Concept Design Studios

How to show customers you appreciate their business

2010-04-28T10:08:00.000-07:00

The company owner sets the rules, and employees need to live and know them. The old adage “the customer is always right” isn’t realistic, but empowering employees and rewarding employees for superb service helps each customer sense your appreciation.

Perhaps sharing the following with the front line people can add to the desired goals of dependability, promptness and competence. Helping the customer service representative communicate in an upbeat, positive way, may just help the customer feel appreciated. Here are some useful phrases to incorporate in customer communications:

- “Good morning. How can I help you?” This starts the conversation in a friendly, non adversarial tone plus invites discussion. A customer feels you want to help them and not sell them a product and also putting them at ease.
- “I can help you solve your problem.” Now the customer service professional places the customer as the most important participant and promises a positive outcome. The positive statement inspires customer confidence.
- “I am not sure of the answer but I will find out for you by ……”. A sophisticated buyer could be bating a customer service representative for an answer the customer already knows, so it is always best to be honest and not just try to wow a customer with some fancy rhetoric without a definitive and honest answer. Honest answers inspire integrity.
- “I am responsible for this and I will take care of it.” A customer knows what to expect and can depend on the customer service representative to stick by the agreed upon terms, price and if applicable… the promised delivery date.
- “I will call you on Friday ( or whenever) and update you on my progress.” If you promise to call on Friday with updates, make sure you follow-up and make sure you call.
- “Your delivery date is set for ….” If a delivery date is set for Thursday, it is the company’s job to make sure the delivery day is met. Sometimes it takes a better relationship with vendors to ensure delivery dates. When companies pay vendors on time, learn to deal with honorable vendors, insist on reliability and dependability of their vendors, delivery dates happen at specified and agreed upon dates and times. Efficient pre-planning and efficiency don’t just happen; they are cultivated and nurtured.
- “I have the particulars of your order. Let’s go over it.” Each order must be exactly what the customer ordered. Customers don’t want to hear of a similar product or a promise that what you are going to deliver is better. They want what they ordered.
- “Did you get everything you ordered and are you satisfied with your order?” The order should be complete and the customer should have everything they ordered, in the time they ordered, in the method agreed upon when ordered, and in great condition.

Superior customer service includes, the infamous “I appreciate your business, and is there anything else I can do for you?” Follow-up with surveys, thank-you notes and, more service; customers are sure to keep coming back.

Posted by Cheryl Hanna

Improved Productivity

2010-03-02T10:46:00.000-08:00

By Amber Singleton Riviere

Feb. 23, 2010

Productivity can seem so elusive at times. It can be hard to prioritize, manage the workload and stay focused, but with a few simple steps and a good dose of discipline, you can be on your way to more control over your days.

Plan your exit. Productivity for tomorrow starts today. Set a time to leave the office and stick with it. An hour before that time, have a wrap-up alarm remind you to start wrapping things up for the day, a great tip from organizational and productivity guru Julie Morgenstern in her book, “Never Check E-Mail in the Morning”.
Plan tomorrow. Set your intentions and priorities for tomorrow during the last hour of your day so that you hit the ground running.
Set your boundaries. At quitting time, turn off the computer (completely off so that you’re not tempted to “quickly” check your email), turn off the light, and shut the door. Don’t return until it’s time to work tomorrow.
Honor a bedtime routine. Two or three hours before you want to be asleep, begin a routine of winding down. This will be different for every person, but it might include: no more phone calls or connectivity with the outside world (unless it’s an emergency, of course), no more talk about work, a bath or shower, a cup of hot tea, light reading, journal writing, no television, and lights out at a set time.
Start the day off right. Wake up at a set time. Exercise or do yoga for fifteen or twenty minutes, unless you have another workout routine that you prefer. Eat a healthy breakfast (don’t skip this, as it affects your energy levels for the rest of the day). Set out with the right intention for your day by taking care of yourself first.
Maintain your boundaries. Don’t immediately go to your office and start checking emails or news feeds. You’ll be at your computer all day. Take some time for yourself and other priorities in your life, or they’re less likely to get done later in the day, especially after work. Have some coffee, write in your journal, read, or go for a walk. Just take some time for yourself before jumping into your work day.
Avoid or limit email time. Avoid checking your email right when you go to the office, or if you prefer seeing if anything important is waiting, at least limit your time to fifteen minutes so that it doesn’t distract you from more important tasks. Email is a huge time suck; if you don’t control it, it will control you.
Avoid or limit news feeds and social networks. This is another time-suck that easily distracts from other priorities. Set specific times for keeping up with the latest news and updates, and then be diligent about staying away from the distractions.
Start with your list. Jump right to your list of intentions and priorities that you jotted down the previous day. You were probably much more focused and honest about what needed your attention when you were planning it out with a clear head. First thing in the morning, it’s easy to want to procrastinate or give too much importance to trivial tasks and to-dos.
Check in often. Set yourself an alarm for every hour or two. Don’t let yourself get too far off base from your intention/priority list. If you do get derailed, at least you’ll not lose much time this way.
Work in blocks. In a business, it’s easy to have a wide variety of different types of tasks. There might be client work, writing and publishing, and marketing-related tasks to be done. Groups these tasks and complete them in scheduled blocks of time, say two- or three-hour sittings.
Stay disciplined. When you finish with a particular type of task, like work for a specific client, don’t pick up that client’s work again until his/her designated time comes back around again. It’s easy to be tempted to do “just one more thing” for a project, especially when clients are emailing feedback and updates throughout the day, but avoid the temptation. Treat all time blocks with equal importance, whether you’re working on client projects or doing lead generation tasks. It’s all important, and if you don’t maintain a balance between current work and future prospects, you’ll experience peaks and valleys with your revenue as well.

It’s not always easy to stay on track. Time flies, distractions can beg for your attention, and deadlines loom, making you feel pulled in one hundred directions and unable to keep up with the demands, but by approaching your work with purpose and discipline, it’s a lot easier to get things done and feel great about what you’ve accomplished.

What steps do you follow each day to stay on track and productive?

Uni-Tasking vs. Multi-Tasking

2010-02-19T10:30:00.000-08:00

By Bev Coggins

Multi-tasking was the darling of time management experts in days gone by. Now that we've had time to study multi-tasking, research has shown that it may not be as efficient as we thought.

Studies have shown that when we jump from task to task, it takes time to regain focus. Trying to do two tasks at once, with at least one requiring concentration, reduces the quality of work.

For tasks that require concentration, uni-tasking is best. Taking a break every 45 minutes or so refreshes your brain. A quiet place to work without interruptions or distractions increases productivity and efficiency.

There are definitely times and places for multi-tasking, though. These occur when tasks at hand are low-risk - what I like to call mindless activities. They can be interrupted and don't require great concentration.

At the office, shredding, filing, straightening your desk, deleting emails, etc., might be done while on hold or during casual phone conversations. At home, many household chores can be done while on the phone, watching TV, etc.

A key question to ask is whether interruptions will cause you to lose your focus and/or productivity. An interruption while dusting is not a problem, but an interruption while writing a proposal or working on a project can derail your train of thought.

Knowing when to uni-task and when to multi-task is an essential time management skill!

More on time management:
1-2-3 ... Get Organized series on Time Management
Trivial and Strategic Interruptions
Functioning at Peak Performance by Planning Quiet Moments
Increasing Efficiency

Tightrope: Getting the word out about your business

2010-02-18T10:30:00.001-08:00

By Gladys Edmunds for USA TODAY

Hello, Gladys, I own a carpet cleaning company and so far I seem to have a fairly decent customer base. I would like to get more customers. When I checked into advertising on local radio stations and in a few local newspapers, the prices are more than I can afford. How can I get more people to know about and use my service without spending money that I don't have? — Sam

There are many ways to get the word out about your business that won't cost you a lot of money. You will need to use the most valuable assets you have — time, effort and creative ability. Keeping them in good working order is one of the enjoyable aspects of entrepreneurship. The following are examples that you can try and I'm sure there are other entrepreneurs that may find a few ideas to try as well.

Never underestimate the power of referrals. There are a couple of ways to go about this. Call or write a letter to your customers and ask them to refer a friend. Or, you can ask each of your customers to recommend three of their friends. Then, write a letter to them introducing your services.

I know there are many companies that offer cash bonuses or rebates to people who refer customers. Personally, I don't like that arrangement. Several months ago I got a letter from the gym I frequent offering members a $50 referral fee if they could get a friend to sign up. I asked one of the owners how that campaign had fared. He said they didn't get any takers. I wonder what would have happened if he had offered the discount to the person signing up. I certainly would be happy to tell my friends that if they joined the gym during a certain time they would get the cash back. So try to avoid offering to pay your customers to send their friends to you. Generally when you have customers that appreciate your service they are usually happy to help you stay in business.

With the end of winter just around the corner, spring cleaning will be on most folk's to-do list. You could design attractive leaflets and drop them off at churches, supermarkets, car washes, laundromats, gyms — any place that has a good flow of traffic. Usually there are community bulletin boards that you can post your leaflets on; by all means take advantage of that.

You can also offer your service as a fundraiser for your favorite charity. For a designated period of time give the organization a percentage of each sale they send your way. Organizations that are involved in raising money to fight breast cancer have raised millions of dollars this way.

Have you considered co-op advertising? Sometimes local newspapers offer this option. If not, pull it together yourself. Invite several small businesses that compliment your service to join in with you on an advertising campaign. For example, you could contact a window cleaning company, drapery cleaning company, maid service and maybe even a chimney sweep to join in an ad campaign aimed at building business for that coming spring-cleaning season. Once you pull the other business owners together, sit down with an ad agent from the newspaper and work out something attractive and eye-catching.

Also talk with other business owners to learn what they done creatively to enhance their market share. Try out one or two things that fit well with your company. Marketing a business is all about testing, testing and re-testing to see what works. Never underestimate the power of even the simplest marketing idea. The very thing that you think to be ridiculous could be the thing that has the most impact. Sometimes the best marketing and promotion ideas can come from simple ideas.

Gladys Edmunds' Entrepreneurial Tightrope column appears Wednesdays. Click here for an index of her columns. As a single, teen-age mom, Gladys made money doing laundry, cooking dinners for taxi drivers and selling fire extinguishers and Bibles door-to-door. Today, Edmunds is founder of Edmunds Travel Consultants in Pittsburgh and author of There's No Business Like Your Own Business, a six-step guide to success published by Viking. Her website is www.gladysedmunds.com. You can e-mail her at gladys@gladysedmunds.com.

Tools to Track Your Computer Time

2010-02-08T11:14:00.000-08:00

Need to track your billable hours or want to be more accountable for how you spend your computer time? Alina Dizik reviews software options in her article "Services to Help Us Stop Dawdling Online," which appeared in the Wall Street Journal on 1/28/2010, p. D2:

"Even after spending hours behind a computer screen, we're often surprised by how little we get done during a workday.

Indeed, frittering time away is epidemic in the office: A 2007 survey of 2,000 workers from Salary.com Inc., a Web site that provides compensation data, found that Americans waste about 20% of their time at work; with 34.7% of those surveyed saying surfing the Internet is the biggest distraction.

An emerging crop of software now aims to make individuals more conscious of how they spend their screen time. Previously meant for free-lancers looking to keep track of billable hours, software developers are realizing that time-management applications are useful for anyone who wants to track which Web sites they visit and how much of their day is spent on certain work tasks or computer applications.

Some services record and categorize users' computer activities—often allowing workers to classify chunks of time as either productive or unproductive. Other services operate by having users set goals for how much they'll get done in a set period of time.

While it is easy to see how hours spent on YouTube or Facebook can crush your productivity, time-management experts say one of the biggest culprits is the constant transitioning from one computer-based task to another.

"Multi-tasking is a complete myth," says Peter Bregman, a time-management expert and chief executive of Bregman Partners Inc., a management-consulting company. "We lose time in the switch from one task to another," since it takes time for the brain to adjust to each project.

Tony Wright co-founder of Seattle-based RescueTime Inc., a time-tracking software company, agrees. In an October data audit, Mr. Wright found that RescueTime users switch to an instant message window 71 times per day, which means every 5.2 minutes or 11.5 times per hour. Users to the site visit an average of 57 Web sites or applications per day, he says.

To track our productivity, we tested four online services for a week each: RescueTime, Slife, Klok and ManicTime. Each site provided an eye-opening look at our workday without too much of a hassle. We also found that just knowing our activities were being watched made us a bit less likely to dawdle on non-work-related sites. But the services themselves required some upkeep—which, ironically, took time away from our work.

After signing up for a free two-week trial of RescueTime Pro (usually $5.30 per month), the software downloaded quickly and showed up on our task bar. The site recorded our activities accurately, assigned them to categories and put them into graphs. Some of the findings were surprising: When looking at the day's graph on a random Friday, for example, we realized we spent about 10 minutes of every hour reading the news.

But we thought some of the category titles—such as "Business"—were a bit vague. "We're still chipping away to distill this stuff into something actionable," says RescueTime's Mr. Wright. We liked the feature that let us designate individual sites and applications as productive or unproductive. Additionally, each time our computer was idle and we returned to our desk we were prompted to say whether our task away from the computer was work related, like a phone call, or something that shouldn't be recorded, like a trip to the fridge for a snack.

Klok doesn't automatically track what you do on the computer (so no Internet connection is required). Instead, it asks users to set tasks for themselves throughout the day to help manage projects. Then users note when they start and stop each project, making it easy to compare your goals to reality. One morning, for example, we saw that a writing assignment took 3½-hours instead of the two we thought it should. We also realized we did far fewer tasks than anticipated each day.

Overall, the service helped us get more tasks done because setting goals required us to think through how we would build our days' work. Tasks can be broken up into subcategories, making larger projects seem more manageable. But it was a bit of a pain to remember to notify the service every time we stopped and started a task. And even when we did make sure to mark our stop time, the service sometimes didn't register it, making our data inaccurate. Rob McKeown, co-founder of Mcgraphix Inc., which developed Klok, says this issue will be resolved in the next version.

Next up was Slife. The service costs $5 per month, but a 30-day trial is free. To sign up for the trial, however, we had to provide a credit-card number. (A redesign will soon enable users to log on without one, says Edison Thomaz founder of Atlanta-based Slife Labs LLC.) After a quick download, we could see an icon on our task bar. Clicking on the icon took us to various time-management graphs, which were easy to read. The software lets users customize their own categories, such as news or research. You can also add labels to specify your activity even further, such as detailing what kind of research is being done.

During one particularly unproductive day, the service showed us that we spent 22 minutes on Twitter, 40 minutes on Facebook and almost three hours on email. There was also a "private" mode that turned the tracking function off, allowing us to browse frivolous stuff guilt-free.

One big headache was that we were often randomly bounced off the Slife service, causing it to miss some of our activities and requiring us to repeatedly log in. (Mr. Thomaz says Slife is working on fixing the problem.)

ManicTime, a desktop program that only runs on Windows systems, was next. Our computer usage was tracked with line and bar graphs; we could color code activities and tags to better understand how we spent our time. That made it clear that email was our biggest time waster. (Though the service doesn't distinguish between work and non-work related emails.)

One nice feature: The service spit out a summary showing what percentage of our total time was spent with each application (like a Microsoft Word document) or Web site. The graphs also showed when our computer was idle, which helped us see how many little breaks we tend to take throughout the day.

All in all, the services really helped us get a handle on how we spend our work time. And having a written account of where our minutes went pushed us to modify our work habits—and get more done. The guilt element was motivating, too: Just knowing that the length of our Facebook session was going to be recorded made us think twice about lingering.

SERVICE/WEBSITE	PRICE AND SYSTEM	FEATURES	COMMENT
Slife www.slifelabs.com	$5 per month; Mac, Windows, Internet needed.	Web site tracking; categorizes activities; allows additional notes; displays activities with graphs.	Need credit card for sign-up; "private" mode for non-work-related use helped us more accurately measure work time.
RescueTime Pro www.rescuetime.com	$5.30 per month; Mac, Windows, Internet not always needed.	Allows productivity alerts; tracks time away from computer; tracks applications and sites with graphs.	Simple task bar made it easy to frequently monitor our productivity.
ManicTime manictime.com	Free download; Windows only; Internet not needed.	Graphs are color-coded by activity; tagging system to designate productivity; tracks time away from computer.	Clean interface made it easy to see our daily workload; tagging system was a bit complicated.
Klok klok.mcgraphix.com	Free download; Windows, Mac, Internet not needed	Can drag tasks onto calendar; tasks have subcategories so can be easily broken down into manageable pieces; doesn't track the Web sites you've visited.	Simple organization; It was tough to notify the service that we had stopped a task."

Women Business Owners to Lead the Nation in Job Creation

2010-01-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

Current Issues

January 19, 2010

By Rieva Lesonsky

Where will tomorrow’s jobs come from? Everyone from Main Street to the White House is focused on that question. Well, according to new data projections from The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute, future job growth will be created primarily by women-owned small businesses.

Guardian’s research shows that by 2018 women entrepreneurs will be responsible for creating between 5 million and 5.5 million new jobs nationwide. That’s more than half of the 9.7 million new jobs the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects small businesses to create, and about one-third of the total new jobs the BLS projects will be created nationwide in that time frame.

The Institute based its projections on an analysis of several factors, including the faster growth rate of women-owned businesses compared to those owned by men; the greater rate of college graduation among women compared to men; the projected growth of industry sectors that are dominated by women; and the fact that women-owned businesses are more likely to be self-funded and thus less dependent on increasingly scarce bank financing or other outside sources of capital.

As they grow, these women-owned businesses will also account for some important changes in the work environment. According to The Guardian Life Index, a survey of American small-business owners, women are most likely to start businesses because they’re unhappy with corporate life. When they become their own bosses, Guardian’s research shows, they are more likely than male managers or entrepreneurs to be:

diligently engaged in strategic and tactical facets of their business
proactively customer-focused
likely to incorporate community and environment into their business plans
receptive to input and guidance from internal and external advisers
committed to creating opportunities for others

Underscoring these conclusions, Mark Wolf, director of The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute says,

“As a result of the increasing influence and business leadership of women small-business owners, the workplace of tomorrow will be far less hierarchical. [The approach of women business owners] strongly counteracts the top-down, command-and-control style of management long practiced by their male counterparts.”

John Krubski, futurist and research advisor to The Guardian Life Small Business Research Institute agrees. He says,

“This women-led management approach will have a profound impact on the employees and customers connected to these businesses. Women small-business owners will ultimately create more opportunities for employees to grow in their jobs and inspire others to start their own small business – all while providing customers with superior service.”

As a long-time advocate for women-owned businesses, I have to say I am not surprised by the findings. While women business owners still face some obstacles, overall the absence of a glass ceiling makes entrepreneurship more appealing than climbing the ever-shrinking corporate ladder.

Marketing Tips Part 3

2010-01-20T10:54:00.000-08:00

In the previous articles we talked about making your customers happy and making sure your business was the best it could be. The previous articles focused on getting feedback from others to make sure you were meeting the needs of your clients and prospective clients. These tips focus on your print products and how to use them for marketing.

Print Marketing Ideas

Design attractive business cards:

Hand out your business card to anyone who may need to contact you.
Give those close to you, business wise or personally a few business cards so they can hand them out when they meet someone in need of your product.
Always have your business cards with you.
Place a special offer or product information on the back of your business cards.
Give a client a few extra business cards with their name written on the back. Offer to give your client something free if they give the card to a friend and the friend brings the card in. You could offer a special discount to their friend also.

Have a brochure to handout to potential customers. Also make brochures of new products and services to send to past customers.
Send branded calendars to select customers.
Postcards can be one of the more affordable ways to get a new product or service in front of the eyes of past customers.
Send a postcard instead of a letter, they are cheaper, already opened and can be seen by everyone who handles the mail.
Buy newspaper/magazine advertising space.
Advertise in coupon books, like the Smart Shopper.
Submit a press release for a new product, promotion or milestone.
Submit articles to industry publications.
Write a book.
Publish and distribute a journal or newsletter.

It is really important that you get your name out there, and put a good face on your business.

Marketing Tips Part 1

2010-01-06T11:00:00.000-08:00

It is a new year...time to take stock of what worked and didn't work last year in our business. As I have been looking forward to a new and fulfilling year, I have been doing research on marketing tips and ideas to implement. There are going to be a lot of parts...I would recommend you copying and pasting the tips into a Word document and color coding each item...

color 1 - items to implement immediately or soon

color 2 - ideas to implement, but not quite yet

color 3 - already implementing

color 4 - don't want to implement (optional)

This way you can see your progress throughout the year. You can organize it however you like to, but as a creative type, I love the color-coding :-).

