As the economy shifts into a different shape, a shape that has never been seen before, the old rules have changed.  I keep hearing people say “I have been doing this for 25 years.  It will work.” Sorry, but what worked 25 years ago just doesn’t work today.  What worked one year ago doesn’t necessarily work today.  The path has been paved over and the new rules of the road are now flashing—if you’re paying attention of course.

Web site Visitors and Users

First, if you don’t have a Web site you’re already far behind.  I don’t care if your business is building plastic clamps for a part that goes in the trunks of Ford SUV’s.  Every business needs a Web site. Historically, the most popular pages on a Web site were its news section, maybe some landing pages and some content pages.  In these new times do you know what we have found to be one of the most popular pages on a Web site?  The “About Us” page.  Web site visitors today are discovering that the “Search” process whether you go through Google, Yahoo, or any other search engine, does not always offer the best results.  Many businesses today, before going anywhere on your site now wants to know what your company is all about.  Does this company believe in what I believe in?  What’s the customer service like?  Is the owner of the business truly dedicated to his or her customers?  Is the company a good company?  The days of slapping up some content to entertain the Google algorithms to get on the first page of Google or Yahoo are over.  You still might get on the first page of Google or Yahoo but now that customers are doing more research, acquiring new customers will be more difficult if your company is not credible.  Be transparent as you can with your customers.  Speak about your story and how you were founded.  Speak about success stories, business goals and objectives.  Speak about your core values and why they are your core values.  Earn the trust of your customers.

Getting a Business Loan

Before the credit markets got silly with loose lending practices and greedy executives, what where the lending rules?  The rules were do you have collateral?  Do you have appropriate income?  Do you have a good credit score?  How long have you been in business?  Are you profitable? 

What were the rules during our recent economic boom?  Do you have a pulse?  Oh great here’s your loan.  Yes, the credit markets are extremely tight right now.  However, if you are going to need a business loan or want a business loan during these times you best be prepared and know what you’re doing.  Make sure you have everything organized in a professional-looking way.  The banks don’t want to take on a single ounce of risk right now.  Making the banks do any kind of extra work to learn about your business is going to threaten your chances of getting a loan.   The best way for banks and lending institutions to learn about your business is through a professional SBA certified business plan.  Without a business plan 99% of banks will throw your application right in the trash.  There are all different kinds of business plan templates at all different prices.  If you are going to pay someone to write a business plan for you make sure it’s a certified business plan.

Sales and Marketing

When I was growing up I walked door- to-door selling Christmas garlands and wreaths to people in my neighborhood.  Back then they thought it was cute.  Today, they would most likely slam the door in my face and probably call the police.  Cold calling, email blasting, recorded voice calling….these methods might still work for some of you today, but you should add social media to your marketing mix. An effective social media effort will attract new customers at almost no cost.  Social media is still this big black hole for many people today, but if you spend some time with social media, it’s not that hard to learn how to effectively use it.  The main question with social media is how do you create the habitual user?  As the owner of your company what can you share with your customers that will get them to come back to visit your site on a daily, weekly or monthly basis?  Once familiarity and credibility is established the customer will naturally use your services or products.  Some social media accounts to look into:  Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious.