Press Release Generator – Sample Press Release on United Way Day of Caring [or Action] Involvement

10-Minute Branding Refresher: How do you build your brand 10 minutes at a time? You start small, and you simply begin. An excellent way to convince yourself to get going is to plan your ending. You can even set a timer. Then, be sure to bask in the success of your huge accomplishment of actually beginning and also appreciate the amount of work that got done. Then, repeat the process tomorrow. And the next day. And so on. You will be amazed at your branding progress . . . 10 minutes at a time.

PR as Another Opportunity for Branding

In an earlier article, we discussed Press Releases as Another Opportunity for Branding. Specifically, we addressed some of the basic criteria needed to produce a successful PR piece, including discussions about: Topics, Voice, Audience, Outlets, Format, Quotes and Photos, and Post-Submission Follow-up. In other articles, we provided the following press release generators: Identifying Your Content, Sample Press Release Announcing a New Hire, and Sample Press Release Announcing an Employee Promotion. In this piece, we are providing a template for publicizing a community involvement on the part of your company and employees (specifically the United Way Day of Caring/Action). We chose this example because such observances are broad in geographical scope and because publication of local and regional efforts is an extremely common and a widely accepted practice. However, any community service activity is a likely candidate for PR. (As before, we are hoping these tips will help keep you from getting stuck staring at a blank, crumpled page! However, recognize the need to customize this template to your own situation.)

Can this task be done in 10 minutes? With a template, maybe. However, you can easily spread the exercise across multiple 10-minute sessions.

In getting started, remember that the rule of the 5 W’s still applies, so we encourage you to review our earlier articles. We also want to remind you that voice matters – you must write as though you were a totally objective journalist preparing the story. Similarly, the content must be of interest to the audience of the intended publications.

As previously noted, announcements of community involvements are a common press release practice that communicate a positive branding message about your organization and your people. If you perform an internet search on “United Way Day of Caring,” you will find that local newspapers across the country have shown a willingness to print these kinds of stories that are generally perceived to be of interest to the readership. That said, be aware that some outlets might be willing to include all or most of the information you provide . . . but many will reduce your words to a skeletal, bare-minimum sentence or two. If that is the standard practice, a quick glance at past issues will let you know the kind of space typically allocated to such stories.

Secondary Benefit

When preparing a press release on a public service activity, you are also realizing a secondary benefit by sending your current employees a message that you care about the community and are willing to provide resources (their time spent during working hours) to help. By making this quality part of your brand, you help yourself become an “employer of choice” and you encourage customers to treat you as a valued member of the community.

Below is a fill-in-the-blanks-template to use as a starting point in developing your own content:

Your Logo

PRESS RELEASE – For Immediate Release

[Company Name]

[Contact Name]

[Phone Number]

[E-mail Address]

[Date]

[HEADLINE ex. ## Employees from COMPANY NAME Participate in United Way Day of Caring [or Action]

[CITY, STATE, MONTH DATE] — Recently, ## employees of [COMPANY] took part in the United Way Day of Caring [Action] by spending time at [LOCATION/NAME OF RECIPIENT/BENEFICIARY] performing the following tasks – [LIST THE SERVICES PROVIDED]. Participating for the FIRST TIME-or-# CONSECUTIVE YEARS in this United Way initiative, the crew from [COMPANY] met at their offices before traveling as a group to the work site.

Note: Body paragraphs then follow this opening (i.e., background information, quotes, company description, etc.)

For those unfamiliar with this activity, the United Way Day of Caring [or United Way Day of Action] is an initiative designed to link company volunteers with organizations that have a special need. The kinds of services provided are very varied and can range from outdoor clean-up activities to painting and general maintenance—basically whatever service the recipient needs most. No special skills are required of the volunteers, just a willingness to provide the time and effort needed to make a difference. According to the United Way, their missions is “. . . to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities around the world to advance the common good.” On the Day of Caring [Action], large numbers of people work to improve their communities by volunteering with United Way. (To learn more and find the most up-to-date information, see the United Way’s website.)

