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The Truth About Marketing Part V

2012-02-14T14:23:00Z

The Truth About Marketing Part V

The last entry in this series began a discussion on marketing mix, a.k.a. as the 4P's. In particular we discussed the first of the 4P's -- "Product". Let's now focus on the second element of the marketing mix "Price".

PRICE

The price of your product or service is based on your cost to produce or provide your product or service, your associated overheads, your competitions price and what your customer will pay. Taking these factors into account, there are several strategic ways to price your product or service:

Premium Pricing

Is a high price based upon the uniqueness of your product or service...This type of pricing is used where a substantial competitive advantage exists. In other words, you have a product or service that No One else offers in your marketplace.

Penetration Pricing

This type of pricing is used for products or services that are in the ‘introductory’ stage of either the product or the business. With this pricing, the prices are reduced to attract the largest customer base and can be used to discourage competitors.

Price Skimming

This follows Penetration Pricing where the price has been below the real market price. Once the customer is established the price quickly rises to recoup costs and to allow the business to begin realizing a profit, i.e. Low-balling a contract bid in order to get the future business at a higher GP. Caution must be used with this strategy since a quick price increase can give your competitors an advantage and/or repeat customers may be affected adversely…This strategy needs to be well planned. This only works well when you wish to obtain a large percent of market share quickly, or if you wish to drive out the competition.

Economy Pricing

This is ‘no frills’ pricing and usually applies when the cost to produce the product or service is very low and the overhead to support the business is stagnate and fixed. This also applies to businesses (Wal-Mart) where the volume of procurement allows the price to be very low. Some small businesses use this approach as a means of getting their foot in the door with the hope of leveraging into other areas of business.

Differential Pricing

This pricing allows for the same product or service to be priced differently according to your market segmentation or by geographical area. The old saying, “What the market will bear” comes into play.

The five pricing strategies listed above are the most commonly used. However, you need to be aware of other strategies that are used to price products and services. If you would like to receive more information on pricing strategies please contact me at tim.barrett@blueprintsforbiz.com

Once again, as with product, the pricing strategy for your product or service will often vary by market segment.

Until our next blog post you may wish to take some time to review each of your market segments and related product or service sets and determine which pricing strategy you are using. Is it the best one? You may be surprised by the answer.

Stay Tuned for the Truth About Marketing Part VI

The Truth About Marketing Part IV

2012-02-01T20:51:48Z

The Truth About Marketing Part IV

For those of you who have been following the series on the "Truth About Marketing" welcome back! For those of you who may be new to the blog or to this series I recommend that you go back and review the first three parts in the series, "The Truth About Marketing III", "The Truth About Marketing II", "The Truth About Marketing I".

Since it has been a while since I posted a new entry (sorry about that) here's a brief recap. Thus far we have talked about what marketing is, what it isn't, target markets, macro push versus macro pull and in Part III we discussed market segmentation.

Now let's continue our discussion by talking about marketing mix, a.k.a. The 4 P's. For each market segment defined using market segmentation points you will want to apply its own marketing mix. The marketing mix or 4 P's is composed of Product, Price, Place and Promotion. Let's talk about them one at a time, starting with the first one, which is Product. The remaing three P's (price, place and promotion) will be discussed in subsequent blog posts.

PRODUCT

You may believe that your product or service is easy to define, yet there are many aspects that you need to think through to complete this first element of your mix. If you are in the printing business is a printed brochure simply information portrayed in a creative manner? What does it say about the company, its products, its quality and its commitment to their customers? Your product or service is more complex than you might think and you must make decisions relative to what you are offering your customers. Your product or service has three levels, these are: The Core product, the Actual product and the Augmented product.

Your Core product is not the actual, physical product. You can’t touch it because your core product is the Benefit of the product that will make it valuable to the customer. If you buy a sports car the benefit is speed and the ability to travel quickly. If you hire a temporary worker your benefit is your work project will be completed faster, better, or at lower costs.

Your Actual product is the tangible product or service. If you buy a car you will use it for transportation, it is tangible. If you hire a temporary worker, you get work done…again tangible.

Your Augmented product is the non-physical parts of your product or service that add lots of value that may or may not have a price. If I buy a car, I get a warranty, after sale service, and customer support. If I hire a temporary worker I don’t have employee benefits to pay, the company stands behind the temp employee’s work, and I can hire more temps if needed.

If you apply the three levels of product to one or more of your market segments, hopefully, you will agree that different market segments view “product” completely different from one another. For some the core element is more important than actual, while others will be more focused on augmented and core, with very little emphasis on actual. So, we must repeat our earlier statement; “Is a printed brochure simply a brochure…?"

Until our next blog posting you may wish to give thought to each of your market segments and then think in terms of how each market views your product or service.

Also find out more about how we assist business consultants and help companies of all sizes with:

Turnarounds and Workouts

Emerging Growth

Family Business Succession Planning

Mergers and Acquisitions

Stay tuned for The Truth About Marketing Part V

The Truth About Marketing Part III

2011-12-19T20:21:11Z

The Truth About Marketing Part III

Welcome back again to our discussion on The Truth About Marketing. For those of you new to the series let's take a moment to briefly review parts one and two.

In part one we talked about what marketing isn't. In part two we began our discussion on what marketing is. We started with some basic definitions associated with the marketing discipline and began walking you through a scenario that applies the tenants of marketing to the beginning, middle and end of the business process. This included a discussion on identifying target markets, market voids, and the relevance of a macro-push versus macro-pull approach to deploying marketing. If you have not read parts one and two I recommend that you take a moment to do so prior to reading part three.

Keeping in mind that a market is composed of individuals or businesses that share common needs and common characteristics, in order to successfully penetrate one or more markets requires that you profile them in an effort to better understand their needs, wants and desires. The primary tool used to profile a market is market segmentation, so let’s spend some time together discussing what market segmentation is, its various components and how they are used.

Market segmentation is dividing a market into distinct subsets, or “segments”, that behave in the same way and have similar needs.

Segmentation occurs within different variables, these are geographic, demographic, psychographic and behavioral.

Here is a brief look at the segmentation variables so that you clearly understand these in principle.

