Growth and Succession Planning - The Big Decision

What is your Big Decision?

CBC is now broadcasting Season 2 of its new show The Big Decision which is a spin off from The Dragon’s Den.

The candidate’s on CBC’s The Big Decision programs have, to date; been well vetted and weekly they bring the different struggles of running a business in Canada to the forefront.

The present format has Arlene Dickinson and Jim Treliving alternate weekly, with both having the opportunity to invest in the companies that they are examining. All companies are given specific direction and have approximately 2 to 3 weeks to accomplish the tasks.

This is the second of our analyses of the programme to highlight what Canadian business owners can learn.

So let’s examine week 4 episode of season 2:

In this episode, Arlene finds 2 companies that have lost their way. Both companies are looking for cash investment to allow for a business turnaround. But interestingly, this episode illuminates the sticky problem of succession and the inner struggles between family members and their lack of knowledge to actually make the proper decisions for running the business.

Overview: Redwood Apparel

Faced with cutthroat competition, Scarborough, Ontario-based Redwood could see their "100% Made in Canada" clothing line shut down. With a history spanning three generations, owner Kathy Cheng will need Arlene to keep her family legacy alive.

Redwood feels that they must find a niche market in corporate apparel in order to survive the competition from low cost producers outside Canada. Dad has built his business without marketing aids and is reluctant to let his daughter chase her dream even when she gets a fat preliminary order from Sears.

At Redwood, the daughter is poorly equipped to run a business. She has no grasp of the numbers and is given a failing grade in marketing.

The Test

At Redwood, the two tests were to revamp the amateurish sales brochures and to move the company to the retail apparel market.

Arlene brought in a top notch retail executive to mentor Kathy Cheng. The executive recommends going after the retail sector but Kathy snubbed her nose at her recommendations. She never revamped the corporate brochure or the direction of her marketing focus.

The executive secured a presentation to Sears but Kathy’s presentation was pitiful at best but; Sears did place a trial order for the Heritage line of 3000 units in both men and women’s as Sears recognized in the sales pitch that price was secondary to being nimble in the marketplace.

Dad withheld support and funds for new marketing material and they snubbed the recommendations by industry expert to move into the retail market.  Redwood Apparel did not complete any of Arlene’s tests and she pulled the plug and did not invest.

Overview: Viberg Boots

Across the country in Victoria, BC, a footwear company attempts to get a grip on their evolving product line. Once known strictly for their tough men's footwear, Viberg Boots has expanded to offer more fashionable products, leaving owners scrambling to keep up with demand. Will the owners reshape their business and rise to Arlene's challenge? Or will they be given the boot?

Redwood Apparel  of Victoria faces the challenge of go big or go home. The eighty year old boot manufacturer’s market for logging boots has collapsed with slowing demand in the forest industry. The son wants to chase the fashion market but Dad is squeamish about a market he does not know.

Arlene recognises that there are leadership problems with the son in Viberg who stares at the ground while talking to his Dad or Arlene especially when people disagree with his ideas. He has strong character but lacks confidence and this shows up in many situations of the episode.

The Test

At Viberg, the three tests were to prove firstly that they could manufacture a high quality but feminine boot – a complete departure from the thoroughly masculine, working market being served. The first efforts were pronounced a failure by the footwear consultant hired by Arlene and the son responded to the criticism by sulking and walking out of a meeting.

A second effort was better, sufficient to convince Arlene. But Viberg failed miserably in the 2nd test – to get out of their comfort zone and demonstrate their products to new markets. They were invited to a party to feature their product at an upper scale shoe store in Vancouver to possibly get their boots on a celebrity and get a photograph. They decided not show up and did not even call to advise that they were not coming.

Arlene did try on a new pair of ladies boots and  because Viberg regrouped and built a secondary pair of boots  as suggested by the expert Arlene decided to invest.

Conclusion

Quickly Arlene established the root of the problem; that both Dads discounted the views of their children but don’t see an alternative to the driving of the business over a cliff.

The other side is that in either instance the family members: the children did not have the skill set to behave like business people and in both instances looked more like spoiled children not getting their way.

