Social spaces are these new web 2.0 websites like blogs, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and Youtube where users are creating all the content and interacting with each other. This is where users are hanging out online. Use these places to answer questions from your customers, gather feedback, spread information, and announce new products or sales. Post often—daily if possible. Better entries or “posts” as they can be called, help customers do their research better. Concentrate on your expertise and avoid sales pitches; be transparent and interact.

Create a business identity.

Search the Internet for free, ready-made templates to present a professional-looking and cohesive business identity or find a professional design firm that you feel comfortable with that addresses everything from marketing collateral to online presentations. This could be a graphic designer, a sign shop, a full advertising agency, or web design firm. They should all have websites so do your research and possibly try it yourself first. If you feel like you need help, seek it out. It could help save your brand or your business’ image.

Print in color.

Print all marketing collateral in color. Why? Because people respond to color. Invest in a good color inkjet or laser printer so you can print your business cards, letterhead stationery, labels, and brochures on-demand or if you are just starting out, seek out a local print shop or the big two: Fedex and UPS stores. Be sure to use or request quality paper. It will make a difference in how it feels in your hand. Potential customers can be affected by all senses and you wouldn’t want to sink a sale due to flimsy or cheap-feeling paper.

Learn new software.

Learn how to use publishing software like Microsoft Publisher or Adobe Photoshop. Search the web for free online classes or tutorials on everything from Microsoft Word to Adobe Illustrator. Even if you go with a design firm, you may still want to know a little bit about how to use a program in which they may be sending you files. The design firm should always send it in a format in which your computer is able to read, but it helps to be able to edit it easily too if you need to.

Spice up your presentations.

Take your next client meeting to the next level by using custom backgrounds, stock photography, clip art, and readable typefaces to convey your message in an interesting and memorable way. Just as people respond better to black and white than they do to color, your customers will respond better to pictures and graphs than text alone. Whatever you do, just be creative. You want to stand apart from your competition, be confident, organized, and professional.

Your web site should be a part of your overall marketing plan, but more than that should be part of your overall business plan. Your website should reflect your business and your business should reflect your website. Your website represents your company online and should be taken seriously.

Choose a web address wisely.

Choose a web site address (sometimes called a domain name) that’s intuitive and easy to remember. Your company’s name (if it’s short) or the name of your main product might work well. Telablue sometimes recommends using part or all of your company’s motto if it is short and easy to remember.

Update marketing collateral.

Put your web address on all your printed material, including business cards, letterhead, press releases, and invoices. Include it in all your advertising online and offline.

Update all media outlets.

Update any offline media and traditional publicity techniques like billboards or yard signs with your new website. Send news releases (sometimes called press releases) promoting your site to newspapers, broadcasters, and magazines.

Speak out.

Volunteer to speak at conferences or trade shows, write informative articles for trade publications, magazines, or to post on your website. When you speak or write for someone else, mention your company’s web address. People have come to expect this so don’t be bashful about a little self promotion. As long as you are offering them something in return by telling them something they wanted to hear, it is completely acceptable.

Determine specific goals, set a deadline for these goals to be achieved, then write them down. The old saying, “Its not real until its written down,” is true here. Next, share these goals with your employees and any invested partners. Get everyone on the same page so that they can all help work towards the goal.

2. Pick your tools.

Determine which tools can best help you meet your goals and how they will be used. These can include, but are not limited to, the web, direct mailings, email newsletters, hosted events, relevant trade shows, outdoor or print advertising, or social media. Next, create a plan for use of each tool. Get help if necessary.

3. Form a budget.

Projects are best not left open-ended. In the same way you assigned a deadline for the goal as a time restraint, the goal should also have a financial restraint. Work with your team to create a budget that reflects your vision and achieves your goals. If you end up under-budget, that’s one more thing to celebrate when you achieve your goals.

4. Assign roles.

The easiest and hardest thing to do sometimes it to delegate responsibility for implementing each part of the plan. More than likely you won’t be able to do all aspects of the plan and so you’re going to have to divvy up the responsibilities. Make sure there are built in accountability measures to check performance.

