Much has been touted about the new social media tools that allow small businesses unprecedented access to marketing channels in the digital space. Now a small business entity can become as famous as a major brand, thanks to the power of viral online marketing.

One thing to keep in mind is that Google has elevated the value of social media efforts in its search algorithm. You can see this for yourself: Google several different people you know. If any of these folks you entered have a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn profile, these pages nearly always come up in the top spots of the search results. Because of this, you can quickly and constantly modify your overall online profile using these tools or others such as YouTube or the photo sharing site Flickr.

However, even most social media experts agree that the constantly changing digital world, with its wide array of social media tools and platforms, can be overwhelming. As a small-business owner, you have to wear a lot of hats: You have to sell, you have to execute, you have to manage your human resources, and you have to maintain your finances. The only goal with you is making sure your company performs and profits. How on earth are you going to be able to keep up with the latest and greatest social media tools?

So what should you focus on before jumping full-force into a social media marketing effort? Actually, the focus should not be so much on keeping up with every new tool that comes along, but on effectively reaching and staying connected with your target market.

1. Define Your Goals
First of all; you need to define what outcome(s) you hope to achieve through your social media efforts. Define your goals. Then ask yourself, 'What are the easiest and fastest ways to achieve these goals?' Whether you own a dry cleaning company, a retail store or a small accounting company, you need to be able to clearly spell out your goals, and then choose the tools that will help you most effectively achieve them.

You need to ask yourself, "What social media platforms will help my company accomplish its goals the fastest?" Focus on only one or two of the sites you determine match your needs and really make them work. (You can see why you need to have a clear understanding of your company's goals before you can begin defining your social media goals.)

2. Walk the Walk
If you're going to promote your company on social media channels, your product or service should appear to be very strong. Whether prospects or clients visit your site, your blog, your Twitter page or Facebook fan page, or see it described on other people's social media sites, you need to make sure they see a very professional, on-brand product. Your company's profiles need to be attractive and in sync while showing readers that you and your team know exactly what you are doing.

3. Make Your Profile Dynamic
Remember, since most established and effective sites will be around for a while, you don't have to go crazy and sign on to all of them at once. In fact, one of the biggest mistakes you can make as a business owner is to set up a profile for your company on a social media platform and then not maintain it.

As I say in my book Design and Launch an Online Social Networking Business in a Week (2009, Entrepreneur Press):

No one likes to frequent a store that is empty most of the time People are influenced by what other people are doing and where other people are going, in the virtual world just as they are in the real world. If someone pops in to your network and sees a lot of activity--new members joining, a new post or two written by you or other members, maybe some great new photos to browse--the buzz of activity will hold their attention and make them want to stay awhile. But if that person visits your site and sees no new activity or commentary added in the past three days, they're outta there.

This phenomenon has occurred with many [social media profiles] as they have evolved: the ones that are updated the most are the ones that people come back to more frequently.

4. Delegate and Manage
Make sure you have designated or hired someone to maintain the profile. If you make an in-house person responsible, make sure he or she understands how to use the platform(s) and is fully engaged in the process. Another option is to hire an outside company to ensure that your profile pages are updated regularly with content and news that is interesting to the audience you're trying to attract.

Don't let yourself become overwhelmed. Try working on just one or two (three at most) social media sites at a time. Once you get these up and running, and you feel that you and your staff has the time to manage it, you can think about adding more. Constantly evaluate where people are finding you or interacting with you to determine any new social media avenues.

Regardless of what tools you use, you need to ensure you have chosen the ones that enable you to set up an online profile that is the most effective for your company. And you need to commit the necessary time and effort to ensure that these tools will continue to help your business.

Bob McCormick from KNX  1070 News Radio in Los Angeles daily presents Money 101 where he examines the most relevant news affecting consumers and small business owners at :26 past every hour. Recently Bob was caught talking about Coulee Bank. Hear what he had to say. (http://67.72.16.166/knx/2143904.mp3)

When you want to limit your risk while extending credit there are a few things you can do to protect yourself, your business and your money. Some of these things include: get a personal guarantee, offer month-to-month credit, offer ship-to-ship credit, ask for a security deposit or get a 50 percent deposit on every order.

The first thing you need to do is make sure you have a credit policy. Then you need to implement that policy when an account is past due.

Set Up a Credit Policy
I know many of you are desperate for a quick fix because many of your customers are losing their jobs or getting behind on payments. The following easy steps can help improve your credit policy and keep your customers on their toes.

1.    Print out or buy credit applications. You can find a free one here.

2.    Put them on a clipboard at your front desk or door, or on your website.

3.    Have every new customer fill one out.

4.    Mail one to every existing customer with a stamped, addressed envelope.

5.    Check ALL references.

6.    E-mail me with any questions.

If you didn't have a credit policy before, now that you've printed a sample credit application and started taking these steps--congratulations, you have one now. Credit policies don't have to be difficult and confusing; they can be as simple as you want. Not having a credit policy, however, is a recipe for disaster, which many companies will find out as the recession continues.

