Learned a few things today...

I have said for many years that if I learned something today, it was a good day. Well, today was a good day. In fact, it was a very good day because learned several things. I'm only going to blog about a couple of the things I learned today, simply because they relate to my livelihood and are of interest to me.

The company I work for recently added a new product in my area that I am selling. We now have a really nice community magazine publication that I'm selling ad space for, something that is totally new to me. As I've gotten into presenting the magazine and talking about it more with business owners and their staff, I've learned a few things about magazines in general, people and a different conversation that make sense... to me anyhow.

Magazines are usually sold to subscribers, right? Magazine ads are sold to businesses who want to brand their business and cause "top of mind awareness" amongst the readership, right? Well, at least this has been my personal take on magazines forever. I subscribe to several magazines. In fact, I have one laying by my chair, another in the bedroom and others in each bathroom in our home. Magazines have always been a part of my life so I enjoy them. Well, I did until I learned a little about how some magazines are sold and "circulated".

Ah, there's that word circulation. Circulation by definition as it relates to printed media means "the distribution of copies of a periodical among readers". Now, today though I learned that not all circulation statements from magazine publishers means the same thing. For instance, there are magazines I see all around town, in banks, insurance offices, realty offices, doctor offices, etc. In fact, these things are everywhere! I believe it is actually on purpose so they are easier for me to find. They are a great lead source for me! See, circulation means a totally different thing to that publication than it does to the one I am selling. Let me explain.

Here is the circulation process of the magazine I am selling. The magazine is printed with an address and name on the back each month. The magazines are taken to the post office and every copy is mailed out to a specific list by zip code, age, annual income and home value. Next month, the same process or "circulation" if you will, is followed again. In fact, there are so many of these magazines being "circulated" or "distributed" that the numbers rival those of the WSJ.

Let's think about the circulation of the publication I see laying around in banks and insurance offices. The magazines are printed, lots of them I've heard, and then they are bundled together. Those stacks or bundles are then delivered or "circulated" out to all the advertisers who have paid to have their business represented in the magazine. For about two months, those magazines "circulate" around the lobby. Then after a couple months, a new magazine is ready to start "circulation" and the old stack is "circulated" right into the trash can. That's right folks, off to the landfill with all those "circulated" magazines. Then the vicious circle begins all over again with the next publication.

How sad! All those trees! All that garbage! I learned a lot about circulation today. I learned that when a company states that they circulate a number of magazines, we should ask them how many are being mailed to a person's home, and not just a person, but a person who can use or may use the services or products I offer from my company.

I await your comments.

Spring Planning

Doesn't this beautiful warmer than normal weather make you want to get outside?  I know it makes me want to plant seeds, cultivate the soil, and then watch it grow.  Well, the same can be said for your business.

Let's apply the spring planting concept to business.

Farmers have been sitting for the winter, anxiously awaiting the spring thaw so they can "get back to work".  Now, that's not to say that farmers don't work year round as they certainly do.  Coming from a farm family background, I know a farmer's work is never done.  However, there is something to be said for that early March time frame when things begin to warm up and crocuses start to pop up out of the ground and bloom. 

In business, there are many industries that are sitting right now just waiting on that spring thaw for their business.  Landscape contractors, home improvement guys, deck builders, paving companies, and so many more rely on the warm months of the year to build up their winter storehouse of funds to sustain themselves through yet another winter.  So, what are you doing to prepare for Spring in 2012?

