MyScoop is an entirely online magazine with editions in three markets, Birmingham, Mississippi and Nashville. MyScoop caters to Southern fashionistas and tries to capture the flavor of the south as well as let our readers know what’s going on in other parts of the world. MyScoop focuses on locally made or owned products that are sold nationally or internationally OR national trends that are sold locally.

If you are a fashion retailer in these markets, you want to know MyScoop as a media outlet. If you’re any other business owner, well, I’m here to tell you… Elizabeth Fowler is one of the smartest business women I’ve encountered in a long time, and she has some business scoop to share.

Marianna – How have you used the power of referrals in your business?

Elizabeth – When we expanded to Mississippi we used a referral program so our current readers in the state could tell their friends about us. We gained tons of readers through that web community. It is important to have a consistently email database and utilize Facebook so that readers are interacting with us and each other. My Scoop is the beginning of a very branded community. We have grown through Facebook and Twitter. We are currently growing by about 1,000 each month. All of the advertisements on our site are linked to that local business and we do the same with emails so there is constant exposure to My Scoop and the businesses.

Marianna – As a member of the media, how does a business get your attention?

As the media you can send out press releases. If business owners can promote a category as a whole and promote a trend and not just their store/product, we are much more likely to use that. Example: A boutique owner wrote an article for me on a summer fashion trend. She wrote about the trend as a whole, not just her business. She will gain attention to her business because of the article, but people are more likely to read it instead of just writing it off as advertising. Small business owners should remember that once you reach out you should continue to stay in touch. There are some business owners who will send me reports of new merchandise that they have just gotten in. That is very helpful because they have just saved me a lot of work in finding out what has come in.

To get in touch with the media, introduce yourself at networking events. Email them and follow-up with a phone call. Ask for a media outlets editorial calendar. Most owners don’t think to do that or don’t know that you can. You can learn what they are going to be featuring each month. For example, if you see that the October issue is going to have an article on pumpkin carving and your store sells a pumpkin carving knife you can let the magazine know that and advertise more specifically.

If the media calls you, invite them to come into your business! Make sure you have the owner or manager there – someone who knows the business well and can answer questions. Show them your products and ask how you can help them.

The biggest faux pas when dealing with the media is easily that business owners aren’t responsive enough and miss opportunities.

Marianna – Partnerships are a critical part of what you do and what you sell to clients. How do you view partnerships in business?

I have a great quote that I took from a local business owner, “In today’s world there is no competition; there is only collaboration.” These are the business that will continue to be successful. You should be thinking, “How can we leverage each other’s strengths?”

Marianna – In your opinion, what’s next in new media/social media for businesses? What will they have to do to maintain an edge?

I think we are going to see more creative concepts coming out of media outlets. I think owners should let the media help create their advertisements. That way the ads are more targeted toward the audience of the publication. We need to see partnering with advertisers to create campaigns for a specific market. As a business owner, you have to know what you are trying to accomplish. You’ll use it differently depending on what you’re trying to achieve.

Catch up with Elizabeth at http://www.myscoop.us, Facebook, or Twitter (@myscoopus).

On this episode of ResultsRevTV, Marianna interviewed Betsy Liles, founder and small business owner of b. Liles Studio and b. Fine Art Jewelry in Ridgeland, Miss.

During the show, we talked to Betsy about many topics, but initial feedback says that the most popular topic was Betsy’s use of triggered e-mail marketing campaigns. As a relatively new e-mail marketer (she started in March 2010), Betsy is doing innovative things with e-mail marketing that are saving her time on campaign setup AND providing BIG returns for her business. You can watch the full ResultsRevTV episode here (length: approximately 30 minutes).

Following are paraphrased portions of the interview transcript from Marianna’s interview with Betsy Liles:

Marianna: What is the background on your business location?

Betsy: I worked out of my home for 10 years (starting in 1996) and moved to a small building on Jackson Street in 2006. In 2008 we moved to our current location. It was a house across the street from our first Jackson Street location. I had no idea what would happen, but our business tripled almost immediately. We got lots of comments about our great parking and our window displays. People who had always driven by were now stopping in. We remodeled on a shoestring budget with the help of Latitudes.

Marianna: Talk about doing something “different” from everyone else who makes or sells jewelry, tell us about the business itself.

Betsy: We make versatile jewelry that can be worn alone or combined with other pieces. Much of it is made from recycled metals. Customers come in with old costume jewelry and bags of broken pieces of silverware. We can recreate it into something else that they can wear. Our pieces are noticeable, but subtle.

b. Liles Studio is our manufacturing business. I call myself an “accidental business owner.” I initially moved the business from my home because I wanted more studio space. When we moved we turned into a retail business because of the number of customers coming into the store. I hired a business consultant, went to a computerized accounting system, and we started adding other items to our retail mix such as clothing and handbags that were also unique and had a story or were recycled to fit in with our overall business theme.

