This is a post in the “How to Create a 2011 Local Business Marketing Plan”* series. Some of it will be shared here on [resultsrevolution.com]. The rest will be shared via my free newsletter. Sign up now to get the newsletter so you don’t miss a single tip in the planning series.

As you look forward to 2011, if you’re a local business, here are four tips to help you embrace your inner “local” and to help your small business stand out in a BIG way this next year!

1. Be local.

You’re a local small business with a brick-and-mortar storefront in your town. Maybe you have more than one location. Maybe you’re the oldest business in town, or maybe you’re the newest one. Whether you’re small or big, you’re the only store offering your service or product in the area, or you’re in the midst of many competitors, your local edge is a brand advantage and one you should use wisely.

Don’t try to be something you’re not: a national, faceless, anonymous business. Sure, those big boys have larger budgets and more resources, but they don’t have the local roots and the local connections you do. Put a local spin on what you do. Celebrate being local, Take part in the community. Highlight local products. Promote other local businesses. Advertise in local publications. Get involved with local organizations, charities, and business groups. Meet your neighbors, both personal and business. In short, position your brand as the local business option.

Highlight your strength as a local business and use your knowledge and relationships to offer what the local people want. Embrace your local-ness – love being local and use it to your advantage in marketing and customer retention efforts!

2. Have a specialty.

How do you stand out if you’re a single, locally owned restaurant in a town with five other great local restaurants? Find your niche, your specialty, and play it up. Maybe you’re the King of Cajun Cuisine, or you have a big-city wine list in a small town. Perhaps your dessert is out of this world, or you offer great seasonal specials that highlight the local produce, or you know that customers order your soup just to get those amazing garlic breadsticks on the side. Whatever your specialty is, find it and magnify it. Make it a prominent part of what you offer. Talk about it and market it. It’s not a specialty if no one knows about it.
While we’re on the topic, here’s a great case study on niche positioning and related customer experience that might be helpful to you as you pursue this idea.

3. Give amazing service.

No matter where you are or what your product or service is, giving consistently superb customer service will cause you to stand out amongst your competitors, both local and national. When you treat customers like your friends, that’s what they will become. When problems do arise, as they inevitably will, deal with them promptly and courteously.

A key element of this tip is the word “consistent.” We’ve talked about this before, but it stands repeating. Consistency is critical – especially in customer service.

4. Offer what the box stores can’t.

Big box stores and huge, national chains have advantages over local, small businesses, sure. But local, small businesses have advantages too; as part of a locally owned small business, you can make your own policies, create personal relationships, follow up on a personal basis, set your own hours, take special orders, and do custom work. You may not have the inventory capacity of the big store down the road, but you have the small business capacity to listen to your best customers and adjust the inventory you offer to meet their needs. If you find that your busy times are in the afternoon and evening instead of morning, you can open later and stay open later. Take advantage of the freedom you do have as a small business to relate specifically to your customers.

2011 is the year for local success. Please let us know how YOU benefit from your “local-ness” in your marketing and business efforts – drop us a comment below!

Image by Cameron Cassan.

Over the next few weeks, I’m going to do a series on local business marketing planning for local or small enterprises. This is the sort of planning that you should be thinking about right now as the year winds down and another gets ready to launch:

1. What will you do differently in 2011?
2. What are your goals for 2011?
3. What is your unique strategy to connect with customers in 2011?
4. What media will you use to communicate with customers, vendors, prospects, employees, etc. in 2011?
5. What products/services, etc. will you offer in 2011? What will be different or the same from 2010?

And many more questions just like these? How do you answer those questions strategically – and literally – for your business, so that you get your new year off to a blazing start? It all boils down to your local business marketing plan for 2011. That’s what we’ll be unpacking in the next few weeks.

Why is this important?

A local business marketing plan is important because many of you would otherwise march into 2011 without a single strategic weapon in place. Things happen just like you plan them – and if you don’t plan or you plan to fail – you’ll get just that. Local business must PLAN for success – create a road map that will win – not unlike a military going into battle. Yes, sometimes things don’t work out precisely as planned – but at least you have the order of the plan that you can change and aren’t just marching blindly into battle. Your chances of success are increased exponentially with the careful attention to planning that you give – and the success will be sweet at the end when you win – and win big for your local business!

Here’s how this will work:

Some of the content will be available here on the blog. A LOT of it will be in written “lesson” format via our e-mail newsletter. Let’s just say that 2/3 of the content will arrive in your inbox. Once I’ve finished the series, I’ll compile it all into an e-book and teach a webinar on the topic of local business marketing plans around the first week of the year.

The first e-mail lesson will go out next Tuesday, so go ahead and sign-up for the e-mail newsletter now, so you don’t miss a thing. (Motivating hint: the first lesson is something you can accomplish in ten minutes even in the midst of the holiday bustle to position yourself for a successful planning session later when things slow down a bit.)