Geographic – Looks at the region or regions you intend to sell to, the size or density of the area being targeted, type of environment (metropolitan cities, small cities, towns).

Demographic – Profiles individuals or businesses you target based on set parameters. For an individual, it is often by age, gender, education, occupation, income, religion, nationality, race, language and socioeconomic status. For a business, it is often based on industry, # of locations; headquarter location, products, # of employees, annual sales.

Psychographic – Profiles individuals by personality, life style, attitudes, morals, and personal values. Profiles businesses by corporate culture, management background, management style, etc.

Behavioral – Profiles individuals and businesses by product use, brand loyalty, benefits sought, the readiness-to-buy process, decision-making process and profitability.

By taking the information gathered from these variables, and in some cases combining them, you will develop a buyer profile; that ‘profile’ will become the ‘customers’ best suited for your products or services. Your marketing strategy will then be prioritized and directed toward the buyer profiles.

As you give further thought to market segmentation, and as a practical exercise, you may wish to take a moment and profile your current customers using the market segmentation components introduced in today’s discussion.

For each market segment you will next apply the marketing mix. The marketing mix, also commonly referred to as the 4 P’s will be the focus of Part IV in our series on the The Truth About Marketing.

Ultimately, your ability to effectively target and penetrate one or more markets in a cost effective and efficient manner will depend in large part on your use of market segmentation and the market mix within an overall strategic marketing plan.

Stay tuned for The Truth About Marketing Part IV.

The Truth About Marketing - Part II

2011-12-10T21:01:20Z

The Truth About Marketing Part II

Welcome back to our discussion on "The Truth About Marketing". In part one I talked about what
marketing isn't, so now its time to start talking about what marketing IS.

Let's start by defining some

basic terms that will prove to

be an important part of this

discussion.

Market - A market consists of individuals or businesses that share common characteristics and common needs for goods and services. The process of market segmentation is used to define and profile the composition of one or more markets.
Marketing - (The Dictionary Definition) - The act of buying or selling in a market. The total of activities involved in the transfer of goods and services from the producer or seller to the consumer or buyer.
Marketing - (The Business Definition) - Marketing is the process of planning and executing the development, pricing, promotion and distribution of products and services to targeted customers. Using this standard everyone in your organization is ultimately involved in marketing in some way, not just some narrowly defined marketing department.
Sales - The exchange of goods or services for an amount of money or it's equivalent; the act of selling.
Advertising - The act or practice of calling attention to one's product, service, need, etc., especially by paid announcements in newspapers and magazines, over radio or television, or billboards, etc.: to get more customers by advertising.

With the definitions above clearly in mind allow me to begin walking you through a process that applies the tenants of marketing to the beginning, middle and end of the business process. The process will go beyond this blog segment so consider subscribing to BlueBlog.

Defining Your Target Market

Identification of a Market - Based on the definition of a market the first step is to identify one or more markets based on the use of market segmentation components (geographic, demographic, psychographic and behaviorisms). The segmentation points allow us to identify individuals and businesses that share common characteristics and common needs for products and services. I will discuss more on market segmentation in a subsequent blog segment.

Building a better mouse trap

Market Voids - In order to succeed in penetrating a market you must identify the voids that exist within the market. Voids are based on measurable factors that lead to the need for a new product or service or an improved product or service. A better mouse trap is a classic example of where the need for an improved product exists. Ultimately "market voids" are all about understanding the consumers' needs, wants and desires that are relevant to a particular market.

Filling the Void - In order to fill the void often requires that market research take place in order to better understand the motivating factors that will ultimately lead to the purchase of the product or service. Market research can take a number of different forms, i.e. online, survey, focus groups, et cetera. In general terms, market research should be conducted under circumstances where the value of the research is less expensive than the cost of the research. Stating this another way, in order for business owners and managers to make the best possible decision requires information. If a decision has nominal consequences then the cost of research may outweigh the benefit. But, as is often the case, if the potential impact of a business decision is significant, then in many instances the money spent on research is money well spent. Ultimately filling the void results in the creation, manufacturing and distribution of a new or improved product or service.

Macro Push versus Macro Pull...

A macro push is where a business has a particular line of products or services that they have secured based on their perception that a market exists for that particular line of business. You push the product or service into the marketplace in hopes of finding someone who has an interest in buying.

A macro pull is where a business segments and profiles the market, and based on their research developments, manufactures (creates) and distributes products or services that match the needs, wants, desires and motivations of the market, pulling clients toward them.

Often times in the world of small business the composition of a new product or service is based on the perception of the company's owners and managers.

It is often an intuitive process (going with gut) versus being based on hard facts. Gut is good, but facts are better! In essence a macro push strategy prevails. A macro push is a viable strategy for a company that is established and where a well developed brand and loyal customer base exists. For a start-up or young company, the deployment of a macro pull strategy is (in my opinion) a preferable and less risky approach.

What Really Matters - At the end of the day it really doesn't matter what a business owner, manager, employee, friend, or family member likes or dislikes about a company's products, services, brand et cetera. What really matters is what the consumer likes or dislikes about your product or service, your brand or other numerous factors. For this very reason, most medium and enterprise level companies spend a significant amount of time and money focused on the consumer; they use market research and focus groups to define the composition of the product, i.e. shape, color, configuration and other marketing concepts tied to price, distribution and promotion. As you read this you may be saying, but I am not a medium or enterprise size company. No, many of you who read this are not, but regardless of your size the fundamental concepts that I am discussing represent the foundation of all businesses, regardless of size, industry or geographic location.

Allow me to close this blog segment by posing the following questions for your consideration:

Is the marketing discipline truly being used in your company?
Can you define or profile the various markets you are currently serving?
How many different markets (market segments) are you attempting to penetrate with your products and services?
What void does your core product or service fill?
How are you different from your competitors in a measurable and definable way?
Are you deploying a macro push or macro pull strategy?
Do you gather hard facts when considering significant business decisions?
To what degree are you influenced by friends, family, and colleagues as you contemplate and address crucial business decisions?
What role does pride and ego play in your decision making process?

