Rick and Whitney  

Is blogging right for your small business?  It's free so it must not be very good, right?  Rick and Whitney will be discussing how blogging can help your small business.  What is microblogging?  We will be clearing the haze around all this new stuff and really get down to business on how effective these free tools can be at generating business and getting your website or small business noticed, especially on a small budget.  Check out the show info here and get reminded to watch.

If you haven't created a marketing plan because it seems totally overwhelming then you need to listen to this show with a pen and paper in hand. We will cover what you need to put in your plan to get started. 2009 is almost upon us and you shouldn't start the New Year without one. We are going to go for 45 minutes this week so we can get a full 30 minutes under our belts discussing the marketing planning process, so make some time for your this special show.

Today's show was really great!  We covered a whole host of things that a small business should bear in mind when evaluating one's business.  They are roughly and in no particular order:

1. What is the message you are sending to your customers and prospects?
2. Do all the components of your business speak to your core message?
3. Confused prospects won't close.  Are you confusing people with an inconsistent message?
4. Be memorable.
5. Look at what others are doing and mimic strong brands, even if they are small brands.
6. Start today.

Some businesses we chatted about
Microsoft Office 2007
Trophy Cupcakes Seattle
Rudy's Barbershop
Voodoo Doughnut Portland
Galactic Boutique
AdSymetrix
Whitney Keyes

Look forward to next week's show which is getting to get you a marketing plan in 30 minutes.  Seriously that is all it takes.

Rick Rochon and Whitney Keyes will be spending some time this week going over the soup to nuts evaluation of a small business. We will be covering the comprehensive way that a small business, whether a service business or a product business needs to look at how they present themselves and their businesses image and marketing story. This is a big topic and we will be covering more on this in the future. But, if you have a small business check it out. Also, if you are in Seattle or San Francisco you can work with one of us directly.