Blogging for many business owners is a new experience (and maybe a little intimidating). Aside from those tech-savvy individuals who are riding the cutting edge of such resources as blogs, wikis and podcasts, these relatively new internet tools require a learning curve and I thought it was time to help get you comfortable. There is a growing buzz around blogging and for good reason. It is changing the way that we communicate and represents a powerful and affordable business tool.

Many of my associates generate newsletters which can be very effective communication and marketing tools but they take time to compile & create and commonly come out monthly or quarterly which is a long time for a follower to wait when you are hungry for information. Today, producing a newsletter is also concerning from a cost perspective for printing and mailing as well as the environmental impact although you can use internet distribution to overcome those concerns.

A blog allows you to “read and react” on a daily basis to timely events and issues in your industry and given the size of a typical post, most everyone has five minutes to check it out and respond.

Respond? Yeah, a blog is interactive. For example, my Business Strategy Workshop blog allows you to respond to each individual post as you choose, to provide your thoughts on the topic, to ask questions and to contribute to the quality of the message.

Blogging is a great way to market yourself and your expertise… and you don’t have to have your own blog site! When commenting to posts on other people’s blog sites you can include your own web site address and email address to channel visitors back to you! How sweet is that?

A blog gives you the flexibility to communicate whenever you want and you can do it in a more palatable manner rather than overwhelming readers with pages of information in one sitting.

Eight Great Ways to Improve your Blog Experience
1. Recognize the kind of information that you need personally and professionally on a continuing basis.
2. Begin the process of searching (Googling) for blog sites that provide that kind of information and bookmark them.
3. Don’t just be a blog reader. Respond to the blogs you read with your own thoughts and comments on the topics posted.
4. Carefully choose the content of how you respond because it will be moderated and posted for all to see.
5. Provide your email and web address so readers from that site can contact you directly.
6. Become a regular contributor to build recognition and establish trust.
7. When you find a blog site that you really relate to and would like a continuous feed, you can subscribe for free. Subscribing ensures that you receive each new post from that favourite site either by email or by RSS - which actually stands for Really Simple Syndication!
This can be done by clicking the “Subscribe” link (like the one on my Home Page), following the simple instructions and then waiting for the next post.
8. As you get comfortable you might want to consider setting up your own blog. My blog designer, Paul Young from Skybound.ca will be happy to help.

So make the commitment to get involved in blogging and take your accessibility, communication and learning to the next level. It’s all a part of positioning yourself to succeed using today’s technology.

For more background information on using blogs as a communication tool or starting one of your own, check out my articles: “Blogs, Wikis & Podcasts” and “www.greatwebsites.go” both found here on my website… Larry

Uniqueness always provides your competitive advantage. It’s what separates us from the competition! Identifying what sets you apart from all of the other businesses out there that offer similar products or services is a major step in attracting & retaining customers and achieving the success that you know deep down to be so deserving.

From a forensic perspective, DNA contains the genetic information that allows all modern living things to function, grow and reproduce – just what you had in mind for your business! It contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms (ie: your business).

The main role of DNA molecules is the long-term storage of information (similar to your hard drive). DNA is often compared to a set of blueprints (ie: Business Plan), since it contains the instructions needed to construct other components of cells (diversity, productivity, innovation & expansion).

While there is no “spit test” involved in determining your Business DNA (as far as I know), it can indeed be determined through the aggressive pursuit of the following areas to help you grow & replicate your business and position you to stand above your competition:

1. On-going research
2. Building strong professional relationships
3. Studying & analyzing your competition
4. Being actively involved in your industry
5. An unwavering commitment to continuous learning
6. Keeping a close watch on trends

For further ideas on developing a successful, competitive business, check out my articles: “Mapping your Success” and “Competition, You Can’t Be Successful Without It” both found here on my website… Larry

Far too often good people are promoted to a management position that leaves them outside of their area of expertise and their comfort zone only to find their performance and attitude slide dramatically.
Management is a whole different profession from the technical work that a company provides and in order for a new manager to be successful they need training and guidance.

Have you ever wondered why few top professional athletes become successful coaches?

