No Publicity is Bad Publicity – Or is it?

A local restaurant was recently featured on national television reality show. As a result, it received a lot of attention on social media – some positive and a whole lot of negative – which got us thinking, is the old saying “No publicity is bad publicity” true? I believe it’s all in the way the business handles it. Social Media can ruin a business’s reputation, but can a business use Social Media to build or restore its reputation?  The answer is Yes !

In 2009 Domino’s Pizza faced a major Social Media crisis and their response to the crisis is a model that other business owners can learn from.

Steps to Restore a Business Reputation Online:

1. Have a plan in place – It only takes one upset customer to create havoc on Social Media. Have a response plan ready when a crisis takes place.
2. Use Alerts – Tools such as Google Alerts allow a business owner to know when people are talking about the business online as well as on social media.
3. Get involved – Business owners need to become a part of the conversation. Thank people for comments both good and bad, and use the bad comments as tool to improve your business.  On issue like this the business owner need to be involved – People want to hear from management. Don’t leave something this important to those who have less at stake.Remember…the customer may not always be right, but they are always the customer!
4. Involve your loyal customers – One way to stomp out bad publicity is to create good publicity by having your customers talk favorably about their positive experiences with your business.

The website KeepingItKleen.com tells us to try to understand that even bad online reviews have silver linings:

• You just learned something about your business, now you know what can be fixed.
• Your upset customer could have remained silent, but now you know who to fix the problem with.
• This is a perfect opportunity to establish a genuine relationship with a customer by reaching out, contacting the reviewer, and potentially changing his/her perspective for the better. (… and it allows other to see your attempt at making things right!)

Whenever I give my seminars on Social Media, I always tell my audience, “even if you don’t plan on using social media to promote your business, you better know how to use it to save your business!” This is vital!

For additional information … feel free to contact The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center at (570) 941-7588 or email sbdc@scranton.edu .

Keith D. Yurgosky
Manager of Internet Business
University of Scranton SBDC

Business StartUP Series for Women

The University of Scranton Women’s Entrepreneurship Center (WEC) and Small Business Development Center (SBDC) are teaming up to offer “StartUP” a 6-week certification program for aspiring women entrepreneurs. The series will be held in Scranton on Tuesdays, beginning March 20 and ending April 24, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Regularly $165 per person, the series is offered free of charge thanks to our sponsor, Pennstar Bank. Space is limited and participants are accepted first-come, first-served only with completed application (we are not able to hold spots). This is for start-ups only, not for individuals who have already started a business. E-mail info@ksomwomenscenter.org or call 570-941-7588 for more information.

The University of Scranton Women’s Entrepreneurship Center (WEC) and Small Business Development Center (SBDC) are teaming up to offer “StartUP” a 6-week certification program for aspiring women entrepreneurs.

March 2012 – SBDC Educational Programs

Wednesday, March 7, 2012
The First Step: Starting Your Business   5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.   at The University of Scranton, Scranton, PA.

Monday, March 19, 2012
Best Practices in Internet Marketing   11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.    Pike County Chamber of Commerce, Milford, PA.

Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Women’s Enterpreneurship Center StartUP Series 5:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.  at The University of Scranton, Scranton, PA.

Thursday, March 22, 2012
The First Step: Starting Your Business   1 p.m. – 3 p.m.    NTRPDC, Towanda, PA.

Thursday, March 22, 2012
Best Practices in Internet Marketing   12 p.m. – 1 p.m.    Abington Community Library, Clarks Summit, PA.

Thursday, March 22, 2012
Accounting for Non-Accountants   7 p.m. – 9 p.m.    The Dime Bank Honesdale, PA. Sponsored by Greater Honesdale Partnership.

Friday, March 30, 2012
Intro to Quickbooks   8:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.    Lackawanna College, Scranton, PA.    $79 

For information on any of these programs call The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center at (570) 941-7588 or email us at sbdc@scranton.edu .

Do What Makes You Happy!

Have you ever worked long and hard on something just because it was expected of you? I used to do that until I realized if I’m not happy, ain’t nobody gonna be happy in my world. I came to that realization when my youngest child was born and I wanted, no, needed time to myself to just relax.  I would cuddle her up, put her in the crib and whisper, “a relaxed mommy is a happy mommy and I know you would rather have a happy mommy. “Ok, agreed, I sound crazy, but it worked for me. I made time for what I wanted to do.  What’s wrong with that?

