – get in front of a mirror and practice, practice, practice.  Most importantly, remember to speak in short, valuable soundbites that the journalist can easily use as a quote.

And…you will create media opportunities that will truly benefit your business!

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com

Follow me on Twitter for daily SMB and SMB PR Tips @SmallBizPRXpert

The #1 Thing You Can Do to Make Google Love Your Web Site

Do you want Google to love your Web site? There’s things we as Web developers can do to your site to help with that, but there’s one really huge thing we cannot do. And it’s probably one of the most important things Google wants. 

One of the biggest things Google looks at when determining where it’s going to rank your site is the size of your company on the Internet.

What do I mean by size? Open Googe and seach for your company name. Be sure to put your company name in “quotes”. For example “KC Web Specialists”.

How many pages of search results does your company name take up? Not how many links on a page. How many pages full of results are about your company?

The bigger your company is on the Internet, the higher up you will show up for all those key words you’re hoping to show up for.

You get bigger on the Internet by having people link to your Web site. Writing a Blog. Linked-In, Face Book, My Space, Submissions to eZines, online newsletters, submissions to local newspapers, having your company sponsor events or speak at events that are written by other people on their Websites. Submitting your site to link site.

These are just some of the things you can do to make your company bigger on the Internet.

So how many Google search results pages does your company show up on, and where can we submit our site to get bigger on the Internet? Please let us know.

Thanks,

Chris Nastav, KC Web Specialists, LLC. www.kcwebspecialists.com
Experts in how business gets done on the Internet (913) 908.5642

Enhance Customer Experience to Win Business in the Down Turn

In a down turn, large businesses slash staff which often leads to poorer customer service – for the small business owner it’s easier than ever to win over these disgruntled customers and increase your market share.

It’s a massive advantage to be a small business in this current economic climate.  Small businesses are generally more flexible, agile and much quicker to change or adapt than their bigger competitors.  That’s why I’m telling my clients that there’s no better time than now to seriously consider some changes to their business that will quickly enhance customer experience.

With the ubiquitous technologies available to all levels of business these days, think about the systems you could quickly integrate to win and keep new customers.  Think about how you currently interact with customers and what improvements you could make.  Think outside the box.

Maybe I’ll go in to more details on these areas individually in later posts, but to keep you thinking:

Customer information:  A spreadsheet or the database within you financial package just doesn’t cut it when you want to precisely track client activities and communications.  Can’t afford a CRM package?  Think again.  Zoho offers a hosted online CRM package FREE for 3 users.  Microsoft offers their comprehensive Dynamics CRM product as a hosted service at an affordable monthly price.

Customer enquiries:  Many customers choose to email enquiries and expect a fast response.  If you’re on the road and without access to your PC and email for hours then you will lose customers.  You need to get mobile!  Receiving email on your mobile is very simple in most cases and allows you to provide the fast response customers expect.  Do you have Small Business Server 2003/2008 already?  If so, you already have the ability to natively receive email on Windows Mobile devices, iPhone 3G and many other new phones and PDAs that support Exchange ActiveSync.

Collaborating with customers on proposals, specifications etc:  Old way – you go to customer and present, wait a few days, customer responds with issues, wait a few days, you go back to customer and present, wait a few days, customer comes to you with changes….yuk.  New way – online collaboration and meeting tools allow you and the customer to work on documents together, track changes and versions and generally work smarter together.  Heard of Windows Sharepoint Services?  It’s free and provides some of this functionality.  Want the solution but can’t afford the infrastructure to run it?  Check out Microsoft’s newly released Business Productivity Online Suite.

Seriously quick and low cost (or cost free!) ways to improve your customer experience through technology.

Clayton Moulynox – Evolve IT Australia
We fix business problems, not computer problems -  Develop, Solve, Evolve.
Follow me on Twitter: @claytonhm

Buried in Resumes…

One might think that filling a job vacancy in this economy is a piece of cake – so many people out of work – how hard could it be? Well… a client called the other day from Salt Lake City. He needed to replace an IT Director who left suddenly due to a bad accident.

Several days ago, he put a job posting up on CareerBuilder and Monster. Now he had almost 300 resumes to consider and the clock was ticking loudly – corporate wanted a decision made within 3 days. He had no idea how to approach the task in such a short time frame.

Here’s the system I recommended he use… By far it’s not the only system – It’s just one that’s worked for me.