When we first moved in to the new building I rented studio space to other artists. As we became a more established business I took that space and converted it from studio space into retail and showroom space.

We sell items for people who don’t want what everyone else has. We use recycled materials and some consignment items.

Marianna: You expanded your retail mix in a way that complimented your core business plan. Retail business owners need to remember to stay true to their business. You said that, initially, your best marketing was done by word of mouth. Tell me about that.

Betsy: I didn’t think I had the money to do anything else. I got business from recommendations from friends. When I hired a consultant I took every bit of information they gave me. Some of it was uncomfortable and stretched me too quickly, but I took note of it. When I started thinking about TV advertising I remember hearing people talk about characters on TV as if they were best friends. I thought, “I want them to think of my business that way.” The impact of TV advertising was immediately huge.

Marianna: What value does advertising shelf-life have to you as a business owner and what are the keys to your advertising or marketing success in each media?

Betsy: A print ad in Mississippi Magazine has a much longer shelf-life because the magazine has such a huge following. Readers don’t throw their issues away, and an issue can stay in a doctor’s office for years. People will see it long after it has been printed. The effect is much longer lasting than a weekly publication.

I have also chosen radio advertising at times because of the loyalty people have to the shows they enjoy. A recommendation from a radio personality carries weight. I advertise on programs that share the same target customer demographic that I do.

We just started email advertising not long ago. We have always sent postcards, but I was persuaded to start emailing customers by my sister. The difference has been measurable, and the cost is nothing compared to traditional mail. When someone initially joins our mailing list, I use an auto responding system with coupons in the first three emails spaced apart, so that we stay at the top of their minds. I want my customers to associate our emails with good things right from the beginning of their experience on our list, so that they stick with it. I want to plant that in their heads right away.

Marianna: How has Facebook impacted your business?

Betsy: The immediacy of it is interesting. It is great to send a targeted message. It is “of the moment” and has a small shelf life, but it is great to let people know about product information. It was a little overwhelming at first, but the college student I hired said I should set it up, and I’m working through it with good success.

Marianna: Tell me about your membership to the Mississippi Craftsman’s Guild and its importance to the community and your business.

Betsy: It is three miles from my store, and it is a beautiful resource for our community. Everything they have is different and unique. A lot of artisans operate under the radar, so it is great to have a central location for their work. Studies show that the economic impact artisans have on a community is huge, and the Mississippi Craftsman’s Guild building is used to build tourism for an area.

Guest Question: How do you decide on the staging for the products in your store?

Betsy: Each vignette is a group of different items that complement each other to show options to customers. I trash dive all the time to find cool things to use as displays.

Guest Question: As you transition from artist to business owner, how do you balance the two sides?

Betsy: It’s tough. I use QuickBooks now for the business. That was a huge leap, but it can better manage the growth. I hate that I’ve stepped away from the art, but I get to support other artists with the business.

Marianna: What are the primary metrics you watch in your business now?

Betsy: We measure what time of day we get the most business and the number of customers we have on each day of the week. We measure which times are the most profitable and what products have sold the best. It helps us decide where to put our resources. You do have to balance it and use the data, but not let it wear you out.

Andy: What has been the most rewarding part of your business?

Betsy: Family heirlooms. Helping people turn an item into something they will use. I love being a part of their story and their families.

Check out Betsy’s work by visiting the b. liles studio web site and her Facebook Page.

What did you think of this episode? How does your experience in business match up with Betsy’s? Let us know in the comments section below.

Last week on ResultsRevTV, our small business owner guest of the week was Luke Abney, owner of The Rogue, a men’s clothier, and Forty Four Fifty, a women’s clothing boutique. Luke bought The Rogue making him a second generation owner of a landmark local business, and he’s started Forty Four Fifty entirely from scratch, making him the owner of a successful start-up. He shared a wealth of experience with us including how to succeed in changing times, how to manage employees, how to manage inventory and the keys to customer service and suggestions.

Following are some of the topics we discussed with Luke with paraphrased excerpts of the interview posted below. You can watch the full interview (approx. 30 minutes) here. And, as always, please feel free to leave behind YOUR questions or comments to add to the discussion!

Marianna: What changes did you make – or NOT make – when you bought The Rogue, a Jackson establishment for more than 40 years?

