The news around me this week has been a little less than encouraging. In my office building, the largest tenant just laid off two employees and cut another position to half time. The Realtor in the corner moved back to a home office to cut expenses and is working part time for another tenant providing office help. And I am investing thousands to expand my business. Am I missing something here?
I really don’t think so. The reason is that like the stock market or the overall economy, the indices we use to measure performance are made up of lots of smaller pieces – and some of those pieces are hanging in there – even thriving.
I just happen to be in an industry segment that can do well in a struggling economy because, as I have mentioned before, email newsletters are an inexpensive alternative to more traditional marketing tools. As proof of others in the industry looking to seize this opportunity, pay attention to how many banner ads you see for iContact and Constant Contact on the Web sites you visit. These very successful do-it-yourself sites are everywhere, extolling the virtues of using email marketing to boost your business.
So while many are cutting back, it does indeed make sense for me to push as hard as I can to broaden my base and increase my market share.
There, I think I convinced myself. I feel better now.
Also helping is my excitement over the design for the new davemail Web site. I love the new look and look forward to its vastly superior functionality. While I am sharing many elements of the rebranding before the official launch, I think I will keep this piece under wraps until the big day.
Business cards are done and my new toll-free number is in place. This week, I am focusing on more pieces of the site, a new brochure, some PR planning and some logistical issues for moving to a new server. All while keeping current clients happy.
It is amazing that tasks I may have once viewed as a pain, I now see as a privilege. I guess that is what a little perspective will do.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 7776 (another modest gain for the week – baby steps?)
Unemployment Rate: 8.1% (9.4% in Florida, the highest since 1976)
Big News: Obama administration forces out GM CEO Rick Wagoner, places strict requirements on future assistance for GM and Chrysler.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Week 4 – Cashing in a Little Brand Equity
Choosing the new logo and accompanying identity package was the main focus last week – along with the continued refining of Web copy. The process resembled my experience in buying our first house when we fell in love with the first home we saw but needed to see some others before we could make a decision. The logo is simple and distinctive and will serve me well for many years – just like that house.
The new logo is necessary, of course, because of the name change, which begs a much bigger question. Why change the name of something that has worked?
The short answer is that SalesTouches.com does a good job of describing the process of reaching out to existing customers/members etc., but it is sometimes viewed as a bit harsh. It is really not about sales at all (at least not at first) – it is about building relationships.
So, the new name is all about relationships – both the interaction between business and individual and the relationship my clients have with me. Unlike the do-it-yourself newsletter options, my clients trust me to be that conduit between them and their people. To communicate their vision and their desire to serve them.
Doing business with my company instead of using online software means you are doing business with me, and the new name reflects that about as well as any name could.
The new name is (wait for it…)
The new logo is necessary, of course, because of the name change, which begs a much bigger question. Why change the name of something that has worked?
The short answer is that SalesTouches.com does a good job of describing the process of reaching out to existing customers/members etc., but it is sometimes viewed as a bit harsh. It is really not about sales at all (at least not at first) – it is about building relationships.
So, the new name is all about relationships – both the interaction between business and individual and the relationship my clients have with me. Unlike the do-it-yourself newsletter options, my clients trust me to be that conduit between them and their people. To communicate their vision and their desire to serve them.
Doing business with my company instead of using online software means you are doing business with me, and the new name reflects that about as well as any name could.
The new name is (wait for it…)
There you have it. How’s that for going for it? All the creative and functional aspects of the Web site and collateral pieces will be based on the concept of personal interaction. When you hire davemail, you get dave (for better or worse).
I am not a software developer, I am a writer, editor and publication manager. My clients will have to believe in me for this to reach its full potential.
Am I risking anything with the name change? Absolutely. I could lose the momentum built through the SalesTouches name, I have to educate existing clients and start all over attracting new ones. But in the long run (which is the only race I’ve entered), I really believe it will be worth it.
I am not a software developer, I am a writer, editor and publication manager. My clients will have to believe in me for this to reach its full potential.
Am I risking anything with the name change? Absolutely. I could lose the momentum built through the SalesTouches name, I have to educate existing clients and start all over attracting new ones. But in the long run (which is the only race I’ve entered), I really believe it will be worth it.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT (3/22)
Dow: 7278 (up .8% -- first two-week gain in almost a year)
Unemployment Rate: 8.1% (Feb)
Big News: National outrage over $1 million+ bonuses to at least 73 AIG execs after the company got $173 billion in government bailout funds.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Week 3 – Vulnerability and Some Backstory
Sharing the ups and downs of being aggressive in a spiraling economy is creating a certain degree of vulnerability that I am not completely comfortable with yet. I know for a fact that many of my clients are reading this, which makes me want to guard my words and spin everything upward. Yet, the second this blog fails to feel authentic, I lose credibility and most likely you as a reader.
