Archive for the ‘Business Advisory Articles’ Category
Beaver Fleming
Pro skateboarder, Beaver (Christopher) Fleming is about to hit it big. Soon to be a household name, Beaver is an incredible young man both in the skate park and around the conference table. We’re honored that he chose us to develop his visual brand, as well as his new website. The site should launch in the next week, and as you can see, the logo turned out really well.
RainTree Senior Care
RainTree Senior Care has enlisted our help with their brand identity, as well as their new website. The logo, as well as the letterhead, envelopes, business cards and more are now complete, and we are full-steam-ahead on their new website. Stay tuned, as it is yet another fine example of what we can do with a smaller budget. $3,000, and they’re going to have a site that looks and works like a million bucks.
BioFlo Urinary Catheter Management System
We at VPI have been working on this project since its inception as an idea. This revolutionary product is a urinary catheter that allows the bladder to stay strong by building up tension while the catheter is in, instead of leading to bladder fatigue while the catheter is in. The result is a greatly reduced stay in the hospital, saving the patient or the healthcare provider THOUSANDS of dollars. On top of that, its Quick Disconnect system allows the catheter wearer to be far more active, with specific Day and Night bags, the Day bag allowing it to be worn covertly on the leg. It’s a huge advance, and we’re very proud to have been a part. We have developed their logo/brand, as well as their soon-to-be-launched website and store. Additionally, we have been responsible for Medicare/Medicaid applications, as well as getting it approved by all necessary governing bodies. This is the perfect example of what we at VPI can do; pretty much anything that needs to be done to turn an idea into a true business.
You Can’t Market Without A Message
What is marketing? Putting forth your message to an audience (hopefully a receptive one) with the intent to educate and/or entice. The most effective, organic and oldest form of marketing is the word-of-mouth or third party referral. It is more trusted and generally more accurate in its audience target than anything else a marketer could hope to create. But, the number and influence of the “mouths” doing the referring necessarily limit it. The smaller you are, the narrower your reach until momentum kicks in and scale develops. This results in true, organic growth based on the quality of your offering, level of customer or client satisfaction, and your ability to scale up to handle the new business as it comes in. This is the natural way for a business to grow. But that’s too slow, right? “We need growth now, and fast. We just opened a new location, developed a new product, started a new firm based on work we’ve been doing for years, etc. We need an executable marketing plan that will grow us faster!” Assuming the quality of your offering is good, your current clients or customers (if you have any) are happy, and you have the capacity for growth, what do you do to grow your business? How do you market beyond word-of-mouth?
There are several questions you need to ask yourself about what you are planning to market, but that’s the topic of another post. For now, we’ll address the how, not the what. The foundation of the marketing plan is the message. What is your message? How do you relay your offering? How does your intended audience truly perceive it? Chances are, the message you put out isn’t the one that best attaches itself to your audience and resonates with them, assuming you have identified the right audience. Why is word-of-mouth so powerful? One reason is because it comes from the mouth of a satisfied client, in her own words, relaying a message of client experience from the candid standpoint of a client. What was important to her, how did she feel about the experience, was the outcome what she expected, did the job get done at a fair price, or was the experience worth the premium that was charged? This is what matters to a potential client – what has been the experience of the clients that went before them, and can they empathize with that experience through the message being relayed.
To effectively market, your message needs to be based on what is actually important to the potential client. The best way to determine that is to understand the message being relayed by your existing patrons, both the happy and disappointed ones. You have to “message” from the viewpoint of your actual client, not from the viewpoint of the offering provider. This requires a high level of empathy and willingness to hear the good and bad, willingness to dig and understand what makes your target group “tick”. Too many businesses are arrogant in their approach to messaging. They come at it from the wrong side. You have to determine what actually made the difference in the mind of the client when they chose you, and why they came back for more, or made it a point to refer their associates to you – or why they didn’t come back and told their associates to stay away from you. You must capture the message of existing clients in all its trusted power, all of its experiential and relative resonance, and all of its emotive qualities. Once your message is based on the actual experiential message your clients relay, then you have something powerful to put forth. The message is the foundation and it is the most critical part of your marketing plan. Once you have it nailed, spread it as far and wide as you can in those areas where your target audience frequents. Everything they see or hear about you needs to tie back to the core message that resonates with them. It becomes what your brand is built on. It becomes you. Your message is your foundation; you must get it right before you spread it.
