Target Marketing for Small Business

Posted on | August 19, 2009 | 1 Comment

There are lots of potential customers looking for your product or service, but how do you find them?  There are 320 Million people in the United States.  And, there are 6.76 billion people worldwide.

But which ones really want to buy what you’re selling?

And how do I find them?  Talk to them?  And make it clear to them that I have what they want or need?

Target marketing.

All marketing should be targeted.  This is not a new concept.  I’m not saying anything revolutionary, but I am forever amazed at how many businesses fail to target their clients.  Ironically, it is easier today than ever to target your market.

I can’t explore this topic fully in one blog post, so I have two hopes here:

1.   Please increase your awareness of the concept.  Review your marketing plans this week and determine if improvements can be made to target your efforts on your likeliest of clients.

2.    Consider your existing or former clients first.  That’s the easiest and most cost effective way to target your marketing.  Think about it.  Your existing clients have already purchased from you.  They trust you or your product/service.  You know they have needs or wants for your product/service.  They might buy the same product/service again, or they might want or need related products or services.  Maybe they would upgrade?  Maybe they need a replacement?  Maybe there have been changes in your products, services, the law, technology, or other circumstances that would cause your customer to buy again or upgrade.

Consider this. . .  your clients are likely to know other potential clients with similar needs, desires, wants, etc.  Music lovers know other music lovers.  Dog lovers know other dog lovers.  Etc., etc., etc.  So, if your past clients are not in the market today to buy your product/service, those past clients might be in the market in the future, AND they probably know others who would buy from you.

Again, I’ve not even started to describe the methods to target market, but becoming aware of this important concept is the first step in the process of targeting your buyer.

In future blogs, I’ll explore specific ways to target your market.  I’ll share specific examples.

Matthew A. Griffith is an attorney, business performance coach, mentor and entrepreneur.  He coaches, advises and guides business owners, entrepreneurs, inventors, property managers, investors and real estate professionals.  Matt has nearly two decades of experience starting small businesses and helping businesses grow.

The Truth About Business Insurance

Posted on | August 7, 2009 | No Comments

Business insurance is important.  But, can you trust an insurance company’s agent to devise an insurance program that truly protects your small business?

Can you trust your business insurance agent?  Your insurance company?

Nationwide tells you they are on your side.  State Farm is like your good neighbor.  Allstate has you in good hands.

Really?  Truly?

The truth is that insurance companies are businesses that sell financial protection against risk.  What you get is a promise of payment under the terms of the policy at some date in the future, if all the right conditions exist.  In the end, you have a contract and nothing else.

Do you know what your insurance contract actually says? 

Would you ever sign a contract without reading it first? 

Or without understanding what the contract provides to you?

Most business owners have no clue what their insurance policies say.  When you purchase or renew insurance, you should do at  least these five things:

1.  Meet with your business lawyer to determine your risks.

2.  Understand what coverages are available.

3.  Check the insurance company’s financial strength

4.  Check the claims history of the company.

5.  Document and photograph the assets you are covering with insurance.

And. . .read your policy!   Or, better yet, sit down with your business attorney and your agent and review the policy together.

If you make a claim on your own policy, you and your insurance company will be adversaries.  I recently fought an insurance company for five months to recover $400,000 of insurance, when my client’s losses exceeded $600,000.  Some insurance companies are notorious for paying claims slowly or fighting claims routinely.  Do not buy insurance from those companies.   Most importantly, buy the right type and amount of insurance, and prepare now to fight for coverage later, assuming that you will eventually have to make a claim.

Here’s another post on the topic of insurance- Is Your Insurance Agent Reassuring?

Matthew A. Griffith is an attorney, business performance coach, mentor and entrepreneur.  He coaches, advises and guides business owners, entrepreneurs, inventors, property managers, investors and real estate professionals.  Matt has nearly two decades of experience helping businesses grow.

Immigration law for business owners- Part 1

Posted on | August 6, 2009 | No Comments

    Tiffany U. Vivo, Esq.

    Immigration & Family Law Attorney

    www.my-immigration-lawyer.com

    317-236-0486

    attyvivo@yahoo.com

Guest post-

If you own your own business or otherwise have employees, you are, under federal law, an agent for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (previously the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS).  In an effort to reduce the hiring of undocumented immigrants, Congress created the I-9 verification process, which requires employers to confirm the employment eligibility of workers.  DHS investigators use these I-9 forms to determine whether employers are hiring undocumented workers.

