Pillar 5: Methods & Vehicles

Part 5 in our 8-part examination of Bryan Pope’s The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing

The 5th Pillar of Bryan Pope’s 7 Pillars describes the two key elements of a marketing campaign (pillar 4): methods and vehicles. I quote Bryan himself (with his permission) from his download and PDF An Introduction to the 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing. I strongly urge you to buy them for yourself, study each of the 7 pillars, and implement them.

Overview for Pillar 5

“If you’ve done your marketing right up to this point, you’ve done your research to
find out what your market is really looking for and what they are willing to pay for it.
You’ve developed a message and image that say to your audience, “Hey! This is where
you can get what you’re looking for!” You’ve created at least one, and perhaps multiple,
strategies that clearly state your goals and big picture plan for taking that message to your
target audience. Then you’ve looked at when to get that message out, whether that’s in
short bursts at optimum times, or ongoing for a period of time. You’ve also established
specific campaign budgets and identified the resources you’ll need to make those
campaigns happen.

If you’ve done all that—and only if you’ve done all that—are you ready to start
looking at tactics or, in my terms, methods and vehicles.”

3 Marketing Methods

“When I say “marketing methods,” I’m talking about just three things: promotion,
publicity/PR, and advertising.

1. Promotions are marketing activities designed to get the cash register ringing with a specific offer, a strong call to action, and a deadline. Those three elements create promotions.
2. Publicity and public relations are largely the exposure your company gains for free. This marketing method includes such things as distribution of press releases, public speaking opportunities, stories in publications about your company, product, or service, and so on.
3. Advertising is the one method with which we’re all quite familiar. From
   traditional media such as radio, newspaper, magazine, and television advertising, to
   billboards, to new media advertising on the internet, through texting, and so on,
   advertising is perhaps the best understood marketing method.”

Marketing Vehicles

“Now that you know what the three methods of marketing are, let’s look at some of the
vehicles that fall under those methods. This should be real eye-opener for many people
since these are the very things they think of when someone says “marketing.” Yes, these
are extremely important elements of marketing, but they, on their own, are NOT
marketing! …

You must follow The 7 Pillars completely and in proper order to gain the synergies, power, and success that are waiting for you as an enlightened marketer.

Here is a short list of some of the marketing vehicles you may use in your marketing
efforts as appropriate based on your market research, messages, strategies, campaigns,
and methods:

• referral programs
• frequent buyer clubs
• rewards programs
• contests, sweepstakes and drawings
• cross-promotions
• discount programs
• coupons
• gifts and premiums
• in-store events
• educational programs and seminars
• newspaper ads
• signage
• email
• word-of-mouth
• direct mail
• telemarketing
• bounce-back offers
• press releases
• community volunteerism
• company newsletters
• internet advertising
• blogging
• podcasting
• networking events
• banners
• joint mailings
• sponsorships
• point-of-purchase displays
• trade shows

…and the list goes on and on.

These, and many other vehicles, deliver your message and facilitate action on the part
of your audience. ”

Questions to Help You with Methods or Vehicles

• Which marketing vehicles can I use under the Publicity/Public Relations method to get my message to my target audience?
• Which marketing vehicles can I use under the Promotion method to get my message to my target audience?
• Which marketing vehicles can I use under the Advertising method to get my message
  to my target audience?
  (Remember, especially with advertising, to consider the budget you’ve established.)

“Until you’ve found some answers through addressing the first four critical areas of marketing
as represented by the first four pillars, you’re robbing yourself of every opportunity to
make your marketing as potent as it can possibly be. You’re going to spend the time and
money getting your message out there anyway. Why not do it right?'”

Read the blog on Thursday when we assess pillar 6: Sales systems

Pillar 4: Campaigns

Thank you for joining us to learn how to translate strategy into campaigns
Once you establish your marketing strategy (Pillar 3), you implement the strategy into campaigns (Pillar 4). Bryan Waldon Pope explains more about campaigns in his An Introduction to The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing. You can learn more by following Bryan’s blog and buying the download.
Campaigns Turn Your Strategies into Effective Tactics
“We’re all familiar with the term “marketing campaign.” But just like “marketing
strategy,” the term “marketing campaign” is often misused and misunderstood. Once we
have established a strategy, or strategies, for our marketing efforts, we need to be able to
carry out actions that will turn those strategies into the tactics that will bring us the
success we’re seeking. This is where campaigns come into play.
A marketing campaign may consist of only one marketing method and one vehicle
delivering that message to our audience; but more often, campaigns employ multiple
marketing methods and vehicles to get our message to our intended audience.
Campaigns can be based on an event; time of the day, week, month, or year; or a
specific marketing goal. Campaigns become a handle we can attach to a group of
marketing activities that are aimed at accomplishing a specified outcome. Here are a few
examples of possible marketing campaigns:

1. A holiday sale: This type of campaign is mounted a short time before the holiday
   (unless it’s Christmas, in which case we see people beginning their campaigns earlier and
   earlier). So we may give our campaign a name like our “Annual Mother’s Day Sale” or
   the “Deer hunter Widow Sale,” a popular one in many communities for getting women to
   spend money while their husbands are away hunting with all that expensive equipment
   they bought recently.
2. A client-base building campaign: If my company were looking to add 10 new
   clients to its client base over the next six months, I might launch a campaign called my
   “Two New Clients a Month” campaign. Going back to strategy, in this scenario I’ve
   obviously set a goal to get 10 new clients in the next six months. I’ve decided that getting them at the rate of a couple a month makes the most sense. Thus, the “Two New Clients a Month” campaign.
3. End of the Month Deadline campaign: Sometimes involving your audience in your goals can be helpful. Getting client buy-in can be very powerful. One place I see this regularly is in the new car sales industry. The dealer will let his audience know he needs to move 200 new cars by the end of the month. To put a handle on it, we would probably call this our “200 Cars Must Go by the End of the Month” campaign.

Have you got the picture? I hope so. If you need more input on this, or any of The 7
Pillars, involve your marketing team or look at the specific audio program titles I’ve
produced on most of these topics. They go deeper and offer more resources for
implementation.
A few elements that will play into putting together your campaigns include creating
campaign budgets from your overall marketing budget, identifying the elements and
deliverables necessary to mount the campaign, being specific on timelines for each
campaign, and creating a campaign calendar which, for most businesses, should be
looking at least one year ahead.”
Questions to Ask Yourself About Each Campaign

• Based on the goal(s) I’ve set and the strategy(ies) I’ve devised, what is one campaign I
  can run to support my goal(s) and strategy(ies)?
• How much of my overall strategic marketing budget will I allocate for this campaign?
• What are the elements and deliverables necessary to mount this campaign?
• For example, design and print work, copywriting, mailing services, website-related work, telemarketing service, memberships in associations or organizations, and more)
• What is the timeframe/timeline for this campaign?
  

Remember to create your campaigns in advance, to the best of your ability, for at least
one year. This will result in better quality campaigns, more cohesion between campaigns,
and more control of your marketing budget. A one-year calendar is very helpful!”

Please check back on my blog on Tuesday when we discuss Pillar 5: Methods & Vehicles

Pillar 3: Strategy & Happy Thanksgiving

Welcome to the fourth of our 8-part exploration of The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing

Pillar 3: Strategy defines the difference between high-level strategy and operational tactics. As before, the content of this post comes directly from Bryan Pope’s An Introduction to The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing. I still encourage you to buy the download and accompanying PDF, and to follow Bryan’s blog.

Devise Strategies That Support You Specific Goals

“Your marketing strategy is a high-level picture of both what you are going to
accomplish with your marketing and how you are going to do it. But again, it is high level.
Perhaps the best way to paint the picture of how marketing strategy works is to
liken it to military strategy. Just as the military has a strategy, campaigns to support that
strategy, and the tactical forces in place to carry out the campaigns, marketing, too, has
strategies, campaigns, and tactics, which I call methods and vehicles. We’ll discuss those
later on. So let’s take a look at some marketing strategies so you can get an idea of what a
proper marketing strategy might be.

Market entry strategy: One common strategy among retail store operators is to enter a new market area and low-ball prices until consumers have created new habits and traffic patterns that take them to that store on a regular basis. Once the store is established, the operators will inch up prices until they are back at a level similar to their local competitors.

Notice in that scenario we didn’t talk about when the store will open or where or how
we will get the word out to our audience letting them know about the great deals we have.
Those are all details handled by campaigns, methods, and vehicles.

