The Savvy: Re-Evaluate Your Plan

The

Savvy

volume 1 :: august issue :: 2010

new courses p2 :: savvy article p3 :: savvy girls p4 :: savvy case study p5 savvy offer p6 :: marketing article p7 :: social media article p8 :: savvy tip p9

your plan

Enhancements. Etiquette. Tweaks. page 3

helping you integrate social media into your marketing I’m a big believer in planned reevaluation of any plan I set. I mean, you can structure all the planning in order to try to eliminate the “woulda, shoulda, coulda” elements, but things change.

Re-evaluation...I’ll be honest. This is usually not my favorite part of any campaign. I much prefer the planning and launching stages to the evaluation of how it worked.

You may need to shift your goals; the business climate you work in could be dramatically different in six months and opportunities that present themselves can force you to consider new options.

Hence the power of re-evaluation!

I suppose some of you feel the same way.

You’re already on to the next campaign, the next fresh idea, and you can feel the excitement of it coursing through your veins!

Re-evaluation can save you time, money, and resources if done properly. On the flip side, you want to be careful not to get stuck spinning your wheels because you are always re-evaluating, but never actually implementing.

But if we are to be effective owners of our businesses, we really do need to stop and evaluate the results of each of our efforts. That can be after each campaign, every quarter, every 6 months, or once a year...whatever is most effective for you to track the results of your efforts.

Or even worse, maybe you have a great One of my favorite business books is idea, but haven’t given it the time it Michael Gerber’s The E-Myth Revisted, needs to gel. and in it he encourages business owners to move from being the technician, to This month’s The Savvy is all about re- being the manager, and ultimately to evaluation–things to think about, tips being the entrepreneur in your business. for effectiveness, and more! Have some ideas we didn’t list here? Post them on Evaluation is important because it moves our Facebook page! us from the first two roles to the that uber-important role: that of entrepreneur. So carve out some time soon to evaluate what you’ve been doing...it’ll be worth it!

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cover photo © Candy Rice

Courses + Training

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August November 8/24: 5 Ways to Create Social Media Visibility ($47) 11/2: 4 Ways to Leverage Social Media for the Holidays ($47) September 7 9/7: 5 Savvy Secrets to Customizing your Facebook 11/16: 4 Ways Photographers Can Kill their Social Media Page: Give Customers the Full Picture ($47) Success ($47) 9/21: 4 Savvy Ways to Get Your Business on Twitter ($47)

11/30: 5 Ways to Give Thanks on Facebook and Twitter ($47)

October 10/5: 6 More Savvy Tips to Getting Liked on Facebook ($47)

December 12/14: Be a Blog Hog--5 Ways to Make Blogging Work for You ($47)

10/19: Social Media: Building Your Brand Image ($47)

January 1/4: 5 Ways Social Media is Changing Your Business Relationships in 2011 ($47) Just one for class? No problem! Utilize our personal coaching services.

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your plan

by Cassie Bair

Enhancements. Etiquette. Tweaks.

Enhancements. Etiquette.

Tweaks.

Many businesses truck along, dealing with things as they come and evaluating on the fly, allowing themselves to see only a portion of the bigger business picture.

But seeing the bigger picture is crucial for the success of your business. It allows you to figure out sales projections, identify problems, and in general better understand how your business is perceived.

Evaluation or re-evaluation…it all comes down to judging where your business stands at a certain point in time. And it’s a critical part of your business process.

But how often do you do it? And what exactly do you do? That’s the area many businesses struggle with. Here are a few tips: 1. Review the measurements and goals established in your existing marketing plan at least once a year. Are your numbers higher or lower at this point than planned, or are they right on track? How do they compare to this time last year? Or five years ago?

2. Consider what may have influenced the above information.

Your marketing efforts may have affected your numbers, or it may have been a fluke. I once worked for a bowling facility and we had an awful month in comparison to the same month in other years. At first glance, it appeared our marketing was failing. But what wasn’t taken into consideration was a series of blizzards that had been rolling through, severely impacting our hours of operation and, therefore, our numbers.