Luke: We bought the store five years ago. I remember going in The Rogue with my father and grandfather. I have always been interested in the store and took the chance to purchase it. We remodeled the store when we bought it, added more windows.

The question was how do you take the store and make it your own w/out hurting it? How do you evolve it from what it is to what it should be to keep up in the market? The challenge was to open up the store and make the display more interesting. There are a lot of people in the store who love it. The majority of our staff have been there at least 10, if not 25 years. In the store, we have at least 200 years of experience including the ladies doing the alterations. The people are as important as the products here.

Marianna: How do you manage your inventory and control your cash flow in this economy?

Luke: In our business, the most important metric to monitor our business health is “turn.” Men’s inventory needs “turn” between 2-3 times per year. Back in Mr. Neville’s time, it was once a year, so there would be stacks of clothing forever. He would sell it all down, and whatever didn’t sell, Mr. Neville would have his imfamous tent sale and sell it all. Back then, the banks were a little friendlier to the businesses too. Now, if you don’t sell it in 30 days, you don’t buy it to begin with. We have a faster turn over which allows us to always keep our inventory fresh and new. It’s also easier to order items quickly now than it used to be. We can order something for a customer if we don’t have it in the store.

Managing inventory as we do now has allowed us to open up cash flow, make our people the center of our business, and create a more customer friendly shopping environment. Now business owners need to turn inventory faster, but the advantage is that it keeps your guy coming back into the store. Before, if you bought all your clothes for the year in February, and you didn’t like what was in the store, you didn’t come back into the store until June or even September. Now, they can come in regularly and see something new. We can get back into things – basics – very quickly now, so we don’t have to hold those things in inventory at the same volume as in the past. But there are always some fashion pieces that we can’t get again. So, in those cases, we have to call our customers and invite them to come in because this is their one shot to get that particular item. And that’s a marketing advantage, too.

Marianna: How do your businesses execute customer service and maintain customer loyalty?

First of all, we want our people to be the center of store, who have the relationships in the community – they are the key to our success. At the end of the day, customer loyalty still comes down to that personal touch, to the handshake.

It helps to know the customer’s name; it helps to know what’s in the wardrobe. We pick up the phone and call them when alterations are ready or special orders have arrived. People want to wear nice things of good quality. We invite them to come see us for something that feels good and makes them feel better about themselves. We think we can make people feel better about their day, whether it’s a presentation, a meeting, a family reunion or a 20-year high school reunion.

Delivering those clothes but at the same time, they want to come see Amsey or David Cruse or Kevin or Warren or Mary or myself and get those clothes that they know will be with them for a long time.

If we dress a customer for an event we call them after the event to find out how it went. We write thank you notes for business. We do a lot of e-mails, phone calls, Facebook, anything we can do to stay in touch and in front of our customers to take care of them better.

Marianna: In a tightening economy, folks are spending less. How do you grow your bottom line even in an economy where men are wearing fewer suits and buying less expensive clothes? (Hint: the power of SUGGESTION)

There has been an evolution in the dress of a gentleman. We are selling more sportswear. To make up for the economic tightening, we are selling more ties, belts, pocket squares. We show customers what they can do, and suggest all options for them. If they say no, we find out why. Maybe if we listen to the “why,” we can suggest different colors and give them more options that they love and will buy.

With the staff, constant communication is key to sales. We look at what they sell and say, “Well, you sold shoes, but did you show them a belt?” What else could you have shown them?

Sometimes when you look at the big picture of sales it’s too overwhelming. You have to break it down day by day and do the backwards math and sometimes just a pair of socks with each sale is the difference in a bad month and a good month. That’s a much more doable vision for employees – and for me as an owner.

Marianna: How did you open a wildly successful, high-end women’s clothing boutique in the midst of the recession? (Forty Four Fifty has been open for 18 months, and is a wildly successful venture.)

We knew he had to get in touch with clients. We email our customers; we give them all of our contact info. Alison (Luke’s wife) puts her cell phone number on her card.

Marianna: How has technology like Facebook helped your business? What have been the barriers to using social media in your business?

There was a time when we were advertising in the paper every week. Now we are using Facebook and Twitter – anything to keep us in front of customers.

The biggest thing I can do to get more customers is show them new merchandise. When it comes in we take pictures and put them on Facebook and the website. If we put up pictures we will be selling it that day.

The more we can educate customers about clothing and our products, the better the chance that they are a customer for life.

Our greatest barrier to using these new media tools has been the culture of the store. It has been around for years and a lot of the clientele is older and not into Facebook and Twitter. Because of that we phone them as well as tweet, and we talk to them in the store as well as just on Facebook.

