The Brochure Blog

Create a strategic alliance with a similar business and watch your business grow.

By Al Lautenslager  | Entrepreneur.com

When I walked into the dry cleaners the other day to drop off my shirts, I found a $5-off coupon on the counter for the pizza shop two doors down. I decided I wanted pizza, so I walked down to the pizza shop, redeemed my coupon, and found a coupon on their counter for $5 off at the dry-cleaning place I was just at. These two establishments were sending traffic to each other; they had formed a strategic business alliance. In the world of Guerrilla Marketing, this is known as fusion marketing. As entrepreneurs, we always think we have to do things alone, but its amazing the synergy available from collaborating or aligning with others. Fusion marketing can take your business to levels you never thought possible before now. Those that are likely collaborators or fusion marketing alliances are power partners. A “power partner” is a business that has a similar target market as yours but doesn’t really compete with you. Examples of this are an estate planning attorney and a life insurance salesperson; a graphic designer and a printer; a real estate professional and a mortgage broker; a wedding photographer and a caterer or disc jockey. I think when you look at these examples you start to get the idea. The number of power partners or fusion marketing partners is only limited by your imagination. Fusion arrangements can come in many forms in addition to the coupon example above–you can join your mailing list with your partners and do a joint mailing; you can make joint sales calls; you can offer an incentive from your alliance partner for each purchase of your product and vice-versa for your partner.

I know a printer who offers a free pizza coupon or free ice cream coupon on the back page of their notepads. The pizza place and ice cream store get the benefit of the distribution of the notepads to the printing company’s prospects, and the printing company gets the benefit of offering their prospects something for free.

Easy Steps to Setting Up Your Own Fusion Marketing Arrangement
Here are easy steps you can take to set up your own fusion marketing arrangements:

• Step 1: Define your power partners. A power partner is someone who has similar prospects as you and who could benefit from the same type of prospects, but isn’t in the same business. Examples: landscaper/builder, realtor/mortgage broker, network marketer/entrepreneur, massage therapist/chiropractor.
• Step 2: Figure out with your power partner what your offer will be. Maybe the printer gives a two-for-one offer while the designer offers to design a logo along with the design piece of a direct-mail piece. Maybe the attorney offers a free consultation on wills while the insurance salesperson offers a tips list on avoiding probate tax. Maybe the massage therapist offers a free midday office visit for a massage break while the chiropractor offers a back adjustment. Figure out what joint offer makes sense.
• Step 3: Write up a general letter of agreement. This doesn’t have to be a major-league legal document, but the one thing that hinders an alliance is lack of communication. This assures who does what and gets what. It can be a simple e-mail exchange.
• Step 4: Package it up. Write all the verbiage: the marketing copy, sales letter, press releases (if appropriate), e-mail letters, etc. Either have both businesses write it up and compare notes or have one write it and let the other approve. Be creative here. Be benefit-oriented. What’s in it for the prospect?
• Step 5: Combine mailing lists and communicate to both sets. Don’t worry about who has more or less–just combine them. When I put my list together with your list we both have a list much bigger than if we did it alone. You can do this with direct mail or e-mail; obviously e-mail is cheaper.
• Step 6: Be responsive to any responses. Fulfill offers; make it easy to sign up, to buy, to take the next step and keep track. Follow up and attention will convert prospects into paying customers. Share leads and conversions for future follow-up and future marketing.
• Step 7: Follow up. Both businesses should continue marketing to each of the converted people as follow-up marketing.

That’s all there really is to it. It’s a straight set of deliberate, planned-out steps, with a high degree of communication and execution. That’s what all marketing is, and the more it’s spelled out and planned out, the higher probability someone will act upon in. That’s what all the marketing I get involved in does–this is the key to marketing. It’s not going to happen overnight but with steps, plans and accountability, you’ll increase your revenue. I prove it to myself every day, and I prove it to my clients.

Resist the temptation to make these bad business decisions during the downturn. 

By Jennifer Wang | Entrepreneur.com

In a sluggish economy, running leaner is a must, but not every money-saving measure is a good one. These experts discuss the moves you shouldn’t make during tough times, even if they seem like easy ways to cut costs.

