Business-Continuity-Plan

BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING – PREPARING FOR THE UNEXPECTED

by BlogCommunications
Business-Continuity-Plan
Benefits of Business Continuity Planning

Are you preparing for the future? Is a Business Continuity Plan a part of your company’s growth? If your business had a disaster, could you be up and running within hours, days, weeks, months, or never recover?

A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is a proactive plan to avoid and mitigate risks associated with a disruption of operations. It details steps to be taken before, during and after an event to maintain the financial viability of an organization. Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is a reactive plan for responding after an event. This plan should provide guidelines for emergency responses, extended back-up operations, and post-disaster recovery.

There are many components to a BCP to be considered and here are some key pieces to the plan.

Personnel is your company’s greatest asset and one of the first things to consider. If disaster has struck – has there been loss of life? Has a key member of your management staff had a crisis? Did you have an active shooter situation at your place of business? How are the staff coming together following a crisis? Do they have the proper training to know what to do in the event of a disaster? As a leader having a plan is critical. Your staff looks to you for guidance on what happens next. They can remain calm and execute a plan if a plan exists and they are properly trained.

Communication – how will staff, vendors and the company as a whole communicate if all phone lines are down? What is your plan if you have no email access? Do you have a phone chain or text message chain established?

Technology – is your information in the cloud or is there a secondary data center outside of your building? How will staff access email and critical information to keep your company running? This includes A/R and A/P, proposals, proprietary information, etc. Who can access what information?

Facilities – have you made arrangements for housing of key personnel and employees if necessary? Taking care of your employees and their families will help them remain calm, committed to business recovery and ultimately create loyalty to you as the business owner. If your building was destroyed – do you have a backup location in mind or will staff be able to work remotely?

Have you set up electronic payment systems to continue to send and receive payments? Will you need to resort to manual operations? If so – what might that look like?

Different than a BCP, a Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is a documented process or set of procedures to recover and protect a business IT infrastructure and other operations necessary to run your business in the event of a disaster. Such a plan, ordinarily documented in written form, specifies procedures an organization is to follow in the event of a disaster.

The City of Baltimore has made national news recently regarding their vulnerability in regard to a cyber-attack, but businesses and government should also consider other types of risk such as fires and flooding that could affect their day to day operations.

As we have recently seen of the floods and hurricanes in various parts of the country, in Western Pennsylvania we think we are safe from disaster. That couldn’t be farther from the truth. Every day there are new stories of flooding, burst pipes, fires, landslides, hacking, tech outages, downtime, and data loss – even at the best of companies. Are you prepared to do business if today you walked into work and there had been an electrical surge that fried all your computers?

No matter what the cause of the disaster, the organizations that manage them most effectively, and with the least amount of collateral damage, are those with a strategic Business Continuity Plan and a comprehensive, easy-to-follow, and regularly tested Disaster Recovery Plan.

No one wants to think gloom and doom, but I hope these questions will offer food for thought as you look to put together a program for Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery testing. Execution of a best thought out plan will ensure your business can remain “Open for Business” should disaster strike.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior-level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development strategies, website creation and management, social media management, marketing, strategic planning, and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Text-Messaging-for-Small-Business

TEXT MESSAGING TO MARKET YOUR BUSINESS

by BlogCommunications

Text-Messaging-for-Small-BusinessIf you’re good at what you do, you will have no problem keeping customers happy and coming back to use your services time and time again. But it’s getting the word out there to obtain those customers in the first place that can be challenging.

One less familiar way that businesses are driving engagement is through text messages. Promotional text messages cost pennies to send, and depending on the platform you use you may not be charged for any messages you receive in return. That makes it possible to have two-way text conversations at a low cost, making it easy to engage customers.

Text Messaging referred to as (SMS) or Short Message Service is often overlooked when promoting your business. Millennials prefer text marketing. They don’t mind receiving marketing messages on their phones.

There are a number of applications where SMS can be used in business.

