March 2009

An interesting stimulus package suggestion from Barry Moltz

by Sabrina Parsons on March 18, 2009

Barry Moltz, a popular blogger and author, wrote a very interesting post on what Obama should do to stimulate the American economy. Here is what he suggests:

If we took the $750B and divided it among the approximately $150M working Americans, each of us would get $5,000 to spend in this economy. The government would issue special debits cards for us to spend the money over the next 30 days (use it or lose it). This would address all three problems- increase consumer spending, help business and could reduce unemployment…Better yet, for next 30 days, with the $5,000, Americans could “party like its 1999″.

I am not sure whether I agree with Barry on this stimulus package – but you have to admit it is certainly interesting. The idea that you can put the money into American hands, rather than wonder whether bailout money and stimulus money is getting into the same corporate executive bonus (aka GREED) packages we all keep reading about is definitely appealing. Of course there are a lot of things that could go wrong with this type of “dump money into our hands” stimulus package. I can’t help but think about how you really restrict the purchase of things like alcohol and drugs or the worry that someone might use the money as a down payment on a car that they really can’t afford in the long term. I also wonder whether that much money being spent all at once would produce shortages in products and service for the short term, driving prices up and making some companies very profitable while other companies might get very little.

I am curious – what do you think about this idea?

Sabrina Parsons aka Mommy CEO

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Dealing with Google, Getting Traffic

by Tim Berry on March 18, 2009

I’ve posted here recently–several times–on how important web search is for startups and growing businesses. Today I found one interesting new site and received a recommendation for another longstanding good site to follow in this area.

Thanks to Josh Cochrane of bplans.com for these tips:

The SEO consultants at SEOmoz have a couple of catchy recurring series of posts on their blogs. One is “Headsmacking Tips,” which covers basic techniques or easy wins that often get overlooked. Sort of a “back-to-fundamentals” message. Here’s an example: Vertical content can earn you links.

The other is “Whiteboard Fridays,” a weekly video post series (similar to your new Bplans.com content) where the company founder explains a topic on video using simple whiteboard. Again, I just like the catchy title. An example: How to get awesome links

Meanwhile, thanks to somebody recommending it on Twitter, I just discovered an almost brand-new blog called Rank and ROI Web Marketing. There are only a handful of posts, but the first two I saw were very good. That would be:

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Email sure is dead…if "dead" means "useful"

by Jason Gallic on March 17, 2009

Every so often (a rather ambiguous date range, don’t you think?) the demise of email is predicted.

It’s a pain.

It’s a spam-laden nightmare.

It’s archaic and clunky.

It’s possible that you, too, see email through this lens. But I’m going to hazard a guess and say that, regardless, email is still an essential part of your business and of your life.

In fact, I’ll go a step further: Without email, your overall communication plan (business or personal) would be irrevocably stunted. This is nothing to be ashamed of (though it seems many are). Without the keyless entry on my car, I’d drop a lot more groceries. I don’t think this makes me a bad person.

The latest fad in the “email is dead” game is to claim that social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace will replace traditional email. Status updates, it is said, will suffice for passing along the critical information that travels through email. Check out this BBC article to prove it.

If this appears to be a sleek, trendy, agile solution to the headaches associated with email, well, it’s a bit premature. There is a long list of interesting and useful business applications possible with social networks. Conveying developed pieces of information necessary both internally and externally as part of the business process is not one of them.

That’s still the job of email.

Email is a place where you get more than 140 characters to decode your message (unlike Twitter, for instance).
Traditional email (as opposed to Facebook messages, for instance) is a credible, go-to business communication channel. It’s still a vehicle for CEOs to reach out to one another and for customer service reps to personally engage your customers.
With 210 billion messages sent every day (a large percentage spam, I know), email is a part of our communication fabric, tied undeniably to much of what we do.

Want to make email even more useful? Check out some tips and tricks by clicking here.

Jason Gallic
Product Marketing Manager

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Palo Alto Software hits the 100 Best Oregon Businesses in 2009 list

by Sabrina Parsons on March 17, 2009

It’s rare that we toot our own horn but …

Palo Alto Software was honored this month as one of Oregon’s 100 Best Companies to work for. Oregon Business Magazine runs the awards and sends out surveys for employees to fill out.

Thank you to both Oregon Business for running this survey, and thank you to all of our employees who diligently filled it out! We are recognized because all of our employees think this is a great place to work!

I am beyond thrilled to have the company recognized in this way.

There is nothing more important to me at Palo Alto Software than the team of people who make this company what it is. Without them we would be nowhere. Because our people are so critically important to our success we do our best to make sure that we provide the best working environment,with the best benefits we can possibly afford. Skimping on your people is just not smart. Before you know it you are also skimping on your customers. I truly believe that being a healthy profitable company goes hand in hand with providing a happy, healthy, productive work environment.

Sabrina Parsons
CEO, Palo Alto Software

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Forget finding a new job … make one!

by Sabrina Parsons on March 17, 2009

The New York Times had an article last week about how laid-off workers are taking matters into their own hands. The article talks about when, in a recession, do people start thinking about starting a company vs. just sending out resumes and trying to get a job:

Economists say that when the economy takes a dive, it is common for people to turn to their inner entrepreneur to try to make their own work. But they say that it takes months for that mentality to sink in, and that this is about the time in the economic cycle when it really starts to happen — when the formerly employed realize that traditional job searches are not working, and that they are running out of time and money.