At Redwood they continued doing business in the same old way while at Viberg they were willing to regroup after their initial mistake and create a more feminine product.

In both scenarios this week the experts were brought in but the kids in both situations literally thumbed their nose at the recommendations. They did not seem to grasp that the experts recommended by Arlene would actually help the business grow.  But of course that would mean they would have to accept that they cannot know all the key areas of their business themselves and must look for outside support.

I am happy that this theme has been examined on The Big Decision. Too many companies face the dilemma of growth tied into succession planning. Many business owners are nearing retirement age but the children are ill equipped to run any business or have no interest in replacing the long hours endured by previous family members.

In their present state neither Viberg nor Redwood could have been sold on the market for anything like their real worth without changes. And to have worked an entire career building something to see it sold for next to little profit would be the ultimate slap in the face.

Bringing in outside assistance to help turnaround the business and address the issues highlighted in this episode could have improved value; or give the much needed stimulus for change to the owners; and in both scenarios with the right business coach could have educated the children to run the business.

I highly recommend this programme for any business that is looking to expand their knowledge and get great insight into what will help you Build Your Business or begin the first step of a business turnaround.

All episodes can be viewed on line – Click here

Article written by Andrew Gregson and Donald Robichaud

What is your Big Business Decision?

CBC has recently launched a brand new show The Big Decision which is a spinoff of  The Dragon’s Den.

What we like about the show is the substantive business acumen that can be derived from the show.

Canadian business owner’s can actually learn something about the running of a business and get a handle on how business investors think without the theatrics of The Dragons Den. (I am sure some businesses are chosen on the Dragons Den because it makes good television and not necessarily a good business idea)

The candidate’s on CBC’s The Big Decision program have to date; been well vetted and weekly they bring the different struggles of running a business in Canada to the forefront.

The present format has Arlene Dickerson and Jim Treliving alternate weekly, with both having the opportunity to invest in the companies that they are examining. All companies are given specific direction and have approximately 2 to 3 weeks to accomplish the tasks.

The format of the show is as follows:

Each 1-hour episode of The Big Decision documents two Canadian businesses desperately in need of expert advice and a cash injection. With the banks calling in their loans and financiers tightening their wallets, Jim and Arlene are their last hope.

If the companies can rise to the challenge of changing their ways, they could be given a life-changing investment from two of the most revered business leaders in the country. At the conclusion of each episode, Jim and Arlene have to decide whether they’ll invest in one, neither or both of the companies vying for their cash. 

So let’s examine week 3 episode:

Jim Treliving has very considerable business skills,   and an ability to get to the heart of business problem in very short order. On CBC’s Big Decision, Treliving met with a brewery in Aldergrove BC., and a manufacturer of screws and bolts in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Overview: Dead Frog Brewery – Independent Brewery

Jim chose to invest in the brewery because he could roll in some financial controls very easily and the owners still had a passion for the business.

They needed sales help – the NEW campaign they designed was innovative but amateurish. They responded well to Jim asking for reduction in the number of labels they manufactured from 10 to 6 (Like a sample 6 pack …no charge for the marketing idea!!!).

Their 10 lines of beer surely contributed to the quality control problems that bedeviled the small brewery and quickly they made an effort to make their production line more efficient by eliminating unnecessary product movement and by making the line flow naturally and smoothly from vat to door.

The absence of good financial information and a business plan were exactly the things that Treliving could bring to the table and make the company perform well so he decided to invest.

Overview: Westland Steel – manufactures screws and bolts

The fastener company on the other hand could have been salvaged but only by an injection of very hard work. After Treliving asked his questions and poked around the plant, the plant managers tinkered with the sales incentives. But the sales people had just gone on record as saying they had nothing to sell. They didn’t have the cash or credit to buy the raw materials for their orders.

Jim sensed the company’s lack of direction. The complete absence of leadership from anyone in the plant, the deadness behind the eyes of management and the energy to find to find a solution was missing. Jim knew that. To save the company he would have to drop in tons of cash and parachute a new General Manager into the building with a remit to overhaul the company from top to bottom. That would have taken months and perhaps years.

