Hiring the Right Web Developer for Your Business's Website, Part 2

My last post focused on some of the terminology used to describe different types of web developers including website designer, website programmer, graphic designer, and internet marketing consultant.  It is important to know what each of these people does and how they can help you build a great site for your business.  (Hopefully you can find a web developer who has skills in more than one of these job descriptions.)

As I discussed before, the article "How to Choose a Web Designer" by Karyn Greenstreet has some great tips on hiring the right web developer for your agricultural business website.  Below, I've highlighted some of these great pointers.

• Pay attention to how much they ask you about your business. They should want to get to know you and your business intimately. How else can they design a site that reflects you, your brand, and your business, unless they spend time to get to know you?

• Look at sites they've designed to see if you like their style. Is there a certain feel to ALL their sites, or are they flexible in their designs?

• Ask them if they did the actual graphic and layout design of the site, or if they just did the programming. If they don't do the graphic work themselves, can they recommend a graphic artist?

• Ask them what they know about internet marketing and search engine optimization (SEO). Be sure that they're creating a site for you that meets your larger marketing and business goals. (A pretty site is no good to you unless it generates revenue and prospects.)

• Ask the designer for their fees and what is the estimated cost for the site you want. They may not be able to give you a good estimate until you discuss content and features of the site. Expect to pay between $60 - $125 an hour, depending on their skill and their location. A quality website with good graphic design and layout will cost around $2,500 - $5,000 for a simple business website. If you add a blog, newsletter, shopping cart, autoresponders, email address setup, SEO, membership site, or logo design (or if you have many page on your site), expect the price to be higher.

More tips to follow in Part 3!

Building a Website for Your Small Business

Creating a useful website is a very important part of attracting customers. Most people, myself included, would find the task of creating a website themselves quite daunting and would immediately want to hire a web designer. But in doing some research of my own, building your own conventional website (meaning not overly complex or customized) may not be as difficult as it appears.

Person adding content to their website. (photo credit: morguefile.com)

To do it yourself, you can use a website builder, which is a tool that allows a user to create their own website without writing code. (Here is a list of some of the most popular website builders.)

This very useful article from Site Builder Report describes some questions to ask yourself to help determine if you should build it yourself or hire a web designer.

1. What is my budget? If you have a small to mid-size budget (which the author defines as $5,000 or less), then you should use a website builder. A competent website designer will usually cost this much or more. You will also need to pay a monthly fee for your website hosting. (Web hosts provide space on a server for your data and allow it to be available on the internet.) By comparison, a website builder like Squarespace, costs $8-$24 per month, which includes hosting.

2. I have a friend, family member, etc. who quoted me a low price. Shouldn't I use them? "Designing websites is a very complicated and involved thing. A very low quote probably means that this person "does not do web design for a living. And that’s a red flag."

3. What do I need/want in a website? "Think convention for website builder. Think customization for website designer...Use things like photo galleries, forms, paragraphs, basic e-commerce, and text." These will help you build a website that is functional without custom designing each piece.

If you really want 100% customization, then you will need a website designer.

4. Can I do it myself? "Trying to do it yourself will open you up to some of the realities of web design and will give you a sense of the constraints and challenges of web design. This will make you so much better when you try to actually hire a web designer. Plus, you may surprise yourself and realize you can do it yourself."

Hopefully this post has made you realize that hiring a website designer is not your only option; you can try to do it yourself. If you do find that you want/need a web designer, I will discuss some tips on helping you to choose a one in a future post. Happy site building!

When Targeting Retailers Rather Than Consumers

by Winifred McGee, Extension Educator, Dauphin Co.

In our Penn State Extension Food for Profit workshops, we routinely discuss the necessity of targeting a niche market, then innovating related to that market segments' wants and needs - actually getting ahead of your customer by creating what they will want next (before it is realized by target customers).  This process takes time and research, first identifying a set of similarities that define the group, learning as much as possible about the group (observation, social media, etc.) to create a strategy to reach these customers in ways that count.  This process works well for entrepreneurs who will make the product, and make direct sales.

However, if an entrepreneur sets his or her sights on selling to retailers (the ones who actually target, and sell to consumers) the market research can get a little "murky."  A new perspective is needed to develop an effective wholesale campaign that hits home for buyers - one that replicates the targeting to actual food customers.

Being a link in the supply chain takes connections,
work and perseverance!

The SBA Blog Spot has a great article by Caron Beesley (a small business owner, a writer, and marketing communications consultant) that provides basic insights in how to become a supplier to larger retailers.  While it may be a long, uphill stretch to attract the attention of buyers and get products from your small-scale food manufacturing concern placed in a substantial retail chain, Beesley indicates that the potential rewards are substantial.  She references a study that showed that after a small supplier lands a contract from a bigger company, the small company's revenues go up 250 percent and they create about 150 percent more jobs in just two or three years.

So, how to enter this lucrative marketplace?  Like all marketing activities, the process starts with research.  Start with identifying potential buyers, and then define the value your small business can offer if they carry your product(s).  One source of information about potential wholesale buyers is the Supplier Connection.  This portal allows small suppliers (with less than $50 million in revenues, or less than 500 employees) to market themselves (free of charge!) to a number of large U.S. companies at the same time, so that the "large guys" can expand the variety of items sold, while giving capable small firms the opportunities of the large marketplace.

The Supplier Connection is relatively easy to use, with a downloadable manual to facilitate new businesses' participation.  Each participating member creates a profile to display company information, their small business commitment, usage of Supplier Connection within their company, contacts, etc.  Accessing the Supplier Connection enables small-scale food business owners to identify businesses that are the best fit for their product lines.

Most times, just being registered is not enough.  There are several social media channels that will make a business more apt to be noticed through Supplier Connection.  One of these is a Linkedin group for small business members.  In addition, Supplier Connection can be visited on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+ for news, updates and information on small business development and they have a blog that hosts a monthly contest and highlights small business success stories.  Each of these are a great way to be actively learning and launching a wholesale endeavor.

No route to launching a food business is 100% guaranteed - and there may be many barriers to break through on the way to successful wholesale marketing of a food product.  However, taking the time to get to know the "lay of the land" to successfully connect with potential customers will increase the chance of success in becoming a part of a supply chain - and getting a food product on its way to the consumer.

Choosing Social Media Tools for Your Business

by Sarah Cornelisse, Sr. Extension Associate, Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education

"What social media should I use for my business?"  This is an often-asked question, and unfortunately, not one that is easily answered by an outsider.  The appropriate social media tool(s) for your individual business will depend on a number of factors, several of which I discuss below.

What are your goals?  Any time you implement the use of a tool, you should have an identified goal that the tool's use will help you in reaching.  The same goes for social media tools.  It is easy to post lots of content to one or more platforms without accomplishing anything.  Keep in mind also, that it is entirely feasible to identify the use of more than one social media tool to accomplish one or more goals, such as using both Facebook and YouTube to share videos of recipe preparations.

Who do you want to connect with?  Are you looking to connect with consumer, businesses, colleagues, women, techies, etc.?  Different tools attract different types of users.  You'll want to research the demographics of the users for the different social media tools you're considering.  For instance, women are the primary users of Pinterest, while connecting with industry peers may call for using Linkedin.

Where are your competitors?  Some degree of weight should be placed on what social media tools your competitors are using.  What platforms are your direct competitors most active on?  If enough of your direct competitors, or businesses similar to yours, are active on a particular platform, it's likely that is where you should be as well. 

What type of content do you want to share?  Typically, the type of business you operate and the products/services you sell, dictate the type of content, but not always.  Different social media platforms lend themselves better to different types of content.  Photos and recipes are great fodder for Pinterest.  Facebook handles a variety of content types, but photos and video are more likely to be shown in the newsfeed of followers.  To tell stories, educate, or discuss industry related information, blogs are likely preferable.

How do you want to engage?  You may have a preference for how you would like to engage with consumers and followers.  If you enjoy ongoing conversations, can be "connected" a great deal of the time, and are not concerned with followers finding past posts, you may prefer using Twitter. 

Track analytics.  If you're using more than one social media tool, study the analytics that each provides on your activity.  You may find that your followers are conversing with you, sharing your content, etc. more often on one platform than on another.  If that's the case, you'll want to focus your efforts more on the tool that is generating this "return."

Answering these questions should lead you to identify the most appropriate social media platform(s) for your business.  Remember, you don't need to be everywhere.  It's fine to start out with just one social media tool.  The trick is to start with the right one.

