Hi there to all my Soap Afficiandos, Compadres and Farmers Market buddies.

I'm going to deviate from the world of Soap and Bath & Body today and the next few days.  I want to talk about small businesses and how they can potentially get a leg up on marketing and promoting themselves.  Specifically,  how to promote yourself, your business and try and save yourself and make yourself a few bucks in the process.  Also, some pointers on what not to do. No, I am no expert on any of this, I just know what works for me and has for a long time.  Whether working for myself or back in my job hunting days,  I have always had to sell ME before selling an employer my skills or a customer my products. Plus I'll go into what really yanks my (and other people's) chains and makes sure we don't spend money with a business.  Some of these require some work, but if you don't want to work, what did you start a business for?


Part I:  So You Want To Know Why Aren't People Aren't Using Your Business?

2 weeks ago, I was at a Community Business Summit sponsored by the Bolivar Area Chamber of Commerce and one of the speakers near the end of their talk made an interesting observation to the room: To sum up 10 minutes into 1 sentence:  It's great to do some of the old time (20th century) marketing and promotion of one's business, but you must get into the 21st century.  Boy they hit that nail on the head.  I've been having hissy fits about this, especially the last 3 years.  Too many business around here just have no clue that if I want to buy a service or product, my first thought is to go online and look them up.  Why?  It's convenient. It's early in the morning, I'm drinking my coffee in my jammies,  your info is right there in front of me.  I can bookmark, copy/paste/print it,  save or forward all the info I need. And I can email questions and hopefully get an answer back within 24 hrs.  If I need it sooner, I'll pick up the phone.

Another reason I like looking up a company is because it tells me they have made an attempt to get more exposure to the world, for their company and themselves.  I don't care that the company is only 12 miles away from me.  I want to know before I step out my door, write the check or pull out the plastic some basic idea of what or who I'm dealing with.  Sitting on the back 20 hoping folks will find you and come calling is not going to cut it with me or others in these high tech, internet driven days. There is no excuse for it.  I should not have to call 3 other people to get basic information about a business that says it wants my money.  I don't care what industry you are in. Food, sales, entertainment, promotions, medical, farms with their own on farm store. Get something online:  a web page, a Facebook page (hey, even I broke down and did that). I mean come on.  I live in a rural area in SW MO.  The Feed and Tack store down the road from me is on line.  The liquor store in town is on line!  And you're not?  I can't buy if I can't find out about you.  I've had this issue 3 times in the last 2 months.  Are you kidding me?

And lastly why I like looking up a business on line:  I do get so very tired of calling business and getting someone answering who knows very little about the products, operation or the services offered and has no one to direct me to who does know something.  I'm not talking about after hours or school vacation and Mom and Dad happen to have the kids in the shop and the phone rings.  I'm talking 2:00pm on a Tuesday. After 5 minutes of pulling teeth to get basic information, I'm flipping through the phone book or the Google results ready to go to the next one.  I don't care how top notch your product or service is. Your phone person cost you my business before you even got the chance to win it. What the hell are they doing answering the phone if they don't know any more than how to say hello -without taking the gum out of their mouth? And you hired them to do it.

TIP: If you are going to have a business that is supposed to be connecting with other people and their money, then you need to find a way to connect FIRST. 

Be there. In person, you have to do more than just show up.  That's the easy part. You have to sell YOU. Then your service or product.  There are a lot of businesses that can have a very profitable symbiotic relationship with you if you work at it. But you have to be where they can find you.

TIP: Get your company online, even if it's only a basic informational website. 

If you've got a phone line your phone co. probably has an internet division.  If you already have an internet connection to your business or home, your isp most likely has a small (3-5mb) allotment for you  FREE. Use it please. 1 or 2 decent web pages. Do it right and you can get 4-5 pages.  If no freebie by the isp,  stop being a silly cheap and shell out the $5.00 a month for a basic website and hosting plan with them. Most give 4-5 pages and have an on sight web builder.  Go buy a domain name from godaddy.com ($6.00-$15.00) and then make yourself a basic informational web site, either at their place (can we say FREEBIE again!) or at your isp. Your kid probably already knows how to build one from a template anyway. And if you really are on the broke end of that shoestring budget, have you heard of Microsoft's Windows Live/Office Live? Free web space. Again, go buy a domain name from godaddy.com  and then make a free website on Office Live.    But seriously, that $15.00 or so -You spend more than that on lunch 3 days a week eating that fast food crap you don't need to be eating in the first place. Just Do It!

TIP: Stop hiring idiots.

Hire people who can have an intelligible conversation with as few ums, likes and ya knows as possible.  Who can spit out the gum and not chew it in in my ear. Who can pick up your product catalog and learn the merchandise or service you are selling. 

Last July I called a certain local electronics store and asked  "Do you have any external hard drives, how many gigs and how much do they cost".  What I want from a phone call to a business:  That they don't automatically tell me, sounding like a surfer dude  "Um, noooo, I dooooon't think so".  And  then I have to ask them if they even know what I'm talking about. And then I have to describe it.  And then they go look and say, "Oh yeah, we do.  And I have to repeat and ask what size gig is it and how much.   sigh.  Backstory:  I was having serious computer hard drive issues and I needed an emergency external backup, yesterday!   Little electronic shack, I called you first, your idiot didn't seem to care I had $150.00 I needed to spend right then.   So I spent my money elsewhere.

TIP: Whomever answers your phone is the gatekeeper to your business, make sure they aren't locking the gate on your customers.


Part II will be on creating your marketing materials.  Yes, It means you might have to learn to do something new. Deal.