The View from The Niagara Guide

The View from The Niagara Guide

New things in Niagara Business, Specials, Sales etc. and Other Observations

IT's Really Important

Mark Kawabe - Monday, March 29, 2010

This weekend I've spent more time working with and on computers than I have in a long time.

That's not to say I enjoy it. Not at all. Computers and the software that run them are the bane of my existence. From time to time anyway.

One thing I realize though is that while I might hate them, I love them. I mean, where else can you do a half a million things - all at a quarter to three? Computers allow you to do so much. They also enable you to learn an incredible amount of information. Think of all the encylopedia salesmen out of work, courtesy of Wikipedia, and marvel at how, in such a short period of time, we've come to put our collective human wisdom and knowledge online for the world to share.

In virtually the same breath, you can also appreciate how incredibly quickly things can unravel if we DON'T have access to our electronic network. Our virtual brains. Look at the panic that ensues when the Blackberry network goes down, or when e-mail communications are disrupted. What would happen in your business if your computer just up and died? How much of your knowledge is stored on that device? I shudder when I think about that.

Despite this knowledge that we rely incredibly heavily on our electronic servants, we have to rely on people who know how to heal our computers when they're not well. Sometimes they can get viruses. Sometimes they can get attacked by people who do bad things to them like install malware. Sometimes we have to protect ourselves from our own stupidity - like when we delete our own files by accident.

So, I'd like to pay tribute to a few people I know in the industry.

Glen Bowes of Bowes IT Solutions - Glen has been indispensable many a time with both emergency and routine server maintenance. I can't thank you enough.

Tom McIntyre of TAG Computer Services - Tom has consistently provided great service and advice on keeping my office network running smoothly.

Allen Fricke of Performance Computers - Allen's the "new kid" on the block, but I just got a new computer from him this weekend and it's everything I'd hoped it would be. Definitely worth the time spent to make sure it was "just right".

IT stands for Information Technology. A proper understanding of how your business is affected by IT is vital to your business success. I highly recommend talking to the above professionals to make sure your business is well-positioned technically for growth and vitality.



So you've got tools - now what?

Mark Kawabe - Monday, March 15, 2010

Entrepreneurs are always looking for new ways to promote themselves. I like new. Facebook and the social media tools that have sprung up in the last decade are "new". YouTube was new. There will always be something new for us to use to promote ourselves and our businesses. That's exciting.

What's not so exciting is the eventual realization that you actually have to DO something with these new tools for them to have any effect. A client of mine was pondering starting a blog until he noted that he would have to "feed the monster" new content regularly over a long period of time for the blog to have an effect. Yep. That's how it works - with any promotional tool we have in our toolboxes.

It doesn't matter whether you're talking about social media, networking or good ol' word-of-mouth marketing. YOU have to do something for those methods to work. Any program that says it will do it all for you with no input whatsoever from you is lying. If you're not participating, your results will be pathetic.

Unfortunately, in our "take-no-responsibility-for-anything" society, many business people do just that when it comes to something "not working" for them. This is true whether they're spending money on a newspaper, radio or TV ad campaign, joining a networking group like the Chamber of Commerce, BNI or other groups (locally KNOW it ALL Niagara and the Small Business Club Niagara come to mind) or things they control like their flyers, coupons or websites. If these methods don't "work" for the business, the tool is often the thing blamed.

I think there are two underlying causes of failure for any marketing endeavour.

1) Understanding HOW the "tool" works.

2) Committing to use the "tool".

These points illustrated:

Business owner A buys a single ad in a newspaper.

Business owner B buys a series of ads in the same newspaper.

Business owner A gets no response from his single ad.

Business owner B gets increased brand awareness and eventually some customers he can track came from the newspaper from his coupons and asking how people learned about him.

Business owner A didn't understand how newspaper advertising works. His experience suggests newspaper advertising doesn't work and as a result he blames the newspaper for taking his money.

Shared responsibilityYou can see this happening over and over again with any marketing tool. If you don't understand HOW to use a method to promote your business, learn all about it first. Then make the committment to using that method properly for a set period of time and set measurable and reasonable short and longer-term performance targets. Consistently test your approach and try different things to see if the method can work better for you. Only then can you accurately determine whether any given method was effective.

Most of the time there are two parties responsible for your marketing success or failure. The first is YOU. The second is the representatives of the marketing vehicle you've chosen to use. This could be your sales rep at the newspaper, phone directory or radio station, or the customer service representative of your networking group, Chamber of Commerce or the marketing company you've hired. You BOTH have a responsibility to ensure YOU know how to use the system effectively so you can make informed decisions about your marketing activities.

Of course, if you're talking about some self-directed activity like social media marketing, then it's just you who's to blame. At least the pain of failure on Facebook doesn't cost you anything. When you're paying for something, you expect it to work. Just make sure you know what you're getting into or take the time to learn. Good marketing organizations will take the time to educate you on what you should be doing to use their tools effectively. Others will assume you know what you're doing.

To paraphrase Tom Lehrer: "Marketing is like a sewer. What you get out of it depends what you put into it."

Choose well.



Take Your Head Out of Your Ass

Mark Kawabe - Friday, March 05, 2010
You are so the same as everyone else that nobody cares.

"But wait - I'M DIFFERENT!!!"

So, how exactly are you different enough that people SHOULD care?

I'm waiting...

...still waiting...

...and waiting.

The truth is most of us are lousy at communicating our differences which is a shame, because it's the only thing that's really important. We let potential customers assume we fit the "standards" of our industry and since we've co-operated by colouring inside the lines like everyone else, there's nothing special about us to make people go WOW!!! Yep. Guilty as charged. Me too. Been there, done that. Perhaps I'm still doing it.

But today I'm taking a friend's advice and taking my head OUT of my ass, giving it a shake and looking at myself and my business with a more critical eye. Change is happening all around me anyway, whether I want it to or not. If things are going to be different and better, change had better begin with me.

Or in your case, you. I hope you're enjoying the view and the fresh air. Now get to work on making things better.

And, for those of you who are seeing this on a Friday afternoon and thinking change can wait until Monday, the good news is you're right. It CAN wait. The better time to start is now.

Make it a great weekend!


Recent Posts


Tags


Archive



  Sign up for our RSS Feed!   |   Read the Blog!  |  Visit our Forums!  |  List Your Business!  Share

Search The Niagara Guide!

 

Visit some of the other websites in The Niagara Guide Network!

Arts | Attractions | Automotive | Bed & Breakfasts | Bridal | Business
Conferences | Cycling | Dining | Events | Golf | Health | Heritage
Home Improvement | Hotels | Kids | Money | Motels | Nightlife | Non-Profits
Pets | Recreation | Shopping | Style | Wineries
Contact The Niagara Guide | Niagara Guide Home



This website is part of  The Niagara Guide Network

All contents © 2001-2010 by The Niagara Guide Inc.

Disclaimer