So where do you spread it? That’s the topic of yet another post.
Titin Tech
Congratulations to VPI Client Patrick Whaley, CEO & Founder of Titin Tech! He has been featured on the cover of April 16th’s Houston Chronicle Business Section, having just secured third place and taken home the “Most Bankable Award” in the acclaimed Rice University Business Plan Competition. The Rice Competition is the world’s largest and richest business plan competition. Patrick was invited to participate and showcase his revolutionary and patent-pending hyper-gravity training shirt that integrates hydro-gel inserts to add weight as well as comfort. It differentiates itself from the rest of the market by strategically placing gel weights over each major muscle group to increase caloric burn and provide a targeted, muscle-endurance workout. Its uses range from performance training to rehabilitation and beyond without hampering the body’s quick twitch and stabilizer muscles, as traditional weighted training gear has done. The shirt can range in weight from 1 to 30 pounds, preferably 10% of the consumer’s body weight. The full 10% is only recommended for those of extreme athletic fitness in order to avoid injury. The unique nature of its hydro-gel weighting allows the shirt to be excessively cooled or heated depending on the needs of the consumer. Weighted vests in today’s market contain iron or heavy metal that slips and slides in their retention pockets. They are also big, bulky, and uncomfortable; whereas Titin is a slim, fitted shirt that provides comfort and aesthetic appeal to its user.
Patrick’s product is based on such a complete rethinking of the industry that he has already garnered the attention and demand of several nationally known professional athletes, police enforcement agencies, the U.S. Military, as well as physical therapy and rehabilitation professionals. His efforts with Titin Tech have thus far earned him top honors and the People’s Choice Award at the Georgia Tech InVenture Prize Competition as well as The Business School at Georgia Tech Most Fundable Business Plan. His first, small production run sold out within a few hours and he has an established backlog of users anxiously awaiting delivery of the next round of product. He is an incredibly talented young man & even better person with a life story that is truly amazing.
He is currently in his second round of capital acquisition, having nearly exhausted the seed money he accumulated through personal funding and multiple award winnings.
Titin Tech is about to round the corner into serious mass-production and national awareness with incredible momentum.
Contact David Hinkle, CEO of VPI Business Advisors for more information on Titin Tech or Patrick Whaley.
M2HCG – Homeopathic Weight Loss Online Store and Support
This site for Metabolic Method – M2HCG has more technology in it than first apparent. Of course, it has the rotating testimonial window on the home page, all of which is perfectly visible on an iPad or iPhone, but the store tracks the functions and purchases of a buyer and allows M2 to prompt the client when certain checkpoints in their weight loss should be occurring. Additionally, the customers can choose online support, which we worked with Voices Heard Media (a company with an absolutely amazing product for immediate consumer feedback) to develop. Now the customers can go online, ask a question, and it immediately gives them the most relevant question that has already been answered and shows them that answer. At the same time, it prompts an M2 Customer Support Specialist that there is a question, and they answer it immediately there on the screen. On top of this, they have a “Biggest Loser” competition on the site. We programmed a way that only M2 customers can enter, but anyone can vote, but only once. These votes by the online community are tracked in real-time on the site, with the winner receiving quite a large (forgive the pun) award! Lastly, the store function has the most up-to-date security suite available. We’re quite proud of how this site has turned out, and hope you’ll give it a look! (Judging by the before and after pictures that they continue to send us, you might also give them the chance to shed the extra pounds that you’re about to put on later this month!) Does your business need a site like this? We know how to do it, and at a very competitive rate. But what makes us special is that, from the beginning of the project, your VPI team is there helping you craft your message, layer your sales pitch, and deliver it through the close of the purchase. After all, we ARE business advisors. Thanks again, Metabolic Method, and have a blessed 2011! (As always, click the image in this post to view the site, which is at www.m2hcg.com)
Crown Point Consultants
We have been honored to work with Alan Baker and his team at Crown Point Consultants on many projects in the past. From energy saving devices needing funding, to writing business plans for a client with an incredible idea, we’ve had our hands in the clay with CPC. We were honored when they asked us to develop a simple website for them that would allow them to post updates on projects via an iPhone into an online Business Journal. Well, we got it done for them. Please take a look at the site. Additionally, this is the most affordable way to build a website, and extremely functional. We can develop a site like this for you for less than $3,000.
