3 classses, 6:30-9:30 pm, Sept. 15, 22 and 29

Discussion focuses on importance of developing customer knowledge, identifying product/service benefits that must be prominent in promotional messages, adhering to six marketing fundamentals that steer all marketing efforts, gathering valuable competitive information, and evaluating lost cost marketing ideas.

Cost $70

Focused Marketing Efforts: Developing Strategies to Maximize Small Buisness Dollars at TCU

2 classes, 6:30-9:00 pm, Oct. 13 and 20

Participants will evaluate their current marketing activities and develop an outline for their own plans to increase marketing efforts.  Topics of discussion include niche marketing, marketing plans and calendars, networking, the sales cycle and the pros and cons of various marketing tools.

Cost: $60

Target Marketing for Non-Profits at TCU

2 sessions, 6:30-9:00 pm, Oct. 28 and Nov. 4

When it comes to your three key markets (clients, volunteers and financial supporters),  a non-profit must be able to describe each market, find them and keep them.  A clear understanding of these three markets maximizes marketing efforts and reduces costs.  We’ll discuss the role of databases and the need to consistently test, measure and promote.

Cost: $60

For these TCU classes, visit www.lifelong.tcu.edu to register

Common Sense Marketing in a Sluggish Economy at UTA

Saturday session, Oct. 11, 9:00 am to 3:15 pm

We’ll focus on the critical issues of small business marketing including customer acquisition and data, growth strategies and promotional activities.  You’ll evaluate your current marketing activities considering time and money and walk away with numerous practical ideas and tools to weather the downturn.

Cost: $199

For this UTA class, visit www.uta.edu/ced

¨ 2007 Money Magazine Top 100 Best Places to Live

¨ Average Household Income of $108,000

¨ Current Population of 38,400;  40 percent growth since 2000

¨ Median resident age: 34.6 years

¨ Primarily served by Keller ISD, Keller’s largest employer serving over 28,000 students 

Points of Interest

¨ Unique mixed use development called Keller ArtHouse within Town Center

¨ Focus on developing extensive hike and bike trail system

¨ Implemented half cent sales tax for park development

¨ Economic Development Board meets monthly

¨ Historic Old Town Keller

¨ Other major employers are Corning Cable Systems and Southstar Logistics 

Important websites

City: www.cityofkeller.com

Chamber: www.kellerchamber.com

School: www.kellerisd.net 

Source: numerous sources

1. Who are you targeting and why?
    Generally your target will be new customers or existing customers.  Furthermore, you’re likely to be driven by a need to introduce new products/services or focus on a new competitor who’s entered the market.

2. What are your specific goals?
    Your goals, whether to increase awareness or to increase sales, must be measurable.  Examples are a gaining a certain number of new customers, enlarging mailing list by a certain percentage, or increasing sales by a certain sales amount during your slowest month.

3. What steps are needed to carry out the campaign?
    Your timetable should focus on activities such as establishing appropriate promotional methods for reaching your target market, testing your message, conducting training, setting a realistic budget, preparing for additional calls and purchasing inventory.

4. Finally, how will you measure if your campaign has been successful? 
    Refer to your goals, use on-going tracking and write down what you’ve learned about customers, costs and competition for the next campaign. 

• Listed among Money Magazine’s  Top 100 Places to Live
• Average household income of $97,173
• Average resident age of 34.4
• Current population of 47,150.

Popular tourist destination

• Grapevine hosts GrapeFest, the Southwest’s largest wine festival, every September.  GrapeFest voted a 2008 American Business Association (ABA) Top 100 Event in North America
• Main Street listed on National Register of Historic Places
• Home to more than 5000 hotel rooms
• Garners more than 18.75 million total annual visits.

Important websites

• City: www.ci.grapevine.tx.us
• Chamber: www.grapevinechamber.org
• Convention/Visitors Bureau: www.grapevinetexasusa.com
• I Love Grapevine: www.ilovegrapevinetexas.com

Source: Numerous sources

• Devise incentive  for existing customers to buy additional products/services
• Strengthen customer relationships with the goal of diminishing the likelihood of customers switching to your competitors.

Here are suggestions for a successful reward program.

1. Prepare to implement the program by clearly explaining it to customers and fully training employees.
2. Utilize your customer database by deciding how you will make the offer at the time of their next purchase.
3. Develop progressive reward system by making rewards easy to obtain and offer the best incentives for  larger ($) purchases, such as your high-end products/services.
4. Offer meaningful rewards that also benefit your business by striving to increase the sales of your most profitable products and services.
5. Use your database to customize future offers based on customers’ purchase behavior and gain insight for finding new customers who match the profile of your best customers (target marketing).
    

Public Relations are target-market awareness strategies used to meet the goals and objectives identified in your comprehensive marketing plan. Today, it’s wise to out-source separate marketing and Public Relations services if qualified individuals are not on staff, as each discipline has its strengths for securing valuable market share.

By studying research gathered in your marketing plan, promotional activities focused on the 7-P’s of the extended marketing mix—Product, Price, Promotion, Place (distribution), People, Processes, and Physical Evidence (of services offered)—can be evaluated honestly. In the first step, Public Relations (PR) campaigns manage the public’s perception of your business, reputation, a program or a product. And within both the marketing plan and the PR campaign, there’s energy to create remarkable things worth talking about.

The methodology of Public Relations is to invest resources on building positive, long-lasting relationships with profitable audiences. PR professionals next identify the desired target market, then craft and tailor every positive message, piece of collateral, media communication, and special event to influence that audience, constantly measuring ROI against the influence. With fast-forward technology at your fingertips, the promotional tools you choose to use today will be obsolete tomorrow, so you must work at the top of your game.