If you find that the answers to the above questions disturb you or create more questions, then I would encourage to subscribe to "BlueBlog" so that you don't miss future blogs as we further address many of these issues. If you find that there are many questions that need addressing and you feel you need some objective feedback then please feel free to call me at toll free at (866) 913-4100 or via e-mail at tim.barrett@blueprintsforbiz.com.

Look for The Truth About Marketing - Part III coming soon.

The Truth About Marketing - Part I

2011-11-27T20:07:31Z

Stop the presses... Hold everything!

Recently, with the assistance of our staff we posted two blog entries tied to marketing tips based on Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson, the father of "Guerilla Marketing". I am huge fan of Levinson and Guerilla Marketing, but, as I was reflecting on the two blog entries I remembered that Guerilla Marketing is NOT really about marketing as I view it. Unfortunately Levinson's approach further promulgates the myth about what many people believe marketing is, versus what it really is. Certainly, Guerilla Marketing is part of what marketing is all about, but compared to the true definition and application it represents a very small part of the overall marketing discipline.

In this multi-part series on the "Truth About Marketing" it may be easier to understand what marketing is by defining what it's not.

Marketing is not:

Sales
Advertising
Business Development
Public Relations
Social Media
Promotion

Marketing is one of the most often misunderstood and seldom used of all the business disciplines.
Marketing is the hub or core of business, from it all other aspects of business emanate.
Marketing is often strategic, yet leads to tactics.
Marketing is the beginning, middle and end of the business process.
Marketing is the rudder of the ship, without it you go no where.

By this point I may have totally confused you or led you to believe that I am the one who doesn't truly understand marketing. Bear with me and by the end of part two in this series I believe we will all be on the same page.

You may also be asking yourself why I am on the rant about marketing all of a sudden? That's a good question, so please allow me to answer it.

In addition to the fact, as stated above, that I should have written this blog entry prior to publishing the other recent blogs, here are some facts that I have discovered during my business career that now spans over thirty-seven years.

Most businesses fail based on six key factors:

They failed to conduct a proper feasibility study prior to launching the business.
They did not create a business model that accurately addresses how, when, and from where the business makes money.
They may have written a business plan, but in most cases it was for the purpose of getting a loan, not a strategic "blue print" designed to lead the business toward long term success.
They aren't prepared to evolve and grow as business owners and as necessary to start, grow, and manage their business toward long term success. Ego is often the culprit here.
They do not understand marketing and have not deployed this very valuable business discipline within their feasibility study, business model, and strategic plan.

I have lectured about marketing for many years all across the country. I am always amazed at how little small business owners understand about marketing.

Needless to say I am passionate about marketing and the contribution it can make to any and all businesses.

Hopefully, I have captured your interest to the degree necessary for you to want to follow this ongoing series on marketing. For all of our various strategic partners across the country, if you know of a business that you feel could use some help please forward this blog to them and encourage them to subscribe to future blog entries.

Speaking of subscribing to BlueBlog", if you receive value from our blog please scroll down about two-thirds of the way down the right column and look for the box that says SUBSCRIBE. Simply complete the fields and future blog entries will be sent to you automatically.

As always, please feel free to reply to this or any other blog entry with your comments. Look for Part II coming soon!

18 Additional Successful Marketing Tips

2011-11-24T15:40:00Z

-Here are 18 additional must-know marketing tips that your business should practice every day to build up your guerilla-marketing muscles.-

As mentioned before, marketing should become a "business habit". We suggest that you choose three to five things every day that are related to marketing for your business and do them at the beginning of the day before you start fighting the daily fires, and forget all about your planned tasks.

Below are a few more helpful types of activities to help get your habit started and to help with your marketing mindset. Employ these within your organization every day before your non-marketing, daily work activities begin:

Develop a checklist, top-ten list or other information as a response to a marketing hook
Develop your benefit list and compare it to your competitions'
Plan a new customer service activity that will truly delight your customers
Brainstorm new product or service ideas
Write an article or other text for your newsletter
Rewrite your phone's on-hold message script
Develop a coupon for your product or service
Brainstorm ideas for an "enter to win" contest
Mail samples of your product to top prospects
Get price estimates for the printing and mailing of your direct-mail campaign
Call to follow up with networking contacts
Plan your networking calendar for the week
Post new information on your website
Discuss a fusion marketing idea with a strategic business partner, such as Blueprints for Business
Recognize a special prospect or customer
Invite a customer or prospect to your office for coffee or to discuss new ideas
Work on new product development and introduction ideas
Plan a renaming of your products

If you are still challenged with finding the right activities for your daily, three to five tasks, break your marketing down into these general categories: Direct Mail, Networking, Publicity, Advertising, Fusion, Planning, New Products and Services, Marketing Communication Materials, and so on. Then concentrate on thinking up activities for one area at a time. No one is really counting your "three to five" things. The point is to do something related to marketing every day to help you think about marketing all the time.

Obviously some of these activities will take longer than just a few minutes-it is OK if they consume your whole day. Although your goal is to accomplish three to five things related to marketing every day, on some days, you may only get to one or two; on other days, you may get on a roll and do five to seven things. Do not get married to the numbers.

The purpose of all of this activity is to help you develop a marketing habit and to move your marketing efforts to the next step in your plan fulfillment. And even if you planned out your activities for the day, do not be surprised if at times your progress, responses and results dictate the direction of your activity, and get you moving in a different direction than what you had planned. Generally, this is a very positive thing, and you should let the activity guide you and keep the habit going.

No matter how much or how little you accomplish, the point is to get started. Because three weeks full of non-marketing activities quickly becomes a non-marketing habit, and that is a sure recipe for business failure.

15 Successful Marketing Tips

2011-11-22T16:30:00Z

-Practice a few of these must-know marketing tips every day and build up your guerilla-marketing muscles.-

Part of the guerilla marketing mindset suggests that you should be thinking about marketing all of the time. Not just quarterly, not just monthly, not just weekly, but every single day. Really, it is not as hard as it sounds. There are quite a few ways you can incorporate marketing into your daily activities.

It is often said that doing anything for 21 days in a row will eventually turn into a habit. And a marketing habit is a great thing for any business to have. So what we suggest to you is that you choose three to five things every day that are related to marketing for your business and do them at the beginning of the day before you start fighting the daily fires; and forget all about your planned tasks.