So why do we try to do things just to make others happy? Let me narrow my focus to work. I did a blind survey of my circle of female friends, colleagues and business owners and found 90% love their job.  My survey finds that it doesn’t matter if it’s your business or if you work for someone else.  They are a happy bunch.

I didn’t expect this much happiness when I decided to send out a survey, so I also asked, “What motivates you to get to work every day?” Here I thought money would be the top answer. Sure, it appeared in 30% of the responses, but the overwhelming answer was that we like to make a difference in the positions we hold that match and use our talents and interests.

In my opinion, if employers hire with a consciousness of an applicants’ feelings as well as skills and education, they are more likely to hire satisfied employees who are happy and productive members of their organization. I know this is easier said than done, but we have to start somewhere.

So, as we spring into March, let’s all try to work on being happy.

Donna J. Simpson
Consultant Manager
The University of Scranton SBDC

Building Your Art Business 2012

Participants for the 2012 Building Your Art Business Certification Program

Lisa Hall, Director, University of Scranton Small Business Development Center, and Maureen McGuigan, Deputy Director of Arts and Culture for Lackawanna County, present certificates of completion to the 2012 class of the Building Your Arts Business certification program.

Building Your Arts Business is a unique four-part series entrepreneurship series designed to provide artists of all types with the knowledge, skills, and support needed to start and run their own small businesses.

The University of Scranton SBDC – New Business Alert – Be Life Café & Marketplace

Rebekah Gillette, owner, Be Life Café & Marketplace in South Abington Township, PA

Be Life Café and Marketplace, South Abington Township, PA

The University Of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is proud to announce the opening of a new small business, Be Life Café and Marketplace. Owned by University of Scranton SBDC client Rebekah Gillette, the business offers a cuisine based on real, organic and sustainable food. The chef owner has years of experience as a personal chef and caterer. Be Life is open for breakfast and lunch.  Specialties of the house include wild Alaskan salmon, free range grilled chicken over mixed greens, and homemade fruit cobbler. The restaurant is located at 639 Northern Boulevard, South Abington Township, PA.  For more information, call 570- 585-8068.

Bullseye – Target Marketing !!

This past week while presenting a seminar entitled “Building Your Art Business” the topic of “Defining Your Target Market” came up.  What followed was a heated discussion between the audience and the seminar presenters as each tried to explain their side of what a target market is. 

Wikipedia defines target market as a group of customers that the business has decided to aim its marketing efforts and ultimately its merchandise. A well-defined target market is the first element to a marketing strategy. The target market and the marketing mix variables of product, place(distribution), promotion and price are the four elements of a marketing mix strategy that determine the success of a product in the marketplace. 

I always believed that a business’s target market was that group of people most likely to buy their product.

In the past these markets were easier to define using things such as demographics, psychographics, socioeconomic status, etc.. 

However in today’s world lines are blurred, and black and white has become grey.  People are living longer, working longer, moving back in with their parents where in the past they moved out, and most of all technology has made it possible for consumers to become much more aware of competitors, product attributes and deceptive advertising.

So trying to figure out where the bone of contention was with our group of artists it occurred to me that these artists already had their product (in some cases several products). Our message to them was that in target marketing the first step is to find out what the market is looking for (a product). Many of these individuals (artists) already had a product, yet they hadn’t identified who the buyers were and what price they would pay. 

Over and over again we heard how the artists were undercutting their prices to stay afloat.  Many of the artists believed they needed to get more customers… in reality if they had defined their target market correctly they could get by with less customers (who pay more)! 

As I always tell people … “Most businesses don’t plan to fail … they fail to plan!” – author unknown

Keith Yurgosky
Manager of Internet Business
University of Scranton SBDC

Do You Have a Theme Song ?

You’ve got to get up every morning with a smile on your face
And show the world all the love in your heart
Then people gonna treat you better
You’re gonna find, yes, you will
That you’re beautiful as you feel
                        “Beautiful” by Carole King

Do you have a theme song? I do…it’s what charges me up in the morning.  I googled, “do you have a theme song” and I found a poll with 386 affirmative responses. Whew!!!  I’m not crazy.

It motivates me. Gets me going and gives me a positive spin on the day. Why, you may wonder, do we care?  Well, studies are showing that employees are not all that happy.  The following article from Right Management News & Events, gives us some insight.

Workers Are in a Bad Mood, Says Survey

PHILADEPHIA, PA – January 31, 2012 – Most employees say their job is unrewarding and saps their energy, according to a new survey by Right Management, the talent and career management experts within ManpowerGroup. Only one-in-five consider their job rewarding and gratifying…and the rest say they just want to enjoy their lives and that is why they work.

