Archive for April, 2011
Courting Public Favor
At first glance, it is a bit surprising when you see how much some powerful and prominent businesses in every community bend every effort to court public favor. Almost any community of significant size in the country has a business section in the paper. And subscribers to the local news see their ability to stay in touch with what the strongest and up and coming businesses in town are doing as an important part of their business awareness.
Sometimes it’s good to read the business news in your local paper both for information and with an eye on the question – “Did the business being discussed work to get this article printed about them in the paper?” In some cases, it is blatantly clear that the business went to great lengths to get noticed. Many businesses actually employ public relations and advertising professionals to tailor how they will be viewed in the press and to court public favor by romancing the right kind of press coverage for the business.
There are some solid business reasons behind such aggressive work being done by the business community to have good press coverage. On the surface, it might seem like the intent of managing public approval for a business is just a desire to be a good citizen and so that public opinion is favorable and everybody thinks of that business as a bunch of “good guys”. But the motivations for courting public favor for a business are far more complex and entrepreneurial than that.
* A good reputation means better sales. Public opinion is a funny thing. If a retail company gets a bad reputation in a community, it will have a tremendous impact on their bottom line. But the business that is well regarded at the neighborhood level will be one that sees strong customer loyalty.
* A strong reputation makes for better business dealings. Running a business means entering into dozens of business relationships, making deals and drafting contracts with other businesses in town. If your business is well regarded in the public eye, that will reflect favorably when you need a deal to fall your way at the negotiating table.
* Investors like to see a good public image in a business. Investors like to know that the business they are interested in partnering with will be able to complete its business goals and endure year in and year out. Part of that stability means that the business can live up to its mission statement and its statement of values. When the business the investor is interested in has a strong public image, that reflects that this is a business that conducts itself with integrity, is interested in the public good as well as private profit and is looking for the long-term gain as well as the short-term profitability. These values translate directly into dollars in an investor situation.
* A strong relationship with city and state government is important to long-term business health. Many businesses seek concessions or to enter into a relationship with local government so they can have a clear path to get building permits or conduct other business that impacts the public good. A local or state government can be a businesses best friend or stop your projects in their tracks and keep them stopped. But the thing that pleases the political world is public opinion and the public good. So if your business has a good public profile, that translates to votes for the politically minded people at city hall. And that means influence which can help a business go a long way toward completing its long-range plans.
* A good public image impacts recruitment. When you put an advertisement in the local paper to recruit talent, how you are viewed by those looking for jobs will directly influence if they will respond to your recruitment efforts. Many a business got a bad reputation locally and saw dismal responses to recruitment efforts which can mean a less talented staff and poor performance of the business in general.
These are solid reasons for a business to put some energy and capital into courting a good reputation in town. Whether that means a strong representation on United Way weekend or holding blood drives once a month, the business that has a reputation for reaching out to the community will be a business that prospers.
Computer Consulting: Do You Keep Your Micro Clients?
A big question, especially among newly established computer consulting professionals is this: “I have some smaller clients with two to five PCs. Since they’re very close and they’re willing to pay our hourly rate and understand that I can schedule them when I can, is there a problem in keeping them as clients? Until I establish myself with more larger clients, I’d hate to lose this income.”
Are Micro Clients Taking Up Too Much of Your Time?
This is more of a focus and a time management challenge than anything else. If you have a way that you can fit this all in, so much the better. Keep in mind that you need to leave time to get your direct mail campaigns out, to get your follow-up phone calls out, to go to the expos, to hold seminars, to get out and network, etc.
Don’t take the only excess time that you have in a given week and devote it to servicing just those smaller computer consulting clients who are probably not going to grow substantially bigger over the next year or two.
Be Sure To Schedule Time for Marketing
Many computer consulting professionals have told us that they are spending so much time taking care of running and operating a store that it’s very difficult to find the time to read marketing books and learn other new skills, then get out and practice them.
If you have enough time to devote to the marketing of your computer consulting business and servicing your sweet spot clients, So to the extent that you have time to do all this and you can fit it all in, that’s fine.
Business Analyst in Web Design
Web design can be confusing to anyone. The programming needed seems to be a never ending cycle of code, application, and algorithms. Trying to determine what numbers plug into which schematic might be a bit confusing to anyone with out technical training. The business analyst can assist with the web design of a large company right down to the mom and pop corner store. Web design has become a need which must be addressed by almost every industry. There are so many people today who rely on information technology to research everything from apples to zoological studies and everything in between. The business analyst can assist with implementing the strategy necessary for a profitable web design.
Acting as the liaison between the stakeholder and the IT (Information Technology) department, the business analyst can speak to both. He or she is knowledgeable with technology which can benefit the stakeholders. The business analyst can also explain to the IT department what is needed for the stakeholders to be happy. This is his or her job.
The business analyst will be able to listen to the stakeholders to determine the needs of the business. He or she may ask pertinent questions as to the web design in question. He or she will make suggestions to the stakeholder to explain new or existing technology that may be utilized. The stakeholder may not be familiar with options available to the company.
Acting as the spokesman for all departments, the business analyst will be able to take ideas offered by the stakeholders and transform them into usable information for the IT department. He or she will be able to come up with a workable solution for each key point needed by the stakeholder. The business analyst will also be able to formulate a definitive plan of action or a project program to lay out the ground work necessary for the web design to actually perform according to plan.
There may be information the business analyst must gather from the end user to determine if the needs assessment performed by the stakeholders is viable. In some cases it is not usable information or may be off the target scope. The end user will know better what will make the web design complete. The options available for the end user may be overlooked by the stakeholders. The business analyst will be able to ascertain from surveys and site inspections what is needed to satisfy all parties involved.
Web design will be a team effort developed by many departments. It is up to the business analyst to choose these teams so the best of the best is available. He or she will be able to motivate the individual teams to act as a unit for the betterment of the project. The departments will work alone and together to complete the project in a timely manner.
Using a business analyst to develop a project program for web design is a smart business decision. He or she may have code experience which will help in analyzing the problems which may come up. The business analyst will be able to decipher the facts and figures to better explain to the IT department what is useless code and what is viable. The shrew business stakeholders will benefit from hiring a business analyst when the idea of web design presents it’s self.