NNG, a national company that provides housekeeping, laundry and food service to a variety of health establishments, contacted 3wC in 2010 with the hopes of creating a system that would improve communication and efficiency with the help of a more secure document sharing program.  Due to its user-friendly interface, customizable options, and security features, 3wC selected SharePoint 2010, a document management system by Microsoft, as the best fit for the NNG project.

In order to best configure SharePoint to meet NNG’s needs, 3wC first created a digital library of documents that allowed individuals at NNG to choose the level of security for each document and select specific individuals who would have access to each file.  By using SharePoint as the platform, 3wC was able to set up configurations that sorted documents into security levels based on the preferences set by the company.  Documents marked as “common” could be read by almost anyone, whereas, other documents were either selectively shared or confidential.  While 3wC helped create these more secure levels based on custom requirements set by NNG, the developers at 3wC also trained members of the IT department at NNG to configure those levels and set up security features for future documents.

In order to utilize the security features and identify select document sharing, 3wC and NNG needed to identify teams within the company and structure access features to meet the requirements of that team.  Once NNG identified groups of individuals, 3wC would configure the settings in SharePoint to accommodate the needs and access levels of that specific team.  For example, NNG might select a series of account managers responsible for employee records in the laundry division so 3wC would configure the team settings within SharePoint to allow those individuals to access and share specific sets of records and data related to their position.

3wC and NNG also wanted to use the SharePoint 2010 platform to create easier navigation for employees using a login system with opportunities to explore information and benefits of each department within the NNG system.

SharePoint also gave NNG the ability to customize libraries for specific departments and gave them even easier navigation using drop-down boxes to manage and organize forms and documents.

Results: Now that NNG has SharePoint, they can take advantage of the entire SharePoint system.  SharePoint 2010 is an improvement over the 2007 version with lots of customizable options that are easier to configure for each individual company.  The platform is also easier for individuals to use than its predecessor and is becoming increasingly more popular due to its improved flexibility.  And with this new system, NNG and its employees can communicate more efficiently and maximize productivity with streamlined document sharing and information exchange giving them even greater flexibility as the company grows over the coming years.

Goal: To create an Employee Directory in order to facilitate information exchange and improve organization and to create a Budgeting Application to minimize information loss and maximize productivity.

NNG, a national health services organization specializing in providing laundry, housekeeping, and food service to healthcare facilities, approached World Wide Web Communications (3wC) with the need to improve information exchange between employees and administration and create a more efficient system for monthly budget reports.

In order to better manage staff, NNG had created a hierarchy system to organize groups of employees and managers into divisional and regional districts.  Although each division had a list of employees, NNG needed a more efficient method to view data for each group, search for individuals within the hierarchal system, or access simple information like addresses and emails.  They needed an Employee Directory that provided quick access to basic information and secure access to departments that required more sensitive personal data.

First 3wC created a system that collected all emails, contacts, and login activity of every employee into a centralized location.  Once all information was collected and stored, the NNG administrators were then able to view the online activity of each employee.

3wC then set up an employee directory within SharePoint that gave certain groups access to select information.  With this directory in place, NNG groups such payroll could view sensitive information for each employee while others were restricted to only names or contacts.  This meant that the IT department could configure the Employee Directory to give different groups access to different information and could change the configurations depending on the requirements and security level of individual departments.

To make the Employee Directory even user-friendlier, 3wC created an interactive organizational chart that presented employee hierarchy in a visual format.  By combining the visual element with the Directory, users could click on a name on the chart and view select information about the selected employee.

Furthermore, by utilizing the SharePoint system, NNG can sync information between programs in order to streamline data processing.  Promotions, title changes, or address changes (for example) need only be entered into one system instead of manually entered into multiple programs.  The information is then updated across all programs, minimizing confusion and human error.

NNG wanted to carry this efficiency over to its budgeting platform as well.  In the past, NNG used a VB6 (Visual Basics) application in which district managers personally collected budgets from each facility to submit them to corporate every month where two individuals would then process the budgets into the existing system.  In order to create a more efficient system, 3wC determined which individuals were actively involved in the budgeting process and created a financial budgeting system that streamlined information exchange.  With the help of NNG, 3wC created an application that allows each site manager to enter budget information directly into a system where district managers can then view information as it is updated.  Once all the information is logged, it is then transferred and translated into the proper reporting standards for the corporate office.  Not only does this system minimize human error, but it also saves time and makes it easier for staff to search and identify the budgets of each facility and update fees and other components within the same system.

By creating an Employee Directory and Budgeting Application, 3wC helped NNG not only improve communication and organization within their company, but also created efficiency tools that will help save time and money far into the future.

So why hire a professional to create your website? For three (big) reasons:  Appearance, Competition, and Loyalty.  Web designers specialize in building and establishing online storefronts that uphold the high quality standards that consumers expect.  In addition to designing creative backgrounds, logos and navigation tools, web design teams also create content and marketing strategies that help your company’s website maintain search engine rankings.  Using a variety of tools and techniques, web designers are able to build websites that appeal to consumers as well as search engines and promote the future growth of your business.