Standard Tools
The audience will define the promotional activities and media tools used today. The days of printed advertising, sales promotions, direct marketing pieces are dwindling. Printing costs, expensive postage, dwindling newspaper readership, and junk mail are not as effective as they used to be. Dynamic websites, along with these electronic PR tools are welcomed most frequently by today’s environmental-friendly and ‘too-busy’ audiences:
• Electronic press releases
• Links to online Press Kits
• Wire service distribution feeds
• Electronic news releases to strategic media partners
• Online personal sales blasts, e-zines, e-coupons

Social Media
Narrowing the scope of the target market defines success today. ‘Age’ now dictates whether to use print or electronic means of PR communication. An audience above 40-years old may still respond to printed materials and values something they can hold in their hands, read and keep. A younger audience, between 25 to 40-years of age, is more comfortable online, preferring interactive, digital communications and e-files. Whatever is new, personal—yet practical, will capture the attention of the Gen Y’s and future cyber generations. And lately, smart businesses are using social technology at record-speed to share their message with a narrow, but precisely chosen audience: 
• RSS satellite feeds
• Pod casts
• Web casts
• Blogs
• Face-Book
• My Space
• You Tube

Partnership Events
Lastly, one of the most accepted and strongest promotional activities today are partnership events. Even though these people-friendly venues raise business PR to a new level, they are very resource heavy and must be professionally planned for success. Individual or product placement within community events or at celebrity functions can develop high-visibility if you carefully select strategic alliances. Products/people can be launched at press conferences, media seminars, public speaking opps, grand openings as well as entertainment and sporting events. The secret is to garner events that establish honorable partnerships, which in turn benefit the bottom line.
                                                                          - - -
Public Relations professionals keep abreast of the fast, ever-changing landscape of business through the local and national association of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Barbara Tipton can be reached at 817-329-0318 or brtipton@tx.rr.com.  Her website address is www.shazammpromotions.com

Welcome Readers!

This is the first in a series of articles I’ll be writing focusing on graphic design for the small business.  (Thanks Kate!)

The average consumer is becoming savvier about graphic design software programs and that’s awesome.  But if you think knowing how to put together a newsletter in Publisher is all you need to know in terms of graphic design, (we’ll lovingly call it GD from now), read this article and you’ll probably change your mind.  The harsh truth is the image of your business presented to the world each day can be a lot more important in the start than the actual product or service you are delivering.  So, get comfortable and read on…    

First off, let’s define ‘graphic design’ that is sometimes confused with ‘desktop publishing’ and discuss how the two are different.   

Graphic Design is the art and science of laying out images (photographs, scanned images, computer-created artwork) and text into a space that communicates a message to the audience.  This could take the form of logos, brochures, annual reports, branding/identity, restaurant graphics, direct mail, posters etc.  GD is an intensive and sometimes lengthy process that involves research, conceptualization, sketches, designing and revisions.  GD can involve creating pieces of work completely by hand and then transferring them to a computer or creating them from scratch on the computer.  Hence, graphic designers usually have a background in studio arts, photography, etc.  Programs used by a graphic designer include Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Bridge, Freehand, Flash, Quark XPress, etc.  

Desktop Publishing (we’ll call it DP for short) is the usage of the computer and specific software to lay out newsletters, brochures, and other functional pieces.  Compared to GD, DP is usually a process that is not as in-depth, which doesn’t mean it isn’t as time-consuming unfortunately, and focuses more on the function than the “art.”  DP is aimed at the average consumer who doesn’t have a design background.  DP is entirely completed on the computer using programs such as PageMaker, InDesign, Quark XPress, Word, Publisher, (Photoshop, Illustrator on occasion). 

Let me illustrate how GD helped a client of mine with branding her company in creating an identity that presented her business with a sophisticated and professional image…  

Case Study:  Yvonne Fontana Jewelry 

Yvonne and I met at a women’s networking meeting after she had started a small home-based business of making delicate, beautiful jewelry for women.  Like any small business owner, she dreamed big.  She came to me for a logo that represented her work.   

I met with her a few times and got to know her better.  Then I started working on some concepts, which resulted in several pages of sketches.  The images you will see in the near future are only a sample.  I worked on typefaces, shapes, colors etc.  Image “d” is the final product.   

We knew we wanted something that represented Yvonne’s strong faith and her product.  The shape in the center can be interpreted as a star, diamond, sparkle, a cross.  The colors I chose have a feminine quality.  The typeface (or font) is delicate, stem-like.  I also created a black logo on a white background and a white logo on a black background.  This gave Yvonne the versatility to print it as she pleased.  She has patented the logo, made necklace tags and earring cards, and is on her way to selling the heck out of her jewelry.  

I’d like to end this article by asking you to make a list (I love lists!) of your qualities, passions, personality traits that you might like represented in your company’s logo.  

Mili Suleman can be reached at 817-456-6622 or mili@schnauzdesign.com.  Her website is www.schnauzdesign.com and of course features some of her design work.

For the five cities in the greater Southlake marketplace with over one thousand residents, Grapevine experienced the greater increase of 3.6 percent, or 1,650 new residents.  Keller had the second highest growth rate at 1.9 percent, for an increase of 700 residents.  Overall, the five cities grew by 3,150 residents, or 2.3 percent from 138,500 in January 2007 to 141,650 on January 1, 2008.

Here are population estimates for the five local  communities with over one thousand residents as of January 1, 2007 and 2008.

Colleyville
2008  22,500
2007  22,150

Grapevine
2008  47,150
2007  45,500
 
Keller
2008  38,400
2007  37,700

Southlake
2008  26,100
2007  25,700

Trophy Club
2008  7,500
2007  7,450

First, focus on strengthening relationships with your best customers.  Who are the twenty percent generating eighty percent of your revenue?  Use your tracking system to identify them if you don’t already know.  If you don’t have an effective tracking system and customer database, now’s a great time to start developing them!

When was the last time you had a personal conversation with these key customers?  What are their concerns?  Do you need to modify payment terms?  Do you need to reward them with special services that may only cost a small amount but generate additional loyalty?  Do they provide referrals?

Second, examine your current marketing activities.  Focus on those producing the greatest return on your investment of time and money.  If you can’t quantify your return, now’s the time to develop a practical method.

