The staff at DirectionWorks, Inc. would like to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.

As we approach the New Year our message to our clients and small business friends is one of hope and faith. No matter what might or will happen with fiscal cliffs, taxes, regulations and other external environmental discussions of today, the bottom line is there will always be changes which will affect the basic fact that we’re doing business.  Every year in the past and every year ahead brings us new challenges, new fears and new opportunities. Some of which will find us all contemplating how we survive, how we grow, whether we keep our doors open, decide we cannot or whether we can be innovative and create something sustainable.

I’ve found myself repeating to many clients and business friends not to forget that even during the Great Depression many businesses were also thriving.  Then, the marketing consultant in me takes over and I begin to explain the importance of branding and why branding is the most important investment you make in your company in order grow and in order to survive external changes. The companies which survived and thrived during the Depression and subsequent recessions did not stop marketing, nor did they reduce their advertising frequency. Additionally some of the most successful businesses in that time were startups. Who were they? What was common amongst all the companies that encouraged their companies to grow?  I encourage you not to rely on just this blog but to do your research like I did. Google this query:  companies which thrived in the Great Depression.  I especially liked the How Brands Survived the Great Depression by Dave Chase (co-founder of Avado and Senior Marketer for Microsoft) or 5 Ways to Thrive During Tough Times blog by Jon Gordon (corporate motivational speaker/author).

While branding is a seemingly new term to business owners, the act of branding can be found as far back as the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until the 1900s that the term trademark advertising was being discussed, and then the 1940s when companies realized the value of consumer relationships with their brand. Your brand is your image. Whether it be for a specific product or service it’s important that consumers connect with it, not just by your name or logo and slogan but by image and the consistent experience they have with your company. Your company, product or service is marketed so that more and more people recognize and trust it.  Branding not only builds recognition, but is also integral in building a good reputation and assuring a set of standards your company will strive to maintain. Think of the most successful businesses today: What is it they do consistently? What promises do they make and strive to keep? What are the ‘experiences’ consumers have with them? Then ask, what is your consumers’ experience with your company? What keeps them coming back? How can we help you build on it?!

SO what am I trying to say?  #1 Change always happens and something within that change will affect your business, whether positively or negatively. #2 Branding builds loyal customers and as long as you keep your brand ‘promises’ you will get through the hard times.  #3 Marketing (including advertising) will keep your company in front of your competitor’s customers / clients when they stop advertising or, cease keeping their brand promises.

The first thing you should understand about do-it-yourself marketing is that you will not achieve success overnight. You must have two main strategies in place from the very beginning—patience and planning. Without patience, you will find yourself becoming frustrated quickly and hopping from idea to idea in order to see instant success, and without planning, your business will hemorrhage cash faster than you can make it, causing your business to fail. More than one third of small businesses fail within the first two years, and this is because their owners do not plan carefully or implement the tools that are at their disposal, especially online. Marketing your own business does take a little bit of ingenuity and creativity, but if you have the right strategies in place, you can quickly build and maintain a relationship with your customers. In fact, if you keep in mind that customers are the life blood of your business, the more likely you are to succeed.

If you have little experience with marketing or if marketing your own business sounds a bit daunting, then don’t worry—there are always companies out there that are willing to help you with setting up an effective web site, creating banner ads, and even guide you with creating a custom logo for your business. One of the biggest advantages to these companies is that many of them offer both do-it-yourself marketing solutions and services that you can pay for as well. Not everyone can write effective PR or use social media with a high degree of success, and if you know that these aren’t your strengths, then you should certainly hire a firm to do these things for you. If you do have web experience and feel comfortable reaching out to customers yourself right away, then the first thing you should do is gather data from them, such as e-mail addresses, Twitter and Facebook account names, and mobile phone numbers. By doing this, you can text and tweet them such deals as customer loyalty rewards, discounts, and even mobile coupons that will keep them coming back to your business again and again. Do-it-yourself marketing can be a challenge, but by implementing the right tools and strategies, your small business will grow and thrive, guaranteed.

After a few of weeks being (mostly) out of commission, it reminds me why we express to clients that they ‘Can’t Be the Only One!’ When we’re consulting we often discuss the value of your time, doing those things you created your business on and investing in professionals to help with the rest so you can focus on that which makes your business money;  your business, your unique product or service, your vision. If you’re doing it all, then you inhibit the ability for your business to grow because you’re focusing on the very time consuming operation aspects of  your business. In this blog I’m entering into another dimension of why you simply shouldn’t do it all: If it’s only you and you can’t be there would there be a business?

So, what happens if you’re suddenly ill or have an emergency that takes you away from your business for more than just a few days? Will your clients and customers get the work or products they need? Will your company survive without you?   Do you have a rainy day plan? Who will you rely on to keep things going smoothly if you can’t for some reason?

From the very beginning and as DirectionWorks Inc. grows it has been a goal of mine to make sure everyone has a good idea of what each team member is doing for our clients. It’s been important that we hire backup personnel so one person being out doesn’t slow us down or make business come to a screeching halt.  At the start up of DirectionWorks it was just me, then comfort came when I hired just one person to back me up and provide a required service to our clients, then another, and another.. as we grew and revenue was invested it was then important to back up the backup.. Yes, I think like this.