Further, the state of the company’s finances would have meant a partial receivership (a Chapter 11 in US speak) in order to buy time to re-arrange the finances and seek accommodation with suppliers and landlords. . At the very least Jim’s money would have had to finance the purchase of raw material.

What intrigued me about the fastener company is that in spite of the huge slowdown, nothing for the salespeople to sell, and no plan, they still had revenues of $200,000 per month. With that kind of revenue most companies are salvageable. With that kind of revenue, jobs could have been saved. It would have been a long turnaround project with some pain all around but do-able.

Conclusion:

At the fastener plant, there could have been the satisfaction of seeing the back end of delivery truck shipping to a customer. At the brewery, you could always crack open a beer on a bad day!!!

What is evident so far in the first three episodes this season of The Big Decision is the lack of direction by management for any business plan, sales plan, marketing plan and company direction.

It is very interesting to watch the reaction of business owners when they are asked to do specific tasks by Arlene and Jim.  Some of them cannot take direction and due to their inflated view of themselves lose the opportunity to get investment money and put their whole livelihood at risk.

Jim and Arlene are very successful business people who know how to run successful businesses and they are not willing to put up with people who are not keen to change and grow.

I highly recommend this show for any business that is looking to expand their knowledge and get great incite to what will help you Build Your Business.

All episodes can be viewed on line – Click here

Article written by Andrew Gregson and Donald Robichaud

If you need help with your  business give us a call.

Donald Robichaud
President
Floodlight Business Solutions Group
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca 

Build Your Business

Does my business need a mobile app ?

There’s no doubt that consumers are using their mobile phones to buy more and with increased frequency on their mobile phones.

Recently Time Magazine – The Wireless Issue dedicated a whole issue to the launch of their own app and an explanation of how the mobile phone has changed how we communicate, explore, do business and pay for items we want.

The business question is should you rely on a mobile optimised website, or should you be considering a mobile app?

The answer appears to be that more users will probably uninstall your app than will use it if it does not meet their needs.

Currently the most prevalent retail mobile apps are Amazon and eBay and those being used by major chain restaurants like Domino’s and others to check on the delivery of your order.

Other apps used regularly by small and midsized business are vouches/discount sites, journey planning, and booking apps. Smartphone users are likely to find their way with Google Maps, check plane times on their mobiles and read the news so what will your app offer?

Who will use your app? 

Subscribers

Nearly 40 percent of American mobile subscribers accessed downloaded apps in June 2012. And, according to a consumer survey conducted earlier this year by MTV Networks, 91 percent of respondents said apps expose them to new things; 77 percent compared apps to personal assistants; and 83 percent of daily mobile app users reported believing they're "addicted" to apps ( Gamers and highly evolved hand held users)

Marketing

Whatever your company does online, can also be done on smart phones, which adds portability, location targeting and other cutting-edge technological enhancements to the mix. The potential of mobile apps extends far beyond marketing.

Sure, companies can leverage applications to promote their products and services, reaching on-the-go consumers looking for compelling places to shop or grab lunch. But mobile apps can also support online purchase transactions, customer loyalty programs, turn-by-turn directions and social media interactions.

As a business owner what should I do?

All businesses looking at apps need to plan carefully. They should plan a budget and a road map. Knowing what you want the app to do and which consumer segments you wish to reach. This can pose a bigger challenge.

Things to look at before you move ahead with an app:

             Know what message you want to send

             Understand your audience

             Clarify what you want your app to achieve

In a recent interview with Ben Duckworth of Duckworth Consultants in Kelowna for this article Duckworth said “Business owners need a plan and what we do at Duckworth Consultants is offer a mobile app solution that is completely customizable, so you can design your app specifically around your business, what your business goals are and how you want your customers to interact with you."

When speaking about their own customers Duckworth pointed out: “What customers like about our app’s is that our platform is unique to apps in that each feature can be changed, turned on or off and even added to when the app is live.”

How will an app help me increase my business sales?

That’s the big question right now. People tend to think of mobile apps as novelties and games or small utility apps for people to use for tasks and calendars.

