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It’s a soft snow, but more than enough to block the view I expected this morning: the ridge across the valley and the White Mountains behind that. Wanted to see the snow on Mt. Washington but don’t have to look that far to see snow this morning. Yesterday was dark, rainy, and cool but we got the full view, with clouds just bumping the tops of the hills. This 2-3 inches would paralyze us back in Atlanta. Ah Spring! I asked my nephew if he knew the guy who was responsible for this and he allowed as he did and he’d be talking to Him today, as he always does.

Mexico, Maine-Welcome To Town

All 4 Fast Forward Main Street communities share the common issue of dealing with economic stress. But the Androscoggin Valley’s struggle has been a long one, not the result of a sudden event like a hurricane or severe economic down-turn. The other areas are urban while this is rural, the combined population of the 3 towns less than 12, 000. These folks are the tough, quiet types you’d expect to find in Maine; hard working, honest, and generous. They’re also hard people, handling what comes their way, kind but slow to befriend. They want to know who you are and why you’re here and they ask some hard, direct questions. They’ve seen my kind before and they don’t want to be disappointed again. They’ve had enough of that. Just want a chance to work, take care of their families and enjoy God’s blessings.

Rumford Falls, Androscoggin River

So FF Main Street is off and running in Rumford, Mexico, and Dixfield, Maine. We’re honored to be able to work alongside our new friends. Looking forward to the hard work ahead.

Just back from a week in New Orleans. The City has pretty well lost its collective mind…but in a good way. This coming Tuesday is Mardi Gras. Last Tuesday was Lombardi Gras. And the parade was, by all estimates, larger than any Mardi Gras parade; 800,000 in a city of less than 500,000. Businesses set the holiday watch on Monday and Tuesday. And wherever you went, the uniform of the day was Black and Gold and the greeting of the day was “Who Dat!” Seems like they will never tire of saying that with all that it implies.

And what it implies is that a city, once the center of commerce in the South that had been left behind by her sisters in Georgia, Florida, and Texas; a city that had become a cliché as a “Third World Country” with the highest murder rate in the U.S.; a city with a joke of an public educational system and local government; a city that was dealt a near death blow less than 5 years ago; and a city clinging to its NFL team that spawned fans so ashamed they wore paper bags on their heads and dubbed the team “The Ain’ts”, is claiming respect.

This Super Bowl victory comes at an auspicious moment in the history of New Orleans. Recovery is strong, to the extent that they experience one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country, a growing economy, a wild west entrepreneurial atmosphere, a resurgent school system and neighborhood spirit, and most importantly, an election that truly is “Change”. New Orleans has been named in a number of national publications as one of the best places to start a new business and, surprisingly, one of the best places to live. Much of the old guard that helped to build a reputation of Banana Republic governance is now looking for work and a new krewe of young, progressive leadership is taking the helm.

And there’s the Saints, the eye of the storm. All that is positive in the city is encapsulated in their story. The metaphors are abundant. Cast offs and the unheralded, the new and untested, the old and forgotten, brought together and formed into a team that surprised all but the most stalwart of the Who Dat Nation. They were resilient and relentless. They were bold and innovative. They were inclusive and made the most of their assets. They are a team that truly represents all of a city that deserves a place in the hearts of Americans, as a part of our American story.

So even if you are a Vikings fan, part of the Cardinal faithful, or avid follower of the Colts, celebrate with a City that is being reborn and taking its place, once again, as one of our great American Cities.

“There was a Saint who had a vision about what it was like in Hell & Heaven.

In Hell he saw a huge table laden with food in the centre. Surrounding the table were starving people who all had very long forks attached to the ends of their arms. They could stab the food, but the forks were too long for them to put the food in their mouths. They were all screaming in frustration as they tried to eat the food that they longed for.

In Heaven, the saint saw the exact same table laden with food & people with the long forks at the ends of their arms. However, here the people were all smiling & enjoying the food. What they were doing was stabbing the food & putting it in EACH OTHER’s mouths!

The moral of the story is that our heaven & hell is right here on earth, how much we want to help others & be helped in return is what makes the difference.”

Thanks to Akhil Shahani, Managing Director of The Shahani Group who posted this on his Ecademy site. Now, how to apply this to business? Any thoughts?

Some weeks ago I wrote about the idea of socially responsible business (SRB) as it pertains to small businesses.  I’d like to revisit that topic as well as the closely related idea of community responsible businesses (CRB). 

Recently, I became involved in the publication of a small advertising paper called Coffee News.  I got interested because I wanted to learn more about print advertising and how it fits into the media mix for small businesses.  I’ve learned a lot. 

 There are a number of schools of thought on ad copy and lay-out, particularly for small budget efforts.  (Bring up Glazer-Kennedy with folks in the advertising business and the fun begins.)  One thing most folks will tell you is that Coffee News breaks a lot of the rules when it comes to copy and design.  But being around for 20 years and publishing in 20 countries should put a lot of the controversy to bed.  Ranking 68 in the Entrepreneur Magazine Top 500 Franchises (number 1 in its category) ain’t bad either. 

But back to SRB/CRB’s.  I’ve been going around asking for permission to place CN in local businesses.  I have been surprised at the number of businesses, especially large franchise companies, that refuse to allow local papers and advertising publications in their establishments. 

