The More You Give…The More You Get (Part One)
By Carolyn West-Price Touhey

If you had a choice between giving your business to a local company, owned by local
folks who are active in the community, versus a corporate chain based somewhere across
the country, which would you choose?

Now turn the tables. If you’re the business owner of a local company, what are you
doing to tout the fact that you are locally owned and managed…and what do you do to
give back to the community?

There is huge opportunity to get involved and give back without breaking the bank or
overwhelming your calendar with committee meetings. And, it is fine to acknowledge
that “giving” is part of your marketing strategy, recognizing the fact that businesses
which give back to the community create awareness and goodwill, which turns into
business on the bottomline.

Remember, you don’t have to limit your community involvement to participation in
planned events or just writing a check to be listed among a group of supporters or
sponsors. Think creatively.

First, decide if your “giving” is ongoing or occasional. Then, choose a cause or group(s)
that is of interest to you personally so your involvement will be more rewarding to you.

If you are considering several non-profit groups, you should also consider which groups
or causes are of interest to your customers, prospects, and referral sources—putting you
in front of them as a business owner who shares a common interest in the cause that is
important to them.

Recently, a coach of the girl’s basketball team was lamenting that the girls did not raise
enough funds to go to a tournament. Thinking outside the box with a local business
owner, the girls did yard work in exchange for donations. The coach and business
owner decided the value of the work, the girls and coach arrive and do the work, and a
check is written to the team.

To put a nice bow around it, and maximize the public relations value of the effort, the
photo of the team was sent to the local paper with a press release that made the team, the
coach (who owns a local pub) and the business (who made the donation) look good.

The coach also posted the 8x 10 glossy in his pub so customers can see his involvement
in the community for months and years to come, and it is a spotlight on his website.
What a win-win on a grassroots level.

The key, of course, is to making “giving back” work and to not be embarrassed to toot
your own horn and to ask for something in return for the donation or service.

Carolyn West-Price Touhey is an award-winning marketing consultant and lecturer
who specializes in small-to-medium businesses and non-profits. She can be reached at
MakeAnImpact@SmartBizStrategy.com.

Give To Get…PART TWO

In last month’s column, creating awareness and goodwill for your business through
community giving was discussed as a viable part of a company marketing plan,
applicable to companies big and small.

Understanding that writing a check is only one way to support a charity, it is
recommended that a business owner get more creative so the “giving” is newsworthy for
the added bonus of the publicity that creates awareness and goodwill.
When giving is seen as a marketing tool, it is important for you and the non-profit to
agree that exposure is beneficial to you both, and that you will work together to “toot
your own horn” and to make it a win-win.

In addition to issuing joint press releases or creating media events, such a oversized
check presentations and other “photo opps,” ask to be included with a photo in the
organization’s newsletter, on their website; put the charity work/photo on your own
website and in your own newsletter.

Put photos and letters in your lobby that spot-light your efforts. Ask for signage at
the non-profits’ events, and also a chance for them to send your marketing material or a
special offer to the charity’s database, etc.

Other non-cash ways to support organizations in your community (and excuses for
building goodwill into your marketing) include:
*organizing fund raising promotions (they sell a book of coupons to your place for a flat
fee, you agree to honor the coupons, and they keep the proceeds of sales);
*donate a percentage of sales on a given day/week/month to a particular non-profit
group of your designation;
*charge modest admission fees to seminars or events you’re hosting during the year, and
then donate them in a lump sum (do an oversized check for a good photo opp)
*fund a scholarship
*make in-kind donations for services they need (signs, writing assistance, food, etc.)
*address the wish list “gifts”–many non-profits have a wish list for various items,
ranging from computers to staplers, folders, etc. Just ask!)
*donate to auctions (great for the “mini billboard effect” on the tables for all who attend
*volunteer service on a committee or Board of Directors….

As you can see, you have nothing to lose by asking how an organization interested in
your support can work with you to make giving a win-win. Remember, creativity is
the limit to what you can do together, and the rewards of the generosity will translate to
goodwill on the bottomline for years to come.

Carolyn West-Price Touhey is an award-winning marketing consultant and lecturer
who specializes in small-to-medium businesses and non-profits. She can be reached at
MakeAnImpact@SmartBizStrategy.com.

Create Goodwill And Prosper
By Carolyn Touhey

If you had a choice between giving your business to a local company, owned by local
folks who are active in the community, versus a corporate chain with customer service
representatives in call centers in some other city, which would you choose?

Assuming the prices at the locally owned business are not significantly higher than the
chain, and the convenience of doing business with the local folks (hours, location) are
at least comparable, you will probably choose the local folks. It just makes most people
feel better to do business with a “neighbor” rather than contributing to the paychecks of
corporate executives in fancy offices in some other community.

Given that choice, now you have another one. Would you prefer to do business with a
local company that is active in the community–giving time, services, or donations to the
community–or one that just runs ads with no real involvement in the local business or
consumer community?

Again, if you’re like most people, you’d rather spend your money with those who give
back than those who just take, take, take.

Now turn the tables. As the business owner of a local company, what are you doing to
tout the fact that you are locally owned and managed (especially if your company could
be mistaken for a chain, such as a franchise operation)…and what do you do to give back
to the community?