Here is what you need to consider for why your business needs its own app:

1. You put Your Business in your Client or Prospects Pocket!
2. You can add mobile value by including content and functionality that are time sensitive
3.  Provide content that adds value to client’s and prospect’s daily lives
4. Your app will become a part of a person’s daily life and become indispensable
5. It’s about convenience for your clients and prospects.
6. You can use the App to drive traffic to your brick and mortar store with a Push “Call to Action”
7.  Announce “Specials” to your app subscribers (online shoppers love a bargain)
8. You can announce an “Event” and have the app user keep it in their calendar so they don’t forget. If it’s a ticketed event, tell them how to get tickets or give them links to purchase tickets, or have a cart system to purchase tickets in the app
9. The mobile internet market is growing at a much faster rate than fixed internet
10.  It will differentiate you from your competition
11. You create deeper engagement through a device.  Statistics show people are within 15 feet of their mobile Smartphone 24 hours a day
12. Drive more loyalty to your brand by engaging people with the devices they are so addicted to
13. You are constantly branding your business on your customers phones
14. Your business is provided with great feedback through mobile app two way conversations
15. It is going to drive more revenue and ultimately more profits with its ability to “Push” information to app users instead of waiting for them to “Pull" information like a website
16. It enables easy social sharing of your content between mobile users with in-app sharing features
17.  Reduce costs to your business through automation. With a mobile app that has back end software you can change the information yourself.

So when considering an app for your business or any other  marketing tool  it’s easy to forget what your really  trying to achieve because sometimes we get so focused on the look and feel of the marketing piece.

The best marketing tools not only look good but they actually help solve a problem for your clients and that will   Build Your Business.

If you need help with your  Social Media Strategies or Internet Marketing Strategies contact:

Donald Robichaud
President
Floodlight Business Solutions Group
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca 

Build Your Business

Increase your Productivity – Emails and cell phones can be productivity Time Wasters

In the last couple of weeks I have been reading many books and one in particular has struck a key note with me. 

Daily I deal with clients and friends who are slaves to technology, specifically emails, cell phones and their own struggles with time management.The book “The 4-Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferriss is about how to radically change your lifestyle or go from ‘living to work’ to working (as little, but effectively as possible) and making life as big as possible.

Here is a summary from chapter seven (Interrupting Interruption and the Art of Refusal) that is focused on step-changing one’s personal efficiency. With these tips you can get 15 times as much done in a normal workweek”.
The key is to do things quicker, faster better and to enjoy the things that are really important in life. Interested?

Donald Robichaud- FloodLight Consulting

Eliminate time wasters:

• Severely limit e-mail consumption and production
• Turn off the audible alert if you’re on Outlook or a similar program
• Turn off automatic send/receive (which delivers e-mail to your in-box as soon as someone sends them)
• Check e-mail only twice per day, once at 12:00 noon and again at 4:00 pm.
• Never check e-mail first thing in the morning…instead, complete your most important task before 11:00 am to avoid using lunch or reading e-mail as a postponement excuse.
• Before implementing the twice-daily routine, you must create an e-mail auto-response that will train your boss, co-workers, suppliers, and clients to be more effective
• Suggested e-mail template: “Due to high workload, I am currently checking and responding to e-mail twice daily at 12:00 noon (PST) and 4:00 pm (PST). If you require urgent assistance that cannot wait until either 12:00 or 4:00, please contact me via telephone @ 626-321-4107. Thank you for understanding this move to more efficiency and effectiveness. It helps me to accomplish more and serve you better.”
• Do the same type of template with your phone voicemail.

Create systems to limit your availability via e-mail and phone and deflect inappropriate contact:

• Get the auto-response and voicemail script in place now, and master the various methods of evasion.
• Replace the habit of greeting “How are you?” with “How can I help you?”
• Get specific and remember – no stories
• Focus on immediate actions and practice interruption-killing policies.
• Batch activities to limit set-up cost. Where in my life can I create a routine in my life by batching?
• What tasks (like laundry, groceries, mail, payments, sales reporting, etc.) can I allot to specific times each day, week, or month so I don’t squander time repeating them more often than necessary?

Need Help?