Sign up in the box on the top right side of the page… just click here… and happy 2011 planning!

Photo Credit: West Point Public Affairs

What’s Your Excuse?

One of the most common complaints (excuses?) given for not engaging in online marketing and social media is that there are simply too many options and, to put it simply, business owners are afraid to pick one and go with it. They don’t always come out and say that – we don’t usually like admitting we’re overwhelmed and scared – but that’s the heart of it.

You might have said it yourself, maybe a line like one of these:

I’m too busy to figure this online thing out.

There are too many options and I don’t want to invest in the wrong one.

I’m too old for this stuff.

It’s too complicated.

There’s no way to measure ROI.

I’m just going to focus on offline marketing for now.

Maybe next year, when things calm down…

Any of those sound familiar?

The Great Big Secret of Online Success

Well, if any of those ring a bell, this post is for you. We’re here with the one secret you need for online success. Are you ready?

Do something.

Yes, that’s it. Really. Sorry, we know, it’s kind of disappointing that it’s so simple. But the secret is simple; doing nothing will get you nowhere. Pick one online option and go for it. Really put some effort into it, whether it’s your business website or a business blog or a Facebook page. Work at it for 15 to 30 minutes daily and you will see an enormous impact. And while you’re working at it – even just for 15 minutes at a time – you’ll learn everything you need to know. You’ll see that in the online world, just like the offline world, truly successful marketing is about connecting with people. Social media, blogs, and websites are just new ways to connect, and for many local businesses, they are less expensive and easier to manage.

You just have to put your fears aside, jump in, and take action.

Remember, the longer you hesitate, the more time you waste. Get your feet wet. Take a step. Take another step. Start moving forward. Making progress is not as difficult as you think; you just have to pick a direction and start moving forward.

Ready? Let’s go.

Photo credit: andreskrey

Life as a small business owner can be tough. Owning a local business can be stressful. It can sometimes not feel like it’s doing for you what you wanted it to do. Maybe you just have a mental block about your business in general.

But some days the stars align. I actually believe God is gracious and just showers me with His undeserved Grace a bit more on these “good days.” But the bottom line is – they do happen occasionally – and I wanted to let you know how to recognize the entrepreneurial “good days” and enjoy them.

GOOD ISN’T PERFECT

First off – you have to come to grips with the fact that perfection doesn’t exist. Life and work are not going to peacefully co-exist, and we’re talking about “good days” here – not perfect days.

That means that while some loose ends or underlying currents of strife or stress might be there – it’s important to not allow those to overshadow the blessings and positives. A critical element to business success is the ability to be thankful – and thankfulness flows out of a positive attitude – one that recognizes tiny blessings and is able to pause, soak them up and then show appreciation where appropriate.

SEEING THE GOOD

I think this is most easily explained by an example.

Today was a good day for me. In the past 24 hours, not one – but FOUR of our private advisory clients (and there aren’t but 10 of them at any given time) have called or e-mailed not simply to compliment or thank us for our work – but to RAVE about the results they’re getting in their businesses. They took the time to stop what they were doing and give us specific, positive feedback at no urging of our own. Completely random accolades.

Now this may seem over the top as an example – but I didn’t talk to all of these clients. Andy talked to two of them, and two of them e-mailed enthusiastic and specific, but very brief e-mails. In my distracted, busy and otherwise cluttered life, I could have entirely missed the magnitude of these blessings – and missed gaining the benefits of a “good day.” Thank God I didn’t, because they were blessings. And I like blessings.

There are plenty of icky things going on in my life – but when “good days” happen – or even good moments – have your eyes wide open to see them.

USING THE GOOD

When you see good in your day, don’t waste it. Here’s what I recommend:

1. Take a moment – or an hour – to pause and soak it in. It’s okay to reward yourself a bit. Take a deep breath, smile, laugh, allow yourself an extra long lunch or a day off in reward. Use this “good” as a stress reducer – reduced stress is good for your body and your spirit and will give you the stamina to keep going!

2. Reflect that good just came into your day – a blessing.

3. Blessings deserve a thankful attitude; pass on the “goodness” of a thankful attitude to someone else or many other people as appropriate.

4. Use this good as a milestone that motivates and inspires you to keep going in your work. When things aren’t so good – reach back in your mind to this moment and be motivated and inspired by it many times over.

5. Learn from it. What did you do to get this “good” result? If you can pinpoint it – maybe you can replicate it to create more “good days” in your business.

What about you? What “good days” or “good moments” have you had in your business or life lately? Share the goodness.

Photo Credit: Ev0luti0nary

How do you stay inspired as a small business owner? Do you even care to be inspired as a local business owner? Does your marketing and customer experience convey your inspiration – or does your own lack of inspiration pass along to your customers and employees and leave your small business falling flat? Is your attitude costing you sales?

