Speaker: Blair O’Neil, Co-owner, Integris Marketing dba O’Neil Design Group

“Blogs for Businesses: Pros, Cons, & Is it Right for You?” Find out the basics of business blogs and what the hype is all about. We will cover:

• Why they are a cost effective web presence
• When business blogs are good to have
• When they aren’ t
• Why some customers love them
• How to get started blogging

Location: Renown Medical Center- Conference Rm# 107 (1st floor, behind Remedee’s Restaurant) (same location as our September Meet-up) Please use the older 2ND street parking garage, use entrance on the 1st floor.

Appetizers provided by: Remedee’s Catering
(Please RSVP so we can preorder the correct amount of appetizers)

$10.00 per person (pay in advance through paypal)

For more information: http://smallbiz.meetup.com/778/calendar/7406360/

When:  Monday, September 8,2008 6-8PM

Does your business…

• look credible in the eyes of your customers and clients?
• use the right colors and typefaces for the right emotional message?
• give a “feel good” hit in all the sales and contact materials?
• have effective promotions that are relevant to your audience?
• effectively answer the all-important WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) question?
• present a consistent and clear benefit picture of your company, products and services?

Join us for a fun, info-packed journey with a behind-the-scenes peek into what it takes to make your company, brand or product really sing.

• Listen to insider-tips about the power and meaning of color choices
• Learn how fonts speak for your business, why the right typeface is so important, and how to avoid the wrong ones
• Get the scoop on how to become more memorable and relevant in your clients’ eyes.
• Gain an understanding of what it takes to make your business look like a million bucks… For a whole lot less!

Speaker: Blair O’Neil, O’Neil Design Group

Location: Remedee’s Restaurant (inside Renown Medical Center) - 75 Pringle Way, Reno, NV 89502. Phone: (775) 982-5095. Please use the older 2nd Street Parking Garage.

Appetizers provided by: Remedee’s Restaurant 

AGENDA: (2 hours) 6-8 PM:

1 hour presentation - (The Face of Your Business, Questions/Answers, and Discussion)

 1 hour - Open Networking

Cost: $10.00 per group member, $20.00 per guest (pay in advance through paypal, or pay at the door)

For more information and to RSVP please visit: http://smallbiz.meetup.com/778/

Our next event is:  Monday, August 4, 2008 from 6-8 PM, Our August topic is “Email Marketing”

What is e-mail marketing? Simply stated it is an electronic form of marketing similar to printed marketing methods. Why e-mail marketing is effective & how it works to attract more business and grow your brand:

• Inexpensive - “So inexpensive that it lulls many into underestimating it’s influence!” (quote from www.eMarketer.com)
• Lightning fast compared to any form of print marketing
• Builds your brand
• Keeps visitors coming back to your site as you will include links to your site in the newsletter
• Way to stay in front of customers, so they don’t forget about you
• ROI can be measured and results can be tracked easily

Guest Speaker: Camilla Downs*, of Corner Your Market Reno

*Camilla Downs is a passionate web marketing consultant and the CEO of Corner Your Market Reno, Inc (www.cymreno.com). She is the author of Blogging for More Business: 6 Steps to Attract More Business (www.bloggingworkbook.com) and the presenter of “Build a Blog Website Workshop” offered through Nevada’s Small Business Development Center. Camilla is also the founder of StartUpLadies.com, a website dedicated to being a resource and inspiration to women entrepreneurs and business owners.

Location: Mi Casa Too Mexican Restaurant - in reserved dining room (2205 W. 4th Street, Reno)

Appetizers provided by: Mi Casa Too Restaurant (if you would like more than simple appetizers and water, you may order your own food & drinks separately)

(Events will also be posted on this blog in the Upcoming Events section in the middle tool bar)

Our next event is:  Monday, July 7, 2008 from 6-8 PM, Our July topic is “Internships, a Win-Win For All” How hiring interns can benefit your company and give college students an edge above their peers before they enter the business world.