Marianna: What do you do to keep employees on track and generally manage your retail employees?

Most of our staff have been there for a long time so they know what it takes. When I have to talk to them about business I have to find the positive way to talk to them – Am I doing everything to help them? How can I help them help themselves and the business?

The Rogue has a culture of its own. When I bought the business, I had to learn their culture, so I could understand how the business and the staff work. Sometimes I have to show them how to do things differently in order to get better results.

When Andy and Marianna asked me to be a guest blogger on Results Revolution I was super psyched, but also a little nervous! I’m just a small business owner that likes to blog – not an expert on blogging! But then I think that was the point – right guys? If I can do it, you can definitely do it!

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Mandy, and I own Swagger Gifts in Cary, NC. I have been blogging for my gift shop since February 2008. I love to blog, and I do the best I can. But I KNOW I’m not the best blogger out there. I think when I finally realized that, I actually became a better blogger! The fear of “am I doing this right?” is gone, because there is no right or wrong! I know there are a bunch of people out there giving advice on blogging – and I try really hard to follow some of it – but the best advice I received was – JUST DO IT! And in turn it is the advice I am handing out to you today!

Creating your blog (which you can do for FREE – just Google “free blogs”) and then writing a post are the first two steps. I promise it is easy and basically painless! Then commit yourself to the blog. It only works if you are consistent!

Marianna asked me to answer two questions for you:

1. How often do I blog? Of course my goal is to blog every day, but sometimes I can only make it happen twice a week (you know all the other stuff that comes with owning a small business gets “in the way”). However I do strive for twice a week – remember consistency is key – it gets your readers in the habit of coming to see what is going on at your business and the search engines love it!
2. What type of content do I put on my blog? I guess “a little bit of everything” would be the answer here!

One thing that we do to get people visiting the Swagger Gifts’ blog on a regular basis is to do a weekly giveaway. It is a lot of fun to interact with our customers in this way and it showcases a specific item that generally customers come in and purchase (which of course is the goal!). Our blog also feeds into our Facebook page, so people will share the giveaway on their pages which also increases our “fan” numbers (more people to market to – yeah!). The weekly giveaway has been very beneficial financially for Swagger Gifts!

I also blog about “new stuff” that has come into the store. I have done posts on 23 boxes just arrived to Hot New Trends to Baby Gifts under $40. I think pictures are worth a thousands words, so I always attach a picture to our posts! One of our most popular posts was about how a new oversized flower could be used in the Front Door Idea blog post. I know it was popular because the flowers sold out almost immediately, and we had a “people to call” list waiting when our next shipment came in. Most people said they saw it on Facebook!

Blogging about community events and charity events that we are doing in the store or ones that our customers are involved in is great for goodwill! It also shows that you are involved with the local community!

A while ago, Marianna wrote a blog post about sharing “Behind the Scenes” info with your customers. I have posted Behind the Scenes info a couple times and our customers seem to love it! We live in such a “social” society that people love reading about what your life as a business owner is really like! I should do this more often – thanks Marianna for the tip!

This also leads me to writing about going to tradeshows or other places you visit for your type of business. I have been writing about our market trips for two years now and our “sneak peak” blog posts get customers excited and coming into the store asking “when is so and so going to arrive!”

There are so many other things to post about, and I would love to hear what you do on your blog to generate traffic for your business! Please comment below – I’m sure all of us who read the Results Revolution blog would love some new ideas!

For those of you who don’t have a blog (yet) – go out there and start one! Then come back here and comment on how easy it was!

Thanks for reading and for sharing your tips below!

Mandy

This week, we have a really special ResultsRevTV episode. It will be airing on Thursday instead of the usual Tuesday spot. Our guest, Kristi Brown, author of To Walk on Fertile Ground will be encouraging us as business owners to follow our passion, even through difficult times.

Kristi Brown is the Owner and Founder of Upside Brown Consulting, LLC, and author of To Walk on Fertile Ground, a personal book on overcoming adversity by learning to live life to the fullest.

Kristi has gained prominence in business circles by coaching women, business and community leaders, and young professionals to find boldness, creativity, purpose, and vision. An eighteen-year public relations professional, Kristi’s utilizes her life coaching skills with individuals who want to seamlessly set and achieve personal or professional goals. A 2003 recipient of the Mississippi Business Journal’s Top 40 Under 40 Award, Kristi is a speaker and facilitator and is certified through the U. S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute of Organizational Management.

