This week, a colleague of mine is filling in for me on my blog, Mike Johnson. Owner of Ink Spot Graphics,  a Portland marketing agency, Mike works with small businesses to provide marketing brand strategies.

A local group, CEIC asked me to give a marketing presentation last  month. I have been talking to alot of people about story telling and having a purpose. I thought that it would be very pertinent for small businesses that are struggling with the economy to go to the chalkboard and reinvent themselves (or strengthen their current brand). My thought process was to demonstrate the “story” principle is to begin with local businesses that belong to the CEIC.

Get to Know Your Neighbor Tours

The CEIC offers once a month to go to a local members business for a tour. The “Get to Know your Neighbor” have been very successful for our group. They all begin the tour of the facilities with the owner going into detail about the company’s story. Franz Bakery, Taos Tea, Pratt & Larsen, Dennis Uniform or David’s School Specialty Co are just a tasting of the tours that we have had this year. Repeating their story to people in the community is an important part of marketing your company’s brand. And it is not important that the owner of the company knows it but their employees as well. If they understand the story, they will understand the company’s purpose. People like stories and like to tell others!

There is a little more of a challenge when you have a company that falls into the “Generic” category. Dentists, bankers, doctors, financial advisors, designers, etc. Even my company, Inkspot Graphics, has been a challenge to differentiate between me and my competitors. Besides making money… what is my purpose? To find out more about Inkspot Graphic’s story and purpose.

What About When You Don’t Know Your Marketing Story?

Your story has to peak your audiences curiosity. It is not that I am efficient or save my clients time & money. It can be that you work closely with non- profits, charities or support local schools. If you still are drawing a blank, I recommend that you talk to your clients and listen to your employees. They will help you.

Back in 2008, we had a little downturn. Most of my business at that point was accomplished by word-of-mouth. I found out the hard way that is one poor way to market your business. Since then, I have reached out to strategic partners to assist me in marketing my business. I have a group of professional men & women have an identical business model as my company. They compliment me. They help me brainstorm marketing ideas (for my clients). It is a very proactive way to help your clients build their companies.

Strategic Partner, Lasko Printing, has saved my Butt a Couple of Times

One of my partners is Lasko Printing. I can tell you of a couple times when they saved my butt. A good example of this is when their pre-press specialist called me and said, “I don’t do this very often but I was reading part of your CEIC postcard and it really didn’t make sense.” I told him that I am not a copywriter but he was definitely correct. Another time I had a piece that didn’t fold correctly and we worked it out and my client was very happy with the final product. I wouldn’t have the same results if I printed either of these pieces with an on-line printer. The on-line printing market is after pleasing color and bulk runs of printing. You cannot get any first timer advice. . .period!

Now back to your story.
I would ask you to do two things.

1.  First read a great book by Annette Simmons called “The Story Factor”.

2.  Call me at my office and I will sit down with you over coffee and we will brainstorm your story.

It is important for your business to have a story and you and should make your employees evangelists which will spread the news of your purpose!

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The folks at 37 Signals are one of a kind! They started a web design firm and turned it into a web application company. They designed the official Meetup.com site, but they are most famous for developing Basecamp. Originally intended for internal use only, it satisified a need and became a commercial product and has been very successful as a project management tool.

37 Signals is about 10 years old, but they have managed to stay small and vibrant. They truly believe in investing in their customers, dishing up great customer service, creating intuitive software, and keeping things simple.

My colleagues and I really admire their business style, management, and how they’ve kept it simple over their years of growth. Jason Fried and David Hansson, the founders of 37 Signals, recently published a book “ReWork” that contains small essays of advice that can carried their company and helped it survive. Here’s some my favorites:

Nobody Likes Plastic Flowers
Don’t be a stiff boring professional. Show our flaws and personalities. Don’t hide behind a mask!

Out-Teach Your Competition
You can outspend, outsell, or out-sponsor your competition, but are they teaching their clients as well? Big Companies can’t afford to teach, but you can.

