FREE BAIT!

Yesterday, I played hookie and spent the day on Smith Island, Maryland. This is a true island off of the lower Eastern Shore, accessible by ferry from Crisfield. The island is home to residents that made their living crabbing and oystering on the Chespeake Bay. The island’s economy has suffered due to the regulations placed on this industry as well as the depletion of the crab and oyster population in the bay.

Some marketing-savvy folks realized that something needed to be done to boost the economy and keep this treasure of a community thriving. The island has so many assets including miles of marsh with trails for kayaking, beautiful scenery, a rich history and a very delicious dessert: the nine layer cake that defies gravity and your waistline.

It was a team effort. One team set out to make the Smith Island Layer Cake the Maryland state dessert. Hundreds of cakes were baked and thousands of slices were passed out in Annapolis to encourage the state legislature to make it official. And it was, which meant tons of media coverage locally, nationally and internationally which probably added up to hundreds of thousands of dollars of airtime. Restaurants are now featuring the state dessert on the menu from DC to Ocean City. This is the value of creating buzz.

While state senators were sampling Smith Island cake, another team was tackling trails for paddling on the island. The dessert got the island name out but people needed something besides sweet treats to come here.  Nature enthusiasts on the shore knew that Smith Island was a great place to kayak and with eco tourism on the up and up, they wanted to get the word out that Smith Island is the perfect paddling destination. Trails were marked and maps were created and printed in a waterproof brochure. The efforts were supported by several organizations that are dedicated to creating eco tourism opportunities while preserving natural assets.

Websites in support of these efforts were developed including www.visitsmithisland.com and www.paddlesmithisland.com. And, yesterday all of this came together with the grand opening of the water trails and ceremony for the cake. It was amazing to see all of the efforts of the people involved and hopefully this will pay off for the islanders who are probably a little miffed by all the buzz. All of those cake bakers have quickly took on a little celebrity status.

I have to tell you that if you need a short getaway where you can truly relax and take in the scenery, this is the perfect spot. Your cell phone doesn’t even work there which to me is a huge plus. This is the simple life of which many of us could use a therapeutic dose. Have I mentioned the crab cakes?

Congratulations to Delmarva Low Impact Tourism Experiences, the Chesapeake Bay Trust and the volunteers that put this all together. Smith Island is now on the map as a Maryland destination not to be missed.

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When you think of a brand, you may think of Nike or Nabisco, Apple or Microsoft. Brands are all around us. We can identify them by their name, their logo, their image and their product. Apple is cool and hip, Microsoft is serious and intellectual, Nike is power, etc. These are all ways we identify brands or products.

As a small business owner, you may be selling a product or service, but you may not think of yourself, your product or your service as a brand. I would recommend for you to start doing so because brands communicate to the customer. Brands create awareness, recognition, customer loyalty - ask any Apple owner - we are very loyal to that brand.

According to Alina Wheeler in Designing Brand Identity:
“Compelling brand identity presents any company, any size, anywhere with an immediately recognizable, distinctive, professional image that positions it for success. An identity helps manage the perception of a company and differentiates it from its competitors.”

All small business owners and employees are pressed for time. Creating a brand can be overwhelming so breaking it down in small, easy steps will make it a little more digestible. Let’s roll up our sleeves and start with creating a foundation on which we will build your brand.

• Conduct research on your competition.
If you have been in business for a long time you may have conducted research on your competition as well as your target market in the business plan stage, but during a branding initiative, it is a good time to revisit. Much changes over time and your competitors several years ago may have shifted. You may be facing a whole new onslaught of competition. Maybe you used to only compete locally but now that physical boundaries are blurred by the Internet and your competition could live on the other side of the world.

If you are starting up, you need to go through a competitor analysis as part of developing a business plan. Find out how the competition is perceived by their customers. What makes your offerings different or better? How do you wish to communicate those differences?

• Know your customer.
Are they urban or suburban, tech geeks or not technically savvy, are they tourists or locals, are they senior citizens or tweens?
Know who your customer is or who the potentially could be. You want them to embrace your brand. People gravitate to people with like interests so you want them to spread their loyalty to your brand, so create one that speaks to them.

For example, I have friends who own a fitness center. Every time you go there, they have predetermined workouts ready for you. These workouts are hard, but they are ideal because they are short—you are usually out within thirty minutes. Their typical customers tend to be people over thirty who work or have kids in school and have lost interest in wandering around a gym for an hour. They want to work and feel motivated and they are willing to invest a little more money than the typical monthly gym fee to feel a sense of accomplishment and for the one-on-one service. So they bread down to men and women, ages 30-50, financially stable, suburban professionals that live within a 5-mile radius of the facility and value exercise and a healthy lifestyle.

If you have been in business a while, think about your current customers—who are they and how can you position yourself to get more of them. Talk to your customers and find out what they like about your company and what they associate with your offerings. Your customers are your best resources.

• Compile a unique selling proposition.
Now that you have researched your competitors and became one with your customers, whether existing or potential, you will create your unique selling proposition. In a few sentences, describe your offerings and think about what separates you from your competitor. Are you more efficient, less expensive or do you offer a higher quality product or service? Marinate on this statement and most importantly, make sure everyone on your team agrees with it and believes it.

These are good first steps to getting your brand developed. Next week, we will develop a plan of attack to get the tools you need to start communicating your brand.

All the best!

Wheeler, Alina. Designing Brand Identity. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2006.

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The last five years have been glorious. All my 30+ friends that own houses were living large and loving it. Gucci purses, weekly spa treatments and lavish vacations.

It is very reminiscent of the mid-90’s when all my friends were working at AOL and planning to retire on stock options at 30.

And here we are facing a recession. Our houses aren’t such cash receptacles that they were two years ago. I know - I have two and can’t seem to unload either.

Many businesses, large and small, are quick to cut marketing budgets in these times. Luckily, small business owners are a little more flexible in budget adjusments than corporations.

According to Terry Brock, Marketing and Technology Coach, “Tough times have a lot of benefits for those that have that indomitable spirit to succeed. What many don’t realize is that tough times create enormous opportunities for those willing to seize the moment.” (http://www.terrybrock.com)

Be creative in your marketing. Its likely your competition is setting out to cut their budgets as well. Take advantage of that opportunity to shine.

Here are some money saving tips to staying on top:

• Negotiate ad rates. For print publications, you can pick up remnant ads which is unfilled space that crops up before they go to press.

• Create targeted campaigns. Really define your target audience and work on campaigns to reach them directly and creatively so you are not spending willy nilly without a defined message.

• Create word of mouth opportunities and incentives for existing customers to bring in potential customers. Make your customers your sales team.

• Send emails. You can email tips, helpful resources or discounts. Email blasts are cheap and people sign up for them if they think they are going to get something free.

• Provide great customer service. I can already tell you that you can beat your competition on this one. Customer service is severely lacking these days and creating a positive customer experience will win you business. Period.

Even if you are feeling the pinch of tough financial times, don’t let on that you are. Stay on top of things and keep your customers happy. This, too, will pass.

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