I know there are a lot of people in this boat right now – laid off for a few months, no prospects in sight, and money is starting to run out. If you find yourself in this situation, why not think about starting a new company? What do you have to lose? Think about what skills you bring to the table, what you are REALLY good at, and figure out what services or potential products you can offer to people. It’s better than sitting around waiting for something to happen to you. Funny how people say that the harder they work, the luckier they get!

Food for thought!

Sabrina Parsons aka Mommy CEO

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Small business succession planning

by Chelle Parmele on March 17, 2009

Tim Berry was featured on Jim Blasingame’s Small Business Advocate radio show yesterday.

Succession planning is a big part of the long-term planning for millions of small businesses. Tim Berry has studied this and actually done it successfully, and he talks with Jim Blasingame about his advice based on his experience.

You can listen to the full show by clicking on the image below.

And be sure to check out the Small Business Advocate website! Jim and his amazing staff have a wealth of information contained on the website.

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Accelerate Product Marketing by following the Financial Markets

by Guest Author on March 17, 2009

The financial markets are normally the ones that lead us out of a recession and they may have the best handle to interpret what the Economic Stimulus Package really means and what it will do. Let’s face it, there are going to be certain industries that benefit from targeted tax reductions in billions of dollars of spending. You may be able to watch, what stocks change, what trends happen and where they start putting the money.

Opportunity Ahead What kind of work might benefit from the influx of government spending? One example might be the plan advocated by T. Boone Pickens to push America towards energy independence. Utilizing wind power and natural gas for setting a Pickens plan and other options should be a priority. Maybe it would mean increased investment in alternative energy, despite the recent drop in crude and product prices. The focus on making public buildings and schools more energy efficient is another area. Transportation, Communications technology and Healthcare infrastructure are widely anticipated to receive funding or tax breaks. There are also potential opportunities in a wide range of technology stocks that may benefit.

Look at your portfolio, not your stocks, but the companies you’re working with and see if their industry is realizing a direct benefit from the package. This might entice you to put some products launches on hold and accelerate other product launches that are centered on these particular industries. You may adjust your thinking about how to re-package a few of your products and exactly what industries to target. Targeting your product launches into these industries and you will have the best chance of success.

So maybe, the next time when that person calls to give you some investment advice, you may not react so quickly to hang up the phone?

Joseph T. Dager
jtdager@business901.com
business901.com
FundingYourNonprofit.com

Joe Dager is president of Business901, a progressive company providing practical, information-rich services and product offerings designed as implementable systems that work in the real, not enough time, not enough people world we operate in. Business901 tools simplify the marketing process, not complicate it. Joe’s experience includes manufacturing, retail, and professional services and has been through several start-ups and turnarounds. Joe is an authorized Duct Tape Marketing Coach and specializes in Product Marketing. The Business901 blog is rated Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs worldwide, and his nonproft blog, FundingYourNonprofit is rated in the top 5%. Joe has a bi-monthly local television program, Connecting Your Passion and is also a contributor to the American Express Open Forum and Business Week Forum.

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Use Two-Step Direct Response Advertising and Stop Wasting Your Ad Money

by Guest Author on March 16, 2009

Many business owners say things like, “We seldom advertise because it doesn’t give us any results —it’s a waste of our money.”

And you know what—for these people this is probably true. The ads they are running are not designed to produce tangible results.

Most advertising does nothing to motivate a prospect to act—it’s simply “image” or “awareness” advertising. If your marketing budget is on par with that of Coke or Nike that’s fine, but the rest of us expect a return on those ad dollars.

What you need to do is turn all of your ads into “direct response.” These are ads that are designed to generate a very specific response or action. You can apply this approach to any ad, in any kind of media, whether newspaper, magazine, TV or radio.

The purpose of these ads is not so much to “sell” but to generate a list of qualified leads—people who may be inclined to do business with you in future and, most importantly, have given you permission to market to them.

Step one: Create one or more valuable reports, workshops, evaluations, trial products, checklists, newsletters, courses or tip sheets. You know, something like, “How To Tell If Your Contractor Is Lying To You” or “What Every Senior Must Know About the Canada Pension Plan” or “101 More Things You Can Do With Your iPod.”

Now that you have your value packed written report, every bit of your advertising— whether Yellow Pages, direct mail, back of your business card, letterhead, email signature, web site— should focus on getting people to pick up, request or download that report.

Don’t try to do anything else with your advertising, let the report sell you.

Step two: Send the report or sample to all who respond and then begin marketing to them like crazy!
Why is this approach so much more effective?

Now you can demonstrate your expertise in a non-threatening way, on the prospect’s own terms, even if all you can afford is a small ad.

Nobody likes to be sold to, but if they take the time to read your report, understand that what you do that has value, and have an 8-10 page conversation with you, the relationship and trust have begun.

People who have requested your free information are officially a hot lead. They are identifying themselves as someone who is very interested in what you do. Half of your sales job is done!

And now you can measure the response to your advertising! If one offer falls short of your expectations, change something the next time you run the ad and see if the results improve—you are now in control.

Meanwhile you will be building a database of people who you can market to—so send them a newsletter. Invite them to sale events. Offer them incentives. Put your advertising dollars to work and check the results.

ducttapemarketingbadge Ken Burgin and Elizabeth Walker are the Marketing Masters (www.MarketingMasters.ca), a full-service marketing and advertising partnership that helps build busy businesses. Send your ideas on How to Thrive in Times Like These to liz@marketingmasters.ca or ken@marketingmasters.ca, or call 1-866-908-5720.