Appearance

• Online Branding/Face
• First Impression
• Presentation – represents a level of pride and commitment to your customers

Most people spend less than five seconds on a website before determining if it fits their needs.  That’s five seconds to glance at your logo, look at a picture or two, and skim the home page.  That means that your business has five seconds to make a glowing first impression.

Your website is the online face of your business and establishes the “feel” for your company.  Much like books, businesses are judged based on their website, and you only have a few seconds to grab the viewer’s attention and deliver the information they are looking for.  This is exactly what professional web designers do.  They not only understand how to design a brand for your business, but they can also build a website that will appeal to your audience and maintain their attention beyond the first page.

Competition

• Marketing
• SEO
• Content Management

In order for potential customers to fall in love with your business, they need to find it. The hurdle? Competition. The solution? Marketing, SEO and Content Management.

Without an online marketing strategy, even the most well designed websites can get lost in the infinite sea of the Internet.  In order to compete with similar companies, your website needs specifically designed content that appeals to organic searches.  Professional web designers can help with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to appeal to major search engines by creating targeted content.

This is more than just keywords and bullets.  Proper SEO attracts both search engines and consumers.  Remember those five seconds?  Regardless of how highly your website ranks in major searches, your customers still expect a certain level of professionalism.  Professional web designers such as 3wC incorporate a variety of interactive tools and media to appeal to both search engines and consumers, giving you every opportunity to share relevant information while simultaneously competing in the vast Internet marketplace.

And by appealing to a variety of senses, you give your customers even more reasons to stay on your site and consider giving you their business.

Loyalty

• Ease of Navigation
• Balance of Marketing and Customer Service
• Email Marketing Campaigns

Every consumer wants a company that understands his or her needs.  By building a website with multi-media tools that promote information exchange, you present yourself as a business that not only understands the marketplace, but also one that appeals to the individual.

Your site needs to attract new customers as much as maintain the customer base you’ve worked hard to build.  Professional web designers make it easy for visitors to find information about you and your services and assist returning customers with updates and contact information for your company.  Your small business website needs to balance creative appearance and marketing with outstanding customer service in order to build loyalty. This of course can be augmented with email marketing campaigns – another strategy web designers use to combine customer satisfaction with viral marketing.

Your website should represent your standards of professionalism and pride and your commitment to customer satisfaction.  By hiring professionals to build and maintain your site, your customers will receive the quality they expect from your business.

The Importance of Document Management

Over the decades, technology has evolved to meet the ever-changing needs of businesses and consumers.  Files that were once organized in cabinets and manila folders are now organized in digital folders and files on our computers.  With the evolution of file sharing and the digital marketplace, companies have adopted professional software to help manage their document load.  Unlike the old system of paper filing, digital document management provides executives, employees, and even clients with the ability to easily access forms and information and even collaborate on documents within the system.

Consider the following benefits of professional document management

• Improved file organization
• Improved ability for file sharing
• Ability to create virtual teams to collaborate on projects and reports within the document management system
• Improved organization, which reduces human error and improves information exchange
• Improved management and efficiency
• Improved accessibility and downloading of public forms
• Reduced employee and client stress as the result of proper document management

Available Software and Customization

There is a variety of document management software available to small businesses and it is important to choose the best one that fits the needs of your company.  While very small companies might benefit from some of the free programs available from Google or Microsoft, most small businesses derive maximum benefits from dedicated software programs such as SharePoint.  As a large software system, SharePoint contains many tools designed to facilitate document sharing and improve communication, which can drastically improve productivity and growth potential in small businesses.  In order to maximize this software, however, consider hiring professionals to customize these tools and integrate the software into your existing system.

No two businesses are the same, and software professionals, like those at 3wC can customize the software programs to meet the culture and processes of your small business.  They can also take document-sharing software such as SharePoint and integrate it into your existing system.

Consider the following:

• Customization creates document-sharing systems that are tailored to your businesses needs, culture, and goals.
• Integration of software allows teams to pull information from any system to incorporate into reports.
• Both customization and integration streamlines data gathering, communication, and research.

Professional document management software is an essential part of small business management and provides an organization with communication tools that grow with your business.  In order to determine which system best suits the needs of your small business, consider consulting a professional who can customize a document management system that is best for your business.

Professionally customized software, however, allows small businesses to maximize immediate productivity while simultaneously promoting long term growth.

Custom Software VS Out-of-the-Box

Why custom software?  Pre-packaged software is not designed to meet the unique needs of every small business.  Many of these products provide you with enough tools and technology to create a foundation on which your business can begin to develop, but few are tailored to meet the niche needs of your specific company.  By customizing software tools, professionals, like those at 3wC, can build a software platform that is specifically designed to meet the needs of your business and your team.  Customization involves not only choosing which tools would best benefit your company, but also creating a system that is designed around the way you work and integrating it into your existing software.

