Every year the Chamber recognizes small businesses for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the community at its annual Small Business Excellence Awards program.  This year’s winner of the Small Business of the Year 1-4 Employees is Confidential Shredding & Recycling.

“Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc. is the premier mobile document shredding service which values client’s privacy and time.  Our mobile unit is equipped with a hydraulic lift system, which instantly feeds your confidential materials directly into the shredder.  With this state of the art equipment, our bonded professionals are able to shred your sensitive materials, hands free.  The shredding process may be viewed on our security surveillance camera system.  Clients’ are then provided with a Certificate of Destruction.” csrshredding.com

CSR gets it. Do a Google search for Confidential Shredding & Recycling in Tallahassee and you will find many reasons why they are deservedly the winner.  Take one look at their digital footprint and the evidence is clear: Social Media is an essential component of their marketing strategy.

Winner Small Business of the Year 1-4 Employees:

Website: Confidential Shredding & Recycling, Inc.

Facebook Fan Page for Confidential Shredding & Recycling

Twitter: http://twitter.com/CSRShredding

Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/confidentialshredding

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/confidentialshredding

Trusteria.com: http://www.trusteria.com/csrshredding/contact

Blogger: http://csrshredding.blogspot.com

What makes CSR a winner in my book is not just the fact that they have tackled Social Media head on, but that they are very involved in the Tallahassee community.  Within the same Google search, one can see CSR’s involvement with the Tallahassee Red Cross, Keep Tallahassee Leon County Beautiful and the Children’s Home Society.

Congratulations Confidential Shredding & Recycling! I am a big fan and a follower.

Best wishes and prosperity to you and your staff!

#1 Tallahassee Small Business Leveraging Social Media

If the phrase “information is the new currency” was used to describe the emergence of technology in the late ’90s, then “social media is the new debit card” is the phrase for business 2010.    I use my debit card for just about every transaction.  Large or small it really doesn’t matter.  My bank doesn’t charge me a minimum fee for using it (although some places do).  Annoying! At the end of the day I can look at my online banking statement and see a real-time activity journal.  My weekly journal consists of visits to coffee shops, lunch expenditures, along with trips to Publix, Winn Dixie and Wal-Mart.  Anytime a transaction is made and I use my debit card, a record is created.  By looking at my online bank statements, one might be able to glean how I feel about spending money at the places I frequent during the week.

A similar assessment might be taken in regards to activities and conversations within social media.  Thousands and thousands of updates about experiences at coffee shops, restaurants and grocery stores are posted everyday.  Each of those updates/comments are recorded and posted on blogs, walls and message boards.  These digital logs are a new kind of online account statement.  Each update is an informational transaction.  The insight that could be learned by these digital statements could result in valuable assessments for a company that was paying attention.

Recently, I was preparing a Social Media proposal for a new client who requested case studies to be included in the documentation.  I came across hundreds of studies.  Surprisingly, this kind of market research has been circulating since 2005.  Everyday the conversation of how do businesses engage in social media arises, to which I reply, it’s never too late to join the conversation.  I always recommend listening and observing as a starting point.

If you are in charge of marketing at your company or you are the owner of a small business and need more convincing that Social Media is a viable means to grow your business, I am including some of the case study websites that I have found extremely helpful in attempting to reconcile the online statements of social media.

Case Studies

35 Examples of Corporate Social Media in Action

Word Of Mouth Marketing Association – Comprehensive Case Study Library

Groundswell by Forrester Research – 65 Corporate examples and 25 full case studies

Social Media Statements Tallahassee

This week I was enjoying a cup of coffee when I noticed four people on the other side of the café huddled over their laptops.  One of the four was showing the other how to navigate through various areas on a website.  Just as I was about to leave, I asked the young lady being tutored what she was learning.  She explained that her company, Catch Your Limit Consulting, had a very strong belief in mentoring.  It was quite obvious that she was excited and passionate about the opportunity to learn in this mentoring business philosophy.

Mentoring traces its roots back to Greek mythology.

“Mentor (Greek: Μέντωρ / Méntōr; gen.: Μέντορος)^[1] was the son of Alcumus and, in his old age, a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of his son, Telemachus, and of his palace. When Athena visited Telemachus she took the disguise of Mentor to hide herself from the suitors of Telemachus’ mother Penelope.^[2] As Mentor, the goddess encourages Telemachus to stand up against the suitors and to go abroad in order to find out what happened to his father.  When Odysseus returns to Ithaca, Athena (in the form of Mentor) takes the form of a swallow and the suitors’ arrows have no effect on him.” Wikipedia

Regardless of Athena’s intentions in taking form of the elderly man “Mentor,” something noble happens when someone assumes the role of teacher.  As a mentor, Athena empowered Telemachus to move forward with self confidence and determination.  Telemachus benefited greatly by the advice and wisdom passed on by his mentor.

Throughout my life, in every area, I have had a mentor to show me the way.  There is no better time than the present to partner and collaborate with someone who has already walked the path you are traveling.  I am inspired as I look into the future that I might once again find myself walking step by step with someone I admire.

I applaud “Catch Your Limit.” You can be sure that they are not just another consulting business that will come and go with the tide.  Their core business commitment to mentoring will surely prove to be a solid foundation.  Visiting their website, you can believe it when they say they can help your company build leaders.  It’s not just a fish tail.

Thank you Catch Your Limit Consulting for continuing the ancient tradition of mentorship!

In the business model of 2000, the goal was to gain more customers, assign them a customer number and watch them walk through the customer life cycle.  With the rules of free enterprise changing rapidly, assigning customer numbers isn’t going to get your business into the business 2010 era.

Social Media is changing everything.  In my previous article “Breadcrumbs to Business Growth,” I outlined the digital media journey of local coffee house Tuscan Sun Coffee.  Typing in the keywords “Tuscan Sun Coffee Tallahassee” into Google search, I was able to see what the web said about that business.  (The little hamsters upstairs should start running a little faster from here on out.)

Let’s look at Social Media from a different angle.  Say I am a Public Relations Manager for a local business that is trying to keep up with the times and I regularly do a Google search of the name of my business.  Google has been indexing the “status updates” on various Social Media sites for some time now.  If someone has a good or bad experience related to their visit to my business and they “tweet” or “status update” about that experience, it will show up on a Google search. If they name my business specifically, their comment will be a clickable link.  (You might want to Google search your business right now and look through every page just in case.)

Remember the “Comment Card” box? Imagine your comment cards being posted on the web. Would that be a good thing or not?  How would you handle a less than satisfactory experience if someone completed a comment card and dropped it in the box?  You should treat a Social Media comment with the same level of attention as you would a card dropped in the little black box labeled “Comments.”

Many national companies are listening to what the avatars (a small icon representing the user profile of a given social media) are saying.  I have read article after article of companies like Blackberry, Target, and Starbucks replying to comments left on Facebook and/or Twitter from people who had a negative experience with their product or service.  Often, the solution to the problem turns a negative complaint into a loyal fan telling their “friends” and “followers” about how the company redeemed its reputation.  The digital voice of a loyal avatar is the new word of mouth.

Here’s the point: 1000 loyal avatars equals 10,000 tribe members (a new kind of customer number)!

What if your business doesn’t listen to the “tweets” and/or “status updates?”  I guess you better get a bigger comment card box so that you will have something to pack up your desk with when they decide to bring in the new PR director who understands Social Media and why status updates matter.

By the way, did you ever think to do a search on your competitor to see what people are saying about them?  If they are smart, they already did one on your business and are thinking creatively on how to capitalize on your area of weakness.

Seth Godin argues the Internet has ended mass marketing and revived a human social unit from the distant past: tribes. Founded on shared ideas and values, tribes give ordinary people the power to lead and make big change. He urges us to do so.Brilliant! If you haven’t bought Seth Godin’s book Tribes, go to Amazon now and get it!

