March 21, 2010 by Dave Clough.

I created a video of a presentation that I did on Internet Marketing at Enterprise Bank in Acton, MA.  We had almost 30  people stuffed into a very small conference room.  I posted it on Vimeo because I could upload the whole thing, while  YouTube only allows 10 minute videos, so I’ll have to upload it in 4 or 5 pieces (I may still do that), and yes, the presentation is over 40 minutes with questions.

 I discussed how Social Media can help your page rank in Google.and how it can generate business is you have a landing page.  I also mentioned email marketing and other internet marketing strategies.  Take a look and let me know your thoughts by commenting.  I’d love the feedback.

I help small businesses get more clients using internet marketing strategies, because, as I say in the video, it allows you to compete with the big boys without needed to match their marketing budget.  This is because you can succeed with Social Media by only investing your time.  If you don’t understand how to do it, hire someone like me to show you how.  Once you know how to do it, stick with it and use social media regularly.

Dave Clough, mPowerAdvisors.com

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October 18, 2009 by Dave Clough.

People think of marketing as this big task with expensive branding and strategy, and graphic design, and brochures and folders with multiple pieces of literature with lots of graphics and ads in magazines and newspapers and yellow pages, etc, etc, etc.  I’d like to dispel that myth that this is all required.  I’ve seen many companies with almost non-existent marketing budgets produce some effective marketing.  It is effective because it accomplishes its goal; to fill the funnel with prospects and opportunities.

 I’m not saying that a company should start broadcasting its message without knowing who they are trying to attract.  That would be a waste of time, even if it costs almost no money.  Before anyone starts getting their message out, they should know at least two things: Who their target customer is, and What they are going to offer that customer.  Once the business entity knows these two things, it can start testing the message.  Now one just needs to know where to find the target customer.

Except for online ads, Electronic marketing costs almost nothing and is affordable on any budget.  If you have email addresses for customers, then I’d start with an eNewsletter.  If you do not have email addresses, then I’d get a website with a blog and start putting newsletter type content in that.  Someone can got to 1and1.com and pay around $5/mo and get a basic website (domain name for about $8/yr) with a blog.  It is easy and now you are in business.  From there, I’d get the social media engine going (some call all this Web 2.0). 

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May 2, 2009 by Dave Clough.

If one believes the small business confidence indicators that say we are at a 14 month high, maybe we have hit bottom.  If so, wouldn’t it be the right time to invest in your business?  Maybe now is the exact right time to look for opportunities  that will make your company stronger in the recovery.

Knowing a companies Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) is essential to success. Right now I’d like to focus on the opportunities because of the timing.  Other businessess may not have weathered the storm as well as you have, or they believe the economy will be stagnant for quite some time and are not sure they can hang on.  If one of these companies could help your business grow, now may be the perfect time.  Maybe it is a competitor or maybe a complementary or supplimental business that will make your company stronger in the recovery.

Those that are strong enough to survive this recession can thrive in the recovery with strategic forethought.  Contact me if you’d like to explore these posibilities in your business.

Dave Clough — www.mPowerAdvisors.com

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April 28, 2009 by Dave Clough.

I read an article recently where the founders of a 2001 startup were considering buying the company back from eBay.  My initial reaction is that this is a bad idea, though I don’t have all the details.  Let me explain…

 StumbleUpon started with $1.5M in venture funding and sold out to eBay for $75M.  Great story — so far so good.  Then after 2 years and very little progress, eBay needs money and starts shopping it around.  So three founders look to buy it back from eBay.  Why is this a good scenario?

While I am not an expert in their business, nor do I know the true influence eBay had on the company over those two years, there are many things that raise questions.  Is this is good decision for the founders?

The serial entrepreneur is not typically the right person to run a large company.  The right personality for a small team startup is not usually the person well suited to run a bigger company.  The singular focus of the team to achieve the vision and reach the payday is usually gone after the sale.  It appears the founders still have the drive, so are they going to pull it back and sell it again, or keep it private.  This decision will impact the hiring and employee motivation going forward.   It seems they can motivate startup people, but can they motivate people working at an “older” company.  These people have very different motivators (passion & risk vs. a job & security).

The next big question is whether eBay left the company alone for those two years or if they brought them into the fold.  Either way, there are other important managerial questions.  If they left StumbleUpon autonomous (scenario 1), why did the company stagnate?  Maybe the management team has already peaked.  If they brought them into the eBay fold (scenario 2), then it is likely that many of the original employees left and they hired more “big company” people who are more security minded.  So depending on the answer, either you have to make changes at the top (scenario 1) or bring in more “startup employees” (scenario 2). 

In either case, from the outside looking in, it seems that StumbleUpon needs to augment their staff with a good turnaround guy either on staff or as a consultant.  Doing what they have done over the past two years in not an option if they want to see the growth they experienced before selling to eBay.

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April 14, 2009 by Dave Clough.

