Q: Is there any particular strategy that a small business should be taking considering the slow down in the economy since 9/11?
A: First of all stay close to your current clients. It is always better to sell more to your current clients than to get new. Be sure the cost structure is as tight as it could be. Don't be afraid to add new capacities if it will make you more competitive.

Q: I want to use an online survey to gather customer demographics and to get input on what types of products customers want to see offered on our site. How useful is an online survey? Thx
A: It is useful if the people whose opinion you are seeking have a tendency to be online. It's very useful for internet users; it is less useful for populations like seniors who are less likely to be online.

Q: Are there inexpensive ways for small businesses to measure the marketability of their services?
A: The best way to do this, if you have limited resources, is to use focus groups or something qualitative. It won't allow you to predict what it is that you are doing in terms of predicting market, but will give you a feel for customers' attitudes on what is being offered.

Q: I am planning on starting my own business. How can I find enough information to generate accurate numbers for a business plan that is any more than a mere guess? Thank you!
A: The first thing is to define your customer base or who you hope it will be. Try to do that with as much detail as possible. For example, are you selling to a financial industry business or consumers in CNY? Then there are secondary sources where you can get counts of who might be eligible for service. Make judgements, sometimes they are guesses. Use market research to measure intent to buy and use those calculations. The latter is more accurate.

Q: Good Afternoon! What is a good way to recognize employee performance?
A: There are two answers: The first is the formal way through bonuses or some kind of monetary compensation, prizes, and formal performance appraisal systems. Then there are the more important ways which, are informal - being willing to tell people they are doing a good job and telling them in front of their peers. Being able to give them a small gift that is incident specific - for example Syracuse Stage tickets. The more informal ways have more impact because they are unexpected; they have greater value to the employee.

Q: Would local advertising of my business in a PennySaver or regular newspaper help increase traffic to my website? I was thinking of small inexpensive ads.
A: It's hard to know without knowing what your business is. Assuming your business is trying to attract consumers in the CNY area, then the answer would be yes. If you are targeting a different population then your answer is probably no.

Q: Hello Ms. Michel. Our organization has found that mailing out a survey and waiting for responses is slow and not very productive. Do you have any recommendations?
A: There are 2 problems with mail surveys: The first is that they take a long time and the second is that the response rate is very low and may be comprised primarily of people who are angry at something or have a stake in what you are seeking information on as opposed to representing the full market. A better technique, if you have the resources, is to do a telephone survey. You have less non-response bias - the people who answer are more likely to represent the market and you can complete the survey much more quickly - within one to two weeks. That is my recommendation.

Q: How do you feel that today's technology helps small businesses grow?
A: Today's technology fosters much greater productivity, allowing small businesses to get much more done with fewer people than they could have even 5 years ago. Also, it reduces the cost of administrative functions, for example, which can be very draining on small businesses. Finally, some of the new technology helps small businesses reach customers on a much broader geographic basis, which increases their markets and allows them to grow more quickly.

Q: Where can one look to find out if there are any legal restrictions to running a contest on a website?
A: I am sorry I don't have a specific answer on this. I would suggest checking with an attorney or a company, which specializes in website development.

Q: Hello! My company sells craft items in bulk quantity -- from a few hundred to many thousands. We are targeting buyers such as home decorators, architects, and planners, small/medium retailers, etc., to avoid intermediaries. Unfortunately we're not successful in reaching our small bulk buyers despite our best efforts. Can you suggest some ways? thx
A: You may want to create a pre-qualification. Ask a few questions that are pre-qualification questions and then work your way through a list of potential buyers to help decide who of your potential customers are going to be more interested. After a while, look at the characteristics of the people who are most receptive to what you are selling. Use that to target a more specific market. This is called segmentation. That is what you are doing - you are looking for the segments of the market that are most likely to purchase your products.

Q: What is Benchmarking and how/where is it used? Thank you very much!
A: Benchmarking is taking a look at certain companies or certain business processes to see how they do things and learning from that to improve what you might do as a company. Generally you try to do it with what is "best in class" companies or functions so you are learning from those who do things well. It's generally used to improve the way a company operates because you learn from those who are doing the best. Often when we do benchmarking we identify 3 or 4 other companies that are also good at what they do. Then all of the companies will share information with each other. This is the best way to get information because all will benefit.

Q: Do you find Focus groups to be a successful tool in gaining market information? If so, what is the proper way to set one up? Thanks!
A: They are a very successful tool when used for the right purpose, which is to gain directional information from potential customers or current customers. Directional information is not generally scientific or projectible to a specific population but is a good indicator of what the market might be thinking or doing. In setting up focus groups it is very important first to select as your participants those who are most like the customers you are targeting so they are truly representative of your base. Secondly, have a professional moderator who will get information for you without bias and who can probe and get the most accurate, in-depth information. Finally never just hold one focus group. It is important to get enough people to participate so that you can compare their answers. Sometimes businesses assume one focus group can make major decisions. It is a major mistake to do so.

Q: I am thinking of selling a how-to type of book. This would be the only item I would have for sale. My question is how to market this product. Until a couple of years ago I was thinking of using direct mail, but now I am thinking Internet.
A: It really depends on what the how-to books are on and whether the people you hope will buy them are likely to use the internet. If they are using the internet, I would strongly recommend it as the way to go here.

Q: The information that you are providing here is excellent! What types of marketing services does your company offer?
A: We are market a research firm and we concentrate in helping business decide what strategy they should follow, marketing plans to consider, and products to offer. These are all based on quality research results from research that we conduct on their behalf.

Q: What steps would you recommend to create corporate Brand Awareness on the web (we have several sites)?
A: The first thing is to be sure your multiple sites all follow the same themes and are linked to one another so that your customers can see that they are all part of the same brand. The second is to be certain that the same brand identity is emphasized in everything you do (offline as well as online). The third is to be sure that your websites are well done, artistically pleasing and provide meaningful information.

Q: How can managers develop and stimulate a culture of creativity and innovation within a business?
A: The first thing is to be open to new ideas and behave in the way that is consistent with your approach and style. Secondly is to be willing to fail because often creativity brings with it mistakes. If you are not willing to fail you won't have the success you are looking for. Reinforce those employees who are the most creative and let them know you favor the things they are doing in your day to day behavior and in performance appraisals.

Q: There has been a lot of industry buzz about the B2B marketplace. What are your thoughts on this segment and where do you feel it will be a viable target going forward?
A: I agree, B2B is where a lot of the action is now. It is a growth segment for most businesses and it is also a segment that is only beginning now to use the internet, so the way it operates will change dramatically. We concentrate on the B2B segment because we find it interesting and innovative in the way it operates.

Q: What do you like most about what you do?
A: I enjoy the variety of the different types of clients that range from companies like Fed Ex to AT&T to companies like many in CNY. I like the fact that everything we do is based on data and new information. There is always a chance to learn new things. I like the pace, which is very intense, and I enjoy working with an exceptional team of people at KS&R.

Q: What are your thoughts on the future of e-business?
A: I think it is only going to grow. It is going to become a bigger factor in B2B let alone what it currently does in the B2C space. I think it will to a large extent change the way we operate as businesses and as individuals, yet not as quickly as many may think because there are still many barriers to aggressive and consistent use.

This wraps up our Executive Chat session for today. BizBOOM.com and Niagara Mohawk, a National Grid company, would like to thank Ann Michel for her time today in providing expert advice to the upstate NY small business community.

This Executive Chat with Ann Michel is brought to you by http://www.bizboom.com BizBOOM.com and National Grid.