Guest Speaker:Kevin Gaw, Ph.D* , Director of Career Development,University of Nevada Reno
* www.unr.edu/career/about/kevin_gaw.aspx

Location:Sterling Motors (4935 Brookside Ct. Reno, NV 89502)

Appetizers to be provided by Fig Tree Catering
Visit their corporate website at: Fig Tree Catering

A couple of years ago, most everyone in northern Nevada had a job, and employers had trouble finding good people.

Today, a lot more people are looking for jobs - but employers still have trouble finding good people.

“The good people are the hard ones to find. There may be people out there, just not good people,” says
Kimberlee Tolkien, executive director of marketing at Atlantis Casino Resort Spa.

Part of the problem, employers say, arises because the workers who lost their jobs during the downturn that began in 2006 often don’t have the skills that are needed in the industries that are hiring today.

In the past year, for instance, the number of construction jobs in the Reno-Sparks area declined by about
2,200 - a decline that accounted for more than half of the increase in job-seekers during the same time.

But those folks don’t necessarily have the skills that make them a good fit in fields such as retail or health services, which have added jobs in northern Nevada even as construction has declined.

“There are definitely more people in the pool, but that doesn’t necessarily make it any easier to find the right people for your company,” says Steve Conine, who owns the Reno office of the staffing agency
Accustaff as well as the personnel consulting firm TalentFramework.

The rising jobless rate in northern Nevada - 6 percent in Reno-Sparks in April compared with 4.5 percent a year earlier - sometimes means employers need to sort through many more resumes to find the workers
they want.

Waste Management, for instance, recently drew 200 applicants to a job fair that had drawn only 25
applicants a year earlier.

In the past, those applicants might not have considered taking a job with the company, says spokesman Justin Caporusso.

“Since the economy has slowed, the number of qualified applicants for each position has gone up, providing Waste Management with a larger group of qualified applicants to choose from,” Caporusso says.
Some of those applicants may be looking to make big career shifts - sometimes downward - as hard times linger in sectors such as residential real estate.

“We’re seeing people such as Realtors applying for lower-level positions,” says Gena Jones, assistant vice president for human resources at the University of Nevada, Reno. She says the total number of applicants at UNR has remained stable through good times and bad.

Employers, the workers compensation carrier, also has seen little change in the number of applicants hoping to join the staff of 200 at its Reno headquarters.

But the mix of applicants has changed in some subtle ways, says John Nelson, senior vice president and chief administrative officer.

It is relatively rare these days, he says, for Employers to get a resume from an applicant who already is employed elsewhere and is testing the water. Most people who have jobs, he says, appear to be hunkered down. Few want to take the risk of moving to a new job and leaving themselves exposed in case the new
employer decides to lay off recently hired workers.

Information technology jobs remain among the most difficult to fill, employers say. That’s unchanged from the boom days of the region’s economy.

The challenge is particularly daunting, Employers’ Nelson says, when the company is recruiting IT professionals from other markets. They sometimes are concerned that few career alternatives exist in northern Nevada if they decide to change jobs.

But the list of hard-to-fill jobs stretches across the employment spectrum.
Bob Lathrop of the Reno office of Hire Dynamics, a staffing company that focuses much of its attention on logistics and call-center jobs in the region, says jobs in those industries sometimes can prove difficult to fill if they involve offbeat shifts or a challenging commute.

And workers skilled on some types of specialized warehouse equipment also are difficult to find, he says.
Waste Management’s Caporusso says bilingual administrative employees - especially with good experience and skills - continue to be challenging positions to fill.

“The economic slowdown is not producing any more of these particular candidates,” he says.

About NCET - NCET’s Mission Statement

NCET, (Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology), is a state-wide non-profit organization that encourages people to start their own businesses and connects them with the resources they need to succeed. NCET has a strategic partnership with the Nevada Commission on Economic Development.

NCET’s Tech Tuesday - AT&T’s IP Showcase Technology - June 17

http://www.ncet.org/tech-tuesdays/

Please join us at AT&T on June 17 for NCET’s Tech Tuesday, Greater Reno-Tahoe’s premier technology and entrepreneurial networking event.

AT&T, recognized as the leading worldwide provider of IP-based communications services to businesses, will be hosting an IP Technology Showcase featuring multiple vendors and solutions, as well as the newest innovation for residential customers.

