Put Service Before Sales and Master the Secret of Underdog Marketing

The Community News and Information roundup is here again. Taking the pulse of the online small business community, we look at the concept of putting service before sales and the secret of underdog marketing.

Service Should Come Before Sales. (Proforma Blog)

It goes without saying that when you visit a customer, especially for the first time, you’re looking for a sale. But perhaps you should be looking for ways to provide customer service from the beginning too, says Gina Zahran. Take the time to learn what your customer really needs and whether your product will fill that need.

Underdog Marketing Has Its Advantages (Capture Commerce)

One of the challenges of being a small business, especially a new one, is that many of your competitors are already entrenched in the market. And they have customers already using their products and services. So it’s pretty ironic that this can also be one of your advantages too. Tom Shivers discusses the definition of an underdog with the BizSugar community.

Email Marketing Remains a Key Technique (High Road)

There’s a reason Kent Garner asks the question. That’s because email continues to be the “workhorse” of online marketing. So unless you’re collecting customer email addresses and are fully maximizing this resource, you’re missing an important component.

Make Sure Your Advertising is Delivering Its Message. (Neuromarketing)

To this neuroscientist, advertising is more than a persuasive art. Its effectiveness can be measured right down to the length of the message. Important components including grabbing the audiences attention, engaging them emotionally, and giving them something to remember.

There’s a Reason Your Team Doesn’t Like Meetings (SmallBizDay)

Sure it could be the fact that you don’t have a more effective agenda. And it could also be the fact that they aren’t as productive as you’d like them to be. But the real reason could be a great deal simpler. And it has to do with a quality you’d welcome from your people under different circumstances.

Perhaps You Need a Project Manager. (Young Upstarts)

There are obviously qualities a project manager can bring your organization that won’t be available otherwise. So once you”ve decided you need this person on your team, veteran project manager Russell Harley makes these suggestions about to find the right one. As with anything, Harley says, you must start by deciding what you need.

It Starts With a Strong Brand. (Success Center for Entrepreneurs)

Business need a story, an explanation of who they are and where they come from. Here Randall Hampton explores just how brands are made. It’s an important thing for your small business to consider, especially if your just starting out. Do you have a strong brand? And what does it tell your customers about you?

Marketing Is the New Journalism. (ThursdayBram.com)

Advocacy journalism is a radical departure in the way the news has been covered up until now. It can refer to the work of activists, say, in support of a cause they feel to be just. But just as easily, it could serve your brand’s purposes. Bram discusses the implications of this new approach to journalism with members of the BizSugar community.

Now it’s your turn. Email us with your suggestions for coverage at sbtips@gmail.com. Or share your news on BizSugar.com. It’s the small business community we visit most often to find the freshest and most authentic small business voices.

Tablet readers catch up from anywhere image via shutterstock

Keep Kitty Out of Your Workspace with CATable

If you have a home-based office, you likely have to deal with a lot of distractions. One of those distractions may very well be your cat. From demanding belly rubs to planting themselves squarely in the middle of your keyboard, it can be awfully difficult to get any work done with a restless kitty around.

That’s why Ruan Hao of Hong Kong’s LYCS Architecture created the CATable. The CATable is a desk that features a flat top with a series of kitten-sized cubbyholes below.

The idea behind the desk is that it should keep your cat more interested in crawling through the lower level than walking through the middle of your workspace or sitting on your laptop.

The designer explained a bit about the idea behind CATable on the company’s website:

“Their curiosity would be greatly satisfied through repetitively exploring the unknown path behind the hole… It is a table for us and a paradise for cats.”

Of course, cat owners want to keep their cats happy. But as more and more entrepreneurs start businesses that allow them to work from home, entertaining feline friends yourself isn’t always feasible without sacrificing productivity.

There are already tons of products available for your cat’s climbing needs, from cat trees to shelves, various cat furniture and even kitty condos. But one of the aspects of the CATable that could appeal to cat owners is that it offers the opportunity to keep your cat nearby while you work.

Small business owners often work long hours and don’t always have the time to separate work and home life. So a piece of furniture like this has the potential to help you get more done while still spending quality time with your pets.

The desk was recently displayed during Milan Design Week and there is no telling yet when it might be available for sale. But it does show one way in which designers are beginning to think about work-life balance â€" including for home-based business owners.

Images: Lycs Architecture

The Small Business Book Awards Judges are Passionate Business Bookworms!

As voting has now begun for the 2014 Small Business Book Awards, our dedicated panel of judges will be assessing the 100+ entries and choosing the best in each category. I thought it would be fun to do a little Q&A with some of our judges to get to know them.

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What was the trigger that launched you into being a small business owner?

Robert Brady,  Head PPC Wizard at Righteous Marketing:

I was working for an Internet marketing agency, but I was the only guy doing paid search. That meant that I went on sales calls, negotiated rates, sent reports, communicated with the client and did all the work. I realized that doing it for myself really wasn’t much different than what I was doing so I took the leap.