Finances
Having started his own business during the 2001 economic recession, Virgin Money USA CEO Asheesh Advani knows how to trim expenditures to keep a company afloat through a downturn.

“The natural thing for business owners to ask is, ‘Do you cut marketing, overhead or staff?’ I think the right answer is to do a little bit of all three, but to be very careful on cutting what actually protects you on the downside,” he says, noting that cost savings should never come at the expense of the ability to execute a long-term vision.

As for startup financing, don’t bother with venture capital. “It’s not the right market to attempt this,” Advani says. “Rely instead on family, friends and angel investors as your main sources of capital, and go to many people for smaller amounts of money. It’s very much about finding investors who are patient and supportive, and usually people who have invested a small amount rather than a large amount will be willing to wait longer for repayment.”

Human Resources
Penny Morey, founder of human resources consulting firm RemarkAbleHR, believes that the biggest errors in judgment relate to poor communication on management’s part.

“Instead of [employees] focusing on what they’re supposed to be doing and helping the company to succeed . . . they tend to be looking for jobs, panicking and spending their time talking to each other about the bad news in the economy,” she says.

Morey suggests regular meetings with employees–weekly if possible. And certainly if the work force has been reduced, management should sit down with those left behind and acknowledge the changes.

“It’s not easy, but you can still boost morale,” Morey says. “To me, people can be on your side or feel excluded, and most people want to be part of the solution if given the chance.”

Forthright communication is also the best method of damage control. If salary and benefits are being decreased, Morey advises putting together a strategy to convey the decision-making process.

“If management is taking a salary cut along with everyone else, communicate it. People just want to know they’re being treated fairly.”

Putting together a benefits statement is another way to emphasize positive thinking. “Include a summary of vacation, paid time off, insurance–show what the company is still doing to take the focus off what’s being taken away.”

It’s important to think long-term, Morey says. Performance evaluations, even if no longer tied to monetary incentives, still need to be done.

“You need to make sure people are still setting goals and working toward them, and employees will want to know how they’re doing and what’s expected of them going forward.”

Technology
Business owners with websites shouldn’t cut corners on things that relate to quality of service, says Todd Thibodeaux, president and CEO of the Computing Technology Industry Association.

“Don’t downgrade from T1 to DSL,” he says. “Make sure you’re maintaining the security of customers’ data, and keep your infrastructure in place. Don’t hold off on buying a better piece of equipment.”

A better strategy is to actually examine service offerings that will help small-business owners eliminate the need to invest in their own IT tools. “Companies can offload obligation to maintain equipment and software through managed services and bring stability to their bottom lines,” he says.

According to Thibodeux, it’s also an opportunity for businesses to reposition themselves for the anticipated green technology revolution.

“It’s a good time to see how you can increase energy efficiency and look for better sustainable technology.”

Marketing
“Mistake No. 1 is thinking that marketing is the best place to cut when businesses are looking to tighten their belts,” says Ann Hadley, chief content officer at MarketProfs. “But it’s not the time to jettison marketing. If business is slow and you’re reining in your plan to get your name out there, it means fewer leads, less business and, ultimately, less income.”

In fact, increasing the frequency of communications with customers can boost revenue and stimulate demand for your offerings, especially if competitors are busy slashing prices instead of promoting the quality of their services. Marketing can also encourage customers to make purchases.

“If you sell washing machines, for example, and people don’t want to buy new models, you can stress how much they’ll save on maintenance and electricity with a more energy-efficient model,” she says.

In addition, Hadley cautions business owners against taking on marketing responsibilities themselves.

“For an entrepreneur, what you contribute first and foremost is your vision and leadership, and if you get mired in taking over someone else’s job, you’ll probably be less effective as a leader.”

To Hadley, the most important thing is to think past the immediate pain and position for the post-recession period. “The economy will go up and down, but now is a good time to be an industry leader, just like it is in every kind of environment.”

At BrochureBuilders.com, we build brochures that build small business. That means we are in business to make your business look good, a simple idea but with a deeply founded sense of the graphic design it takes to make your company branding stand apart from the crowd in a way that is professional and polished.

