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April 3, 2009
The idea of ‘”build it and they will come” is as fictitious as the movie that contrived the phrase.
If you build it, says Boeing Co. Maui program manager Jerry Cornell, you need to market it, develop a customer base, understand the needs of the clients and take affirmative steps to sell your product or service.
The title of the Small Business Workshop opened by Cornell was “Doing Business with the Federal Government, using e-commerce tools to promote your business.” But it covered a broader range of themes for small business on Maui, with an emphasis on how to spread the word about what your business has to offer.
“Marketing, marketing, marketing! You can have the best product, the best service, the best staff -- but that’s not enough because if nobody knows about you, you have no sales,” says Joan Fulkerson, a federal procurement officer.
Fulkerson was among the resource speakers for the workshop held at the MEDB Ka Alahele Center Feb. 25 to assist businesses on Maui in setting themselves up as contractors, in promotion and in connecting with markets online. She’s director of Small Business Programs for the Air Force Research Laboratory, with special expertise on how small business can tap into federal contracts.
In other presentations:
- Boeing Co. purchasing officer Tom Lang discussed the company’s need to rely on local small businesses as vendors, and how to become a Boeing supplier.
- Maui business trainer and coach Beth Holiday outlined basics for businesses to market themselves online, building on a presentation on setting up an effective business Web site by Boeing managers Wayne Sanders and Larry Pinkel
RESPONDING TO A NEED
“This session was a product of our last workshop at which the partners said their need was for information on how to develop their business online and how to capture a market,” says Kimberley Haueisen, High Tech Maui program director.
Capturing a market with the Web was what Holiday had to offer, detailing use of a Web site as a marketing tool for her business training service, Inner Dynamics.
“The reality of it is there is so much advertising out there you have to capture the mindshare of your potential customers,” Holiday said in explaining her presentation. “One of the ways to accomplish that is to be in front of them on a regular basis.
“I have heard sales people say before you can make a sale, you have to be in touch with the customer, have seven or eight contacts before the sale is finalized.”
A Web site is a contact point that can be reached multiple times if it is set up to respond to the customer’s interests and questions, and to provide customers with updates that they request.
“Your computer becomes a sales staff that never sleeps. It is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” she said.
The Small Business Workshops coordinated by High Tech Maui were initiated because Boeing needed to develop contacts with small businesses on Maui that could provide products and services as subcontractors. Under its contract to manage the Air Force Maui Space Surveillance System, Boeing is required to subcontract with small businesses and particularly minority-owned businesses, for materials and services.
“Boeing originally came to us and asked to have a workshop to introduce themselves to small businesses of Maui because they needed to have small businesses become partners with them,” Haueisen said.
With support from the state’s High Technology Development Corp. and participating agencies, Maui Economic Development Board presented the latest workshop as a followup to a workshop held in 2008.
THE AIR FORCE WANTS YOU
At the Feb. 25 session Fulkerson noted her audience included a commercial photographer and a writer, advising them she would want to know what they can offer because an Air Force contractor may be able to use their services.
“If we’ve got a contractor going out with a new technology, they may need images or copy to assist in marketing their product,” she said.
Among her roles, she said she develops a listing of businesses offering specialty services and products in different locations that can be useful to the Air Force or its contractors.“We are involved in teaming and linking subcontractors. I have businesses that come into my office all the time looking for a small business to subcontract with,’ she said. Fulkerson provided Web site links through which a business can get information on projects for which the Air Force Research Laboratory and other federal agencies are seeking contractors.
A business can also file information with small business procurement officers, such as herself, to help the procurement officers identify vendors that can fulfill a subcontracting need in a specific area.
“The big thing is we need to know you’re there,” she said.
Small businesses seeking to fill niches need to be clear on what they can provide in the way of products and services, she said. Fulkerson presented examples of documentation that can help a business market itself -- or fail because it is not clear and is not concise.
A key document is a “Capability Statement.” It is basic hard copy document that tells a procurement officer what the business can do, can be easily saved in a file by a procurement officer like Fulkerson and can be sent to contractors looking for subcontractors.
Fulkerson also pointed to “missed opportunities” in something as simple as a business card that fails to say what a company does.
“Any document sent out by your business is an advertisement. It must tell what you do, how to contact you, what your capabilities are,” she said.
