Leslie McLellan and Sheila Scarborough of Tourism Currents presenting at Main Street Now 2019 conference. Photo by Becky McCray.

Sheila Scarborough and Leslie McLellan of Tourism Currents laid out a simple starting point for all your social media efforts. Good news: it’s as easy as filling in the blank.

Fill in the Blank

• (Our company) is where
• (our customers)
• find (the thing we offer)
• with (this benefit)

So all you have to do is fill in the blanks.

• Small Biz Survival is where
• rural business owners
• find practical information
• that helps their businesses prosper

Run it all together, and it looks like this:

• Small Biz Survival is where rural business owners find practical information that helps their businesses prosper.

I’m sure you can see how this helps with all your marketing, not just social media. Every piece of marketing should relate to what you just wrote.

Social Media Application

Because I have that clear understanding of what Small Biz Survival is, my social media strategy is easy. With every post on social media, I can address rural business owners with one of these four things:

• increasing their awareness of Small Biz Surivival and our articles,
• offering our free email newsletter so they can sign up,
• sharing a link to an item we have for sale that helps them,
• or sharing a link or information from another site that’s useful and practical.

And those, it just so happens, are the four types of social posts that Sheila and Leslie identified:

• Awareness
• Lead generation
• Sales
• Nurturing

Take your fill in the blank answers and then brainstorm examples of the four different types of posts. I can think of a dozen different ways to remind people that we have a newsletter. That’s lead generation because they give me their email address in order to sign up.

That might be enough for you. Maybe that’s all you need to think clearly about your social media marketing. That’s cool. But if you want to do more, hang in there with me.

Secret Power Tool: Your Calendar

Now that you know what you’re all about with the fill-in-the-blank answers, and you know some things you could be posting online, you’re ready to power up your calendar. And the best way to do that is to jump over to Tourism Currents for their story on Creating your social media content calendar: a planning process.

They’ll walk you through a super simple fill in the blanks calendaring approach that works for anyone.

Jump to Creating your social media content calendar: a planning process

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Photo (CC) by uberof202ff, on Flickr

Many retailers experience a sales slump during after the holiday season. How do you respond?

The slump comes as no surprise and most small-business owners know they just need to plan for it and ride it out. They think of it as time to work in the business and perhaps to grab a short vacation. Those are good ways to spend your time. Everyone needs a break and spending time restocking, cleaning and reorganizing can add freshness to your visual merchandising.

There are other approaches you can take, however. These range from bringing more people into the store during this slow period to working on business growth in the future.

Bringing more people can be done through directed mailings/emails. It can be a time when you aim for a new audience. Maybe you do a charity event or drive. This may be a time for you to start your own holiday (See our post, “Start Your Own Holiday”) or grab on to an existing one such as Groundhog’s Day or “Winnie the Pooh” day (Jan. 18th). or “International Fun at Work Day” (Jan. 26th).

But for long term growth and success, this may be the time to look forward. To make the most of your time, here are three possible efforts you could pick from:

• Internal efficiency and staff development – Do a deep dive into your data. Examine new technology and trends. Break out the list of consumer complaints looking for common areas of frustration. Include staff in these discussions. Also, plan some staff training and some fun.
• Develop your supply side – Maybe its time to have coffee with your sources of goods and materials. Are there opportunities for you to access additional items at cheaper prices or better terms? Do they have any special programs that you are not taking advantage of? Are you using technology effectively in your ordering and inventory control? Finally, what do they see as upcoming trends in the marketplace? It’s also a time for you to interview new potential suppliers. These may be your primary suppliers or backup suppliers or suppliers of specialty items that may complement what you are already offering.
• Better understand your customer base – Make an appointment with your top 10 customers. How can you get a greater share of their business? What issues have they had with your company? What trends do they see in the future and how will your business need to change to respond? How do they know who might be a new customer (and will they help you approach them)? What type of marketing is most effective in their view? You may also do surveys of your entire customer base or a short survey of customers as they come into the store. Also, some general market surveys to look at name and brand awareness might provide information. Finally, dig into the data. How is the make-up of your community and market changing? Perhaps you want to talk with some elected officials and other community leaders for their thoughts on your business, your market, the community and the future.

Getting this information is a great first step. However, you also need to use it and to do it now. Do some “what if” scenarios, some brainstorming, a SWOT analysis, scenario planning, etc. Include not only management but employees and your mentors/advisers. Even family members may be someone you want to have at the table.