3. Look beyond the numbers. Think about other things that may need to be re-evaluated. Perhaps you need to review surveys and comment forms.

Or review how people are hearing about you. Look at redeemed coupons and promotions. Are you missing an opportunity?

4. Don’t forget your goods and services.

Each department sees a distinct side of a business. Just because you are evaluating marketing doesn’t mean you should neglect evaluating products and activities. Give your input and think honestly about how it may affect your marketing.

5. Consider your market, your target, and your niche. Has something changed that you need to consider, plan for, or at least be aware of?

Things change all the time. Some won’t affect you, but others will.

Take social media for an example: it initially had slow growth for most businesses, but these days that’s a whole other story! Stay conscious of what is out there.

6. Outline your revised plan. Are you dropping some things, but keeping others? Put it in writing, because writing it out demonstrates a level of commitment, acts as a guide, and helps drive further evaluation.

7. Don’t forget your ROI. A new plan often means new evaluation processes. Make sure you keep that in mind while planning and later on when re-evaluating!

Re-evaluation can determine a partial or completely new shift to your marketing.

But it doesn’t have to. Things may be working great for you and an evaluation could verify that. But be ready for change and set your next evaluation timeframe once you have finished your initial round.

Need help? Let us know at info@ thecollectivesavvy.com. We love helping businesses reach their goals–and we’d love to help you achieve yours! Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and our website and contact us when you’re ready.

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leave a wake with your social media.

insert some savvy.

Savvy Case Study

Connections Magazine, Fergus Falls, Minnesota How strong design and steady outreach helped this magazine grow

Connec ions

for evangelical Lutheran Christians March/April 2008

God’s Meeting Place BRAD SOENKSEN

Joy in the Midst of War cHRiS mAgNEll

Deepening Your Devotional Life

JOHAN HiNDERliE

Silent Retreats

SHARON KNUDSON

Improving your Serve DAViD DRUm

original magazine issue

We do a fair amount of work for nonprofits, and this month’s case study highlights just one of those organizations: Bible Alive Ministries’ (BAM) Connections Magazine.

I designed the original layout for the magazine about 3 years ago, and trained their editor Joy to manage the production in the layout.

Joy has done a terrific job with the magazine, and together with BAM founder Kent Groethe, they have grown the magazine to 1100 subscribers and taken the publication from 24 pages in the first issue to now 36 pages each issue!

excited to continue to champion their growth and outreach.

We think they are about to experience another growth spurt, and we couldn’t be more excited for them!

Need help marketing your nonprofit? We offer a 15% discount off all our services for nonprofits. Contact us today and see how we can help!

by Candy

My old company, Candy Rice Design, advertised in this magazine and The Collective Savvy continues to advertise in it as well. At the far right are some of the ads we’ve used over the years.

Recently, we contacted Connections Magazine to offer a series of articles about how churches can use social media to reach out to their congregations as well as those not presently involved with the church. We were thrilled when the magazine embraced the concept, and the first article in our series was published in July!

for evangelical Lutheran Christians July/August 2010

You’ve heard about Tweeting and Friending and know you should be using Twitter and Facebook...but how will you find time to learn about and manage all that social networking?

We can help you get started, organize and run ad campaigns, and manage Twitter and Facebook for you!

Or teach you to manage them by yourself!

Social Media (SM) Services we offer: • Total SM management • Partial SM management • SM training

We help lots of small and medium businesses and nonprofits. Call us today to see how we can help you!

candyrice design

savvy marketing for small business.

303.947.5527 from denver to the world

www.candyrice.com

Attention Business Owners and Nonprofits!!!!

You’ve heard about Tweeting and Friending and know you should be using Twitter and Facebook...but how will you find time to learn about and manage all that social networking?