Is Customer Service on Social Media for You?

by Sarah Cornelisse, Sr. Extension Associate, Dept. of Agricultural Economics, Sociology, and Education

I'm sure you've all seen them - the stories, comments, or other posts on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, or another social platform from people dissatisfied with some aspect of a product or a service from a business. More so than ever, consumers are turning to social media to share their annoyances and horror stories.  However, they also turn to social media to connect with brands and businesses - to seek information,  ask questions, and resolve problems or concerns.

A 2012 Nielsen report provides some insight to consumer views regarding customer service via social media, or "social care."  Their findings include:

• Almost half (47%) of social media users engage in customer service activities through these networks. And of that 47%,
• Seventy percent (70%), do so on a monthly basis.
• Thirty percent (30%) prefer social care over contacting a company by phone.
• Facebook, through both the company's page and the user's personal page (29% and 28% respectively), are where users are most likely to comment or ask a question.

If your business has an existing presence on social media and is looking for a competitive edge, or just to improve your relationship with your followers, taking on social care may be something to consider.  However, it does require commitment.  Here are some tips I've come across for using social media as a customer service channel.

• Be proactive. Listen and participate in conversations. You can learn so much from simply listening to what your customers, or the public, are saying on social media.  If a conversation is happening and you can add to it, do so.  Through active listening, you'll be ahead of the curve in knowing what's important or of concern to them.

• Focus on social interaction as a competitive differentiator. One reason the buy local movement is popular is because consumers like to know the person(s) from whom they're buying.  You can bring the same focus on relationships to your online interactions with consumers.  When you're separated from individuals by a computer screen it's easy to put off replying until a more convenient time or to send short, clipped responses. However, by being personal and personable, you can build trusting relationships with your customers and followers that they will appreciate and value. 
  

  "When executing social media customer care, canned responses are unacceptable. Responses must be personal, and it’s essential to strike the right tone." (Source)

  Additionally, if consumers see inconsistency in your social care, they'll know that you're not committed to them.  A study by Conversocial, found that 88% of respondents said that they would be less likely to do business with someone who didn't answer questions on their social media pages.  This leads us to the next tip...
  
  
• Define a process and framework for dealing with customers. How, and when, will you respond to requests?  What's your strategy for dealing with complaints? Creating a response map (see example below) may be useful, as you'll want to have a consistent response strategy for everything that comes your way, even praise.   With some aspects of your response strategy, such as response time, it may make sense to make this known upfront to your customers with short notices on your social media page, or through an automatic reply.
  

  

  Source: http://www.conversocial.com

  When complaints are involved, be sure these points are addressed in your response framework:

• Understand what's behind the complaint before responding.  Sometimes, the complaint made is just the tip of the iceberg, and the real issue lies deeper.  Ask the complainant clarifying questions as appropriate if you suspect this is the case.
• Follow through on all channels.  If a conversation moves from one channel to another, say from Facebook to email, make sure you indicate that this has taken place.  This will allow others who have seen the start of a conversation know that you are in contact with the original poster.  You may also want to post the final resolution, or answer, on the original channel for others to see and for the complainant to verify that they have been assisted.
• Follow up after problems have been solved.  Once you have provided a solution or rectified the situation, follow up after a reasonable length of time to ensure your customer's satisfaction.

It is possible to provide excellent customer service using social tools, just check out this customer's experience with Netflix. 

"If you’re not engaging customers during the entire product life cycle through social media, you’re missing out. Because someone else will."

                   - Dennis Stoutenburgh, co-founder of Stratus Contact Solutions

Note: Where businesses or trade-names are mentioned, no endorsement is intended.

Developing a Roadside Farm Market

by Michelle Kowalewski, Extension Educator, Susquehanna Co.

Thinking of growing and selling your own product?  A roadside farm market can be a great outlet to sell products directly to consumers.  Retailing directly to consumers can be a viable alternative marketing strategy and means of increasing profits for any small-scale ventures.  However, marketing through a roadside market needs careful planning and thorough examination of a wide range of topics.

First, as with any business venture, it's important to research! Explore potential competition, customers, and products.  What will make your roadside market different from another and what will entice people to stop and buy your products?  The increasing trend to buy local products is certainly in your favor if you can make a great first impression and encourage customers to stop again.  What products will you grow to sell at your market?  What is your expertise and how does it match up with what your target customers want?  Remember, quality is important to consumers and will be one of the main reasons that they continue to shop at your stand.  Develop a plan, including production schedule of what items might be in season, when, and for how long.  An option if you cannot produce all the items you wish to sell, is to consider supplementing your market with offerings from other local growers.

