As a former marketing manager for a business brokerage firm, I often heard stories about business owners who struggled with the challenge of positioning their business for sale. Many of these owners had invested years into their business only to find themselves needing to sell the business.  As business declined, they often made cost cutting decisions in hopes of recovering, and some of those cuts included reducing or eliminating their marketing efforts.  The difficult reality for these business owners to accept is that they really don’t have as much to offer a potential buyer as they believe.

It would be helpful if the business owner looked at their business from the perspective of the buyer.  Exactly what is the buyer purchasing – a business with cash flow, strong customer base, and a return on their investment or little to no cash flow, business assets, and a lot of accounts receivable?  Thoughtfully planned and executed marketing that develops a recognizable brand and a professional image positions a business so that when the time comes, it can be sold for top dollar. To demonstrate this concept, let’s compare the purchase of a business to the purchase of a home.

Put yourself in the shoes of a homebuyer for a few minutes and imagine looking for a three bedroom, two bath home inPortland.  As a buyer in a tough market, you want a home that meets your needs and offers the best value (ROI) over the long term.  As you peruse the online listings, you notice the differences in the quality and price of the homes offered.  In the same neighborhood, there are two listings for similar style and age homes.  The first home appears to be well maintained and updated, professionally staged and photographed with an online virtual tour while the second home appears to need decorating and updating; the snapshot photos show a cluttered interior and minimal preparation for sale. Even though these homes are very similar, which home would you be most likely to offer the higher price?

With a fresh coast of paint and staging, the second home would be much more appealing and be better positioned to sell quickly at the highest price. Professional investors who understand the real estate market and construction will buy the second home at the lowest price possible, do the cosmetics and repairs needed and sell at a higher price.  The same theory applies to selling your business.

Rather than selling your business at a loss, do what is needed to make your business attractive to potential buyers.  Positioning your business for sale by developing a strong brand identity, marketing collateral and online presence will offer a better return on your investment when it comes time to sell.  Some tips for making that transition are:

1. Marketing Strategy – Develop a workable strategy that can be    rolled out over time and within a reasonable budget.
2. Logo/Brand Image – Develop a contemporary, professionally    designed logo for quick recognition by current and potential customers.      The logo will be used in a multitude of marketing venues and will, over time, develop brand equity which has a price tag.
3. Website – Review your website, if you have one, to make sure      it looks contemporary, contains current content and is connected to social media outlets.  Your potential clients will want to know who they may do business with so create a positive, professional online presence and keep the site current through use of a content management system.
4. Social Media/Online Marketing – If your company isn’t involved with social media or online marketing now is the time to start. Online news sources are a great way to get the word out on your company, develop long lasting relationships and do it cost effectively.
5. Marketing – All marketing materials and customer touch points  should have your logo and message clearly shown.  This includes business cards, brochures, sell sheets, email campaigns, personal email signatures, e-letterhead, and signage, to name a few.
6. Be Consistent – Whatever strategy is developed to improve your company’s image, be committed to being consistent about marketing your business — every day, every week, every month.  Consistence on a small budget is far better than inconsistency on a large budget.

Implementing these key points will go a long way to positioning your business for sale and getting the best price possible.

Marketing Direction

Website Design
HTML5 has created a buzz in the web design world.  Some say it could out do Flash with its design flexibility — delivering bolder, more robust and interactive websites.  HTML5 websites can easily be integrated with powerful content management systems (CMS)  plugged into customer relationship management (CRM) and social media/email marketing tools to develop a comprehensive online businesses.  There is also a trend toward bold, sleek, single-page or smaller websites with pared down content – maybe with a sense of humor.  With great content, websites today are designed to engage customers and developing long-term relationships leading to ongoing sales.

Email Marketing & Social Media
Email marketing isn’t going away – it’s going to become more integrated with social media.  Email marketing is still a trust method of staying in front of current and potential clients and a key driver in developing sales opportunities.