  • Discount Coupons
  • Order Confirmation
  • Appointment Confirmation
  • Last Minute Cancellations
  • Targeted Sales
  • Surveys
  • Alerts and Notifications

Similar to an email list, you’ll only want to text customers who have signed up to receive communications from you. Pittsburgh North Chamber of Commerce utilizes a text message program to send reminders of Business After Hours events, networking opportunities and other announcements. With effort and a small investment, you can grow your text messaging program to generate many repeat customers.

Target your ideal customers.

It’s incredibly difficult to try to reach every potential customer out there, especially if you’re a small business. It’s much more effective and realistic to take a look at who your target customers are and focus on marketing directly to them. If this works with your business strategy and marketing plan, you can instantly reach thousands of contacts and engage with them, promote your services, or make announcements.

In today’s noisy world, text messages go directly to the customer on a device you know they use every single day, so you know they will see your message. Because… people very seldom leave home without their mobile phone.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Editorial Calendar

TIME BLOCKING TIPS FOR PRODUCTION EFFICIENCY

by BlogCommunications

Time-Blocking

Time Blocking is a technique used to focus on a project. I’m guilty of not using this technique efficiently. It’s all too easy to keep your email browser open and immediately respond to the most recent inquiry or touch from a client. But all that back and forth leads to wasted time.

A colleague recently challenged me to keep track and time everything I do in the course of a week to see how my time is spent. By diligently working in this fashion – it has helped me to focus on the task at hand because in my mind I knew that I would need to record what I was doing. I actually put in an entry for nonproductive social media scrolling and personal calls I took during my workweek.

We all have our “To Do” lists and in a recent Tony Robbins podcast, I learned it’s not enough to have the 10 “To Do’s” to move from day to day but we need to pick the top 3 or 4 things that must be done that day and block the time on your calendar to do that given task. No phone calls, no interruptions, no email checks and no social media surfing – just focus at the task at hand.

ARE YOU THE MASTER OF YOUR DAILY SCHEDULE?

Most people let their calendar completely dictate their time. If it’s on the calendar, then it happens. You allow other people to take time from your calendar for calls to schedule appointments and to attend events. But, are you allowing YOURSELF to schedule work time on your calendar to complete projects that adhere to deadlines? By blocking off work time, you remain in control of your calendar and minimize the need to work late nights and weekends to complete projects on time. The end result is a better work life balance.

Large projects require focus and scheduling. It forces you to recognize your priorities and commit to action. This type of blocking helps to minimize procrastination. If you still can’t complete the action for the priority you set on your calendar, then perhaps it isn’t a priority and should be reevaluated.

Do you have Open Loops in your day? These are things that pop up and need to get done, but don’t have a concrete next step. They may float around in your head, pop up in the middle of the night, but they don’t have a priority. Get Things Done works by capturing and defining the next step somewhere that is not your head, ready to act on at a later moment. This is helpful, but doesn’t answer the final open loop about any task: when will I do this? Time blocking helps to prioritize and schedule those open loops with actionable next steps.

IMPROVE YOUR BOTTOM LINE

Time Blocking trains you to be better at estimating how long things take.

When you reach the end of a task before the block is up or reach the end of a block and still have stuff to do, you know you guessed wrong. Rearrange time later in the week to finish the task. Then, review why you estimated wrong. Was the project more complex, were you distracted? By fully understanding the time it takes to complete a task, you will accurately be able to bid future projects.

GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK

Don’t schedule time blocks back to back. Your brain and body need time to adjust to completing a task. I recently purchased a stand up desk and at times during the day shift from sitting to standing. It gives me a different focus.

Things happen throughout the day that can affect your schedule. Don’t sweat it, but be sure you’re the one who remains in control of your calendar and time.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

business-processes-and-operations

SHOW ME THE MONEY!

by BlogCommunications

business-processes-and-operationsNow that you’ve started your business are you ready to take your small business to the next level? As a small business owner, you wear a lot of hats. Things such as scheduling employees, managing finances, creating marketing campaign – you name it! It’s hard work, but setting up processes can make a big difference. It allows others to step in and execute a particular task as you grow.