BUILDING A BUSINESS
As important and possibly even more so to Maui business owners was the information on presenting a business on the World Wide Web, with Boeing program manager Pinkel repeating Fulkerson’s admonishment: “You may have a great product, but you’ve got to sell it.”
Marketing, he said, means creating customers for a business or service, which means understanding what the customer wants and needs -- and how your business can fill the need.
Before joining Boeing, Pinkel said he was involved in an economic development team with Jacobs Engineering, which like Boeing had a need to rely on other private suppliers and subcontractors. In working with small business operators, he said he learned what works for businesses.
"When you get right down to it, you can get so much from reading books, but when you are in business there are very fundamental things you have to do by doing them," he said.
His purpose in the Small Business Workshop was to share some of those experiences to illustrate the basics of business development. Boeing's purpose in participating with its team of managers was to help develop a directory of Maui small businesses that can provide products and services that Boeing needs in its operations and under the terms of its federal contract.
"We do a lot of business on the island and we want to make sure that in complying with whatever requirements we have as many qualified bidders as we can. We try to get everybody that's capable of doing the work because we want competitive bids," he said.
"Secondarily, we're always trying to identify small businesses that can do things that we need done, to try to do as much business with local suppliers as we can."
A third goal is to help small businesses in the local community build their businesses. His presentation was geared to what business owners at the prior workshop said they wanted -- which was less about Boeing's needs and more on basics of marketing and selling.
"We're doing that basically just to try to helping the community with building small businesses," Pinkel said.
His presentation covered basics of product development, branding the company and product, identifying market demand, analyzing competition and investigating resources that can include government as well as agencies such as Maui Economic Development Board. For entrepreneurs thinking about starting a business, he advised:
"If you're thinking of starting a business, don't wait until after you have quit your job and taken out a second mortgage to do this!"
BUILDING A WEB PRESENCE
Pinkel's colleagues, Lang and Sanders, detailed processes for using the Web. Lang covered how to become listed as a Boeing supplier online while Sanders discussed factors to consider for a businesses setting up its own Web site.
The key issue, Sanders noted: a Web site should be easy for a customer to navigate.
"Four out of five customers abandon their attempts to purchase products online due to poor Web site design and functionality," he said, citing a study by Nuasoft Web Services. He emphasized "Customer-Centered Design," which requires understanding what a customer is seeking and setting up a site for the customer, relying on customer comments to improve the operational efficiency.
Once the Web site is set up, Holiday said, the business needs to understand how to get customers to it and how to keep them coming back for more.
“When you have a Web site, you want to drive people to the site through advertising, marketing, a blog, having an autoresponder that provides them something of value, in addition to great customer service, she said.
To maintain connections, Holiday suggests having potential customers registering to receive information or to be notified when your business has a special to offer, while making clear to anyone who registers they can opt out at any time.
“That’s the little link you see at the bottom of an e-mail, telling the recipient they can click it to opt out.”
It’s important not to be seen as sending spam, she said. Spam is unwanted, offers nothing that interests the recipient and is considered junk mail, an offense to the customer.
In setting up an autoresponder, she said the business needs to install two types of information: Evergreen and Broadcast. Evergreen is the kind of information that never changes such as tips and responses that might be found in frequently asked questions.
“It could be seven tips to get your house ready to sell, eight things to look for when buying a house. It is material that is always true ir fresh.
Broadcast information has limited shelf life, but provides a powerful connection to the customer such as special offers, programs and projects. That’s the kind of material that can be put into a newsletter that’s updated regularly, announcing a class program of new listings. “If you have a new product, you can tell people who opt in that you have a new product.”
Holiday suggests a blog also is a marketing tool. A blog allows a business owner to establish expertise in an industry while providing product updates, listing best practices, passing on tips, or just keeping the customer coming back out of personal interest.
“Blogging is a really cool thing for repurposing information. If you write a great blog, you can take the information that customers find useful and you can repurpose that material to other things,” she said.
“For example, the information from your blog could be weaved into an e-book. It could be a fee download that people register for and opt in to receive -- and then you've captured their name for your database for future marketing.”
The key to a successful blog as a marketing tool is to be consistent and current with information that matters to readers who may become customers, she said. Success means engaging the readers and converting them into customers.
Links to government contracts
Both federal and State of Hawaii laws provide for small businesses to be used as subcontractors on large contracts, with Hawaii setting a goal of 20 percent of its annual purchases to be awarded to small businesses as defined by the Small Business Administration.