Long Lists Don’t Get Done
I could really use this tip – I’m so guilty of writing long to-do lists. Many times I get overwhelmed and can’t finish any of it. Long lists are like guilt trips and can easily stress you out. Instead prioritize visually. Write down the most important item first, keep it at top. Numbering and lettering doesn’t really work. Just keep it simple.

Meeting are Toxic
Yes, Meetings can seem evil, especially when there’s no clear picture or agenda. Sometimes you are in a room where there’s quite a few peeps who like to hear themselves talk. Here’s some suggestions: Invite as few people as possible-Always have a clear agenda-Time it, if you have to, bring in a timer so you won’t spend more time than needed

Making the Call is Making Progress
Decide and move forward. Don’t put off a decision and “think about it”. Don’t look for the perfect answer. You are likely to make a great call today as you are tomorrow or next week. Long projects zap moral!

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Oh, my, how the internet has changed our lives. Who would have imagined years ago that we could construct beautiful pieces of gemstone jewelry through a website? Gemkitty has tapped into this niche and has become a destination for ladies to create their own stylized jewelry.

How do they attract followers to come make a necklace? Check out my interview with Arwa Jumkawala, one of the owners.

What’s your business?

Gemkitty, Jewelry Designed by You is a online jewelry retailer, where you can customize your own gemstone necklace with a few mouse clicks. Your design is then handcrafted especially for you.

When did you start using social media and why?

As a web-based business, we knew we needed to be involved in social media in order to truly engage with our audience. Primarily, we use Twitter and Facebook, which we set up as part of our launch. Social media gives us a chance to have conversations that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, and the real-time nature of the feedback has been fantastic.

Has social media changed your business?

Yes! In addition to being able to build relationships with our customers, it’s also helped me keep connected with fellow entrepreneurs. And it’s proved really effective at keeping me in the loop with jewelry fashion trends and local events.

How to you envision social media changing in the future?

I think companies engaging in social media will become smarter at actively engaging, rather than just broadcasting messages to their audience. We’re already seeing that trend, but it’s surprising to me how many people still don’t seem to understand why fans might be annoyed if all you tell them is: buy me, buy me, buy me.

Have a social media story you’d like to share?

Recently, we wanted to thank our earliest Facebook fans for their ongoing support. So we messaged them and offered them two pairs of earrings for free. No strings attached.  One pair was for them and one for a friend of their choosing. We received a lot of positive feedback, including emails from fans sharing who they decided to give their second pair to and why. Our fans seems to really appreciate the ability to treat a friend and we got a chance to expose our brand.

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If you are active on BizNik in the Portland area, you’ve probably seen some good articles and activity from Kaya Singer. Kaya has a very unique background, she’s owned a pottery business, been a family therapist and is now a small business coach. She has recently launched her book, The Entrepreneur’s Handbook to Money & Freedom.

It’s impressive how active Kaya is in communicating with businesses through Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Read below and learn how powerful online communication can be for a business coach.

What’s your business?

Awakening Business Solutions – I offer tools, process and coaching programs to solo business owners to help them overcome obstacles and develop a business mind-set.

When did you start using social media? What made you decide to try it?

I began social media as soon as it was available. I was on e-mail before most people. Communication is my focus and I loved the immediacy and the ability to create community with people world-wide.

How has social media affected your business?

It has allowed me to market to people world-wide and develop strong communities and relationships with people I would never have met. It has allowed me to put articles all over the world and make a huge difference in people’s lives.

What is one tool that you use the most?

Not just one. My LinkedIn group – Awakening Women in Business, my blog, Facebook, Twitter, BizNik, EZine articles and I am getting ready to move forward developing a membership site.

Have a social media story you’d like to share?

I was part of an e-mail group called “Powerful Women Entrepreneurs“. There were hundreds of women and it ran as a Yahoo group. The woman who facilitated it decided to suddenly quit so there was no place for all these women to go.  On a whim- one morning when I was on LinkedIn, I began “Awake Women in Business” and I invited all the women from the other group. Many of them came and then I also invited  other women I knew and posted it on Facebook and Twitter. It was active and involved almost immediately!  I love it as I am a natural facilitator, and it is a way to build community with women in business. It is also giving me some training for my new membership site that is coming soon.  I love working with women too so this also fulfills that need.

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