Finance Your Growth

Establishing a strong relationship with a business banker will help to strategize and prepare your business for growth. Be it a line of credit, merchant processing, or other management issues, it’s important that you stay on top of your finances. For the Edmiston Group, we have our banking relationships. We also keep track of our P & L by the use QuickBooks online. Our bookkeeper enters information into the system and on a quarterly basis our accountant reviews. Our sales tax is paid electronically and by outsourcing this area of my business, I have peace of mind in knowing these experts will keep me on a solid financial footing.

Electronic Invoicing Go Green

Consumers, especially millennials, wholeheartedly support sustainable businesses who go green to combat climate change. What can you do to save on resources? We use electronic means to create and send invoices. Not only does it save time, but money on postage as well.

Streamline Business Operations

How organized are you? Do you have an office filled with loose papers and random documents? When working on projects for multiple clients such as we do, we try and block times in our schedule and turn off email and other distractions.

There are a number of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software tools available. Utilizing a CRM not only allows you to see your sales pipeline but also is a way for you to track past history with a customer. A CRM will allow you to build a healthy relationship with your customers will keep them coming back for more. Analyze purchase history, sale trends, and create loyalty rewards programs. The history will allow you to target market your message to a given audience.

Human Resources Services

You may not have enough money to hire a full HR team. There are a number of consultants that will help you with talent acquisition, review your policy manual and keep you in compliance. As your company grows this is one area you don’t want to neglect.

Project Management Tools – No More Missed Deadlines

Team projects have a number of deadlines and benchmarks. The Edmiston Group uses Asana, but there are many other types of software tools such as: Wrike, Smartsheet, Clarizen, Workzone, Mavenlink, Jira to name a few. They all come with different features and price points. The key is to determine which one will best fit your needs.

Time Tracking Services

If you own a small business, you most likely pay some of your employees hourly. Time tracking services like TSheets, Timeclock Plus, Harvest, When I Work, lets you track time on projects so you hit deadlines on time, as well as determine if your team is working efficiently.

Hire Good Employees

Your employees are who stand between your business and the customer. No one wants bad customer service. Train employees on how to deliver exceptional customer service that your business will be recognized for. Think of the last place you received exceptional customer service. As you open or grow your business, take time to hire the right candidate that will fit your company’s culture and help drive your mission.

Hiring right begins with a comprehensive job description that clearly articulates the duties and responsibilities of the position. Then use the description to post on job search sites that will yield the most qualified candidates.

Grow Your Revenue

These small steps can help to enhance profits in your small business. There are numerous tools, technology, and software to choose from to help grow your business. So… what’s the hold-up?

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

happy-employees-to-higher-profits

HAPPY EMPLOYEES EQUAL HIGHER PROFITS

by BlogCommunications

happy-employees-to-higher-profitsThere is a direct correlation between happy employees and happy customers. Employers are starting to recognize that keeping their employees happy and fulfilled at work means getting a little creative.

Employee Happiness versus Profit

Life happens to everyone and like it or not, employees can’t always leave their personal life at the door. The well-being and happiness of employees can affect their productivity, and therefore their overall enthusiasm regarding their work. What training have you done to help employees through difficult times? Does your company culture reflect that value? We have a relationship with a firm that offers this service.

Engaged employees view work as more than just a paycheck and benefits. They are the employees who will go the extra mile without being asked but also ensures their work is done well. Did you know that according to a study done by the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick that companies with happy employees outperform the competition by 20%? Why do you think the Pittsburgh Business Times hosts an annual “Best Places to Work” Award each year? The winners of these companies have figured it out and the top talent want to work for them.

Company culture plays a pivotal role in creating compassion in the workplace. Employees – particularly the millennials, want to feel a part of something more. They also want to be involved with making a difference.