Tuesday, June 17
5:30 - 7:30 pm
$10 donation

AT&T
645 E. Plumb Lane
Reno Nevada
(Park and Enter on the West side of the building off of Yori Avenue and follow signs and balloons to the cafeteria. )

_________________________________________

Heck, we still enforce embargoes and frown on “leftist” governments and refuse to have trade relations with a certain island that is a stones throw the most southern tip of the USA.

Ah but there is a another more insidious form of socialism invading our ranks. Something that is so powerful that it goes a long way to level the economic playing field that all businesses, no matter how large or small, play upon. This scourge is growing like a virus and is upseting the traditional balance of business power.

It is making the small players immensely powerful and the large players scrambling to keep up.

it is undeniably a part of American culture and that means American businesses.

In many ways it is starting to define broad the American culture in very broad terms… way beyond what is hip.

Has anyone noticed the quantum technology leaps with this in the last couple of years?

If you agree, but don’t have the time or expertise to pull it off on your own, you might consider hiring a marketing consultant or ad agency to help you. But how do you tell who the experts are?

Ask these 5 questions knowing what answers to look for.

Q1 - What System Do They Use To Create The Messaging For Your Ad

To entice you, ad agencies will showcase eye-catching marketing pieces they’ve done for other clients. Whether it’s print, radio, video or web design - for them, their end result is artistic design. These pieces may catch the eye but if the underlying strategy is wrong, they flop. Graphics must support the message—not the other way around. The real result is the number of leads generated, percentage converted to sales, and dollars that flow into your business. Don’t be fooled by glitz and glitter—marketing is science, not art. Ask what method they use to develop the message. If the answer is, “We ask the business owner”, walk away. That’s not a system.

Q2 - Do They Know The Top-Ranked Customer Hot-Buttons For Your Business

Most ad agencies don’t understand what’s important to your customers. If they don’t know what drives prospects in your industry to buy from one provider instead of another, you can only expect dismal results.

Although too detailed for this article you can find your customer hot buttons by going to our web site, click on “Industries Served” and then select your industry. They’re in priority sequence along with the marketing challenges you’re likely to face. Compare these answers with the marketing consultant you’re evaluating, then decide.

Q3 - How Do They Measure The Effectiveness Of Your Ads

This is especially important if you’re running ads through different media. A great ad in the wrong place will produce dismal results. Suppose you’re running the same ad in 4 magazines and getting good call volume, you’ll probably continue running them, right? What if you learn that 80% of the calls are coming from one magazine? You’ll probably cancel the others and use the money for something else, right?

If you can’t measure it, you won’t know what works and what doesn’t. The only way to know is to have an accountability tag in each ad.

PS - Don’t let any marketing consultant fool you into believing that your receptionist will ask prospects which ad prompted them to call? When they’re busy they have no time to ask.

Q4 - Do You Have A Program That Fits My Budget

Cost is always a factor. You’ll find that some ad agencies won’t return your call unless you are prepared to spend $15K to $20K for a monthly retainer. Look for ad agencies that have programs for small and mid-sized companies. In fact, depending on your management style, you might want to hire a marketing consultant that gives you the choice of a turnkey solution or a “shared effort” teaching and coaching program that encourages hands-on involvement on your part. It just depends on your business philosophy and budget.

Q5 - How Long Before I See Results

Excellent results can’t be produced overnight, but seriously, should you have to wait 6 to 18 months just for the development phase of your marketing campaign? A typical ad agency can take this long or more. For small companies, this is too long a time period and it could actually be your death sentence. Expect some results within 60 days.

Summary

There is too much at stake to attempt “trial and error marketing” on your own. In this digital age you are better off working remotely with a marketing consultant who can pull it off than a local one that may not produce results.

Find an ad agency that can deliver the right marketing strategy the first time using a systematized development process. Be sure they use “accountability tags” so you’ll see exactly how effective (or ineffective) it is. If your budget is tight see if they have a program that allows you and your people to share some of the workload.

