Your local businss on the web

Research guru Tim Stehle sent me a copy of the All Business Newsletter, bringing my atention to an article titled, Is your business findable on the Web?

The author's point is that no business is so small that it can afford not to have a web presence, and that even if an owner doesn't have the time/money/expertise to do a complete web site, there is always a blog.

Her conclusion is, "It's up to you to build a strong Internet presence as part of your marketing plan. You can do it with minimal costs and a little investment of time."

The part about an Internet presence is spot on. But the part about minimal costs and a little investment of time...well, I don't want to nit-pick here, but a strong web presence pretty much takes more than "minimal costs" and "a little investment of time."


Anyone who has ever tackled a blog will tell you it takes a lot of energy, thought and time to write two or three times a week. Week in and week out. And it needs to be designed so that crucial information about your business is easy to find. And a website? Keeping it fresh, relevant, and "above the fold" in web searches takes a lot of work.

I don't mean to deter any local business from a web presence. It IS crucial. But a small business owner needs to understand that like any advertising or marketing effort, a web presence is not a one-time investment. It's an ongoing expense in today's world, and factoring in that time and cost is as important as any other element in a business plan.

SBA Online Tools Use Tops 125,000

Sure, it's straight from a press release (dated Feb 25) but still...if you are thinking you are ready for your own biz give it a try.

More than 125,000 entrepreneurs ...have used the U. S. Small Business Administration's newest online assessment resource ... two online assessment tools, the "Small Business Readiness" and the 8(a) Business Development assessment tools....


The Small Business Readiness assessment tool helps prospective entrepreneurs determine their level of preparedness...evaluate their skills, characteristics, and experience as they relate to
starting a business.

Based on their scores, entrepreneurs are directed to the SBA training
resources that support the identified needs to improve business
preparedness. The Small Business Readiness assessment tool is available on
the SBA's Web site at http://www.sba.gov/assessmenttool/index.html or by
clicking the "Assessment Tool" icon under the spotlight heading on the SBA
home page.

The 8(a) Business Development assessment tool was launched in October
to help small business owners decide whether they are suitable and eligible
for the SBA's 8(a) Business Development Program. The program helps small
disadvantaged businesses compete in the U.S. economy through business
development. Like the small business readiness assessment, the customized
8(a) Business Development assessment tool directs entrepreneurs to targeted
training and resources online. It too is available online at
http://training.sba.gov:8000/assessment.

SMX West - blogs from the conference

I'm over at Search Marketing Expo this week - listening to what's going on in the world of search and covering the event for Classified Intelligence. If you're interested in the field, here are a couple of blog posts where you can catch up on the action ...

The Online Marketing Blog has coverage of some of the sessions in a crisp, concise style. The coverage includes Danny Sullivan's Keynote, and some cool tips from the session on blended search that blogger Jolina Pettice titles Google's 5 Tips to Succeed in Universal Search -
1. Publish high quality, well captioned images
2. Create a Google video sitemap
3. Update business listings in local business center
4. Submit your feed to Google product search
5. Create a high-quality company blog

The Search Engine Roundtable has a bunch of bloggers there - here's a link to their site. I've also included a link to their post about today's keynote and their more in-depth coverage of the Blended Search Revolution. You can read about most of the sessions at Search Engine Roundtable.

UPDATE: Here's a page that lists most of the blogs covering the SMX Conference, courtesy of Search Engine Land.

Are You Entrepreneur of the Year

Yes, you could win glory, fame, and great bragging rights as Entrepreneur of the Year - sponsored by Entrepreneur Magazine and presented by The UPS Store. Entry form and links to rules etc are here.

To qualify, you must have fewer than 100 employees, have at least $500,000 in annual sales in 2007 and own at least 51 percent of your business.

Winners will be chosen in two categories: Entrepreneur of the Year and Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year. Entries must be received by June 30, 2008. Winners get a trip to the awards ceremony at an all-day conference for entrepreneurs in Long Beach, California on December 9, 2008.

