Small Business Series: Why Most Small Businesses Fail

This is an online seminar series produced by people at www.marketingprofs.com that I thought the audience for this blog might find interesting (or potentially benefit from). Cost is $99. the seminar is Friday, May 18 at 2:00 p.m. Central time.

Click this link for more "general" information about MarketingProfs seminars: Learn more about how MarketingProfs seminars work...

Here are details about this particular seminar:

Small Business Series: Why Most Small Businesses Fail
When: Friday, May 18, 2007 at 3pm Eastern (12pm Pacific)
Duration: 90 minutes
Cost: $99.00 for broadcast and additional material

ABOUT THE SEMINAR
Statistics show that nine out of 10 new businesses fail within the first five years. And the majority of those don’t make it more than two years. Veteran marketing/management consultant Michael Goodman looks behind the grim statistics and shares his observations about WHY they fail and what smart marketers can do to keep their companies from becoming casualties.Michael's insights have the potential to save struggling companies and help others gain a leg up in the competitive marketplace.This is the 1st installment in our Small Business Seminar Series. These sessions will be held monthly on Friday afternoons. We’ll deal with everything, including: advertising, taglines, promotion, budgeting, publicity and low-cost (even no-cost) market research. We’ll use case studies from small B2B and B2C companies, and we’ll borrow some ideas from large companies that have paid the big bucks for some of the most valuable lessons in marketing.

YOU WILL LEARN

• How to identify the early-warning signs of trouble
• How to align the mission of marketing to that of the business
• How to keep marketing priorities in perspective
• How to market more effectively without spending more money
• How to adapt marketing lessons from giant corporations to a small business budget

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

Marketers, company owners and general managers in all industries. This seminar will address both B2B and B2C markets.

• Marketers and general managers in small- and medium-sized companies
• Entrepreneurs who are planning to start a new business
• Service professionals and consultants in small practices
• Consultants and marketing service providers who serve the small business community

This series is a must for marketers and entrepreneurs in small and medium-sized companies where everyone has to pitch in and make sure the work gets done and products and services are delivered as promised. Taken together the sessions promise to deliver a virtual “SBMBA” – a Small Business MBA.

ABOUT THE PROFS EXPERT
Michael Goodman is a senior marketing and management consultant with experience that spans the spectrum from micro-businesses and start-ups to the Fortune 25. He learned marketing at corporate giants Procter & Gamble, Frito-Lay and Playtex. He has consulted with clients in both business-to-business and business-to-consumer; local, regional, national and international markets; and industries ranging from industrial chemicals and consumer packaged goods to financial services and healthcare.

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In Search of Topics

According to Google Analytics, Buzz4Business gets anywhere from one to eight visitors a day. And, you view about one and a half posts before leaving.

If you're not familiar already, and you have a Web site or blog of your own, you can sign up for a free Google Analytics account. It will track the traffic on your site for you and provides a tremendous amount of information, literally at your fingertips, about where visitors to your site are coming from, what they read and how long they stay. All for free! I've used several tracking services in the past; Google Analytics is by far the most expansive -- and least expensive for what it provides.

What Google Analytics won't tell you, however, is what the visitors to your site want to read, see, or do.

That's where I'm struggling with this blog forum. Even though more than a hundred people have dropped in to visit, no one has left a comment. I'm not complaining... but a one-sided conversation is kind of difficult to keep going, you know?

What topics would you like to see covered, presented or discussed on this site? If you aren't comfortable clicking "0 comments" below and leaving your suggestions directly on the forum, please email me at tphillips@swpub.com. I'd love to hear from you!

Human or Automated Voice Mail?

If you are anything like me, you absolutely despise getting menu after menu of computerized voice mail when you call a company’s help line, information line, etc. It drives me absolutely bonkers. If I wanted to talk to a machine, I would have gone online to see if I could solve my problem or find the answer.

Ok. In reality, it doesn’t bother me enough to go to the extremes that Paul M. English has gone. Mr. English and his colleagues have contacted more than 500 U.S. companies at their listed toll-free or other telephone numbers and determined just what menu options (buttons) to push to get to a live person.

And, they’ve published this information, free of charge, on their Web site for all to use. Here is the link: http://www.gethuman.com/us/.

I am eternally grateful. This list could save an awful lot of time on hold or listening to menu after menu of lists to determine just how to get to the solution to why you called the number in the first place.

Of course, if your desk (or your computer desktop) looks anything like mine, you won’t be able to find the list when you need it. I think I’ll bookmark this link now…

The gethuman™ logo, website and content are Copyright 2006-2007 by Paul M. English.

Delivering Success

Just this week, the U.S. Small Business Administration and the U.S. Postal Service launched a new program called Delivering Success. Delivering Success is a series of video interviews with successful entrepreneurs who share the lessons they’ve learned about owning a small business.

There are a number of videos posted on the web site. You can just watch the video for the topic that interests you. Or, if you have an hour or so, you can sit back and watch the entire series. Here are some of the video topics covered in the videos released so far:

• Entrepreneurial Spirit--learn what it takes to turn a passion into a business.
• Getting Started--how to overcome obstacles when starting a business.
• Financing--discover how SBA-backed financing helped these entrepreneurs start their businesses.
• Planning & Research--critical components of success explained by owners who know how.
• Marketing 101--explore a variety of marketing techniques to build your customer base.
• Hiring & Developing Employees--these owners let you in on what worked for them.
• Promoting & Growing Your Business--learn innovative techniques to increase your business.
• Business Reality Check--be prepared to change course from small business owners who had to do just that.