According to [NAME OF HIGHLY PLACED OFFICIAL WILLING TO BE QUOTED], “[COMPANY] is very pleased to have participated in this year’s event. As strong supporters of the United Way, we welcome this opportunity to give back to the community and help out in a very tangible manner by offering our time and effort to this worthwhile cause. We appreciate the willingness of our group of volunteers to help out and are glad to be able to give them the chance to spend this day of work in this manner. As you may know, [COMPANY] has a long-standing history of community involvement. We believe our staff and customers benefit from participation of this kind.”

Note: Add a quote from one or two of the volunteers willing to make remarks. Try to include a description of his/her activity and the way in which the involvement made them feel. (We offer the following example for you to use as a starting point and modify as needed.)

[NAME AND TITLE OF VOLUNTEER] was one of the people volunteering this year for [COMPANY]. According to [VOLUNTEER], “I was asked to [DESCRIBE ACTIVITY]. Working with several others from my company, we accomplished quite a lot, and the people from [RECIPIENT/BENEFICIARY] seemed very grateful. Personally, the whole project made me feel very good about myself and my employer. I hope to come back next year.”

[NAME AND TITLE OF VOLUNTEER] agrees. “I was also part of the group that day. However, my job was to [DESCRIBE ACTIVITY]. I really enjoyed this break from my routine and especially the chance to do some good for others. I appreciate the fact that my employer supports this cause and allowed me to spend a day away helping without a loss of pay.”

Note: Your “boilerplate” company description that outlines the products, services, history, location, hours, etc. then gets added. See our Style Guide for further information. While the boilerplate language of different companies will be quite individual to reflect the specific history and characteristics of that particular business, a simple example might be:

“Established in [YEAR], [COMPANY NAME] specializes in providing [PRODUCT/SERVICES] to customers located in [GEOGRAPHICAL OPERATING AREA]. Open [LIST HOURS/DAYS] or available 24/7 online by visiting [WEB SITE ADDRESS], [COMPANY NAME] [IS ENDORSED BY/IS KNOWN FOR] and encourages customers to learn more. In recent years, [COMPANY NAME] has grown substantially and is looking to achieve similar increases during the upcoming months.”

30/30

Note: As you can see, your boilerplate text provides you with a chance to briefly tell your story while giving potential customers a means of acting on their interest. The above is just one very basic example. Be sure to tailor yours to tell your story in the most effective possible way.

_________________

As always, we welcome any thoughts or feedback, and we encourage you to comment by using the space provided below. We would be happy to receive special requests to provide other sample press releases in the future.

Want a Word document of this example? Just click!

Good luck!

“Your Call Is Important To Us” (NOT!!)

How many times have you heard this telephone automated attendant message? And did those words make you feel the exact opposite of the intent? If so, you realize the importance of ALL forms of messaging to your brand, and we suggest you keep reading this next installment of 10-minute branding.

Meaningful Content Matters

On one of the most common routes I drive, this very small country church has a changeable outdoor message board (such as the one shown below) with sufficient space for a meaningful thought to be communicated.

Over the years, I have looked forward to reading the new weekly message that almost always contained a mix of humor and serious, understated insight. Often, a basic piece of housekeeping information (such as the dates and times of special services) was included . . . and I suspect people paid a whole lot more attention because the content was carefully tucked inside an entertaining wrapper. I know for a fact that I have not been alone in becoming a fan of the sign, which I also saw reproduced in photos on social media by appreciative fans who shared my reaction.

Similarly, a local bar I pass almost as often has a sign that is used to make comments about current events, send regular patrons best wishes on special occasions, and sometimes even crack a joke or two. Like the church signage, this one also has a fan base and regular following who waits each week for the letters to change – enjoying the sensibility of the message that gets posted and perhaps even checking to see whether they got mentioned.

In each of these cases, the organization’s brand was defined, communicated, and publicized in a way that brought great visibility and recognition . . . while assuming a place at “the top of thought” of the audience. Furthermore, this brand building exercise cost nothing to execute and was probably accomplished in 10 minutes – five to develop the message and five more to change the lettering.

