Seminars beneficial to small businesses

I own Livingood Lab Services, and as I attended the Maximum Marketing Seminars given by the Small Business Development Center, I didn’t realize I would receive such clarification for the success of my business.  I really enjoyed the presentations. We focused on the seven “P’s” of marketing.  We began with Product/Services, then, Place, Price, Promotion, Plan, Public Relations, and People.  We pondered whether our products and services met the needs of our clients and how they changed over time.  For example, drug testing has become more extensive in that we are continuously adding testing for the newer drugs that are introduced to users.  Our Point of Difference, I learned, is the fact that we can offer Drug Free Workplace knowledge and compliance for our companies. My competition does not offer that service.  We have a long list of worker’s comp agents that send us their clients in an effort to assist them in that process so that they receive the 7 ½% discount off their worker’s comp. insurance. So, we target certain audiences by asking ourselves who are our customers and what are their characteristics and needs and then we find our niche.
Pricing was also an interesting subject as we considered various market research avenues and strategies as compared to our competition, and, how we purchase affects our pricing.  One of our strengths is how frugal we are when purchasing the products we use in an effort to keep our pricing low for our clients. Promoting our business is also important and I learned that you should have a mission statement as well as a business plan.  SBDC helped us focus on how we market our products and services and gave us many new ideas, such as the various ways to use advertising and rules to go by when doing so by being different and innovative.  “Who’s Your Daddy” is the slogan we use for our DNA/Paternity testing and our website is: whosyourdaddy.ws.  We asked ourselves, which methods would help our business the most. 
The fifth “P” was People.  The “Customers are your companies greatest assets.” We talked about how we reach out to our customers in order to solve problems that arise. What about your employees? Are they a good fit for your company? Are they promoting, selling, and serving the company? We talked about being “likable.” Being “likable” includes being personal, showing interest, being compassionate about your business, ethical, honest, having good follow-through skills, communication, appreciation, and handling special requests. 
Public Relations, “if done well, can deliver a high degree of credibility for the company at a relatively low cost.”  This includes memberships, support, and involvement of community organizations, such as your Chamber of Commerce. Presentations, events, and press releases were also great ideas and suggestions.  I learned that a Marketing Plan is key to success for any business. I decided the lack of a Marketing Plan is our company weakness.  By listening to all of the various methods in order to assess and then implement the Plan, I realized your business can be moved to the next level.  Good stuff.
I encourage you to pay attention to the various seminars the Small Business Committee offers throughout the year.  There is much to be learned and I want to say thank you to the Small Business Development Center for this helpful information.

Tammy Livingood
Livingood Lab Services, LLC