Because the players are the “technicians” who instinctively know how to do the job but as a coach (or manager) they are generally not equipped with the proper tools to perform their new responsibilities and get the job done. When a business promotes people into a management position, it needs to train them, coach them and make them aware of their new responsibilities.

There are Five Basic Responsibilities that a manager assumes within an organization.
1. Service: Ensuring the job gets done… on time!
2. Personnel: Directing the people who do the work
3. Costs: Setting & achieving financial targets
4. Improvements: Increasing production & quality while decreasing cost
5. Safety: Developing workplace safety policies & practices

Before you promote that deserving employee to a management position, make sure you give them the tools to be successful and oh yeah, clearly define and communicate what “success” means to you.

To take a closer look at the internal structure of your operation and how you reward excellence, check out my articles: “Team Building for a Competitive Advantage” and “Promoting Leadership” both found here on my website… Larry

I learned this lesson when I was 13. It was a typical Saturday morning and my dad woke me up around 8:00 am to give him a hand changing the oil on our ‘65 Chevy. In those days he changed his own oil and did the general maintenance himself and it was now time to hand down the tradition.

Being 13, I just didn’t get it. It was a Saturday and a day to relax, to sleep in however life was about to change for Larry Bitner. In order to help me understand, my dad took the time to explain the importance of preventative maintenance. He was an excellent storyteller and used metaphors to get his message across in a way that I could relate to as a teenager.

He explained that cars don’t generally break down while they are sitting in the garage, they tend to break down when you are on the road, heading to an important appointment like the time my uncle’s car “gave it up” on Christmas day and they ended up stranded in North Tonawanda, New York. Dad always emphasized the importance of taking care the things you value!

He would talk about the cost of getting a tow and paying garage rates because a fan belt broke or a rad hose blew rather than checking these parts regularly and replacing them himself before they let him down and his wise words stuck with me.

That 65 Chevy is long gone but it always ran smooth and never let us down.

Today, I don’t maintain my car myself but I use those valuable principles that I was taught by my dad and have my mechanic do my preventative maintenance. But as importantly, I now apply those same principles to my own business practices, making sure that I work on improving my business on a regular basis, most every day.

If you don’t maintain your car it will let you down and the same goes for your business… Thanks Dad.

To take a closer look at your business practices and your decision making policies, check out my articles: “Creating an Action Plan” and “Mapping your Success” both found here on my website… Larry

Stress, cash flow, competition, rising payables - these are all significant, emotionally-charged factors that influence our thinking and decision making as business owners. Someone once stated that “Tough times call for desperate measures”. Now I don’t know who said that but it represents dangerous possibilities. We perform differently under pressure and without clear policies and an ethical sales strategy in place; we run the risk of getting the sale… but losing the customer in the long run!

You need to closely examine your performance record under pressure.

When you talk someone into something that they can’t afford, don’t really need or will never probably use for the sake of getting the sale you cross that line that eliminates repeat business and generates negative word of mouth.

Remember, if it isn’t good for the customer… it will definitely not be good for you!

My sales philosophy is that there is no room for convincing, pressuring or intimidating people to buy. Instead the cornerstone of your sales strategy should focus on promoting the advantages and benefits that the customer will experience.

Arm yourself with testimonials and endorsements from satisfied customers. Learn everything you can about your product as well as the competition’s and encourage constructive comparison. When your product or service is unique and you communicate the difference & the value, your higher price becomes less significant.

Paying your sales staff by commission is a sure way to position them to push the customer a little harder, often to the point where they either walk away or buy under pressure, never to return and place themselves in that same position again.

A selling strategy that focuses on building long term relationships and a commitment to doing what’s best for the customer will always serve you well, generate positive feedback and instill loyalty that makes you competition-proof!

When you consider the cost of finding a customer, winning their business or replacing the ones you lose, implementing a customer-driven selling strategy is your key to long term success & profitability.

To take a closer look at your selling strategy and your decision making policies, check out my articles: “Performance Under Pressure” and “The Challenge of Doing the Right Thing” both found here on my website… Larry

In my last Blog I talked about how incredibly predictable I am… we are! I’d like to elaborate on one aspect of my “predictable” day that I am currently in the process of re-thinking.
Marketing has trained us well to assume that the “fast food” industry actually means fast or as they like to say “good food served quickly” so when I’m in a hurry but need a little pick me up I will think of a coffee shop or restaurant with a drive-thru. Drive-thru is one of those terms that has become synonymous with fast.