While not all small businesses have a sign to be used for this purpose, pretty much everyone has telephone voice mail that communicates a very basic, practical message; 90% of the time, this opportunity to get the attention of a patron is wasted.

While some offices do at least use out-of-office or wait-time messages to run canned ads (which can be effective), these notices are too often tuned out because the content is updated too infrequently.

I suggest learning a lesson from the master marketers in charge of the outdoor signs mentioned above by adopting their practices of wrapping their practical content in a message that informs, entertains, and communicates (either directly or indirectly) some basic understanding of your brand, your style, and your sensibility. In doing so, you want to establish a regular posting schedule and feature information people want to hear. (I have on occasions gone out of my way to drive past these signs just because I wanted to see the newest message.)

So, what kind of options do you have for creating such content?

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. However, always be sure to keep the entertainment side of your message short, simple, and direct. Some examples to use as a starting point for your own brainstorming include (but are not limited to) the following:

Try asking and answering general trivia questions.
Mention a fact from history that happened on the day.
Call people’s attention to the obscure celebrations occurring on the day. For instance, February 10^th, 2023, was National Pizza Day. August 5^th, 2023, is National Bloggers Day.
Note: You can find these lists online at sites such as National Day Calendar 2023 : What National Day is it Today 2023 (nationalday365.com).
Highlight interesting facts about your local history.
Follow local high school, little league, etc. sports teams and comment upon and congratulate the athletes on their performances.
Tell people to come to your website for additional information – perhaps a recipe of the day.
Provide an interesting fact about your business.
Wish a Happy Birthday to patrons born on this day, collecting the date and simultaneously getting their permission as part of a prior sign-up campaign. (Consider sending them to your website to collect an additional reward/Birthday Gift.)
Tell a joke.
Pass along a special password that can be used to participate in a sale.
Etc.

You get the idea. The nature and structure of the lead-in entertainment part of your message can be almost anything and can encompass multiple categories but should be short, simple, direct, AND hopefully somewhat clever. Frankly, that plus the mere attempt to entertain rather than just sell will be part of the branding message that get communicated.

While certain efforts will work better than others, consistency is important to set expectations. Customer feedback will be your best measure about whether the initiative is succeeding as planned. If you realize one strategy is not working, try another and keep experimenting until you have the right formula that speaks to your audience and sends the right message about your brand.

On your part, you should be able to accomplish this task in 10 minutes most of the time. We believe the rewards will far exceed the effort (and time commitment) required.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Employee Reality Check

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding.

Walking the Walk/Talking the Talk

Large companies generally have Mission and Vision Statements that summarize their product and service philosophy and (either directly or indirectly) establish standards for employee/customer interactions. Realizing the potential value of such a written manifesto, many small businesses have adopted their own as well . . . though a few with perpetually lean staffing and operations probably never get around to creating a formal document.

However, that does not mean no written record exists. In such cases, you often find the small business has a motto or byline that serves a similar purpose. When you hear a good slogan that has been around for a while, those words have usually succeeded in capturing the philosophy, the goals, and the essence of the brand – and, therefore, becomes another way of figuring out what that company’s mission might be.

So, What Is Today’s 10-Minute Branding Assignment?

We suggest spending this time meeting with your employees to perform a checkup on the way branding values are being implemented on a daily basis while using the opportunity to:

reiterate your ideal.

OR – perhaps –

learn a lesson from reality.

To get this training exercise off to a fast start, read your mission statement or slogan to your employees and ask them whether those words accurately reflect their daily reality. Depending upon the feedback you receive, you may want to remind your people about your ideal brand values and suggest ways they can integrate those qualities into their daily interactions with customers. If, however, you did find that your ideals are no longer based in reality, ask your employees to help you modify the statement to better reflect their daily experience. In the case of the former, you could end up with a better employee and better brand. In the case of the latter, you just might get a more accurate Mission Statement and/or slogan to live by AND help generate future sales.