So I pledge to “keep it real” and portray the events of my business expansion honestly and without any unnecessary filters (no one really wants to know everything).
To put the story in perspective, it would be helpful to know how we got here. I will do my best to give you the TinyURL version.
After 14 years as a professional communicator (writer, magazine editor and nationally accredited PR practitioner), I decided to take all the stuff I had learned and strike out on my own. In June of 1999, I incorporated what would become Fiore Communications, and began building clients. It has provided the means to support my family ever since.
In the fall of 2007, I was approached by a couple people about creating an email newsletter for them. There were many useful online do-it-yourself services available, but they didn’t want to mess with it at all.
Then it hit me. I had spent the last 21 years writing, editing and managing publications, and if I could figure out how to apply it to this email newsletter technology, I might really have something.
After lots of research, education and collaboration, I was able to create SalesTouches.com, a division of my company that focuses solely on the writing, design, mailing and tracking of email newsletters.
OK. No more sales pitch. The point is that it has been quite successful from my perspective, and as the economy has tanked, the need for inexpensive and effective marketing tools has exploded. But I cannot truly take advantage of the incredible opportunity that sits before me without ramping up to take my message beyond my local sphere of influence.
That is where I sit today. The writing and PR part of my business remains fairly constant, but I am focusing more and more on the newsletters and the machine that drives them. We are working on the new branding (for the new name), Web site, collateral pieces and a new way of thinking about how it all works. And at the same time, I must be ready to evolve, adapt and stay ahead of changes in technology that will change the game as we are playing it.
Thanks for sticking with me through the boring history part of the story. There are several creative deadlines next week, so I may even have something to show you. I can’t wait.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 7223 (moderate rally – best week since November)
Unemployment Rate: 8.1% (Feb.)
Big News: Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff pleads guilty to 11 felonies and faces up to 150-year sentence.
So I pledge to “keep it real” and portray the events of my business expansion honestly and without any unnecessary filters (no one really wants to know everything).
To put the story in perspective, it would be helpful to know how we got here. I will do my best to give you the TinyURL version.
After 14 years as a professional communicator (writer, magazine editor and nationally accredited PR practitioner), I decided to take all the stuff I had learned and strike out on my own. In June of 1999, I incorporated what would become Fiore Communications, and began building clients. It has provided the means to support my family ever since.
In the fall of 2007, I was approached by a couple people about creating an email newsletter for them. There were many useful online do-it-yourself services available, but they didn’t want to mess with it at all.
Then it hit me. I had spent the last 21 years writing, editing and managing publications, and if I could figure out how to apply it to this email newsletter technology, I might really have something.
After lots of research, education and collaboration, I was able to create SalesTouches.com, a division of my company that focuses solely on the writing, design, mailing and tracking of email newsletters.
OK. No more sales pitch. The point is that it has been quite successful from my perspective, and as the economy has tanked, the need for inexpensive and effective marketing tools has exploded. But I cannot truly take advantage of the incredible opportunity that sits before me without ramping up to take my message beyond my local sphere of influence.
That is where I sit today. The writing and PR part of my business remains fairly constant, but I am focusing more and more on the newsletters and the machine that drives them. We are working on the new branding (for the new name), Web site, collateral pieces and a new way of thinking about how it all works. And at the same time, I must be ready to evolve, adapt and stay ahead of changes in technology that will change the game as we are playing it.
Thanks for sticking with me through the boring history part of the story. There are several creative deadlines next week, so I may even have something to show you. I can’t wait.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 7223 (moderate rally – best week since November)
Unemployment Rate: 8.1% (Feb.)
Big News: Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff pleads guilty to 11 felonies and faces up to 150-year sentence.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Week 2 – Not Trying to Pull a Doug Flutie
Another rough week for the economy. Job losses up. Stocks down. If I'm not careful, this blog could start sounding awfully repetitive. But regardless of the continued economic meltdown, my resolve remains unwavering. I am still excited and enthusiastic, with a twinge of urgency mixed in, to repackage and expand my product and get it out there. I am ready to get version 2.0 of my business rolling, but first things first.