In that type of situation, I would never consider stopping off at a traditional restaurant, waiting for a table, placing my order, sipping on a glass of water while I wait for my meal, enjoying it when it comes, waiting for the bill, making payment, etc. and heading back to my car. That just doesn’t work!

So I look for a “fast” alternative. But the definition of ”fast” is quietly changing and I’m only just beginning to take notice. While the short time it takes to actually fill my order once it is taken is quite impressive, my “beef” is with the time that it often takes to work my way up the line for the privilege of placing the order where the word “fast” suddenly becomes somewhat interpreted and distorted.

Now if it was a bank I could understand. We certainly line up at banks in large numbers but then again, they don’t use the word “fast” in their marketing but when it comes to food, the marketed perception is indeed fast.

So what’s gone wrong?

The drive thru concept was originally designed to accommodate our busy lifestyle but now like everything else, the popularity of the trend has grown and caught on to the point where our perception of “fast” has become skewed and we now accept the lengthly wait as just the way it is.

It’s rare not to find a line-up anymore…
But like everything else, drive-thru’s will evolve and the current “fast” experience will again change. With the environmental impact of a constant line-up of cars waiting for coffee or burgers, it’s probably only a matter of “time” before legislation changes everything anyway. For now I find it faster to park and run in while everyone is waiting patiently at the drive-thru.

Learn to recognize the changing needs of your customers. Check out my articles: “Trendwatching” and “Five Great Ways to Think Bigger than the Next Guy” both found here on my website… Larry

It’s been another busy week. As a Business Coach, I spend a lot of time on the road. My week has included one-on-one mentoring with clients, group training, prospecting new clients and preparing for upcoming sessions. I typically leave the house at 7:45 am. I like to start my day with a coffee so I generally pull into “my” Tim Horton’s at about 7:52. Now, I should say that if I am running behind and its 7:56 I probably won’t stop. Four minutes throws everything off!

I order my usual large coffee with two milk but that comes as no surprise to Cheryl who works my “7:52” shift, knows me well, has it ready and treats me like an old friend… and of course I eat that up. Again, I should note that my order is disturbingly exact each and every day for “I am predictable” and for a guy who grew up in the sixties and hitchhiked across the country once upon a time, I still find my predictability a bit disturbing.

As I sit in the line at the drive-thru I am confident that I am “on-schedule” because I notice that guy in front of me in the blue BMW, and as I look into my mirror, I see that girl fixing her make-up. These are the same people that I see every morning only sometimes she’s in front and he’s behind. It’s like we are members of the same little club but have never formally met.

So what does this all have to do with a business strategy?

Well, as a business owner it is important to study your customer’s patterns & habits and as a marketer, your ability to tap into your customer’s predictability will always bring positive results for both you and them.

In closing, studies have shown that it takes 21 days of repeating the same thing to form a habit and therefore logically just as long or longer to break it. Once that pattern is in place, its “gold” to the business owner who recognizes it and can find a way to embrace it.

To take a closer look at your customers and your relationship with them, level of customer service, check out my articles: “The Inquisitive Marketer” and “The Benefits of Hanging in There” both found here on my website… Larry

Advertising CSI: Your “Campaign Scene Investigation”
Accountability needs to anchor every business decision and your investment of advertising dollars is no different. In a competitive marketplace, advertising and promotion play an important role in ensuring that you maintain and increase your market share… and everything must run smoothly.

Your Advertising CSI is the process that you use to evaluate the effectiveness of your promotional campaigns. No campaign is complete until the evaluation and analysis have been carried out and a game plan set in motion for the continuous improvement that is vital to your success.

What does an Advertising “CSI” (Campaign Scene Investigation) entail?