Depending upon what you find, several 10-minute sessions may or may not be required to discuss the reality of your brand and retrain staff behavior OR brainstorm a new message. However, the process will be worthwhile and a good reality check. If you were one of those businesses that never took the time to develop a Mission Statement, you may find that now is the ideal occasion to do so.

Click this link to learn more about Mission Statements. And Vision Statements.

Click this link to learn more about creating Company Slogans,

As always, we welcome your comments and questions.

Go Shopping!!

Welcome to another installment of 10-minute branding.

A Gift that Keeps on Giving

Disclaimer: While we only recommend products we know and love, we want to note we use affiliate links and may earn a commission for purchases made through those links.

Do you have 10 free minutes until your next task and want to create a way to keep your business’s name in front of existing and potential customers? Then, Go Shopping . . . for possible promotional gifts that you can distribute in a variety of ways. For example, imprinted pens often have a good shelf life – sticking around in the pocket of your patron or on his/her desk for a considerable amount of time and then staying in the face (and the thoughts!!) of that person throughout the day.

Before you reflexively say you don’t have the budget or extra cash, know that cost and quantity can vary greatly, which makes this opportunity available to everyone. You can check out major, well-known suppliers like 4imprint and see a wide spectrum of options (including some for well under a dollar per unit) . . . OR you can go to a site such as Zazzle to obtain just a handful that can often feature artwork relevant to your business as well as your particular company’s branding. While the per-unit cost might be greater, the ability to buy a few at a time might be helpful.

Such small quantities can be used very effectively when distributed in a personalized way. For example, invite a prized customer to lunch and pass along a customized pen as a takeaway. (The whole cost of such a gesture can – together with a good product and service — help secure brand loyalty in the present and future.) If, on the other hand, you have been able to invest in a larger quantity, we suggest getting a good enough quality to enhance the chances of being retained but at a sufficiently inexpensive cost to distribute them freely – including having a handful at your point of purchase for customers to grab-and-go at will.

While we have offered pens as a very typical example of a common company promotional gift offered by a high percentage of businesses, the same logic can be applied to countless other items like key chains, stress balls, lens wipes, sanitizer bottles, lip gloss, etc.

Although you can seldom go wrong with a pen, look for a gift that is both unique and reflects your products and/or services For instance, a contractor might offer a tape measure, an optician an eye glass repair kit, or a doctor a pill box.

If you are lucky, you might find the perfect item in just 10 minutes. If you are one of those people who just can’t get enough shopping and are constantly distracted by a need to check out each item you see, more than one 10-minute session might be required.

Once the perfect promotional gift has been identified, use a second 10-minute session to place your order – typically an action that can be accomplished via the Internet and/or a phone call. When completing your transaction, remember to stay consistent with your brand style guide in selecting fonts, colors, bylines, etc., which will enhance the recognition of your brand.

As always, we welcome your comments and questions. Till then, Happy Shopping!!

Want to see an example of a customizable pen that can be obtained in small quantities per purchase from Zazzle? Check out Example 1 and Example 2.

A Match Made in Minutes

Consider Bringing a Partner On Board

Owning and operating a small business can be a lonely and overwhelming proposition. Sometimes, you just wish you had some additional resource you could rely upon. If you have ever found yourself in this position, perhaps you should consider enlisting the assistance of a strategic partner – the topic of this newest 10-minute brand building tip.

Such a relationship can but does not have to involve any kind of formal legal arrangement. Rather, you are looking to pair with another business that – like you – is hoping to gain a certain marketplace advantage.

Identifying a Potential Prospect

Some combinations seem to have a natural synergy – like the way peanut butter pairs with jelly or marshmallows with chocolate bars and graham crackers. When considering prospects, ask yourself what other product or service might be acquired to better take full advantage of the characteristics of yours.

For instance . . .

If your business is to share advice about branding, you might consider forming a strategic partnership with a designer who produces branded stationary, business cards, etc. If you are a farmer with apple orchards specializing in the production of cider, perhaps your ideal strategic partner would be a grocery store or farmer’s market that uses seasonal campaigns (such as fall, Thanksgiving, Halloween) to promote sales.

