Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

In these still uncertain times, I was pondering over a very poignant statement one of my client made in an email to me wishing me a happy Thanksgiving holiday: “A Blessed Thanksgiving, For all that we have and all that we do not have.”

I think most of us long for something material we don't have from time to time but when I read this, my own desires and thankfulness for material things all became insignificant.  After reading this simple wish and blessing it hit home that although I am thankful for the many material things that surround my family, the things I'm most grateful for this year are not of the tangible nature.

We have had a remarkable year, thanks to our many faithful clients and their generous referrals and for that I am more grateful than you can imagine. We got an opportunity to meet lots of new and interesting people in 2009 too, some who have become very good friends and strong business alliances.We got to work on some really fun projects and be creative to our hearts desire. Our granddaughter encouraged and helped us set up a Twitter account and a Facebook page and showed us how easy it was to tweet and post and how much fun this could be. This list of intangible things goes on and on.

But what we do not have has become even more important on the gratitude scale. Things like health issues, loss of a home or job, hunger or intense stress. Just like the positive things, this list can go on and on as well.

So, thank you family, friends, clients, colleagues, Facebook Fans, Twitter Followers and Linked In Connections for all you do. I wish you the same good wish as I received for this season of giving thanks: Many Blessings and Gratitude for What We Have and All That We Don't.

A cutting edge that is...

Here's neat idea for making your CD or DVD presentation stand out from the crowd. This is especially key if you're going to be handing out disks at tradeshows or other events along with the multitude of other companies who'll be doing it as well. Make sure your disk stands out from the stack and gets played—make it "cutting edge".

WhiteWave Foods, Inc. a natural foods  company created their CD in the shape of a flower and then imprinted the face with a full color image of a flower. This disk was handed  out at the Natural Products Expo (which I attended) and had a fact sheet, press release, product images, technical info and a small video presentation. The interesting shape was small—fitting into a pocket but it's unusual shape and fun design made it brilliant and a keeper presentation. Of all the materials and disks I brought home from the show, this one is the only one I hung onto as a great sample of marketing innovation.

Got a cool idea for a CD shape or imprint? I'd love to hear from you.

Duet Banner Stand

Some new portable display options have just become available that offer twice the fun for less cost. Typically a double sided banner stand requires double the fabric and graphic housing canisters/cylinders which means more weight. The new Duet double-sided banner stand from Skyline offers double exposure on one stand.

This new design lets you print different images and each side of the single sheet of banner fabric. It comes in two sizes and with only one panel to deal with, this makes set up much quicker.

If you're interested in this or another type of exhibit solution for your next tradeshow event, click here for more info

For small companies, you, the business owner are your brand, whether you like that idea or not. Your personal style and persona can often drive how your business is perceived and the type of clients you will attract. As we all get more connected via social media, word of mouth and other forms of personal marketing, business building is being driven more by the company "personality" than the product itself in some cases.

We're hearing lots of stories from vendors and customers alike that they are choosing who they want to do business with more on what the company or individual owner stands for, a personal story (the company history or why they started their company) than simply the product or service that company delivers.

For myself, I've lost a lot of faith in the big corporations, their structure of profit at all costs and lack of interest in the personal side of business. These days, our firm is purposely looking for solutions from smaller firms where I might actually get to interface with someone who started the company or is a stakeholder in that firm and has passion for what they are doing. Relationship marketing, even if it is just online is fast becoming a major way we're finding new vendors and customers.

Take A Personal Branding / Style Checkup Quiz:

• What's your style? (we not talking about fashion, although dressing for the occasion appropriately can be helpful)
• How do you want to be perceived and remembered? Are you being perceived the way you want?
• Do you have an interesting  or inspiring story? (most people do if they think about it) How many people know about it?
• Does your company and existing branding identity/imagery match up with who you are and what you stand for? Does it clearly communicate what you offer?
• Are you attracting the type of clients you want?

If you're unsure of the answers to any of these questions or the answers are not coming back as positively as you'd like, it might be a good time to visit your branding, both company and personal for a "facelift".

