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I am sitting here reflecting on the activities of this past month. I find it overwhelming to start a business, be responsible for all the details and keep the fires burning. This month has been a flurry of activity! It has been both exciting and stressful all at the same time.
At the time of the last issue, I had already established my target market, which is "small businesses" in the Rexburg, Idaho area. I had pulled my office together. I had built my desk and purchased a lot of office supplies. I also made sure I had the basic marketing materials; Letterhead, business cards, and envelopes. Click here to view samples.
This month I needed to solidify my offerings, identify my competition and get involved with the Rexburg business community. I learned very quickly that I needed help this month. Those of you who have a partner will be able to share the work but since I am going on my own, I either need to hire the work or find friends and family to help.
Week 1
One of the things I decided was that I would develop RexburgOnline.com into a medium through which I would generate sales of web sites. I had learned through training with ICServ that customers need to be cultivated and the RexburgOnline.com business directory could be the incubator. I planned to follow these steps:
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1. Offer a free listing on RexburgOnline.com
2. Offer a premier listing or advertisement on the directory
3. Offer a web page advertisement on the directory
4. Offer a stand alone web site
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I established my pricing for all of these. Click here to see ad prices and web site prices. I also did research in my area to see if I had any competitors. I found a few people competing but their quality and abilities were not impressive. I decided that this was definitely the market for me!
I got some help getting my prospect list together. I received a file from the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce. It only included the businesses that are members of the Chamber, so I found someone to enter the remaining Rexburg businesses into a spreadsheet.
I hired a couple of commission based sales reps from the local college to call on my contact list. I pay them a straight 20% commission on their sales. They began making outbound telephone calls around their school schedules.
Week 2
I joined the Rexburg Chamber of Commerce this week. That started a flurry of activity for me. The Chamber worked with me to set up a Grand Opening. They put my picture in the paper with a short article about a new business in town. It really helped raise the attention of the business community.
I started planning for a Grand Opening and talking with everyone I could to promote RexburgOnline.com. I talked with several people who were working on different projects that I would promote on RexburgOnline.com.
I made arrangements to meet with the local radio station to discuss advertising, get them involved in what we were doing and show them RexburgOnline.com. We won their support and put them on the home page with an audio clip of the news that they now provide us with every morning Monday - Friday. It has gone very well. Along with the news we contracted with them to run 80 30-second radio ads for the month with the possibility of continuing them.
ICServ has used me as a beta tester for their new technology called EZ-NetStream. I am receiving some help from ICServ updating these news clippings on my web site. I find their support very helpful.
From my ever-growing prospect list, I mailed out over 600 business invitations and 38 invitations to dignitaries. The dignitary list included: governing members of the Chamber of Commerce, the mayor of Rexburg, the Rexburg City Council memebers, all local news papers, TV, and radio station managers, and a few key community individuals that we felt would add credibility to our cause.
Week 3
Panic sets in!!!! My Grand Opening is only 3 days away and so much to do. This was no small task. I created a checklist and provided samples of the things that we pulled together for the Grand Opening. Click here to view the checklist and samples items.
To Do's of a Grand Opening
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- Do mail your invitations about two weeks before the event.
- Do check your press release for accuracy. Is the date, time and location included?
- Do prepare for the press and treat them with utmost respect. They can be your best friends.
- Do ask for the date and time the TV will air your news clip.
- Do walk through your presentation using the technology before the event starts.
- Do set-up with plenty of time to relax before the event starts. Believe me, you will be nervous.
- Do use the outline I have provided so you don't have the stress I had!!!
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Here is how the big event went. My helpers and I all showed up early. We finished putting the press kits together and we thought we were ready. As we were setting up and making last minute details we discovered there were some items that we did not cover. Most of them could have been done earlier and reduced the stress of the day. Our caterer arrived early and did get the refreshments set up. The florist brought the balloons that we had ordered. The facility looked great.
1. We had not made any signs to indicate where the Grand Opening was to take place for sure. Since we met in a conference room in the building my office resides, we printed some directional signs.
2. I did not plan a table for the items that we were giving away and someplace for businesses to register for the drawing. Luckily I came early to set up, so I went to work setting up another table.
3. I hadn't thought about pictures. Luckily, ICServ was invited and Kip stepped in to save the day here.
4. The presentation and demo of RexburgOnline.com went well, or at least I thought it did. However, I almost forgot to have the drawings for prizes that we were giving away. I recovered and we took care of that. The winners were:
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- Beehive Federal Credit Union won a button ad
- Bill Dupree, a local Attorney won a button ad
- The Rexburg Standard Journal won a one year premier listing
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We finished with the ribbon cutting and pictures. Quite a number of individuals lingered to ask questions about our services and what we had to offer. It seemed to me to be a success. Phew!
Week 4
This week was recovery week but there was no time to rest. The week was highlighted with my first sale!!! Exuberance may be a little strong but I had finally sold an account! This sale was a direct reflection of the Grand Opening. The customer purchased a self- serve account after being disappointed with a common software package. He immediately started working the site himself and the site was up and operational within a week! Visit his site here www.galleryphotolab.com.
The phone calls by my sales reps were successful getting the word out and establishing free accounts. Although they sold just a few ads, it greatly contributed to the advertising efforts.
The phone has started to ring a bit more and since the Grand Opening. Many of the businesses have seen my advertisement and actually took the time to visit RexburgOnline.com.
Summary
The one thing I have found to be of most importance this month is to get involved with your community and to get help when you need it. I could not have pulled this off myself. It appears that the momentum is building and the community of Rexburg is beginning to know about RexburgOnline.com.
The fee that I paid to join the Chamber was the best $100.00 I think I have ever spent! Just by joining the Chamber, I received a lead to create a web site for a business that works very close with the chamber.
Other benefits of a Chamber membership include a chance to meet once a month to learn about the community and be involved with the local business. The business community knows who I am now. It has added credibility to my business. If you plan on being involved with your community, I can't say enough about the importance of the Chamber of Commerce.
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