Third, now is not the time to cut corners on customer service.  If you lose profitable customers due to a decline in service, you may not regain them after the economy improves.

Colleyville: The Building Inspection Department handles both items. 

• Phone  817-503-1030 or visit www.colleyville.com.

Grapevine: Development Services is the division to contact. 

• Phone 817-410-3154 or visit www.ci.grapevine.tx.us.

 Keller: Contact the Development Services Division of the Community Development Department. 

• Phone 817-743-4130 or visit www.cityofkeller.com.

Southlake: The Building Inspections division handles both items. 

• Phone 817-748-8009 or visit www.cityofsouthlake.com.

Trophy Club: The Permitting staff handles both items. 

• Phone 682-831-4680 or visit www.ci.trophyclub.tx.us.

Westlake: Planning and Development is the department to contact. 

• Phone 817-490-5726 or visit www.westlake-tx.org.

Southlake Jewelers, located in the Village Center Shopping Center (with Kroger as the anchor) on East Southlake Boulevard, has always treated me very well.  Whenever I’ve visit their store, they’ve not only always cleaned my rings for free, but they’ve also repaired various broken necklace clasps for free while I waited! 

The Albertsons at West Southlake and Davis Boulevards made a special trip to our home with a case of chips I had special ordered.  I visited their store twice in one day to pickup the merchandise after receiving a phone call that the case had arrived.  The food manager who placed the order was not in at either time when I stopped by the store.  They found the case of chips immediately after I left the store but couldn’t catch me in the parking lot.  They called our home before I arrived home and asked where I lived as one of the employees who had been involved in the search for the case of chips was getting off work and wanted to deliver the chips!

Both articles are written in everyday language and hopefully provide practical ideas for your small business.  My mission is to explain the variety of terms employed in strategic planning that are also used in budgeting and other planning processes.  I’m relying on common definitions, explanations and examples of the most frequently used terms.  As previously mentioned, if you read a variety of books on strategic planning, you’ll find authors using and offering varying descriptions of these terms.

As we switch gears to the annual planning process, we’re talking about goals, objectives, strategies and tactics.  Here’s a quick overview of these four terms based on definitions found in Barbara Findlay Schenck’s highly recommended book Small Business Marketing for Dummies.

A goal is a sales or professional target set for a specific time frame and employs the use of numbers or percentages.  A goal answers the WHAT we want to achieve question and is measurable. 

An objective is a measureable result to achieve a goal; one goal can require two or more objectives.  Objectives address HOW to meet a goal.  Action words such as introduce, gain or improve are put to use.  An objective statement often includes the use of a verb, a noun and then a precise description. 

A strategy is a plan for achieving each measureable objective; it should be flexible to respond to external forces.  A marketing strategy generally addresses one of the four P’s of the marketing mix: product, place, price and promotion.

A tactic is the specific ACTION you’ll take to enact your strategy.

At the first level of annual planning, we start by setting our goal or goals for the year.  Webster’s offers this definition: a goal is the end toward which effort is directed, or the AIM.

Let’s think of a small business’ goal or goals as the one or two financial targets you really want to achieve, whether net profit or some type of unit goal.  And yes, you may establish more than one goal for a year!  Also, one should have a tracking system in place to measure these goals.

In The Successful Marketing Plan by Hiebing and Cooper, the authors discuss how goals vary by industry. 
• If a manufacturing entity, you’ll probably focus on dollar and/or unit goals.
• In retail, focus on dollars and transaction goals, or unit goals.
• If a service provider, the focus is usually dollars and persons served.
• Non-profits are likely to set a goal for funds raised to support their programs and the number of volunteers involved or volunteer hours contributed.

They also point out that dollar sales goals should be set to provide a profit to the business.  If you set a gross sales goal, you may meet it but you may not have enough money to pay for expenses and earn a profit.  If you solely focus on units, transactions or persons served, you again may meet the goal, but may not earn a profit. This doesn’t mean that you won’t track or set goals for gross sales, but that net sales or revenue is a more meaningful goal.

Here are examples of goals.
• Increase net revenue by six percent
• Increase occupancy by four percent
• Achieve an average $2000 net profit per month
• Increase membership by five percent

After establishing your goals, you’ll now want to establish objectives to meet these goals.  (Please note that numerous business planning authors discuss the need for setting objectives but may not have both goal and objective setting steps.  Additionally, if you refer to dictionaries and thesauruses, the terms goals and objectives are interchangeable.)
  
I favor the establishment of both goals and objectives (similar to Ms. Schenck) so one has an opportunity to break down each goal based on measurable categories within our business, such as new customers and existing customers, residential and commercial customers, dining-in versus take-out.  At this stage, we can focus on target markets; a target market is a group of people or businesses with a set of common characteristics.

And just to reiterate, both goals and objectives should be specific, quantifiable, and measurable, such as related to a certain time frame (i.e., quarterly, annually, etc.).  If you’re just starting your business, you may want to set gradually increasing goals and objectives.

Here are examples of objectives.
• Increase the number of new customers by four percent or acquire 200 new customers
• Increase the average sales per customer by 1.5 percent
• For a spa, retain 95 percent of your existing customers by ensuring they visit your store and make a purchase (services or products) at least once every three months
• Purchase a new truck for a service route with an outlay not to exceed $20,000
• For an insurance agent, increase from six to ten the number of monthly presentations to new prospects.  If you offer both car and homeowners insurance, the agency could have different objectives for these two types of insurance.  They could also establish objectives for year 1, year 2 and year 3.

At the third or strategy stage, we’re going to focus on different methods or ways to meet your objectives as we concentrate on affecting the behavior of your target market(s).  Here’s the chance to use more descriptive terms, and as Ms. Schenck mentions look to the four components of the traditional marketing mix. 