One way to get started is to make a list of your "A-Type" customers, you know the 20% of your client base who give you 80% of your key business. You'll probably notice a common thread or threads that drove them to you and swayed their purchasing decision to your firm. If those qualities that brought those ideal customers to you are not as apparent and consistently visible or understandable, you might want to think about making that information more transparent and easily accessible to prospects.

In some cases you might need to redesign your logo or brochure or website. However, just changing one thing won't be the magic silver bullet to bring a string of new A-Type clients rushing through your front door. Branding is a lot of little important elements that when strung together provide tools for your target audience to recognize you and establish a perception about what you stand for and who you are. It all has to match up in order for people to accurately "get you" and know if you are a "good match" for them and can give them the desired vendor-client relationship.

In the words of Tom Peters on FastCompany.com, December 2007 - "big companies understand the importance of brands. Today, in the age of the individual, you have to be your own brand...Regardless of age, regardless of position, regardless of the business we happen to be in, all of us need to understand the importance of branding. We are CEOs of our own companies: Me Inc. To be in business today, our most important job is to be head marketer for the brand called You."

Great marketing can help your business succeed just as ill-informed marketing decisions can kill your sales. There are some very common mistakes that most businesses make with their marketing but most of these are easily fixable and can be turned around into something workable if you know the signs. Better yet, with a little research and planning, you can avoid them all together.

One of our favorite resources for business tips for our own marketing firm is NASE. The National Association for the Self-Employed.  Sally Bell offers a great list of costly mistakes and how to avoid them here: "Oops! How to Fix Costly Marketing Mistakes" which was published late last year in SelfEmployed magazine.  This is the type of information that never goes out of date.

There are few principal business building practices that anyone can put into place whether you're having a banner year or times are challenging. Look no further than your own backyard. We've found that our current customers are often some of the best sources for new business.

Are you keeping up strong ties with your core client base? Do they know about your newest service or product? When's the last time you spoke, found out about how their business was going or if they needed any help? In these days of uncertainty, it is always a comfort when you find out a trusted and known vendor is still around and available.

So, pick up and phone and say hi.

Tamara Monosoff's article on Entrepreneur.com offers some great tips on how to tap into your client base for new sales and customers. See the full article Focus on Core Customers

Shylo, Beloved Companion and Friend - Oct 1, 1998 - Oct 16, 2009

We are taking a little break from our typical marketing blog posts this week and using the time to say goodbye and pay tribute to our beloved muse, Shylo, our very special German Shepherd who made the final journey this week after suffering a massive stroke.

For those of you who ever visited our office, meeting Shylo was a special treat. She was an ever present fixture who was our constant, loving and devoted companion and most loyal friend. Our devotion to her was equally matched as she was the bright center of our world.

Always a good listener, many were the times we bounced ideas off her and of course, she always thought that we were brilliant.

For any of you out there who have ever owned and loved a very special pet, we know you understand the difficulty and profound sadness that comes when the time comes to say goodbye. Her spirit is here but the house and office are eerily quiet with the lack of her vibrant personality and we will miss her terribly.

We feel incredibly blessed that we had this special being in our life for 11 years and know Shylo is in a better place, watching over us and will continue to give us daily inspiration to be the people that she always thought we were.

Autumn is usually a busy time for tradeshows, especially in the water and wastewater industry when construction slows down over the cold winter months. Now is a good time to start thinking about how you can get the most from the monies you spend to participate in tradeshows. Tradeshows are a big investment and can provide excellent ROI but in order to get the most out of participation you need to promote your presence both offline and online. Social media is a great way get the word out fast. To understand how you can use this new tool for your next tradeshow, check out this great article by Charles Pappas that was featured in Exhibitor Magazine. http://www.exhibitoronline.com/exhibitormagazine/aug09/technology-trade-shows-social-media-tools.asp

Out of sight, out of mind. Don't give your prospects and clients a chance to forget you.

Proactive Marketing On A Modest Budget - Idea #5
EMail Marketing and Communication

EMail communication, if done properly is an excellent method for staying in touch with your prospects and clients for very little money. Permission based email is a powerful marketing strategy, especially if you are providing useful information, a special offer or incentive.

