skip to main |
skip to sidebar
Keeping your brand in front of interested prospects on a regular basis is essential in today's barrage of marketing messages. You want to cultivate a group of self-selecting prospects who have an interest in your product and a top-of-mind awareness of you. If you fail to remind them who you are and what you do, they'll forget about you.
Job #1 is collecting email addresses. This is where many companies' E-marketing campaign stalls out. They just can't seem to get over the hump of collecting this essential contact information, even though customers are in their place of business. Know how to do that? Ask them.
I saw a brilliantly executed example of this at a local restaurant this week. While we were contemplating our menu choices, the server pulled out card-sized forms and laid them in front of us, then flawlessly executed this script:
"We're asking you to fill out this card so we'll know who you are and so we can communicate with you by email. What you'll get by email are special discount offers, particularly on your birthday and anniversary. As a reward, we'll send you a $10 Gift Certificate as soon as we receive your card. We promise not to bother you with more than 1 email a month."
Perfect. Give the customer a reason to provide her email address. Give her a reward for doing so. And assure her you're not going to beat her up with daily or weekly emails. The card included only first name, last name, email address, birthday, anniversary and zip code. Nothing else. Brilliant.
Take a look at your own business. How could you be more effective in gathering email contact information from people you'd like to cultivate as repeat, long-term customers? They're presenting themselves to you, either in person or on the phone. Why not just ask them for a way to re-connect?
Please take a moment to share your E-marketing successes or difficulties with others. Click "Comments" below.
To forward this to a friend, Click Here
Other CEBI Blog Articles...
Terry Weaver
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com
"A leader with no followers is just a guy out taking a walk" says Harry Loyle, Managing Director of Cybeck Capital Partners. Harry presented an Executive Briefing at a recent Chief Executive Boards International Summit. Harry's leadership and change management mantra is "Tell and Show". We learned in grade school how to "Show and Tell". This is different.
A leader must first articulate what it is he wants. Exactly what it is he wants. In Harry's words, "Clearly articulate the change, and quickly follow with examples." In the words of Chip and Dan Heath in their best-seller, Switch, you have to "script the moves". Put the dots so close together your followers can't help but connect them. So, first figure out how to clearly tell them what you want, and specifically what you want them to do.
Then show them. Sometimes a leader has to pick up a weapon and fight with the troops. This isn't the same as working in your business full time. This is working on your business by clearly demonstrating the behaviors you expect from your followers by showing them how to do what you want done. Then step away and make sure they can do it on their own without you.
So, when driving change through your organization, remember Harry's advice, "Tell and Show". Other CEBI Blog Articles...
To forward this to a friend, Click Here
Terry Weaver
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com
There are some, if few, advantages of organizing a closely-held business as a C Corporation. If that was your choice years ago, it may be time for a decision that could save you 5 figures in future taxes, if you act before December 31, 2012. Perhaps you want to split that into a 2011/2012 strategy.
As you know, C Corporations "lock up" profits and losses. Unlike S-Corps or LLC's, early-on losses and later profits don't flow to the shareholders until a cash dividend is declared. That can be an advantage, particularly with the ability to accumulate losses (loss carryforwards) in the early years and later use those to offset income, saving Corporate Income Taxes.
Beyond that breakeven point (when loss carryforwards are exhausted and retained earnings begin to accumulate), a lot of cash and working capital can be locked up in the C Corporation, and the only way to get cash into the hands of the shareholders is to declare a dividend. At that time they have to pay taxes on the dividend.
Why is now a good time to be thinking about this? Well, we're presently at the lowest tax rates on dividends of my lifetime (and probably yours). Until December 31, 2012, the tax rate on dividends is capped at 15%. If the individual's income tax rate is less than 25%, then qualified dividends are taxed at only 5%. That's until December 31, 2012
On January 1, barring legislation in the meantime, the tax rate on dividends returns to ordinary income tax rates, the top of which is a whopping 39.6% in 2013. For an overview, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dividend_tax
Readers of this blog know I'm a huge proponent of taking cash out of your business (taking some chips off the table), even if it means the business borrowing money to do so. Think about it -- would you rather have $100,000 in debt in the business and $100,000 in cash in your own hands, or neither? Worst case, you can always loan the money back into the business if the bank gets nervous.
So, this would be a great year to harvest some of that cash, and, yes, vote yourself a 15% tax payment on the dividend. Considering you pay nothing else (FICA, ordinary income tax, etc.) on that dividend, it's a bargain that's not likely to come back, now that you, as a business owner, have a target painted on your back by Washington (you're "rich").
Note that you may only dividend out the total of prior years' retained earnings plus this year's net income. Beyond that, money returned to you by the C-Corporation is treated as return of capital.
As always, you'll want to check with your CPA and tax advisor to validate this strategy in consideration of your own situation. Don't delay -- there's not a lot of time left if you decide to pull the trigger.
To forward this to a friend, Click Here
Other CEBI Blog Articles...
Terry Weaver
CEO
Chief Executive Boards International
http://www.chiefexecutiveboards.com/
TerryWeaver@ChiefExecutiveBoards.com
.jpg)