Marketing for Small Business

At Sydcam Marketing Communications, we hear several concerns from clients who don’t see the value in hiring us for their marketing communications needs:

1)      You’re too expensive, I can’t afford you

2)      You don’t know/understand my business

3)      I understand marketing, I can do it myself

4)      You’ll just take over my marketing activities

Here’s Part 2 of our post.

1)    The Dangers of DIY

There are many issues related to businesses doing certain thing themselves, whether it be accounting, HR management or marketing. It always comes down to an issue of expertise and knowledge. And in the case of marketing strategy and planning, success is also a function of having a clear and objective perspective on the opportunities available to you.

A marketing consultant can provide businesses with a fresh, knowledgeable and unbiased perspective, articulating the strengths and opportunities of the company and how they can best be leveraged through an integrated marketing communications plan to deliver optimal results. Business owners are often too close to their companies to truly provide this objective point of view.

2)    Loss of Control

Arguably one of the biggest deterrents for many business owners is the potential loss of influence and involvement over the marketing process. In reality, good marketing consultants understand that input from various members of the business is critical in developing an effective marketing program that will actually deliver results. Eliciting participation from various members of the business is simply a smart way to get true ‘buy-in’ to the marketing strategy and plan.

If you’re looking for a marketing consultant that wants to partner with you in helping to grow your business, give us a call. We’re looking for clients who want to take their business to the next level, and to do so in a cost-effective and strategic manner.

At Sydcam Marketing Communications, we hear several concerns from clients who don’t see the value in hiring us for their marketing communications needs:

1)      You’re too expensive, I can’t afford you

2)      You don’t know/understand my business

3)      I understand marketing, I can do it myself

4)      You’ll just take over my marketing activities

The reality is often very different.

1)    Pricing that’s right for you

We understand that cost is often an issue for many small and medium sized businesses, especially in these challenging times. Our goal is to provide cost-effective marketing solutions that will grow your business and fit your budget.  We can do as much or as little as your budget dictates.  More importantly, we can help you prioritize your various marketing initiatives to determine what would deliver the “biggest bang for your buck”.

2)    Doing the ‘deep dive’

It’s entirely correct that we don’t work for your business and may not, at least initially, completely understand your culture, vision and values. However, we pride ourselves in spending the time with each and every new client – no matter how big or small – to get to know their business on as intimate a basis as possible. We recognize that it’s impossible for us to do our job successfully without this in-depth knowledge of you, your business, your staff and your clients and prospects.

We’ll cover points #3 and #4 in next month’s post, so stay tuned!

I recently presented this topic to my colleagues at the Oakville Networking group, and they found it very informative and helpful, so I thought I would repurpose it and share it with you – not to mention it’s a long overdue blog post for us at Sydcam! Here is Part 2 of a two part series on this topic.

Social Responsibility

Of the many hot ‘buzz’ words in the 21^st century, arguably none is bigger than corporate social responsibility (CSR). With all the corporate wrongdoings by both individuals and groups such as Bernie Madoff,  WorldCom and Lehman Brothers, is there any doubt why the issue of CSR is so prominent today? Clearly, there is a need for businesses to be more ethical and accountable. Brands that can truly stand under the CSR umbrella can build brand equity and value through these actions. Those that don’t will likely be the next businesses under Chapter 11.

Social Consciousness

Employing socially responsible business practices is nothing new. As many of us know, companies like Ben and Jerry’s and The Body Shop have been doing this for over a decade. Where the tide has shifted however is in the attention given to this area of business. Once considered a novelty and a “nice to have”, today the public considers socially responsible business practices a requirement; part of the rules of engagement in business. Anything less is considered a failure and a symbol of irresponsible management.

What does this all mean for small business?

While many small business owners may look at this development as a daunting one to take on, one could argue the complete opposite. This is very much a “glass is half full” scenario,  where this “social” movement can enable small business marketers to position their clients in a way that would have been virtually impossible even 15 years ago.

This so called ‘social’ movement has enabled small businesses to differentiate themselves and stick out from the crowd. Smaller companies have the benefit of being more nimble and community focused, and thus using these attributes to leverage the local market and beyond with their social purpose and mission. In the end it’s all about making a difference and a statement about your business stands for.

The Social Movement

The evolution of social consciousness has created a number of opportunities for marketers of all types of companies, small, medium, large, for profit and non-for-profit. But to embrace this phenomenon requires a completely different perspective than in the past: marketers need to consciously develop a social element to their client’s marketing this becomes an integral part of their brand, mission and values.

I recently presented this topic to my colleagues at the Oakville Networking group, and they found it very informative and helpful, so I thought I would repurpose it and share it with you – not to mention it’s a long overdue blog post for us at Sydcam! Here is Part 2 of a two part series on this topic.

Social Responsibility

Of the many hot ‘buzz’ words in the 21^st century, arguably none is bigger than corporate social responsibility (CSR). With all the corporate wrongdoings by both individuals and groups such as Bernie Madoff,  WorldCom and Lehman Brothers, is there any doubt why the issue of CSR is so prominent today? Clearly, there is a need for businesses to be more ethical and accountable. Brands that can truly stand under the CSR umbrella can build brand equity and value through these actions. Those that don’t will likely be the next businesses under Chapter 11.

Social Consciousness

Employing socially responsible business practices is nothing new. As many of us know, companies like Ben and Jerry’s and The Body Shop have been doing this for over a decade. Where the tide has shifted however is in the attention given to this area of business. Once considered a novelty and a “nice to have”, today the public considers socially responsible business practices a requirement; part of the rules of engagement in business. Anything less is considered a failure and a symbol of irresponsible management.