Here are examples of strategies.
• Find two new products for your home improvement line (product)
• Eliminate the three poorest performing products (product)
• Segment or categorize customers to identify their purchasing habits, if you don’t already do so (product)
• Undertake a study of customer satisfaction (product)
• Find one new distributor for your line of engraved baby linens (place)
• Extend delivery service hours (place)
• Develop a frequent buyer program (price)
• If a floral shop, increases prices by five percent over Valentine’s holiday and Mother’s Day (price)
• Offer quarterly seminar on a specific topic (promotion) 
• Market to one new zip code (promotion).
 
At the final or tactics stage, we’re getting down to specific actions for putting strategies into play.

Here are examples of tactics.
• Join the Chamber of Commerce by a certain date.
• Contact two customers each week; maintain contact log including whom called, issues discussed, action taken or needed.
• Take one customer out for lunch once each month; maintain activity log.
• Develop a tracking system of residential versus commercial accounts and review every two weeks.
• Locate a consultant to help with a customer satisfaction study
• Study competition to determine if and what types of seminars they offer
• Donate two products to the local PTO fund raiser.

Here’s a brief example for a gift / card shop in which I only identify one goal and one objective with related strategies and tactics.  Since tactics can involve very specific details, a marketing plan may just list high-level details or dates.

Goal: Increase net revenue by five percent

Objective: Increase the number of existing customer visits from once/month to twice/month at a minimum.  (This assumes you know the average number of times customers visit and you’re able to track visits by sales receipts or credit card/debit transactions.)

Strategy:
1) Conduct a six-week long sweepstakes for prizes in which customers complete an entry form when visiting your store; purchase not required.  (May be able to collect missing or important customer data on the entry form!)
2) Implement a frequency shopping card program which offers increasing rewards the more often they shop.  (May need to have a minimum purchase requirement.)
3) Offer mystery coupons over a two-month period (that differs from the timing of the sweepstakes offer) in a sealed envelope that are awarded at one-visit and may only be used at the next visit when un-opened envelope returned to the store.

Tactics:
1) Develop and print sweepstakes rules.
2) Design promotional program for sweepstakes promotion.
3) Design and print entry forms.
4) Train employees on sweepstakes rules.
5) Obtain on-site collection box for entry forms.
6) Evaluate sweepstakes promotion.
7) Develop and post card program rules.
8) Design promotional program for reward program.
9) Train employees on reward program rules.
10) Develop and print reward cards.
11) Conduct quarterly evaluation of reward program.
12) Develop and print mystery coupon program rules.
13) Design promotional program for mystery coupon promotion.
14) Train employees on mystery coupon rules.
15) Purchase envelopes for mystery coupon promotion.
16) Develop and print mystery coupons.
17) Evaluate mystery coupon promotion.

I want to close by encouraging the use of a marketing calendar which organizes and reminds what you and/or your staff should be doing on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.  If you attend the Chamber monthly luncheon on the third Thursday of each month, place that in your calendar for each month.  If you desire to contact two existing customers each week, post it on every Tuesday or whatever day works best.  If you want to visit a competitor’s location once a month, pick a day such as the 10th or 15th, and schedule it for the next twelve months.  The use of a calendar is a great way to develop positive habits.

In a perfect world we would be able to establish a year long calendar; but plan to enter as much as possible even if you start by just entering dates for starting the planning and execution of all details for each strategy, and then routinely updating your calendar!

If you would like to meet to discuss how strategic planning can be put to use for your business, please contact us at kgbmarketing@hotmail.com.

Both articles are written in everyday language and hopefully provide practical ideas for your small business.  My goal is to explain the variety of terms employed in strategic planning that are also used in budgeting and other planning processes.  I’m relying on definitions, explanations and examples of the most frequently used terms.

When an organization discusses and develops its vision, mission, or statement of purpose, they’re focusing on statements to guide the entity for the long term and are quite broad.  You’ll find that organizations of all sectors undertake this process including for-profit companies, non-profits and governmental agencies.

So at this top level, we’re talking about the WHY of a business or organization.  These statements
• don’t involve the use of numbers
• won’t change from year to year (that is until the next visioning process is undertaken)
• will be incorporated in numerous company documents
• should be shared with employees, customers and prospects.

If you read a variety of books on strategic planning, you’ll find authors offering varying descriptions of these terms; I want you to remember as a small business that you really just need to have one of these statements that expresses what you want your business to become in the long term.  Whether you call it a vision, mission, or statement of purpose is not significant, but creating one is!  The following definitions are based on Barbara Findlay Schenck’s highly recommended book, Small Business Marketing for Dummies. 

A vision is a statement of what your company strives to be in the desired future.  A vision statement uses verbs or action words such as eliminate, make, or find.

A mission is a statement of how to create your vision, i.e. the core purpose of and the approach you’ll take to achieve your vision.  Some experts refer to it as the general path. A mission statement uses verbs and action words such as build, travel or rehabilitate.

A statement of purpose is usually a combination of the vision and mission.  This statement defines your purpose and states your long-range goals and core values.  It might also state the positive changes you are trying to create.

Here are examples:

• Microsoft – to enable people throughout the world to realize their full potential
• 3M - to solve unsolved problems innovatively
• Southwest Airlines – The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.
• Merck - to preserve and improve human life
• Avis - to ensure a stress-free rental experience by providing safe, dependable vehicles and special services designed to win customer loyalty
• Walt Disney - to make people happy
• Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream - A product mission stated as: “To make, distribute & sell the finest quality all natural ice cream & euphoric concoctions with a continued commitment to incorporating wholesome, natural ingredients and promoting business practices that respect the Earth and the Environment.” This mission inspired Ben and Jerry to build a cause-related company.
• Mary Kay Cosmetics - to give unlimited opportunity to women
• Wal-Mart - to give ordinary folk the chance to buy the same thing as rich people

If you’re currently working on your vision, here are a few quick guidelines.
• Define a person or an organization by setting out the basic purpose for being
• State what you value and are trying to accomplish
• Use to inform, motivate or involve
• Incorporate the parent company’s mission into yours if you’re part of a large organization.

If you’d like to share your vision or mission statement, just email it to me at kgbmarketing@hotmail.com.

