I belong to a key demographic for small business: I am somewhat new to the area and have not yet succumbed to a habitual routine when it comes to acquiring goods and utilizing services. I am on the prowl to meet new people and to make new friends. I turn to the web to find out about what businesses to visit, what stores to shop, and what places to go. I also take advantage of the recent trend surrounding social check-in tools and location-based mobile applications.

Check-in sites are creating a lot of buzz at this time and their presence isn’t likely to go away anytime soon. In fact, more and more social sites (Twitter, Facebook, etc.) are incorporating location-based features – so it is only poised to grow.

Arguably two of the more prominent location-based sites are Yelp and Foursquare. Both allow users to check-in at various locations and leave tips or reviews of the businesses they visit. Each has implications toward and provides opportunities for small business.

YELP

What is it? Yelp is one of the most well-known ratings and review sites around and features a larger social aspect than many other similar sites. Businesses can enhance their presence by adding promotions, uploading photos, and engaging raters/reviewers. Whether you like it or not, your business is probably on Yelp. This year Yelp added a check-in feature to their mobile application, allowing Yelpers to notify their friends and followers when they visit a business.

Why is it important? When in a foreign destination, a Yelp phone app can help one navigate their way to popular destinations. I used it in both Seattle and Portland to navigate the streets by foot to hip, highly rated coffee shops. I used it last weekend in Anacortes when I wanted a quick bite to eat. In other words, it tells consumers what spots are popular, what spots are hip, what spots are inexpensive or too expensive, and what spots you might want to avoid due to poor service or bad quality. The results can ultimately impact your business.

How can it benefit your business? First and foremost, as with any ratings and reviews site, Yelp is a good judge of how your products and/or services are being received by the customer. At the very minimum, as a small business owner, you should be monitoring your presence. You may also want to take the next step and claim your business. This will allow you to enhance the presence with photos and, to a certain extent, communicate with your raters/reviewers.

FOURSQUARE

What is it? Foursquare is a social location-based game in which participants get points for going out, visiting various destinations, and checking-in at the destination via their mobile phone. The person who has checked in most at a business receives the Mayor badge for that establishment. Badges are earned for achieving various feats, like going out multiple days in a row or checking in at several businesses in a 24-hour period.

Why is it important? Foursquare is currently the most talked-about location-based check-in site at this time. The site appeals to a young (33% of users are 18 to 34) male (58%) population. In May, Mashable reported that Foursquare has “more than half a million users, 1.4 million venues and 15.5 million check-ins.”

How can it benefit your business? Foursquare now allows business managers or owners to claim their business. Once claimed, the owner/manager can acquire venue analytics and set up various specials including mayor specials (available only to the person with the Mayor badge), check-in specials (offered after x number of check-ins at your business), and more.

SOCIAL INTEGRATION

Both Foursquare and Yelp have integrated syndication of reviews and check-ins to popular social sites like Twitter and Yelp. When I checked in at gere-a-deli (an Anacortes sandwich shop) a few days ago, I allowed Foursquare to post my check-in on Twitter and Facebook. Likewise, when I reviewed the Skagit Valley Food Co-op a few months back, I posted my review to Facebook. Foursquare also allowed me to leave a tip at the Co-op — if you bring your own mug, their delicious drip coffee is only $0.97.

Not only can you connect your accounts, you can create a Yelp and Foursquare profile by logging in via Facebook. By connecting Yelp and/or Foursquare to your Facebook account, you can easily find and add friends. On occasion, they’ll even inform you when a Facebook friend has joined the site. I invited two Facebook Friends to connect with me on Yelp over the weekend after being notified via Yelp that they had joined the site.

WHAT THIS MEANS

To put the integration of social networking into perspective, the Mashable article mentioned above notes that Foursquare’s “number-one referrer is Facebook.” That means people frequently click their friends’ Yelp reviews and Foursquare check-ins. And more eyes means greater awareness and opportunities that come with it to connect with your customer base. Especially now that Facebook is about to hit 500 million users, a staggering number.

Whether or not I’m new to the area, I’m looking for local hotspots. If I see a promotion, coupon or other special offered via Yelp, Foursquare or another social site, I am more apt to take advantage of the offer – especially if the business has overwhelmingly positive reviews or is a popular destination.