VPI CEO David Hinkle appointed to Fairview Technology Board
David Hinkle, CEO of VPI Business Advisors, has been appointed to the Advisory Board for The Fairview Technology Center. "Being appointed to Fairview's Advisory Board affords me the opportunity to contribute to Entrepreneurs pursuing their passion in launching a new business", stated Hinkle. To learn more about Fairview, please visit http://www.knoxdevelopment.org/BusinessIncubator.aspx.
Great news from VPI Client, Campus Special- Congratulations!
The Campus Special Named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in America
8/24/10 – The Campus Special has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in America. After 5 consecutive years of double digit growth, The Campus Special makes its debut on the list at #1390.
“We are honored to be included on the prestigious list as one of the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America," says Chau Nguyen, Co-Founder of The Campus Special. “As a start-up, our original goal was to save college students money. We worked hard to provide students with a targeted coupon book with discounts on every day needs. When the recession hit, we saw it as an opportunity to leverage the economy and help our advertisers adapt their marketing strategy, while helping students survive tough times. Today The Campus Special publishes at 100 college campuses and is one of the most recognizable publications within the 18-24 year old demographic. I’d like to thank all of our employees, clients, and students for their continued support. We are committed to serving as a bridge between college students and local businesses.”
“Our goal in 2011 is to break into the Inc. 500 list and we have a few projects underway to get us there. This fall, The Campus Special launched an online Food Court which allows students to order food online from restaurants in their college towns. We’ve created a marketplace where local restaurant owners can market to students via the web and students can order from the convenience of their computer or mobile device. 2,000 restaurants have already signed up for the service and students have already started ordering as Fall semester kicks off.”
The Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2006 through 2009. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of 2006, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they have to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent — not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies — as of December 31, 2009. Notable alumni include Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Jamba Juice, Timberland, Visa, Clif Bar, Patagonia, Oracle, and scores of other powerhouses.
The Campus Special is the nation's largest distributor of coupons on college campuses and a virtual Food Court where students can order food online. We work with 100 college campuses reaching 4 million students in 38 states and servicing over 7,000 clients. Our award winning internship program has helped over 1,500 college students gain hands on experience in marketing/sales. Visit us on the web at www.CampusSpecial.com
The Campus Special Contact: Chau Nguyen, Co-Founder 800-365-8520 x 858 Chau@CampusSpecial.com
VPI Sponsoring A3 Athletics Celebrity Golf Tournament
We are proud to be a sponsor of the A3 Athletics Celebrity Golf Tournament to benefit St. Jude's Children Research Hospital today. VPI is also sending a team of our own to play in the 4-player scramble: Anita S. Brown, Keith Thompson, Mark Wilson, and Jared Cullop will be trying to bring the Win back to headquarters here in Franklin Square. The team will be heading out for Tennessee National Golf Course in Loudon, TN shortly. Anita played golf on a scholarship in College, and hits the ball extremely well. It's almost unfair that she gets to hit from the Ladies' Tees! Wish us luck!