Basically, think of a business that could benefit from your product while, in turn, enhancing yours. That said, you will want to consider issues such as goals for growth, culture, values, attitude toward service, and history of success to ensure the optimum likelihood of a good match.

Potential Benefits of a Strategic Partnership

Many exist . . . but I will concentrate on three for the purposes of this piece.

Cut Costs

One role of well-matched strategic partners is the ability to run joint sales and advertising campaigns, which has the potential to substantially reduce the expense of both parties by splitting costs while also allowing everyone to take advantage of economies of scale. Better deals can sometimes be available to companies willing and/or able to spend more, which can be accomplished through a partner while your own original investment remains the same. Any activity targeting large numbers of prospects falls into this category (direct mail/e-mail campaigns, sales events, etc.)

Increase Your Audience

You have your own list of customers as well as a data base of prospects. More than likely, your strategic partner does as well. Combining these lists for activities such as direct mailings or even telemarketing campaigns substantially increases your pool of highly qualified prospects. If you’ve chosen your strategic partner well, their customers should be very interested in your products/services and more likely than your average cold contact to ultimately become your customer as well. In fact, I’d be willing to bet that you already share some of the same customers and that letting them know about your strategic partnership can only strengthen their loyalties to both of you, which suggests a joint loyalty program might be very successful.

Remember, strategic partners are not your direct competitors. Rather, these companies are ones that complement your main focus . . . so sharing of customer data is reasonable.

Enhance Your Product

Even the best products can always become a bit better . . . but you just lack the resources to pursue such development. By choosing your partner wisely, you can make your product better by being able to offer additional qualities brought to the table by your partner. (Once peanut butter found jelly, that partnership created a new enhanced offering called PB&Js . . . and the rest is history!!)

In the case of a branding blog, we try to explain some of the characteristics that create an effective brand, we can even provide instruction for building certain basic tools like logos. However, a partnership might allow us to highlight certain vendors who are able to supply finished products for items like brochures (helping those readers who prefer not to take the DIY approach).

Your 10-Minute Branding Assignment

Identify a company offering a product/service that complements yours. Visit their web site to get a sense of their audience and approach to sales. Determine whether the prospect has been involved in a coordinated effort with another business (perhaps even one of your direct competitors). Track down the names and contact information of people within the operation who might be the best ones to approach about possible partnerships. (The “About” page of the candidate’s web site can sometimes yield this information.)

While your 10-minute task for the day is done once you’ve completed this assignment, another day your mission will be to make a preliminary contact. This process can be repeated as many times as necessary to move forward. The potential benefits will easily justify the effort.

Conduct an Ongoing Three-a-Day Sales Campaign

This newest 10-minute brand building tip makes the assumption that you have already followed our advice to start to create a 10-minute contact database (see Build a Contact Prospect List) or alternatively have a list acquired separately from a third party that you’re now ready to start approaching.

While contact and production sales campaigns are most often created via a major coordinated effort aimed at reaching dozens of prospects simultaneously, your initiative need not be such an all-consuming, resource-draining exercise to produce meaningful results that enhance both your brand building activities and sales.

Instead, we suggest developing an ongoing sales initiative that will approach the task three prospects at a time. Since your contact list was developed from your personal knowledge and efforts, we believe this data will be more qualified than lists acquired from a third party and will very often allow you to know the best media or strategy for making your approach.

Nevertheless, success will still be measured in very small percentages. However, each success will represent the opportunity to create a loyal customer that delivers repeat business over time, and you also benefit in another less obvious way. Since your direct marketing materials will be incorporating the key elements of your brand in your chosen way, this exercise also reinforces your brand with an important potential audience.

Direct Mail Letter – E-mail – Text Message – Phone Call

As a separate exercise apart from this 10-minute tip, we suggest you build reusable templates for generating a letter and/or e-mail to individual prospects. Then, you simply have to plug in the necessary name and contact information, generate the document, and send your solicitation to the targeted recipient.

