Business

Who Can Make The Keys When You Are Away?

What’s that have to do with growing your business? Well quite a bit after you hear my little story.

I was in need of an extra key for our house, so I went to the local hardware in my little town. Now let me paint you a picture, I live in a “mayberry” town without Floyd the Barber. It’s just a small little place, but we love it here and most folks are either related or go to church with you. So it’s one big family. But back to the story…

I walked into the hardware and spoke to the sales person at the counter whom I have chatted with many times. I said, “I need a key made.” She told me that the owner was the only person that could make keys and he wouldn’t be in until the afternoon, but to try down at the drug store.

So I got back into my car and drove less than a quarter of a mile to the drug store, where I was greeted by a cute little blond girl and I said to her, “I would like to get a key made please.” She smiled sweetly and said, “The lady that makes the keys is on vacation for the summer.” The Summer!!!

So I just started laughing and got back in my car and went to the local Wal-mart to have the key made.

This is a very funny story, but not so funny if it is happening to your business. When you are away, who is making the keys? Do you have an assistant that can take care of “anything” that comes along? Or are you the type of business owner that must do everything themselves? Do you realize how much business you are loosing when you are away and nobody else is trained to make the keys?

Whether you are a brick and mortar business or an online business owner, you must build a team of trusted and trained individuals that will be there when you can’t be to keep the company going. You can use a virtual assistant, an online business manager or a social media manager to help run your business. Or you can use part-time interns from the local college to make sure all the keys are made in your shop and not at the nearest big giant shopping center.

Isn’t it time to evaluate your business and focus on its growth instead of keeping all the trade secrets to yourself? But without a trained key-maker, you will be just another stop on the way to getting a key made.

Is Direct Mail A Thing Of The Past?

In years gone by, direct mailers were the premier form of business to business and business to consumer advertising. Direct mail consists of flyers, newsletters featuring advertisements, and coupons mailed directly to the consumer’s home. This required businesses to investigate all kinds of shipping services, gather quotes, and compare shipping companies. While this is still a valuable resource for targeted markets, people seem far more interested in exploring online technology and viral marketing and advertising options.

With the advancement of technology, the Internet has given small and large businesses alike a nearly equal playing field. Though not completely dead and forgotten, direct mailers as advertisement has taken a backseat to the more popular and effective advertisement forms the Internet has made available.

Businesses today all have the opportunity to use the web and social media to promote their services. High tech or ecommerce businesses, for example, would benefit more from using the Internet opposed to using direct mail due to its global potential of customers. Blog articles, appealing websites offering online discounts, Internet printable coupons, and savings offered on social media sites have allowed businesses to reach out to a broader base of consumers.

Due to the rapid advertising the Internet provides, businesses no longer have to wait for consumers to receive direct mailers and then wait for them to respond. The Internet has given businesses a prime opportunity to reach out to customers through social media sites and email advertisements the same day the company is having a special sale or savings offer.

Business owners additionally have a chance to email, share, or tweet to thousands of potential customers and essentially recruit new customers or encourage them to look at and contact your company.

Long term success for any business in today’s world generally means participating in some sort of Internet advertisement and campaigning. Inexpensive advertisement can be readily had through the Internet and creative and optimized websites. A company that is diligent about advertising on the Internet as well as knowing when to use direct mailers will have far more success than a company who relies on only one method for their primary form of marketing and advertising to the public.