The Power of a Hand-Written Thank You in Business

When was the last time you received a hand-written thank you note? More importantly, when did you last write to someone to express your gratitude? With the fast pace of life and the ease of technology, we've fallen into the trap of communication devoid of any real personal touch.

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Tough Competition for Landscape Design, Lawn Maintenance and Irrigation Businesses

As an owner of a landscape design, lawn maintenance or irrigation business, you are well aware of the competition you have for new customers. The fact that your business is seasonal also poses a number of challenges. So how do you make sure you are gaining the competitive edge?

As with any business, it starts with a professional image; one that lets your prospects and customers know you are serious about and take pride in your work. The quality of your company logo, marketing materials, website, vehicles, and proposals will tell a story about your business. Equally important is finding and hiring reliable and trustworthy workers who will help you provide the highest standards in customer care.

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Give Yourself the Competitive Edge by Forgetting about the Competition

Business owners are always wondering and worrying about what the competition is doing. When they develop their marketing, they see what the competition is saying and then they say it differently or they position their company differently...based on the competition.

There's a problem with that mindset.

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Cause Marketing: The "Heart" of Your Business

There are so many facets to marketing a business. "Cause Marketing," often referred to as "marketing with a heart," is a great way for a business to develop a more personal and positive image -- one that shows you care about the welfare of others. But why and then how does one incorporate the marketing of a cause into their business plan? We'll tell you here.

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Copywriting

Sometimes you just need someone to tell your story for you. Great copywriting takes time and experience. You know your business well, but how do you use text that gets your message across in a way that will motivate your prospects to choose you over the competition? Whether it's for Search Engine Optimization, brochure creation, article or press release writing, we can write copy that makes sense and gets results. At the start of every copywriting project, you give us the details of the message you want to tell. From there, we craft copy that matches your corporate personality.

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Marketing Takes Planning and Effort

This past weekend I accomplished a goal I had set for myself about a year ago. I trained for and finished my first marathon. The conditions on race day were not ideal. In fact, the race was "red flagged" for unexpected high temperatures and they gave all the newbies the opportunity to defer to next year. How could I defer when I worked so hard for this day?

It was most definitely a hot day. Had I not trained properly and run the race wisely, I probably would not have finished. Even worse, I could have gotten sick and hospitalized like a number of the runners I saw along the course. Why do I bring this up? To brag a little, yes. After all, it was a pretty special accomplishment. But more importantly, I would like to highlight this week's article, "Marketing...It's Like Training for a Running Race." Anything worth doing is worth doing well and that takes planning. This article will explain in more detail.

The Benefits of Allowing a Creative Firm to Handle Every Aspect of Your Project

These are most certainly times when business owners are looking for ways to reduce costs and maximize investments in their marketing. Often times, in thinking they are saving, business owners will make their own arrangements for services such as copywriting, illustration, programming, printing and website maintenance. They may assign the projects to internal personnel who have other job responsibilities or they will hire individual vendors for each aspect of the project.

While the business owner may feel they have a better control when they handle a project themselves, there are actually more benefits to having a creative firm, like Eagle Soars Consulting, manage everything on a marketing project.

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Eagle Soars Consulting Celebrates 10 Years in Business

Ten years ago, Anne Lazo was faced with an opportunity to live out a childhood dream of owning a business. With a great passion and an entrepreneurial spirit, Lazo embarked on a mission to help other business owners realize their potential for success. When the occasion presented itself, Lazo founded Eagle Soars Consulting. The company is now excited and pleased to be celebrating 10 years in business.

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The Marketing Plan

Are you actively using a marketing plan to get the word out on the great products/services offered by your business? If you are, KUDOs to you! You're also in the minority. That's right. Many business owners don't have a plan. As a result, they end up running marketing/advertising campaigns haphazardly. They spend money unnecessarily and then they try to save where they should be spending...on professional services (like marketing, accounting, etc.). This year, make the commitment to plan for your business success. And if you need to use a professional to assist you in the process, do it right away.

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Thriving in a Competitive Business Environment

Nationwide business owners are either working harder to thrive or they are cutting back to survive. Increased competition and economic uncertainties, often trigger business owners to cut back on their investment in marketing and advertising. While it may seem like a good idea in the short-term, this is a decision that can end up being quite costly...even deadly to your business.

Instead of cutting back, keen business owners are using the tight economy as an opportunity to re-think and re-work their product and service offerings. One of the most important things these business owners are doing is saturating every marketing and advertising venue with their message. After all, what better time to get the word out when other businesses are cutting back?

Slow and steady wins the race. And little actions over time add up to give you a big impact. When figuring out what you want to do with your company next year, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1. Develop a plan. It is always surprising how many small companies neglect to do any kind of business or marketing planning. Figure out where you want to go and how you are going to get there. Then write the plan down and update it periodically.
2. View marketing as an investment. The more you strategically market to the people who need your product or service, the more customers you will attract.
3. Evaluate what you are currently doing to make sure the money you are spending on building your business is working for you. Don’t use strategies just because they are part of a traditional marketing program. Focus your efforts on a program that will get you the best results.
4. Stop using strategies that are not working, and always remember to test and measure so you know whether you are effectively reaching your target audience.
5. Review your marketing message. You want to be certain it clearly and concisely demonstrates “What’s in it for me?”.
6. Don’t forget to have fun. If you love what you do and have fun doing it, you will have no choice but to succeed.
   

Where will you be concentrating your business development efforts in 2012?

We'd love to know what you'll be focusing on for the development of your business in 2012. We've put together a quick one-question survey you can answer by clicking on the link below. Then check back periodically to see what other business owners are saying.

Take Survey Now

Small Business Optimism

A recent CBS report indicated small business optimism is continuing to decline. Unfortunately, this is the reality of doing business in the current economic climate, and for the business featured in the CBS interview, it comes despite aggressive marketing.



Does this mean marketing dollars have been wasted? Absolutely not! Can you imagine what this business owner's outlook would be if he wasn't aggressively marketing his business? In a tight economy, it's a tough decision to market aggressively, especially when business owners need to find ways to cut back. But drastically reducing or eliminating marketing is like cutting off your nose to spite your face.

Instead of eliminating or greatly reducing their investment in marketing, business owners should seriously consider evaluating how their marketing dollars are performing for their company. Many may not want to admit this, but it's a prudent idea to have an expert in marketing help with this task. That way, a business owner can be confident any revisions to the marketing plan will be favorable toward maximizing ROI.

Remember, marketing is an investment (not an expense) that is vitally important if you want to remain in business.