There's also a video about 10 quick tips for business success.

You'll find the videos and other information at this link: http://www.sba.gov/tools/audiovideo/deliveringsuccess/index.html.

Did you find this posting helpful and relevant to your business? I'm interested in your comments - either about this posting or about other topics you'd like to see on this blog. Please enter your comments by clicking the "comments" button below, or send me an email to tphillips@swpub.com.

Limited Advertising Budget - What's Best?

Q: I have a limited budget for print advertising. I heard that big ads get better response than smaller ads. Is it better to spend it on one big, colorful ad or to do smaller ads?

A: Really, it depends on your objective for print advertising. Here are three scenarios...

1. You're just starting your business and knew that you would have to advertise to let people know you're open for business. Is it better to do one big ad or to split that budget into smaller ads that run over a period of time?

It's better to run repetitive smaller ads than just one ad in this case. Frequency and repetition in advertising kind of build on each other, so that ultimately your smaller ad has more impact because the increase exposures increase the number of people that will see it. Research studies show that an ad has to be seen between three and 10 times before the viewer remembers seeing it... more before they remember what it was about... and what company it was for.

2. Your business has been around for a while, but you would like to bring in more new customers.

Again, it's better to run smaller ads over a period of time than to spend all your money on one ad. The key is to advertise what "new" customers are in the market to buy... or giving them a reason to come into your store. What makes you different? Why do they need your product or service? Which words and images motivate them?

3. You have a special event or sale coming up soon.

This might be the only time that a single, large ad might be effective. Might is italicized. It assumes that what you are selling is what people want to buy that day (or weekend). It assumes that the offer matches their motivation to buy. It assumes that they'll see your ad when you're running it (see #1).


Bottom line is that when you have a set, limited budget, frequency is more important than size. You also need a bold headline and a great offer to get your ad noticed. This is true not only for print advertising, but for your Web and broadcast advertising as well. Frequency, catchy "headlines" and great offers work together to get your ad noticed.

Tips to Cut Overhead

I love the Internet. The way that something can be found or said about virtually (literally) any topic. While debating a topic for this blog... wondering what might be of interest to the yet unknown readers in the small-business universe I'm trying to connect with...

Everybody I know seems to be in a financial crunch right now. Work life or home life; it makes no real difference when you're a small business owner and work=life. Whether one blames the housing market... or the rising interest rates... or the high price of gasoline... it pays to keep an eye on expenses.

I found a link that purports to list 100 Tips to Cut Overhead Costs. Now, what person interested in small business ownership couldn't use that list? When you're small, every penny counts, right?

So... I perused the list. And, some of the items listed make sense to me. Others seem like a lot of effort for a few bucks saved. But, what I think isn't really important. If you can benefit from any of the ideas... then by posting the link here, I've helped.

My hesitation in posting is that there is no profile section to the blog. I can't verify where the original information came from, who wrote and compiled the list, etc. The information is from a blog simply entitled, "Blogging Out of Debt."

http://www.debtconsolidationlowdown.com/2007/02/getting_to_blac.html

Coupon Trends

A new annual report has been released about coupon distribution and redemption in the U.S. for 2006. CMS, a provider of logistics services for promotions, reports that more than 286 billion coupons were distributed last year, representing a value of more than $331 billion to consumers. Of these, just over 2.6 billion coupons were redeemed by 142 million consumers.

The report states further that 89% of coupons are distributed in FSI's in Sunday newspapers, with 92.5% of overall coupons distributed directly to the home (in newspapers, magazines, direct mail, etc.). Less than 5% were distributed in-store.

Big numbers that the coupon industry trackers uses to market themselves. Researchers, by nature, are skeptics. So, the research analyst in me can't help but try to look at the figures objectively... or at least from another angle or two.

• The figures reported above represent a 12% decline in the number of coupons distributed and a corresponding 13% decline in the number of coupons redeemed.
• There are 226 million adults in the U.S. and 142 million redeemed coupons in the past year -- or about 63%.
• The coupons measured and tracked are consumer-packaged-goods products... branded grocery products, cleaning supplies, etc., that virtually everyone uses. If 142 million consumers redeemed 2.6 billion coupons, it means that each consumer redeemed only 18.3 coupons last year -- or an average of 1.5 coupons/month.
• 2.6 billion coupons redeemed out of 286 billion distributed means that less than 1% are redeemed.
• $331 billion value of 286 billion coupons represent an average coupon value of $1.16 for products that typically cost less than $5 -- or more than 23% of the value of the item.
  The average expiration period for coupons was 2.9 months.

The article states that several trends impact consumer perception, and therefore redemption practices. The consumer price index (CPI) is rising faster than the average coupon face value. Average expiration periods are falling. Average face value is declining. The number of multi-purchase requirements is increasing and now represents nearly 30% of all coupons distributed.

I believe that coupons serve as a valuable marketing tool, if used properly with realistic expectations. What do you think? Do coupons have value in today's marketplace? Do you use coupons in your business -- why? How do you determine the right face value, design, distribution, expiration date? How do coupons integrate into your overall marketing plan?

Registered users on CouponInfoNow.com can read the full report here: http://www.couponinfonow.com/Couponing/2007trendsoverview.cfm