For those who live in New England (and a couple of Midwest states), you may be familiar with an somewhat odd way of town government called Town Meeting.  Wikipedia: A town meeting is a meeting where the population of an entire geographic area is invited to participate in a gathering, often for a political, administrative, or legislative purpose. Traditionally, a town meeting is a time when community members come together to legislate policy and budgets for their town…

My town of Acton, MA just finished its town meeting, and it was a spectacle with more than 400 people attending at times.    The town boards were divided on issues, there were to community groups at odds — one promoting the schools, and one wanting to keep costs below the recommended budgets, and there were some people that just want to be heard (well, at least they talked — I’m not sure whether they were heard).  And after 3 days we slogged through 50 articles that required a vote. (Thank goodness for Roberts Rules.)

In my opinion makeing decisions at town meeting is a lot like making sausage — you don’t really want to experience the process, but the end result isn’t too bad. 

 Small businesses struggle with making decisions too, but on a smaller scale.  My town has about 20,000 people, and some small company decisions can affect that many people too, including their customers.  So what is the best way to make decisions in a small company.  As with much of my advise – it depends.

I am a big proponent of empowered teams.  Teams that work well together can accomplish more than a group of superstar individuals.  Good examples would be the first Red Sox team that broke the curse, or last years Tampa Bay Rays, or The NE Patriots who can replace an injured starter with a replacement without missing a beat.  Examples of superstars trying to do it themselves are the Olympic Basketball teams.  These teams are packed with superstars who don’t play together, and in 2004, despite being the most talented, only came away with the Bronze metal.  My assertion is that a group of people who truely work as a team will accomplish more than a group of talented individuals.

So is a small business really a team?  I used to think that every company could work as a team, but in my years of advising businesses, I’m come to realize that some the key ingredient to a successful team is the owner or person in charge (coach).  If that person is willing to loosen the reins and give up some control, it can work, but if they can’t (especially in challenging times) then the “team” will fail.   So now before I recommend a team approach, I assess whether the owner/coach will fully delegate some tasks.  I the answer is yes, then a team is possible, but if no, I don’t even try because the decisions made below will get vetoed either actively or passively.

Town meeting is a team in that everyone has a vested interest in the success of the town.  Those who thing they know better will be fustrated, and those who respect the collective knowledge like the process.  I’ll touch more on decision making in future blogs, but I’ll leave you with this to ponder: Can one person always make the right decision, or would the collective wisdom of an empowered group be right more often…

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December 21, 2008 by Dave Clough.

In today’s economy, most businesses are not growing because their customer base is struggling.  Rather then throw up your hands and believe you just have to ride it out with everyone else, why not take this time to take a hard look at your business.   Think about who might be doing well in this economy and see it that segment could become another segment of your business. 

Companies that are doing well may not be hard to find.  Consider companies that are involved in foreclosures, reposession, or law suits.  Initially you may feel that you are acting like a vulture, but these companies may need what you offer to handle the volume, and the business world needs the fate of the weaker companies to be resolved before a steady rise can be sustained.  The results are likely inevitable, so if your company can help clean up the mess, why not participate?

 As a first step, do a SWOT (Strenghts, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to see where your strengths may line up with opportunites.  That might be the first area to consider if it aligns with your vision and values (if you don’t have a company vision and values, you need to get there because you are driving down the highway without directions).

So, first decide that you are not going to participate in this recession; second if you don’t have a vision or values, develop them; thirdly, look for opportunities that align with you strenghts, and lastly, make yourself known in that new segement through marketing (develop you USP, Unique Selling Proposition)and sales (call direct once you have your USP).  If you need help with any of this, mPower Advisors is well versed in all areas mentioned above.

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August 1, 2007 by Dave Clough.

Email marketing has many advantages:

1. It is very inexpensive to deliver
2. The customers can get to know you personally, building trust
3. You can tailor it better than any other direct mail piece
4. You can embed surveys to know your customers better
5. BEST OF ALL you can track all activity and conversions

These are some of the top benefits, and there are more.  A company can realize these benefits if done correctly.  I have one ecommerce client that sees an increase in sales of thousands due to each newsletter.  We know this because it is directly measurable with the email program and website analytics.  Can you say that of a postcard campaign?

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July 5, 2007 by Dave Clough.

I have many clients who only spent money on Yellow Pages ads before I got to them.  Many spend tens of thousands of dollars per year on phone book ads, but they don’t know the return on that investment.  My usual question when I find this out is, “How much do you spend marketing to your existing customer base?”  Many times the answer is $0.00!

I have found (and studies have shown) that it is more cost effective to get more business from your previous and current customers than it is to get business from people who don’t know you.  With that said, I do not advocate that you focus all your budget on your existing base.  It makes most sense to divide your budget evenly, but you will see much more money from past and current customers.

Your existing customer base either knows your contact info and what you do, or they know how to find it.  For these people, a basic ad in the yellow pages is sufficient.  The graphical ads in the yellow pages is really for new customers who have never heard of you.  Local internet campaigns are gaining traction and will become commonplace soon.  If your customers are more than local, you have to be found by Google to get new customers (more on that later).

For your existing base, I recommend direct mail…preferably an email newsletter.  If you don’t have email addresses, make a concious effort to get them from everyone going forward.  Until that time, use postcards and newsletters via US mail to mine your existing customer base for more business.

More on building an email list in a future blog…

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