As you give thought to sprucing up your brochure design, business cards, logo, and website, also consider what Inc.’s Michele Miller has to say about branding. In her article “Telling a Good Story,” she recommends businesses pay more attention to their brand story and what makes you stand out in a powerful and meaningful way. She says,

“If you had to tell you story, what would it be? Would it have the right balance of fantasy, whimsy and fact? When creating your story, remember to:

Be authentic. The examples above are success stories because they draw from the “heart” of the company — J. Peterman’s love for storytelling, Gert Boyle’s tough nature, and One Hour’s commitment to saving the customer time. Anyone can make up a story, but the customer’s innate sense of authenticity is what transforms a story into a brand message. Spend a good deal of time looking back at your history and personal values in determining why you’re even in the business you’re in. What’s your passion, and how can you tell customers about it?

Be consistent. It’s not enough just to tell a story; you must live it everyday through everything you do. I’ve written about the fact that every touch point of your business is a marketing opportunity. Columbia Sportswear wouldn’t be the success it is today if the company talked about toughness, and then the zippers on their parkas disintegrated after a week. One Hour knew it had to have its operations structure in place to deliver on its promise of timeliness. From message to delivery to customer service, every element of your company has to align with your story.

The companies we call “super brands” use their unique (and sometimes personal) story to connect with customers in a way that makes them feel special; customers feel that they’re in-the-know about who the brand is and what it offers. Do your customers really know you? And does the message get reinforced in everything you do? You can tell, and deliver on, a good story, even on the smallest of marketing budgets. It’s a remarkable marketing strategy for a remarkable business — yours.”

She’s right. Do your customers really know who you are? Is your branding consistent, from every email to your business cards, letterhead, envelopes, and brochures? Everything that leaves your office door is an opportunity to tell your story. Read the rest of Michele’s article about how to tell your business’ story here.

Perhaps revamping your corporate branding is high on your list of New Year’s Resolutions. It could be that your business cards and company brochures may need to be brought up to date to show off your new logo and employees. Since Thanksgiving, our clients have been dusting off the old and commissioning the new, updating their corporate brochure packages with fresh, new graphic design to introduce a new product line, showcase at their 2008 trade shows, and distribute to prospects, storefronts and sales staff. It’s a new year and naturally our thoughts turn to starting anew, updating those print materials, cleaning out the office, and cracking open the new planner. Then it’s time to go further and begin asking ourselves a few questions.

For most, the basic questions are the easiest to answer. What were your biggest successes? What challenged you the most? Was business more or less profitable? What will you do this year to take your company to the next level? Successful small business owners know that the basic questions are important to ask and answer throughout the year. The most successful small business owners however, take this opportunity not only to review the basics, but also to dig deeper into their business beliefs, core entrepreneurial values, self-dialogue, and subconscious motivations. Consider these three ways to get to the core of your business success.

1. First, take a look at the goals you accomplished last year. After giving yourself a pat on the back, evaluate those goals and how you managed to tackle them. Consider what it was about those goals that made them doable. Which tasks were most easily completed? Did you hire professionals and other key people to facilitate your goal? Did you reach a crisis point that rendered you unable to ignore a sensitive issue any longer?
2. Next, give careful consideration to those things that hindered your personal as well as professional growth last year. Were your expectations reasonable and based on sound business principles? Were they communicated clearly to those who most needed to know? Did your personal life suffer for the sake of your business? Did you make a thorough plan, only to falter in its execution?
3. Finally, resolve to duplicate (and expand on) the things that worked and give up (and replace) the things that did not. Being keenly aware of the reasons behind your achievements will help you set yourself up for further success. Determine what most gets in your way and put systems in place that will help you handle those issues effectively. Do you lose focus halfway through the day? Are you more likely to stay on track when you plan your day the evening before? Is indecision keeping you from moving forward? Something as simple as a flow chart or decision tree can facilitate the decision making process.

As an entrepreneur, you already know there is no shortcut to success. But going below the surface is a skill that could easily save you some time, and some heartache. Learning what drives you — or derails you — is knowledge you cannot afford to ignore.

Below are other helpful articles to help you position your business for success in 2008.

• New Year Resolutions for Small Businesses
• Top 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Business Success
• New Year, New Payroll
• Three Entrepreneur Resolutions for 2008