Location-based social tools aren’t going away, so optimizing your business to take advantage of the potential they offer can ultimately pay off in generating awareness, developing greater customer connections, and ultimately building bigger fans.

Mashable recently posted another article recommending the next direction for location-based sites like these called “Beyond The Checkin.” We recommend it – it’s a good read.

A week and a half ago, Jacque and I attended Social Media Conference Northwest here in Mount Vernon. We met folks from across Washington and beyond, and saw some pretty amazing speakers. Most notably were the keynotes James Burnes and Brad Nelson. Throughout the conference, a few items were emphasized again and again. Below, I’ve listed five I found most important for businesses as social media continues to grow. In many ways, these five were instrumental in our development of the bqFILTER process we launched a few months back.

1. Know your customer
We’ve said this before, several times. Know who they are, where they participate online, and how they participate online. The better you know your customer, the better you can engage them.

2. Be a user
While not mandatory, it definitely helps to know the tools you use. If you’re unfamiliar with a tool like Facebook, Twitter, or Yelp, utilizing an agency like BrandQuery can help teach you the tools and how best to utilize them in reaching your audience. This was also emphasized over and over during the HIVE.mobile AIGA event on mobile marketing and design that Derek and I attended in early March.

3. At the very minimum, listen
Like it or not, people are talking about you. Word of mouth has always been a one-on-one process, but with the boom of emerging media and social networking, this is no longer the case. Now it’s public, meaning you need to know what people are saying. With the growing presence of review and location-based sites like Yelp, Foursquare and even Angie’s List, social monitoring has never been more important.

4. Strategize before you start
If you’re going to get involved, you need a strategy. Your strategy should surround both #1 and #2 on this list, and it should also include a contingency or process if something negative crops up during #3. Having a well-defined, WRITTEN strategy is important in ensuring employees know what is and is not appropriate.

5. Monitor, review, revise
Monitor your strategy to ensure it is moving forward as it should. Creating metrics and goals, and regularly reviewing the tactics to reach these goals will help you on your way to being successful in the social space. At the conference, they recommended reviewing your strategy once a quarter. It is also important to revise the strategy and its goals when necessary. Emerging media is constantly changing, and your strategy and tactics should be nimble enough to account for this change.

The plan was to grab sushi at a local restaurant near the Portland airport. As we set it in motion, a friend mentioned that she was baffled by the fact that the restaurant at which we were planning to meet did not have a website. That comment got me thinking about small businesses and how important it is for them to be connected to the online world.

Here are some basic facts that demonstrate why web presence is important for small businesses.

1. Your Customers Are Online

With today’s technology, having a solid online presence is becoming imperative for small businesses. Your customers are online constantly – especially those with 3G phones and other highly connected mobile devices. People are turning to the web and mobile device applications to find what they’re looking for both close to home as well as on the road. This sort of connectivity extends far beyond what was available five years ago.

This trend defies demographics including age, as users of all ages are flocking to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. Large, clunky, space consuming phone books are quickly becoming a thing of the past; after all, it’s easier to hop online and do a quick search on Google, Yahoo or Bing, or do a quick search using the appropriate mobile application.

So your customers are online… why aren’t you?

2. Directory Listings Are Not Enough

Online directory listings are nice in that they quickly give the viewer options. After all, they are the modern version of the phone book – a barebones list of what’s available. But they occasionally include erroneous information like out-of-date phone numbers, old addresses, and broken links to expired websites. It is important to monitor the directories in which your business appears, ensure they’re up to date, and correct them when changes occur.

However, even with all listing information correct, consumers often need an added push to commit to choosing your company over the next. Mere presence on directories is not enough as the directory listing is a far cry from an adequate gauge of the business in question.

3. A Well-Designed Website Can Mean More Customers

When it comes to the final decision, having a modern web presence can absolutely be that tipping point. The term simple here does not necessarily mean basic. It does mean the site should be easy to find and easy to navigate; and you should be able to do this without breaking your budget.

Being easy to find and easy to navigate includes:

- User-friendliness
- Search engine optimized
- Visually appealing
- Organized & uncluttered
- Modern in layout & functionality

If you’re a restaurant, there are a few basic elements to include. Adorn your site with clear, quality photos of your most popular dishes and include sample menu prices. The site should reflect the atmosphere inside your business – utilize a complimentary color scheme and feature imagery from inside and outside your restaurant, highlighting what makes it a unique and desirable meal destination.