Saving Time and Money

Not only do you get business software that is designed for your business, you also get fully integrated programs created to save you time and money.  By customizing and integrating software, all your programs work together to provide you with the most efficient tools with which to run your business.  When systems work together, numbers and data need only be entered once and are accessible from any program.  This means that reports, documents, communication, and data-sharing are streamlined, thereby reducing time and maximizing resources.

Benefits at a glance

• Streamlined data sharing
• Software integration
• Improved communication
• Customization and Integration of popular software – SharePoint and Salesforce.com
• Improved time and resource management – maximizing time and resources, thereby improving efficiency.

…and improved efficiency equals an increase in profit potential.

Consider choosing a company that will guide you through the customization and integration process from start to finish.  Companies such as 3wC ensure that the software tools meet the practical and cultural requirements of your company, and they guide you through the process of incorporating this new software into your business.  Once in place, these professionals train your staff to use the new tools so that you and your clients can derive maximum benefits.

In short, investing in customized software benefits you now so you can focus even more resources on a greater future for you and your small business.

How CRM Works

As one of the top Customer relationship Management (CRM) systems on the market, Salesforce was designed to be customized to suit the unique needs of each individual business.  Although Salesforce has multiple communication and data processing tools, not every business needs every tool.  Web development companies like 3wC can help small business owners determine which tools they need to improve immediate services and which ones can be added and developed later as their business grows.  CRM tools are designed to move with your business and provide you with all the tools you need as your company moves into the future.

The Ease and Importance of CRM for Small Businesses

So how can you, a small business owner, maximize the productive potential of this versatile software?

• Salesforce and Quickbooks – Salesforce recently integrated software with the popular Quickbooks accounting program as a way to help small businesses better manage time and data. This means that businesses using Quickbooks as their primary accounting system now have access to CRM software that is fully integrated with their financial tools.  Through this integration, data is entered in only one system but is accessible through both programs.  By combining two of the most popular software tools in small business, this integration allows companies to not only streamline process and save time, but also to analyze and compare data on a larger scale.  This also means that sales data can be overlapped with financial tools to give real-time feedback to business owners and associates.

• A Tailored Approach to CRM – Every small business is unique, and as a result no CRM software will meet all your needs straight out of the box.  Instead, your business needs a CRM system specifically tailored to the unique rhythms and goals of your business.  Thankfully, Salesforce was designed so that businesses could customize the software to maximize its potential.   There are countless ways to mix and match the tools available with this CRM software, and tools can be added and changed as your business grows.

• More Than Software – Customer Resource Management is more than just software:  CRM is a business model.  In order for small businesses to derive maximum value from CRM software like Salesforce, they need to view CRM as an idea rather than just a tool.  CRM software works best when business owners adopt the concept of integrating departments and procedures to better serve clients and maximize time and resources.

• When to implement CRM? – Anytime, it’s never too late.

Remember, a customer-centered approach is an endless learning process adapted by all companies looking to grow and adapt with an ever-changing marketplace.  CRM tools, especially customized ones like Salesforce, can grow and adapt with your business and the market to give you even greater opportunities far into the future.

Mr. Giltz joined the management team of 3Wc in 2011 bringing an extensive background in management and operations.  As Executive Vice President, his responsibilities include overseeing the day-to-day operations of the company to ensure customers continue to receive the high-quality software for which 3Wc is known.  In his previous role he was Senior Vice President of Operations for a $200 million trucking company.   He brings over 25 years of management and software development experience to 3Wc.  In his management roles in trucking, he was active in the industry serving as Chairman of the Technology Committee for the Intermodal Association of North America as well as a member of the Executive Committee for the Intermodal Motor Carrier Conference for the American Trucking Association.   Mr. Giltz attended Florida Atlantic University where he received a B.B.A in International Business.

I’m often asked by my business peers: “So what kind of projects are you working on?” An innocent question, of course, but difficult to answer because we’re working on 15-20 client projects at any given time. So I thought I’d use our social media sites to briefly highlight some of the more interesting projects going on at World Wide Web Communications.

One of my favorite jobs right now is redesigning the website for Community Realty Management (CRM), a full-service property management organization incorporated in 1974, headquartered in Pleasantville, NJ. CRM specializes in the management of multifamily properties such as Low Income Housing, Tax Credit apartments, affordable housing, conventional apartments, public housing, student housing, plus condominium, cooperative and homeowner associations. CRM is experienced in working effectively with Housing & Urban Development offices and state Housing Finance Agencies. CRM is a licensed real estate broker in NJ, MD and PA and is responsible for the management of over 7,000 units of housing in these states plus Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Many of these properties are financed and/or regulated by federal and state housing finance agencies.

Unlike the current website, the new site will feature a content management system (CMS) so that the firm can maintain the site itself. It will have a completely new look and feel as well as improved navigation and content layout so that the site will be extremely user-friendly. Finally, the new site will also contain two password-protected portals: one for employees and one for clients in order to improve communications on both fronts.

We’re looking for an late April or early May launch.