Generally speaking, you should be able to complete three prospects at a time and still have a chance (and the energy!) to properly update the activity in a contact and production control log (that is either part of your original database or a separate spreadsheet). While methods can vary, you need to maintain a record of every date and method of contact as well as any responses received. In general, we suggest using a multimedia approach, so we recommend scheduling your first follow-up contact about a week after your letter or e-mail was sent. Since you are building your contact list three items at a time and executing your sales and follow-up activites at a similar pace across as many days or weeks as needed, this process will essentially become an ongoing effort spread throughout the year that hopefully also produces some ongoing results!

If you initially felt a call was the best method to use, your follow-up will depend upon the response you receive.

If you actually spoke with a person, a letter or e-mail can be sent to thank the person for his or her time and consideration . . . with a promise to contact them again in the future.
If your initial call did not get through, a second call is probably in order – separated by about a week.
If one of these contacts connects and you are ready to move on to the next stage of the sales cycle, plan to schedule a follow-up session (very often a personal or virtual visit/meeting) to try to convert the sales lead into a customer.

When your initial contact and follow-up activities fail to produce results, plan to repeat the same activities with the same contacts at a future date – recognizing that repeated efforts might be required to get your message in front of the person at the right time – buying time (that moment when a potential need becomes an actual one).

Note: Although this article deals exclusively with implementing the mechanics and timing of running of a 3-a-day sales campaign, you can find more information about creating the necessary templates in other articles at www.brandbuildingforsmallbusiness.com. Specifically, you might want to check out: Role of Branding in Direct Mail/E-mail and Creating a Mail Merge Document for Direct Response Mailing.

BTW – Using direct contact opportunities to wish your customer a safe and happy holiday for occasions such as Thanksgiving makes a positive statement about your brand!!

Measuring the Success of This 10-Minute Branding Task

While accomplishing three contacts in a day might seem like too little to make a meaningful difference when the percent returns are so small on direct marketing and telemarketing activities, these numbers DO multiply with consistent, sustained effort. Furthermore, conversion of a single lead to a customer who becomes a loyal repeat client year after year represents a significant victory – the kind upon which successful businesses are built.

Build a Contact Prospect List

Add Three New Names Per Session

When you think about telemarketing, direct mail, or some other sales campaign, you probably imagine using a huge database of prospects obtained from a third-party source. Perhaps the list was purchased from a vendor or downloaded from a non-profit professional organization of which you are a member. Then, you probably see this list becoming the engine that drives a huge concerted effort involving many people . . . and then producing results measured in depressingly low percentages.

Well, that description is very often extremely accurate and can indeed be extremely worthwhile . . . but can also sometimes involve extensive resources. However, another 10-minute approach to the same basic activity does exist.

Specifically, build your very own sales contact list three entries at a time. Create a spreadsheet or other electronic list that includes the following columns for:

Name (consider separating into separate columns for first, last, and salutation)
Address (consider separating into separate columns for street, city, state, zip)
Phone number
E-mail address
Social media presence (identify which ones)
Dates contacted (Leave space for three entries)
Contact method (Leave space for three entries)
Contact response (Leave space for three entries)

When identifying the entries to include in your database, consider prospects from the following:

Your street, town, neighborhood
Personal acquaintances that could also have a business interest in your products/services.
Business associations and memberships such as the Chamber of Commerce, trade groups, etc.
Leads mentioned by your friends and family members.
Internet searches using a variety of terms related to your business.
Possible leads encountered through social media or other advertising activities.
Sign-in sheets located either online or within your place of operations.
Etc.

You Get the Idea

Prospects can come from almost anywhere; you probably encounter a half dozen a day . . . but never bother to formally collect the information into a useable file with accompanying contact information.

When entering such data into your spreadsheet, finding the names will probably come fairly easily, but you will spend the majority off your time gathering the other information that makes the file useful, using phone books, online searches, social media searches, directories published by groups and organizations like your local Chamber of Commerce, etc. I can almost guarantee that 10 minutes will be required to do your three daily entries, and you will probably not be able to fill in every column of contact information but WILL succeed in collecting enough to be useful.