Just as important as creating a site that compliments your business is informing your potential customers how to find you. Pull an interactive map from Google Maps and put it on your contact page so viewers can easily get directions if they’re unfamiliar with the area. Add your days and hours of operation and include a phone number and email address so people can contact you with questions or make reservations.

And don’t forget to make sure your site works well on various web browsers and phones. The latter means using minimal (or better yet no) flash.

4. Search Friendliness Is Imperative

Obviously, a small business must think about how to reach its customers online. Search friendliness extends beyond mere web presence. While web presence can be the deciding factor, the consumer must first find your website. There are a few tips that can help:

- Search Engine Optimization
- Directory Listing Management
- Map Optimization
- Relationship Building

SEO can help boost your site on various keyword searches, but it can require regular and time consuming maintenance as search engines regularly alter their search algorithms – those web crawlers that scour the web and rank pages. Ensuring you utilize the words individuals may use to find you in the body copy of your site can help, as can minimizing flash elements (especially in the navigation).

The next two include the optimization of directories and maps listings. Having a website linked to from a directory or reviews site can mean a consumer giving you their business rather than your competitor. Spend some time to make sure the information is correct and has all the components needed to assist your potential customer in giving you business. Adding your business to Google Maps and optimizing it by highlighting specific search items may give you key rank positions in these searches.

Relationship building is the next topic.

5. Your Customers Can Help Spread The Word

The first four tips are all about creating and enhancing your online presence, but there’s a force out there that extends far beyond what you can do alone. Once you’re out there, you can now begin focusing on and developing an interactive strategy that will get your fans to do additional legwork for you. The nature of your business, the demographics of your audience, and your goals and objectives can help dictate and define this strategy. But without an initial presence, activating your audience will be much more difficult.

This area includes everything from blogger outreach to encouraging ratings and reviews. Blogger outreach for restaurants could mean searching for local bloggers that frequently or even occasionally write about food and seeing if they’d be interested in writing a review of your restaurant. It could also mean finding local raters and reviewers on sites like Yelp, which collect ratings and reviews of businesses like restaurants, and encouraging them to come down. You could even link to your Yelp profile from your website.

Why Web Presence Is Important: A Summary

These days, we as consumers are turning more and more to the web to find what we are looking for, a trend that is magnified by the growing popularity of highly connected mobile devices like 3G and 4G phones. Having a strong presence via a well-rounded and well-connected website can help small businesses turn potential customers into regulars, and it can be the launching pad to turn the regulars into die-hard fans who will help you spread the word.

Back to the beginning: my friend and I ultimately decided to forego the restaurant and instead met at Ikea. Had the restaurant maintained a viable online presence, we may have enjoyed a nice sushi lunch.

Last week the entire BrandQuery office attended Northwest Business Monthly’s Business Person of the Year Banquet. We were nominated “Best Small Business of the Year for 2008.” I am not sure who nominated us, but if you are reading, thank you – what an honor! As a business owner, I always hope we are providing a service and product our clients are proud enough to talk about with others. That may have been the case in this instance, although I am not sure we will ever know.

Anyway, that is not the point of this post. The point relates to something the magazine publisher and a couple of the presenters mentioned. With what we are reading and seeing in the news these days it seems pretty bleak out there, business wise. Every day companies are laying off staff, engaged in Ponzi schemes, companies that are receiving our tax dollars doling out bonuses to their executives, and the list goes on. What we are not reading about are the good people, primarily small businesses going about their workday. They are still working to satisfy their clients, being good community stewards and ethically practicing their line of work. There are many of us out here, only a few of which were recognized last week. There are countless others that should be recognized but probably never will be. It’s just the way it is.

Recently I read about a couple of large corporations and their CEO’s (sorry, you know them but I cannot remember their names) that chose not to focus entirely on profits for their shareholders. They instead elected to continue their focus on the customer, their products and their services. Since choosing this path, these companies have continued to perform well and are actually profitable in this economy.

How admirable – focusing on the customer, product and service – maybe this is what Countrywide, WaMu, AIG and others should have been doing rather than prioritizing their wallets and the wallets of the shareholder. Also, have we forgotten Enron and the debacle of the Savings and Loan crisis of the 80’s? I have to say, it really bothers me when history repeats itself – is anyone paying attention?