Prizes, aside from the award ceremony, include a $500 gift certificate for products and services at any of The UPS Store franchised locations, a selection of Entrepreneur Press books (a $300 value), and a three year subscription to Entrepreneur® magazine (a $60 value)...plus they will be profiled and promoted in a special section of the December 2008 issues of Entrepreneur magazine and in a follow-up article in the December 2009 issue.

Future of Small Business Report

The third segment of the "Intuit Future of Small Business Report" was released this week (originally due Q4 2007). Titled "The New Entrepreneurial Economy" this segment reveals trends helping small businesses thrive in the coming 10 years.

The report is sponsored by Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) and authored by the Institute for the Future. Like the first two segments of the report, it's a great read. This portion focuses on three issues beneficial to small business:

• Brain Meets Brawn to Create Opportunities for Small Business - The emergence of barbell-like economic structures [a few giant corporations on one end, a relatively small number of mid-sized firms in the middle, and a large group of small businesses balancing the other end] will drive new business collaborations, creating greater opportunity and profitability for small business.
• Barriers Down, Small Business Opportunities Up - Access to big business infrastructure will expand, making their sophisticated technologies available to small and personal businesses, at lower risk, with a variable cost structure.
• The Next Wave of Globalization Will be Driven by Small Business - Muted trade barriers, improved technology, and professional and social networks across borders will facilitate small business access to new markets.

If you recall, the first installment of the report revealed the changing face of small business. The second installment examined technology trends and their impact on small business formation and operation.

Bye-bye brick and mortar?

Kudos to the Center for Media Research without which I would have missed the interesting report by the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), entitled “Channel Integration and Benchmarks in the Retail Industry.”

Boring title - interesting info:

• The absence of a brick-and-mortar store is becoming prevalent among retailers — 41 percent of survey respondents don’t have a physical store. [my note: survey was 101 retailers surveyed in November 2007]
• The website is the most consistently used direct marketing channel, followed by email and direct mail.
• Mobile is the direct marketing channel retailers are least likely to use.
• Among the survey respondents, 66 percent gather customer information from direct mail, and 65 percent gather it from the Internet.
• Discounts remain the most popular loyalty program, with 80 percent of respondents using them.
  

Trends that will impact your business

The WAN (World Association of Newspapers) asked leading newspapers executives to identify the current trends they believe will have an impact on the future of their businesses. The list of 66 trends will serve as the centrepiece for "scenario planning"workshop being held in France January 29-30.

Though designed by newspaper execs, these trends ring very true for the local business under assault by the many changes in today's marketplace. Here are just a few:

• Availability is increasingly important - People are not always buying what they like, but instead what is at hand. 24/7 is becoming the norm.
• Infinite choices are making it hard to decide what product/service to buy.
• Increased life complexity calls for measures to simplify life.
  A new breed of "professional customers" -- well-educated customers with extensive knowledge of competing products/services and pricing.
• 50-70 percent of buying decisions are made in the store means more focus on design.

You can dowload the whole list here

Small Biz Contest - $50K and lots of glory

If you have 100 employees or less and have used technology to develop a competitive advantage in delivering superior customer value and experience....here's a contest for you.

To seek out and reward innovative small businesses for their smart use of technology, Dell and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) - founded the Dell/NFIB Small Business Excellence Award program in 2004. Applications for this year's contest are due by Feb 29.

U.S. finalists will be announced in May 2008. Questions about the Small Business Excellence Award can be sent to SB_Award [at] Dell.com

OK, the $50,000 is in Dell products and services, but still, it's a nice opportunity and a very good playing field for the local business.

Small Biz Owners Always Working

Small biz owners are ALWAYS working. Yep. We knew that.

Thanks to Fox Business for alerting me to a new survey from Staples about small businesses - these stats will have folks who own local businesses nodding their heads:

"Small Business Managers Reveal Startling Work Hours and Habits

"Almost half of U.S. small business managers work during time meant for family and admit to making business calls and checking e-mail while driving, according to a national survey ...[exploring] the balance between work and personal time for 300 leaders of companies with fewer than 20 employees, a group representing nearly 90 percent of all U.S. businesses..."