We can help you get started, plan your strategy, organize & run ad campaigns, and manage Twitter and We help lots of small and medium businesses and Facebook for you! Or even teach nonprofits. Call us today to you to do it yourself! see how we can help you!

info@thecollectivesavvy.com

3596 Madison Street Candy: 303.947.5527 twitter.com/collectivesavvy

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facebook.com/collectivesavvy

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Denver, CO 80205

Cassie: 720.244.3503

linkedin.com/companies/collective-savvy

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The Truth of Life

James I. Lamb Is the Unborn Child a Neighbor to Christians?

JacK eIchhorsT

Intro to The Lord’s Prayer VIrgIL Thompson

Honduras

BAM and the magazine are longtime clients of ours, and we are

Attention Business Owners and Nonprofits!!!!

sean KeLLy

Role of Social Media in the Church

cassIe baIr & candy rIce

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Attention Business Owners and Nonprofits!!!!

You’ve heard about Tweeting and Friending and know you should be using Twitter and Facebook...but how will you find time to learn about and manage all that social networking?

We can help you get started, organize & run ad campaigns, and manage Twitter and Facebook for you! Or even teach you to do it yourself!

LCMC, CORE and WordAlone Updates

most recent issue

plan your strategy, We help lots of small and medium businesses and nonprofits. Call us today to see how we can help you!

info@thecollectivesavvy.com

3596 Madison Street Candy: 303.947.5527 twitter.com/collectivesavvy

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facebook.com/collectivesavvy

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Denver, CO 80205

Cassie: 720.244.3503

linkedin.com/companies/collective-savvy

1+1+1+1+1 = FUN (Seriously!)

Got a group? Grab 4 of your closest friends, peers, or co-workers and reserve a custom social media or marketing class with The Collective Savvy!

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Contact The Collective Savvy at info@ thecollectivesavvy.com or call 720.244.3503 for more information. We look forward to saving you some quick cash!

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Marketing Article How to Evaluate Your Marketing Efforts Excerpt of an article by Kim Gluckie at www.calgarybeacon.com

I thought I’d share some top tips on keeping positive marketing momentum. And I’m going to tell you how to do this by putting you to work on evaluating where [you] have come from. By doing this, you will know how to go forward!

So get a piece of paper! On that paper, on the left side write in a column: • why did or didn’t it work?

• does it matter?

• do I want to do it again?

• what do I keep the same?

• what do I change?

At the top of the page, make two headlines beside these questions. The headlines will say: • what worked • what didn’t work Now set that piece of paper aside and take out your business plans, marketing plans, brainstorming notes and gut instincts from the past campaign or past year. Grab a new page and get ready to start jotting notes to address the bullet points below.

Evaluating Your Marketing Efforts–“What” have you done?

• evaluate the revenue and profitability of each campaign–did you set a goal and

how did you do?

• evaluate the revenue and profitability of a quarter, half year and full year of business–same question, did you set a goal and how did you do?

• look at your customer database–did you gain customers, did you lose customers, does it matter if your revenue and profit increased, is it a reason why if they didn’t?

• look at your potential customer lis–id your overall network and marketing opportunity increase in a measurable way, can you see opportunities from the past that you can put into place for the future?

• how many campaigns did you run, what kind were they and what was the result?

Did you gain customers? Did you gain awareness? Do you know?

• use the tools you have in place to measure your business–web analytics, phone inquiries, email inquiries, sales leads, actual sales, visits • look back at what personal and business goals and visions you set for the year– did you meet them? come close? did they change along the way? are you happy with what you accomplished?

Evaluating Your Marketing Efforts–“Why” did your efforts work or not work?

• did you put enough time into planning? was anything implemented well or poorly because of the time put into it?

• how professional was your effort and did this play a role in response?

• how is your accounting and tracking of customers set up and did you put the right tools into place to manage the ‘business of your business’?

• did you DIY your business in areas where you should have hired an expert? did you hire the right experts? did you get the right training?

• did you make any marketing “spends?”

Was it in a budget? Was it “costrecovered?” read the rest >>

“Everything that can be counted does not necessarily count; everything that counts cannot necessarily be counted.”

-Albert Einstein

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legendary genius

“One of the great mistakes is to judge policies and programs by thei r i ntention s rather than thei r results.”