Strategy is important because at times we may have multiple campaigns supporting a
given strategy, with a number of methods and vehicles supporting each campaign. If we
don’t have a targeted strategy from which we are working, it will become very easy to get
off track with any number of our marketing activities and fail to meet the goal we’ve set.
Although the following list isn’t exhaustive, these are key elements of devising
strategies that will keep our marketing efforts focused:

1. Set measurable goals: Without goals we don’t know where we’re even
   wanting to go.
2. Establish timelines and milestones: For example, suppose I established a milestone and time of increasing revenues by at least 10% over a one-year period. In that scenario, the strategy established what I’m going to do in one year’s time. However, I would need to set a monthly milestones (For example, establish a 1% increase in monthly sales) to help me know if I’m on track.
3. Set a marketing budget: When we have meaningful goals set that include timelines and milestones so we can measure our success along the way, it becomes much more realistic to set meaningful budgets. If our budget is simply based on an arbitrary number, how do we know it will support our strategies?
4. The Path to Advocacy: This is a system that is compatible with any contact management software program (or even paper-based system) that will help you strategically advance people from being leads and contacts, to being qualified prospects, then clients. One of the best things about the Path to Advocacy is that it helps you create advocates out of your clients as well as those who are not, and may never be, your clients. It’s something you really should check into!”

Questions to Ask Yourself to Establish Your Market Strategy

• What is (are) my specific and measurable goal(s) with respect to the profit center I’m
  working on?
• What is the timeframe for the accomplishment of this (these) goal(s)?
• What milestones can I establish that will help me know if I’m on track?
• What is my marketing budget to support this effort?
• What is my product/service offering strategy?
• What is my price strategy?
• What is my placement/distribution strategy?
• Do I have the Path to Advocacy model instituted in my business?

The strategy pillar is also where we address elements related to the strategic makeup
of our products or services, the placement of those products or services, and our pricing
models—all, of course, based on the market research we’ve already done. Do you see
how this approach to marketing builds on itself? Every piece of the puzzle has its place,
and it is only with all the pieces in place that we create a complete marketing picture.

Please read Thursday’s post about how to translate your strategy into marketing campaigns

Pillar 2: The Right Message

This is the third in an 8-part examination of The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing

I want to remind you that the content from today’s blog comes directly from Bryan Pope’s  An Introduction to The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing. Once again, I encourage you to buy the download and accompanying PDF. Listen to it multiple times and build your marketing plan using the 7 pillars to guide you. I also encourage you to check Bryan’s marketing blog.

Project a Message that will Drive Clients to Your Business

“Projecting the right message means more than just having a catchy slogan or a sharp
advertising campaign. It begins with a Unique Market Positioning Statement (UMPS)
that identifies clearly what your business is about. This statement acts as the foundation
for all your marketing messages, creating a cohesive image that adds impact to your
efforts delivered through various channels. If you have the right message, everything
from your advertisements and promotions, to the way you answer your phone, to the
experience people enjoy consistently when they are in the course of doing business with
you build on each other and build awareness in the minds of your clients and prospects.

Other elements of developing the right message include having a name and company
image that are consistent with what you are offering and don’t leave people wondering
who or what you might be. Too many people—especially small business owners—tend to
want to become clever with their name, graphical images (logos, business cards,
websites, etc.), and other identifying elements of their businesses. If a play on words or
other device works, no problem. But far too often these witty approaches require
explanation which takes away from their effectiveness. Remember the market research
pillar? It has many uses. Use it to make sure your company name, logo, and other image related
elements really say what you do!”

How to Develop The Right Message

“Your UMPS is built by answering the following questions and then stringing the
answers together into a brief paragraph. While your UMPS will never be used in its raw
form as a marketing message, it will provide a benchmark against which to check all your
marketing messages to see that you are consistently building a brand and appropriate
image for your company. The questions are:

• Who are we? (Do people know us by our company name? A brand name?)
• What do we do? (What solutions do we provide for our clients?)
• Who are our clients? (Build a brief and pointed profile.)
• What need/want do we fill? (If there’s no motivation, there’s no sale!)
• Who are our competitors? (Who is vying for the same dollars we are?)
• Why would someone do business with us? What sets us apart from others?