Marketing Tips: This group focuses on educating your clients and prospective clients. When you become an "expert" in their eyes, they will turn to you more and more and recommend you to their colleagues.

1. Offer free information brochures/articles in your store or on your website.

2. Keep your information simple and understandable so your customers can easily grasp the knowledge you have for them.

3. Send your customers a newsletter (mail and/or email)

4. Participate in a trade show, get a booth or at least attend them and talk to people. Make sure you have something to hand out...business cards, stickers, brochures that let people know about your business.

5. Send your customers holiday or birthday cards.

6. Send your customers hand written letters.

7. Help further your customers knowledge by sending them tips/ideas/advice.

8. Send informational brochures when a new product or service that they may be interested in comes out.

I hope some of these were helpful for you. We will have many more marketing tips coming soon! Stay posted. Let us know if you have any marketing ideas that have worked for you.

Marketing Tips Part 2

2010-01-05T17:51:00.000-08:00

Isn't it so nice that we can start fresh and begin a new year! New beginnings are refreshing and energizing. Even though December 31st and January 1st are still only a day apart, we can start with a clean slate. This past year was a tough one for many people and many businesses. May this coming year truly be a new beginning for those who need it most!

Marketing Tips: How can I improve my business?

Ask your customers how you can better server them, listen to them and make the changes necessary.
Get written testimonials from some of your customers and put them up in your store or online.
Place your contact information on the products you sell so the customer always knows how to get in touch with you easily.
Ask for recommendations and new ideas from customers and employees.
Ask a group of customer or employees to be a part of your advisory panel and run new products, services and pricing by them.
Throw a party or special event for your best customers.

These tips focus on making your business the best it can be. When the quality of your business is excellent, that in itself, will bring you more business. Your current customers will keep coming back and they will recommend you to their friends/family/collegues.

The 10 Customer Service Trends for 2010

2009-12-17T13:24:00.000-08:00

2010 Trends

December 15, 2009

By Barry Moltz

In 2010, customer service makes a big comeback. It becomes the new marketing. Forget about paying lip service to offering “great customer service”. Let go all of those “the customer is always right” myths. It’s time to offer outstanding customer service only because it makes economic sense for your small business. It is the only truly sustainable competitive advantage.

What to watch in 2010:

We Try Harder: With the economy still struggling to recover and unemployment at record highs, all “customer facing employees” actually will try harder this year to attract, satisfy and keep their customers. Job prospects remain slim in 2010 and every employee wants to keep any job they have. This year, effort from everyone will be in plain site.
It’s Not Your Product: Zappos’ tag line is “Powered by Customer Service”. With the company being sold to Amazon for almost a billion dollars, there is no denying that customer service can build companies. Zappos proved that it can make money selling shoes over the internet by offering free shipping both ways. Amazon and Zappos are companies that really just don’t sell products, but a customer service channel to sell any product. All things being equal, I buy from Zappos and Amazon because I know I can count on them. This is the year that all companies will see service as the only way to keep customers buying from them.
It’s All About You. Technology has allowed companies to personalize my visit when I go to buy from their web site. When I visit Amazon’s site, they welcome me back by name and suggest things I might want to buy based on what I bought in the past. This is the type of personalization I come to expect when I go to any face to face retail establishment. When I check into a hotel, I want them to greet me by name if I have been there before or I am a member of their frequent buyer program. This always happens when I visit the Portland Paramount but at The Nines hotel in the same city, they never remember who I am. With the immediacy and personalization of this fast paced internet world, great customer service is only what the customer says it is at a particular point in time. The difficulty is raised because this standard varies from person to person. This year, more companies will customize your shopping or service experience either online or in person because that is what you want.
Tell the World. Tools like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube allow me to tell not seven people but 10,000 my pleasure or dissatisfaction with a company immediately after I interact with them. No more secrets here! Every satisfied customer is now a booster for your company and every dissatisfied customer potentially can hurt your business. Now, there is more of an incentive for every company to get it right for their customer. This year, no bad deed will go unpublished by a dissatisfied customer.
The Brands are Listening. You as the customer are talking on Facebook and Twitter, but companies are also beginning to listen. Chances are that if you post a complaint using one of these tools, the company will respond directly to you. I have had this happen with Sears and Lands End. This year, all the major companies will not let any negative comment go by without responding to your concern.
Online Service Gets a Face Lift. Forget the lag time of email or waiting for a call back. This year, more and more web sites will allow you to chat directly to customer service people either through chat or video. Want to chat from your phone directly to the company? No problem. Skype them? No problem. Scott Jordan at Scottevest, allows the customer to watch what is going on in his company live on the web every day!
Insourcing is In. More and more American companies who outsourced their customer service will bring that function back home either by hiring a domestic company or bringing it in house. The “we can outsource this customer service thing” has hurt companies like Dell and Capital One. This year, look for more of the technology assisted customer service jobs to be transferred back to the US. Companies realize how important it is to their business. Just ask any car dealer the profitability of new car sales to their car maintenance business.
That’s Tight. Companies you do business with will want to know everything about you. Tighter relationship with customers will continue as economy remains poor. Companies can’t afford to lose profitable current customers. This goes way beyond frequent flyer programs. Accenture working with Proctor and Gamble has a new technology that tries to predict consumer preferences using optimization engines. This year, companies will continue to track everything about you to make that your relationship as personal as it gets.
Fire Them. In 2007, Sprint famously fired 1,000 customers that were clogging up their customer service lines and costing the company loads of money. Not every customer you have is profitable. Look for more companies this year to fire you if you cost them money and recommend you take your business elsewhere.
Get Small. All startups used to want to appear big. We bought typewriters and later computers and web sites to make ourselves look the part. Now, everyone company, as Chris Brogan says, wants to be human. I call it getting small. Every company wants to seem like the corner store, but have the global pricing power and distribution of Walmart. Furthermore, big business is now consistently targeting your small business since it is the a sector of the economy that is growing. President Obama will continue to emphasis that small business is the core of American business. You have arrived!

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We continually try to focus on providing our clients with excellent customer service. We have a form you can fill out on our website where you can rate our customer service. It helps us see where we are and what areas we need to improve on. Please fill it out if you have time at www.conceptdesigntudios.com/feedback.html

10 Tips for Saving Your Life From Your Business

2009-12-16T10:44:00.000-08:00

by Tim Berry on December 15, 2009

Your business or your life? The nagging question comes up a lot. Recently I saw this startling statement:

Maximizing your chance for success means sacrificing health and family.

That was in this post by Jason Cohen on VentureBeat. He’s serious. He quotes Mark Cuban and one other successful entrepreneur. He says you can’t get it all done otherwise. Build your business first, then build your life. Yeah, right. Like business gets easier at some point? When it grows? Good luck with that.

Logical flaw: for every successful entrepreneur who cites sacrificing health and family as the key to success, there are 10 others who say sacrificing health and family is a tragic mistake. Another logical flaw: millions of people sacrificed health and family and weren’t successful. All their sacrifice did was ruin their lives. Nobody quotes them. They call that survivor bias.

Personally, I don’t buy the passion, obsession, sacrifice all for your business philosophy. Success in life can be something different than purely sales, growth, profits, and celebrity as an entrepreneurial success. Not many of us end up as top-ten world-class entrepreneurs, and, for the rest of us, having a life can be way more important. The sacrifice doesn’t cause success. It’s a rationalization. So I’d like to suggest two sets of rules to help you save your life from your business. The first five are fundamental rules. The second set, five more, are suggestions more than rules; different ways to think about things; reminders.

First, the five fundamentals. I consider these practical, realistic, actionable rules that are good for everybody. For the record, four of the five are rules that I’ve lived with for a long time. Two of them thanks go to my wife and not me; and the fifth, the exercise one, I learned the hard way, by not doing it. I promise you that you can live by all five and not have to sacrifice business success for any of them. These will help you keep your balance:

Develop and honor meal times with people you love. For me and my wife, as we built our business, it was about family meals, dinner time, once a day. We made the family dinner a priority. During crunch times, we’d stop, have dinner with our kids, and then go on later (see point 3, below). And you don’t need a marriage and children to make this rule important. Do it your way, not mine. It applies just as well to any relationship that’s important to you.
Schedule vacations long in advance. If you like what you do in your business, you’re always going to have trouble getting away. There will always be a good business reason to not go on vacations. If you’re scheduled long in advance, then the vacation is on the calendar. As you talk to clients, schedule business events, and generally work on the business, your vacation shows up, and you naturally work around it.
Get used to working at home. So you have a lot of work but you tear yourself away, take your dinner time, spend some time in real life, and then later on, when everybody else is watching dumbing and numbing television, you can get back on the computer and catch up with your obsession. That requires good Internet connection and related tools, like online productivity tools, GoToMyPC, and the like.
Don’t obsess; plan. Don’t wander through the rest of life with business thoughts running through your head like a helicopter background noise in your dreams. Take a few deep breaths. To get the business-helicopter-mind out of your head keep the planning realistic. Planning gets a lot of things out of your head and into the plan. When you wake up at night obsessing, go to your planning. Write it down. Relax, and go back to sleep.
Get regular exercise. I’ve been there: It’s so easy to put off exercise because you’re worried about the business. “I have too much to do, I don’t have time for exercise,” you tell yourself, and it becomes a rationalization to dive back into that project or those emails. But there’s a trick to exercise: you get more time back, in productivity, than what you put into the exercise. Seriously: put in 45 minutes 3-4 days a week and you’ll get back an hour of productive time for every half hour you spend. It has to do with sleep, stress, and mental health.

And then, after the fundamentals, five fine touches, embellishments, not-so-universal, but maybe still useful:

Do something you can believe in. It’s not just finding the best business opportunity; it’s finding one you believe in. There’s quality of work as well as quantity, and high quality makes high quantity easier to live with. Make sure that when you take a step back from it, every so often, you can see how what you do made other lives better.
Acknowledge risk. Don’t bet what you can’t afford to lose. Understand the risk you take. Talk about it with the other people in your life, so you don’t feel all alone with the risk. Think about the worst case. Learn to live with it.
Don’t clam up. Share carefully. Be able to talk about business problems, safely, with at least one other person in your life. Get out of the let’s solve them mode, and into the let’s just talk about them so creative juices can percolate. People who care about you take silence as being something like walls and barriers. Secrets are stressful. Sharing relieves stress. But be careful, mind the framework and parameters of sharing, people have to know when you don’t want to be told the obvious feedback.
Understand that you make mistakes. Acknowledge your mistakes, analyze them, and them package them up in your mind and store them somewhere out of site, somewhere where you can access them occasionally to help avoid making the same mistakes again, but, on the other hand, where they won’t just drive you crazy.
Tell the truth. Then you don’t have to keep track of which lies you told to which people. It’s hard enough to manage stress without having to manage complex alternate realities.

None of the above guarantees business success, but none of it is really going to get in the way of your success either, and it may help you stay sane in the meantime. Think about this: my wife taught me, early in our 40-year-marriage, that time is the scarcest resource, way scarcer than money. And some day you’re going to turn 60. Unless you die first.

5 Vicious Lies about Being an Entrepreneur

2009-12-10T08:59:00.000-08:00

I grew up working in my parents’ animal hospital. And I vividly remember the day my dad turned to me in frustration and said, “You know, they taught me how to be a terrific doctor in vet school, but didn’t teach me anything about running my own clinic!”

Let’s face it, most entrepreneurs—myself included—start out doing something we know or something we love. But that doesn’t mean we know a thing about running or growing a business.

Worse, much of what we hear about running a business before we start is just plain wrong. Below are five pieces of advice that took me 12 years and four businesses to recognize as the vicious lies they truly are…

Lie # 1 - If you want it done right, you have to do it yourself.

My mom was soooooo wrong about this! Sure, in the beginning you might have more time than money and need to do a lot yourself. But the way to be successful—and have a life—is to outsource strategically, ASAP.

My rule is to outsource:

Anything important that sits on your to-do list for over three weeks.
Anything you don’t do well or hate doing.
Anything someone else can do cheaper.

You may think you can’t afford outsourcing. But if you outsource wisely, and spend your newfound time on tasks that grow your business, you’ll make more money AND work less (woohoo!).

Lie # 2 – You have to give up your life to grow a small business.

Many of us start our businesses with the dream of creating a better life…only to find ourselves chained to the business working 50-60-79 hours a week. If you start out with this mindset, you’ll end up creating a business that requires you to work all the time with no end in sight.

It’s true you may need to work long hours sometimes—especially in the beginning. But working yourself to the bone day in and day out is a recipe for burnout. Instead you need a plan for getting yourself out of that trap ASAP (See Lie # 1 for ideas).

Lie # 3 – Once you have a small business you can never take a vacation.

Again, my mom had this all wrong. Three years into my third business I took my first 10-day, totally unplugged vacation. And I was terrified my business would suffer. Instead I had more client work when I returned than when I’d left. Plus I was reenergized and bursting with new ideas.

Staying in “putting out fires mode” isn’t the way to grow your business. If you truly want to move your business forward you have to step away periodically to regroup and recharge. You NEED to take vacations, get away from it all, gain a fresh perspective and give yourself a chance to think.

Lie # 4 – Your business will always suffer like the cobbler’s shoeless children.

When I owned my copywriting/marketing firm, I almost never had time to do my own marketing. So while I was terrific at helping my clients grow their businesses, mine was stagnating.

Eventually I changed my business model and stopped writing copy for clients so I could focus on growing my business. What a difference that made! Soon I’d doubled my revenues and hired other writers to help me.

You need to treat your business like any other client, and schedule time to work on it each week, or you’ll end up always working in it.

Lie # 5 – Being self-employed is the same as owning a business.

Bull! Owning a business and being self-employed are two entirely different things. When you own a business, you make money even when you’re not working. And you can go on vacation or take sick days without everything grinding to a halt.

When you’re self-employed, if you aren’t working nothing happens and you don’t make a dime. Plus you typically end up trading one or two bosses for a bunch of bosses disguised as clients.

It’s more fun, and more secure, to own a business than it is to be self-employed—even if it does take more planning and effort to get there.

Written by Stacy Karacostas

3 Creative Ways SMBs Can Use Social Media for Holiday Discounts

2009-11-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

by Jennifer Van Grove (Mashable)

Every year consumers turn to the web to scour for the best holiday shopping deals. Black Friday has practically become a holiday of its own, with retailers jumping on the bandwagon earlier than ever to satisfy deal-hungry consumers.

This holiday season you have an opportunity to leverage social media channels for trackable giveaways and discounts that can not only boost your holiday sales but improve your social media presence.

1. Direct Message Discounts

If you're looking for fun and innovative ways to drum up your follower count on Twitter, or create more engagement between you and your customers, consider offering direct message-only holiday discounts.

Here's how this could work. Come up with a holiday deal that is significantly better than any of your existing promotions and make sure to share it with your entire team. Then use your social media channels to send out shareable clues about the promotion. You could tweet something like, "exclusive holiday Twitter deals on X,Y,Z, DM us for details."

For this type of promotion to work, it's all about the details. First, make sure you follow new followers back so that they can send you a direct message. Also, determine whether or not you want this to stay underground, or whether you're open to having the deal spread online. The benefit of the former approach is that select customers feel privileged, but the downside is that you'll need to generate a new discount/offer code or "password" for each person.

On the flip side, if you have one password/coupon/discount code, then anyone can get it via direct message and share it with their friends, which means you could get more mileage and buzz, but fewer followers. Figure out what your goal is and go with it, full steam ahead.

You might even get more mileage out of the deal if you offer a double deal (double whatever the original deal was) when you hit X amount of followers before a certain date. That could give deal-seeking customers the incentive to promote you in the hopes of saving even more.

2. Facebook Freebies

We're seeing more and more brands use their Facebook Fan Pages for fan-only deals, discounts, and coupons, and there's no reason why you can't use the holiday season to do the same for your small business.

This works for both online and offline retailers, but should you have a physical store, using your Facebook Fan Page to create a holiday coupon for an extra X% off already discounted merchandise would be an instant way to gain more fans and please holiday shoppers on the hunt for a bargain.

Since Facebook is so ubiquitous, if you go this route, make sure to inform your team members to tell customers about the deal while they're shopping. You can even teach employees how to show customers how to become your fan on Facebook from their mobile phones, thereby making them eligible for the extra savings instantly as well as getting a new fan on the spot.

3. Social Media Sharing

Whatever your sales goals are this holiday season, chances are you want to sell more of your products and services, but usually it's your customers and super fans who do all the real selling for you. Here's where social media can help.

Use your email newsletter, Twitter account, Facebook Fan Page, and website to encourage your customers to share what they love most about your small business online. Encourage them to upload a photo, create a video, or pen a blog post about the products or services they love most. Also make sure to instruct them to tag the content with a predetermined tag. You can make the incentive whatever you want it to be, but offering each participant an X% discount off existing sale prices would be well received.

This approach works best if you make the announcement on your own blog and request that participants include a link to their shared media in the comments section of the post. Also, remember that due to new FTC guidelines, you should encourage participants to disclose the deal or discount.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, YinYang

Turning a Service into a Product

2009-11-19T09:51:00.000-08:00

5 Steps to Turning a Service Into a Product - So You Can Sell Your Business

By Anita Campbell (Small Business Trends)

Nov 18, 2009 -

If you run a service business and have plans to sell your business someday and cash out, you may be in for a rude shock. The value you thought you were building in your business may not be there.

Why not? A number of reasons. Here are a few:

First, buyers may view you as being too personally tied to the business. They worry that the business is too highly dependent on your personal relationships -- that when you leave, your clients eventually will leave, too.

Second, in a service business it is not uncommon to rely heavily on one large client – and that’s risky. John Warrillow writes on his blog:

When you go to sell your company, an acquirer is going to try and understand how predictable your revenue stream is. One swing factor will be how exposed you are to any one client. If you rely on one customer for 25% + of your revenue, an acquirer is going to take a steep discount on your market price at best, or walk away at worst. Your goal should be to ensure none of your clients make up more than 5% – 10% of your revenue. That way the impact of losing any one customer is minimized.

Third, service businesses often have trouble scaling to grow. You’re constrained by the number of billable hours in a day, month or year. It’s difficult to ramp up growth without adding people – and that can get expensive. Plus, services involve so many intangible factors, and require such a wide range of skills, that finding qualified staff can be tough. You may end up going through lots of trial and error hires (mostly error).

Of course, if you have no plans of ever selling your business, this whole discussion is moot for you.

But -- if you dream of cashing out someday to fund your retirement, or achieve financial independence, or just try something new – listen up. Start working now to transform your business by “productizing” your services. To productize a service means to turn your services into product offerings. In other words, you position your services to resemble products as much as possible. That will build value that an acquirer might be willing to pay for.

Here are 5 steps to turn services into products:

1. Identify something you can replicate repeatedly – The idea behind a product is that you want to be able to get paid for selling a “thing” and not selling your time. Also, you want to sell the “same” thing over and over if you are to achieve operational efficiencies and decent profits. Look around at what you do. Chances are, if you’ve been in business for a while, you have developed a process you follow closely for at least one service. You may not even realize you have a distinct process until you set out to identify it – but you have something. If that something is in reasonable demand, you have the start of a “product.”

2. Document it – Turn your process into a manufacturing-like assembly line. Break it down into steps that can be performed over and over, by people you can train for the job. Document those steps in detail so that you can calculate the costs involved, and so that your knowledge is transferable.

3. Put limits around your offering – Many services are “squishy” and open ended. For a product you need the opposite -- an offering that is well-defined. Set limits to your offering: time limitations; the deliverables included; a flat fee price; a name you can refer to your product by.

About Small Business Canada notes:

“You give it a defined scope, fit it into a limited time period, assign it a definite price tag, and attach a distinctive name. Let's say you are an image consultant, and you've been selling your time for $75 per hour. Instead, you offer a ‘One-Day Makeover’ at a price of $495, and include a wardrobe assessment, color consultation, and shopping trip.”

4. Incorporate technology – A technology component for processing sales or delivering your service further establishes the impression that it is a product. For example, look at how companies such as LegalZoom have put a website front-end on what are still basically services – cementing the perception of a product offering. The website streamlines and automates functions to a large degree, too, with the potential to drive out costs. But the key is that with the help of technology, it looks like a tangible thing, and so customers perceive it as a product.