FloodLight Consulting provides objective feedback about what you need to do to get your business on track. A healthy business coach relationship provides you honest ongoing assessment of your Business Development Activities, assisting you to focus your efforts in the areas that will have the greatest long term positive impact on your business and your life. If you need help creating your goal-plan Click here!!

Donald Robichaud – FloodLight Consulting

Floodlight – Build Your Business
1-888-768-9415

Kelowna. Kamloops, Calgary, Edmonton. Regina, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto Moncton, Halifax and across Canada

Business Vision, Mission and Values

In the last few years I have written many articles for my monthly newsletter, blog and for Castanet.

Of all the articles I have written this week’s article on defining Company Business Values is the most read article on my Floodlight website.

This week we focus on your Company Values.

Company Values: Strong values will be those which actually operate in practice. Your company values underpin the Vision and the Mission of your company. No business is value-free and it is important to be explicit about those values that are essential to the business achieving its vision.

If values are not made explicit, then the values of the most dominant people are likely to be those which actually operate in practice. If you do not define your company values, the company will be adrift without proper direction.

Four key questions to define your Company Values:

1.     What are the values that are important to you as the business owner?

2.     What are the values that will be important to your team members?

3.     What are the values that will be important to your customers?

4.     What are the values that will be important to the success of the business?

Example of Values for a construction company:

Our core values form the bricks and mortar of our business, which operates and grows as a company and proud community member.

TRUST: All long-term relationships are grounded in trust and we take great pride in representing ourselves with honesty and humility in all our affairs. Our win-win philosophy also enables us to develop lasting partnerships with our clients.

VALUE: Our clients expect us to earn our fee – not just collect it. We work hard on all our projects to find value through design efficiencies and creative execution in our work.

TEAMWORK: We are easy to work with (clients find that refreshing).

INNOVATION: We are committed to always improving how we deliver our services. From continuing education in the field, to investment in industry-leading management and estimating tools, we strive constantly to be the leader in our field.

COMMUNITY: We feel blessed to be involved in literally building our communities, and we are committed to making a lasting difference in the ones which we build. Five percent of the company’s earnings are donated back to charities every year.

So if the Vision is your “Big Picture”, the Mission is the “How we do it here”, then the Company Values define “How we do business every day”.

Now go and “Build Your Business”.

Donald Robichaud
FloodLight – Build Your Business
Kelowna / Ottawa / Toronto/ Kingston
Email
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlightconsulting.com/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/

Reaching your business goals in 2012

The first half of 2012 is over and we are well into the summer months.
This is a great time to review your business goals for the year and your results for the first half of the year. Are you on track?
If so, great!
Pat yourself on the back.
If not, Why?

What do you need to do to get back on track and ensure success for the balance of 2012?

I’ve had many discussions with business owners and entrepreneurs in small to medium sized companies and some are struggling to find new leads, close sales, and grow their business. In fact, some are losing market share or seeing sales decline, and aren’t sure what to do. When I ask if they’re experts in their field or whether they have a plan, I get all types of answers from, “I’m not sure what to do”, to, “I’m not smart enough”, or even worse, “It’s the market’s fault”.

If you’re not an expert in your field and fully confident of your products and services, then your customers and potential customers will sense your weakness and not be motivated to purchase from you.

Many businesses are held back because key people in the organization lack the skills to manage effectively and deliver results or, they lack the ability to utilize new technologies like the internet to leverage their business.

To be a successful business in this challenging climate you must to continue to stretch yourself and learn new skills. You are the key to your own success! You need to have an open mind and become and expert in your field. And the only way to do this is to continue learning and growing. Here’s how:

1. Write down the top ten must improve areas of your business for 2009.

2. Now divide the top ten in to the following areas of Sales, Marketing, and Operations.

3. You will notice that one area will become painfully obvious in that you need more work to do.

4. Now go buy a couple of books to read in that obvious area. (Possibly Marketing).

5. Monday to Friday get up early every morning or shut off the TV early at night and read every day for one hour.

Five days a week for one hour. Write down the things you like and implement them as soon as possible.

5 hours x 26 weeks = 180 hours dedicated to learning.

To really achieve any goal or to learn a meaningful new skill, we need to discipline ourselves to stay on track until it’s accomplished. There are several ways to effectively track your goals.