It seems that every three to four years, a flurry of activity occurs within a marketing department, and you hear the battle cry for a creative makeover.  Dutifully, creative directors present the battle plan based on what someone from the executive team has deemed wrong with the existing presentation.  Often, they will point to another brand and say, “Why can’t we look more like them?”  This is not a healthy start.

Do you really need a creative make-over?  Most of the time we are our own worst enemy, and we hear ourselves saying, “It’s getting stale”.  That may be true to your internal team, but is the creative stale to customers?  Are you still getting the intended results? Never change for the sake of change alone.  Change for a reason, and understand what that reason is!

The truth is your creative presentation should always evolve.  As you learn more about your product, your results and your customers, your creative efforts should evolve to reflect that knowledge.  With every piece, you team should scrutinize your creative efforts and ask, “How can we do better?”  If you are diligent in regularly applying a critique process to your work, a makeover is never necessary.  However, let’s assume that you haven’t been critiquing your efforts, and results show that a makeover is necessary.  What are the reasons for the lackluster results?  Consider the four simple roles of direct marketing creative:

1) grab attention, 2) present your brand, 3) efficiently explain your offer and 4) create an easy selling process. 

 It doesn’t matter if you are creating an email, catalog, solo package or web site; the rules are the same.  We all know these four activities are loaded with rules and complexities.  Let’s preview each one, and, as you read, grade your own creative efforts to determine if you are in need of a new battle plan.

GRAB ATTENTION

Why is the average response rate well below 5 percent?  Most likely, it’s because 95 percent of your efforts are immediately discarded.  You know the adage: You have seconds to draw in customers and prospects enough to register in their cognitive systems.  Even then, there must be a spark of interest creating enough recipients.  So, does your piece grab customers by the shoulders and say, “Hey, don’t ignore me!”  Or, is it passive and pretty?  Here are a few questions to consider when grading your ability to grab attention:

• Do you really know what a customer sees first when receiving your piece?  If so, have you done everything within your power to use this element to grab attention?
• Are you photography and graphics powerful?  Have you considered an interesting image, crop, or color?
• Are you using copy that is powerful and relevant to a customer’s world?
• Do recipients immediately know who the piece is from?
• Are you using brand elements that customers immediately recognize? 
• Are you offering solutions to relevant problems? 
• Is your offer clear and compelling?
• Is there a single focus, or have you bombarded them with many messages and images that only confuse and detract?

Once you have the customer’s notice, don’t think the need to grab attention stops on the outside of the envelope or the cover of a catalog.  Every component should engage the reader.  Are you using hot spots effectively?  Are you staging the different components for maximum effect, or - if it’s a catalog - are you pagination to fully take advantage of how customers process information?

PRESENT YOU BRAND

The No.1 reason most companies’ marketing communications are in need of a creative makeover is that they have never fully understood their own brands. 

 It’s impossible for a creative piece to enhance your brand when the designer does not have a clear understanding of what you stand for.  A brand is the customer’s perception of your product or service.  Too many companies think of brand in tactical terms, such as logo, color palette or masthead.  In this scenario, companies tend to flounder for years, changing logos and constantly coming up with new looks.  Your brand, or your reputation, is the most valuable element you own.  Consider the following questions when grading your brand delivery:

• Does your company have an articulated brand promise that identifies what you are able to uniquely deliver?  Does it indicate a specific target audience that can be visually identified?
• Does your creative team understand your promise and use it as a foundation for your creative efforts?
• Is your brand evident throughout your creative efforts?
• Are you using words and images that create an experience reflecting your brand promise?  Is it consistently relevant to your audience?  Have you used non-selling space to editorialize your brand or let others tell you story via testimonials?
• Is your brand image- e.g., the logo, color palette, typography-clearly defined and consistently presented so brand recognition is possible?

EFFECIENTLY EXPLAIN YOUR OFFER

Whether selling a service, product or catalog of products, your creative efforts must clearly and efficiently explain what you are selling.  This includes all of the pertinent need-to-know information, but, more importantly, creative must communicate why the product is special and what higher-order benefit it provides.  All of this information must be conveyed at a glance.  The ultimate crime is to engage customers only to lose them with too much confusing and irrelevant information.