So don’t look at this as your slow time. Make this your GROWTH time!!

Photo (CC) by Howard Lake, on Flickr

Let’s start with Best Wishes for 2018. 

That wish was to be a part of my post last week. But as you may or may not have noticed, I didn’t get a post done.

This is not the first time it has happened but those missed times were typically planned for some reason.

Last week my missed blog occurred when I had a “life happens” event. A Saturday phone call put me on a different track as I ended up locating and helping my mother move to an independent retirement community.  Thankfully, Becky gives me a great deal of independence in my posts.

But it raises a good question. Are you prepared to handle such unplanned life events and still maintain your business? Most businesses can’t just shut down for a short break and then restart right where they left off. Momentum is lost as well as good will with your customers. For a retail business, shutting down during the holiday season might just end your business.

In many ways, such events are just another type of disaster. As you have done your disaster planning, did you think about these personal life events that impact your business as much, or maybe more than, as a burst water pipe or a fire.

Yet, most of the events you have planned for probably involve the business system only. This makes them somewhat more contained than a personal event where both the business and family systems are involved at the same time. If only one system is under stress, we can often call on the other for various types of relief but where do you turn when both systems are stressed?

As you head into a new year, I would encourage you to think about similar events that you might face. What unique demands might you face? And what resources do you have to help? Some prep work will offer a great deal of relief both: (1) thinking about the future, and (2) when and if the day comes when you need to put your plan into action.

Once again, have a happy and prosperous 2018.

Photo (CC) Chris Potter, on Flickr via stockmonkeys.com

As you probably know, if you are going into business, the odds your business will be around in five years are not good. But they aren’t as bad as you may think, either.

Approximately one-third of businesses close within two years. At the five-year mark, about one-half of all businesses have closed. We don’t approach the commonly cited numbers of 70 to 80 percent of businesses being closed until the 10-year mark.

Also remember that 15 to 20 percent of businesses that close are actually successful, they are breaking even or they are making money, but the owners closes the businesses for other reasons.

So your business chances may be better than you expected. But as an aspiring or startup business owner, what can you do to increase your odds of being one of those who remain in operation?

The first major task is to build a business that solves a problem. That seems simple, but lots of businesses are built because someone has something to sell.

And is your solution something that will last for some time, or will it have a quick burst of sales and then disappear?  This means both finding a niche that has some future potential as well as looking forward to what you need to do when the market changes.

Solving a problem is only the first step. People must be willing to pay for your solution. And what they pay must cover your costs and provide a profit.

Ask yourself if other people already are providing the solution. If so, is the market big enough to support another player, and how will you distinguish yourself from the competition? Plus, how easy will entering the field be for others? Answers to these questions will help you understand if you are selling something special or if it is simply a commodity.

As you can see, planning is a key to business continuity. You also need to have adequate cash reserves. When you hear that getting started will take twice as long and cost twice as much money as planned, don’t discount the warning. While these vary, the reminder that things won’t go as planned is very accurate.

Building a sustainable business requires sacrifice, planning, and the ability to pivot and change. Are you ready?

Photo by Glenn Muske

Late last year, I did a blog post looking at how clustering of competitors may have positive results (https://smallbizsurvival.com/2016/11/competition-and-clustering.html).

Recently I was asked about this idea in terms of small rural town cafes. If any of you have lived in the Great Plains region of the country, you know the towns and the cafes I am talking about. These restaurants are a crucial element in maintaining a viable community.

The question was in terms of competing with each other.

Let me outline the situation – Several small towns within a county have a cafe (one town has two). These cafés are open until mid-afternoon Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. Maybe once a month, the café may be open for a Sunday brunch/lunch. What often happens is cafes choose to be open on the same Sundays.

I was asked, based on my previous blog, was “is this a good thing?”

As we discussed the question, another piece of information arose. Sometimes a nonprofit will also have a benefit lunch at that same time, meaning more competition.

This question is a good example of where broad answers may not always apply in specific circumstances. I could argue that more opportunities would bring out a larger audience than might normally be expected. Now it would seem that the potential audience is being split as they decide which of two or more opportunities they will attend.

So the answer is an unknown. It’s probably unlikely that the entire audience for the two or more cafes and events that might be open on a Sunday would all go to the one open location. But would it increase the number of customers somewhat? Let’s think about this.

