Making a Superstar Company

By Rick Polson

You are getting ready to start or you just started a new business. You are an expert in your current field such as Shoe Retail, Heating/AC or Business-to-Business Sales. You are stuck as to how to build your customer base and continue to gain customers. That is why I wrote this book, to help you do just that. This book is for anyone about to start a business or anyone who has a business that has been open for less than three years.

I have spent over 35 years helping small and medium-sized business owners grow and expand their customer bases. Starting in radio advertising after college, I moved into other areas including wholesale product sales, government services, advertising and Internet marketing. I have seen successes and mistakes made by many business owners. The purpose of ‘Making a Superstar Company’ is to share my expertise regarding the building of a business from the marketing perspective, helping people avoid some of the novice errors.

This book will not give you all of the answers to every possible question or situation; to read that book, you would never have time to run your business. However, we will cover many aspects of business promotion and discuss how to run a business. I suggest that you read this book from beginning to end to understand the various options to grow a business. Then, reread the book, a couple of chapters at a time, and accomplish the things that mesh with your business goals. The process of starting a business can be difficult enough; too much information absorption, all at once, will just make it more difficult.

Chapters 2 and 3 help you focus on your overall business practices and goals, as well as how to apply funds to marketing. We will also touch on product inventory and selection so that you do not make the mistakes made by many first-time business owners.

Chapters 4, 5 and 6 cover basic marketing concepts and provide choices to brand your company. We explore things - including color concepts, basic business materials, and traditional media - to brand all aspects of your business to reflect the message that reaches your target audience.

Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 explore some primary traditional marketing areas, looking at the pros and cons of each. We discuss my decades of experience as it relates to these areas.

Chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 cover the newest area of advertising, the Internet. Internet marketing strategies vary widely and this book cannot address all of the questions related to marketing. However, we will look at the different ways to incorporate these strategies into your company.

Chapter 18 looks at public relations, a way for you to gain additional exposure for your business. Touching on the importance of company branding, we explore why it is important to keep your company in the limelight.

In Chapter 19, we discuss how to put all of the processes together. You are now ready to catapult your business to success.

Finally, in the Appendix, we provide a host of questions to consider as part of the survey that you will continually perform to gauge your target audience and grow your customer base.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sadie Books
• Release date: Nov 27, 2012
• ISBN: 9781301104123

Rick Polson

Communications is an art that I have taken to heart since high school. After helping to set up and participate in an on-campus radio station, I went on to study broadcast communications, receiving a Bachelor’s degree from Curry College. Since then, I have held a wide range of positions in the fields of Marketing, Advertising and Public Relations.I was an Account Executive at several broadcast facilities in Ann Arbor, Michigan; Boston, Massachusetts; and Tampa Bay, Florida – selling, writing, and producing ads for numerous industries. I also was an on-air participant in some locations. As a Public Relations Manager for an international computer product manufacturer and distributor, I was deeply involved in branding global product lines. I also have advertising agency experience, involved with all aspects of client relations and placement of marketing programs.Throughout my career, I have held high expectations for my staff and myself. It is important that everyone is properly trained in their focuses, whether sales, customer service, advertising or marketing. Communication is also important to encourage a continual flow of information to build confidence in the company and staff.I mastered several computer programs, including Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher), Sales Tools (ACT, Goldmine), and social media applications (Facebook, Twitter).Rick [e-mail]

Book preview

Making a Superstar Company

Rick Polson | Author

Cassandra Allen |Editor

Publisher: Sadie Books at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 Rick Polson

Smashwords Edition

This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to a family friend, Curry college professor, and former news director at WRKO Boston, Roger Allen. He helped get me started on the road of marketing and advertising. I also dedicate this book to my mother Barbara Polson, who left us way too soon.

