November 1999, Volume: 2 Issue: e/10

~~~Diversify ... your reading, expand your mind! One of our favorite publications is Japan Airlines' monthly newsletter. For November 1999 they list some curious publications which STRETCH the mind ... Tug of War (for athletes registered in this sport), Bug Monthly, The Pig Magazine & Monthly the Waste. (Now, we DIDN'T say you can derive something relevant from all your cranial meandering!) Too out of the box for you, then broaden your mind with Business 2.0, The Red Herring, Fast Company and other hot publications.

~~~Psychologist view ... "If, as psychologists tell us, we are happiest in our work if our work incorporates the things we enjoyed as children, does the same hold true for our communities? Should the community's vision incorporate elements that made the community strong in it's 'childhood'?" Bob Behling, PA

~~~When making laptop presentations ... Keep it simple:

            Keep to one thought, concept, or idea per screen

            Have no more than 6 lines and 6 words per line

            Use upper and lower case letters - all caps are awkward to read

            Capitalize only the first word of a line

            Use 1-2 readable typefaces; stay consistent

            Highlight with bold or italics

            Highlight key numbers in charts

 

Source: "Point, Click & Wow!! A Quick Guide to Brilliant Laptop Presentations" by Claudyne Wilder and David Fine, Pfeiffer and Company, 1996. (606.647.3030)

~~~Inc. magazine ... annual list of 500 fastest growing companies. Of note is the fact that Georgia had the greatest gain in the number of Inc. 500 companies since last year -- 7 new ones, total 24. The greatest number of Inc. 500 CEO's were born in New York (36) and Nebraska has the distinction of having 7 CEO's born there but only one stayed to build the business in Nebraska. California still leads with the most number of Inc. 500 companies (75) but it dropped by 9 since last year. The upper Great Plains (MT, ND, SD, WY) have no companies represented, and the South (MS, AL, LA, AR, SC) has only 14 between them. Source: Chris Gibbons, CO

~~~Come again? ... While Microsoft Office is an overwhelming favorite, it is not the only business software package used by companies or consultants.  That important MS Office application attachment you spent so long preparing will have to be converted - sometimes badly - to their system's package. All of this can be avoided by saving and then sending attached documents in the HTML format that virtually everybody with e-mail can access.  Aside from convenience for your clients, you'll actually know what your recipient will see and can make adjustments before you send it. Source: Bill Graper, NY

~~~"I just read ... your economic development marketing letter and felt the need to respond to your comments regarding the frustration with consultants and their site information request."

"If customer service is our objective and our job is to market the community, why should we be so upset/frustrated when we get the inquiry?  This process has been going on as long as I can remember (20 years in the business) with the primary change relating to the amount of time that is given to respond.  Are we the only ones in the business community being asked to do things quicker, smarter, etc?  I don't think so.  I am happy to receive the inquiries and will continue to respond to those that make sense for the Greater Lafayette community in the time that we are asked to respond." Mike Brooks, IN

~~~Mike ... The reference was more to the amount of time allowed to respond and the volume of information requested as you pointed out. There is no debate about our need to serve these very important clients. Unfortunately, many still have not organized their response capabilities to manage the increasing time constraint. In our advanced course, we recommend and discuss building a FAQ (frequently asked questions) file (electronic) to speed responses. Given the reaction -- you can see the light bulbs go on -- this is a revelation to many participants. This suggests we are not leveraging the computers we have available, hence Blane, Canada Ltd.'s latest research project. The Editors

So ... if you've received a long list of questions from a prospect (usually a consultant) asking for detailed information for a proposed project, please send a copy for our proposal and information resources research. All who submit will receive detailed reports on the findings.

~~~To do ... If you have not seen your community from 1,000 feet, visit the local airport. A charter over the community and neighboring communities, if they are competitors, gives an entirely different perspective. This is one underutilized tool valuable for a competitive assessment. Aerial photos are OK, but they tend to be old. P.S. Take your camera along.

~~~Strategic trade show approach ... Looking to differentiate your organization at a key industry trade show? Take a research tactic. Independently, or in partnership with the show sponsor, university, trade association, or publication, conduct a research project for release at the show. This creates an opportunity for unique coverage at the show, in trade publications, and with direct response marketing. Source: Economic Development: Marketing for Results! (the book) <ecanada@ix.netcom.com>

~~~Micro Enterprise Best Practices ... The USAID Micro Enterprise Best Practices (MBP) Project recently published the review paper "Information and Communications Technologies: Are They the Key to Viable Business Development Services for Micro and Small Enterprises?" written by Clifton Barton and Marshall Bear. This free paper is available at  <http://www.mip.org/pubs/MBP/ict.htm>.

~~~News Flash ... Blane, Canada Ltd.'s Synchronist Business Information System^® software has been adopted by the State of North Dakota as the business assessment tool for the statewide Manufacturing Extension Program. Four utilities have acquired Synchronist software to use within their respective territories!

~~~Want invaluable insight? Ask great questions! Many people ask feeble, dumb, not-thought-out, or non-stimulating questions -- or even worse, questions that aren't on the subject! Yet, the quality of the answer depends on the quality of the question. Planning questions in advance of a call can dramatically increase the value of the information collected. Two of our favorite questions, used in executive interviews for clients never fail to positively surprise respondents. (1) Where is your community in it's life cycle? (showing a picture of a life cycle -- start-up, growth, maturity, decline) (2) If the organization was a person, what adjectives would you use to describe that individual? Keep a file of great questions.

~~~Points of contact ... map every point where your organization makes contact with a prospect. 1) Identify them, e.g. receptionist, Web site, brochure, office, sales presentation, etc. 2) Study each one. 3) Work to improve each one significantly. This is an excellent recommendation for mid-game/end-game marketing. Source: "Selling the Invisible," Harry Beckwith, Warner Books, 1997.

~~~Read any good books/articles/reports lately? If you have a reading recommendation, send us a note, and we will pass them along.

~~~Government data ... <http://www.fedstats.gov> links to all the government agencies that maintain statistical reports. Source: Ed Ratazzi, NY

~~~Positioning/differentiation ... publish and distribute an area real estate market review. This is a great way to leverage what is learned from managing a site and building database. Partner with a local commercial real estate broker or go it alone. A review or market analysis is a positioning tactic frequently used by large commercial brokerage companies to validate their "expertise" in the market. It can work in a development environment as well.

~~~"Thank you very much for the outstanding assessment and training that you provided to our group. Please consider our company another happy, Blane, Canada, Ltd. customer." Source: Joe Russo, Niagra Mohawk, NY

~~~Rachel's recommendations ... Web sites that are consistent in theme and visual layout create a professional and appealing impression. Avoid the glitz and glamour in computer graphics and Web design. Busy-looking sites inundated with graphics detract from the copy and take a long time to load. Use graphics to illustrate a point or highlight specific information. Use informative tools that provide relevant information. Visitors want useable information that prints out in presentation quality. If maps or graphs are used on your Web site, make them clear and specific.