5. Build an organization – Even if it’s just you today, over time you will need to involve others in producing, selling and distributing your product. No one wants to buy a business that is a one-man or one-woman show – they want to buy a company. Besides, it can’t be just YOU because YOU are not scalable. Add “labor” to “manufacture” your product, sales reps to sell it, and management to run daily operations. Build a team that is skilled and knowledgeable, and able to operate without your daily intervention.

Follow these five steps and you may just have something that grows bigger than you ever imagined – and one day you can sell.

2009-11-04T10:08:00.000-08:00

The Holidays and Marketing: Advertising During the Holidays
By Maria E. Andreu

Too many of the clients I talk to write off December as a marketing black hole. After all, people aren't really focused on doing anything but holiday shopping and attending parties, right? Why not preserve your energy for a time when people are ready to buy?

Considering the holiday season a time when marketing should be put on hold is missing a great opportunity to connect with your prospects. True, people are overextended financially and time-wise, are cranky and overshopped and are wondering how they're going to get it all done. But, miraculously, the spirit of the season also survives and gives people more hope, openness and willingness to try new things. Being as it is on the cusp of a great, shiny new year, the holiday season is a golden time to connect with people emotionally about what you do. So, instead of resigning yourself to wait until next year to redouble your efforts to get new clients, ask yourself instead how you can use this unique time of the year to get creative about communicating about your business.

Tie your work in to the season
Ask yourself - what about your business is seasonal? If it's nutrition, talk up a fresh angle on how to eat nutritiously during the holidays. CPA? Focus on important end-of-the-year planning you can do. Divorce attorney? Send a tipsheet on how to enjoy your holidays as a divorced person, plus 3 important legal matters you should attend to first of the year. Virtually every profession can be tied into the end of the year/holiday theme. If you're in a profession that's easily tied into the end of the year (food, shopping, etc.), then your work is done for you. If not, think harder. Ask yourself - what do people need from me during the holidays? Do they need more balance, a time to relax, a plan for how they're going to do something better in the coming year? New year planning and balance are great themes that can be carried across many different businesses.

Let people buy gift certificates for your product/service.
Hey, they're going to be giving stuff - it might as well be yours! Look around to see the kind of packaging product-producers are doing and ask yourself: how does that apply to my service? What is an affordable bundle of solutions I can make available during this season?

Holiday card
It's an old-stand-by for a reason. Insert something that keeps on giving. Challenge yourself to come up with a great "next year at a glance" theme. Or perhaps a gift coupon for your service? A bonus for referring a friend? It's a great time of the year to reach out and show people how much you appreciate them and remind them how your work can help them.

Put together an end-of-the-year and "What's Coming Up" report
Even as people are frazzled and engaged in other things, they are filled with the expectation of what next year will bring. Why not tell them how they'll benefit from your work? What's coming up for you - do you have a new product you're working on, a workshop they'll enjoy, an add-on service, a new strategic alliance you want to announce?

Tie a promotion in to New Year's Resolutions
A cottage industry for service professionals, New Year's Resolutions can be a great way to make your service real and immediate to your prospects. Ask yourself - what do people resolve to do that I help with? Weight loss and self image? Financial security? Better relationships? Considering these and other broad categories of the kinds of resolutions people make, get creative about what kinds of tips, services and programs you can offer to help people meet their goals.

Party for Business
It's true, you probably won't ink that important deal or get tons of new buyers during the holiday mixer. Still, all of the chances to meet and celebrate with many people are a golden business opportunity. During holiday parties, people are usually jovial and relaxed about having a good time. So instead of thinking about all the deals you won't make during the holidays, focus on the spirit of the season and build relationships. After all, everyone who is focused on getting through the season will "go back to work" in a few short weeks. When the season is over, you can call on your holiday-party connections and evoke the good feeling of having been at a holiday party together, then translate that into a conversation about how to further the relationship. And, as always, when attending a holiday party (or any other business gathering), ask the organizer if there is an opportunity to give something as a door prize. What do you give? Your service or product of course!

Gift-giving
Now's a great time to let your key business contacts know they're important to you. Give your business list a little personal attention and pick out something less generic and more meaningful. Taking the time to find a personally appropriate gift will mean the world to your prospects, referral partners and clients.

Time-sensitive Offers
People respond to deadlines and the end of the year is an ideal time to build those into your service. It's smart to re-visit your prices every 6 months anyway. The end of the year is a natural time to communicate to your prospects: prices are going up next year so now is the time to hop on.

With a shift of focus, you can consider the holidays a wonderful time to build new relationships and breathe fresh ideas into your business. One last important tip: Don't overdo it! Remember, while you can build your business even through the holidays, it's good to tap into the spirit and focus on family and friends. When you do, the rest will come naturally.

Maria E. Andreu is the Founder and President of Andreu Marketing Solutions

A Practical Guide to Branding

2009-09-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

Define your brand identity—your product's "personality"—before you spend a dime on advertising or marketing

by Karen E. Klein

Talk to entrepreneurs about their marketing and communications efforts, and they'll often use the words "branding," "marketing," and "advertising" interchangeably. That reflects the pervasive confusion about the terms, says Gail Guge, managing partner of Wilkin Guge Marketing in Ontario, Calif.. "About 15 years ago, 'branding' became a buzzword in the business vernacular, and people still get the words mixed up all the time," she says.

That confusion is unfortunate, because understanding the concepts and how they mesh is vital to every company's bottom line. Studies show companies that market their products or services without first establishing their brand identities are not likely to achieve return on investment. "If you're spending money to advertise and market without being connected to a brand position, you might as well pile the money up and burn it," Guge says.

Rob Frankel, a branding expert and author in Los Angeles, calls branding the most misunderstood concept in all of marketing, even among professionals. Branding, he says, "is not advertising and it's not marketing or PR. Branding happens before all of those: First you create the brand, then you raise awareness of it."

Your Brand is Your Personality

And while many people think successful branding is only about awareness, it's not, Frankel adds. "Everyone knows about cancer but how many people actually want it? Branding is about getting your prospects to perceive you as the only solution to their problem. Once you're perceived as 'the only,' there's no place else to shop. Which means your customers gladly pay a premium for your brand."

Your product or service is not your company's brand and neither is your logo or your business card. Your brand is the genuine "personality" of your company. "It's what your customers think of you and say about you when they've left your company," says Rodger Roeser, president of Cincinnati-based Eisen Management Group, a public-relations and brand-development firm.

Your brand is what your company stands for and what it is known for. "Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself what you stand for. Go around the room with your leadership and ask them what the company stands for. Settle on one or two brand pillars and build your brand around them. If you can't define your brand, your customers won't be able to, either. And the risk is that someone else will define it for you—probably your competitors," Roeser says.

The Promise You Make to the World

Steve Cecil, a copywriter and verbal-branding expert with Where Words in San Carlos, Calif., says a brand is a promise and branding is the act of devising the promise your company makes to the world. Marketing, he says, "is the strategy that differentiates your brand promise from all the other brand promises in that increasingly crowded house called "your category."

Think of marketing like a toolbox containing branding, advertising, direct mail, market research, public relations, and other tools. "Marketing represents the combination of methods organizations use to persuade their target audience toward some specified behavior such as sales," says Stephen Rapier, of Glendale (Calif.)-based The Artime Group.

Advertising, Rapier says, can take many forms: print, as in newspaper and magazine ads; outdoor, such as billboards; online Web banners; and broadcast advertising on radio and TV. "Typically, the goal of advertising is to grab attention, create positive perceptions, and prompt response while conveying information consumers will find relevant to their needs," he notes.

Your Brand Is a Lifestyle

A successful marketing strategy uses all—or most—of the tools in the box depending on the job at hand, Cecil says. "Crafting a winning marketing strategy is challenging enough even when you have articulated your brand promise and is probably impossible if you haven't."

If you have not specified your company's brand, don't spend another dime on marketing until you do. While everyone's familiar with megabrands such as Apple (AAPL), Nike (NKE), and Virgin, small companies can also develop potent brands and market them successfully, says Steve Manning, managing director at Igor, a branding and naming firm based in San Francisco.

"A brand creates an image in the mind of the consumer. It says something is different at your firm, something worth more than business as usual. If your firm is a commodity, your customers will choose you solely on the basis of price or getting something for free. If you've got a brand, you're selling a lifestyle and you can sell anything you want," Manning says.

More elements of this Special Report are available in the related items box on the upper right side of this page.

Karen E. Klein is a Los Angeles-based writer who covers entrepreneurship and small-business issues.

Why Your Advertising Isn't Working

2009-09-15T08:32:00.000-07:00

This following article is a great tool for getting your advertising/marketing back on track. Take a good look at what you are conveying through your advertising. Is is what you want your company to be known for? Does it represent you well? As we approach a new year, rethink your strategies and goals. Let us help you start this year out strong!

Hope you enjoy this great article. Great article Steve!

_____________________________________________________

The vast majority of ads don't register with consumers. Here are seven straight-up reasons why your message probably isn't getting through

By Steve McKee

Recently, an AdweekMedia poll of LinkedIn members posed this question: "Of the ads you see in a typical day, how many engage your attention?" A remarkable two-thirds of respondents said "a small minority of them." Another quarter answered "none of them." Together, that's 91%. Only one in 100 respondents said "most of them."

Ouch. While polls like these have their limitations (we often can't—or won't—tell the truth about our own purchase behavior), I suspect few us would doubt the overall conclusion that a lot of advertising doesn't work very well. Your own advertising may even fall into that category.

If you find yourself nodding your head and wringing your hands right now, keep in mind this simple business axiom: Companies get the advertising they deserve. If your advertising isn't working, it may be you that's the problem.

The good news is that you can take steps to fix it. Certainly the economic environment is playing a significant role in how well (and how quickly) prospects are responding to your advertising, but blaming the recession is ultimately unproductive. After all, you may not like the hand you've been dealt, but your competitors are holding the same cards. It's how you play your hand that counts.

With that in mind, I'd like to suggest seven reasons why your advertising may not be pulling its weight. Use them to evaluate your efforts, but don't rely on your judgment alone. Ask a trusted and objective colleague to give you his or her honest opinion as well.

1. It's boring. Yep, boring. Why do we watch TV, listen to the radio, read the newspaper, or go online? Three reasons: information, entertainment, and engagement. Ads that fail to offer at least two of these three benefits flop. Just as nobody reads every story in the newspaper, nobody pays attention to every ad. You have to engage your prospects with something that is interesting or entertaining before they'll give you their valuable time and attention. Creativity has always been the coin of the realm, but in our time-starved culture it's truer than ever.

2. It's boorish. You shouldn't think of your advertising as being about your brand, you should think of it as an extension of your brand. If it's loud, annoying, insulting, offensive, or self-centered, people will think the same of your products or services. Remember the first sentence in the best-selling hardback book in U.S. history, The Purpose Driven Life: "It's not about you." What's true in life is true in advertising; if you focus only on what you can get, you're not going to get much. Instead, focus on giving, and good things will begin to happen.

3. It's safe. The first time I saw a Ford Taurus, I took note, and I suspect you did as well. So did a lot of other people, and the Taurus went on to become the best-selling car in America. If the Taurus had been another in a long line of boxy sedans, it probably would have been just another car. Instead, it turned automotive design conventions upside down and made history. While being different isn't in and of itself a guarantee of success, what you do is a lot more likely to get noticed if it hasn't been done before. And keep in mind that when you do something different, people may not like it—at least initially. Most of us were shocked at our first sight of the Taurus' curved lines, but it went on to have significant influence on automotive design. If you worry too much about offending someone, you're likely to not attract anyone.

4. It's trying to do too much. As the poll results above demonstrated, most people don't engage with most ads. And even when they do, for how long do they pay attention? Thirty seconds? Ten? Five? The best an ad can do is communicate one single, compelling idea, and in the age of the Internet—when people know they can go online to get all the additional information they need—it's crazy to ask an ad to do more than that. Just because you have a lot to say doesn't mean your audience will sit still and pay attention. Do your best to make a simple, singular point. Do it with flair, and given enough exposure (see next point) it might just get through.

5. It hasn't been given time. You can't rush bread out of the oven. You can't hurry a seedling out of the ground. All you can do is prepare the ingredients properly, tend the garden with care, and wait for the loaf to rise and sprouts to appear. The same is true of advertising. If you expect too much too soon (especially on a limited budget) you're sure to be disappointed. Think about your own consumer behavior—how many times do you need to be exposed to a marketing message before you take action? Depending on your prospects' level of interest in the category and frequency of purchase, it could take weeks, months, or even years for your message to sink in.

6. You like it. O.K., this one may sting a bit, but you are not the best judge of your own advertising. You can't be, because you simply know too much about your brand and have too much affection for it to remain objective. Look at Burger King (BKC). Its advertising over the past few years has been quite successful in appealing to the company's core target audience of young men, but many Burger King franchisees could personally do without it. The smart ones recognize that they're not the target and leave it alone. Your advertising is not only not about you, it's not for you. Both points seem counterintuitive, but that's why this stuff isn't for amateurs.

7. It's not an advertising problem. A common mistake many companies make is trying to use advertising to fix another problem. It may be faulty or outdated product design, an uncompetitive cost structure, customer service letdowns, or any number of other things. It's not as if they do so intentionally; it's just that it's a whole lot easier to put on a new coat of paint than it is to fix the foundation that's causing the drywall to crack. No company executes flawlessly, but until you can maintain a solid track record of excellence, spend your money on internal improvements rather than advertising. Paint may mask the problem for a short time, but soon new cracks will begin to appear.

There are, of course, many more reasons why advertising underperforms, from poor media placement to bad strategy to competitive countermoves. But the above missteps are so common—and so commonly misunderstood—that simply putting them out to the curb would go a long way in making advertising better. Not to mention making television much more bearable to watch.

Steve McKee is president of McKee Wallwork Cleveland Advertising, a firm that specializes in helping stalled companies rekindle growth. He is the author of the new book, When Growth Stalls.

Choosing the Correct Font

2009-09-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

A graphic designer (new to the field) recently asked me this question:

"I'm a self-taught web designer who has also spent time getting up to speed with graphic design methodologies. One problem I'm having is how to determine which typeface is best to use for a given project. I realize that weight, style, etc. are involved, but what should be considered. TIA."

This is my response to him. Hopefully you will find it helpful as well!

Each designer has different ideas on choosing typefaces for a certain project. These are some basics that get me started on a new project.

One thing that helps me is having an easily accessible sample of all my fonts so I can quickly peruse the large number of fonts. Using different and new fonts ensures that I am keeping my designs fresh and new. I use AMP Font Viewer to help with the organization of my fonts.

The font choice(s) should reflect the company/piece that you designing for. A tool company isn't going to want to have a script/flowy font throughout their piece because the company is trying to portray strength and durability. The preferred style of the company should also be considered. If a company prefers a modern/contemporary look, then you aren't going to use an old world Typeface with a lot of fine detailing.

Also, if you are going to use multiple fonts in one layout, a general rule is to use a block type font with a serif type font. If you use two of the same "styles" of font, it actually makes it look more cluttered and hard for the eye to take in.

As point size goes, keep your fonts sizes in factors of each other. If your header is an 18 point, and your small header is a 15 point, then do your paragraph in 12 or 9 (factors of 3). Factors of 2 work nicely also. Don't have fonts that are a point or closer together (like a 10 and 11 point) on the same publication. Our eyes like a larger differentiation.

Those are a few basic guidelines that are hopefully helpful. Your creativity and your eye can help you determine what looks best for the piece that you are working on. Sometimes rules will be broken to make a piece more successful but it always helps to know the basics.

11 Ways to Turnaround a Cash-Strapped Business

2009-07-27T10:59:00.000-07:00

by Adam Urbanski,The Millionaire Marketing Mentor

This past weekend I received a disturbing message from a dear friend. His business wasn't generating all the income he needed. He's exhausted all savings, started depleting credit card reserves and badly needed money to pay this month's mortgage... Ouch! I wish I knew sooner...Whether it's pride or just human nature that keeps professionals from asking for help sooner, it's just plain silly to keep "toughing it out" when there are so many strategies for generating new business fast.You see, there is really no shortage of new business, there is only a shortage of knowledge how to get this business.So if you are one of those professional folks who could use a few hundred bucks to help out with this month's mortgage, here are a few strategies to get your business buzzing with new customers or clients:

1. Get on the phone!
Pick up the phone and call everyone you know. Contact all clients, prospects, friends and family. Make sure they all know what you do, who you are looking for as a client, and how to "give you away."

2. Get out and meet people!
Sitting in the office, shuffling paperwork and piddling around with emails will not take you far enough fast enough. You need to be talking to people who can buy your product or service. Set a goal of how many people you want to see in person every day and find ways to meet that goal!

3. Stop competing and start leveraging!
Instead of being mad at your competitors for stealing all your business, approach them and offer to help out. At times we all get projects that are too big, too small, or too "whatever" for us to take on.Contact your competitors and ask if they would be willing to outsource their "too whatever" jobs to you - so that you can both make some dough. (Yeah, I know, it sounds like eating some humble bread - but hey, I think it beats living under a bridge ;-)

4. Ask for referrals!
You should be doing this anyway. Have a conversation with all clients (past and current) and help them think of people they can introduce you to right away. Oh, and don't forget - just because a prospect says "no", it doesn't mean he or she doesn't know someone who would gladly say "yes".

5. Crank up your follow-up!
Do you have a stack of cards from people who turned you down once before? Maybe it's time to resurrect them. Reach out to your "old" prospects - even if you previously gave up on them. Give them a call, send them a postcard or an article, and give them a special reason to say "yes" now!

6. Forgive your ex-clients!
Frequently ex-clients realize they made a mistake by getting involved with another vendor - but they are too embarrassed to admit it. Give them a way to gracefully come back to you and many will do it.

7. Catch a COI!
Form an alliance with Centers of Influence who can introduce to a large number of prospects at once and give you instant credibility. Well thought out and carefully executed strategic alliances with COI can infuse your business with all the new sales you can handle.

8. Educate, educate, educate!
Regardless of what business you are in you can always find things your clients and prospects would appreciate learning from you. How-to tips, informative case studies, industry reports - those are all great tools that can easily attract prospects hungry for your "stuff."

9. Start thinking strategically!
If you are having trouble attracting enough new business, the marketing tactics above should help you get things hopping, but to achieve a long-term sustainable success you'll need to address your marketing on a strategic level.Identify or re-evaluate your ideal target market, clearly describe the benefits your product or service provides, create a compelling marketing message, re-evaluate your business model and re-define your methods of delivering your product or service, etc., etc.

10. Stop getting and start giving!
When you are in the "how I can GET a client" mode, you are focused on you - and that doesn't make you very attractive. Shift your thinking to "how I can GIVE clients more VALUE" and you'll become an irresistible client magnet!

11. GET HELP!
When you are in the midst of a demanding situation you cannot always have the clarity needed to creating solutions. Collaborate with a successful associate, start your own board of advisors or a mastermind group, or hire a marketing mentor to pull you out of the quicksand. Remember, when time and money count - you can't afford the expensive "trial and error" learning curve!Oh, and one final thought - now that you are done reading - get busy implementing!

Want to learn how to implement these ideas in your business? Here is a step-by-step fast-track guide to get you started.

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Great article Adam! Thanks for sharing! Whether you are cash-strapped or just wanting to grow your business...communication with your clients and prospective clients is so important. Let us help you set up an email marketing campaign, a direct mailing campaign or anything else you think would be successful with your clients. We are here to help your business succeed and move to the next level!

Please give us a call/email so that we can help you implement better communication between you and your contacts!

~ Comfort C. Price
Concept Design Studios

How To Become a More Aggressive Website Marketer

2009-06-11T09:07:00.000-07:00

Posted by: iyazam

Lets face it: In today's internet marketing marketplace you need to be aggressive. Here is the method that I use when marketing my website:

There are three steps you should have in mind when marketing via social media:

- Market & share your information
- Connect with your niche and re-direct them to your website
- Create a community around your website

1) Create at least one article a day for your website.

2) Take the link of that article - (not your homepage URL) - and post it on:

- Facebook - in the "links" section
- Twitter
- LinkedIn

Here is how you should post it on your Twitter and LinkedIn status, Example:
How To Market Short Term Rentals - Part 2: http://www.iyazam.com/market-short-term-rentals.html

Put the title of the article before the link.

3) Social Bookmarketing - Submit the link of the article to Stumbleupon, Digg, Reddit and Delicious.

4) Forum Marketing - Take the article and start a thread on a relevant forum. Get some action going with your article.