•Keep a list and review your goals regularly, preferably daily

•Break down a goal into action steps

•Measure your results by establishing key performance indicators

•Set new goals and repeat the above

The investment in learning will pay multiple dividends for the balance of 2009 and help you to “Build your Business”.

8 FREE ways to Build your Business

There are a number of methods that you can use to build your business. Many of these methods may already be in use but they are rarely used as part of a total marketing system so they are not used consistently.

When you begin using any marketing strategy as part of a system, then it becomes a positive source for the growth of your business.

Most businesses have methods of marketing; however, most do not pay close attention to the results and frequency of implementation. The key to remember is that when something is part of a system, then it is repetitive therefore multiplying the effectiveness and guaranteeing significantly better results.

The best way to implement your marketing strategy is to use this guide and make sure that you answer the questions that are part of each concept.

The goal of you answering the questions is simple. If you take the time to answer the question, even if it is just in your head, you will take yourself to a higher level of awareness of how you are working in your business.

MARKETING WEAPONS

1. Business Cards – Your business card should have key contact information and must be distributed to everyone you meet. The goal of giving your card to everyone is placing you in the subconscious mind of everyone you meet.
Q: Do you give your card to everyone you meet or just people that ask you about your business?

2. Ask For Referrals – Everyone you develop rapport with both inside and outside your business should know what you do and be able to refer someone to you. The best way to get a referral is to give one first. It will pay major dividends for you.
Q: How many people you know who are in business that would appreciate a referral? What goes around comes around!!!

3. Have a Clearly Defined Message – Make sure that everything you do has a message about who you are and/or what you do. Hone your Elevator Pitch!!
Q: What is your message? What do you specialise in? Who is your target market and what are your services? What problems do you solve?

4. Voice Mail Marketing – Make sure your voice mail has special marketing statements. It is very important to place some type of reminder for the listener to ask you about something specific about you or your products.  An example of a voice mail marketing system is at the end of your greeting, you add the statement “Don’t forget to ask me about….!”
Q: How do I get people to ask me about my competitive advantage?

5. E-mail Marketing – This is very similar to voice mail marketing. Every e-mail you send must have as part of your signature, a special offer or a marketing message!
Q: What does your e-mail signature look like?

6. Testimonials – It is a must for you to get testimonials from your clients and referral sources. Your website and marketing material should contain a customer quote. These quotes give customers sub-conscious references to your services and the quality of them.
Q: How many testimonials do you have and are they from different types of sources so you can attach them to the appropriate marketing piece?

7) Community Involvement – Get involved with your community and increase your exposure. Individuals that participate in community activities tend to be compelled to want to help other members of the activity because of the common bond that is shared.
Q: What organization could you join that would surround you with the type of people that either could use your services or refer you to people that could benefit from your services while simultaneously giving something valuable back to your community?

8). Accessibility – Make sure you are easily reachable. Make clear to your clients the best way to reach you along with the best times to reach you. Add on your voice mail message specific times that you will be returning phone calls so clients know when to expect to hear back from you. When you return clients messages when you say you will, your credibility grows and so do the quality of your referrals.
Q: How much time do you need to answer your messages and when would be the best time of the day to answer your messages and return client calls? Do this daily.

Implement each one of these simple marketing weapons and “Build Your Business” in 2012.

Donald Robichaud
President
FloodLight Consulting - Build Your Business - 1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/

Social Media Marketing ..Is it for You? Lets get Social!!

Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels such as:

Social media marketing is the process of promoting your site or business through social media channels in Kelowna, Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto and throughout Canada.

• Micro blogging (Twitter)
• Business Networking (LinkedIn)
• Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
• Photo & Video Sharing (Flickr, YouTube)

This is a powerful strategy that will get you backlinks, attention and a great amounts of traffic.

There is no other low-cost promotional method out there that will easily give you large numbers of visitors, some of whom may come back to your website again and again.

Tradtional marketing like TV, Radio and the Newspaper are having their market share reduced.

If you are selling products/services or just publishing content social media marketing is a potential method that will make your site profitable over time with the appropriate strategy.