The survey was conducted in December and January and 438 North American workers responded to the question:

Which of the following best describes your present work situation?

• 21% My job is rewarding and gratifying.
• 30% I want to enjoy my life, so I work.
• 49% My job is unrewarding and saps my energy.

“The survey findings are like barometer that tells us something about the mood in today’s workplace,” said Michael Haid, Senior Vice President for Right Management, which provides talent development and outplacement services to Fortune 500 companies. “Employees are clearly in a grumpy mood, a trend we’ve tracked for more than a year. In better times we probably would have found just a minority complain that their energy is being sapped and so forth, but now it is almost a majority of employed North Americans who seem to be unhappy.”

The prevailing bad mood is related to workplace pressures that were building for the past three years, believes Haid. “In recent surveys Right Management found that fewer workers feel they may step away from their desk for a lunch break or even take all the vacation due them. And we learned that many feel trapped in their job or resent that they’re expected to respond to work emails on the weekend. Meanwhile, staffs are leaner and workloads bigger. Our new findings are consistent with this prior research and are an indicator of poor morale at most organizations.”

Unfortunately, the widespread disaffection stems from factors largely beyond the control of most employers, said Haid. “The job market is sluggish, job mobility is down, businesses aren’t expanding fast enough, yet every day the job has to get done. The good news, I suppose, is that so many workers are nevertheless engaged and productive, despite the pressures they face.”

Haid advises employers to develop proactive strategies to engage people in their work. “Some efforts may be simple or obvious, such as acknowledging that times are difficult. Sometime it’s just necessary to be seen trying to make a difference. And for larger organizations the engagement strategy needs to be more sophisticated, but genuine as well.”

I find that an unmotivated workforce will negatively impact productivity, cause high employee turnover, create a bad, even hostile atmosphere, and cause employee grievances.

Each of us is ultimately responsible for our moods and feelings.  So, why don’t YOU get up every morning with a smile on your face!

Donna J. Simpson
Consultant Manager
The University of Scranton SBDC

The University of Scranton SBDC – New Business Alert – Olmstead & Ruiz-Smith, LLC

From left, Keith Yurgosky, University of Scranton SBDC, Alma Ruiz-Smith and Doug Olmstead of Olmstead & Ruiz-Smith, LLC

The University of Scranton Small Business Development Center (SBDC) is proud to announce the opening of a new small business in Stroudsburg, PA. Olmstead & Ruiz-Smith, LLC, is a consulting firm owned by Doug Olmstead and Alma Ruiz-Smith. This new business will offer consulting services to land and real estate developers in the Poconos, by helping them cut through red tape while providing them the professional services they need to achieve their goals in timely and cost-effective manner. For more information, call 570-872-9899.

Superbowl Sunday and Small Business !!

Super Bowl Sunday has always been a “Big” day for “Small” businesses.  Many retailers have Super Bowl sales, and bars and restaurants use this day to make up for the normal after Christmas slowdown.

 

The problem comes when a small business that relies on Super Bowl Sunday sales fail to let their customers know about their big deals.  This happens when the business owner hasn’t done their homework to find out which form of advertising is best to reach their target market.

 

Mark Reino, CEO of MeritMile.com, feels small business owners can learn valuable lessons from the big-budget Super Bowl commercials that are almost as popular as the game itself.

 

“First and foremost take budget out of the equation while analyzing these advertisements.” What you should take away from these spots, he said, is the type of research that goes into creating them.

 

“These days, the industry is as much scientific as it is creative,” Reino said. “I think small businesses get around to marketing when it’s convenient. They invest in the media…and in creative aspects.”

However, no matter how creative this mix is, if a business isn’t measuring the impact of its campaigns on consumers, it’s not worth the investment.

 

Another lesson small businesses can take from big business can be found on Social Media. Doritos runs a contest on Youtube.com where people create their own Super Bowl commercials for Doritos and then fans vote on the winner which will appear on the Super Bowl.

 

So why can’t local mom and pop businesses do the same thing?  YouTube is the second largest search engine on the Internet.  Just by naming your video a Super Bowl Ad will give it added exposure by the millions of people searching YouTube for the latest Super Bowl advertisements.

 

For additional information on how to make your small businesses appear larger than life. Contact the University of Scranton Small Business Development Center at (570) 941-7588.

 

Enjoy the game !!

  

Keith Yurgosky

Manager of Internet Business

University of Scranton SBDC