Seth Godin – The Tribes We Lead

Having spent much of my professional life centered in the customer service industry, my experience with a business or service tells me a lot about the future of that business.  This morning I took my oldest to the orthodontist for a visit.  She is on the last leg of treatment for her braces.  The first time I visited the office, I was impressed with the small office set up.  There was a TV in the wall with a remote control for smaller kids to play video games and a larger TV mounted on the wall for parents while waiting.  As added incentive to keep up with regular cleaning and care, the young patients are given tokens redeemable for prizes.  I was dazzled by my new orthodontist.

Then they moved.  Often when businesses move, the cost of upgrading and the move is beyond the scope of the budget.  Not only did my orthodontist complete the upgrade to the building, but careful detail was taken into consideration in the service experience.  Dr. Stevens must view his clinic’s service as a brand in and of itself.  If my middle school daughter is willing to risk fashion ridicule by wearing her Stevens Orthodontist t-shirt to school, then Dr. Stevens has successfully created experience as a brand. Watch out Holister, Abercrombie, and Guy Harvey, DoctorSO is crashing the fashion party!

When I go to Stevens Orthodontics, I know that I have a fresh ground cappuccino waiting. If my youngest has to go with me to wait on her big sister, she will be completely entertained by a beautiful beach mural, or the plasma TV mounted at kid eye level, or the huge aquarium filled with colorful, exotic fish.  If one of the little ones gets hungry, there is a mini fridge loaded with juices, fresh baked cookies on the counter.  Dr. Stevens has successfully taken his orthodontics clinic to the next level.

You see, Dr. Stevens gets it.  It is about the experience.  It’s not just about the patient experiencing a positive and professional level of service, but it’s also about the experience of those who are waiting, enjoying the atmosphere and amenities.

How many times have you visited a place of business and experienced a less than satisfactory visit?  There’s nothing more frustrating than going to buy your favorite item or product and having a blah blah blah experience.  How many blasé experiences will it take before your favorite is no longer your favorite?

If you are a local business and you’ve spent a lot of time and energy building a great physical store, you can’t neglect the digital landscape either.  Dr. Stevens understands that a comprehensive business will have a deep digital footprint, as well as a solid concrete foundation. Well done doctor!

Dr. Stevens has his blog at http://drlucasstevens.blogspot.com/

Dr. Stevens MySpace at: http://www.myspace.com/drlucasstevens

Stevens Orthodontics primary website at: http://www.stevensorthodontics.com/

Ps.  Don’t forget to brush!

With the talks of cutbacks and budget reductions, now more than ever is the time to invest in the people and businesses that have been your loyal clients from the start. Even with the latest edition of Microsoft Outlook, it is very challenging to maintain quality ongoing relationships with your clients on an enterprise level. If you or your sales, service or support staff is tied down to working out of a shared database on a network in a PC environment, you are missing huge opportunities.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tools have made fantastic leaps in scalability and have become significantly more user friendly. Without having to sacrifice the comfort of working in a Microsoft environment, many CRMs have the functionality to integrate with Outlook and Word. Software CRMs that are installed on local machines are now being challenged by on-demand web-based CRMs making mobility affordable. Open source CRMs are gaining fast ground to rival “In the Box” vendors because of flexibility and complete customization to fit the way you do business.

4 Mistakes When Considering a CRM System:

• Wrong End of the Binoculars – The goal of your CRM system should be to raise the profitability of revenues: Lowering the cost of customer acquisition, increasing customer lifetime value, and reducing waste in sales, marketing, support and service delivery. Focusing primarily on the cost, rather than the business impact can leave you paralyzed in indecision.

• Goal Overloads – Better to have a very small number of goals for the system, each with a clear owner, metric of success and deadline. Every CRM goal should be prioritized with no ties. After you’ve registered some quick wins that demonstrate results and get users committed to the CRM system, add the next one or two goals as you build the system out incrementally.