Those who ignore the benefits of social media usually fall into three categories;

1. the ones who don’t know much or anything about social media
2. the ones who are interested but don’t know how to use it
3. those who don’t believe in the value that a social media strategy can bring to any site or business.

Which one are you? Let's Get Social!

For more information contact:

Donald Robichaud
President
FloodLight – Build Your Business
250-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/

Internet Marketing Kelowna Online SEO

Internet Marketing Solutions Kelowna

Kelowna Marketing Support- at Floodlight we can help you through the marketing maze!

We work closely with our clients to identify and action the marketing strategies and opportunities that will grow and improve your business.
■ Create a quarterly marketing plan – Set the following year into four key quarters and then begin to target marketing dollars and resources to achieve your business goals
■Send out monthly Newsletter – Create a strategy to inform, educate and support all products and services to your past present and future clients. This program keeps you top of mind which becomes the branding of your organization.
■Blog Marketing – Re-purpose all relevant information to the blog so that you become the leaders in your field and utilize all the free internet tools made possible on Google to drive down traditional marketing costs.
■Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – This includes, the Research of Key words, Develop search strategy, Optimize web content(tweaks), Link Building, Monitor and adjust
■Competitive Analysis- We then determine what your competitors are doing we look at how many links they have, where they are getting those links and the keywords they are optimizing for their websites. This gives us an edge as we can see what is working to get top results for your keywords. This analysis will allow us to implement strategies that should move your site above your competitors in the search engines.
■Localized Search Optimization – Local search sites are primarily supported by SEO for businesses that wish to be prominently featured when users search for specific products and services in specific locations. Local search optimization can be highly effective because it allows your services to be targeted very precisely to the search terms and location provided by the user.
■Analytics – Floodlightcan help you track your efforts and analyze the visitors to your Blog and website, and assist you in making better internet marketing decisions for your business.
■Social Media Optimization – Set up of accounts and tools to push out marketing message • Need a social media strategy that will incorporate Site-Specific Programs •Micro blogging (Twitter)
•Business Networking (LinkedIn)
•Social Networking (Facebook, MySpace)
•Photo & Video Sharing (Flickr, YouTube)
•Submissions to web based Articles Directories

■Link Building – What is your back link Strategy? – High rankings can ensure that your message is viewed first.One of the most important aspects of increasing your Google Page Rank The search engines still believe that back-links are an important factor in assessing your site, so until that changes, we still have to work at generating valuable back-links.
■YouTube Videos - Videos are a great way to promote your products and services. Signature Videos set the tome for your company, Testimonial Videos give you instant credibility with your consumers

Give us a call today to implement your Internet Marketing Plan.

Contact us today and start to Build Your Business!!

Floodlight – Build Your Business
Kelowna – Ottawa – Kingston – Toronto
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlight.ca/

New Internet Marketing Trends - Social Marketing

Internet Marketing or Online Marketing is a new way to promote your product and services through the web.
Your core marketing strategy stays the same as you raise your visibility in the target market while increasing sales and profits.

Today, Internet Marketing is considered the fastest and most economical medium for promoting product and business growth.

Internet marketing strategies cover various services such as search engine optimization (SEO), search newsletters, email marketing, copy writing, web development, blog posting, social media sites, pay per click and numerous others.

And now the power of social media, team buying and twitter, have changed the landscape of how people are finding out about local merchants in Kelowna and throughout Canada.

One internet marketing strategy that has caught on quickly is the Groupon and Twongo models, now in operation in Kelowna, Canada. This new marketing avenue harnesses the power of team buying and can truly drive more new business to your door.
These new marketing avenues are essentially an online coupon service with an immediate call to action, providing a platform to coordinate and facilitate group buying by consumers of retail business products.

The consumers are members of the local community who have chosen to join a free subscriber list. The products are provided by local business vendors seeking to increase their sales and to expand their consumer/client base by accessing the larger subscriber list.

Example One:

In one promotion 250 new visitors went to the website of a local pizza retailer and 157 vouchers of $25.00 were purchased by the subscribers within a 24 hour period. In the last two months, 67 of the sold coupons have been redeemed and his business was exposed to people who were not previously aware of his pizza business. At the end of 30 days the he received a cheque from the online services for his portion of the coupons sold.