If you work on this developing a marketing habit, and the proper marketing mindset, every day, you will soon find that you are going above and beyond your "three to five things" limit. You will find yourself talking and thinking in terms of headlines or talking, listening and thinking in therms of your customers and prospects' benefits. And the more you think marketing, the greater the chance you will accomplish your marketing and overall business goals.

When talking to many business owners, professionals and organizations, we find that in the beginning, they are sometimes challenged when it comes to finding three to five marketing tasks to do every single day. Just remember, these activities do not have to be elaborate, they do not have to be long and drawn out, and they do not have to take up much time.

To get your habit started and to help with your marketing mindset, here are a few of the different types of activities you can employ each and every day before your non-marketing, daily work activities begin:

Hand write a thank-you note to a prospect or customer
Enter customer or prospect names into a database
Brainstorm tagline ideas
Visit a competitor's website
Write an article to pitch to your local business organization
Make a list of press release ideas
Write a press release
Call a newspaper and ask who the feature editor is for your area of expertise
Compose an e-mail sales letter
Call a few prospects or customers to get their e-mail contact information
Develop a series of survey questions
Brainstorm advertising concepts
Write a pitch letter to a radio or TV station
Get contact information from media outlets
Plan a renaming of your products

Is an Acquisition Right for You?

2011-04-10T18:32:00Z

Hello again, Tim Barrett here... One of our four practice areas is mergers and acquisitions. We only do M&A work in conjunction with our three other practice areas,which are:

Turnaround and Workouts
Emerging Growth
Family Business Succession Planning

For a business that is having difficulties posturing for a merger with another company, or to be acquired preserves the strengths of the business and supplements voids and areas of weakness with a suitable M&A partner.

For a company in growth mode, a strategic acquisition or merger may prove to be the most cost effective way to expand revenue and profits, versus investing in the costs associated with penetrating a new market and taking on one or more significant competitors.

Having a family owned business does not necessarily equate to having the next generation that is able, ready and willing to take the reins of management and ownership. In many cases such a desire does not exist, that's where a merger or acquisition can prove to be a valuable tool.

Let's talk about acquisitions specifically in this blog entry. So, is an acquisition right for you? Let's take a moment to find out.

Why Do Acquisitions?

There are many good reasons for acquiring another company. These include:

Expanding your markets
Acquiring people, systems or processes
Acquiring new products, services or customers
Achieving economies of scale
Reducing expenses
Creating opportunities for cross-selling
Acquiring new distribution systems
Eliminating competition

These represent only a partial list. Ultimately, however, all legitimate reasons for contemplating an acquisition fall under one all-encompassing umbrella -- the desire or need for quick and substantial growth.

When you get down to it, the only real reason to do an acquisition is to create significant growth. Whether you want to move into another geographical area, add new product lines or gain new distribution channels, it still comes down to the desire to grow quickly. If you want to grow incrementally, don't bother with an acquisition."

To tell if an acquisition makes sense for your business, start by asking three simple questions:

What are the different ways I could grow my business?
Could an acquisition help me achieve that growth?
What larger, strategic goals will the acquisition help me accomplish?

Assessing the Risk

Although acquisitions offer potential for rapid growth, they also carry a high risk factor.

Never do an acquisition just for the sake of doing it or because the opportunity presents itself. If you want to grow quickly and other alternatives don't meet your needs, then consider doing an acquisition. In many cases, a partnership, strategic alliance or some other option may accomplish your goals with far less risk. Never get so caught up with the idea of making a deal that you forget about alternative ways to approach the situation.

Why are acquisitions so risky? Primarily because they require spending a lot of time and money on something you can't completely understand. You take a business that has been operating for 10 or 20 years and try to understand everything about it in a matter of a few weeks or months. Even when you acquire a company very similar to yours, you can never uncover all the skeletons in the closet.

In addition, financing the acquisition typically relies on the future earnings of the company, which come with no guarantees. In today's markets, even revenue streams with rock-solid track records can vanish overnight. Throw in all the people issues -- key players jumping ship, turf battles, unclear roles, indecisive management, etc. -- and it's no wonder that so many acquisitions bite the dust.

Hallmarks of a Successful Deal

Contrary to popular belief, a successful acquisition does not mean that you managed to close the deal. In fact, signing on the dotted line represents only half the battle.

Successful deals depend on many factors, including some that occur only after the ink has dried on the agreement. A successful acquisition means that you improve your P&L statement and balance sheet in a reasonable period of time, which we define as 18 to 24 months. In today's world, don't think you can lose money during the first two or three years and then strike gold in the fourth or fifth, because it won't happen. If you can't improve your P&L within 18 to 24 months, you don't have a good deal.

What makes for a good acquisition?

Having a solid foundation in place, meaning your people, systems and resources are sufficient to handle integrating another company.

A well-planned acquisition strategy.

Realistic plans in terms of expectations and time schedules.

Appropriate price and terms, with a "realistic" debt load -- one that allows you to meet your interest expenses, pay down the principal and still have a cash cushion. It should also allow you to start making money on the deal within 24 months, even if you don't pay it off by then.

Clear and well-executed people/transition plans.

Reasonable additional capital investment requirements.

Being clear about your personal and professional expectations before making the deal. Know what you want and why you want it, and be honest with yourself and your advisors about what you want.

Before making any M&A deals, ask yourself:

Will this acquisition increase our profits?
Will it improve the balance sheet?
Is the risk acceptable?

If you can't answer "yes" to each question, don't do the deal.

After having read this blog entry you feel that an acquisition may be an option for your company or one of your clients, please feel free to give us a call for a free initial consultation. Our toll free number 866-913-4100.

If you are interested in receiving future BlueBlog entries please scroll down using the right hand menu and enter your information to subscribe. You may also want to review past blog entries.

Until next time...

Driving New Business

2011-04-03T20:11:00Z

On February 1, 2011 we opened our Upstate South Carolina group in Greenville, SC and brought on-board John Frederick, our new BluePrints for Business Managing Director for South Carolina. Given the recent impact of the natural diaster in Japan and its impact on business and industry, and given John's experience in manufacturing and as a successful entrepreneur I asked him to take a few moments and share his thoughts on the broader topic of "Driving New Business". Thank you John for your blog entry. Here's John...