Next Steps for This 10-Minute Branding Task

Collecting three prospects per day may not seem like enough to be useful . . . but perform that task for 10 days during a month, and you have 30 at the end of that period. Do that for six months and you have 180. Furthermore, your list is reusable. Following the basic principles of sales contact campaigns, you should plan to reach out to each name you have collected at least three times at different intervals to try to assure that you get your information in front of that person at buying time – the circumstance in which you are most likely to be successful in making a sale, adding a new customer, etc. Similarly, you can try to approach your prospects in a variety of ways – by phone, by mail (direct mail letter or postcard), by social media messaging, etc. That way, you are giving yourself the best possible chance of reaching out to each prospect by his or her primary media preference.

Will You Be Successful?

Conventional wisdom suggests yes – with sustained, consistent, and professional effort, you will generate new business. While the percentage of victories will probably be low, new customers tend to be recurring and can more than payoff your 10-minute investments fairly quickly over time. Furthermore, I think you will find that a list assembled in the ways described above will be somewhat prequalified and therefore more useful than prospect lists obtained in other ways that tend to include countless entries with little likelihood of success.

For more information, see Role of Branding in Direct Mail/E-mail and Creating a Mail Merge Document for Direct Response Mailing. Also, look for further 10-minute branding suggestions upon executing a prospect sales campaign three leads at a time!

Ask a Customer (Just One) To Do a Review

Today’s 10-Minute Tip:

If you have a very friendly repeat customer who has been complimentary about your business, you have a possible candidate to write a review for you. Very often, you just need to ask. Since this 10-minute branding activity can be done at any time, any day that you don’t have a specific idea for contributing to your company’s brand, you can ask a customer for a review.

When approaching an unfamiliar vendor to acquire a needed product or service, most of us at least take a cursory glance at past customer ratings and reviews. While some of your patrons may not be comfortable offering a review, many would be more than willing to help out.

While an in-person request is probably ideal, an e-mail, text message, or note at the bottom of a customer satisfaction survey can also work just fine.

When making your request, emphasize how quickly and easily the task can be done. Suggest the various ways the review can be performed – from filling out an online form to writing a short note on a piece of paper, giving you a message that can be repackaged to display on a sales counter or reproduced in a brochure. Remember, the goal is to find a method within his/her comfort zone. (If appropriate, offer to pass along a link to an on-line review site.)

Helpful Hints You Can Provide

The review can be used to discuss your product(s) and/or services.
Suggest the person be as detailed and specific as possible.
Honesty always comes across best and creates a more meaningful and sincere message.
Reviews and ratings can be revised/updated in the future.
Tell the person to consider what he or she would personally like to know and include that kind of information.
Thank the person.

Making a customer request for a review can be accomplished in under 10 minutes . . . but the benefit can linger for years to come.

Learn more at:

Getting Reviews for Your Business

Review Request Sign

Weeeeeeeeeeee’re Back . . .!

Prefatory Note:

When Carole first suggested the idea of moving forward with a somewhat altered approach to our blog (i.e., 10-Minute Branding) I was intrigued and sensed some real value that would speak to the current needs of people trying to build a successful small business and have some semblance of a work/life balance. While I am currently at a different stage than her (having – for instance – two adult children out on their own rather than two teenagers at home), the freshness of her plan was appealing and seemed in keeping with our DIY mentality. BUT . . . me being me, I had to build a justification for myself. Below is where I landed.

Perform an Internet search for the statement “attention span of millennials and Generation Z’ers,” and you will find a variety of references to an 8-to-12 second time frame.

Is this finding a sad commentary on the younger crowd who are soon destined to rule the world, or is this fact a symptom of necessary adaptation to survive and ultimately thrive within an increasingly complicated and complex society?

Personally, I’ve come to believe the latter. As the demands on our time and attention have grown, the ability to process information quickly and make meaningful use of small blocks of time becomes essential. Furthermore, this realization has led us to consider the ways in which we can best be of service to small business owners who have among the greatest demands on their time and resources and who must achieve the highest level of efficiency to be successful in today’s fast-paced business environment.