So what are some of the tried and true ways to accomplish this task? Here are a few ideas:

  • Flexible work hours based on work getting done: adding some kind of flexibility allows employees to work at the pace and time that will aid in productivity. We know some people are more productive in the morning, while others are more energized midday. This might not be possible for all companies.
  • Employee Training providing an opportunity for additional learning either in person or online is a way for employees to expand their skills, do their jobs better and more efficiently, as well as help make a revenue impact on the business. Create a paradigm shift in your workplace by offering employees the opportunity to participate in certificate programs, day-long trainings, seminars, and bring in guest speakers to provide continued learning for your workers.
  • Popular Engagement Tools include but are not limited to – allowing pets in the office, (within reason), providing full or prorated gym memberships, and free food in the office.

The competition for top talent is fierce. Are you willing to shift to creative ways to engage employees? A company can stand out from their competition by utilizing their greatest asset: their employees. Are you willing to invest in your employees? It has been made clear that satisfied employees create satisfied customers, who then spend more money with your company and spread great word-of-mouth reviews. Money can’t necessarily buy you happiness, but happiness seems to be the link to monetary growth.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Scaling-Your-Business

TIPS FOR SCALING YOUR BUSINESS

by BlogCommunications

Scaling-Your-BusinessIt’s time to scale your business but you’re not sure how. As a business owner, you may be working 6-7 days a week, wearing numerous hats, and are like a hamster running on a spinning wheel. The key here is you’re too busy working IN your business to take the time and work ON your business. The first quarter of 2019 is nearly over. Are you on target? Here are some tips for taking your business to another level.

Ready Set Grow….

Intel – do you know your competition?

By understanding the competition’s strengths and weaknesses, you may be able to capitalize on their weak points. Or…at least you are prepared to go head to head with their strengths. Are you ready to offer a new product or product bundle? Can you create an added value service to leverage that strength? Why does a client come to you?

Pick Up The Pen

Handwritten notes and thank you notes take some time, but it’s one of the best ways to keep clients and get new referrals. Those notes become treasures for small business owners who may not otherwise receive much-deserved accolades and you’ll be top of mind next time they or a friend is in need of your product or service!

Develop 5 Star Customer Service

Think about service at the Ritz Carlton or an upscale restaurant. Your water glass isn’t half empty but what it’s being refilled. Train employees to value each client (even the difficult ones) as they choose where to spend their money. Let it be with you.

Build Referral Relationships

A professional service consultant that can partner with a complimenting business to refer businesses back and forth. The Edmiston Group has some strong referral partners and our businesses collaborate to help each other grow. If you have a brick and mortar business located next to other businesses, collaborate and promote as a city or neighborhood. The more ways that you can find to work and promote your businesses together, the more ways you will create a friendly and warm environment that your clients will love and increase your business exposure not only to your client list, but theirs as well.

Understand Your IDEAL Client

Are you using surveys to poll clients on what you’re doing right and things that can be changed? This will allow you to better meet their needs. Remember the reason you’re in business is to satisfy a client need. It’s about what they want and how your business can design a service to meet that need. If you master this concept, you truly identify your “ideal” client.

Pick Up The Phone

Set yourself apart from the pack. Do something unique – pick up the phone or have face to face contact to establish trust and maintain that strong relationship.

Is Your Website Tired

Simple changes such as logo placement, a call-to-action, using concise, keyword-rich content that is understood easily; and the addition of hyper-linked buttons to your product or service page placed above the “fold” or “scroll” line can make a big impact in user experience and bounce rates. If your site is 5 years or older – platforms have changed. It’s time for an update.

Plan Your Cash Flow and Go Broad for Financing

As your sales increase, it’s even more important to do this, since your inventory and payroll expenses will probably occur before your client’s money hits your bank account.