Here are a few suggestions for business owners waiting out the winter:

• Set up a schedule for your marketing and advertising now!  Do not wait until March as the phone will start ringing from your past efforts and clients and you then won't have time to spend trying to build a new customer base.  Now is the time to secure and schedule your direct mail campaign.  Now is the time to design and purchase flyers, business cards, yard signs, etc. 
• Now is the time to work with your webmaster to update your website.  Work with a reliable optimization and online marketing expert to be sure you are on page one of all the major search engines.  It can be done! If you don't have a website, contact me or someone who has built thousands of sites so you can use their expertise.  Please don't make the mistake of thinking  you can do it yourself or enlist your cousin's brother's sister's friend to do it.  It just doesn't work!!
• Now is the time to perform preventative maintenance on all your business equipment such as mowers, trucks, sprayers, power tools, etc.  Change the oil, rotate tires, and be ready to get out on the road when the customer calls.
• If you require some sort of inventory for your business such as chemicals for a pest control business, seeds, oil, small tools, etc., now is the time to purchase those and store for the busy season.  Later, you won't have to come home at 9pm and go online and place orders when you are exhausted and want to spend time with your family.
• Now is the time to go out and secure spring/summer contracts.  At the beginning of the year homeowners and business owners alike are thinking about where they will get their services this spring/summer/fall.  If you rely on such agreements, you must solicit them now via direct mail and in person. 

So, hopefully you have some ideas for your time as we wait out the rest of the winter months.  Before long Spring will be here and you will be busy.  Plan now and if you need personal assistance, feel free to contact Lisa Fausey at Lisa.Fausey@yellglobal.com for personal assistance for all your marketing, advertising and business solutions needs.

Lisa Brooks Fausey, Business Solutions Consultant

Marketing a Local Event for Free!

Last year a pair of local business owners in our community decided they would begin a contest to see who was the best at making a one of America’s favorite foods, a hamburger. This idea began as the brain child of local entrepreneur Selina Meehleib. Selina’s husband is a local butcher who is half owner of a local butcher shop, Mountain State Meats and Catering. Selina runs the business and in particular the catering portion of the business. Having a background of being an expert in the meat industry gave Selina and her husband Ryan the validity in founding this local competiton. But, Selina needed to have other support in starting this and actually pulling it off and her funds were limited.
Selina approached local business owner Jason Roach of Sunfire Hearth Patio & Spa. Not only does Jason’s business specialize in outdoor patio furniture, spa and hot tubs, indoor/outdoor fireplaces, woodstoves, pellet stoves, etc. They also specialize in gas and pellet grills. How do most American’s prefer their burgers? Grilled! When Jason and Selina put their collective ideas together, the Big Bad Burger Contest was born!
Ok, so they had a great idea but again the funds were limited with which they would be able to market their idea of the contest and then there were prizes and press so here is how they pulled it off, all things anyone can use to market their big idea with small funds.
First, both Selina and Jason began talking to everyone about their idea. Selina knows hundreds of local business men and women and she talked up the contest to everyone seeking support in prizes as well as free marketing. Jason likewise knows hundreds of local business men and women and also spoke to many of them looking for support and particiation as contestants. Their goal was to have 50 contestants but they would be content with 20. Early on the local newspaper, The Journal, jumped in with support in print as did a local radio station owned by Prettyman Broadcasting. It wasn’t long before other sponsors and supporters jumped in to make the contest successful.
Finding judges was important because they had to be local yet someone who was experienced. Selina was able to secure West Virginia State Senator John Unger, II as the celebrity judge. This was very helpful as Senator Unger has experience judging in other local food competitions such as the Chili Cook-off and is a Kansas City BBQ judge. With Senator Unger’s participation this created validity for the competition and entrants began to come in quickly.
Selina also employed the knowledge of yours truly to create an online buzz through Twitter, Facebook and various blogs. As word got out and others jumped on this buzz was expanded by Around the Panhandle Magazine, The Buyer’s Guide, Hospice of the Panhandle, Inthepanhandle.com, and others in local media. It wasn’t long before they reached 20 entries in the two categories, beef and alternative burgers.
Jason and Selina were able with a very limited budget to build this event to actually be the largest first year event in Martinsburg, WV. Other than the cost to print full color fliers, and the time involved, they were able to market this event successfully with their own efforts. This coming year when they host the event, social media will be a large part of their marketing effort as well be the concerted efforts of the organizers to speak to as many local business owners, supporters and participants as they can reach personally. Who knows, maybe TV stations from the DC area will come out to feature the event or if they are lucky somone from the Food Network will sit up and take notice and attend as well.