Let’s take the example of a small company that resells products they purchase from manufacturers. The owner and one other salesperson handle sales. They call the orders into the office where the office manager enters the orders into the accounting system and prints out a copy for the shipping department. They sell twenty different products from two manufacturers, so finding the items to ship is not difficult. Once a week the warehouse manager looks at the inventory and places orders with the suppliers. Customers are happy. Service is good and the company is profitable. The owner is not getting rich, but making a decent living.

Fast-forward five years. Business has been very good. The company now has ten sales people. The product lines have been expanded and now they sell two hundred different products from ten suppliers. But there are problems. Complaints from customers are common. Orders seem to go missing. Even when orders aren’t missed, not having all the requested items in inventory is frequent. Long-time customers have left. Staff turnover is high and overhead eats up any profits. While revenue is much higher, the owner is making less money now than he did when the business was smaller.

A typical reaction to things such as orders being missed and inventory not being resupplied in time is to blame the people. It’s the office manager’s fault for the staff not accurately entering orders. It’s the warehouse manager’s fault for not ordering enough inventory to fill orders. But the real answer here is not to fire the people, but rather to fire the processes.

Business for the most part is a series of processes. Order taking is a process. Having the owner and one other salesperson call in orders to the long-time office manager worked well when things were small. But that no longer works when the product list is more complex and new salespeople are talking to new order takers. Order fulfillment is a process. Again, having the office manager print the orders and walk
it down to the warehouse manager worked well when the business was small. But as the business grew, that process started to fail. Order takers would forget to print the shipping instructions or delay in walking them down to the warehouse manager.
Purchasing is also a process. Walking through the warehouse once a week was fine with twenty items ordered from two suppliers, but mistakes are easy when it’s two hundred items from ten suppliers.

The key to surviving success is to reinvent those processes. Fast-forward another year. Instead of orders being called in by the salespeople, a mobile app was created so salespeople can use their smartphones or iPads to take orders and enter them
directly into the accounting system. Customers can also place orders online through a web application. The accounting system now talks to the warehouse system, so shipping labels and packing slips are created automatically when the customer or salesperson enters the order. Orders no longer go missing. The warehouse system also talks to the accounting system, and purchase orders are created automatically
at specified inventory levels. Customers are satisfied again and staff turnover is low.
Most importantly, the business is very profitable.

To survive success, it’s important to have a technology partner who understands
how to apply technology to improving your processes. There are many software
development companies, but few who can work with you and assist you in refining
those processes. That partner is a crucial part of your success strategy. As a
business owner you have intimate knowledge of your business. You understand
what your customers want and don’t want. You understand which manufacturers
produce quality products and which ones don’t. Likewise, a quality technology
partner has intimate knowledge of technology tools and how to apply those tools to
fix the challenges facing your company.

Business can be difficult at times. To prosper, it’s important to select the right
partners to provide assistance. A quality technology partner who understands how
to apply that technology to improve your business is key. And when things are
going well, remember to not fire the people, but fire the processes.

Expert marketers use several different techniques to make Facebook Pages rank high in the search engine results.

The key to having good SEO for your Facebook Page lies in figuring out the top keywords that someone would search for online in order to find your business. This process of “keyword analysis” is what will ultimately make your page come up when people look for that topic. For instance, if you have a Facebook Page that talks about wine tours in Spain, then your list of top keywords must include “wine tours Spain,” “tour of wineries in Spain,” “Spanish wineries tour,” “wine tasting tour in Spain,” and “popular wine tours Spain.” When you figure out a list of all your top keywords, you can then strategically set up your Facebook Page’s SEO.

Your Facebook page title

Use your company’s most important keywords in your title. This will help people find you through Facebook’s search feature as well as in search engines such as Google and Bing. Ideally, the title will be short and descriptive, letting visitors know at first glance what your page is about. Having a good title with descriptive keywords will make your page more popular, thus allowing you to build a strong fan base.

Choose a custom URL

Having a custom URL is important for achieving high rankings in the search engines for any web page. Facebook automatically generates a web address (URL) for your fan page, but you can edit it to include specific keywords. Using our previous example, it can be something like http://www.facebook.com/SpainWineTours. Notice that the URL is brief but descriptive and memorable at the same time. It includes a few of your top keywords that are very specific to the topic you are trying to rank for.

‘About You’ box and ‘Info’ tab

Filling out the ‘About You’ box and the ‘Info’ tab will not only tell visitors what you are about, but will also help you rank better in search engines.

The ‘About You’ box is on the left side of the screen – it appears below your profile picture. It only allows a few short sentences so be sure to add a solid description with a few keywords. Along with that, Facebook also allows you to include a link back to your main website or blog. Your ‘Info’ tab is where you can give out as much information about your company as you would like. Good things to cover here are your areas of expertise, any awards that you may have won, achievements, and any qualifications that may impress the visitor. Here, again, you can add a link back to your website or blog. Fill out the ‘Basic Info’ area as much as you can, and use the ‘Detailed Info’ section to add your web address and a keyword-rich description.

