Often, the business owners I speak to have misinterpreted the smooth pitches of SEO companies. The company is telling the truth but doesn’t tell the whole story. Often, this can lead to false hopes and money down the drain. Here’s what I mean:

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Sample 1
SEO Company: “We can get you at the top of the first page of Google.”

Interpretation: They will help you place an advertisement with Google. The company that pays the most gets listed at the top for each keyword.

Is this okay? Sure, if you want advertising. This method is not search engine optimization or marketing. It can only be defined as advertising. It could get you some short-term results.

Sample 2
SEO Company: “We can get you at the top of the organic results in Google for whatever keyword you want.”

Interpretation: There are a variety of ways they can do this. Options include paying for other websites to link back to yours, as well as, hiring people to write massive amounts of poorly written articles about your company and posting them around the Internet.

Is this okay? It’s okay only if your priority is to have a lot of traffic quickly. Using this method for too long could hurt your brand and be very expensive. Soon after you stop paying the company, you will lose your standing with the search engine.

Sample 3
SEO Company: “We are going to address one keyword at a time.”

Interpretation: They want to ensure a steady stream of income from your company.

Is this okay? This scenario can sometimes help companies with smaller budgets that want to focus on a subset of keywords to start. However, it is easy for them to lose track of the overall marketing plan and get taken advantage of. If you choose to go this route, make sure that you work with a reputable company that has your best interest in mind and is not taking  you along for the ride.

Mike Miller, a director at Symbiocracy Inc., will be a panelist during the Swedish–American Entrepreneurial Days in Goteborg, Sweden from Nov. 8 – 10, 2010. His panel’s topic is “”How to Sell to Americans – U.S. Business Culture.” Mike will post his presentation before he leaves for Sweden November 2.

The Swedish–American Entrepreneurial Days has become the most important trade and networking event in Sweden, providing an effective platform for trade and commerce between the U.S. and Sweden. Since 1997, the Entrepreneurial Days has enabled small, medium, and large companies to connect and develop new business. For the past thirteen years the Entrepreneurial Days has not only grown larger, but has also become global in scope with American business leaders networking with their Swedish counterparts. What makes this business-to-business event so worthwhile and successful is that it brings together entrepreneurs and experts from a variety of fields – all sharing their expertise and knowledge of American and EU markets.

For more information, see: http://sacc-edays.org/goteborg/speakers/#9

Mike spent fourteen years in corporate America with Bendix and Allied Signal corporations. Positions he held included divisional chief marketing officer, new product development manager, marketing channel manager, national sales manager, marketing communications manager and acquisition manager, . Since 1989, he has been in the consulting industry. Of Mike’s current clients, three are start up firms. He holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), and a M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, (Los Angeles, CA), and is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (Greensboro, North Carolina) to conduct 360º leader assessment and development programs.

Over the last 20 years, one observation I have gained from working with startup companies, or any company, is the failure of management to assign the right talent for the right roles. A serial entrepreneur told me once, “You can take my ideas, money, computers, equipment, buildings and people and if you only let me have one back, I’ll take my people. I will then restart my business and make better and stronger. You can have the rest.”

So, it cannot be emphasized too strongly the purpose of a business plan is to first and foremost demonstrate you and your management team, Board of Directors and Advisors have the skills, experience and capabilities to start, launch and grow your company.

Through your Business Plan, you demonstrate your business has:

• A robust management team.
• Sufficient demand for our product.
• Sustainable competitive advantage.
• Realistic goals & objectives.
• Well thought out financials.
• The Business Plan also shows investors it has:
• Focus. Too many Business Plans promise too much, too soon.
• A well thought out roadmap to an exit strategy.
• Realistic financial forecasts that show acceptable return to your investors.
• Funding needs that support the forecast.

Some resources:

• Angel Investor Network www.angel-investor-network.com
• Capital Vector (Venture Capital directory) www.capitalvector.com
• Keiretsu Forum SoCal www.keiretsusocal.com
• Los Angeles Venture Association www.lava.org
• Maverick Angels www.maverickangels.com
• Pasadena Angels www.pasadenaangels.com
• Tech Coast Angels www.techcoastangels.com

Mike spent fourteen years in corporate America with Bendix and Allied Signal corporations. Positions he held included divisional chief marketing officer, new product development manager, marketing channel manager, national sales manager, marketing communications manager and acquisition manager, . Since 1989, he has been in the consulting industry. Of Mike’s current clients, three are start up firms. He holds a B.S., Industrial Engineering from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, PA), and a M.B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, (Los Angeles, CA), and is certified by the Center for Creative Leadership (Greensboro, North Carolina) to conduct 360º leader assessment and development programs.

Lately, it seems like the less successful companies right now are in one (or two) of two boats:
1.    They have a weak product.
2.    They have done a poor job at marketing their product.

A profitable business requires a strong foundation.

Product:
I define a weak product as one that does not fulfill a need or want of enough people to make the company sustainable.  As follows are the questions I use to measure the companies’ products with which I work (in 2nd person for your convenience):

• How many people REALLY will use your product?
• How many people will spend the time/money to use your company to purchase your product or use your service?
• Do people need your product? (Review Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs)
• If they do, do they know that they need it or will you need to sell them on the fact?
• If not, why do you think they will use it?
• Do they want it enough that they will pay for it or spend enough time on the site to make it worthwhile to your advertisers?
• What are the advantages of using your competitors? Do those advantages outweigh your advantages?
• Is something about your website turning people away?
• Is there a reason for people to use your company more than once or will you have to continually replace your customers?
• How much money will people REALLY spend for your product or service?

or

• How much money will advertisers spend to reach this customer base?

or

• Do you have another knock-your-socks-off revenue stream?

The strongest products are easy sell and go viral. They don’t require much  advertising (if any at all). Not only because of the economy but also because we can easily shop around for products on the internet, we are much more careful to spend money. And, with the current media overload, our attention is pulled in many different directions, so it’s hard to get our attention for long. Sure, companies sell weak products all the time, but it’s a struggle you don’t have to go through. If you start with a strong product and improve it over time, success will come much more easily. And, once you have a strong product, you can move your focus to marketing.

Marketing: If you have a strong product, marketing is the easy part:

• Honestly represent your product
• Determine your most accurate target demographic
• Engage your target demographic where they will feel most positively about your product.

So, there it is – a strong product and how to market it well – it’s definitely a good place to start when you’re writing your business plan. There are so many things to worry about when you have your own business. You don’t want to have to reinvent your product while you’re dealing with accounting and HR and permits. And, you aren’t going to get the revenue you need if you don’t know how to market your product.