5. Keep track.

Monitor the results of your team members progress and the goal in general. Beware of project creep. Weekly meetings to remind those involved about the plan and its deadlines may help. Lastly, don’t be afraid to make adjustments as necessary. Being an agile company may be what sets you apart from your bigger competitors.

The first thing is to create an advisory board representative of your customers and promote it. You can do this through the Internet on social spaces or by submitting it to your local newspaper, TV or radio station. Then listen to the board’s ideas and take action on them if you can.

Consider publishing a newsletter about your business for current and potential customers. Send it via postal mail or email it direct. You could and should also post it on your website. Your website should have a news section on it if it doesn’t already. This keeps your site fresh and lets others know you’re still actively in business.

Know what you are in business for and make those values clear to your community. Some businesses promotes their commitment to family—sometimes closing their store early to attend soccer games when their children or employees’ children are competing. Others promote commitment to helping the homeless. What are you committed to?

Make donations on behalf of your business as a way to promote and to show what you are committed to. If you have a landscaping business, for example, contribute landscaping services or plants to a community garden. You can volunteer anywhere in your community and encourage your employees to follow suit.

Find out who your customers and other interested parties are and what they want or need from you. Interview or create surveys – online or offline. Use the results of these interviews and surveys to help you evaluate your image as it stands today.

2. Analyze the results.

Identify the strengths and weaknesses (the two initials in a SWOT analysis) of your current image. Pinpoint what misconceptions or negative perceptions need to be corrected. Highlight those that made your brand or company shine in a positive light.

3. Create a strategy.

Start out brainstorming. Write down any and everything you could change including your company’s name, logo, product mix, or yes, even dropping some current customers in order to court others that better fit your company’s brand and image better.

4. Find expert help.

SCORE, a group of retired and working executives serving America’s small businesses and entrepreneurs, says “Image makeovers usually call for professionals who can help you devise and implement a new concept.” Telablue can help with these services.

5. Hold yourself and others accountable.

How do you know how the rebranding of your business’ image is going if you don’t track it? Follow up to make sure the image makeover is working. Find out if sales are up? Are you now attracting the customers you wanted? If not, go back to a previous step until you’ve got the right mix for your business’ success.

In all of your ad messages and styles including business cards, letterhead, envelopes, invoices, signs and banners, use a consistent branding image. This means using the same fonts, colors, taglines, or mottos. This means either using dots, parenthesis, or hyphens in between phone numbers, but not mixing them.

2. Use the vendor as a resource.

Newspapers, radio and TV stations, yellow pages, and full-service web design firms are all helpful in producing the advertising that you will be running with them, but be sure that they are listening to you. Often times your vision can get skewed through the lens of the other companies eye. Make sure what they produce matches your brand and identity.

3. Appreciate referrals, but don’t depend on them.

While traditional word-of-mouth referral advertising has been around a long time, it can fall short of being able to attract the number of customers needed to be successful in business. This is why it is imperative that you business have some other sort of supplementary advertisement, but remember – you are your own best promotional tool. If you don’t believe it, no one else will either.

4. Promote benefits rather than features.

A benefit can be defined as, “The emotional satisfaction your product or service provides, or a tangible performance characteristic.” Have you ever heard the expression, “Sell the hole, not the drill?” Make sure you are promoting the end-result, not what will get them there. In this way you are almost selling them their own success.

5. Know your competitors.

Sun Tzu, author of On the Art of War, wrote the now famous line, “Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.” Your competitors may not exactly be your enemies, but knowing everything about them is just as important as knowing everything about your own business. One popular tool for this is Keyword Spy, which allows you to see what key words your competitors are using on their website.

1. Cultivate Your Network

Entrepreneurs practicing the art of business success know the power of networks. They take the time to identify and build relationships with key peers, mentors, and advisors. This inner network provides support, direction, and an increased number of people to assist. Having an inner network of five people who have a network of five more, grows the network exponentially.

2. Be Customer Focused

Business success requires an unwavering commitment to the customer. This commitment encompasses a mindset of understanding the customers’ world. Understanding the customers wants and needs provides the business with a greater opportunity to earn a loyal customer base. Focus away from business and profits, and toward what you can do to improve the life of your customers.

