September - October, 2020 Volume 17 -- Issue 97 Before we can expect to provide ideal service to our ideal customers, we need to know them. I mean, really, really know them. As a small business owner or marketer, we need to clearly understand our ideal customers’ pain points. We are (hopefully) coming out of our unique pandemic disruption. There is a clear need that we learn [...]
July - August, 2020 Volume 17 - Issue 96 What decisions have you made about your firm’s marketing to survive or thrive in these unsettling times? Are you one of the small business owners barely surviving this pandemic, or one whose business is actually thriving? There really are both options. The difference between the two options is simple. Everything is based on decisions you make. How did you decide to handle this latest change in the business and economic environments? If you decided to stay on your existing long term path, you may [...]
May - June, 2020 Volume 17 - Issue 95 Who Is Leading Your Firm in Time of Crisis? How is your small business doing as we make our way through this unprecedented pandemic environment? Absolutely no one has ever had to navigate such a turbulent situation at any point in their lifetime. No matter who is making the rules or setting the guidelines, most of it is a great example of flying by the seat of your pants. It's never happened before, so how can anyone know exactly how to [...]
March-April 2020 Volume 17 -- Issue 94 Why are small business survival tactics important right now? Some of us have slowly begun to breathe again following the 2008-09 Recession aftermath. People were working again and spending again. Sales and projects are at all time highs for most small businesses. Unemployment is - or was until a week or so ago - at an all-time low. Then, our [...]
November-December, 2019 Volume 15 -- Issue 92 Sometimes just knowing what you need to have or do to expand and grow your business isn’t enough. Not knowing how to make necessary changes, when and where to begin can become major barriers. It is like running into a very thick, high, wide wall. You are stopped dead in your tracks. You want to get back on your path to success beyond that wall, but [...]
July - August, 2019 Volume 16 -- Issue 90 If your small business can't seem to find, recruit and retain a constant stream of customers and clients, is it your own fault? It might just be. What steps have you taken to become more visible and [...]
May - June, 2019 Volume 16 - Issue 89 It’s definitely a no-brainer to understand that customers are the most important thing your small business has going for it. Without them, there will be no sales, no revenues coming in, no cash flow and no profit. Furthermore, there will be no satisfied customers to act as brand ambassadors for your company. How can we take better care of our customers? [...]
March - April 2019 Volume 16 -- Issue 88 Remember when you were just a kid growing up? Like everyone else, we all went through what our mothers fondly referred to as growth spurts. Those were times when we seemed to grow faster and change more quickly than normal. Social media seems to have been going through those types of growth spurts as long as they have been in existence. There is nothing sporadic about it for them. It is always going on. Change seems to be a constant for those [...]
Attract Success for Your Small Business - You Deserve It! Hopes and dreams come in all shapes and sizes. Being able to reach goals and achieve dreams takes work – sometimes hard work. To get where you want to be and have what you desire, you need to attract success. Success doesn’t automatically find you, stop by and rap on your door. You need to focus on what success is for you and put things in place that will attract success. Open your door wide and let success come into your business and personal life. Everyone wants to be successful [...]
'Designing Strategies' newsletter July - August 2018 Volume 15 - Issue 84 Customers are important. They are probably the most important element of any business. They represent sales and revenue that keeps your business going. If we ask a thousand small business owners if they have good - or great - customer service, the majority would yell out: "Yes, of course!" Everyone seems to think they have awesome customer service. Could that be because they have never heard, or paid much attention to complaints? On the other hand, what if we ask the same number [...]