In addition, ask yourself these questions to enhance the right message (Hint: Use your marketing team to help you answer these questions!)

• Is our company’s name and logo consistent with what we offer? Is it clear?
• Is there a better name and/or image for our business?
• Do our prospects and clients enjoy a consistent, positive experience when interacting with our company and its people? If not, how can we change to make this the case?

Above all, the right message is all about creating a consistent, positive experience for
your clients and potential clients. The activities and elements included in this effort are
numerous. Be aware of this issue and you’ll begin seeing many places in your business
where you are not projecting a consistent message—or even the right message.”

Join me again on Thursday to discover the power of the 3rd pillar marketing strategy

Pillar 1: Market Research

This continues our 8-part series on Bryan Pope’s “The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing”

The following comes from Bryan Waldon Pope’s An Introduction to the 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing. Once again, I suggest you purchase the download from Bryan’s web site and follow his blog.

Introduction to Pillar 1: Market Research

“Engaging in market research will begin with establishing a marketing team and
completing a SWOT analysis. Establishing your marketing team is essential to everything
else you do, and it isn’t difficult or costly. Your SWOT analysis (that’s Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) will become an important planning tool in your
marketing.

Most small business owners think market research is too expensive or the results of
such efforts are useless to their business activities. There are simple and cost-effective
ways to determine why your clients do business with you, why your competitors’ clients
do business with them and how to win the long-term loyalty of more of those people in
both camps. Ongoing market research is a vital part of any serious marketing effort.

Under this pillar, we also complete primary and secondary market research. Primary
market research is research you do yourself, directly with your audience of clients or
potential clients. Secondary market research is research that has been conducted by
another party, then sought out by you. Examples of secondary market research include
information from the census, information provided by trade associations, and information
available from list companies. Primary market research can include surveys conducted by
your company, sampling events, and so on.”

Simple Way to Start

“A simple way to begin using market research as a tool for directing your marketing
efforts is to survey your existing clients. A simple survey conducted at the completion of
rendering a service or delivering a product can let you know if you are offering the
products/services that best meet your clients’ needs. Based on the feedback received, you
have the opportunity to adjust your offerings to better meet the needs and wants of your
clients.

You can also simply ask your clients why they do business with you. You may be
surprised at some of the answers you receive. Make sure you take them into consideration
as you develop your messaging, strategies, and campaigns. One other method I like as a
starting point for getting into the mode of being research-minded is to ask clients this
question: “If you were CEO of our company for one day and could make any change or
enhancement you wanted, what would it be?” This approach tends to open people’s
minds up a little more and really share what they are thinking and feeling.

Keep surveys brief and make the information gathered applicable to your specific
goals. The less questions asked and the less personal the information, the greater the
response. Strike a balance that allows you to discover those issues important to you while
leaving your client feeling comfortable. Remember, in-person or on-phone surveys are
considerably more effective than written surveys.”

Begin to Build Pillar 1: Market Research

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I currently have an operable, knowledgeable marketing team?
• Have I recently completed a SWOT analysis for my company?
• Do I actively conduct meaningful market research with both my existing clients and my prospective clients?

(If you answered “No” to any of the above questions get hold of Bryan’s audio programs on these specific topics and turn those No's into Yeses!)

• What questions would I ask my existing clients?
• What questions would I ask my potential clients?
• Areas I feel I have covered well with regard to market research?
• Areas I need to work on with regard to market research?

I hope you act upon this first pillar to enhance your marketing and increase your revenues.