10-Minute Branding

We think this concept of 10-minute branding can indeed be an important key to Get Sh – Done (and perhaps still create some extra time for family). So . . .

After a two-month pause in new additions to our blog, we have decided to resume but with a shift in focus for the immediate future.

Over the past three years, we have covered many of the basic principles and tools of branding for small businesses. Equipped with this library of resources, we decided we could be of greatest use to you – our audience – (while still preserving our chosen DIY focus) by offering weekly tips on branding activities that can be accomplished in just 10 minutes. (While some activities might require spilling over into multiple 10-minute sessions, our goal is to avoid intruding upon your already-busy schedule while still helping you realize your overarching goal of building a better, stronger brand identity.

Can You Really Accomplish Anything Meaningful in Just 10 Minutes?

Guess we’ll see, but . . .

Some branding activities can indeed seemingly be done in 10 minutes. For instance, you can write a thank you note to a customer that instills in them a strong sense of service while giving you a chance to tout your business in a desired way. Furthermore, 10 minutes a day for each day of a six-day work week yields an hour of potential productivity. If you used those 10 minutes to collect three prospects’ contact info, you’d have a dozen and a half by the end of the week to approach the following week one by one with a branded message. I fully suspect that converting some of those prospects into loyal customers would justify the effort and validate the process.

Furthermore, devoting one hour per week in 10-minute blocks yields more than 50 hours of annual productivity devoted specifically to building and refining your brand. Needless to say, a lot can be accomplished in a work week+ period.

That said, you will have to be disciplined in doing your 10 minutes per day. If you do, we believe you will be pleasantly surprised.

Our Part

For our part, we will provide tips that we believe can be accomplished in one or more ten-minute blocks. We figure one way to make this happen is to try to devote as close to 10 minutes as possible to our creation of the tip, which should help ensure that the activity does not get overly complicated.

This approach is very much an experiment on our part. As a result, we really would appreciate your feedback by leaving a comment in the form below or by sending a private email to brandbuildingforsmallbusiness@gmail.com.

May 1 – 7: Celebrate National Small Business Week

A few weeks ago, we told you about National Small Business Week in 2022. (See Today’s Tip: Bridge Building and National Small Business Week 2022 – Brand Building for Small Business.) Today, we’re just reminding you that the time is NOW!

The statistics supporting the importance of small businesses are always compelling. For instance, smallbizgenius.net (using a variety of recognized sources) notes:

There are 32.5 million small businesses in the US.
48.9% of small businesses survive five years or more.
77% of small business owners say they feel optimistic about the future of their companies.
50% of all small businesses are operated from home.
82% of businesses that fail do so because of cash flow problems.
Small businesses account for 44% of US economic activity.

See 40+ Small Business Statistics: The Ultimate 2022 List (smallbizgenius.net ) for more.

With small businesses forming such an integral part of the economy in the United States, we should all take time to celebrate the importance of our local business community.

What Local Business Owners Can Still Do Now

While National Small Business Week will be underway shortly, a small business owner still has a number of ways to participate.

Write a press release about the celebration and your business, announcing upcoming events, sales, celebrations, etc. (See our article about writing our own in 2020.)
Send customers and staff a thank you note, letting them know that you appreciate their importance to your success and reminding them that their support also helps keep the national economy strong. (Check out our “How To” piece on creating your own thank you cards.)
Use your social media to call attention to National Small Business Week and share some of the many resources available.
Participate in and support other National Small Business activities in your region. To help you identify relevant events, go to the SBA web site, which provides an easy-to-use tool. All you need to do is provide a zip code, and you will get a list of functions in an area up to a 200 mile radius. [See National Small Business Week (sba.gov).] You just may find a quick and easy way to support this cause.
And . . . while you are at this site, check out all of the many very useful tools the Small Business Administration (SBA) makes available, including a virtual summit May 2 – 5.

With the week’s observance about to get underway for 2022, you have no time to waste. However, you can also consider any time spent now a great long-term investment in your early planning for National Small Business Week 2023!