It's always important to check on regulations.  There are many regulations to operating a small business and a roadside stand is no exception.  Check with local municipalities or officials to check on zoning in your area or township.  Location is a key consideration for a roadside market.  Spend time observing traffic flows in the vicinity of your potential site.  And remember, signage is important.  No matter how nice your market looks, people must be able to find it, so use directional signs to help customers locate your business.  Signs must be eye-catching and easy to read from a distance.  It's less important to list all the products available on the sign than to direct customers to the market.  When people arrive at your market it's important for parking to be easily accessible and safe.  See this past blog on signage for more.

Now that you have customers to your market, remember to keep your displays attractive.  Shoppers like to see displays of fresh vegetables in a high quality, clean environment.  Remember, a positive first impression will keep shoppers coming back for the next visit!  Roadside markets are often selling an image and experience as well as physical products.  Help your customers think about traditions and warm thoughts - old crates, tools, scales, or simply photos can help create a "moment" for the shopper that makes them feel connected.  It's all about selling your story and your products!

A simple, yet attractive, display on something like this old time sleigh,
can trigger warm, nostalgic feelings in customers, bringing them back.

Customer service is important - be sure to listen to your customers as well as educate them about the products that you are producing.  Be friendly and courteous and always handle complaints in a professional manner.

There are a lot of other key factors to consider when developing a roadside market:

• Size - are you building a new structure or remodeling an existing structure? Do you ever envision expanding?
• How will you price your products?  
• Do you need to consider advertising?  
• How will you staff your market?  
• What type of records should you keep?  

To learn more about developing a roadside market, read Penn State Extension's Ag Alternatives fact sheet on Developing a Roadside Farm Market.

Learning from Consumers: Examples of Easy and Insightful Questions to Ask

In last week’s blog, I encouraged you to learn about your customers’ needs, wants, and likes.  This week I wanted to provide you with examples of questions that you might ask them and that could provide you with a great deal of valuable data. 

No matter what survey format you choose or the type of retail operation you own or manage, consider asking:

• Why do you shop at our store?
• How frequently do you visit our business?
• What additional goods do you think we should stock and that you would be interested in purchasing from us? 
• What other businesses are you visiting today?
• What events and activities do they attend/participate and how do they learn about these events/activities? 

A good bit of information could be gleaned from asking these questions, which includes identifying businesses that you could cross promote with and further build your customer base.  Responses also help you learn about festivals or celebrations where you could have a presence.  Asking customers how they learn about these events and activities is one way to identify avenues through which you could promote your products.
 
On-farm markets or farmers’ market venders might be interested in selling produce items that they have never sold before.  If you fit this description, ask consumers the following questions to learn if the product has potential:

• If we offered ‘x,’ would you be interested in purchasing it?  Why or why not?
• Do you already purchase ‘x?’  How often do you purchase ‘x’ and how do you use it in meals and snacks?
• Do you serve ‘x’ to family and friends when entertaining?  If yes, what other food items or beverages do you serve with ‘x?’ (This question can help you with cross merchandising the potential product with existing goods, or help you learn about other items you could stock.)
• How many adults and children live in your household? Of these household members, how many already eat ‘x?’

Would customers buy canning supplies from you? Don't guess, ask them.

What if a group of your customers share a similar heritage and you would like to provide them with products they could use to create authentic meals?  Consider asking questions that will help you determine the following:

• Products that are in greater demand during specific periods such as holidays, seasons, or for festivals and special occasions.
• If there is a preference for a particular variety, size, condition, type of package, or partially/fully cooked product.
• What foods, cooking tools, or particular brands they have difficulty finding locally. 

Additionally, think about what other products you could sell, even those that might be a little more “nontraditional.” For example, ask consumers about their other interests.  How many of your customers are pet owners?  Traditional garden centers have been successful selling pet products and pet foods, as there are consumers who spend a significant amount of money on their pet’s care and well being.  Pet food is also a product category that pet owners need to purchase on a frequent basis, thus they may return again and again to restock their supply.  You may also find that these goods bring new consumers to your business.

Convenience is King for Female Grocery Shoppers

The National Grocer’s Association and Supermarket Guru recently conducted a survey (which is discussed in the article "How Women Shop") concerning where and how consumers shop.  Not surprisingly, females are the main shoppers (75.7%) and their biggest concerns when grocery shopping are "accurate shelf tags (74.6%), clean and neat surroundings (83.7%), and a safe environment outside the store (61.2%)."