5) Article Directories - Post the article on Ezinearticles.com, Searchwarp.com, Articlesbase.com etc..

6) Post your article as a blog post on the various Ning.com - Social Networks that are relevant.

7) Head on over to Hubpages and Squidoo. Create a hub and a lens for your article

If you stick to this method on daily basis you will begin to see results.

You want to focus on marketing and sharing your information in order to provide value for as many people as possible. People like nice people and people respond better when value is created for them.- Social media marketing is all about creating results in the long run. It is all about sticking to specific marketing system over a consisted period of time. Most people don’t understand this.

I am aware of the fact that Google does not like duplicate content. That's ok. All I care about is getting traffic from within the different networks.

Hope this helps!

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Please let us know if you have any questions or if we can help you implement these key steps to marketing your website!

15 Questions to Measure the Strength of Your Home Page

2009-05-28T10:00:00.000-07:00

The home page is typically where most site visitors will enter your website. It can determine whether a prospective customer is intrigued and eager to learn more, or is instead confused, frustrated and turned-off. Let’s face it – your home page is one of the “Money” pages on your website, so it better be effective.

Therefore, it would behoove you to spend time revisiting your home page and making sure that it answers these fifteen fundamental questions to drive your business results.

1. Who are you?
Does the home page make it explicitly clear who you are, including your company name, your logo and your tagline? Is it clear if you are a services firm, retailer, wholesaler, manufacturer, B2B firm, or B2C firm, etc.?

2. What are your products or services?
You would be shocked at how many websites do not make this clear on their home page, but instead assume that of course the site visitor knows exactly who they are and what they sell. Big mistake. Don’t assume anything.

3. What can I do here?
Assuming you make it clear what you sell, is it just as clear what the site visitor can do on your site, whether it be a purchase, a download of a free trial, or engagement in a community?

4. What’s your identity?
Are you professional and reliable? Are you cool and cutting-edge? Are you fun and silly? Make it clear on the home page, and then be consistent with your identity throughout the site.

5. Is your design helping you?
Too many small business owners think that just having a website is good enough regardless of what it looks like, and they sacrifice design. Remember, though, that site visitors are real people, and they get it when a site is amateurish.

6. What’s your differentiation?
Clarify how you are different, and the unique value you offer the site visitor. Do you offer the highest quality? Are your prices the cheapest? Do you have the broadest selection? Is your customer service absolutely amazing?

7. What does the website include?
The home page needs to ground the new site visitor. Does your home page provide a clear view as to what’s included in the site from a high level? Does it answer the visitor’s question of “What can I find here?”

8. Are you being a “tease”?
Like the cover of a magazine, your home page should entice new site visitors to want to check out additional pages. This can be anything from special promotions to free eBooks to announcements of upcoming events.

9. You don’t force me to scroll, do you?
Is your home page succinct and to the point? Or are you expecting your site visitors to scroll and scroll and scroll to read everything you have to tell them? Remember, many people do not scroll.

10. Is your home page scan-able?
Most website visitors do not read through an entire page, but instead scan the page. To that end, it’s important that you are providing them with visual cues, such as headers, subheads, images, movies, links, etc. And remember to leave sufficient white space on the page – clutter can be a major obstacle to website usability.

11. Do you provide timely content?
If you are a publisher, do you make the latest and freshest content clear and easy to find? If you are offering a special promotion, is it prominently displayed?

12. Do you weight your home page elements according to importance?
Is every element on your home page the same size and treatment? If so, are you sure you are not paralyzing your site visitors? Are you sure that your home page is scan-able (see above)? Allocate different weights to the different elements on your home page to ensure the page is guiding visitors in line with your business priorities.

13. Why should I trust you?
Many site visitors have no clue who you are, yet they always have options for going elsewhere on the web. Therefore, it’s critical to convey a sense of trust. This can include trustmarks such as from the Better Business Bureau, association membership logos, associated charity logos, a link to your privacy policy, etc.

14. Do you include clear Calls to Action?
Does your home page clarify what the site visitor is supposed to do next, whether learn more, download, view a comparison table, purchase or otherwise?

15. Where’s the pizazz?
Your site visitors are real people. Don’t bore them to tears. Add pizazz to your home page, but realize that this does not mean bells and whistles. Focus on delivering a deeply satisfying experience. This could mean an insightful solution to their biggest problem, an amazing client testimonial, a free widget, a free book, a community or a resource center.

Written by: Tom Now

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We would love to help you get started with a purposeful website...or update your exciting site.

We offer beautiful low cost websites that are great for companies that are just starting their web presence but don't have a large budget - starting at just a few hundred dollars.

We also offer Premium websites with all the bells and whistles - starting at a few thousand dollars.

Contact us for your free website consultation!

50 Ideas on Using Twitter for Business

2009-05-15T09:29:00.000-07:00

First Steps
Build an account and immediately start using Twitter Search to listen for your name, your competitor’s names, words that relate to your space. (Listening always comes first.)

Add a picture. ( Shel reminds us of this.) We want to see you.

Talk to people about THEIR interests, too. I know this doesn’t sell more widgets, but it shows us you’re human.

Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you.

Share links to neat things in your community. ( @wholefoods does this well).

Don’t get stuck in the apology loop. Be helpful instead. ( @jetblue gives travel tips.)

Be wary of always pimping your stuff. Your fans will love it. Others will tune out.

Promote your employees’ outside-of-work stories. ( @TheHomeDepot does it well.)

Throw in a few humans, like RichardAtDELL, LionelAtDELL, etc.

Talk about non-business, too, like @astrout and @jstorerj from Mzinga.

Ideas About WHAT to Tweet
Instead of answering the question, “What are you doing?”, answer the question, “What has your attention?”

Have more than one twitterer at the company. People can quit. People take vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.

When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next, instead of just dumping a link.

Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.

Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things, see who she follows, and follow her.

Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”

When you DO talk about your stuff, make it useful. Give advice, blog posts, pictures, etc.

Share the human side of your company. If you’re bothering to tweet, it means you believe social media has value for human connections. Point us to pictures and other human things.

Don’t toot your own horn too much. (Man, I can’t believe I’m saying this. I do it all the time. - Side note: I’ve gotta stop tooting my own horn). Or, if you do, try to balance it out by promoting the heck out of others, too.

Some Sanity For You
You don’t have to read every tweet.

You don’t have to reply to every @ tweet directed to you (try to reply to some, but don’t feel guilty).

Use direct messages for 1-to-1 conversations if you feel there’s no value to Twitter at large to hear the conversation ( got this from @pistachio).

Use services like Twitter Search to make sure you see if someone’s talking about you. Try to participate where it makes sense.

3rd party clients like Tweetdeck and Twhirl make it a lot easier to manage Twitter.

If you tweet all day while your coworkers are busy, you’re going to hear about it.

If you’re representing clients and billing hours, and tweeting all the time, you might hear about it.

Learn quickly to use the URL shortening tools like TinyURL and all the variants. It helps tidy up your tweets.

If someone says you’re using twitter wrong, forget it. It’s an opt out society. They can unfollow if they don’t like how you use it.

Commenting on others’ tweets, and retweeting what others have posted is a great way to build community.

The Negatives People Will Throw At You
Twitter takes up time.

Twitter takes you away from other productive work.

Without a strategy, it’s just typing.

There are other ways to do this.

As Frank hears often, Twitter doesn’t replace customer service (Frank is @comcastcares and is a superhero for what he’s started.)

Twitter is buggy and not enterprise-ready.

Twitter is just for technonerds.

Twitter’s only a few million people. (only)

Twitter doesn’t replace direct email marketing.

Twitter opens the company up to more criticism and griping.

Some Positives to Throw Back
Twitter helps one organize great, instant meetups (tweetups).

Twitter works swell as an opinion poll.

Twitter can help direct people’s attention to good things.

Twitter at events helps people build an instant “backchannel.”

Twitter breaks news faster than other sources, often (especially if the news impacts online denizens).

Twitter gives businesses a glimpse at what status messaging can do for an organization. Remember presence in the 1990s?

Twitter brings great minds together, and gives you daily opportunities to learn (if you look for it, and/or if you follow the right folks).

Twitter gives your critics a forum, but that means you can study them.

Twitter helps with business development, if your prospects are online (mine are).

Twitter can augment customer service. (but see above)

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Let us know how you have used Twitter and what results you have seen! We have just been on it for about a month now, so we are still figuring everything out! Hope this post has helped you use Twitter effectively for your business.

Marketing Materials Checklist for Small Business

2009-05-06T11:00:00.000-07:00

Give each one of these items solid consideration for your initial array of marketing materials for your small business:

Logo
You’ll want to create a polished image from the beginning and some kind of unique visual hook for your company, and then splash it on your business cards, stationery and anything else you can think of.

Business cards
Many marketing gurus say that a great business card can be your most effective marketing tool. Pack it with as much information as it will hold, not just contact information. Maybe put the contact information on the front and list your products or services on the back. Mark Amtower, a Highland, Md.-based expert in marketing to the federal government, suggests considering a fold-over business card for twice the display space!

In any event, your business card “must be different, memorable, and prospects must want to keep it,” says Joachim de Posada, an internationally known expert on small business.

Website
You should get this up and running before you open for business. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on one, with all the site-building options now available. But it should be well-designed and helpful. You might even want to start putting a blog on your site right away to start up a “conversation” with your customers.

“Using the website as a primary ‘marketing material’ for a startup is good because you can’t tell the size of a company by their website,” notes Becky Boyd, a vice president of MediaFirst, a Roswell, Ga.-based marketing agency.

Brochure
This can be a virtual one, in PDF format on the internet, or a black-and-white, two-color or even four-color paper handout. In any case, it’s important to have one, because it can cover a variety of general needs that no other single marketing document can handle, ranging from distribution at a trade show to a handy mailer for people who want basic information about your company.

Company clothing
Be your own billboard! You might want to consider putting this really high on your checklist. Wearing clothing with your company brand can start tongues wagging everywhere you go. “People will ask you what you do,” says Ruth King, small business expert and author of the book, The Ugly Truth about Small Business. “Then you can recite your pitch and ask for the order.”

E-mail signature
Don’t let any e-mail escape your computer without tagging it as a marketing message. Come up with a catchy e-mail signature and include your name, business name, contact information, pithy tag line, a web address and even a one- or two-line announcement at the bottom of the signature about a new book, product, seminar or service offering you’ve announced.

Packets for specialized needs
Depending on the initial focus of your company, you’ll need to develop packages of materials that are formulated around particular needs. If sales are hugely important at the beginning, you may need to come up with a folder full of brochures and spec sheets.

Elevator pitch
Here at StartupNation, the elevator pitch – a strong, 30-second spoken spiel that could convince someone to invest in your business in the space of an elevator ride – is one of our favorite marketing tools.

“This will do more to market a new business than the flashiest collateral materials,” says J.W. Arnold, principal of PRDC, a Washington, D.C., marketing agency. “It’s amazing how many startups get caught up on the ‘things’ of their marketing effort and forget exactly ‘what’ they are marketing.”

Nevertheless, you also can commit your elevator speech to paper, or modify it into a “mission statement,” and hand it out readily along with your other marketing materials.

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Contact us for your logo design, business cards, brochure, website design, company clothing & marketing packets, vehicle graphics, banners, etc.! From concept to final product, we do it all at a price any business can afford!

Business Cards Printing (includes design**, 2-sided, full color, full bleed)
Paper Options: glossy, uncoated, 100% recycled with soy inks (no extra $$ for recycled)
250 - $75
500 - $90
1000 - $105
2500 - $175

Brochure Printing (includes design**, 2-sided, full color, full bleed, fold included)
Paper Options: glossy or 100% recycled with soy inks
500 - $275
1000 - $325
2500 - $575

**does not include a logo design

Give us a call and we can help you with all of your marketing materials!

5 Mistakes to Avoid When Designing Your Website

2009-05-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

Written by: Tom Now

For many of you, your business website will act as a central hub for your marketing, branding and communications. It will be a major touchpoint in your relationship with your prospects and customers.

If you plan on being successful, it behooves you to create a website that fuels your business growth.

Then why is it that so many entrepreneurs and small business owners sabotage their own marketing by taking shortcuts with their websites and by not thinking through the ideal website for their business?

Here are 5 common mistakes that you should avoid when creating your website:

No Objective
The very first thing you should do when planning your website is to define the objective of the website. What do you want visitors to do on your site? How will you measure success? Will it be online sales, lead-generation, downloads, subscriptions, Page Views? Know what you want to drive your visitors to do prior to designing your new website, and the design process should progress more smoothly and more in line with your business needs.

No Plan
Just as you start with blueprints when building a new house, you need a plan when creating your new website. Some people go into a site design process by looking at designs, colors, templates and imagery. Although the look and feel of your website is important and should align with your identity, it’s critical to start with your marketing strategy. Who is the target audience? What are their main problems? How will your website help them solve these problems? If you were your own customer, how would the ideal website be organized and what would it deliver?

No Differentiation Strategy
Online, it’s super easy to jump from one website to another. Therefore, expect that your prospective customers will check out the competition. With that in mind, it’s surprising how many people do not think through a well-defined differentiation strategy for their website. Will your site offer unique, amazing value? Will your site focus on building a unique community? Will your site be clearly unique from your competition?

Sacrificing Professionalism
Whether you use a designer, agency or template, look at your site with a critical eye and make absolutely sure that it’s professional in appearance. Just because your next door neighbor’s kid can program HTML and PHP doesn’t mean that he understands marketing and can create a website that will fuel your growth. Remember, trying to save a few dollars in the wrong way now may wind up costing you tens of thousands of dollars in revenue down the road. This is not to say that you necessarily need to spend lots of money on your site design — rather, you just need to ensure that whatever direction you go in results in a website that represents you effectively.

Infatuation with Technology
Some people go into a site design process thinking that they “need” a Flash website. Or they “need” the latest feature du jour. The reality is that technology comes and goes. Instead, focus on providing your visitors with real solutions to their real problems. Focus on making: 1) the navigation intuitive; 2) the site easy-to-use; 3) the content of great value, and 4) the user experience fulfilling. Then, apply the appropriate technology to support these aspects of your site.

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Check out our website info sheet if you are thinking about starting a website or rethinking your website. It has a few questions to get you started and then we can help you the rest of the way with getting the website you want!

Visit http://www.conceptdesignstudios.com/webdesign.html to get more information about our website design.

We have custom options for every business! Some are just starting out and don't have a lot to invest in a website. Others are established businesses that want to focus on a strong web presence as part of their marketing strategy. Either way, we can help you reach your website goals!

The Best Internet Marketing Books Ever

2009-05-04T11:00:00.000-07:00

Article by Zeke Camusio

There are hundreds of books on Internet Marketing. With so many options, how do you know what to read and what to bypass?

Today I’m going to share with you the same books I recommend to my clients, and I’m going to tell you why I like them so much. If you read these books, you will know more about Internet Marketing than 90% of your competitors. You’ll learn the rest by putting what you’ve read into practice. Read and enjoy!

Best Internet Marketing Books

Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords
A great guide to understanding Google AdWords.

Don’t Make Me Think
By far, the best web usability book ever written.

Building Findable Websites
This book will teach you to build web standards-compliant websites.

Search Engine Marketing, Inc.
A great Search Engine Optimization (SEO) book for beginner and intermediate users.

Web Analytics: An Hour a Day
This book will teach you almost all you need to know about web analytics.

A Practical Guide to Affiliate Marketing
Are you a merchant looking to benefit from affiliate marketing? Do yourself a favor and read this book.

The Adweek Copywriting Handbook
By far, the best copywriting book I’ve ever read. I absolutely love it.

Call to Action
I love this book. It will teach you a lot about web usability, copywriting and calls to action.

The New Rules of Marketing and PR
A great read that will help you understand how the Internet is changing the way people and companies do marketing and PR.

The Facebook Era
Thinking about getting into social media marketing? Read this book first!

Twitter Power
Go from Twitter-laggard to Twitter-expert in only two days with this great book.

ProBlogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income
If you want to become a professional blogger, this one is a must.

The Truth About Profiting from Social Networking
My favorite social media marketing book ever.

The Social Network Business Plan
David Silver is one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to online communities. Learn from the master; read his book.

Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day
A very easy to understand guide for people that want to get started in the social media marketing world.

The 4-Hour Workweek
This book is not about online marketing per sé, but it will give you a few ideas about living your life at its fullest when you start growing your profits from your online efforts.

Top 4 Sites for Social Media for the Small Business

2009-05-01T11:00:00.000-07:00

By Lisa Barone, April 28, 2009

I know. You don’t care how important the so-called “experts” tell you social media is. You’re a small business owner and that means you’re busy. You don’t have time to be everywhere or to try the “next big thing”. Luckily for you, you don’t have to. If you’re a small business owner you can still use social media to find new customers without letting it take over your life. And below you’ll find what I think are the top social media sites to help you do that. The trick is navigate through the clutter and find the ones that will work best for you.

Yahoo Answers
There are a lot of Question/Answer sites out there, but Yahoo Answers stands out due to its impressively large user base and its ability to put you in contact with folks asking service-based questions broken down by location. For example, there’s a guy in Boston looking for a painter, someone in New York City looking for a wedding dress shop and a guy in San Jose looking for recommendations on a new car. Those are all opportunities for small business owners to reach out and respond to targeted service queries. You just have to know they exist and how to find them.

Yahoo Answers is also valuable for businesses where your expertise is what you’re selling. By going in and answering questions that benefit the community, you brand yourself as an expert in that category. If you’re looking for a guide to Yahoo Answers, look no further because Matt McGee has already written the book on it.

Twitter
It’s hard to talk about small business and social media these days without mentioning Twitter. Twitter is about conversation. It’s about finding the people talking about you and what you sell and forming relationships with them. One of the most underutilized aspects of Twitter for most businesses is the Advanced Search feature that allows small business owners to search for specific keywords located near a particular zip code. Companies have used it to ward off customer service complaints, to answer questions and to create an awareness that you’re not only an expert, but you’re an expert in their local area.

For example, say you run a day camp and are looking for summer labor. You can perform a search for [summer job near:02116 within:25] and find folks located 25 miles outside of Boston looking for a job for the summer. There’s even a sentiment feature that attempts to determine if they’re happy about not having a job or sad, so you know which users to go after. There are many, many ways to harness the power of Twitter for local businesses, you just have to know where and how to jump in.

Wordpress
A blog is a powerful sales tool for small businesses because it acts as a differentiator between you and your competition. Your small business blog will not only act as a customer service and educational tool, but it will encourage customers to interact with you, will be crucial in crisis management, and can even help you pick up rankings for keywords you’re not targeting with the rest of your site. A lot of businesses lose out on customers by failing to establish a point of difference or personal story. Your blog enables you to do that. It’s your space to show your customers who you are, to listen, and to connect with them on a more personal level. As far social media outlets go, creating a blog is often one of the best investments you can make to boost your business and retain and attract customers.

Flickr
Flickr provides an avenue for small business owners to find customers with product-based needs (different from Yahoo Answers, which targets service-based needs). By going into the Groups section and searching for your particular area, you can find a list of groups that deal with topics either related to what you do or parallel topics that may share a common customer base.
For example, a search for Boston may reveal a group of car lovers looking for classic car parts or a gem in perfect condition someone’s looking to sell. A local group for photography may be seeking recommendations on new camera types. You should try to join the groups related to your area to help monitor the conversations and find places where it makes sense for you to join in. To make this task easier, subscribe to the RSS feed so that you’re automatically updated once a new discussion topic is added. You can also use Flickr for new content strategies.

Other Notable Mentions for Small Businesses:
GetSatisfaction: A hub for small businesses to address customer service issues head on before they become larger problems.
YouTube: Create product demos, how-to videos and engage customers in a way that separates your company from the herd of “me toos“ out there.
LinkedIn: Create a profile for both yourself and your corporation and take advantage of the Question/Answer feature similar to Yahoo Answers.
Facebook: Offers strong demographic targeting options both in the advertising opportunities (very high conversions for local businesses!), as well as with corporate Fan pages.
Social media remains a cost effective way for many businesses to reach out to customers. Because of your small size, you can create more targeted, more manageable online communities that convert both online and off. The trick to tackling social media is not to be everywhere, but to instead be everywhere your customers are.
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Let us know if we can help you set up your own social media campaign!

http://www.conceptdesignstudios.com/

Follow us on Twitter!!

2009-04-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

To follow us on Twitter, go to:

http://twitter.com/ConceptDesigns

We will keep you updated on the news/events/sales that we have going on!

Free Advertising!

