by Elle Ray | Dec 1, 2014 | Small Business Advice
Reward Your Best Clients with Holiday Surprises
Once the holidays start — and for most it’s at Thanksgiving — it becomes increasingly difficult to continue with business as usual. Decisions get put off “until after the first of the year.” Holiday parties and vacations interrupt business meetings. And money gets tight as Santa has so many stockings to fill.
It can be frustrating for a small business owner who may be lucky to take just one day off in the month of merry. But rather than fight it, perhaps it’s just as well to join in the festivities, be thankful for the work that’s in the hopper and give a little more to a favorite charity. It’s also a great excuse to give your best clients a big “Thank You” for the work they sent throughout the year. Granted, you hope they continue sending it your way, but you’ll feel good just in the giving. Here are four gift ideas to get you started:
Send Joy
Cards are nice and offer sentiments of gratitude and “thinking of you,” but for those clients who’ve sent referrals and consistent work, now’s the time to make your mark. When you can’t think of the ideal gift, try one of these suggestions to win smiles (and hopefully goodwill).
1. Food
You never can go wrong with gifts of food. Food baskets can be shared in an office or taken home for the family to enjoy. Send a basket of nuts for the nutty crew at the web developer’s office or a basket of sweets to those who made you smile with a monthly check. Try any of the many online gift basket companies like Cherry Moon Farms or go local from an Edible Arrangements franchisee.
2. Books
Give books that will entertain and enlighten clients. Send the latest from a local author and get it signed for your recipient. Check out the latest business book for the client who enjoys trends and new ideas. Financial whizzes may enjoy the latest news from the world of big money, and sports enthusiasts may enjoy a biography from a winner. You need to know a bit about the tastes of your client, but if you do, you’ll make a hit with a good read.
3. Plants
Who doesn’t need a money tree for their office? The plants grow to outrageous heights, reminding your clients of your generosity with each new foot of sprouts. Go with a philodendron or a cool cactus if you think your client may be more into a more low-maintenance type plant. The gift will most certainly receive a place of honor where you will be thought of often.
4. Promotion
It may seem a bit self-serving, but if the gift that bears your company name and logo is useful or fun, the self-promotion can be overlooked. Nice pens, coffee mugs, calendars with outstanding artwork, thumb drives, clocks and mouse pads all make great gifts on which you can have your imprint clearly imbedded.
Set a budget and stick with it. Send the gifts out a before the big December 25 rush to stand out from the crowd and include a nice note to the clients who have helped you grow your business. You’ll be remembered long into the new year and may find yourself on the receiving end of little more business.
From Ray Access, we wish everyone a prosperous and happy holiday season.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | Oct 26, 2014 | Small Business Advice
We’ve Been Called Fashionable… and Worse
A good tie choice… or a Rorschach tie?
First, we want to warn you that this article represents our personal opinions. We may well be wrong, given the constantly changing fashion trends, but we’re good at what we do, we think we know what works, and gosh darn it, people like us.
While we’re on the subject, let us state for the record that we are not staid, conservative types. We like color. We like fashion-forward trends. Other writers have even called us fashionable, although it’s debatable if that’s an accolade or something we should keep to ourselves. But we’ve been professionals for many years now, and we understand what’s appropriate for certain occasions.
Dressing for Success
If you want to make a positive first impression, whether you’re meeting a client or attending a networking meeting, dress appropriately. That doesn’t always mean wearing a suit and tie (for men) or a formal dress (for women). But if you have to dress up, make sure your tie doesn’t scream to people to avoid you.
Not everyone can wear a bowtie… or a false nose.
Your tie, believe it or not, tells people a lot about you. You don’t have to regress to those outdated alternating diagonal slants of color, but leave the Gustav Klimt print at home. If you’re an accountant, your tie better communicate that. We’ve seen more and more people these days pull off a bowtie, which isn’t easy to do. But accountants, doctors, and professors can do it with panache. So unless you’re an abstract painter or web designer, your tie shouldn’t look like Jackson Pollack had his way with it.
Go with something that’s colorful, attractive and most of all, matching. Successful people dress tastefully. Unsuccessful people wear ties that have been handed down from an older brother while he was still in high school. When you shop for ties, keep in mind it will reflect you, your personality, and your profession.
The Difference Between Your Town and Asheville
Asheville is known as a liberal, laid-back business environment. “Asheville casual” is a look that may include jeans or khakis with a button-down shirt. But even in Asheville, you’ll find that some business meetings are formal occasions. Whether you wear a suit or just a shirt and tie, make your tie a bit more formal too. Power ties are just to show off, so unless you’re running the meeting, keep it simple.
Your tie should match your personality.
Big cities often foster a more conservative business environment than Asheville, but that doesn’t mean businessmen wear suits all the time. Business meetings can still be casual, or more casual, especially in the summer months. Everyone appreciates a good tie, but remember what we said above: your tie will reflect you.
A Final Word of Warning
The line between complementary and outlandish can be a fine one. Ask yourself this as you’re getting dressed: Do you want people to remember you for your tie or for your sparkling conversation? Let your tie match your personality. A loud tie can make an extrovert entertaining, but it will make a shy, unproven writer seem like he’s trying too hard to be noticed.