Introduction

Goals and Visions

Budgets – How Much and Why

Marketing – Where to Start

Surveys – What, When and Why

Traditional Media

Print – Newspapers and Magazines

Direct Mail and Outdoor Media

Radio – Theater of the Mind

Cable / Satellite / Broadcast Television

Trade Show / Special Events

The Internet

Websites

Email Marketing

Web Videos

QR Codes

Social Media

Public Relations

How to Put it all Together

Appendix A – More Survey Questions

About the Author

Introduction

You are getting ready to start or you just started a new business. You are an expert in your current field such as Shoe Retail, Heating/AC or Business-to-Business Sales. You are stuck as to how to build your customer base and continue to gain customers. That is why I wrote this book, to help you do just that. This book is for anyone about to start a business or anyone who has a business that has been open for less than three years.

I have spent over 35 years helping small and medium-sized business owners grow and expand their customer bases. Starting in radio advertising after college, I moved into other areas including wholesale product sales, government services, advertising and Internet marketing. I have seen successes and mistakes made by many business owners. The purpose of ‘Making a Superstar Company’ is to share my expertise regarding the building of a business from the marketing perspective, helping people avoid some of the novice errors.

This book will not give you all of the answers to every possible question or situation; to read that book, you would never have time to run your business. However, we will cover many aspects of business promotion and discuss how to run a business. I suggest that you read this book from beginning to end to understand the various options to grow a business. Then, reread the book, a couple of chapters at a time, and accomplish the things that mesh with your business goals. The process of starting a business can be difficult enough; too much information absorption, all at once, will just make it more difficult.

Chapters 2 and 3 help you focus on your overall business practices and goals, as well as how to apply funds to marketing. We will also touch on product inventory and selection so that you do not make the mistakes made by many first-time business owners.

Chapters 4, 5 and 6 cover basic marketing concepts and provide choices to brand your company. We explore things - including color concepts, basic business materials, and traditional media - to brand all aspects of your business to reflect the message that reaches your target audience.

Chapters 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 explore some primary traditional marketing areas, looking at the pros and cons of each. We discuss my decades of experience as it relates to these areas.

Chapters 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 and 17 cover the newest area of advertising, the Internet. Internet marketing strategies vary widely and this book cannot address all of the questions related to marketing. However, we will look at the different ways to incorporate these strategies into your company.

Chapter 18 looks at public relations, a way for you to gain additional exposure for your business. Touching on the importance of company branding, we explore why it is important to keep your company in the limelight.

In Chapter 19, we discuss how to put all of the processes together. You are now ready to catapult your business to success.

Finally, in the Appendix, we provide a host of questions to consider as part of the survey that you will continually perform to gauge your target audience and grow your customer base.

Goals and Visions

What are the goals, visions, plans and expected outcome of this company that you started? Everyone wants to make money; but what other reason(s) did you start this business? Do you have a new product or product line? Do you want to provide different or better options, for the customers in your business area, than the local competition?

MISSION STATEMENT

Define your goals. Write a mission statement; and keep it simple. The best mission statements are three to five sentences in total. Include precise statements that will give your customers a good handle on why you are here for them. Make your intention clear. If you are having difficulty preparing a mission statement, visit the Center for Business Planning for some incentive and samples - http://www.businessplans.org/mission.html.

BUSINESS POLICY

What are the rules and regulations regarding the sales and services that your company provides? These rules and regulations also need to be short, precise statements. Depending on your company, you may want to have a lawyer review them to add clarification to avoid future problems. Do not copy another company’s policies, as this is plagiarism; define your policies based on your missions, goals, and practices.

The business policy will have a fixed life in your company; and it will change as your business evolves. Without policies, customers have no definition of your business. After you have policies in place, post them in all of the appropriate places: behind the counter, on sales and service paperwork, within relative company documents, and anywhere that connects you to your customer base. I suggest you visit the Management Study Guide website at http://managementstudyguide.com/business-policy.htm for more information on how to create a business policy.

STAFF

If you are planning an employee-based company, you must structure senior managers within your organization. Each manager should have firm experience in his or