3. Humble Yourself

Business success requires the ability to know your strengths and weaknesses. Being open and honest about yourself and your business creates growth as an individual and as a company. Don’t spend time developing weaknesses. Find help for weak areas, enabling you to focus on strengths. In the book, “Now, Discover Your Strengths”, Gallup Organization reveals that building our strengths instead of fixing our weakness is the path to mastery and success. Take the time to know yourself and business.

4. Increase Your Adaptability

Business success requires the ability to adapt to changing situations. Nothing ever goes as planned. The world of business is full of surprises and unforeseen events. Using the habit of adaptability allows business owners to respond to circumstances with the ability to change course and act without complete information. Being flexible allows us to respond to changes without being paralyzed with fear and uncertainty.

5. Be Opportunity Focused

Problems are a regular part of business life. Staff issues, customer misunderstandings, cash crunches- the list is endless. To achieve business success, look at both sides of the coin. Every problem has an opportunity. Being opportunity focused makes the game of business fun and energizing.

6. Find A Better Way

Productivity is the cornerstone of business success. Formulate the habit of finding a better way to make your business more productive. This will create more time to focus on the critical issues that drive sales and profit. Productivity can be enhanced by technology, automation, outsourcing, and improving business processes.

7. Balance Your Lifestyle

A business can consume an owner’s time and energy. It’s easy to allow the business to take control of your life. Business success requires the habit of balancing all aspects of your life. Separating time for daily business tasks, profit driven tasks, and free time is a habit that will make your business and life more enjoyable. Take time to plan each week.

Learning and using these habits in your daily business life can have a dramatic effect on your level of success. Review each of the 7 habits, then choose one habit to focus on for a month or until you are really good at it. Gradually incorporate each of the 7 habits of business success into your life to attain your business dreams.

A business plan is important because it summarizes both your vision for the company and your blueprint for the company’s operating success. The business plan is a written guide that details the start-up and the future direction of your company. Who should write the plan? You, the entrepreneur. No one else knows your business idea and goals better. Yes, there are services that can do the work for you. However, you must present this business idea to bankers or other investors. Therefore, it is best if you are very familiar and comfortable with the plan.Although there’s no set format, a good business plan typically includes:

• Cover page—Identifies your business
• Table of contents—Organizes information for the reader
• Executive summary—Provides a “big picture” view of the plan, highlighting the factors that will lead to success
• Business background—If it is a brand-new business, include your background and skills
• Marketing plan—Relates the business’s marketing strategy
• Action plan—Summarizes how you will create and deliver your product or service
• Financial statements and projections—Illustrates how the business will perform financially based on the plan’s assumptions
• Appendix—Includes statistical analyses, marketing materials, résumés.

2. How do I determine my start-up costs and other expenses?

It is wise to find out what start-up costs you will incur before starting the business. Many a budding entrepreneur takes his or her life savings, or will borrow on the equity on their home before figuring these financial factors, only to find that they don’t have enough money. There are many web sites and other resources (including SCORE offices and Business Information Centers) that provide guidelines and worksheets to help determine costs for your business.Each item on your proposed budget sheet should be researched. Closely estimated costs can be obtained from utility companies, trade associations, shopping and networking with other business people who may have already gone through this experience. Do not start buying until the investigation shows this venture is viable and you have all the information needed.

3. What do I need to know about financial statements?

First, you need to know which financial statements are important. They are:

• Balance Sheet—shows the financial conditions of your business at a point in time
• Statement of Operations (Profit and Loss Statement)—shows whether you made a profit during a specific period of time
• Cash Flow Statement—shows what happened to your cash position during a specific period of time

You should have a basic understanding of each of these statements. When compared with statements from prior periods, you can determine whether something is happening in your business that needs your special attention.

Your accountant can prepare these statements for you from the business data that you supply. There are also a number of computer software programs that will help you generate these statements from your input of regular transactions—such as sales, collections, purchases, payments and payroll.

