SLO LIFE Winter 2010

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| SMALL BUSinESS MAkEOvEr the Mackintoshes providing an overview of SLO Moped, including its perceived strengths and weaknesses, and drilled down to specifics with their marketing. “I have a couple of observations,” offered Verdin. “I can see that there is no marketing plan in place currently, and things seem to be done by the ‘seat of the pants’ to this point.” She explained the importance of establishing a program that targets their likely customer. “You have to get clear on who your customer is so that you can communicate your message with this type of person.” Verdin went on to suggest methods for gaining this understanding. “Also, your brand messaging is a bit disjointed. This has to be applied consistently at all times, but, again, the brand should be dictated by your target market.” Verdin cautioned the Mackintoshes that there was a lot of work to be done at this point and that the temptation of many small business owners is to jump to the tactics of marketing and skip the grunt work, like doing market research. She offered a metaphor: “Think of it as if you are going to paint your house, it’s all the prep work that makes for a great result, right?” The Mackintoshes nodded in agreement, suddenly realizing the magnitude of the work ahead of them. WEB STRATEGY “The website looks really outdated, it doesn’t look professional, and it makes you look like you’re not a legitimate company,” plainly stated Forrest Hatfield, founder and director of web systems, at ITech Solutions, an internet development company in San Luis Obispo. “Your website doesn’t necessarily have a direct correlation of how legitimate your company is, but in the eyes of the user it does. You want to make sure they have a professional experience. For example, when you advertise somewhere, they [the prospective customers] are probably going to check out your web page to get more information before they come into your shop. You want to make sure your site is representing you well and that you are using it to gain credibility.” The Mackintoshes readily agreed with Hatfield’s assessment, but appeared to consider the implications for the first time. Despite their sudden anxiousness to change the website, Hatfield cautioned the couple to have a well-conceived web strategy before moving forward. He went on to ask probing questions, such as: “Will you be selling parts through the website to people out of the area? If so, you will probably want to create a separate brand name because a lot of those customers may not “ Think of it as if you are going to paint your house, it’s all the prep work that makes for a ” great result, right? - Mary Verdin above WEB STrATEGY (left to right) Mike Wiemholt, Forrest Hatfield and Megan Mackintosh review plans for the new website. right nUTS AnD BOLTS (left to right) Megan and Jim Mackintosh, and Michael Gunther talk business. opposite page MArkETinG 101 (left to right) Megan Mackintosh, Mary Verdin, Maryn Anderson, and Jim Mackintosh review brand development. 28 | slo life magazine
understand that ‘SLO’ stands for San Luis Obispo and not ‘slow.’ Selling parts for slow mopeds probably won’t be a good idea.”Hatfield and his team then showed the Mackintoshes how they could begin to analyze data coming from their website, including a breakdown of visitors, where they are physically located (by city), how they get to the site (i.e., search engines or by typing in their web address directly), how much time they spend on the site, and a variety of other metrics. Additionally, they made suggestions for a website overhaul and stressed the importance of continually updating the information presented so that it always appears fresh and new, as most of the information on the SLO Moped website was a year or more old. continued on page 30 EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR OFFICE COPIER MAKING YOUR BUSINESS Efficient Effective Empowered www.ultrex.net 712 Feiro Lane, Suite 33 SLO, CA 93401 Tel: 805.783.1234 Fax: 805.783.2987 slo life magazine | 29
Page 1 and 2: SLO LIFE magazine @ home Donald & E
Page 3 and 4: slo life magazine | 3
Page 5 and 6: contents Meet Your Neighbor: Kevin
Page 7 and 8: Hear for the Holidays Sleigh bells
Page 9 and 10: slo life magazine | 9 Do you have a
Page 11 and 12: Over 15 different styles of Patagon
Page 13 and 14: Below is an exerpt of Barbara Stick
Page 15 and 16: There is a sadness that permeates F
Page 17 and 18: Upgrade Your Healthstyle EXPLORE TH
Page 19 and 20: economy and with the way that thing
Page 21 and 22: Home We Fix Computers anywhere on t
Page 23 and 24: Experience the frasier fir sPeCial
Page 25 and 26: intRoducing ER Watch Real time info
Page 27: SLO Moped Gets a Makeover Even in t
Page 33 and 34: San Luis Business Center Furnished
Page 35 and 36: “We have a car, but don’t drive
Page 37 and 38: TiMeLeSS filled with books, photos,
Page 39 and 40: Our approach to real estate is abou
Page 41 and 42: | REaL ESTaTE ask The Experts Where
Page 43 and 44: Kitchen was born. The menu featured
Page 47 and 48: December 18 Event CMC Holiday Speci

SLO LIFE Winter 2010

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