Do you understand how customers process information?  Every format is processed uniquely.  With a catalog, consumers look at the picture first, then the price point, then the body copy.  With a postcard, they are interested in two things: Who is it from, and what’s in it for me?  Even a web site has rules for how a page is processed.  Is your team educated on these rules, and is it taking advantage of them?

Have you used graphic elements and other attention-getting elements to convey features and benefits quickly?  Are they used sparingly so as not to overwhelm the customer?  Does your copy use the same language nuances that customers might use?  If there is a specific offer or incentive associated with your product, do readers see the offer, and does it quickly convey the value?

Lastly, you should always sell a concept, not an item or a series of items.  Ultimately, you are selling a brand; one that customers will come back to repeatedly.  If you are selling products through a catalog, use creative themes that tie back into your brand.  If you are marketing a service, tie selling copy back into your brand promise.

CREATE AN EASY SELLING PROCESS

Have you ever let an outsider order from your direct marketing effort?  It is a cheap and easy exercise and, in most cases quite humbling.  Wouldn’t it be  a crime if your customers were ready to buy but abandoned the process out of frustration?  It happens all the time.  Statistics cite that once consumers set a direct mail piece aside, the rarely go back to it.  Do you consider the following questions when trying to create an easy process?

• How easy is it for customers to find and configure your pricing scheme?  Do you explain and show all options, including shipping variances?
• Do you help customers through the process of “good-better-best” when multiple options are presented?
• Is contact information easily found, especially your company’s customer service number?
• Have you made the ordering process easy to navigate?
• Is your creative presented with “design hygiene” in mind?  Have your overwhelmed the reader with to much color or too many attention-getters?
• Are you using good typography standards, making sure that all type is easy to read and easy to track?
• Have you organized the information in a hierarchy that guides customers to a decision?  Is it clear what copy goes with that image?  Have you used “signposts” like “Steps One, Two, and Three” to guide them through complicated information?

THE VERDICT

The list could go on, but the basic principal is to present the information as clearly as possible.  Present it as if you were trying to sell to a fifth grader-and never assume anything!

So, how did your creative effort stack up?  Perhaps you do not need a creative makeover, but a few tweaks might improve overall response.  Don’t be dismayed.  All creative efforts should be routinely critiqued and tweaked.  Challenge your creative team to look for ways to strengthen each role mentioned above.  If this becomes a part of your culture, you may never need a complete creative makeover again.

 Authored by Lois Boyle-Brayfield (re-printed with permission). 

 Lois Boyle-Brayfield is President and Chief Creative Officer of Mission, Kan. based, direct marketing agency J. Schmid & Associates. 

I’m a big fan of most of what comes out of the 37signals™ company. (Basecamp™ and Backpack™ are my two favorites)

 One of their tools, “Backpack”, just got a whole lot more useful for the small business.

Backpack is a tool that allows you to keep track of what you’re doing online; calendars, to-do lists, reminders, files, even digital “pages” organized around something you are working on (think client presentation, topic for meeting, or even your kid’s soccer team). The problem was that until recently this was really just a single user tool. Great for keeping your stuff together, but not so easy (for some impossible) to share.

Backpack now comes in a multi-user version that really makes this tool more like an powerful, on-demand, simple to use, Intranet for small business. You can create as many users as you like (price varies with number of users) and each user can have their own calendars, effectively creating an online sharable calendaring system. The newsroom feature is a like an activity dashboard that also keeps group messaging tidy.

There is a lot of crossover from Basecamp in terms of functionality, writeboards, lists and the such, but while Basecamp is more about project management and shared collaboration from outside, permission based, resources, I think Backpack is really more company focused. I can see small companies organizing it much like a knowledge base to house company documents, processes and manuals.

I really think it’s killer when combined with Basecamp. If you use multiple offerings from 37signals, one tip I would suggest is to get an OpenID and use it to log in to your accounts and then you will have the ability to jump back and forth to all of your accounts from a simple dashboard interface.

If you have projects and calendars you need to collaborate on… go check it out! (also go see www.basecamphq.com)

And if you have questions, send me an email so I can rave about their SAS in person!… blair at odg4biz dot com