1. Print all the resumes. I know it’s a terrible waste of paper and ink but compared to the drain on your eyes, back, and neck trying to read them all on screen, it’s a fair trade off.
2. The first thing to look at is location – where does the candidate live. Most likely you won’t  want to bring in out of town candidates – too costly either for you or the applicant – so out of town or country go immediately to the “NO” pile. Local candidates read on.
3. The next thing to look at is the appearance and appropriate professionalism of the resume itself. Your looking at an example of the kind of work this person would do for you if hired. Some more resumes will go to the “NO” pile.
4. If there’s an education or credential requirement, go straight to that section of the resume. There’s no point spending time on candidates who aren’t fully qualified.
5. Now it’s time to read the content. Is the experience relevant? Has the person “hopped” jobs? Do the dates leave any questionable gaps? At this point, write questions on the resume then classify it as belonging in either the “A”, “B”, or “NO” pile. Don’t agonize – you can change it later as the bar gets raised and what you initially thought was an “A” becomes a “B”. Remember, “A” is fully qualified and very interesting. “B” is good in most areas but lacks something.
6. Now that you’ve made it though all the resumes, turn your attention to the “A” pile. Read them again. Rank them in order of 1 – 12. Above 12 goes to the “B” pile. You’re now ready for the phone screen. 3 or 4 will fall out here. What’s left is your interview pool.

In my mind, it’s not rocket science. It is, however, a systematic way to create criteria for a process of elimination.

Do you have a system for getting through a mountain of resumes?

Michael Shapiro, Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.

What’s Up With the Economy?

Every day, we hear all these economic statistics thrown around. How do they affect our small businesses? We are particularly focused on small business this week as it is National Small Business Week. Today, for example, there was a new release by the Federal Reserve. It didn’t contain very good news. The Fed now believes that the recession will continue in 2009 and the economy will further contract. They also believe that the unemployment rate will approach 10%. This news caused the stock market to drop by 52 points by the end of the session today.

What does all this really mean for small business? Other economic indicators have been released in the last few months as well. The Gross Domestic Product is the best indicator we have of recession. During the last quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, the GDP fell by a total of 12.4%. That means our economy shrunk by that amount.

The Consumer Price Index, which is the value of a market basket of goods and services, fell during the first quarter. That sounds like it would be good news, but not necessarily. It could mean deflation which occurs when consumers hold off on purchases in hopes of lower prices. This is not good news for small businesses.

The Producer Price Index, which is the wholesale price index at the manufacturer level, also declined during the first quarter. This means the same thing as the decline in the CPI. The PPI is usually watched closely by investors.

Stock prices have been holding steady or climbing. The good news is that stock prices are a leading indicator of the economy. They usually predict what is going to happen in the future. Stock prices may take a hit in future weeks, however, because investors will react to a few things happening in the economy. The price of oil, and the price of gas at the pump, is going up. Financial stocks are taking a hit due to the President’s credit card legislation. We may see at least a temporary decline in stock prices.

The unemployment rate has recently risen from 8.5% to 8.9% and the Federal Reserve expects it to rise further. The good news is that the unemployment rate is a lagging indicator of the economy and often continues to rise for awhile even after a recession is over.

All of these economic indicators will affect our small businesses. In a press release, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship notes that small business pumps almost a trillion dollars into the economy and account for half of the nation’s work force. The banks still aren’t lending, though the Small Business Administration has been charged with opening its doors to lending to small business with relaxed rules and lower fees. The Senate Committee pledges its support to U.S. small businesses.

Rosemary Peavler, Small Business Finance writer/guide, bizfinance.about.com, a New York Times Company

Be Insightful to Grow Your Small Business.

A few years ago I was conversing with someone older and wiser than I.  We were discussing some issues with the technology industry in general when, in response to one of my comments, this senior executive said to me “actually, that’s a great point – it’s very insightful”.

Immediately I knew what she meant because as I was speaking the words I had this warm fuzzy feeling – a moment of enlightenment perhaps.   In my quest to impress her, I’d ultimately had a deep and intuitive understanding of the issue.  I was inside the issue and had clarity of all its facets.

I thought more about this moment in the weeks following and realised that I, and no doubt many other business owners, was often guilty of only making observations about business issues and rarely seeking insight. 

You see, to be observant would be to identify that a particular product line isn’t selling.  But understanding that the product line isn’t selling in a particular vertical market because there’s a competitive product that has a payment plan option is insightful.  Having insight doesn’t mean you have the solution, it simply means you have a greater penetration in to the problem and are therefore much better poised to work on resolving it.

Whilst there is certainly a “gut feeling” or intuitive element to having insight, I believe there’s also a methodical approach you can take to explore your observations and develop insight.  I call it the “Why 5” method – that is, ask “why” five times?  A product isn’t selling – why?  Because customer’s aren’t buying it – why?  Because they aren’t even giving my sales reps the time of day – Why?  Why?  Why?  You get the point.

The end result is a greater depth of understanding about this issue, not just the fact that there is an issue.  I challenge you to use this thinking within your own business for issues that have effectively been barriers to your growth.  Ask “why” five times.  The insight you gain may well break through the barriers and lead to a greater clarity of how your business operates and lead you in to growth.

Did you find this insightful?