For some of the audience, it would be further to travel and time might also be a factor.

Also, people like being with other people they know and having conversation. Going to a place further away may limit such social interaction. That may be as much of a draw as the food.

Another way to look at the question is from a capacity stand point? Having a larger audience is fine but do these small cafes have the staff and the physical resources (seating space, kitchen space, kitchen equipment, etc.) to handle larger crowds?

And would the shift of audiences be a consistent thing? Such cafes have small margins. Cooking too much food and not having people show up would be hard on the bottom line.

And there is the other issue of not having enough food prepared. Since the capacity to quickly do more, even if the food is on the shelf, is limited, you may hurt future attendance not only for your café but for others in the group of these planned Sunday dinners (is it dinner or is it lunch – another question for another time).

Last, will it be possible to develop a cooperative plan? Owners have the right to do what they want. Experience may show that certain Sundays are better than others. From my perspective, it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try. And if there is a local tourism board or economic development group, they also might want to be involved. If other events were planned around this (rummage/flea markets; local food sales/food stands & farmers markets; sporting events), the potential market size just grows. Market it as the Sunday “comfort food” trail.

Just thinking about the question can be a great reason for the café owner to connect with his or her customers. Ask them what they think? Would they go to the other cafes? Would they encourage their friends and neighbors to also go? What would be the best way to market this plan if it should happen?

It would also encourage the owner to develop a schedule for themselves of when they will be open. People are a creature of habit so knowing when would help the owner and the market plan.

So does increased competition in this case translate into a better bottom line for the entities involved? We don’t know.

What we do know is that an exploration of the question would be a good thing in general. Plus whatever the answer is to that question should offer the owner guidance for his or her future direction.

Photo (CC 2.0) by seaternity, on flickr

Do you ever look at the news and ask yourself how what you see might impact your business?

If you are like me, the chances are you don’t do a great deal of this.  Yes, we watch the news and may read the paper, a magazine and maybe a trade journal. Plus, we may spend time online going to various sites for information, education and entertainment.

I suspect, though, that we don’t spend a great deal of time reflecting on what it is we just saw and how it may impact our business. Oh, maybe with trade journals and small business articles, something focused on our livelihood, may merit some thought, but much of it we see and then quickly discard.

So this morning, I took the time to think about what I was reading and how items may be important or an opportunity for a small business.

While there is lots of things I could talk about, I want to focus on two news articles, one I see as a trend and another that’s partially fad but also has a trend. Here goes:

Pokemon Go – This augmented reality game has exploded. In just two days, 5 percent of Android devices downloaded the app. You may remember Pokemon, from Nintendo, from years past. Well, its back in a big way. Last evening, I happened to come across a location here in Bismarck where teens were gathering to be part of the game.

This article talks about how one small business has tried to capture some of this market.  While the store was lucky enough to be a home to a PokeStop, other stores are trying to determine how they might benefit from the game.

Takeaway: It’s probably a fad that will quickly come and just as quickly go. With the current market being teens, as soon as adults try to move in, they probably will go somewhere else. However, it does suggest two small business opportunities. The first opportunity comes from the fact that things can cycle around. Pokemon was big, left and now is back.

The second opportunity comes from what augmented reality might mean for small businesses. Imagine how you could use this in your store. And it will only get better.

Solar Impulse 2 – Going around the world in an aircraft powered only by solar energy. I have been watching this unfold for some time.  It doesn’t make the headlines often right now but will in the not too distant future. The project has only one flight leg left to complete its objective. It’s had its ups and downs (bad pun). And it’s a long way from commercial flights.

Takeaway: It’s a trend. Think about the opportunities, not only from solar energy, but, other technology involved from building materials to batteries to technology to the ability to follow the flights live with video and social media. And this is only one example. What about driverless cars? Or Google Streetview now offering a service to now go inside your store?

As with any opportunity, you need to determine if it is right for your business. But unless you are staying current, you may never have the chance.

Take 15 minutes today, check out the news. What opportunities are out there for you?

P.S. – Let me add one more. Check out what a piece of cardboard can do. How can this fit into your business?

Photo (CC) by Robert Scoble, on Flickr

What plans are you making for your business? 