4. Why is it important to do a monthly cash flow analysis?

Your businesses cash-flow cycle may differ substantially from the income statement projections. Even if the projected income statement shows a profit, it is possible that the cash flow for the same period is actually negative.The analysis of monthly cash flow can indicate whether your business will collect sufficient cash to pay operating expenses. It will point out specific months during the year when the business may experience operating cash shortfalls and, therefore, either require additional capital or excess cash reserves for payment of expenses. It will also show when you may be able to make debt reductions and when there is excess cash to make major purchases or expand operations.By developing a monthly cash flow projection, you can time cash needs and quantify the amount needed. The cash flow projection is an important management tool and must be developed with very realistic expectations. Sufficient cash is critical for a business to pay its expenses and to enable it to expand. If your monthly cash flow projections indicate frequent cash shortfalls, you should review the type of products and services that you offer, the mix of sales, the pricing and terms of the sale and your short-term borrowing needs.

5. How can I obtain cash to maintain and grow my business?

Develop a positive business relationship with your bank. Seek your banker’s advice even at times where you are not seeking funds. You may find that every time you go to your bank you speak to a different loan officer, so you should know them all.When the loan officer gets a promotion, you must start all over again with another person. If you want the bank to take an interest in your business, then you have to take an interest in theirs. How? There are four ways.

Know who works at your bank—Take an interest in the people at your bank and get to know them well. Ask them to hold on to your account if they are promoted. When you go to see your banker, have your business plan and financial papers ready. Make it easy for your banker to see what you want and why. The bank wants to minimize its risk with regard to you and your business. This is where you have to sell yourself. Also, know your bank— know and understand your bank’s annual report. Know your bank’s business direction and plan. Third, know the bank’s lines of authority. Get on the bank’s mailing list and keep up with bank’s news. And lastly, attend a bank-sponsored seminar on commercial lending. This will teach you how your bank operates in terms of lending policies. By doing this, you also prove that you have an interest in what the bank is doing. Finally, it affords you the opportunity to meet and make an impression on the loan committee.

6. Why is competition important?

No business operates without direct competition. There also may be indirect competition, which has a significant impact on customer’s buying decisions in your market.Direct and non-direct competitors try to convince customers to buy their products or services instead of yours. It is in your best interest to learn more about the companies that are trying to reduce your take-home pay. List the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor. Talk with friends, visit your competition, call for information about their products and analyze how they advertise.Next, take a sheet of paper and list the major competitors. Give each a rating, on a scale of one to 10, for product quality, process, advertising, price and customer satisfaction. You can add other ratings that you feel are important.Your business can become more profitable by adopting practices you admire in competitor operations and by avoiding their mistakes. Some of your competitors have been in business successfully for many years. Certainly, as a new or relatively new business, you can learn a lot from them.

7. How can I better market my business?

To market your business, you must define your customer. To maintain consistent sales growth, you must become knowledgeable about your market. Develop an outline of your “typical” consumer:

• What exactly is your market or niche?
• Where do the consumers travel from?
• What are their buying patterns?
• Why should they buy from you?
• Should you try to appeal to a niche market segment or the entire market?
• Have you missed a new customer segment or special market?
• How large is the potential target market (in units or dollars)? Is it growing, stable or decreasing? What percentage of the market do you have?

Research will provide answers that are not available from your business records and a financial analysis. Conduct research through trade associations, your local chamber of commerce, libraries. Pay attention to how competitors market to their customers. Perhaps, some of their marketing strategies can be adopted for your business, or you may find examples of what not to do.

8. What makes a successful marketing strategy?

When creating a marketing strategy, keep in mind the four P’s of marketing:

• Product—What good or service will your business offer? How is that product better than those offered by competitors? Why will people buy/want it?
• Price—How much can you charge? How do you find the balance between sales volume and price to maximize income?
• Promotion—How will your product or service be positioned in the marketplace? Will your product carry a premium image with a price to match? Will it be an inexpensive, no-frills alternative to similar offerings from other businesses? What kinds of advertising and packaging will you use?
• Place—Which sales channels will you use? Will you sell by telephone, or will your product be carried in retail outlets? Which channel will economically reach your market?