Martin Lindeskog, Owner of Egoist International Business:

The trigger came in the late 1980′s, during an one-year advanced study program after high school. The program was a theoretical and practical program in small entrepreneurship. We as students started, developed, and closed a company together during the school year. Our school company became an authorized dealer for dry flowers and plants. I started my first trading company together with my younger brother around the same time. We had the “big” company name, Swedish Important Import, and we imported computer peripherals, e.g., 3.5″ floppy disks.

Kimberly Crossland, Owner of The Savvy Copywriter:

I worked for a startup and loved the culture, the excitement, and the energy in the company - so much so in fact that I decided to branch out on my own and start my own thing. Startups have this unique way of focusing more on the actual value they deliver. It’s something that big brands can’t do as well.

Tell me about a time when you used a business book to solve a problem â€" and what were the results?

Daria Steigman, Founder of Steigman Communications:

I’m always looking for takeaways in business books, whether it’s big ideas that make me think or actionable takeaways I can implement either now or later. But rarely does a business book come in as handy as David Garland’s Smarter, Faster, Cheaper.

I was reading a review copy around the time of one of my website redesigns when I came across a bulleted list of things to consider in addition to content. One of the bullets: “It is clear how users can contact me? Do I tell them the best way to reach me is? E-mail? Phone?…”

I was so focused on making sure I was getting my shiny social media icons on my new site that I’d forgotten to include email and telephone information front and center. Fortunately, the site wasn’t yet live.

Scott Wolfe, Jr., CEO of Zlien: 

Our organization absolutely loves the book Switch, by Chip and Dan Heath.  Here’s the deal â€" our company, like many companies, has customers who use our product (i.e. our technology platform).  That requires folks within our customer’s organizations to “buy in” to the platform’s abilities, and then for the end users to “buy in.”  This frequently requires organizations to change how they think about the problem we solve…or Switch.  The Chip & Dan Heath book really analyzes the why and human elements behind change management challenges, and we have literally modeled our onboarding and account management theories behind the principles in this book.  The results have been very good. We feel like our customers are more successful at using our platform as a result.

Carla Jenkins, Program Analyst, Federal Government:

I read The E-Myth while in graduate school and it crystallized the difference between a business owner and an employee who is just good at their job.

Steve Sipress, Publisher of Money-Making Magazine and RhinoDaily:

I often recommend a business book for one my clients to read and take action on to solve a specific problem he or she is having.  When my client does so, the results are almost always excellent.

What’s the last business book you read, and what did you learn from it?

Robert Brady:

7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and every time I read it, I’m empowered by the concepts of responsibility and accountability.

Martin Lindeskog:

The latest business book I read was Marketing Judo: Building Your Business Using Brains Not Budget by John Barnes & Richard Richardson. I got a Eureka moment and started a new blog, EGO Dojo. I learned that it is time to focus more on defense in a gentle way, rather than hard attack (read: hard selling).

Christina Bouza, Cofounder & Director of Content for CJ Creative Solutions:

The last book I read, and am still reading is,The Focused Business by Dave Crenshaw.  I enjoy the author’s language, tone, and honesty.  I learned that there is a lot more to be wary of as an entrepreneur when building a team.  I’ve gained some good insight here about certain characteristics of employees that can bring you down and how to combat unproductive habits from the start.

If you could be any business author, who would it be, and why?

Brian Smith, Senior Managing Partner of Individual Advantages:

David Avrin.  I find his way of writing to be down to earth and easy to understand.  I also find his approach toward personal interaction to be refreshing and honest.  He has always been approachable and offers himself without violating his set of ethics or his position as an author, speaker and coach.

Carla Jenkins:

Adrienne Graham. Her No, You Can’t Pick My Brain…It Costs Too Much is a classic for anyone who has been approached by someone to do something for free.

Kimberly Crossland:

I would be Dale Carnegie. I love his approach to winning people’s trust, and I love how he uses self-less communication tactics to skyrocket his own success.

Why are you excited about being a Judge for Book Awards?

Christina Bouza:

I am excited about being a judge for the 2014 Small Biz Book Awards because judging is something I have always loved and my immediate focus on reading as many business books on marketing, social media and management [as possible], is at the forefront of my list of priorities as a new business owner.  The opportunity to gain insight through shared reviews, new book introductions and networking with like-minded professionals is why I am delighted to be a part of the team of judges.

Daria Steigman:

There are so many books out there that it can be a challenge weeding through the clutter to find the gems. I’ve been a fan of the Book Awards for some time, and have relied on them to help me identify a few new books each year I might have missed but ought to read. So when the chance arose to help identify those gems for other members of the Small Business Trends community, I jumped at it.

Steve Sipress:

I love reading books on marketing, and business in general.  I hope that my participation as a Judge helps inspire entrepreneurs and small business owners to read more business books themselves.  I have my own saying:  “Lifetime Learners Are Lifetime Earners.”

Book Photo via Shutterstock