Join my on Tuesday when we explore pillar 2 The Right Message

The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing

This begins a 8-part series on Bryan Waldon Pope’s The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing
Bryan Waldon Pope is the architect for The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing and the founder of The Abundance Group. I have known Bryan for almost a decade. I subscribe to his monthly download on marketing and team building. His concepts helped me improve my job and my business. His techniques helped me quadruple attendance at our events and maintain desired levels for 6 years.
An Introduction
The comments below all come from Bryan’s An Introduction to The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing.
“The 7 Pillars of Successful MarketingTM is a system that has been developed over the
past two decades that works with literally any business, of any size, in any industry. And
the reason this is true is that it isn’t a pre-packaged marketing plan or any other such
thing. It’s a principle-based framework that gives you all the tools and direction you need
to develop marketing activities that perfectly fit your exacting needs while improving
your marketing impact and increasing your marketing return-on-investment. This is
exciting, timely, useful, very down-to-earth information that, when applied as directed,
will change your confidence level, action intensity, and success rate in all your marketing
endeavors.”
“Before we go any further, let’s get on the same page as to what marketing is. There
are many definitions of marketing floating around in the business world. Most people’s
view of marketing is based on their past experiences in marketing, so their views are
limited to those aspects of marketing with which they are familiar. I’ve found the more
encompassing one’s view of marketing, the more successful that individual’s marketing
efforts. Based on that belief, my definition of marketing is this:
Marketing is a composite of activities focused on:
• identifying the wants and needs of your clients and potential clients,
• modeling a solution to meet those wants and needs,
• attracting and converting your audience, and
• retaining your clients by filling their wants and needs again and again.”
The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing

1. Market Research: Offer exactly what your market is looking for
2. The Right Message: Project a message that will drive clients to your business
3. Strategy: Devise strategies that support your specific goals
4. Campaigns: Develop & implement campaigns that turn your strategies into effective tactics
5. Methods & Vehicles: Wisely use marketing Methods & Vehicles that support your message and strategy
6. Sales: Increase your revenues using consistent sales systems
7. Client Retention: Create client allegiance and predictable repeat revenue patterns

There you have The 7 Pillars of Successful Marketing as designed by Bryan Waldon Pope.I plan to add detail to one pillar at a time for the next seven posts. You can develop your marketing plan if you complete the exercises for each pillar. In addition, you can buy the 7 Pillars from Bryan. I also suggest that you follow Bryan’s Blog.
I hope you sense the simplicity of this system that builds on itself to provide you with more revenues and less stress. As Bryan says “Here’s to your marketing success!”
Join me Saturday to learn more about the first pillar “Market Research”

Home, Suites, Facilities, or Offshore

Every business owner must determine where to locate the business. In the past, industrial companies required large plants, heavy capital, and factories. Location, location, and location still proves the success of storefront companies in spite of today’s internet stores and shopping carts.

Today, however, business owners may select from a variety of location options. We’ll examine just a few in today’s post.

Base Your Business at Home

You may choose to run your business from your home for the first several years. Several types of businesses do not require a location for clients to visit or a facility to manufacture products. Basing your business at home reduces overhead, but may create other challenges. For example, young families may distract you from business tasks. Isolation also affects business owners who work alone at home. Creativity and synergy decrease from the lack of people in the facility.

Shared Suites/Business Incubators

Many communities now offer shared suites. The shared suites are owned and possibly managed by one company. Different business owners lease an office in the shared suite. Other business owners also lease offices in the suite. The management company provides shared clerical staff, equipment, conference or training rooms to each business owner. Some suites even let business owners lease the offices for just hours a week instead of full-time.

Manufacturing or Office Facilities

Many office and manufacturing companies look forward to moving into big beautiful facilities as soon as possible. Some jump prematurely into expensive facilities they don’t need, nor afford. I do not dispute that some businesses require stores, factories, or offices. If so, they should identify the best possible facility with the right location and the right price. However, if you absolutely do not require a big facility, wait until you need to invest in the big office or plant. Always use a good real estate agent or property management company to consult with you on major property decisions.

Offshoring or Outsourcing

Offshoring or outsourcing provides another option for business owners. Manufacturing companies may find low personnel costs in Asia or locations. Yet, sometimes tariffs, patent and copyright differences, and cultural challenges eliminate possible cost savings. Nevertheless, contracting with other companies to provide call center, customer support, manufacturing, production, and other services. You can find additional information about each type of company through their respective associations.

Other options for physical facilities exist for business owners. I suggest you consult with a facilities consultant from the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), and real estate professionals. Explore well before you sign a contract.

Leadership Skills Develop Careers

This begins a multi-part series examining how—& which—leadership skills develop your career

Exhibiting current and potential leadership provides an excellent path to career growth. You can exert leadership as both a formal and informal leader. Your leadership may be a positive or a negative influence on the work team or organization. You may yearn to lead. You may resist leadership with all your might. Whatever you choose, leadership will affect your career growth.