The marketing strategy should summarize your findings about the key target buyer description, market segments the company will compete in, the unique positioning of the company and its products compared to the competition, the reasons why it is unique or compelling to buyers, etc.

9. What do I need to know before creating a marketing brochure?

A marketing brochure can be long-lasting or short-term. It can represent your business to potential customers and it can be a referral piece for existing customers. Decide the purpose of and goals for the marketing brochure before you begin to design and write. Remember, this brochure represents you and your business; be sure its look and feel complements your business. Here are few tips for when you are ready to begin.

• State your message up front—The selling message should appear on the cover of the brochure. For instance, “The XYZ Company—Consultants on Doing Business Overseas.”
• Include artwork—If you have space limitations, one large photograph or graphic is better than several small images that might not clearly portray your services or products.
• Photo captions—Photo captions are read twice as often as the main copy.
• Create a keeper—Make your brochure worth keeping. Include a calendar of events in your specific industry or some data that will be useful to potential clients in the future.
• Quality is key—Your publications reflect you and your business. Using one to four colors in the brochure will make it stand out over one that is black and white. A good quality paper stock is also important (and comes in many colors and shades if you choose to use black ink). Remember to consider the weight of the paper stock in relationship to mailing costs.

It is wise to have your brochure designed by a graphic designer. Even if you have computer graphic skills, design is best left to professionals.

10. How can I improve customer service in my business?

Develop a strategy that puts the customer first. Customers will receive the best possible service when employees are empowered to make this happen. This is not to say that you should be lenient with your policies, but have a degree of flexibility. Just remember, a lost customer could spread the word of their discontent, resulting in more lost customers.Review the most common reasons for poor customer service. Use these insights as a way to improve your customer service:

• Too many rules—Employees lack creativity in problem solving. Rules are followed and good solutions are not developed because employees do not want to jeopardize their jobs.
• Lip service, not customer service—Customer service is really only a name for customer complaints. Time is spent trying to fix problems rather than preventing them from occurring in the first place.
• Unempowered employees—Approval is needed by a manager for small problems that can easily be solved by a good employee. This problem leads to long lines and time-consuming waits by the customer, who then refuses to come back-business operations turns a small problem into a large one.
• Unmotivated employees—Personnel are not encouraged to please the customer because there is no merit in it for them.
• Bad communication—Coordination of functions does not exist-one person may write an order while another picks it off a warehouse shelf and someone else delivers it to the customer. This can result in miscommunication, incorrect goods or services, and time delays.
• Arbitrary policies—Policies that are followed blindly without room for situational allowances may result in angry customers. For example, a store’s return policy of 30 days prevents a customer who, with good reason, could not get back to the store in time from receiving a refund. That customer will refuse to do business there anymore.

You are not all things to all people. Decide on your target market and narrow your focus in order to broaden your appeal.

2. What’s Different?

What’s different about what you are doing? Stand out from an overcrowded market where so much of the advertising and products look the same.

3. Surround Yourself with Great People

Build a team. Employ people as part of your business, not just to work for it.

4. Be Faster than Your Competition

Time is the most precious commodity. When delivery is expected Friday, show up Thursday afternoon. Return calls and emails as soon as possible.

5. Thank Your Customers

Tell your customers and employees how much you appreciate them. Consider hand-writing a note for an even more personal touch.

6. Be Consistent

Make sure your business has a consistent look and feel. A customer must get the same flavor from everyone within your organization. Always. Think “franchise” – even if you aren’t one. We recommend the E-Myth by Gerber. He talks a lot about this.

7. Smile

Throw out the reasons you think people buy from you like price, product quality or your warranty. People buy because they like you – and a blue suit doesn’t hurt things.

8. Fanatical Optimism

The glass must always be half full. Attitude will always win out in the end and infect all of those around you.

9. Sell Soft

Don’t ever hard sell. Solve problems. Satisfy wants. Do what is truly best for your customer. Do what you would want done for you.

10. Leave Your Comfort Zone

Never accept the idea that this is the way you’ve always done it. Never accept that a new idea or technology could never work for you. Ask why.