In manufacturing, we frequently talk about the need to be flexible and innovative when it comes to finding new customers. My years in the textile industry taught me that.

The factory I managed disappeared for all intents and purposes, and I bought a screenprinting business that did a lot of work with t-shirts, other garments and other items made of fabric. To my manufacturing knowledge, I added skills in marketing and contract negotiations, and I wound up selling my business for a nice profit.

I see a lot of new opportunities for small job shops and manufacturers serving the auto industry in the Southeast. To be sure, the auto industry is not disappearing; it’s thriving and growing as part of a global industry.

The earthquake and tsunami in Japan have really brought that home. We’ve seen several articles in trade and business journals about projected parts shortages for Japanese cars. Assembly plants in the Southeast have parts, and more are on the way because cargo ships were en route to the US at the time of the disaster.

But those inventories will be depleted, and jobs at assembly plants and dealerships will depend on having parts. Upstate South Carolina suppliers to automotive assembly plants can help fill the void that’s on the horizon. If you have a shop – or have a client or friend with a shop – that is ISO:9000 or ISO:9001 or ISO:1400 (environmental) certified, you can enter the qualification process for the Japanese automakers. They all have offices in the United States.

If you have high-tech equipment to machine and stamp parts qualify, you can get the necessary files electronically, load them into your production system and be up and running in a timely manner. If you have experience with automotive companies, it works to your advantage.

And if you get the work, you have access to a road network to connect to assembly plants in Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama and Mississippi.

BluePrints for Business consultants can answer any questions you might have about this and other matters that affect the financial health of your business. We work closely with manufacturers and their trusted advisors, including bankers, attorneys, accountants and financial planners. Contact us to see how we can help you. When opportunity knocks, you need to be able to answer the door.

Please feel free to contact me with questions or for assistance at (843) 902-9670 or via e-mail at john.frederick@blueprintsforbiz.com.

Write a Creative Marketing Plan in 7 Sentences

2011-03-23T03:44:00Z

We have been doing a number of seminars recently in conjunction with Chambers of Commerce throughout the Southeastern United States. One topic that is always "Hot" is marketing. Here's a portion of a related seminar.

There are literally volumes written about marketing planning. It boils down to developing your roadmap. What paths will you take, which turns will you make and, most important of all, where you are going? Unless you have an endpoint on your road map, how do you know which path to take? In the words of the immortal Yogi Berra, "You got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going because you might not get there."

A plan offers a simple strategy or set of strategies, a marketing calendar, an evaluation system, and a selection of weapons and tactics that give you complete control of your marketing.

A good plan conveys your company's vision to target markets, customers and employees. As part of this vision, your plan should emphasize your company's long-term goals and the path to get there. Stops along the journey, in the form of initiatives and actions, are key landmarks on the roadmap to executing the plan.

To create a good marketing plan you need three basic things (besides the guerrilla marketing prerequisites of time, energy and imagination). You need lots of information. You need thinking time, analysis, ideas, creativity and imagination, all wrapped up into "brain power." Finally, you need initiative: the ability to want to do something, and the ability to get it done.

Marketing plans range in form from the back of an envelope to bound editions. The guerrilla rule of thumb is to lean toward the brief side, but with enough meat that it can be used as a guiding tool along your marketing journey. A good guide will provide plenty of information for you to develop the initiatives, actions, follow-up, accountability and measurement to run your business effectively, and in this case, your marketing.

Here's a simple process to creating a marketing plan using just seven sentences:

Sentence 1: What is the purpose of your marketing?

Sentence 2: Who is your target market?

Sentence 3: What is your niche?

Sentence 4: What are the benefits and competitive advantage?

Sentence 5: What is your identity?

Sentence 6: What tactics, strategies and weapons will you use to carry out your marketing?

Sentence 7: How much money will you spend on your marketing; what's your marketing budget?

These sentences represent your marketing plan outline.

"Build it and they will come" isn't an effective marketing plan or strategy. A successful plan boils down to two essentials:

1. Knowing your market inside and out, including what customers want and expect.

2. Identifying what's in your way to satisfy customers: e.g., competitors, barriers to entry, costs, outside influences, budgets, knowledge, etc.

Armed with the knowledge of these two essentials, you can develop all the necessary marketing strategies that'll allow you to attract, obtain and keep customers. In addition, you'll also be ready to react to any marketplace changes when they happen. A good guerrilla marketing plan must be flexible enough to respond to changes. Markets change, customers change, and company intentions and activity change. Flexibility is an inherent characteristic of a guerrilla marketer.

The outcome of this planning process won't just be your total plan, but will be your total planning perspective.

Here are some distinct actions you can take to ensure that you complete an effective marketing plan:

What portion of each day will you devote to reviewing your plan and any necessary revising?
Write a hypothetical outcome statement about the completion of your plan. For example: "After planning to increase leads and referrals for our sales staff to pursue and convert, many marketing weapons were employed. Utilizing the guerrilla marketing resources of time, energy and imagination, we embarked on an aggressive PR campaign, issuing press releases for new services introduced, new information available demonstrating our expertise, and announcement of events for our target market to sample the service. This was backed up with "meet and greet" programs at various networking events, ads in trade association directories, and telemarketing to trade show attendees. The leads generated were focused, open to our follow-up, and ripe for conversion. We ended up getting more leads than our sales force could follow up on so we implemented a telemarketing inside sales force. Conversion increased, sales increased, and we made more trips to the bank to make deposits."
Outline your plan. Start with seven planning components/sentences mentioned above. Take these seven sentences and develop plan sub-headings, supplemental information and new ideas.
What information (research) do you have now relative to your planning outline?
What information (research) do you still need?
What market research methods will you use to obtain that information?
List and prioritize your marketing objectives, e.g.:

Product / service introduction
Position company, product or service as a market leader
Counter action to competitive strategy
Lead generation and referrals
Obtaining market share in a new geographical area
Renew, refresh, communicate new identity

If you found this blog entry of interest please share it with others you know.

What's New at BluePrints for Business

2010-12-21T15:23:00Z

Happy Holidays to One and All...