2009-04-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to let you know of an opportunity for free advertising...MomAudience.com

Mom Audience connects moms with each other as well as with mompreneurs and businesses that appeal to moms. If any of your products/services/causes/etc. fit in those categories, check it out! Even if your business is location specific, there is a place for your listings too!

Each week an email is sent out to subscribers that includes all the listings, sponsors and advertisers. You can post your listings for free on http://www.momaudience.com/ and they will be included in the next week's email. It is a great way to get your business' name out there without costing a thing. If you want to get even more exposure, you can purchase a banner ad or sponsor a weekly email.

I am trying to let all my clients know about this so they can get in on the free advertising. If you have a business that is appealing to moms, post it!

Leave a comment and let me know if you post a listing!

Eco-friendly Printing

2009-04-28T20:03:00.000-07:00

Got Green?

Concept Design Studios goes an extra mile to offer paper products that are recycled from certified sustainable production systems called PEFC (Program for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council Certification).

Recycled paper products contain recovered fibers, which include pre or post consumer sources, or both. As a result, there are significant environmental advantages of producing recycled paper over non-recycled paper. The advantages create an eco-friendly footprint which consists of a reduced impact on forest resources, reduced air and water pollution, reduced water and energy consumption, and the reduction of solid waste.

Concept Design Studios also incorporates the use of eco-friendly inks and solvents based on soy in our production which emit very low traces of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). VOCs are the fumes emitted into the air from inks, solvents and cleaners as they are used or while they dry. Our VOC levels are one of the lowest in the world and much lower than the required amounts set by the AQMD. In comparison, petroleum based inks release a much greater amount of VOCs than soy inks. Soy inks are also extremely beneficial during the paper recycling process since removing soy ink stains from paper is much easier than other artificial inks. Soy inks are easily washable and cause less damage to the paper fibers. As a result, the recycled paper is much brighter and fit for reuse. Furthermore, the waste produced by soy inks does not pose any threat to the environment and can be easily treated using modern methods.

In our continued commitment to the environment, Concept Design Studios takes every opportunity to offer customers environmentally conscious and friendly solutions by expanding our recycled paper selection while still retaining a high degree of quality.

The future of our environment depends on the choices we make today. We are thrilled to be able to provide you the choice to use recycled papers and other green products. We encourage you to take advantage of these eco-conscious choices. Together we can make a difference.

~ Comfort C. Price

For tips on becoming more "green", check out some more of our other blog entries!

To order our eco-friendly print products, contact us or visit our online print shop!

Bozeman Chamber of Commerce Women's Conference - May 19th

2009-04-27T22:30:00.000-07:00

Join us for the Bozeman Chamber's Women's Conference on May 19, 2009.

Visit our booth at the conference. We look forward to seeing you there!! Give us a call if you have any questions or want to know where our booth is located.

406.209.6544

info@conceptdesignstudios.com

www.conceptdesignstudios.com

5 Easy Ways to Turbocharge Response to Your Marketing Materials

2009-04-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

by Stacy Karacostas

Do your marketing materials grab prospects by the eyeballs and convince them to take action right now? If you’ve ever written an ad, brochure, sales letter or website—and gotten little or no response—the answer is no. And chances are the problem lies in your written content, or copy.
You see, most people write marketing materials the same way they wrote papers in school. I don’t know about you, but I’m not itching to read my last term paper or scientific report (unless I’m suffering a bad case of insomnia).

However, writing purely to explain or educate is completely different from writing marketing materials that sell. Instead of simply telling prospects about you or your business, products, services, methodology, etc., effective copywriting connects with your ideal customer, explains why they need what you have, and inspires them to take the next step.

Thankfully, this isn’t hard to do. Just follow these five simple steps to amp up the sales-making power of everything you write…

Step 1: Grab Their Eyeballs
Always include a strong, targeted headline in every piece of marketing or advertising. People are busy and typically skim before they read. The headline is your way of getting prospects’ attention and convincing them to keep reading.

Writing killer headlines from scratch takes tons of time and practice. A simple shortcut is to get a book of proven ads, find a headline you like, then follow its formula but rewrite it to suit your product and market.

Step 2: Make It All About "YOU"
Humans are, by nature, egocentric. We spend every day trapped inside our own heads thinking about whatever matters to us. So it’s only natural to focus on what’s important to you in your marketing materials—instead of what’s important to your prospect.

Try this test…Count the number of times you use WE, I, OUR, or YOUR COMPANY NAME in a marketing piece. If they’re at the start of sentences or paragraphs, or in a headline or subhead count them twice. Now, do the same for YOU and YOUR.

If you used WE and I way more than YOU and YOUR, you’re marketing is too egocentric. Try flipping offending sentences or paragraphs so they start with YOU instead.

Step 3: Offer Irresistible Benefits
It’s easy to assume people understand what’s so great about 40 amps, or 10 volts, or 60 mb, or bamboo fibers, or two meetings a month, or whatever features your product or service has. But we all know what happens when you assume anything. Besides, the last thing you want to do is force busy people to take extra time to think things through.

So for every feature you list, include a juicy benefit. The easiest way to find the benefits is to list every feature, then for each one ask yourself “So what?” and “Why would someone care?”. The answer is the benefit.

Step 4: Tell 'Em What to Do
“If you don’t tell someone what to do next, there’s no telling what they might do.”
Life is busy and full of interruptions. Even if someone is ready to buy, click or call, they might not know exactly what to do unless you include a super-obvious “call-to-action.”

Don’t be shy…write “To get X do Y” in bold. Then include contact info right there so they don’t go searching for it and get sidetracked. And make “buy now” buttons or Web links big and obvious.

Step 5: Write Like You Speak
Ask most entrepreneurs what they do and they’ll explain it in a way that’s passionate and riveting. Yet ask ‘em to write about it and you’re likely to get a dry, formal document that’s as exciting to read as a legal brief.

As advertising great David Ogilvy once said, “You can never bore someone into doing business with you.” So think of your copy as a conversation between you and one other person—the reader. And make it warm, friendly and interesting.

To discover if you’ve hit the mark, read your writing out loud. Or better yet have someone else read it to you. If it doesn’t sound conversational, it’s time for a rewrite.

Low Tech Marketing: Postcards

2009-03-20T10:30:00.000-07:00

Postcard Marketing : Low-Tech Marketing's

Web advertising, e-mail or other high-tech marketing methods aren’t the only way to market these days. Many entrepreneurs are simply seeking a low-cost, easy-to-implement sales tool, and aren’t wrapped up in the latest tech fad.

For “tech-less” marketing, old-fashioned postcard marketing is a great option. These princely little pieces pack a powerful marketing punch for many a startup and small business.
Consider the Midwest School of Music, in Indianapolis, IN. When owner Barbara Granneman returned to teaching piano, she used a postcard campaign to get her business started. In a month she had 40 students and hired another teacher. Now a few years later she has 32 employees and has opened a Chicago branch. Aside from a Yellow Pages listing, postcards are her only means of marketing. She tried others, but stopped them all because postcards proved most effective.

Even technology companies love postcard marketing. Intuit, which makes accounting software, recommends postcard marketing to its accounting firm clients for three reasons:

1. It’s easier to read a postcard at a glance than to open an envelope
2. Postcards are less intrusive than e-mail, and these days have less competition
3. Unlike e-mail, postcards can take on any size, color, gloss or graphic

You can create, print and mail postcards without a big investment. The standard 4x6 size costs just $0.23 to mail.

Getting your postcards printed is also a snap. The field is highly competitive and you can choose from dozens of printers who will print, say, 5,000 color cards for less than $0.05 each, and have them done in two days.

Direct mail experts at the USPS say the most effective postcard marketing shares these traits...

They’re eye-catching:
Your postcard doesn’t have to be art, but it helps if it’s attractive. Adding a high quality photo or other image will help

They’re simple:
It’s a postcard, not a novel. Pretend every word is costing you $500. A jumble of information won’t do it. Simple, bold headlines like “Fall Fashions Are In!” or “50% Off Cookware” work best - then explain where, when and a few other details

They’re timely:
Messages such as “Your Service Contract Expires June 1” work great - if you have a timely message of some kind for your customers, use it

They’re two-sided:
Be sure to use both sides of your postcard, but not every inch. Use one side like a poster and the other for a few details. Or put an ad on one side and a personal message on the other

They’re multifaceted:
A postcard can double as a coupon, gift certificate or event ticket. Ask people to present the card to claim an offer. It’s an easy way to measure effectiveness

Design your own cards and have them printed, or use free design services. Some firms will also mail them for you.

Our Bottom Line
Marketing methods don’t have to be high-tech or expensive in order to be effective. For many types of startup ventures, a simple and cost-effective direct mail postcard marketing campaign might prove just the ticket for kick-starting company sales.
© 2005 BizBest Media Corp.
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Postcards are a great way to market your business. We can help you with all of your postcard design, printing & mailing! We can customize a mailing list that caters exactly to your desired demographics.

This month's special is 10% off postcards. Give us a call/email today!

4x6" postcards, full color, full bleed, 2-sided

100 - $85.50 (normally $95)
250 - $108.00 (normally $120)
500 - $126.00 (normally $140)
1000 - $157.00 (normally $175)

Please contact us to order these great deals!

Facebook & Business Networking

2009-03-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

Why Facebook and Business Networking Go Hand in Hand
by Zeke Camusio

Facebook is a phenomenon that has grown exponentially in a very short time and continues to do so. It was originally used mostly by college students to keep in touch with high school pals, but now recent statistics prove that it has moved beyond its original use and has become an incredibly powerful business networking medium. If you’re still not sold on this (not entirely convinced that Facebook networking offers great potential to help your company grow and reach new business contacts), here are some reasons why you can’t afford to ignore Facebook as a networking tool.

Facebook Networking: From Social to Professional
This natural evolution from social medium to professional networking site is largely due to the fact that the kids who originally used Facebook for social uses have now grown up and become professionals. It is logical that they would adapt the uses and applications available on Facebook to suit their professional needs and continue contacting people in a way that has become second nature to them.

In today’s world, with the vast amount of social media sites and applications, how do you draw the line between social and professional networking?

It is indeed very hard to do because the line has become blurred. If you do draw a strict line, you may end up losing potential clients or opportunities for business. Today, more than ever, this is not a luxury you can afford. If you’re careful about the type and amount of personal information you share, you can perfectly use what was once a social networking tool for business purposes.

Facebook Networking Benefits for your Business

Great Exposure
One of the best things about Facebook is its unbeatable potential for exposure. If used consistently and strategically, it will noticeably increase your company’s visibility. Post comments on your contacts’ pages. Provide insights, tips and advice, and you’ll earn credibility and the respect of the community.

Improve Google Rank
Facebook offers a “Pages” application, which allows you to create a professional profile for your business, services, and products. Within these pages you have the option to include a link to your website, or any other reference links, like papers you’ve written or reasearch you’ve done. It is not the only thing you need to do to improve Google rank, but it certainly helps.

Fabulous Marketing Free of Charge
If you make use of not only the Pages application, but also many of the other applications, you will find great, user-friendly tools to market your services and products and promote what you do. It will take some time to get the hang of these tools. Start out with a few until you master them. No one is expected to use all of them.

Targeted Ad Space
Facebook offers you the possibility to create ads and target them to a specific age group, gender and location. You can also track your ad’s performance.

Useful Facebook Networking Tips

Create an Effective Profile Page
Simple and effective are the key words here. Don’t add too many distractions, like widgets and graphics. Offer instead essential information about you, your company, services, and products. Think of your goal. If you want to use Facebook to network with people in your industry, provide the information that will lead them to you.

Limit Your Use of Photos
Try to avoid posting photos that would cast your business in an unfavorable light or are just too personal. Birthday party and vacation pics are out, of course. (Why would you want your customers to see you in a bikini?) Do post photos of an industry conference, business meeting or event you’ve recently held.

Choose Your Friends Carefully
Keep in mind that those you add as “friends” will have access to all of your information and will be able to post comments on your pages, so choose wisely.

Post Relevant Content
Whether you create a Page or share links, post content that is relevant to your industry, job search, business, or professional field. If you contribute valuable information and share your expertise, it’ll be easier to reach the contacts you need.

Explore Its Many Applications
There are too many Facebook applications to even list, so take the time to research which would be most suitable to your goals. The Groups option is highly recommended for business networking, as well as the Facebook Marketplace, where you can place listings for products and services for free.

If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em
Maybe you’re not into social media, or simply feel daunted by it because you understand only half of what goes on there. But if you willingly choose to ignore it, you will be at a disadvantage and give your rivals the competitive edge. Can you afford to do that?

Facebook is what you make it. If you want to make it a tool to network with others and promote what you do, by all means, go for it!

Preparing a Good Business Plan.

2009-03-16T11:07:00.000-07:00

All business owners are trying to figure out how to make our business's thrive during these difficult economic times. We are not content to watch and wait. There are a few things that we need to think about if we are going to not only survive, but grow our businesses...

- We need to keep our spending to a minimum so we can keep some cash flow. What can we cut out of our budget?
- How can we keep our customers coming back?
- How are we going to gain new customers?
- What kind of marketing will be the most effective and the most cost effective?
- Do I need to rethink how my business has been run? What changes do I need to make?

In order to look at your business with new eyes and see the areas that need to modified, we have to go back to the basics. What is my business all about? What is my business plan? Where did I intend to go, where am I know?

Below is an article that gives us 12 questions to help us reach our goals, make stronger businesses, etc. Rethinking your business plan, or looking at aspects of it with fresh new eyes is always a good thing for business. Even if you don't take the steps and write or re-write your actual business plan, these questions will help you refocus and get energized about your business! Enjoy!

~ Comfort C. Price
owner, Concept Design Studios

The "Defining Dozen" questions
Article by Startup Nation

To write a good business plan, you have to know the answers to the “Defining Dozen” questions, which we describe in detail in “StartupNation: Open for Business,” our book. Jot down the answers to each of these questions and hang on to them. You might not use every answer in writing your business plan, but they could be helpful when you update your plan as your new business grows.

What’s your business idea? (Read the book excerpt)

How does your idea address a need? (Read the book excerpt)

What model suits you best? (Read the book excerpt)

What’s so different about what you offer? (Read the book excerpt)

How big is the market and how big will you grow? (Read the book excerpt)

What’s your role going to be? (Read the book excerpt)

Who's on your team? (Read the book excerpt)

How will customers buy from you, and how much will they pay? (Read the book excerpt)

How much money do you need, and how much will you make? (Read the book excerpt)

Where's the startup money coming from? (Read the book excerpt)

How will you measure success? (Read the book excerpt)

What are your key milestones? (Read the book excerpt)

Once you’ve answered these questions, you should be prepared to write the actual business plan document.

Ten Powerful Marketing Tips for the Small Business

2009-03-13T12:19:00.000-07:00

From Ann Marie Rubertone, for About.com

Print your best small ad on a postcard and mail it to prospects in your targeted market.
People read postcards when the message is brief. A small ad on a postcard can drive a high volume of traffic to your web site and generate a flood of sales leads for a very small cost.
No single marketing effort works all the time for every business, so rotate several marketing tactics and vary your approach. Your customers tune out after awhile if you toot only one note. Not only that, YOU get bored. Marketing can be fun, so take advantage of the thousands of opportunities available for communicating your value to customers. But don't be arbitrary about your selection of a variety of marketing ploys. Plan carefully. Get feedback from customers and adapt your efforts accordingly.

Use buddy marketing to promote your business.
For example, if you send out brochures, you could include a leaflet and/or business card of another business, which had agreed to do the same for you. This gives you the chance to reach a whole new pool of potential customers.

Answer Your Phone Differently.
Try announcing a special offer when you answer the phone. For example you could say, "Good morning, this is Ann Marie with Check It Out; ask me about my special marketing offer." The caller is compelled to ask about the offer. Sure, many companies have recorded messages that play when you're tied up in a queue, but who do you know that has a live message? I certainly haven't heard of anyone. Make sure your offer is aggressive and increase your caller's urgency by including a not-so-distant expiration date.

Stick It!
Use stickers, stamps and handwritten notes on all of your direct mail efforts and day-to-day business mail. Remember, when you put a sticker or handwritten message on the outside of an envelope, it has the impact of a miniature billboard. People read it first; however, the message should be short and concise so it can be read in less than 10 seconds.

Send A Second Offer To Your Customers Immediately After They've Purchased
Your customer just purchased a sweater from your clothing shop. Send a handwritten note to your customer thanking them for their business and informing them that upon their return with "this note" they may take advantage of a private offer, such as 20% off their next purchase. To create urgency, remember to include an expiration date.

Newsletters
Did you know it costs six times more to make a sale to a new customer than to an existing one? You can use newsletters to focus your marketing on past customers. Keep costs down by sacrificing frequency and high production values. If printed newsletters are too expensive, consider an e-mail newsletter sent to people who subscribe at your Web site.

Seminars/ open house
Hosting an event is a great way to gain face time with key customers and prospects as well as get your company name circulating. With the right programming, you'll be rewarded with a nice turnout and media coverage. If it's a seminar, limit the attendance and charge a fee. A fee gives the impression of value. Free often connotes, whether intended or not, that attendees will have to endure a sales pitch.

Bartering
This is an excellent tool to promote your business and get others to use your product and services. You can trade your product for advertising space or for another company's product or service. This is especially helpful when two companies on limited budgets can exchange their services.

Mail Outs
Enclose your brochure, ad, flyer etc. in all your outgoing mail. It doesn't cost any additional postage and you'll be surprised at who could use what you're offering.

Five Tips to Generate Word of Mouth Marketing

2009-03-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

By Laura Lake, About.com

We all know that economic times are tough. I always suggest that businesses don't pull their marketing budget. Not all business listen, unfortunately.

That's why I want to share with you a few tips that will help you generate word of mouth marketing for your business.

Word-of-Mouth marketing is the most difficult to measure, but it's also the most cost effective, because it costs you nothing.

Your customers are the best vehicle for positive word-of-mouth marketing, but how can you get them to talk about you?

Ask them to try your product.
If you want consumers to talk about your product, ask them to try and then to tell others about it. This is an effective way to build excitement and genuine recommendations.

Find ways to make your customers feel like company insiders.
Involve them, ask their opinion and then listen. Make them feel like their feedback and opinion matters. Create a list that shares with them upcoming events, product or specials that are coming up.

Provide a forum for influences to have a conversation on behalf of your brand.
Give influencers a forum to share their opinion and feedback. This could be a company sponored cocktail party or as simply as an online forum for selected customers only.

Provide quality service and treat every customer with respect.
Give your consumer something good to talk about. Show them quality in service and treat every customer with respect. Do you think Starbucks became popular because of their $4.00 lattes? No they became popular because they made an effor to know their customers names and remember their favorite drinks. They provide quality and experience, that's why customers paid $4.00 for a latte. Unfortunately they've gotten a little lax on it lately, but in the beginning they had it down to a science. Perhaps if they were focus on it again they might see a brighter economic future in these tough times.

Stay in touch
Provide them with specials that they want to talk about. Put your consumers in the know. Inform them of specials and send them coupons. This will not only increase their visits, but it will get them talking about you.

Five No-Cost Marketing Tips

2009-03-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

By Laura Lake, About.com

Are there ways to market your business that will not cost you a fortune? How can you get the word out without driving your company into a financial black hole?

Truth is most marketing does take money, but there are some low-cost and no-cost options that you can put into action that will help you to get the word out about your products and service. While these ideas will not cost you a lot of money they will cost you time, so prepare for that.
These are fantastic ideas for the company that is just getting started. They also work! Choose two out of the five and move forward on them this week. Once you begin to see that in fact these promotional ideas can bring you business your momentum will build and drive you to pick two more.

Network at events.
Go to Chamber of Commerce meetings, BNI Group meetings, and other organizational meetings that will be attracting your "ideal" client.

Gather business cards.
Get as many as you can and then begin to phone and email to follow up. Do this immediately while you are still fresh in their mind. If they cannot use your services, ask them if they know of someone who can and get their contact information.

Attend public meetings.
At every public meeting, make a commitment to say something that could be useful to those that are attending. This is a great way to not only share you knowledge and help others, but it also puts you in the eye of those who could use your services.

Create a "useful" handout.
A handout that when given to a recipient they keep because it has value. For example with my business I have one entitled the "Top Ten Marketing Tactics Your Competition Wish They Knew." Make sure that you include your name, phone number, email address, website information and your 30 second commercial that tells the recipient about your business.
Create joint-ventures. Find colleagues and business associates whose business compliments yours and do joint promotions. For example I do joint-ventures with a copywriter and graphic designer. Who could you partner with?