So here’s some advice: Now is the time to make a plan in case you are ill for a short or extended period of time. Here are some tips to help you plan ahead for such a day;

• Always prepare for your temporary replacement with internal communications.
• Make sure someone has access to all necessary client files and accounts.
• Meet with your team regularly so that everyone is up to date with customer projects and company policies.
• Create a backup plan with account numbers, signatures and power of attorney, provide to partners, spouse and/or attorney.
• Make sure to update your back-up plan periodically as things change.

Hopefully you never need to worry about such a day, with excellent planning your business will go on while you’re away . We wish you health and success!

As a professional it’s important to speak with clarity so that everyone gets what you’re saying. This is also just as important in marketing when you want people to invest in that which you’re selling. The formulation of a speech, article and even carefully positioned statements in an advertisement play an important role in how we bring a customer to a client and why they buy.

Every word you say to a client or employee can make either a good or bad impression. In business when a customer gets a negative impression it builds and adds to their fear that you are trying to sell them something. People do not want to be sold, but they do like to own things, it all comes down to speaking clearly and using the right words.

Sometimes as professionals we forget that our customers do not understand our ‘lingo’, that is our vocabulary of words often used in a field. Most people think of the medical field when asked what field has the most difficult lingo to understand, but we often do the same in business. It’s always better to speak with a customer on their level, not in a way that makes them feel unintelligent, but in a way that’s clear and easy to understand.

You can look all over the internet where many marketing professionals make a good attempt to simplify the percentage your business and industry uses to determine  what percentage of either sales or profit that you should use for marketing.  For the sake of having something rather than nothing to go on, those percentages work but may not fit your business and it’s unique products or services.  SO, how much? The right answer is “It Depends”.  Below are some of the questions we ask when helping clients determine what their marketing budget should be:

• What business are you in?
• Is your business a new business?
• If not, how long have you been in business?
• What are your sales goals? Percentage of increase in sales?
• What are sales now? Over the last three years?
• Where is your business is located?
• Who is your customer?
• What is your service area?
• How much business capacity can you handle now?
• What is your business capacity in the future?
• What have you done to let customers know you’re in business already?
• In order, what area/s of your business brings in the most revenue?
• Which area of your business do you want to focus on and build?
• and other questions such as this.

DirectionWorks’ New Client Interview process takes this information as well as researches information like demographics of customers, pricing, geographical range, and yes, even your industry rule of thumb to gauge and determine what your unique business should be investing in marketing. With this information we provide you with three levels of marketing budget (aggressive, ideal, or minimum budget) based on YOUR business and goals.  Remember that marketing includes all “customer touch points” and advertising is just one component of marketing, so your recommended budget considers everything and every place something or someone touches your customer about your business.

Knowing what your investment in marketing  is along with a solid marketing strategy will help you reach your goals.

I watched as an employee dumped a customer’s salad into an un-appetizing blob because another worker did not know they had the shell for it, the manager saw nothing of this and was not paying attention, it was a chaotic mess. I actually said in my stern marketing professional voice – “if this was my first experience with (this restaurant chain), it would be my last. My advice to avoid this scenario is to treat every customer just like you are meeting them for the first time, every time, all the time, at every location.

Inconsistent customer service can kill a business large or small. Who you are is associated with every interaction between you and your customers at every location. Every interaction with your company is important including seemingly unimportant ones, from the customer service agents to the company owner there should always be courteous consistent service.

Employees are the face of your company; this is commonly overlooked especially when services and labor are outsourced. How these employees conduct themselves during interactions with your customers still reflects directly on you and your company. The fix for this is to make sure your employees have a clear code of conduct and ensure that code is strictly adhered to at all times. This may mean your managers need to keep a watchful eye on employees and in addition you should be building company pride and job satisfaction in those who work for you.

What could you do today to improve customer experience and consistency in your company?

Why is it that businesses still do not have a customer email list after all this time, and will they treat mobile lists the same in the future? Then, if it’s free why hire a marketing firm? No matter which method of marketing or marketing mix best fits your company, no matter how affordable – it’s value is in choosing a tool or mix of tools which has the best opportunity to reach your best customer or clients and that you invest in consistently.

Many times a company will fail to use tools, or will use them incorrectly resulting in failure. Sometimes it is the tool that fails but more often the problem is that the tool was not used properly. Let’s use websites as an example.

When you build a website to represent your company you might expect that just having one is enough. Or perhaps you hire a company to build a gorgeous flashy website with slick looks and then it fails to get any attention at all. This is where having a marketing firms expertise would come in handy.

At DirectionWorks for example, we understand that an attractive website is not enough to sell your goods and services. You need a site that works through use of proper SEO, Social Media, Personal Referrals, and other essentials. In fact we have a rather extensive checklist that every website we create goes through, and even after all that there is the matter of fresh relative content.

Businesses and customers are very connected in today’s market. The way people find you amongst millions of your competitors is ever-changing. It is literally a job unto itself to keep up with all these trends, blogging, videos, social, mobile, PPC, and on and on the list goes.

