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B4 - The Oakville Beaver, W ednesday O cto b e r 23, 2002 C US T OME R S f ScPCerr>ber 3rd, AL WAYS U RI TE 2002 Promotion key to local business success A s co n su m ers lo o k fo r b et te r v alu e in e v e ry th in g they buy, sm all b u s in e ss o w n ers fa c e in c re a se d c o m p e titiv e p ressu res ju s t to survive. "T h e g rea test p ro d u cts and serv ices c a n 't be so ld u n less p e o p le k n o w a b o u t th e m ," say s G reg N eath , P re sid en t o f N E B S B u s in e s s P ro d u c ts, C a n a d a 's lead in g p ro v id er o f sm all b u sin ess so lu tio n s. A c c o rd in g to N e a th , the key to co m p etin g su ccessfu lly in the clu tte re d local an d g lo b al m a rk e tp la ce lies in effec tiv ely p ro m o tin g y o u r nam e an d sales m essag e w ith y o u r target au d ien ce. D istin g u ish in g y o u r b ran d is e q u a lly im p o rta n t an d e n c o u ra g e s y o u r c lie n ts to th in k o f y o u r b u sin ess ab o v e th at o f y o u r co m p etito rs and m o tiv ates th em to ch o o se you w hen th ey are lo o k in g fo r the p ro d u cts an d /o r serv ices y o u r b u sin ess ca n pro v id e. "O n e o f the m o st p o p u la r a n d c o s t-e ffe c tiv e w a y s o f p ro m o tin g y o u r sm all b u sin ess is th ro u g h a w ell-d e sig n e d and fu n c tio n a l w e b s ite ," sa y s G reg. "E v en the sm a lle st o f b u sin e sse s can get in to th e em a rk e tin g g a m e , an d lo o k v ery p ro fe ssio n a l d o in g it." P rin t ad v e rtisin g in p u b li c a tio n s th a t y o u r cu sto m e rs read is also an effec tiv e w ay o f rea ch in g y o u r ta rg et au d i ence. P u b lic re la tio n s ca n be eq u a lly o r ev en m o re e ffe c tiv e . P u b lic ity a b o u t y o u r b u sin e ss, p ro d u cts and se rv ic es in th o se sam e p u b lic atio n s gain you the ad d ed b en e fit o f "th ird -p a rty " en d o rsem en t. G iv e a w a y s an d n o v e lty item s are also effec tiv e w ays o f k ee p in g y o u r b u sin ess on y o u r c lie n ts ' ra d a r sc re e n s. C u sto m iz ed item s su ch as c a l cu lato rs, ca le n d ars an d p en s th in g s k ep t in p lain v iew on top o f a d esk - ju s t k eep on w o rk in g fo r you. In ad d itio n to d istrib u tin g th ese item s at store o p en in g s or an n iv ersary ce le b ra tio n s, it is im p o rta n t not to o v erlo o k o th e r sp ecial e v en ts as w ell. F o r o p tim a l b e n e fit, u se p ro m o tio n al item s as an in c e n tiv e to g e t y o u r c u s to m e rs b ack in to y o u r store o r o ffice. H an d o u t y o u r g iv e -a w ay at the p o in t-o f-sale, m a k in g sure y o u r n am e an d p hone n u m b e r a re p ro m in e n tly d isp la y e d , an d y o u 'll be su rp rised at how q u ic k ly c u s to m e r lo y a lty d ev elo p s. A nd, finally, d o n 't o v erlo o k th e p o w er o f d irect m ail and th an k you ca rd s to p ro m o te y o u r b u sin ess. "T h ey n o t only cre ate g o o d w ill," G reg N eath c o n c lu d e s, " b ut allo w you to stay in to u ch w ith y o u r m ost im p o rtan t asset - y o u r cu s to m e rs." Dear D,'an, D a n - I Wanted to y o u f° ' way ,, o u ,e a " » » « a n d rh a n k ; ns« //anon of , / ° " hm dkd t he , 7 1 °'d in a rily sey ur cu«om );,,( Cent cu« o m |;gJlR o fl^ r s but:y Z V ' ° P ln d r : n tio n ® detai, y°u Were " ere 'r e m e n d O U S . Com p e t it iVe t f ,« e , » ,(W SeTM « . P a c in g ::3 n d i^ Z z z :t o y ^ ^ W e c a t e d your " >"°u <0 (enow tflat ? n - I '° 'lo o k in g TM l r d ' ° " o r k in e l f ° - " - c o t chings rhar ser "o n " " * S K V " ^ with you again. Regards, > *! I ll Phil Seym ar Small business opportunities abound in e-business C anada's