-Milton Friedman legendary economist

Social Media Article How To: Evaluate Your Social Media Plan

Excerpt of an article by Meaghan Edelstein at www.mashable.com

Many companies, startups and well established businesses are frustrated because their social media presence isn’t larger or yet benefiting their bottom line.

One of the big issues is that most companies start using social media thinking it’s the holy grail. It takes time, effort, and resources before this new media will have an impact on you brand.

Here are a few tips businesses should consider.

“The most serious mistakes are not being made as a result of wrong answers. The truly dangerous thing is asking the wrong question.”

-Peter Drucker

legendary businessman

1. Are You Using the Right Platform?

There are many social media platforms to consider when designing an online campaign. Twitter, Facebook, blogs and YouTube are some of the biggest and most important. While all the social sites should be examined, blindly signing up for accounts can be a mistake. To start, educate yourself on each platform and how they can enhance your brand.

“Success and failure are both greatly overrated. But failure gives you a whole lot more to talk about.”

When launching a Facebook presence, consider the various platforms within this medium; Pages, Groups and now Communities. Each have different purposes, tools and limitations. Do some research before making the commitment.

-Hildegard Knef

legendary actress/singer

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Twitter is a quick and easy way for brands to share updates and ideas with their consumers, and it’s also a good place to watch trends and listen to what your demographic is excited about. Because Twitter is always growing and evolving, it’s important to keep apprised of the latest changes.

Blogging can be a powerful tool for any brand. Unlike static websites, daily blog posts improve search engine optimization and provide a constant source of up-todate information for consumers. Whether you use Blogger, WordPress or Tumblr, your customers will enjoy reading about your company so long as you make it interesting and current.

Video might seem intimidating, but it’s an extraordinarily powerful social medium.

YouTube is one of the largest sources of search traffic, but most companies fail to include it in their social media plan. Video sites essentially operate as a brand’s personal channel and can be viewed by millions.

World famous celebrity chef Jamie Oliver knows the importance of utilizing video platforms. “YouTube is a great way to get Jamie’s videos out to a wider audience – in some months we have twice as many video views on YouTube as on Jamie’s site,” said Monisha Saldanha, head of online, Jamie Oliver Ltd. Each social platform has its own “job,” and they can all be used simultaneously to boost success. “Jamie has pages on Facebook, Bebo, MySpace, Twitter, and YouTube — people tend to use their own favorite social networking sites, so it’s a good idea to be on all the major ones,” said Saldanha.

2. Provide Messages Your Audience Wants Consider your brand’s demographic, who they are, and what information they want to receive. In traditional marketing there is a tendency to manipulate the consumer directly, while in social media it’s the audience who truly dictates the message. read the rest >>

Savvy Tip Halt – It’s Savvy Time!

Every business owner needs to

stop, contemplate, and examine what s/he is doing and where s/he is going. Here are some savvy tips to consider when re-evaluating your marketing efforts: 1. Make the time–Plan your reevaluation period and set time aside to do it properly.

2. Do it correctly–Figure out what you need to do a proper

re-evaluation

and

have it ready to go. This may include advertising statistics, Facebook reports, or ROI analytics.

3. No (wo)man is an island– Don’t re-evaluate on your own. Pull from other departments, or even friends or professional colleagues who aren’t as close to your industry. They may be able to identify opportunities you may never see.

4. Tweak the plan–Once you figure out what needs to change, adjust your plan accordingly.

It’s crucial to make all this effort worthwhile!

5. Run Forrest Run–You have the knowledge and the new plan, so make the necessary moves!

Regular re-evaluation is crucial to your business...and to your sanity. So be savvy and make the time to do it for YOUR business!

Need help? Contact us at info@ collectivesavvy.com.

Learn more about us online! www.thecollectivesavvy.com Candy: 303.947.5527 Cassie: 720.244.3503 like follow connect

info@thecollectivesavvy.com

facebook.com/collectivesavvy twitter.com/collectivesavvy linkedin.com/companies/collective-savvy facebook.com/thesavvygirls twitter.com/thesavvygirls

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