For many of us, the idea of developing a plan is just overwhelming, scary and something we often just don’t do. It sounds tedious and time-consuming, and is seen as something that’s useful only as a doorstop.

Yet ask a business owner who takes the planning process seriously and he or she often will say he or she considers it was time well spent. But, the person usually clarifies, and experts agree, that the process is what offers the benefit, not the plan.

The planning process involves gathering information such as financial data, including monthly cash-flow statements, profit and loss statements, and balance sheets.

You also should pull together a customer list with total sales for each one. What is even more helpful is if you add a category on that list for what each customer bought. And as long as you are working with your customer lists, it would be a good time to pull together any customer satisfaction surveys or studies you may have gathered during the year.

It’s also time to examine the return for each marketing campaign you did. Which campaign brought in the most customers? Which one had the lowest cost per customer? Which one had the greatest sales? You also want to examine things such as the number of likes, retweets and engagement.

Check out your competitors for changes they have made or are planning to make. It’s also time to examine the trends in your industry, as well as related industries. And don’t forget to look at overall trends as well. Don’t stop with just trends in the U.S. We live in a global economy, so capture a broad picture.

And don’t forget to dig out any previous planning information you gathered. The idea is to look back and see what has worked and where you need to make some changes.

Of course, today, part of your examination of trends is to look at technology and the changes that are occurring.

Pulling the information together is just the first part. The second part is the crucial step. This step is the analysis: deciding what the information is telling you and what steps you need to take in the coming one, two or possibly three years.

Then let your mind wander, bring in some advisers, don’t set any ground rules, and start laying out some action you might take, given what the data tell you.

As you come up with the ideas, jot them down. This is not in a formal document; it’s just to get the idea and enough information so that you will remember what you were talking about. Set some milestones and, if you decide to make assignments, add those to the list as well.

My suggestion is that you write everything in pencil.  Penciled notes are a way to reinforce the idea that anything and everything can be changed, not only in the initial process but also throughout the year.

Flexibility is key to planning. You may be lucky and go 90 days without finding the need for adjustments, but changes will be needed; it is only a matter of time. Always be ready to go back to the drawing board. Successful business owners are those who can change and adopt to new situations quickly.

By now, your eyes are glazed over and you can’t see any way of getting it all done. The reality is that how much you do is your choice. If it seems overwhelming, don’t skimp on the analysis side. Instead, gather less information focusing on some key metrics. Second, remember to be flexible, which is why you wrote it in pencil. The faster you respond to changes, the greater your odds of success.

As you can tell, planning is never ending activity. Today is a great time to start or to update previous plans you have made.

So let’s ask the question again: What plans are you making for your business?

Photo (CC BY-SA 2.0) by Anna J. Lenabem, on Flickr

Well, here we are at the end of one year and the beginning of another. Welcome, 2016!

For many people, this is the day we make resolutions for the upcoming year. Often these hopes are for something in our personal life.

Do you also take time to make resolutions for managing your business? And for those of you who are still thinking about going into business, do you outline one or two steps that will help you come closer to achieving your dream? I would encourage you to do that along with your personal resolutions. These two types of resolutions may fit well together.

So let’s talk about making resolutions.

Of the people who make resolutions, only about eight percent actually follow-through. This low success rate can be attributed to many reasons but, at the core, understand we are creatures of habit. If we haven’t been taking steps towards this goal already, it is hard to break that habit and now take steps forward.

How can you improve those odds? Let me suggest a few ideas:

• Write it down. And then put it someplace you will see it every day. Our minds are full of keeping our daily life in order. Without a visual reminder, it gets easy to push our desire into a corner and then forget about it.
• Tell others. Writing it down is good. Having others know about your plans and be there for support increases your chances of success. Start by telling family and friends.
• Do some up-front thinking. Your goal may require several intermediate steps. Quite often we make the resolution without thinking of the “how.”  Your big idea will probably need to be broken down into several smaller chunks.
• Get a partner, mentor, coach, or what-ever you want to call the person who will keep you on task. That person can encourage, remind, and offer ideas on how you can move forward.
• Limit the list. Don’t plan on making ten or even five changes at once. Remember, this is changing our behavior and it won’t come easy. One or two changes, at most, offer you the best chances for success.
• Plan on hitting a hurdle. You will find yourself going off-track. That’s okay.  Know that the odds of this happening are high and put pieces into place to help you get back on track. This is where your support person/team, family and friends can help.
• Celebrate milestones. Don’t aim for one big party at the end. This is where chunking the task can give you some natural milestones. However, even chunking might not give you enough reinforcement points. Maybe you want to build your business network but find it hard to meet new people. Challenge yourself to add 12 new people to your network during the year, one per month. When you find that first contact, tell your support person/team. Tell them you want to meet for a cup of coffee and tell them how this new person can help your business. You might even invite your new network friend to the meeting as well.