Usually, the front line of financing sources are the banks and rightfully so. That is what they do best. There are some who use the SBA guarantee programs and others who don’t. Other options that start at the neighborhood level, are Community Development Corporations (CDCs) whose mission is to improve their own business districts and have funding to do that from tax abatements to grants. Municipalities have an economic development component helping businesses located within their jurisdictions. Kiva has crowdfunding options. Bridgeway Capital, a nonprofit organization that ignites economic growth across western PA, may also be an option for financing. Business owners need to explore as much as possible in their quest to get financing

Delegate and Let Go

Are you clutching every detail of your business with closed fists? As a business owner, we wear a lot of hats. Whether you have employees, subcontractors or family pitching in, learning how to delegate effectively can be the difference between reaching new heights and burning out. Because small business owners are working IN their business, they are accustomed to doing a variety of things themselves instead of enlisting the help of others. It can be challenging to identify the tasks you don’t need to do yourself and assign the work to someone else. Once you overcome the challenge, though, you will have more time to dedicate to what you do best — grow your business. My philosophy – if it’s not your specialty that is making you money – find someone who can do it for you.

Schedule Downtime

The reality of running your own business is that you can work 24/7 and there’s still more to do! When helping clients prepare an operating plan, I always recommend scheduling time away. Let colleagues and clients know you aren’t available and/or find a person who can cover for you while away. You’ll come back recharged and ready to go. Are you up for the challenge of business growth? Need some help, email or give us a call at 724-612-0755.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Difficult-Clients

IS IT TIME TO FIRE A DIFFICULT CLIENT?

by BlogCommunications

Difficult-Clients

Difficult clients cannot only rattle you in the moment but also cause long term stress and strain on your business. When a client is upset, you’re going to want to solve the problem, not only for your current situation but also to prevent any in the future. To do this, get feedback on potential solutions from the client. Together, you can work out a solution that fits both of you.

Have you ever had a client that caused your stomach to go in knots when the phone rang? Nothing ever seemed right and no matter how hard you tried, they were never satisfied. Some people just aren’t a fit. Long-term stress can cause you and your employees to experience a variety of symptoms that can all translate into business downfalls, such as:

  • Decreased morale
  • Decreased motivation
  • Reduced productivity
  • Strained relationships with clients and employees
  • Decreased business and financial performance

Working with clients isn’t always easy. To handle an unexpected client blow up, consider these tips:

Stay calm

You don’t want to respond to your angry client in an emotional way – this only escalates the situation. Instead, use a calm and understanding tone when you respond. Always stay neutral and keep a calm facial expression.
When responding to an online complaint– acknowledge the situation and apologize – then take the conversation offline.

Actively listen to what they’re saying

This means stopping and really hearing what they’re saying. Consider the validity of their complaints.

  • Make eye contact
  • Ask questions when you don’t understand something
  • Express positive body language. Open your posture while you’re either sitting or standing. Closed positions such as folded arms may communicate that you’re not interested in what they’re saying
  • Repeat back to the client your understanding of the problem

Show concern and sympathy for the situation

Certain phrases that help you do this include:

  • “I hear what you’re saying…”
  • “I see your point…”
  • Always ask questions

Ask key questions

Asking key questions to bring focus and discover important details that can help you solve the problem. Some questions to consider include:

  • “What could we have done differently?”
  • “What would you consider to be a reasonable solution?”
  • “How can we make it up to you?”

Apologize

This is an important step when dealing with an upset or difficult client. You want the client to leave feeling understood, feeling heard, and knowing the problem is going to get fixed. Apologizing can help retain the client.

Sometimes, no matter how you respond to a client, they still won’t calm down. Clients who are out of hand typically:

  • Won’t stop saying personal insults to you or your employees
  • Won’t stop yelling or screaming at you or your employees
  • Won’t listen to any logic you present
  • Make threats to you or your employees

In a situation where a client is demonstrating the behaviors outlined above, your first step should be to warn them in the nicest way possible. At this point, you must take control and defuse the situation or ask the client to leave your business. In the event you have a virtual business, you may decide that you just aren’t the best provider for them.