Yes, Mark knows from experience. Now he leaves the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer tie for holiday parties and his Beatle ties for his friends and family events. You should too.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Elle Ray | Aug 28, 2014 | Small Business Advice
Why the Distinction Matters in Your Business
Are you a lark or a night owl? Do you get your best work done before noon or after five? Whichever answer you give, you may not have much say in the matter and may in fact become more productive and happy with your work if you just go ahead and honor your circadian rhythm.
There’s no reason to disrespect co-workers and business partners who happen to land on the opposite side of the spectrum. There’s new evidence that much of our energy preferences actually are programmed in our genes, creating actual physical differences in brain structure between morning and night people.
Add Lifestyle to the Mix
Studies by German scientists in 2013 found that people who stayed up late and slept in later than their counterparts had less white, fatty tissue in their brains. The white matter is associated with communication and links certain nerve cells together. Reduced white matter also is associated with depression and anxiety.
When you follow your genetic desire to stay up late and sleep in late, you often find yourself at odds with the rest of the working world, which then exacerbates the alienation that often leads to depression. You may find yourself sleep-deprived on a regular basis as you try to maintain a “normal” schedule to fit in with society’s expectations. Night owls also have a tendency to eat, drink and smoke more than naturally early risers.
Good News for Night Owls
But this kind of lifestyle also has its upsides. The chronically jet-lagged set also tends to be much more productive and energetic than their counterparts who get to bed early and rise with the sun. You usually have more stamina during your waking hours and end up getting more done. It’s very often the night owls in a business who drive the ultimate success of a company.
Night owls also tend to be more analytical, making it easier for them to see the big picture and figure the ways and means to achieve objectives. Their reasoning skills often are far superior to the early risers. The trick is to balance and fine-tune those extra advantages so they don’t get lost in the mood swings more common among night owls.
Nurture Over Nature
Just as the discussion rages on about nature over nurture when it comes to child-rearing, the conversation also is relevant to business people struggling with the natural biological pull of an internal alarm clock. To avoid the mood swings, anxiety and depression commonly associated with people who work best at night, you can regulate your sleep habits consciously.
Night owls hoping to make those early breakfast meetings and avoid all-nighters can rely on mechanical alarm clocks set on a regular basis. Avoid alcohol before going to bed and artificial light when it’s dark outside to make it easier to stick to a regular sleep cycle. When you control your sleep patterns, you won’t experience the manic highs you may enjoy in the middle of the night, but you will be much more even-tempered and easy-going like your early bird friends and co-workers.
For night owls, it’s a trade-off. For early birds, it’s a blessing. Which time of the day do you work best?
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Elle Ray | Aug 5, 2014 | Small Business Advice
Networking Advice for Business Owners
Image courtesy of Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Networking is one of the most powerful means at your disposal to market and grow your small company. Yet so many business people fear the crowded rooms. But be assured that not everyone sipping wine and trading business cards is comfortable. Like you, many had to swallow their fears, take a deep breath and dive forward to press the flesh. The alternative, they know, is sitting in silence in a dark corner as all their hard work slowly comes to naught.
The bottom line is that it’s not about who you know, but who knows you. To earn a reputation in your field and in your market, you have to be visible. People have to know your name and be able to put a face to it. Business people drop names as part of their normal, everyday pitch, and they only drop names of experts they’ve met in person or heard a great deal about. To be that person and get that referral, you’ve got to hit the networking circuit in your area and within your industry.
Succeed at Networking
To help you make the most out of those after-hour mixers, breakfast pow-wows and open house handshakes, we’ve put together a list of tips. Try them — and tell others where you heard about them — because the writers and editors at Ray Access know the power of networking:
- Compliment people. Remember that business men and women are just people. Who doesn’t appreciate a compliment about a pair of shoes, a jacket, tie or handbag? A compliment is a great way to start a conversation — and perhaps a new relationship.
- Approach loners. You can find them standing in the corner or nursing a drink at the bar. Loners sometimes can feel less threatening than approaching a pack of pristine suits who are standing in a circle laughing at an in-joke. Instead, commiserate with the fellow loner about how much you deplore these events to find common ground.
- Ask questions. As former journalists, we always resort to the time-honored trick of getting people to talk about themselves as a way to open up a conversation. Even inane questions like: “What do you do?” or “How about them Red Sox?” can serve as an opener leading to and interesting (and profitable) conversation. You never know.
- Move around. One mistake networking newbies often make is to stick with one group of people they’ve become comfortable with. Once you make a quick connection, trade cards and leave an impression, move along. The purpose of networking is to talk to as many people as possible in the time allotted. Get busy!
- Go alone. Business people who move in packs don’t take the chance to break away and meet someone new. A networking event is not the place to socialize with people you already know, even if it’s nice to acknowledge each other. The primary goal is to see and be seen by all the people you don’t know.
- Leave the sale for later. Pushy business people who only talk about themselves often end up alone. Salespeople who try to sell their services to everyone they meet tend to earn negative reputations. In fact, if you rarely talk about yourself, you’ll be remembered because you listened. Wouldn’t you rather be remembered positively and not with a knowing eye roll?