Write letters to editors of local newspapers and business publications.
Make them interesting and newsworthy. You'll be surprised at how often a good letter will get printed. Do not forget to include your contact information and website address.

By committing to one of these items on a weekly basis within one month you will see your business gain recognition and business. You can get the word out there without spending hundreds of dollars.

Distinguish your website from your competitors

2009-02-26T09:16:00.000-08:00

Three "S" Your Way to a Distinguished Website
by Steve Wyrostek

What makes you different from your competitors? Sometimes this can be a difficult question. Why? Well, you know what unique touches you bring to your endeavors, your product or service or the way you run your business. But this knowledge can blind you to how your prospect sees you.

You want to shake yourself from this thinking. You need to look at your position in the business world the way potential customers might—the WIIFM (What's In It For Me) principle, with “me” being your prospect.

Let's take Messenger Services. I looked at websites for three of them. They all:

Stated 24/7 availability
Delivered with bikes, walkers or cars
Claimed the most dependability and quickness

I believe they all meant well, but I didn't see any real differentiators between them. I could choose any of them. But as a responsible consumer I need to know more. I want to be sold on the experience of using their service.

So, what would have impressed me on their sites and truly differentiated their businesses?

The Three S's:
Statistics
Stories
Samples

Statistics
Most companies keep statistics. Maybe these messenger services could have supplied data on the percentage of their deliveries that were made on-time and positioned this data against industry standard data.

(A word of caution on statistics, however. Sprinkle them into your site, rather than flood them throughout the site. They can appear cold, if overdone.)

Stories
If a good story exists on how the company was founded, use it. If there's a huge client, post it. If there's a compelling story about the company, tell it.

For example, in my role as small business columnist for the online Chicago Examiner, I did a piece on a company called Odd Bodd. I asked the co-founder about the company name. It turns out it was the name of a character from a movie spoof of Frankenstein produced in the UK (the business owner was from there). When the owner was a child, his sister tagged him with that nickname. It turned out to be the perfect name for the business (very Googleable!).

Samples
Samples act as testimonials. As business owners, you want to cultivate these. They're usually easy to get. And when written correctly, they help convert clients. When you write them, make sure they are:

Short (no more than three to five sentences)
Compelling
Authentic (real words from real customers)

Making the Three S's Work Over Time The real secret to making the three S’s work for your site? Regularly change the content. Update the site with new statistics. Rotate samples and stories that could appear dated. Fresh statistics, stories and samples keep prospects interested and help to differentiate you from your competitors.

Keeping in touch with customers will keep them calling

2009-02-18T08:56:00.000-08:00

We all know by now how bad the economy is and how deep a recession we are in. What surprises me is that business owners or corporations still are not doing something simple and smart about this that can have a dramatic effect on their business right now.

To be profitable in any industry, a company must sell its product or service at a competitive price and, naturally, sell it at some sort of profit.

Oh sure, a company can sell its goods at an extremely low price and say that it sold an enormous amount and make very little profit or none at all.

The key is also to watch the expenses and have a profitable company with enough employees to satisfy customers and provide them with an experience that would cause the customer to do business with that company again.

What is so surprising to me is that companies are looking for ways to cut costs (which I have no problem with), but they are not looking at ways to improve their business model and become more productive, with better sales and customer service practices.

This is the area that is most overlooked and can have dramatic results with little effort and a simple game plan.

I have spoken to dozens of companies in the past few weeks, and none of them was doing what I am about to discuss.

Members of the organizations I talked to were at the CEO or executive VP level, and their industries included retail, health care, investment services, banking and manufacturing. Obviously, those industries I mentioned cover many different types of businesses that employ tens of thousands of people.

All the companies I talked with agreed that what I was explaining to them should be done.
They even said, "That is a good idea." I guarantee you that very few, if any, of the companies have actually implemented these concepts yet. If they did, they are not being done consistently, with management holding people accountable on a day-to-day basis.

Here is what you should do in good times as well as bad economic times:

CALL YOUR CUSTOMERS
For instance, in the furniture industry, why not have your salespeople make a few calls to their customer base to say hello rather than just standing around talking to one another waiting for someone to walk into your store?

The phone call could go something like this:
"Hello Mr. Jones, this is Hal calling from XYZ, and I want to thank you for your purchase of the couch. If you were to buy furniture for any other room in your house, which room would you be thinking about? It would be great if you kept us in mind. Thank you."

That same salesperson should be calling his or her customers at least three times a year just to say hello and hope they are enjoying the furniture and say nothing else.

No sales pitch, just a thank-you call to keep their name in front of the customer.

CALL PAST CUSTOMERS
If a salesperson left the company, who is staying in touch with the customer?
Usually no one, or the customer now goes to a "house account." The newer salespeople could acquire these customers and also stay in touch with them with a simple conversation:

"Hello, my name is Hal, and I am now taking over for your past salesperson. How has the (insert product or service here) been working for you? I will be in touch from time to time to make sure that you are still a satisfied customer of ours. Have a good afternoon, and thank you for your past business."

These types of phone calls can be done by almost any type of business, not just retail.
Imagine if your doctor left you a voice mail saying: "Hello, I was just looking at your file and thinking about you, and I hope that you are feeling well and still watching your weight and cholesterol. See you on your next visit!"

Almost any industry can make customer follow-up phone calls, but very few companies and people do it with any consistency and regularity.

Trust me, if you start doing this ASAP, you will find a loyal customer base and satisfied customers or maybe even dissatisfied, which you now can help because of your efforts and two-way communication.

by Hal Becker Hal Becker (Becker is an author and trainer in sales and customer service.)

Eight Key Ways to Say "Thank You" to Customers

2009-02-11T10:22:00.000-08:00

(By Andrea Nierenberg)

Good salespeople strive to be in front of customers as often as possible. But, when we think about it, our clients and prospects give us many opportunities to stay in their minds in positive and non-threatening ways. Yet, these opportunities are often overlooked, simply because we neglect to send a note of thanks.Now's the time to start giving back. Here are eight opportunities to send a "thank you," plus when and how to do it effectively.

1. When customers do business with you, every time.
Write a short, personalized "thank you" on an interesting card, letterhead, or even a postcard that reads, "I appreciate your business, thank you." You can never say thank you to someone too many times. We all appreciate the fact that people go out of their way to make us feel important and recognized.

2. When they compliment you.
When a client compliments you about something, it's an opportunity to jot off a little note of thanks, saying, "Thank you for taking the time for making my day. I appreciate it." Compliments are given so rarely, so take the lead to say thank you when you get one.

3. When clients offer comments or suggestions.
It's a wonderful gift when your clients give you a suggestion or comment on how you might do something better or different. They're also giving you an incredible buying signal. They might really be saying, "If you make that change, your product or service will be more attractive to me." Here's how to start this type of note: "Thank you for your suggestion on how I can better serve you. I'm in business to do exactly that. And you make my job easier, and so much more enjoyable, when you provide input."
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4. When customers try something you recommended.
When clients buy into something new, solely based on your suggestion, they're going out of their "comfort zone". They're putting trust in you and your product. This calls for a special note that could read, "Thank you for your trust in me. I value your business."

5. When customers recommend you.
This is the best form of advertising you can ever get. It's so easy to take the time and go back to our advocate, and say, "Thank you for referring me to -----. I will keep you posted and informed on what develops. It means a great deal to me to know that you're willing to recommend me. I appreciate it." This type of thank-you might include a small gift as well.

6. When customers are patient, or not so patient.
Our clients help us when they give us time to learn how to best serve them. Often this requires their patience. On the other hand, they give us a wake-up call when they ask us to hurry up. When this happens they might really be saying, "Hey, remember me? Keep me in mind, or I just might get swept away by the competition." In either case, pull out a notecard again and let them know how important they are to you. Perhaps say, "Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I appreciate how you help me keep your business."

7. When clients say "no" to you.
You've just pitched an account and you didn't get their business, this time. It's still the an opportunity to write a short note. Thank them for their time, their consideration and their honesty. Keep the door opened by being friendly and courteous. People will remember the notes you send and it can make a difference. Even contacts who are not able to use your services will feel enticed to recommend you to others who can.

8. When customers make you smile.
Everyone likes good news. Whatever it is that makes you smile, clients want to know that they've made you feel good. Send them a note with one of those little smiley face stickers. This technique always gets noticed and remembered.Power of Three

Finally, here's my bonus note to you:
Dear reader,Thanks for taking the time to read my article. I know that you're busy. As a thank-you gift, I want to share what I call my "Power of Three."Every day take 15 minutes at the beginning or end of the day and write three short goodwill notes: one to a prospect, one to a client and one to a friend. Just say "Hi," send an article, or say thanks—just make it specific. When you do this, at the end of the week you'll have made 15 goodwill contacts, and at the end of the year, 750. Think of the "business seeds" you'll have planted. Some of this could germinate into additional business. And if you like this article, drop me a note.

Andrea R. Nierenberg is a best-selling author, world-renowned business authority and president of The Nierenberg Group, a business communications firm. www.nierenberggroup.com

5 easy ways to speed up your computer

2009-02-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have had a few of my clients ask me about this problem of their computer slowing down. I thought this article was very useful and easy to follow. I hope this helps!

One of the most common complaints heard by IT helpdesks is: “My computer is running too slowly – what can I do?” There are actually a number of reasons why this could be happening, and luckily, a number of ways to solve the problem. Here are our top five recommendations to help boost your desktop or notebook PC's speed and performance.

1. Clean up your hard drive
A typical hard drive is crammed full of files you really don’t need. The less stuff that’s on your hard drive, the faster your computer will be.

The best way to free up space on your PC is with the Windows® Disk Cleanup utility. To access it, go to Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools, and then click Disk Cleanup. You might need to specify which drive you want to clean.

In the Disk Cleanup box, scroll through the content of the Files to delete list and check the items you want to remove. If you’re not sure what to get rid of, the safest bets are temporary Internet files and programs you’ve installed that you no longer use. When you’re done, click OK.

If you don’t want to delete files altogether, such as things like photos and music or video files, consider moving them to an external hard drive.

2. Get rid of visual effects
Windows Vista® comes with some cool visual effects, but they can drain system resources. Disabling some will speed your system. To do this, click on the Start button, and then Control Panel > System and Maintenance > Performance Information and Tools.

Click on Adjust Visual Effects. You may be asked to enter an administrator password. Then click on the Visual Effects tab, and select Adjust for Best Performance. Then click OK.

3. Scan for viruses and spyware
One of the main culprits of sluggish PC performance is malware: viruses, spyware, Trojan horses, worms, and other kinds of malicious unwanted software. If you don’t already have some kind of antivirus protection installed, you should do so right away! Consider using Microsoft Windows Defender, which is included in Windows Vista, and is available as a free download for Microsoft XP SP2. Make sure to schedule an automatic virus scan at least once a month. You should also always keep a firewall running to help block malware from getting to your PC in the first place.

4. Add more RAM (the easy way)
Adding system memory (also known as random access memory or RAM) can be a good way to improve a PC's performance. However, upgrading memory can sometimes be difficult and costly. Windows Vista now offers Windows ReadyBoost, which allows you to add memory without having to install anything. It allows you to use a flash memory device, such as a USB flash drive or a secure digital (SD) memory card, as an additional memory cache.

5. Run a defragmentation utility
Disk Defragmenter is a Windows utility that consolidates files and folders on your computer's hard disk so that each occupies a single space, which in turn speeds up reading and writing to the disk.

To defragment your hard drive, go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter, then select the drive you want to defragment. Then go to Settings and make sure there's a tick beside the two options in the section

When defragmenting my hard drive, then click OK twice to begin. When the defragmentation is done, you’ll probably have to reboot your computer.

After following these tips, you should notice an improvement in your computer’s performance.

Microsoft, Windows and Windows Vista are US registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Lessons Learned From Hard Times Past

2009-02-03T09:02:00.000-08:00

By PAUL B. BROWN
Published: February 2, 2009

Invariably, once the recession is over, hundreds of people are going to come forth and offer “lessons learned from the recent hard times.” That’s fine. But we all can use that advice now. Here is what some entrepreneurs said they learned during the last economic downturn.

KEEP PLUGGING
Trish Bear, chief executive of I-ology, an Internet strategy firm in Arizona, started her business right before the dot-com bubble burst. So Ms. Bear has seen hard times before. She offers these three pieces of advice:

1. Continue marketing. “Being consistently visible demonstrates to both existing and potential customers that you are stable and in for the long haul.”

2. “Take advantage of the trickle-down effect in hiring great talent. Unfortunately, there are many people out of work right now. But the larger talent pool means opportunities for small businesses that do have the means to bring on new employees.”

3. Give back to the community. It is “a great way to keep employee morale strong during hard times, stay busy when business is slow, and get your name out by donating time. Aside from all that, it’s the right thing to do.”

HELP OTHERS
Giving back can extend to other people and business as well, says Steve Woodruff, writing on SmallBusinessBranding.com.

“Give of what you have — your time, your knowledge, your connections, Mr. Woodruff writes. “When you help others with their needs, they will go to extraordinary lengths to help you.”
He says that he has been able to help people make connections with others, including potential employers, and find needed resources with no financial return expected. But, he adds: “I fully expect that this commitment to help my clients and partners and other colleagues will not be in vain. For some of my partners, I’ve ‘given away’ my business and marketing expertise to help them refine their approach and I know that, in return, there is tremendous loyalty built up over time.”

KEEP LEARNING
Executives at Gaebler Ventures, a business incubator and holding company, say they have found that “seasoned entrepreneurs” offer this advice to new small-business owners: “Never fall into the trap of thinking that you know everything. The moment you stop learning about new things is the moment you start losing ground to the competition.”

UNDERSTAND HOW IT WORKS
“All business relationships have a natural evolution,” Carol Ross, who owns a coaching and consulting firm, writes on HR.com.

“Don’t fight it,” Ms. Ross says. “Some relationships never get off the ground, some gain momentum quickly and just as quickly run their course, some develop slowly and burst into action when the time is right. Others feel comfortable from the start and then, like the winter jacket in springtime, become unnecessary and constraining.”

In addition, she counsels, “Be clear on what each business relationship brings.” She writes that she has relationships that exist for the sake of referrals. “Other relationships,” she says, “are about creating and creating wealth together.”

LAST CALL
After 20 years of running small businesses, Harvey King can offer advice like this: “Beef up your line of credit when you don’t need to. For some reason, a bank’s desire to lend you money has a negative correlation to your need for it.”

I hope these articles from experts in the business field have been a help to you! We, at Concept Design Studios, are committed to helping your business through the recession. Please let us know how we can help!

Bad Economy? Time to Get Aggressive

2009-01-29T02:00:00.000-08:00

by Rich Sloan
Part of series: Weathering the Tough

The morning paper spins stories of doom and gloom. Customers and financing are much harder to come by. These are the realities of tougher economic times.

Some would say, pull back and be more conservative during the downswing. For other small business owners, though, tough times represent an opportunity to become stronger, to capture market share and to be poised for dominance when things turn around.

Just take the recent growth (yes, growth) of Two Men and a Truck. The Lansing, MI moving company, with nearly two hundred franchisees around the U.S., has actually grown its revenue in spite of the fact that moving among Americans in general has decreased 12%.

I talked with Brig Sorber, the President of Two Men and a Truck to capture his keys to taking advantage of tough times.

Band together.
Add more punch to what you sell by linking up with a company that offers something complementary to what you sell. Bundle your products or services with theirs and offer them at a combined discount. Two Men and a Truck does this with apartment complexes. “Free Moving” is a great incentive for renters, and the landlords get deep discounts in exchange for the volume of business they provide to Brig’s franchisees.

Tighten communications with customers.
With fewer customers calling in, Two Men and a Truck decided to start calling back. Whereas in very busy times, they gave quotes over the phone but typically didn’t place a follow up call, in slower times, they used the extra available minutes to call back people who’d inquired previously. The result? A game-changing 25% of the call backs become paying customers. In addition, they made a point to send out franchise owners to visit homes where Two Men and a Truck was underway with a move. This made their customers feel like VIPs and caused extremely positive word of mouth in the neighborhood.

Become more flexible.
To maximize the availability and convenience of Two Men and a Truck for customers, they extend their operations to 24 hours/day. This is a huge differentiator from the competition, which in many cases is actually reducing operational hours. For further flexibility, Sorber’s company has also added a menu approach to break down its service options into smaller, more specialized components, rather than the standard $100/hour offer.

Network with the community.
When a new franchisee signs on, Two Men and a Truck pays for that person’s first year membership in the local chamber of commerce. Over time, they encourage the franchisees to work their way onto the boards of chambers to hobnob with the fellow influencers also on the board. From that insiders’ clique comes awareness of trends in the community, credibility among other businesses, and extraordinary relationship-building. This has allowed Brig’s company to expand its clientele from solely home owners to commercial customers as well. Interior decorators, for example, become regular, repeat customers.

(This article is provided courtesy of CNNMoney.com)

7 Amazing Ways to Promote Your Business on Facebook

2009-01-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Facebook Marketing - by Zeke Camusio

It boils down to this. Facebook is all the rage now, a social networking site that has grown so fast over the past year that it has overcome MySpace as the world's number one social network. There are currently about 130 million active users, a number that is still growing at a staggering rate. If you want to grow your business, the opportunities to promote yourself and your products or services are extensive. Facebook is definitely the kind of marketing tool you should have under your belt.

However, like similar social networking sites, it takes time and effort to master all of the features, applications and marketing possibilities that Facebook offers.

Facebook Marketing Tips

Here are some tips that will help you get involved in Facebook marketing and exploit Facebook to reach new customers, promote your business and drive traffic to your website.

Put Together a Killer Profile Page
Create a profile page that will look attractive to your customers or business contacts. It doesn't necessarily have to be professionally designed, but simple and effective. You should provide enough information to pique the interest of your target market, and your profile page should be created with this goal in mind.

Add Your Business Contacts
Many business owners, professionals and entrepreneurs already have a Facebook account. Invite your business contacts and customers to add you as their "friend" and invite those who do not have an account yet to get their own. This way, you can build a Facebook community around your business.

Start a Group
Another great way to create a Facebook network around your company is to use the site's Groups feature to network with your business contacts. This feature also allows you to reach your target market as you join existing groups or create one just for your business.

Buy Ad Space
This requires a small investment, but it is still a lot more affordable than traditional advertising methods. Facebook provides you with the tools to create your ad and target it to a specific age group, gender and location. It even gives you the choice to pay per click (CPC) or impression (CPM). Finally, you have the ability to track your ad's performance.

Post in Facebook Marketplace
You can promote and sell your products in the Facebook Marketplace for free.

Promote Your Blog
If you have a personal company or business blog, you can easily import it into your Facebook notes. Each of your blog postings will then appear in your news feed and that of your contacts. This is a fantastic way to keep your business contacts up to date with your blog.

Advertise an Event
Facebook has developed a free application called Facebook Events, which allows you to promote meetings, conferences, marketing events you may be hosting, product launches and your company's achievements.

Facebook Marketing Summary
Now you have some great tools to get started. As you familiarize yourself with Facebook, explore all of its applications, add-ons and possibilities; exploit its potential to the fullest and take your business to the next level.

In conclusion, if you are looking to promote your business to a new audience, start getting involved in Facebook marketing and open the doors to a massive opportunity.

An Entrepreneurs' Guide To Public Resources

2009-01-22T09:03:00.000-08:00

Maureen Farrell, The help you need in a brutal economy.

The good news is that there are myriad affordable resources--facilitating everything from raising money to finding talented help--and many are just a few mouse-clicks away. The key is knowing where to look.

Before the Internet, finding the right people to help bring a promising new idea to market was challenging. "Now you can get to that person in 10 minutes, and they might be in Kuala Lampur, or in Cambridge, or in Africa or even in the lab next door," says Carl Schramm, chief executive of the Kauffman Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes entrepreneurship.

Of course, culling all those options is still a daunting task. Start with the usual suspects. The Small Business Administration offers a host of services, though many entrepreneurs don't know what's on the menu. Most importantly, the SBA guarantees loans under its 7(a) loan program, allowing entrepreneurs to borrow at friendlier rates, and its so-called 504 loans help fund real estate and machinery purchases.

The agency lends a hand in many other ways, too. It provides business counseling via 63 small-business development centers, 112 women's business centers and a SCORE program that includes about 10,000 retired executives organized into nearly 400 groups around the country. While often free, the counseling services are hit and miss, and some entrepreneurs lament long delays in setting up appointments.