I know that when I get in a funk about my business – everyone else does, too. My clients aren’t excited, my employees are grumpy, sales slow and I teeter on the brink of the all-too-familiar “life’s too hard, this isn’t fair, I’ve lost my passion” PITY PARTY.

I do not recommend succumbing to this ugly beast… It’s true that life is hard – and work is harder. But avoid the Pity Party at all costs. It really doesn’t feel as good as you think it will – and it can cost you a lot of money in the process.

Instead, focus on the positive and look for great ways to stay inspired and refreshed about your small business and local marketing.

For some people, this is finding time alone (maybe to read a book, write, or pursue a non-work creative hobby) – for others it’s refueling in a crowd (maybe a networking event or a social occasion). Exercise (with inspiring music, friends or co-workers) should be part of every business owners’ inspiration – without it you simply cannot maintain the stamina required for success (but that’s another post altogether). Maybe music inspires you. Maybe it’s art or well-written prose. Maybe it’s time outside – gardening, watering the planters in front of your store, walking down the street to say hello to a fellow business owner, helping a customer load their car, or just breathing fresh air. There are all sorts of things that inspire us – just make sure you find inspiration and consume it regularly.

How do you stay inspired and passionate about your small or local business?

Photo Credit: Seth1492

So, Mr. Local Small Business owner: You’ve set your course… You’ve got goals. You’re running towards the future – not away from the past. You’ve got your passion and your eye is on the ball, so to speak.

Then, things don’t go just as you planned. Maybe you planned wrong. Or maybe the unpredictable happened at life or in your small business or somewhere else.

A good friend of mine was talking to me about this idea of “sticking with it” yesterday afternoon. One year ago, she and Andy met in a coffeeshop where she showed him her cards. A few months ago, after some initial success with her small business e-commerce site, she hit The Dip (as Seth Godin would call it). She said to me, “What if I had just quit then?” It was really hard for her, and there were some discouragements when things didn’t go just as she’d planned. Life got hard – and so did selling stuff.

For Grace Bateman, if she’d quit then – she would have missed the opportunity to tell literally dozens of media outlets about the women of Peru Paper. She’s turned into a regular media darling of sorts in the past little while. She would have missed out on getting Peru Paper cards into nearly two dozen retail outlets (and that number is growing literally everyday) all across the U.S. (since her first market in May – and yes, in a recession). She would have missed watching retail outlets sell her cards like wildfire – and placing regular reorders because the story and the product resonate with consumers. She would have missed the e-commerce sales and custom corporate work that has showered her of late. She would have missed the fun of trying to figure out yesterday afternoon why her web traffic took an abrupt spike midday for no reason that she expected – only to have the mystery solved when a newly minted fan e-mailed her and explained that a prominent blogger had written exclusively about her product in an e-mail to her subscribers. Most of all, she would have robbed 17 underprivileged women in Peru of the opportunity to take care of their children – and provide for them financially – all at the same time. She would have robbed us of the privilege of enjoying their handiwork and participating in a social good. And so much more. And that’s a lot to leave on the table just because times got hard. But her hard work is paying off now…that she stayed the course.

Mary and Joseph Christmas Card by Peru Paper

When times get tough, most of us can’t see the forest for the trees. We can’t see that the opportunity of our lives is just around the bend.

Please. Don’t quit.

Instead be innovative, hardworking, passionate and focused. Do what you set out to do – and don’t change course just because it gets hard. Stay the course. The rewards might blow your mind.

A few weeks ago we took the kids on vacation and stopped overnight in Birmingham to visit our blogger friend, Eat Birmingham.

Before we left the next day, the kids and I went on a little shopping jaunt through the villages of Mountain Brook. (If you want to do the same, may I recommend that you get in touch with @shopmtnbrook for advice along your way?) There were lots of fun surprises (we shopped mostly kid-friendly places like the toy stores, kids clothing boutiques and…. Indie Candy in Crestline.

The candymaker in Indie Candy explained to the kids and me how his candy was a better candy: all natural with no high fructose corn syrup or any yucky preservatives of any type. My kids love gummy candy – but it’s TERRIBLE for their teeth. But in this case, I caved. A beautiful selection of fascinating shapes and stained glass colors mesmerized all of us, and as a mom, I loved the somewhat old fashioned look of the signage that announced things like “The Best Gummies EVER” and “Indie Candy: naturally gourmet sweets.” I was sold.

P.S. If your kids love lollipops over gummies, they have lots of those, too – in cool shapes and sizes. See photo.

Indie Candy has a humble shop in Crestline village with a more than friendly and informative candymaker in residence. They’ve made an enterprise by selling their candy through several online candy shops and reaching out to loyal customers through Facebook. What I truly love is that they do what they do well – and they connect well with a dual audience: kids who love candy and mom’s who want healthy choices for their kids. It’s a winning niche with an approachable, friendly attitude.

What niche can you fill in business? How can you connect better with your customers and make something that you can sell not just locally – but beyond? Are you connecting with your customers online and off-line.