I-9 forms are actually a positive thing for employers, because I-9 forms provide employers with a “good faith” defense if the employer hires a worker who is actually working illegally in the United States.

Employers can obtain I-9 forms from the DHS (800-870-3676), or download them from the agency’s Web site. You can also write to the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.

DHS can start an investigation about a company employing illegal workers at any time.  An employer can be fined and sanctioned for hiring an undocumented worker.  The standard in judging the wrongfulness of the employer’s conduct is whether a reasonable person would believe the employee was illegally employed.

Every employer must complete I-9 forms, even if the employer has just one employee.  Hiring independent contractors does not trigger the requirement to complete an I-9 form.

If you, as an employer, receive information and documents that, on their face, appear valid and consistent, you do not need to investigate further. However, if you receive obvious forgeries, information that does not match the employee, or other data that makes you think you should ask more questions, then you need to continue your inquiry as to the employee’s immigration status.

A good business practice is to conduct yourself an audit or hire an immigration lawyer to audit your I-9’s and supporting documents to be sure they comply with the law.  Here are some do’s and don’ts when going through the I-9 verification process:

• During an employee’s first day, give the employee a list of documents that can be used to verify status.
• Determine if the employee already has employment authorization.
• Ask questions about name changes.
• Make sure documents provided by the employee are on the lists of acceptable documents.  A good immigration attorney can help you with these lists.
• Review documents for authenticity. Are there obvious signs of tampering or forgery?  Reject documents if they are clearly fakes.  If a document looks valid on its face and is listed as a qualified document on the I-9, accept the document.
• Retain I-9’s for three years, or one year after employment ends, whichever is longer.  I-9 forms can be inspected by DHS on three days’ notice, without even a warrant or subpoena.

Employers cannot discriminate against an employee because of citizenship status or national origin through “document abuse,” which is asking the employee for more documents than necessary or different documents to prove employment eligibility.  However, employers do have duties to confirm employment eligibility as outlined in this post.

This post is certainly not comprehensive, and I encourage my employer-clients to conduct immigration and I-9 audits annually.  An immigration attorney can give you guidance in systematizing these processes to ensure DHS compliance.

Tiffany U. Vivo is an Indianapolis immigration and family law attorney. She practices exclusively in immigration and family law, and lectures and writes frequently on immigration law for businesses, employees and families.  For more information, please contact her at the above addresses and phone numbers.

Do I Need to Register My Company to Do Business?

Posted on | August 1, 2009 | No Comments

Yes, no, sometimes and maybe.

The answer as to what registration is required for a business depends on two things: (1) the legal entity you create to operate your business and (2) the nature of your business.

Small business owners often make the mistake of creating a corporation or LLC without completing basic steps.  Use this short checklist to review whether you formed or registered your business properly.

1. Pick the right legal structure for your business. Your options include the limited liability company (LLC), general or limited partnership, limited liability partnership or corporation. Your business lawyer and your accountant should be consulted.  You should consider such factors as the number of owners, the business plan, the capitalization plan, taxes and other factors.

2. File a Certificate of Business Name. Most businesses use a shorten name, called a trade name, for marketing purposes.  ACME Medical Products, Incorporated will be marketed as “ACME” or “ACME Medical Products.”  One of the cheapest and most important things you can do keep your limited liability “shield” in place is to file a Certificate of Assumed Business Name in order safely to use trade names.

3. Register for your business’ Federal Tax ID. All partnerships, multi-member LLC’s and corporations must have an Employer Identification Number, which can be obtained from the Internal Revenue Service.

4. Register with the State Revenue Agency and Obtain Permits/Licenses.  Depending on the nature of your business, you may be required to register with your state, especially if you sell a product and are required to collect sales tax.  In some parts of the country, you might even be required to obtain local permits or licenses.

Of course, this is the short list, and your business may be required to obtain other permits or licenses, or you may be required to register with other governmental agencies.  See your legal advisor for help.

Matthew A. Griffith is an attorney, business performance coach,mentor and entrepreneur.  He coaches, advises and guides business owners, entrepreneurs, inventors, property managers, investors and real estate professionals.  Matt has nearly two decades of experience helping businesses grow.