Your credit policy should be based on your terms, due dates and what you want to happen when a customer is late making a payment or doesn't pay. Here are some things to think about when setting payment terms:

·         How often do you want to get paid?

·         Do you want to be paid upon completion of the work, or would you like to offer 30-day terms? 

·         Are you willing to offer 30-day terms with a discount if the invoice is paid in full within 10 or 15 days?

Some people really don't think about when and how receiving payment will benefit you and your business the most. You might want to receive payments right before your bills are due so you have the cash on hand to pay your bills on time. Or you might want payments early to take advantage of early-pay discounts, saving you even more money. When setting due dates, no matter what you decide on for terms, choose a time of the month that you want to be paid, such as the first of each month, the 15th or any date that works best for your business.

Implement Your Credit Policy
Now put yourself into this scenario: You're sitting at your desk and a customer you thought would pay you is past due and avoiding you. The balance is quite large and the debt is getting older. What do you want to happen when your customer is late or doesn't pay?

·         Do you want to revoke that customer's credit?

·         Do you want to hold the account for future orders until the past-due balance is paid?

·         Do you want a phone call to be made or a letter to be sent?

Here are the steps that should be taken when customers are past due, over their credit limit or bouncing checks.

·         Refer to your credit policy.

·         Make a collection phone call.

·         Send a friendly (or not-so-friendly) reminder.

·         Revoke credit.

·         Stay on top of your accounts receivables and follow up with anyone you contact.

If you are still having trouble with an account, go back to the sales department and talk to whoever made the sale. 

·         Sales will have gathered information on what the customer can and cannot afford.  Do not oversell!

·         When an account is past due, have the salesperson that made the sale contact the customer.

It is important for you to take these steps before your business is in a cash flow crisis. Make sure you have all of your credit-approved customer accounts up-to-date and paid in full. Review your credit-approved customers to make sure you have an up-to-date credit application, as well as a credit limit that works well for them and for you. Watch customers who may be in danger of losing their jobs or their homes. If this happens, they will not be able to pay you. If anyone is past due, take steps immediately to resolve any issues.

Psychologists tell us that up to 90 percent of behavior is habitual. If you have a habit of letting your receivables get overdue--one of the most common habit of the unsuccessful--you will always get a predictable result. Negative habits breed negative consequences. If your negative habit is letting your accounts receivables get overdue, you want to choose a better, more successful habit to replace that.

You can change this habit by:

·         Reviewing your accounts receivables weekly or, at the very least, monthly.

·         Staying motivated by trying to collect as much money as possible.

·         Staying focused; don't let excuses veer you off track.

Once you have these new habits in place, keeping your receivables up to date will be your new habit and a habit that makes you more money and helps you grow your business.

1. Set a clear, attainable vision with concrete measurable goals. Share these with all employees. When people know exactly where you are leading the company and how they can support that journey, they become more productive and responsive to your initiatives. 
2. Require employees create goals of their own. Encourage them to generate "S-t-r-e-t-c-h Goals" to help them reach for new heights and achieve more than they think they can. In general, the higher the standards and the greater the effort, the better the outcome. Schedule time to discuss both sets of goals. You can review and modify objectives to ensure the employees' goals and aspirations align with those of the company.
3. Tell people what your individual expectations are. Provide specific and measurable feedback about their ongoing job performance. It's helpful to do this periodically during the year, too. Identify the employees who could benefit from more training or supervision. Similarly, identify the ones who need less input. There may also be some who simply will not succeed given the resources you can provide to them. With this latter group, you will need to consider termination.
4. Manage by walking around. Spend time outside of your office. Walk around the halls of your building. See what is going on. Don't just pass staff in the corridor. As often as you can, stop and chat with the people who are key resources in striving to make you a success. One at a time, find out what they need, what they like, what they dislike, and what makes their job challenging and rewarding. You will gain new insights about what it's like to work for your company. 
5. Listen to your employees. Building on the idea of managing by walking around, invite employees into your office or a conference room and get to know them better on an informal basis that goes beyond the typical boss-subordinate relationship. You want to get to know your employees as individuals, too. A goal in this instance is to reveal your human side. You certainly don't want to share highly personal data with each other. Rather, you'll want to discuss news about the job, hobbies, special interests, family information, etc. Ideally, this can be accomplished in a small group setting. Consider doing this for breakfast or lunch. 
6. Tell people that you care about them. When they know you care, they will be more motivated, dedicated and productive. No one really enjoys working for a boss who is just all about business and nothing else. Show and tell them why you care and why they are important to you. Discuss a career path and demonstrate that you want to help them grow and develop on the job. Help them become more skilled and better qualified so they will be able to assume more responsibilities. On-the-job training is too often associated with a "sink or swim" mentality. When employees feel confident about their skills, they will easily be more productive, motivated, satisfied and successful. And during this time, let them know that you are there to support them and are willing to back them up in times of difficulties. This approach is easily a "win-win" situation.
7. Cross-train employees to motivate them. Teach employees new skills that will enable them to assist colleagues in completing tasks. While they acquire these new skills and assume greater responsibility, their value to the organization will increase.
8. Be open to new ideas. Great thoughts and creative ideas can come from places other than the executive offices. That's an important reason to nurture a climate that encourages employees to share their ideas about how to improve their organization. These suggestions can be about policies, procedures, desk assignments, and product design or customer service. The results can often lead to increased productivity and an endless well of ideas once you open the gates for employee input.
9. Make time to have fun. Play games such as Monopoly, Ping-Pong and gin rummy. The workplace is by design and necessity a serious environment. Dollars, reputations, market share and success are all at stake. However, an occasional break from the sobering day-to-day functioning is not only possible, it's strongly encouraged and highly prized. Periodically setting aside an hour or so says that, while you believe in and value hard work, you also realize the importance of "taking a break." 
10. Create reasons to celebrate. This idea fits in well with your plan to craft a more humane, interactive working environment. When a company recognizes a birthday, an anniversary or a significant accomplishment, the company's employees will feel valued and appreciated; as a result, they'll be more willing to go the extra mile for you and your company. These reactions are crucial to fostering a positive environment that builds morale, improves motivation, and creates opportunities for success.