Link-Building for your Facebook Page

Be sure to add a Facebook icon to your company’s website or blog with a link going back to your Facebook Page. You can also link back to your Facebook Page on other social media sites, discussion forums, blogs and online directories, which ultimately builds up your page’s reputation in the eyes of the search engines.

Link-building is very important for SEO, and the more links you can acquire from high-quality websites, the better. This link-generation process should be included in your search engine optimization campaign, as it will play a major role in bringing more fans back to your page.

Initially, fully review and examine who you are, what company you need to be, and what you’re up against to get there. You may not completely fix all ills with this initial exercise, but it’ll make your vision more clear and your pathway less cluttered.

Each company is unique and has their own very specific requirements and set of business values, but here are some suggested core planning program strategies.

• Champion It – First and foremost, select a branding champion who believes in the strong brand concept, and who will support its continuous development, implementation and maintenance.
• Reinforce It – Pinpoint the stakeholders of your business and determine how they should reflect and reinforce your brand.  Make certain they all carry and deliver a consistent brand message from you.
• Engage It – For your branding efforts to be fully strategic, engage the main points made in your mission and vision statements. Plain and simple.
• Profile It – Determine the profile of your best customers and focus on brand building here. Your initial strategy will be more effective and you’ll save time and money.Other profiles can come later.
• Survey It – Research and survey your customers and those stakeholders to fully understand how you’re perceived. If the perception has gone awry, plan a fix.
• Examine It – Research and examine your industry’s marketplace… taking complete advantage of those opportunities and controlling the threats.
• Move It – Determine your positioning in your industry and absolutely plan for logical next steps along the pathway. Even small steps are okay, but just don’t remain motionless.
• Live It – Teach your stakeholders how you want to be perceived. If you want your brand image to invoke a feeling of the best in hi-tech sales and service, for instance, your staff needs to reflect it.
• Build It – Your business is unique and something about it appeals to your customers. Find out exactly what that is, illuminate it, and that’s what you build your brand or image (and slogan) around. Also, focus on what your competitor can’t do.
• Market It – Obviously, a persistent multi-touch marketing plan that gets your image and brand in front of your intended audience is a must. You can do this inexpensively across different channels and formats. Strongly consider email marketing campaigns, webinars, sponsorships, article writing, community marketing, and social marketing (blogs, etc.) in the mix.
• Consistent – Branding is a long term effort, and everything from your great logo, to employee uniforms, packaging, customer service, and your website, etc. all play an integrated roll in the recognizable, visual aspect of your brand. Obviously, persistency and consistency throughout and over time are crucial. Keep top of mind awareness at work and you’ll reap the rewards.

The aforementioned list is a quick overview of core planning program strategies; in response to the current economic climate, please consider creating or redefining your brand strategies today.

The Sum of it

There are numerous core steps to building a strong brand for your small business, and this article only scratches the surface. However, I’m hoping to raise your own brand consciousness and help jumpstart your brand strategy planning program.

Remember… your business isn’t going to brand itself, but with the right blueprint to communicate your brand or image, you can move to the next level of effectiveness in the marketplace.

Your customers and prospects have too many choices and little time, so a strong brand and great business personality is invaluable as the battle for customers intensifies daily.

And who doesn’t like a great personality.

Your business has an audience of involved stakeholders. These are your employees, partners, sponsors, and whoever else that come in contact with or “touch” your customers.

Owning a successful brand includes the art of controlling the image you want those customers to have of you. Thus, since your stakeholders help shape that image, it would be prudent to make certain they know what that image is and how you want it reflected. That being said, can you honestly say those stakeholders have an equal understanding of your brand and its attributes, and how you want to be perceived by your customers?

• Do your stakeholders know what your brand promise is to your customers?
• Do they know why you’re different or better than your competitors?
• Are they cognizant of the intangibles that keep you ahead of the pack?

If you answered “no” to any of those questions then you might have some work to do.

Your brand in part is your label and what you want your customers to see, think, feel and know about your company. If your stakeholders don’t have guidelines or a blueprint to follow to project that, you need to create or redefine your brand strategies now.

Common Conundrum

A strong brand image is one that influences buying decisions and shapes perceptions held by your customers and prospects. It makes people trust that image and allows you to command a premium price for your product or service.

Creating brand philosophy or thoughtfully planned strategies to market and project that brand image and reputation is the first step to enforcing them.

However, before we list a few important elements of a Brand Strategy Planning Program, I thought it advantageous to clarify common business branding issues.

For a number of small business owners, their brand is not the easiest thing to understand and translate for them. This is a very common conundrum.

So, to review – your brand is not just a logo and slogan. It’s the result of all experiences your company creates with customers, vendors, the media and employees. It’s the image and great business personality they see, the primal feeling they get and what makes them remember your organization. Understanding the image and feel that people associate with your company is the platform on which your strategies are built.

Drafting a realistic Brand Strategy Planning Program that’s professional and stays well-managed is now in order.