Over the next few weeks we will examine various traits of leadership. Our study will include reviewing concepts presented by Bill George, Jim Collins, Stephen Covey, Paul Thompson, Gene Dalton, and other experts on leadership. We will explore the differences between leadership and management that will help you comprehend the differences between Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Chief Operating Officers (COOs).

In addition, we will delve into the roles of leadership including establishing the vision for the organization, adopting and adapting the corporate culture, formulating and implementing strategy, evaluating and improving performance. Once again, we will refer to prominent studies and publications for you to study to better understand these roles.

Finally, we will discuss the models and tools leaders use to enhance and improve the organizations and teams they lead. Tools will include:

• Bill George’s True North or Model for Authentic Leadership
• Clawson’s Level Three Leadership
• Six Steps to Effective Leadership
• Agle’s Stakeholder Salience model
• Kotter’s Model for Leading Change
• Principle Centered Leadership
• Jim Collins theories on Built to Last, Good to Great, and How the Great Have Fallen
• RACI, SWOT, and Structure Analysis
• McKenzie’s Seven S Model
• Porter’s Five Forces
• Principle Based Negotiation

These concept will enhance your career, earn the biggest raises, and obtain the best promotions. I recognize that they will not apply to all of you at this time. They may in the future. For some of you they may help you understand management better, while you never pursue a career in management or leadership.

In the meantime, I hope you all enjoy our exploration of management and leadership.

Business Owners Must Act

I have known many business owners who repeatedly tell me they want to improve their businesses. They complain of stagnant sales, reducing revenues, and plummeting profits. Yet they do not act to change their business situation.

Today I would like to share 3 behaviors that perpetuate problems to productivity. I offer them for your consideration. I recognize they do not represent all the possibilities that may limit business growth. They may not illustrate the barriers to your business growth. Or maybe they do. They may stimulate thinking that will help you recognize an obstacle not listed here, but which prevents your business improvement. They may miss the mark entirely. I hope they help.

1. Do the Same Things, But Expect Different Results

I know one business owner whose marketing plans consist of 2 major actions: direct mailers and changing his web site. He sends direct mailers by the thousands to potential clients. He subscribed to include a mailer in the packets most of us receive through the mail. They did not generate the sales increase he desired.  He changes the design and programming of his web site every two years. His web site delivers a very small number of clients. For years, neither of these efforts have generated the sales he wants. Yet, he persists in both of these ineffective method of sales for his industry. He does the same thing each month and expects different results.

2. Half-hearted Attempts to New Methods

One small-business owner attended a workshop at the Small Business Development Center. He heard an innovative way to reduce overhead. The six-part approach intrigued him, yet seemed too complicated. He failed to comprehend how all six steps fit together. He selected two of the steps and rejected the other four of this integrated approach. His actions failed to deliver the reduced overhead he desired. Blaming the entire idea, he discontinued the two steps. He never considered what might have happened if he implemented all six steps rather than rejecting four.

3. Always Learning, Never Doing

I belong to a small-business alliance to help one another improve their businesses. Three or four owners who suffer from this obstacle attended the group. Every month they excitedly listened to a new idea. They asked several questions to understand it more clearly. They committed to the other owners in attendance to implement the ideas that month. They consistently reported at the next meeting that they had not done anything they committed to do. Some of them complained that the alliance failed to help them and withdrew. Others continue to attend, listen, and do nothing.

In Conclusion

I hope none of these three potential barriers apply to you. If they do, however, you can change. You can improve. I doubt that every idea you explore will succeed. I know, however, that if you

1. Discard some ideas that already don’t deliver adequately to try new ones proven to work
2. Implement good ideas completely and test, test, test them for dependable delivery
3. Act on good ideas

you can improve your business. The last few posts described programs to help you grow your business. How many of them did you try? Remember, business owners must act to improve.

What experience have had or observed in others with these obstacles? Please comment!

Business Consulting Firms

This post outlines another source of programs to help you grow your business

So far in this series, I described free to low cost non-profit programs to improve your business. Today we will briefly describe business consulting firms. Business consulting firms offer specific advice and services for fees designed to maintain a profit for the consulting firm. Therefore, their services typically cost significantly more than non-profit services. Many startup and small-business owners cannot afford to pay consulting fees.

However, you may see a good return on investment for consulting as your business revenues and profits increase. For the purpose of this post we do not consider professionals such as Certified Public Accountants or Attorneys as consultants. Every small-business owner should seek the advice of these professionals in the start-up and ongoing growth of the business.