Woman and her son grocery shopping.

Neat, easy-to-read shelf tags.

This information is very telling for retailers.  Are your shelf tags neat, easy-to-read, and accurate?  Is the inside as well as the outside of the store neat and tidy?  Is the parking lot well-lit and safe for your customers?  Your answers to these questions should all be "YES"!  If not, resolve these issues immediately and observe how customers react.  







Another important issue for survey respondents was the quality of their perishable items.  Items that were seen as "very important":

High quality, well-stocked produce.

• high quality produce (90%)
• high quality meats (71.4%)
• high quality seafood (45.5%)
• high quality bakery (32.4%)

Also in regard to product quality, 82.7% of survey respondents wanted ample time in product dating to extend shelf life of their purchases.

As a food retailer, how do these survey results compare to your own observations in your store?  Are you surprised by any of the results?  What changes will you make in your store to better suit these concerns?

As a consumer, are your shopping needs similar to the survey results?  What else can retailers do to attract you?

Stay tuned for another post in the near future with more results from this survey!

LinkedIn, Part IV: Company pages

Not only can LinkedIn users create a personal page, users can create business pages.  Just as with Facebook and other social media sites, LinkedIn will lead you through the process of building a business page so that you can connect with other users, ask them to provide recommendations, and promote goods and services.  A few things you will be asked to do when creating the company page:

1.  You’ll be asked to provide details about the business (company name, type of company and size, URL, industry, etc.).

2.  Indicate who will be able to post of the page – you have the option to limit posting to the person who creates the company page or allow other company employees to act as administrators, and, provide a contact email address.  (Image from LinkedIn's company page builder example)

One thing to be aware of when registering your company page – domain names with @comcast.net, @gmail.com, or similar are not considered valid. 


As with other web tools you use, LinkedIn will also provide analytics pertaining to the number of page views and unique visitors who view your company page, as well as the visitor’s demographics.  In addition, LinkedIn will compare these numbers to numbers for what they call “similar companies.”  So, if there are a fair number of “like” companies who have LinkedIn company pages you may see some valuable data; however, if there are few other businesses with company pages in your category – the available comparison statistics may not be of much use. (Image from LinkedIn's company page builder example)

To build a company page, click the “Companies” tab, select “Search for Companies,” and then click “Add a Company” link, which you will find on the right hand of the screen.  Right now you might find too many ag. businesses listed but why not be one of the first and create your page.  For some inspiration view LinkedIn’s slideshow of “The 12 Best Linked company Pages of 2012” at tinyurl.com/c2t4gr9. 

Take the time to not only update our profile often but to look through the LinkedIn “Help Center” feature as the tool is likely to continue to evolve.  You are bound to find a feature that you fell will benefit you or your business, such as recruiting for your business (for which a fee is charged), or learn about positions that you might be interested in.  Take some time and navigate through the system to become familiar with LinkedIn and make valuable connections. 

LinkedIn, Part III: Networking and groups

It is quite possible that even those who do not own a LinkedIn account know that the primary purpose is to build and enhance networks.  LinkedIn has a few tools that I have found useful to share with other LinkedIn users and to learn from others in my industry.

Tweet to your links

I am an active Twitter user and have connected my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts such that what I post on LinkedIn can also post to Twitter (I have also done this in a social media dashboard that I use, HootSuite, where I can select the tweet to post to Twitter and LinkedIn).  This is not mandatory; I do have the option of just strictly posting the content on just LinkedIn.  But, think about your audiences who follow/link to you on different social networks you might be involved with – might some of your postings apply to more than one audience?  If so, why save time and post to more than one network by clicking just one “share” button?

How to set up the ability to post to LinkedIn and Twitter simultaneously. 

Why have I chosen to do this?  The more often that my posts appear on any friends’, followers’, or linkages’ feed - the more often they (may) see my posts, topics I like to discuss or contribute to, and may be more likely to read these posts, access my other social media profiles, and view me as more of a resources who shares information that is of value to them. 

Provide and ask those you’re linked to for recommendations

Aside from sharing content on LinkedIn, I have also been asked, and obliged, to provide recommendations for some of my connections.  A recommendation is merely a shot description of the person’s skills, experiences you've had based on interacting with them, and similar.  Consider other businesses that you have relationships with.  If you were to endorse them on LinkedIn – could you help build their reputation and credibility as a leader in their industry? Certainly, you would not want to provide recommendations for each and every LinkedIn user you are connected to, so be selective and provide honest insight as your name, as well as reputation, is tied with you include in the recommendation.

