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6C
®[)e Cliarlotte
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2006
BUSINESS
Successful
marketing
never ends
Marketing, marketing,
marketing, it’s like a never
ending cycle and it must
never end! Even tiioiigh I do
talks and give
tons of infor
mation on
infrastructure,
systems,
processes, tar
get market,
and aU those
other things
that are criti
cal in business
- it always
ends at ‘Svell...can you help
me with marketing?’
I know I know, it’s the mar
keting that drives the rev
enue in your business but it
can also be the camel that
breaks your business’s back.
In order to have successful
marketing you must have
the infrastructure in place to
support your marketing
activities.
For example: Let’s say you
implement a wonderful cam
paign to sell a particular ser
vice or product and it’s based
on people purchasing online
and in turn you have to ship
them their purchase or pro
vide a place for them to
download the purchase if it’s
an digital product.
What things do you think
you must have in place to
make this campaign a suc
cess?
Just to name a few:
• Target market defined
• The Solution must fit the
need of the target market
• Key messaging and con
sistent brand
• Good quality web site
vidth functionality
• The right pricing struc
ture
• Transaction processing
and managing
• Customer service
requirements
• Follow up procedures
and schedule ...this is just
the beginning.
Yes, I know there are many
tools and resources out there
to help you automate and
manage this whole cam
paign. Main Thkeaway: Just
because you have the right
tools doesn’t mean that you
have the right target market
or have the right solution.
There are many reasons
why your marketing isn’t as
stellar as you would fike it to
be. You need to work on a
process that allows you to
implement a basic market
ing program that will be the
standard for the life of your
business. This is the first
step - get a basic program in
place and stick to it for at
least six months. Next, as
you gain momentum, update
and get feedback you can
adjust and add other activi
ties.
Your next step
Thke the information fiom
this article and conduct your'
own research about a
Foundational Marketing
Program for your business.
If you’re unsure of where to
begin, start with getting
educated on mar-keting
strategy thr'ough your local
resources-
Once you’ve grasped the
concept of what you think
you want to do, define how
this foundational program
will fit into your overall busi
ness and figure out how you
can integrate it into each
asjrect of your business.
Then write it down. In the
end, with your foundational
mirrketing program in hand,
you will be able to move for
ward confidently and be
ready for anything,
SHERESE DUNCAN is presi
dent and CEO of Efficio, Inc. a
small business education and
consultiiiji firm. For more infor
mation. go to \v\yw.efficioJyiz or
l■■mail a.s'kslierese^''efficioJ}iz.
PHOTOA^URTIS WILSON
Oasis Day Spa owners Juanita Walton and Roberta Johnson have built a succession plan in the event
one of the partners dies.
Ultimate exit strategy
Plan in order to
smooth transition
to new owner
By Erica Singleton
FOR THE CHARLOTTE POST
Juanita Walton and Roberta
Johnson knew that they needed
to come up with a contingency
plan for their business; they
just kept putting off doing it.
As partners in Oasis Day Spa,
they found out a succession
plan was more than a docu
ment outlining what might
happen to their business if one
of them died. It was necessary
to keep their business ahve.
‘We went to see a financial
planner... and as he talked to
us, he asked us about the busi
ness and what plans we had in
place,” said Walton. “He start
ed to stress the importance and
lay out some things.”
At that time, Walton and
Johnson were a partnership,
and the financial planner asked
if they realized as a partnership
if one of the partners dies the
business ceases to exist.
“He explained that’s one of the
reasons it’s important to have a
plan in place.” He also brought
up insurance, asking if one
died, was there insurance on
the other? “He said you might
need that money to help with
cash flow to continue to keep
the business a float,” said
Walton. The planner raised a
lot of important issues and con
cerns and each realized they
could not put off their plan any
longer.
“People do a will to wind up
affairs upon death. [They] do a
pre-marital agreement, that
prepares you in the event of the
death of a marriage,” explained
Kenneth Helfing, of the Helfing
Law Firm. “But what happens
to a business? What happens if
there is fallout with a partner
or someone wants to retire? In
it’s crudest form, succession
planning prepares for the death
of a business,” Helfing said.
Walton and Johnson’s first
move was to change from a
partnership, “We changed fiom
a limited liability cooperation,
to an S-corp, where we are actu
ally employees of the business,
and that kind of restructured
the business,” said Walton.
The planner recommended to
Walton the best time to make
decisions.
“Do this before there is
tragedy..while everyone is
happy _and there aren’t any
issues or problems,” said
Walton. “If someone aU the sud
den gets a disease or gets kOled
or something, it changes your
prospective on how you view
things. Anytime you are doing
this, it should be at a time in
the business when everyone is
in a good place and can make
good judgments.”
Helfing agreed and added
that even divorce can change
the dynamics of a company as
the ex-spouse may now own
half or a large portion of a busi
ness.
‘You must plan,” he said.
“First...have appraisers and
evaluators look at the busi
ness...crunch the numbers and
find the value of the business.
Life insurance.. .disability
insurance are often overlooked
Set aside money [for this] each
year.”'
Helfing said business owners
should groom a successor.