I must first apologize for not having posted a blog in a number of months. My New Year's Resolution in advance of the New Year will be to post more often, including video blogs beginning in January.

The development of the new BluePrints for Business website was delayed for a number of months but it is now back on track. We hope to launch the new site in February. In addition to the new website we will also be actively integrating social media and search engine optimization into our marketing mix. We recently discovered a new firm in creative services who we have engaged to assist us in the new website; social media, SEO et cetera. Our biggest challenge has been finding the time to focus on these new avenues, the firm we have discovered has a cost effective approach to dealing with these issues. If everything works out well on our project I will pass along their contact information.

We have been closely monitoring the financial markets and related needs of small and medium businesses in the various markets we serve. There is a huge need for working capital and equity funding sources to fill the voids that most banks can not currently handle.

In recent months we have been expanding our pool of financial resources and are pleased to announce that we now have a wide array of alternative lending and capital sources. Included in this area are: asset based lending, mezzanine financing, venture capital, debt financing, and equity investments. These resources are available for operating companies, whether in start-up mode, growth, or for businesses facing severe challenges. Unfortunately, these resources are not available for real estate development unless an operating company is involved.

We have been blessed this year and wish to extend a heartfelt thanks to our clients and strategic partners. On behalf of our entire team may I wish each of you and your families a most Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Happy New Year.

What We Do Part 5: Technology Start Ups

2010-06-24T17:55:00Z

Our final area of practice relates to technology start ups. As existing business owners and managers, many of you understand what it takes to start a business, both in terms of time, energy, and money.

Throughout the 1990’s it was very easy for anyone to start a technology company. Financing was readily available to anyone who had a remotely plausible idea. We have all since learned our lesson. Today, the landscape is much different. Technology start ups must prove the validity of the product or service as well as the capability to manage the business. In addition, many of the products require some amount of research and development prior to production. This can be very costly.

Many times, in order to obtain the necessary funding, a new company must conduct a feasibility study as well as develop a business plan. This process can be somewhat demanding and time consuming without a clear understanding of how to gather the necessary information.

Although the technology industry is not as strong in Western North Carolina as many other industry, there is a small base of these companies here. There are also a few resources that can assist these companies in getting started.

Technology is something that we all use everyday. It is an industry that is going to continue to grow and evolve at a rapid pace. We are happy that we are able to help those businesses that make all of our lives a little easier.

What We Do? Part 4: Turnarounds & Workouts

2010-06-18T13:37:00Z

Continuing the discussion about our four practice areas, we will now turn our attention to Turnarounds and Workouts.

Turnarounds and Workouts refer to companies that are in trouble of going out of business. Usually, this is a result of tight cash flow and the inability to pay bills. There are problems with paying secured and unsecured creditors. All lines of credit may or may not be completely tapped out. In short, revenues are not sufficient to maintain the business. The Turnaround and Workout is designed to bring the business back to solid revenue generation where long-term net profits are realized.

In “Navigating the Current Economy” both parts one and two, we discussed the reactions some business owners have in response to an economic downturn. There is a tendency to react in a similar manner when our business begins a sustained downward turn. These reactions are overreacting and the Ostrich Syndrome. These two reactions can be just as detrimental to a business when internal problems begin to arise as with external problems.

Oftentimes, when things are going well, problems, issues, or inefficiencies within the business may not be noticeable. This is because there is sufficient cash flow to negate these taxing practices. However, if more strain is placed upon cash flow, such as sales falling enough or the expansion of operations or personnel, these inefficiencies and problems come to the fore. The result is the symptoms of the real problems become very noticeable.

Believe it or not, many Turnarounds and Workouts are the direct result of a business trying to grow. During the growth phase, the business outpaces the available capital. In other words, the business grows too fast.

The Turnaround and Workout process is designed to identify and address the root causes of the distress. This requires a full team approach. The first step is to negotiate with all creditors, including banks, vendors, and credit card companies. By pacifying the creditors, and stopping the flood of phone calls, the team, along with the business owner, is able to focus on more important matters, such as streamlining operations, increasing sales, and collecting accounts receivable.

One way to help prevent a business from becoming distressed is to develop a strategic plan, or a blueprint, for the business. A strategic plan allows owners and management to consider the direction of the business and have a basis for decision making. Through the development of a plan, management is able to consider a number of scenarios that the business may encounter without the pressure of having to make an immediate decision.

Most of the time in business we must make decisions on the spot. We do not have time to gather all the needed information or research. By developing a strategic plan, much of this work is done ahead of time. This is not to say that we will have all the answers and all the information we need every time. But, we will, at least, have considered many possibilities and their potential outcome. We will know the general direction we want to go.

A strategic plan will also provide us with guidance when we want to grow or expand the business. It will help prevent us from becoming a Turnaround and Workout.

The next blog will focus on the final practice area of Technology Start Ups.

What We Really Do? Part 3: Emerging Growth

2010-06-14T19:49:00Z

Our second area of practice focuses on Emerging Growth. This may sound like it only relates to new, start up businesses. However, this is not the case. Emerging Growth refers to those businesses and organizations that are ready to move into the next phase of development. They have reached a plateau and are ready to move forward.

Before getting deeper into a discussion about how to grow a business, I want to talk about what growth means. For many of you, your business is your dream. It is not just something you wake up and go to, you live and breathe it every moment of every day. You have a passion and a vision of what you want the business to be and accomplish. So, the first step in growing your business is understanding that vision and knowing what your goals are. Some things to consider are:

What are your short, mid, and long term goals for the business?
How big of a business do you want to grow?
What does growth mean to you? Increased revenues? More locations? Franchising?
What steps need to be taken prior to growing the business?
With what services or products will growth occur?
In what target market segments will growth occur?
Will new market segments need to be targeted?
Will the business need to expand the geographical reach?
What are the most efficient methods of reaching the new target markets?
What are the needs, desires, and motivating factors for each market or customer set?
What is the current depth of each targeted market?
What is the projected cost of acquisition for each $1,000 of new business?

The key is to truly understand your goals for your business. Growth is not just about hiring more employees or increasing revenues. Growth can come in many forms, as illustrated in the above questions.