An example of a recommendation I wrote for a guest lecturer who has spoken in one of the classes I teach at Penn State. 

It is not necessary to wait for someone to ask you for a recommendation in order for you to write one, rather anytime you click on one of your connection’s profile you are presented with the option: “would you like to recommend (name)?”  Pretty simple and straightforward just like your ability to add/select keywords that describe your connection’s skills or expertise. 

Join or start a LinkedIn group

The ability to join a LinkedIn group, based on an interest or industry, is one of the strengths of this social network.  Some specifics about groups:

·       You do not need to join most groups to view what members are posting, unless it is a closed group and an administrator must approve your membership before you can participate, but if you want to receive updates with about the group’s activities (posted on your feed page) you do need to join. 

·       You can join up to 50 groups and browse discussions, learn about promotions group members are offering (e.g. classes, special discounts on merchandise), job postings, and see a listing of group members. 

Groups can be very useful resources.  Members post questions and other members can respond or “like” comments.  My own experience with joining a group evolved from connecting with key group members to asking group members to suggest topics for a course I teach.  This informal exchange resulted in some interesting and diverse comments and viewpoints.  Even if you never initiate a discussion, it is interesting to learn from others about how they solved a problem similar to what you are experiencing or learn about potential opportunities. 

This is the message I wrote and that was posted on my group's page.  Other group members provide thought provoking and valuable replies. 

LinkedIn provides a few tools that can help you identify groups you may want join. You can:

• do a general search for a group based on keywords (as I write this blog there are 1.5 million groups) 
•  filter the entire list of groups by language and/or by instructing LinkedIn to only select groups that your connections belong to – doing this narrowed my results to 880. 

If you do not find a group that you want to join you can always create your own.  The process is very straightforward and you have the option of having an open or closed group.  Additionally, you can alert others about your group by using the “invite others” option in each group’s page.  By clicking on this link an email is generated with a brief description of the group’s purpose that you can send to others who might be interested in joining. 

In the last of this series of blog postings on LinkedIn I'll describe company pages and how easy it is for businesses to build their own.  

LinkedIn, Part II: Customize your profile page

This blog continues with last week's discussion about LinkedIn.  To learn about highlighting your skills, expertise, and your accomplishments - click here: LinkedIn Part I.

When I first signed up for my LinkedIn account I did not realize that I would be assigned a rather long and difficult to remember profile URL that was a mix of my full name and random numbers and letters.  LinkedIn gives users the opportunity to customize their public profile URL (I changed mine to www.linkedin.com/in/kathymkelley, which I think is much more professional than the automatic URL I was assigned when I opened my account …./in/kathleenmariekelley93dnc9el3).  

I suggest that users customize their URL as soon as possible, because first come/first served - if the URL is available now it may not be in the future.  My name is fairly common so I had to go through several combinations to get a URL that was short and made sense.  Customizing becomes even more critical when a business owner develops a company page (discussed in my next blog) and wants a LinkedIn URL that closely matches their website or Facebook URL.  Grab it while you can!

Not only have I customized my LinkedIn URL, but I have done something similar for the three websites (the maximum I can add) I've added to my profile:

• My Penn State Profile (http://plantscience.psu.edu/directory/kmk17),
• our Farm Business Management website (http://extension.psu.edu/farm-business),
• and link to this blog (http://farmbusiness.blogspot.com)

LinkedIn gives users a couple of labeling options when they add URLs to their profile page.   In the edit contact info option I have two choices for describing/labeling the webpage associated with the URL:

• I have the option of choosing one of the general/generic names produced (personal website, company website, blog, RSS feed, or blog) or
• I can develop a more specific label of my choosing, though I am limited to 30 characters or less.

I like the option to customizing and think it is more enticing to see a website labeled: PSU Farm Business blog rather than the standard LinkedIn “blog” label.  If an ag. business uses the generic “blog” title someone looking at the profile may have no clue as to the type of blog that they will find after clicking on the URL.   Better to provide a bit of information, even if the description is rather brief. 

Entering customized link descriptions and how they look on my LinkedIn profile.