1.    Have passion for your business.
Work should be fun. Your passion will help you overcome difficult moments and persuade people to work for you and want to do business with you. Passion can't be taught. When it wanes, as it surely will in difficult times, take some quiet time. Whether it be an hour or a week, take inventory of all the reasons you started the business and why you like being your own boss. That should renew your passion.

2.    Set an example of trustworthiness.
People have confidence in trustworthy individuals and want to work for them in a culture of integrity. The same is true for customers.

3.    Be flexible, except with core values.
It's a given that your plans and strategies will change as time goes on. This flexibility for rapid change is an inherent advantage of small over large business. However, no matter the pressure for immediate profits, do not compromise on core values.

4.    Don't let fear of failure hold you back.
Failure is an opportunity to learn. All things being equal, venture capitalists would rather invest money in an individual who tried and failed founding a company than in someone who never tried. 

5.    Make timely decisions.
It's okay to use your intuition. Planning and thought are good. But procrastination leads to missed opportunity.

6.    The major company asset is you.
Take care of yourself. Your health is more valuable than the most expensive machinery or computer software for the company. You don't have to choose between your family or your company, play or work. Maintain your health for balance and energy, which will, in turn, enhance your mental outlook.

7.    Keep your ego under control.
Don't take profits and spend them on expensive toys to impress others. Build a war chest for unexpected needs or opportunities. This also means hearing out new ideas and suggestions no matter how crazy they sound.

8.    Believe.
You need to believe in yourself, in your company, and that you will be successful. This confidence is contagious with your employees, customers, stakeholders, suppliers and everyone you deal with.

9.    Encourage and accept criticism graciously. Admit your mistakes.
You need to constantly work on convincing your employees that it's okay--even necessary--to state their honest opinions even it if conflicts with the boss's opinion. Just stating it once or putting it in a mission statement won't cut it for most people.

10.  Maintain a strong work ethic.
Your employees will follow your lead. It will also help you beat your competition by outworking them, particularly when your product or service is very similar.

11.  Rebound quickly from setbacks.
There surely will be plenty of ups and downs as you build the business. Learn from the setbacks and move on. You can't change the past.

12.  Periodically get out of your comfort zone to pursue something important.
Many times you will feel uncomfortable in implementing a needed change in technology, people, mission, competing, etc. For the company and you to grow personally, you sometimes have to step out of your comfort zone.

Many organizational and leadership shortcomings can be overcome or mitigated with the good attitudes described above. All can be learned except passion, which comes from within. Take time out of your hectic schedule to periodically reflect on these attributes. You may be inspired to act.

Let Coulee Bank’s very own Tim Willenbring and Libby Berg tell you why The Five C’s of Credit are important to you. Click here (http://couleebank.net/GettingABusinessLoan.php) to watch video.

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Deposit your business’ paper checks from your desktop by processing them through our Remote Deposit scanner.

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Sweep Accounts Make You Money

Sweep Accounts allow small business to receive higher returns on cash that would otherwise be sitting idle in business checking accounts.

 Let Tim and Libby help you learn more about how your business can make more money (http://couleebank.net/SweepAccountVideo.php) using its existing funds.