Strategy is not just for big businesses

In a recent presentation of Dollars + Sense, a participant commented that setting strategy and key performance indicators (KPIs) was for large businesses. According to the participant, small mom and pop shops are too small to worry about effective business analysis. Not true, I say. The smaller your business is, the more critical your need for good measurements and an effective strategy. Unlike larger organizations, you don't have much wiggle room to make repeated mistakes. KPIs and a solid strategy will help keep you on track and quickly reveal when things are taking a turn for the worst. Regardless of tour size, you need solid measurements and a well defined strategy. That's how the larger organizations get and stay big.

Keeping It Simple

My sister has a foster child who is in his mid teens. They have worked out an allowance system: he has a set allowance, yet certain chores have to be completed in order for him to receive his full allowance. For each chore that is not completed, a portion of the allowance is deducted. My sister and her husband aren't forcing him to do his chores: the hope is that he will be self directed to do what he is supposed to do in order to get his full allowance.

To date, the child has never received his full allowance. Some weeks, he doesn't receive any allowance. He does just enough to get what he wants at the time and lets the remaining funds go untapped. He doesn't yet see the value in doing the extra work needed to acquire the additional funds.

It might sound odd, but small businesses are like that, too. If they don't see the full value in responding to your call to action, signing up for your trial offer, or participating in your survey, they won't. If the process is too complex and the payoff too little, participation will be low. To motivate small businesses to participate in your offering, the offer must be short, clear, compelling, easy, and possess clear payoffs. Otherwise, they could be leaving valuable information and resources on the table -- and never truly realize the full benefits of what you have to offer.

Growth-focused Events for Small Businesses

This morning, James Dimon, Chairman and CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, presented at the US Chamber of Commerce, providing the nation with an optimistic, yet realistic state of our economy. Overall, there are opportunities for growth for all businesses. If you're a small business or nonprofit organization, I have a few upcoming events in the next few weeks that can help you leverage your strengths and take advantage of market opportunities:

1. I will be the luncheon keynote presenter at the 2009 Women in Business Conference at the Bellevue Hilton on March 12th. The topic, Wrangling New Profits from Existing Assets, will be an interactive and timely conversationfor growing small business clients. For more information, check out www.bellevuechamber.org.
2. Next week, two opportunities to catch the FREE webinar Dollars + Sense: Business Strategies for Marketing that Sells will be available on March 18th and March 19th. You won't even need to leave your office to participate. The option to call in is also available for phone-only participation. Visit www.tsuluwerks.com/events for more details and to register.
3. On March 19, I will be at the Bellevue Entrepreneur Center, presenting Dollars and Sense: Business Strategies for Marketing that Sells as part of their brown bag luncheon series. For more information and to register, contact Kim Fredericks at 425.213.1211 or visit www.bellevuechamber.org.
4. March 23rd marks the Crave SHOP Symposium/09 in Seattle. The organizers are extending a special for my network, since I will be participating in a panel presentation entitled Marketing Masters: Offline, Online, and Viral Strategies that Work. To receive 50% off your registration, select this link.

Other event topics will be presented in April, including Shameless Self Promotion for New Businesses. I hope that you can join us for one or more of these events!