Learn to take difficult clients in stride

Difficult clients don’t have to bring you or your business down. With proper client management strategies, you can effectively de-escalate situations in no time. From there, you can strategize with your team ways to meet even the toughest client’s requests. If all else fails – perhaps they aren’t the right fit and will be happier with another provider.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Emotional-buyers

ARE YOU AN EMOTIONAL BUYER?

by BlogCommunications

Emotional-buyersEmotions drive most of our decisions, and that includes what we purchase. Think about it – when you attend a trade show the smell of freshly baked cookies or popcorn will draw you into an exhibitor’s booth.

What is your company’s purpose in forming a connection with consumers that inspires trust, turns them into a lead, and might even spark a sale? The more brands can humanize their content, the more likely they are to incite an emotion that fosters a relationship between the consumer and brand.

Are you spotlighting your team in either your social media or email marketing campaigns? If you have an e-commerce site – how are you addressing abandoned shopping carts? An abandoned cart email is a gentle reminder, from a business to a customer, about the products added to a shopping cart and ‘abandoned’ there.

Why does this happen?

  • Better Price
  • Customer Distraction
  • Indecision

As business owners, we may not realize how poorly this affects our sales and business. Abandoned carts lead to billions of revenue being lost for online retailers every year.

All is not lost if you take action. Salesforce data shows that 60% of cart abandoners went back and purchased the products after receiving an abandoned shopping cart email. A personalized abandoned cart email reminder shows your potential customers what products they left in their cart and offers them another chance to complete their order.

Here’s one example of something to say in your campaign:

Hi (Customer First Name,)

We noticed you never checked out on (abandon date). Did you forget about your awesome items? We saved them for easy reference. Click here to open your cart. (Cart Link). Here’s a quick summary of your products (Products Cart)

If you have any questions, please feel free to email or call our customer service team.

A number of businesses also add a “How can we help make your experience better?” questionnaire to show their customers that their feedback matters. This is also a great way to know why the customer abandoned the shopping cart in the first place. If there are issues regarding a given product, the data gives you the information needed to make adjustments.

Create a positive emotion. Pull potential customers right back in with an abandoned email cart campaign and realize an increase in revenue instead of forgotten items left in an online shopping cart.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Online-Reputation

MANAGING YOUR ONLINE REPUTATION

by BlogCommunications

Online-ReputationAre you helping your customers or selling? When you remember what your customers’ needs are and offer a solution to those needs, you’ll stand apart from the competition. By helping through offering insights and resources you take on a more humanistic approach in how you’re assisting your customers.

As you create content, identify how you can bring in the human element. Outline a case study of how a customer benefited or highlight how a customer can benefit from using your product or services. Your content should find a way to spark friendly conversations between your business and customers.

Social media can play a role in the humanness of your business. Encourage discussion about content on social media, reply to comments, use customers and staff members in your content, and create content about the issues that are most important to your customers. They may be consuming it through a screen, but you can still make them feel something in their hearts with your content. That’s part of the connection they have with you.

When asking people to review you online, you open yourself up to bad reviews, too – and that’s okay. Just remember to respond to every review, in a calm, helpful fashion and seek to turn any poor review into a positive experience. What’s important is that you shouldn’t respond just to acknowledge negative reviews; you should respond to positive reviews, as well. Replying to your reviews will show other future customers that you’re active in your online communications.

Social media has played a role in helping to level the playing field for small business. Most consumers look at online reviews before purchasing a service or product. The Edmiston Group has recently been involved with two separate situations where online reviews were not as favorable. The companies had totally different customer situations that cause the less than favorable review. Here’s the difference in their response:

  • One company didn’t respond to any reviews – a thank you, acknowledgment that they were happy the reviewer liked the service, etc.
  • The 2nd company wrote something for each review they received. Upon receipt of a negative review, they contacted the reviewer via phone, explained the situation as to why something couldn’t happen due to regulations and wrote a response.

So, if your potential customers are coming across your small business online and running away in the opposite direction once they see your lack of endorsements or your lack of engagement, what can you do to turn that around? Online reviews are here to stay. Ask your customers to become raving fans by taking a couple minutes to write a review. Be sure you are monitoring your social media channels and engage.

Set yourself apart from the crowd. Be different by saying “please” and “thank you,” sending a personalized thank you note in their online order, giving a small discount to apologize for a customer service issue and so on. Be customer service focused. Your customers will remember your kindness and may return the favor by leaving you a positive review.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.

Marketing-Calendar

HOW TO CREATE A MARKETING CALENDAR

by BlogCommunications

Marketing-CalendarCreating a marketing calendar (editorial calendar) is critical to your success and will be the cornerstone of the activities you will do to promote your business in 2019. It is simply the act of thinking through the year and putting a plan in place. You can make the calendar as simple or as complex as you like. Additionally, we recommend taking some time to create a social media calendar as well. The Edmiston Group creates a general calendar every year, but we also customize these calendars for particular businesses allowing them to easily execute. Click here to download our 2019 calendar. Here are a few steps to get you started to customize your own plan.

  • Start with a 12-month calendar. If you need to share a calendar with staff or outside consultants, we have found online Google calendars work well for us and you can share it with others.
  • Incorporate each of your desired offerings into the calendar. Account for holidays, peak seasons, etc.
  • Next, incorporate community events, trade shows, and any other event that will affect your promotional dates.
  • Work backward from each key date with high-level promotional features. Think about press release dates, paid traditional advertising, time to develop and print promotional materials, and social media marketing. Be sure to calendar drop-dead dates for each promotion.
  • Leave flexibility for your social media promotions. You will want to be consistent, so set a pattern for each of your social media channels, and then accommodate the promotion into your posts when the time is right. For example, perhaps you will post to Facebook three times a week, Twitter twice a day, and incorporate Instagram, LinkedIn or Pinterest depending on the type of business you have.

Technology is always changing. Use it to your benefit by looking for efficiencies. Schedule a week’s worth of posts each Monday. Use one of many dashboards to manage your social media. Set Google alerts on subject matter that you can use for blogging or for your newsletters.

Are You Measuring?

Just because you think something is a good idea, your customers may not. Don’t rely only on your own intuition. Talk to your customers to see if they are struggling with anything in particular. That can help you understand what their needs are.

Before kicking off each promotion, be sure to write down your desired outcome. You may remember what the results are this month, but unless you write them down, are you really going to remember those results 9 months from now?

These measurable objectives hold you and your staff accountable for the end results. This likely includes a financial aspect, but may also include increased awareness as identified by growth in social media followings and/or expansion into a new market.

  • Capture your baseline for each promotion and compare it to the end result. Depending on your goal, your baseline may be financial or a number related to the number of customers or followers. For example, if you’re running a Facebook ad or social share campaign, know the number of fans you had when you started, measure downloads of information and increased likes for your page.
  • Track your financial expenditures and income for the promotion. This determines the actual cost of obtaining a new client.
  • Track all other related metrics (growth in customer base, number of increased leads, etc.). When using a variety of print material, code coupons to measure what worked and the type of client the coupon generated. A Valpac ad may generate a different type of client than a social media campaign or printed newspaper ad, but without coding the coupons and tracking the results, you don’t know the type of customer you’re attracting and the dollars that customer is willing to spend with you.
  • After each promotion, note what worked and what did not work. This will help you tweak promotions throughout the year and into the next year

The experts at the Edmiston Group can help you create your 2019 marketing program, an editorial calendar, or can work from it to help with content creation. Wondering how to get started in identifying business objectives and overall growth in 2019? Call 724-612-0755 or email us to get started.

About the author: Autumn Edmiston is the CEO and owner of the Edmiston Group. The Edmiston Group is a multifaceted Pittsburgh based marketing consulting firm providing senior level marketing management services to businesses and non-profit organizations on a short or long-term basis. Core areas of service are business development, marketing, strategic planning and public relations. The Edmiston Group has consistently delivered and implemented real-world, proven business marketing ideas and strategies for business.