The second article will focus on the annual process of planning and strategizing for your small business.  The primary terms we’ll discuss are goals, objectives, strategies and tactics.

Colleyville: The Commission meets the second and fourth Monday of each month. The regular session begins at 7:00 p.m., Colleyville City Hall, 100 Main Street.

Grapevine: The Commission meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm, Grapevine City Hall, 200 South Main Street.  Special meetings and workshops are held as needed.
 
Keller: The Commission meets the second and fourth Monday of each month at 7 p.m., Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway.

Southlake: The Commission meets the first and third Thursday, following the first Tuesday, of each month, at 6:30 p.m., Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main Street. 

Trophy Club: The Commission meets the first and third Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m., Svore Municipal Building, 100 Municipal Drive.

Westlake: The Commission meets as needed on the fourth Thursday of each month, at 7 p.m., Westlake Town Hall, 2600 J. T. Ottinger Road.

• Would you like French fries with your burger?
• Do you need a warranty?
• Do you need a printer along with your new PC?
• This belt or these shoes would look great with those slacks!

Up-selling occurs when one suggests a better or more expensive product.  Examples include offering

• a larger size of French fries or shake
• a faster computer
• a golf membership with greater privileges.

These two sales terms are often interchanged with one another, and many on-line articles seem to suggest these strategies are exclusive to Internet sales.  But they’re not as they’ve been around for quite some time!

Let’s take a quick look at the greater Southlake market using the latest data available.1/  In 2005, this market area had 4,563 businesses.

Grapevine

• 1,602 establishments

Southlake

• 1,056 establishments

Keller

• 786 establishments

Colleyville

• 689 establishments

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• 430 establishments

Furthermore, in mid-March 2005, there were 75,438 full and part-time employees of these 4,500 plus businesses.  (The government does not include proprietors and partners of unincorporated businesses.)

Grapevine

• 38,339 employees

Southlake

• 14,246 employees

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• 9,811 employees

Keller

• 7,589 employees

Colleyville

• 5,453 employees

County Business Patterns data also includes annual payroll made by reporting businesses.  In 2005, the annual payroll of the 4,500 plus businesses of the greater Southlake market totaled $2.6 billion which includes all forms of compensation to employees.

Grapevine

• $1.1 billion

Southlake

• $645 million

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• $481 million

Keller

• $219 million

Colleyville

• $164 million

By making a simple calculation, one can also find the average compensation per employee received by employees working in this market.  Note that this statistic is different than the average income per resident as not all employees of businesses in this market reside in the market.  For 2005, the average compensation per employee was $34,668.

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake

• $48,993

Southlake

• $45,260

Colleyville

• $30,068

Grapevine

• $28,870

Keller

• $28,865

One other useful piece of information gathered from the 2005 County Business Patterns data is a breakdown of industries by community.  The top five industries in each of communities of the greater Southlake market follows.

Grapevine (zip codes 76051 and 76099)

• Retail Trade
• Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
• Health Care and Social Assistance
• Transportation and Warehousing
• Accommodation and Food Services

Southlake (zip code 76092)

• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Retail Trade
• Finance and Insurance
• Construction
• Health Care and Social Assistance

Keller (zip codes 76248 and 76244)

• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Construction
• Retail Trade
• Other Services (except Public Administration)
• Health Care and Social Assistance

Colleyville (zip code 76034)

• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Retail Trade
• Other Services (except Public Adminstration)
• Health Care and Social Assistance
• Construction

Roanoke, Trophy Club and Westlake (zip code 76262)

• Construction
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Services
• Retail Trade
• Wholesale Trade
• Finance and Insurance

 1/ The following zip codes are included in this data: 76034, 76051, 76092, 76099, 76244, 76248 and 76262.

By the 1990’s, economies all around the world had dramatically changed over the past sixty years and governments began discussing the need to make changes in their classification systems. The new structure, introduced in 1997, is also a hierarchical system that utilizes six-digit codes with twenty major categories or divisions; it’s called the North American Industry Classification System, or NAICS.  NAICS groups establishments together based on production processes and is compatible up to the five digit level with the systems used by Canada and Mexico.  Additionally, it’s compatible up to the two digit level with the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities of the United Nations.

Now that you know a little about the background, let’s address why a basic understanding of the U.S. business classification system is important for a small business.

First of all, by researching business data using a standardized code, such as the NAICS code, one can find out how many businesses like yours are operating and where they are located.  As an example of a geographically congregated industry, you’re likely to find a high percentage of furniture manufacturers located in North Carolina.  Furthermore, these codes will be helpful in preparing your marketing plan as you need to be able to clearly describe your business, suppliers (if applicable), and competition.  If you operate in the B2B market, you can also use use an industry coding system when describing your target market(s).

Second, one can use this industry data to study trends of past activity to make estimates of what may happen industry-wise in the future.  As an example, if the government had been tracking blacksmiths or manufacturers of buggy whips, one would have noticed a continual decline in these industries.  Two modern examples are the decline we’re seeing in the number of video-rental stores and independent travel agencies.

Third, one can use industry data to compare and contrast basic characteristics within your industry, such as employment (size of business) and full and part-time employment levels.  By visiting www.census.gov you’ll obtain a quick overview of the types of business and industry surveys and reports made available by the U.S. government. 

Fourth, a NAICS code is necessary for a wide range of documents.  Federal and state entities ranging from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the IRS and the Census Bureau will require a business to provide their NAICS code on many of their applications and reports.  Other practical uses include attorneys filing required government documents, banks evaluating loan applications, insurance companies accessing risks and mailing list publishers compiling business data. 