Some of these large companies spend big parts of their budgets trying to position themselves as “your local …”.  Think about McDonald’s, Applebee’s, and the homey, friendly face other franchises try to paint on themselves.  Yet they won’t help their neighbors, who patronize them and bring traffic to the area, to advertise and promote their business. 

These local advertising publications are very geographically oriented, contributing to local commerce and creating local retail hubs around a strip mall or stretch of road.  As these mini-economies prosper, each of the members of the local business community prospers, as well. 

Starbucks recently recognized their role in the local community and how important is is for them to be seen as supporting local business.  President and Chief Executive Orin Smith emailed his employees “…that free publications are an important part of our coffeehouse culture and that they provide a connection to the communities in which we live and work.”  Having been attacked and criticized as the corporate giant driving out the Mom and Pop coffee shops,  positioning themselves as local-business-friendly through a gesture as simple as allowing local, independent publications to be placed in their shops seems like the proverbial no-brainer. 

Yet so many businesses miss the point.  For the sake of a pristine, corporate look, they forgo the benefits that attach to being seen as a part of the community and a friend to their neighbors. 

 Whatcha think?

Seems like the subject of “business message” has come up a lot lately; your business message as expressed in your mission statement, your elevator speech, your slogan, or just the way you generally describe what you do.  My new friend, Hal Coleman of North Fulton Exterminating (http://www.northfultonexterminating.com/)  did a great short lesson on the elevator speech this week at the Glazer-Kennedy Inner Circle meeting.  Reminded me of a few things. 

I’ve been working on my mission statement because…well, I just needed to.  From that effort it occurred to me that I could do a better job answering the question of “what do you do?”  So to work I went.  After 5-6 months of trial and more trial, I think I have something I’m happy with.  I have to thank the folks who gave me feedback on some of the versions.  Sometimes the feedback was in the form of that blank look you get when you are boring someone and they have mentally departed for a happier place. 

So why the big deal about the elevator pitch?  I mean, we know what we do and answer people’s inquiries all the time.  Well, based on my vast experience of listening to 30-60 second pitches (and I’ve heard thousands), my impression is that most folks consider what they are going to say about the time the question is asked.  Which usually turns into a stream of consciousness thing.  

But casual conversation or networking meetings aren’t the only place you need to have a good description of what your business purpose is.  It needs to be expressed in all your collateral, on your web site, in your advertising, at every opportunity you have to tell the world about the great things you do for your customers.  A good elevator speech may well be the single most critical thing you can do for your business success.  

You may be a little quicker than I (it might not take you 5-6 months), but set aside some quality time to put together a statement that really nails what you want to say about your business.  Try it out on friends and strangers.  work and rework it.  It will be the material you will use in every marketing activity next year so make it good.  You’ll be glad you did.   

I believe there is more to talk about on this topic.   

I attend a lot of networking events and meet and work with numerous salespeople and business owners. Almost everyone I talk to believes that referrals are the “holy grail” of marketing: inexpensive, personal, automatic, and a walk-over sale. At these events, I hear “…and a good referral for me is…” over and over again. Yet most of these same people are not experiencing anywhere near the amount of quality referrals they dream of. It brings to mind Dizzy Dean’s assessment of the speed of a teammate, “He’s got a lot of up and down, but not much forward.”

We buy into the idea that referrals are good but few of us has cracked the code on producing them consistently. Why is that? How many times do we have to tell people what a good referral for us is without getting any result before we wonder what’s not working?

I think one of the big contributors to this lack of success from our referral solicitations results from the volume of information that everyone has to deal with. We hear things, are interested (maybe), then move on to the next issue. I believe our success as marketers comes from our ability to break through the noise and be heard. There are many great books and articles about how to create messages that stick. Yet few of us take the time to really work on our message. I wonder how much time and money was spent to come up with “Melts in your mouth, not in your hand”?

Marketing success begins with a message that conveys our value and values, with telling a story that speaks to our customer’s motivation for buying, which captures attention. Marketing success comes from developing a message that lets people see how much we care and what we can do to help them. That takes thought, gaining insight, focus, and some work. Until we make that investment, we’re just hoping.

I had lunch with my friend, Michael Sater of Sater Creative the other day and we got into a conversation about socially responsible businesses (SRB). I think most of us immediately think about the Whole Foods, Ben and Jerry’s, Patagonia’s, etc. of the world when the subject comes up. Our discussion was about how “small business” can be socially responsible.

In my workshops, almost everyone who has answered the question, “Why are you in the business you’re in?” has done so with some form of “I like helping people”. And even the struggling business owners I know express a desire to “give back” to their community. So how does a business without large resources of cash and time become a SRB?

It’s interesting how the connection of personal values and our business values (corporate culture) energizes business people once that connection is made. I’ve noticed it with the business owners we’ve worked with through our nonprofit work in the Gulf Coast. Our work there centers around refocusing and adjusting to the changed environment resulting from the storms of 2005. Every workshop, as participants state their personal values, you can see the immediate effect on their excitement and enthusiasm.

Clearly, connecting our values to our business is a first step in the journey to social responsibility. The topic is being considered by more and more businesses. I’ll be interested in hearing how businesses are incorporating their values in meeting their social responsibilities.