Here are your Seven Steps to Ensure Greater Efficiency & Success in each Advertising Campaign you undertake…
1. First, Look Back & Review… your anticipated goals, outcomes & expectations for the campaign
2. Evaluate those Elements of the Campaign that Worked Well… and helped you achieve your goals
3. Identify What Didn’t Work… or could have worked better
4. Acknowledge The Major Challenges or Obstacles that you faced
5. Make a list of The Lessons Learned
6. Document your Conclusions & Recommendations
7. Complete your assessment by determining What You Will Do Differently next time

The CSI process is essential to ensure that you stay competitive and maintain a healthy business environment with each Advertising Campaign that you launch. The CSI is carried out to improve the success of your advertising and increase your budget since an advertising budget is generally based on a percentage of your sales.

Remember, you advertise when you are slow to get busy… but you advertise when you are busy to ensure that you stay busy and continue to grow. The key is to increase your return on investment. Begin your Advertising CSI today!

To take a closer look at the effectiveness of your advertising and your performance, check out my articles: “Building Brand Awareness” and “Increasing Productivity & Profits through Goal Setting & Planning” both found here on my website… Larry

Having problems with unhappy customers? Studies indicate that you stand a 70% chance of retaining an unsatisfied customer’s business when you can resolve their complaint. The same study indicates that you stand a 95% chance of retaining that customer if you can resolve their complaint on the spot. That represents a 25% difference!

Given the cost to attract a customer who will return time and time again, along with the value of that customer over the course of a year, retention plays a huge factor in your profitability and success.

We all make mistakes and customers will always have concerns or issues to be dealt with. No one expects you to be perfect but how you go about solving their problems will definitely determine whether you retain or lose their business.

Let’s consider Three Simple Steps to position your staff to Act Now:

1. Training
Establish your rules for decision making and communicate them to staff…
“This is how we resolve our customer related problems”.
2. Delegation
Don’t hold all of the cards yourself. Once trained, empower staff to work within the rules that you have established. Monitor their performance and review the procedures on a regular basis.
3. Rewards
Acknowledge and praise staff each time they follow the rules and solve a customer problem or complaint. This will reinforce the importance of customer satisfaction and let staff know you are watching.

The “Now” concept is not rocket science but it does take a commitment. Delegating authority to make decisions according to company policy will definitely have a positive impact on your customers, your staff… and your success.

To take a closer look at your decision making policies and your level of customer service, check out my articles: “Team Building for a Competitive Advantage” and “Promoting Leadership” both found here on my website… Larry

I teach a Food & Beverage Marketing class at Niagara College in the Culinary Management program and my major assignment is an Industry Trend Analysis. Successful marketers think outside their business and focus on their industry. Recognizing the direction that your industry is moving in is critical to keeping your business one step ahead of the competition and to build a reputation as a leader rather than a follower.

Trends and fads are related yet distinctly different. You will generally find any number of fads, which come & go within a given trend.

Trends by definition are behaviour-driven changes in how people (your customers) live their lives and spend their time & money, reflected in the choices they make. Trends are the result of a desire for change caused by factors such as familiarity & boredom, an aging population, environmental issues, health concerns etc. that in turn effect how we feel, think and behave.

A Fad on the other hand, is the product-driven result of a trend such as spring wardrobes, exercise equipment, organically grown food, etc. all of which will come and go and are replaced with the next latest thing (fad) within the trend itself.

The Assignment requires students to identify a current restaurant industry trend, identify the cause of the trend, supply supporting evidence that the trend is real and most important, their opinion on how to capitalize on the opportunity. This is my way of preparing them for the real world, that is, to be competitive thinkers, to develop a professional opinion and to be able to back it up.

Because of our society’s growing problems with weight and nutrition, one such trend in the restaurant industry is providing healthy menu alternatives and we now see this trend in most restaurant’s ranging from The Keg to McDonalds.

Make no mistake, committing a part of your marketing strategy to riding the wave of current trends is time consuming and on-going. Keep in mind, if the trend is hot it’s only a matter of time before the rest of the world begins to cash in.

However, the word “Trend” is synonymous with “Opportunity” and if you identify that trend early you just might create a 3 month window of opportunity to expand your customer base, increase your cash flow and create an exciting buzz in your marketplace before the competition catches on.

Position yourself to be more competitive. Successful marketing stands out in the crowd and the key is understanding your customers changing needs and expectations. For more on developing this competitive advantage, check out my articles: “Adapting to Change” and “Trendwatching” both found here on my website… Larry