“Often times interests left to a
spouse after a death may
destroy a bi^ine'ss,” said
Helfing. “Bring on people and
work with them for at least five
years. You can’t just turn over
your keys one day, and expect
customers to be comfortable.”
' Walton and Johnson are
preparing now by havting the
business appraised. The impor
tance of an appraisal was
stressed because if one or both
dies, the IRS could over or
rmdervalue the business.
Helfing said appraisals should
also be updated as your busi
ness grows or changes, but it is
important to get that first one
done.
‘You don’t want to end up los
ing your business, but often
times if there is no succession
planning, the business is lost,”
said Walton.
Agencies
focus on
cyber
security
Education best bet to
keep information safe
By Herbert L. White
hefb.wh;fe@ILiechariotfepost.com
The tiniest security gap can lead to cyber
crime.
As more consumers - and criminals - use
the internet, the Better Business Bureau of
Southern Piedmont is partnering with pub
lic and private agencies for National Cyber
Security Awareness Month. Initiatives
include increase online security awareness
among small business owners, educators
and home users.
“It might appear that small busineses
offs' fewer total victims than hi^-profile
data losses at federal agencies or large cor
porations, but considering small businesses
accoimt for 99 percent of all employers in
the U.S., tile total victim count could be
staggering if business leaders do not adopt
and continue to update basic cyber security
measures,” said Tbm Bartholomy, president
and CEO of the BBB,”
In a semiannual report on internet secu
rity threats published last month, cyber
security firm Symantec Corp. found an 18
percent increase in vulnerabilities finm the
previous reporting period, the highest num
ber ever recorded.
Also last month, Visa USAissued a report
on credit card-related security breaches,
noting security lapses at business sites that
included missing or outdated software secu
rity patches, incorrectly configured internet
servers and use of vendor-supplied default
passwords and settings.
“In order to establish a safe environment
for internet users of aU ages, the consumer,
education and business communities need
to make a joint effort to create awareness of
the state of the internet today,” said Ronald
Tfeixeira, executive director of the National
Cyber Security Alliance.
Charlotte honors
role of women
in business
By Herbert L. White
herb.white@/hechartotteposLcom
Glover
Women of color will have a prominent role
in Charlotte’s observance of National
Business Women’s Week.
Highlighting WomenConnect! 2006 Oct.
12 at Marriott City Center, is
a forum with panelists
including
• Bank of America senior
vice presidnet Rai Glover;
• N.C. Lottery Commission
member Bridget Ann
Hampton;
•Ramona Moore Big Eagje
of Dare to Soar Enterprises;
• Patricia Shafer, president
of Compel Consulting International and
• Elisa Rodriguez of Allstate Insurance
and the Latin American Chamber of
Commerce.
Since the 1920s, a week in October has
been set aside for NBWW, in which state
and local organizations as well as business
es acknowledge women’s accomplishments.
WomenConnect! provides dialogue for pro
fessional and personal networking opportu
nities.
Registration for the forum is $55 and seat
ing is limited. For information, call Beverly
Grant at (704) 609-5793,
Watercooler talk: Deer on the road and iPods in work space
By J.W. Elphinstone
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
OH DEER: As the weather turns
cooler, more deer are on the move near
yoiu* back roads, main streets and
crowded highways, increasing the pos
sibility of a deer-cai* accident.
Each year, deer cause more than 1.5
million vdiicle collisions, resulting in
150 occupant deaths, tens of thou
sands of injuries and more than $1 bil
lion in vehicle damage. The majority
of these accidents occur during deer
season, which runs firom Octobei* to
December.
“As our wildlife habitat continues to
shrink, accidents with deer and other
animals are likely to increase,” said
Jeanne Salvatore, senior vice presi
dent at the Insurance Information
Institute. ‘We need to be more vigilant
in our driving.”
Salvatore offers the following tips:
• Deer facts; Deer are everywhere
finm rural roads to busy hi^ways
and they usually travel in groups. So
if you see one near the road, keep your
eye out for its cousins.
• Deer reflexes: Deer often dart into
traffic when faced with headli^ts and
horns. When you see one, brake fiim-
ly, but stay in yoxu* lane to avoid colli
sions with other cars.
• Bad timing: Deer usually come out
finm dusk to early morning. Use your
high beams when possible to better
illuminate deer eyes.
• Gadgets: Don’t rely on deer whis
tles or reflectors. These devices
haven’t proven effective,
WORK TUNES: Younger workers
are more likely to don their head
phones while sitting in their offices
than their older counterparts, accord
ing to a study finm Spherion Corp.
Nearly half of adults ages 25 to 29
said they listen to their iPod, MP3
player or other personal music device
while working, whereas only 22 per
cent of adults ages 50 to 64 claim to do
so. Overall, almost one-third of aU
workers listen to music at the office.
While allowing personal music
devices may make many employees
happy, employers should set ground
rules first, according to Nancy
Halverson, vice president of talent
development at Spherion.
“Like many other new technologies
that have seeped in the worlqDlace,
personal music devices do have the
potential to negatively impact perfor
mance and security in the workplace,”
she said.
Ask workers to keep volume levels
low so that they can easily interact
with other co-workers and hear tele
phones and fire alarms.
Ol