So don’t fear. You too have what it takes to get out there and develop new relationships. All it takes is a deep breath and a stack of business cards.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Mark Bloom | Jun 20, 2014 | Small Business Advice
Why Your Customers Do Business with You
Every business faces competition. In America, competition is a given. It’s part of the invisible hand that moves markets. You likely don’t appreciate it, however, while your business is trying to make inroads into your competitors’ market share.
But competition is healthy. It can bring out the best in all of us, even if we lose the race, since the best lessons come not from victory but from defeat. And you can quote me on that.
What Do You Offer?
To get more business, you must have a strategy or plan or advantage over your rivals. Whatever it is — a superior product, 24/7/365 personalized customer service or simply that you have the best location — it is your unique value proposition. This is what sets you apart from your peers. It’s why you deserve a bigger share of the marketplace.
If you don’t have a unique value proposition, then you are no different from the shop down the street or the next service listed in the phone book. Without a unique value proposition, there’s no reason for potential customers to choose your business over another. So rethink your business plan and make sure you have a specific answer to that age-old question: Why should I buy from you?
How to Use Your Unique Value Proposition
You’ve done all the work and figured out your unique value proposition. You now know what sets your business apart. You have figured out why your business is so much better than your competition. So why doesn’t the world beat a path to your door? What’s holding you back?
The most obvious problem is that no one else knows what your unique value proposition is! Have you told anyone besides your spouse, your mom, and your employees? That’s right, you have to communicate your value to your target market, the very people who make the decisions to buy your products or services.
If you advertise, make sure your unique value proposition is front and center, clear and simple. Your potential customers want to know. You don’t have to persuade them to buy from you; you simply have to tell them why it’s in their best interest.
Ray Access Can Help
Ray Access is a content marketing firm. We provide content for your website, turning your site from a passive brochure into a attractive announcement. Your website should draw an audience and then turn those visitors into customers. That’s the purpose of a website. That’s the value of an effective website.
And that’s where Ray Access can help. We’ll turn your website into a marketing engine. We’ll expose your unique value proposition on every page. With words and pictures, we’ll give your visitors a reason to buy from you.
The Ray Access Value Proposition
So what’s our unique value proposition? You get two for the price of one. Ray Access is an everyday, all-the-time, true-blue BOGO. Buy one, get one free. There are other good writers out there and some pretty talented editors too. But when you hire Ray Access, you get both — every time.
No piece of writing leaves our hands until both Mark Bloom and Linda Ray have touched it. We each read and edit every blog, press release and web page. We bring years of professional journalism, book editing, magazine publishing, technical writing and research expertise to every job.
Contact us to discover how we can help you. You’ll quickly understand that Ray Access is more than a writing service. We provide content that will help your business grow.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
by Elle Ray | May 13, 2014 | Small Business Advice
We All Resist Doing What We Know We Should
We know we should exercise more, eat less, get more sleep, relax more often, play with the kids and take more vacations. As small business owners, we know we should clean our tools, make more cold calls, update our marketing brochure and write a weekly blog. But too often we just don’t do what we “should” do.
Procrastination, that devil of idleness, can lead to a whole host of issues. Never mind the weight gain and lost business opportunities. Forget the bags under your eyes and the slipping of your website ranking. Those are just the consequences. How about all that guilt and the negative messages we send ourselves about how we’re failing? Face it, no good comes of procrastinating on doing things that are good for us.
And yet at the same time, no good comes from the “shoulds.” Here are our tips for overcoming the dreaded “shoulds:”
Stop Talking
Stop the endless chatter about what you have to do and follow the old Nike saying: “just do it.” Too often, says author and sociologist Martha Beck, we kid ourselves into thinking we are making progress when all we’re really doing is adding more verbiage to our stories and our “shoulds.” We discuss, plan and talk about the issues in meeting after meeting, but we end up with the same results at the end of the day: nothing done and going home with more remorse to keep us tossing through the night.
Get Real
It takes a lot of courage to face the truth. Whether you’re afraid of failing, not sure how to move forward or just plain not interested in those things hanging out on your “should” plate, there’s a reason that you’re not getting the important stuff done. Instead of trying to force results, take a step back and figure out what is standing in your way and work on removing that obstacle. Take a class, delegate, accept the status quo or change directions. Get counseling if necessary, if that’s what it takes to get real. Do something to drop the sack of rocks in your “should” bag, and you’ll sleep like a baby.
Find Help
Business owners in general believe they are strong, confident and capable. Without those characteristics, they’d be working in a cubicle collecting a safe paycheck every week. But oftentimes, it’s those very same independent streaks that keep them stuck and full of “shoulds.”
It’s the really strong, confident leader who admits to not having all the answers. It’s the smart entrepreneur who asks for help. Join a support group, hire extra help or just read a helpful blog. Chances are that someone else has felt the same way as you do and carried similar fears and doubts to bed each night. The odds are pretty good that someone else has found solutions they are willing to share. All you have to do is ask.
Like us.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