Next: Part III – Brand Strategy Planning Program

Love it, like it, or hate it, YOUR BRAND IS YOUR IDENTITY! It’s who you are, who people perceive you to be, and should be treated as one of your company’s most valuable assets.

Simply said, your brand is not just your logo and slogan, but the image, impression and reputation behind them as well. It’s also what people consciously or unconsciously feel about your company, and it’s the overall “trigger inducer” when deciding if to get involved.

Let me add quickly and emphatically:

Building brand awareness is often not a focus for busy small business owners, but regardless of how small small is, retail or B2B, your business needs existing brand strategies to strengthen its image to secure an edge in increasingly competitive markets.

Control Yourself

Brand sells. Your business needs a solid brand reputation or you’re at a disadvantage. Today, branding has become much more than just a trendy business word and is an essential element of selling in the new economy. It conveys your uniqueness, focus and values through the art of creating a consistent, recognizable and unified voice or personality. Unfortunately, in many organizations, confusion reigns as the unified voice or personality is really multiple voices and personalities. Their strong, proprietary image becomes diffused, weak, confusing and out of control.

Bart Crosby, one of the first marketing experts focused on branding, jokingly but compellingly said, “Cowboys all know you can’t brand nuthin’ till you tie three of its legs together, slam it to the ground, control it and sedate it.”

The key word here is control.

There are sometimes many mixed messages spiraling out of an organization, pulling in opposite directions, and you need a logical, methodical branding strategy to plan, attack and control those messages.

Next: Part II – Brand Consciousness Exercise

Today most large corporations have a powerful online presence and can afford to hire full-time social media managers to run all of their networks for them. Smaller companies are well aware of the fact that being involved in social media is important, but they simply don’t have the time to become experts at social media marketing; after all, they have their own businesses to take care of each day.

You might not be able to build huge networks overnight, but if you start small, you can eventually build long lists of contacts and enjoy all the same benefits of social media marketing that large corporation do.

The best thing about social media is that it’s very flexible. You can mold it to be whatever you want. If you are just getting started with social marketing for your business, here are a few things you can do:

• Set up an account on each of the most popular social networks; this way your customers can find you and befriend you.
  These profiles require little maintenance but allow you to see what your clients are talking about online, participate in conversations, and learn more about their tastes.

• Search for your existing customers and connect with them on these social networks.
  Start with your best clients and work your way from there.

• Provide valuable content by posting messages on a weekly or daily basis.
  If you are a house-cleaning business, post information on home cleaning tips and other useful advice. If people like it, they will send it to their friends and re-post it elsewhere. This will make their friends want to get to know you better.

• Get involved in conversations.
  People who regularly use social networks don’t expect lengthy conversations from you; so short (but personable) messages will get the ball rolling. This is where you can build relationships with your customers and win their loyalty.

Social media marketing can be a very powerful tool; companies use it to increase their brand awareness, promote new products, build reputation, and so much more. Don’t miss out on this tremendous opportunity to reach out to your clients online; instead, see for yourself what it can do for your business.

Therein Lies the Challenge

As you inch across that relationship tightrope in a make or break alliance with your customers – those people you already have a relationship with – email marketing can be a cost-effective and powerful way to building and maintaining the edge you need. It’s not only about cost, however, as it’s also, simply, the most effective channel to remaining in front of this vital audience. That’s what email marketing is all about.

There are caveats, of course, included alongside any innovation and email marketing is no exception. It’s a blessing, certainly, because of its low cost and ease of use to your customers and the rest. But because of its low cost, there’s no limit to what you and every other entity can send. Your customers’ inbox, as a result, is a toxic overload of messages and all are competing with yours. A challenge indeed.

So What to Do?

As you deal with the dilemma of spam filters, there is no doubt that your customers aren’t pleased with an overload of messages for products and services they don’t need. So how do you get your message through to them?

Well, the good news is that your customers want to hear from you. They want value from you so your messages need to be important, well-targeted, and provide a content-rich experience. Plus, there’s the challenge of unequivocal compliance with anti-spam mechanisms. It’s an important integrated mix of elements that need addressing, or else your message to your own customer will be intercepted and spam filter-bound.

Deliverability

By any means, this is not an exclusive rendering, but a few deliverability elements you should initially ponder. There’s nothing here that you haven’t heard before, but as a legitimate eMarketer, give serious consideration to these best practices to improve your overall email marketing effectiveness. Or else!

Permission – I know you know this, but remember to confirm with the people on your list that they’ve actually requested to be on it. When your customers or prospects say they want future email from you, allow them to confirm (or verify) their request. It’s just good practice.

The list – You should regularly remove undeliverable addresses, as Internet Service Providers (ISP) track the percentage of undeliverable emails to certain addresses within a period. They could block other messages if you continue to do the same.

Trusted sender – Encourage your recipients to put your “From Address” into their address book, trusted sender list, or approved sender list. As a trusted sender or contact, your email will be delivered and remain exempt from anti-spam measures.

Language – Stay away from using language and tactics that look like spam to a content-based spam filter (especially in your Subject line).