Web links to federal and state government announcements include:
- www.fbo.gov or FedBizOpps.gov --- Federal Business Opportunities site providing links to federal government contracting opportunities. First-time users should go over the user guides, or link to the demonstration videos on navigating the site. (A commercial site, fedbizopp.com, will lead to ezgsa offering to assist with contracting information that is freely available at the government site.)
- defenselink.mil/contracts/ --- The site lists newly awarded Department of Defense contracts that can be used by a small business to identify military projects in their area.
- sba.gov/ --- Small Business Administration home page provides links to the range of SBA services and programs.
- hawaii-sbdc.org --- Hawaii Small Business Development Center Network site
- www.selltoairforce.org --- U.S. Air Force Small Business site provides details on doing business with the federal government, including a link to the Central Contractor Registration site.
- www4.hawaii.gov/bidapps ---- State of Hawaii Procurement Office site for procurement notices for state and county projects.
As a contractor handling Air Force projects on Maui, the Boeing Co. also will seek small business subcontractors. Information and registration for potential suppliers is online at: www.boeing.com/companyoffices/doingbiz/
To participate in any federal government contract, a business must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration site: www.ccr.gov
Registration provides access to federal contracts, including listing on the SBA’s Dynamic Small Business Search site on which contractors can read business information and capabilities statements.
To file a capability statement or for assistance with projects involving the Air Force Research Laboratory, contact:
joan.fulkerson@kirtland.af.mil
(505) 846-8515
(505) 846-4919 fax
The Capability Statement
For small businesses seeking a piece of a contract, a Capability Statement is an essential introduction to the contractor or issuing government agency. It can be a simple, one-page document. It can be a detailed multi-tabbed booklet. How much is included depends on the size and qualifications of the business. But it should be precise and concise, says Joan Fulkerson, director of Small Business Programs for the Air Force Research Laboratory. Key elements:
- A professional appearance, with graphics, type faces, color.
- Clear mission statement.
- Corporate information including certifications and government registrations (including tax ID and CCR).
- Listing unique capabilities or resources.
- Tailored for specific projects and updated with current company information.
Help available at SBDC
The Small Business Development Centers in Hawaii can provide counseling on business planning and potential sources of financing, as well in conducting market research.
The Maui SBDC is part of a network of centers throughout the islands funded by the federal Small Business Administration to provide assistance to new entrepreneurs and to businesses seeking to expand. The SBDC network offers a range of services, with emphasis on assistance in business planning.
“What we can do is educate the small business owner on how to properly put together a business plan so the result is a viable plan for banks to approve their loans,” says Pat Diaz, administrative assistant with the Maui SBDC.
Through its affiliation with SBA, the SBDC also can assist in accessing government contracts by helping a business find registration links to qualify for the SBA's Dynamic Small Business Search site, which places a business's name and capabilities in a national directory used by agencies, contractors and the public.
Although she said the current economic circumstances have made it more difficult, Diaz said it is still possible for businesses to qualify for loan guarantees -- with an expectation that steps taken by the new federal administration may ease the tight credit market.
To reach the center: hawaii-sbdc.org; on Maui, call 875-2402.
Building a business on the Web
Business trainer Beth Holiday says Internet marketing involves the “four Cs”:
- Capture interested people. Build a database of potential customers by using an autoresponder service that allow your prospects to “opt in”to receive something of value that you offer.
- Connect on a personal level. Autoresponders respond immediately to e-mail. You can personalize your messages to prospects and follow up.
- Cultivate the business relationship. Provide value in continuing contact and maintain “Mindshare” or "Top of the Mind Awareness" with your potential customers.
- Convert to purchase. Demonstrate expertise, offer specials with added value and provide exceptional customer service.
Constant contact is the key to the Four C's. Autotesponders are the easiest way to quickly answer e-mail inquiries and to keep customers who opt in informed through announcements or an e-newsletter. Blogs can also be used as a marketing tool.
Holiday is a business trainer and a Registered Corporate Coach (RCC) through the World Association of Business Coaches (WABC). She specializes in sales, employee development and interpersonal communications training, is a Maui Realtor and was a human resources manager with Hewlett Packard Co. She operates Inner Dynamics Inc. providing training and one-on-one business coaching throughout Hawaii: www.traineroncall.com; (808) 250-2384.
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