As you can see, some of what I've described about LinkedIn is similar to what you might have had to provide when you built your website or even when you set up Twitter or Facebook accounts.  LinkedIn does have an extensive help menu and FAQ section – and LinkedIn personnel are responsive when users ask questions via their “Contact Us” form.  This is just the start of our LinkedIn conversation.  Do check back next week when I describe a bit about networking and company pages. 

Are you LinkedIn? Part I: Highlight your skills, expertise, and your accomplishments

I have been a LinkedIn member for a few years and have made some good connections with other users; however, I wanted to learn how to use this social media tool to help ag. businesses build connections, learn from other industry members, and how to potentially increase business. So, I decide to brush up on my LinkedIn skills and learn about some of the changes that took place at the end of last year – some of which I like very much.

Creating a LinkedIn account is fairly straight forward, much like any other social media account or online account you might have created in the past.  A step-by-step process will prompt you to add contact information, your picture, past and current positions, as well as areas of expertise and your skills, etc. 

Adding more than just basic information

You may be tempted to just add the minimum to your LinkedIn profile – but image how much more professional you will appear if you do provide more detailed information about you, your business, and skills and expertise you possess.

Adding skills or expertise is just a matter of adding keywords, or allowing other LinkedIn users to “endorse” you by adding keywords they feel describe what you have to offer.  For example, my skills and expertise are broad, since I have many responsibilities at Penn State, and include: teaching, public speaking, social media, statistics, horticulture, and similar.  A few of LinkedIn users I am linked to endorsed me for horticulture and blogging.  These short words/phrases really do stick out among all the other information I've chosen to add to my profile page – a real contrast to the paragraphs of information that describe current and past positions, etc. 

A listing of keywords describing skills and expertise. 

Think about keywords you could add to describe your specialties: consulting, public speaking, management, landscape, floral design, event planning, or specific computer software skills.  The possibilities are endless. 

The skills and expertise section is just one of the features that users can use to highlight accomplishments or achievements.  More recently, LinkedIn added a feature that allows users to emphasize projects they have completed, courses they have offered, organizations they belong to, and even volunteer activities and causes they support.  Users also have the option to associate each of these with specific jobs or positions they have held. Some examples as to how ag. businesses can use these descriptors include: 

• Have you written an article about a topic that would be of interest to those you've connected with on LinkedIn?  If so, enter the title, brief description, as well as the URL that they can click on for easy access. 
• You can do the same for projects.  Perhaps you/your business provided plant material or landscaped a property that had significant meaning for the community.
• For honors and awards, maybe your wine was award the overall gold medal winner in a wine competition. Why not let other LinkedIn users learn about this achievement? 

For some of these, such as publications and project, you will be able to “add” other LinkedIn members to the description.  For me, I feel that this blog provides stakeholders with such useful and timely information that I added it as a project, associated it with my current position at Penn State, and added names of other major blog contributors (Sarah, Jeff, and Dana) to give credit where credit is due.  

Information I've added to create a project on my LinkedIn profile. Notice how Jeff and Dana are listed under the "Team Member(s) heading.

After I saved the information to LinkedIn profile, each of them received an email from LinkedIn asking if they would like the description of the project added to their profile page.  If they approved, the description was added.  Now, their linkages can learn a little bit more about the blog and choose to read it and receive updates when we next post.

This is how projects will appear on LinkedIn profile pages. 

As with all of your information on your profile page, you can arrange the order so that if you would like projects, etc., to appear above other information, such as the summary of your background, education, groups you belong to, you can choose to do so.  LinkedIn is truly a tool that you can customize in many different ways.  Next time I'll describe other features that you can customize on your LinkedIn profile.

What's New in Ag Business Education? (part 1)

Did you know that Penn State Extension regularly holds classes on a multitude of different business topics?  Classes range from beginner (those just starting to think about creating an ag business) to advanced (those who are veteran business owners thinking about succession planning).  Below is a brief description of just a few of the courses Penn State Extension will be offering in early 2013.

Social Media Boot Camp for Ag Businesses 

During this 2-day boot camp, we'll discuss the basics of several tools such as Twitter and Facebook and get you thinking about their strategic use.

The first day of the workshop will be spent in a computer lab where you will begin developing your Facebook, Twitter, foursquare, and Yelp pages.

On the second day you will develop social media goals and objectives, a strategy for achieving those, and be introduced to tools for measuring and analyzing your social media impact.  You’ll also hear from a farmer on their use of social media tools.