You should avoid:

a) Spam-like words/phrases such as – free… guarantee… credit card… income… call now, etc.

b) All caps – This dramatically increases the likelihood of being filtered.

c) Certain punctuation – It’s not grammatically correct to begin with, but stop with the !!! and ??? as this tactic can trip the filter.

d) Symbols – If describing currency in your email marketing campaign, use $ and not $$.

CAN-SPAM Compliance – Do a legal review of the January 2004 Federal CAN-SPAM law to ensure your email practices are in compliance.

Frequency – One of email recipients’ biggest complaints is receiving too many emails from the same entity/marketer. If different departments (customer service, research, sales) are sending messages simultaneously, that’s not a good thing.

Expectations – To ease value, importance and frequency objections, tell your intended email recipients what you’ll be sending and how often.

Don’t hide – Your recipient might know your company, but they still need to recognize you. This includes a familiar brand and email “From” line and email address.

Email Service Provider (ESP) – to effectively help with your strategy, manage your data, design your email, and track your results, you should consider using an ESP. Almost needless to say, an ESP, among many other things, for your email marketing program will build legal requirements into their platforms so you don’t have to worry about compliance.

Other -

• Always include information in your Subject line.
• Avoid using mostly images in your message.
• Avoid using attachments as it’s better to link to files via a website.
• Deliverability and performance metrics will increase if you simply perform list hygiene. It’ll lead to higher deliverability and fewer complaints, and thus, a better reputation.
• Do not excessively use “Click Here.”

Obviously, no single tip will guarantee your email delivery, but utilizing as a group can certainly help.

Email Best Practices

When your customer/prospect allows you to send them future emails, they do so expecting something of value and that is something you can control. Remember, your subscriber wants email from you but only if it’s interesting and of value to them. They may not react today but soon, as they know good email (that’s in their best interests) from a good company when they see it.

However, even if you succeed and make it to the inbox, if your recipient thinks it’s spam – your address is flagged.

I’ll end with this: Simply, follow email marketing best practices by complying with CAN-SPAM laws… stay cognizant of and put into practice the tips you read here (and elsewhere)… and create overall compelling messages that result in higher inbox deliverability and response.

Fresh technologies will continue to appear, no doubt creating new communication channels to customers. So the rules of customer engagement will continue to change, and you can bet against that at your own risk. But until that next technology arrives, email in all its eclectic glory is ours to command.

Another important aspect of a successful enterprise is the quality of their customer service, both offline and online. In today’s digital age, there are many tools that help companies stay in touch with their customers via the Internet. And the best part is that it increases their sales. Customer relations can really be broken down into three areas:

-        New client acquisitions: sales process

-        Improving current clients’ experience: building a strong base of loyal customers

-        Repeat-business: long-term retention strategies

Before we had the Internet, there were tons of books written on each of these three categories. The tactics improved with time, and new ideas were discovered, but the whole “customer service” process has not undergone a massive change until the era of the Internet.

With that, many companies are still clinging to the old ways of doing business and are simply “testing out the waters” with their online marketing. Others, on the other hand, are jumping in with both feet – and reaping the wonderful benefits of modern-day technology.

A very useful piece of software that has become an integral part of many company’s successful customer service process is called Salesforce Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Software. It’s a web-based program that is integrated into your company’s website and eventually automates many of your operational tasks, which saves you a lot of time and money.

Here is a quick list of some of its most essential components:

• Sales process: this phase includes contact management, tracking of the sales process for new clients, and automatic price generation
• Marketing: automatically qualifying and generating leads and measuring your success with various marketing campaigns (on and off-line)
• Job scheduling: tracking of pertinent documents, scheduling and email correspondence between various departments; very useful for smooth collaboration between workers in remote locations
• Social Media integration: brings companies into their clients’ social world by carefully reaching out through various social media campaigns

Salesforce CRM works not only within the framework of a web browser, but also on various smart phone devices. Instead of trying to come up with different software applications and trying to figure out how to make them work together (and they usually don’t), Salesforce CRM takes care of all your sales, customer service and marketing needs in one program. Wouldn’t it be great to have these processes automated? Learn more about it HERE.  

Yes, you can use a free Blogger or WordPress template or worse yet – not have a website at all! But consider the fact that every person who sees you online will judge you and your business by what your website looks like.

Would you rather do business with a professional-looking person in a nice, clean suit, with combed hair and neatly organized paperwork; or would you care if the person looked like he or she just rolled out of bed and “the dog ate their homework?” The point is that your website should be your online sales representative and serve as the face of your company just as much as a live salesperson would be in the real world.

If you are ready to take the plunge and build a new website or re-design your old website, here are a few things to keep in mind:

• Your customer will form an opinion about your company within the first 10 seconds of coming to your website.
• Well thought-out web design gives an impression of business stability, which means your new clients will be comfortable with making the purchase or calling you.
• An interesting-looking site will be intriguing enough to make people want to explore it.
• If you are selling products online, a professional web designer will run you through all the options of making your website secure; the safer people feel with giving you their credit card info, the more likely they are to buy.
• A good website will make you stand out above your competition.