Here are some of the other tidbits you'll pick up if you click through to the press release:

• nearly one in five managers admit to reading work-related e-mail and documents while in the bathroom and nearly half work while driving
• nearly two-thirds (62 percent) work well beyond a 40-hour week, and one in five work a double week, logging an extra 40 or more on-the-job hours.
• one in five work while eating dinner at least 4–5 times per week
• more than a third could not readily remember their last vacation.

College Students Come Calling for Google

Thanks to Search Engine Land for the heads up on a new Google program to turn college students loose on local businesses.

According to the always-on-top-of-things Greg Sterling, "You've got to hand it to Google for creativity. It created the local business referral representative program to enlist stay-at-home moms, college students and others to get better data about local businesses and build AdWords awareness. (I was told by Google that the response to the program had been strong.) Now Google has developed the "Google Online Marketing Challenge." According to the site, "student groups will receive US$200 of free online advertising and then work with local businesses to devise effective online marketing campaigns."

Sterling also has a heads-up about an upcoming Simple Ads program, so check out his post.

Optimize - Strategize - It's all "zzzz" to me

A recent project had me examining several dozen web sites, checking out product offerings and company information. Ugh! The state of web marketing and communications is pitiful.

Over 75% of the sites used jargon, but never said what the product was - I see they are all cost effective, revenue enhancing, they all optimize, strategize (and cross-my-eyes). They are all industry-leaders, best-of-breed, they all provide solutions, enhance, enable, and empower. HUH?

They fail to list their products. When products are listed there is not a simple descriptive sentence alongside that product. Want to know what the product does? Well, it's likely state-of-the art something that enables somebody to maximize their revenue potential. (And, like I asked, WHAT is it?). Instead - they have a page of "Solutions" which is poorly written, poorly edited, and minus compelling benefits.

Several don't list any of the names or backgrounds of the people involved, provide no street address, and fail to provide basic company information. Hey, if I'm dealing with Google I don't really need to verify that this company knows what they are doing. If I'm dealing with XYZ Cutie Name Company I want to have a lot of information that tells me they are legit.

Betcha they are thinking, "We'll provide that when they call us. No need to give any information away to our competitors." Problem is, who would care to call such an unprofessional company.

If it was just this one situation, I wouldn't be so peeved. But this is rampant. Go to any major conference, walk the conference floor, look at booths and literature, and tell me what half the companies do and how they are unique among their competitors. It can't be done.

PR these days makes it even worse. Check out this post from Ken Magill. He's on-spot in his analysis about how ineffective it is to think that people will work hard to understand your company.

So this is my mini-rant. I wish every company that wants to succeed would optimize its language, strategize on how to communicate better, enhance their message, enable real people to understand exactly what's being offered, and be the best-of-breed communicators as well as technologists.

Now THAT would be real marketing.

Small Biz and the Web

Two pieces worth noting to help keep your small retail business competitive.

One from the New York Times - Small Merchants Gain Large Presence on Web - pointing out that small- and medium-size retailers selling online has swelled in the last two years, from 21 percent to 32 percent. This article should give you cause to pause if you're thinking about opening a new business as a bricks-and-mortar location. (This sent in by pal and research guru Tim Stehle - thanks, Tim!)

The second from Andrew Shotland's blog, covering keynoter Allison Mnookin's (VP Small Business, Intuit) talk at the recent Kelsey Group Interactive Local Media Conference. She told attendees that company research shows 20% of the small businesses claimed that SEO was by far their “most effective” online marketing tactic. Only about 5% said that online advertising was most effective. Shotland remarks, "Of course 59% said business cards were the most effective form of marketing so we SEO junkies still have some work to do."

The Kelsey Group blogs also had great information from Mnookin's talk - check out Steve Marshall's post which includes hints on how vendors should work with small businesses, as well as tidbits such as, "SMBs spent about $110 billion on marketing last year. But only 22 percent have done any online marketing (in the past 12 months), and less than 5 percent of their marketing budgets are spent on online media. Finally, although 95 percent of SMBs say they want to have a Web site, less than 50 percent currently do."