For more info, please visit the program page.

Your Future in Focus 
Sessions will be held on Mondays between January 14 and March 11, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in York, PA

This 8 session class empowers farming and food entrepreneurs to build a business plan for their venture – whether a start-up or a long-established business.

As a member of the Your Future in Focus class, you will consider appropriate business structure, actively pursue goal-setting, build a strategy for marketing your products/services, and gain skill in the development/analysis of financial documents – all steps that lead toward writing a complete business plan. As the weeks progress, experienced instructors will guide you through the process of business and risk management planning, providing feedback throughout the course. Most important, you will receive training and support needed to produce a draft written business plan – the key business risk management tool that can be used both for daily management decision making, and as well as serve as a proposal for start-up or expansion funding.


For more info and to register, please visit the registration page. 


I'll be talking more about our other class offerings next week.  You can also view entire the Penn State Extension Ag Entrepreneurship Team's calendar now on our website. 

If you see a class you want to attend but not in a location near you, don't fret!  Let us know on our Facebook page and we will try to schedule a class near you.

Promo Prices--When is Enough Enough?

Everyone loves a sale, right?  This might be your strategy for getting customers into your store, but can you have too many promotions?

In a Supermarket Guru article from earlier this year, frequent promotions and more consistent pricing strategies are explored.  Seventy-six percent of retailers are sending more price changes to stores in 2012 as compared to 2011 shows research from Retail Systems Research (RSR).  With these numerous price changes, it seems retailers are promoting a hyper-promotional environment.  

Why is this happening?  Retailers were surveyed by RSR and the findings show:

• Increased price sensitivity of consumers (67%, up from 58% in 2011 and 46% in 2010).
• Increased pricing aggressiveness from competitors (51%, up from 48% in 2011 and 38% in 2010).
• Increased price transparency—the impact of comparative price shopping (47%, up from 40% in 2011 and 11% in 2010).
• Need to protect our brand’s price image (42%, up from 38% in 2011 and 28% in 2010).
• Need to provide consistency in price across channels (27%, down from 32% in 2011 but up from 6% in 2010).

One outcome the article describes is that " 41% of retailer executives surveyed say their companies have become more promotions-driven in 2012, up from 31% who said this in 2010; only 12% focus more on everyday low prices, the findings show...Yet among retail winners (with comp-store sales growth in excess of 3% annually, says RSR), the simple discounting of high-low pricing (38%) and Everyday Low Pricing (25%) are the primary pricing levers. Only retailers classified as losers (annual comp-store sales growth under 3%) used a hyper-promotional strategy (18%)."  The survey didn't explore beyond pricing and promotions, so a hyper-promotional strategy isn't the only reason these stores might be considered "losers".  It is also important to think about what services, assortments, convenience, and expertise your store offers.  

Learn more about the 4 P's (Pricing, Promotion, Product, and Placement) in the Resource Center of PAMarketMaker.com or in the Value-Added Marketing Series section of the Penn State Farm Business Management page.

As an agricultural entrepreneur, do you run promotions?  How often?  How do your customers respond to promotions?

$250,000 Millionaires

Guest Editorial by Dr. James Beierlein

In this year's presidential campaign, there was a great deal of talk about taxing the rich guys - the so called $250,000 millionaires.  As is normally the case, there is more to this statement. Let's look at this a little deeper.

The U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate (Federal rate of 35 percent) in the world. Most of the major economic powers have a corporate tax rate in the range of 20-25 percent, with some places like Ireland having a rate of 11 percent.  It is easy to see why our corporations look to locate overseas.

Source: CNN Money

Tax rates have an impact on the legal structure that firms adopt.  This is why many small businesses operate as small business corporations (often called Sub-chapter C firms).  By doing this, they gain all the benefits of being a corporation, such as limited liability for the owners and having things like health care be a tax deductible expense.  Also, the owners can elect to have the profits from these firms taxed at lower personal income tax rates rather than the corporate rate (35%).

Small businesses generate around 70 percent of all the new jobs in economy and, usually, are the birthplace for most innovations.  These firms are the winners and the ones that kept us competitive.  With an average profit rate (5 percent), a firm would need sales of just $5 million to reach this $250,000 threshold. Keeping a heavy tax burden on these employment generators does not make economic sense, especially during an economic slump.  But, I was always taught that being a millionaire started with a million dollars, not $250,000.