There are so many things you can do with a website that without the help of a professional web design service you can easily get bogged down in all the minutia.  A web designer will not only make your website good-looking and functional, but he or she will also help you define your online goals and achieve them by using proper applications within your new site.

Some optional website features might include: use of social media icons on your site; email capture; live chat; “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO) and targeted keyword insertion; addition of a blog; a video presentation for your visitors to see; and many other similar options, all geared toward converting visitors into leads primed for conversion into customers.

In addition, professional web design companies have lots of tricks up their sleeve as the Internet is constantly evolving and changing. Web development companies that have been in business for many years know the skills of the trade and can help businesses have a powerful web presence so that they can excel online.

P&N Distribution, although primarily a Rheem distributor, also carries parts and services of other well-known manufacturers such as Honeywell, LG, Dunkirk, Modine, Benchmark and Lukjan. Priding themselves on next-day service, P&N not only sells and services parts but also provides instructional classes for service providers (see http://www.pndistribution.com/training/ for more information).

P&N’s new website boasts bold, primary colors and an open, airy feel with plenty of white space. Geared primarily for the trade, the site is easy to navigate with a simple text-based, horizontal “tab” toolbar at the top and a host of images that link to the manufacturers’ websites.

Behind the scenes of the site is a robust content management system (CMS) called WordPress, which enables the site owner to control content in the site and keep it up-to-date. Also, WordPress has built into it many features that are instrumental in achieving high search engine ranking. Helpful in this regard is the use of Google Analytics, which we set up for the site, so that the owners can view very detailed statistics of site traffic.

Keeping in mind that the purpose of the website is to attract and convert leads, on all the main areas of the site is a “Quick Contact Form” designed to make it easy for anyone to contact P&N. In addition, through the use of Google Maps, it is very easy to find each of the four locations as well as print out a map.

So congratulations, P&N, on your new site. We hope that it helps you find new clients, service existing clients and lets people know exactly what you do.

According to Nielsen, 79% of large businesses are using social media “to engage their audience…build buzz, establish relationships, foster communication…and cultivate long-term brand awareness and consumer trust.”

The article claims that it doesn’t matter what type of company you are or how much experience you have. All you need is to learn a few simple rules. “Social media is not so much a new idea as it is a way to communicate ideas, and the nature of a good idea hasn’t changed. The same marketing principles from 50 years ago apply today; they are simply communicated in a different way.”

This is a very good article that offers concrete suggestions on how to use social media. There are four “take aways” that you can immediately utilize in your own business.

• Raise Brand Awareness

• Drive Valuable Traffic

• Grow Consumer Loyalty

• Build Brand Equity

In addition, the article gives a handful of very valuable examples of successful social media campaigns from which we can all learn.

1. LinkedIn

2. Merchant Circle

3. Facebook

4. Twitter

5. Yelp

6. Plaxo

7. Fast Company

8. MyWikiBiz

9. Ecademy

10. Spoke

11. 123People

12. BxBusinessWeek

13. Fast Pitch Networking

14. ZoomInfo

15. Google Profile

16. Naymz

That’s the gist of the article, and rather than put my spin on it, I’ll let you read the article and see for yourself how the author cleverly explains the relationship between the two, how good content, in fact, leads to improved link popularity.

In a blog post entitled Looking for clear-cut social media ROI? There’s an SEO for that!, the author, Hugo Guzman, claims that you can calculate the ROI of your social media efforts by correlating the relationship of these efforts with the improvement in search engine rankings. Simply stated, social media marketing improves SEO, which increases website or blog visitors, which increases leads, which increases conversions (or sales).

Truly, it’s a lot more complex than this, and Guzman lays out a very convincing case for the importance of social media marketing. You be the judge, though, and determine for yourself if your business can benefit from marketing on the various social media sites.

Abrams cites the example of small company in California, which has built a thriving business as a result of the owner spending “about five around hours a month” working social media sites.

According to Abrams, “The truth is that social media marketing for small businesses can work. Or, it can be a colossal waste of time. Like every other part of your business, it doesn’t just happen, it takes work and strategy.”

How can you make social media work for your small business? To summarize:

• Get beyond Facebook and Twitter

• Develop a niche

• Keep LinkedIn up-to-date

• Make a commitment

• Understand your goals

• Watch review sites

If you’re trying to figure out a social media strategy for your business this is a “must” read.

Google Apps and Docs as well as Microsoft Office are in the clouds (so to speak). Salesforce.com, a CRM platform that we at WWWC have a great deal of experience with (see case studies at http://www.wwwcomm.com/projects/case/advancedsnow/,) is also an example of Cloud computing. I was reminded by our CTO, Kevin Gilper, that we’ve been hosting applications “in the cloud” for nearly ten years now.  Cloud computing, once a mystery, is actually very common and will continue to grow as a result of the time and cost savings of implementation and adoption.