If you have several SBA centers in your area, find out which counselors have the most expertise and contacts in your particular industry. You can also tap the SBA's Office of the Ombudsman if you have a run-in with another government entity that, perhaps, has been slow to pay.
Next on the hit list: local chambers of commerce. Most cities and municipalities have a chamber, each with its own offerings, depending on the needs (and zeal) of its member base.
Many chambers provide helpful networking opportunities, in the form of lunch seminars and other events where small-business owners can mingle. Some negotiate group deals on everything from office supplies to health insurance. That's how Harvey Meister, chief executive of GDS Business Displays, a signage company in Bloomington, Ill., claims to have sliced the open-market cost of a company health policy in half. Still other chambers offer relocation services and clout with local governments.

How about help in raising money? While getting the attention of venture capitalists is only getting tougher, angel investors--bands of established business types looking to take a flier on promising companies but who don't tend to wield terribly burdensome term sheets--may be a better option.

The Angel Capital Association counts 330 angel groups across the U.S. (and plenty more throughout the globe). "When we started CommonAngels in 1999, people were saying 'Don't put up a Web site because people might know who we are,' " says James Geshwiler, managing partner of the Boston angel fund and former chairman of the ACA. "High net worth individuals are averse to being hounded, but now any entrepreneur anywhere can see a list of groups all over the U.S. and Canada."

Like VCs, angels typically seek companies with high-growth potential, but slow-and-steady outfits can still troll these groups for new contacts. "Capital is always connected to complementary resources," says Geshwiler. Angel groups also host events and competitions, providing yet more networking opportunities. (Word of warning: Some groups charge fees to access their networks, so be sure you understand the terms.)

Raising money requires serious negotiating skills, especially when it comes to dealing with crafty, demanding venture capitalists. Enter TheFunded, a watchdog that allows capital seekers to research and critique VC firms. The site also tracks which deals are being funded and even lists specific information from term sheets. Having a better handle on how VCs operate can give entrepreneurs more bargaining power. "There's some honesty there," says Bob Nunnally of Balaya.com, a site aimed at bringing social networking to corporations. "It's basically my best single source [for tracking the VC community]." (For more on negotiating tactics, check out "The Negotiators Playbook.")

Cities and states offer a flurry of quirky grants and tax incentives for small businesses, and your local development council can provide the details. Massachusetts, for example, grants businesses $2,000 per employee and up to $30,000 a year per company, to cover training expenses for new hires who had been unemployed for over a year. Michigan's economic development center hosts a business plan competition as part of its 21st Century Jobs Fund. Companies can bag between several hundred thousand and several million dollars, provided they use the money to create more jobs.

If all else fails, you can always build your own support group. Entrepreneur Chris Holman, Michigan's small-business advocate, started his first "CEO network" nearly 20 years ago. These groups consist of 12 to 14 chiefs, each in a different business, who meet every month to discuss ideas and challenges. Says Holman: "Most business owners have no one they can talk to about everything."

The key to these gatherings is open and honest dialogue. In one of Holman's recent meetings, an entrepreneur admitted that he was six months from bankruptcy; the other 12 members spent several hours coming up with a survival plan.

For those looking to start their own network, remember: "If any one single member doesn't want a new person, you can't add them," says Holman. "Everyone in the room needs to feel completely comfortable with everyone else."

Using LinkedIn as a Small Business Owner

2009-01-21T14:00:00.000-08:00

by Josh Morgan

LinkedIn is looked at as one of the recent online success stories. The service, which is used to help people manage and make connections with other people, is easy to use and provides a helpful breadth of information.

Since the basis of LinkedIn is work information, the service obviously has value to recruiters and to those looking for a job. Over the past few months we’ve also used LinkedIn in a few other ways to help our business that may be useful to other small businesses.

New business - The number one question I’m always asked about LinkedIn is “Can it help my business grow?” The answer is yes. This month is our second month working with a new client, that came to us through LinkedIn. How did it happen? The answer is “Answers.”

Check out the “Answers,” section of LinkedIn. This is a forum for people to ask questions. So what happened? A week later we received an email asking us to present our capabilities. We won. The cost of the new business? Our time spent on the proposal.

What colors say about your business...

2009-01-19T22:55:00.000-08:00

Colors are the first line of communication between you and your prospective customers. Each color has a different meaning and evokes a different emotion. Think about your business and what you want your logo/branding to say. Following is a "cheat sheet" on what different colors evoke - just a sample of the science of color.

Gray - wisdom, neutrality, respect, humility, elegance

White - purity, peace, life, hope, winter

Black - seriousness, sorrow, remorse, power, slimming quality

Red - warning, passion, aggression, energy

Blue - unity, calmness, loyalty, harmony, trust

Green - nature, envy, growth, luck, environment

Yellow - happiness, friendship, hope, wealth, joy

Purple - royalty, pride, creativity, mystery

Orange - balance, heat, enthusiasm, playfulness

Brown - calm, nature, tradition, roughness, earthy

7 Resolutions for Small Business

2009-01-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

by Randy Vaughn

If “The Most Wonderful Time of Year” is behind us, what does January bring? For some, there are those nasty post-holiday blues. But for many, we design our New Year’s Resolution chart to plaster around the house.

For small business, you can do the same thing, too. Let’s take 7 of the most common resolutions and apply them to your business. Even as we face a long road ahead, we find renewed vision to start off right!

1. EXERCISE
The most successful weight-loss strategies typically involve muscle building. Businesses engage in strength training by first assessing their talent base. Look for ways to rotate some employees to various positions in your company. Give them exposure to new areas of responsibility. It’s easier to let everyone stick to what they do best, but by strengthening across the board, you eliminate the vacuum that remains if one employee leaves her post or if one guy just happens to be sick for a week. Learning other jobs also broadens the employee’s perspective and usually improves morale as employees learn to walk in one another’s shoes. A team with greater diversity of understanding and experience makes for a strong force when times are lean.

2. EAT BETTER
Small business must consume healthier options. The most demoralizing product your employees consume is the feast of silence from the top. Our human nature gravitates to boss-bashing, quarreling with other co-workers, and griping about wages. This is a buffet of disaster and makes businesses sluggish. Feed your employees praise and positive reinforcement. Acknowledge the good efforts and don’t just criticize the mistakes. Provide opportunities to learn new skills. There are many low-cost webinars that can empower and encourage. Don’t forget the power of surprise rewards, the unexpected financial recognition that every employee loves. Even year-end bonuses over time become expected and lose their intended purpose (just ask Clark Griswold of “Christmas Vacation”).

3. STOP HARMFUL HABITS
Many commit personally to quit smoking or stop excessive drinking. But what about those harmful habits destructive to our business? One of the grossest areas of abuse is in the area of self-promotion. Yes, that’s right, quit promoting your services and products! The most common marketing error is saying, “if they only knew more about X, they’d buy it!” People don’t care about your products, but they do care about how those products will benefit them. Consumers are self-focused - that’s why they dispense their hard-earned dollar to whichever company offers the better price. Spend your marketing words on talking about the consumer - speak in their language and in ways that benefit them. Harley-Davidson has long been recognized for not selling motorcycles, but for the way it makes their loyal customers feel.

4. SMARTER FINANCIAL DECISIONS
Small business must make better financial choices. In your marketing, look for ways to stop putting down alot of money for little ROI. Make sure you have strong measurables for that ad you’ve kept placing in your local yellow directory. Reduce your advertising space in the local paper and direct them to your website where you have unlimited space to tell about all the benefits. Quit sending out those same direct mail pieces if you can’t account for its success (TIP: set up unique phone numbers and web landing pages for each venue in which you advertise - this helps quantify the leads).

5. ORGANIZATION
I started my year already by cleaning the garage, our bedroom closet and my office (well, it’s a work-in-progress!) But we also decided as a family to make some family goals, plans and intentional efforts toward what results we really didn’t see last year. Don’t even begin to think of squeaking quietly through 1Q09 without a comprehensive yet simple marketing plan.

6. CONNECTING
Plenty of people start the new year committing to joining a networking group, signing up for their local Lion’s or Rotary Club, or even attending and volunteering more in your local church. We satisfy our desire to connect with those whom we can help and from whom we receive benefit as well. Your business has got to break down the impersonal barrier and connect with your customers and prospects. The web is ridding the world of formalities, walls, and sales pitches. People need to know your values, the things that are important to you. They must hear your story, your journey of challenge and reward. Again, social media tools like Facebook and Twitter may be a way to allow your target market to become aware of you, have more likeability toward your business, and ultimately trust you enough to become your advocates and champions in the community.

7. GIVING MORE
I believe that most of you in small business are not in it just for the money. If so, in a recession, you’d walk out in a heartbeat. No, most of us went down the entrepreneurial path because we wanted a better quality of life: more time with the family, control over vacation schedules, ability to influence the community and world through charitable giving, and putting us in the driver’s seat of our own destiny. I call them “greater things” - the often intangible, but clearly identifiable when you ask a small business owner why they continue to endure daily challenges and hardships. In a recent article, I talked about how charitable giving needs to be an essential element of how you present yourself to the community. This passion for influence and involvement is something often robbed of people sitting in a corporate cubicle. Rediscover your passion and recommit to making 2009 all about the greater things!

Randy Vaughn, Duct Tape Marketing Authorized Coach located in Fort Worth, TX. Find out more at MarketingTwins.com

We hope this article inspires you for the coming year! Let us know if we can help you with any of your 2009 Business Resolutions! We hope that this will be a rewarding and prosperous year for you!

Concept Design Studios
www.conceptdesignstudios.com
info@conceptdesignstudios.com
406.209.6544

Business Resources

2009-01-09T11:51:00.001-08:00

If you own your own business, you are probably familiar with the Small Business Administration - a great tool/online resource for small business owners. There is information on anything from starting your own business to podcasts & tutorials on growing your business.

The following link is a great resource if you are just starting out -- or are in need of inspiration for your current business.

http://www.sba.gov/smallbusinessplanner/manage/index.html

Please let us know if we can help you start/grow your business with professional branding, graphics & marketing! We look forward to helping make your business reach its potential!

Give us a call/email!

Five things every small business must do to survive this recession

2009-01-08T14:02:00.000-08:00

Small Businesses: Put Up or Shut Down
Five things every small business must do to survive this recession
By Bryan Jennewein

Many small businesses fall into the trap of spending little or nothing during challenging economic times. But there are proven strategies for not only surviving, but also growing during recession. Here are five easy ways to make sure your business comes out ahead.

Understand who your customers truly are
Understanding your customers is easy – just talk to them. Don’t have the time? Then use a tool like infoUSA.com’s Advanced Customer Cloner. Simply upload a list of your best customers, and it kicks out a list of people just like them – even if your customers are businesses. You can even order a report that describes these best customers for a small fee. It’s smart investments like this that help prevent the kinds of costly mistakes of less successful businesses.

You have to spend money to make money
We’ve all heard the age-old mantra, “you’ve got to spend money to make money,” and yet we continually resist doing it. If you’re in business, then people need to know you’re in business, which means you have to communicate with not only your current customers, but also potential customers. This communication costs money. Many call it “marketing dollars,” while I call it common sense. Committing to spending money is difficult – especially when you don’t see consistent returns. When you stop spending money on marketing, you only compound the problem. This vicious cycle will only help your business close its doors for good.

Use your money wisely
Now that you’ve committed to spending money, do so with a plan and a way to measure success. Do everything you can to understand how many dollars you’re making for every dollar you’re spending. Try a smart direct mail campaign, with a professionally designed mail piece that will get it the attention it deserves instead of a trip to the garbage can. Make sure you include a unique 800# or offer, so you can record these new customers when they buy. Understanding success is easy - just add up all the sales you made from your campaign, factor in future sales from new customers, and subtract the cost of the campaign itself. Or, for even more cost control, try email marketing. It’s a very inexpensive way to reach a lot of people. Typically, your response rate is lower, but because you can reach more people, a lot of times these campaigns see more success than their direct mail counterparts – and you don’t even have to pay for the stamp!

Craft your message carefully
Think about these three things when planning your campaign: Hook them with a great offer or special deal. Reinforce the value of your product or service.Issue a call-to-action.Get their attention, tell them why they need you, and tell them directly and specifically what to do. Your message might be something like “Seasonal Discount – 50% OFF of the best baked goods in town, baked fresh every morning by Mama Louisa herself! Bring this coupon when you stop by our store in the Old Market. Visit us today!” And keep some extra coupons on hand in the store. When a customer uses a coupon, just jot down the amount of the order. At the end of the first month, see how well your campaign did by totaling up all of your new business.

Create customer loyalty
Keep giving your customers what they want, learn from what they don’t, and look to them for ideas on what else you might be able to provide. This is the key to marketing smarter: a lifelong customer. It’s the customer that you’ve built an emotional connection to in addition to being merely useful. This customer will come to you first every time. This is perhaps the best investment of your marketing dollars, because you’ve spent money to acquire them once, and they keep buying time and time again.

taken from www.InfoUSA.com

We can help you survive this recession! There are many cost-effective marketing tools that will give you the most for your marketing dollars. Please give us a call/email so we can get started! Ask about our direct mailings (postcards, brochures, booklets, etc.)

Concept Design Studios
www.conceptdesignstudios.com
info@conceptdesignstudios.com
406.209.6544

Business Advice During the Economic Recession

2009-01-06T15:54:00.000-08:00

Money doesn't grow on sprees: In this era of belt-tightening, reduced budgets, unemployment, and fear, it is easy to see why one of the most obvious trends out there affecting small business is the desire of consumers and customers to save a buck, spend less, and get a bargain.

Even high-end brands are feeling the effect of this trend; the lavish Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas for instance, a resort that usually commands at least $300 a night, has lately been offering rooms for about half that amount.

Taking advantage: If people are looking for a bargain, give them one. Discount poplar products. Bundle services for less. Negotiate.

Copied from USA Today by Steve Strauss

Concept Design Studios can help you find ways to get money saving products/ideas out to your customers/prospective customers. Ask us about it!

Concept Design Studios
406.209.6544
info@conceptdesignstudios.com

"Shoestring marketing makes a comeback" by Steve Strauss

2009-01-05T15:40:00.000-08:00

In this time of tight budgets, where both entrepreneurs and their customers are increasingly reluctant to part with a penny, it is actually more important than ever that the small businessperson step up their marketing. As Richard Branson advises, recessions are time to expand, not contract.

Most entrepreneurs instinctively know this and that is why the trend now is towards increased marketing that costs little but delivers big, such as:

•Online video: Online video is a way to better interact and connect with your customers. Teach them something new about you or your products.

•Blogs: Anecdotal evidence: At a conference I attended earlier this year, fully half of the small businesses surveyed said they are increasing their blogging and as such are successfully using blogs to grow their business. Blogs make you more accessible. Blogs increase your SEO. Blogs can build your business. Even if you only get, say, 50 people consistently reading your blog, that's 50 more potential customers than before.

•Old school: Coupons, word of mouth, direct mail, customer service.

Copied from USA TODAY by Steve Strauss

Please give us a call/email and we can get started on your "shoestring marketing" strategies!

Concept Design Studios
406.209.6544
info@conceptdesignstudios.com

What is the purpose of your website?

2008-09-20T20:09:00.000-07:00

To have a successful website, you have to figure out the purpose of it.

Do you want it to be an ecommerce site? an informative/educational site? a leads generating site?

What does your competition's website look like? How can you stand out from them?

What message to you want to convey? Make sure you keep your message clear & simple and convey it throughout the site.

Come back and get more tips on making your website successful.

Why do I need a website?

2008-09-19T19:54:00.000-07:00

Have you been debating on whether you should take the plunge to have a website for your business? Is it worth the time/money to start one? Will it really help my business?

These are all great questions when determining whether or not you want to start a website for your business. Here are some reasons to take the plunge...

- It is important to make it extremely easy for your customers/prospective customers to find you. More and more people prefer using online searches to find contact info rather than the traditional telephone books.

- You can find web designers that will provide you with good quality design while still being affordable.

- Many people like to do their homework on your business before they call you to place an order. Having a high-quality, content-rich and informative website will help convince your prospective customers that they want to work with you.

- Having a website can be beneficial to your business if you have a quality design, strong content and a web designer that can help you market your website online, giving you an ability to reach customers that you never could have previously.

There are many other reasons that websites can benefit your business. In the following articles, we will talk about some strategies to make your website successful.

Three Steps to Organization at the Office

2008-08-07T23:00:00.000-07:00

We all know that losing a work order and forgetting about an appointment are all bad business! It makes your company come across as incompetent. No business owner wants that!

We have all made those mistakes here and there. The problem comes when it happens repeatedly because of lack of organization! There needs to be a place for everything and a process for everything in order for our business to run smoothly. Your organization skills directly correlate to customer satisfaction.

A book that I would highly recommend is Three Steps to Organization at the Office by Bev Coggins in the 1-2-3...Get Organized series. It is an easy read (and small enough that you can take in your purse/briefcase) and read when you have those "hurry up and wait" times in your schedule.

I would highly recommend this website to any business owner who wants their business/personal life to be more manageable and efficient. Check out the free articles! Also, subscribe to Bev's blog and get organizational tips sent directly to your email.

1-2-3...Get Organized

2008-08-06T23:00:00.000-07:00

For the next couple of entries, we are going to feature one of our clients, 1-2-3...Get Organized. We just finished re-designing their website. Being organized in both your business and personal life make for a much higher quality of life. It makes you feel like you have some control over your life. When we live in a state of chaos, we are being controlled by the chaos, and not really accomplishing what we want to.

An organized business/office/workflow help our companies run smoothly and keep our customers happy. But I think organization helps give us time/space to be able to dream about/plan for the next step in our business growth! If we are so overwhelmed by the "tasks of the day" there is little time to plan ahead. And burnout is right around the corner!

So, for the next couple of days we will feature a couple of Bev Coggins' books on how to "organize your life, one area at a time"!

Right now 1-2-3...Get Organized is having a 25% off sale until August 20th celebrating the new website! Remember to type the code '123' to get your discount! Organize your life starting today!!

Marketing - the importance of customer service!

2008-07-30T21:56:00.000-07:00

In the last entry we talked about what not to do with your marketing. In this article we will talk about some things that you should do! Especially now that the future of the economy is looking rocky, keeping your customers and getting new ones is of ultimate importance!

- Look at customer service as a vital part of your marketing strategy. Many people don't think of customer service as "marketing" but it is one of the best marketing tools. A happy customer will keep coming back, bringing you more sales. They will also tell other people about you, leading to new customers. "Word of mouth" marketing is the most effective form of marketing!

- answer your phone! (We got a new client simply by answering our phone. She said she called 4 other design studios before contacting us...none of them answered their phone!!)

- if you miss a call, return the call immediately!

- greet customers immediately when they enter

- thank customers for their business!

- Offer discounts/specials to your current customers, letting them know that you appreciate their business!

- Offer coupons to prospective customers, getting them in the door and ordering products/services from you. Customers will appreciate these especially during touch economic times. They may not think that they can afford your services until you give them a coupon!

- Always be thinking of creative ways to meet the needs of your customers. Always be listening for customer's specific/unique needs, and see if you can meet them. They will be floored that you care about their needs that you are willing to work to fulfill them.

These are just a few ways to keep your customers happy! Remember, good customer service will keep your customers coming back and help you get new customers by "word of mouth" marketing!

Marketing Mistakes

2008-07-29T21:10:00.000-07:00

Every small business owner is familiar with marketing in some way or another. Every day you are marketing your business, whether it is giving out your business cards, putting an ad in the paper or putting graphics on your vehicle.

While you are figuring out how to go about marketing your business, make sure you stay away from these things:

- Promising more than you can deliver...an unhappy customer will do more damage to your company than not having them as a customer.

- Don't try to "trick" prospective customers into becoming a customer. We have had a few customers that have wanted to be "sneaky" with their promotions. Thankfully we were able to help them think through the consequences of those kind of promotions. Even though you may get an initial sale out of it, you will lose their trust and probably their continued business.

- Don't use negative advertising (some people disagree with me on this). It is very easy to trash your competition but focusing on the quality of your services/products will be more effective. Customers want to know that you are the best...not that you are great at trashing your opponents.

- If you are going to offer a promotion/coupon/sale, don't be "stingy". Many people like to make the fine print so complicated that very few customers will qualify. If you can't afford to give an discount/coupon to everyone you send it to, DON'T GIVE IT! Figure out something that will bring you a profit AND will truly benefit your customer!