The following tips may help you select the right consulting firm for you.

• Analyze why you may need a consultant. While many consultants help business owners analyze problems or obstructions to business growth. You can save high costs by analyzing your own needs first. I don’t mean that you rely on your own understanding for deep analysis. I refer to identifying whether your need help with web marketing, sales, financing. In other words, you identify the general type of problems that requires consultation.
• Find the right consulting firm for your business. Most consulting firms specialize in certain aspects of business: market research, business analysis, marketing, production, manufacturing, financing, human resources, payroll, and more. Few try to resolve every problem a business may face.
• Research several consulting firms before signing a contract. Explore their reputations for competence and success by talking to your local Small Business Development Center (SBDC), Small Business Administration (SBA), Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), Chamber of Commerce, and other business owners.
• Clearly clarify and outline in a written document the services provided and expected results attained of the consulting. Your SBDC usually maintains a library of sample contracts and legal forms for you to review. Talk to other business owners who paid consultants about the contracts they signed.

You may also want to check out these other sources of tips on hiring a consultant: Documents Club Express, Psymesconsulting, Bay View Hunters Point, Social Media Today, and others.

Centers for Entrepreneurship

This continues our series on community programs designed to help you grow your business

Many community colleges and universities now offer centers for entrepreneurship. Many of the centers open their services to students and non-students. Some even extend their services through distance learning or computer-based venues allowing business owners who live too far away to attend classrooms. Some of the programs receive national rankings from the Princeton Review.

Services Offered by Centers for Entrepreneurship

Typically, entrepreneurship centers offer the following services:

• Courses, workshops, seminars, and conferences
• Access to grants, angel investors, microfinance and other funding programs
• Incubators, JumpStart programs,
• Forums, panel discussions, and lecture series
• Blogs, articles, libraries, and training tools

You can find the nearest center for entrepreneurship by calling a college or university close to home. You can also Google “Center for Entrepreneurship”. Several variations on the phrase will appear. Adding your city or state to the search phrase will help you narrow your search.

Thursday we will finish our series on programs to help you grow your business

Chambers of Commerce Help

This continues my series on programs that can help your business grow

Most people recognize the Chamber of Commerce. Each community sponsors a chamber to develop businesses and enhance the community. Chambers lobby Congress, local legislatures, and city councils on behalf of business. Many times they promote large infrastructure issues such as road construction, redevelopment districts, tax changes, and jobs bills.

People in large cities perceive that the chamber focuses almost exclusively on helping global or large corporations. Sometimes members feel their chamber lost sight of main street problems.  Frequently, small-business owners feel neglected in the larger chambers.

Chamber Services to Small-Business Owners

The US Chamber of Commerce sponsors Small Business Nation. Their web site defines the mission of Small Business Nation. The site still rings with rhetoric and action on lobbying. For example, ignore the community and take action sections unless you want to get involved in the political process.

I suggest you focus on the training for small- and mid-business owners offered through the toolkits section. At first you can see much of the toolkit information, however, after several views it begins to require a membership username and password. Individual membership costs $125 per year. The toolkit offers articles and tips on the following topics:

• Employer explores legal issues related to owning a business like complying with healthcare, paying your employees, benefits for employees, rules and guidelines for your employees, how to get the best from your employees, disciplinary action, firing and termination.
• Finances provides information about bookkeeping to managing your credit, growing your personal wealth, and 10+ ready-to-use documents and forms. I liked the forms because you can use them repeatedly.
• Government Contracting offers tips on what you need to know to contract with the government, 10 steps to successful bids, what happens in the bid evaluation and award phase, multiple sources that can help you in the bidding process, and the concept of sub-contracting on government bids.
• Insurance explains why you need insurance, different types of insurance, how to provide insurance and healthcare to your employees, and insuring you and your office.
• Online Solutions describes the essentials of online marketing including your website, email marketing, social media, and online advertising.
• Printing and Shipping outlines shipping and printing services (you can’t miss the plug for FedEx), document services, shipping solutions, frequently asked questions, signs, graphics, and photo services.
• Purchasing and Inventory begins with a plug for Sam’s Club, but provides information about investing in purchasing and the purchasing process; and articles about inventory control, control systems, security, and quality.
• Sales and marketing gave access to information on 5 questions that every business should answer, analyzing the market environment, market research, developing and refining you product, packaging and pricing, promotion, advertising, public relations, and total quality management.
• Start Up highlights what to do before you get started, creating your business plan, and financing your business 101.