In a previous marketing tactic, a door knocker promotion was used and 15,000 homes were targeted. In this venture $900.00 dollars of advertising capital was spent and only 18 coupons were redeemed.

In the past three years this pizza merchant has used radio, TV and print. At no time did any of these traditional marketing mediums issue back a cheque to this merchant.

Example Two:

In another case a local shoe merchant used Twitter to tweet out that he was having a 50% off sale and did so at 1:00 pm. By 3:00 pm the same afternoon he had eight people visit his store and 10 pairs of shoes were sold. He is now a frequent user of Twitter to keep his customers in the loop.

The same merchant used Twongo and the power of team buying to sell 230 discounted coupons against the purchase of regular priced shoes.

All money raised by the merchant was donated to the local food bank at Christmas and his store was featured on radio and in print, while donating $2,300 dollars to a great cause.

The marketing power of the internet has grown very fast in a short period of time and there is a whole new generation of shoppers who are looking for great value and great service.

Your job as a retailer in this internet age is to decide how you will market yourself so you can “Build Your Business”.

Donald Robichaud
FloodLight – Build Your Business
Kelowna / Ottawa
Email
1-888-768-9415
http://www.floodlightconsulting.com/

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Are you harnessing the Power of the internet to Market and Brand your business?

An Internet business coach teaches you how to successfully manage your business and then use the Internet to market, brand and promote your business online.

So much information exists today about marketing on the internet that it's difficult to know what to do or whom to trust. If you own any type of business, your search is over -- you've come to the right place!

At FloodLight we bring you the very best, most effective Marketing and Branding strategies that work for any service business and help you Build Your Business.

We help you get found on the Internet with proper copy and then, teach you how to set up your own marketing campaign that will deliver results.

Every single Marketing and Branding strategy discussed has been proven to effectively work for all our clients to help grow their business and increase the traffic to their websites.

Isn't it time you stopped struggling to make money and use the power of the internet to improve and grow your business through proven strategic internet marketing techniques proven to work for businesses just like yours.

For the price of costly Monthly Search Engine Optimization fees you can become a more savvy online business owner.

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Click here to get started today!

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1-250 -768-9415 Kelowna, Canada, USA, North America

Kelowna Online Marketing

Internet Business Coach / FloodLight

FloodLight Touch Point Marketing System

With 80% of buyers visiting your website before deciding whether or not to contact you, and with websites greatly growing in influence since 2005, the importance of your website cannot be overstated.
Your potential clients make decisions quickly as to whether they call you or ultimately buy from you.

Think of your website as the hub for your Marketing and Branding activities. No matters what marketing you are doing—direct mail, email, referral generation, PR, cold calling, etc.—it is driving buyers to your website. Your website is the portal clients and prospects are using to learn more about you and your services.
They are searching for information to validate you as a professional in your field.
Your potential clients have a need for your service and your website must offer a solution to their problem. You must be able to speak to the challenges your clients are facing.

If they find what they are looking for they will take action. Your website is the place they go to form an impression of you and interact with your brand.
Overall, your website can serve to:
1. Establish that you are professional: through professional design, writing, and arrangement of content.

2. Establish that you are worthy of consideration: through an overview of your services, your client list, biographies of your professionals, and Testimonials or case studies that show how you have helped clients and delivered on your promises to do what you said you would.

3. Establish yourself as a thought leader: through articles, tools, publications, videos, and other resources to help build credibility, reliability, and trust—all essential elements necessary to win clients.

Marketing on the internet is a multi-step process with many Touch Points and the first step is, that 80% of buyers are making............ is to visit your website.

What will these potential buyers like, what will they see, and will you offer a solution to their problems.

Will they be interested enough to send you an email, sign up for a news letter or pick up the phone to call you and start a discussion with you?

Or

Will they move on to your competitor’s site and offerings?

Your business future is lying in the balance.

Contact us today and start Marketing and Branding yourself so you can be found.
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FloodLight Consulting - 250-768-9415
http://www.floodlightconsulting.com/
http://donaldrobichaud.blogspot.com/