Mobile Marketing
With cell phones becoming “smarter” every day and offering users a wide range of features, mobile marketing has seen a steep increase during 2011 and this trend is expended to continue in 2012.  Mobile marketing include text messaging, social media access, local based marketing (Where.com), mobile spending, money transfers and videos.

Graphic Design
There will still be a need for traditional graphic design services but these talents will be trending toward interactive, animation and websites graphics.  Designers will become more versatile with style and purpose for the artwork they create.

Direct Marketing
The direct marketing strategy is definitely not dead – just operating with a different agenda.  Like everything else in the marketing world, direct marketing is expected to be bold but much more targeted and, like email marketing, tied into social media with processes that are high-tech and effective.

There you have it – a snapshot of marketing for this year.  While there are many more areas of marketing that could be commented on, these are some of the marketing channels that GCMD receives the most questions. Check back in December to see how the year really rolled out.

Author: Alexandra Heseltine | Gray Cat Marketing

I recently visited New Brunswick for a few days and happened to drop by an A&W Restaurant in Moncton.  I’ve been a root beer lover from way back so visiting an A&W restaurant brought back great memories of visiting the (now closed) Scarborough, Maine A&W years ago.  As I was eating my Mama Burger (remember those), I looked over the packaging and there it was – their Mission Statement right on the side of the brown paper bag.

“A&W was founded on the principle of doing things right 50 years ago. That belief continues today in our commitment to the environment.  That’s why this bag is made from 100% recycled fibre ….” 

That was interesting reading …. A&W believes in doing the right thing and it affects the packaging materials they choose to use to promote their business.  I moved onto the orange cup containing the much coveted root beer and there it was again …

“Why is there no ice in our drinks? Our soda fountains chill our drinks to the perfect temperature.  Ice just melts and dilutes the taste.  And that just won’t do.”

This paragraph goes back to the original Mission Statement of “doing things right.”  I had already disposed of the hamburger wrapper when I made these discoveries but my guess is that another tell-tale sign of their Mission Statement would be printed on the wrapper as well.

A&W’s marketing is carefully branded to conjure up memories of an earlier time when people were concerned about “doing the right thing”, community, family and social responsibility. Their Core Values and Mission Statement speak to their long history dating to back to 1919 and their success.

Living their Core Values through their Mission Statement and Marketing has played a big part in the success of A&W.  They just keep “doing the right thing” over and over again and have continued to grow for nearly 100 years.  Today they are the number one producer of root beer in the world.

What are your Core Values?  Do you have a Mission Statement?  How do your Core Values and Mission Statement drive your business to success?

Professionally designed marketing pieces create a positive image for your business and speak to a standard of excellence while helping to develop customer confidence in the ability of the company to delivery on services promised. Credibility and trust are the cornerstones on which to build lasting customer relationships. 

Take a moment to check over your marketing materials.  Do they continue to create credibility for your company or are they dated and need some sprucing up.?  Start building credibility with your customers through quality marketing and watch your business grow.

Organization –Take some time to organize your thoughts and assemble some ideas on what you want the final project to look like before you meet with a graphic designer. What colors, images and themes do you want to include in the project?  What is the message you want to send to your audience?  Who will write the copy and do the photography?  Good organization will reduce the amount of time and money spent to create your project.

Good Communication – Develop good communication at the onset of the project to ensure you are working with the right graphic designer for you. Good communication is key to any working relationship but without this important element, precious resources can be used ineffectively.  Does the graphic designer understand your business and your goals? Will your graphic designer keep you informed through all stages of the project so you know what to expect for deadlines, costs, and the final product?  Good communication minimizes frustration for both you and designer and paves the way to a successful conclusion.

Work Style – When working with or selecting a graphic designer, learn how they operate their business.  What are their policies and procedures, billing practices and expectations?  Does their style mesh with your style?  Does your graphic designer provide you a written agreement before starting a project so expectations and responsibilities for both parties are full explained before the project starts?  Understanding the work style of the graphic designer you select can avoid misunderstandings and pave the way to a productive working relationship.

I hope these tips are helpful and provide you the framework for your next successful creative project.