There is huge opportunity to get involved and give back without breaking the bank or
overwhelming your calendar with committee meetings.

First, decide if your “giving” is ongoing or occasional. Then, choose a cause or group
that is of interest to you personally so your involvement will be more rewarding to you.
If you are considering several non-profit groups, you should also consider which groups
or causes are of interest to your customers, prospects, and referral sources—putting you
in front of them as a business owner who shares a common interest in the cause that is
important to them.

Also, you don’t have to limit your community involvement to just writing a check or
participation in planned events (fancy dinner-auction events, for instance) so you can be
listed among a group of supporters or sponsors in an ad or program book.

Think creatively.

One day when the coach of a local girl’s basketball team was lamenting that the girls did
not raise enough funds to go to a tournament, so I suggested the girls to do yard work in
exchange for donations. To test the premise, Two Eagles was the first to “hire” the team.

The coach decided the value of the work, the girls did the work, and a check was written
to the team, which allowed them to go to the tournament they couldn’t afford a week
earlier.

To put a nice bow around it, and maximize the public relations value of the effort, the
photo of the team was sent to the local paper with a press release that made the coach
(who owns a local pub) look good. The girls loved the exposure, and Two Eagles Lodge
got mentioned as well. The coach also posted the 8x 10 glossy in his pub so customers
can see his involvement in the community for months and years to come, and it is a
spotlight on his website. What a win-win on a grassroots level.

The key, of course, to making “giving back” work is to not be embarrassed to toot your
own horn and to ask for something in return for the donation or service.

For instance, ask to be included with a photo in the organization’s newsletter, on their
website; put the charity work/photo on your own website and in your own newsletter.
Put something in your lobby that spot lights your efforts. And, don’t be afraid to send
a press release to local media to announce the cooperative efforts. Ask for signage at
an event, a chance for them to send your marketing material or a special offer to the
charity’s database, etc.

Other non-cash ways to support organizations in the community include:
*create fund raising promotions (they sell a book of coupons to your place for a flat fee,
you agree to honor the coupons, and they keep the proceeds of sales);
*promote you are donating a percentage of sales on a given day/week/month go to a
particular non-profit group of your designation (assuming they’ll promote this to their
database of supporters, in the non-profit’s newsletter, etc.);
*charge modest admission fees to seminars or events you’re hosting during the year, and
then donate them in a lump sum (do an oversized check for a good photo opp)
*create a scholarship
*provide in-kind donations for services they need (signs, writing assistance, food, etc.)
*research and offer “wish list gifts”–many non-profits have a wish list for various items,
ranging from computers to staplers, folders, etc. Just ask!)
*donate to silent auctions
*volunteer service on a committee or Board of Directors….

As you can see, you have nothing to lose by thinking beyond the obvious for supporting
non-profits so you can make it a win-win for everybody. Remember, creativity is the
limit to what you can do together, and the rewards of the goodwill will impact your
bottom line many times over. The key, however, is to tastefully let people know you do
these good deeds, since goodwill is not created in a vacuum.

Carolyn West Price is founder of SmartBiz Strategy. She can be reached at 250-335-
2342 or www.SmartBizStrategy.com.

Customer Experiences Should Teach Us All
By Carolyn West-Price Touhey

Not a day goes by that I am not amazed by how companies can remain in business with
such poor customer service. These companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars
on marketing to become household names, and many spend time and energy training their
employees on the right way to greet clients and service clients. But, very few seem to invest any training in good service, post-sale follow-up or problem solving. Yet, we all know a dissatisfied customer will most definitely spend energy and time telling many others about the horrible experience.

So, what is the call to action for all of us business owners, based on our awareness of the
impact of word-of-mouth marketing? It’s getting customer talking for the right reasons,
rather than giving them something to complain about.

Here are a few tips to get you started.

*Walk in the customer’s shoes. Start with the basics– call in one day and see how your
call is handled. Ask for some assistance or information. Evaluate how it’s handled.
Email through your website for more information. How fast is the response? How
professional? (By the way, what do you do with those leads?)

If your company is small and you will be recognized, get a trusted friend to do this for
you and ask for complete candor in his or her evaluation. Hire a mystery shopper if you
are really serious.

*Evaluate your attrition. Do customers come back after making a switch from your
service for some reason and then find they are disappointed so they come back? If
you lose a lot of customers after their first or second encounter with your company,
start trouble-shooting by asking for their feedback. Just as companies often interview
employees who resign, you can interview customers. At least they’ll know you care.

*Examine your problem-resolution policy. Do you offer a satisfaction guarantee? If
so, that is often a marketing advantage, since it takes the risk of buying from you out of
the evaluation process. If you don’t, then consider it. Additionally, mystery shop this
process as well. This is where many companies fall apart.

One common way to resolve a situation is to not charge the unhappy customer, as with a
meal at a restaurant. Yet, would it not prove better in the long-run to give that customer
a gift certificate for a return visit so you can demonstrate your product/service on a
different occasion. If you just write-off the meal, they may be content, but likely to not
come back. If you give them a gift to come back, perhaps you win them back as a loyal
patron.