If you’re familiar with the old SIC system given below, you’ll recognize carryover to the new system. The ten categories of the older SIC system are:

1.  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
2. Mining
3. Construction
4. Manufacturing
5. Transportation, Communications and Public Utilities
6. Wholesale Trade
7. Retail Trade
8. Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
9. Services
10. Public Administration 

The twenty categories and the corresponding first level two-digit codes of the newer NAICS system are: 

• 11         Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
• 21         Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction
• 22         Utilities
• 23         Construction
• 31-33    Manufacturing
• 42         Wholesale Trade
• 44-45    Retail Trade
• 48-49    Transportation and Warehousing
• 51         Information
• 52         Finance and Insurance
• 53         Real Estate and Rental and Leasing
• 54         Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
• 55         Management of Companies and Enterprises
• 56         Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services
• 61         Educational Services
• 62         Health Care and Social Assistance
• 71         Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation
• 72         Accommodation and Food Services
• 81         Other Services (except Public Administration)
• 92         Public Administration

For those of you who live in the greater Southlake, Texas area, here are highlights by industry (utilizing NAICS divisions) of businesses in this market as published in the 2005 County Business Patterns.  In 2005, 4,563 establishments were reported in the greater Southlake market based on a compilation of data for the seven zip codes in this market.  Roughly 14.7 percent of all businesses were involved in Retail Trade, 13.5 percent were involved in Professional, Scientific and Technical Services and 9.4 percent were classified in the Health Care and Social Assistance division.

If you would like to learn more about using NAICS codes to make your marketing efforts more profitable, please contact Kate Barlow at KGB Strategic Marketing Solutions. 

The U.S. Census Bureau produces a very useful publication called County Business Patterns that is found online and is FREE! 

This resource provides data on number of establishments, number of employees, annual payroll, and number of establishments by employment size.
 

For an individual business, the significant feature of this data is the industry specific information.   The current series is available by year for 1998 through 2005; thus one can learn how his/her industry has evolved during recent years.

The federal government uses a hierarchical system called NAICS, or North American Industry Classification System, to categorize businesses.

At the first level, there are 20 divisions and each is further subdivided. As an example, category 44-45 includes Retail Trade.

• 448 is Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores
• 4481 is Clothing Stores, and is further subdivided into a six-digit level
• Men’s Clothing (448110), Women’s Clothing (448120), Children’s and Infants (448130), etc.

Representatives from organizations that plan to lend you money or invest in your business require a business plan.  They want to know how much money will be needed and how well you’ve prepared for launching this business.  

The preparation of a business plan will likely force you to analyze items that are unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable such as a realistic estimate of potential income, accounting issues if you don’t have a financial background and marketing issues if you don’t have a marketing background.  One often finds that by having to write plans on paper, we can be better prepared for situations that arise, both negative and positive. 

A marketing plan contains information about your industry, your competitors, and your company’s products, marketing objectives and strategies, as well as how you will measure the success of your marketing activities. It describes all the marketing activities you’ll perform during a specified time period (usually one year). You’ll also include any background information and research results you used to select those marketing activities. Finally, you’ll document the costs associated with your planned marketing activities as well as the measurements you’ll use to determine success.

 Colleyville

• 461 homes sold which is a 6 percent decrease from 2006
• Median price of $450,000 which is 11 percent greater than 2006
• $135 per square foot price
• 60 average days on the market

Grapevine

• 570 homes sold representing a 14% decrease from from 2006
• Median price of $220,000 which is 2 percent higher than 2006
• $103 per square foot price
• 45 average days on the market

Keller

• 921 homes sold which is a 13 percent decline from 2006
• Median price of $284,950 which is an 8 percent increase from 2006
• $107 per square foot price
• 64 average days on the market

Southlake

• 598 homes sold representing a 4 percent decrease from 2006
• Median price of $527,450 which is a 7 percent increase from 2006
• $147 per square foot price
• 71 average days on the market

Westlake

• 193 homes sold for a 18 percent decline from 2006
• Median price of $260,500 which is 11 percent higher than 2006
• $145 per square foot price
• 68 average days on the market

All five communities experienced a decline in home sales and an increase in the median price from 2006.  In total, 11 percent fewer homes were sold. 

• Data for Trophy Club is not available. 
• This information was published in the January 18, 2008 issue of The Dallas Morning News.

Colleyville: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m., at Colleyville City Hall, 100 Main Street. 

Grapevine: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month, 7:30 p.m., at Grapevine City Hall, 200 South Main Street. 

Keller: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month, 7 p.m., at Keller Town Hall, 1100 Bear Creek Parkway. 

Southlake: City Council meets first and third Tuesday of each month at Southlake Town Hall, 1400 Main Street.  Work session begins at 5 p.m. followed by the regular agenda. 

Trophy Club: Town Council meets first and third Monday of each month, 7 p.m., Svore Municipal Building, 100 Municipal Drive. 

Westlake: The Mayor and the Board of Alderman meet the second and fourth Monday of each month, 7 p.m., at Westlake Town Hall, 2600 J. T. Ottinger Road. 

Third, as the printer, you not only control the value of the coupon but also its lifespan.  You get to choose whether the coupon is offering a free product, a percentage discount, a volume discount, or the bearer will be given a gift with his/her purchase.  Fourth, while you can freely give them away or pay to have them distributed, there are endless ways to dispense.  Coupons can be directly mailed in various forms such as postcards or coupon books / decks, or within invoices.  Other options include distributing them within newspapers and magazines or from your website.  Or one may leave them on windshields, front doors, or counters. Lastly, you may attach them to a product of a current sale, i.e. Pizza Hut boxes, or include them within gift bags. 

The fifth reason is that coupons give your business an opportunity to establish alliances with other establishments within your shopping center or with a related product or service provider.  If you’re in the carpet cleaning business, perhaps a window cleaning operation could give away your coupons.  Or, if you’re in the dry cleaning industry, perhaps a shoe repair or small boutique might want to align with you.  And finally, your coupon can be made to look like a miniature version of your print advertisement.  By increasing exposure, prospects and customers are more likely to remember your business as you build familiarity. Plus, according to Jay Conrad Levinson, coupons can make an advertisement up to 26 percent more effective. 

In 2006, $331 billion worth of coupons were distributed and $2.6 billion were redeemed. 