If you decide to use this form of marketing, your email messages should be designed to reflect your company's branding and identity. There are numerous low cost services such as Constant Contact , My Emma and Mail Chimp that provide you with templates that are either customized for you (My Emma creates "stationery" for you to use) or Constant Contact that offers a broad range of pre-designed templates that you can customize with your own graphics.

Email newsletters, coupons, announcements, special offers or promotions, event invitations are just a few ideas for this inexpensive marketing platform. The response rate for targeted, permission based email communication is much higher than direct mail (usually 10-18%).

We recommend using an email service for the distribution of messages. Using a service helps to insure that you are complying with anti-spamming regulations, keeps your email server from getting "clogged" and provides detailed analysis tools that will help you track and determine the effectiveness of your individual messages or campaigns.

Consistent, scheduled sending of messages is also key. Just a single message or just a few here and there won't have the same impact as a well planned and regular mailing. If you are selling a consumable product such as cosmetics or clothing, you need to be sending out messages on a frequent basis in order to keep your name in the front of the buyer's mind, but don't go overboard and become intrusive. Our clients have found that a "weekly deal" is a very effective schedule or a special coupon offer that lasts for about 2 weeks.

What's your news or special offer? Drop me an email, I'd like to know.

Hope you have enjoyed our Marketing In Lean Times series.

Next week - Boosting your tradeshow presence with social media

We get asked all the time, "I need a website, how much is it going to cost?" Well, that depends, hmmm, anywhere from $700 to the gross national debt...

There are so many factors and variables to consider when developing a website and your website is another invaluable cost-effective tool in the marketing arsenal to help you survive in tough times.

Proactive Marketing On A Modest Budget - Idea #4
Harness the Power of the Internet and Be Present and Present Online

If you already have a website, great. If you don't, you need to get working on developing one. But don't just jump in willy nilly without really putting some time into thinking out your online strategy. To get the most out of your online marketing budget, here's some tips and things to consider before you begin site construction:

• Plan, document, research and plan some more, give your content a lot of thought
• Know and understand your target audience and what they will be expecting/desiring information and function wise from your site, and then create a site design that can give it to them
• Unless you are a website designer or programmer, work with a professional designer or developer - you want to be taking advantage of all of the latest technologies and innovations available

If you already have a website, do a quick performance audit to make sure your website is capable of delivering the results you desire. Ask yourself:

• Does my site support my business properly?
• Is it living up to expectations?
• Does it reflect my brand?
• Does it offer valuable, useful FREE information to visitors?
• Is it engaging and visually stiumlating?
• Does it call visitors to action?
• Can a visitor easily understand what my company is offering?
• Is the site navigation user-friendly, can a visitor get to the information they are seeking easily and quickly?
• Does it reflect the latest products or services the organization offers?
• Is it updated frequently?
• Is is that extra "sales person" that's available 24/7 to answer questions effectively and correctly?

If your answers aren't delivering a resounding "yes", you probably should consider a tune up, redesign or revamp of your site or its content. Making just a few key changes to your site could result in increased visitation, sales inquiries and better placement on search engines.

And don't forget about Social Networking. Be Present and Present—it is important to not only present yourself on the web but also be present on the web and make connections.

Twitter, YouTube and Facebook sites for your business can be established at little to no cost and be linked to your site. A WORD OF CAUTION...Before you embark on any type of blogging, Twitter or FaceBook type of social networking presence you MUST be ready to commit time to it and keep it current on a least a weekly basis if not more frequently. If you set up a presence and never update it, people will quickly lose interest and you will lose online marketing momentum. If you don't have the time, either wait until you do or hire someone knowledgeable in social networking and the latest online marketing trends to help you maintain and keep your content/posts fresh.

As we mentioned in an earlier post, the internet and online marketing is going to continue playing a bigger and bigger role in how companies take themselves to market and build their brand. I highly recommend "What Would Google Do?" by Jeff Jarvis for any business owner who wants to understand how to harness the power of this incredible free marketing communication resource we call the world wide web. A link to purchase this book is on this blog's sidebar under "Highly Recommended - Books & Bytes".

I'll be looking for you online!

Next week, Idea #5 - Email and Targeted E-Based Marketing