Back to the banquet. There were kind words for the nominated companies doing business in Skagit County and how we all work together in this region. In addition to understanding our paths and how we got there that evening, it was expressed how many of us engage in our community, participating on boards, providing goods and services to non-profits and many other good deeds. I think you will find a common thread amongst all of the nominees – we all want our community to succeed both economically and socially.

So now, to share in our nomination: I asked Don Wick, Director of the Economic Development Association of Skagit County (EDASC) to introduce myself and BrandQuery to the crowd. To do so, Don wore the most colorful shoes I think I have ever laid eyes on! He said he did so as we are a creative company and that was how he would convey it. Don is a long time friend and client, thank you Don for doing such an eloquent job!

Our two tables consisted of family, friends and long-time clients Nancy and Kendall Gentry. My award winning speech went something like this:
I want to thank my Mother and Father for teaching me a strong work ethic and the importance of building relationships. They also taught me that a balanced life is important. Value family and friends and know that work is not the be all and end all, but when you work, do your best.

Thank you to my longtime mentor, Joann Ossewarde, who has provided her knowledge, experience and great advice to me since I was in college.

And of course, there would be no business if there were not great clients. I value the opportunities provided to us and the trust instilled in us to do good work for you. Some of our clients are here this evening: Nancy and Kendall Gentry, CPI Plumbing and Heating, and Employee Benefits Planning.

Thank you to our vendors for your working relationships and the products you provide.

Thank you to the team here at BrandQuery: Designer Derek Bryson, Designer Matt Fisher, Project Manager Andrew Fenstermaker and Office Manager Hilary Friedrich. These folks come to work every day with professionalism, experience, creativity, patience, humor, and good nature. The office is a fun place to be because of them.

As the evening ended, we found that we didn’t win Best Small Business of the Year in Skagit County. The next day we went back to work, doing what we do and trying to do it very well.

By the way, congratulations to our fellow nominees, Axthelm Construction, Truckvault and the evening’s Best Small Business award recipient, Skagit Valley Gardens.

I recently attended the Economic Forecast Dinner, hosted by EDASC. This event has been brought to the business community for many years and it is highly attended and anticipated. With all that has been going on of late, economically, this year’s attendance was impressive at just over 560.

We developed the logo for the Economic Forecast Dinner (among all other EDASC event logos) and it is definitely one of my favorites. I like the playfulness of it given the event’s serious nature.

This year, given our name change, we decided to become one of the sponsors. Don Wick, in his usual fashion, gave us great recognition. He is one of the best, if not the best, business promoter in Skagit County and is an asset to us all. The keynote speaker was Jim Paulsen, Ph.D., chief investment strategist for Wells Capital Management and a regular on CNBC and Bloomberg Television.

I very much enjoyed his talk as it had a light tone mixed in with powerful facts. He stated that we are not seeing anything different economically than we have historically. What we are seeing however is unprecedented fear. He said “yes, we are in a nasty recession, we are not near a depression,” and I paraphrase… but because of this fear people/businesses are essentially frozen. We are not feeling confident enough to make decisions to purchase and/or moving forward with our business plans.

Much of this fear issue was created by the news media. Everyday for months they have been telling us how bad it is. We just went through a political campaign where each candidate told us how bad we have it. We are seeing huge layoffs in our largest industries. Banks and large financial institutions are failing and we are seeing unprecedented fraud. OK, that all does sound bad, but the other point he made is every decade financial institutions fail – what about the savings and loan failures of the 1980’s. The other point was that 93% of us are still working and we need to pay attention to the 93%, to help them feel confident as well.

When he made that point, something clicked in me – as much as we need to take care of our employees, we need to take care of our customers. This is a point that I always try to make with our clients. Take care of the customer first. They are the reason you are in business and probably the reason you are able to stay in business. This could be just touching base with them to know that you are still here to serve them. If you disappear (visually) in these kinds of times, they might think you have disappeared like the companies that are being displayed as failures through the media.

So I do have one regret for the evening. I really thought to stand up and ask him, “Are you saying that, in order to get this country back, what we need is a great marketing program to get people confident again?” but it seemed a little self-serving.

We see and talk to our customers every day. We are all tentative yet we keep moving forward. Don’t fall into to the fear factor trap. Innovation is always strongest following times of recession. After all, recession and necessity breed innovation and invention. And that’s nothing to be scared about.