Growth, in some form or another, is typically the goal of every entrepreneur. But, there are many dangers in growing a business. Growth usually means that additional capital will be needed. How much capital will be needed? Where will the additional capital come from? What measures need to be taken to safely grow the business? During a growth phase, it is very easy to outpace existing capital sources and revenues. Additional acquisitions; whether employees, equipment, or facility upgrades; can easily create more debt than can be fulfilled by the business.

The keys then to growth are to know where you want to take your business then develop a plan and a timeline to accomplishing those goals. Just be sure that your timeline is reasonable and not too aggressive.

Family Business Succession Planning

2010-05-30T23:28:00Z

Continuing our discussion about what we do, the next four blogs will focus on each of the practice areas that we focus on within the firm.

Let’s look at Family Business Succession Planning first.

Family Business Succession Planning is just that, it is planning how to pass the business on to the next generation. So, what we are really talking about here is Management Succession of the business. Oftentimes, the current generation knows a great deal about the business. Much of this knowledge is based on the experience of running the business for many years. In order for the next generation to be successful, this knowledge must be passed on. So the big question becomes how to do this, how to pass on the knowledge and experience gained through years of practice.

Typically, the process takes anywhere from 5-10 years. On the surface, it may seem like this is a long time, but let’s think about this a little bit. The business has been operating for thirty, forty years, or maybe even longer. More often than not, very little of the experience (the successes and mistakes) has been captured in anyway that can be easily passed on. It may even be that for the most part, the business has been run on intuition or experience gained prior to opening the business. Without a way to pass on that knowledge and experience, much of the operations are left to chance when the next generation takes over.

What happens? The business gets passed on. The agreement is that the new generation will make payments to the earlier one. These payments become the basis of retirement. If something happens to the business, then the payments stop. No more retirement. This happens all too often. In fact, the survival rate of businesses into the second generation and beyond is as follows:

30% survive into the second generation
12% survive into the third generation
3% survive into the fourth generation or beyond

However, for those businesses that plan, the success rate is much higher. The further ahead planning takes place the better the chances for the business to survive. The chances of survival are as follows:

Years Planned Ahead	Success Rate
10	85%
2 – 10	50%
2 or less	25%

The Plan

With all of our clients we always stress the importance of having a strategic plan. Typically, a strategic business plan covers all areas and operations of the business. It provides the blueprint for everything the business does. Succession planning is no different. Developing a plan, along with a timeline for when each step will occur, will provide a guide for how the business will be passed from one generation to the next.

Developing a plan will also help answer many questions. More often than not, we are able to make better decisions when we have the time to think about answers to questions versus having to make immediate decisions without all of the facts.

Having to make immediate decisions in business happens often enough. When we have the time to develop a plan, we need to take advantage of the opportunity. This insures fewer things are left to chance, especially when we are looking at not only our future, but the future of our children and grandchildren as well.

Much more could be said about planning and it’s importance, but we’ll leave that for another time.

Gearing Up for Economic Recovery

2010-05-30T23:22:20Z

Asheville, NC May 24, 2010 – Saying local businesses have suffered enough, Asheville consulting firm BluePrints for Business and the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce hope to offer a route out of the doldrums with a four-part seminar series, Gearing Up For Economic Recovery. The seminars will run four consecutive Tuesday mornings from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m., beginning June 1 at the Lake Junaluska Conference and Retreat Center, 91 N. Lakeshore Dr., Lake Junaluska.

Seminar topics and dates will be:

Coping with the Current Economy, June 1

Increasing Sales Through Marketing, June 8

Deliver a Message with Oomph, June 15

Social Media: The New Word-of-Mouth Advertising, June 22.

“Business owners in Haywood County who have survived the down economy have a sense that their time is now to start on the road to recovery,” said CeCe Hipps, executive director of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. “Because the economic and marketing landscapes have changed so dramatically in the past two years, we want to give them a good starting point for their journey. All of them know about economic conditions and that there are a lot of new marketing tools and techniques available. We’ll show them how to put it all together.”

Tim Barrett, principal consultant, BluePrints for Business, which provides strategic business consulting services for small and mid-size firms in Western North Carolina and throughout the Southeast, says marketing and communications strategies and tools have changed at break-neck speed in the past two years.

“Everybody knows terms such as Facebook, Twitter, blogging, social marketing and search engine optimization,” Barrett said, “and there’s so much information out there about them that it can be very intimidating. When you break it all down to fundamental elements, business owners will see what makes sense for them, and that will make it easier to develop a strategy and put it into action.”

The cost of the seminars is $40 for Haywood County Chamber of Commerce members and $60 for non-members. Chamber members who attend all four seminar sessions will receive a full $40 refund.

About BluePrints for Business

Headquartered in Asheville, NC, BluePrints for Business traces its roots back to Central California, where it was founded as Barrett Business Resources in 1983. As individuals, BPFB principals have created, bought and sold businesses ranging from $8 million to $220 million in annual sales. As a team, they bring more than 100 years of combined business management, ownership and consulting experience in over 60 industries to small and medium-sized businesses throughout the Southeast. Consulting engagements by the firm’s founding partners have included business start-ups, turnarounds, workouts, emerging growth, mergers and acquisitions. For further information, contact BluePrints for Business, 206 Merrimon Ave., 2nd Floor, Asheville, NC 28801. Toll-free: 866-913-4100 Phone: 828-252-8806 email: info@blueprintsforbiz.com Internet: www.blueprintsforbiz.com.

What we REALLY do at BluePrints for Business

2010-04-22T21:31:11Z

From time to time, even a consulting firm has to step back and evaluate its strategies and tactics in order to effectively communicate its message to the markets it serves. As we are in the process of developing our goals and objectives for an upcoming face-lift of our website, it became clear that we can do a better job describing what it is we really do. This blog entry was written by Ron Sanga, one of our Asheville based associates. Please check back periodically for future segments on this same theme. I hope you enjoy Ron's entry.

We wanted to take a moment and talk a little bit about what it is we really do at BluePrints for Business.

We help you answer those questions that keep you up at night.

How can I take my business to the next level?
What do I need to do to grow?
How can I increase sales?
Where can I go to get the capital I need?

Any of these sound familiar? It is all questions we have heard many times.