Making changes in our business and in our personal lives takes work. That work starts with a resolution to do so.

What’s your resolution for 2016?

Good luck. 

For more statistics on New Year’s resolutions, go to: http://www.statisticbrain.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

Photo (CC) by Dennis Skley, on flickr

The world we live in is not a static place.

This is true in every aspect of life, including small business. For small-business owners, things are changing, and those changes are happening at an ever-increasing pace.

Doing business tomorrow will be different than doing business today. And doing business next week might be something we can’t even imagine today.

Disruption is another term people use when discussing the changing environment in which we live. When disruption occurs, you are forced to respond in some manner. No longer can you continue to do business as you have in the past.

While small-business owners may not know exactly what the next disruption coming down the road will be, they know it’s coming. Knowing it’s coming means the owner has a chance to determine his or her response.

Owners can respond in one of two ways:

• One choice is to do nothing. Let the disruption come and then respond.
• The other choice is to be proactive and to disrupt the business themselves. The event no longer happens at a random, and perhaps a bad, time.

Taking a proactive stance gives the owner several advantages.

For one thing, bad timing is taken out of the equation somewhat. The disruption occurs on the owner’s time schedule.

Second, being proactive means that the owner is not forced into playing catch-up but instead has done at least a little preparation in terms of possible responses. Even if the decision is to do nothing, the owner has made that decision and has not let circumstances make the decision for him or her.

By disrupting your own business, you also can get a jump on your competitors. Not only might you get a step ahead, but you put them into the position of being behind and responding to the external environment.

Being proactive changes the mindset you are working under. No longer are changes in the environment a threat. Instead, they become opportunities. You take control.

The bottom line: Disrupt your business before others decide to disrupt it for you. 

Photo (CC) by One Way Stock, on Flickr

Knowing what your customer wants is the base to building a successful business.

Of course, you still must meet that need, let customers know you have what they want, and price it at a level that customers feel is acceptable. But the process begin with knowing the problem they are trying to solve.

Market research is how to get the answer to this question.

Small-business owners need to use market research. When doing so, they also need to remember that all customers are not the same and that desires change through time.

Examining and understanding each part of the demand for a business’ services and products will help the owner be far more precise in understanding and planning how to meet the demand. Just like owners know that customers have a variety of responses in terms of acceptable prices, customers vary in the specifics of what they want.

To understand the idea of market research better, let’s look at food-related businesses.

People need food to sustain themselves. Thus, the need is very basic. Yet the demands for food can take a variety of paths, which offers business owners various opportunities.

When thinking of the opportunities, an owner might begin with the foods your customer grew up with in terms of heritage, culture and local offerings. This is only the beginning today, however. Now some people want to experience new things. Others would like to do it themselves, while some want the foods already prepared. Of those who want it prepared, some want to do the final cooking at home, while others will get it from a full-service restaurant.

So one desire can turn out to be multiple desires and multiple opportunities for a business. This does not even take into account the fact that for customers, the choices aren’t an either/or but are somewhere on a continuum. 

As a market researcher, you shouldn’t stop there. You have individuals who need certain specific diets and others who just desire such a diet. You also have people who want the items grown locally and those who are happy to accept getting what they want from whatever source that will provide it.

Market research can find these niches. Each one may (emphasize the “may”) be an opportunity for a small business or a new line for an existing business. Knowing what the customer wants may not tell you a specific business to start. You still need to determine which of the opportunities is the best for you. 

Market research is not a one-time task, though. Times change, people change and our worldview changes. People age and travel, and technology brings new ideas. Thus, an opportunity today might not be there in five or 10 years. Look at restaurants that come and go. Think back to what grocery stores offered 10 years ago to what they offer today. Or go to a different region of the country and see how a grocery store’s offerings differ just based on regional differences.

Being successful in business means knowing what the customer wants. Knowing what your customer wants comes from ongoing market research.