• Using NASA Measurements – What proportion of your current business is represented in the CRM database, and how often are users accessing the customer relationship information? The first order of business is user adoption: How quickly and deeply are they using the system? The second order of business is the value of the orders flowing through the system per month.

• Roman World Domination – The warning signs of Caesar/Nero Expectations include: Infrequent project milestones; large, complex, monolithic project deliverables; little consideration of political or change-management issues; or overstated requirements, particularly for scope of system integration or historical data.

Here is a simple quiz to help you have the best perspective going into finding the right CRM:

What would be the net effect to the bottom line if your sales staff could close one percent of the deals they lost last year?

Who would benefit the most if you could reduce the prospect to client funnel by seven days?

What result would you see if your business reallocated 10 percent of its advertising dollars to speak directly to clients who have already bought from you and have confidence in your business, compared to trying to convince total strangers to buy from you?

Would your customer support cost increase or decrease if you could handle each customer issue with one less phone call?

If you are looking for more information on CRMs, here is a list of bloggers who are passionate about CRM:

• Between the Lines
• CRM Advocate
• CRM Guru
• Enterprise Anti-Matter
• Inside CRM
• Jonathan’s Blog
• Negative Approach
• Open Source Pragmatist
• Open Source Unleashed
• Open Sources
• PGreenblog
• Software as Services

One of my favorite morning emails is the one I get from Seth Godin.  Every day Seth stretches my thoughts about how I think about what kind of business I do and how I approach it.  The main idea from today’s email was this: You can change everything!

Here’s my favorite 30 Ways to change everything a la Seth Godin:

1. Publish your best work for free online
2. Close your worst-performing locations
3. Open a new branch in a high-traffic location
4. Hire the best salesperson away from the competition
5. Join the competition
6. Host a conference for your competitors
7. Connect your best customers and organize a tribe
8. Fire the 80% of your customers that account for 20% of your sales
9. Start a blog
10. Start a digital bootstrap business on the weekends
11. While looking for a job, spend 40 hours a week volunteering and freelancing for good causes
12. Go on tour and visit your best customers in person
13. Answer the customer service line for a day
14. Let the most junior person in the organization run things for a day
15. Delete your website and start over with the simplest possible site
16. Call former employees and ask for advice
17. Listen to ebooks in your car instead of the radio
18. Sell your cash cow division to the competition and invest everything in the new thing
19. Find more products for your existing customers to buy
20. Quit your job
21. Have all meetings in a room with no chairs, and everyone wears a bathrobe over their clothes
22. Open your offices only four hours a day
23. Get an RSS reader and read a lot more blogs
24. Go offline for longer than you thought possible
25. Write five thank you notes every day
26. Stop sending spam
27. Have everyone at work switch offices
28. Buy some art
29. Make some art
30. Do the work

I can’t think of a better day than Monday to see a list like this.  If you find yourself stuck in a rut, take a look at this list and take action.  Life is too short to remain stuck in the mud.  Not only is today Monday, but it is the first Monday in May.  May’s birthstone is the Emerald, which means love or success.  If you don’t love what you’re doing, if you’re not experiencing the kind of success that you want to have, do something about it. Carpe Diem!

I love to hear from my blog readers.  If this blog post inspired you to make a change, please contact me.  Whether you soar or flop, the point is to step out and do something!  I value your comments, thanks for keeping the conversation going!

Friday, the last day of the traditional work week, was a day that connected two unlikely dots along a plane of new friendship.  With my Tweetdeck open to All Friends, Tallahassee, Facebook: Friends Status, and Replies, I sat enjoying my favorite frappuccino.  Wrapping up a day of client visits and new business development planning, I was pleasantly interrupted by a complete stranger.

Some argue that the use of social media sites like Facebook and Twitter threaten the depths of our human relationships and separate society’s connection with the real world.  Others argue that what began as a social interactive platform is slowly becoming a superficial sea of subversive status updates and covert spamming.  I would offer the possibility that while those arguments have valid points, genuine connection is happening between both worlds.  Passion is the key to any authentic connection.