largest private sec tor employer, small business, is turning to the Internet and con tributing to the overall growth in C an ad a's digital econom y. Entries in this y ea r's Local Business Awards underscore the importance o f web sites to all types o f business. The increased availability and lower cost o f technology is mak ing it easier to start businesses w ith less investm ent. Technology also encourages increased connectivity that per mits people to operate businesses in non-traditional locations and develop alliances that assist busi ness development. From retail store web sites, to sophisticated Internet-based sup ply chain m anagem ent tools, small Canadian business is turn ing to technology to com pete successfully both locally, and globally. Technology research group IDC Canada expects Canadian ecom m erce to grow over 700% betw een 2001 and 2006. The growth in e-com m erce is fueled by an increase in the num ber o f Canadians who use the Internet, w hich is expected to reach 43.8 million in the same period. The findings, released in April, under line the improving opportunities for sm all businesses to take advantage o f technology and increase the size o f their market place. According to the Canadian eBusiness O pportunities R oundtable, h alf o f C anadian small and m edium -sized busi nesses (SM Es) were doing busi ness online in 2001. W hile this is an impressive number, Canadian SM Es continue to lag behind the U.S., where 77 per cent o f small businesses are online. The Roundtable also recom mends that small businesses rec ognize e-business technology as an opportunity to improve effi ciency, profitability and com peti tiveness. By putting your busi ness online, you will be opening yourself up to entirely new m ar keting opportunities, customers and suppliers that you may never have reached before. A main concern for sm all businesses going online is Internet security. According to the Roundtable, understanding technology and treating Internet technology with the same respect as your physical business security is the key to preventing serious damage. C onsider w hat inform ation needs to be protected and what possible threats may exist, then take the necessary steps to con trol them. Once you have assessed the advantages and disadvantages that the Internet presents for your business, do not be afraid to take the plunge and join thousands of other Canadian SM Es in discov ering the trem endous benefits of beina online. n | S E R V IC E / D E S I G N / C O N S T R ! IJIE N E R G Y A U D I T S & RETR4 Pr e v e n t i v e m a i n t e n a n i IRE A L A R M S Y S T E M S H O N E IN ST A L L A T IO l M LIG H TIN G SYSTEM S LAR F U R N I T U R E IN! LTIN G S E R V I C E S IN GRIFFIN ELECTI 1 C INI (ELECTRICAL & FACII tlNTENANCE CONTI [05)301-5453 FAX (91 130 T tlf C fln D L fL ld flT <J)flLL The O a kville -T ra fa lg a r M e m o ria l Hospital C h a rita b le C o rp o ra tio n invites you to. mm d h u«flNT mm < O T M . M U 1 1 (1 .2 0 0 2 at the Burlington Convention Centre A stylish evening w ith go od friends. cocn m \ >mm... The Russ Little Band DMINd T Om (TIU SK OJ... Tickets, $ 2 5 0 /p e rs o n - Proceeds to The O a kville T rafalgar M e m o ria l Hospital (a ch a rita b le receipt w ill be issue fo r e lig ib le portion) For e a rly reservations o r further in fo rm atio n, please contact A leta M a y e r P . 9 0 5 -3 3 8 -4 6 4 2 am ayer@ haltonhealthcare.on.ca 1 F . 9 0 5 -3 3 8 -4 1 3 5 M i ; i i i v t, PRESENTING SPONSOR GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSORS KOPRIVA TAYLOR C O M M U N IT Y FUNERAL HOME 81 I m H B S t the iiiK iiiM m m O A K V I L L E Q BURLINGTON CONVENTION CENTRE W orget Q $le Olio/ ^Flowers ^ 7 cruise , centers A V ^L O T ) Fine Jewellery · 2 id 8 C o m m u n ic a tio n s