You could do it yourself if you have the time to learn… or you can let professionals handle it for you which is more ideal when you have a business to run! If you need to know what tools are right for your business we are happy to consult with you and lend a hand.
Call us at: (386) 935-4280

We wish you success be it with us or your own efforts.

You’re in business to make money – SHOCKING Right? Do your research, figure out what your comparable competition is charging, figure out your costs, quality, delivery method and stick to your pricing. If you have a tendency to cut costs, reduce rates and make it all about the money, get someone between you and the customer and let them make the sale.

Pricing integrity translates into integrity for your company, products and services. Or a little mantra “Don’t give that which you sell away.” You’ll love the results and your business will finally start growing. Using the mantra ‘never give that which you sell away’ is also a prelude to the notion ‘you are not in business to lose money’ ..even to your friends.

Reducing your price or giving away what you sell only devalues it and when that happens its hard to recover. So, how do you ‘make the sale’ and make your customer feel like they’re getting a deal? A Quick Example: Disney World; there’s never a discount (without pain) to get into any of their parks.

But! they might bundle it with hotel and meals to make your vacation choice a better value when you bring the family. Then Bed Bath and Beyond only sends out their coveted 10% off coupon twice a year. (you can probably think of more examples. The best answer is value added and/or strategic sales and offerings.

If it’s always about the money, it will always be about the money. If I as your friend want to do business with you, I will and should pay the fair price to help you grow your business. The pricing strategy of your small business can ultimately determine the fate of your business.

Darrell Zahorsky a former About.com guide also suggests having the lowest price isn’t a strong position for small business. Larger competitors with deep pockets and the ability to have lower operating costs will destroy any small business trying to compete on price alone. Avoiding the low pricing strategy starts with looking at the demand in the market by examining three factors:

1. Competitive Analysis: Don’t just look at your competitor’s pricing. Look at the whole package they offer. Are they serving price-conscious consumers or the affluent group? What are the value-added services if any?

2. Ceiling Price: The ceiling price is the highest price the market will bear. Survey experts and customers to determine pricing limits. The highest price in the market may not be the ceiling price.

3. Price Elasticity: If the demand for your product or service is less elastic, you can then have a higher ceiling on prices. Low elastic demand depends on limited competitors, buyer’s perception of quality, and consumers not habituated to looking for the lowest price in your industry.

Once you understand the demand structure in your industry, review your costs and profit goals as set in your business plan or financials. The low price strategy is best avoided by small business but there are conditions such as a price war that can drag a company into the lowest price battle.

(Source: http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/marketresearch/a/pricing.htm)

A Micro Business or micro-enterprise is a firm with fewer than 5 employees. A Mom and Pop business is considered a non-employer business (because the only employed are the business owners). Some growing businesses think of themselves as medium sized business when they get to certain goals set for their business.

Small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all firms, they create more than half of the private non-farm gross domestic product, and they create 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs (source: usgovinfo.about.com/od/smallbusiness/a/sbadrives.htm). It’s easy to see when you look that small businesses are very important. Small business owners are what “truly” makes this country run effectively.

“Small business drives the American economy,” said Dr. Chad Moutray, Chief Economist for the Office of Advocacy in a recent press release. “Main Street provides the jobs and spurs our economic growth. American entrepreneurs are creative and productive, and these numbers prove it.”

In fact small business is sill so important that in March of this year the U.S Small Business Administration and the White House Business Council invited over 300 small business owners to the Urban Economic Forum in Birmingham, AL. According to the SBA; “The Urban Economic Forum is a multi-city series designed to help urban small business owners create an economy built to last.”

As a small business ourselves we understand the importance of serving small to medium sized businesses with the same level of professionalism given to big business. We combine current cutting-edge marketing tools and services together with successful traditional marketing techniques to provide the most effective marketing programs for our clients. Just because a method has been used before does not always make it ineffective in today’s technological business world, it’s a marriage of old and new.

Our clients are sole proprietors, partnerships, micro-businesses, start-up companies, mom and pop, family owned, small businesses, corporations, incorporations and medium sized businesses ready to grow. Contact DirectionWorks, Inc. today for marketing resources, ideas, tools and help with getting started on your amazing future.

Call Us: (386) 935-4280

The DirectionWorks, Inc. vision is to serve small to medium business ready to grow with the best and most comprehensive direct marketing services. We stand apart from other traditional marketing agencies because we understand, care and strive to help our clients reach their long term goals through marketing. Our vision is to be the resource for marketing services to small and medium sized businesses throughout the United States.

As Diana Scharf Hunt once said, “Goals are dreams with deadlines.” What are your goals and dreams, the ones that make you want to run around laughing and dancing like a kid in a candy store? Any business that has celebrated any great successes in life started first with clearly defined goals.

Writing a vision statement coincides with a mission statement and they go hand-in-hand. Where a mission statement is crisper and targeted to your end-goal, a vision statement should stir emotions, and engender a get-to-it attitude in people. Vision statements are truly meant to be bold, to inspire clients and customers, to energize your employees, and to create a mesmerizing picture (vision) of where you see your business going in the future.