Embarrassingly, I recently have found the delicious and refreshing taste of the Mojito.  Traditionally made of five ingredients: white rum, sugar, lime, carbonated water, and mint, Mojitos are the perfect blend of fresh and exciting.  My first Mojito was at 101Mint last week while waiting to see Watchmen at IMAX.  I was hooked.  After hitting three stores trying to find fresh mint, I had to settle for the Mojito mixer.  Needless to say, my first attempt to create the sublime concoction in my kitchen was a disaster ending in a shelf bought mixer and a less than top shelf brand of rum.

Here is series of Twitter status updates from Friday between myself (TallyDigitalBiz) and RickOpp whom I have never met in real life, but follow on Twitter:

• @RickOpp 2:33 PM May 1st from web:  about to go on a mint run — essential for juleps for Derby Day and mojitos for post-golf @ poolside Sunday.
• @TallyDigitalBiz (2:54 PM May 1st from web in reply to RickOpp):let  me know where you find the mint “goods” i went to three stores and struck out, had to settle for just the mixer:
• @RickOpp  3:33 PM May 1st (from TwitterBerry in reply to @TallyDigitalBiz): Tharpe Publix was out & produce guy said other Pubs may b out 2. Got last 2 pkgs @ Tharpe WinnDixie. Try calling others.
• @TallyDigitalBiz (3:39 PM May 1st from TweetDeck): Enjoying free WiFi and a black and white at Starbucks on North Monroe
• @RickOpp 3:46 PM MAY 1^st via Direct Message Raise ur hand & wave right now.

At 3:46 PM on Friday May 1^st while sitting in Starbucks on North Monroe, I hear a friendly voice ask; Are you Michael Winn? I reply, yes.  Reaching out to shake hands, I am handed a small package of fresh mint.  Stunned, I have just experienced the incredible power of connection between Twitter and real world friendships.  RickOpp, who I personally know now as Rick Oppenheim, have a Twitter story that will be told over and over.

In less than 73 minutes, two complete strangers found a common interest.  By the simple spirit of generosity and hospitality, two people now have a keystone to building something beyond Twitter updates, mint, and a 50 to 1 shot winning the Derby.

I just can’t get away from the crazy guy from Wine Library TV!  This guy is uber contagious! If you haven’t heard of Gary Vaynerchuk, stop reading this blog and YouTube him right now!  Notice I didn’t say Google him.  As a passionate entrepreneur who thinks the old rules are ridiculous, Gary is my new super hero! Although I am a huge fan of Google, reading an article about Gary doesn’t even come close to seeing him face to face.  Are you still reading this? Stop it, seriously.  OK, forget it! Just click the video below and watch for yourself.  (Warning: Gary uses BIG words not good for little ears!) Put on your earphones, so your cubical buddy can’t listen in while you get your YouTube mojo!!!

If you listened to that and you’re not ready to pursue your dream with 100% passion, then you must be inhaling way too much of the corporate toxins being pumped through the ventilation shafts.  Try this:  Pull up a Word document, in big, bold letters type, “I AM BATMAN!”(or CATWOMAN).  Now, go to the copy room and make 100 copies and leave it on the copier.  Don’t let anyone know that it was you. Shhhh, it’s our little secret.

If you are even 1% unhappy with where you are in your occupational role, do something about it TODAY!

Let me help you get started.  Tonight after everyone is asleep, go to GoDaddy.com.  Condense what you are most passionate about into two words or less and type that in the domain search bar, top right corner of the page.  If that domain is taken, then try a couple different combinations until you get one that is available.  Now, BUY it!  For less than what you spend at AMC 20 on a movie, popcorn and a drink, you can take ownership in your own digital space.  If you don’t do it tonight, I don’t ever want you to read this blog again; It will only make you more depressed.  Come on, just do it. You are going to CRUSH it!

Now that’s the way to start off the weekend!

My name is Michael Winn, and I am OBSESSED with New Business!