Clayton Moulynox – Evolve IT Australia
We fix business problems, not computer problems -  Develop, Solve, Evolve.
Follow me on Twitter: @claytonhm

Summit Takes Look at Future of PR, News Media

If you’re interested in knowing how the future of journalism and PR is changing, here is a great piece and synopsis of a pros conference.   It impacts small business as much as corporations, but also means that small business has the same opportunities as big business with big marketing budgets.  Creativity will go a long way in marketing your business in the future.

Media Relations Summit Finale: PR Pros and Journalists Envision a Brave New Relationship in Web 3.0 Future By David Copithorne, Principal, Aquarius Advisers

Dan Abrams, MSNBC’s principal legal analyst, set the tone for the final day of Bulldog Reporter’s Media Relations Summit 2009 Tuesday when he told keynote attendees that the rules of the media relations game have changed for good. “These days, every business is a media business,” said Abrams, who is also the founder of a new advisory service leveraging a database of 2,500 mainstream- and social-media experts to help businesses navigate the new media environment.

Reporters and editors struggling to feed the web 24-by-7 must collaborate with businesses creating their own media as digital technologies break down the old adversarial relationship between journalists and professional communicators. The result is a brave new world where best practices in PR, marketing and journalism are already being radically redefined, Abrams said.

Walls tumbling down — between old media and new media, journalists and PR people, companies and their customers, and within organizations of all sizes—was a recurring theme voiced by speakers from the ranks of both the media and PR throughout the day.

Read more…..

Follow me on Twitter: @SmallBizPRXpert

Jennifer Fortney, Cascade Communications and SmallBizPRMadeEasy.com

Amending Your Agreement

Because a business is a living thing, it is often necessary to amend your operating agreement or shareholder agreement.

Many people think that once it is in place, the members are bound by what they initially agreed to. That is not the case. Your agreement is entirely internal to the company so any changes need not be filed with the state or anyone else, unless of course, it says so in the agreement that it must be published or filed. There are clauses in the agreement to determine the procedures for amendments. Those clauses need to be followed if you want the amendment to be effective.

Be very careful though. If the initial agreement was drafted by an attorney, to the extent you can, have that attorney help you with the amendment. There may be things in the agreement that don’t seem to make sense but have a very important legal or tax consequence.

The amendment can be a series of emails that the parties decide to adopt, where both parties agree to sign a printout of the chain. That would certainly count as a “writing” as defined by most statutes.

Laws change, business changes, relationships change. Make sure you know your agreement to the letter and read over it periodically to make sure the provisions within the agreement still make sense.

Brian Fons, Corporate Creations. Brian.Fons@corpcreations.com or check out my Podcast in iTunes.

Can Your Company Pass a Human Capital Stress Test?

Recently the Federal Government required many of the country’s biggest banks to assess the viability of the capital the banks held. One of the reasons the Fed did this was to evaluate the processes and systems in place surrounding their assets. For a bank, cash is their lifeblood. So what does this have to do with Human Capital?

In most entrepreneurial companies, the employees – Human Capital – are one of the most important assets. According to an article by Will Helmlinger of The Resource Development Group, “the cost to replace one Customer Service Representative earning $18,000 annually is nearly $58,000″. A study evaluating the effects of the US Family Medical Leave Act found that “turnover costs for a manager average 150% of salary, including tangible costs of hiring new workers and relocation, and intangible costs such as the new worker’s inefficiency and lost productivity while the job is vacant.”

Consider also, that being in a state of rapid change – either increasing or decreasing – challenges a company’s ability to maintain an effective culture and workforce. While there hasn’t been a lot of growth these days, there has been more than enough downsizing. There’s no doubt that being laid off is bad. In a different way, being left at the company takes its toll too – the worry that you’ll be next, the uncertainty of how your job has changed, and the disconnect from real information coming from management.

Here is my recommendation for a Human Capital Stress Test:

1. Review your employee’s job descriptions – with your employee. Acknowledge how their job or role may have changed.
2. Review your company’s performance evaluation system. If you’re still doing annual reviews, call it your annual chat because there’s no way to address performance over the course of a year. At best, you may cover the past month or two. I recommend at the very least, doing quarterly reviews. More importantly is to create a culture of feedback – both good and bad – that occurs throughout the year.
3. Take a look at your organization. Are there holes left by departed workers. If new people are filling these roles, do they have, and know that they have authority to do the job.
4. Lastly, look at the way information is communicated to your employees. Does the word of bad news spread because you’ve been in a succession of closed door meetings. Your employees would rather know the reality of the situation than be “protected” from it until the very last minute.

If you take these steps and acknowledge the value you have invested in Human Capital, then when the economy does rebound, and it will, you won’t be starting from scratch to hire and train a competent workforce.

Michael Shapiro – Dynamic Management Solutions, Inc.