You can find all of these resources at the national web site for the US Chamber of Commerce. Each local chamber also offers leads groups to network with other business owners, ribbon cuttings for new businesses, Chamber Universities, workshops, lectures, and other benefits.

I also found a web site called ChamberofCommerce.com. I don’t think it is affiliated with the main chamber.The logo, URL, and feel of the web site differ drastically from the US Chamber of Commerce site. However, it accesses local chambers. It also offers Chamber University that includes free videos and articles to help business owners grow their business. Beware, though, that they monetize the site with lots of ads and paid endorsements.

I suggest you find your local Chamber of Commerce and explore what they offer. Join only if you find their focus will give your business a good return on investment.

Economic Development Departments

This continues my series on programs to help you grow your business

Economic Development Departments work with businesses within their community to grow their businesses. They also work with businesses outside the city or state to lure them to locate in the city.

Almost all of the 50 states and some of the U.S. Territories provide economic development services. Most larger, and many smaller cities, maintain an economic development department or director. The economic development effort for most small cities consists of a possible part-time employee. Other small communities contract with an economic development corporation.

Economic development departments can provide revitalization areas, TradeZones, tax breaks, lower business license fees, and other incentives to entice businesses to their communities or help their local companies grow. They typically reserve their programs for companies that will add a significant number of jobs or money to their community—larger companies.

Start-up or small-business owners should still contact their local economic development director to explore the services they may qualify to receive. You may find the directors by contacting your city management or administration. You may also Google the name of your city and “economic development”.

Join my blog on Saturday to learn more about how Chambers of Commerce help small-businesses

Small Business Administration

This continues my series on programs designed to help you grow your business

The government sponsors the Small Business Administration (SBA) to stimulate the economy through small-business growth.

Most small-business owners recognize the Small Business Administration for guaranteeing business loans. True, the ensure that businesses that lack the collateral to obtain their own loans can find credit. However, if that is all that you take advantage of, you missed a great deal more.

Services Offered by the Small Business Administration

The SBA offers various services through its web site and other services through local offices around the country:

• Articles and helps: The SBA web site provides hundreds of articles under the Starting & Managing a Business tab on their site. Articles are divided under the headings of “Starting a Business” and “Managing a Business”.  Each topic contains multiple articles and branches from main articles. In addition, the site provides an assessment tool to see if you are ready to start a business.
  • Starting a Business topics include writing a business plan,  business law & regulations, preparing your financing, local resources, and licenses & resources.
  • Managing a Business topics include leading your company, exporting & importing,  getting out, and forms.
• Loans & Grants: The main section on loans and grants divides into sections on Small Business Loans, Grants, Bonds, Other Financial Assistance and Find Loans & Grants. These section sub-divide into information about SBA’s role, Disaster loans, The application process, facts about government grants, research grants for small businesses, surety bonds, venture capital, and more topics.
• Contracting: This main heading opens an abundance of information about how to get started as a government contractor,  working with the government as a contractor, opportunities for federal contracts. It also includes information for contracting officials such as size standards, HUBZones, Non-Manufacturing waivers and more. Small business owners may use this section to contract with the government to provide goods and services including office supplies, park supplies, equipment, property, and training.
• Counseling & Training: The SBA provides wonderful online courses and local counseling and training.
  • Online small business training topics include starting a business, managing a business, financing a business, contracting, and other featured training. Online training provides streaming video, tools, forms, and more.
  • Local counseling & training assistance includes finding a local SBA office, Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), SCORE, Women’s Business Centers, Veterans Business Outreach Centers, U.S. Export Assistance Centers, and Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs). You may receive counseling, mentoring, and teaching from each of these programs through your local SBA office.
• SBA Direct: Leads you to a page with the addresses for your local SBA and related offices. It also contains answers to frequently asked questions.

I hope this gives you a better idea about services you can receive from the Small Business Administration. One more thing, your taxes already pay for most of the services. Shouldn’t you take advantage of the services you already pay for?

Join me Thursday when we explore community economic development councils on your growth