In 2003 after years of infertility, Kristi lost a baby to a molar pregnancy, a rare condition that eventually metastasized as cancer. Facing chemotherapy and surgery, Kristi drew from her deep well of personal strength and faith and found her purpose in life–to motivate and inspire others experiencing difficult times. As an emotional and enthusiastic speaker, leader, and coach, Kristi engages people to define areas of growth that point them in the direction purposefully designed for their own lives.

Whether you are a startup business owner, a seasoned veteran, a designer, a wedding planner, or a theatre director, chances are you have the occasional basic spreadsheet that needs to be put together or sometimes a more technical analysis that you may need done as well.

In this economy and with a lean small biz budget, we do not always have the necessary funds to purchase or license fancy software. The bottom line is that most people have Microsoft Excel on their home and/or work computer and much of the analytical work that needs to be done for your business can be accomplished in Excel!

The 411 on Excel

Some of the valuable tasks a business owner can accomplish with Excel include:

• Perform basic and/or complex formulas
• Place to create and store a database
• Cleanse and organize information
• Create charts & graphs
• Create company reports: Excel is often used for Monthly reporting. Whether your data dump comes from another system and is exported into an Excel File (xls or csv), users can create standardized professional reports that merely need to be updated with the new data as it becomes available (weekly, monthly, quarterly etc). These reports can serve as a great template for reporting and ensuring consistency.

Excel and then SUM

In addition to some of the fundamental tasks that can be done in Excel, Excel can also be used to house some more advanced items. Below are listed some sample cases of companies who have used Excel to house some fancy spreadsheets.

Wage Performance/Tracking and Reports: Many small businesses do not have the budget for a fancy payroll system like ADP, or their needs are too specific to use a generalized system solution. That being said, everyone needs to monitor employee pay. Custom databases can be created to track employee payroll that will allow small businesses to easily calculate and keep track of employee hours, payroll and benefits.

Data Management/CRM: Lots of small businesses have databases full of useful data, like customer lists, inventory items, or sales leads, but they don’t always have ways to effectively utilize that data. Often times, it is hard to organize this data in a useful and productive manner. By creating a clean database in Excel, that will house all of this info, you can:

• track each customer call made
• use simple filtering techniques that will allow you to see quick lists of customers based on criteria like Location, Customer Rating and past purchases
• get rid of all of the paper cluttering your home office
• create fancy (well kind of… we are still just talking about a spreadsheet) reports

Financial Analysis: Plenty of business owners, from finance novices to econ experts, use Excel as their go-to place for financial forecasting or budget planning.

Get your spreadsheet on!

So check out Excel, it can be simple and fun. Store your data here… maybe you will become obsessed and use Excel forever. Maybe Excel is just a band-aid till you can afford something else. If this is the case, you will easily be able to import your Excel Spreadsheets to other software when the time comes.

Happy Spreadsheeting!

This guest post was written by Jen Portland. Around the Results Revolution, we also love spreadsheets as a dashboard for keeping up with small business marketing metrics. We export our stats from Google Analytics or our e-mail marketing software and manipulate them to help us reach our customers better and to learn how to market smarter from our data. Excel is definitely a friend to small business owners, so if you want to get more from your spreadsheets, chat with Jen Portland, founder & spreadsheeter at Excel Rain Man, an Excel outsourcing and training service. Check them out at www.excelrainman.com.

There seems to be a “post video and people will watch (by osmosis)” mentality floating around in web world these days. Video is a key element of a solid on-line marketing program, but to assume the best by using the “post and forget” approach is a terrible mistake. Instead, as a small business owner, you should optimize your video posts to benefit YOUR business (and get YOUR web site more traffic), not the business of the video provider.

Search engine submission for video can be a complex and rapidly-changing process, and many sites may wish to turn to their video platform provider to assist them in achieving maximum results. This doesn’t have to break the bank. But if you DO wish to take your video marketing to the next level through search engine optimization, here are a few questions you should definitely ask your search professional before engaging their services:

• Will you index both my video permalink pages and the videos themselves?
• Will links point back to my site, or will they drive traffic to pages hosted by the video platform provider?
• How often will feeds be updated?
• In which search engines will my results appear?
• How will I be able to track click-through and ROI?

Guest Post by Benjamin Wayne. Around the Results Revolution we LOVE video, but we also know we don’t know it all. That’s why folks like Benjamin and his company, Fliqz, are a superb asset to businesses and projects like ours. This list of questions made us really think, and I hope they make you think, too. Any way you look at it, video is a good thing – and on-line video is here to stay. So, hopefully you’re making video. Check out Benjamin Wayne, CEO of Fliqz, a company that helps businesses of all sizes optimize their videos at www.fliqz.com.