• Overall, in-store coupons garnered the highest redemption rate at 34 percent. 
• Eighty-nine percent of 2006 coupons were distributed through newspapers in some form of an insert, and almost 93 percent of all 2006 coupons were sent directly to the home.
• Two recent trends are shorter expiration dates and lower face value. 
• Source: Donna L. Montaldo on About.com and CMS.com

I want to close this brief article by sharing three useful tips. 

1. First make sure your coupon clearly states all your important contact information such as address, phone number, website, etc.  What good is the coupon if they don’t know where you’re located, can’t call you to find out your hours, or gather information about your specific product lines, service policies or warranty programs?
2. Second, make sure your coupon is coded so you’ll know how and when it was distributed.  This information will be helping in determining the effectiveness of your attempt through tracking.  One coding method is to use a letter for the type of distribution, such as N for newspaper, R for other retailer, and M for mail.  By using numbers, you can track in what month they were distributed.
3. Third, find out if your competitors are using coupons.  You’ll want to know how they distribute their coupons, what discount they’re offering, and how often are they distributed. 

If you would like to learn more about other low cost marketing efforts, please call Kate at 817-488-2761.  Our first hour long consultation is always free. 

I’ve also provided an approximate location and the number of rooms for each establishment.  Within the greater Southlake market (Colleyville, Grapevine, Keller, Southlake Trophy Club and Westlake), the total number of hotel rooms exceeds 3700.  To my knowledge, there are no hotels, motels, bed and breakfasts or extended stay hotels in either Colleyville or Keller.

Grapevine

Amerisuites DFW Airport North

• across from Grapevine Mills Mall
• 125 rooms

Baymont Inn & Suites

• north of SH 114 / SH 121, east of Main Street
• 101 rooms

Comfort Suites

• east side of SH 121, north of I-635
• 96 rooms

Embassy Suites Outdoor World

• west side of SH 121, north of I-635 and adjacent to Bass Pro Shops
• 329 rooms

Fairfield Inn & Suites

• east side of SH 121, north of I-635
• 73 rooms

Gaylord Texas Resort & Convention Center

• north side of SH 26, west of Grapevine Mills Mall
• 1511 rooms

Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center

• north side of SH 26, west of Grapevine Mills Mall
• 393 rooms

Holiday Inn Express Hotel

• south side of SH 114 / SH 121, west of Main Street
• 95 rooms

Homewood Suites

• across from Grapevine Mills Mall
• 105 rooms

Residence Inn by Marriott

• south side of SH 26, close to Bass Pro Shops
• 133 rooms

Springhill Suites by Marriott

• across from Grapevine Mills Mall
• 111 rooms

Super 8 DFW Airport North

• south side of SH 114 / SH 121, east of Main Street
• 100 rooms

Southlake

 Hilton

•  within Southlake Town Square, close to Barnes & Noble and Harkins Theatre

• 248 rooms 

Trophy Club

Value Place Extended Stay Hotel

• north side of SH 114
• 121 rooms
• does not offer any type of meeting or conference space

Westlake 

Marriott Solana

• south side of SH 114, off Kirkwood Boulevard
• 198 rooms and undergoing expansion 

Brokers by Zip Code

• 76051/76099 (Grapevine), 93 

• 76248/76244 (Keller), 62

• 76092 (Southlake), 102

• 76034 (Colleyville), 94

• 76262 (Roanoke, Trophy Club, Westlake), 47 

Agents by Zip Code

• 76051/76099, 304
• 76248/76244, 105
• 76092, 793
• 76034, 197
• 76262, 46

When you add 2008 population into the equation, here are the number of residents per agent by zip code. 

• 76051/76099, 150
• 76248/76244, 359
• 76092, 32
• 76034, 112
• 76262, 303 

Goals and priorities for niche marketing may include:

1. Completing more transactions
2. Generating more referrals
3. Increasing cooperation with allies
4. Combining marketing tools
5. Placing greater focus on details such as devising highly personalized messages and polishing your marketing script/message
6. Making greater use of your database.

Three general steps in creating a niche are:                                         

1.  Studying your business’ strengths
2.  Identifying market segments benefiting from your product, service or expertise
3. Developing strategies to reach them based on identified characteristics. 

One example is the highly competitive local real estate market.  As examples, a realtor might have a niche based on geographic area,  housing type, stage of life, or housing value.

Take the time to look at businesses within your industry but located outside your geographic area for ideas!

If you need more information about niche marketing, please contact me at your earliest convenience.  The initial consulation is always free unless we address a specific project.  I can be reached at 817-488-2761 or via email: kgbmarketing11@verizon.net.

Here’s information on the four public libraries in the greater Southlake, Texas area.   Phone numbers and website addresses are listed so you may obtain hours and ask questions about specific resources for which you’re searching.  

Colleyville Public Library

• 110 Main Street, next to City hall
• Hours vary by day and closed on Sunday
• 817-503-1150
• www.colleyville.com

 Grapevine Public Library

• 1201 Muncipal Way, off Main Street, north of S.H. 114
• Hours vary by day but open seven days/week
• 817-410-3400
• www.grapevine.lib.tx.us

 Keller Public Library

• 640 Johnson Road, which is north of FM 1709
• Hours vary by day but open seven days/week
• 817-431-9011
• www.kellerlib.org

Southlake Public Library

• 1400 Main Street, located in Town Hall within Southlake Town Square
• Hours vary by day and closed on Sunday
• 817-748-8243
• www.ci.southlake.tx.us

If you would like a local professional to help out in a minor or major role with this necessary research, contact Kate at 817-488-2761 or kgbmarketing@hotmail.com

Thus from this comparative analysis, you’ll want to develop marketing messages that incorporate those items that personally mean the most to your customers and prospects.  Remember that your customers are bombarded with hundreds, if not thousands of marketing messages each day.  By applying this strategy, your message is more likely to reach them and/or tug at them in an emotional manner. 

So to get started, let’s examine features, advantages and benefits.  A feature is a statement of fact about some aspect, element, or prominent part or characteristic of a product or service.  Features can often be the technical jargon your industry uses on a daily basis, but the end user may not understand or relate to such terms as GHz or network interface card. 