BluePrints for Business is a business consulting firm that can help you reach your goals for your business. Our 3 partners all have entrepreneurial backgrounds. They have started and sold 6 businesses ranging from $8 million to $220 million in revenue per year. We have 12 associates located in Asheville, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; and New York, New York, many of whom have been in their field for 30+ years. Basically, this means we have a wide variety of expertise and experience that we can bring to your business across many business disciplines.

In essence, we are generalists. We don’t just help you in one area of your business like advertising or accounting. We can help you in all business disciplines. We have four major practice areas:

Family Succession Planning
Emerging Growth
Turnarounds and Workouts
Technology Startups

In our next few posts we will be discussing each of these practice areas in more detail.

Good PR Sense – Use The Right Tools

2010-04-22T20:59:40Z

I have decided to expand the Blue Blog to include more entries from various associates within BluePrints for Business. This post is from Stan Schnitzer, our Director of Public Relations. Stan is part of our Atlanta Group. Stan has over thirty-five years of experience in national and international public relations. As always, please feel free to comment and forward this entry to others who might enjoy reading it.

Marketing and PR are fun challenges. We’re always trying to find new, effective ways to tell our clients’ stories. Technology always gives us a new tool to play with, and everyone goes charging off to put it to use. It’s all cool stuff, but sometimes, we need to take a good, hard look at the media and the message.

When Marshall McLuhan wrote “The Medium is the Massage” (it was supposed to be Message) in 1967, he set the stage for today’s media circus…three rings, at least, with enough going on to make your head spin. Each medium massages our senses, and sometimes, we lose focus on the message.

In my first blog post, I want to bring the focus back to the message – and the media we use to deliver it. Any marketer worth his or her salt knows there’s no silver bullet for reaching every possible prospect, and I believe it’s especially true in B2B marketing.

Not everyone who makes the buying decisions lives on Twitter or in the blogosphere. Some of those decision makers respond better to online publications or electronic newsletters. Some even prefer to read printed trade journals and like to see nicely printed postcards. And some find their best way to gather information is to talk on the telephone and do their comparative shopping at a trade show.

Ah, but that doesn’t mean you pull the plug on social media. While the exec who signs the check isn’t always online, the people in the field or on the shop floor may be online to find a specific solution for an urgent problem or a way to improve a process over the long haul. They may not sign the check, but they may very well be the people who present the compelling reasons to buy your product or service, and they may find out about you through a LinkedIn group or an industry discussion forum.

You need to have a full toolbox, and you need to know which tool will best reach a specific target with your critical message.

News releases and feature articles are still important, and all media are important, whether they be printed or electronic publications or websites. Advertising is still important for frequent repetition. Newsletters and other forms of direct communication – printed or electronic – are important. Videos and a YouTube channel give you another dimension for telling your story. Tradeshows give you an opportunity to build relationships with customers. And social media get your message out there for people to pick up when it’s a good time for them.

Bottom line? You need to massage your message for each medium you use. You need to understand your buyers – those who make the decision and those who influence the decision – and provide them with useful information in the format with which they’re comfortable.

In future blogs we’ll talk about different media and how to use them effectively. We’ll also get into how to communicate effectively with customers as technology blends marketing communications and customer service.

Western Carolina University Joins BluePrints for Economic Impact Study

2010-04-01T12:03:00Z

BluePrints for Business’ Business Improvement Grant (BIG) Program for the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce will move into its second phase as the Western Carolina University College of Business joins forces with the Asheville firm to conduct an economic impact study for the Chamber.

BluePrints for Business, a strategic business consulting firm in Asheville, funded the BIG Program, valued at $50,000, to help Chamber members find new ways to meet the challenges of today’s business environment. Measuring the impact of current recession will help businesses in the county better understand what they can do to stabilize and move forward.

“Businesses in Haywood County, just like businesses everywhere, need to understand how they can reposition the county’s economic base to move forward with a sustainable recovery,” said Tim Barrett, principal consultant and president, BPFB. “The study will provide data that each business can use to plot its own course as part of the Haywood County economic community.”

Details of the study, which could begin this spring, have yet to be formed by BPFB, the WCU College of Business and the Haywood County Chamber, the first county in the United States to become a Certified Entrepreneurial Community.

“This project meshes perfectly with our philosophy of education at Western Carolina University, where we want our students to take what they have learned in their classes and apply it in the real world to help solve regional problems,” said WCU Chancellor John W. Bardo. “This is a win-win. Haywood County businesses will benefit from the findings of the economic impact survey that our students will help conduct. Our students will benefit from a valuable experience that will add to their educational portfolio, and that will enable them to move smoothly from the classroom to the boardroom when they earn their degrees and begin their careers as business-ready graduates.”

WCU students will come from graduate and possibly undergraduate programs in the College of Business, said Ronald A. Johnson, dean of the college.

“Looking at business-performance metrics, they will evaluate individual company efficiencies and develop strategies to broaden their revenue base, and perhaps expand their markets along product lines or across the region,” Johnson said.

“We are exceptionally pleased to have Western Carolina University combine its resources with BluePrints for Business to help our members,” said CeCe Hipps, executive director of the Haywood County Chamber of Commerce. “Our members will be able to use the results of this study to stabilize the economic base of Haywood County and create the strong business environment that provides secure jobs and an outstanding quality of life for the community.”

BIG Survey Winners!

2010-03-02T17:08:00Z

As many of you know, we recently conducted our BIG Survey. The survey was an expansion of our Business Improvement Grant (BIG) Program we began last year. We began this program to help local arts presenters and other non-profit organizations here in Asheville, throughout Western North Carolina, and in the Upstate of South Carolina.

This year, we decided we wanted to do more to help small businesses so we expanded the program by conducting the BIG survey. Respondents to the survey had the opportunity to win one of three grants. The top grant was for $5,000 in services, second was $2,500, and the final grant was for $1,000.

The winners of the grants are as follows:

$5,000 – Tim Johnston and Sisters of Mercy
$2,500 – Robert Aldrich and Ben Craig Center
$1,000 – Bruce Johnson and Champion Supply

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the survey. We were able to gain a better understanding of the current challenges you are facing. This will assist us in providing the Western North Carolina community with improved services.