What does this all mean for small business?

While many small business owners may look at this development as a daunting one to take on, one could argue the complete opposite. This is very much a “glass is half full” scenario,  where this “social” movement can enable small business marketers to position their clients in a way that would have been virtually impossible even 15 years ago.

This so called ‘social’ movement has enabled small businesses to differentiate themselves and stick out from the crowd. Smaller companies have the benefit of being more nimble and community focused, and thus using these attributes to leverage the local market and beyond with their social purpose and mission. In the end it’s all about making a difference and a statement about your business stands for.

The Social Movement

The evolution of social consciousness has created a number of opportunities for marketers of all types of companies, small, medium, large, for profit and non-for-profit. But to embrace this phenomenon requires a completely different perspective than in the past: marketers need to consciously develop a social element to their client’s marketing this becomes an integral part of their brand, mission and values.

I recently presented this topic to my colleagues at the Oakville Networking group, and they found it very informative and helpful, so I thought I would repurpose it and share it with you – not to mention it’s a long overdue blog post for us at Sydcam! Here is Part 1 of a two part series on this topic.

The Customer is King

So what has changed so much in marketing to make it such a different playing field that it has been historically? Simply, the consumer has evolved into a position of power, if not even control by many of the developments in the last 10+ years. The era of the internet has provided consumers with something they never had before – easy access to a plethora of information on virtually every topic under the sun.

From product information to customer feedback and ratings on products and services to direct feedback loops via social media to retailers and manufacturers etc., the consumer has real influence over the marketplace and the products and services offered to them for consumption.

Being “Social” is more than Social Media

Many who read this blog’s title may assume that I was just going to talk strictly about social media and its influence on marketers. Wrong! While social media is an integral part of the many ‘social’ changes affecting society today, it isn’t the only one.

Being social touches on social media but goes much farther. In general, it influences marketers in its ability to enable active engage with your customers, the ability to add value to this relationship on a regular basis, and to broaden the reach of your marketing and communications messages – both on social networking platforms along with other mediums.

Use this engagement to learn more about your customers, and what they need or want from you. Encourage  them to collaborate with you to build better products and services, and to share any ideas and unfulfilled wants they might have.  You’ll build brand awareness, customer loyalty and a whole lot more!

Part 2 of this blog post will follow shortly in February, so stay tuned!

Business Growth Strategies

Please join us for our first business networking meeting of 2012 -  Friday January 6, 2012.

The networking meeting starts at 8:45am and the venue is e-Spot, 353 Iroquois Shore Road, Suite 200 (above Artisano’s), Oakville, ON L6H 1M3. Your $10 guest cover charge includes coffee and muffins.

Our speaker this week will be Cheryl Scoffield, The Follow Up Specialist and she will be presenting – An Overview of the Business Growth Strategies – one of the episodes from her recent 4 part  Tele Seminar Series – Maximize Your Business Networking And Trade Show ROI

So if you missed the series, or you prefer live presentations, here is your opportunity to see a live business development training presentation during  an Overview of the Business Growth Strategies.

Whatever name you give it – working the room, prospecting, new business development, lead generation –
57% of business say they attend networking and trade show events for 2 reasons;

1. to showcase their company
2. find new prospects to grow their business

You probably already know – attending business networking and trade show events is one of the best way to find new prospects to grow your company.

But if you simply collect business cards and never follow up to connect and turn those leads into sales, then you will fail to turn those leads into sales.

Attend this Overview of the Business Growth Strategies and then plan to attend

GET HELP – Create Your Own System

Follow Up Mentoring Program & Business Development Training
Create Your Own Follow Up Business System In 8 Sessions

Starts January 2012

If you’re looking for complete step by step business growth strategies to grow your existing business, plan to attend this online business development training program where you will learn how to follow up and build the tools you need to have prospects looking forward to hearing from you. Now there is a shift!

This training includes one on one mentoring with Cheryl Scoffield, The Follow Up Specialist, a Scholarship + 2 BONUSES.

Pick up your FREE Business Growth Strategies Report at GrowthPositioningSystem.com.

Looking forward to seeing you this Friday.

Linkedin™, the free online business networking site used by more than 100 million users world wide, is becoming the place to be if you’re looking to grow your business with social media. Chances are you already have an account, but you may not know how to use Linkedin for business to generate leads and grow your business.

I’ve been using Linkedin for business for over 3 years now, and have figured out an easy and effective way to use it to generate about 20% of new business by investing just 10 minutes a day.

Since September 2010 I’ve been hosting a series of hands-on seminars on how to use Linkedin for business, which I call taking Linkedin to the Max! The next session is scheduled for Thursday, November 3, 10am-12:30pm. Start the “new business year” the right way and invest in the social media marketing of your business.

In 2-1/2 hours I will share with you the tips and tricks on how you, too, can use this free online resource to grow your business. Many business owners, just like you, have attended one of the 10 previous sessions of this workshop and recommend it to their connections on Linkedin. Check out their recommendations here.

Many more testimonials can be found on my blog.

It’s a small investment on your part and it’s going to work for you or you get your tuition back, no fuss. (I have yet to receive a refund request…)

Register on line or if you prefer to pay by cheque call 905-844-4247 or toll-free 1-877-ibiz-269 to reserve your seat (reg. bus. hours please)

I hope you can make it,

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.
e-Marketing Coach, Web Developer and Speaker

P.S.
Free bonus educational audio CD is included with your ticket.

Boris Mahovac R.G.D.

Sign up for my next Contacts2Clients Business Seminar

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