An advantage helps the customer or user in a specific manner, i.e., something the feature provides or delivers to the user.  An advantage can also describe how the product or service is better than an alternative feature, and/or a feature offered by the competition.   

A benefit is what the consumer or user gains from the feature and/or your product.  For many products, start by thinking of the problem or problems your product or service solves.  The benefit is what you want to offer and sell to your customers and prospects.  As stated above, customers are primarily concerned about themselves and want to know how a product benefits them.  In an on-line article by Laura Clampitt Douglas, the author recommends thinking of benefits as the end “result” for the customer.  So if you prefer, interchange the terms benefits and results. 

Research indicates the following are some of the primary benefits sought by a purchaser.

1. Improve quality of life / save time / life made easier / high reliability
2. Save money
3. Save lives / safety concerns
4. Improve health and well being
5. Improve one’s status – wealth / appearance

After you develop your message, always remember to test it.  Ask non-vested people or some of your customers for their feedback.  And don’t be surprised if women have a longer list of benefits since they tend to seek a solution to a greater number of needs and wants.   

I thought it would be helpful to provide some examples to start your creative process.  Codes are “F” for feature, “A” for advantage and “B” for benefit/result. 

F: four wheel anti-lock brakes

• A: help the car stop faster
• A: safer than the competition’s car
• B: save the consumer’s life 

F: non-stop airline service

• A: gets the passenger to his/her destination faster (compared to a one or two stop itinerary)
• B: save the consumer’s time 

F: wireless mouse

• A: less wiring and fewer cords on top of desk so it’s clearer
• B: customer can be more organized and effective 

F: clothes soap with more cleaning power

• A: clothes get cleaner
• A: improve your appearance
• B: customer may feel and look better 

F: over-the-counter cold medication

• A: purchase without a prescription
• A: stop a runny nose
• A: relieve congestion
• B: improve customer’s health and/or she/he feels better faster 

F: accepting credit cards

• A: no need to have cash at time of purchase
• B: customer convenience 

F: feature, advantage, benefit analysis

• A: makes one sit down and truly think of the benefits from the customer’s perspective
• A: develop more effective marketing messages
• B: improve the return on your advertising    

If you would like more information about this strategy, contact Kate at 817-488-2761 or kate1.kgbmarketing@verizon.net 

 Greater Keller Women’s Club

• founded 1989
• primary goals are community service and fund raising
• hosts annual Fashion Show and a variety of on-going social/networking activities for members
• www.gkwc.org 

Colleyville Woman’s Club

• founded 1981
• holds annual Fashion Show and Holiday Homes tour for their fundraisers
• has monthly meetings September through May
•  www.c-w-c.org 

Grapevine Chamber Women’s Division

• hosts numerous special projects and activities that benefit the community and beyond
• active for at least 33 years!
• www.grapevinechamber-womensdiv.com

 Greater Grapevine Newcomers Club

• primarily a social group
• Contact 817-488-8949

 Greater Southlake Women’s Society

• founded 1997
• supports numerous local philanthropic causes and events throughout the area
• holds annual art auction and annual blood drive
• www.southlake-gsws.org 

Southlake Newcomers Club

• sponsors annual Holiday Home Tour and Auction
• www.southlakenewcomers.com

 Southlake Women’s Club

• founded 1985
• sponsors two major fundraising events, Art In The Square and the annual School Supply sale
• hosts annual Valentine Luncheon for local senior citizens
• www.southlakewomensclub.org

 Trophy Club Women’s Club

• founded 1981
• sponsors annual garage sale, golf tournament and progressive dinner
• www.tcwc.info

 If you would like more specific information about marketing to women, please contact Kate at 817-488-2761 or kate1.kgbmarketing@verizon.net  I would love to meet with you!

Martha Barletta, author of Marketing to Women, does an excellent job in describing the differences between male and female consumers. The following summary highlights three main points made in her book, and will likely make many women smile! 

 If women frequently shop in your store, use your services, or buy your products on-line, why should you consider taking a different approach when marketing to women? 

 1. Women have a different purchasing process than men

· They consider more factors and generally do more research

2. Women have different attitudes,  priorities and (often) responsibilities than men

· They are more likely to bounce ideas off others, generally favor “we” over an “I” attitude, and want everyone to get ahead

3. Women have different responses to marketing messages than men

· They prefer realistic people in ads, respond to emotion and human situations, rely on word of mouth so if a product works for someone else, it’s likely to work for her situation 

On the flip side, this popular type of qualitative research can be very subjective as findings are not representative of the full market segment and conclusions vary based on the perspective of what department (sales, operations, customer service, accounting, etc.) is viewing the discussion.  

Focus groups are best at providing help with identifying major issues, problems, and a range of desirable services and features.    One can gain in-depth personal information on customer attitudes, perceptions, behavior, lifestyles, needs and desires in a creative format.  In particular, focus groups can help with examining a new product concept or how to possibly advertise it, explore the criteria consumers may use to make purchasing decisions, or generate terminology for developing a questionnaire. 

The format can be flexible enough to allow delving into a particular response on the spot.  Participants can use their own words to answer questions versus a pre-determined list on a written survey.  A real world example occurs when attorneys use focus groups to gain insight into how people speak, think and feel about specific topics. 

Experts recommend a group size of six to twelve participants.  If you have a very opinionated group such as executives or a shy group of teenagers, consider reducing the group size to four to six.  One highly vocal participant can dominate the discussion and influence responses from others no matter the size; thus certain group and meeting management skills are essential! 

This type of research compliments quantitative research, such as written surveys that are number/statistic driven.

 Some standard “nuts and bolts” about consumer based focus groups include:

• Plan on recruiting (external sources can help) and compensating participants who are targeted for certain characteristics (gender, age, occupations, hobbies/interests, etc.)
• allow a minimum of one hour for each session with two hours usually the maximum
• prepare to hold a minimum of three focus groups per target market segment, such as three involving men, three involving women, and three for each age segment
• tape each session to allow