Summary: Don't be sneaky or stingy...it is NOT the reputation you want. Offer truly great deals that will help your customers while also bringing you a profit! Your customers will appreciate it and become loyal customers for life.

If you let us know that you read this article, we will give you 10% off of your next order! Contact us to "get the ball rolling"!

Branding > Print Materials > Postcards

2008-07-26T23:30:00.000-07:00

Postcards are one of the cheapest forms of advertising. Not only are they cheaper to mail, but they are also quite inexpensive to print & design.

If you are going to focus a lot of your advertising on mailings there are a few things that we would recommend:

* Make new designs every month or two, sharing a new product/service/idea with your mailing list. This will show your mailing list the depth of your company and the new and exciting things you are doing!

- If you support a local charity, share that on one of your postcards ("Help us support...").

- Is your company "going green"?

- Do you have a new line of products/services?

- Is there something about your company that stands out from the competition?

* Use postcards to show your appreciation to your current clients. We send a "thank you for your order" coupon postcards out each month to the companies who have ordered with us the previous month. This is a great marketing tool because it encourages businesses to re-order. It also will turn your clients into loyal clients because they see that you are willing to go the extra mile to keep their business! (Make sure to leave a place for an expiration date that you can fill in by hand for each mailing.)

* Each new mailing should show people why they need your services. Sometimes people have ideas in the back of their mind on what they need but don't know who to contact or how to go about getting it.

* Even things that don't relate to your services can bring people to your door. If you let them know that your company is "going green", then someone who is environmentally conscious will prefer you to another company because you have similar values.

These are just a few recommendations on how to use postcards to market you business effectively. We hope they were helpful!

We can help you with any of your postcard needs. If you would like us to send you a sample pack of our postcards and other printed materials, please contact us!

Branding > Print Materials > Business Cards

2008-07-25T23:18:00.000-07:00

Business cards are a great way to get your name out there!

Some business card design tips:

- should be professionally designed and printed

- don't print business cards on your own home printer...and especially not on those perforated business card sheets, the small amount* you will spend on professional printing will definitely be worth it!

- stay away from "embossed" business cards, they look outdated

- use color! (Our business card printing includes limitless colors on both sides).

- print on both sides (Ex. contact info on one side, explanation of services/products/business on the back side)...business cards are basically "free advertising" so get as much information as you can while still keeping the design clean and simple

- add an interesting "extra" like rounded corners** or spot UV coating***

* Our business card pricing (2-sided, full color, full bleed, 2x3.5")

250 - $70

500 - $85

1000 - $100

**Rounded corners > add $10 for 1000 business cards

***Spot UV coating is when you accentuate a certain design element with a glossy overprint. Contact us if you would like for us to send you some samples of UV coating! > add around $50

Branding > Print Materials > Tri-Fold Brochures

2008-07-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

Tri-fold brochures are such a good way to give prospective clients a glimpse of your business and its services/products. It is a great, cost-effective way to show people what you do and how you do it.

The keys to a great tri-fold are professional design and good information flow. The front is obviously important because it draws people into the rest of the brochure where the bulk of the information lies. The inside of the brochure should be clean and easy to read and understand. You want to balance text with design elements so that people don't get overwhelmed by all the copy. Although copy is important to share your company with the reader, it can also turn away the reader if it is too copy-heavy! And finally the back panel should have your contact information.

Money saving tip: If you want to save a little time and money, have your designer design the back panel as a mailer. Then you do not have to take the time to stuff the brochures into envelopes to send them! Just seal the edge of the brochure and they are ready to go!

Remember, brochures are a representation of your business, so make sure they look professionally designed and printed!

Please contact us if you have any questions or if you would like us to design and print your brochures or if you would like a sample pack of our printed materials. This month we are having a special on printing tri-fold brochures. Visit our Monthly Special page to see pricing.

Role logo plays in branding

2008-07-21T23:23:00.000-07:00

When we think of branding, most of us think about logos. One of the most important parts of branding is the logo. One mistakes many people make is designing a logo before they really have a good idea of what their mission/purpose/strategies are for the company.

In order to have a successful logo, you need to think about what you want your logo to convey. Logos are a symbolic way to show people your business in a split second. Your logo needs to be memorable & understandable, almost instantaneously. A good example of this is Nike. Nike has such a simple, clean design that is easily recognizable as well as very memorable. Nike doesn't even have to write "Nike" anywhere on the advertisement/commercial because it is so highly recognizable!

Before you get your logo designed think about what you want it to convey - what you want people to understand/connect with. The next step is to share these thoughts with your graphic designer. They should be able to take that and create multiple logo possibilities that fit the bill. Obviously some tweaking will have to take place to make sure you are happy with the final outcome. Having the preliminary "vision" work done for the graphic designer will save you time and frustration. You will both be on the same page, saving you from unwanted design tangents.

Let us know if we can help you with your logo designs! Let us know if you would like to receive a sample packet of our work.

More about "branding"

2008-07-20T23:13:00.000-07:00

The American Marketing Association (AMA) defines a brand as a "name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of them intended to identify the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of other sellers".

Branding goes a step further than we often think. It isn't necessarily about getting your target market to choose you over the competition, it is more about getting them to see you as the only company that provides the right solution to their problem.

What a good brand will achieve includes: delivers the message clearly, confirms your credibility, connects your prospective clients emotionally, motivates your prospective clients to become your clients, solidifies client loyalty.

Taken from http://marketing.about.com/cs/brandmktg/a/whatisbranding

What is branding?

2008-07-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

Wikipedia defines branding as "a symbolic embodiment of all the information connected to a company, organization, product or service". A brand includes logos, fonts, color schemes, symbols which often represent the values and ideas of the company.

Why is branding important for your company? You want your company to be easily recognized by the people in your community. The more people recognize/become familiar with your company, the more likely they will come to you when they need your services.

Branding is also important because it reflects your business. If you have poor quality branding, it reflects the professionalism of your business even if the quality of your products are top notch. Part of reaching your business potential is creating a quality brand.

We can help you with all of your branding needs...logo design, print products (business cards, advertisements, etc.) and signs (vehicle graphics, signs, etc.). Give us a call so we can help you reach your business potential.

Why we are passionate about what we do! Part 3

2008-06-25T00:00:00.000-07:00

Concept Design Studios is different because we are always thinking of new ways to streamline our client's design needs into one quick, manageable & efficient service. Which is why in the last year we have decreased our print prices to make them more affordable. We have also added web design to our list of services. And when you order print through us, we give you a large discount on the design.

We also believe that bulk pricing is a way to thank our customers for using us for all their design, printing & sign needs. When our clients order multiple items through us, we give them a bulk discount.

Why we are passionate about what we do! Part 2

2008-06-24T00:00:00.000-07:00

Centralizing Print & Design

Continuing my last entry, I want to talk about streamlining the 'design to print' process.

In my experience as the manager of the sign department before I started Concept Design Studios, I observed that many business owners would have their designers lay out their business card and then the designer would give the file back to the business owner to find a printer.

This brings up many problems. Each printer has slightly different specifications for printing. If the designer didn't make the file specific to that printer, the business owner is now going to have to pay the printing company extra to get the file 'print-ready' (on top of the price they just paid their designer). And what happens if the business owner gets a new phone number, a new employee, etc. This whole process starts again!

What a time waster, not to mention money waster!

Because we do both the design and printing our clients save money. Imagine that you send your stuff to a designer to get designed, they have a certain profit margin that they need to meet or exceed. Same goes for the printer. Because our 'design to print' process is streamlined we pass the savings on to you!

Just think of all the time and money you can save by centralizing all of your design/print/sign needs!

Why we are passionate about what we do! Part 1

2008-06-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

I recently had a couple of my clients comment on how expensive design & printing usually are and how impressed they were with my prices and design quality! So, I thought you may want to know how you can save money and how this savings is part of our business philosophy.

First, a little background on how Concept Design Studios came to be...

The whole reason I started this business is because I saw the need for affordable design services for small businesses and small business start-ups.

I managed the sign department at my previous employer. From that experience I saw the many needs of small business owners. Our clients would have one person do their design, another make their signs, and yet another do their printing. Half the time, these clients didn't know how to get a hold of their original logos for us to use for their signs. Other times, they didn't want to ask their designer for the files because the designer would charge them an arm and a leg for the 10 minutes that it would take them to email the file over to us.

From this and many other of my experiences, I decided to and start Concept Design Studios. Our passion at Concept Design Studios is to make this whole process much simpler, easier and efficient! Why waste your time going to 3-5 different places when you can have all your design, signs & printing centralized in one place.

View our next posts to see more about how we can save you time and money and more about our business philosophy.

Green Tip - #8

2008-06-03T09:17:00.000-07:00

I was just reading a blog by 1-2-3 Get Organized about using newspapers in your garden.

"You can use newspapers as mulch. Just place two or three sheets of newspaper where you would normally use mulch. You may need to weight it down. Recycling in your own garden!"

Great idea! Do you have any green tips that you want to share? Please leave us a comment with your own tips!

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!

June Special!

2008-06-02T14:10:00.000-07:00

June's Special!

2x3.5" Stickers

Great for: sticking on CD cases, envelopes, packaging, etc. (For indoor use only. Ask about our outdoor stickers/decals.)

Prices:
1000 - $100.00 (usually $115)
2000 - $225 (usually $250)

Contact us to place an order!

Green Tip - #7

2008-06-02T12:45:00.000-07:00

I already mentioned on one of the past Green Tips, that buying the disposable pens creates tons of waste in our landfills. We should start using pens that are refillable.

I was thinking about this the other day and realized that I have gotten a ton of pens from my bank. I have taken pens when I make my deposits without thinking about it. After I realized that, I stopped taking pens from them. And I realized that I have more pens than I will ever be able to use up in my lifetime :-). So, I have decided that I will not buy another pen/pencil until I have used up the storehouse that I have. It may take many years to use them up, but when I get to that point, I will only buy refillable pens from that point on.

Take a look at your own storehouse of pens/pencils/permanent markers, etc. Commit to not buy another writing utensil until you have used up all of the ones you have!

Little steps like these can make a difference! Nice job! We can make a difference, one small step at a time.

Green Tip - #6

2008-06-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

Since we, at Concept Design Studios, have been thinking of ways to be more green, it has made me see things differently. There have been a few things that I have realized that I can change that have never even crossed my mind before.

I was thinking about buying a bunch of those individual CD cases for giving files to our clients. I realized that I already had a bunch of those CD cases that other people had brought to me lying around the studio. So, I just looked around the studio to find all of the CD holders that were not being used. I now have a good sized pile of CD cases that we will use from now on.

It is a positive cycle. We are reusing those CD cases and hopefully our clients will reuse them too. We can all make a difference with our small changes!

Reduce, Reuse, Recylce!!

Green Tip - #5

2008-05-12T10:52:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't like plants??

Indoor plants can play an important role in your work environment. Plants are not only make a space more comfortable & attractive, but also act as a natural air filter. They absorb airborne pollutants and computer radiation while also replenishing oxygen levels. Plants also act as an air-cooler (through the evaporative process called transpiration). They help protect you from the germs from your colleagues and reduce fatigue, sore throats, coughs, and other cold-related illnesses. They also have a measurable effect in reducing stress levels...who doesn't need that?!

We have always loved plants at Concept Design Studios. We have had everything from bamboo to venus fly traps! Mostly we like the comfortable atmosphere they create, but we have come to appreciate their environmental & personal benefits! If you don't have a green thumb, get plants like Ivy & Bamboo that are very low-maintenance.

Tips taken from True Green @ Work by McKay & Bonnin

Green Tip - #4

2008-05-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

Reduce & Reuse!

Reduce your business' waste by reusing items such as rubberbands, paperclips, bubble wrap & padded envelopes! Have a common place where employees can find these items. The easier you make recycling, reducing & reusing, the more your employees are going to make these practices a habit.

Concept Design Studios saves all of our received packaging items and re-use them. Not only does this keep these items from going to the landfill but it also saves us time/money by not having to go and purchase items such as bubble-wrap & boxes.

Tips taken from True Green @ Work by McKay & Bonnin

Green Tip - #3

2008-05-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

Save Paper!

Paper is up to 70% of a typical office's waste. Here are some ways to cut down on paper waste...

- Use both sides. Keep a tray on your desk to collect any single-side paper. Use it as notepaper, or run the blank through the printer/copier when you need to print something out.
- Format documents to avoid printing unnecessary pages.
- Proofread carefully on screen to avoid printing multiple copies.
- Keep a box for recycling paper next to your desk.
- Encourage others in your office to separate paper from organic waste and recyclable containers.

Concept Design has been using these methods since its conception in January 2006. Have always use both sides of every single paper. When the paper has been used on both sides, we either recycle the paper, or we have some people who like to use the scrap paper to make hand-made paper for stationary, etc.

We have also set up a "recycling area" that we can collect our "organic matter" (used tea bags, food, etc.) plus all of the normal recycling items like plastic, cardboard, etc.

We also re-purpose any container that we can, rather than sending it to the landfill.

Green Tip - #2

2008-05-12T09:01:00.000-07:00

Sleep More! Make sure you set your computer to the sleep mode so that when you aren't using it, you can reduce your computer's consumption to less than 5% of its full power. Go into your computer's system preferences and set the screen and hard drive to go to sleep after 10 minutes. This way, if you get caught doing something else unexpectedly, your computer will save energy without you having to remember to do anything.

Give us a call if you need help finding that setting!

(Taken from True Green @ Work by McKay & Bonnin)

Being Green @ Work: Tip #1

2008-04-16T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ink Cartridges: Every year more than 167 million environmentally unfriendly ink cartridges are dumped in U.S. landfills each year, generating 40 million pounds of unnecessary waste. Instead of this unnecessary waste, use a refiller or remanufacturer prepared to offer a written guarantee against equipment damage and downtime caused by their products.
~ Taken from True Green @ Work by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin

We use Cartridge World to refill all of our ink cartridges, and we have been for the last 7-8 months. Changing this one thing, we can tell how much of a difference it is making, by looking back at the waste we produced prior to refilling. It is also better for our bottom line because refills are more cost effective than buying new cartridges every time. And any cartridges that we will not refill, we recycle...no more throwing cartridges in the trash!!

Being Green @ Work: Intro

2008-04-10T15:45:00.000-07:00

I think we are all realizing how important it is to be mindful of how we are affecting the environment with the choices we make.

We, at Concept Design Studios, have decided to make more of an effort to have a "green workplace". One of our inspirations come from the book, True Green @ Work by Kim McKay and Jenny Bonnin.

Here are a couple easy things to do be green at work:

- Use long-life refillable pens instead of using disposable pens

- Bring a mug to work and keep it there rather than using paper/plastic cups each time you need a coffee fix

- Fill up your space with plants. They are natural air filters while replenishing oxygen levels

Those are a few ideas from True Green @ Work. There will be more to come in future posts. Do your part!

Time Management

2008-04-10T10:00:00.000-07:00

Personal time management is of the utmost importance, whether you are a business owner, parent, student, etc. If we have not mastered the art of time management, we just go from one thing to another in a state of panic & stress. Probably everyone would say that they don't want to live that stressed out life.

If you want to be more effective in your time management and your general organizational skills. Check out this great website to help you organize your life...one area at a time! Visit 1-2-3 Get Organized, a website where you can buy simple, straightforward and fun books on different areas that you need to improve. Check it out and get on your way to a more productive, stress-free life!

The Benefits of Adobe Contribute

2008-04-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Adobe Contribute is a great tool for anyone that has a website for their business but does not do the website design themselves. It is a program that can allow the individual to update the content of the site without messing with the design of the site.

I recommend that my clients purchase Adobe Contribute ($150-$200) if they are wanting to update their content often. It saves you, the consumer, money because you do not have to pay your website designer to make those updates. And it also saves you time because you do not have to rely on the designer's time-frame for your updates. You can update your website content 24 hours a day, when you have the time.

So ask your website designer if they have the ability to set up your site with Adobe Contribute to save you both time!

Let me also say, that Adobe Contribute is not for everyone. If your time is more valuable than your money, by all means, delegate your website updates to your web designer. Also, if the idea of learning a new program (although pretty straight forward), then maybe it would create more stress than is worth the financial savings.

April 2008 Special!

2008-04-08T13:57:00.000-07:00

$10 OFF of a $100 order
$35 OFF of a $300 order

(from our Graphic Design, Sign or Printing Departments)

It's Been A Long Time!

2008-04-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not done a good job in keeping up with my blog! I will try harder to keep it updated and put useful information & sales on it!

November 2007 Special!!

2007-11-08T13:28:00.000-08:00

Business Package Special #1
(includes design for all, excluding logo)
500 business cards, 1000 letterhead, 1000 envelopes
$550

Business Package Special #2
(includes design for all, including logo)
Logo Design, 500 business cards, 1000 letterhead, 1000 envelopes
$750

(Exclusions may apply. Must order by December 1, 2007 to get special pricing.)

Normal design pricing
Logo design ($300)
Business card design ($75-150)
Letterhead/Envelope design ($75-150)

Normal printing pricing
500 business cards ($75)
1000 letterhead ($275)
$1000 envelopes ($325)

Ask about our Holiday Greeting Card printing!

August Special!

2007-08-07T09:17:00.000-07:00

Flyer Printing Special!

Another way to get your business more visibility is to print flyers. Flyers give you the ability to share more about your company.

Examples of what to include in your flyer design:
- Services you offer that make you stand out from your competition
- Photos/Illustrations of your products/services
- Coupon - Ex. "Bring this coupon in to redeem your _______" (Use the coupon to get people to go to the place you want them to...if you want to drive more customers to your website, make the coupon good for website purchases only.)
- Contact information
- Client testimonials
- Anything else that will show people your unique contribution

Here are our flyer prices:

8.5x11" 1-sided flyer
500 for $150
1000 for $225
2500 for $350

8.5x11" 2-sided flyer
500 for $250
1000 for $325
2500 for $475

(Does not include design, matte paper or rush orders. Other exclusions may apply. Must place order by September 1, 2007 to get discounted pricing.)

If you are interested in larger quantities, let us know and we can send you pricing on those quantities. Design pricing is $50/hour.

Marketing Tip - Creating Quality Marketing Tools

2007-07-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

It isn't as expensive as you may think to get high quality business cards, brochures, letterhead, envelopes, etc. yet it is more than worth the price. It will make a huge difference in how you appear to your clients and prospective clients.

Even if your business is small and doesn't have a large advertising budget, invest a little money for a good graphic designer and quality printed products. A small business just starting out can look like a large business that has been around forever by the way they present themselves.

Our prices for the basic marketing tools:

Business Cards (design from $50-$150):
250 - $60
500 - $75
1000 - $90

Flyers (8.5"x11" 1-sided):
500 - $175
1000 - $250
2500 - $350

Vehicle Graphics:
Logo & phone number on 2 car doors starting at $100

Vehicle Magnetics:
12x24 (set of 2) - starting at $75

These are just a start at what your company can do to increase your professional visibility.

Tool for New Businesses

2007-07-19T12:04:00.000-07:00

If you are going to be or have already started your own business, the following website is a great tool for all your startup questions & needs. Whether you are needing information about writing a business plan, networking with other entrepreneurs, growing your business, business financing, etc. this site has all you need and more!

www.startupnation.com

Website Recognition

2007-07-18T20:02:00.001-07:00

Marketing Tip:

If you are wanting to make sure your business/website is being recognized as much as possible by search engines and the like, make sure you register your business/website with the major online yellow pages. It is just one more thing that will help your rankings in the search engines.

Here are a couple of links that will get you started. These pages are hard to find...I had to search for quite a long time to get to the pages that I was after. I hope this makes it a little simpler for you!

www.yellowpages.com
www.yellowpages.yahoo.com
www.dexknows.com

Also, if you advertise with your local phone book they usually offer you a complimentary listing online. Make sure you check it out!

July's Specials!!

2007-07-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

This month's special is:

4x6 Postcard Printing (only includes printing...not design)
250 - $125
500 - $175
1000 - $225

Our second special is:

If you order $125 worth of stuff (graphic design, signs or printing) from us this month, you receive a free 8x10" photography print from a choice of 3 local photographers. (Includes an 11x14" white matte).

Please email info@conceptdesignstudios.com if you have any questions. Thanks!

2006-03-08T08:45:00.000-08:00

"Creativity is the ability to produce work that is both novel (original, unexpected) and appropriate (useful, adaptive concerning task restraints).
~ Sternberg & Lubart