I received several notes of concern after last week’s posting from those who wondered if I was on the verge of bankruptcy and was attempting some kind of Hail Mary to stay afloat. The truth is that I have been month-to-month for years, with the combination of regular income and special projects creating sufficient funds to meet payroll regularly and consistently. The same is true today. So, no worries there.
The difference is that the world is changing before our eyes, and if I don’t make a move to enhance my presence and get my business in front of a lot more potential customers pretty quickly, then I don’t know what will happen. None of us do. I simply need more customers, and I am not going to sit around and hope they stumble upon me. I am working to create the infrastructure I need to handle lots more customers, and then I am going to go get them. And it all starts in the next month or so.
The process has actually already begun. We have decided on a logo for the new name. The copy is written for the home page of the new Web site and the design process is underway. I grabbed a couple new clients last week, so that is always encouraging. And I have received feedback about how what I am offering is making a difference and helping other businesses be successful.
That is probably what I like best about this whole thing. If I am successful, then that means that a lot of other companies are too. Together, we will chip away at the doom-and-gloom monster, keep our heads up and do some business.
So what exactly is my business? More on that (plus a progress report) next week.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 6626 (roughly half the value of less than two years ago)
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%
Big News: 2.6 million jobs lost in the last four months
I received several notes of concern after last week’s posting from those who wondered if I was on the verge of bankruptcy and was attempting some kind of Hail Mary to stay afloat. The truth is that I have been month-to-month for years, with the combination of regular income and special projects creating sufficient funds to meet payroll regularly and consistently. The same is true today. So, no worries there.
The difference is that the world is changing before our eyes, and if I don’t make a move to enhance my presence and get my business in front of a lot more potential customers pretty quickly, then I don’t know what will happen. None of us do. I simply need more customers, and I am not going to sit around and hope they stumble upon me. I am working to create the infrastructure I need to handle lots more customers, and then I am going to go get them. And it all starts in the next month or so.
The process has actually already begun. We have decided on a logo for the new name. The copy is written for the home page of the new Web site and the design process is underway. I grabbed a couple new clients last week, so that is always encouraging. And I have received feedback about how what I am offering is making a difference and helping other businesses be successful.
That is probably what I like best about this whole thing. If I am successful, then that means that a lot of other companies are too. Together, we will chip away at the doom-and-gloom monster, keep our heads up and do some business.
So what exactly is my business? More on that (plus a progress report) next week.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 6626 (roughly half the value of less than two years ago)
Unemployment Rate: 8.1%
Big News: 2.6 million jobs lost in the last four months
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Week 1 -- Introduction
I am a small-business owner in Tallahassee, Florida, who has decided that I have no choice but to be aggressive in the fight to keep my company alive. Becuase I sometimes depend on the contracted skills of others to deliver the services I offer, I have more flexibility than some, but less margin for error than most.
A bad couple of months, and I am done. No lines of credit to bail me out. No huge retainer clients to insulate me from the ups and downs other businesses are facing. In fact, because I am strictly B2B, my only hope for survival is to convince the very businesses that are themselves struggling to keep their doors open that I am part of the solution. That partnering with me is worth the risk. I believe it is, and I am betting that enough of them will agree with me.
I am currently completing negotiations with a leading new media firm to reinvent my brand, my Web site and my shot at reaching the kind of national audience that is necessary to achieve my goals. I can no longer go half-way. I'm all-in.
This blog will chronicle my adventure.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 7062 (near 12-year low)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6 % (Jan)
Big News: Sorting through the Obama Stimulus Plan
Next week: Some Backstory
A bad couple of months, and I am done. No lines of credit to bail me out. No huge retainer clients to insulate me from the ups and downs other businesses are facing. In fact, because I am strictly B2B, my only hope for survival is to convince the very businesses that are themselves struggling to keep their doors open that I am part of the solution. That partnering with me is worth the risk. I believe it is, and I am betting that enough of them will agree with me.
I am currently completing negotiations with a leading new media firm to reinvent my brand, my Web site and my shot at reaching the kind of national audience that is necessary to achieve my goals. I can no longer go half-way. I'm all-in.
This blog will chronicle my adventure.
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
Dow: 7062 (near 12-year low)
Unemployment Rate: 7.6 % (Jan)
Big News: Sorting through the Obama Stimulus Plan
Next week: Some Backstory
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